from The National Pulse: WHAT HAPPENED: Dr. May Lau surrendered her Texas medical license after being sued by Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) for prescribing dangerous drugs to minors. ?WHO WAS INVOLVED: Dr. May Lau and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. ?WHEN & WHERE: October 24, 2025, in Austin, Texas. ?KEY QUOTE: “Doctors who permanently hurt kids by giving them experimental […]

Toddlers learn many of their early language skills through mimicry, copying what they hear. It should not surprise parents when a toddler calls them by their first name or a familiar nickname. If a husband calls his wife “Babe,” a toddler will think that is her name. How you talk to and around a toddler makes a difference. When parents Brady Stauffer and Addie McCracken were driving with their son, Rustyn, in the car seat, he said, “Hi, Honey.” That is one of the phrases they use when they talk to the toddler. Next, Rustyn said, “Hi, Sweetheart,” and “Hi, Honey.” He was repeating other phrases he had heard often. The interchange between Rustyn and Brady is too precious for words. Both express pure love with their eyes and actions. It is more than adorable. While he might be confused about what his actual name is for a while, he will know he is loved. Rustyn is currently three years old and has a much larger vocabulary now. He celebrated his birthday recently with shark cookies. He also has a new, five-month-old brother, Sawyer. In a few months, he will be the one in the car seat, echoing sweet nicknames. Experts recommend talking to a toddler as if they are mini adults. Use appropriate language, but in complete sentences without the infusion of baby talk. Toddlers learn by copying adults, so they will learn correctly with no need for “retraining.” You can follow this adorable little family on social media. Addie McCracken posts much of the family activity on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Brady Stauffer posts more guy stuff, with added interchanges between him and Rustyn. You can find his content on Instagram and TikTok. Please share. You can find the source of this story’s featured image here. The post “When The Way You Talk To Your Toddler Starts Rubbing Off On Him” appeared first on InspireMore.

Every October, some Christians wrestle with how to handle the season of ghosts and goblins. The evening before All Hallows’ Day — meant to honor the saints — has long since been hijacked by darker themes.As the Babylon Bee recently joked, the parental mood this time of year can swing between cautious curiosity and comic dread. Its headline read: “Mom Can’t Decide Between Allowing Her Kids to Dress Up for Halloween or Having Them Get to Heaven.”Plenty of kids and parents still favor clever over creepy — even if most Halloween events these days lean more toward horror-movie grotesque than good-natured fun. Halloween may have gone off the rails since my childhood, but families can still enjoy the “scary stuff” without getting cozy with the occult.Between church services that mark the feast of All Saints and wholesome fall festivities, there’s room for fun without flirting with the demonic. I’ve seen it firsthand.A nod to more innocent timesWhen I was growing up in Pittsburgh, my siblings and I spent many happy hours at the Sarah Heinz House, a youth club sponsored by the H.J. Heinz Company. Think of it as a hometown version of the YMCA — a place where kids could swim, play, and learn, without a screen in sight. Sadly, the complex was turned into apartment loft space in the early 2000s after more than a century of serving the community.Every Halloween, the club hosted a costume party. Back in the mid-1960s, devil horns and fake blood were still frowned upon, so creativity mattered. One year, I cut arm and neck holes in a 13-gallon black trash bag, slipped it on, and topped it with a bamboo rice hat.I went as a “Chinese Garbage Bag.” Somehow, I won “Most Original Costume.” (No, the prize wasn’t a bottle of Heinz ketchup.) Today, that outfit would probably get me thrown out before I reached the door for “cultural appropriation.”Even so, the spirit of ingenuity survives. Plenty of kids and parents still favor clever over creepy — even if most Halloween events these days lean more toward horror-movie grotesque than good-natured fun.Some families simply skip the whole thing. They hand out candy at the door and call it a night. That’s fine too.New York’s Halloween capitalHere in my current corner of the world — Tarrytown, New York — avoiding Halloween takes real effort. The town goes all in. It’s bigger than Christmas.Washington Irving, America’s first literary celebrity, rests behind the Old Dutch Church in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, made famous by “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” The story comes alive every October with parades, tours, and re-enactments.At the end of the annual parade, the Headless Horseman rides through town, pumpkin in hand, to the crowd’s delight. The celebration owes more to folklore than witchcraft — this isn’t Salem, after all — and it gives locals a fun, spooky way to honor a beloved American story.Not everything hits the right note, though. Some newer attractions in the nearby Rockefeller Preserve have turned too gruesome, especially in 2023, when organizers displayed gore-soaked scenes just weeks after the October 7 terrorist attacks in Israel. Even Halloween should have limits.Scary, but sillyFor families who prefer their frights with a laugh, I recommend a few old-school classics. Start with Disney’s 1949 animated “Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” narrated by Bing Crosby. It’s a perfect mix of charm and chills.My personal favorite — any time of year — is “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken” (1966), starring Don Knotts. It’s delightfully corny and just spooky enough. “Atta boy, Luther!”And if you’re in the mood for something truly obscure but delightful, you can find my own 1992 amateur film “The Chartreuse Goose” in two parts on YouTube. Think of it as my humble homage to Don Knotts, made with more enthusiasm than budget.RELATED: Vampires, werewolves, and the very real evil stalking our souls Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty ImagesBooks for the braveFor those who like their autumn reading with a hint of the supernatural, Jonathan Cahn’s “The Avatar” fits the season. It builds on his earlier book “The Return of the Gods” and offers a sobering look at modern spiritual forces disguised as politics.For little ones wrestling with nighttime fears, my children’s book “Hamster Holmes: Afraid of the Dark?” might be a gentler companion — no ghosts required.The light beyond the lanternsWhatever your family’s approach, October doesn’t have to be a tug-of-war between faith and fun. You can honor the saints, roast a few marshmallows, and maybe laugh at Don Knotts along the way.Then, as Halloween fades and November begins, we move toward the true seasons of joy — Thanksgiving and Christmas — where the light always wins out.Editor’s note: A version of this article appeared originally at American Thinker.

As a car enthusiast who's spent decades wrenching on everything from classic muscle cars to modern vehicles, I love gadgets that deliver real results without voiding warranties or requiring a trip to the shop. That's why the Pedal Commander caught my eye — it's a plug-and-play throttle controller that promises sharper acceleration, better fuel efficiency, and customizable modes, all without touching your engine. I clocked a solid 0-60 improvement of about 0.8 seconds using a simple app timer, though your mileage will vary by vehicle.I installed one on my daily driver, a 2016 Porsche Cayenne Diesel, and tested it over 500 miles of city, highway, and spirited backroad driving. Spoiler: It lives up to the hype for most drivers, but it's not a magic bullet for everyone.Installation: easier than an oil changeRight out of the box, the Pedal Commander feels premium — compact aluminum unit with a wired controller and a mobile app. Hooking it up took me under 10 minutes: Unplug your stock throttle connector under the dash, plug in the device, and mount the controller wherever it's handy (I stuck mine near the steering column on the carpet). No tools, no cutting wires, and crucially, no permanent mods to your car. The included app (iOS/Android) pairs instantly via Bluetooth, letting you tweak settings on the fly. For tech-averse folks, the physical buttons on the controller handle 90% of adjustments or use the phone app — it's simple.Performance punch: bye-bye throttle lagThe star of the show is how it eliminates that infuriating "dead pedal" delay you get in so many modern drive-by-wire cars. Hitting the gas in my Cayenne used to feel like mashing a soggy sponge; now, in Sport+ mode, it's like flipping a switch — immediate torque surge without drama. Merging onto highways? Effortless. Overtaking slowpokes? Pure grin-factor. I clocked a solid 0-60 improvement of about 0.8 seconds using a simple app timer, though your mileage will vary by vehicle.On the flip side, it's not adding actual horsepower — it's just optimizing what your ECU already delivers by remapping throttle sensitivity. It gives a one-to-one pedal response. If you're chasing dyno-proven gains, look elsewhere (like a tune). But for stock cars, this is a low-risk way to wake up your ride.RELATED: This affordable dashcam may just pay for itself Lauren FixFuel economy boost: ECO mode delivers (mostly)Here's where it shines for efficiency chasers: Switch to ECO mode, and it smooths out aggressive throttle inputs, encouraging gentler acceleration that pays off at the pump. Over my test loop (mixed 60/40 city/highway), I saw MPG jump from 32 to 34 — that's a legit fuel savings, especially noticeable in stop-and-go traffic. The app's real-time data graphs helped me dial in habits, like easing off sooner for coasting.That said, gains aren't universal. If you're a lead-foot who ignores the modes, don't expect miracles — especially if you live in Sport mode. Pedal Commander's no substitute for proper driving technique or maintenance.Modes and customization: tailored to your driveWith eight modes (ECO, City, Sport, Sport+, and its plus variants) plus fine-tuned sensitivity sliders, it's incredibly versatile. I toggled between ECO for commutes and Sport+ for fun runs via the app's clean interface — think drag-and-drop sliders and mode presets.The verdict — a must for pedal lag-hatersIf throttle lag bugs you and you want snappier response plus bonus MPG without drilling holes or flashing your ECU, grab a Pedal Commander. It's transformed my Cayenne from appliance to enthusiast tool, proving you can get more pep and efficiency stock. Perfect for hybrids, crossovers, diesel-powered, or any drive-by-wire daily. Just drive responsibly — this thing makes power feel addictive. Highly recommended for anyone tired of waiting for their car to wake up. The company profiles and product recommendations that Align publishes are meant solely to inform and edify our subscribers. Unless explicitly labeled as such, they are neither paid promotions nor endorsements.

Artificial superintelligence is still a hypothetical, but we’re inching closer every day. What happens when we finally create a digital beast that vastly surpasses human intellect in all domains?MIT physics professor Max Tegmark warns that if that day comes, we’ll be in deeper trouble than we can imagine.Despite the evident dangers and widespread hesitation, people like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, a leading figure in the AI boom, are determined to see it happen at any cost.“Sam Alman believes he’s creating God. ... There’s a lot of people in Silicon Valley that want to meet God of their creation,” says Glenn Beck, who’s been warning for years about the dangers of an artificial intelligence takeover.Tegmark is equally disturbed by Altman’s dystopian tech dreams, which go even beyond creating artificial superintelligence. In his 2017 essay "The Merge," Altman describes the fusing of man and machine as a necessary step to keep up with superhuman AI. He even suggests that we will be able to “design our own descendants.”Most people, however, want nothing to do with this transhumanist, cyborg future, but it’s looking like Altman and other tech billionaires are set on pushing humanity in that direction anyway.“So how do you stop it?” Glenn asks.On this episode of “The Glenn Beck Program,” Tegmark outlined four ways we can push back against the AI revolution. 1. Reject the ‘inevitable’ AI myth“Lobbyists from these companies keep trying to convince us that it's unstoppable,” Tegmark says. “That's the number one psy-op trick in the book.”Just because a technological advancement is possible doesn’t mean it will come to fruition, he explains. He gives the example of human cloning, which is technically feasible today but not practiced due to ethical, legal, and practical obstacles.“The consensus around the world was we could lose control over our species if we start messing with ourselves in that way, and it became so stigmatized it just didn’t happen,” he says. There’s a chance ASI and cyborgs will be viewed similarly — technically possible but too risky to try, especially if people at large start rejecting the notion that these advancements are inevitable.2. Control > chaos Some will argue that the United States has to trudge forward in the AI race because we’re competing against China, but Tegmark reminds that ASI is a “suicide race” because once we reach superintelligence heights, humans will become slaves to a digital master.But China values only one thing more than technological dominance: control.The United States, finally back on top as a global superpower thanks to President Trump, isn’t interested in losing control either. “The way the U.S. or China will compete for dominance is not by doing something that’s going to take away the power from both countries,” Tegmark says.3. Call for government regulationsGlenn is still concerned about people like Sam Altman, who have unlimited money and resources, continuing to push AI to new heights, but Tegmark says they’re biding their time as unrestricted tech pioneers.“Once upon a time, there were no regulations on biotech. They could sell any medicine they wanted in the supermarket, and sometimes this caused tragedies,” Tegmark says.He points to the 1950s and ’60s sedative thalidomide, which was prescribed to pregnant women to treat morning sickness. The medication proved so harmful — over 100,000 severe birth defects — that the drug was not only banned, but the government began regulating the biotech industry as a whole to prevent future devastations.“We’ve done the same thing with every other industry,” Tegmark says.“So saying that AI companies should be the only companies in America that don’t have to meet any safety standards is really just asking for corporate welfare for AI companies,” he adds.4. Amplify the public voice Many people don’t voice their opposition to the AI race because they think either they’re powerless to stop it or that they’ll be condemned as Luddites. But Tegmark says neither is true.“Less than 5% of Americans actually want a race to superintelligence,” he says.And now our voices can be heard. Through his Future of Life Institute, Tegmark has created a petition aimed at holding AI developers accountable for the risks of advanced AI. Many high-profile people from both sides of the political spectrum have already signed it, including Glenn.I urge you to sign this,” Glenn says.“This is the end of humanity if we lose control of our technology,” he adds.Want more from Glenn Beck?To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

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