The U.S. federal government blew the budget once again, according to the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) recap of the fiscal year that ended September 30. The red ink for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 totaled $2.0 trillion, a 12% increase over FY2025. The government spent $7.4 trillion and collected $5.4 trillion, meaning that one out of every four dollars it spent added to the deficit.

Artificial Intelligence is becoming more powerful -- and more dangerous -- than ever. Jared Bridges, Editor-in-Chief of The Washington Stand, hosts a panel on Artificial Intelligence at the Pray, Vote, Stand Summit. He was joined by Clare Morell, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and author of the Award-winning book, <a href="https://sites.prh.com/thetechexitbook">The Tech Exit: A Practical Guide to Freeing Kids and Teens from Smartphones</a> along with Erik Reed, a pastor and cofounder of Dominion A.I.
They discuss the risks, benefits and dangers of the new technology and how it is affecting America, and the church.

Artificial Intelligence is becoming more powerful -- and more dangerous -- than ever. Jared Bridges, Editor-in-Chief of The Washington Stand, hosts a panel on Artificial Intelligence at the Pray, Vote, Stand Summit. He was joined by Clare Morell, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and author of the Award-winning book, The Tech Exit: A Practical Guide to Freeing Kids and Teens from Smartphones along with Erik Reed, a pastor and cofounder of Dominion A.I. They discuss the risks, benefits and dangers of the new technology and how it is affecting America, and the church.

Former Congressman and current senior fellow at Family Research Council Jody Hice sits down with Host Casey Harper at the Pray Vote Stand Summit. They discuss how God leads leaders, how to know if you are motivated by selfish ambition or God&rsquo;s calling, and how to stand up for the right thing even when it is difficult.

Former Congressman and current senior fellow at Family Research Council Jody Hice sits down with Host Casey Harper at the Pray Vote Stand Summit. They discuss how God leads leaders, how to know if you are motivated by selfish ambition or God's calling, and how to stand up for the right thing even when it is difficult.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, religious leaders, tech experts and even the AI companies themselves are raising the alarm, and yet they keep building&nbsp; Artificial Intelligence. What&rsquo;s going on here? Is the AI apocalypse inevitable, or is all hype or somewhere in between?

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, religious leaders, tech experts and even the AI companies themselves are raising the alarm, and yet they keep building  Artificial Intelligence. What's going on here? Is the AI apocalypse inevitable, or is all hype or somewhere in between?

On this week&rsquo;s Outstanding Podcast, Host Casey Harper talks free markets and socialism with Dr. Gary Wolfram, a professor of economics, public policy and political economy at Hillsdale College.
Together, they tackle questions like:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>How do free markets work and why does they work?</li>
<li>Are prices fair?</li>
<li>How do we respond to the socialist narrative?</li>
<li>Doesn't the Christian faith keep capitalism in check in many ways?&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

On this week's Outstanding Podcast, Host Casey Harper talks free markets and socialism with Dr. Gary Wolfram, a professor of economics, public policy and political economy at Hillsdale College. Together, they tackle questions like: How do free markets work and why does they work? Are prices fair? How do we respond to the socialist narrative? Doesn't the Christian faith keep capitalism in check in many ways? 

"Socialism, classically, was about prioritizing workers. ... Now I think that, in reality, what it truly means in the American context is wanting to replace American workers with foreign workers, and wanting boys to participate in girls' sports." That was the response given by U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance during a press gaggle Thursday when asked for his definition of socialism. His remarks have since drawn commentary from the vast community of exiles from socialist regimes who have found refuge in the United States.

When Pastor Rick Bick entered the Ottumwa City Council meeting on Tuesday, he didn't expect to be rebuking a satanic prayer. And yet, at the start of the meeting, former council member Matt Dalbey stood before the room and invoked a prayer to Satan, declaring, "Let us embrace the Luciferian impulse to eat of the tree of knowledge. That which will not bend must break, and that which can be destroyed by truth should never be spared its demise. Hail Satan."

If voters are trying to imagine what the nation would look like under the socialist policies of a Democratic majority in Congress, look no farther than California.

I recently asked Claude, Anthropic's artificial intelligence assistant, to investigate whether Claude is a person. Its response began: "I'm Claude, so I'm the subject here. I've tried to report this straight." Claude answered as a participant with a personal stake in the question would answer, and that made the wording striking.

For days, the country has been riveted by the case of death row inmate Christa Pike, who was sentenced to die by lethal injection on September 30 - the first woman in 200 years to be executed in the state of Tennessee. Only Christa didn't die. For two hours, the team at the prison tried and failed to find a vein, ultimately sending a double dose of the poison into her body, not her bloodstream. The result was catastrophic, but not fatal, and she was rushed to the hospital for "life-saving care," a shocking twist that's ignited a global debate about the death penalty. But there's a much bigger outrage taking place in America than this one botched punishment - and it's taking countless lives a year.

Kansas now might possibly elect Adam Hamilton to the U.S. Senate. That would be a horrific mistake. I am a pastor. Adam is a pastor. One might think I would support him. Not so. Both of us have ministered at what are called "megachurches." But, for good reason, I do not trust him - as a pastor or as a potential senator.

Sometimes, it takes five years for the U.S. federal government to even begin to correct a miscarriage of justice. On October 4, 2021, then-U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland issued an infamous memo vowing to commit federal resources to investigate, as domestic terrorists, concerned parents over constitutionally protected speech against local school board policies. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Weaponization Working Group finally published a scathing report on the "Garland Memo," along with proposed steps to provide justice for the parents whose constitutional rights were so egregiously ignored.

Senior Writer, The Washington Stand

After months of flooding the zone with glum predictions for Republicans, there's been a quiet but meaningful shift in major media headlines. Left-leaning outlets desperate to make the GOP's demise a self-fulfilling prophecy seem to be subtly hedging their bets against another polling embarrassment. In the last handful of days, even the big dogs - The New York Times, Washington Post, and Newsweek - are conceding that maybe the election forecasts aren't as lopsided as they've been leading voters to believe. 

Editorial Director and Senior Writer, The Washington Stand

Private and homeschooled K-12 students may be eligible for federal scholarships as early as next year, according to rules proposed on October 1 by the U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The rules implement the "Education Freedom Tax Credit," which "builds on" language in the 2025 Big Beautiful Bill, and they are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027.

A Tennessee woman remains unconscious in the hospital since her failed execution on September 30. The botched attempt to end the life of death row inmate Christa Pike has captivated and confused the country. How should the state proceed? Is capital punishment ever justified?

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The Immorality of Perpetual Deficit Spending

Mr. Vice President: This Is Socialism

Pastor Who Stood Up to Satanic Curse Speaks Out: ‘You Can’t Do That, Not Here’

PERKINS: When the State Tries to Train the Church

Is Claude a Person? What Its Answer Reveals

Christa Pike and the Left’s Incoherent Argument against ‘Human Cruelty’

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OUTSTANDING PODCAST

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