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Woman Sues After Prison Staff Decided To Use Her as Rape ‘Bait’

When staff at the Logan Correctional Center learned a prison counselor may have been repeatedly sexually assaulting a female inmate, they did the sane and humane thing and immediately removed her from his reach while opening an investigation into the alleged assailant.

Just kidding. What they really did was decide to use the inmate as rape “bait.”

The idea was that when the counselor tried again, a prison investigator would jump down from a hiding space in the ceiling to stop the attack.

The plan didn’t work. The inmate was assaulted again.

And she has since sued, alleging cruel and unusual punishment.

‘No Reasonable Official Could Have Thought It Proper To Act as They Did’

The case came before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit last fall, on appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois.

Prison counselor Richard MacLeod “repeatedly sexually assaulted” Andrea Nielsen while she was imprisoned at Illinois’ Logan Correctional Center, writes Judge David Hamilton in the appeals court’s February 26 opinion. But rather than “protecting Nielsen from further assaults” when her cellmate reported the abuse to prison investigator Todd Sexton and Warden Margaret Burke, the pair “formulated an outrageous plan to use her as unwitting ‘bait’ to try to catch MacLeod in the act.”

“The plan was for Sexton to stay late a few times, crawl around in the ceiling above the room MacLeod used to sexually assault Nielsen, and wait to jump down and intervene,” notes Hamilton. “The plan failed, and MacLeod assaulted her again.”

Nielsen went on to file a civil lawsuit against Burke, Sexton, and MacLeod. A jury found all three liable and ordered them to pay Nielsen $19.3 million in compensatory and punitive damages.

Two of the defendants—Burke and Sexton—subsequently appealed.

A three-judge panel from the 7th Circuit affirmed the lower court’s decision to deny them qualified immunity and to deny their motion that there was insufficient evidence for a guilty finding. “No reasonable official could have thought it proper to act as they did,” states the opinion.

But the appeals court also partially reversed the lower court’s ruling and ordered a new trial on damages—but not liability—for Sexton and Burke, citing “erroneous exclusion of evidence” at trial among other things. So, they’re still guilty, but a new trial will be necessary to determine how much money they’re on the hook for.

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Rock art from at least 67,800 years ago in Sulawesi

The Indonesian archipelago is host to some of the earliest known rock art in the world1,2,3,4,5. Previously, secure Pleistocene dates were reported for figurative cave art and stencils of human hands in two areas in Indonesia—the Maros-Pangkep karsts in the southwestern peninsula of the island of Sulawesi1,3,4,5 and the Sangkulirang-Mangkalihat region of eastern Kalimantan, Borneo2. Here we describe a series of early dated rock art motifs from the southeastern portion of Sulawesi. Among this assemblage of Pleistocene (and possibly more recent) motifs, laser-ablation U-series (LA-U-series) dating of calcite overlying a hand stencil from Liang Metanduno on Muna Island yielded a U-series date of 71.6 ± 3.8 thousand years ago (ka), providing a minimum-age constraint of 67.8 ka for the underlying motif. The Muna minimum (67.8 ± 3.8 ka) exceeds the published minimum for rock art in Maros-Pangkep by 16.6 thousand years (kyr) (ref. 5) and is 1.1 kyr greater than the published minimum for a hand stencil from Spain attributed to Neanderthals6, which until now represented the oldest demonstrated minimum-age constraint for cave art worldwide. Moreover, the presence of this extremely old art in Sulawesi suggests that the initial peopling of Sahul about 65 ka7 involved maritime journeys between Borneo and Papua, a region that remains poorly explored from an archaeological perspective.

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Hundreds of cases of child abuse involving beliefs in witchcraft and evil spirits go unreported every year in UK, experts reveal

Hundreds of cases of group ritual abuse against children are going unreported every year in the UK, a leading researcher has revealed. 

Victims have been contacting support services to describe abuse at the hands of paedophile rings who use claims of witchcraft and possession to cower them into submission.

In a twisted inversion of reality, acts of rape, sexual abuse or torture are then characterised as ‘cleansing’ rituals to rid the victim of a demon or evil spirit – with perpetrators sometimes wearing costumes or masks.

While so-called ‘organised ritual abuse’ is described as a ‘rare but real phenomenon’ in Britain, police are concerned that it is heavily underreported and rarely appears in official data.

Dr Elly Hanson, a clinical psychologist and researcher, said victims often do not report ritual abuse to police because they feared their claims would appear too fantastical to be believed.

Others have become ‘disassociated’, a process that sees abuse victims adopt a different identity as a way of separating themselves from the reality of what has happened to them, or simply feel too traumatised to ‘give a coherent narrative’.

‘There are so many hurdles facing victims that nearly all of them end up falling out of the system,’ Dr Hanson told a media briefing held today by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).

An analysis of police data by the NPCC found that just seven ritual abuse cases were investigated in 2024 out of 4,450 instances of child abuse, marking just 0.2 per cent of all investigations.

However, the National Association for People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC) found that out of a sample of 36,700 calls to their helpline between July 2016 and January 2025, 1,311 (3.57 per cent) mentioned ritual abuse.

Dr Hanson said organised ritual abuse typically involves family members and starts when children are young.

Perpetrators frequently do not believe the supernatural belief systems they are espousing and simply use them as a means too gain control over their victims, the psychologist explained.

This form of abuse regularly involves torture or extreme acts of violence and may end in murder or animal sacrifice.

While beliefs about witchcraft and spirit possession are often linked to ethnic groups, such as those with links to sub-Saharan Africa, many offenders have British backgrounds.

According to Dr Hanson, ‘cultural sensitivities’ are one factor holding back police and social services, but she believes the issue works both ways.

‘You’ve potentially got a desire to be culturally sensitive with certain cultural communities, then you’ve got the other direction where someone who is British and not from a particular community they are not seen as someone who might be suffering ritual abuse,’ she said.

One recent case saw a seven-strong child sex ring in Glasgow prey on children as young as 13 in a drug den nicknamed the ‘Beastie House’.

The trial heard how the group performed ‘spells’ on the children and convinced them they had been metamorphosed into various animals.

Richard Fewkes, the director of the NPCC’s Hydrant programme targeting child sexual abuse, said the case was an example of paedophiles using claims of witchcraft as a means of control.

‘Those individuals did not necessarily believe in witchcraft, but they used the ritual of it to control the children,’ he said.

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Brother of female Louisiana mayor convicted of having sex with boy, 16, is rapist who targeted underage child

The brother of a disgraced Louisiana mayor convicted of having sex with her teen son’s best friend has admitted to raping a young girl in a years-long abuse campaign. 

Brandon Lee Roberts, 40, the brother of mayor Misty Roberts, pleaded guilty in November to sexually assaulting a teenage girl and another young woman over several years. 

The guilty plea on seven counts of rape saw Brandon sentenced this week to a total of 32 years in prison, reports KPLCTV. 

Prosecutors said the abuse began when one of the victims was just 13 and went on for years before Brandon was eventually arrested in October 2024. 

His arrest came just two months after his older sister was arrested after she was caught engaging in sexual activity with her son’s 16-year-old friend at a drunken pool party at her home.

Roberts, the former mayor of DeRidder, Louisiana, was convicted on Tuesday as a jury found her guilty of indecent behavior and carnal knowledge of a minor. 

The mother-of-two wept uncontrollably as she was convicted, shaking her head in disbelief as she was warned she faces up to 17 years behind bars when she is sentenced next month.  

Once an influential mayor of the tiny western Louisiana town, she will also be required to register as a sex offender. 

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Judge Blocks Virginia’s One-Hour Social Media Limit for Minors as Unconstitutional

A federal judge has blocked Virginia’s attempt to limit minors to one hour of social media per day, ruling the law violates the First Amendment. The decision is a significant check on a growing wave of state legislation that treats time spent reading, watching, and communicating online as something the government can ration.

Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles issued the preliminary injunction Friday, finding that Virginia “does not have the legal authority to block minors’ access to constitutionally protected speech until their parents give their consent by overriding a government-imposed default limit.”

We obtained a copy of the opinion for you here.

The ruling halts enforcement of Senate Bill 854, which carried fines of $7,500 per violation and required platforms to use “commercially reasonable methods” to verify user ages.

The law’s problem wasn’t just the one-hour cap. It was how the cap worked. The state set the default, and parents could ask to change it. That structure puts the government, not families, in control of baseline access to speech. Parental consent here overrides a government restriction that shouldn’t exist in the first place.

Giles found the law over-inclusive in a way that illustrates exactly how blunt these restrictions are. “A minor would be barred from watching an online church service if it exceeded an hour on YouTube,” she wrote, “yet, that same minor is allowed to watch provider-selected religious programming exceeding an hour in length on a streaming platform.”

The law doesn’t regulate harm. It regulates platforms, which means it catches protected speech indiscriminately.

NetChoice, the trade association whose members include Meta, YouTube, Snap, Reddit, and TikTok, sued to stop the law. In November, NetChoice argued that “Virginia has with one broad stroke restricted access to valuable sources for speaking and listening, learning about current events and otherwise exploring the vast realms of human thought and knowledge.” The judge agreed they had standing to pursue a permanent block and found they were likely to succeed on the merits.

Virginia’s attorney general is defending the law alongside 29 other states from both parties. A spokesperson said: “We look forward to continuing to enforce laws that empower parents to protect their children from the proven harms that can come through social media.” The new Democratic attorney-general Jay Jones, who took office in January, had announced he intended to fully enforce the law signed by his Republican predecessor, Glenn Youngkin.

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Democrat Jasmine Crockett LOSES Texas Senate Primary

Texas Democrat Jasmine Crockett faced an upset in Tuesday’s Democratic Primary race for US Senate, with James Talarico emerging victorious in a race that Crockett argues was marred by cheating.

As The Gateway Pundit reported, Crockett predicted her loss late last night and blamed “cheating.”

“We encourage each and every one of you to remain resilient. We cannot allow this type of behavior to be rewarded because so long as they know that they can win, even if it means cheating, then they will continue to do it,” Crockett told supporters during a press conference with House candidate Collin Allred.

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‘We’ve Addicted Our Farmers’ to Glyphosate, RFK Jr. Tells Joe Rogan

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called glyphosate a “poison” embedded in America’s food supply, even as he backed President Donald Trump’s executive order expanding its domestic production.

Speaking Feb. 27 on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” Kennedy emphasized his decades-long fight against pesticides. “Pesticides are poison. They’re designed to kill all life. It’s not a good thing to have in your food,” he said.

Yet he defended the president’s executive order as a national security measure.

Trump signed the order in February to boost U.S. production of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller. Bayer acquired Monsanto in 2018 and now faces tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging Roundup exposure caused cancer.

Hours after the order, Kennedy told The New York Times, “Donald Trump’s executive order puts America first where it matters most — our defense readiness and our food supply.” Days later, Kennedy posted on X, explaining his position.

On Rogan’s show, Kennedy said industry reports show that 99% of U.S. glyphosate supplies come from China. U.S. Department of Defense officials warned that dependence poses “an extreme national security vulnerability,” he said. A supply disruption “could literally cut off our food supply overnight and cripple the country.”

“The president was dealing with national security,” Kennedy said.

The executive order also grants legal immunity to domestic manufacturers compelled under the Defense Production Act of 1950 to produce glyphosate-related products. The law allows the federal government to require companies to produce materials deemed necessary for national security.

Bayer is the only company manufacturing glyphosate in the U.S.

Kennedy criticized the liability protections. “It’s not something that I was particularly happy with. Let me put it that way mildly,” he said.

He warned that immunity “takes away all incentive for them to make the product safer.”

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REPORT: Far Left Democrats Really Want AOC to be Nominee for President in 2028

When it comes to the 2028 election, the far left has a fever and the only prescription is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. She is the one they really want to be the Democrat nominee for president.

This shouldn’t surprise anyone. She has been basically campaigning for the job for months by going on tour with Senator Bernie Sanders at their ridiculous ‘Fight Oligarchy’ rallies. She is seen as the apparent heir to Bernie’s legacy.

This far left faction of the Democrat party is on the rise. They think that the election of Zohran Mamdani is a sign of where the country is going and that this is their moment.

Breitbart News reports:

Hard-left Democrats have reportedly been pushing for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) to run for president in 2028.

A report from Axios indicates that those Democrats view the young socialist as a replacement for the candidacy of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Behind the scenes, allies of Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) said that she would have an opportunity to boost her national profile if she runs, potentially polling in the top five of candidates and raising well over $100 million in campaign funds.

“There’s a window of opportunity for a left-wing nominee that may not come again for a generation. Democratic-socialist and liberal victories in New York City and elsewhere — with potentially more this fall — have changed the political playing field,” noted Axios.

Even if her candidacy failed, supporters of Ocasio-Cortez said that she would likely highlight issues they care most about, like universal health care, adding that she could even use it to potentially run for U.S. Senator in New York after Democrat Minority Leader Chuck Schumer retires or even challenge him in a primary.

“I think she’ll plan to run for both and end up a senator,” said one strategist.

This could end up causing some division in the Democrat party.

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US destroys Iranian submarine; Report: CIA facilities hit in drone attacks

The United States has destroyed an Iranian submarine and 16 other vessels as part of its ongoing military campaign against Iran, while two CIA facilities in the region were reportedly damaged in Iranian drone attacks.

Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of U.S. Central Command, said American forces have struck nearly 2,000 targets in Iran using more than 2,000 munitions since the start of the operation, which the U.S. has dubbed Operation Epic Fury.

In a briefing, Cooper said U.S. forces are carrying out strikes against Iran “24/7” and that the Iranian regime’s ability to retaliate is rapidly weakening.

“In retaliation, the Iranian regime has launched over 500 ballistic missiles and over 2,000 drones,” Cooper said. “We are seeing Iran’s ability to hit us and our partners is declining, while our combat power, on the other hand, is building.”

Cooper said U.S. bombers have conducted major strikes against Iranian military infrastructure. B-2 stealth bombers and B-1 bombers carried out what he described as “uncontested surgical strikes against multiple missile facilities,” while B-52 bombers targeted ballistic missile sites and command-and-control posts.

He said the campaign has also dealt a major blow to Iran’s naval forces.

“We are also sinking the Iranian Navy — the entire navy,” Cooper said. “Thus far, we’ve destroyed 17 Iranian ships, including the most operational Iranian submarine, that now has a hole in its side.”

“For decades, the Iranian regime has harassed international shipping,” he added. “Today, there’s not a single Iranian ship underway in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman.”

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A trial seeks to tie Iranian paramilitary to alleged assassination plot in US

While the U.S. fights a widening war in Iran, American prosecutors are airing claims that Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was entangled in a foiled 2024 assassination plot that eyed then-candidate Donald Trump as a possible target.

The alleged scheme is at the center of a criminal trial that started in a federal court in New York last week, days before the Mideast combat that now looms in the background.

“This trial is happening in interesting times,” Judge Eric Komitee told lawyers this week in the case of Asif Merchant, a Pakistani national accused of trying to hire hit men to kill a U.S. politician. Merchant didn’t name a target but searched online for Trump rally locations, according to prosecutors, who introduced evidence Tuesday that Merchant’s laptop contained photos of both Trump and then-President Joe Biden at a time when they were rivals for the presidency.

An FBI agent testified Tuesday that Merchant told her he had a Revolutionary Guard “handler” and believed the handler would help bankroll the plan. Merchant’s lawyer suggested the purported statements might not be accurate.

Merchant, 47, has pleaded not guilty to attempted terrorism and other charges. His attorneys say prosecutors are trying to wedge evidence into a narrative that doesn’t fit.

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