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ChatGPT May Be Eroding Critical Thinking Skills, According to a New MIT Study

Does ChatGPT harm critical thinking abilities? A new study from researchers at MIT’s Media Lab has returned some concerning results.

The study divided 54 subjects—18 to 39 year-olds from the Boston area—into three groups, and asked them to write several SAT essays using OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s search engine, and nothing at all, respectively. Researchers used an EEG to record the writers’ brain activity across 32 regions, and found that of the three groups, ChatGPT users had the lowest brain engagement and “consistently underperformed at neural, linguistic, and behavioral levels.” Over the course of several months, ChatGPT users got lazier with each subsequent essay, often resorting to copy-and-paste by the end of the study.

The paper suggests that the usage of LLMs could actually harm learning, especially for younger users. The paper has not yet been peer reviewed, and its sample size is relatively small. But its paper’s main author Nataliya Kosmyna felt it was important to release the findings to elevate concerns that as society increasingly relies upon LLMs for immediate convenience, long-term brain development may be sacrificed in the process.

“What really motivated me to put it out now before waiting for a full peer review is that I am afraid in 6-8 months, there will be some policymaker who decides, ‘let’s do GPT kindergarten.’ I think that would be absolutely bad and detrimental,” she says. “Developing brains are at the highest risk.”

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How Much of Trump’s ‘Built in America’ Phone Is Actually Built in America?

The Trump Organization unveiled Trump Mobile, “a next-generation wireless provider with bold ambitions and a customer-first mission,” on Monday. The organization also teased the T1 Phone—which is slated for an August release and available for preorder—as a “gold smartphone engineered for performance and proudly designed and built in the United States.” The origins of the phone seem to be more of an aspiration than a reality.

Eric Trump, the executive vice president of the Trump Organization, told conservative podcaster Benny Johnson that “eventually, all the phones can be built in the United States of America” (emphasis added), per The Wall Street Journal. Given the phone’s hardware and $499 price, the Journal determined that the phones will likely be imported from China because “only Chinese makers like Xiaomi and Oppo have hardware to match.” (President Donald Trump threatened to impose 25 percent tariffs on foreign-made phones just last month.)

Max Weinbach, an analyst at market research firm Creative Strategies, also believes that the T1 Phones are Chinese in origin. Based on its hardware, Weinbach says the T1 Phone is a custom variant of the Wingtech REVVL 7 Pro 5G (the T-Mobile version retails for about $170). Wingtech itself is a Chinese semiconductor designer and manufacturer partially owned by the Chinese Communist Party that is listed in the Bureau of Industry and Security’s Entity List, which “identifies persons or addresses of persons reasonably believed to be involved…in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.”

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75,000 pounds of THC products seized in DFW raids as Texas Gov. Abbott weighs statewide ban

Police raided locations across DFW on Tuesday in a year-long investigation into THC sales. 

The Allen Police Department, with help from the DEA, seized products at three warehouses in Dallas, while other agencies raided the owners’ homes in Carrollton, Colleyville, and Plano.

Allen’s police chief took the CBS News Texas crew inside one of the warehouses as officers pulled products off the shelves. 

According to early estimates from Allen PD, investigators seized over 75,000 pounds of THC products and $7 million worth of cash and assets in Tuesday’s raids.   

Chief Steve Dye said the warehouse raids are the product of an investigation that began more than a year ago with undercover purchases at shops in Allen. The I-Team documented how the Allen Police Department’s narcotics unit bought and tested the items ahead of raids at nine stores last August. Investigators said the illegal products found in Allen are being supplied by the warehouses in Dallas. 

“You don’t have to go to your drug dealer anymore to buy drugs,” said Dye. “You can go to a vape shop on any corner.” 

He believes the products found on store shelves are more dangerous than illegal drugs because, Dye said, the false sense of safety has led to an explosion in use.

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Ohio GOP Lawmakers Can’t Agree On How To Amend Marijuana Law, Causing Planned Vote To Be Canceled

Despite efforts in the Ohio legislature to pass a bill to significantly change the state’s voter-approved marijuana law, last-minute disagreements between the House and Senate Republicans seemed to have derailed that plan for now—with House lawmakers signaling that a deal won’t be struck before the summer recess.

After taking public testimony and adopting certain changes to the Senate-passed legislation, SB 56, in recent weeks, the House Judiciary Committee ultimately declined to advance the proposal as scheduled at a Wednesday hearing, making it so the measure couldn’t advance to a floor vote planned for that day. Evidently, the revisions didn’t sit well with key senators, according to several legislators.

“Apparently the Senate changed their mind,” Rep. Jamie Callender (R), a pro-legalization lawmaker, told News 5 Cleveland.

Changes approved at a hearing late last month, for example, rolled back some of the strict limits included in a version of the measure passed by the Senate in February, including a criminal prohibition on sharing marijuana between adults on private property.

“They wanted to make a mandatory jail sentence for passing a joint between friends,” Callender, who has spent weeks working on additional changes to the legislation, said. He also complained about the Senate’s proposal to put all cannabis tax revenue in the state’s general fund, which would have prevented local municipalities from getting a share of those dollars as is currently the law.

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No Charges for Cops Who Executed Innocent Grandpa on His Own Property—With a Bullet in His Back

Another day, another state-sanctioned killing swept under the rug. This time, it’s the story of Osvaldo Cueli, a 59-year-old grandfather who was shot and killed by two plainclothes Miami-Dade police detectives on his own land. There were no body cams, no warning, and no charges.

According to a closeout memo from the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, detectives Mario Fernandez and Jorge Sanchez won’t face any consequences for killing Cueli. The memo claims there wasn’t enough “competent evidence” to determine whether the shooting was justified. That’s always the excuse, isn’t it?

Despite the nine bullet holes in the windshield of the officers’ unmarked truck, originally spun as proof Cueli had fired on them, it turns out those shots were fired from inside the truck. The cops fired through their own windshield. They were in unmarked vehicles with tinted windows and, according to the family, never announced themselves.

Cueli had walked out to the edge of his property with a firearm holstered at his waist. He thought he saw trespassers. His daughter said he rarely carried a gun but had grown concerned about safety. That day, two black trucks pulled up to the gate. According to his son, they blocked the entrance and opened fire without warning. His father never raised his weapon. They didn’t identify themselves. They didn’t turn on any lights. They just started shooting.

“They both came really close to the trees, and they blocked us in,” Osvaldo, Cueli’s son, told New Times. “They started shooting from inside the car, and they didn’t have any lights on. They didn’t announce themselves. They didn’t put down the windows, and the windows were blacked out.”

Cueli was shot in the back. The autopsy confirmed it. The bullet passed through his aorta and lung before lodging in his arm. The cops say they found a pistol two feet from his body. But the family says there was no gun near him in the video footage. Their attorney is calling out the memo for its omissions and contradictions.

As Cueli lay bleeding on the ground, one of the officers casually stepped over his body and said, “We identified ourselves.” His daughter captured the moment on video.

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Federal Bill Would ‘Effectively’ Ban All Consumable Hemp Products—’Including CBD’—Congressional Researchers Say

A federal spending bill that’s advancing in the House would “effectively” prohibit hemp-derived cannabinoid products, including CBD, congressional researchers say.

In a report published by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) last week, legislative analysts looked at the potential impact of hemp-related provisions that advocates and stakeholders say would devastate a core sector of the industry.

While report language attached to the 2026 appropriations bill was recently amended to clarify lawmakers’ intent not to disrupt the non-intoxicating cannabinoid market—signaling that products like CBD shouldn’t be banned—the legislation itself hasn’t changed and could still jeopardize the industry without further amendments to its provisions.

The CRS analysis, which came out after the bill’s report language was revised, seems to validate the industry’s concerns about the legislation, explaining how it would “expand on the existing statutory definition of hemp,” which currently means cannabis containing no more than 0.3 percent THC by dry weight, “to include industrial hemp products and exclude hemp-derived cannabinoid products.”

“Excluding hemp-derived cannabinoid products from the federal definition of hemp effectively would prohibit production and sale of hemp-derived cannabinoids, derivatives, and extracts thereof, including cannabidiol (CBD),” it says. “Excluded cannabinoids would cover also non-naturally occurring and synthesized or manufactured compounds.”

“The proposed provision would make other broader changes to the hemp definition by changing the allowable limits of THC—the leading psychoactive cannabinoid in the cannabis plant—to be determined on the basis of its total THC, including tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA), instead of delta-9 THC. This would codify the regulatory practice established in USDA’s 2021 final hemp regulations. The provision would exclude from hemp ‘any viable seeds from a Cannabis sativa L. plant’ that exceed a total THC (including THCA) of 0.3 percent in the plant on a dry weight basis.”

As it stands, the legislation has cleared a House Appropriations subcommittee—but while it was discussed in the full committee last week, members ultimately did not act on it before recessing for a district work period. The panel is set to take the bill back up next week.

Before breaking, however, the full panel did adopt a manager’s amendment to the attached report from Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), a vocal opponent of cannabis reform. Despite his personal opposition, the revised report clarifies that the panel does not intend to prohibit non-intoxicating cannabinoid products with “trace or insignificant amounts of THC” that were federally legalized during the first Trump administration.

“In determining the quantifiable amounts, the Committee does not intend for industrial or nonintoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoid products with trace or insignificant amounts of THC to be affected,” it says.

Harris said in opening remarks at last week’s hearing that the legislation closes “the hemp loophole from the 2018 Farm Bill.”

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Mystery Break-In at Home of Slain Minnesota State Rep Melissa Hortman

Police are on scene and investigating a break-in and attempted burglary at the home of slain Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman.

Vance Boelter, 57, shot and killed Minnesota State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband early Saturday morning.

Boelter also shot and wounded Democrat State Senator John Hoffman and his wife.

Hortman’s home had been boarded up with plywood after investigators moved out all of the evidence of the homicide.

Late Tuesday evening and overnight into Wednesday, an individual pried off the plywood on a back window of the Hortman home.

Investigators are unclear whether the individual stole anything. The Hortman family arrived at the home on Wednesday to see if the individual took anything of value.

NBC News reported:

Police are investigating a reported overnight break-in at the boarded-up home where Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were fatally shot over the weekend, authorities said Wednesday.

Officers were alerted at 8 a.m. about the break-in at the residence where Hortman and her husband were killed on Saturday in what officials have described as a “politically motivated” shooting, according to a statement by the Brooklyn Park Police Department.

Investigators had previously processed the home as a crime scene before it was boarded up on Sunday morning, with a police trailer camera left in front, police said in a Wednesday statement.

Hortman’s family had “removed items of value from the home on Tuesday,” police said.

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As Congress struggles to cut spending, states expose Medicaid fraud on steroids

Medicaid for millionaires. Jaw-dropping swindles. Bureaucrats who aren’t checking patients’ eligibility.

As Congress struggles to find spending cuts in a bloated federal budget, a growing number of states are exposing the breathtaking extent of fraud, waste and abuse inside the government’s primary medical welfare program for the poor. 

Arizona became the latest state to unveil failures, as Senate Majority Leader Janae Shamp, House Majority Leader Michael Carbone, and other GOP lawmakers released a report showing that 130,000 of the 388,000 state residents who applied for Medicaid last year were not verified, suggesting up to $6 billion a year in Medicaid fraud.

“When we’re talking about cutting fraud, waste and abuse, that is exactly where we start,” Shamp told Just the News.

The report showed only 24% of Arizonans who applied for the assistance were vetted, and of those people who did get vetted properly, 34% weren’t supposed to be accepted, but they got the Medicaid benefits anyway.

When asked if she believes that Arizona’s Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs would consult the Republicans who led the effort to investigate, Shamp told Just The News, “I always want to believe in the good that, yes, we can work across party lines, and we can figure out how to do this collectively together, because it’s the citizens of Arizona, the taxpayers of Arizona, that are bearing the brunt of this fraud.”

“I have sent a letter to her office, and I’m asking for a bunch of questions to be answered and to find out what it is that the governor’s office is prepared to do with her agency that is directionless, leaderless…no transparency [and] totally unaccountable,” she continued. 

Arizona’s Medicaid problems follow similar issues found in states like Ohio where a Bloomberg Law investigation revealed that state health departments and Medicaid contractors often fail to detect or ignore blatant fraud, costing taxpayers billions annually. 

Congressional leaders are targeting an estimated $50 billion in yearly Medicaid waste, as states and contractors prioritize approving claims over scrutinizing questionable expenditures. 

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The Weaponization of Gene-Edited Mosquitoes

There are several dimensions to the mosquito crisis. The release of gene-edited male mosquitoes, coupled with the development of a dengue and malaria vaccine

But that is but the tip of the iceberg.

According to F. William Engdahl in 2018, the weaponization of insects is on the drawing board of the Pentagon:

There is strong evidence that the Pentagon, through its research and development agency, DARPA, is developing genetically modified insects that would be capable of destroying agriculture crops of a potential enemy.

The claim has been denied by DARPA, but leading biologists have sounded the alarm on what is taking place using new “gene-editing” CRISPR technology to in effect weaponize insects.

It’s like a 21st Century update of the Biblical plague of locusts, only potentially far worse.

Under the DARPA project, Genetic Alteration Agents or viruses will be introduced into the insect population to directly influence the genetic makeup of crops.

DARPA plans to use leaf hoppers, white flies, and aphids to introduce select viruses into crops. Among other dubious claims they say it will help farmers combat ‘climate change’.

What no one can answer, especially as neither the Pentagon nor the US FDA are asking, is how will the genetically engineered viruses in the insects interact with other microorganisms in the environment?

If crops are constantly being inundated by genetically modified viruses, how could this could alter the genetics and immune systems of humans who depend on the crops?

See F. William Engdahl, Why Is the Pentagon “Weaponizing Insects”? October 30, 2018

This posting includes excerpts from Jordan Shachtel, Amie Wek and Jamie White followed by the article of F. William Engdahl.

The World Mosquito Program plans to release five billion mosquitoes into Brazil.

“And the hope is they will help save lives. [Once] you see the reductions in disease transmission, it doesn’t seem like a horror movie any more,” Scott O’Neill, director of the World Mosquito Program” (CBC, April 2023)

Implemented concurrently with the influx of 5 billion friendly mosquitoes, Brazil approved in March 2023 a vaccine against dengue.

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‘Trans’ Congressman Says Democrats Went Too Far on ‘Trans’ Rights Push

Facing mounting political backlash and growing public fatigue, a high-profile Democrat is urging his party to reevaluate its aggressive push on “trans” issues. 

Rep. Sarah McBride (D-DE), who made history in 2024 as the first openly trans-identifying person elected to Congress, is now calling for a reset, warning that Democrats may have gone too far.

In a recent interview with The New York Times’ Ezra Klein, McBride acknowledged that the progressive movement advanced too far, too fast, without bringing the public along. 

“We as a coalition went to Trans 201, Trans 301, when people were still at a very much Trans 101 stage,” he explained.

According to McBride, the party’s absolutist stance on “trans” policies and broader progressive ideals may have alienated key segments of the electorate. 

He argued that the movement’s pursuit of “every single perfect policy and cultural norm” failed to account for where the public truly stands.

“It misunderstands the role that politicians and, frankly, social movements have in maintaining proximity to public opinion, of walking people to a place,” McBride said.

He pointed to what he called a sense of “cultural aggression” that developed around “trans” advocacy, suggesting that it allowed Republicans to present themselves as reacting to extremism rather than instigating conflict. 

“We’re punishing trans people because of their actions. Rather than: We’re going after innocent bystanders,” McBride said of how GOP messaging has reframed the debate.

The freshman congressman also leveled broader criticism at the progressive movement, saying, “We became absolutist — not just on trans rights but across the progressive movement — and we forgot that in a democracy we have to grapple with where the public authentically is and actually engage with it. Part of this is fostered by social media.”

These comments mark a notable shift from McBride’s previous public stance. 

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