An investigation has been launched into over 150 referees

'Employees have made extrajudicial statements'

'ANARCHIST' REPORTEDLY OFFERED CASH TO KILL PAM BONDI ... NBC: Minnesota man arrested after allegedly offering $45,000 for the killing of Pam Bondi (VIDEO)

'Dr. O'Connor likely misled the American public'

'major distraction'

News Pluribus Vince Gilligan Explains Why His New Sci-Fi Show Pluribus Stars a Frustrated Romantasy Author In Pluribus, Vince Gilligan’s observations on the modern world include a Romantasy author who has had enough. By Matthew Byrd | Published on October 28, 2025 Photo: Apple TV Comment 0 Share New Share Photo: Apple TV We still don’t know a lot about Vince Gilligan’s upcoming sci-fi show Pluribus, which is exactly the way the Breaking Bad creator likes it. Gilligan is cashing in his blank check on a big, weird genre series, and he’s made it clear that you’re better off knowing as little as possible going into this show about its protagonist Carol: a woman who is mysteriously immune to a virus that makes nearly everyone else in the world eternally happy. However, in a recent interview with AV Club, Gilligan did drop one fascinating new tidbit about Pluribus: Carol is actually a frustrated romantasy author. When asked why he decided to give Carol such a specific profession, Gilligan offered a surprisingly self-reflective answer. “I just liked the idea of a writer trying to save the world a lot,” Gilligan explains. “I was thinking about different professions, like what if she were a florist or something instead? When you think of someone who saves the world, you’d want a Liam Neeson or a Tom Cruise. You don’t want a writer. That’s about the last person in the world you want tasked with saving humanity because we’re all a bunch of inept idiots.” Gilligan doesn’t need to go out there and start spilling our secrets, but that’s a more than fair observation. Still, writers have been unlikely protagonists for quite some time. Just look at the foundation of Stephen King’s empire. Why did Gilligan choose a romantasy author specifically? “I started thinking about what kind of writer Carol should be,” Gilligan says. “I can say from 30-plus years of experience that screenwriters are boring. And romance authors just seem more colorful, fun, and interesting.” Again, fair, though for what it’s worth, Gilligan suggests elsewhere that Carol is a frustrated and somewhat self-loathing romantasy writer. It’s a detail that not only supports Gilligan’s other thoughts on writer protagonists, but his professed love for protagonists that are frustrated outsiders. “Sometimes I walk into a restaurant, and I get this feeling that everybody knows each other, and I’m the only one who’s a stranger,” Gilligan muses. “So I like a hero who is not fully equipped for the task. Carol Sturka wants to save the world, but it doesn’t necessarily need to be done by her. She doesn’t need the credit. She just assumes someone else will take the reins of this thing… those are the kind of stories I like, where the audience can say, ‘You know, I don’t know if she’s even doing the right thing. I know her heart’s in the right place, but is she even doing the right thing?’” We’ll see if Carol does the right thing when Pluribus starts streaming on Apple TV on November 7. [end-mark] The post Vince Gilligan Explains Why His New Sci-Fi Show <i>Pluribus</i> Stars a Frustrated Romantasy Author appeared first on Reactor.

By now, most know that free speech is under threat in Great Britain. In August, Vice President J.D. Vance “raised some criticism [and] concerns about our friends on this side of the Atlantic” while in England on vacation and for official meetings. I just went back to my old college, St. Andrews in Scotland. I’d reached out to them several times since retiring from being a diplomat, and while their official responses have been polite, it’s clear they don’t want to engage too closely with an alumnus who is an outspoken conservative. But I was invited to speak by the school’s Foreign Affairs Society, a group of international relations students who don’t shy away from real conversations about Brexit, NATO, and immigration. I was told there were a few angry posts on Instagram prior to my visit. The comments were focused on my employer, The Heritage Foundation, rather than anything I had written or said. I was half hoping for a raucous demonstration at the venue, the university’s central St. Salvator’s quad, if only as publicity for my book “The Ten Woke Commandments (You Must Not Obey).” In preparation for my arrival, the Foreign Affairs Society had organized both official campus and student volunteer security. As it turned out, the protest was just two young female students holding a tiny placard that I couldn’t make out. The rest of the protesters had sensibly gone to the pub, I suspect, in firm St. Andrews tradition. The audience was polite, and their questions informed and engaging. A few days later, I spoke to graduate students under the tutelage of Professor Eric Kaufmann at the University of Buckingham. Kaufman had just published a report on the sudden decline of young people identifying as “transgender or non-binary,” with a graph that quickly went viral thanks to retweets by Elon Musk and others. I’d become aware of Kaufman way back in 2020, when he was one of the few voices in Britain challenging orthodoxy about mass migration and assimilation. My last London engagement was at the Battle of Ideas Festival, on their 20th anniversary. The event was buzzing, with hundreds of people and multiple simultaneous panels and presentations. My event was “Free Speech Under Trump,” featuring fellow panelists from Cambridge, New York, and Liverpool universities, as well Tom Slater, editor of the online outlet Spiked. The environment was wonderful. There were tables hosted by dozens of organizations, from the Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist) to the Free Speech Union. Attendance leaned conservative, but everyone was welcome. The Battle of Ideas was the opposite of cancel culture—so naturally, commenters from the left hated it. One called it “a cynical brand showcase” and “a live content farm for Britain’s right-wing media ecosystem” because it featured conservative voices like GB News, the Spectator, and UnHerd. The New Statesman scathingly described attendees as either “of a certain age” or weird. On our panel, the NYU and Liverpool professors cast Trump as a threat to democracy and free speech. In the UK, as in the U.S., college faculty are overwhelmingly left-wing, so no surprise there. Dr. James Orr from Cambridge and I argued the opposite—that Trump had arrived in the nick of time to save free speech and oppose cancel culture, which had hitherto only targeted conservatives. The audience was divided in reaction and viewpoint, but at no point did anyone shout, hold up “Free Palestine” cards, or ask impertinent or obnoxious questions. The Battle of Ideas was an encouraging atmosphere of open discussion, leading me to wonder: Would such a conversation be possible in the U.S. today? I think not. First, it would have to be organized by conservatives, who are not afraid of debate and whose ideas can stand exposure to daylight and counter arguments. American Leftists seem afraid to discuss their core values with opponents. Instead, many allege mere words are violence. Rather than bringing opposing voices on campus and tackling them with better arguments, American students try to de-platform them—demonstrating a puerile fear of rhetoric. Then there’s the matter of security. The Battle had no metal detectors, and the only visible staff were young volunteers in white t-shirts. Any such event in the U.S. today would have to be locked down tight. In addition to hounding conservatives off campus before they can speak at all, our extremists on the far left have demonstrated a propensity for violence in opposition to free speech. Charlie Kirk braved the arena, and it cost him his life. At least he died with his rhetorical boots on. Britain’s free speech today is arguably most under threat from gender ideology and Islamism. The former will fade, as Kaufmann’s research shows. The latter is a growing menace that Britain, and the West as a whole, must face. In England, “Pro-Palestine” demonstrations are routine and protesters openly call for violence against Jews and Israel. Politicians in Birmingham, the nation’s second-largest city, recently banned fans of an Israeli soccer team due to the threat of violence from the local population. The fates of David Ames, Salman Rushdie, Mike Freer and others remind us what is possible. Yet giving into a sectarian heckler’s veto to appease radical sensibilities will signal Britain’s ultimate concession to a subset of immigrants’ intolerance over the national majority’s respect for free speech. The post Free Speech in Britain—a Visitor’s Snapshot appeared first on The Daily Signal.

President Donald Trump announced that Toyota will invest billions to open auto plants across the country. “I was just told by the [Japanese] prime minister that Toyota is going to be putting auto plants all over the United States to the tune of $10 billion,” Trump said. “Go out and buy a Toyota.” Trump spoke to sailors aboard the USS George Washington Tuesday in Tokyo Bay after meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Trump said he thinks Takaichi, Japan‘s first female prime minister, will “go down as one of the great prime ministers.” “I want to just let you know, anytime you have any question, any doubt, anything you want, any favors you need, anything I can do to help Japan, we will be there,” Trump told Takaichi. Takaichi will nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. The post ‘Go Out and Buy Toyota’: Trump Announces Japan’s Major Investment in US Industry appeared first on The Daily Signal.

As we observe National First Responders Day, let us honor those who protect us every day—and give extra support to those with the courage to reestablish law and order while confronting defiance, violent discord, and even domestic terrorism. A coordinated, dark money-funded far-left movement is targeting and attacking one law enforcement agency in particular: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In doing so, they’re jeopardizing the lives of ICE officers. Federal prosecutors have charged violent rioters for attacking law enforcement in urban areas across the nation. Since June, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has filed cases against 33 extremists who allegedly assaulted ICE agents and other officers at Portland’s federal immigration facility. In Chicago, five defendants were recently indicted for assaulting or resisting federal agents, including one suspect who violently dragged an ICE officer with a vehicle, sending the agent to the hospital. Authorities in Los Angeles arrested over 575 rioters after demonstrations sent the city into fiery chaos and injured at least 10 officers over the summer. A Texas court indicted the first two of 18 defendants in custody for suspected connection to a shooting at an ICE facility on terrorism charges. Amid the social and economic decay of cities like Portland, Chicago, and Los Angeles, leftist politicians created sanctuaries for aliens violating our laws. Instead of following their oath to protect their citizens, these politicians have instead protected criminals and terrorists. Now, liberal politicians not only openly defy the federal government, but they also encourage anarchy against constitutional ICE operations and even incite attacks against federal law enforcement agents. Financial records and public endorsements show that despite leftists’ claims, anti-ICE riots are heavily coordinated campaigns of anarchy and not organic acts of protest. For example, the International Anti-Fascist Defense provided bail to a group connected to the ICE facility attack in Texas on July 4th. The Trump administration stated that many of these violent attacks against ICE are connected to groups identifying themselves as Antifa, coordinated online and backed by a dark money network that funnels funds through nonprofit tax-exempt status under the guise of “community defense” or “mutual aid.” Antifa is well affiliated with national activist coalitions, Marxist organizations, and legal defense funds that also appear connected to the anti-Trump administration “No Kings” protest movement. That’s the same network that supports liberal politicians across the country. Two organizations listed as No Kings partners, Planned Parenthood Action Fund and League of Conservation Voters, endorsed Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. In Chicago, Mayor Brandon Johnson won with the support of Our Revolution and Indivisible Chicago, two groups that also participated in the No Kings mobilizations. One of the most striking examples of politicians placating anarchy is in Portland. The city approved a near $500,000 settlement to Dustin Brandon Ferreira, a reported Antifa associate, and another several hundred thousand dollar settlement to Meghan Lea Opbroek, who was left injured in an Antifa arson attempt against a local police precinct. Through these settlements, Portland has effectively made taxpayers sponsor left-wing terrorism to avoid trials. These associations are just some of many that reveal how anti-federal law enforcement agendas are embedded within the political mainstream of America’s largest sanctuary cities. The rhetoric attacking law enforcement is alarming, but the risk increases as you follow the money that sponsors this behavior. A study of political extremism in America concluded that 2025 is on track to be the most violent year of leftwing extremism in over thirty years. The pandemic years coaxed leftist positions and flagged normal behavior as dangerous. Since March 2020, liberals’ go-to political weapon has been doxxing, causing personally identifiable information to be widespread against people whose only “offense” was exercising their rights or carrying out constitutional orders. Many of the Left’s doxxing victims are federal agents—and the sharing of their personal information obstructs their ability to do their jobs. Authorities arrested John Curcio who purportedly leaked a female ICE attorney’s home address to social media and encouraged people to harass her. A grand jury indicted three women in September for following an ICE agent to his door and live streaming his address to the public. When states and municipalities declare sanctuary policies or refuse to cooperate with ICE, they’re complicit in anarchy and endangerment of law enforcement officers. On this day, we honor all first responders who now face growing threats of political violence. While liberals berate brave officers for enforcing laws most Americans support, let us continue to give our visible and vocal support to those defending Americans every day. The post Dark Money, Sanctuary Cities, Left-Wing Terror, and the War on ICE appeared first on The Daily Signal.