Mom Who Sold Daughter, 6, so Her Eyes and Skin Could Be Cut Out and Used for ‘Medicine’ Gets Life in Prison

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A mom who sold her 6-year-old daughter so her skin and eyes could be cut out and used by a “traditional healer” had been sentenced to life in prison in South Africa.

Racquel “Kelly” Smith, her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis, and their friend Steveno van Rhyn were all handed life sentences more than a year after the mysterious disappearance of Joshlin Smith from outside her home near Cape Town.

When Joshlin first disappeared, her mother was a figure of sympathy, and pictures of the girl’s striking green eyes, pigtails and broad smile were shared across the country.

Smith showed no emotion as her sentence was handed down, bringing an end to an eight-week trial that had to be moved to a local stadium so horrified members of the community could bear witness.

She admitted to selling her daughter to a traditional healer, or sangoma, for 20,000 rand ($1,100), and said the girl was desired for her “eyes and skin,” a witness told the court. (Read more from “Mom Who Sold Daughter, 6, so Her Eyes and Skin Could Be Cut Out and Used for ‘Medicine’ Gets Life in Prison” HERE)

‘Duck Dynasty’ Star Phil Robertson Dead at 79: ‘Legacy of Love for God’

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“Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson has died at the age of 79, his family announced on Sunday.

Robertson, famous for founding the Duck Commander hunting company that became the focus of his A&E show, had previously battled multiple health conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease.

The TV personality’s daughter-in-law Korie Robertson announced his death on Instagram Sunday night.

“We celebrate today that our father, husband, and grandfather, Phil Robertson, is now with the Lord,” Korie Robertson’s post read.

“He reminded us often of the words of Paul, ‘you do not grieve like those who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him,” the post continued.

Korie Robertson added that the family will have a private service but will share details “about a public celebration of his life.” (Read more from “‘Duck Dynasty’ Star Phil Robertson Dead at 79: ‘Legacy of Love for God’” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Decorated Marine Amputee Charged with Raping Young Teen

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A Pennsylvania Marine veteran, who transformed the loss of his legs in Afghanistan into an asset as a motivational speaker, is facing charges of statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl.

According to court paperwork cited by the CBS affiliate in Pittsburgh, Brandon Rumbaugh, 34, became the subject of an Allegheny County police investigation earlier this month after it received a ChildLine report about the girl, who claimed the veteran sexually assaulted her several times.

In Pennsylvania, it is a first-degree felony and statutory sexual assault if a person has sex with someone under the age of 16 and is 11 years older than the victim.

Rumbaugh was charged and jailed without bond Friday in Uniontown, a city of 10,000 where, until this week, he was reportedly seen as a local “war hero.” The town is located 60 miles south of Pittsburgh.

ChildLine is a state-mandated program that receives and refers reports of suspected child abuse and neglect. It’s a 24/7 hotline run by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. (Read more from “Decorated Marine Amputee Charged with Raping Young Teen” HERE)

Put Down That Chicken Nugget — Microplastics in Junk Food May Be Making You Depressed

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. . .A collection of four papers — published Tuesday in the journal Brain Medicine — reports a disturbing link between microplastics, ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and mental health.

UPFs — which are considered unhealthy because they are high in added sugars, saturated fat and sodium — include soft drinks, chips, chocolate, ice cream, processed meats, many ready-to-eat meals and mass-produced cereals.

Previous research has shown that people who eat UPFs have a substantially higher risk of depression, anxiety and poor sleep — but the role that microplastics might play in that connection has not been fully explored.

UPFs are more susceptible to microplastics than other foods due to their packaging and additives and the equipment used to process them.

As an example, the researchers pointed to chicken nuggets — which reportedly contain 30 times more microplastics per gram than chicken breasts.

“We’re seeing converging evidence that should concern us all,” Dr. Nicholas Fabiano, a psychiatry resident at the University of Ottawa in Canada, said in a statement. (Read more from “Put Down That Chicken Nugget — Microplastics in Junk Food May Be Making You Depressed” HERE)

Report Reveals HHS is Dropping COVID Vaccination Advice for Pregnant Women and Children

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The Department of Health and Human Services is reportedly preparing to scrap its recommendation that pregnant women and kids get the COVID-19 vaccines. Individuals said to be familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal that the announcement is imminent and will coincide with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention kicking off a new vaccine approval framework.

While the relevant agencies apparently did not respond to the Journal’s requests for comment, U.S. Food and Drug Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary provided a fairly strong indication this week that the change was coming.

Makary told Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk that he would “love to see the evidence to show that giving young, healthy children another COVID-19 shot — you know, a sixth COVID booster — would help them, but that evidence does not exist, and so we’re not going to rubber-stamp things at the FDA.”

“I don’t think you’re going to see a push at the CDC to be pushing COVID shots in young, healthy children,” continued Makary, adding that he expected an announcement on that front in the coming weeks.

Sources told the Journal that it would only be a matter of days. (Read more from “Report Reveals HHS is Dropping COVID Vaccination Advice for Pregnant Women and Children” HERE)

Affidavit Details Mother’s Purchase of Weapons for Son, 13, Planning Nazi-Inspired School Attack

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A Texas mother provided her 13-year-old son with ammunition and tactical gear despite the fact that he was exhibiting violent tendencies, according to court documents.

Officers with the San Antonio Police Department on Monday arrested 33-year-old Ashley Pardo. She was charged with aiding in the commission of terrorism after she allegedly provided ammunition and tactical gear to her son.

Pardo was released Tuesday on a bond of $75,000, according to jail records.

In January, officials at Rhodes Middle School in San Antonio became concerned over the boy’s “violent expressions and drawings,” according to an affidavit obtained by CBS News.

The boy allegedly drew a map of the school that he attended and labeled it “suicide route.” He also wrote the name of the school beside a rifle, the affidavit stated. (Read more from “Affidavit Details Mother’s Purchase of Weapons for Son, 13, Planning Nazi-Inspired School Attack” HERE)

The Fertility Crisis Isn’t Just Having Fewer Kids, It’s Women Not Having Any

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As a mother of eight, I approach every Mother’s Day with mixed feelings. I look forward to the burned French toast, illegible handmade cards, and sweet (if clumsy) gestures from my children. But I also feel sadness. As a 40-something mom of a large, happy family, I am an endangered species. The United States is on track to surpass Switzerland as the global leader in childless women in their 40s.

I have a great life. I’m never bored. I’m constantly challenged to give more of myself, and I receive more love than I ever imagined when I was still single. Married mothers report the happiest, least lonely, most meaningful lives in our age group. In fact, 80 percent of mothers say they are “happy with our lives,” compared with just 68 percent of childless women.

I don’t say this to brag (most days I still wonder how I got this lucky). I say it because I want to build a society where women are happier and more fulfilled — and all the signs suggest that to get there, we need more married mothers.

The Real Fertility Gap

Even the corporate media has started to admit that women aren’t having the children they want. A pro-natalist movement has gone viral (and lives rent-free in the NPR editors’ heads) thanks to voices like Elon Musk and cringey-but-earnest influencers like the “techno puritan” Collins family.

The Trump coalition, big-tent as ever, has opened a path for both secular birthrate alarmists and religious (mostly Catholic) voices to find common ground. In late April, The New York Times profiled policy ideas from the natalist camp: a $5,000 “baby bonus,” menstrual health education, and a “National Medal of Motherhood” (thanks again, Collins family) for women with six or more kids. (Read more from “The Fertility Crisis Isn’t Just Having Fewer Kids, It’s Women Not Having Any” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

There’s No ‘Sanctuary’ For Family Of Woman Allegedly Killed By Illegal Alien

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As Joe Abraham fights for justice for his daughter Katie and victims like her, the suburban Chicago father isn’t holding out much hope in “sanctuary” Illinois.

Katie Abraham was killed in a car crash near the campus of the University of Illinois in Urbana the weekend of Jan. 18. She was 20 years old.

Her killer, according to police, was a previously-deported illegal alien who was allegedly drunk when he slammed his SUV into the driver’s side of the vehicle Katie’s friend was driving as it was stopped at a red light. Julio Cucul-Bol, a 29-year-old Guatemalan national, was driving 78 miles per hour when his vehicle collided with the Honda Civic, Champaign State’s Attorney Julia Rietz said at the suspect’s arraignment, according to WCIA. Rietz said Cucul-Bol applied the brakes about a half a second before the collision; he made “little to no attempt to steer out of the way” of the car filled with four college-aged students, including 21-year-old Chloe Polzin, who died at the hospital from her injuries.

Cucul-Bol immediately fled the scene. When U.S. Marshals ultimately apprehended him days later, he was about an hour south of Dallas, Texas, en route to the U.S. southern border, according to federal law enforcement officials. Upon his arrest, the illegal immigrant gave police a phony name, Juan Jahaziel Saenz-Suarez. His falsified paperwork claimed that he was a 27-year-old Mexican national residing in Urbana.

‘I Don’t Have Faith’

Back in Champaign County, Cucul-Bol is now facing multiple charges, including two counts of reckless homicide, a Class 3 Felony, two counts of leaving the scene of a personal injury crash resulting in death, a Class I Felony, and aggravated driving under the influence resulting in death, a Class 2 Felony. (Read more from “There’s No ‘Sanctuary’ For Family Of Woman Allegedly Killed By Illegal Alien” HERE)

Is Your Job Killing You? All the Ways Overworking Can Destroy Your Health — and What You Can Do About It

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Burning the midnight oil may fatten your paycheck, but your health could be paying the price.

In 2024, Gallup found that the average full-time worker in the US clocked 42.9 hours a week. But millions are logging far more, and the toll is greater than just burnout.

At one Midwestern investment bank, junior employees were allegedly forced to endure grueling 20-hour days — a grind so extreme it sent at least two to the hospital, including one with a failed pancreas.

They’re not alone. In recent years, several cases have emerged in which employees died after being pushed to work 100 hours a week or more, a troubling trend that’s prompted some companies to rethink their breakneck expectations.

Just last year, a 35-year-old Bank of America investment banker named Leo Lukenas III died of a blood clot while job-hunting, bogged down by the stress of his 100+ hour weeks.

The Post consulted seven health experts to find out what spending 60, 70 or even 80+ hours a week behind your desk can do to your body if you’re not careful. Spoiler alert: It’s not pretty. (Read more from “Is Your Job Killing You? All the Ways Overworking Can Destroy Your Health — and What You Can Do About It” HERE)

The Statue Of The Random Black Woman In Times Square Is Leftist Cultural Warfare

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The cultural parasites of the left have struck again. This time, they have erected a bronze statue of a 12-foot-tall anonymous overweight black woman in New York City’s Times Square, where it will stand for the next month.

Matt Walsh asked on X whether it was a particular person “or just a statue of a random black woman for no apparent reason?”

It is indeed a random black woman, and the randomness is for a very specific reason. Having torn down beautiful statues of American heroes and icons, the left is now erecting intentionally ugly statues designed to attack the very idea of greatness and undermine the notion that exceptional people should be memorialized and honored in public. And they’re doing it for the ultimate purpose of seizing and wielding cultural and political power.

But don’t just take my word for it. The statue, we’re told, “disrupts preconceived ideas of what defines a triumphant figure and challenges who should be rendered immortal through monumentalization.”

These people do not come to build but to destroy, and what they erect in the place of what they have destroyed isn’t just boring and narcissistic, it’s also cultural propaganda that insists on a neo-Marxist paradigm pitting the supposedly marginalized and oppressed against the oppressors. And we all know who the oppressors are. (Read more from “The Statue Of The Random Black Woman In Times Square Is Leftist Cultural Warfare” HERE)