News Star Wars Star Wars: The Acolyte Creator Says She “Was Not Surprised” by the Show’s Cancellation Leslye Headland saw the writing on the wall with The Acolyte, though the experience left her with some thoughts about the future of Star Wars. By Matthew Byrd | Published on December 1, 2025 Photo: Disney Comment 0 Share New Share Photo: Disney Though it’s been a strange stretch for Star Wars projects in terms of recognition and overall success (Andor excluded), The Acolyte remains one of the more unusual entries in this era of the franchise. Not only was the show set many of years before most other Star Wars shows and films (a setting that has only been explored in other mediums and the extended universe), but the series received a public and rather unceremonious cancellation. While hardly an unusual move in the grand scheme of television, The Acolyte became the first Star Wars series to receive an early and public cancellation notice. Yet, The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland says she wasn’t really that shocked by the decision. “I was not surprised by it,” said Headland in an interview with The Wrap. “I think I was surprised at the swiftness of it and the publicness of it. I was surprised by how it was handled. But once I was getting particular phone calls about the reaction and the criticism and the viewership, I felt like ‘OK, the writing’s on the wall for sure.’” Regarding the show’s ratings, Headland says that the exact numbers were a bit “muddled” but that she came to understand The Acolyte was being compared to the success of other Star Wars properties as well as other shows airing at the same time. So while the series popped up on the ratings charts a few times and seemed to be gaining some momentum in that respect, it just never seemed to be quite enough. As for the reactions and criticisms, Headland says that she knew the series was going to be a big risk in several ways and that “any gripes creatively with the show are completely valid.” However, she did suggest that the criticisms of the show started to take on a life of their own at some point and seemed to largely exist to fuel the creator economy. “I also was like, ‘I know who these guys are.’ You don’t have to tell me who’s talking about it or how bad it is online, I know exactly who they are,” says Headland regarding Star Wars’ content creator community. “I supported them on Patreon. There are some of them that I respect, and there are some of them that I think are absolutely snake oil salesmen, just opportunists. Then, of course, there are the fascists and racists. So it runs the gamut.” Headland goes on to elaborate on the ways she respects those content creators while also expressing some concerns about their influence and power. She even goes so far as to say that they may not only determine the future of Star Wars as a franchise but become bigger than the actual Star Wars films and series. “It made me start to think, rather than these fans are toxic, or this thing is being mean to me, it made me think more that the content being made about Star Wars will ultimately be more culturally impactful than the actual Star Wars,” Headland suggests. “I believe we’re headed into that space. Those IPs will continue to make money, but I don’t know how much they will affect the next generation as much as the content that is being created around those events, IP films and television shows.” That’s a fascinating, if slightly worrying, observation from a creator who knows just how difficult it can be to carve a new path through the Star Wars franchise. The Acolyte certainly had some issues, but it was also a collection of fascinating concepts that were met with disproportionately vitriolic reactions. It is now also one of those shows that could have perhaps grown into something more interesting but will never get the chance to do so. [end-mark] The post <i>Star Wars: The Acolyte</i> Creator Says She “Was Not Surprised” by the Show’s Cancellation appeared first on Reactor.

Parents are growing increasingly concerned about the prevalence of technology in classrooms, and the negative side effects that change is fueling among children nationwide. Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic pushed schools to remote learning, many have only grown increasingly reliant on technology, shifting assignments into digital forms and handing every student a computer or tablet to aid their education in the classroom. But after seeing their kids become angrier, less sociable, and less educated, parents are asking where the teachers have gone. “What are we doing with an iPad all day, for eight hours a day in our kids’ hands?” Patricia McCoy, a mother of four in Wyoming, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Honestly, it’s disturbing. They give your kids worksheets on the iPad. There’s no actual critical thinking happening because they’re given apps to replace the teachers.” Even when parents ask for additional help for their struggling children, the solution at some schools always comes back to more technology. “If your kid is struggling in math, instead of giving them tutoring, they’re going to recommend to you that your child use this app on their iPad to help teach them how to do this math,” McCoy continued. “But that app doesn’t teach them how to do the math. They enter the problem and it gives them the solution all written out and worked out, so there’s no critical thinking being done. The answer is being given to them. They have ChatGPT at the ready, and other things similar to ChatGPT, which, again, does all the thinking for them. And all they have to do is show up, log into the iPad, get the answers from one app, put it into another app and get the grade.” This has some parents wondering where the teachers have gone and whether they are teaching their students at all. “They Don’t Want to Teach” “COVID did create a lot of this, and it made it a lot easier for some of the teachers now to just place these kids in front of a screen,” Mike Maldonado, a California father of five, told the DCNF. “And it makes it easier for some of these teachers because they don’t want to teach. They’re just there for a job.” “We can’t ignore the fact that all this stuff makes it easier on the teacher, which actually, I think produces a worse result,” Jaime Brennan, member of the Frederick County Board of Education who spoke on behalf of herself and not the board, told the DCNF. “When a teacher can go online and make up an assignment using AI, now they haven’t thought. Now they’re not using their brainpower, and it’s like a trickle-down effect. We’ve already introduced screens and technology to the level that as humans, I don’t think we were designed to use, and we haven’t adapted to it very well.” Critically, Brennan said, the use of AI has prevented students from developing automaticity, the skill of memorizing basic solutions, such as simple addition, to the point that you do not even think about it, which is a foundational skill students carry on throughout their education and adult life. McCoy told the DCNF that the digital learning environment has left her youngest son academically “two to three years behind” his siblings, who did not go through this new screen-based school system. “He is drastically farther behind academically,” McCoy said. “He does what he needs to to pass, but intellectually and academically, he is years behind his two brothers and his sister at this age, and that is sad and heartbreaking as a mother to know that I probably failed my child because I went along with what the school said was going to help them.” Despite being “years behind,” McCoy’s son is on track to graduate on time. “We graduate kids who have to go to community college and take remedial math,” Brennan mentioned. “Our kids leave 12th grade and they go to 13th grade. So we’re putting out kids that are not ready to operate in the regular world.” Possessed by the Screen Not only is she worried about his education, the concerned mom has seen a noticeable shift in her son’s mood as he is forced to rely on more and more screen time. “I tried to take my son’s phone away one time, and it looked like a demon was looking back at me. My son was not looking at me,” McCoy recalled. “His eyes were completely black and cold. It was like he was a totally other person, like a drug addict, and you’re taking their drug from them. And he was 15 at the time.” Without his phone, McCoy said her son was a new person. “That week, he was a totally different person. He wasn’t overly tired and drowsy all day. He was actually interacting with the family and spending time with us. Instead of being shut down and closed off in his room, he was playing with our dogs more,” McCoy said.  Maldonado thinks these behavioral issues stem partly from the lack of human interaction children experience in increasingly screen-dependent classrooms. “Part of the problem is that they’ve lost a lot of the interaction,” Maldonado said. “This is why some of these kids I think act out, because they don’t want to listen to the teacher. There has to be that communication between two people, two humans, and not a screen where they can’t really interact and get the tone, the voice inflection of a response.” “That is a major issue,” Maldonado continued. “Without social skills, how do you function in society? And we see it all the time. Social skills are definitely learned, it’s a trait that you pick up from interacting with people when you’re young. And that’s the big thing, people don’t realize that if there’s no interaction, that person is going to be withdrawn, not just from the classroom, but from the home and from society.” The issue is especially apparent in children who were younger during the COVID year, Maldonado said. The so-called COVID babies are typically “the ones who you can see have the majority of the behavioral issues.” “It is hard to get some of these kids to actually look you in the eye and make eye contact. They don’t know human interaction,” Brennan concurred, adding that students today are not even dating as much as they used to. “I’m really concerned where that’s going to lead, and what our kids are going to be like. We’re already seeing negative impacts of kind of this disintegration, people are waiting till later to getting married. They’re not getting married.” The Price America Is Paying Meanwhile, as the use of artificial intelligence (AI) among youth increases, more data and stories are coming out revealing the tool often exposes children to inappropriate content, damages the development of critical thinking skills, and at times, drives kids to suicide by explicitly coaching them to do so. Brain scans from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) revealed that brain engagement was severely diminished under participants who used AI compared to those who used a traditional search engine, and memory recall following assignments completed with AI tanked. Interestingly, schools that struggle with budget concerns and often fail to see promised districtwide staff raises somehow find funds to buy brand-new devices for every student—even when they already had slightly older, but still functional devices. “Most of [the money goes] to administration and fees and other things that have nothing to do with the education of our kids, or they spend it on these expensive iPads and technology that shouldn’t even be in the classrooms, and then they go to the state and say, ‘You’re not giving us enough money. We need more money,’” McCoy told the DCNF. “Well, we keep throwing money at the problem, but the problem doesn’t get better or go away. It gets worse every year. So clearly, money isn’t solving the issue on why our kids can’t read, write and do math.” “Stop spending the money on the iPads and put that money back in the classrooms instead,” McCoy continued. “Give it to the teachers.” While Tina Descovich, co-founder and CEO of parental advocacy group Moms for Liberty, mirrors the concerns of many parents, she also told the DCNF there could be a place for technology in the classroom. “I think they have to be used in a very responsible fashion,” Descovich said. “There’s so many wonderful teachers that would like to use AI in a way to help enhance their skills and teach their children better.” Moms for Liberty signed a pledge with the White House in September to help foster innovation and interest in AI with America’s youth. Brennan remains concerned that technology in the classroom prevents kids from thinking independently and may harm future skill building rather than facilitate an interest or expertise in technology. “Are you trying to keep pace with the kids who are learning to use the technology, or are you trying to create the kids who are going to develop the technology? Because those are two different things,” Brennan said. “So if we’re just teaching our kids to be technology consumers, then sure, the easy way out is to do everything on the technology. If you’re trying to keep teach kids to be the technology developers, they need to learn to think and process away from the technology. They need to have other skills that are not technology based.” Parents Still Have Power For parents concerned about the technological takeover of their children’s classrooms who feel like their schools aren’t listening to them, Descovich said that along with helping their kids at home when possible, parents should “rally with likeminded parents.” “Start educating your community,” Descovich said. “I think when parents really understand what’s happening and what the concerns are and what the risks are, they will want to take action. And when you have enough parents showing up at school board meetings and speaking about an issue we have, as we know, you definitely can make an impact, and they will listen.” Originally published by the Daily Caller News Foundation The post ‘No Critical Thinking’: Parents Sound Alarm as Tech Begins to ‘Replace the Teacher’ appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Should the Trump administration or the courts determine whether an illegal alien qualifies for asylum due to threats of persecution, when the facts are not in dispute? Supreme Court justices pressured a Justice Department lawyer on that issue Monday. The case involves Salvadoran national Douglas Humberto Urias-Orellana, who claims he faced threats to his life from a hitman in his country. He illegally entered the United States in June 2021 during the Biden administration’s border surge.  The question before the justices is whether federal courts should defer to the executive branch’s judgment on immigration deportation cases when facts are not in dispute. In this case, the federal court deferred to the Justice Department’s determination that the case did not constitute persecution. Plaintiffs argue the courts should make that interpretation. For this reason, the plaintiffs did not focus on the hitman’s threat in the legal arguments, which seemed to perplex Justice Sonia Sotomayor.  “I actually don’t understand why a credible death threat would not always cause suffering or harm,” Sotomayor said. “Are you arguing something quite different?” Nicholas Rosellini, arguing for the plaintiffs, said, “We did not make that argument explicitly before the First Circuit.” He added in the appellate court arguments, the government argued entirely for judicial deference to the Bureau of Immigration Appeals.  “Deciding whether undisputed facts qualifies persecution under the law involves legal interpretation, not fact finding,” Rosellini told the court. “Courts have repeatedly established legal principles on things like sexual violence, religious persecution, economic deprivation, and beyond. The court did not establish those principles by pondering the term ‘persecution’ in the abstract. They interpret the law by applying the persecution standard to particular sets of undisputed facts.” Arguing for the government, Justice Department lawyer Joshua Dos Santos said the Supreme Court has spoken to the issue in the 1992 case of Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Elias-Zacarias. In that case, the high court found a Guatemalan man could not seek asylum in the United States because an anti-government guerrilla group sought to force him into military service.  Dos Santos added that Congress passed reforms of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, which reviews rules adopted by federal agencies, and the government’s standard for “persecution” is thoroughly reviewed by the executive branch.  “There’s no way, no realistic chance, that when Congress was overhauling standards of review, in OIRA, … that it was either unaware of that practice, or silently departing from it,” Dos Santos said.  Justice Brett Kavanaugh questioned giving too much deference to the executive branch without judicial review, and pressed Dos Santos.  Dos Santos replied that the Bureau of Immigration Appeals and federal immigration judges “have expertise in looking at recurring fact patterns, and seeing all kinds of different versions of these cases, far more cases than any court of appeals is ever going to see.” Immigration judges are Justice Department officials, and not members of the federal judiciary. The same is true of the Board of Immigration Appeals, which upheld the immigration judge’s decision in this case. After the Department of Homeland Security sought removal of Urias-Orellana and his family, the family applied for asylum based on persecution. Urias-Orellana also sought protection under the United Nations’ “Convention Against Torture.” Urias-Orellana contends his association with his half-brother Juan puts his life in danger. Under the Immigration and Naturalization Act, asylum seekers who have been denied relief by the Board of Immigration Appeals can appeal to federal courts.  A federal immigration judge denied the family’s applications for asylum, and determined this did not amount to persecution, or demonstrated reasonable fear of future persecution if they returned to El Salvador. As for the U.N. anti-torture claim, the judge found he didn’t report his harassment to the police. The BIA upheld the judge’s determination. After that, the plaintiffs appealed the case to the First Circuit Court of Appeals, which found it should defer to the Board of Immigration Appeals’ decision since facts were not in dispute. The post Who Decides Whether an Illegal Immigrant Gets Asylum for ‘Persecution?’ Supreme Court Weighs Arguments appeared first on The Daily Signal.

A three-judge panel disqualified President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer as the acting U.S. attorney in New Jersey, in a case pushed by the head of a liberal lawfare group, and by Hunter Biden’s former lawyer. The panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit determined Monday that Alina Habba’s appointment violated federal procedures. This upheld U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann’s ruling in August. “It is apparent that the current administration has been frustrated by some of the legal and political barriers to getting its appointees in place,” Judge D. Michael Fisher wrote in the ruling. “Its efforts to elevate its preferred candidate for U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Alina Habba, to the role of Acting U.S. Attorney demonstrate the difficulties it has faced.” The litigation to disqualify Habba involved Democrat lawyers opposing the Trump administration, such as Norm Eisen, the executive chairman of the Democracy Defenders Fund, who vowed to bring more than 100 lawsuits against the Trump administration.  Also in the mix was Abbe Lowell, the former attorney for Hunter Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden.  Gerry Krovatin, a New Jersey lawyer involved in ethics cases against Republicans and Democrats in the state, also represented one of the plaintiffs. “The court’s decision affirms that U.S. Attorney Alina Habba is unlawfully and invalidly serving as the chief federal law enforcement officer in New Jersey, marking the first time an appellate court has ruled that President Trump cannot usurp longstanding statutory and constitutional processes to insert whomever he wants in these positions,” the three lawyers said in a statement. “We will continue to challenge President Trump’s unlawful appointments of purported U.S. Attorneys wherever appropriate.” The lawyers needed a client with standing to challenge Habba’s capacity to bring charges. The three lawyers represented Cesar Pina, who pleaded not guilty to wire fraud, money laundering, and bribery charges. Pina was among plaintiffs who challenged Habba’s authority to bring criminal cases.  The disqualification marks another setback for the Trump administration’s Justice Department regarding appointed prosecutors.  Last week, a federal judge dismissed criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General  Letitia James. The judge determined that Lindsey Halligan had been unlawfully appointed as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.  Reuters contributed to this story. The post How Liberal Lawfare Actors Spearheaded Case That Got Trump-Appointed Prosecutor Disqualified appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The Vatican supports a Palestinian state, according to Pope Leo XIV.   “The Holy See has for many years publicly endorsed the proposal of a solution of two states,” the pope told reporters Sunday on board a flight from Turkey to Lebanon. “We all know that in this moment, Israel does not accept that solution,” he said, adding that the Vatican sees it as the “only solution” to end the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.   The Holy See is the governing authority of the Roman Catholic Church and is headed by the pope in the Vatican. Israel and Hamas are still engaged in a ceasefire agreement that took effect in October, just over two years after Hamas carried out a terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that left 1,200 people dead and another 251 captives in Gaza. Since the ceasefire took effect, Israeli troops have pulled back to the designated “yellow line” within Gaza. All the living hostages were returned on Oct. 13, but Israel has accused Hamas of slow walking the remains of the deceased hostages. The bodies of two dead hostages are still believed to be in Gaza.   The U.S. helped to broker the current peace deal between Israel and Hamas that is based on President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan, that includes a complete end to the war and the disarmament of Hamas.   Leo stressed that the Vatican is a friend to Israel, adding, “we try with both sides to be a voice of mediation that can help get closer to a solution with justice for all.”   Speaking to reporters on an aircraft traveling from Turkey to Lebanon, Pope Leo said that the Holy See endorses a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict https://t.co/dagnSfbwpF pic.twitter.com/zx1xorNZ2r— Reuters (@Reuters) November 30, 2025 Leo, who is the first American pope, is not the first pope to openly endorse a Palestinian state. In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI called for a “sovereign Palestinian homeland,” and before his death earlier this year, Pope Francis said he believed a two-state solution was the “the only solution” to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.   In 2015, the Vatican signed its first “Comprehensive Agreement between the Holy See and the state of Palestine,” in which it declared a “hope that the much desired two-State solution may become a reality as soon as possible.”   An argument for a two-state solution in which Palestine would receive formal statehood crosses political divides and has received support from some Republicans and Democrats. Still, there is significant opposition to a two-state solution, especially on the political right, fearing that the “solution” would ultimately lead to the erasure of Israel.   The two-state solution, in which Israel and Palestine would have their own state side by side, is “a great branding move,” but it is “not a solution,” Heritage Foundation senior research fellow Eugene Kontorovich previously told The Daily Signal. “It is an interim step to the destruction of Israel.”   “The minimum demands of the Palestinians are the ethnic cleansing of every single Jew in Judea and Samaria, every single Jew in the Old City of Jerusalem,” according to Kontorovich. “They want something no one has ever asked for before—they want an independent country, free of Jews, free of an ethnic minority.”    Instead of agreeing to a diplomatic solution, Kontorovich says the Palestinians have chosen “war and jihad.”    The post Palestinian State Seen as ‘Only Solution’ to Conflict, Pope Says appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Another Embarrassment for the Oxford Union

In the quest to understand why agriculture started in a particular place and time, understanding the climate is crucial.

More information is being uncovered about Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the 29-year-old Afghan who allegedly shot two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.Lakanwal was a member of a secret military operation backed by the CIA to hunt down Taliban commanders, according to multiple reports. The members of the "Zero Units" were highly vetted and praised by those who knew about them.'This animal would've never been here if not for Joe Biden's dangerous policies which allowed countless unvetted criminals to invade our country.'One of the guardsmen has since died, and the other is in critical condition. Both are members of the West Virginia National Guard.Refugee advocates say that many Zero Units members have fallen into despair over their inability to gain work permits in the U.S. after fleeing from Afghanistan when it was retaken by the Taliban. Former intelligence and military officials say Lakanwal would have undergone significant vetting to be accepted into a Zero Unit operation.CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed Lakanwal's CIA connection. "In the wake of the disastrous Biden withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Biden administration justified bringing the alleged shooter to the United States in September 2021 due to his prior work with the U.S. government, including CIA, as a member of a partner force in Kandahar, which ended shortly following the chaotic evacuation," he said in a statement to Fox News Digital.White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson blamed the Biden administration for allowing Lakanwal into the U.S. after the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021."This animal would've never been here if not for Joe Biden's dangerous policies which allowed countless unvetted criminals to invade our country and harm the American people," she said.Lakanwal was brought in under Operation Allies Welcome and was granted asylum under the Trump administration in April. President Donald Trump has halted all asylum applications after the shooting.U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi seemed to imply that more information about Lakanwal's radicalization would be forthcoming."You're going to hear a lot more about that," she said on Fox News.Lakanwal is facing one count of first-degree murder and two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed.RELATED: MS NOW reporter obliterated online for unbelievable comment on National Guard shooting A statement from No One Left Behind, a group advocating for Afghan allies who fought for the U.S., condemned the shooting."No One Left Behind serves Afghan and Iraqi allies who earned Special Immigrant Visas through direct service alongside U.S. military forces," the statement reads. "These wartime partners risked everything to protect American troops, walking into firefights as interpreters, identifying threats that saved convoys, standing watch beside our service members in the most dangerous places on earth."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The Trump administration's crackdown on illegal drug smuggling has reportedly prompted an economic collapse of one Venezuelan city. Güiria, a port city dependent on the smuggling of illicit narcotics and other contraband, is facing economic challenges following the Trump administration's strikes on suspected drug trafficking boats.'Everything is practically dead.'The administration has launched numerous strikes in the Caribbean Sea in waters close to Venezuela in an effort to end the trafficking of drugs into the U.S."As we've said from the beginning, and in every statement, these highly effective strikes are specifically intended to be 'lethal, kinetic strikes,'" Secretary of War Pete Hegseth stated. "The declared intent is to stop lethal drugs, destroy narco-boats, and kill the narco-terrorists who are poisoning the American people. Every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization.""Our current operations in the Caribbean are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the law of armed conflict — and approved by the best military and civilian lawyers, up and down the chain of command," Hegseth added.Several Güiria residents claim the strikes have brought their town's economy to a standstill, according to a Friday report from Reuters.RELATED: Trump confirms call with Maduro after report of alleged regime-change ultimatum Pete Hegseth. Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty ImagesThe news outlet noted that Güiria "survives mostly on maritime smuggling of contraband, including drugs," and it is also "partly sustained by informal trade in food and other goods with Trinidad and Tobago." "There was only movement in stores recently because of government bonus payments; otherwise, there's no money circulating," a food store clerk told Reuters."No boats of any kind are leaving for Trinidad and Tobago any more — not migrants, not people buying goods there to sell here, and certainly not those taking Venezuelan products to sell there, which was another way to make money. Everything is practically dead," she stated.RELATED: Trump to 'permanently pause' migration from third-world backwaters in wake of National Guard member's grisly murder Nicolas Maduro. Photo by Alfredo Lasry R/Getty ImagesThe residents also reported an increase in the number of security personnel in the town since mid-September."They pass through the same areas many times, at all hours. Before, they weren't so persistent; now they're everywhere all the time," a community leader told Reuters, referring to the security personnel."They're all organized by the government — civilians and police go together supervising the streets," another individual told the news outlet. "Everything seems calm except for the increased surveillance in the town."President Donald Trump has reportedly presented Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro with an ultimatum to relinquish control and flee the country.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Trump Just Released His MRI Results – Please Keep the Media in Your Thoughts and Prayers