'Vullo is entitled to qualified immunity'

Derek Lopez faces up to five years in prison if convicted

'We must respect the free will of every single person'

Coming out of Oakland, California, during the challenging early 1990s metal landscape, Machine Head carved out their distinctive space in heavy music when most metal bands were being overshadowed by grunge and alternative rock. Founded on October 12, 1991, by vocalist/guitarist Robb Flynn after departing from Bay Area thrash band Vio-lence, Machine Head quickly established themselves as pioneers in what would later be termed the New Wave of American Heavy Metal. The band has released eleven studio albums throughout their career, from their explosive 1994 debut Burn My Eyes to 2025’s Unatoned, demonstrating remarkable resilience through multiple lineup changes, shifting The post Complete List Of Machine Head Band Members appeared first on ClassicRockHistory.com.

Native species like the Endangered Palau ground dove have significantly increased in number thanks to a successful restoration campaign on Ulong Island in Palau. Working together in 2023-24, government agencies advised and assisted by the NGO Island Conservation, removed damaging invasive rats which devoured native bird eggs and young, decimated native plant populations through seed […] The post Endangered Palau Ground Doves Thriving After Restoration Effort appeared first on Good News Network.

Movies & TV Spooky Season Four Horror Movies Perfect for the Halloween Season Halloween is the perfect time to unearth a few horror gems you may have missed… By Alasdair Stuart | Published on October 30, 2025 Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures Comment 0 Share New Share Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures The best day of the year is nearly upon us—oh, Horror Christmas, how I love you. There is no better time to watch horror movies than October, and also no better time to try some new ones. Horror cinema has been quietly producing brilliant gems for decades now and Halloween is a perfect time to unearth a few you may have missed. Who’s up for a classic? You should watch every version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, preferably in quick succession. Seriously, with the possible exception of the Rocky movies, there is no starker, better example of why sometimes reboots are actually a good thing. Famously, the original 1956 version ended with Kevin McCarthy running towards the camera screaming “YOU’RE NEXT!” before the studio stepped in and mandated a happy ending. The 1978 version stars Veronica Cartwright, Leonard Nimoy, Jeff Golblum, and Donald Sutherland in a ridiculously stacked cast, with an atmosphere of eerie, post-Watergate paranoia. It is very different in tone and has the single best ending to a horror movie I’ve ever seen. The 2007 Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig version, renamed The Invasion, also happened. What the hell, watch it for completeness’ sake. Then there are the not-quite Body Snatchers movies. The Faculty, which is basically a love letter to the concept, and The Puppet Masters, which is an adaptation of Heinlein’s take on the concept (also starring Donald Sutherland!). Basically, you can get about six or seven solid movies out of the whole creepy alien invaders/impersonators idea pretty easily. But my favorite is the 1993 version. If the original is about communism and/or conformity, and the 1978 version about political cynicism, then the 1993 Body Snatchers is about the loss of personal identity in the face of monolithic nationalistic and cultural forces. So, obviously completely irrelevant these days. Anyhoo, its strength lies in the constant ramping-up of tensions and the collision between the family dynamic and the soldiers at its heart. This version centers on Gabrielle Anwar as Marti Malone, the daughter of Steve Malone, an EPA inspector played by the always excellent Terry Kinney. He’s remarried, and Marti is far from happy about that, or the fact that she has a brother now. Worst of all, they’re relocating to a military base for dad’s job. And that base is not in good shape at all… The combination of kitchen sink drama, forbidden love, and the collision between clashing ideologies drives the first hour of the movie. Director Abel Ferrara tells us upfront that something has gone terribly wrong but holds off on revealing all until the middle of the movie. There, in a scene that’s surely a series highlight, Meg Tilly’s Carol (Marti’s stepmother) explains just what is happening. Tilly has never really gotten her due as an actress and she is just flat-out brilliant here. The combination of calm sincerity and inhuman affect is the engine that drives the final act and leads to the second best ending out of all the Body Snatcher movies. It’s like a hybrid of the previous movies—the “YOU’RE NEXT!” hysteria of the original mixed with the very real possibility that our heroes have already lost and the sense that even if they haven’t, they’re irreparably broken. It’s grim as hell, fiercely unflinching and non-commercial, and is pretty much the last gasp for one of science fiction’s most interesting concepts. At least until the next version. Next up, Slither. Do not eat before watching Slither. I mean, at all. Written and directed by James Gunn in his pre-MCU days, it follows the events in the small South Carolina town of Wheelsy after a meteorite crashes on the outskirts. The sentient parasite it contains proceeds to infect local thug and businessman Grant Grant (Michael Rooker) and begins building a new body for itself… On paper, Slither looks like the sort of body horror that crowded video store shelves back when video stores were a thing. And that’s because it IS the same sort of body horror that crowded video store shelves—only this one was made in the 21st century by people who LOVE their work and maybe drink a little bit too much coffee. Ranged against the increasingly terrifying Grant are his wife Starla (played by Elizabeth Banks) and Sherriff Bill Pardy (played by Nathan Fillion). And as the creature riding Grant begins to infect the town, they have their work cut out for them. Slither is a gristly slice of joy. Not just because it’s gross (And IT REALLY IS) but because Banks and Fillion are just ridiculously good fun. Banks has always been one of the best parts of any cast she’s in, but Starla Grant is a standout role for her. She’s no one’s victim and her gradual transformation into the movie’s heroine is earned, funny, and very real. Fillion has never been better than he is here. Yes, I know—Firefly—but this is him freed from the demands of that show’s very specific rhythm. Better still, this is Fillion playing a hero who is, well, a bit rubbish. Bill doesn’t have special skills or a dark past. He’s a small-town Sherriff. He’s lucky, but not that lucky, and the film’s best moments all come from Bill’s self-image colliding with his reality. Or in this case, getting its ass kicked by a delightfully unconvincing alien-infected deer. Rounded out by great performances from Tania Saulnier as wily survivor Kylie and Gregg Henry as Jack, the town mayor, Slither is a film that’s joyously unpleasant, massively funny, and can stand next to the likes of Tremors and Grabbers as a modern monster classic. I’m a horror podcaster, so I’ve always had a soft spot for short stories and anthologies. And that’s why Michael Dougherty’s Trick ’r Treat is close to my heart. It’s a welcome update on the anthology movie genre as a cast full of very familiar faces all have amazingly bad (and in some cases, very short) Halloween nights. All of the stories are tied together by Sam, a mysterious child wearing footie pajamas with a burlap sack over his head… The stories are all neatly-handled Tales from the Crypt-style affairs. “The Principal” is a blood-soaked comedy as Dylan Baker’s Principal Wilkins tries to get just ONE moment’s peace to bury a body or two. “The School Bus Massacre” is a classic piece of small town gothic, and “Surprise Party” is a well-executed piece of cinematic slight of hand. And then there’s “Meet Sam,” which is worth the price of admission all by itself. Starring the ever brilliant Brian Cox, it’s a one-on-one war between the grumpy old man and Sam the creepy little kid. The payoff, again, is fantastic and it’s made even better by Cox’s wonderful, glowering performance. So, we’ve looked at a classic (in many versions), a monster movie, and an anthology. How about we end with an all-time great? Pontypool isn’t just one of my favourite horror movies. It’s one of my favourite movies, ever. Adapted from his own book by Tony Burgess, it stars Stephen McHattie as Grant Mazzy, a former shock jock who has fallen all the way to the tiny town of Pontypool in Canada. Broadcasting from a studio in a crypt beneath a church, Grant, his producer Sydney (Lisa Houle), and their tech Laurel-Ann Drummond (Georgina Reilly) are the sleepy region’s sonic wallpaper. That is, until the first reports of violence come in. Faced by an outbreak of a virus hiding inside language itself, the three must work out how to communicate when communication can kill you. This is an amazing piece of cinema. The three leads are all fantastic and the central concept, and logic behind it, are unlike anything else I’ve ever seen. It feels completely alien and unknowable in a way that lazier writers would present as Lovecraftian. Instead, the antagonistic virus here is presented similarly to the massive Lobstrocity glimpsed at the end of The Mist. We only ever see it in passing, we only ever understand a tiny portion of its existence, and that alone almost destroys us. Everything clicks and connects, every element of the movie serves every other element. There’s the best use of “Here’s Doctor Science to explain the plot” in modern horror history, the deaths have real meaning and weight to them, and the entire story comes down to one voice and the power behind it. Which as a podcaster, I understandably love. Pontypool is wilfully esoteric, deeply strange, and very sweet. It’s the most hopeful movie about the end of the world I’ve ever seen and if you watch nothing else this Halloween, watch this.[end-mark] Originally published October 2017. The post Four Horror Movies Perfect for the Halloween Season appeared first on Reactor.

Over the past several weeks, President Donald Trump’s counternarcotics strikes in the Caribbean and now the Pacific have marked a turning point for Washington, directing the U.S. security apparatus to confront the deadly narco-terrorist threats in our hemisphere. The outcome has been undeniably positive, effectively collapsing narcotics trafficking across the Caribbean and sending a clear message to both friends and foes. But that hasn’t stopped critics from making outlandish claims about the dangers of the U.S. military’s highly targeted strikes against narco-traffickers. One of the more prominent talking points from far-left critics is that the U.S. military is actually mistakenly striking fishing boats instead of narcos. Despite its absurdity, this claim continues to be parroted by the media and the far left, who suggest that the military lacks the capacity to differentiate between fisherman and narco-boats. In reality, there are several ways that the military, and even the casual observer, can identify a narco-boat. Unlike humble fishing boats, narco-trafficking vessels are typically specially outfitted and customized with expensive equipment that makes them ideal for drug running. This includes multiple top-level engines that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars as well as expensive customized structures or hulls ideal for avoiding detection and carrying large quantities of narcotics. These visually distinct vessels are unflagged, featuring none of the radio transponders a fishing vessel in international waters would normally have. Not only that, but their departure origin, routes, and behavior make them clearly distinct from fishing boats. That’s all without considering the specialized intelligence and surveillance capacities the military certainly has and leverages in these strikes. The U.S. military knows a great deal about what drug boats look like—in part because for decades they’ve been forced to watch helpless as seaborne narcos traffic deadly drugs to the U.S. In 2014, U.S. Southern Command told Congress that a lack of resources meant the commander had to “sit and watch” 74% of suspected drug trafficking boat just go by. Since that testimony, SOUTHCOM received important new detection and surveillance capacities. But until this year, this simply gave the U.S. military a clearer picture of how much narco-trafficking it was unable to disrupt. In fact, in March 2025, SOUTHCOM’s estimate of the proportion of drug shipments it was intercepting dropped from 26% in 2014 to just 9%. But that all changed in September. The U.S. military in Southern Command’s area now has the largest grouping of naval assets it has seen since the Cuban missile crisis—including, as of this week, an aircraft carrier group. Narco-terrorists and narco-dictators kill 100,000 Americans each year—while destabilizing the U.S. The Trump administration is right to take bold action and refocus resources on these dire threats in our hemisphere. The military has a central role to play in that effort, as should our partners and allies in Latin America. The post Yes, the US Military Knows the Difference Between Narco-boats and Fishermen appeared first on The Daily Signal.

President Donald Trump has ordered testing of American nuclear weapons to start “immediately.” “Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis,” Trump wrote on TruthSocial. “That process will begin immediately.” “The United States has more Nuclear Weapons than any other country,” he said. “This was accomplished, including a complete update and renovation of existing weapons, during my First Term in office. Because of the tremendous destructive power, I HATED to do it, but had no choice! Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within 5 years.” Trump penned the post shortly before meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday in South Korea.  It is unclear if this statement refers to test firing of nuclear-capable rockets and missiles; sub-critical tests of nuclear components, which Russia and China have done for years; or full yield-producing nuclear explosive testing.  “While we certainly want to avoid any kind of nuclear war, there may be compelling reasons to once again engage in super-critical tests or even yield producing nuclear tests in the coming months or years,” Heritage Foundation national security expert Peter Roberts said. “For these reasons, the United States’ Departments of both War and Energy should prepare to test the full range of its nuclear capabilities, if required.” The U.S. military regularly tests its missiles that are capable of delivering a nuclear warhead. However, the Department of War it has not detonated the weapons in almost 35 years because of a test ban. Former President George H.W. Bush put a moratorium on nuclear detonations in place in 1991. President Bill Clinton would go onto sign the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1996. A reporter asked Trump on his flight away from South Korea if the world was entering a more risky environment when it comes to nuclear issues. “I think we have it pretty well locked up,” Trump said. “But I see them testing. I say, well, they’re going to test, I guess we have to test.” China and Russia have renovated their historical nuclear test sites in recent years. Only North Korea has detonated nuclear weapons since 1998. The post Trump Announces When US Will Start Testing Nuclear Weapons appeared first on The Daily Signal.

President Donald Trump says he had a “truly great meeting” with Chinese President Xi Jinping.  “There is enormous respect between our two Countries, and that will only be enhanced with what just took place. We agreed on many things, with others, even of high importance, being very close to resolved,” Trump wrote on social media early Thursday morning following the meeting between the two world leaders in South Korea.   Tariffs on China will be lowed by 10% to 47% following the meeting, Trump told reporters on Air Force One.  The U.S. has placed a number of tariffs on Chinese goods in 2025, and Trump had threatened to impose a 100% tariff on China beginning Nov. 1, but will no longer do so.  “I would say on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the best, I would say the meeting was a 12,” Trump told reporters on Thursday morning.   President Trump on his meeting with Xi: pic.twitter.com/K8xkTjKwI0— Virginia Allen (@Virginia_Allen5) October 30, 2025 The results of the meeting are evidence of the way “Trump has been moving away from America’s decades-long misguided feel-good engagement with [Chinese Communist Party]-driven China,” Anthony Kim, editor of the Index of Economic Freedom at The Heritage Foundation, told The Daily Signal.   “He has been renovating/reconstructing the relationship/engagement with Beijing on his MAGA terms,” Kim said of Trump.   Soybean Purchases  Trump reports that Xi agreed during the meeting that China will again purchase farm products from the U.S., including soybeans and sorghum.   High tariffs and tense trade relations between the U.S. and China resulted in China largely halting its purchasing of American soybeans in 2025, affecting U.S. farmers significantly.   Discussing the soybean deal on Fox Business Thursday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said China will buy 12 million metric tons of soybeans between now and January and has also agreed to purchase about 25 million metric tons of soybeans annually from the U.S. for the next three years.   Energy and Rare-Earth Minerals   China has further agreed to “continue the flow of Rare Earth, Critical Minerals, Magnets, etc., openly and freely,” according to Trump. Rare earth minerals are used in everything from smartphones to flat-screen TVs and about 70% of the world’s rare earths come from China.   “China also agreed that they will begin the process of purchasing American Energy. In fact, a very large-scale transaction may take place concerning the purchase of Oil and Gas from the Great State of Alaska,” Trump said.   The Trump administration’s “energy team,” along with Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, “will be meeting to see if such an Energy Deal can be worked out,” Trump said. “Although China has promised to continue the flow of critical minerals, the Chinese Communist Party has a history of breaking its promises,” Diana Furchtgott-Roth, director of The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Energy, Climate, and Environment, told The Daily Signal.  “This agreement should not stop the United States from expanding and expediting permits for mining for critical and rare earth minerals at home, and renewing our relationship with Canada, which also has these minerals,” Furchtgott-Roth added.   Fentanyl Crisis  Trump and Xi also discussed the fentanyl crisis and “China has strongly stated that they will work diligently with us to stop the flow of Fentanyl into our Country,” according to the president, adding, “[t]hey will help us end the Fentanyl Crisis.”  More than 48,000 Americans died from synthetic opioid—mainly, fentanyl—poisonings and overdoses in 2024, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl flow out of China to South and Central America before making their way into the U.S.    Ahead of Trump’s meeting with Xi, author and China expert Gordon Chang told The Daily Signal the conversation on fentanyl was the one he was watching most closely.   Chang said he will be leery of any pledges from Xi to address the flow of fentanyl chemicals out of China because “Xi Jinping promised to stop the flow of fentanyl in 2016. That was a promise to President [Barack] Obama. And in 2018, he promised that to Trump. And in 2023, he promised it to [President Joe] Biden.”  What’s Next  Pointing to little significant change in the stock market Thursday morning, Michael Pillsbury, a leading author and expert on China, said the public understands that the immediate outcomes of Trump’s meeting with Xi are “promises rather than actual contracts for soybeans, or actual energy purchases from Alaska, or actual steps taken to fight fentanyl.”   The new 47% tariff rate is “still pretty high,” he said, adding “I think the implication is China can earn reduced tariffs by action on these various areas. That’s a good approach.”  Trump’s meeting with Xi in South Korea was his final stop on a nearly weekly trip to Asia that also included stops in Japan and Malaysia.  The post Results of Trump’s Meeting With Xi appeared first on The Daily Signal.

CBS Starting to Stand for C(you!) B(ye!) S(o long!)