The robot touted as a "cost-efficient" way to keep New York City subway riders safe has been tucked away in storage after a portion of the pilot program that brought it to a Times Square station has drawn to an uneventful close.Last year‚ Mayor Eric Adams gave not one but two public announcements about Knightscope K5. Standing five feet‚ three inches tall and weighing 400 pounds‚ the robot had cameras outfitted on all sides to monitor the 42 Street subway station mezzanine. It also offered a help button for riders to press in case of an emergency.The city leased K5 for $12‚250 total‚ and it was placed on the Times Square subway beat from midnight until 6 a.m. for two months. Perhaps fudging the numbers slightly‚ Adams claimed that the cost worked out to the bargain price of $9 an hour. "This is below minimum wage‚ no bathroom breaks‚ no meal breaks‚ this is a good investment‚" Adams said in September.As so often happens with quick-fix gimmicks‚ K5 seemed to be little more than a subway novelty feature. A recent New York Times report claimed that riders almost never used it for safety. When they interacted with it at all‚ they usually took a selfie with it or attempted to damage it."I thought it was a toy‚" claimed Derek Dennis‚ a 56-year-old signal engineer cited by the Times.Albert Fox Cahn‚ the executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project‚ previously called it a "trash can on wheels" but then joked that "it looks like the wheels aren’t even working at this point."Even without functioning wheels‚ a trash bin can be useful‚ but it doesn't seem that K5 ever brought any measure of safety to the station or cost savings to the city. For one thing‚ it was always flanked by two police officers making considerably more than $9 an hour. Two such officers who spoke with the Times earlier this month claimed they'd never seen K5 "on the beat."Kelvin Caines‚ a security officer‚ gave the Times a similar story. K5's cops "never let it do anything‚" he said. "They could at least walk it down the hallway."The NYPD even seemed to acknowledge tacitly that the K5 trial had been a failure. During a recent video montage featuring all of the new‚ exciting technology the department had used in the last year‚ K5 never once made an appearance.Still‚ K5 was deployed on just a six-month pilot program overall‚ and a spokesperson for Mayor Adams stated that the robot completed its Times Square stint in December as scheduled."The Adams administration is constantly exploring innovative technologies that can advance the work we’ve done to bring down crime and keep New Yorkers safe‚ while maximizing the use of taxpayer dollars‚" said Charles Lutvak. "We are reviewing options for the K5’s next deployment as part of the pilot."Stacy Stephens‚ a spokesman for Knightscope‚ declined to comment on the future of K5 in NYC. "Unfortunately‚ we are not authorized to speak about certain clients‚" she told the Times. "We do hope you understand." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A cross-dressing TikTok star has been exposed in court as a pedophile who molested children and stalked a family into homelessness. The mother of the victims told the pedophile in court Tuesday‚ "You can wear any mask you like‚ but the truth is out and everybody knows who you really are‚ finally." The Adelaide Advertiser reported that the middle-aged man who calls himself Rachel Queen Burton was arrested in October 2022 by the elite Joint Anti Child Exploitation team over crimes that took place in rural and regional South Australia in 2019. — (@) Burton‚ a self-described "proud Trans Woman living [his] best life with no regrets‚" initially denied the allegations; however‚ he has since pleaded guilty to aggravated counts of producing and possessing child porn‚ gross indecency‚ and indecent assault. Judge Rauf Soulio of the South Australia District Court heard that Burton repeatedly molested two children prior to his rise as a local LGBT icon on TikTok‚ where he netted over 36‚000 followers and frequently appeared with the transgender flag. The victims' mother told the court that she fled with the kids upon discovering the abuse‚ but that they were pursued by Burton. The mother indicated she managed to take the children to a police-issued safe house‚ but even there‚ safety proved illusory as Burton "showed up at the window‚ peering in‚" prompting them to flee again‚ reported the Advertiser. "No food‚ scared children‚ too scared to go anywhere‚ never knowing if you could find us‚" said the mother. "When the children did sleep‚ nightmares haunted them." Burton appeared in court via video link from a men's prison during the hearing‚ affording the mother an opportunity to address him. "You are the monster‚ you make me feel sick to my stomach‚" she said. "You are a gross‚ phony‚ self-indulgent thing who has cheated my children out of so much‚ and took it away from them without care‚" continued the mother. "In your online rants‚ you showed no remorse for your bad behavior‚ all while knowing what you had done … getting an audience for your false life was far more important." The pedophile reportedly blubbered throughout the victims' statements. The woman's daughter‚ the youngest victim‚ said‚ "I was happy before you broke the rules‚ I didn't know what was going on at the time‚ I feel angry at you for doing the wrong thing to me." "I felt like a bird trapped in a cage‚" added the youngest victim. "All I wanted was to be free." The girl's brother noted he has chronic nightmares on account of the abuse. The victims' older brother‚ who was reportedly not abused by Burton‚ characterized the transvestite as "repulsive‚ filthy and vile." Reduxx reported that Burton had revealed in a January 2022 video that he had been taking sex-change hormone therapy for over a month. "I [thought] I was supposed to get moody. But I haven't been moody since starting the testosterone blockers ... I got a little b****y — just a little b****y‚ that was when I was straight on the estrogen‚" said the pedophile. "I still cry. I still cry heaps. I'm still an emotional wreck. But it's a nice emotion." Despite his alleged use of hormones‚ there is no indication he will be transferred to a women's prison. Critics have taken notice of Burton's seamless transition from predator to trans influencer. The Texas Family Project asked‚ "Does this surprise anyone?" Genevieve Gluck‚ co-founder of the feminist publication Reduxx‚ noted‚ "Paraphilias‚ or sexual fetishes‚ are symptoms of sexual pathology‚ and they often escalate and overlap." South African billionaire Elon Musk wrote‚ "If evil people are given a moral cloak that cannot be questioned‚ they are certain to wear it. This is not to say that all transgender people are bad – that would be false – but rather that they should be no more above questioning than anyone else." Burton will reportedly remain in custody until further sentencing in April. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The Marine Corps announced Wednesday that it will conduct a "wall-to-wall inspection" of all its barracks following recent reports of squalid living conditions."Effective immediately‚ Marine Corps Installations Command will conduct an environmental‚ health‚ and safety inspection of all Marine Corps barracks to ensure service compliance with its commitment to its residents to provide a safe‚ secure‚ clean‚ and consistent living standard across the unaccompanied housing enterprise‚" according to a press release by the Marine Corps.Major General David Maxwell‚ MCICOM Commander‚ stated that the service-wide inspection would allow the Marine Corps to get a complete assessment."The benefit as we transition to professional management will be that we have a point of reference for the condition of each barracks. This will enable our senior leaders to understand the totality of issues regarding their facility and get to quickly solving their problems‚" Maxwell explained.The Marine Corps noted that it aims to "improve our Marines' quality of life" by investing in the barracks.Installation Commanders‚ leaders outside the chain of command responsible for the barracks‚ will be in charge of conducting inspections by March 15‚ 2024.Assistant Commandant General Christopher Mahoney called it a "wall-to-wall inspection‚" claiming it would provide "a good baseline understanding of the condition of all our barracks so we can identify and allocate resources accordingly.""We're going to take a look at every single barracks room‚ every squad bay‚ to ensure the health‚ well-being and safety of each and every one of you‚" Mahoney vowed.According to Commandant General Eric Smith‚ the barracks are over 30 years old on average.Photos shared in 2021 by a Marine showed moldy barracks in North Carolina's Camp Lejeune. Last month‚ pictures posted to Reddit purported to show mold and a dead rodent at California's Camp Pendleton.A September Government Accountability Office report revealed that the Department of Defense's military barracks pose "potentially serious health and safety risks‚" Blaze News previously reported.Following the inspection of 10 campuses‚ the GAO found that service members frequently dealt with "clogged showers‚ broken door locks‚ broken elevators‚ and apparent mold growth." As of March 2023‚ about 17‚000 Marines were living in "substandard barracks‚" the report stated.The GAO recommended that the Marine Corps update its "minimum standards for assignment to barracks to ensure they reflect DOD guidance on health and safety standards for barracks once DOD's minimum standards have been clarified." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

No matter what suffering‚ loss‚ or devastation you go through in life‚ there is always something worth living for. This message is the beating heart of the latest entry in the Toho Godzilla franchise‚ "Godzilla Minus One." The new film takes the iconic Kaiju back to his roots in a story set in postwar Japan‚ a brutal time that allows the movie to explore the resilience of the human spirit as it comes to terms with loss and regret. It's rare to find this kind of depth in any American movie today‚ let alone in a masterfully crafted‚ crowd-pleasing action pic. Kōichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki) is kamikaze war pilot who feigns mechanical difficulties to avoid completing his suicide mission. When Godzilla attacks the repair island he lands on‚ he freezes‚ unable to shoot the monster from his plane. This results in the death of all engineers on the island but one‚ who pins the blame on Shikishima and his cowardice. Guilt-ridden and shamed by his neighbors upon returning home‚ Shikishima tries to move on‚ taking in a homeless woman with a baby who was abandoned by her parents. The two agree to raise the child‚ and over the years they become a sort of family‚ despite his unwillingness to accept them as such. He serves as gunman on a minesweeper‚ joining a ragtag team of war vets. What peace our hero finds is short-lived. Godzilla re-emerges twice as large and twice as strong to bring devastation to the whole of Japan. With the government unwilling to aid the people‚ Shikishima joins the citizens' army that has formed to take out Godzilla themselves. The franchise reaches new heights in the depiction of this battle‚ with scenes of beautifully staged monster mayhem. But it is Shikishima's internal struggle that elevates the film emotionally and sets it apart from its predecessors. Can this failed kamikaze pilot learn to let go of the past and embrace a new kind of sacrifice — to honor the fallen by carrying on? It's rare to find this kind of depth in any American movie today‚ let alone in a masterfully crafted‚ crowd-pleasing action pic. And audiences have clearly been desperate for such rich entertainment instead of the usual ideologically driven remakes and feel-bad fables of racial division. Toho Godzilla's rampage through the international and domestic box office shows how defenseless Hollywood is against any would-be conquerers. Will this spring's U.S. production "Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire" put up any fight? Not to sound unpatriotic‚ but humiliating defeat wouldn't be all bad. As far as wake-up calls go‚ you could do worse than a 20‚000-ton radioactive lizard.

Democrats love to cite a slew of humanitarian reasons to justify their open border policies‚ such as providing asylum for those fleeing poverty‚ war‚ and violence. But according to Kentucky Senator Rand Paul‚ “Immigration is about power politics” and “has nothing to do with the individuals” migrating here. “If you talk to these people” and ask if they “care about the little kids coming across [or] what might happen to teenage girls coming across‚ they don't care about that. All they care about is votes; their whole goal is to take Texas‚” Paul tells Dave Rubin. Even the new border bill‚ which proposes allowing up to 5‚000 migrants into the country per day (1.8 million per year) before any action is taken‚ is proof of this. “After 1.8 million a year‚ the rules aren't very strong. They give the discretion to [Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas]‚” who just barely escaped impeachment yesterday‚ Paul explains. “Meanwhile‚ the Biden campaign is cutting the razor wire and removing the cargo containers that are essentially a wall on the border‚” so “we're going to negotiate with them and trust them to use new power when they're right now using their [current] power to disrupt the border wall?” “I'm actually not against immigration; I'm actually for more lawful immigration‚” Paul continues‚ “but they need to be these little narrow bills‚ but instead they say‚ ‘We'll increase employment- based or work-based visas but only if you give the 18 million people already here the right to vote.” “I'm pretty open on this issue; I would give work permits even to those who came here illegally ... but I'm not giving them the right to vote.” He continues‚ “So‚ we've stayed at a standstill for the 12 years I've been here. No immigration changes have happened ... none of it happens because the Democrats say‚ ‘All or nothing.”’ “What do you think the Democrats’ intentions are?” asks Dave. “All they care about is votes‚” especially in Texas‚ Paul explains. “The only way they take Texas is to legalize a couple of million people here illegally and let them vote.” To hear the full conversation‚ watch the clip below. Want more from Dave Rubin?To enjoy more honest conversations‚ free speech‚ and big ideas with Dave Rubin‚ subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America‚ defend the Constitution‚ and live the American dream.

The drone strike comes days after the U.S. military launched retaliatory strikes in Iraq and Syria.

Guy Verhofstadt floated the idea of a travel ban on Carlson‚ whom he called a ‘mouthpiece’ of former president Trump and Putin.

UNC Students for Justice in Palestine members accused Weiss of ‘committing genocide.’

Free Willy: Orcas Trapped in Drift Ice Near Japan Escape

AP's Spin on Senate Blocking 'Bipartisan Border Package' Sounds Like Chuck Schumer Wrote It