Legislators sparred over crime policy at a House Judiciary Committee hearing in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Monday, held in response to the murder of Iryna Zarutska in late August.  Republican New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew criticized “weak” leadership and failed policies that allow dangerous offenders back on the streets. The representative described the irony of […]

REPORT: New Emails Allegedly Show How Epstein Lured Young Girls

Robinson will appear in person

'Lost our country'

'Opening 13 million acres for coal leasing'

News Shelby Oaks Shelby Oaks Trailer Sets Up a Haunting, Found Footage-Infused Tale From Chris Stuckmann The horror film raised more than $1.4 million on Kickstarter and is executive produced by Mike Flanagan. By Vanessa Armstrong | Published on September 29, 2025 Courtesy of Neon Comment 0 Share New Share Courtesy of Neon Shelby Oaks, the upcoming horror movie from writer-director Chris Stuckmann has been getting a lot of buzz from critics, and the latest trailer for the film suggests that it will be a terrifying time at the theater. In it, we get cuts of found footage—much of it shot vertically as videos these days are wont to be—of a woman digging into the evil that lurks in the town of Shelby Oaks, the place where her sister was last seen. The feature is Stuckmann’s debut. He is also a well-known YouTuber with over two million followers. In 2016 he and his wife released a short for his channel that they shot in a remote cabin in Tennessee. In it, a serial killer records all his murders on VHS. The two decided to expand it into a feature-length film that Stuckmann described as turning into “something with deeper, darker implications for its characters.” He raised almost $1.4 million on Kickstarter to fund the film, and it was ultimately picked up by Neon for distribution. The synopsis for the film sets up the premise:  A woman’s desperate search for her long-lost sister falls into obsession that the imaginary demon from their childhood may have upon realizing been real. Stuckmann expands on the story and how it became more personal in his director’s statement: “We follow Mia, played by the immensely talented Camile Sullivan, as she searches for her sister, who’s been missing for twelve years. The world believes her sister is dead, yet Mia plows forward, convinced her search isn’t in vain. I was raised in a faith that practices shunning, and when I was twelve, my sister left that faith. I was forced to shun her, and as a result, I cut off all communication with her. I was told my sister was “spiritually dead,” and despite knowing she was alive and well, we didn’t reconnect until my early twenties, after I finally escaped that faith. So it only makes sense that I’d identify with a story about someone’s desperate yearning to find a lost loved one, as escaped that faith. So it only makes sense that I’d identify with a story about someone’s desperate yearning to find a lost loved one, as seemingly insurmountable forces keep them apart.” In addition to Sullivan, Shelby Oaks stars Robin Bartlett, Robin Beach, Emily Bennett, Keith David, Brendan Sexton III, and Derek Mears. It’s executive produced by horror legend Mike Flanagan. Get ready to be scared when the film premieres in theaters on October 24, 2025. In the meantime, check out the trailer below. [end-mark] The post <i>Shelby Oaks</i> Trailer Sets Up a Haunting, Found Footage-Infused Tale From Chris Stuckmann appeared first on Reactor.

Books book reviews Surreal Video Games & Friendship Growing Pains in The L.O.V.E. Club by Lio Min Alex Brown reviews “a beautiful, sad story with more twists and turns than a murder mystery…” By Alex Brown | Published on September 29, 2025 Comment 0 Share New Share Childhood friendships can be complicated, fraught things, especially as children age into teens. Suddenly there are all these new pressures and conflicts. The things that once united a group of kids are now causing fractures. Add to that generational trauma, domestic violence, patriarchy, racial tension, sexual misconduct, eating disorders, and video games and you get Lio Min’s devastating new young adult speculative novel The L.O.V.E. Club. Liberty, O, Vera, and Elle are in middle school when they first meet. Four young girls who have already experienced too much of the world. They don’t have much in common other than feeling out of step with the rest of their Chinese-American community in the fictional California inland town of Calendula. By the time we meet them as teens, their hard lives have gotten even harder. Right around the time they were set to start high school, Elle vanished off the face of the earth. Not long after, Liberty and Vera left town and O, our narrator, behind. Now O, Liberty, and Vera are back together at Calendula Middle School, standing in front of a strange video game. Playing the game, Morning Glory, might tell them what happened to Elle, but is it real or a nightmare? Next thing they know, the three girls are sucked into the game as playable characters. Each girl gets their own level in which they must confront and reveal their worst moments. Liberty is trans, and is often either ostracized or fetishized for it. Sporty Vera doesn’t know how to be herself so she tries to become whatever each situation requires. O struggles with memory loss and feeling abandoned. Elle gets her own level, too, where we learn more about the abuse she suffered at the hands of people who were supposed to take care of her, as well as the abuse she unleashed on others.  The L.O.V.E. Club is a story about friendship, but in particular it’s about toxic friendships. These girls grow up in a noxious soup of oppression and let that form the foundation of their relationships with each other. Seemingly everything was a threat, so they learned to either lash out preemptively or retreat into themselves. They are hurt by others, they hurt each other, they hurt themselves. And Morning Glory drags all those deep, dark, painful memories into the light. Revelations about parental abuse, secret affairs, transphobic interactions, racism and fetishization, and teenage cruelty spill out. The girls have made a lot of mistakes over the years, and the game gives them the space to talk through them, reckon with the damage left in their wake, and take the first steps toward restitution or at least reconciliation.  Buy the Book The L.O.V.E. Club Lio Min Buy Book The L.O.V.E. Club Lio Min Buy this book from: AmazonBarnes and NobleiBooksIndieBoundTarget From a structural perspective, the video game aspect often confused me. I couldn’t quite wrap my head around how the levels or boss fights worked. I haven’t played a video game since Super Mario World was popular, so that might have a lot to do with my confusion. The boss fights, including when O would pull out her notebook, her in-game weapon, and write out complex and poetic commands, were beautifully written. However, I also think that Min’s flowery narrative style was a hindrance when it came to explaining the mechanics of a thing. Min plays with the physical layout of the text on the page and utilizes different fonts for different characters, which is both fun and innovative and also sometimes very difficult to read. At one point, several characters are speaking in all caps, and it not only is a struggle to get through what is essentially being shouted at but also hard to keep track of who is speaking. Yet, I think it’s also kind of the point. These structural and stylistic choices punch up the emotions in the text itself until it’s almost a physical force. It’s clever from a craft perspective, even if it’s not always easy to read. Towards the end of the novel, one character tells O, the protagonist, “You both write with this lush and lyrical style that’s… honestly hard to follow. But I wanted to try, to chase you through the labyrinths your mind naturally called home.” That is the perfect description of what it’s like reading this book. The L.O.V.E. Club is a beautiful, sad story with more twists and turns than a murder mystery. Lio Min is an excellent writer whose style can sometimes overwhelm the story they’re trying to tell. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat and then break your heart, and I mean that as a compliment. Min’s Calendula is a vivid, realistic town (if you, like I am, are from a California town a ways away from a metro area, a lot about the setting will probably feel eerily familiar) populated with troubled, messy characters. Min offers no easy answers or short cuts, something I think teens craving stories about platonic relationships will relish. [end-mark] The L.O.V.E. Club is published by Flatiron Books. The post Surreal Video Games & Friendship Growing Pains in <i>The L.O.V.E. Club</i> by Lio Min appeared first on Reactor.

Congressional Democrats are holding the government hostage, refusing to keep it open unless Republicans extend expiring Biden-era health care subsidies. They’re painting those subsidies as essential to American health care—but their demands are unreasonable and out of step with reality. Here’s what you should know about the expiring subsidies: The subsidies are remnants of the response to COVID-19. The Biden administration used the COVID crisis to enhance existing Obamacare subsidies, first in 2021 as part of the American Rescue Plan Act and then again in 2022 as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. This last extension is now set to expire at the end of the year—a full two and half years after the official emergency ended. Most other COVID relief responses, including unemployment benefits, food stamps, student loans, and Medicaid, have already expired. The calls to make these subsidies permanent prove that the Left’s ultimate goal wasn’t COVID relief, but a full-blown expansion of Obamacare. The number of people drawing a subsidy has nearly doubled since the COVID subsidy. Before the enhanced subsidies, both subsidized and unsubsidized Obamacare enrollment was stable. The COVID subsidy changed that. In 2019, 13.7 million individuals drew a subsidy. In 2025, that number spiked to 26.7 million in the first quarter alone. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that extending these subsidies permanently would result in a 3 million drop in employer-based coverage, a $380 billion increased cost to taxpayers over the next 10 years, and another 6.9 million individuals in Obamacare exchanges—receiving an average subsidy of $5,370.  COVID subsidies have amplified fraud in the program. Thanks to the lack of any requirements for enrollees to contribute to their coverage, the enhanced subsidies opened the door to increased health care fraud. According to new research, many individuals were enrolled in subsidized coverage without their knowledge or had their subsidized coverage changed without their knowledge. Meanwhile, an estimated 6.4 million people were improperly designated as having income between 100 and 150% of the federal poverty level—enabling them to receive zero-premium coverage at a cost of over $27 billion in taxpayer dollars for 2025 alone. Subsidies won’t disappear entirely just because COVID-era subsidies aren’t extended. Under Obamacare, premium subsidies were limited, available only to those with incomes between 100 and 400% of the federal poverty level. Additional cost-sharing subsidies were also limited, restricted to those with incomes between 100 and 250% of the poverty level. The COVID subsidies lifted the income limit and made the existing subsidies more generous, leaving many individuals with zero premium or cost sharing requirements. Under a return to Obamacare’s original standard, taxpayers will still pay 80 to 90% of premiums for low-income enrollees. An individual with income between 100 and 133% of the poverty level would still receive a generous federal subsidy leaving them contributing just $27 to $34 a month towards their coverage.     These subsidies ignore the real Obamacare crisis. Despite Obamacare’s promises to lower premiums, they continue to climb. At the same time, deductibles have grown, networks have narrowed, and choices have decreased. In 2013, the year before Obamacare’s implementation, the national average premium for individual coverage was $244 per month. By 2022, that cost had climbed to $568 per month. The average deductibles for bronze-level plans increased by 40% between 2014 and 2024. 80% of silver plans and 76% of bronze plans imposed more restrictive networks on enrollees. And 34 states have fewer insurers than they did before Obamacare. Congress should not turn a blind eye to Obamacare’s underlying issues by extending the expiring COVID-era subsidies. Instead, it should focus on fixing what’s really wrong—starting by restructuring subsidies and revamping the insurance market rules to bring greater transparency, accountability, and stability to enrollees and taxpayers alike. The post Here’s Why Democrat Demands for Funding the Government Are Unreasonable appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Congressional Democrat leadership appears prepared for a government shutdown even as it would imperil some of their supporters in the federal workforce. Meanwhile, some high-profile Democrats are reportedly also preparing for a wine-fueled Napa retreat that could take place during the government shutdown. The Trump administration has indicated that they would take the opportunity of a government shutdown to consider terminating some federal employees. A government shutdown would potentially furlough thousands of government employees who would not receive pay for the duration of the shutdown. Federal workers receive back pay after the shutdown ends. “[A]gencies are directed to use this opportunity to consider Reduction in Force (RIF) notices for all employees in programs, projects, or activities (PPAs) that satisfy all three of the following conditions: (1) discretionary funding lapses on October 1, 2025; (2) another source of funding, such as H.R. 1 (Public Law 119-21) is not currently available; and (3) the PPA is not consistent with the President’s priorities,” a memo sent last week by the Office of Management and Budget, which has oversight over the federal bureaucracy, stated. Those workers who are furloughed during the shutdown may face additional adverse effects. A 2023 study published in Governance, an international journal of policy, administration, and institutions, found that the 2013 government shutdown hurt federal worker morale. The study also concluded that federal workers who faced government shutdowns were “more likely to experience administrative dysfunction–such as unmanageable workloads, missed deadlines, poorer customer service, and abandoned projects,” according to a report published on the University of Southern California Price School of Public Policy’s website. The effect on federal employees was cited by some congressional Democrats in March when the government was facing another potential shutdown. “A shutdown would enable Donald Trump and Elon Musk to unilaterally determine that the vast majority of federal workers are not essential. And given the number of federal workers in Hawaii, mass furloughs would be deeply painful for people across the state,” Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, explained. Several professional organizations have also called on Congress to pass a continuing resolution. “We are asking–urging–Congress to not leave millions of patients and beleaguered healthcare providers dangling on the telehealth cliff while they deliberate over dynamics around a government shutdown,” Kyle Zebley, the executive director at ATA Action and senior vice president of public policy at the American Telemedicine Association, said in a statement.  “We appreciate that both the House and Senate have been working hard to advance a short-term funding bill. But with Congress out of session this week and not returning until September 29, that leaves only one day before the telehealth flexibilities expire,” Zebley continued. The Independent Women’s Forum, a conservative nonprofit, has also urged Congress to avert a government shutdown. “This clean continuing resolution is a necessary step to keeping the government running even as Congress does the good work to pass responsible appropriations bills through regular order. Americans did not vote for a dysfunctional government. They want a right-sized government, and so far, this Congress has taken that mandate seriously,” the organization stated. “Furthermore, in light of the horrendous slaying of Charlie Kirk, this CR provides members of Congress with additional protections so that they can serve their constituents. We urge all members to pass this clean CR to prevent disruptions to national security, public safety, veterans care, and social safety net programs while bringing back fiscal responsibility,” the group continued. A government shutdown would also affect the public at large. It would temporarily end access by the public to the Smithsonian Institution museums and the National Zoo. Tours at the U.S. Capitol would also be paused. Access to the national parks might also be limited for the duration of the shutdown. While federal workers would be furloughed and the American public locked out of federal museums and historic sites, Senate Democrats are planning a retreat to California wine country.An invitation to the event described the political conference taking place at Hotel Yountville, a California resort and spa, on Oct. 13 and 14 and hosted by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md. According to the itinerary, the retreat would feature a wine tour at Staglin Family Vineyard. The event prompted Graham Plattner, who is running as a Democrat to oust Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, from her Senate seat to write on X, “I promise you I will not be attending any DSCC fundraising events in a wine cave in California.” The post Government Shutdown Could Harm Democrat Federal Employees appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The state of Oregon sued Monday to stop the Trump administration from using the National Guard in the city of Portland to quell unrest that has targeted facilities run by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. In June, President Donald Trump called for National Guard personnel to be used to protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities and other federal property.   Oregon Democrat Attorney General Dan Rayfield asked the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon for a temporary restraining order to block the implementation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Sept. 28 memo that federalizes and deploys 200 members of the Oregon National Guard to Portland. The Hegseth memo said the troops would be deployed for 60 days. “The president’s response to federalize 200 National Guard members for 60 days is not about keeping people safe—it’s about chasing headlines at the expense of our community,” Rayfield said in a public statement. He added, “Oregon is our home—not a military target.” Rayfield’s motion argues there is no legal basis for federalization since there is no invasion or rebellion. It also contends federalized troops can’t be used for law enforcement, and it claims the deployment is an infringement on the Constitution’s 10th Amendment. Trump posted Friday on Truth Social that he is directing Hegseth to “provide all necessary Troops to protect War-ravaged Portland and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa and other domestic terrorists.” In his post, the president also said that he was “authorizing Full Force, if necessary.” Antifa, which the Trump administration recently designated as a domestic terrorist organization, has had a significant presence in Portland. Earlier this year, an Antifa-affiliated group in Portland “doxed” ICE officers and published their names, pictures, and personal addresses online, according to the White House. The post Legal Showdown in Oregon as Dems Try to Block National Guard appeared first on The Daily Signal.