This piece is part of MI x DW, a collaboration that brings Daily Wire readers exclusive commentary and research from the Manhattan Institute’s world-class team of scholars. In this piece, Manhattan Institute Fellow Carolyn Gorman urges conservative education reformers to tackle school-based mental health programs. As Gorman explains, these initiatives have done little to improve students’ mental health, but have contributed to falling outcomes — and cost taxpayers a pretty penny. — Tim Rice *** American public education is at a crossroads. Conservative education reformers have made real gains in recent years, on school choice — now universal in 18 states — parental rights, ideology and bureaucracy. As a result, we’re barreling towards what the American Enterprise Institute’s Robert Pondiscio predicts will be an “unprecedented crack-up” of public education. If the old education model is to enter its last days — if, as Pondiscio says, “we’ve hit and passed ‘peak public school’” — conservative reformers need to set their sights on their next goal. And that goal should be fighting school-based mental health treatment — another woke, wasteful, ineffective idea that’s reduced accountability in schools. These programs date back to the early 20th century, when progressive reformers urged schools to promote mental health, train teachers to recognize signs of distress, and locate health clinics in schools. If schools could identify problems early and deliver treatment widely, reformers promised, mental illnesses could be prevented; academic and behavioral problems might improve, too.  In the ensuing century, periodic proclamations of looming mental health crises, tragedies like school shootings, and expensive, bipartisan spending efforts have caused school mental health programs to explode. Today, nearly all public schools — 97 percent — offer some form of mental health services, like counseling and talk therapy, universal screening, wellness programming, referrals, or telehealth. The number of school counselors and school psychologists is more than four times the number of clinical psychologists and psychiatrists in a given community. Over $130 billion in federal and state funding has gone to school mental health in the past decade or so alone. Medicaid pays $4 to 6 billion annually for school districts to provide physical, mental, and behavioral health services, and states can pay higher Medicaid rates for services in schools than in community healthcare settings. None of this has produced results. Decades of evaluations show school-based mental health awareness training, mental health screening, universal and targeted prevention programs, and even school-based health centers have not improved outcomes relative to the absence of these services. Click here for more Manhattan Institute content. Aggregate youth mental health outcomes have declined as school-based mental health services have expanded. Between 2016 and 2023, the prevalence of adolescent-diagnosed mental or behavioral health conditions increased by 35%. In 2016, 4.1% of youth reportedly had ADD or ADHD and received treatment for it. That rate has grown nearly three times as high. At least some of this has been documented as overdiagnosis driven by schools. The youngest students in a given grade are disproportionately flagged by teachers and school staff as potentially having ADHD, then get diagnosed and medicated. But school-based mental health has not simply had a poor return on investment. It also seriously undermines accountability for all parties. By confusing roles and responsibilities across the education and mental health systems, these programs give everyone involved — parents and teachers, students and school administrators — an excuse to point the finger elsewhere when grades, behavior, or student safety falls short of goals.   Schools are not meant to provide mental health services. They’re meant to educate kids. Some die-hard proponents will debate that, suggesting schools are well-positioned to address mental health because it’s where kids spend most of their time, but that’s a weak argument: adults spend most of their time at work, but no one expects offices to offer psychotherapy or prescription refills. Just as workplaces are meant for working, class time is meant for learning. Yet students are routinely pulled from instruction for counseling or “emotional support.” When you consider that many school therapists think they can boost students’ mental health by talking about racism and colonialist oppression, it’s no wonder these efforts are failing while reading and math scores plummet. The best way for schools to help students’ mental health is to simply be schools and be safe. Education has protective effects against poor mental health. ​Disorderly classrooms and violent hallways cause distress. Schools should clearly communicate and fairly enforce school discipline policies so that students know what behavior is expected and what happens when expectations aren’t met. Disruptive or violent students then learn consequences, and other students who’d otherwise be harmed know they’re protected. When public schools aren’t doing what works, we know better than ever that there are alternatives to simply doubling down.  *** Carolyn D. Gorman is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute. The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Even as he grew famous for his martial arts prowess and adrenaline-pumping movies, Chuck Norris stayed true to his Christian faith and conservative political values for decades in a deeply liberal Hollywood. Norris, who died Thursday, was the rare Christian conservative in Hollywood. He advocated for Republican politicians, supported gun rights, pushed for the Bible to be brought back into schools, and published a regular column at conservative website WorldNetDaily. A devout Baptist, Norris spoke frequently about his faith, crediting both famed evangelist Billy Graham and his mother for shaping his beliefs. In his 2004 book, “Against All Odds: My Story,” Norris discussed his mom’s influence on his faith. “She loves Jesus with all of her heart and soul and made sure we understood that,” Norris said at the time. “She influenced me spiritually and instilled in me a sense of responsibility that carried over in my later adult life. She always told me ‘God has plans for you,’ and I didn’t know what she meant. I think I do now.” He often talked about how his faith kept him going during difficult times and wrote in his 2004 book about how he turned to God when his wife went into preterm labor. “I had earned millions of dollars over my lifetime,” Norris wrote. “I’d been a friend to several presidents, yet all the money in my bank account couldn’t help me now. … There was only one person to whom I could turn.” As a public figure, Norris advocated for the Bible to be taught in public schools, working with the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools to lobby for biblical education. Aside from his faith, Norris became known for his patriotism, advocacy for veterans, and conservative political beliefs. He took multiple trips overseas to visit with American service members, including to troops deployed in Southwest Asia and Iraq. Norris opposed gun control, speaking at the National Rifle Association’s national meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2010. He worked on a publicity campaign to get supporters of the Second Amendment registered to vote. Active in Republican politics, Norris endorsed Mike Huckabee during the Republican primary for the 2008 presidential race. Credit: Photo by Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images. “My plan to secure the border? Two words: ‘Chuck Norris,’” Huckabee said in one ad from 2007. “My plan to secure the border? Two words: ‘Chuck Norris'” – Mike Huckabee, 2007 pic.twitter.com/aS2DrExPZR — Jacob Rubashkin (@JacobRubashkin) March 20, 2026 Huckabee would go on to win the Iowa caucus, fueled in part by Evangelical Christian voters like Norris. In 2012, Norris would endorse Newt Gingrich’s run for office before later supporting Mitt Romney’s bid against President Barack Obama. While his preferred candidates didn’t win in 2008 or 2012, Norris wrote about getting to meet two of his favorite presidents, Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump, both of whom he said were “not supposed to win.” Norris said that Nancy Reagan’s assistant called his office and invited him to a celebrity tennis game at the White House. He said he accepted before remembering he had never played tennis before. “When I hung up the phone, it dawned on me that I had never played tennis in my life! So, I hired a tennis teacher to give me 10 days of intensive lessons before I had to fly to Washington, D.C.,” Norris said. “It was a lot of fun playing in the White House tennis event. I had a great time. I didn’t play so great, but at least I didn’t embarrass myself.” Norris said that he first met Trump back in 1974 at the World Martial Arts championships. At the time, Norris was retiring and moving on to pursue acting. He said that Trump “looked at me square in the eyes and said, ‘I have a feeling you are going to do well as an actor.’ Then, he simply turned around and walked off.” The two later bumped into each other again at another wrestling event. Donald Trump meets Chuck Norris at Wrestlemania VII in Los Angeles, California, March 1991. 35 years ago this week. Rest in peace, Chuck.

This article is part of Upstream, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you. *** “This is called physical abuse,” Dakota Mortensen says in leaked cellphone footage as his then-girlfriend, “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star Taylor Frankie Paul, can be seen swinging her fists at his head, pulling his hair, and squeezing her arms around his neck. Appearing to be half Mortensen’s size and barely able to land a punch, Paul almost reads like a harmless hot girl throwing a tantrum.  That is, until she manages to lob a metal bar stool across the room at Mortensen and it reportedly strikes her 5-year-old daughter, Indy. Screaming “Mommy!” Indy breaks into tears as the camera goes black and the sound keeps rolling. “Your daughter just got hit in the head with a metal chair … Help your daughter, Taylor,” Mortensen says, asking Indy if she’s okay. “Get away from my daughter,” Paul screams at the top of her lungs. When Mortensen tries to calm her down, she yells, “Shut the f*ck up!” The doorbell rings, and law enforcement enters the home.  It’s horrifying to watch. But it also illustrates why domestic abuse perpetrated by women toward men goes largely underreported: If little Indy hadn’t been caught in the crossfire, would Mortensen have called the cops on behalf of his own safety? And would anyone have believed he, a man, was a victim of assault?  Considering his abuser, barely five-foot-six mom of three, Taylor Frankie Paul, who rose to fame by launching the girl power MomTok trend, drumming up ratings as one of Hulu’s fan-favorite “Mormon Wives,” and raking in profitable collabs with high-profile family-friendly brands, the answer is probably not.  Somehow, with all the baggage, Paul passed ABC’s background check to become “The Bachelorette” for season 22 before it was canned. Guys, are we really that short on eligible ladies who haven’t previously pled guilty to aggravated assault? Imagine if ABC threw 30 eligible ladies into a home with a known domestic abuser, unlimited booze, and a Fantasy Suite for the next season of “The Bachelor.”   The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Justice Department in 2010 funded a survey suggesting that men, not women, were most often the victims of “intimate partner physical violence” over the course of a year. It disrupted earlier stats from the National Violence Against Women Survey, which showed roughly 22% women reporting themselves as victims of domestic abuse and 7% of men claiming the same. Current statistics regularly point to women being the majority of reported victims of domestic violence. So was that one study just a fluke? Are men really the violent monsters they’re made out to be? It turns out, men are much less likely to speak up.  The lines between self-defense and abuse often become blurry when it comes to obviously larger and stronger men fending off female abusers. And many times, religion can serve as a barrier to men ultimately walking away from an emotionally abusive scenario at home. As in reports from victimized women, a commitment to a family’s children can take priority over self-preservation.  For all the talk about advocating for victims, men are more likely to assume they won’t be believed. Even medical and mental health professionals have been known to treat men with more skepticism than women when handling instances of abuse. “Seeking formal help frequently led to secondary victimization in the form of statements or behavior that could cause them further distress,” trial attorney Wendy L. Patrick noted of a study on men who self-reported. “In fact, seeking formal help itself had a negative impact on well-being, aggravating their victimization.” On top of that, these men may carry residual shame from asking for help for the rest of their lives. With instances of domestic violence on the rise in the U.S., it’s hard to ignore a systemic breakdown we all play some part in trying to heal.  Taylor Frankie Paul’s kitchen stool attack led to her arrest back in 2023. Not previously available to the public, the footage leaked this week amid allegations of yet another domestic violence incident between the reality star and her ex, Dakota Mortensen, with whom she now shares a son. “As anyone who has seen the video will understand, this is a deeply upsetting situation,” Mortensen said. He responded to claims from Paul that she was the victim in their relationship: “I am, unfortunately, used to these baseless claims about me and our relationship, which I categorically deny. I am focusing on our son and his safety, and hope that Taylor will do the same.” Filming for “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” season five came to a halt, and Paul’s season of “The Bachelorette” was canceled along with her Cinnabon collab. But you can still catch Paul bopping around TikTok to Lady Gaga lyrics, acting like she’s “kinda busy” as her off-camera life remains an open investigation. The 22 men who will no longer appear on “The Bachelorette” dodged a bullet — and possibly a chair. *** The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

WASHINGTON — Over a month into the Democrat-led Department of Homeland Security shutdown, the largest independent pilots union in the United States is calling for Congress to end the shutdown and pay Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers. “Congress must act immediately to end the Department of Homeland Security shutdown and ensure TSA officers are paid,” Allied Pilots Association President First Officer Nick Silva said in a statement first obtained by The Daily Wire. “These dedicated professionals show up every day to protect the traveling public and maintain the safety of our National Airspace System.” “Forcing them to work without pay is unsustainable and puts both efficiency and security at risk,” he added. “Supporting TSA is essential to keeping our aviation system safe, reliable, and moving.” That statement comes after Airlines for America President and CEO Chris Sununu similarly called for an end to the shutdown on March 9, saying: “More than 2.7 million people cleared through TSA yesterday, but too many had to wait in extraordinarily long—and painfully slow—lines at checkpoints. It’s unacceptable to have wait times of 2 or 3 hours. And it’s unacceptable that TSA officers will have $0 in their paychecks this week.” “It’s day 24 of this shutdown, and it is past time for Congress to get to the table and reach an agreement that reopens DHS,” he added. “Congress, do your job!” Since the shutdown began, over thirty days ago, more than 300 TSA officers have quit their jobs, CBS News reports. TSA officers have begun calling out at increasing rates, causing long security lines across the nation. Half the officers at Hobby Airport in Houston, Texas, have called out, according to CBS. Airline passengers wait in long lines to get through the TSA security screening at William P. Hobby Airport in Houston, Sunday, March 8, 2026.  (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images) TSA statistics covered by the publication show that the nationwide callout rate rose to an average of 6% during this DHS shutdown, though that rate climbed to 9% on February 23 and 8% on March 6. That compares to the 2% callout rate before the shutdown began. As the shutdown continues, officers are reporting that they are struggling to cover basic expenses, including rent and childcare, according to the Department of Homeland Security. One TSA officer faces eviction after missing his first full paycheck, and another, who is a cancer patient, is unable to keep up with insurance copays. Some TSA officers are even sleeping in their cars at the airport, The Daily Wire has learned, in order to save on gas money and other costs while they continue to work without pay. The surge in unscheduled absences is due in part to TSA officers taking second jobs to make ends meet, DHS shared. Many workers had not yet recovered from the last two shutdowns, since this is the third shutdown they have faced during the past 15 months. According to the White House, over 100,000 DHS workers missed their full paychecks last week due to the shutdown, amounting to about $1 billion in unpaid wages each month. The White House says the shutdown has caused at least $2.5 billion in losses thus far. At the same time, The Daily Wire reported on Monday, DHS staff who investigate terrorism are not being paid due to the ongoing, partial government shutdown – 80% of the Office of Intelligence & Analysis is working without pay while they defend the United States on the home front, a Homeland Security spokesman told The Daily Wire. That department is the primary office tracking terrorism and threats, and specializes in sharing intelligence and analysis to “identify and mitigate threats to the homeland.” A DHS spokesman told The Daily Wire that “Democrats are shamelessly playing politics with national security.” “DHS shares timely and actionable intelligence from the intelligence community to state and local governments to ensure they are aware of any emerging threats to keep their communities safe,” the spokesman explained. “With major events such as America 250 and the World Cup coming up, along with the numerous threats our nation must be prepared for, DHS needs to be fully funded as soon as possible to ensure the safety and security of the homeland.”

James Talarico, the Democratic Senate nominee in Texas, claimed Thursday that the “undocumented students” he previously taught were the “most patriotic.” Talarico, who previously taught sixth-grade language arts at Rhodes Middle School in San Antonio, made the remarks during a live taping of The Bulwark podcast in Dallas with host Tim Miller, where he also criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as a “secret police” force. “I taught a lot of undocumented students, and those students tended to be my most patriotic students,” Talarico said. “They understood something about this country that a lot of us who are native born forget. That this is supposed to be the land of opportunity, that this is supposed to be the place where dreams come true, and they believed that in their bones. And they believed in this country even when this country didn’t believe in them,” he added. James Talarico claims his illegal immigrant students were more patriotic than American-born ones: “I taught a lot of undocumented students. Those students tended to be my most patriotic students.” This is apparently the message he’s going with to Texas parents. pic.twitter.com/jBWwv7P5F1 — Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) March 20, 2026 Talarico has made similar comments glorifying illegal immigration in the past. In a resurfaced clip from a January Democratic primary debate, he said the U.S. southern border should function like a “front porch.” “Our southern border should be like our front porch; there should be a giant welcome mat out front and a lock on the door,” Talarico said. Talarico’s campaign website also states: “Most of us agree on what should happen. Our border should be like a front porch — it should have a welcome mat out front and a lock on the door.” It adds: “We can both welcome the stranger — refugees, asylum seekers, and folks who want to contribute to our economy and pursue the American dream — and we can keep people out who mean to do us harm.” In another past clip, Talarico said individuals who commit violent crimes “should be deported immediately,” while arguing that law enforcement resources should not be focused on “hard-working members of our community.”