You can’t choose your neighbors, but if you could, Dietrich Stogner might be at the top of your list. When he noticed the neighborhood kids running around the woods behind his home, he could have become a “Karen.” There was no insane ranting and no demands to quit making noise and disrupting his day. He realized the kids were playing “Treasure Hunt,” so he did something that made him an instant hero. @dietrichstogner #CapCut This is actually the third item I’ve hidden for them. When they found the black skull they squealed for a half hour. #booktok #3dprinting #treasurehunt #fyp ♬ Sunny Morning – Marc Corominas Pujadó Dietrich Stogner is an author and a father, and those qualifications combine to give him an incredible imagination. He is also the proud owner of a 3-D printer. Using his imagination and his printer, he has been crafting “artifacts” for the kids to find on their treasure hunts. This is the third object he has planted. He doesn’t appear to have recorded the first two, but we hope he records future placements. Having a dog makes it easy to place the objects in semi-hidden locations in the woods. Dietrich puts the dog on a leash and walks it through the children’s play area. When he finds a good spot, he places the object slightly off the path. His placement makes it challenging to find the item, but not impossible. One day, he might be able to record the reaction as the kids find a hidden object (we are not suggesting he stalk the kids… well, maybe we are). Image from Instagram. If you would like to stalk follow Dietrich, he can be found on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. You can check out his books on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. In addition to entertaining the kids, he produces content to help independent authors with writing tutorials, editing tips, and more. We want more treasure hunts! Please share. You can find the source of this story’s featured image here. The post Neighbor Gets Perfect Idea When Local Kids Start Doing “Treasure Hunts” appeared first on InspireMore.

When visiting a place like Gatlinburg, Tennessee, there is always a chance that you’ll spot a bear. That said, not everyone has a close encounter quite like the one a woman named Stephanie did! This shocking moment took place while she was on a coaster that winds its way through the beautiful mountains of Gatlinburg. Unlike most rides, this one is not made to go incredibly fast. Instead, it’s made so that riders can enjoy the breathtaking scenery that can be found all around. As Stephanie did just that, two unexpected friends decided to join her… it was two black bears! Needless to say, she simply had to capture this moment on camera. Check it out below! @stephanieee_.27 That moment you have a close encounter with BEARS! PS..I had no control of how slow it was going. I was not able to speed it up! #gatlinburg #bears #anakeesta #2025 #fypシ ♬ original sound – Stephanieee “Nature’s version of sushi on a conveyor belt,” someone in the comments jokes. Others add, “Aren’t you supposed to scream ‘hey bear’ or something?!?” and “I would have probably died for attempting to pet the cute babies!!” Curious Black Bears in the Smoky Mountains Startle Woman Riding a Slow Coaster Unable to control how fast the ride went, it’s safe to say that Stephanie was panicking quite a bit, despite how calm she may seem in the video. That first clip isn’t even the scariest part. In the full video below, we see the moment these curious bears first approach. @stephanieee_.27 Original video #fyp #anakeesta #gatlingburgtennessee #tennessee #bear #coaster #blackbear #cabin #nature ♬ original sound – Stephanieee It’s safe to say that just about anyone would be scared in Stephanie’s situation. She did luck out in one way, however: These were black bears rather than brown bears. The latter tends to be bigger and much more likely to get defensive. That said, they are still bears. So, as cute as they may, you never want to intentionally get close to them. And if you do find yourself in that kind of situation, make sure to remain calm and back away slowly. You can find even more helpful tips here. You can find the source of this story’s featured image here! The post Rider Has Terrifyingly Close Encounter With Bears On Mountain Coaster In Gatlinburg appeared first on InspireMore.

Wander Franco has received a prison sentence of two years

'Not only do I have zero remorse, I plan on fulfilling what I started'

Episode 20! The Inaugural RR Summer Episode! A whole lotta nostalgia packed into one summertime themed episode. Listen to the guys battle as they play a few rounds of RR Jeopardy for the bragging rights CONTINUE READING... The post The Retro Resurgence Podcast – Episode 20 | RR Jeopardy – Summer Edition appeared first on The Retro Network.

It’s 2025—and we now know, all too well, the problems that Big Tech brings. We know that the rise of smartphones and apps has been correlated with a rise in mental illness among young Americans. We know that tech giants were willing to collude with the Biden White House and censor critical debates over COVID-19. We know that tech behemoths targeted conservatives, whether it was Amazon banning conservative scholar Ryan T. Anderson’s brave book on transgenderism, “When Harry Became Sally,” or Twitter banning accounts for “misgendering.” So why on earth would a GOP-controlled Congress give the tech companies more power? Tucked into the “big, beautiful bill,” as President Donald Trump has dubbed it, is a provision that would require any state that accepted certain federal government funds related to artificial intelligence from enforcing new or old laws targeting AI companies. Potentially, depending on how certain language in the bill is interpreted by judges, it could apply to any tech company that has technology relying on algorithms—meaning, social media companies such as TikTok, Meta (parent of Facebook and Instagram), and X could be affected as well. This provision would effectively be “a complete 10-year shield for Big Tech to do whatever it wants,” warns Wes Hodges, acting director of the Center for Technology and the Human Person at The Heritage Foundation. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who says she will not vote again for the reconciliation bill if that provision remains in it, posted on the social platform X earlier this month, “We have no idea what AI will be capable of in the next 10 years, and giving it free rein and tying states‘ hands is potentially dangerous.” The Georgia Republican isn’t the only conservative lawmaker who has concerns. Republican Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee reportedly sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune asking him to remove the AI provision from the bill. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders wrote in an opinion column in The Washington Post Thursday that ”[i]f Congress’s glacial movement to protect kids from the harms of social media is any indication, the body would be paralyzed by industry lobbying and fail to act.” “And as that debate went on, states like Arkansas would be unable to ban AI child pornography for a full decade. That’s unacceptable,” the Arkansas Republican added. There’s also bipartisan concern. Forty state attorneys general wrote a letter in May expressing their opposition to the provision. Proponents of the AI regulation ban, including conservative stalwart Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, rightly point out it’s critical for national security that AI companies not be unduly hampered by regulation. As China moves rapidly ahead to improve its AI, the U.S. must stay on the cutting edge. There’s already been one concerning bill that might have significantly affected AI innovation. Last year, California lawmakers passed a bill that California Chamber of Commerce CEO Jennifer Barrera said “would have stifled AI innovation, putting California’s place as the global hub of innovation at tremendous risk.” The bill was ultimately vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, but no doubt it won’t be the last attempt by lawmakers to place onerous regulations on AI companies. But it can both be true that the U.S. needs to make sure there aren’t too many regulations on AI and that a ban on AI regulation for 10 years is too broad. We just cannot predict right now all the potential societal harms AI could bring. “If you look at how AI is being deployed today, the No. 1 use is in companionship and therapy,” says Hodges, citing an April Harvard Business Review article looking at generative AI. “We actually have a duty as a nation to make sure that Big Tech is not preying on children,” he adds. “And if there are not appropriate laws put into place to prevent that, most certainly they will, because they have done so already with social media.” It’s time to learn from the past—and not give Big Tech the green light to run rampant over our cultural values and our children. The post Is Congress About to Hand Over More Power to Big Tech? appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Whoever rules the waves rules the world. This argument, made famous by American naval theorist Alfred Thayer Mahan, rings just as true today as it did over a century ago. But today, the contest for maritime dominance is no longer just about destroyers and battleships—it’s about data, autonomy, and dominance beneath the surface.  In the Indo-Pacific, the race for undersea superiority is already well underway.   Chinese leader Xi Jinping has realized this and, in turn, has developed Chinese naval 5C-ISR capabilities—the integrated systems of command, control, communications, computers, cyber, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance that determine the effectiveness of a military.   One of the best avenues for developing American and allied capabilities in this domain is through AUKUS, a trilateral security arrangement between the U.S., Australia, and the U.K. Announced in September 2021, this alliance seeks to rapidly expand their combined capabilities through coordination on programs such as building nuclear submarines or advanced quantum computing.   Two central pillars form the nucleus of this landmark treaty.  Pillar I revolves around the purchase of American nuclear-powered attack submarines by Australia.  Pillar II seeks to improve interoperability around the key areas that define the warfare of the future—a function that’s far less discussed, but which could significantly expand our joint military capabilities.  Already, cooperation in eight working groups has yielded fruitful results, making huge gains in joint AI systems such as the Resilient and Autonomous Artificial Intelligence Technology and in the Hypersonic Flight Test and Experimentation program.  One of these working groups focuses on the development of undersea capabilities—a functionality that will prove essential in sustaining undersea superiority, particularly as China rapidly advances in the same domain.  Recognizing that its ambitions toward Taiwan can only be achieved by naval power, Beijing is poised to invest $1.4 trillion into its navy through 2028. It has also taken steps to expand its total naval personnel to almost 384,000, larger than the U.S. total of around 336,978.   Alongside these developments, China is rapidly developing its own undersea capabilities.  It’s already in the process of forming what Beijing calls an “Underwater Great Wall” in the South China Sea, fielding drone-based anti-submarine quantum sensors, seabed-based warfare sensors, and submarine-based air-detecting radars, all while developing extra-large underwater drones faster than the U.S. can develop and implement comparable technologies.  These technologies present a significant threat to U.S. warfighting capabilities in the Indo-Pacific, and they could enable China to attack U.S. naval vessels, interdict U.S. trade, and disrupt U.S. supply lines.   Developing the capabilities to counter these technologies—and indeed, deploy them ourselves—should be an immediate goal of the American and Australian navies.  While the U.S. has already made some advancements on that front, joint prototyping of autonomous undersea vehicles, testing AI-enabled sonar and navigation systems, and conducting multilateral unmanned maritime exercises is not enough.  Instead, AUKUS must also rely more heavily on the power of the private sector.   While this exists in some form through the AUKUS Maritime Innovation Challenge (a trilateral defense technology competition), AUKUS must also look to new solutions, like an AUKUS Center for Experimentation, where allies could collaborate on defense technology and conduct testing in-theater in Australia.   The U.S. could also build on the progress already made by AUKUS by expanding Pillar II to other countries.   Comparable Pillar II initiatives that advance allied cooperation already exist between several allies and partners—see, for example, the U.S.-Japan joint hypersonics development program, or the intelligence sharing between the U.S. and the Philippines. Encompassing similar efforts within Pillar II is perhaps the most logical solution to securing sea superiority in the Indo-Pacific in the short term.  The U.S. must not allow China to continue to outpace our gains in naval warfare. By building on Pillar II of AUKUS, we can prevent that from happening by instead enabling our military, along with our allies and partners, to accelerate the development of next-generation capabilities.  The post Achieving Sea Superiority Through AUKUS appeared first on The Daily Signal.