Excerpts Fairy Tales Read an Excerpt From The Changeling Queen by Kimberly Bea A lyrical, sensual, feminist retelling of the Scottish “Ballad of Tam Lin,” combining folklore, desire, sacrifice, and nature’s wonder… By Kimberly Bea | Published on October 23, 2025 Comment 0 Share New Share We’re thrilled to share an excerpt from The Changeling Queen by Kimberly Bea, a retelling of the Ballad of Tam Lin, out from Erewhon Books on October 28. On Samhain in medieval Scotland, pregnant Janet rescues her lover Tam Lin from being sacrificed by the Wild Hunt—but the callous Faery Queen is not finished with them yet. Over the span of a single night, the Queen and Janet spar over Tam Lin’s fate. The Queen aims to win, knowing how fickle mortals can be. Long before she was royalty, she was simply Bess, the changeling daughter of a midwife.Born with magical and mortal blood, Bess feared there was no true place for her on either side of the veil. She found refuge in the arms of the charming Thomas Shepherd, the bastard son of a local noble. While villagers viewed her as a scandal, Bess’s cunning knowledge and secret dark gifts attracted the attention of the elf lord Amadan. Wily and silver-tongued,  Amadan led Bess into Faery’s realm of decadence, where her heart warred against her destiny. She fought to keep both—but at what cost? Samhain, Carterhaugh I should have taken away the lordling’s heart. With my nails sharp as talons, I should have pierced his breast, carved out a cavity inside him, and ripped out the pulsing organ with one hand. Let the soil of Faery feast upon his essence, as he and I once had on honey and nectar. There was a time I could have done so, and he would have thanked me for the pain. Instead, I garbed him as any other of my knights, and hid him among our company. Tonight, we make our Samhain rade. His steed is white as milk, and he rides closest to the town, the sole acknowledgment that he, among all these rid­ers, Aos Sith and Sluagh, pixies and elfin knights, does not belong. He alone is mortal, and the time of his death is nigh. It must come at my hands, though once he was my lover. Our history makes no difference at all. From out of the hedges creeps a mortal woman, scarce more than a girl. Her plaited hair is yellow, her skirts kilted above her knees. And she goes great with child. My heart seems to still within my breast. I did not see her there. How did I, queen of all the canny fae, fail to notice this mortal girl? For now, the scent of her mortality surrounds me, blood and bone turning to dust, flesh eaten by worms and de­caying into the loam to feed the earth. Sharp sweat rises from her, more than such a mirk and chilly night should warrant. I sense she is nervous. Good. Mortals should be nervous when caught out on All Hallows’ Eve, while faery folk do ride. Yet somehow, those nerves failed to stop her. I could al­most be impressed. The girl is hard to look at, even while she stumbles into our path and lumbers alongside the procession of troop­ing fae. Then I see it. Her mantle—she has turned it inside out. Clever girl, knowing how to beguile the senses of the fae. I am not impressed for long. The girl is not graceful, heavily as she carries the child within her, and she walks with determination, rather than speed. But we too do not rush; this is a somber ritual, full of pomp and ceremony, and there has never been any need to before. No mortal would dare interrupt the faery rade. She has caught up to the white steed and, ungainly as the girl is, grips its rider. With an enormous grunt of effort, she pulls Tam Lin off his horse. He falls, dazed, to the forest floor. The rade stops by instinct, not at my command. The horses still, by no order from their riders. The nighttime for­est around us goes unearthly quiet. My breath catches, and I sit rigid, clutching tight to my horse’s reins. “My queen.” My seneschal Lyel, riding beside me on a horse of dapple grey, tersely shakes his head. “This is not the time for intervention. Wait.” This is a game we play, with rules we invented and never deigned to share. This girl, though; somehow, she knows ex­actly what to do. On the other side of the Veil, something withers and dies. I can sense it in my bones. Mayhap a single flower, a cowslip from my garden, or the eglantine that blooms against my palace walls. It does not bode well. My skin grows tight, and a hunger pierces my belly, one that will not be sated by food. I am immortal, age­less, but I feel the heaviness of my years upon me, as if I were a mortal woman, with all the fragility and weakness that entails. No. I am no mortal. I have left behind all that is not pow­erful, fae, and pure. She is mortal. The girl who now would claim Tam Lin. She helps him to his feet. He stumbles and murmurs her name—Janet—before falling into her arms. She catches him, though he towers over her and, while lanky, is heavier than he appears. I have known the weight of Tam Lin atop me, be­neath and beside me: this baron’s boy is a fit specimen indeed. He trembles like a blade of grass in the wind. His Janet holds him up and she holds on, clinging as if she loves him. Needs him. No doubt even thinks she needs him more than we do. She thinks wrong. My belly roils and my mouth tastes of wormwood. I can­not stomach this blatant theft of what was mine alone, what I claimed years ago when Tam Lin fell from his horse while hunting. I saved his life then. Ever since, he has been living on borrowed time. “Hold him, will you?” I say, my voice like thunder in the silent forest. Lightning burns beneath my skin, and I hold my arm aloft, pointing. “Let us see how you enjoy this embrace.” Tam Lin stretches and grows, taller, wider, heavier. Thick fur sprouts across his body; his ears grow round, hands be­come paws, his nails thick claws. He roars, in pain, in horror, or simply to release the beast within. Tam Lin has become a bear. Buy the Book The Changeling Queen Kimberly Bea Buy Book The Changeling Queen Kimberly Bea Buy this book from: AmazonBarnes and NobleiBooksIndieBoundTarget He claws at Janet’s back, tearing through her kirtle and marking the skin. Drooling and frothing at the mouth, he holds her so tight he might squeeze the life out of her. Still, she holds him, heedless of the noise he makes, how he claws at her, and the blood he spills. From the distance, far across the expanse of the Veil, comes the crack of a dead tree, falling into dust. Rage is a maelstrom inside me. I will not give up. “Viper!” I scream, and so Tam Lin becomes, larger than any natural serpent I have seen, squeezing out Janet’s life in his coils. His fangs are sharp and deadly; venom drips off them onto the lady’s flesh, where it burns. She cringes, she grimaces, her face goes green as grass. Yet she does not let him go. She will not let him go. I do not wish to like this girl. Her courage is worse than useless; it is inconvenient, threatening to rob Faery, my Faery, of what it needs. What we call the Teind. I reach deep inside myself for a part of me I thought long banished. What is most toxic to the fae, what is most com­mon among the mortals. I pull this vile substance from Tam Lin himself, the metal flowing through the blood in his veins, from every door hinge and lock he has ever passed, every knife and sword he has held, from armor and buckles and the shoes his horses wear. Iron. I make Tam Lin into what I despise the most, what I most fear, even more than church bells and crosses, holy water, and prayer, for those harm us only so far as the belief in them. Iron is eternal, and so Tam Lin becomes. Then I set him on fire. Janet screams, and her cries rend the silent air of the for­est around us. In her hands now is that which is too hot to hold, a burning brand. She cannot keep it too long in either hand; she’s blistered and burned enough as it is. Yet, she never completely lets go. Instead, she breaks into a run. A galumphing run, with how unbalanced the state of her body has left her. I am startled, if only for a moment. I cry out to the procession of trooping fae: “After her!” “Your Majesty,” my pretty seneschal says, to keep me within the rules of our game. He does not need to finish. I know what he would say. We are not to intervene. “After her—slowly,” I grit out. As if so many fae, of all shapes, natures, and sizes, acting in accord, could move with any great speed. The brownies are short of leg; the lamiae must slither along as snakes do, and the fachan, for one, has only the single foot. The Teind is getting away. I will not call it panic, the sensa­tion rising now in my breast, but it is as close as the Queen of Faery can come. What part of our land is now becoming desert? Where does the Underhill now recede further away from mortal realms? We need that connection to survive. We need sacrifice, the gift of a soul, to survive. At the moment, it does not appear Tam Lin will pro­vide it. I will not let him go. We follow Janet to the well, the very place she must have met her young man, for it has long been a popular trysting place for the fae and the fae-they-seem. Among the ferns and gorse, the well is now grown about with roses that bloom the dark crimson of my hair. Janet trips over them; they catch at her skirts and the thorns tear at her ankles. I smile, for the roses are an extension of me. Janet does not stop until she throws the burning brand into the well. A sizzling rises from within, and I feel it in my flesh, as though some deep and treasured part of me has burnt to ash. It is not over yet. From the well emerges a wet and naked Tam Lin. He stoops and shivers, water drips from the ends of his dark hair into his bonny grey eyes. I wish I had ripped those out. Given him eyes of tree, that he should never have seen this Janet, who even now covers him with her mantle green. Something breaks inside me. It cannot be my heart. I am meant to yield now. Janet has won Tam Lin. I do not remember how to yield. It is a skill I lost long ago. Faery still needs him. The Teind must be paid. I let no show of desperation cloud my face, but calmly dis­mount my horse. My green gossamer skirts settle around me, bedecked with garnets like drops of blood. I raise my arms as I stand before the procession. “My people,” I say. “Our rade is ended. All Hallows is nearly through. Do you now return beyond the Veil.” A mist rises around the creatures of the fae: riders and walkers, Sluagh and Aos Sith alike. My seneschal looks at me in confusion, suspicion, con­cern. My words are his command, but he would act as my conscience and seems reluctant to leave us alone. A conscience is a luxury I cannot afford. I smile sweetly, reassuring him. “I will be safe. What dan­ger can they possess, a pregnant woman and a naked man?” Although I know his worry is not for me. For Samhain is not over yet. And I am no worthy ruler of Faery if I give up Tam Lin without a fight. And so, I begin my tale. Chapter One Selkirkshire, ScotlandImbolc, seventy-five years before My mother always wept that I was not her child. This wounded me far less than knowing she was right. She lost her wits when I was but thirteen years old. We had just delivered the child of Peggy the Cottar, though ’twas born out of wedlock and Peggy had not the coin to pay. Her family never did. Eamon, Mairi’s husband, frowned upon such acts of charity and upon his wife’s cun­ning woman skills; at least, after he’d spent time with our parish priest, he did. But Mairi had never paid that any mind. “Peggy should have come to me long before now,” she con­fided in me as we walked home together. “The moment she first knew her courses were late. I could have helped her bet­ter then.”9 There was no sick person Mairi Grieve would not help. I deeply admired her for that. “Anyway, Eamon was wrong,” she continued. “Peggy paid us, didn’t she?” And she gestured at the ailing chicken I now carried in my arms. “Some fee,” I muttered. The bird was like to die any mo­ment now; its feathers were molting and bedraggled; it sat a half-starved bundle in my arms. “We shall have to nurse this one back to health, too.” And by “we” I likely meant “I.” As the youngest of the household, my job it was to look after the chicks. Mairi laughed and tugged upon one of my plaits. “’Tis good practice for you, my cuckoo!” She always did call me that, the little stranger who had been reared in her nest, like a cuckoo’s egg. Back then, she meant it with affection; had never said it with any malice, only a bit of wistfulness color­ing her tone. “Ye were a good help to me today, lass. I was glad to have ye by my side.” Not so glad as if I were the true Bess, your daughter. I pressed my lips together that the words would not come out. I did not know why the true Bess Grieve had been taken by the faeries, and I left in her place. The Grieve household was riddled with fae, from the shadows who danced upon the walls to the Cait Sith who curled up before the fire and chased away the occasional mouse. I could sense these fae as none of the household’s mortal members did, but never would they speak to me. Only the brownie Morven acknowl­edged me, when I stayed up late to watch her scouring the pans and sweeping out the hearth. “Blood will out,” was the explanation she gave. “I can smell the mortal in ye, lass. I warrant yer blood is tainted, and ye were too sickly to remain in the Faery realm. Consider yerself lucky ye found a home here.” I did consider myself lucky, in some ways. Eamon was not a warm person, but he was prosperous enough to feed and house me and my siblings—nay, Bess’s, really—a noisy and ungrateful throng. Mairi’s work as a healer was not needed to supplement the household income, nor did Eamon welcome it as his status in the village rose, but she was generous in her healing and teaching and far kinder to me than I deserved. Despite this kindness, inside my head the refrain echoed: Not True Bess. Not wholly fae. You are Mairi Grieve’s cuckoo, and that is all you will ever be. On days like this one, when the warm sun beat down upon our heads, and we brought new life into the world, when Mairi Grieve herself had said I was a good help to her, it almost felt like enough. The chicken pecked me, and I tried to get my arms more comfortably around it, when out of the corner of my eye, I saw something pass beside Mairi’s face. Long fingers strok­ing her cheek. I breathed in the scent of musk and loam and green things gone to rot. The world seemed to go still, a heaviness filling the air. Wicked laughter hovered around me, turning to birdsong when I listened close. Then Mairi stumbled, fell to her knees upon the dirt path, dropping her basket of simples and herbs. “Goodwife Mairi!” I cried out, addressing her as my mis­tress since calling her “Mother” would have been a lie. The chicken leapt out of my arms. I let it wander free as I dropped down beside her, my kirtle dragging in the dust. Mairi’s face drooped on the right side; her eyes were star­ing and wild. She murmured words I could not understand, interrupted with the occasional word I could. “The queen… the babe!” she cried out. “Where is the babe? Where is my little Bess, my child?” She is right here, I longed to say, but the words caught in my throat. We of Faery cannot lie. “Raise your arms,” I said instead, as I had heard Mairi herself command her apoplectic patients. “Can ye show me a smile?” Mairi’s left arm rose to her shoulders; the right hung limp and weak. She bared her teeth, but her lip hung down on one side, and she drooled. The shadowy goblins that danced across our walls appeared comely in comparison. Oh, Mairi. She was stricken. Faery-struck, they call it, though neither Mairi nor I much liked the term. And yet— And yet there had been that peculiar green scent. Heavy. Intoxicating. The overly long fingers that touched the side of her face… then vanished. I shook these memories away, as I could not understand what they meant. Instead, with great care, like she was naught but dust and skeleton leaves, I helped Mairi to her feet, let her lean upon me as I walked her home to bed. And not once did she leave it for the next five years. Samhain You are telling us a story?” Janet says incred­ulously. “The hour is late; the night is cold. We wish to go home.” Only three of us stand now in Carterhaugh, by the ancient well, where the roses grow wild and the ferns do droop: Janet and I, and Tam Lin, who was my favored knight and consort. Once I held his heart like a pebble in my hand. Now she does. I do not think Janet will want him, once I am through. I hold my head high beneath my branched crown, pre­tending it has no weight at all. “You would take away the bonniest knight in my company. The least you can do is give me a moment of your time.” “A moment of my time?” Janet pulls her mantle closer around her young lord, then looks me in the eyes. “I have freed Tam Lin. And I have saved his life. I demand you let us go.” There is iron in her spirit, a determined set to her chin. I sense she is not accustomed to being told no. Neither am I. I saunter around her like a hawk circling its prey. “Demand, you say? Such foolhardy words to use to the Queen of Faery herself.” To her credit, Janet drops her gaze. “I am sorry, Your Majesty. But we are nothing to you. Please let us leave.” I only wish they were nothing to me. Yet somewhere in Faery a tree falls. The ground cracks, opens a fissure where nothing can grow. For want of the Teind, our seven-year sac­rifice, the land is dying. It will be on my head if it does. The land will take me with it when it goes. I cannot allow them to leave. I ignore Janet’s pleas, and look down my nose at Tam Lin. With a finger, I push him out of my way. “Do you know, I knew his ancestor? A long, long time ago. And let me tell you, loyalty does not run in the family.” Those grey eyes, though, they do. I should never have let Tam Lin keep them. The lordling opens his mouth to protest, but I flick my finger in the air and he grows silent. I am done listening to him. He is only the prize we fight over. Color rises in Janet’s cheeks, and her spirit burns hot, de­spite the chill of the autumn night. “I do not care how well you knew his ancestor. Tam Lin is not like him.” How would she know? I speak of one who died long be­fore Tam Lin was born. “Nor was Thomas Shepherd like his kin, not at first,” I tell her. “Or, excuse me, you would know him as the baron, Thomas de Lyne.” Tam Lin makes a strangled noise deep in his throat. I wave my hand and free his lips, but throw him such a dark look he stays silent in any case. “Let us go home, Your Majesty,” Janet pleads. “It must be close to dawn.” Her teeth chatter, with cold or with fear, it is impossible to say. “Oh, I shall let you go home,” I tell her, though I give no specifics as to when. “And I shall give him his freedom, as­suming you still want it for him after I have told my tale.” Excerpted from The Changeling Queen, copyright © 2025 by Kimberly Bea. The post Read an Excerpt From <i>The Changeling Queen</i> by Kimberly Bea appeared first on Reactor.

The Trump administration reached yet another deal with a higher education institution, as the University of Virginia agreed to drop its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.  In exchange, the Justice Department will drop its civil rights investigations into alleged racial discrimination and antisemitism at the public institution famously founded by third President Thomas Jefferson.  “This notable agreement with the University of Virginia will protect students and faculty from unlawful discrimination, ensuring that equal opportunity and fairness are restored,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement. “We appreciate the progress that the university has made in combatting antisemitism and racial bias, and other American universities should be on alert that the Justice Department will ensure that our federal civil rights laws are enforced for every American, without exception,” Dhillon added.  Previously, private institutions Brown University, Columbia University, and the University of Pennsylvania inked agreements with the Trump administration promising to resolve issues on campus such as antisemitism, males in female sports, and racial preferences in admissions and hiring so they could continue to receive federal funding. However, several universities—including the University of Virginia—had publicly rejected Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education offered by the U.S. Department of Education. Under the agreement, the University of Virginia is bound by the Department of Justice’s “Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination” that ensures the school does not engage in unlawful racial discrimination in its university programming, admissions, hiring, or other activities.  The university will be required to provide data to the Justice Department on a quarterly basis through 2028, and the university’s president will certify each quarter that UVA is in compliance with the agreement.  In the meantime, the DOJ will pause its pending investigations into discrimination in the university’s admissions policies and other civil rights concerns. If UVA completes its planned reforms to prohibit DEI policies at the university, the DOJ will close its five remaining investigations of the university.  University of Virginia interim President Paul Mahoney announced the agreement in a message to the university community Wednesday afternoon after he sent a signed copy of the agreement to the DOJ’s Office of Civil Rights.  “We intend to continue our thorough review of our practices and policies to ensure that we are complying with all federal laws,” Mahoney wrote.  “We will also redouble our commitment to the principles of academic freedom, ideological diversity, free expression, and the unyielding pursuit of ‘truth, wherever it may lead,’ as Thomas Jefferson put it,” Mahoney’s message continued. “Through this process, we will do everything we can to assure our community, our partners in state and federal government, and the public that we are worthy of the trust they place in us and the resources they provide us to advance our education, research, and patient care mission.” The post Trump Administration ‘Schools’ Another University Seeking to Keep Federal Tax Dollars appeared first on The Daily Signal.

A group of Republican lawmakers, led by Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Rep. Eli Crane of Arizona, are joining the effort to promote a rule to require proof of citizenship on federal voter registration forms.  The lawmakers signed a public comment letter to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission in favor of a petition by America First Legal, a government watchdog group, seeking the proof of citizenship requirement for the voter registration forms, most commonly found at Department of Motor Vehicle locations.  “Requiring documentary proof of citizenship is a simple, commonsense reform. Just as Americans are asked to show identification for far less consequential activities—boarding an airplane, opening a bank account, or even attending certain events—it is entirely reasonable to require proof of citizenship to participate in our elections,” the comment letter says. “This step would not burden eligible voters but would provide an essential check to ensure that only citizens are added to the voter rolls.” “Requiring documentary proof of citizenship will strengthen the integrity of our elections, safeguard the voices of American citizens, and ensure that every lawful vote is protected from being diluted by unlawful ballots,” the comment letter continues.  The America First Legal petition to the Election Assistance Commission for proof of citizenship has drawn considerable reaction from politicians and gained about 353,000 public comments. The petition follows Trump’s March Executive Order 14248, titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” that, among other things, directs federal agencies to take action to prevent noncitizens from voting. Previously, Democrat lawmakers Sen. Alex Padilla of California and Rep. Joseph Morelle of New York signed a letter urging the commission to reject the proposal.  “States already have multiple systems in place to ensure that only eligible Americans vote in elections; states already determine voters’ citizenship statuses without the burdensome requirement requested in the petition,” the Democrat lawmakers wrote in their comment letter. More recently, 14 Republican attorneys general—led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton—signed on to a public comment letter to the commission supporting the measure.  In contrast to that, 19 Democrat attorneys general—led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta—signed a letter opposing the rule.  The fact that Texas lawmakers Cruz, Cornyn, and Jackson signed the congressional letter while Paxton led the national effort among attorneys general comes at a time when Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson reported as many as 2,724 noncitizens were registered to vote in Texas.  Nelson announced this week that her office completed a full comparison of the state’s voter registration list against citizenship data on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, database.  Voters identified in the review as potential noncitizens will receive a notice from the county voter registrar and will have 30 days to present proof of citizenship in order to remain a registered voter. Otherwise, the registration will be cancelled, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s Office.  Joining Cruz and Crane in the official comment to the commission were Republican Sens. Ted Budd of North Carolina, Jim Banks of Indiana, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, John Cornyn of Texas, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, and Bernie Moreno of Ohio. House members signing on included Republican Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Byron Donalds of Florida, Pat Fallon of Texas, Andy Harris of Maryland, Clay Higgins of Louisiana, Ronny Jackson of Texas, Mary Miller of Illinois, Barry Moore of Alabama, Riley Moore of West Virginia, Derek Schmidt of Kansas, and Greg Steube of Florida.  The post Ted Cruz, Eli Crane Lead Effort to Require Only Citizens Vote appeared first on The Daily Signal.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Australia’s pro-censorship eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant tried to head off a Senate inquiry into her own powers by sending a pointed five-page letter to shadow communications minister Melissa McIntosh, a document that has only just become public through freedom of information laws. The letter, dated August 29, 2025, and originally obtained by Sky News, was also sent to Opposition Leader Sussan Ley and shadow treasurer Ted O’Brien. We obtained a copy of the letter for you here. In it, the commissioner sought to shape the Coalition’s position on her role and defend her agency against claims of excessive control over online speech. For several years, Inman-Grant has been accused of exercising broad authority over what Australians can see and do on the internet. Although she narrowly avoided a formal Senate probe earlier this year, pressure for an independent investigation has continued. Her letter referenced two Coalition press statements from late July, “Has the eSafety Commissioner Gone Too Far?” and “Albanese Government’s YouTube U-turn.” In response, she wrote that she had “tried to address the majority of the concerns in your press releases” and offered a “full briefing” to McIntosh and her staff. She defended the unelected nature of her position, saying, “Like other statutory positions… the position of eSafety Commissioner (appropriately) is not an elected one.” She claimed accountability mechanisms were already in place, noting that her decisions can be reviewed by the Administrative Review Tribunal, the Federal Court, and the Commonwealth Ombudsman. Inman-Grant also reminded the opposition that earlier Coalition governments had supported the creation of her office, pointing to the Online Safety Act 2021 as the foundation of her authority. A key section of her letter attempted to calm concern over the Search Engine Services (SES) Code, which would require users signed into search platforms to confirm their age, drastically eroding online privacy. While she said logged-out users could still search freely, the code leaves open the possibility of age verification through facial scans or ID uploads. A major proponent of censorship and online speech laws, controversy has long followed the commissioner. Published 2022 emails linked her to efforts to “sideline” US president Donald Trump, and her office was ordered to pay $66,000 to X and Canadian activist Chris Elston after a failed censorship attempt. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Australia’s Pro-Censorship eSafety Chief Julie Inman Grant Sought to Sway Coalition Before Senate Inquiry appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

Scenes from the Final NYC Mayoral Debate (Plus a Big Endorsement)

During Tuesday’s edition of The View, moderator Whoopi Goldberg cracked open her woke word dictionary to let viewers know that “the personhunt was on” for the thieves who pilfered Napoleon’s crown jewels from the Louvre (or as she pronounced it the “Louv-er”). Despite it just being a figure of speech, she argued that we should use gender neutral language because we didn’t know the gender of the thieves. And there were other bonkers comments made by the rest of the cast. “Welcome back. The personhunt is on for the thieves – because we don't know if a woman did it, we don't know if a man did it,” she proclaimed. “So, I don't want to say the manhunt, but the personhunt is on for the thieves who stole priceless royal jewelry from the Louv-er [sic] museum in Paris. In a daring daylight heist that sounds right out of a movie!” Seeing as they just got done ripping the new White House Ballroom earlier in the show as “tacky,” co-host Joy Behar followed up on images of the Louvre (one of the most popular museums in the world) by calling the place “tacky.” “Hey, Trump would love that place! It's so tacky!” she declared, getting approval from Goldberg: “Well, he is the Marie Antoinette, ain’t he?” A disturbing and morbid analogy, seeing as Antoinette was executed by guillotine during the French revolution.     Proving once again that The View was the home of misinformation, Behar claimed the thieves left a snarky note, only to admit it was from a different heist: BEHAR: The thieves left a note that said, “A thousand thanks for your poor security.” [Crosstalk] HAINES: Wait. That was -- that's true? They left a note? BEHAR: They left a note. HAINES: That's the biggest middle finger ever. BEHAR: [Checks note card] No, that was at a different – That was a different heist. Sorry. The heist she was referencing wasn’t even in France, let alone at the Louvre, and let alone this century. It was the heist of The Scream painting from the National Museum in Oslo, Norway in 1992. Co-host Sunny Hostin, who used to be a federal prosecutor, actually argued that it’s better for someone to be wearing the stolen jewels than them stuck in a box: HOSTIN: Now, let me preface this by saying theft is wrong. Is a crime. BEHAR: Uh-oh. GOLDBERG: Careful. HOSTIN: But those pretty jewels should not be just in boxes and nobody wearing them! Okay? “So I mean, I think in every heist movie you kind of -- like Lupin or one of those, Thomas Crown Affair, you kind of root for the thieves,” she added. “What type of prosecutor are you, though?” Behar pressed. Co-host Sara Haines jumped in to quip that, “Sunny is just against sex crimes, not jewels.” The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: ABC’s The View October 21, 2025 11:36:24 a.m. Eastern WHOOPI GOLDBERG: Welcome back. The personhunt is on for the thieves – because we don't know if a woman did it, we don't know if a man did it. So, I don't want to say the manhunt, but the personhunt is on for the thieves who stole priceless royal jewelry from the Louv-er [sic] museum in Paris. In a daring daylight heist that sounds right out of a movie! And here's how ABC News reporter James Longman said it went down. Take a look. [Cuts to video] JAMES LONGMAN: Police say the masked robbers drove up to the side of the museum in a truck mounted with a ladder described as a mobile freight elevator. Police say the lift was extended up to a second floor window which thieves broke open using an angle grinder. From there, they've alleged to have threatened security guards before ransacking the Apollo Gallery. Where Napoleon III's crown jewels were on display. The suspects making off with eight items before escaping on scooters. [Cuts back to live] JOY BEHAR: Talk about – Hey, Trump would love that place! It's so tacky! GOLDBERG: Well, he is the Marie Antoinette, ain’t he? BEHAR: Yeah. GOLDBERG: Anyhoo, were you surprised that they were able to pull this off in broad daylight? At the most popular museum in the world. SARA HAINES: That is crazy. HOSTIN: Yes. BEHAR: The thieves left a note that said, “A thousand thanks for your poor security.” [Crosstalk] HAINES: Wait. That was -- that's true? They left a note? BEHAR: They left a note. HAINES: That's the biggest middle finger ever. BEHAR: [Checks note card] No, that was at a different – That was a different heist. Sorry. [Laughter] HOSTIN: What's very interesting about the security plan at that museum is that it's people first. And so it's guard the people, make sure the people are okay as opposed to the jewels. Now, let me preface this by saying theft is wrong. Is a crime. BEHAR: Uh-oh. GOLDBERG: Careful. HOSTIN: But those pretty jewels should not be just in boxes and nobody wearing them! Okay? So I mean, I think in every heist movie you kind of -- like Lupin or one of those, Thomas Crown Affair, you kind of root for the thieves. (…)

A university professor is attacking classic literature through the guise of academia.Specifically targeted are the beloved works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and even William Shakespeare.'Diverse populations and Africans lived there.'Onyeka Nubia is a British historian employed as the assistant professor for the faculty of arts at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom.Hobbitual racismIn a history module called "Decolonising Tolkien et al," Nubia teaches that "people of colour" are demonized in the "Lord of the Rings" books and targets certain races of creatures and humans for his analysis.According to the Telegraph, Nubia noted groups called the Easterlings, Southrons, and men from Harad as being particularly deprecated. According to Lord of the Rings Fandom pages, the Harad and Southrons had black skin, while the Easterlings were "sallow or olive."Fans of the series know that none of these races are noted as being undesirable based solely on the color of their skin, but Nubia claims that these races are depicted as "the natural enemy of the white man."He makes similar claims about orcs, despite the fact that they are literal monsters bred for war. As well, Nubia reportedly declares that the stories showcase "anti-African antipathy," even though several of the story's most significant evildoers are light-skinned males, like Grima, Saruman, and Gollum.RELATED: Don't fall for the fake 'banned books' narrative Ian McKellen (L) as Gandalf with Elijah Wood as Frodo in "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring." Photo by New Line/WireImage/Getty ImagesNarnia businessThe professor reportedly does not stop at Tolkien, though, and goes after classics like "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."The fantasy book is reportedly described as providing unbecoming portrayals of oriental stereotypes when describing the Calormenes. These characters are described as "cruel" people with "long beards" and "orange-coloured turbans."A fan page describes them as "tan-skinned" men who are "mostly bearded," wearing "flowing robes, turbans, and wooden shoes."Nubia also provided articles that said medieval England had "diverse populations and Africans lived there," but "ethnic chauvinism" was apparent in the literature in the region.Bad BardThis was also allegedly present in Shakespeare's work. Nubia's syllabus reportedly said the author promoted a vision of a "fictional, mono-ethnic English past."Calling Shakespeare's plays problematic, Nubia claims they are "missing direct references to Africans living in England" which creates the "illusion" of racial homogeneity in the country.RELATED: Father-Son Movie Bucket List Director Peter Jackson attending "The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers" world premiere, December 5, 2002. Photo by Evan Agostini/Getty ImagesAs noted by Geeks and Gamers, prominent voices who cover the medium spoke out against the alleged teachings."If you see orcs as black people YOU are the racist," wrote Nerdrotic, an X account with over 260,000 followers.The Critical Drinker, who has over 2.3 million YouTube subscribers, wrote on X similarly, "If you look at Orcs and see people of colour, that's a 'You' problem."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A crash on Tuesday in California involving an illegal alien truck driver resulted in three deaths and the hospitalization of several others.Authorities identified the commercial truck driver allegedly responsible for the deadly collision as Jashanpreet Singh, a 21-year-old Indian national in the United States illegally.'It is a terrible tragedy three innocent people lost their lives due to the reckless open border policies that allowed an illegal alien to be released into the US and drive an 18-wheeler on America’s highways.'The California Highway Patrol arrested Singh, and he is being detained without bail at the West Valley Detention Center in San Bernardino. The CHP told KCBS-TV that officers are investigating whether Singh has a valid commercial driver’s license to operate the semitruck.Authorities claim Singh was speeding, and they suspect he was under the influence of drugs at the time of the crash on the 10 Freeway in Ontario that caused three deaths and injuries to four others. All of the victims were adults, the Ontario Fire Department told KCBS.Rodrigo Jimenez of the CHP told KTLA that one of the vehicles involved in the collision was so badly mangled that investigators still had not identified its make and model.RELATED: Exclusive: DOT withholds $40M from blue state for flouting English requirements for truckers Photo by Bob Riha, Jr./Getty Images“The fact that there are so many commercial vehicles involved in the crash, there’s a lot of weight behind the crash force,” Jimenez told the news outlet. “This is a very complex investigation, and that’s why officers from our multi-disciplinary accident investigation team have taken over.”“This is a tragic crash because it was very preventable,” he continued. “If somebody had just paid attention, if everyone was driving sober, this tragedy would not have occurred.”Singh faces charges of driving under the influence of drugs and causing bodily injury and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. Dash camera footage from Singh’s cab showed the truck plowing into multiple vehicles without Singh appearing to apply the brakes. Blaze News has reached out the office of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) for comment.RELATED: The fraud crippling American trucking: 'Ghost' carriers and 'NO NAME GIVEN' driver's licenses issued to foreigners Photo by: Peter Titmuss/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesThe Department of Homeland Security confirmed on Thursday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed an arrest detainer against Singh. The department noted that he was released into the country under the Biden administration after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in 2022.“It is a terrible tragedy three innocent people lost their lives due to the reckless open border policies that allowed an illegal alien to be released into the U.S. and drive an 18-wheeler on America’s highways,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated. “This accident follows a disturbing trend of illegal aliens driving 18-wheelers and semitrucks on America’s roads,” she continued. “Earlier this week, DHS highlighted another fatal accident in Indiana caused by an illegal alien driving a semitruck. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, ICE is working day-in and day-out to make America’s roads safe again.”Earlier this month, the Department of Transportation announced it would withhold $40 million from California after the state failed to comply with English-language proficiency requirements for CDL holders.DOT Secretary Sean Duffy called the situation “OUTRAGEOUS,” adding, “This is exactly why I set new restrictions that prohibit ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS from operating trucks.”He demanded that Newsom “join every other state in the U.S. in enforcing these new actions to prevent any more accidents and deaths.”Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) recently announced that his Democratic colleagues on the House Oversight Committee are putting together a "master ICE tracker" so illegal aliens and activists throughout the nation can be made aware of federal operations.Garcia made the announcement on Monday alongside Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D), who has routinely denounced ICE and Border Patrol agents arresting illegal aliens and criminals in her city. While the Oversight Democrats insist the database will include only "confirmed cases of ICE misconduct AFTER they happen," Democrats and the mainstream media have hyped up stories claiming misconduct of federal agents when no misconduct took place.'It's only a matter of time before a citizen attacks and hurts an agent or gets hurt themselves.'"Republicans are putting American citizens at risk by refusing to lift a finger to hold the Trump Admin accountable," House Oversight Democrats accused.Actions such as creating databases, doxxing agents, and calling federal agents the "Gestapo" have created an environment where the Department of Homeland Security personnel and its partners have faced an over 1,000% increase in assaults during operations.RELATED: Illegal alien shot after allegedly ramming car into federal vehicle was once honored by Democrat @USAttyEssayli/X Democrats committed to targeting DHS personnel have added another layer of concern for federal agents who are eager to undo the damage they saw firsthand from the Biden-Harris border crisis."I think those type of applications put our lives in danger. The threats have increased since the general public is getting involved in obstructing. It's only a matter of time before a citizen attacks and hurts an agent or gets hurt themselves," a DHS agent told Blaze News."Let's call this what it is: a pipeline that will funnel information on American law enforcement directly into the hands of anarchists, domestic terrorists, and cartel members. I am working with [Pam Bondi] to ensure that ANY individual who doxxes, threatens, or assaults our law enforcement officers will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said on X. — (@) Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department told Blaze News that deputies responded just before 1 p.m. Wednesday to the 900 block of North Sweetzer Avenue in West Hollywood regarding an armed robbery call. According to the victim, a dark-colored sedan was seen traveling down the street at a high rate of speed before stopping near his location, authorities said.The driver didn't need directions.'At one point the guy’s arm got dislocated ...'The sheriff's department told Blaze News that an adult black male wearing a mask exited the vehicle holding a semiautomatic handgun and demanded the victim’s Rolex watch.But the victim refused to comply, and a physical struggle ensued, authorities said.Patrick McCloskey told KTLA-TV he was working from home when he heard a woman screaming from the sidewalk: “The chaos was so intense, I didn’t know who jumped who. I ran to the door to see what was happening. At that point, I hear her yell, ‘Get the gun, get the gun!’”Apparently getting hold of the gun wasn't too difficult for the victim, as McCloskey explained to the station that the gunman "didn’t know that the guy was a retired wrestler. So he was able to get the gun off the guy and wrestle him down.”Video of the incident's aftermath shows the victim — who didn't want to be identified — telling a deputy that he grabbed the gunman’s wrist and put him on the ground before taking the gun away, KTLA reported. The victim's girlfriend then threw the gun over a nearby fence, and he held the suspect down until police arrived, the station said.RELATED: Man slashed in NYC subway — reportedly after staring match — chases down attacker, turns the tables on him in lethal fashion The sheriff's department told Blaze News that a second adult male suspect exited the vehicle during the struggle but fled the scene in the dark-colored sedan prior to the arrival of deputies. Responding deputies recovered the gun and took the suspect into custody without further incident, officials said.“I was told the gun was loaded,” McCloskey noted to KTLA. “The guy who is sort of the hero in all of this, who was able to pin the guy down, told me he saw a bullet in the chamber.”McCloskey added to the station that the retired wrestler showed no mercy in his struggle with the gunman: “At one point the guy’s arm got dislocated, and he just held him down."Video that KTLA obtained from the scene shows deputies arresting the suspect and recovering the gun allegedly used during the incident, the station said.Anyone who may have witnessed the incident or has information about the investigation is urged to contact LASD’s West Hollywood Station, KTLA added.Commenters on KTLA's Facebook post about the ordeal seemed pleased with the outcome:"FAFO at its best. Way to go!" one commenter said."This is why California needs to be open carry like Texas!" another user declared."Need more people like this hero to fight back!" another commenter said."You never know who you messing with," another user observed."News like this [is] soooooo satisfying!" another commenter exclaimed.Blaze News had asked the sheriff's department for the name of the suspect as well as his age, charge or charges against him, any past offenses, and his arrest photo, but officials did not provide that information.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!