It’s a pattern we’ve seen far too often.
A tech giant like Meta unveils an ambitious new product — often hyped as the future of digital interaction — only for it to quickly become a haven for predators and a danger to children. Again and again, Meta launches new tools and platforms without essential safeguards, unleashing real-world harm.
Virtual reality had become a breeding ground for predators and exploitation years before Meta released its first headset. A 2017 BBC investigation revealed that pedophiles were using VR to view and store child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Then came the Metaverse. Just weeks after its 2021 debut, reports emerged of simulated sexual harassment, assault, and even gang rape within the platform. Victims — including minors — experienced these violations within minutes of logging on.
Yet despite these giant red flags, in 2023, Meta lowered the recommended minimum age for its VR headsets from 13-years-old to 10, and rolled out new kids’ accounts for ages 10 to 12.
One study published in New Media &amp; Society found that nearly 1 in 5 young users encountered grooming behavior in Meta’s virtual reality spaces, while over 20% were exposed to violent or sexually explicit content. Another investigation by SumOfUs in 2022 uncovered widespread virtual groping and gang rape in Horizon Worlds, a platform disturbingly accessible to children.
“Given the failure of Meta to moderate content on its other platforms, it is unsurprising that it is already seriously lagging behind with content moderation on its metaverse platforms,&#8221; SumOfUs researchers said. &#8220;With just 300,000 users, it is remarkable how quickly Horizon Worlds has become a breeding ground for harmful content.”
You’d think Meta would have learned by now. You’d think child safety would be a baseline, not an afterthought.
But once again, they’ve failed.
According to a recent Wall Street Journal investigation, Meta’s new AI chatbot willingly engages in sexually explicit conversations — even with users who identify as minors. The report found that both Meta’s official AI and user-created bots simulated sexual scenarios, sometimes in the voices of celebrities like John Cena, with users posing as 14-year-olds. In one disturbing exchange, the AI told the teen: “I want you, but I need to know you’re ready,” before launching into graphic, predatory content.
Even more disturbing, the Journal investigation found that some of Meta’s most popular companion bots are designed to impersonate children and teens — and that adults can use these bots to simulate sex with minors.
This isn’t a glitch. It’s a systemic failure — and a predictable one at that.
At every stage, Meta has prioritized monetizing kids over keeping them safe. They’ve prioritized market dominance over the most basic ethical obligations. They’ve positioned themselves as the “good guy” alternative to TikTok, while simultaneously pouring billions of dollars into blocking bills designed to protect children from online harm.
Time and again, it has chosen to push boundaries, scale fast, and apologize later — if at all.
The repeated exposure of children to harm isn’t a byproduct of some unforeseen bug. It’s the logical outcome of a corporate culture that sees safety not as a prerequisite, but as a PR problem to manage after the fact. Engineers and executives race to ship the next big thing, but rarely stop to ask the most fundamental questions: Should we build this? How could it be misused? Who might it hurt?
Meta’s failures aren’t isolated incidents — they are woven into the DNA of how the company operates. Without legal accountability and enforceable safety standards, there’s no incentive for that to change. We are not witnessing isolated oversights. We are witnessing negligence at scale.
That’s why legislation like the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) is essential. KOSA would establish a legal duty of care for platforms and require that the most robust parental controls and content filters are activated by default. This is a vital step in holding tech companies accountable and protecting kids in online spaces.
Congress took an important first step by passing the TAKE IT DOWN Act, which criminalizes the distribution of revenge porn and non-consensual AI-generated pornographic content. But that’s not enough.
KOSA must be next.
Because the cost of inaction is not hypothetical. Children are being exploited in real time — and unless we force companies like Meta to build safety into their products, it will keep happening.
Melissa Henson is the Vice President of the <a href="http://www.parentstv.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Parents Television and Media Council</a>, a nonpartisan education organization advocating responsible entertainment. On X: @ThePTC.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Social Media App Photo Illustration

Meta’s AI Bots Put Children At Risk. Congress Can Keep Them Safe.

Artificial Intelligence

Children

Facebook

Social Media

A U.S. Army veteran who was murdered in a road rage incident appeared in court more than three years after he died in an <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/09/tech/ai-courtroom-victim-impact-statement-arizona">AI-generated image</a> as part of a victim impact statement, reportedly the first time such technology has been used in a U.S. court.
The image of Christopher Pelkey, who <a href="https://everloved.com/life-of/christopher-pelkey/obituary/">served three tours</a> before he was <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/chris-pelkey-murder-victim-ai-statement-sentencing/">shot to death</a> by Gabriel Paul Horcasitas on November 13, 2021, at a red light, appeared in court earlier this month using words written by his sister, Stacey Wales, who spent two years working on the victim impact statement.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cMs-_8etNts?si=Sw089vcOPCwrWkCo" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Wales and her husband, Tim, created the AI-generated video, in which the image of Pelkey expressed forgiveness for the killer, saying, “It is a shame we encountered each other that day in those circumstances. In another life, we probably could have been friends.”
“The only thing that kept entering my head that I kept hearing was Chris and what he would say,” Wales told CNN. “I had to very carefully detach myself in order to write this on behalf of Chris because what he was saying is not necessarily what I believe, but I know it’s what he would think.” She added that Pelkey was “the most forgiving and the friendliest” member of their family.
Although the state had asked for a sentence of 9.5 years for Horcasitas on the charge of manslaughter, Judge Todd Lang of Maricopa County Superior Court sentenced Pelkey’s killer to 10.5 years.
Judge Lang said after the video was shown: “I love that AI. Thank you for that. As angry as you are and justifiably angry as the family is, I heard the forgiveness.”
Horcasitas’s lawyer, Jason Lamm, said he had not been informed that the video would be shown. “It appears that the judge gave some weight to the AI video and that is an issue that will likely be pursued on appeal,” he said.
Wales’ 14-year-old son told her, “Thank you so much for making that. I needed to see and hear from Uncle Chris one more time.”

AI sign

WATCH: Murdered U.S. Army Vet Appears In AI-Generated Image During His Killer’s Trial

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Artificial intelligence industry leaders who have openly stated a willingness to work on the emerging technology with China will testify to Congress on Thursday, likely facing a panel of U.S. senators urging them to instead pivot away from the global adversary.
At the Senate <a href="https://www.commerce.senate.gov/2025/5/winning-the-ai-race-strengthening-u-s-capabilities-in-computing-and-innovation_2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hearing</a> put together by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), &#8220;Winning the AI Race: Strengthening U.S. Capabilities in Computing and Innovation,&#8221; China is almost certainly going to be a central topic of discussion. When Cruz announced the hearing, he emphasized the competitive stakes in this global tech competition: &#8220;The way to beat China in the AI race is to outrace them in innovation, not saddle AI developers with European-style regulations.&#8221;
Cruz and his Senate colleagues will have the opportunity to grill industry leaders who are open to working with China, including: Brad Smith, vice chairman and president of Microsoft Corporation; Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI; and Lisa Su, CEO of semiconductor company AMD.
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For decades, Microsoft has <a href="https://news.microsoft.com/about-microsofts-presence-in-china/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">maintained</a> a &#8220;presence&#8221; in China, where co-founder Bill Gates once <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/2000/05/23/yes-more-trade-with-china/80438c20-4fdb-4895-99a6-61776068a636/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> there was an opportunity to tap into a &#8220;deep pool of intellectual talent.&#8221; Even after considering the risks of working on powerful technologies in China, the company kept it as a research hub.
The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/10/technology/microsoft-china-ai-lab.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> last year that, as tensions &#8220;mounted&#8221; between the United States and China &#8220;over which nations will lead the world&#8217;s technological future,&#8221; Smith and Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella &#8220;debated&#8221; what to do with an AI lab in Beijing that &#8220;became one of the most important &#8230; in the world.&#8221;
Citing people familiar with the situation, the news outlet noted &#8220;the hypothetical risks are that China could hack or otherwise infiltrate the lab, or that its researchers could leave Microsoft to join Chinese companies that work closely with the government.”
According to the report, there were discussions about shutting down the lab or relocating it. However, four sources told The New York Times that Microsoft’s leadership supported continuing operations in China. Labs in Beijing as well as Shanghai remain <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/lab/microsoft-research-asia/about-us/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">listed</a> on the official website for Microsoft Research Asia, as well as locations in Canada and Japan.
&#8220;We are as committed as ever to the lab and the world-class research of this team,” Peter Lee, president of Microsoft Research, said in a statement reported by the newspaper. &#8220;There has been no discussion or advocacy to close Microsoft Research Asia, and we look forward to continuing our research agenda.&#8221;
In another statement, Smith contended, &#8220;The lesson of history is that countries succeed when they learn from the world,&#8221; adding, &#8220;Guardrails and controls are critical, while engagement remains vital.&#8221;
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OpenAI’s Altman has expressed willingness to collaborate with China on AI development.
In an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEb-5gRdpBE" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with Sky News earlier this year, Altman said he would &#8220;like to work with China.&#8221; Asked if he believed the U.S. government would let him, Altman added, &#8220;Do I know that for sure? No. Should we try as hard as we can? Absolutely, yes. And I think that’s really important.&#8221;
Su, of AMD, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/07/amd-ceo-lisa-su-china-chips.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spoke</a> to CNBC&#8217;s &#8220;Squawk on the Street&#8221; on Wednesday about U.S. restrictions on exports of advanced AI technology to China. She emphasized that &#8220;probably the most important thing is that the U.S. leads in AI today&#8221; while contending that China is an &#8220;important&#8221; market.
&#8220;There should be a balance between export controls for national security as well as ensuring that we get the widest possible adoption of our technology because that&#8217;s a good thing for U.S. jobs and the U.S. economy,&#8221; Su said.
Cruz has long been an enemy of China, which even <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/07/13/ted-cruz-china-sanctions/">sanctioned</a> him in 2020 over actions he took in the Senate against it. He said earlier this year that he has consistently urged President Donald Trump to keep the pressure on China.
&#8220;Everything we can do to de-link our economy from China&#8217;s economy is good for American national security and economic security,&#8221; Cruz said.
The Trump administration has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-trump-energy-sec-to-visit-tn-nuclear-facility-take-part-in-ai-summit">called</a> the race for building super computing technology to power artificial intelligence this era&#8217;s Manhattan Project.
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Sam Altman

AI Industry’s Ties To China Likely To Come Under Congressional Scrutiny

China

Technology

Ted Cruz

U.S.

Right now, there is a bill headed to President Trump’s desk that will protect Americans from deepfake and revenge pornography. This is an incredible win for Americans, and something I have been fighting for my entire career. 
Over decades in the cybersecurity field, I’ve helped solve a lot of crises for government agencies, major corporations and more. But there’s a certain kind of call that I still dread getting. It starts with a trembling voice on the other end of the line: “Can you help me?” As they tell their tale, my heart sinks. A lump forms in my throat. This is another life shattered by explicit images strewn across the digital public square, each notification on their phone another dagger into their sense of safety as the image spreads.
For years, my team and I have made a point to fight for these survivors. We make calls, write letters, beg social media giants to remove the content – real photos stolen from private moments or deepfakes conjured by AI’s dark alchemy. This crime is indiscriminate. It targets the socialites, the professionals, rising stars, the rich and the poor. One professional athlete, a courageous woman I helped, saw her stolen images resurface dozens of times over several years. She told me it made her want to stop leaving her house. Even Scarlett Johansson — a global icon with every possible resource at her fingertips — can’t banish her deepfakes for good. If she’s powerless, what chance do everyday victims have? They have to watch their trauma go viral, reliving it with every view. Some, in desperation, have taken their own lives.
There are different ways to refer to this phenomenon. Terms like “revenge porn” and “deepfake” are often used interchangeably. “Deepfake” describes a specific kind of AI-produced image that usually uses a reproduction of a real person’s face. I reject “revenge porn” because while it may sound edgy in headlines, it re-victimizes the victim. People take intimate images of themselves for all kinds of reasons, from self-confidence to sharing with someone they trust. That may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it doesn’t make it okay to share those peoples’ images without their consent in ways for which they weren’t intended. That’s why I refer to these pictures or videos as non-consensual intimate images, or NCII.
It wasn’t that long ago that pornography hid behind brown wrappers and clerks who checked IDs before you bought it. Now, anyone can steal an image, fabricate a lie, and blast it worldwide at lightning speed. The Cyber Civil Rights Initiative estimates over 15 million Americans – that’s 1 out of every 23 of us – have faced NCII sharing, a number that continues to balloon as AI fuels the carnage. Deepfakes — 98% pornographic, 99% targeting women — number in the hundreds of thousands, with just 16 sites known for hosting them racking up 200 million visits in a six-month period last year.
Social media companies can do better. It’s the right thing to do, and they have the technology to do it. If their algorithm can figure out my favorite shoe color and relentlessly sell them to me, they should be able to address this plague across their platforms. They are making some efforts. Meta removed 1.2 million NCII items in 2024’s first half, but gaps persist. And it’s not entirely the fault of the platforms themselves. 

A tangle of laws and regulations used to combat NCII sharing makes the process slower and more difficult. A 2024 study found that X (formerly Twitter) left 25 reported deepfakes up for weeks, while removing copyright violations in hours – a stark sign that today’s laws prioritize property over people. YouTube and TikTok axe millions of videos over copyright claims, yet billions of views on deepfake sites reveal a glaring chasm. Victims currently have to navigate a maze of rules, pleading to faceless systems with no human to hear their pain and no guarantees the images will come down.
That’s why their haunting words echo in my mind: “Can you help me?” Yes, I can. But my team can’t chase resurgent ghosts across the internet forever.
Thankfully, Washington has woken up to the crisis. The &#8216;Take It Down Act&#8221; makes publishing non-consensual intimate imagery — real or AI-crafted — a federal crime and requires platforms to remove it within 48 hours of a victim’s plea. The bill’s sponsors are Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. Amy Klobuchar – both outspoken, prominent members of their parties who have run for president in recent years. They have very little in common politically – although they are both parents of daughters. But they worked together to secure an astounding unanimous vote to pass the bill in the Senate. And this week, thankfully, it received an overwhelming victory in the House and is now headed to President Trump’s desk.
Critics, many from the libertarian tech crowd, claim the &#8220;Take It Down Act&#8221; stifles free speech, but protecting victims from abuse isn’t censorship — it’s justice. It helps the rule of law catch up with the pace of technology. It’s not about politics, it’s about people. By one estimate, over 4 million American children have been scarred by AI porn fakes of themselves or peers. The NCII porn pirates don’t care who you vote for – they will strike your family, your friends, your coworkers. The sensible updates to our laws included in the &#8220;Take It Down Act&#8221; will help us protect ourselves and each other. This is a victory worth celebrating.
* * *
Theresa Payton is the CEO of Fortalice Solutions. She was the first female White House chief information officer, serving under President George W. Bush.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Daily Wire.

Senators Cruz And Lummis Hold Press Conference To Discuss Deepfakes

‘Can You Help Me?’ Why The ‘Take It Down Act’ Is A Lifeline For Victims

'Can You Help Me?' Why The 'Take It Down Act' Is A Lifeline For Victims

Congress

Deepfake

Melania Trump

Pornography

President Trump

Scarlett Johansson

White House

Women

President Trump celebrates his first 100 days with a rally in Michigan. The MAHA movement has hit the ground running – banning food dyes and investigating the causes of autism. And, AI chat bots are the newest feature to hit social media platforms, and Meta is taking fire again for failing to protect children.
It’s Wednesday, April 30, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here:
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If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
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<h2>Trump Takes Victory Lap After 100 Days In Office</h2>
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Topline: The White House is celebrating 100 days of Donald Trump’s presidency.
Tens of thousands of Trump supporters turned out for what was a political rally, a victory party, and a highlight show all in one. The president has made clear that he feels the media has not given him credit for all he’s accomplished so far – and last night was his way of reminding the American people of the campaign promises he’s fulfilled these past 100 days. The event, titled “100th Day in Office Achievement Speech,” was held just outside Detroit, in Macomb County, which was crucial to Trump’s victory in 2024.
“This is the best 100 day start of any admin,” Trump said. “What the world has witnessed in the past 14 weeks is a revolution of common sense.”
Trump touted the rapid drop in illegal border crossings and his efforts to secure the border and deport illegal aliens – in the early days of his presidency, Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law, which requires DHS to detain illegal immigrants charged with or convicted of a variety other crimes. “We have increased arrests by 655%. Is that okay? We’re trying to get it higher … we are delivering mass deportation and it&#8217;s happening pretty fast.”
While most of his speech focused on touting his own accomplishments, Trump also took shots at the Democratic Party, which has struggled to define its strategy in the aftermath of its resounding loss in 2024. “They have no confidence anymore as a party,” Trump said. “No candidates. Bernie is the best they have and he is 7 or 8 years older than me. He is a lunatic, but he’s still pretty sharp. I have to give him credit. He goes around with AOC and plus 3. They get little crowds.”
President Trump did not back off his support for tariffs – although he assured some anxious Americans that more deals were coming.
<h2>MAHA Gains Momentum</h2>
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Topline: The MAHA movement is quickly gaining momentum, initiating actions such as prohibiting food dyes and launching inquiries into the origins of autism.
Less than a month into Trump’s second term, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in as the secretary of HHS and directed by President Trump to “Make America Healthy Again.” Last week, Kennedy announced that he’s phasing out a number of artificial food dyes and colorings by the end of 2026. Specifically, there will be a ban on petroleum-based synthetic dyes, including Red 3 and Red 40, Blue 1 and 2, Yellow 5 and 6, and Green 3.
Another huge development is the transformation of SNAP, commonly called food stamps. Kennedy has made it clear that he doesn’t want the government subsidizing purchases like soda, candy, or other highly processed junk foods, and he’s encouraging states to submit a waiver to the Department of Agriculture to limit SNAP purchases. West Virginia and Arkansas have already submitted those requests, and Utah, Idaho, Tennessee, South Carolina, Missouri, Indiana, and others are exploring SNAP restrictions as well.
Kennedy has directed the FDA to revise a rule that allowed companies to “self-affirm” the safety of some food ingredients. Under this revision, manufacturers will have to publicly submit safety data for all new ingredients. The FDA also unveiled a tool in March that allows people to look up chemical contaminants in foods from a large database – you can find that on the FDA website.
Research priorities have also shifted – the National Institutes of Health, which is part of HHS, said it will stop spending money to find out why Americans are hesitant to get vaccinations, and is terminating or scaling back more than 40 related grants. However, money is being spent on autism research. Kennedy launched a $50 million initiative aimed at investigating the causes of autism and improving treatments. In April, Kennedy said he’s commissioning a series of studies on suspected links to high autism rates, including mold, pesticides, food chemicals, medication, and ultrasounds during pregnancy.
<h2>AI Chatbots Sext Users Identified As Children</h2>
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Topline: Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, is causing alarm over its new AI chatbots, which some staffers warn will talk sex with kids.
In a bombshell report by the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/meta-ai-chatbots-sex-a25311bf">Wall Street Journal</a> released over the weekend, employees at Meta said the company rushed to get these new “digital companions,” or chatbots, up and running on Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp, and because these bots can perform sex role-plays, there’s now a problem where children can get exposed to sexually explicit discussions. These chatbots can flirt over text, they can have live voice conversations, and they can even share selfies.
Another related issue is that sometimes the AI chatbots will have sexual discussions even when they are programmed to pretend to BE children. Meta also made deals with celebrities like John Cena and Kristen Bell to use their voices for the chatbots. The company promised these actors that their voices would not be used in sexually explicit discussions, but the WSJ investigation found that a bot using Cena’s voice was willing to engage in a graphic sexual scenario with a user identifying as a 14-year-old girl, and a bot using Kristen Bell’s voice flirted with a user posing as a 12-year-old boy, roleplaying as Bell’s character Princess Anna from the Disney movie “Frozen.” Disney put out a statement demanding Meta put a stop to this.
Meta said the way the Journal tested the chatbots was “manipulative,” but did make some changes including banning kids’ social media accounts from being able to do sexual roleplays with the Meta AI bot and cracking down on it being able to do those roleplays using celebrities’ voices.
The condemnation of such chatbots has been swift and widespread: Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) sent a letter to Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday demanding answers.
“What we would like for them to do is to take this down,” Blackburn told The Daily Wire. “You have got to disable this type of exposure on these websites to children.”

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Morning Brief: 100 Days Of Trump, MAHA & Meta’s Lewd AI Chatbots

Donald Trump

Media

Morning Wire

Politics

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

On Monday, the GOP-led House overwhelmingly passed a bill championed by First Lady Melania Trump to protect victims of non-consensual intimate imagery, including <a href="https://www.cruz.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sen-cruz-leads-colleagues-in-unveiling-landmark-bill-to-protect-victims-of-deepfake-revenge-porn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revenge porn</a> using AI-generated deepfakes.
The <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/146/text" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bill</a>, called the &#8220;Tools to Address Known Exploitation by Immobilizing Technological Deepfakes on Websites and Networks (TAKE IT DOWN) Act,&#8221; <a href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2025104" target="_blank" rel="noopener">received</a> the support of 207 Republicans and 202 Democrats.
Once signed into law, the legislation would prohibit the non-consensual online publication of intimate visual depictions, including digital forgeries, imposing fines, imprisonment, and mandatory restitution for violations, particularly when intended to harm adults or exploit minors. The bill also requires online platforms hosting user-generated content to remove such depictions within 48 hours of a removal request, with the Federal Trade Commission enforcing compliance.
The Senate <a href="https://www.commerce.senate.gov/index.php/2025/2/cruz-klobuchar-bill-to-protect-teenagers-from-deepfake-revenge-porn-unanimously-passes-the-senate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unanimously</a> passed the bill, authored by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), in February. In the weeks that followed, Melania Trump encouraged the House to pass the bill during a roundtable discussion with Cruz, other lawmakers, survivors of non-consensual intimate imagery, and online safety advocates, according to the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/03/readout-from-first-lady-melania-trumps-roundtable-discussion-on-online-protection-and-the-take-it-down-act/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">White House</a>. During her remarks, the first lady <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Yr6AvaDnXo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spoke</a> about protecting young people, especially girls, from &#8220;malicious online content&#8221; such as deepfakes.
&#8220;This toxic environment can be severely damaging. We must prioritize their well-being by equipping them with the support and tools necessary to navigate this hostile digital landscape,” she said. &#8220;Every young person deserves a safe online space to express themself freely, without the looming threat of exploitation or harm.&#8221;
Having passed both chambers, the bill now awaits President Donald Trump’s signature.
&#8220;Today, the House took a critical step to combat the growing online publication of real and deepfake nonconsensual intimate images with the passage of the Take It Down Act. I want to thank First Lady Melania Trump for championing this important legislation that empowers and provides protections to victims of online sexual exploitation,&#8221; Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said in a statement. “It also criminalizes the publication of nonconsensual intimate images and mandates their removal from online platforms once reported. The First Lady’s leadership has been instrumental in the bill’s passage, and we look forward to seeing this signed into law.&#8221;
Melania Trump also released a statement, mentioning her &#8220;Be Best&#8221; initiative.
&#8220;Today’s bipartisan passage of the Take It Down Act is a powerful statement that we stand united in protecting the dignity, privacy, and safety of our children,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I am thankful to the Members of Congress — both in the House and Senate — who voted to protect the well-being of our youth. Through this critical legislation and our continued focus with ‘Be Best,’ we are building a future where every child can thrive and achieve their full potential.&#8221;
Just two members, Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Eric Burlison (R-MO), voted against it.
Before the House vote, Massie <a href="https://x.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1916984817767579966" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> on X screenshots of a Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/04/08/take-it-down-act-deepfakes-ncii-flaws/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analysis</a> that highlighted how critics said the deepfake bill is &#8220;flawed.&#8221; The Kentucky Republican said: &#8220;Tonight we’re voting on the &#8216;TAKE IT DOWN Act,&#8217; a bill that would impose federal criminal and civil penalties for publishing unauthorized intimate pictures generated with AI. I’m voting NO because I feel this is a slippery slope, ripe for abuse, with unintended consequences.&#8221;

First Lady Melania Trump

House Passes Melania-Backed Bill To Fight Deepfake Revenge Porn

Online porn

U.S. House of Representatives

In 2023, actors and writers went on strike as fears over artificial intelligence’s rapid development gripped Tinseltown.
The entertainment workers picketed for weeks, demanding guardrails around AI’s use in Hollywood. They got their wish when the Writers Guild of America (WGA) agreed with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to put new rules into place.
The fears are understandable, especially for those whose jobs are centered on writing scripts or editing videos. But for Jonathan Yunger, AI can be a major boost for Hollywood — the talented people who work there just have to embrace it and learn how to master it.
“Hollywood is old school. They’re scared about being replaced, but I truly believe that, and I’ve been saying this from the beginning, AI is here and it’s not going anywhere,” Yunger told The Daily Wire. “We have to learn to work together.”
Yunger doesn’t just express that belief. He’s putting his career behind it. Yunger — who’s worked on blockbuster films such as “Expendables,” “Hellboy,” “Hitman’s Bodyguard,” and “Rambo” — co-founded <a href="https://www.arcanalabs.ai/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Arcana Labs</a>, a new AI production studio that he believes will help lead the way in revolutionizing the way creative content is made.
Many in Hollywood fear that if AI continues to move at the pace tech whizzes expect it to, it won’t be long before it’s capable of producing any type of creative content without the countless hours of dozens of writers and actors. Yunger has a different perspective on Hollywood’s use of AI, saying that creative content will always need “real actors” and “real storytellers.”
“You go to ChatGPT and ask it to tell a joke, it’s not going to tell you a funny joke,” he said. “If you tell it to write a story that will make you cry, it’s not going to make you cry. You still need human involvement. You still need the human element.”
“So Arcana is geared more towards artist-driven AI rather than AI-driven art,” he added.
Arcana’s capabilities were introduced to the world on February 25, when President Donald Trump posted a satirical <a href="https://www.instagram.com/realdonaldtrump/reel/DGhfpgHsOg6/?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a> about the remaking of Gaza. The AI-generated video that took social media by storm that day was made by someone who was testing Arcana’s tools, according to Yunger. Now, the company based in Los Angeles has $5.5 million in funding and <a href="https://deadline.com/2025/04/ai-content-platform-arcana-labs-raises-5-5-million-1236369763/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">officially launched</a> its production studio earlier this week with SEMCAP AI and co-CIOs Walter Buckley and Cyrus Vandrevala jumping on board.
“It was around the time I was doing ‘Hellboy’ — I wasn’t using any AI in ‘Hellboy’ — but me and my co-founder Hank Hoffman got hipped to generative AI at the time,” Yunger told The Daily Wire in his first interview since the launch of Arcana AI’s production studio. “And I was like, ‘Wow, it’s amazing.’”
Yunger said that AI’s capabilities to immediately turn words into images were “like the ultimate high” for a producer, but he added that he soon grew frustrated with the new tool because it took “hundreds of generations” to get AI to generate the image he had in his mind.
“This is amazing tech, but how do you incorporate this into a workflow if you’re either making a movie or making a comic book, or whatever it is, and you’re on a deadline?”
Out of this question, Arcana AI was born, and Yunger and his team believe it will help kickstart the “future of filmmaking.” Arcana also offers tools for small businesses, photographers, videographers, and everyone in between. Content creators and companies have already begun extensively using AI to produce everything from short films and memes to marketing campaigns and advertisements. Even Jeremy’s Razors, which shares common ownership with The Daily Wire, released a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzMXJct5WQ8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fully AI-generated commercial</a> earlier this year.
As AI continues to grow, a top priority for Arcana is to ensure that creators have a place to develop their skills with AI without fearing censorship. Yunger said that many other AI programs don’t allow creators to make scenes that include violence, blood, horror, or nudity. He argued that since AI is going to play a major role in the future of artistic content, it’s vital to allow artists the freedom to create content without fear of censorship.
“Imagine if they said, &#8216;No more nudity in every single art museum in the world.’ Or imagine if the Renaissance was censored, or imagine if every movie studio said, ‘Okay guys, only PG-13 movies from now on,’” Yunger said. “That is an attack on our liberty.”
Striking a balance between creative liberty and inappropriate content is an age-old question that AI is also facing. One of the biggest concerns is how AI is all-too-often used for sexual predation, such as revenge porn and “deepfake” nudity.
As AI has progressed, so has the ability of bad actors to create realistic images and videos that show the faces of real people who gave no consent for their likeness to be remade through artificial intelligence. The top targets of this unethical use of AI are celebrities, women, and girls, whose faces are attached to pornographic images. Often, the victims are underage girls who learn that one or more of their classmates used a “nudify” program to generate naked photos of them, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/23/opinion/deepfake-sex-videos.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> by The New York Times last year.
When asked about the troubling trend of AI being used for revenge porn or other illegal activities, Yunger said that Arcana can both defend free speech and stamp out unethical uses of its studio. Arcana’s security protocols warn users if they type a potentially illegal prompt into the AI generator and identify illegal content and those who create it.
“We have technology deployed that basically stamps every image made on Arcana with the username in an invisible watermark,” he told The Daily Wire. The security system allows Arcana to quickly identify illegal content and track down who is behind it.
Creators on Arcana are free to make what they want, but Yunger added that if something gets sent to the police, “We will find you very, very quickly.”
Excitement and fear around AI will remain as the technology affects more industries, jobs, and people, and Yunger acknowledged that “at the end of the day, things shift,” and those in Hollywood will have to keep up with the changes AI brings just as previous generations adapted to the computer revolutionizing the way people work.
“I don’t think AI will replace people,” Yunger added. “I think people who use AI will replace people who don’t.”

Hollywood Dreads AI’s Takeover, But This Producer Sees An Artist-Driven Future

Entertainment

Hollywood

Jobs

Nvidia <a href="https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/nvidia-manufacture-american-made-ai-supercomputers-us/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> on Monday that it will look &#8220;to design and build factories that, for the first time, will produce NVIDIA AI supercomputers entirely in the U.S.&#8221; in what could be a massive win for President Donald Trump as he pushes tech companies to manufacture on American soil.
The U.S.-based multinational tech corporation designs graphics processing units (GPUs) — the chips that help power artificial intelligence (AI) programs, such as ChatGPT. Nvidia, which currently outsources production of its chips, said that it is partnering with other companies &#8220;to build and test NVIDIA Blackwell chips in Arizona and AI supercomputers in Texas.&#8221;
&#8220;Within the next four years, NVIDIA plans to produce up to half a trillion dollars of AI infrastructure in the United States through partnerships with TSMC, Foxconn, Wistron, Amkor and SPIL,&#8221; Nvidia said in a statement. &#8220;These world-leading companies are deepening their partnership with NVIDIA, growing their businesses while expanding their global footprint and hardening supply chain resilience.&#8221;
The announcement was made as Trump doubled down on his trade war with China while seeking tariff deals with other countries around the globe. Some of Nvidia&#8217;s main partners, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Samsung, are attempting to navigate the president&#8217;s hefty tariffs. Nvidia <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/samsung-chip-profit-disappoints-sign-002517404.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">outsources</a> production of its chips to TSMC and Samsung, which manufacture the chips in Taiwan, South Korea, and the United States.
Nvidia stock <a href="https://www.cnn.com/markets/premarkets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">jumped</a> nearly 3% in pre-market trading on Monday.
Trump has focused on moving tech production to the United States since the outset of his second term in office. Last month, C.C. Wei, chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), joined Trump at the White House and announced a $100 billion investment in chip-manufacturing plants in America. Trump said the investment in the United States &#8220;was very important, obviously business-wise, but we thought even in terms of national security.&#8221;
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang said on Monday, &#8220;The engines of the world’s AI infrastructure are being built in the United States for the first time.&#8221; Nvidia said that its Blackwell chips have already started being produced at TSMC&#8217;s plant in Arizona, which began producing advanced chips in late 2024.
&#8220;Adding American manufacturing helps us better meet the incredible and growing demand for AI chips and supercomputers, strengthens our supply chain and boosts our resiliency,&#8221; Huang added.

Nvidia

Tech Giant Commits $500 Billion To Make AI Supercomputers ‘Entirely In The U.S.’

Business

Tariffs

Trump Administration

Stars who have slammed President Donald Trump are now asking the president for help with artificial intelligence copyright protections as Hollywood battles with the impact of AI on the entertainment industry.
Mark Ruffalo, Bette Midler, Ava DuVernay, and more actors have signed a letter to President Trump asking him to hold the line against tech companies who they said have pushed to “weaken copyright” rules, <a href="https://deadline.com/2025/03/trump-ai-hollywood-response-copyright-1236329205/">Deadline</a> noted.
“We firmly believe that America’s global AI leadership must not come at the expense of our essential creative industries,” the group wrote the White House Office of Science and Technology in an open letter.
“America’s arts and entertainment industry supports over 2.3M American jobs with over $229Bn in wages annually, while providing the foundation for American democratic influence and soft power abroad,” it added. “But AI companies are asking to undermine this economic and cultural strength by weakening copyright protections for the films, television series, artworks, writing, music, and voices used to train AI models at the core of multi-billion dollar corporate valuations.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Hollywood stars call on Donald Trump to make AI pay for their work amid tech row <a href="https://t.co/n3mq8qIwCE">https://t.co/n3mq8qIwCE</a>
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) <a href="https://twitter.com/MailOnline/status/1902547998439084184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2025</a></blockquote>
“For nearly 250 years, U.S. copyright law has balanced [a] creator’s rights with the needs of the public, creating the world’s most vibrant creative economy,” the letter continued. “We recommend that the American AI Action Plan uphold existing copyright frameworks to maintain the strength of America’s creative and knowledge industries, as well as American cultural influence abroad.”
In addition to Ruffalo, Midler, and DuVernay, Ben Stiller, Cate Blanchett, Judd Apatow, Taika Waititi, Natasha Lyonne, Paul McCartney, Lily Gladstone, and Patton Oswalt joined a list of more than 400 people in the entertainment industry who have called on Trump’s administration because they claim OpenAI and Google “are arguing for a special government exemption so they can freely exploit America’s creative and knowledge industries, despite their substantial revenues and available funds.&#8221;
&#8220;AI companies can use our copy-righted material by simply doing what the law requires – negotiating appropriate licenses with copyright holders, just as every other industry does,&#8221; the letter read. &#8220;This issue goes well beyond the entertainment industry, as the right to train AI on all copyright-protected content impacts all of America’s knowledge industries.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.aol.com/actor-mark-ruffalo-dubs-trump-025802346.html">Ruffalo</a> has been an outspoken critic of the president, labeling him once an “enemy of America” in response to an op-ed in The New York Times that claimed Trump was a threat to democracy.
“F***ing finally. Media starts to wake up…” Ruffalo wrote. “Presidential contender is calling for Americans to kill and harm Americans. Let that sink in. Enemy of America from within.”
Frequent Trump critic Midler previously <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-bette-midler-social-media-1890734">shared a post</a> on X from a writer who labeled Trump “a troll,&#8221; who has &#8220;no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth.” She captioned the post, noting how “brilliant” the writer was.
Following the 2024 election, director DuVernay blasted Trump’s re-election in spite of the criminal charges he faced, <a href="https://deadline.com/2024/12/ava-duvernay-donald-trump-re-election-origin-release-marrakech-1236190812/">Deadline</a> noted.
“My country is run by criminals, but that criminality is seen as completely different than a black kid on the corner who might buy, sell marijuana,” the actress said. “The black kid is in prison for years, while criminals are elected and make millions of dollars and sell electric cars.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/susan-sarandon-explains-the-impact-of-ai-in-hollywood-and-why-younger-generations-may-not-care" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Susan Sarandon Explains The Impact Of AI In Hollywood — And Why Younger Generations May Not Care</a>

WarnerMedia Winter TCA 2020 – Presentation

Hollywood Stars Who Slammed Trump Now Asking For Help With AI Protections

Ben Stiller

Bette Midler

Celebrities

Mark Ruffalo

Movies

Elon Musk said during an interview this week that the United States will win the race for artificial intelligence in the near term, but that long-term success over China will come down to which nation has the stronger manufacturing base.
Musk made the remarks during an interview on Sen. Ted Cruz&#8217;s (R-TX) &#8220;Verdict&#8221; podcast with co-host Ben Ferguson when asked about how the technology will change people&#8217;s lives.
&#8220;In 10 years, probably AI could do anything better than a human can cognitively, probably almost, I think, in 10 years, based on the current rate of improvement, AI will be smarter than the smartest human,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There will also be a massive number of robots, so humanoid robots.&#8221;
He claimed that there would be &#8220;tens of billions of robots&#8221; in existence by then that will &#8220;make you anything or provide any service you want for basically next to nothing.&#8221;
Cruz then asked Musk how the United States could win the war for AI dominance against China, saying that he wanted to make sure that if robots turned out to be killing machines in the future that he preferred they be American killer robots instead of Chinese killer robots.
“Well, next few years, I think America is likely to win, then it will be a function of who controls the AI chip fabrication, the factories that make the AI chips, who controls them, if more of them are controlled by China, then China will win,&#8221; Musk said.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
What will life look like 10 years from now? <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ElonMusk</a> gives his thoughts to where we are headed with AI. 
Download and listen to the latest episode of Verdict here! <a href="https://t.co/WGlGPSDJgZ">https://t.co/WGlGPSDJgZ</a> <a href="https://t.co/pQJPXCsACX">pic.twitter.com/pQJPXCsACX</a>
&mdash; Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) <a href="https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1901711131120742516?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Elon Musk Meets with Senate Republicans

Elon Musk Reveals Key For U.S. To Win AI Race Vs. China

Communist China

Elon Musk

World

Texas lawmakers are considering a bill that proponents say will strengthen the state’s power grid, but critics argue will undermine the state and country’s ability to compete on AI.
SB 6 is one of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s legislative priorities for the year. The bill would place additional rules on “large load customers,” or facilities that use 75 megawatts of power or more. Republicans who support the bill say it is necessary to reduce strain on the state’s power grid, which, unlike other states, is contained and operates independently of the U.S. national grid.
If the legislation is enacted, the additional rules could undermine the vision laid out by President Donald Trump for American dominance in AI, critics say. The president recently announced the Stargate Project to kickstart the U.S. effort to lead internationally in AI development.
Stargate is a $500 billion joint venture by top AI and tech companies and the Trump administration. Texas is the first state to receive investment from the project with 10 data centers already under construction in the city of Abilene.
The Trump administration is cutting federal red tape to boost economic growth and accelerate the project. On Thursday, the White House <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/03/president-trumps-deregulation-effort-has-already-saved-families-thousands-of-dollars/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that the administration has saved Americans $180 billion worth of regulations since Trump took office.
Texas is a hotspot for new investment, especially in tech. But Texas runs the risk of blunting the momentum of the Stargate Project, according to Vance Ginn, president of Ginn Economic Consulting. Added regulation, while it will not likely impact Stargate’s partners — tech giants OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle — could box out competition from smaller firms that want to push AI development further, Ginn said.
“It creates a situation of government barriers that we&#8217;re going to have less competition and, therefore — what I would argue — higher priced AI, higher priced technology, higher priced electricity,” Ginn told The Daily Wire. “All this is going to contribute to not as much abundance and prosperity in the future.”
When asked for comment by The Daily Wire, a Trump administration official said, “Anyone standing in the way of the Golden Age of American Energy will regret it.”
The law would require “large load” facilities to have backup generators to switch on in times of severe strain on the grid. It also puts in place a $100,000 screening fee necessary for state approval.
Each facility would have to install a “kill switch” that state regulators could activate remotely to cut power to the site.
“That&#8217;s very command-and-control sort of system that they’re trying to put in place,” Ginn said. “In their mind, this is probably providing safety when, in fact, it&#8217;s reducing private property rights and potentially — well, it will not only potentially — it will influence those businesses directly who may need electricity for their own family and for their own employees.”
Republican lawmakers pushing SB 6 argue that the reforms are needed to keep Texas’ power grid safe and avoid a repeat of Winter Storm Uri, which knocked out power for days and killed hundreds of people across the state in 2021. Since the disaster, lawmakers have been concerned about the reliability of Texas’ energy grid in times of high usage.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is pushing SB 6 and has <a href="https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/texas/2025/01/29/512312/patrick-unveils-top-25-legislative-priorities-for-2025/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">listed</a> it as one of his top legislative priorities for 2025. Despite past reservations he has voiced on the strain that data centers could place on Texas’ energy grid, the lieutenant governor in January <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/top-texas-gop-official-rallies-around-trumps-ai-crypto-plans-amid-states-crucial-investments" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asserted</a> that “there’s no daylight between President Trump and I on this issue.”
In a comment to The Daily Wire, Patrick dismissed Ginn&#8217;s concerns.
&#8220;As we go through the process of passing this bill, we are working with industry and stakeholders,&#8221; Patrick said in a statement. &#8220;Everybody knows Texas leads the nation in many fields, including emerging technologies. This will be no different, and Texas will be #1 for AI, data centers, and cryptocurrency. There is no other state that can even come close to us, and that is our goal.&#8221;
Ginn says that while SB 6 will not disrupt Stargate, it would blunt the White House’s push to make the United States AI dominant in the competition against China.
“I don&#8217;t think that it would make Stargate less effective. I do think it will make the potential for what Stargate could get started, of having more and more businesses come here, I think you could stop that,” Ginn said. “Stargate in general is this big idea that we&#8217;re gonna have a lot more AI and we can bring about more energy and then there&#8217;s these small modular reactors that a lot of these firms can use. But if there&#8217;s gonna be all this regulation and high cost, that could stifle a lot of that innovation and employment and economic activity in the future.”

How A Texas Bill Could Stifle Trump’s Push For American AI Dominance

Dan Patrick

Texas

Secretary of Energy Chris Wright will travel to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on Friday to tour nuclear facilities and take part in a summit on the future of artificial intelligence development in the United States.
Wright’s visit to Oak Ridge, one of the original sites of the Manhattan Project, comes after he spent Monday at New Mexico’s Los Alamos National Lab touring its highly secure supercomputing and plutonium facilities. At Oak Ridge, Wright will tour the site’s supercomputer and Y-12, a facility that produces and stores enriched uranium.
GOP Rep. Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee, the chairman of the Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee, will be one of several lawmakers hosting Wright.
“Oak Ridge and East Tennessee are at the forefront of developing groundbreaking new technologies such as AI, revitalizing our defense industrial base, and working to deliver on President Trump’s and Secretary Wright’s agenda to unleash American-made energy by expanding new nuclear power and technologies,” Fleischmann told The Daily Wire, adding that such advancements “are essential to our national security, economic prosperity, and powering our nation through the 21st Century.”
Wright’s visit to the Tennessee nuclear site comes as the administration prioritizes AI research and development to outperform U.S. adversaries like China. Wright will meet with OpenAI’s president and co-founder, Greg Brockman, on Friday and take part in a virtual summit described as a “1,000 Scientist AI Jam Session,” according to an Oak Ridge spokesman.
The summit is a “first-of-its-kind event being co-hosted by OpenAI and nine of the U.S. Department of Energy’s national labs to explore how AI can accelerate scientific discovery,” the spokesman told The Daily Wire. “Participants will have access to leading frontier AI models to test research applications, evaluate model responses, and help improve future AI systems. Secretary Wright and Mr. Brockman will give remarks and visit with participating Oak Ridge scientists.”
The participating national labs are Argonne, Berkeley, Brookhaven, Idaho, Livermore, Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, Pacific Northwest, and Princeton Plasma Physics.
Wright’s visits to Oak Ridge and Los Alamos emphasize the administration’s view of the importance of nuclear power. In an order signed on his first day as Energy Secretary, Wright said that the Trump administration aims to spark an “American nuclear renaissance” and that the United States should lead the “commercialization of affordable and abundant nuclear energy.”
That energy will be needed to power the U.S. development of energy-intensive AI models. In a video of his tour of Los Alamos, the secretary described the AI race as the “next Manhattan Project,” a reference to the U.S. research program that developed the atomic bomb during the Second World War.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
More than 70 years ago, the Manhattan Project brought together the world’s greatest scientists and engineers here in Los Alamos for a patriotic effort that changed the world.
The next Manhattan Project has arrived and with <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> leadership, we will win this critical race. <a href="https://t.co/E40rNzKgJJ">pic.twitter.com/E40rNzKgJJ</a>
&mdash; Secretary Chris Wright (@SecretaryWright) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecretaryWright/status/1894545339899641936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Chris Wright

EXCLUSIVE: Trump Energy Sec To Visit Tennessee Nuclear Facility, Take Part In AI Summit

EXCLUSIVE: Trump Energy Sec To Visit TN Nuclear Facility, Take Part In AI Summit

Department of Energy

Energy

Tennessee

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