A beloved former Texas school janitor — who spent nearly four decades cleaning classrooms and helping students — burst into tears after receiving an unexpected honor from the school district.

Marilyn Hampton retired as a custodian in 2022 after working for the Aubrey Independent School District for 39 years. Hampton told WFAA-TV that she continued to work by caring for infants and toddlers in the Aubrey Independent School District's Early Bird Learning Center.

'God put you where you are supposed to be.'

During a school board meeting last Wednesday, Aubrey ISD Superintendent Dr. Shannon Saylor asked Hampton if she could perform one last task.

Saylor asked Hampton to roll out a red carpet in front of the speaker's podium in the room.

Hampton, 76, unrolled the red carpet but did not initially realize what had been written on it. It read: "Marilyn Hampton Elementary School."

Saylor announced that a new school would officially be named the Marilyn Hampton Elementary School.

Hampton broke down in tears upon hearing that the new school would be named in her honor. "You’re too good. I wasn’t expecting this. Thank y'all. I can't speak," Hampton said through tears, according to the New York Post.

"Oh my goodness. Oh God. You all are the best," the elated Hampton said.

Hampton told the room, "I didn’t bring my phone."

Then Saylor quipped, "That's OK, it'll be everywhere."

Saylor said Hampton is "truly Aubrey ISD."

"She may not have the official title of an educator, but she was in every meaningful sense a teacher and an educator at heart," Saylor said of Hampton.

"Her teaching legacy that she left behind about being kind, work hard, continue to persevere, and overcome," Saylor added.

Saylor said the school board takes "great pride in honoring those who have really contributed to the lives of our kids."

The Aubrey Independent School District said the surprise announcement was done to "publicly put a stamp" on Hampton's legacy.

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Hampton told WFAA on Friday, "I still can’t believe it. I haven’t stopped crying."

The school board presented her with a Marilyn Hampton Elementary School T-shirt.

Hampton remarked, "Can you believe it? I can't. I cannot. All I can say is God is good."

Hampton proclaimed that her "heart is full."

Hampton said she once felt like a failure because she never attended college but later found that being a custodian brought her satisfaction. Hampton said, "I just thought, 'You know, Marilyn? God put you where you are supposed to be.' And I’m very happy with the way things turned out."

During her time as a custodian, Hampton not only cleaned the school, but also bought school supplies and helped struggling students study for tests.

"When I could help a kid and turn their smile up instead of down, that's what I wanted to do," Hampton said.

Hampton said, "Whoever thought a janitor would have a school named after them?"

"My goodness. What an honor. It's an honor that I never thought in my lifetime I would have seen," Hampton continued. "It's not anything I could have even imagined."

The Marilyn Hampton Elementary School, which will be located in Aubrey, Texas, is set to open in August 2027.

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Lakepointe Church senior pastor and host of the "Live Free" podcast, available on BlazeTV, Josh Howerton is calling on his fellow pastors to fight back against "intimidation" efforts from secular activists and to speak forthrightly about the "moral asymmetry" between the two major political parties in America ahead of the upcoming midterms.

Howerton — who discussed the misconceptions about the separation between church and state earlier this year on "Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey" — also implored fellow pastors in Texas and across the nation, via social media, to encourage their congregants to vote and not be afraid of the threat of lawsuits from organizations like the Freedom from Religion Foundation that use IRS complaints to intimidate pastors to remain silent.

'No church in US History has ever had their tax exempt status removed for a sermon, much less for a separate podcast.'

Howerton claimed in the post that millions of Christians in Texas may not vote in the 2026 midterm elections that could be decided by a few hundred thousand votes. Howerton said, "Pastors, consider encouraging your people to vote real quick in announcements next couple weeks." He then told those pastors that their congregations were comprised of "salt of the earth" people who want their pastors to do this.

Days after this initial exhortation, Howerton identified Ashley Wooldridge, the senior pastor of Christ's Church of the Valley in Arizona, as a pastor who has been delivering the goods.

Responding to a video where Wooldridge urges followers of Christ to go vote, Howerton wrote, "People who don't come from 'pastor world' won’t understand this, but Pastor Ashley will get crushed just for doing this (his church is over 50k people). And every member of his church should have his back and be proud he’s their pastor for doing it."

In the interview earlier this year with Allie Beth Stuckey, Howerton explained what the so-called separation of church and state does not mean.

"Morality is all that gets legislated. Every law that has ever existed legislates a morality," he continued. "So separation of church and state doesn't mean a separation of morality and state, and separation of church and state doesn't mean a separation of politics and religion. That's actually impossible and clearly not what the founders desired."

Howerton knows firsthand what backlash awaits those conservative Christians who dare to raise their voices during an election year.

Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, Howerton spoke forcefully about matters of faith, morality, and political agency, emphasizing that "if the church won't disciple people, the world will." In particular, one of his sermons evidently got under the skin of the secularists at the Freedom from Religion Foundation, a tax-exempt progressive advocacy group that works zealously to remove all signs and sounds of Christianity from public spaces.

While the secularist group acknowledged that Howerton wasn't explicitly endorsing a presidential candidate in the sermon, it nevertheless asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate Lakepointe Church and terminate its tax-exempt status.

Drawing on his experience with the FFRF's 2024 complaint and what he regards as pastor-focused "harassment and intimidation," Howerton noted last week that "progressives selectively report churches to the FFRF every year and FFRF selectively threatens only one side with (toothless) lawsuits."

The Internal Revenue Code has long prohibited churches and other tax-exempt nonprofit organizations "from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office."

RELATED: Talarico gets DEMOLISHED after he cites Bible in defense of abortion

Congress has yet to repeal the Johnson Amendment and related legal battles are ongoing, but the IRS said last year that pastors could formally endorse political candidates from the pulpit without jeopardizing their tax-exempt status under the Johnson Amendment.

After suggesting that FFRF turns a blind eye to pro-Democratic messaging in progressive churches, Howerton emphasized that "no church in U.S. History has ever had their tax exempt status removed for a sermon, much less for a separate podcast, and that goes triple for cases in which no candidate has even been endorsed and QUADRUPLE for simply encouraging your people to vote and bringing clarity of moral asymmetry of policy proposals."

"In the words of a couple knowledgeable guys I consulted with, it's a harassment and intimidation tactic to silence pastors," said Howerton.

The FFRF did not immediately respond to Blaze News' request for comment.

"There is NO threat from this whatsoever, you are 100% free to be clear with your people about the (radical) moral asymmetry between the current proposed policies and ideologies of the parties AND to encourage your people to vote as an application of the command to be 'the salt of the earth' (Matt 5:13) and to 'seek the welfare of the city' (Jer 29:7) and to 'love your neighbor' (Mk 12:31)," continued the pastor. "Stand firm."

Howerton is not alone in asking Christian faith leaders to step up.

In an interview on Fox News earlier this month, Southern Baptist Convention President Willy Rice similarly urged pastors to engage in the political process "because there are many political issues that are, at their heart, theological issues and moral issues that strike at the very center of what we believe to be true and what we believe people need to know in order to flourish personally and as a culture."

"I think throughout American history, pastors have had a strong voice at key moments in American political history," added Rice.

Rice also observed that theologically conservative pastors retreated from public political fights in recent years, leaving a "vacuum" that was exploited by "those on the theological and political left."

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For 15 years, Amazon’s Fire tablets served as affordable options for anyone who liked to read books, surf the web, watch videos, and shop for products on Amazon. That’s why it's a surprise that Amazon just killed off Fire tablets for a new, more expensive option that you’ll either love or hate.

Amazon Fire tablets were cheap, both in quality and affordability. They were made of plastic, they ran a forked version of Android that cut out the Google Play Store in favor of the Amazon App Store, and they cost anywhere between $50 and $200, depending on the model. This made them easy to give to kids, throw in a bag, or keep around the house without much concern.

Premium devices require premium price tags, and Alexa Tablets deliver in spades.

Amazon Fire tablets were useful in their category, but compared to Apple’s iPad or the Samsung Galaxy Tab series, they weren’t nearly as capable. For this reason, Amazon officially killed the Fire tablet in early October in favor of something else — a new product crafted for the personal intelligence era of society.

Dubbed Alexa Tablets, these new devices come in three distinct sizes: the largest 12-inch Amazon Alexa Tablet 12 Pro, the middle 11-inch Amazon Alexa Tablet 11, and the smallest 8.7-inch Amazon Alexa Tablet 8.

They’re premium in both look and feel, featuring aluminum frames, 60Hz-120Hz refresh rate displays for smooth performance, and refined designs.

Unlike the Fire tablets of the past, Alexa Tablets run a full version of Android 16. That means users can access the Google Play Store and download all their favorite apps, including Google services like YouTube, video games like Genshin Impact and Roblox, and Amazon apps, including Kindle, Amazon store, and Prime Video.

As their names suggest, Alexa Tablets are built around the premium version of Amazon’s personal assistant, Alexa+. Although it may not generate as much buzz as ChatGPT, Claude, or even the new Siri, Alexa+ is a generative AI chatbot that can field questions, make reservations, and more.

Under the hood, some of Alexa Tablets’ appeal starts to wane. The 8-inch version comes with 4GB of RAM (upgradable to 8GB) and up to 128GB of storage — pretty small metrics by today’s standards, and the RAM shortage over AI isn’t helping. As for the 11-inch Pro tablet, it comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, upgradable to 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

All three tablets feature MediaTek chips in lieu of Qualcomm — 8189 8-core on the smaller versions and Dimensity 8400 on the larger Pro. MediaTek is usually considered the cheaper and less performant option than the Qualcomm Snapdragon series found in most flagship Android devices today. These were likely chosen to cut costs.

RELATED: Google is killing its popular Chromebook. Here's what's next — and how to prepare.

John Moore/Staff/Getty Images

As a whole, Alexa Tablets seem like decent devices — not groundbreaking but not bad either. They look good, they should feel premium in the hand, and the overall quality exceeds anything that Fire tablets delivered in a decade and a half.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise. Amazon’s device division is headed up by Senior Vice President Panos Panay. Panay, who joined Amazon in 2023, previously worked as the chief product officer at Microsoft, meticulously building and refining the Surface product series for 15 years.

If you’ve never listened to Panay wax poetic over new hardware, it’s something to watch. His adoration for tech is infectious. He clearly loves what he does. Any of us would be lucky to have a spouse that fawns over us like Panay does his tech. But I digress.

The biggest problem with Alexa Tablets is the price.

Premium devices require premium price tags, and Alexa Tablets deliver in spades. The cheapest Alexa Tablet 8 starts at $279.99, a far cry from the $50 Fire tablet days. Continuing the climb up the price chart, Alexa Tablet 11 clocks in at $379.99. Then at the top, reigning as the most premium option on the list, the Alexa Tablet 12 Pro can be yours for $499.99.

Now, it’s important to look at these prices in context. While they’re worlds more expensive than the Fire tablets of yesteryear, and while these new versions may be too pricey to hand off to a child or throw around like their predecessors, Alexa tablets are still surprisingly affordable compared to iPad and Galaxy Tab.

The base model iPad Mini and iPad start at $599 and $449, respectively, while the high-end iPad Pro will cost you $1,199 or more. At the same time, Samsung will sell you the cheapest Galaxy Tab S10 Lite for $399.99, up to the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra for $1,399.99. This makes Alexa Tablets one of the most affordable “Pro” tablets money can buy, even if they are a sticker shock compared to the outgoing Fire series.

Alexa Tablets are available for purchase now from Amazon, Target, Best Buy, and other retailers.

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I was put into contact with a Springfield, Ohio, man named Quinn Ferrell, who showed me pictures of the complete destruction of his detached garage by a Haitian driver. Quinn is an exotic pet owner, and the Haitian annihilation resulted in a horrific scene of gore and splatter.

Quinn wrote:

At [3:00 a.m.] me and my wife were jolted awake after hearing what can only be described as an explosion right outside of our bedroom. When I got up I ran outside to hear the noise of a car hitting the rev [limiter], drowsy and still sleepy, I had no idea what I was looking at until I went to the front of my garage. When I saw the door was lodged into the back of my (now-destroyed) Jetta, I knew someone had crashed into my garage from the back of the building. Meaning he ramped my rear neighbor[’]s yard went airborne, slammed through my privacy fence, then crashed [completely] through my entire garage knocking 3 of the four walls off of its foundation.

Stories like Quinn’s are depressingly easy to find. ... You'll quickly notice something: The race and nationality of the offending driver are rarely reported.

When I walked around back I was helping the man “Joanne Francois” out of his vehicle because the garage was falling in. As soon as he hopped out all he kept saying was “[I’m OK, I'm OK]!” He was heavily intoxicated. So I yell to my wife to call the cops and then he takes off running. I tackled him at the fence and he started assaulting me so I returned the favor.

In the midst of the fight I was able to grab him into the front yard and he persisted on fighting. So I continued to fight back to keep him there. When the police finally arrived a few officers drew weapons at me and told me to get off the man. I explained what had happened and that he was drunk and they acted as if I was lying. So I demanded the officer in charge to come with me to assess the situation. I was threatened with arrest on multiple occasions because of how loud I was being. When state troopers arrived (for some reason they had to be the ones to administer the breathalyzer) he blew twice the legal limit.

After all was said and done he was refused at the jail, got to go home that night, and got a failure to maintain ticket. He had no insurance, no license, and from my understanding the car wasn't in his name. So I am STILL to this day repairing my building slowly. My insurance only covered some of the items inside. And a small amount for the building ($6,000 of the $60,000 dollars of quoted damages) because of the lack of insurance on his end.

I had fish and reptiles in that building that were dead scattered all over my property. None were covered. ...

I was called racist for speaking out about it. Being a Haitian [isn't] a race[, it’s] a nationality. [That’s] like me saying [I’m] Ohionese.

RELATED: Haiti suddenly went from 'GREAT ALREADY' to 'hell' now that Trump is sending back its people

Guerinault Louis/Anadolu via Getty Images

I could not believe his story, which is exactly why I did. Quinn was treated by Springfield police as the assailant, the criminal, the instigator. Why? I can only guess. (He's white.)

Stories like Quinn’s are depressingly easy to find on search engines with long-trail keywords like “Springfield Ohio crash.” You'll quickly notice something: The race and nationality of the offending driver are rarely reported. “Car crashes into garage in Springfield.” Yes, I'm sure it did. All by itself.

It’s more than residences too. I was contacted by Brian Cox, who showed me photos and videos of “the aftermath of a Haitian who ran her car all the way through the wall of our business.” Here’s what he told me:

[The Haitian woman] got in the parked car, put it in drive, and went right through. Wasn't cited because the cops said it was on private property. We had to find a new home for the business.

We’re in the process of suing our own insurance company. They tried to deny the claim for moving expenses and loss of income. And I have had all my insurance with them since 1979.

She was on [Temporary Protected Status].

The male Haitian [who was with the woman] tried to stare down (you know, mean-mug) my son while he was talking to the police. Didn't work. The Haitians have some sort of money-transfer business there. Now that TPS is done, we'll be reporting the business to ICE. ...

The way I see it, Springfield has been having a really hard time for at least the last 35 years. ... It seems to me that those who want to profit from unfettered third world immigration pick on these types of communities because the people generally are slow to fight back. Many of them are so busy trying to survive they don't have the extra energy to protect themselves from being overrun by hordes of refugees who will only make the area suffer more. Worse, they take advantage of the better nature of the poor white population that doesn't want to appear racist. There's something really evil about that, using the best in people to harm them.

There truly is, Brian.

RELATED: Pets of Springfield, rejoice! DHS is coming for suspended-status Haitians after Biden judge takes ‘the L’

REBECCA NOBLE/AFP via Getty Images

Of course, the most grievous traffic lack-of-safety demonstration of the Haitian situation was the school bus accident that made headlines beyond Springfield. None other than Walter Curt broke that story, but the worst part was, he shouldn't have had to. This wasn't an inevitable tragedy, and it didn’t need to happen.

On August 22, 2023, the first day of school, Hermanio Joseph, a 35-year-old Haitian immigrant, crossed the center line of the road in a 2010 Honda Odyssey minivan and collided with a Northwestern Local Schools bus carrying 52 elementary school students, forcing it off the road down an embankment where it flipped. Approximately half the students were injured, and Aiden Clark, 11, was ejected from the bus and killed.

Hermanio Joseph was later found to be an illegal alien, having come up through Mexico, who was detained at the southern border but then released into the United States in 2022 while given a notice to appear before an immigration court. ICE officials blamed President Biden's “catch and release” policy for Joseph being let free. He also didn’t have a valid U.S. driver’s license, only a Mexican driver’s license, as confirmed by Breitbart News.

Joseph was convicted of multiple felonies on May 1, 2024, in a one-day trial. The jury deliberated for an hour before delivering its verdict. His defense was that the sun was in his eyes at the time.

But what made news was not the conviction, but the response of Aiden Clark’s father.

"I wish that my son, Aiden Clark, was killed by a 60-year-old white man. I bet you never thought anyone would say something so blunt."

What an odd thing to say. I wish young Aiden hadn't been killed at all.

“Parent’s worst nightmare,” Brittany Fisher told a local news outlet. Two of her children were on the bus when Joseph slammed into it. “The kids are gonna remember this for the rest of their lives. They’re never going to forget this.”

Fisher reached out to me when she learned I was writing a book. We spoke, and here is what she wants you to know:

My two kids ... were on that bus that day. ... [My husband] passed away in 2023. It was about six months later that I put my kids on the bus. So I was trying to navigate life being a single mom of three to very small children, a two-year-old, a five-year-old, and a ten-year-old.

It was my five-year-old's first day of kindergarten and my ten-year-old's first day of fifth grade. Anyway, I put them on the bus. I see all these police cruisers go by shortly after. ... [M]y house [was] right down the road from the school. ... I immediately get in my car. I'm thinking it's a bomb threat. I go up the road. I parked my car to see the bus that I had just put my kids on completely destroyed. I ran over there. An officer tried to stop me, but I just blew past him. And I thought that Aiden Clark was one of my kids for like 30 seconds. I found one of my children, but I couldn't find my older child.

I started screaming because I thought he was deceased. And then the principal had already made it down, and he knew me, and he told me that [my older son] was in an ambulance and headed to Children's and to take my younger son and just go.

I put my younger son in the car — this is all in the middle of the chaos. Police officers are crying. Everybody's wailing. There’s blood everywhere. It’s the worst thing imaginable as a parent.

RELATED: Washington’s new favorite lie: ‘Most migrants are safe’

SETH HERALD/AFP via Getty Images

My long story short, my older son needed months of physical therapy. He missed months of school. He was wearing high-top sneakers, and they blew off his feet.

At the scene, I was told that the driver was 90% over in the wrong lane.

Even though I have health insurance, I was left with bills from co-pays that added up from all this physical therapy. So I go to the attorney general's victim of crime fund; they told me to do that. I fill out everything. I’m thinking it’s no problem, you know, I shouldn't have to pay anything for this. They denied my claim.

The day after the accident, I got to meet with [Governor Mike DeWine], and I looked him in the eyes and I was like, “Please, if there's anything you can do with seat belts. ... Aiden flew. I was there. Aiden flew out of the bus window, and all those children were ... very injured. And it flipped! So, seat belts ... can you do something? Because Aiden would still be here had he not flown out of that window.”

A little bit after that, he started a panel of people to decide whether or not to put seat belts in school buses. And they decided not to. So I was completely filled with righteous anger [and have been] ever since.

I decided to move.

Northwestern, the community, got together and raised a little bit of money at the beginning, and I was told that they gave Aiden's family [a specific amount] and they gave all of us other people like $1,200 per child, which is sweet. Nobody had to do that. That's great. But that is not gonna cut it. ... Come on now.

So my three things going forward from this accident have been compensation for Aiden's family and all those kids; an investigation into how all of this was even allowed to happen; and seat belts on school buses. Any parent is like, “Of course! Who would not want seat belts on school buses?”

I can't believe I have to fight so hard to get the right things done. And the very people who are supposed to help us, our politicians, I have called everybody, every senator, every [congressional representative], trying to get meetings with people.

Somebody, somewhere, is orchestrating all of this. And this is all about greed and corruption. The Haitian people have been exploited so they can work at Amazon and places like that and get government benefits so these corporations don't have to pay Americans a living wage. ...

As far as an investigation into all the fraud and corruption and as far as compensation ... eventually somebody is probably going to file a lawsuit against the federal government for letting this guy in with TPS with a fake ID, which is a crime and should have never happened. So someday, hopefully, the federal government will get sued and all those kids will get compensated. But nobody's helping me ... figure that out. ... Who do I go to who can help us? ... Who can group someone together and help us get this lawsuit going? Because in a normal accident situation ... Aiden's family would get ... half a million or a million-plus dollars.

Obviously, DeWine doesn't want to meet with me. I've tried. I've called his office several [times]. They know me. I've called his office trying to get a meeting with this guy. I've tried to fill out everything online. He's not interested. He doesn't want to meet with me. I'm just begging him. If I could just look him in the eyes, I think we could start moving in the right direction.

But instead, he is saying things like, “The Haitians have been good for the economy even though innocent Americans have been killed.” Like Aiden Clark and that poor woman who got hit by a car just getting her trash can. And all of that never needed to happen if our government was doing its job protecting American citizens first.

I ended up leaving and moving to Kentucky. My daughter started kindergarten this past year, and there is a child in her class named Aiden Clark, first name and last name.

God is in control. I'm going to do my part. I can't rest anyway knowing what all those kids have been through and seeing buses around and the first day of school every year I cry because I think about Aiden’s family and all those kids [who are] forever traumatized. That’s forever with them, and we can't even get seat belts.

If there’s any way you could help me, I would greatly appreciate it. And I know those kids would too.

Editor’s note: This article has been excerpted from Joshua Lisec’s new book, “Haitians of Springfield: An Oral History” (Regnery Publishing).

A 42-year-old member of the Hells Angels biker gang was sentenced after pleading guilty to numerous charges related to child pornography, according to the Fontana Police Department.

Investigators of the Fontana Police Department Internet Crimes Against Children Unit opened an investigation into Ryan Van De Car on November 16, 2023.

He will remain on federal probation for the rest of his life and will be prohibited from associating with any member of the Hells Angels.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted an undercover operation and found Van De Car was utilizing "multiple online chat and social media platforms" in order to "obtain illicit photographs and videos involving children."

Law enforcement officers "seized and examined multiple electronic devices" with evidence that Van De Car was using social media platforms to "exploit juvenile victims," as well as obtain and distribute child sex abuse media.

Prosecutors also said he had produced and distributed "adapted child pornography and obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children."

Investigators identified Van De Car's accounts on the Kik platform that included "littlelove14369," "familylustfun," "30 Days on Kik," "Ryan Nice," and "Not new account was taken 42 m USA bi married dad."

In April 2025, he was indicted by a federal grand jury in California on one count of distribution of child pornography, one count of possession of child pornography, and production of adapted child pornography.

In September, he was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison, according to the Fontana police. He will remain on federal probation for the rest of his life and will be prohibited from associating with any member of the Hells Angels Outlaw Motorcycle Gang after his release.

RELATED: Bikers beat down man who shot and killed victim at bar during fight over ex-wife, Washington state police say

Fontana Police Dept. social media release

"The Fontana Police Department recognizes the investigative efforts of the participating law enforcement agencies, forensic personnel, investigators, and prosecutors whose combined efforts contributed to the successful prosecution of this case," the police department said.

The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club was founded in 1948 in the city of Fontana.

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From Target’s 2023 Pride Month merchandise, to Bud Light’s disastrous collaboration with Dylan Mulvaney, to Cracker Barrel’s 2025 logo modernization, “go woke, go broke” has repeatedly been proven true.

But does that mean the progressive propaganda failed?

According to BlazeTV host Auron MacIntyre, it’s not that simple.

“Even though much of the woke content was very cringe and often failed financially, what if it had a bigger impact on us socially?” he asks.

On a recent episode of “The Auron MacIntyre Show,” Auron and his guest, social scientist and online political commentator Aydin Paladin, discussed this query.

Auron explains that many conservatives dismissed the woke movement on the premise that “the marketplace wins.”

“People will vote with their dollars; they’ll vote with their attention, and companies will be forced to respond to financial incentives. And so, even if there’s some kooky message getting cooked up by the progressive left in Hollywood, ultimately, once that fails, they’ll have to come back to good old-fashioned, slightly less subversive media narratives,” he says, explaining the thinking of people who assumed that wokeness had a short shelf life.

While wokeness did largely fail in a financial sense, it succeeded in other ways, Paladin says.

In her recent video “The Disturbing Psychology of Hollywood’s Moral Collapse,” she argued that Hollywood and related entertainment spent over a decade pushing progressive messaging and produced many commercial failures, and that audiences rejected a lot of the most overtly “woke” films and games — yet many of the underlying ideas still became normalized in the broader culture through narrative persuasion.

“When you talk about funding from big companies like Disney, from companies like Black Rock that back up these media entertainment companies, well, at the end of the day, it didn’t really matter whether or not it succeeded financially,” she tells Auron. “Little nuggets of information could have ended up in people’s minds permanently anyway. It’s way harder to forget something that you’ve already learned.”

“People want the world explained to them. They can’t experience everything around them,” Auron says.

When it comes to topics like sexuality, race, and even history, “whoever gets to set the frame of the discussion ... gets to define it going forward,” he explains.

Hollywood, he and Paladin argue, filled that role of being the first to introduce certain topics. Its decade-long push of progressive messaging in entertainment succeeded in making certain ideas feel like ordinary background assumptions, even when the individual films and shows flopped commercially.

Paladin gives the example of the late-90s/early-2000s sitcom “Will and Grace.”

“There’s been significant research that’s been done on people’s attitudes towards homosexuals and lesbians and their exposure to ‘Will and Grace’ because that was kind of the first big show where there was gay representation on TV where it wasn’t supposed to be inherently negative,” she says.

“If that’s your first exposure [to homosexuality] and it’s a positive exposure, well, then you’re going to be more likely to maintain that positive attitude towards [homosexuals], and the same thing happens with information.”

To hear the full conversation, watch the episode above.

Want more from Auron MacIntyre?

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I believe Arizona State University has taken the first step toward terminating me, a tenured Christian professor, for being too Christian.

You might think tenure would protect a professor from religious discrimination by state university administrators. You would be mistaken. What I am experiencing at ASU demonstrates how university administrators can use the annual review process to punish professors for their beliefs and potentially build a case for terminating them.

This is harassment, and I believe it amounts to religious discrimination. It also sends a warning to every Christian professor at a public university.

Here is what is happening.

I am currently engaged in a lawsuit against ASU over its DEI training requirements. After more than two years of litigation, my attorneys argued before the Arizona Supreme Court on September 1. We are awaiting the court's decision.

This week, ASU’s provost has officially upheld a decision penalizing me for allegedly being too Christian in my classes.

In May, the dean of my college deducted points from my annual performance review and reduced merit pay because he claimed my teaching in 2025 was too Christian. What evidence did he offer for this remarkable accusation? Five quiz questions out of more than 80, along with two negative student evaluations.

That's it.

This is no longer merely one dean's judgment. ASU's senior administration has now endorsed the decision to penalize me for allegedly teaching classes that are too Christian. I have no further avenue of appeal within that process.

I have spent my career teaching students how to think. My administrators now seem determined to teach me what not to think. One wonders which of us has misunderstood the purpose of a university.

And the evidence? Let's examine it.

One question asks, "Why is knowing God the highest good?"

Is that uniquely Christian? Plato and Aristotle, neither of whom were Christians last I checked, explored the relationship between the divine, knowledge, and the highest good. Eastern philosophers have done the same. These questions have occupied philosophers for thousands of years.

Another asks, "What is the relationship between God and morality?"

Again, this is a foundational question in the history of philosophy. Plato raised it in the "Euthyphro." Aristotle connected ethics with his account of the highest good and the divine. Are we now supposed to eliminate questions about God and morality from philosophy courses?

RELATED: A Christian guide to trolling without sinning

Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty Images

A third question states, "True or False: Death should not make us think about the meaning of life." This is a question from my class on the philosophical aspects of death and dying. It is a course I developed with ASU’s online specialists as part of master teacher training. ASU signed off on the class and then penalized me for teaching it!

The relationship between death and life's meaning is central to existential philosophy, including the writings of Viktor Frankl (not a Christian). Surely students studying philosophy should be allowed to consider how death relates to meaning in life.

These are philosophical questions, not evidence that I am improperly promoting Christianity.

One student wrote: "If I were a Hindu or Buddhist, and truly believed in reincarnation, I would be offended if I were asked to denounce it."

But I never asked that student, or anyone else, to denounce reincarnation, and the student gave no evidence that I did. Notice the hypothetical nature of the complaint: If I were a Hindu or Buddhist, and if I were asked to denounce my beliefs, I would be offended.

The student did not report that this actually happened.

The second student wrote: "Although I agree with what Owen Anderson teaches, I completely understand if people feel offended after taking his class."

Read that again. The student agrees with what I teach but imagines that someone else might be offended.

Apparently, at ASU, hypothetical offense by hypothetical students is sufficient grounds to penalize an actual professor. And this brings us to the larger problem.

Annual performance reviews are recurring evaluations. Once administrators officially determine that a professor's teaching is deficient because it is too Christian, what happens at the next review? I will be asked what steps I took to stop being so Christian? If administrators decide I have not adequately corrected the alleged problem, they can penalize me again. Repeated negative evaluations could then become the foundation for escalating disciplinary action.

That is how ASU could build a case for terminating a tenured professor.

RELATED: Campus free speech is alive — barely

Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images

And consider the burden this imposes. Rather than spending my time exclusively on teaching, research, and serving students, I must defend myself against accusations supported by a handful of philosophical questions and speculative complaints. Are the non-Christian professors put through this same scrutiny and additional burden?

This is harassment, and I believe it amounts to religious discrimination. It also sends a warning to every Christian professor at a public university.

If you discuss God, morality, eternity, or the meaning of life, administrators can apparently decide your teaching is too Christian. Can they then deduct points from your annual review? Deny you merit pay? Can they begin documenting supposed deficiencies that might eventually threaten your employment?

The chilling effect is obvious. Christian professors may decide that silence is safer than risking administrative punishment.

I have spent more than two decades teaching philosophy at ASU. I believe students deserve to encounter the great questions of philosophy, including the questions about God that philosophers have discussed since antiquity.

A public university should encourage those questions, not punish professors for asking them. ASU receives public funding, including federal money. It should not be permitted to use its administrative power to discriminate against Christian faculty.

Today, the accusation is that my classes are too Christian. Tomorrow, the question may be whether I am allowed to remain a professor at all. And if ASU can do this to me, what prevents other public universities from doing the same to Christian professors across America?

Former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey said he was being charged by the Justice Department for the third time.

Comey is accused of violating the Espionage Act by leaking national defense information to a journalist in Oct. 2016.

'I'm still lucky to have an amazing family and an incredible group of lawyers that will stand up in court and fight the latest and whatever comes after this.'

“Well, they’re back. Again. It would almost be funny if it weren't such an appalling abuse of the Department of Justice. One that we cannot become numb to," Comey said in a video on social media.

"Nothing's changed with me. I’m still innocent, I'm still not afraid of these people, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary," he added. "And I'm still lucky to have an amazing family and an incredible group of lawyers that will stand up in court and fight the latest and whatever comes after this."

He is being charged with two counts, one related to releasing the information to an unauthorized person and another for conspiring to do so.

"The Department filed a waiverless criminal information to toll the statute of limitations as it relates to allegations concerning former FBI Director Comey," a spokesperson for the DOJ said.

"Filing a criminal information to toll the statute of limitations is a widely recognized practice in federal court and has been approved by multiple Circuit Courts of Appeals," the spokesperson added.

RELATED: James Comey subpoenaed in 'grand conspiracy' against Trump: Report

A previous charge against Comey of lying to Congress was dismissed, while a second charge related to an alleged threat to assassinate the president via a message formed by seashells is pending.

He has denied threatening the president and said he didn't even know what the shells meant when he posted his photograph on social media.

"The next couple years are gonna be hard for all of us," he concluded in his video. "It's really important that we stand straight and keep the faith in America."

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A Libertarian candidate for the North Carolina state Senate was arrested after he said online that he wanted to committed suicide.

Jonathan D. Miller suggested he wanted to get into a gun battle with police in posts beginning on Sunday evening.

'The whole police department is chasing me with guns drawn. This should be fun.'

"I have decided I no longer wish to live and I will be killing myself tonight," he wrote. "I know this will upset some of you, but I can no longer continue this suffering. I hate my life and every moment is painful. Tonight I end that pain. Do not contact me. I do not want to talk."

"The whole police department is chasing me with guns drawn. This should be fun," he posted on Monday.

"I f**ked up and talked to the negotiator on the phone long enough for them to box me in. They have dogs so I'm probably done for," his last post on Monday reads.

Hours later at about 3 p.m., the Cary Police Dept. indicated that he had been peacefully taken into custody.

They had performed a welfare check at his home on Glen Echo Lane at 8:26 a.m. after receiving numerous calls from concerned citizens who had read Miller's posts.

"He had a firearm and was ordered not to touch it, and he took off running," Cary Police Chief Terry Sult said during a media briefing.

That resulted in an hours-long standoff at his apartment complex, Sult said.

"He was in a dark place," he added. "Felt like he was on his last leg."

Miller also called in to WRAL-TV during the standoff.

"Last night I was pretty depressed and suicidal, and I sort of put a suicide note on X, and it has gone quite viral," Miller said on one of the calls. “Actually, millions of people have seen it. I usually get about 50 views on my post, but this one has gone super viral on me. I spent all night crying and angry and upset and depressed and all the emotions. And this morning I was tired, but I had things I needed to do. And I didn't kill myself."

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He then explained why he was running from the police.

"Because I don't want them to take me into custody and then lock me up in a hospital," Miller said.

"If I go to the hospital, I'll spend approximately 15 to 30 seconds every day with a doctor, and that'll be my time to talk it out," he added. "He'll write me a [prescription] for a drug that doesn't help, and in a few days I'll be right back where I'm at now."

He also chided the police for not catching him.

"They have been chasing me since this morning," Miller said. "They're not very good at it. They really probably should get some more training on tracking somebody down."

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On July 13, 2023, a "robbery crew" entered the Bucktown Food & Liquor in Chicago and robbed five people of their wallets. One robber accidentally opened fire and began the unraveling of a massive immigration fraud scheme.

The "fake" robbery was one of hundreds at restaurants, liquor stores, gas stations, and coffee shops orchestrated by 29-year-old Parth Nayi of Woodridge, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.

Officials were able to identify more than 100 people, most of Latin and South American origin, who had obtained the fake robbery service from Nayi.

The DOJ said that Nayi was paid between $5,000 and $30,000 for each fake robbery by migrants hoping to fraudulently obtain a U visa, which is available to those who are victims of certain crimes and participate with law enforcement.

He would hire the fake robbers and coach the fake victims on how to report the incidents to police and then apply for the visa in order to obtain legal status, according to the press release. Recipients of the U visa could obtain special status and, in time, even permanent resident status.

Officials were able to identify more than 100 people, most of Latin and South American origin, who had obtained the fake robbery service from Nayi, according to CWB Chicago. However, the DOJ believes that "thousands of individuals who posed as victims" were involved in the scheme.

In the July 2023 robbery, one of the fake robbers shot a 26-year-old clerk in the abdomen. He survived his injuries, CWB Chicago reported.

Five others besides Nayi were convicted in connection with the investigation.

Nayi pleaded guilty to only one count of conspiracy to commit visa fraud.

Despite perhaps being involved in hundreds of immigration fraud incidents, on Thursday, Nayi was sentenced to only two years in federal prison and a fine of $50,000.

RELATED: 'Staged armed robberies': 11 Indian nationals catch visa fraud charge amid conspiracy allegations

The abuse of the U visa system was decried by immigration attorney Xavier Borjas to WBBM-TV in May 2024.

"It's very disheartening, because there are so many people that unfortunately do qualify [for U visas] and have been victims of these crimes that you want to ensure hopefully get some sort of ... relief," he said.

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Patricia Krentcil, the reality TV personality who became infamous for her dark, splotchy spray tan, is back in the spotlight with a startling claim: ICE agents allegedly stopped her outside a restaurant, questioned her citizenship, and nearly handcuffed her because of her skin color.

“Going back to the ICE issue, I was at a restaurant out with my girlfriends, and I walked out with my friends,” Krentcil said on the “Light. Tan. Up.” podcast.

“As we’re walking out, the ICE people stopped me, and they asked me, am I an American citizen? And I’m like, ‘Yes.’ You know, like, it blew my mind. And because I was so tan, they were about to handcuff me and take me away, God knows where,” she continued.

Krentcil claimed that though she was “scared,” she “held [her] own” and “got out of the situation.”

“They’re very racist about color and nationalities and stuff like that, that I was in almost a pickle myself. And it was terrifying. And Trump supports all this nonsense,” Krentcil added.

“I constantly am told by the left that American citizens are getting hauled off and deported. And it sounds to me like they cleared it up rather quickly, if that even happened, which I think ... I’m going to need some receipts,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales comments.

“Who sprayed her like that? Where did she get that spray tan done? How often does she have to get it done to look like that? Why is this not blackface?” she continues.

“She goes around looking like this on purpose. This was not like an accident,” she adds.

Gonzales explains Krentcil is “actually a Republican” who “tried running for Senate once,” before playing her campaign ad.

“Hi, I’m Patricia. I’m a single working mom with five beautiful kids, and I love my family just like you. You might remember me being that tan mom from New Jersey, but that was a decade ago. Crazy tans, table-flipping, Snooki — it was an interesting time,” Krentcil said.

“But like the world we live in, I’ve changed greatly. I lost my husband last year to cancer. And I know what it’s like to deal with insurance companies. I was in a medically induced coma for two weeks, so I know what it’s like to deal with doctors and nurses and how very overwhelming health care can be,” she added.

Gonzales points out that in the ad, Krentcil shows a photo of her with Dr. Miami, a plastic surgeon, when she says she knows what it's like to “deal with doctors.”

“Knowing what it is like to be in a hospital as a patient does not qualify you to run the country,” Gonzales comments.

In another campaign ad, Krentcil said, “I was made a mockery of by the media for looking different.”

“I also believe that drag queens can be amazing role models for kids. ... Is that so crazy?” she continued.

“Yes,” Gonzales says, “everything that you just said there is crazy.”

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An Obama-appointed federal judge ruled on Monday that while Trump's attorney general and those with the delegated responsibility are "authorized by law" to fire a federal prosecutor, the way in which the daughter of disgraced ex-FBI Director James Comey was fired last year was unlawful.

Maurene Comey served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York for nearly a decade and was involved in the prosecutions of Sean "Diddy" Combs, convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, and child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.

'This decision reaffirms our bedrock system of checks and balances.'

Francey Hakes, the director of the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, notified Comey on July 16, 2025, that "pursuant to Article II of the United States Constitution and the laws of the United States," her employment with the Justice Department had been terminated.

In September 2025, Comey sued the Trump administration, alleging that her termination was "unlawful and unconstitutional" and "politically motivated" — the result of her connection to James Comey and/or "her perceived political affiliation and beliefs." According to her complaint, she was removable only for cause under the Civil Service Reform Act.

The government argued that:

• Comey was removable at-will under Article II by the attorney general "because plaintiff in her duties as an assistant United States attorney exercised the president’s conclusive and preclusive executive authority";
• "Congress has by statute explicitly authorized the attorney general to remove assistant United States attorneys"; and
• that statute "contains no restrictions on the attorney general's removal powers."

RELATED: DOJ opens investigation into ex-Trump aide Corey Lewandowski

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U.S. District Court Judge Jesse Furman, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, evidently was not swayed by the government's arguments. He ruled on Monday that Comey's "removal was not authorized by any statute; to the contrary, it violated the CSRA."

While conceding that the attorney general can remove an AUSA, Furman wrote that "the attorney general (and anyone to whom the attorney general delegates that authority) is also limited by law, namely the CSRA, to do so only in a particular manner and only for certain reasons."

"The Court holds that Comey is entitled to judgment as a matter of law on her central claims that she was terminated in violation of the constitutional separation of powers and federal law," continued the Obama judge.

Furman ordered Comey's retroactive reinstatement and backpay effective from her termination in July through Dec. 20, 2025, when the ex-prosecutor apparently found a new job.

Comey's lawyers said in a joint statement, "This hard-earned victory belongs to Ms. Comey, to all civil servants, and to all fighting for the rule of law."

"As the Court correctly held, to accept the government’s argument about unlimited executive power 'would be to unsettle the very equilibrium established by this nation’s constitutional system,'" continued the lawyers. "This decision reaffirms our bedrock system of checks and balances: the president is not above the law."

The White House referred Blaze News to the following statement from the Justice Department's rapid response account: "The Department disagrees with this decision, which obstructs President Trump’s constitutional authority to fire individuals who wield executive power on his behalf. We intend to appeal the decision in due course."

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Viktor Orbán lost in Hungary. He may win at the United Nations.

Trump administration officials are urging the former Hungarian prime minister to run for U.N. secretary-general, according to the Wall Street Journal's editorial board on Sunday. Orbán would run as a joint candidate of the United States, Russia, and China.

'When the US, Russia, and China all want the same thing at the UN Security Council, they usually get it.'

Russia and China are believed to be backing Orbán as well, according to the Journal. No final decision has been made, and Blaze News was unable to independently confirm the Journal’s reporting in the op-ed.

"As officials from the U.S. and a second country told us, when the U.S., Russia, and China all want the same thing at the U.N. Security Council, they usually get it," the editorial reads.

The White House, the Kremlin, and Beijing have not confirmed the report to other outlets.

Current Secretary-General António Guterres’ second term ends Dec. 31. No viable contender has emerged as a replacement yet.

RELATED: Orbán emphasizes to Trump that Hungary survives today as Christian 'island of difference in a liberal ocean'

Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images

An Oct. 16 poll showed that none of the seven declared candidates had unanimous backing from permanent Security Council members the U.S., the U.K. China, Russia, and France, according to the Associated Press.

Each permanent Security Council member has wide-ranging veto powers over U.N. resolutions and actions.

The front-runners — U.N. trade chief Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica; U.N. nuclear chief Rafael Grossi of Argentina; and Guyana's Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett — each drew two "discourage" votes from veto-wielding powers, according to two diplomats who spoke to the AP. It is unclear which Security Council states oppose their candidacies.

"This institution, after 80 years, has tried to become everything to everyone," U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz told reporters.

Waltz rejected a DEI approach to choosing a new secretary-general.

“We understand there is a desire for regional rotation,” Waltz said, according to the AP. “Of course, if the best candidate is a woman, we would welcome that — but we really just need the best candidate.”

A nominee needs nine of the Security Council's 15 votes and no veto. France and the United Kingdom, both holding veto powers, may present roadblocks for an Orbán candidacy.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk mocked the idea on Monday.

"Just a moment ago, he was a candidate for president of the European Commission. This seems to me just as funny as that first rumor," Tusk said, according to Politico.

The European Union was glad to see Péter Magyar's Tisza party win Hungary’s recent elections. Magyar, who ran an E.U.-friendly, center-right, and anti-corruption campaign, ended Orbán's 16-year rule in a landslide victory.

Trump previously called Orbán a "true friend" and endorsed him. Vice President JD Vance also campaigned for him in Hungary.

Since Tisza took power, Hungarian authorities have launched fraud and corruption investigations into former Orbán officials. Two former ministers and the former governor of Hungary's central bank were detained as part of ongoing inquiries, according to Euronews.

Orbán himself has not been charged with any wrongdoing. If Orbán actually become U.N. secretary-general, he could enjoy diplomatic immunity from any potential investigations or prosecutions.

Orbán's spokesperson previously dismissed reports about the U.N. deputy secretary-general post as "fake news."

Orbán's press office, the White House, and the State Department did not respond to requests for comment from Blaze News.

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Robert Reich is urging Democrats to "defund" Elon Musk and absorb his companies if Democrats gain control of the government.

At the same time, the former member of the Bill Clinton administration said Musk is bribing his way into politics.

'Musk represents the power of oligarchy in America over democracy.'

Reich, who served as President Clinton's secretary of labor from 1993 to 1997, recently explained his desire to see progressives eliminate Musk's government contracts while also taking ownership of his corporations entirely.

On his podcast "The Coffee Klatch," Reich called Musk an "emblem" for why there needs to be a wealth tax on billionaires; he described it as a "one-time 5% tax" across the country.

Reich quickly followed this policy recommendation with another suggestion: "We've got to defund Musk."

"He's dependent on government contracts. He is dependent on us. We taxpayers are subsidizing Elon Musk," Reich stated, before revealing some of his gripes with the billionaire.

Reich's chief complaint was that Musk is "deciding by himself" whether or not the Ukrainian government should have access to his internet service, Starlink.

"How can one man make that kind of decision for all of us, for Ukraine, and we are subsidizing him?" Reich said.

Cutting to the chase, Reich repeated, "Defund Musk. I mean this," before adding that Democrats should start "laying the groundwork for nationalizing Starlink and SpaceX."

"Nationalize it," he reiterated. "It should be a public corporation. We should not ever have that kind of power in one person's hands, one private person's hands."

RELATED: Elon Musk just granted huge new perks to X subscribers — just don't give Grok your credit card

After a clip of the podcast began circulating on X, Musk replied that "stealing companies is a serious crime."

"Prison for Reich," the X owner added.

The billionaire seemingly matched his rhetoric to that of the former government official, who called Musk "Exhibit A in terms of the billionaire takeover of America."

"This is the oligarchic problem," Reich went on. "Musk represents the power of oligarchy in America over democracy."

Reich then cited Musk's support for Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton as example of him trying to "bribe his way into politics" like a baron from the late-1800s Gilded Age.

At the same time, pal Heather Kinlaw Lofthouse joined Reich in criticizing Musk for saying he would target anyone who picked a fight with him.

Lofthouse is the executive director for Inequality Media, Reich's "nonpartisan media and civic action organization".

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Following the calls for Musk's businesses to be taken over by the government, Lofthouse said Democrats were not trying to fight him, but rather were simply holding him accountable.

"It's not a fight. It is accountability. I mean, it is, holding him accountable is what people are talking about. And so he's getting ahead of it, threatening, threatening, threatening, threatening — with his money, with his power, with his reach."

Lofthouse pointed to Musk's estimated $38 billion in government contracts and his ending of USAID as just some of the "many things" Democrats need to "fix" if they regain power.

It is important to note that according to government records, Lockheed Martin received more than $70 billion in government contracts in 2023 under President Joe Biden. RTX was the second-biggest government contractor at $31.3 billion.

Lockheed Martin received over $52 billion under Biden in 2024, as well.

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A 15-year-old male will be charged as an adult after a Tallahassee, Florida, mass shooting over the weekend in which 11 were wounded, authorities said.

The shooting took place Saturday outside Bragg Stadium after Florida A&M University's homecoming football game, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.

'What should have been a weekend of celebration in our community instead became a night of fear and violence for the victims and their families.'

Tallahassee Police on Sunday arrested Anthony Rivers III in connection with the shooting, which the paper said was one of the worst in Tallahassee history.

Rivers, who has faced criminal charges in the past, made his first court appearance Monday, the paper said, adding that State Attorney Jack Campbell said the teen will be charged as an adult and transferred from the Juvenile Assessment Center to the Leon County Detention Facility.

The 15-year-old is facing 11 counts of attempted second-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a delinquent, police said.

The paper said it names minors when they are charged with violent offenses.

"Our investigation indicates that a physical altercation occurred before shots were fired," Police Chief Lawrence Revell said, according to the paper. "At this stage of the investigation, none of the victims appear to have been the intended targets."

Detectives believe the incident stemmed from a dispute between people who knew one another, the Democrat added.

Revell previously said detectives believed there was only one shooter, but police now say additional arrests are possible, the paper noted.

Leon Circuit Judge Andrew Sheeran during a Monday juvenile court hearing ordered Rivers held in "secure detention" while his case is pending, which the judge said is required by statute given the nature of the charges, the paper reported.

Sheeran also granted a motion he said police filed to seal the probable cause affidavit, which includes details of the crime and what led to the suspect's arrest, the paper said.

RELATED: Teenager fatally shoots 3 children, teacher at Oregon elementary school before parent shoots gunman dead, police say

The paper said at least 12 people were injured, including 11 who were shot. Police said one individual injured an ankle while fleeing the gunfire.

Six of the victims were children, including the youngest victim, who is 11 years old, Revell told the Democrat.

The chief on Monday added to Fox News that five of the 11 who were shot have been released from the hospital, while three of the six still hospitalized were in critical condition, with one listed as very critical.

Half of the victims were male, the other half female, the paper said.

More from the Democrat:

Gunfire erupted shortly before 8 p.m. Oct. 24, at Perry and Manatee streets, an area usually packed with food trucks and vendors during FAMU home football games. It was packed with students, alumni, families, and Rattlers fans.

"What should have been a weekend of celebration in our community instead became a night of fear and violence for the victims and their families," Revell said. "While this arrest marks a significant step forward, our work is far from over. We remain committed to holding those responsible accountable and getting answers for every family impacted by this tragedy."

TPD said its officers and investigators worked "around the clock" to identify the alleged shooter.

"In the moments immediately following the shooting, our officers rushed toward danger to render aid to victims even before the scene was fully secured," Revell said. "I could not be prouder of the men and women of this department."

Police said a "significant influx" of information poured in from the community, the paper reported, adding that police before the arrest asked the public for any cellphone video or tips from witnesses.

The police "need our community's help. No detail is too small, and no piece of information should go unreported," Revell said, according to the paper. "If you know something, please share it with our detectives. Your information could be the key to holding those responsible accountable."

Police established a dedicated tip hotline (850-891-4610) and activated an evidence submission website (tallahasseepd.evidence.com/axon/community-request/public/perrystreetincident), the paper said.

Tipsters also can remain anonymous by calling Crime Solvers at 850-574-TIPS with tips and other information, the Democrat noted.

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Between rising political unrest in the U.S. and the riots and protests across France, along with every other tragic, enraging, or fear-inducing headline, stories about hope and resilience are often lost.

But on a recent episode of “The Glenn Beck Program,” the Blaze Media co-founder shared a story he says proves that our ultimate hope has never been politics but Jesus.

“God's working in ways that we might go, ‘Well, that doesn't help politically.’ I don't think God's in politics,” says Glenn.

“He's into changing people's hearts and that's what changes culture and that's what changes politics.”

He then shares the story of Ahmed Joktan — a Saudi-born medical doctor who converted from Islam to Christianity and is now an evangelist focused on reaching Muslims.

“He grew up in a house where God had rules. His father knew all of them because his father was a mufti, an Islamic legal scholar,” says Glenn. “So you know when somebody needed to be heard on Sharia law — Do we cut his hand off? Do we not cut his hand off? Do we stone her or not? — his father was the guy who made the decisions.”

By the age of 13, Glenn shares, Ahmed had “memorized the entire Quran — every word.”

After starting medical school in Saudi Arabia, Ahmed struggled because his earlier education hadn’t taught English, so he couldn’t read his textbooks. His father sent him to Auckland, New Zealand, for a short, intensive language course.

While there, a miracle happened.

“One night while he's there, he had a dream. And in the dream, the doors to his balcony in his room swung open. Light poured into the room — more light, he said, than the room could hold. ... In walks a figure of a man, and he hears a voice, ‘Come to me,”’ Glenn recounts.

He explains that in the dream, the light-surrounded man showed Ahmed “a building with white pillars in front of it.”

“And the voice said, ‘Go to the house of white pillars, and there you shall find the truth,”’ says Glenn.

Ahmed, he says, was so terrified he told his classroom about the dream. His teacher, who was a Christian, proposed that he might have encountered Jesus — a proposition the Muslim Ahmed was not open to.

“He leaves class. He's walking the streets of Auckland, and he finds it. ... He sees the building from his dream,” says Glenn.

The building was Auckland Baptist Tabernacle — a historic church founded through the missionary work of Thomas Spurgeon, son of world-renowned preacher Charles Spurgeon.

Inside, Ahmed met the pastor, Brian Johnson.

“They talked about sin. They talked about life. They talked about salvation. They talked about who Jesus is. The pastor even started with the places in the Quran that called Jesus the Word of God because he knew Ahmed was already grounded in that,” says Glenn.

“Well, Ahmed didn't want to read the Bible. He resisted it. But eventually he read one verse, and it was John 14:6: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.’ The truth — the same word the voice in the dream had used,” he continues.

Ahmed converted to Christianity, but his joy was immediately met with fear. He had to return to Saudi Arabia, where Islam is the official religion, and any public practice of any non-Muslim religion is illegal.

“He smuggles an Arabic New Testament into Saudi Arabia that's tucked in between all of his English textbooks,” says Glenn.

But it wasn’t long before his family caught him reading his Bible.

“The brothers come in, and they beat him within an inch of his life. Then dad comes home. ... He picks up an AK-47, points it at his own son, and says, ‘I will kill you unless you burn that book,”’ Glenn recounts.

Ahmed burned the book to stay alive, but the Word of God had already been burned into his heart.

Disowned by his family, Ahmed returned to New Zealand to begin a new life as a Christian.

To hear about his ministry, Mecca to Christ, watch the video above.

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A transgender-identifying man was sentenced to 25 years in prison after being convicted for producing child pornography, according to a Department of Justice press release.

Thirty-five-year-old Joseph Downing Barnes Jr. "exposed his breasts" to boys during online webcam chat sessions in order to get them to perform sexual acts that he could record, the DOJ said.

Investigators found 74 videos and four images of child pornography on his phone and found more on his online accounts.

Barnes is from Virginia and was arrested in August.

The boys were ages approximately 10 to 15 years old and were made to believe that Barnes was a biological female, the DOJ said in the press release.

Barnes saved the recorded webchats to his Google account, according to the statement of facts signed by the defendant and his attorney.

This was not the first time he was arrested for crimes related to child sex abuse material. In 2016, he was convicted in the Eastern District of Virginia for trading child sex abuse videos on the Kik application.

Investigators found 74 videos and four images of child pornography on his phone and found more on his online accounts, according to a DOJ press release from December 2016.

He was sentenced to nine years in prison in that case as well as 25 years of supervised release.

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Barnes was identified by law enforcement in 2016 after a man named Justin Clark was found to be trading child porn online. Barnes was one of the people who traded the media with Clark.

Clark was sentenced to six years in prison at the time.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation recommends that parents of young children actively monitor their online activity or restrict their online use to avoid the threat from online predators.

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The English Premier League says it has "no room for racism," but some players are refusing to fall in line with the league's cult-like practices.

For the 2026-2027 season, the top soccer league in England is still pumping out diversity, equity, and inclusion messaging reminiscent of years past and seems heavily entrenched in progressive ideology.

'No, I don't go down.'

The bizarre ritual of kneeling before games persists as well, with announcers routinely citing the league's tagline that there's no room for racism in soccer.

Even though George Floyd died more than six years ago — and more than a decade has passed since Colin Kaepernick began kneeling in the NFL — the Premier League is boasting bizarre DEI benchmarks, like its investigations into "4,000+ cases of online discriminatory abuse."

"Legal action [has been] brought against abusers across three continents," the league bragged on its anti-racism page.

There have been some players who have refused to participate in the pregame kneel, however, which is still noteworthy in a league with near 100% compliance.

As reported by Dissenter, multiple black English players garnered media attention for refusing to kneel, like Leeds United player Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who began defying the standard last season.

"Dom is more or less like, 'No, I don't go down. I show my respect by standing up,'" teammate Daniel Farke explained.

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Everton's Ainsley Maitland-Niles was the only player on the field who refused to kneel before a game last week.

More black players like Brazil's Rayan Rocha and New York-born Tyler Adams, both of whom play for Bournemouth, made headlines for their refusal recently, too.

Other nonconformists include Ivorian player Marc Guéhi and Morocco national team member Issa Diop, who play for Manchester City and Ipswich Town, respectively.

The league said in a statement that "players will be taking the knee before kick-off during the next two match rounds to show unity against all forms of discrimination."

"This is in line with the decision made by captains at the start of the season," the league added, per Metro.

RELATED: 'Protests are not unusual': NFL insists game in Paris will be completely safe — then cancels fan event

Shaun Brooks - CameraSport/Getty Images

On top of showcasing workforce diversity quotas and women in hijabs coaching soccer, the league seems so deeply rooted in DEI that it could rival the most liberal university syllabus in terms of dedication to the progressive ideology.

For example, the Brentford Bees note on their website that the team is "committed to tackling racism" while "ensuring equity, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of everything we do."

Brentford even had players Nathan Collins and Josh Dasilva visit schoolchildren for a DEI indoctrination session. The athletes spoke to children from India and Kosovo on the importance of "challenging discrimination" and to "stand together against racism."

Another event aimed at teaching children about DEI had an organizer saying it is "hugely important that we continue to educate young people" about the league's anti-racism action plan.

At this event, children got to play soccer in exchange for participating in "interactive educational workshops" that included "educating young people on the importance of acting against racism."

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Black October will go down in history as the mass cybersecurity event that put nearly 80% of the world wide web at risk of attack. Although the official fix is available, you and your online data could be vulnerable for years or more. Here’s what you can do to protect yourself from the PHP meltdown and whatever comes next.

From the outside looking in, the web is an intricate and complex network that pulls data together into one giant assembly of information. It is robust, instantaneous, powerful. Behind the scenes, though, many of today’s websites are held together with code and protocols that have proven to be stunningly fragile in the age of AI. One such element is PHP.

We’re in the thick of what may be the most arduous cybersecurity battle in human history.

PHP — or Hypertext Preprocessor — is an open-source scripting language for developers to build websites and apps. It is freely available and easy to use, making it an ideal choice for developers of any level. This is how PHP came to power almost 80% of all websites online today. So naturally, when not one but two critical PHP vulnerabilities leak out into the wild, there is reason to worry.

The pair of vulnerabilities, labeled PHP2Shell, were discovered by Wiz Research, an AI security company acquired by Google. Seemingly, these vulnerabilities have always existed in PHP going back to 2004, and it took AI to uncover them. The worst part is that hackers don’t even need login credentials or special access to break into a vulnerable site. They can simply break in and take whatever they want.

There is some good news: A patch for PHP2Shell is available and rolling out on websites now. But there is also bad news: Your data may still be at risk.

Three reasons why you’re still in danger

1. Implementation: Although the patch is available, it will take time for developers to implement the new versions of PHP 8 on their websites. Keep in mind that nearly 80% of the web needs an update. During this time, some websites may go down, some features may not work, and you may temporarily lose access to your data. Most of these updates will take place in the coming weeks, but some could stretch out even longer.
2. Upgradability: Many well-maintained websites will receive the PHP update without fault, but there are many others running on old versions of PHP that cannot or will not be updated. In fact, an estimated 34.7% of websites still run on the outdated PHP 7 or lower. These sites will remain vulnerable to PHP2Shell and other security threats for the foreseeable future.
3. Future vulnerabilities: Humans didn’t know PHP2Shell existed. Without AI, we would still likely be none the wiser. Considering how quickly frontier AI models are being used to find defects in online cybersecurity worldwide, the likelihood of future discoveries is high, bordering on certainty.

RELATED: Most of the internet is suddenly melting down, and there's only one fix

mediaphotos/Getty Images

8 ways to protect yourself from PHP2Shell

The good news is that you’re not completely powerless in this. There are things you can do to protect yourself and your data. These require some work, though, so you’ll have to be an active participant in securing your digital footprint.

Passwords: First and foremost, you need to make sure that the passwords to your most important accounts — including your email and bank — are stored in a safe password manager. Also, make sure your passwords are all unique and complex. Do not reuse the same simple passwords! Most password managers will help you generate secure options for maximum protection.

Authentication: Enable two-factor authentication and passkeys on every account that offers it. This adds an extra layer between you and your accounts that a hacker can’t exploit without direct access to your phone. At the same time, avoid using SMS-based authentication; this is not as secure.

Updates: Make sure you update all of your devices — phones, tablets, computers, watches, activity trackers, appliances, everything — to the latest versions of their available software. This is the best way to get the latest security patches as soon as they are available. Set a reminder to do this monthly, or better yet, enable automatic updates so that your devices are always protected.

Bank alerts: Set up alerts for all purchases made on your debit cards and credit cards. With alerts, you’ll know exactly when any of your cards are used and how much was spent. Many banks offer this feature built directly into their apps on your phone, which you can enable through the in-app settings.

Credit: Freeze your credit at Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. With a credit freeze, anyone who steals your identity is instantly blocked from taking out a loan or a credit card in your name. It also protects your credit score from any following damage. Just remember to unfreeze your credit if and when you do want to take out a new credit card or loan.

Taxes: Reach out to the IRS to get an identity protection PIN. This PIN blocks third parties from filing taxes with your Social Security number or taxpayer identification number. Note, however, that identity protection PINs only last for one year, and you will have to renew annually if you want to keep the PIN active in perpetuity.

Carrier: Reach out to your phone carrier to put a port-out PIN on your phone number. This PIN ensures that only you can move your phone number from your current carrier to a different carrier. Some carriers enable port-out PINs by default, while others will allow you to move your number without it, so you should check to see how easy it is for hackers to try to steal your phone number.

Identity protection: Invest in an online identity protection service. These groups actively monitor the dark web for signs of your information and can detect, stop, and mitigate both attempted and successful identity thefts. This way, you can know exactly if and when your data is floating around places you don’t want it to be.

What comes next?

The PHP2Shell outbreak was a wake-up call for anyone who spends time online. Your personal data is only as safe as the online security measures that defend it. Unfortunately, as AI continues to pore through websites and uncover new exploits, data breaches may become more common. For this reason, it’s a good idea to take extra steps to secure your identity, data, and accounts as much as possible.

The tips above are things you should always do, regardless of the latest cybersecurity headlines. But they are even more vital now that we’re in the thick of what may be the most arduous cybersecurity battle in human history. Do these, and you’ll be prepared for what comes next.

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Anthropic, the maker of the AI program Claude, is on its way to the public market after taking a big step on Monday morning.

On Monday, Anthropic's S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission was published, and the document revealed a number of highly anticipated facts about the frontier AI company's plans for the future.

The hope is to achieve something 'without historical precedent: what we refer to as a country of geniuses in a data center, available to every organization and sector of the economy.'

In a statement about the filing, Anthropic revealed that the company plans to list its public stock on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "ANT."

This step toward an initial public offering comes at a time when anxieties are rising about a potential AI bubble-burst.

And questions remain over whether Anthropic can meet its multi-billion-dollar, multiyear commitments in infrastructure and AI development.

Anthropic reported a net loss of over $80.7 billion in the first half of 2026, but the real numbers behind the accounting are less staggering.

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Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

About $72.4 billion of Anthropic’s $80.7 billion net loss came from a noncash accounting charge tied to changes in the value of its financing instruments, representing roughly 90% of the reported losses.

The company's operating expenses dropped, and it generated $16.3 billion in revenue, but its expenses still exceeded revenue by $693 million. However, this operating loss is a significant improvement from the loss of over $2.1 billion in the first half of 2025.

Anthropic reported that large companies have adopted Claude as their go-to model, citing a concentration of 250 enterprises providing $10 million or more in revenue and an additional 1,900 companies providing $1 million or more.

While many people will gladly look past these negative figures for a time in anticipation of the company's promising future, Anthropic outlined a couple of noteworthy risks and developments associated with Claude, as well as an evocative vision for the company's future.

Anthropic attributed its recent success to the fact that its employees heavily use Claude in their work to develop the model, noting that 90% of the company's codebase was written by Claude in September 2026.

The filing notes that the volume of code produced is up 45 times per employee, compared to the end of 2024.

The filing also disclosed a recent development in its dealings with government regulations. According to the filing, the Federal Trade Commission issued a civil investigative demand to Anthropic "seeking information about our customer protection, data protection, and privacy practices, as well as the safety of our products."

Roughly halfway through the filing, Anthropic described the buildout of "millions" of "virtual collaborators," wherein Claude is capable of working independently and on the same level as that of a "brilliant colleague."

The hope is, according to the filing, to achieve something "without historical precedent: what we refer to as a country of geniuses in a data center, available to every organization and sector of the economy."

Blaze News reached out to Anthropic for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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