Is this just another cycle, or is it the END? Martin Armstrong of Armstrong Economics published an article this week about the so-called Socrates program and how [more…]
‘Complete disgrace’: JD Vance issues ultimatum to states to crack down on Medicaid fraud
Vice President JD Vance, who chairs the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, announced on Wednesday the first major steps to compel states to crack down on Medicaid fraud nationwide.
During a press conference Wednesday on anti-fraud initiatives, Vance declared that the Trump administration would be “very aggressively” encouraging states to take fraud concerns more seriously.
‘So these letters are the first step, the first effort to try to force these states to get serious about prosecuting fraud.’
He explained that the U.S. Medicaid system is run like 50 separate systems.
“The federal government pays most of the Medicaid money, but then each of the individual states actually administers the Medicaid program,” Vance stated.
Despite the federal government generously funding Medicaid Fraud Control Units, responsible for detecting and eliminating fraud, some states are not using them, Vance stated. He highlighted his point by providing examples.
Vance stated that Hawaii, a state that has received billions of taxpayers’ dollars through the Medicaid system, had not made a single fraud conviction or indictment “over the last few years.”
“That means that if you’re committing fraud in Medicaid in Hawaii, at least up until now — hopefully now they’re going to take it seriously — you have had effectively free rein from the government of Hawaii to commit as much fraud as you want,” Vance stated. “That is a complete disgrace.”
RELATED: Walz tries to take credit for raids on day cares in Minnesota — and Kash Patel humiliates him
JD Vance. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Vance explained that New York, which has a $100 billion Medicaid program, has had only nine indictments over the last year.
The vice president compared New York, a Democratic-led state, to Indiana, a Republican-led state. He noted that despite Indiana having only a third of New York’s population, it has pursued more than four times as many indictments during the same period.
Vance stated that the federal government is withholding $1.3 billion in Medicaid reimbursements to California. He said that the state has “not taken fraud very seriously,” resulting in California and American taxpayers being defrauded.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Vance announced that 50 state Medicaid programs would be receiving a letter requiring them to demonstrate that they are “effectively and aggressively prosecuting” fraud. If they fail to do so, their anti-fraud units will no longer receive federal funds.
“We encourage people to work with us. We want to help you use technology and other tools to get rid of the fraud, to get to the root of the fraud. We want to help you,” Vance stated. “But we can only help these state programs if those state programs are willing to help themselves. So these letters are the first step, the first effort to try to force these states to get serious about prosecuting fraud.”
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News, Jd vance, Vance, Task force to eliminate fraud, Fraud, Medicaid, Medicaid fraud, Medicaid fraud control unit, Medicaid fraud control units, Hawaii, New york, Indiana, California, Politics
Adult accused of telling 13-year-old he likes ‘little boys and girls’ before shoving, holding victim against wall learns fate
A 33-year-old Chicago male who’s accused of telling a 13-year-old he likes “little boys and girls” before shoving and holding the victim against a wall has been sentenced, CWB Chicago reported.
Devontay Kenny on February 24, 2025, followed the 13-year-old boy down West Division Street in Humboldt Park, the outlet said.
Court records indicate Kenny has several felony convictions for narcotics-related charges as well as a 2017 conviction for aggravated robbery, the outlet said.
Kenny repeatedly tried to get the victim’s attention, saying he likes “little boys and girls,” the outlet added, citing court filings.
But when the boy refused to stop, prosecutors said Kenny grabbed the boy by the sweater with both hands and pushed him against a brick wall to keep him from moving away, the outlet said.
After a struggle, the victim broke free and ran to a nearby convenience store for help, the outlet said.
When witnesses confronted Kenny, officials said he tried to convince them he was the boy’s uncle, the outlet said.
Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune
Kenny pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful restraint in connection with the incident, the outlet said, adding that prosecutors dropped child abduction and aggravated battery charges.
On Monday, Judge John Lyke handed down Kenny’s sentence: six years in prison, the outlet said.
As you might imagine, Kenny has had other run-ins with the law.
In fact, just one week before the incident with the 13-year-old boy, Kenny was placed on a nighttime curfew with an electronic monitoring bracelet after police said he was distributing heroin and cocaine, the outlet said, citing court records.
However, prosecutors dropped those drug charges three weeks after Kenny was charged with assaulting the 13-year-old boy, the outlet said.
What’s more, court records indicate Kenny has several felony convictions for narcotics-related charges as well as a 2017 conviction for aggravated robbery, the outlet noted.
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Arrest, Sentence, Devontay kenny, Chicago, Attempted kidnapping, Drug charges, Jailed, Unlawful restraint, Aggravated battery, Crime
Trump goes to China with THIS surprise guest and an entourage of business leaders
Hundreds of students waving U.S. and Chinese flags greeted President Donald Trump in Beijing as he stepped off Air Force One for his historic visit to China on Wednesday.
Also in attendance to greet the president was Chinese Vice President Han Zheng as well as Foreign Affairs Vice Minister Ma Zhaoxu. Trump will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a pivotal time in the ongoing war in Iran.
‘We used to be taken advantage of for years with our previous presidents. And now we’re doing great with China.’
The president arrived with a large entourage that included tech billionaire Elon Musk, who had a falling out with Trump last June before restoring their relationship recently.
The visit to China is a first for a sitting U.S. president in nearly 10 years, when Trump visited last.
“We’re the two superpowers,” Trump said to reporters at the White House before departing on the trip. “We’re the strongest nation on Earth in terms of military. China’s considered second.”
The president went on to say that he didn’t think they would discuss Iran much because the war is “very much under control.”
Along with Musk, the president brought a large group of business leaders that included Jensen Huang of Nvidia, Tim Cook of Apple, Larry Fink of BlackRock, and others from the following companies:
Boeing;Goldman Sachs;Meta;Micron;Qualcomm;Illumina;Mastercard;Visa;Cargill;Citi;Cisco;Coherent; andGE Aerospace.
The trip had been delayed because of the Iran war.
“I have a great relationship with President Xi,” Trump said to reporters in the Oval Office. “We’re doing a lot of business, but it’s smart business. We used to be taken advantage of for years with our previous presidents. And now we’re doing great with China. We make a lot of money with China.”
The president’s trip to China will last until Friday.
RELATED: California mayor abruptly RESIGNS — after admitting to spying for China
There will be an official welcome ceremony on Thursday with Jinping.
The president also forcefully rejected a peace plan offered by Iranian officials on Monday, calling it “garbage” and “unacceptable.” He went on to assert the ceasefire was “on life support.”
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Trump visits china, Trump vs xi jinping, Elon musk, Business leaders, Politics
Conservatives are afraid to talk about the real marriage problem
The fact that marriage in America is on the decline is concerning, but few people understand how deep the problem goes.
Recent data shows the dismal marriage numbers in the United States. The percentage of married couples, average age at which couples are marrying, and number of children are all in catastrophic decline. The numbers represent a dramatic collapse in the institution that serves as a foundation for successful civilizations.
Conservatives will often place the blame on a lack of individual virtue, and there is plenty of truth to that claim, but the most important factors are baked into the structure of our society in a manner that Republicans are terrified to address.
Once birth control and abortion made pregnancy a choice instead of an inevitability, everything shifted.
When a movement refers to itself as “conservative” you would think the preservation of marriage would be its top priority. However, when marriage does receive any attention from conservative pundits and politicians, it is in the form of glib advice directed at young men telling them to get out of their parents’ basement and stop playing video games.
Part of the marriage problem is certainly the lack of initiative on the part of young males, but this is also the easiest and most cowardly attempt to explain away the issue. Our culture encourages placing the blame on young men, who are one of the few groups that can be attacked without consequence. The real answers require taking on far more sacred cows.
When conservatives are feeling a little more adventurous, they will admit that some aspects of our economy are antithetical to family formation.
The fact that the average age of first-time homeowners is pushing past 40 signals how difficult achieving stability for young families has become. College is now required for even the most entry-level jobs, and the cost keeps exploding, consuming the capital that once went into a starter home.
The costs of health care and food continue to skyrocket so that most households require two incomes, forcing mothers to work, while the price of child care also increases rapidly. The economic issues are real and important, but even they do not tell the whole story.
Love, duty, and honor are all factors that hold our social bonds together, but it is dependence that makes them necessary in the first place and continues to undergird them when everything else falls away.
RELATED: Adults are refusing to grow up, and their children are paying the price
Matt Stroshane/Walt Disney World Resort/Getty Images
Modern people do not like to hear this fact because they believe that maximizing freedom and independence is the ultimate good, but there is a point at which autonomy rips society apart.
Men are, of course, dependent on many things, but women, due to their biological vulnerability, were always directly dependent on men.
Women are physically weaker, less aggressive, become pregnant, must care for children, and regularly need the direct intervention of others to ensure their safety and security. Women could not work outside the home while pregnant or raising children, so they remained dependent on their husbands’ income.
People will have sex — we are hardwired to pursue it — so the reality was that women and men needed to get married early to secure the safety of mothers and their children. Family formation was part of the rhythm of life. It was largely unavoidable, and this kept marriage rates among young people relatively high.
Once birth control and abortion made pregnancy a choice instead of an inevitability, everything shifted. Single women became a larger part of society, and the state expanded its reach to provide them with broader physical and economic protections.
The newly emancipated woman needed her own stream of income, and corporations were more than happy to provide it. Women doubled the labor pool, driving down wages. In large bureaucratic organizations, where compliance is key, the more agreeable nature of women is considered an asset in a way that it would not be in a more entrepreneurial economy.
Advantages were built into every level of our system to help elevate women due to the perceived biases that existed when mothers were expected to stay home. Universities gave priority to women, who now earn more degrees than men. Corporations gave hiring priority to women, who now make up a majority of their workforce.
Government assistance and scholarship programs were established to ensure that working mothers did not fall through the cracks. It is not that women stopped getting married — every female must be married at some level — they simply became dependent on the men running the government and corporations instead of traditional husbands.
Women do not date men who earn less than they do, even if they think of themselves as independent. Deep down, females know that in the modern world, income signals status and status means protection.
RELATED: Universal basic income is a dangerous delusion
Blaze Media Illustration
Even in our hyper-feminist culture, women still know they could become mothers at any time and naturally seek out protection and stability. The push to elevate women in education and hiring meant that the percentage of well-paying jobs going to men shrank. This resulted in men being systematically removed from the pool of attractive marriage prospects.
Dwindling prospects for both education and career have already set young men on the path to downward mobility, but the lack of prospects for marriage was the nail in the coffin. These changes, coupled with the one-sided nature of divorce and child custody law, means that many men no longer see a reason to bother dating.
Women initiate 70% of divorces in the United States. The truth is that women who do not need men do not marry when they are young and are far more likely to divorce if they do.
To be clear, this is not to absolve men of their responsibility. Both sexes made this mess, both sexes are to blame, and both will need to do hard work to fix the problem.
Men must have the drive and vitality to make something of themselves, no matter what situation they find themselves in. But in the rare instances where conservatives are even willing to address the marriage crisis, they save all their criticisms for young men because they are the culturally approved target.
There are no easy answers to the chaos that modernity has visited on the dating and marriage landscape, but the structural issues are real, and telling men to “get it together” does nothing to change that. Until conservatives are willing to be as honest with women as they are with men about our situation, nothing will improve.
Marriage decline america, Birth control abortion, Divorce rates, Birth rates, Marriage rates, Fertility crisis, Conservatives, Women in the workplace, Opinion & analysis
Warsh approved to replace Powell as head of Federal Reserve — and even 1 Democrat supports him
President Donald Trump’s nominee to replace Jerome Powell as the chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve was approved by a vote in the U.S. Senate Wednesday.
56-year-old Kevin Warsh, a lawyer and financier, becomes the wealthiest chairman of the Fed after the Republican-controlled Senate voted 54 to 45 to confirm him.
‘He will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best!’
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) was the only Democrat to vote in favor of Warsh’s confirmation.
Warsh is expected to support the president’s demand to lower interest rates despite his previous opposition to dropping rates. He has justified his change of heart by arguing that artificial intelligence will so drastically increase productivity that it will give the Fed room to lower rates.
“I have known Kevin for a long period of time, and have no doubt that he will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best,” Trump said on social media in January. “On top of everything else, he is ‘central casting,’ and he will never let you down.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said Warsh had “sucked up to Donald Trump to snag his dream job” at the Fed.
“The Senate should not be aiding and abetting Donald Trump’s illegal takeover of the Fed by installing his chosen sock puppet as chair,” she added. “It’s an invitation for corruption and for economic catastrophe. We have the power to stop it, and we should be using that power.”
The president has intensely criticized Powell for refusing to lower rates.
“We should have the lowest interest rate anywhere in the world. Jerome Powell has done a terrible job. And frankly, I don’t think he could do a worse job. He’s called everything wrong,” Trump said to reporters in July.
He has referred to Powell as a “knucklehead” and a “stupid guy” and has accused him of committing fraud while overseeing a billion-dollar renovation of the Fed’s offices in Washington, D.C.
Powell has denied the allegations and tried to defend the Fed against charges of politicization.
“We’re never going to be influenced by any political pressure,” Powell said in April 2025. “People can say whatever they want. … That’s not a problem, but we will do what we do strictly without consideration of political or any other extraneous factors.”
RELATED: Trump bashes Fed chair after inflation report drops: ‘He’s a knucklehead. Stupid guy.’
Some have argued that Warsh will not be able to significantly change the policy at the Federal Reserve by himself, as the interest rates are determined by a full vote of the Fed governors.
On Tuesday the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that inflation had spiked to 3.8%, likely as a result of increasing oil prices from the war on Iran.
Warsh is married to Jane Lauder, the billionaire heiress to the Estee Lauder fortune.
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Jerome powell replacement, Kevin warsh, Federal reserve chair, Fed interest rates, Politics
WATCH: Democrat does ‘Holy Ghost’ dance just days after INSANE state trooper meltdown
Democrat state Rep. Justin Pearson is already back in the news after a video of the Tennessee politician calling a state trooper a “stupid motherf**ker” went viral.
But in the latest video, Pearson appears to be a changed man.
In a video from a graduation ceremony, Pearson thrashes around, dancing on stage in front of a cross, leading BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock to comment that it appears Pearson has “caught the Holy Ghost.”
“I’m almost speechless, Jason, and I speak for a living,” Anthony Walker tells Whitlock, calling Pearson’s actions “performative.”
And Walker does not believe Pearson has “caught the Holy Ghost.”
“Evidence of the Holy Spirit truly in your life and transforming you is going to be a transformed life. Your conversation is going to be different. Your conduct is going to be different. Your whereabouts, where you choose to go, is going to be different. Something will be evident that you used to behave in a sinful manner,” he explains.
“So it’s performance, and you know, unfortunately, we live in a performance-rewarding society,” he adds.
Shemeka Michelle is in agreement.
“It is performative. It is an act. And he failed,” she says, noting that the audience is applauding in the video.
“Most of them are probably women who just don’t have the discernment that’s necessary to be able to sniff out a fraud. He’s a fraud. Plain and simple,” she adds.
Want more from Jason Whitlock?
To enjoy more fearless conversations at the crossroads of culture, faith, sports, and comedy with Jason Whitlock, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
Anthony walker, Blaze media, Blaze news, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Blaze podcast network, Blaze podcasts, Blazetv, Blazetv host, Democrat, Evidence, Fearless with jason whitlock, Fraud, Graduation ceremony, Holy ghost, Holy spirit, Jason whitlock, Jason whitlock harmony, Justin pearson, Performance, Shemeka michelle, State trooper, Tennessee, The blaze, Viral
6 movies that warned us about AI
“Come with me if you want to live …”
That line from 1991’s “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” proved ironic in more ways than one.
Author Glenn Reynolds begins his new book, ‘Seductive AI,’ by citing this forgotten thriller.
A T-800 robot (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) tries to protect Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) from the looming AI revolution. They both know humanity’s survival depends on her son living long enough to lead the human resistance.
The “Terminator” franchise remains Hollywood’s biggest red flag against the rise of AI. The all-powerful Skynet future is coming, and humanity may crumble as a result.
Wait … is that on screen or off?
The “Terminator” franchise isn’t the only time Hollywood warned us what could happen if we let AI grow unchecked. The following films offered their own predictions on how computer-generated intelligence could bring society to its knees — or simply leave us so disconnected that we don’t even bother with fellow humans.
Looking back, these disparate films have become scarier than Freddy, Jason, or Art the Clown … combined.
‘Her’ (2013)
– YouTube
Who wouldn’t fall in love with an AI software that sounded like Scarlett Johansson? This sci-fi parable stars Joaquin Phoenix as a lonely soul on the cusp of divorce. He decides to give his computer’s operating system a female voice (Johansson), and the two begin a digital courtship.
Naturally, the main character’s love life suffers as a result. He feels increasingly comfortable confiding in “Samantha,” even though she’s not flesh and blood.
“Her” underwhelmed at the box office, but its prescient look at computer-based romance has taken on an ominous tone given recent headlines.
‘Ex Machina’ (2015)
– YouTube
A computer programmer (Domhnall Gleeson) wins the chance to spend a week with a scientist (Oscar Isaac) who has created a near-perfect AI robot named Ava (Alicia Vikander). The programmer’s task? Determine if he can tell if the robot is real or synthetic by challenging it to the best of his abilities. What neither man realizes is that Ava has a surprise or two in store, using the unsuspecting humans for her own selfish purposes.
Wait, robots can be selfish?
The film’s minimalist effects proved sublime (and Oscar-winning), but the sophisticated storytelling is the main attraction. Once more, artificial humans pose a genuine threat to our species, at least on a small but significant scale. That leaves us vulnerable to our baser instincts.
RELATED: ‘Crawl’: Killer gators make for gruesome guests in overlooked creature feature
Paramount Pictures
‘M3GAN’ (2022)
– YouTube
This slick horror-comedy has the perfect solution for a young girl dealing with the loss of her parents. At least on paper.
Meet M3gan, a sophisticated AI robot designed by Cady’s aunt (Allison Williams). The creepy bot is meant to give Cady support through her pain. M3gan is almost too good to be true, until it starts lashing out at anyone it thinks is trying to hurt the grieving girl.
No computer program can replace a loved one, and the healing process requires more than a few cute AI prompts. That’s the serious side of “M3GAN,” a genre romp with a decidedly nasty sense of humor. The film became an unlikely smash, partly because it hit theaters just as AI’s real potential started to emerge.
The sequel, “M3GAN 2.0,” bombed by betraying the story’s core themes and, perhaps, reminding us how close to reality this franchise became in just three short years.
‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ (1968)
– YouTube
“I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
The best science fiction stories transport us years, if not decades, into the future. Director Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece delivered the ultimate AI warning, an avuncular program named HAL designed to do our bidding.
We all know HAL has other plans, turning this space yarn into a cautionary tale like few others.
‘Blade Runner’ (1982)
– YouTube
The line between humans and replicants blurs beyond recognition in this sci-fi stunner that bombed during its initial release. Harrison Ford, tasked with erasing androids who pose a threat to humanity when they go rogue, is torn when he meets Sean Young’s beguiling character.
She’s beautiful, even intoxicating. But is she human? We know Rutger Hauer’s villainous character is all nuts and bolts, but his soulful dialogue suggests an AI creation of consequence.
The film doesn’t reflexively take humanity’s side, leaving us with uncomfortable questions about our tech-centric future.
‘Colossus: The Forbin Project’ (1970)
– YouTube
Author Glenn Reynolds begins his new book, “Seductive AI,” by citing this forgotten thriller. The film features a supercomputer built to prevent nuclear war, a noble mission that soon goes sideways. The bot becomes sentient, reaches out to its Russian counterpart, and decides it knows what’s best regarding the fate of humanity.
The film’s chilling coda must have seemed like pure fantasy at the time. No longer.
Entertainment, Culture, Ai, Tech, 2001: a space odyssey, Blade runner, Her, Movies, Reviews, Recommendation
Boomer saves the day after old man goes missing
Boomer’s a good boy, locating an old man who had gone missing in Florida.
On Saturday, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office received a report that Ray Cornett, a 96-year-old man described as an “endangered person,” had gone missing near his home in Lutz, about 15 miles north of Tampa.
‘Good boy! Good boy, Boomer!’
The area around Cornett’s home is swampy and covered with trees and other overgrowth, and temperatures in the area were expected to hit almost 90 degrees F. So finding Cornett quickly was of the essence.
Bodycam footage posted to HCSO social media accounts shows that deputies arrived in the area around 6 p.m. on Saturday. By 6:11, a deputy had leashed up K-9 Officer Boomer and introduced him to Cornett’s scent by allowing Boomer to sniff some of Cornett’s belongings.
“Find him!” the handler commanded.
Boomer did not need much prompting. He quickly sprang into action, video showed, and eventually made his way to the woods.
Within 10 minutes, Boomer had found his man. “He’s right here!” the handler exclaimed at 6:21.
“Good boy! Good boy, Boomer! Good boy, Boomer!” he added.
According to the HCSO social media post, Cornett was found about 200 yards or so from his home. He was “returned home safely” and is believed to be unharmed.
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Florida, Boomer, K-9 officer, Hillsborough county, Politics
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Radiant Mobile just changed the game for parents fighting smartphone filth
For years, Christian parents have been fighting a digital war with good intentions but ineffective tactics. A dad buys a “safe phone.” A mom installs parental controls. They disable browsers, hide passwords, and pray their 13-year-old outsmarts a trillion-dollar industry that hired neuroscientists specifically to outsmart him.
He learned to swipe before he learned to use a spoon. He finds a work-around in approximately four minutes. A friend has unrestricted internet. A VPN appears. Pornography arrives before puberty. By the time many Christian parents realize what happened, the battle is already inside the home, inside the mind, and, often, inside the soul.
That is why Radiant Mobile matters. For the first time in a long time, somebody in tech seems willing to admit a truth modern America desperately avoids: Children shouldn’t have unlimited access to everything on the internet.
America didn’t accidentally become spiritually exhausted.
That used to be common sense. But common sense, much like leg room in coach, is in short supply. Today, saying a 12-year-old shouldn’t be one click away from OnlyFans is treated like medieval extremism. Meanwhile, the average child today carries more explicit material in his pocket than Caligula could have dreamed up on his worst weekend.
Previous generations hid Playboy magazines under mattresses. Modern kids can access industrial-scale degeneracy between algebra class and soccer practice.
And Christians are supposed to shrug and call this “progress.”
A better approach
Radiant’s approach differs because it addresses the problem at the infrastructure level. A network-level filter, which Radiant offers, works differently from ordinary parental controls. The blocking happens through the mobile network itself, not just on the phone. For some content types, the block can’t be switched off; others are blocked by default. In simple terms, the bad material never even reaches the device. The bouncer turns it away before it gets in line. That is far more effective than playing endless whack-a-mole with apps.
That matters enormously, because most parental controls today are basically digital duct tape. They depend on constant supervision, endless updates, and children voluntarily obeying restrictions in a culture built around rebellion and temptation.
A dumb phone sounds nice in theory until reality kicks in. Modern schools require apps. Sports teams use group chats. Banks require authentication. Employers expect smartphones. Even churches livestream events, organize through apps, and communicate digitally. Telling families to simply “go backward” technologically isn’t realistic for most Americans.
If a father found strangers wandering into his house every night, he wouldn’t hand his kids a pamphlet on personal safety. Any sane, sensible, loving father would lock the door, install a deadbolt, and start pricing shotguns. Modern internet culture has spent years mocking that instinct as controlling or oppressive. But protecting children from predators is the most fundamental job of any parent.
And yes, pornography is predatory.
RELATED: Los Angeles is drowning in filth. Spencer Pratt has an app for that.
Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
The research on this is overwhelming. Pornography rewires the brain, destroys marriages, fuels addiction, damages intimacy, lowers empathy, and increasingly introduces children to violent and degrading content at shockingly young ages. Churches know this firsthand. Pastors counsel marriages shattered by secret addictions. Youth leaders watch teenage boys become numb, isolated, anxious, and detached from reality. The culture keeps offering weak solutions because the culture doesn’t actually want the problem solved.
Big Tech profits from addiction. Social media platforms profit from outrage. Pornography platforms profit from loneliness. The modern digital economy feeds on temptation the same way casinos feed on gambling addiction. America didn’t accidentally become spiritually exhausted. Entire industries make fortunes keeping people distracted, stimulated, angry, lustful, and emotionally dependent on screens. People, sometimes shamefully, carry on.
Christians have every right to push back.
Back to normalcy
Critics will inevitably scream about censorship and freedom. But every family already filters values every single day. Parents decide who their children spend time with, which movies they’re allowed to watch, what music plays in the car, what food goes on the plate, and what time the lights go off at night.
Nobody with more than a few functioning neurons calls that censorship. Nobody calls it tyranny.
Adding the internet to that list is just a matter of consistency. Schools decide what websites students can access. Libraries curate material by age. Television once had standards strict enough that even cartoon characters wore pants. Somehow, civilization survived that horrifying oppression.
Besides, no one is forcing secular Americans to buy this service. Radiant exists because millions of Christian families are exhausted by constantly fighting a culture that increasingly treats moral boundaries as abusive.
There’s no such thing as a perfect parent, and there’s certainly no such thing as a perfect child. But most American parents aren’t chasing perfection. They’re just trying to hold the line long enough for their kids to have a childhood worth remembering, worth cherishing.
That shouldn’t be controversial.
If you don’t build it, they will leave
There’s also something deeper happening here: a crossing of the Rubicon, of sorts — Christians entering technology rather than merely complaining about it. For decades, the church’s posture toward the digital world has been a mix of suspicion, hand-wringing, and the occasional sermon about screen time. Building actual tools is a different posture entirely. If believers refuse to build alternatives, their children will simply inherit systems designed by people who openly despise Christian morality.
The internet that many adults defend so passionately isn’t exactly producing a flourishing civilization. America has record numbers of men over 30 who have never been on a date, fertility rates in free fall, rising depression, fractured families, and children whose attention spans now resemble caffeinated squirrels. Perhaps unrestricted digital access wasn’t the utopian breakthrough we were promised. We opened Pandora’s box and found a sordid collection of deepfakes, men masquerading as women, AI girlfriends, rage-bait, livestreamed breakdowns with sponsorship, and influencers selling anti-aging serum to 10-year-olds.
Christian families don’t need to apologize for wanting guardrails, nor do they need permission from cultural elites to protect their homes. A society that childproofs bleach bottles while handing 12-year-olds unrestricted smartphones is, in many ways, a sick one.
Radiant Mobile won’t save America. And Christ saves people, not phone plans. But building technology designed to protect families, rather than exploit them, is a huge step in the right direction.
Tech
Texas Democrat arrested — for the third time
A Texas Democrat seeking re-election in November has been arrested — again.
Early Saturday morning, police in Texas City responded to a report of a car parked in the left lane of Highway 3. Around 1:30 a.m., they discovered Harris County Treasurer Carla Wyatt (D) fast asleep in the driver’s seat of a vehicle parked with the engine running and its hazard lights on, according to reports citing court documents.
‘This arrest is for a subsequent offense/arrest of Driving While Intoxicated.’
Reports claim the officer opened the door and turned off the ignition for safety reasons before waking Wyatt up. When the officer asked her where she was, she claimed both that she was “in heaven” and in Houston, court documents said, even though Houston was more than 40 miles away.
According to court documents, Wyatt also told the officer she was in the area for a conference in Galveston later that morning. She initially claimed she had had one glass of wine at home around 10 p.m. the previous night but later changed her story and said she’d had two glasses of wine.
The cop smelled alcohol and noticed that Wyatt was not steady on her feet, the documents indicated. She also expressed uneasiness about taking a field sobriety test on account of a previous foot injury.
Wyatt was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated, a Class B misdemeanor. She was released on $3,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court again on June 26.
Neither Wyatt nor her attorney responded to a request for comment from Blaze News.
Mark Felix/Bloomberg/Getty Images
A bond addendum signed by the investigator notes that “this arrest is for a subsequent offense/arrest of Driving While Intoxicated.”
Indeed, Wyatt was similarly charged with DWI in December 2023 after reportedly registering an astonishing blood alcohol level of between 0.365% and 0.367%, more than four times the legal limit.
According to the Houston Chronicle, Wyatt allegedly violated the terms of her probation in that case, once in January 2024 and once in March 2024. Nevertheless, the case was dismissed in August after she completed a pretrial diversion program.
Then in December 2025, Wyatt was arrested again, this time for alleged burglary of a vehicle. A grand jury declined to indict her in connection with that case in April.
Wyatt, 56, was first elected to be Harris County treasurer in 2022. She is running for re-election in November and is among the 2026 candidates listed on the Harris County Democratic Party website.
The HCDP did not respond to a request for comment.
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Ex-HS counselor reportedly was ‘crying throughout the hearing’ after she was hit with felony sex charges involving student
A now-former high school counselor in North Carolina has been arrested for allegedly having sex with a student at the school, according to police.
Asheboro Police Department officers on Friday arrested 39-year-old Amber Elizabeth Walker, according to the arrest warrant WFMY-TV obtained.
‘Asheboro City Schools is aware that a former employee of the district has been taken into custody in connection with alleged inappropriate activity.’
Walker was charged with two felony counts of sex act with a student, the arrest warrant said. Walker faces up to 94 months in prison if convicted on both charges, WFMY reported. During Monday’s hearing, prosecutors petitioned the court to hold Walker without bond.
Walker’s attorney argued that his client isn’t a flight risk because she resides in Guilford County, where her 2-year-old son and her parents live, WXLV-TV reported. Her attorney also noted that Walker poses no risk of reoffending, as the school district no longer employs her.
However, the judge said the charges against Walker are considered violent offenses under Iryna’s Law, which means a defendant cannot be released on an unsecured bond or written promise, WXLV reported. Iryna’s Law was enacted in October 2025 in response to the brutal killing of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte commuter train.
According to the Duke Chronicle, the main provisions of Iryna’s Law are to “enforce stricter pretrial release conditions, mandate mental health evaluations for some defendants, and expedite the process for implementing capital punishment.”
Walker’s secured bond was set at $50,000, and the judge ordered her to have no contact with the victim.
Walker was “crying throughout the hearing,” according to WFMY.
Walker was a counselor and girls’ basketball coach at Asheboro High School, according to WFMY.
Multiple posts on the official Asheboro High School Facebook account from 2019 and 2021 identify Walker as “Coach Walker” while congratulating the girls’ basketball team.
Police said they received a tip on Friday accusing Walker of engaging in sexual activity two days before with an underage student at the school, WFMY reported. Police said detectives “quickly developed evidence confirming the allegation” and took Walker into custody within hours of receiving the potentially damning accusations.
WXII-TV reported that the school district hired Walker on Feb. 26, 2018, and Asheboro City Schools fired her Friday. The school district said in a statement that it will “continue to cooperate with appropriate authorities as necessary.”
“Asheboro City Schools is aware that a former employee of the district has been taken into custody in connection with alleged inappropriate activity,” the school district said in a statement WFMY obtained.
The New York Post reported that just two months ago, Asheboro City Schools urged college-aspiring students to contact Walker for scholarship opportunities.
Walker is scheduled to appear in court on May 26. The Asheboro Police Department and the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to Blaze News‘ request for comment.
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Child sex crimes, Amber elizabeth walker, Amber walker, Crime, School counselor sex scandal, School counselor student sex scandal, North carolina
Gavin Newsom’s ‘free diaper’ plan mocked after it’s revealed taxpayers will be footing a much more expensive bill
California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced a partnership with the nonprofit Baby2Baby with plans to give every newborn delivered in participating hospitals 400 diapers for free — but there’s a catch.
The diapers aren’t actually free, and in fact, they’re actually much more expensive.
“Having free diapers for kids sounds wonderful, right?” BlazeTV host Stu Burguiere asks.
“It does, but I’m guessing that they cost three times as much as buying them at the store,” co-host Dave Landau comments.
And Dave is almost right.
In a post on X, Peter Basios broke down Newsom’s $20 million dollar plan, arguing that it would be cheaper to give “every low-income new mom $100 cash and [tell] her to go to Costco.”
“100,000 babies × 400 diapers = 40 million diapers,” Basios wrote. “$20,000,000 ÷ 40,000,000 = $0.50 per diaper. Now walk into any Costco in California and you can buy the same quality diapers for .12 to .15 cents each!”
“That’s $48 to $60 for 400 diapers,” he continued. “So the state is paying 8-10x more per diaper than a regular family buying in bulk.”
“He is saving you money by charging you four times for the diaper cost,” Dave jokes.
“We took it out of your taxes, but they’re free,” he adds.
Newsom’s wife is also reportedly linked to the nonprofit.
“You have to just say, from a stance of just being fortunate and things falling in the right place, what a great thing that all of this extra money that’s going to this organization just happens to benefit his wife,” Stu says.
“It’s almost like it’s racketeering,” Dave comments, adding, “in the sense that it is.”
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Florida teacher accused of kissing male student for about 6 minutes, unzipping victim’s pants, performing sex act on him
A Florida teacher is accused of kissing a male student for about six minutes and groping him — then on another occasion unzipping the victim’s pants and performing a sex act on him.
According to an arrest report WPLG-TV obtained Monday, Leroy Wright Jr., 46, of Miami was arrested last week on charges of offenses against students by authority figures, unlawful sexual activity with a minor, and depiction of obscene material involving a minor.
‘He is too educated for that. No. Not my friend.’
Police said someone emailed the principal of Miami Jackson Senior High School on April 28 saying that Wright — a reading teacher at the school — was “having a relationship” with a student, WPLG reported.
The principal on Thursday submitted a “personnel investigative model report” to the Miami-Dade County Public Schools Office of Professional Standards, and the report was subsequently submitted to the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department, the station said.
Police on Thursday interviewed the person who emailed the principal, and that person identified the victim to them, WPLG said.
Police said they interviewed the victim at his home in the presence of his mother, and the student said he first met Wright at the beginning of the school year when Wright asked him to join the Freshman Club, for which Wright was the adult sponsor, the station said. Police said the student joined the club, WPLG added.
The victim claimed the first sexual incident occurred April 29 when he hugged Wright as he was exiting Wright’s classroom, the station said.
Police said the student claimed Wright hugged him back and then kissed him for about six minutes while groping him, WPLG reported.
On May 1, Wright again kissed the student and groped him, the station said, citing authorities.
WTVJ-TV reported that the victim said he was in Wright’s car three days later, and while they were stuck in traffic, Wright unzipped the victim’s pants and performed a sexual act.
Police said Wright was informed prior to his arrest that the victim’s cell phone had been “forensically examined,” WPLG reported.
Wright was booked into jail Friday and remained there Wednesday morning, jail records indicate.
WPLG said Wright will appear before a judge Wednesday.
RELATED: Former teacher, 26, accused of having sex with 16-year-old male student
One neighbor told WPLG she couldn’t believe the charges against Wright, who holds a PhD: “He is too educated for that. No. Not my friend.”
The school district released a statement over the weekend, WPLG reported, adding that the statement confirmed Wright would be fired.
“The type of behavior this individual is accused of will not be tolerated, as it runs contrary to the professional conduct we expect from all employees,” the statement read, according to WPLG. “The district has initiated employment termination proceedings and will ensure the individual is precluded from seeking future employment with the district. At M-DCPS, the safety and well-being of all students remain our top priority.”
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Florida, Miami, Bad teacher, Child sex abuse, Leroy wright, Miami-dade county public schools, Offenses against students by authority figures, Unlawful sexual activity with a minor, Depiction of obscene material involving a minor, Kiss, Grope, Jailed, Crime
