One of the slowest art heists in history is currently going down in the Negev desert, where a host of hardy fungi and lichens are destroying ancient artworks before our very eyes. The petroglyphs carved by ancient humans have endured for 5,000 years, but they’re now at risk of being lost forever.The desert is in the south of Israel where rocks can be found marked with petroglyphs of ibexes, goats, horses, donkeys, camels, and the odd abstract form. If this is the first you’re hearing of petroglyphs, they’re defined as prehistoric rock carvings – in this case, created by hunters, shepherds, and merchants who roamed the Negev since at least the third millennium BCE.The petroglyphs have lasted for thousands of years, but a new study has revealed that the few species that live on these rocks may represent a monumental problem. Sampling of the rock surfaces showed they host a comparatively low species diversity compared to the surrounding soil, but the species that are present are known to be destructive.A fungus culture of one of the species threatening the petroglyphs: Cladosporium limoniforme.Image credit: Dr Irit Nir, Ben Gurion University of the NegevOn the roster of culprits are multiple species of fungi within the Alternaria, Cladosporium, Coniosporium, Vermiconidia, Knufia, Phaeotheca, and Devriesia genera, as revealed by DNA barcoding and direct sequencing. Of those, all of them are microcolonial fungi other than Alternaria and Cladosporium, a group that is famous for setting up camp in desert environments. They’re also known wrong’uns when it comes to rock art.“Microcolonial fungi are considered highly dangerous for stone artifacts,” said first author Laura Rabbachin, a PhD student at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna in Austria, in a statement. “For example, they have been implicated as a probable cause of the deterioration of stone cultural heritage in the Mediterranean. Lichens are also well known to cause rocks to deteriorate and thus to be a potential threat to stone cultural heritage.”We may have been able to point the finger at the offending microbial saboteurs, but unfortunately, identifying the issue hasn’t brought us any closer to a solution.One of the Negev desert petroglyphs showing a human figure.Image credit: Laura Rabbachin, INTK, Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna“These natural weathering processes cannot be stopped, but their speed of the weathering process depends heavily on whether and how the climate will change in the future,” added study senior author and Rabbachin’s academic supervisor, Prof Katja Sterflinger. “What we can do is to monitor the microbial communities over time and most importantly, document these valuable works of art in detail.”Sketchbooks at the ready, I guess.The study is published in Frontiers In Fungal Biology.

A new study has taken a look at the weird "lunar swirls" seen on the Moon, and identified a possible cause beneath the lunar surface.When humanity first developed telescopes and began examining the Moon in closer detail, we noticed some odd features. Using early telescopes in the 1600s, astronomers were able to see strange swirling patterns on the Moon's surface. Reiner Gamma, one of the most famous and distinct of these features, was first seen during the Renaissance, but has continued to puzzle scientists right through the space age, when it was discovered that they correspond to magnetic anomalies in the rock."Lunar swirls are enigmatic features on the Moon’s surface characterized by bright streaks in the lunar soil that are much brighter than the surrounding regolith," NASA explains. "All lunar swirls are located where crustal magnetic anomalies have been detected, but not all such magnetic anomalies have the swirly markings, making lunar swirls an intriguing puzzle yet to be solved."   Scientists believe that the swirls could be caused by magnetized rocks deflecting or redirecting solar wind particles which constantly hit the surface of the Moon. Over time, the neighboring rocks become darkened by the solar wind, while the magnetized rock maintains its pale appearance. However, it's a bit of a mystery how these rocks became magnetized in the first place, given that the Moon does not have a magnetic field today. Previously, it has been suggested that impactors rich in iron could play a role.“Impacts could cause these types of magnetic anomalies,” Michael J. Krawczynski, an associate professor of earth, environmental and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis said in a statement. “But there are some swirls where we’re just not sure how an impact could create that shape and that size of thing.”An alternative idea is that the magnetic anomalies were created by lava under the surface slowly cooling in a magnetic field. That's pretty difficult to study without lunar rocks.“Earth rocks are very easily magnetized because they often have tiny bits of magnetite in them, which is a magnetic mineral,” Krawczynski said. “A lot of the terrestrial studies that have focused on things with magnetite are not applicable to the Moon, where you don’t have this hyper-magnetic mineral.”In a new study, the team from Washington University in St. Louis tested whether this could be possible, using a natural terrestrial ilmenite megacryst as an analog for material on the lunar surface. Ilmenite – a titanium-iron oxide that is abundant on the Moon – can react to form iron metal, and the team discovered that the minimum thresholds in magnetization needed to form the swirls could be formed through heating if the ambient field was strong enough.“The smaller grains that we were working with seemed to create stronger magnetic fields because the surface area to volume ratio is larger for the smaller grains compared to the larger grains,” first author Yuanyuan Liang added. “With more exposed surface area, it is easier for the smaller grains to undergo the reduction reaction.”While the study shows evidence that the swirls could be created by this method, it would need further support in what we see on the Moon.“If you’re going to make magnetic anomalies by the methods that we describe, then the underground magma needs to have high titanium,” Krawczynski said. “We have seen hints of this reaction creating iron metal in lunar meteorites and in lunar samples from Apollo. But all of those samples are surface lava flows, and our study shows cooling underground should significantly enhance these metal-forming reactions.”Time to get drilling on the Moon.The study is published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets.

Blaze News last month reported on an entire family of taekwondo black belts who rushed to a business next door to their Houston studio after hearing screams and rescued a female from an attempted sexual assault.Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez hailed the heroic act on X, calling the family of five a "group of good samaritans" [sic].'I was just yelling, "F your gun!" and I was just hitting him in his ribs. It was great. You know, America stuff.'The family consists of Grandmaster Han An — the dad — as well as Hong An — the mom — and siblings Hannah An, 22, Simon An, 20, and Christian An, 18, KHOU-TV reported. They all hold at least fourth-degree black belts in taekwondo, with their dad boasting an eighth-degree black belt.Simon An told the station his family members were coming back from lunch around 4 p.m. when they heard screaming coming from the Cricket Wireless store, which is located near their training center in the Cypress area.Hannah An told KHOU that when they opened the doors, she "saw a man on top of a woman, and the woman was on the ground." Simon An told NBC News the attacker's hands were “in [in]appropriate places” as the female tried to fend him off.Grandmaster An immediately took down the male suspect, KHOU said, adding that Simon An and Christian An stepped up as well. Simon An told NBC News that "the intruder was trying to run away — scratching, biting, anything he could do," but Grandmaster An held down the attacker for 10 minutes until law enforcement arrived.Gonzalez told KHOU that 19-year-old Alex Robinson was arrested and charged with attempted sexual assault, unlawful detention, and assault on the instructors. You can view KHOU's interview with members of the An family here.Ah, Good Samaritans. The ones who go out of their way to help others, often putting themselves in danger in the process.The following are 10 other examples of Good Samaritans who ran toward life-threatening situations in order to help others — and a number of them physically defeated the bad guys.UFC fighter takes down shooting suspect in restaurant, puts him to sleep using choke holdUFC fighter Kevin Holland took down an armed male at a Houston restaurant on March 16, 2022, Yahoo! Sports reported. A suspect identified as 24-year-old Jesus Samaniego allegedly pulled out a gun and fired at least one shot near the bar area of Ra Sushi in Highland Village around 11:30 p.m., according to reports.Holland indicated that he used a rear naked choke to subdue the suspect but didn't even realize at first that shots had been fired, ESPN said: "I was facing one way, and then we he heard a big, loud bang. I thought it was a champagne bottle popping because the people behind us were having a birthday party. I go to look around, and I see people running, like they had the look of death on [their] face[s], like super worried."He said that he and a friend initially took cover but saw the gunman — who reportedly was waving a pistol at several patrons — out of the corner of his eye, and then Holland jumped into action. ESPN reported that Holland "took the man into his lap, wrapped his legs around his legs, and put him in a rear naked choke submission hold.""As soon as he was [asleep], I let go of the choke, slid out on top, got full mount, stretched the arms out so he couldn't reach for anything," Holland added.The suspect was taken into custody without incident and faced charges of deadly conduct and unlawfully carrying a weapon.Holland wasn't a stranger to such acts — the previous October he chased down and detained a carjacking suspect until police arrived. Good Samaritan jumps in to help cop who's struggling with suspect who grabbed for gunThe Brea Police Department in southern California said a foot pursuit followed a routine traffic stop over an obstructed license plate in the city of La Habra on Feb. 2, 2022. Police bodycam video KTLA-TV obtained shows an officer — an ex-football player — running after and finally catching up to the driver. "They're wrestling. The officer has his gun on his right side. And you can see the suspect's trying to grab for his holster there," Lieut. Chris Harvey told KTLA."In fact, he grabbed so violently that he broke the bolts that hold the handgun to the side rig the officer was wearing," Harvey added to the station while noting the suspect called to a woman who had been a passenger in the car to help him get the officer's gun.That's when an unknown man in a cowboy hat stepped in. Video — which you view here — shows him helping the officer until another officer arrives. Harvey said the man left before police could get his name."It may sound extreme to say the officer was fighting for his life, but under the circumstances, you have to consider what is the suspect's intention in grabbing the officer's gun," Harvey told KTLA, adding "so yeah, that is absolutely a fight for your life."Police said they want to find the Good Samaritan to thank him and ask him to be a witness in the case. Later police in an update said the man came forward but didn't want any public or media attention.After 3 males carjack motorist at gunpoint, Good Samaritan gives victim some surprising assistance — and all suspects are caughtAfter three males carjacked a motorist at gunpoint in Memphis on Aug. 13, 2023, a Good Samaritan gave the victim some surprising assistance, after which authorities captured all three suspects.Memphis police told Blaze News the victim was carjacked around 6 p.m. in the 5300 block of Knight Arnold Road. WREG-TV said the victim was sitting in his 2012 Dodge Charger when three individuals approached him. One of the males, later identified as Zakee Brinkley, pointed a gun at the victim and demanded his vehicle, the station said, citing reports. The victim got out of the car, and the suspects drove off, WREG said.Then came a big surprise. Police said the victim flagged down a stranger and got in the stranger's car. They followed the victim's Charger, and the victim called police and told them the direction in which they were headed, the station said.While officers located the vehicle and tried to stop it, the driver refused to pull over, WREG said. Soon the vehicle crashed in the 1700 block of Lochearn Road, and the three suspects fled, the station said. Brinkley, the front passenger, was caught and taken into custody, WREG said, adding that police found a 9mm gun on him.Police added to Blaze News that the two other suspects were taken into custody around the same time Brinkley was caught, but they're both 17 years of age — minors — so they aren't being named, and there's no information regarding whether they're still in custody. Police told Blaze News the two minor suspects were charged with carjacking.As for Brinkley, WREG said he's charged with carjacking, employing a firearm with intent to commit a felony, and evading arrest. Jail records indicate that Brinkley posted a $50,000 bond Aug. 14.Ex-MMA fighter chokes out wanted felon who violently attacked police officerWilliam Cassoday, 39, and his wife were on their way to visit his mother on May 16, 2022, in Portage, Indiana, to show her their new car — and he saw a male punching a Porter County sheriff's patrolman in the face.Cassoday — an ex-MMA fighter and a Brazilian jiu-jitsu trainer who was working on getting his black belt — stopped to help and took down the culprit with ease."I’m 280 pounds," Cassoday told WMAQ-TV. "This guy was probably half my size." The station said Cassoday put his arm around the male's neck from behind and used his other arm to tighten the grip in a rear naked choke: “He couldn’t do anything because I was squeezing on his neck, and then he kinda felt like he went limp for a second, and so I loosen[ed] it up."Cassoday's wife, Marisa McDaniel, told WMAQ, "Not a lot of people would have done that. He was very courageous. He didn’t have to think twice; he did what he had to do."Cassoday pinned the man within 15 seconds, and the police officer recovered to handcuff the suspect, whom the sheriff's office identified as 37-year-old Christopher Delgado, WMAQ said.Patrolman Jamison Smith noticed Delgado walking down the street and stopped him for an outstanding warrant for auto theft, the station said, adding that Delgado allegedly attacked Smith during the confrontation, leaving him with swelling above his right eye from a punch.Delgado was charged with battery, resisting arrest, and providing false information to police, WMAQ said.Law enforcement officials said they "cannot thank Mr. William Cassoday enough for his courageous actions," the station reported.“Putting his own safety aside, he ran into harm’s way, assisting Officer Smith in taking a felon into custody,” Porter County Sheriff’s Office Cpl. Benjamin McFalls told the Lake Geneva Regional News.“Mr. Cassoday willingly jumped into a fight, in which our officer was being violently attacked,” McFalls added. “Mr. Cassoday exemplified what it means to be a resident of Porter County. We will be honoring him in the near future."Heroic dads speak out after tackling suspected shooter at Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade, repeatedly punching him After at least one armed thug opened fire at the Super Bowl parade for the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 14, a pair of dads ran down the alleged gunman, tackled him, and began punching him.Trey Filter and Paul Contreras, previously unknown to one another, both stressed that inaction was never an option: "It was just: Just do it."Filter was with his wife and two sons when gunshots rang out, after which someone yelled, "Get him!" he told the New York Post."My brain tells me, 'That must be him,'" recalled Filter. "I literally remember when I was tackling him, 'I sure hope this is who they were yelling at me to get.' Because I just went, 'Boom!' ... I really don't recall seeing him coming." Although Filter managed to leap onto the alleged shooter and bring him to the ground, the suspected gunman managed to wiggle free.KETV-TV reported that Paul Contreras of Bellevue, Nebraska, was with his three daughters when they heard what they figured to be fireworks. However, when it became clear that it was gunfire — and that the alleged shooter was on the loose — his parental instincts went into high gear.Contreras reportedly spotted another man chasing down a suspect and yelling for someone to assist. "I didn't think about it," Contreras told KETV. "It's just a reaction. I didn't hesitate. It was just: Just do it.""So I went to go tackle him and another gentleman did the same thing," Contreras continued. "And as I'm tackling him, I see his weapon either fall out of his hand or out of his sleeve, 'cause he was wearing a long jacket."Filter's wife, Casey, lunged for the weapon after it hit the ground and tried to secure it, reported the Post."So when I see that hit the ground, I'm like, 'Oh, you know. We gotta take this guy down,'" added Contreras.The Nebraska dad said that he and the other Good Samaritan held the suspect down for what "seemed like forever, but it probably ... was like 30 seconds" until police arrived. When Filter saw Contreras wrestling with the suspected gunman in the dirt, he leaped back into action and began punching the suspect."I don't know if I knocked him out when I tackled him or what, but I had him squeezed so hard he might have been passed out all the time for all I know. I just started racking him in his ribs," Filter told the Post. "I was just yelling, 'F your gun!' and I was just hitting him in his ribs. It was great. You know, America stuff."Contreras reportedly punched the alleged gunman's face: "The whole time he's fighting to get up and run away. ... We're fighting to keep him down, and he's fighting to get up."After police made the arrest and nearby witnesses applauded the dads' efforts, Filter told his boys, "Get your mother, we're getting the f*** out of here."Martial arts coach saves the day when male tries to snatch baby from stroller right in front of screaming motherBrian Kemsley was walking with his girlfriend on Nov. 9, 2020, near New York City's Madison Square Park when he saw a male trying to grab a baby from a stroller, WPIX-TV reported. Kemsley, a 33-year-old Muay Thai coach, immediately put his skills to use, the New York Post reported.He told WPIX the assailant was asked to let go of the stroller but kept reaching for the baby; the mother was holding a toddler, both of whom were screaming, as was the growing crowd around them.Cellphone video shows Kemsley tackling the male, the Post said. Kemsley pinned him and waited for authorities to arrive, WPIX reported. You can view a video report about the incident — which includes the cellphone clip — here."It's not a matter of stepping in; it's a matter of duty, when you see a woman and her child screaming," Kemsely told WPIX.New York City police told the paper they responded to the park around 3:35 p.m. for a report of an emotionally disturbed person who was taken into custody and to Bellevue hospital for psychiatric evaluation.Kemsley told the Post that the perpetrator — who kept trying to fight — seemed unwell mentally; at one point while being pinned, the male appeared to believe he was speaking to former President Barack Obama in the Oval Office.When it was all over, "everyone started clapping, everyone was grateful," Kemsley added to the Post, noting that it "was a very nice moment."Bystanders tackle, hold down thief who tried to steal laptop from woman at cafeSan Francisco residents — likely fed up with rampant crime in the city — took action when a male allegedly tried to steal an expensive laptop from a woman at Sana'a Cafe on May 11. Video — which you can view here as part of a report on the incident — showed one man tackle the suspect, after which others jump in to help.Citizen journalist "Frisco Live 415" interviewed the man who made the tackle: Henry Flynn, who has trained as a security guard."Luckily, within seconds, everyone ran outside, so I just told people to pick — someone on one leg, someone on another leg, and hold his arms as well — just so he could stop trying to fight and hit me, and that we could control him until the cops got here," Flynn said.The alleged thief reportedly was identified as 19-year-old Zachary Morris-Dadzie of Suisun City; he was charged with grand theft and second-degree burglary.Some are calling Flynn a hero, but he told KRON-TV that he doesn't feel that way: “Most people want to do the right thing. It just takes one person to really get ahead of it and everyone else will follow."Flynn — a 48-year-old, fourth-generation San Franciscan — also is running for mayor as a grassroots candidate: “I see myself representing the silenced majority of the city — the working class, the bread and butter of the city. I think what we need right now is the same thing that happened at that cafe where everyone came together."'I knew what I had to do, and I just did it': Customer shot while wrestling gun from armed robber in Circle KDalton Wheeler was in the middle of his pre-work routine on July 21, 2023 — buying a Red Bull from the Circle K on Cherry Road in Rock Hill, South Carolina, and catching up with the clerk, Miss Kathy, WBTV-TV said.Wheeler said he was outside the store when he noticed a suspicious-looking male heading inside, WBTV said, citing Rock Hill police. “I see the guy come around the corner in all black — black hoodie and a black face mask,” Wheeler recounted to WSOC-TV.That individual, identified as 18-year-old Richard Stayberg, was at the register, where the clerk was retrieving money to hand over to him, officers told WBTV. So Wheeler headed back inside the store. "I wasn't fearful, I wasn't scared — I was ready," he told WBTV.“I just walked up to him like I’m going to get behind him in line and buy what I’m going to buy, and then I just clothesline him,” Wheeler told WSOC. “I get him on the ground, and then I turn around and look at [the clerk] and I said, ‘Did I do the right thing?’ And she’s like ‘yes,’ and immediately emotions just dropped.”Police added to WSOC that the suspect pulled a gun from his waistband, and as the pair fought over the weapon, Wheeler was shot twice. Police told WBTV Wheeler was found with wounds to his hand and buttocks.“I knew what I had to do, and I just did it,” Wheeler added to WBTV.Stayberg left the store, but officers soon found him nearby, WBTV reported, adding that he was charged with armed robbery, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.“I didn’t even break a bone in my hand," Wheeler told WSOC of his wound there. "I was shot with a very high-caliber pistol. My hand should be shattered and gone, but it has full function.” You can view a video report about the incident here.Good Samaritan climbs into horrific school bus wreckage, stays with injured driver until help arrives: 'What's amazing is that I was late today. Tell me why?'A Good Samaritan was captured on video climbing into horrific school bus wreckage — the driver slammed into a pole after dropping off all students in the Pittsburgh area on the morning of Oct. 19, 2022 — and staying with the injured driver until rescue crews arrived. You can view a video report about the incident here.Kenny Ferree, the man who rushed to the accident scene to help the driver, posed a question to KDKA-TV with otherworldly implications: "What's amazing is I was running late today. Tell me why?"Ferree told WPXI-TV he was driving down Ardmore Boulevard in Forest Hills with his wife when they heard a loud boom and saw yellow debris flying through the air: “I saw the windshield, the front hood assembly, the front axle, just rolling down the street, this big plume of smoke. It was a school bus.”With that, Ferree pulled into a Taco Bell parking lot and ran to the bus, which was wrapped around a steel post underneath a Forest Hills sign, WPXI noted. “When you looked over, you could not believe that anything or anybody was left,” Ferree added to WPXI. “It disintegrated.”Ferree noted to KDKA that the driver "looked like he was still conscious, just kind of shaken up. I crawled up into the wreckage, the closest I could get to him. His head was bleeding. ... I took my shirt off, and I wrapped my shirt around his head and put his head back, and I held him."He also spoke to the driver for the next several minutes until paramedics arrived, WPXI reported: “I asked him, ‘Are you empty?' And he said, ‘I’m empty.’ He kept saying, ‘I’m empty.’ There were no kids. You could see. [The bus] was split like a banana.”Ferree added to WPXI, "I told him my name. He told me his name. We had a little conversation. He wasn't sure what was going on."Allegheny County police said the driver was trapped in the bus, and first responders had to extricate him from it. Police added that the driver was taken to an area hospital in stable condition, and no students were on the bus at the time of the collision. WXPI said it took crews about 30 minutes to pull the driver from the wreckage.Ex-con drags wounded cop out of line of fire amid lethal shootout: 'I've got you!'John Phillip Lally was driving to work around 10 a.m. Nov. 11, 2023, when he said he encountered what seemed to be a car accident and jumped out of his truck to help anyone who might be injured. Instead, he landed in the middle of a gun battle.Lally, 40, told KRIV-TV he heard "gunshots going off. Then I looked to my left and saw that cop get shot." Police said Officer J. Gibson earlier tried to pull over a suspect in a stolen vehicle, but the suspect drove off, and Gibson gave chase, the station said. The suspect crashed into several cars on Highway 59 before Gibson approached the suspect's vehicle on foot, giving him commands, the station said. The suspect instead fired at Gibson and shot him in the leg, the station said."That's when I grabbed that cop by his vest and dragged him all the way back to my work truck," Lally told the station, which added that Lally stayed with Gibson while other officers applied a tourniquet to his leg. You can view a video report about the incident here; it includes an interview with Lally along with clips showing how he helped the officer."I've been to jail a million times, bro!" Lally told Gibson, according to the video, "And I love cops dearly, bro! You're gonna be all right."Police said the suspect got into another car and tried to get away, but police shot him numerous times, after which he died at a hospital. Investigators said the suspect was involved in a carjacking incident."A truly reformed individual is a person that we can use," Houston Police Dept. Chief Troy Finner said of Lally. "He stepped up."In an interview with "Inside Edition," Lally admitted to having numerous run-ins with law enforcement but said he had turned his life around: "It sucks that people got injured and even the man who caused the whole thing lost his life, but I think a higher power knows what they're doing. If y'all see somebody that you can help, help them. That's the main moral of the story."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

“You graduate from a college, I think you should get automatically as part of your diploma, a green card, to be able to stay in this country.” That’s a quote from a globalist neoliberal, right?Wrong. It’s one of former President Donald Trump’s recent comments on immigration. A far cry from conservatives' desire for a merit-based immigration system focused on high-skilled workers, Trump’s proposal has stirred much controversy, particularly on the right. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) tweeted “No” before deleting the post. And even Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), a libertarian, rebuked the idea, saying, “This ain’t it!”The labor market doesn’t care if a 'super based' Mexican Catholic, a Palestinian Hamas sympathizer, or a Chinese communist is entering the labor pool. Any large shock of foreign labor will impact American wages. In fact, Big Tech lobbying groups openly admit that immigration is needed to decrease wages.For context, green cards grant immigrants permanent residence in the country, unlike the temporary H work visas and F student visas. Noncitizens often use these temporary visas as stepping stones toward green cards and permanent residence in the United States. Many H-1B visa holders attempt to move onto the green card, which requires employer sponsorship.Appearing on "All-In," a business and tech podcast hosted by four Silicon Valley venture capitalists, Trump vowed to hand out green cards to foreign nationals in his second term when urged by one of the hosts to allow tech-industry leaders to have “more ability to import the best and brightest around the world to America.” Not only would such a policy incentivize universities to charge exorbitant tuition fees for international students, but it would also fulfill Big Tech’s dream of cheap labor. “The stapling a green card to a diploma narrative is flawed because it’s attempting to solve a problem that doesn’t exist as there is no shortage of native born STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) workers,” said Kevin Lynn, executive director at the Institute for Sound Public Policy. “Almost three quarters of American STEM graduates do not work in STEM largely because wages have been eroded over the past two decades due to employers tampering with the labor markets by bringing in large numbers of immigrants.”More labor = lower wages; it's not rocket scienceEvery intro to econ textbook teaches that prices increase when supply increases, all other things being equal. So, increasing the supply of tech workers drives the prices of workers (wages) down, lowering input prices for corporations. And even though immigrants eventually increase the demand for tech labor by starting businesses, for example, businesses take time to build. Also, there's no saying demand outpaces supply if many cheap workers are permanently injected into the economy.To Trump’s credit, his team did try to ease the concerns of many “America First” conservatives. However, his team's statement given to the New York Times only mentioned “an aggressive vetting process” that would exclude “all communists, radical Islamists, Hamas supporters, [and] America haters.” The statement goes on to say, “Only after such vetting has taken place, we ought to keep the most skilled graduates who can make significant contributions to America ... who would never undercut American wages.” But what’s to say that an America-loving immigrant won’t undercut wages? The labor market doesn’t care if a “super based” Mexican Catholic, a Palestinian Hamas sympathizer, or a Chinese communist is entering the labor pool. Any large shock of foreign labor will impact American wages. In fact, Big Tech lobbying groups openly admit that immigration is needed to decrease wages. FWD.us, a pro-immigration lobbying organization founded by many Silicon Valley elites, including Mark Zuckerberg and "All-In" podcast host Chamath Palihapitiya, released a report calling for more immigration to lower inflation and “alleviate national labor shortages,” arguing that “when labor is in short supply relative to demand, employers offer higher wages, which are in turn passed on to consumers, leading to rising prices.” The report says, “As immigration decreased before and during the pandemic, [hospitality and construction] jobs remained largely unfilled, leading to extreme labor shortages and rising wages.”In other words, corporations want mass migration to lower wages. If there really is a labor shortage, companies will need to raise wages. That sounds like a win for Americans. But instead, Silicon Valley elites think it's more worthwhile to spend money on lobbying for cheap foreign labor rather than hiring Americans. However, some experts say otherwise. David P. Goldman, deputy editor of Asia Times and Washington fellow at the Claremont Institute’s Center for the American Way of Life, told Blaze Media he applauded President Trump’s proposal, calling it “eminently sensible” and “simple, straightforward, and workable.”“We want qualified immigrants, as opposed to unskilled illegals who compete for jobs with lower-income workers and burden our social services. We need more STEM graduates, especially engineers. Roughly 6% of our undergraduates major in engineering, compared to 33% in Russia and China,” Goldman said. “Foreign students comprise a disproportionately large share of STEM graduates. And our dysfunctional K-12 education system doesn't produce enough college entrants qualified for engineering and hard science.”The victimsRecent STEM graduates cannot afford to compete with an artificially large applicant pool. There is no “labor shortage” that pro-immigration lobbying groups claim. Many friends I met attending the University of Texas at Austin who are majoring in CS or CS-adjacent fields have expressed their uncertainty in securing a tech job. Those who recently graduated remain jobless despite having a degree from the seventh-ranked undergraduate CS program in America, along with multiple internships and projects on their resumes. Dhriti Rajan, an alumna of the University of Texas, graduated last year with a degree in Computer Science. However, she is still job hunting. “It's tough because the market isn't great at the moment so a lot of people just aren't hiring anyone at a level below senior engineers,” said Rajan. “Also, since there's an extremely high number of people applying for many of the jobs, you don't have a reasonable shot at your application even being looked at by big companies unless you're referred by someone else or write to recruiters directly on top of submitting the application.”This phenomenon is evident throughout the country. Even though STEM graduates earn more than their non-STEM counterparts on average, only 28% of STEM-educated workers work in a STEM job. Furthermore, many foreign graduates have an advantage compared to native-born STEM graduates. “Foreign graduates on OPT” — Optional Practical Training, which gives foreign students a three-year work permit if they graduate with a STEM degree — “have a competitive advantage over U.S. citizens when it comes to getting that first job after college,” Lynn said. “Hiring an OPT worker versus a citizen or permanent lawful resident amounts to a 15.3% discount per student because both the employer and foreign graduate are exempt from paying Medicare and Social Security taxes.”President Trump has been the single most influential person pushing toward an America First immigration policy. While it’s good that centrist and libertarian “tech bros” are realizing the folly of open borders, now is not the time to shortchange citizens by seeking a “compromise” on immigration. Ultimately, Trump’s comments may reflect more of a tactic to court donors than a strategy to depress wages further and destabilize society.

On February 2, 2021, during his final broadcast, Rush Limbaugh praised Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R), saying, “Have I mentioned lately how much I admire the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis? This guy has got what we call an iron-enforced spine.” Limbaugh humorously added that DeSantis was “the closest that we’ve ever had to a graduate of the EIB Limbaugh Institute.”In Florida, we see the ultimate fulfillment of everything Rush and his followers have desired since the late 1980s. DeSantis’ recent achievements with Florida’s budget and economy are prime examples. Why can't we have 25 red states run like this, and why isn’t DeSantis the new mandatory minimum standard?In reality, DeSantis is turning his state into a haven for those seeking ordered liberty and prosperity.After spending an additional $500 million of state surplus funds to pay down debt, Gov. DeSantis has now reduced 36% of Florida’s existing debt, while cutting numerous taxes and offering pay raises to teachers. “We now have the lowest per capita state debt of any state in these United States,” DeSantis announced at a press conference last month, after vetoing several pork projects from the legislature and trimming almost $1 billion from the annual budget.DeSantis referred to a Tax Foundation analysis ranking Florida 50th in debt per capita, at just $973 per person. These numbers are from 2022, before he paid off much of this debt, suggesting that the current debt is likely much lower than the next best state. What is so eerie about DeSantis paying off 36% of Florida’s debt is that over the exact same time frame, the federal government has accrued exactly 36% of its entire outstanding debt just since 2019. The Congressional Budget Office just raised its projection for the fiscal year 2024 annual budget deficits from $1.5 trillion to $1.9 trillion. That’s 6.7% of GDP, which is astounding given the high level of revenue the Treasury is taking in and the lack of an official recession. Despite Florida's $17 billion budget surplus for 2024-2025 and numerous tax holidays and toll relief provisions, DeSantis used his line-item veto to cut 450 appropriations worth $854.6 million from the budget initially passed by Republicans in the legislature. Many of these expenditures were from state bureaucracies.Local media has savaged the governor for cutting state arts funding, but prioritizing police, national guard, and hurricane response is more important. Florida's focus on taxes and spending has led to the best state economy in the country, with 21.9% GDP growth since 2019, nearly twice the national rate. DeSantis achieved the lowest debt per capita and the second-lowest tax burden in the country.DeSantis didn't just cut small-ticket woke priorities or the arts; he achieved significant savings on welfare programs. Casey DeSantis spearheaded Hope Florida, which combined state resources with local charities to help 30,000 people move off food stamps or cash welfare, saving the state hundreds of millions. Instead of handing out welfare checks without follow-up, Hope Florida retooled state welfare agencies to work with private charities in each county, steering people toward long-term private solutions.DeSantis has saved money on Medicaid while deterring illegal immigration. He signed SB 1718, requiring Medicaid-accepting hospitals to ask patients about their legal status. Politico reports a 54% drop in Medicaid expenditures for Florida’s Emergency Medical Assistance program serving illegals, proving enforcement and deterrence work.The governor’s policies have also shifted the state's political culture to the right. Republicans now have an edge in voter registration of nearly 1 million, compared to a slight Democrat edge when DeSantis was elected.During his first term, some accused DeSantis of focusing on cultural battles against woke policies. However, his legacy shows a greater focus on key economic and quality-of-life issues. Even school behavior and achievement have improved. According to Brevard Public Schools, scores increased with stricter behavioral standards from the Department of Education.Thanks to the wild success of Florida’s school choice initiatives, public school enrollment in blue areas has plummeted. Private school enrollment has grown by 47,000, and homeschool enrollment has grown by nearly 50,000 since 2019. Over the same time frame, public schools in Broward, Duval, and Miami-Dade counties have enrolled 53,000 fewer students. There are now 49,000 empty classroom seats in Broward County, the state’s liberal bastion, leading to the closure of eight county schools over the next two years.As longtime liberal Florida publisher Peter Schorsch put it, DeSantis is hell-bent on making the state inhospitable for leftists. In reality, he is turning the state into a haven for those seeking ordered liberty and prosperity. Today's leftists are willing to forgo quality of life for their pagan religious beliefs, which are becoming unwelcome in the state.The only question is why Republicans and conservatives who listened to Rush Limbaugh for years won’t take yes for an answer. Aside from rejecting DeSantis in the presidential election, there is no effort to make his stewardship the minimum expectation in every other red state. Isn’t this mix of policy and electoral success exactly what we’ve been pining for our entire lives? Or perhaps, for some on the right, politics is just bread and circuses.

AMD FSR 3.1 has been added to Spider-Man: Remastered and four other PlayStation titles, which in itself seems like quite tame news, but for Steam Deck owners, it's incredibly exciting. Not only does the addition of this feature mean the games run better on higher graphical settings, but it could see the Steam Deck remain relevant for far longer than we imagined. As the best handheld gaming PC, the Steam Deck is often used as the measuring stick for all other devices. The latest firmware update, SteamOS 3.6, brings improved support for AMD FSR 3.1, which has big implications for the Steam Deck's life cycle. Continue reading Steam Deck frame rates just rocketed, thanks to this update from AMD MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Ryzen 7 7800X3D review, Best gaming CPU, Radeon RX 7800 XT review

Command and Conquer Red Alert is one of the best videogame sequels of all time. Westwood follows Tiberian Dawn with a complete aesthetical turn - the embellished, pseudo sci-fi style of the original C&C is replaced and reimagined completely with a borderline dark comedy version of the Cold War. Oh, and it’s got Hell March. The Command and Conquer series, for the most part, is missing in action right now. But the RTS does, in fact, continue to limp on, via an obscure spin-off that’s just gotten a new beta. Starring Yuri, Tanya, and dozens of recognizable buildings and units, Command and Conquer Red Alert is officially back today. Kind of. Continue reading I desperately want a new Command and Conquer game, but not like this MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best RTS games, Best strategy games, Best 4X games

If you’re thinking of buying premium currency in The First Descendant, developer Nexon Games highlights an essential ongoing issue to be aware of. Currently, if you attempt to buy multiple Caliber bundles at the same time, there’s a good chance they won’t all arrive in your account as expected. The team behind the new Steam sci-fi looter shooter is working on the issue, but for now suggests players avoid potential problems altogether. Continue reading The First Descendant dev warns of mass Caliber purchase error MORE FROM PCGAMESN: The First Descendant system requirements, The First Descendant characters, The First Descendant crossplay

While the result of the Court’s decision may be to preserve Trump’s freedom from jail, its greater consequence is to protect the liberty of us all.

Indie critics hype a Joan Crawford ‘woman’s picture’ as the greatest western. What a surprise.