Day: October 28, 2025
Aging Putin brings younger generation, family members into circle amid Kremlin instability: report
Vladimir Putin tightens grip on power by promoting family members and younger allies to his inner circle as economic strain and opposition threats mount in Russia.
‘Dumbest thing I’ve heard’: Kash Patel humiliates Stephen A. Smith
Stephen A. Smith has gotten himself on the FBI’s radar, but not for anything impressive.
After the FBI announced a sweeping probe into two separate illegal sports gambling-related cases that included the arrest of Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former NBA player Damon Jones — among some mob families — the ESPN star complained on “First Take” that President Trump is “coming” for the sports world.
FBI Director Kash Patel then joked about Smith’s comments on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle.”
“I’m the FBI director. I decide which arrests to conduct and which not to conduct. That may be the single dumbest thing I’ve everheard out of anyone in modern history, and I live most of my time in Washington, D.C. It’s right up there with Adam Schiff,” Patel told host Laura Ingraham.
“We arrest people for crimes,” he added.
“How would anybody connected to the sports world hear this story — that an NBA hall of famer, an NBA champion, an NBA head coach, active head coach, is involved in some sort of poker scheme involving mafia members — and the reaction be, ‘Oh man, Trump’s coming,’ and, you know, ‘Trump’s coming after his enemies,’ and, ‘Trump is the bad guy here,’” BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock says on “Fearless.”
“The entire media is now rigged around a system of ‘the only crimes that are punishable are crimes committed by Donald Trump or his supporters,’” he continues. “If you’re an enemy of Trump, there’s nothing we can’t rationalize by saying, ‘What about Brett Favre?’ or ‘What about Donald Trump?’ or ‘What about some random white guy?’”
While many are asking why those who are already rich through professional sports would then engage in illegal gambling to pad their pockets further, Whitlock believes its a symptom of the culture surrounding sports.
“Why wouldn’t they do it given the environment and the culture that we’ve built around sports? They show up to arenas. The arenas play a style of music that promotes corruption and greed and debauchery,” Whitlock says.
“We want athletes to mimic the behavior of criminals, gangsters, men that are incarcerated. So, athletes, we want you to tat yourself up, dress with your pants hanging off your ass. We want you to pretend like you’re some Iceberg Slim-type pimp and rapper, and that’s your brand now,” he continues.
“That’s what’s been promoted to all of these athletes, and that’s what they’ve done,” he adds.
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Furious liberals blame Bari Weiss takeover at CBS after Democrat leader fumbles tough question on ‘Face the Nation’
A less-than-impressive interview performance from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on “Face the Nation” led many on the left to melt down on social media.
Host Margaret Brennan forced Jeffries to answer a question about the hypocritical framing of rigged elections and redistricting in the midterm elections. Many believed Brennan had been ordered to be tougher on Democrats in the wake of Free Press founder Bari Weiss being hired to lead CBS News.
‘How do you justify using that now? Doesn’t that undermine faith for voters you need to show up?’
“You said, ‘Democrats, there are no election deniers on our side of the aisle,'” Brennan said Sunday.
“You said that back in January. But recently, you’ve been using the term ‘rigged elections’ in reference to the upcoming midterms,” she added. “Democrats were appalled when President Trump used language like that. How do you justify using that now? Doesn’t that undermine faith for voters you need to show up?”
“No, I’ve been using that term in the context of Donald Trump’s unprecedented effort to gerrymander congressional maps in a partisan fashion all across the country in order to rig the midterm elections and deny the ability of the American people to actually decide who should be in the majority as it relates to the House of Representatives,” Jeffries responded.
Brennan interrupted and contradicted Jeffries.
“You know Democrats are also going through gerrymandering and redistricting,” she said.
“No, no, no,” Jeffries responded. “Democrats are going to push back aggressively to make sure that we have fair maps across the country, not partisan gerrymandering, which Republicans have initiated in state after state after state.”
While the episode merely represented a small burst of fair-minded journalism on Brennan’s part, many on the left fell into hysteria and panic over the unexpected blow.
“Really shameful from @margbrennan,” Keith Olbermann replied. “Never talked like that to any MAGA liars she‘s platformed but happy to do it to Jeffries in an attempt to get Bari Weiss to NOT fire her. Just vacuous and amoral.”
“Scary. After Bari Weiss’s takeover of CBS, Margaret Brennan sounds like a Newsmax host in this interview with Hakeem Jeffries,” attorney Kaivan Shroff responded.
“Margaret Brennan’s hostility toward Jeffries compared to her deference toward Bessent and Graham demonstrates the chilling authoritarian takeover of CBS,” one response reads.
“Totally inappropriate Margaret. There was no reason to speak like that to Jeffries,” another detractor said. “I guess we know where you got your orders from. I was hoping changes would not happen under Bari. I guess I was wrong. Sorry but I will no longer be watching you or this show.”
The entire Jeffries interview can be viewed on the show’s YouTube channel.
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Man arrested for posting TikTok murder-for-hire threat against Pam Bondi, FBI says
A Minnesota man has been arrested over a TikTok video that put a $45,000 bounty on the head of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
On Oct. 9, the FBI said it received a tip about the post that showed an image of Bondi with the caption, “WANTED: Pam Bondi. REWARD: 45,000. DEAD OR ALIVE (PREFERABLY DEAD).” The user also placed a “sniperscope red dot” on Bondi’s forehead in the image.
Prosecutors argued that the post was not a joke and constituted a deliberate threat of violence.
The post also had the caption, “*Cough cough* when they don’t serve us then what?”
The FBI was able to trace the post to 30-year-old Tyler Maxon Avalos, who lived at an apartment in St. Paul, according to an affidavit.
The post made several references to anarchism, according to the FBI. One of those was a link to a book titled, “An Anarchist FAQ Book.”
Even more alarming, Avalos has a long criminal history. In 2022 he was convicted of felony stalking, and in 2016 he was convicted of misdemeanor domestic assault. Also in 2016 he was convicted of felony third-degree domestic battery, which was a strangulation charge that was reduced.
RELATED: Indiana woman allegedly threatened to disembowel Trump in revenge for pandemic deaths
Prosecutors argued that the post was not a joke and constituted a deliberate threat of violence.
The man appeared before a federal magistrate judge in Minneapolis and was released on his own recognizance.
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New butterfly species named in honor of Ukrainian woman brutally murdered on Charlotte light rail
A scientist who helped identify a new butterfly species said it would be named after Iryna Zarutska to “immortalize” her memory.
Harry Pavulaan, the president and director of the International Lepidoptera Survey, said that he’s still emotional when thinking about the stabbing death of the Ukrainian woman, allegedly at the hands of a repeat criminal.
‘This will outlast most other tributes because it’s a living organism. Her name will be immortalized as a butterfly.’
“When I saw the story break,” said Pavulaan, “I’m 70 years old, and I’m still driven to tears.”
Pavulaan told ABC News that the butterfly had been first spotted in South Carolina by researcher Ronald Gatrelle in 1985 but that it had not been officially named. Pavulaan himself collected specimens of the insect in 2018. It took several years to determine that it was the “first known hybrid introgression” for the species.
While it had been initially named something else, Pavulaan decided to honor Zarutska after seeing the surveillance videos of her death.
“This will outlast most other tributes because it’s a living organism. Her name will be immortalized as a butterfly,” he added.
He added that he had been in contact with Zarutska’s family, and they had told him they were hopeful the honor would help them find closure about her death.
Decarlos Brown, 34, was arrested and charged for Zarutska’s murder. If convicted, he will be eligible for the death penalty.
Zarutska’s horrific stabbing death was captured on surveillance video from the light rail system. She had just finished working at her job at a pizzeria and had texted her boyfriend that she was going home, according to her attorney.
The new butterfly species will be named “Iryna’s Azure.”
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Bjorn Andresen, ‘Death in Venice’ actor, dead at 70
Bjorn Andresen, a Swedish actor known for his performance in Luchino Visconti’s award-winning “Death in Venice” (1971), has died at the age of 70, an associate told AFP Monday.
Who is Caprice Cayetano, Ang Demure Daughter Ng Quezon City?
Caprice Cayetano is among the Kapuso housemates of “Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Collab Edition 2.0.”
PH Embassy urges Pinoys in Jamaica to prepare for Category 5 Hurricane Melissa
NEW YORK – The Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. has advised Filipinos residing in Jamaica to take precautions and prepare for Category 5 Hurricane Melissa, described as the strongest hurricane in the planet this year.
NBA reviewing policies after federal gambling charges rock league
The NBA is reassessing how sports betting is regulated and how leagues can best protect themselves, players and fans in the wake of a player and coach being arrested in connection with an illegal gambling probe.
EXO announces comeback activities after military service, but only with 6 members
At long last, EXO is making a group comeback after all the members complete their military service.