'Ensure the security of our work'

'Look at the actions of what we are doing'

'No historical tradition supports Florida's open carry ban.'

Movies & TV Star Trek: Strange New Worlds “All you have to do is look up at the stars” — Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: “New Life and New Civilizations” With prequels, certain story beats are inevitable, but can still make an impact… By Keith R.A. DeCandido | Published on September 11, 2025 Credit: Paramount+ Comment 1 Share New Share Credit: Paramount+ Here’s the problem with doing a prequel with established characters: we know what’s going to happen to a whole lot of them, which puts barriers up on certain story notions. It doesn’t completely limit storytelling. For one thing, storytelling generally resists attempts to limit it. And even when you know characters’ futures, there’s still plenty of room for powerful tales. As evidence, I point to, not just this very show, but also two fantastic recent examples, Better Call Saul and Star Wars: Andor. But there are story angles that are closed off, and also certain conclusions that are foregone. On this show, we know that, at the very least, Pike, Spock, Uhura, Scotty, Chapel, Korby, M’Benga, and both Kirks will still be around several years’ hence. And we know enough details about them (some more than others, obviously) that certain avenues are, if not cut off, at least severely limited. The third-season finale of SNW addresses one of those avenues, as we have to come to the inevitable end of the Pike-Batel relationship. I chose the word inevitable there quite specifically. This relationship was doomed from the start, because Pike obviously wasn’t with Batel in “The Menagerie”; indeed, she wasn’t even a factor. If Pike had a significant other, that’s something that would’ve come up, especially given Pike’s final fate, which was to live out his life on Talos IV with Vina, their respective injuries masked by the Talosians’ telepathy. So at some point over the course of SNW, the Pike-Batel relationship was going to have to end. I find myself wondering if this was the plan all along, or if they were at first going to do something more mundane to just break them up. The problem is, Anson Mount and Melanie Scrofano have had such superlative chemistry that just having them break up was going to be either unconvincing or would require mangling one of their characters enough to make it convincing, which would be unsatisfying. Instead, we close out the third season with a payoff to the cure for the Gorn infestation Batel received in “Shuttle to Kenfori” as well as the fight that broke out between Batel and the Vezda-possessed corpse of Nurse Gamble in “Through the Lens of Time.” Over the course of this episode we learn that the fancy-shmancy rare flower that they retrieved from Kenfori to cure Batel didn’t just hybridize the Gorn DNA with hers, but instead transformed her into the guardian that was keeping the Vezda imprisoned on Vadia IX (or, more accurately, in the interdimensional prison that can be accessed via Vadia IX). The Vezda that possessed Gamble has been hiding in the Enterprise medical computer (as implied by the very last shot of “Through the Lens…”), and managed to reconstruct Gamble’s body from the medical transporter buffer. He has gone to Skygowan, another world from which he can access the prison (and where Korby is right now). Batel has come to realize her purpose—backed up by a medical scan that shows that she’s now genetically identical to the guardian in the prison—and so has to confront the Vezda and reimprison them. So we do lose her, but it’s a sacrifice she makes in order to keep the galaxy safe from the Vezda. And just to remind us how awful they are, Gamble deliberately torments M’Benga as much as he can, and also makes a large chunk of the Skygowan population gouge their eyes out to prepare them for being possessed by the Vezda. Fun people, the Vezda are… Just before the final battle between Batel and the Vezda, she sends her and Pike into—er, something. It might be a dream sequence, it might be an alternate timeline, it might be a Talosian-style illusion. But whatever it is, it, “Inner Light”-style, has Pike and Batel living out their happily ever after. They marry, they have a kid (and a dog). When Pike goes on the cadet cruise on the Class-J ship, they’re both stunned when he doesn’t get hit with delta rays and instead gets out of it unscathed. They live together to old age, and only when she’s on her deathbed does she reveal the truth: that these memories will stay with both of them to remind them each what they are fighting for. Credit: Paramount+ Amazingly, this adds further texture to the framing sequence of “The Menagerie.” Throughout Part 1 of that two-parter, Pike is constantly telling Spock “no” when Spock kidnaps him to take him to Talos IV. Pike’s foreknowledge of his confinement to a convalescent chair back in Discovery’s “Through the Valley of Shadows” and his subsequent acceptance of that (despite some hiccups, notably in “A Quality of Mercy”) explains why he was so reluctant to go along with Spock’s crazy-ass plan. Now we have another reason: he already has detailed memories of a happy life with Batel. He knows that he’ll be trapped in a body that will be ravaged by radiation so much that he will be in constant pain, but he also will refuse Spock’s help, because he has these memories. I also have to give props to the script, credited to two of the show’s executive producers, Dana Horgan & Davy Perez, and especially to the direction by the superlative Maja Vrvilo (one of the best of the regular slate of directors Trek has been using the last eight years) for the dream sequence/illusion/alternate reality/what-the-hell-ever. The cuts to show the passage of time are simple and subtle, and I especially love the use of knocking on the door as a motif. I have heard arguments that Batel is fridged here, and I can see the argument, but I’m not quite there to accept it for the very reasons I outlined above. The relationship was always doomed thanks to Batel’s absence from “The Menagerie.” She needed to be written out, and this way she goes out in a blaze of glory, giving Pike a lovely mental gift and also saving a shit-ton of lives. Besides, this doesn’t really fit the criteria. A fridging is a gratuitous death of a female character whose death’s sole plot purpose is to motivate the hero. That doesn’t apply here. Pike is a bystander to her sacrifice—and also an aid to it. It’s the death of a hero, not the death of a girlfriend. (Having said that, I can see the argument. Feel free to discuss this further in the comments…) One of the side-plots involves our heroes needing to open up the portal on Skygowan that leads to the interdimensional prison. Scotty and Pelia hit on the notion of ship’s phasers, but a single ship only has about fifty percent of the power. So they do it with two ships, since the Farragut is also nearby, and Captain V’Rel apparently is indebted enough to the Enterprise crew for saving her life in “The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail” that she’s willing to go along with this. Because apparently Horgan and Perez don’t understand how computers work, we are told that a mind-meld between two pilots is the only way to coordinate the two ships’ joint firing solution. (It would make much more sense for an independent computer system to control both ships simultaneously, but I guess that violates Trek’s long-standing inconsistent animus against automation.) Spock and Kirk are the ones who must mind-meld. First off, let me give major credit to the script for queer-coding the shit out of the scene in which Spock and Ortegas approach Kirk, which I’m sure made legions of slash fanfic writers giddy with glee. (I certainly chortled mightily.) And second of all, for all that it was dumb, it was lovely watching Paul Wesley and Ethan Peck talk in stereo as they did the thing. The episode does not end with a cliffhanger, thank goodness, nor even with a surprise ending or any other kind of tease. It simply concludes with the Enterprise going off on their next mission. Which is as it should be. Next week, I’ll do an overview of this very uneven third season.[end-mark] The post “All you have to do is look up at the stars” — <i>Star Trek: Strange New Worlds</i>: “New Life and New Civilizations” appeared first on Reactor.

Books book reviews Predatory Natures by Amy Goldsmith Is a Lush Tangle of Supernatural and Human Horrors A mesmerizing, meaningful tangle of a tale. By Maura Krause | Published on September 11, 2025 Comment 0 Share New Share The word “predator” has several applications. Some may first associate it with animals possessing claws and fangs, while others may think of morally bankrupt people seeking gratification at the expense of others. Still more may think of vicious capitalist practices designed to part individuals from their hard-earned money. Amy Goldsmith’s cleverly-titled new young adult novel, Predatory Natures, revolves around this multi-faceted meaning of the term, tackling coercive control in romantic relationships, financial greed, and of course, inexorable devouring nature. Goldsmith’s transporting book is narrated by Lara, an eighteen-year-old who accepts a job on a luxury train to get away from her shameful and suffocating past in Wales. She dreams of making decent money on the ominously named Banebury, before getting off at its terminus in Tallinn and then backpacking her carefree way home across Europe. Lara’s dreams quickly take a hit when her former friend Rhys arrives, also ready to work on the train. This shouldn’t be wholly unexpected, as Rhys was the one to find the job listing several months ago, but it is indicative of Lara’s desperation that she’s managed to forget that fact.  It’s soon apparent that tall and handsome Rhys played a prominent role in whatever our narrator is running from, and that Lara also harbors confusing romantic feelings for him. The two establish a wary detente, which is easy at first thanks to the demands of serving the Banebury’s wealthy clientele. Yet in the middle of the night, several cars are attached to the back of the train, and in the morning two new passengers appear: Gwendolyn and Gwydion Llewellyn. Despite Gwydion’s initial nastiness, Lara finds herself drawn to the Welsh boy—but not as drawn as she is to the locked greenhouse carriages he and his sister brought with them. Though the official line is that Gwen is a scientist bringing specialized plants to a lab, Lara’s sneaky forays into the forbidden carriages lead her to believe there is something else going on. The barriers between her and Rhys begin to crack as the two work together to figure out what’s really happening on the Banebury. Vines creep along the train’s lush carpets at night and the greenhouse vegetation grows faster than seems possible. Rhys thinks he sees someone watering the plants with blood, while Lara is convinced that one passenger is coughing up petals. Even as they protect one another and confer in each other’s cabins, the pair’s unspoken history simmers away. This looming backstory is slowly revealed in drawn-out flashbacks that often throw Lara off-balance. Though Goldsmith skillfully builds this hidden narrative to a crescendo right as the train action becomes its most thrilling, some readers may find this attenuation of Lara’s memories a bit frustrating. The trauma of the situation is quickly clear even as the events remain fogged: Lara was in a psychologically abusive relationship.  Buy the Book Predatory Natures Amy Goldsmith Buy Book Predatory Natures Amy Goldsmith Buy this book from: AmazonBarnes and NobleiBooksIndieBoundTarget Thankfully, Goldsmith stays away from over-painting this portrait of Lara’s nauseating former relationship and allows Lara to be smart and brave as well as refreshingly teenaged in her see-sawing feelings and lurching self-awareness. Moreover, Lara’s painful past is not merely a foundation established for the sole purpose of this protagonist’s eventual empowerment. Without giving too much away, it turns out that at the heart of the terrifying plant growth is an eerie and ancient story about a woman created solely to please a man. Though Lara has already mapped her experience of abuse onto the fairytale “Fitcher’s Bird” (a version of “Bluebeard”), she continues to wrestle with feelings of guilt and blame, which many who’ve suffered coercive control will recognize. It seems like Lara’s evolving connection to this Welsh myth emerges from her awful past—but whether for good or ill, it is impossible to say. Goldsmith elegantly splices this substantive and moving emotional core to several delicious and underused tropes. For one, she uses the luxury train mystery setting to its fullest effect. Agatha Christie famously demonstrated that trapping rich people and death on a moving train creates some very fruitful possibilities for plot and tension. Goldsmith picks up all of this and more, making satisfying use of class resentments, hurtling isolation, and of course, blood on the carpet. Guest cabins seem to offer safety in their privacy, but end up being as replete with danger as the dimly lit and plushly curtained Orchid Lounge. For another, the train’s unsettling flora is both seductive and threatening. Lara’s first time in the greenhouses is practically a euphoric experience for her, sweet-smelling and full of color; it is only later than the overgrowth begins to bind and suffocate. A passenger steals a bouquet of glorious deep purple flowers, only for Gwen to explain they are highly poisonous. In the same way that Lara’s vile ex-boyfriend’s golden handsomeness hid rot beneath, much of the plantlife and the people on the Banebury are not what they seem. Thanks to these showier elements, Predatory Natures is a fun read, and thanks to the human horror behind Lara’s deep wound, Predatory Natures is also meaningful. Goldsmith’s novel is a mesmerizing tangle of a tale to get lost in, capped with a satisfying ending that leads readers back out of the woods.[end-mark] Predatory Natures is published by Delacorte Press. The post <i>Predatory Natures</i> by Amy Goldsmith Is a Lush Tangle of Supernatural and Human Horrors appeared first on Reactor.

News The Last of Us Neil Druckmann Says The Last of Us Season 3 Will Not Be the End of the Franchise There are apparently “multiple things” in the works. By Vanessa Armstrong | Published on September 11, 2025 Image: Liane Hentscher/HBO Comment 0 Share New Share Image: Liane Hentscher/HBO The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann, who served as co-showrunner of the HBO adaptation along with Craig Mazin, had his first big interview since we found out in July that he was stepping away from the show to focus on his work at Naughty Dog, the studio that developed The Last of Us video games. Druckmann talked with Variety and confirmed that he decided to step away from season three of The Last of Us when the writers’ room started to get together. “I looked at what’s in front of me, what would the next season might look like, and with all the various Last of Us things I’m working on—not just the show—with all the various games I’m working on… it felt like I could better serve all of my responsibilities if I stayed at a higher level,” he said. You may have noticed that Druckmann references other Last of Us projects beyond the HBO show. He later confirmed the franchise’s future by adding, “[The show] is not the end of The Last of Us for Naughty Dog. That doesn’t mean necessarily that’s going to happen indoors or outdoors—we’re in talks to do multiple things.” What those “multiple things” are isn’t publicly known at this time. Could it be another video game? A spinoff series? Another graphic novel on top of the one they’ve already released? The possibilities are numerous. And as for the third season, which is potentially the last season in the series (there are still events from The Last of Us Part II video game that the show hasn’t gotten to yet), Druckmann said his main goal is “to make sure it’s as deeply faithful as season one was. Because I feel like that is the gold standard for this kind of adaptation, while enjoying all these beautiful expansions that happen naturally with the rest of the team and how they’re working on season three.” The first two seasons of The Last of Us are now streaming on HBO Max. [end-mark] The post Neil Druckmann Says <i>The Last of Us</i> Season 3 Will Not Be the End of the Franchise appeared first on Reactor.

Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha Vance, will meet with Charlie Kirk’s family and a number of his close friends in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Thursday, a source familiar with the matter told The Daily Signal. Air Force Two will then fly Kirk’s casket, along with his family and friends, to Phoenix, Arizona, the source said. Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA, was assassinated on Wednesday at a rally at Utah Valley University. The FBI is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the identification and arrest of the gunman, who remains at large. Vance shared on the social media platform X that he first interacted with Kirk when the conservative youth organizer reached out in 2017 to congratulate him on a well-done media interview. Vance said “that moment of kindness began a friendship that lasted until today.” A while ago, probably in 2017, I appeared on Tucker Carlson's Fox show to talk about God knows what. Afterwards a name I barely knew sent me a DM on twitter and told me I did a great job. It was Charlie Kirk, and that moment of kindness began a friendship that lasted until today.…— JD Vance (@JDVance) September 11, 2025 “Charlie Kirk was a true friend,” Vance said. “The kind of guy you could say something to and know it would always stay with him. I am on more than a few group chats with Charlie and people he introduced me to over the years. We celebrate weddings and babies, bust each other’s chops, and mourn the loss of loved ones. We talk about politics and policy and sports and life.” Vance applauded Kirk’s strong faith in God and devotion to his wife, Erika, and their two young children. “Charlie genuinely believed in and loved Jesus Christ,” Vance said. “He had a profound faith. We used to argue about Catholicism and Protestantism and who was right about minor doctrinal questions. Because he loved God, he wanted to understand him.” “You ran a good race, my friend,” the vice president said. “We’ve got it from here.” The post Vance to Visit Family, Friends of Charlie Kirk After Assassination appeared first on The Daily Signal.

In the wake of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk’s assassination, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, introduced a Senate resolution Thursday honoring the conservative activist’s memory. “I look forward to my colleagues of both parties uniting to condemn this vile murder, and to offer a tribute to the amazing legacy of Charlie Kirk,” Lee told The Daily Signal. “His patriotic vision of America will win.” Kirk was assassinated during a speaking event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday where he was debating university students. His death has galvanized the conservative movement and those hoping to see this chapter of political violence in America’s history come to an end. I introduced a Senate resolution honoring Charlie Kirk this morning pic.twitter.com/aufLn9F5sw— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) September 11, 2025 Lee’s Senate resolution remembers Kirk as “a devoted husband, father, and Christian,” who “frequently engaged college students of all political backgrounds in open debates and discussion, encouraging civil discourse on college campuses and among college students.” It also “condemns the assassination of Charlie Kirk in the strongest possible terms,” and “extends its deepest condolences and sympathies to Charlie Kirk’s family, including his wife Erika, and their two young children.” Furthermore, Lee’s resolution “honors Charlie Kirk’s commitment to the constitutional principles of civil discussion and debate between all people of the United States, regardless of political affiliation.” The manhunt for Kirk’s killer continues. The post Mike Lee Offers ‘Tribute to the Amazing Legacy of Charlie Kirk’ with Senate Resolution appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Republican members of Congress on Thursday applauded President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would be posthumously awarding Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The medal is the highest award a civilian can receive from the U.S. president. Prominent Americans who have received the honor include Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, Olympic gold-medal gymnast Simone Biles, Walt Disney, theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, and astronaut Neil Armstrong. Other notable honorees include Pope John XXIII, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Pope Francis, and anthropologist Jane Goodall. “I mean, I think it’s certainly fitting. Charlie Kirk was a patriot, great family man, a great Christian, and you know, he was huge for all of us,” Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., told The Daily Signal. “You know, it’s really, words can’t express how grateful I am to the president for doing that. And I think a lot of us [are] really hurt, really angry right now. And I think this is a good way to honor Charlie Kirk and his family, his wife and his two children, and all the great work that he did in such a short period of time, that he will be missed terribly,” Moore said. “Oh, absolutely. And I think it can’t be overstated how impactful he was. I mean, you have few people in our history that that can create a movement of millions upon millions, especially young people like he did,” Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., told The Daily Signal. “[P]eople like Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, I think Charlie Kirk’s name will go, will be one of those that goes alongside, historically, these individuals,” the Missouri lawmaker continued. Rep. Eric Burlison: ?We Need to Follow Charlie Kirk’s Example of Spirited and Respectful Debates@RepEricBurlison believes youth conservative icon Charlie Kirk’s legacy will be put alongside those of Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.“Regardless of what you think about his… pic.twitter.com/DEOZqAS7df— The Daily Signal (@DailySignal) September 11, 2025 “Well, I think Charlie Kirk did a lot, and I think that he got assassinated. The first I’ve heard it, by the way, but I think that he did a lot for this country, did a lot for the conservative movement, and he got killed living up to the greatest ideals of being an American, engaging in political speech. And I think recognizing that the guy taken far before his prime is a noble thing to do,” Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., told The Daily Signal. “Thank God,” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., told The Daily Signal. “Charlie gave his life to the First Amendment. This was a young man who simply wanted people of differing opinions to come to his events and debate ideas. He was the eternal optimist. He was a Christian. He was a man of faith, and he liked it if you had an opposing view. He made kids and students with opposing views better debaters,” Mace said, adding: “And you know, the Left wants to say, Democrats want to say, we need to have a national conversation. That is literally what Charlie Kirk’s life was about, was having a national, peaceful conversation, and he was assassinated. He was murdered for it, and it’s wrong.” As for whether Kirk’s body should be honored by lying in state in the Capitol, Rep. Higgins, R-La., told The Daily Signal, “Charlie’s family should be asked about whether he should lie in state, not me. As for being honored otherwise, that’s already happening throughout the conservative Christian realm. Not all members of Congress were in agreement about the president’s decision to award Kirk the medal. “That is the opposite of bringing the rhetoric down, like … I have tremendous sadness and sympathy for the family, for the Kirk family, for what’s happened,” Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., told The Daily Signal.  “There are, there are voices we can choose to elevate in our society and celebrate with things with the dignity of the Congressional [sic] Medal of Freedom. And there are, there are voices that we do just to elevate and amplify the rhetoric,” he added. Casten criticized Trump for not mentioning in his remarks yesterday about Kirk liberal Democrat political figures, such as Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who have been targets of political violence. “It’s a choice in Trump’s speech last night to mention people on the right who have been the victims of political violence and ignore Gretchen Whitmer and ignore Paul Pelosi and ignore Josh Shapiro,” Casten continued, contrasting the president’s address with the one then-President George W. Bush gave after the 9/11 attacks in 2001.  Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., also announced on Thursday that he had introduced a resolution to award Kirk the Congressional Gold Medal, which is the highest honor that Congress can award a civilian. EXCLUSIVE: @RepOgles introduces resolution to award Charlie Kirk a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal. https://t.co/2mEEXe9W8a— Cameron Arcand (@cameron_arcand) September 11, 2025 George Caldwell contributed to this report. The post ‘Certainly Fitting’: GOP Lawmakers Hail Trump’s Plan to Award Medal of Freedom to Kirk appeared first on The Daily Signal.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Mullvad has begun rolling out a new feature that hides WireGuard connections inside QUIC traffic, a technique designed to help users slip past aggressive censorship systems. By making VPN traffic look more like ordinary encrypted browsing, the update gives people in tightly controlled regions, including Russia and China, a better chance of maintaining stable access to the internet. It also helps with accessing websites that are increasingly trying to ban VPNs. The addition comes as Mullvad prepares to move away from OpenVPN, which it will no longer support starting January 2026. With that change on the horizon, the company is putting its weight behind WireGuard while also making sure it remains usable in countries where standard WireGuard connections are heavily throttled or blocked. QUIC itself is not new. Originally created by Google and now the backbone of HTTP/3, the protocol is prized for its speed, ability to handle multiple streams of data at once, and resilience against network issues. Services like YouTube already rely on it, making QUIC traffic extremely common. Mullvad takes advantage of that by wrapping WireGuard’s UDP packets inside QUIC, effectively disguising VPN usage as something indistinguishable from normal web activity. To make this possible, Mullvad has turned to MASQUE, a standard that allows UDP traffic to be tunneled through HTTP/3 connections. The result is traffic that appears identical to everyday browsing, far harder for censors to single out and shut down. The feature is included in Mullvad’s desktop apps for Windows and macOS beginning with version 2025.9. Users can activate it in the VPN settings, though if multiple connection attempts fail, the client will automatically switch over to QUIC on its own. Support for Android and iOS devices is also planned. Different VPN companies are taking different routes to achieve similar goals. Proton VPN relies on its Stealth protocol, which disguises WireGuard traffic inside TLS. NordVPN recently introduced NordWhisper, its own censorship-resistant system. Meanwhile, Surfshark scrambles OpenVPN packets through its Camouflage mode, and ExpressVPN has long integrated obfuscation directly into its OpenVPN connections. As governments expand online restrictions, VPN providers are steadily introducing new tactics to help users stay connected. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Mullvad Introduces QUIC-Based WireGuard Obfuscation to Bypass Censorship and VPN Blocks appeared first on Reclaim The Net.