Day: April 16, 2026
This could be why your weight-loss medication isn’t delivering results
A study in Nature found a specific genetic variant that may boost the effectiveness of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs like semaglutide and tirzepatide.
First-ever moratorium on AI data centers passes Maine legislature
Maine is poised to become the first state to halt large data center projects, as the moratorium bill now heads to Gov. Janet Mills for her signature.
Dems block bid to defund Cesar Chavez monument despite child sexual abuse allegations
A GOP-led effort to defund and abolish the Cesar Chavez National Monument was blocked by Senate Democrats, despite bombshell abuse allegations against him.
Poll finds sharp rise in young men calling religion ‘very important’
Young American men are increasingly turning to religion, with a new Gallup poll showing a dramatic rise in religiosity among men under 30 since 2023.
Russian missiles and drones bombard Ukraine in hourslong attack, killing at least 16
Russia launched nearly 700 drones and dozens of missiles at Ukraine, killing at least 16 people and injuring over 80 in its biggest attack in weeks.
Trump pushed Iran to the brink — but did we win anything that lasts?
Islamabad talks ended without a deal after 21 hours. Robert Maginnis examines why Iran’s survival means the strategic competition is far from over.
Trump can secure a big win for air travel
The Trump administration has reworked the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program with an eye toward greater efficiency and less top-down regulation. As a result, states are projected to come in roughly $21 billion under budget on broadband deployment. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is actively soliciting ideas for how those funds should be used.
If the administration wants an easy political win and a solution to a real problem, the funds should be used to radically modernize our air traffic control systems.
Roughly 80% of FAA infrastructure is considered obsolete or unsustainable.
Policymakers should seize the moment and invest in something the country desperately needs — something that would deliver real, tangible benefits to the flying public and the broader economy.
The FAA’s own administrator, Bryan Bedford, has been blunt: Roughly 80% of FAA infrastructure is considered obsolete or unsustainable. Controllers are still using paper flight strips and radar systems that date to the Vietnam War era.
The $5 billion Congress appropriates annually for ATC operations sounds substantial until you learn that 85% to 90% of it goes to sustaining legacy systems — patching roofs, repairing elevators, and keeping aging equipment limping along.
Congress did take a meaningful step last year, allocating $12.5 billion in the reconciliation bill toward ATC modernization. Fiber optics are beginning to replace copper wire. Radar upgrades are being compressed from a 20-year timeline into a few years.
The early results are encouraging. But by official FAA estimates, an additional $19 billion is needed to fully complete the job — to build a genuinely modern, integrated national airspace system rather than an expensive patch on a broken one.
This is where BEAD’s leftover $21 billion could make a real impact.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee and has long championed both infrastructure investment and Texas’ status as one of the nation’s busiest aviation hubs, is well positioned to recognize the strategic alignment here.
Texas is home to two of the nation’s largest airports — Dallas Fort Worth and Houston Bush Intercontinental — and its economy runs on the efficient movement of people and commerce. ATC modernization would be a huge benefit for Texans.
The legal question of whether this use fits within the BEAD statute’s framework is one that the NTIA will need to address carefully. The statute is written broadly enough to accommodate creative interpretation, and the administration has already demonstrated it is willing to read BEAD’s parameters with fresh eyes.
A next-generation ATC system — replacing copper with fiber, analog with digital, fragmented local computers with integrated national architecture — looks a great deal like the kind of advanced communications infrastructure BEAD was designed to fund.
RELATED: Trump is keeping his word on health care costs
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Ironically, it’s easier to make the case that the federal government should be ensuring airline safety than subsidizing broadband deployment.
The BEAD funding was part of the massive infrastructure legislation, and our airline infrastructure is in dire need of investment. And unlike many government spending programs, ATC modernization has a defined scope and measurable milestones. This is not a slush fund — it’s a known project with a known price tag.
The alternative uses being floated for BEAD’s unused funds range from the reasonable to the fanciful: broadband adoption programs, rural mobile coverage, returning funds to the Treasury, and various state-level wish lists.
Some of those ideas have merit. But none of them represent the kind of once-in-a-generation infrastructure opportunity that a modern ATC system would deliver — one that improves safety for millions of air travelers daily, reduces delays that cost the economy billions annually, and positions the United States to lead in the airspace of the future.
The Trump administration’s 2027 budget request is going to include millions of dollars in additional ATC funding, but the BEAD funds are already there, waiting to be invested. That’s the beauty of budget reform — eliminating waste and finding savings can free up funds for other critical public needs.
Trump can secure a big win for air travel
The Trump administration has reworked the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program with an eye toward greater efficiency and less top-down regulation. As a result, states are projected to come in roughly $21 billion under budget on broadband deployment. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is actively soliciting ideas for how those funds should be used.
If the administration wants an easy political win and a solution to a real problem, the funds should be used to radically modernize our air traffic control systems.
Roughly 80% of FAA infrastructure is considered obsolete or unsustainable.
Policymakers should seize the moment and invest in something the country desperately needs — something that would deliver real, tangible benefits to the flying public and the broader economy.
The FAA’s own administrator, Bryan Bedford, has been blunt: Roughly 80% of FAA infrastructure is considered obsolete or unsustainable. Controllers are still using paper flight strips and radar systems that date to the Vietnam War era.
The $5 billion Congress appropriates annually for ATC operations sounds substantial until you learn that 85% to 90% of it goes to sustaining legacy systems — patching roofs, repairing elevators, and keeping aging equipment limping along.
Congress did take a meaningful step last year, allocating $12.5 billion in the reconciliation bill toward ATC modernization. Fiber optics are beginning to replace copper wire. Radar upgrades are being compressed from a 20-year timeline into a few years.
The early results are encouraging. But by official FAA estimates, an additional $19 billion is needed to fully complete the job — to build a genuinely modern, integrated national airspace system rather than an expensive patch on a broken one.
This is where BEAD’s leftover $21 billion could make a real impact.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee and has long championed both infrastructure investment and Texas’ status as one of the nation’s busiest aviation hubs, is well positioned to recognize the strategic alignment here.
Texas is home to two of the nation’s largest airports — Dallas Fort Worth and Houston Bush Intercontinental — and its economy runs on the efficient movement of people and commerce. ATC modernization would be a huge benefit for Texans.
The legal question of whether this use fits within the BEAD statute’s framework is one that the NTIA will need to address carefully. The statute is written broadly enough to accommodate creative interpretation, and the administration has already demonstrated it is willing to read BEAD’s parameters with fresh eyes.
A next-generation ATC system — replacing copper with fiber, analog with digital, fragmented local computers with integrated national architecture — looks a great deal like the kind of advanced communications infrastructure BEAD was designed to fund.
RELATED: Trump is keeping his word on health care costs
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Ironically, it’s easier to make the case that the federal government should be ensuring airline safety than subsidizing broadband deployment.
The BEAD funding was part of the massive infrastructure legislation, and our airline infrastructure is in dire need of investment. And unlike many government spending programs, ATC modernization has a defined scope and measurable milestones. This is not a slush fund — it’s a known project with a known price tag.
The alternative uses being floated for BEAD’s unused funds range from the reasonable to the fanciful: broadband adoption programs, rural mobile coverage, returning funds to the Treasury, and various state-level wish lists.
Some of those ideas have merit. But none of them represent the kind of once-in-a-generation infrastructure opportunity that a modern ATC system would deliver — one that improves safety for millions of air travelers daily, reduces delays that cost the economy billions annually, and positions the United States to lead in the airspace of the future.
The Trump administration’s 2027 budget request is going to include millions of dollars in additional ATC funding, but the BEAD funds are already there, waiting to be invested. That’s the beauty of budget reform — eliminating waste and finding savings can free up funds for other critical public needs.
California taxpayers are funding gender transition services for homeless illegal aliens: Report
An investigative report found that California taxpayers are footing the bill for transition services to be provided for homeless transgender-identifying illegal aliens.
The report from Christopher Rufo at the City Journal included firsthand accounts from Honduran immigrants at St. Vincent De Paul’s MSC-South facility in San Francisco and Mexican immigrants at the Embarcadero SAFE Navigation Center.
‘You have to have a process, the hormones … go through therapy. Es un proceso.’
Rufo said the City Journal was tipped off by a whistleblower in March.
A transgender-identifying person called Jacqueline from Mexico claimed to be a lawful U.S. resident but added that illegal aliens were being given the procedures.
“Even though you’re undocumented, you can get them,” Jacqueline said.
Rufo reported that the man received breast implants from the state Medi-Cal program as well as transgender hormone treatments.
“You have to have a process, the hormones … go through therapy. Es un proceso,” Jacqueline added.
He added that he’s waiting for “bottom surgery.”
At a third homeless government-funded shelter called the Taimon Booton Navigation Center, a group of transgender-identifying illegal aliens told Rufo that they were seeking transgender medical treatment.
An employee at the MSC-South facility told the City Journal that there were transgender-identifying people from Honduras at the center. Rufo spoke to two of them who confirmed they received shelter and food from the government.
Officials at the centers did not comment on the report.
“Apparently, word has traveled down the continent to the transgender communities in Mexico, Honduras, and elsewhere: If you make it all the way to California, the government will pay for your shelter, hormones, and surgeries — no questions asked,” Rufo wrote.
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California taxpayers are funding gender transition services for homeless illegal aliens: Report
An investigative report found that California taxpayers are footing the bill for transition services to be provided for homeless transgender-identifying illegal aliens.
The report from Christopher Rufo at the City Journal included firsthand accounts from Honduran immigrants at St. Vincent De Paul’s MSC-South facility in San Francisco and Mexican immigrants at the Embarcadero SAFE Navigation Center.
‘You have to have a process, the hormones … go through therapy. Es un proceso.’
Rufo said the City Journal was tipped off by a whistleblower in March.
A transgender-identifying person called Jacqueline from Mexico claimed to be a lawful U.S. resident but added that illegal aliens were being given the procedures.
“Even though you’re undocumented, you can get them,” Jacqueline said.
Rufo reported that the man received breast implants from the state Medi-Cal program as well as transgender hormone treatments.
“You have to have a process, the hormones … go through therapy. Es un proceso,” Jacqueline added.
He added that he’s waiting for “bottom surgery.”
At a third homeless government-funded shelter called the Taimon Booton Navigation Center, a group of transgender-identifying illegal aliens told Rufo that they were seeking transgender medical treatment.
An employee at the MSC-South facility told the City Journal that there were transgender-identifying people from Honduras at the center. Rufo spoke to two of them who confirmed they received shelter and food from the government.
Officials at the centers did not comment on the report.
“Apparently, word has traveled down the continent to the transgender communities in Mexico, Honduras, and elsewhere: If you make it all the way to California, the government will pay for your shelter, hormones, and surgeries — no questions asked,” Rufo wrote.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
