As If the Flooding Wasn't Enough, Now Texas Has to Deal With These Demon Insects

As if drowning weren’t enough to fear, Tropical Storm Harvey has brought another horror: floating “islands” of fire ants. People should beware of clusters of fire ants in flood waters, Houstonia Magazine reported. During a flood emergency, fire ants group together into a ball or a raft shape to float on the water.

Pat and Stu talked about the terrifying story on radio Monday.

Stu shared his unfiltered thoughts on fire ants as well as stories about getting bitten by the venomous insects. “They are the worst things that have ever appeared in the world,” he said. “They are borderline indestructible. … They are awful, they are everywhere, you can’t stop them.”

Houston isn’t just dealing with record rains, flooded homes and fire ant islands. Texas media outlets are also reporting alligator sightings, although bats seem to be less successful than fire ants at survival. Some of the bats at tourist destination Waugh Bridge have reportedly drowned in the flood.

But don’t believe every crazy creature story you see: Gizmodo pointed out that people are using Harvey as an excuse to resurface the rumor that sharks are swimming the streets. Spoiler alert: They’re not.

PAT: We're going off script now by talking about kind of a weird thing that's happening now in Houston, with -- there's an indestructible insect in this state.

STU: Yes.

PAT: Cannot be killed. And apparently, there are floating mounds of fire ants.

STU: I'll have the creepy-crawlies all day after reading this story. But it's true. There are floating fire ant colonies in Houston. Now, fire ants are -- it's like the devil's dandruff.

PAT: Uh-huh.

STU: They are the worst things that have ever appeared in the world. They are borderline indestructible.

PAT: Yes.

STU: I got bit by one weeks ago. And still itchy all over because of it. Even thinking about it now and getting the creepy-crawlies. They are awful. They are everywhere. You can't stop them.

I spend half of my time out in my backyard with various different crazy poisons that I'm sprinkling all over that will probably at some time kill my dog or something else-something else. But I just hate these things. I am like genocide-level dictator against fire ants. I'm like -- I'm in the middle of -- I am the worst humanity has ever produced when it comes to these fire ants. I just hate it.

PAT: They really are terrible. And they're extremely hard to kill.

JEFFY: Yes.

STU: Right. And so you would think when the entire city would be under a couple feet of water.

PAT: They would kill them.

STU: They would kill them. At least this batch of them. They have somehow -- and there's pictures of them.

JEFFY: Yeah, the floating islands.

STU: They have created islands and are floating through the streets, millions of fire ants on top of each other crawling, and ugh. The pictures are horrific. And if you were -- I mean, this happened -- my daughter, we were at church -- this was a couple years ago. She was maybe two. Maybe even one at this point. And there -- as you walked to the car, there's a strip of grass on the side of where our church is. And, you know, your kid will run away and be silly and decide to do what they do. So she ran away into the grass. What's the big? No big deal, right? And she walked up to this tree. And she put her back to the tree. And we said, Ainsely, come here. Come back.

And she started laughing. Not listening.

And said, come on, Ainsley. Let's go. Let's go.

And then she just stood there and she just looked at us and stopped and went dead silent for about five seconds, and then just started bawling.

PAT: Oh, man.

STU: We were like, what is going on? Like, at first, it's just, what is wrong with her? And she's standing in the same place. She's not moving or anything. She's just frozen in fear.

JEFFY: She's frozen. That's what happens man.

PAT: Oh.

STU: And she just starts crying like crazy. My wife runs over. And I'm covering over. And we look at her legs, and they are just covered in fire ants. She was standing in a mound of them.

JEFFY: Yeah.

STU: The entire field, she walked over and stopped in a mound of fire ants. So she's covered up to her knees. You know, it's dusting these things off. Her legs for the next three weeks were just these red welts everywhere.

JEFFY: Oh, yeah.

PAT: Oh, jeez. Yeah.

STU: These things are -- they are terrorists.

PAT: And they hurt. I mean, it hurts.

STU: It hurts, and then it itches for weeks afterwards. They are horrible.

And it's no surprise. Of all the things, they're going to make it through this freaking disaster. It's going to be fire ants. I hate them.

PAT: Fire ants and cockroaches are pretty much indestructible. You know, there's an idea, Jeffy had an idea that maybe that's what we drop on North Korea.

JEFFY: Thank you. Just drop mounds of fire ants on North Korea. Good day.

PAT: That will take care of the problem.

STU: It's actually not a bad idea.

They were talking about when North Korea was threatening to firing the missiles at Guam, that Guam apparently has had an issue with these snakes.

And, apparently, there's an invasive species of snakes on Guam where -- it's like to the issue of like there's so many -- it's like 100 times the amount of people, there are these crazy snakes. And, like, thousands of them are everywhere, apparently. That was the picture painted, at least.

PAT: Hmm.

STU: And the only way they could come up with to control this snake population is to airdrop poisoned mouse carcasses all over the island.

Can you imagine a plane flying over your island of paradise, and they're just dropping dead poison mice all over the place? But then the snakes eat them, and that's the only way they can control the population.

PAT: Bizarre.

STU: I mean, there is a legitimate -- first of all, you drop them from 75,000 feet. You go all the way up there. They can barely detect it. And these fire ants will live through that fall, I promise.

PAT: No question.

JEFFY: They're going to live? They're going to breed eight families --

PAT: They're going to double the population by the time they hit the ground.

STU: That's true. That's true. I think this is a good approach to North Korea, who by the way fired another missile I guess. And also, they're now threatening nuclear tests in the middle of all this. So Donald Trump has his plate pretty full right now.

JEFFY: Boy, no kidding.

Was this the most PATRIOTIC Super Bowl yet?

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The 2025 Super Bowl demonstrated Trump’s vision of a new America.

On Sunday, February 9th, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in the biggest sporting event of the year. But this wasn't just a victory for Eagles fans. For those watching, it became apparent that American culture has changed, the zeitgeist has shifted, and America has become cool again. While remnants of woke culture lingered, they felt out of step next to the parade of American Flags and patriotic messaging that dominated the national event. The message was clear: America is back.

Everybody knows that the commercials are the best part of any Super Bowl, and last night's game was no exception. As Glenn has pointed out, while some of the ads still carried woke messages (like Nike's), many more captured the newly kindled patriotism felt nationwide. Here are four of the best commercials from last Sunday that make this the most patriotic Super Bowl yet:

1. Rocket: "Own the Dream"

This touching commercial by the financial services company, Rocket, states "Everyone deserves a shot at the American dream," while showing images of people returning home and building families. The ad included a cover of John Denver's iconic song "Take Me Home, Country Roads" and featured an in-stadium sing-along, live from the Super Bowl.

2. Secret Service: "A History of Protection"

Donald Trump made history by being the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl, which required the efforts of hundreds of Secret Service agents to ensure his safety. The Secret Service boasted of this feat during their minute-long commercial, which lauded American values and achievements and featured iconic American imagery.

3. Brad Pitt: "Huddle Up"

The Super Bowl introduction celebrated snapshots of American achievement accompanied with a powerful commentary about unity narrated by Brad Pitt. The message is clear: Americans can achieve great things when we work together. The ad conjures up American ideals such as hard work, ingenuity, self-sacrifice, and teamwork.

4. Jeep: "Big Game"

Movie star Harrison Ford appeared in Jeep's Super Bowl commercial to promote freedom and to remind us that "freedom isn't free." Ford treks through the mountains while ruminating on what freedom means in America and the opportunities and responsibilities that come with it.

How Trump is WINNING at the Panama Canal

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Despite the doubts of the nay-sayers, Trump's Panamanian plans have already borne fruit.

Shortly before his inauguration, President Trump drew national attention to the Panama Canal. He reminded Americans of just how important the canal is for the U.S. and highlighted the Chinese influence that has been slowly taking control of the vital passage ever since America handed it over to Panama.

President Trump was immediately mocked and ridiculed by the Left, who called him delusional and an imperialist. However, earlier this week, Trump's Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, made a trip to Panama and spoke with the Panamanian President, José Raúl Mulino, and Rubio made some serious headway. As Glenn has explained, Trump's boisterous talk is part of his strategy. Invading Panama was never the goal, just one of several options to get what America needed, and after Rubio's visit, it seems like America's needs will be met.

Here are the TOP THREE takeaways from Marco Rubio's visit to Panama:

1. Marco Rubio makes headway

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On February 2nd, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Panamanian Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha and President José Raúl Mulino where they discussed critical regional and global challenges, including the canal. Rubio drew attention to the Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal in which the U.S. promised Panama ownership of the canal on the condition of its guaranteed neutrality. Rubio argued that China's growing influence qualified as a breach of the treaty and that it gives the U.S. the power to take necessary measures to rectify the faults, given Panama doesn't act. As of this week, reports say Panama agreed and promised to take immediate action to purge Chinese influence from canal operations.

2. Panama is ditching China's Belt Road

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After his meeting with Rubio, Panamanian President Mulino agreed that Panama would step away from China's "Belt and Road Initiative" (BRI). The BRI is a Chinese effort to establish China as the main economic power in developing nations across the world. In 2017, Panama signed on to this initiative, and China's influence in the small nation has exponentially grown. However, after Rubio's visit, President Mulino has not only stated that Panama will not renew its agreement with China, but moreover, the country will also look for ways to back out of the agreement early. This is a massive win for the Trump Administration and the American people.

3. The Chinese may lose their ports on the canal

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Shortly after Rubio left Panama City, two lawyers spearheaded the effort to kick out a Chinese company that controls two major ports on the Panama Canal. The Chinese company—CK Hutchison Holdings—has operated one port on both ends of the canal since 1997, which could potentially give China a massive degree of control over traffic. After analyzing the contract, the Panamanian lawyers argue that the contract is potentially in violation of the Panamanian constitution and should be revoked. It is unclear if the constitutional issues relate to the Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal, but even on its own merit, this is a huge victory for America.

Top 15 jobs AI is TAKING OVER

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The AI takeover has begun.

Last week, Glenn delved into the World Economic Forum's 2025 summit in Davos, where our malevolent overlords focused especially on AI and how it can replace millions of workers worldwide. We are at the precipice of a monumental change in how the world is run—WEF founder Klaus Schwab called it "The Fourth Industrial Revolution"—and in time, AI will augment every one of our lives.

Already, AI is taking jobs. Thousands, if not millions, of tasks are slowly being delegated to it. The affected fields are largely data entry, admin tasks, and clerical work, along with graphic design and some customer support roles. However, as AI becomes more sophisticated, the scope of its abilities will only grow. The WEF is all for it, and last month they released a shocking chart

that revealed what jobs were already feeling the pain. Check out the top 15 jobs that are already disappearing:

1. Postal service clerks

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2. Bank tellers

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3. Data entry clerks

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4. Cashiers and ticket clerks

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5. Administrative assistants and executive secretaries

6. Printing workers

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7. Accounting, bookkeeping, and payroll clerks

8. Material-recording and stock-keeping clerks

9. Transportation attendants and conductors

10. Door-to-door salesmen

11. Graphic designers

12. Claims adjusters, examiners and investigators

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13. Legal officials

14. Legal secretaries

15. Telemarketers

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3 stories that prove USAID is a criminal organization

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Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has one mission—to eliminate government waste—and it's starting with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). USAID is a federal agency that, on paper, is responsible for distributing foreign aid to conflict-ridden zones across the world. However, for years, Glenn has revealed that the USAID acts more like a second CIA, but without the regulation or oversight under the State Department. Elon Musk concurred, describing the federal agency as not merely "an apple with a worm in it" but rather "just a ball of worms."

Don't fall for the left's narrative calling USAID a "humanitarian" organization. Here are the top three stories that reveal just how corrupt the USAID really is:

1. USAID has funded terrorist organizations and Osama bin Laden

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In 2023, USAID provided "assistance" to nearly 130 countries, including Ukraine, Ethiopia, Jordan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Yemen, Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Syria (which is currently run by a terrorist that received aid from the Obama-era CIA). Under Obama, USAID gave funds to an organization known as the Islamic Relief Agency (ISRA), which was known at the time to help finance Jihadist groups and had been labeled by the U.S. Treasury Department as a "terror-financing organization."

The ISRA also funded and gave shelter to the 9/11 mastermind, Osama bin Laden—U.S. taxpayer dollars sent straight to the perpetrator of the deadliest terrorist attack in history and the most lethal attack on U.S. soil.

2. USAID "loses" funds that happen to end up in individuals' pockets

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A recent investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) revealed that in 2016, Chemonics International colluded with a USAID subcontractor to massively overcharge a USAID project to pocket extra funds from the project's bottom line. Moreover, the USAID project used "self-reported" performance metrics, which made it impossible to verify the actual progress of the project and how the funds were being used.

Even the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic has USAID's sticky fingerprints all over it. In 2014, USAID provided $38 million to an EcoHealth Alliance project called "Predict-2." One of the subcontractors, Ben Hu, headed the Wuhan Institute of Virology's gain-of-function research and was one of the first three people infected with COVID-19 in late 2019. That means U.S. taxpayer dollars were likely used to fund the very research that gave rise to the COVID-19 pandemic.

3. USAID operates as a second "CIA" with no accountability

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The CIA isn't the only agency that meddles in the political inner workings of foreign powers. USAID has conducted similar operations since the 1950s. USAID notoriously sowed dissent in Cuba to grow U.S. influence, and they even taught South American police forces Nazi torture methods. In the late 1990s, 300,000 Peruvian women were forcibly sterilized in a "poverty reduction strategy" that received $35 million in funding from USAID.

More recently, USAID's foreign influence has grown significantly under former Obama adviser, Samantha Power, called USAID America's "soft power arsenal." Under her leadership, the organization meddled in the political affairs of several nations, including Ukraine, Ethiopia, and, Bolivia. Several domestic, left-leaning influence groups, such as the Tides Center, received several grants and aid.