Bongino unleashes scathing takedown on Comey over controversial social media post
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino issued a sharp and public condemnation of the bureau’s former director, James Comey, Saturday, accusing Comey of disgracing the agency as authorities investigate Comey’s controversial “86 47” Instagram post.
In a statement posted to X, Bongino said Comey’s actions are another example of failed leadership that continues to haunt the agency.
“Former FBI Director James Comey brought shame to the FBI badge, yet again, this past week,” Bongino wrote. “The Director and I spend an inordinate amount of time cleaning up messes left behind by former Director Comey. And his latest actions are no exception.”
TRUMP SAYS COMEY KNEW ‘ASSASSINATION’ MEANING BEHIND DELETED SOCIAL MEDIA POST
Comey, dismissed by President Donald Trump in 2017, sparked outrage after posting a photo to social media Thursday showing seashells arranged to say “86 47,” a phrase widely understood to mean to “get rid of” the 47th president. Though Comey later deleted the post and claimed it was misunderstood, many, including Trump, say the meaning was clear.
“He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant,” Trump said Friday on Fox News. “If you’re the FBI director, and you don’t know what that meant, that meant ‘assassination,’ and it says it loud and clear.”
Comey offered a follow-up statement online, saying he “didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence” and that it “never occurred to me.”
Bongino strongly rejected that explanation, describing it as part of a larger pattern of misconduct. In his post, Bongino wrote:
FORMER FBI DIRECTOR JAMES COMEY MEETS WITH SECRET SERVICE AFTER CONTROVERSIAL ’86 47′ POST
“As the Deputy Director of the FBI, I am charged, standing with Director Patel, with managing the most powerful law enforcement agency in the world. The Director and I are also responsible for looking at grave mistakes made by people within the FBI in the past, and ensuring they never happen again.”
He stressed the FBI’s continuing commitment to supporting federal law enforcement partners investigating any threats involving public officials, past or present.
“While the FBI does not have primary investigative responsibility for investigating threats against the POTUS, and we do not make prosecutorial decisions, we do have the ability and authority to support other federal agencies for violations of federal law,” Bongino said.
“And we certainly have a responsibility to comment on matters involving former FBI officials, and allegations of law-breaking.”
The U.S. Secret Service has already interviewed Comey about the incident. FBI Director Kash Patel said in a separate statement that the bureau is “in communication with the Secret Service and Director Curran.”
Bongino noted that this latest controversy is part of a general legacy of dysfunction inherited from Comey’s leadership, which he and Patel are working to fix from the inside out.
“As I’ve stated in the past, I cannot post openly about all the things the Director and I are doing to reform the enterprise, but I assure you, they are happening,” Bongino wrote. “Sadly, many of those agenda items are the result of former Director Comey’s poor decision-making and atrocious leadership.
“And to those who doubt me, I assure you, when you see what the Director and I see from the inside, it’s even worse.”
Bongino said he chose to post his statement now because his scheduled interview with FOX Business anchor Maria Bartiromo, which will air Sunday on Sunday Morning Futures was recorded earlier in the week, before the Comey post was made public.
“I’m addressing this now, rather than on our interview with Maria Bartiromo [Sunday], because we recorded that interview earlier in the week prior to the incident with Comey,” he explained.
He closed with a message to the country that echoed his support for the law enforcement community and the reforms underway at the FBI.
“God bless America, and all those who defend Her,” he said.
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Bongino, a former NYPD officer and longtime Secret Service agent, was appointed deputy director of the FBI earlier this year.
His leadership under Director Kash Patel reflects a broader effort by the Trump administration to restore accountability and integrity to the FBI after years of what many see as politically motivated misconduct.
The FBI did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for further comment.
Daughter of notorious cannibal reveals chilling encounter with father
For the first time in four years, Jamie-Lee Arrow was ready to sit face-to-face with her father, the “Skara Cannibal.”
It was October 2024, and the 23-year-old, now a mother to two young children, was hoping to be reunited with the man she knew and loved.
“I had no idea how he would react,” Arrow told Fox News Digital. “And I didn’t know how I would react. I couldn’t even imagine what it would feel like. But when I first saw him, it was like we had always been together. And when he started to cry and show so much emotion, it felt really nice. It felt he had changed. I thought he changed.”
‘HAPPY FACE’ SERIAL KILLER NEARLY CONFESSED BRUTAL MURDERS TO TEEN DAUGHTER: ‘YOU’LL TELL THE AUTHORITIES’
One of Sweden’s most shocking murders is being explored on Investigation Discovery’s true crime series, “Evil Lives Here: The Killer Speaks.” The two-hour special, now available for streaming, features intimate interviews with Arrow, as well as her father, Isakin Jonsson.
In 2010, Jonsson, 46, brutally killed his girlfriend, Helle Christensen, 40, in his Skara, Sweden, home. According to the episode, he slit Christensen’s throat, decapitated her and then ate parts of her remains. Arrow was nine at the time.
“I accidentally saw the newspapers,” she recalled. “I didn’t know what the word ‘cannibal’ meant. But, when I was 13, I read some articles, and then I understood what the word meant. But by then, my dad had me wrapped around his finger. He made himself the good person, and his girlfriend was the villain. He brainwashed me to believe that.”
As a child, Arrow lived in two worlds. She described her mother’s home as “loving and normal.” But when it came time to visit her dad, she experienced “the dark side.” There was no light in his home, she recalled. He kept himself busy watching violent horror films and making macabre voodoo dolls. She was warned by Jonsson not to tell her mother.
“It was like demons and the devil were our reality,” she said. “… That was so normal to me. But I also kept all of that inside of me.”
On some days, Jonsson was “the perfect dad” who was doting and loving. But his mood swings were like whiplash, and, without warning, he could be cold and distant. He would sometimes send a confused Arrow back home when “he couldn’t deal with me.”
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At nine years old, Arrow met Christensen, her father’s new girlfriend. Arrow was smitten by the mother of five’s warm demeanor and flaming red hair. She considered her a “second mom.”
“My impression was that she really loved him,” Arrow explained. “But I was never under the impression that my dad loved her. I knew she . . . was begging for him to love her back. But at the same time . . . she could provoke him. They could have a really good time. They could laugh together, watch films together. But it was like a rollercoaster all the time.”
The episode described how Christensen and Jonsson frequently fought violently. Arrow witnessed their brawls and would worry that something bad might happen.
“[My father] lost touch with reality,” said Arrow. “I felt like I was losing my dad more and more. The happy times became rarer.”
Arrow still vividly remembers the last time she saw Christensen. She called it “the worst weekend of my life.”
“She cooked some food for us,” said Arrow. “As she served it, she went, like, ‘Enjoy your meal because this is the last thing you’ll ever eat from me, because your dad is going to kill me.’ That’s one of the last things I ever heard her say.”
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Soon after, Christensen was gone.
Arrow’s mother tried to shield her daughter from the news of the murder. Arrow said she went into a state of shock when she found out from the press that her beloved “stepmom” had been killed by her father.
“I cried my eyes out,” she said. “… I went into denial very quickly. The next day, I was cold. I was cold as ice. I couldn’t feel anything…. I was just numb. And it was scary, because I didn’t recognize myself. I think I went into denial to protect myself.”
In 2011, Jonsson was convicted of Christensen’s murder. The court placed him in a psychiatric hospital. Over the years, Arrow spiraled into depression and anxiety, leading to a crippling drug addiction.
During that time, she stayed in touch with her father. When she opened up to him about being teased at school, he suggested using voodoo dolls to punish her bullies, the episode revealed.
Arrow later confided in her father that she was suffering from depression and was contemplating taking her own life. He made her perform a ritual where she would have to sell her soul to the devil, she said.
He also opened up about the murder.
“When I was 18, he asked me, ‘Jamie, do you want me to walk you through how I committed the murder?’” said Arrow.
“It’s such a twisted thing to say. [But] he walked me through it. I was so surprised, because he showed no remorse. He almost said it with passion. And I was sitting there wanting to throw up. He almost had a smirk on his face. Then it all became so real, like, ‘Oh, my God. He really did this.’ That’s the first time I truly felt in my body that my dad was not well. This man is sick.”
“… His eyes had turned black,” said Arrow. “He reminded me of what it used to be like when I was a child. That scared me, because he talked to me in the same way as he used to talk to his girlfriend that he murdered. That made me feel like I was no different from her.”
GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB
At 19, Arrow decided to stop visiting her father. As time passed, she wondered whether he had changed for the better. That’s when she decided to see him again.
The series captured the pair’s unsettling reunion. During their emotional sit-down, Jonsson claimed that he had killed Christensen because he would then get psychiatric help for his deteriorating mental health. He also claimed that Christensen had had a death wish.
“I used to believe that so hard,” Arrow admitted. “I didn’t question it at all. I do believe there are some truths in that, but I do also believe that he always liked watching . . . really twisted films. I do believe he had some sick fantasies. I believe he saw the murder as his chance to live out those fantasies.”
Still, Arrow doesn’t think of Jonsson as “evil.”
“I think of him as a very broken, sick person,” she said. “The thing he did was evil. That was an evil thing to do. And there is nothing that makes up for that. There is no excuse for that. It was completely and utterly evil. But I see him as my dad, my very broken and sick dad.”
“I know he had a very difficult childhood, a lot worse than mine,” she continued. “I feel sorry for the little child that is my dad, because no one knows what would’ve happened if he had gotten a better start in life.”
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According to the series, Jonsson has been released from the hospital, but remains under its supervision. Arrow, having closure, now mourns him “like he is dead,” People magazine reported. The episode shared that she has no desire to have Jonsson be a part of her children’s lives.
“Becoming a mother made me look at everything differently,” she reflected. “I can look at the little Jamie from a parent’s perspective. That made me realize so much about my childhood. I used to think that some events happened in my childhood because of me, because it was my fault. But becoming a mother made me realize that none of it was my fault.”
“Sometimes I just want to go back in time and hug myself,” she said. “… My goal with sharing my story has always been to make people realize and believe that anyone can make it, no matter where they come from, no matter how broken they are. If you suffer from PTSD, if you suffer from trauma or addiction – I believe that everyone on this Earth can get out of any darkness.”
Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese get into altercation during game after flagrant foul
Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese had a heated exchange after the Indiana Fever sharpshooter fouled the Chicago Sky forward in the third quarter of their matchup Saturday.
Reese pushed Fever forward Natasha Howard in the back as she grabbed an offensive rebound off a miss by teammate Rebecca Allen.
Reese brought the ball low, and Clark fouled her before she went up for a shot. Reese fell to the ground.
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Reese got up from the floor and got into the face of Clark.
Referees looked at the play and determined Clark used her left hand to shove Reese to the floor. They upgraded the personal foul on Clark to a flagrant foul. And Reese and Aliyah Boston of the Fever were issued technical fouls.
“Nothing malicious about it, just a good take foul,” Clark told ESPN’s Holly Rowe.
It seemed to be another chapter in the rivalry between Clark and Reese.
The two had an intense rivalry during their time in women’s college basketball. Clark spoke on the importance of defeating rivals on the floor before the game against Chicago.
CAITLIN CLARK IS THE ‘MOST POPULAR ATHLETE IN AMERICA,’ WNBA COMMISSIONER DECLARES
“Rivalries are real, and that’s what makes sports so amazing,” Clark told ESPN. “There’s certain teams that those games just mean a little bit more. [We] come out here and play the same way every night, but [a rivalry] gets the fans involved, and they love it.”
Clark’s history with the Sky began last season.
Clark took a series of questionable fouls from Reese’s Sky throughout the 2024 season, including one from Reese June 16.
Clark also took an infamous illegal hip check from Chicago Sky forward Chennedy Carter June 1. Then, in late August, Chicago’s Diamond DeShields committed a hard foul on Clark, who went flying across the floor. The foul was later upgraded to a flagrant violation, and DeShields later posted screenshots of hate messages she had received from the foul.
But Clark’s team prevailed, taking three of the four meetings between the teams last year, which were among the most-watched WNBA contests all season.
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The Sky and Fever meet five times in 2025.
Pope Leo XIV to meet Ukraine’s Zelenskyy after inaugural Mass, Vatican says
Pope Leo XIV
will host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a private meeting on Sunday following the pope’s inaugural Mass, the Vatican said.
Zelenskyy and his wife, Olena, were among world leaders present for Leo’s inaugural Mass in St. Peter’s Square. Leo was pictured shaking Zelenskyy’s hand after Mass.
The pope had focused on themes of unity and communion during his homily, saying he believed the Catholic Church could become a sign of peace in the world. At the end of the Mass, Leo expressed hope for negotiations to bring a “just and lasting peace” in “martyred” Ukraine.
Leo has previously vowed to make “every effort” to help end the war in Ukraine.
On Saturday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the Vatican’s lead on the situation in Ukraine, saying he would be discussing potential ways the Vatican could help “the status of the talks” and “the path forward.”
When reporters asked if the Vatican could be a peace broker, Rubio replied that it could be a venue for all sides to meet.
“I wouldn’t call it broker, but it’s certainly — I think it’s a place that both sides would be comfortable going,” Rubio said.
“So we’ll talk about all of that and obviously always grateful to the Vatican for their willingness to play this constructive and positive role,” he added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Pope Leo XIV
presented a message of love and unity in his homily during an inaugural Mass on Sunday, saying he wanted the Catholic Church to be a force for peace in the world.
Leo, history’s first American pope, appeared in St. Peter’s Square before 150,000 faithful and world leaders.
“I would like that our first great desire be for a united church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world,” he said. “In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalizes the poorest.”
“Let us build a church founded on God’s love, a sign of unity, a missionary church that opens its arms to the world, proclaims the word, allows itself to be made restless by history, and becomes a leaven of harmony for humanity,” Leo continued, referencing some of the themes of Francis’ pontificate.
Leo also expressed hope for negotiations to bring a “just and lasting peace” in Ukraine and offered prayers for the people of Gaza – children, families and elderly who are “reduced to hunger.”
Leo did not mention the hostages taken by Hamas from southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, as Francis usually did when praying for Gaza.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A long roster of leaders from around the globe are set to gather in Vatican City for the May 18 inauguration mass of Pope Leo XIV, the first American elected to the lead the Catholic Church. Notably absent were King Charles, who is sending Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, as his representative.
POPE LEO XIV MAKES FIRST SOCIAL MEDIA POST, CALLING FOR PEACE
As Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told the Royal Insider, “The king would not attend as he is Supreme Governor of the Church of England and could not, so as to speak, bow before the head of another faith.”
The decision follows precedent, as Queen Elizabeth sent representatives to attend the inaugurations of both Pope Francis and Pope Benedict.
King Charles also sent Prince William to attend Francis’ April 26 funeral on his behalf. The palace explained that “protocol and precedence” dictate “that the Sovereign does not attend funerals.”
The brother of the newly elected Pope Leo XIV, who made history by becoming the first American pontiff, shared his “overwhelming” reaction to the news on Thursday.
John Prevost told FOX 32 that “there are no words” to describe how proud he was of his baby brother.
“It’s overwhelming pride, but it’s also an overwhelming responsibility, being the first American Pope from Chicago – and a relative. Frightening,” Prevost said.
Prevost said his brother’s path to pope began at a young age, having gone straight into seminary after eighth grade.
“So, the whole high school years, college years, we didn’t really know him other than the summer vacation,” he said.
This is an excerpt from an article written by Fox News’ Bradford Betz.
“Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost
, who was just named Pope. It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform shortly after white smoke emerged from the Vatican indicating the conclave had come to a decision on who will lead the Catholic Church.
“It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”
Trump added to reporters at the White House that he was “a little bit surprised” by the selection of Cardinal Prevost, but reiterated multiple times what an honor the selection was for America.
“What greater honor could there be?” Trump posited to reporters. He also told them that the administration has already been in touch with the Vatican and expects to have the president visit the new pope in the future. It was not made clear how soon that meeting might take place.
This is an excerpt from an article written by Fox News’ Alec Schemmel.
Pope Leo XIV was welcomed as the newest pontiff by a sea of faithful and an uninterrupted view of St. Peter’s Square on May 8, 2025.
Conversely, Pope Leo, born Robert Francis Prevost, introduced himself to the public speaking Italian and Spanish, and greeted onlookers both in person and virtually with a concise speech about building bridges and fostering hope for a synodal church.
“In his opening remarks, he mentioned being a missionary church that includes all people, and that comes right out of Pope Francis,” Dennis Doyle, professor emeritus at the University of Dayton in Ohio, told Fox News Digital.
Doyle taught at the Catholic research university for 40 years.
Pope Francis, the 266th Vicar of Christ, created Provest a cardinal in 2023.
“Pope Francis’ first major document was called ‘Evangelii gaudium,’ ‘The joy of the gospel,” Doyle said.
In his evanescent address, Pope Leo XIV said, “To all you brothers and sisters of Rome, Italy, of all the world, we want to be a synodal church, walking and always seeking peace, charity, closeness, especially to those who are suffering.”
“Pope Francis was really big into this idea of synodality,” Doyle said.
“For him, in his very brief remarks, to say we must be a synodal church, that is a big signal that he intends to continue much of what Pope Francis was about,” he said of Pope Leo XIV.
This is an excerpt from an article written by Fox News’ Gabriele Regalbuto.
The conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV lasted for only one day and was comprised of 133 cardinals, age 80 or younger, who were permitted to participate in the vote.
Not much is known about the secretive proceedings other than the conclave is to have no contact with the outside world until a new pope is elected, though according to one BBC report which spoke with Cardinal Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster, the event was “immensely peaceful.”
The cardinal said there were no discussions vying for certain future popes or any voting dissuasion, as is often depicted in Hollywood renditions of the age honored ritual.
Other reports suggested that voting was a bit more contentious with the majority of Italian cardinals backing Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who was listed as a favorite to be the next pope and who in the first round of votes apparently garnered some 40 votes.
In order to win the papacy a candidate needed to secure at least a two-thirds majority vote, though according to a report by the Wall Street Journal Pope Leo had garnered over 100 votes.
The first American pontiff, Pope Leo XIV, though pointing to Francis’ papacy symbolically, dressed in traditional garb including a red mozzetta and white cassock. Pope Francis, in 2013, was notably absent of adornments on the balcony for his first public appearance as elected pontiff.
“He’s signaling he intends to be traditional in some ways,” Doyle said. “It’ll be interesting to see if he lives in the Apostolic Palace.”
The papal apartments at the Apostolic Palace are the official residence of the pope. Pope Francis broke tradition and declined residency there and, instead, lived at Domus Sanctae Marthae, the location where cardinal electors stay during a conclave.
“In some ways, maybe he’s going to be different from Francis,” Doyle said. “Francis did do some things that alienated traditionalists.”
This is an excerpt from an article written by Fox News’ Gabriele Regalbuto.
The morning after his election, Robert Prevost — now Pope Leo XIV and the first American pontiff in the Catholic Church’s 2,000-year history — presided over his first Mass.
The message from the pope – who, like his predecessor, appears to hail from the more inclusive and progressive wing of the Catholic Church – does not appear to be receptive to some in the “America First” movement.
Steve Bannon, the former White House chief strategist in Trump’s first administration and a conservative Catholic, wrote, “Worst pick ever,” in responding on social media to the new pope’s election.
Pro-Trump conservative commentator Joey Mannarino took to X to charge that “the new Pope has recently attacked JD Vance, shown solidarity with Kilmar Abrego-Garcia and begged Trump to open the borders like Biden had them. This guy is worse than Francis.”
However, influential conservative activist and commentator Charlie Kirk, a MAGA world rock star and Trump ally who leads the powerful Turning Point USA youth organization, was more measured.
“Let’s just say, not so great tweets about having some willingness for open borders. We’ll see kind of how he is on that. Also some George Floyd stuff that I’m not too crazy about,” Kirk said in a video posted on X.
This is an excerpt from an article written by Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser.
As silence and stillness calmed the eager world, Cardinal Protodeacon Dominique Mamberti, overlooking a sea of tens of thousands of teary-eyed viewers in St. Peter’s Square, introduced Catholics and non-faithful to the newest pontiff.
American Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost, was elected to take the papal seat and succeed the deceased Pope Francis on May 8, 2025, after four rounds of conclave voting by 133 members of the College of Cardinals.
Prevost was created a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2023.
Pope Leo XIV celebrated his electoral triumph by praying the prayer of the blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, with the world.
“I think that that was one of the ways he symbolized his traditional piety,” Patrick Brennan, chair of Catholic Legal Studies at Villanova University, told Fox News Digital.
“His desire to signal to the world that he’s a Catholic who prays the way that Catholics traditionally do. Pope Francis was known for his great devotion to the blessed Virgin Mary, which is part of the reason he made the unusual decision to be buried in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore.”
This is an excerpt from an article written by Fox News’ Gabriele Regalbuto.
I was one of the army of commentators who confidently asserted that no American would be elected pope. Relying on the common wisdom, I told numerous journalists and broadcasters that until the United States was no longer a superpower, the cardinals would never hand governance of the universal Church to a citizen of the USA.
Well, the electors and the Holy Spirit proved all of us rather dramatically wrong. When the white smoke occurred much earlier than any of us expected, I assumed that the frontrunner, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, had been chosen; so, my astonishment knew no limits when the name Robert Francis Prevost was announced from the front loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica.
And Prevost was not only an American; he was a Chicagoan, raised about a 25-minute drive from my hometown. All of it seemed surreal, impossible.
Finally, he appeared on the balcony, garbed in the white cassock of the pope, but also wearing the formal mozetta (elaborate shoulder cape) and embroidered stole, traditional adornments that Pope Francis famously eschewed when he first presented himself.
This is an excerpt from an Opinion article written by Bishop Robert Barron.
Pope Leo XIV’s inaugural Mass began Sunday morning in St. Peter’s Square.
The new pontiff arrived at St Peter’s Square driving around 9 a.m. in his white popemobile, standing and waving to the crowds.
The inaugural ceremony began at around 10 a.m. local time, with more than 150 delegations in attendance, which featured U.S. Vice President JD Vance, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Head Rabbi of Rome Riccardo Di Segni.
More than 6,000 security officials were working at the ceremony.
In a recent speech with members of the Eastern Catholic tradition, the pope offered the Vatican as a place to hold negotiations for world peace.
The leader of the Roman Catholic Church does not get paid what many consider a traditional salary. Instead, the Vatican provides for the pontiff’s needs, from housing, food, transportation and other expenses in the form of stipends and allowances.
The Vatican, referred to as “the world’s smallest country,” is sustained by “an economy that relies on a combination of donations, private enterprises, and investments to generate revenue,” according to Investopedia.
Pope Francis declined any sort of salary when he took office in 2013, The Economic Times reported back in February, adding that the pontiff at the time had a net worth of “around $16 million, which includes various assets provided to him as the pope.”
This is an excerpt from an article written by Fox News’ Pilar Arias and Daniella Genovese.
Born Robert Prevost on Sept. 14, 1955 in Chicago, Ill., Pope Leo XIV was a suspected front-runner to succeed Pope Francis after his passing.
Leo XIV was first brought to the Vatican by Francis to serve as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in January 2023.
Francis then elevated him to the position of Cardinal in September 2023.
Before making it to the highest position afforded in the Catholic Church, he first entered the novitiate of the Order of Saint Augustine in Saint Louis, in 1977, which essentially marked his period of training before he took his “holy orders.”
In August 1981, he gave his solemn vows, and by 1982 he was ordained as a priest.
By 1985 he joined the Augustinian mission in Peru, where he served as chancellor of the Territorial Prélature of Chulucanas for one year.
Between 1987 and 1988, he returned to the U.S., where he served as pastor for vocations and director of missions for the Augustinian Province of Chicago, before he returned to Peru for another 10 years to head the Augustinian seminary in Trujillo and teach Cannon Law.
Eventually, he made his way back to his hometown, where, in 1999, he was elected provincial prior of the “Mother of Good Counsel” in Chicago.
Leo would go on to be elected twice as leader of the Augustinian religious order, a 13th century order founded by St. Augustine.
He had caught the attention of Francis, who, after becoming pope in 2013, moved Leo back to Peru in 2014 to serve as the administrator and eventually archbishop of Chiclayo.
This is an excerpt from an article written by Fox News’ Caitlin McFall.
Following the liturgy, Pope Leo XIV is expected to return to St. Peter’s Basilica to meet with heads of state and religious delegations who will be among the 250,000 attendees of the inaugural Mass.
Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, both of whom are Catholic, are reportedly planning on attending the Mass, along with a host of other world leaders.
The EU’s President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the U.K.’s Prince Edward, Argentina’s President Javier Milei, Israeli President Israeli Herzog, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are expected to join the 200 foreign delegations traveling to Rome on Sunday.
The greeting of world leaders is not a part of the liturgy and is apparently meant as an “act of diplomatic and ecumenical respect,” according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The pope is not expected to greet the faithful in his popemobile after the mass.
Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, both Catholic, will attend the inaugural mass for the first U.S.-born pope, Leo XIV, in Vatican City on Sunday, joined by their wives Second Lady Usha Vance and Jeanette Rubio.
The White House press release announcing their attendance noted that Vance is the first Catholic convert to serve as vice president.
Shortly before being named pope, Leo had criticized Vance’s stance on immigration on X.
Vance addressed the posts, telling Hugh Hewitt on May 9 he tries not to “play the politicization of the pope game.”
“I’m sure he’s going to say a lot of things that I love [and] I’m sure he’ll say some things that I disagree with, but I’ll continue to pray for him and the Church.”
“The Church is about saving souls and about spreading the Gospel,” he added. “And yeah, it’s going to touch public policy from time to time as all human institutions do, but that’s not really what it’s about. And I think it’s much healthier for the American media, and certainly for Catholics, to not take such a, you know, politics in the age of social media attitude towards the papacy.”
The inaugural Mass for Pope Leo XIV at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City will commence at 4 a.m. Eastern Time (ET), which is 10 a.m. in Rome, Italy. It can be viewed on Fox News Digital, and the full service will also be streamed on LiveNOW from FOX at both 4 a.m. ET and repeated at 9 a.m. ET.
BISHOP ROBERT BARRON: WHAT LEO’S CHOICE OF NAME TELLS US ABOUT THE NEW POPE
The inauguration of the first American pope will be rich with symbolism, Vatican News reports. The new pontiff will pray in and incense the site of the tomb of St. Peter, Jesus’ apostle and the first pope of the Catholic Church.
Later, at an altar outside St. Peter’s Basilica, three Cardinals will bestow a prayer and unique adornments upon Pope Leo XIV. The first, the Pallium, is a wool vestment that “evokes the image of the Good Shepherd who lays the lost sheep on his shoulders.“ The second, the Ring of the Fisherman, recalls “the seal of faith entrusted to Peter to strengthen his brethren.”
Pope Leo XIV’s inaugural mass will take place on Sunday May 18 at 4AM ET (10AM Rome time) in St. Peter’s Basilica and is a solemn ceremony steeped in ritual and symbolism in a direct tribute to the first Pope of Rome, the Apostle Peter.
The Petrine Ministry will begin in the Basilica with the new pontiff
descending to the chapel of the Tomb of Saint Peter, where Pope Leo will first pause for prayer and then incense the site – signifying the direct link of the pope to the apostle.
While Pope Leo joins the procession, a litany hymn known as “Laudes Regiae” will be sung to invoke the “intercession” of the holy Pontiffs, martyrs, and saints of the Roman Church, according to Vatican News.
Following the procession the pope is expected to be presented with “ancient episcopal insignia” associated with Saint Peter, including the Pallium, which is a liturgical vestment made of lamb wool and is a nod to the Good Shepard, and the Ring of the Fisherman, which signifies Peter’s faith in Jesus.
Both items serve as a symbol of Pope Leo XIV having assumed the role of the papacy.
World leaders are again expected to be among the 250,000 people expected to attend the Mass.
Bill Maher urges Americans to ‘get over the fantasy’ of deeply held beliefs, core convictions
HBO host Bill Maher urged Americans to “get over the fantasy” that they are people of “core convictions and deeply held beliefs” on an episode of “Real Time” Friday night.
Maher criticized Americans for flip-flopping on their beliefs, saying they base their values on what’s popular with their political party.
“They only care which side is saying something,” he said, citing electric vehicles (EVs) as an example.
“This car used to be ‘fire.’ Now it’s on fire,” Maher said while showing footage of Teslas being burned at a dealership.
BILL MAHER’S GUEST APPLAUDS HOST’S TIRADE AGAINST ‘WEAK AND WOKE’ DEMS WHO THINK AMERICA IS ‘CRINGE’
“Back when Elon Musk was presumed liberal, liberals loved electric cars and conservatives hated them,” he continued. “Then Elon went MAGA, and while the car market grew by 10% last month, sales of electric vehicles were down 5%, and not just Teslas, all EVs.”
“Conversely, MAGA Nation used to hate EVs two years ago,” he added. “Seventy-one percent of Republicans said they would not consider buying an electric car. Trump said they were for, quote, ‘radical left fascists, Marxists and communists.’ Now he’s selling them on the White House lawn.”
The “Real Time” host then turned his focus to an issue on which he felt Democrats had changed their stance on due to politics: keeping kids in school.
He referenced “An Abundance of Caution,” a book by David Zweig, which detailed the detrimental effects closing schools had on children during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Here’s the author’s takeaway line: ‘The Academy of Pediatrics were very strongly in favor of getting kids into schools, but as soon as Trump came out in favor of reopening, they completely reversed their position,” he quoted.
Maher followed up with a tongue-in-cheek remark: “Hey, if you find yourself suddenly hating something you loved five minutes ago or vice versa, ask your doctor if ivermectin is right for you.”
BILL MAHER SAYS DEMS ARE ‘DOOMED’ IF THEY WON’T STAND UP TO RADICAL ANTI-ISRAEL PROPAGANDA FROM THE YOUNG
He brought up the controversy surrounding the drug during the pandemic, noting how public opinion shifted largely along party lines.
“It [Ivermectin] won the Nobel Prize in 2015 for what it did for humans, but whatever the point is, it’s a drug, it’s not a politician,” Maher noted. “Drugs don’t have political parties, although I do suspect Xanax is a Democrat.”
Staying on the topic of health, Maher criticized conservatives for supposedly switching their stance on public health over the last few years because of politics.
“Do people really want to put politics ahead of their very health?” he asked. “Let me answer that — Yes. I know they do, because when Michelle Obama adopted as her first lady project to get America healthy again, Republicans went buck wild apes— real housewives throw drinks in your face crazy against it because it was Michelle Obama who said it.”
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He recalled conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh mocking the initiative by asking if Americans were “supposed to eat roots and berries and tree bark.”
But according to Maher, conservatives’ views on public health completely shifted once U.S. Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was appointed to his new cabinet position.
“But now that Robert Kennedy, leader of the Make America Healthy Again movement, is in the Trump administration, tree bark good, f— yeah make America healthy,” he quipped. “Finally, somebody said it. And when I say somebody, I mean not a Black, liberal lady.”
Maher closed the segment by urging Americans to stop reflexively supporting or opposing positions based solely on who supports them.
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“But until we get to where we can do that,” he joked, “I just hope the Democrats come out strongly next week for dictatorship, coal mining, and making pot illegal.”
A-list actor’s daughter says he cut her off financially after high school
Dakota Johnson recalled how her father, Don Johnson, had cut her off financially after she didn’t get into college.
While being interviewed by her “Materialists” co-star Pedro Pascal for Elle UK, the 35-year-old actress revealed that she had only applied to one college, the Julliard School, but she had been rejected by the prestigious conservatory.
Johnson opted not to apply to other colleges and initially wasn’t able to support herself with the acting gigs that she could land at the time.
“I didn’t get in and my dad cut me off because I didn’t go to college,” Johnson told Pascal. “So, I started auditioning. I think I was 19 when I did “The Social Network,” and then little jobs and stuff after that.”
“For a couple of years it was hard to make money,” she admitted. “There were a few times when I’d go to the market and not have money in my bank account or not be able to pay rent, and I’d have to ask my parents for help – I’m very grateful that I had parents that could help me and did help me. But it certainly was not fun. The auditioning process, as you know, is the f—— worst.”
DON JOHNSON CUT OFF DAUGHTER FROM ‘FAMILY PAYROLL’ WHEN SHE REFUSED TO GO TO COLLEGE
Dakota told Pascal that applying to Juilliard was also really challenging. One of the most elite performing arts schools in the world, The Juilliard School in New York City only accepts about 10% of applicants.
“That f—— process was so awful and terrifying,” Johnson recalled. “When you get accepted for an audition, it’s a two-day long chorus-line thing. You’re supposed to get called back for a second audition, and I didn’t.”
“It was fine, I really didn’t want to go to college,” she continued. “And because Juilliard felt so small – the idea of being in a classroom with the same group of people, and figuring out how to be a human in that environment, after growing up surrounded by so many different kinds of people and immersed in different cultures through traveling all over. . . . It just felt really wrong to lock myself in one place.”
Don, 75, shares Johnson with his ex-wife Melanie Griffith, 67. Don and Griffith first married in 1976 but divorced six months later. The “Miami Vice” star and the “Working Girl” actress tied the knot again in 1989 and welcomed Dakota that year, but they split again in 1996.
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Johnson told Pascal that she had not had the typical school experience, since she had spent most of her childhood traveling with Don and Griffith while they filmed acting projects.
“I traveled with my parents and with a tutor until I was 10 years old,” she said. “I went to a bunch of different schools all over, and we lived in Spain for quite a while, because my mom and Antonio [Banderas] were married. At one point, I went to an all-girls Catholic boarding school. That was an interesting experience.”
She went on to say that she moved back to Los Angeles and attended the private New Roads School for the last three years of high school. However, the “Madame Webs” actress admitted that she hadn’t been the best student.
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“I was bad at basic school stuff because I never learnt time management or did my homework,” Johnson said. “I enjoyed English. I was good at Spanish, I was not at math. I did visual arts, and then at one point they had a pseudo-theatre program that I was a part of, and then I got kicked out of it, because I abandoned my schoolwork and started failing classes.”
Johnson played a minor role in Aaron Sorkin’s hit 2010 biographical drama “The Social Network.” The actress made her career breakthrough in 2015 when she starred as Anastasia Steele in “50 Shades of Grey” and reprized her role in the movie’s two sequels.
During an appearance on “Good Morning America,” Don, who is also father to sons Jesse, Jasper and Deacon and daughter Grace, shared his thoughts on some of his kids following in his footsteps and pursuing acting.
“I warned them against it. I said, ‘This is not for you,'” Johnson said.
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“When Dakota was graduating from high school . . . we have a rule in the family,” he continued. “The rule is that if you don’t go on to college and get a job, you’re off the family payroll.
“Out of high school, I went to Dakota and said, ‘Do you want to go visit some colleges?’ And she said, ‘I’m not going to college.’ I said, ‘Oh, that’s interesting. How are you going to look after yourself?’ She said, ‘Don’t you worry about it. I’m going to be an actress.’
“Three months later, she had that part in ‘The Social Network’ and hasn’t looked back,” he added.
Former Playboy playmates open up about living with Hugh Hefner
For four years, former Playboy playmates – and twins – Karissa and Kristina Shannon were thought to have been living a life of luxury and glamour inside the Playboy mansion with boyfriend Hugh Hefner. But behind closed doors, the Florida natives were fighting to survive a web of trauma-filled experiences ignited by jealousy and betrayal.
Coming from “humble beginnings,” the twins, now 35, were first discovered when they were just 16 years old. Two years later, they moved into the mansion with Hefner and his already-established girlfriends and “The Girls Next Door” stars Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt, and Kendra Wilkinson.
“We were only 18, it was our 19th birthday when we actually hooked up with Hef,” Kristina told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview.
PLAYBOY TWINS’ TROUBLING EXPERIENCE WITH HUGH HEFNER ‘CRUMBLED’ THEIR IDENTITIES, LED TO SUBSTANCE ABUSE
“We were teenagers,” Karissa added.
“So, it was like we felt out of our comfort zone. We didn’t have fake boobs, we didn’t have fake teeth, we didn’t have the fake hair,” Kristina continued. “We were all-natural, and we were just trying to make it, and finding out we were going to be Playmates was the biggest deal to us. And then finding out we could be on the TV show was even bigger.”
Upon entering the mansion, the girls instantly felt “very bullied” by the other women.
HOLLY MADISON RECALLS PLAYBOY FOUNDER HUGH HEFNER’S ‘INSECURITIES’: ‘HE HAD A JEALOUS STREAK’
“These girls are so mean, and we didn’t know what to do,” Kristina said.
The luxurious life they once fantasized about quickly became a nightmare when an STD outbreak got passed around.
“Hugh Hefner did not use condoms,” Kristina claimed. “Once everybody caught chlamydia, we’re like, ‘No, we’re only 18. We were 18, and we caught chlamydia.”
“We were yelling and screaming, crying. We were so mad,” Karissa added.
“And they’re such a hippie mentality. . . . They’re like, ‘Oh, it’s normal sexual activity.’ They said, ‘When you’re sexually active, that’s what happens.’ We’re like, no, we were 18, 19. And we’re thinking in our heads, ‘You guys are nuts.’ Just because you’re sexually active does not meet with that, you’re catching STDs, then we’re not okay with it.”
“From what Hef says, when we all caught chlamydia, is that when you’re sexually active, that’s what happens,” said Kristina. “That’s what he said. So you cannot go by what he says. You cannot trust him. So you have to watch out for yourself.”
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Kristina claimed that Hefner would have sex with “anything walking.”
“Hef, he would definitely a hundred percent have sex with anything walking, anything walking. If he found it somewhat good-looking, he would definitely hook up. . . . So, it was just like we had to deal with it.
“It was very embarrassing,” Karissa added.
“You cannot go by what [Hugh Hefner] says. You cannot trust him. So you have to watch out for yourself.”
Due to the lack of protection, Karissa found herself pregnant at 20 years old.
“I didn’t want Hef to know, because the first thing I thought of, he was going to want to keep it,” Karissa said. “I didn’t want [anyone] else to know, because I felt like I didn’t want to be pregnant by him. I didn’t want to have to deal with it.”
WATCH: FORMER PLAYBOY TWINS EXPOSE SECRET DETAILS DURING NIGHTMARE YEARS WITH HUGH HEFNER
Karissa ended up getting an abortion, a “big and emotional” decision, she said.
HOLLY MADISON ON BEING ‘GASLIT’ WHILE LIVING IN ‘CULT-LIKE’ PLAYBOY MANSION: ‘YOU WEREN’T ALLOWED TO LEAVE’
“Juicy J from Three 6 Mafia was the only friend we had, and his dad was a pastor,” Karissa recalled.
“He took us to get her abortion,” Kristina added.
After the procedure, the girls had to film promos for “Girls Next Door.”
“My stomach was so swollen,” Karissa recalled. “I was not in any way ready to talk about it. And I was so scared that Hef would find out that he wanted it. And I didn’t know what was, I didn’t know what to do … I was scared. I just didn’t want anyone to know. And I was embarrassed and I felt disgusting.”
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“I was so confused and dealing with so much stuff, it really trauma bonded me to my sister, and that’s why we went through what we went through, and I’m just so happy that I’ve come out of it,” she added.
By the time they were 22 years old, the girls had had enough and were ready to leave Hefner and the mansion.
“[Living in the Playboy mansion] was very scary for us. It really was, because we lost who we were.”
“When we moved out, we had a couple of years where we went through this individuality phase,” Karissa recently told People magazine. “I feel like every set of twins goes through it, particularly in your early 20s. We were both into different things and trying to be individuals, because Hef really did force the twin thing on us, more than anyone else had ever. But we’ve always been extremely close. I believe we’re twin flames, closer than most twins.”
“Everyone was saying we were going through our ‘Anna Nicole phase,'” Kristina told the outlet. “We gained weight. There was alcohol and pills. We were really unhealthy and lost and, even at points, suicidal. We had no one. It was just us trying to figure it out after losing ourselves.”
FORMER PLAYBOY MODEL HOLLY MADISON BLASTS HOLLYWOOD AS DARK PLACE TEEMING WITH ‘LEECHES’
The twins told Fox News Digital that Hefner had really stripped them of their identities in a lot of ways.
“It was very scary for us. It really was, because we lost who we were,” Kristina said.
Now, the women, who now live in Michigan, are focused on the future and taking care of their mental, spiritual and physical health.
“We meditate every day together, and we’re into meal-prepping and not eating out, really self-care and just taking time for ourselves and learning how to be selfish, learning how to say no,” Karissa said.
“We went in our hearts, we went through our healing era, which took years. I didn’t think we would ever come out of it. But Michigan changed us. We love being in Michigan and then going to L.A. or Vegas for work,” Kristina added.
As far as their next professional move, the twins are looking for a creative outlet, whether it be a talk show or a podcast.
“Something honest and real,” said Kristina. “We won’t hold back.”
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Botched investigation haunts Karen Read’s second murder trial
A Massachusetts judge has agreed to bar references to an unrelated, botched murder investigation in Karen Read’s second trial on murder and other charges in the 2022 death of her Boston police officer boyfriend, John O’Keefe.
Police in Canton, a suburb about 20 miles south of Boston, inaccurately determined the Feb. 4, 2021 death of Sandra Birchmore, 24, was a suicide before federal investigators said she had been strangled and charged a Stoughton officer with her murder.
The FBI arrested former Stoughton Police Officer Matthew Farwell, 38, in August in Birchmore’s murder.
KAREN READ DEFENSE FLOATS THEORY THAT ‘JEALOUS’ BRIAN HIGGINS FOUGHT JOHN O’KEEFE BEFORE DEATH
He is accused of grooming her since she was a teenager, maintaining a sexual relationship for years and then killing her when she told him she’d become pregnant and staging the murder to look like a suicide.
Canton Police were also the first to respond after O’Keefe was reported unresponsive outside another Boston Police officer’s house Jan. 29, 2022, during a blizzard.
Local police collected bloody snow evidence in red Solo cups and placed them in a Stop and Shop grocery bag. A Canton lieutenant used a leaf blower to move snow from where O’Keefe’s body had been found. Witnesses were interviewed informally, off camera and not at the police station.
KAREN READ TRIAL REVEALS FLIRTY TEXT MESSAGES WITH ATF AGENT BEHIND BOYFRIEND’S BACK
O’Keefe was found dead on Brian Albert’s front lawn. Albert’s brother is a Canton Police detective.
State police took over the investigation later that day. But their involvement wasn’t without controversy. The lead detective was fired earlier this year after an internal investigation into unprofessional text messages revealed in court during Read’s first trial, which ended in a mistrial.
Read the motion:
STATE TROOPER POINTS TO POSSIBLE WEAPON IN JOHN O’KEEFE DEATH – AND IT’S NOT KAREN READ’S CAR
“Gov. [Maura] Healey should have ordered the revamping of police training in the state after the debacle in Karen Read 1.0,” said Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and criminal justice professor at Penn State Lehigh Valley. “Everything from response to the scene by patrol officers to securing the scene to identifying evidence, the proper collection of evidence, the proper containers for that evidence and so on.”
The two cases prompted town residents to demand an audit into their own police department, and the town board hired a firm called 5 Stones Intelligence, or 5Si.
KAREN READ’S GOOGLE TIMELINE DERAILED AGAIN AS 2ND EXPERT DISPUTES DEFENSE CLAIMS
The firm released its findings in a 206-page report April 1, the same day jury selection began in Read’s retrial.
It found no evidence that Canton Police had conspired to frame Read, but the auditors recommended that all death cases be reviewed by supervisors in the future.
In the report, 5Si recommended that Canton detectives undergo “advanced training” on crime scene investigations and that all patrol vehicles be equipped with crime scene kits and evidence collection bags. They called for an increase in the police department’s budget.
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There was also a federal investigation into the handling of O’Keefe’s death. Read remains the only person charged.
She faces charges of second-degree murder, drunken driving manslaughter and fleeing a deadly accident for allegedly striking O’Keefe with her Lexus SUV during an argument and leaving him for dead around 12:30 a.m.
She and two friends returned at 6 a.m. and found O’Keefe on the ground, covered in snow that had intensified throughout the day. An autopsy found his cause of death was trauma to the head and hypothermia. The manner was undetermined.
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Read has denied striking O’Keefe at all, pleaded not guilty and suggested she is being framed by local police and their allies.
She was first tried on the charges last year, but jurors deadlocked, and Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial.
So far in the retrial, at least one evidence bag appears to have been mislabeled, and another had more pieces of broken taillight than expected. Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik was also grilled about a lack of photographs for some evidence and a delay of hundreds of days for some reports in the investigation.
“If nothing else, they should be taught documentation, documentation and documentation,” Giacalone told Fox News Digital. “These aren’t small mistakes. These are errors that will cost you cases, will cause lawsuits in the state of Massachusetts and it just makes everybody in the criminal justice system look bad.”
“If Massachusetts has this problem, what about other states?” Giacalone said. “Now’s the time to nip them in the bud before we find out another Karen Reed trial disaster.”
Special prosecutor Hank Brennan, a high-profile defense attorney whose clients have included mobster Whitey Bulger, was brought in to lead the second trial.
He asked Cannone last week to block the defense from bringing up the Birchmore case as Read’s lawyers look to paint the investigation as unreliable and corrupt. She agreed, unless the “door is opened” by prosecutors.
“They’re not gonna open that door,” said Linda Kenney Baden, a high-profile defense attorney who squared off against Read lawyer Alan Jackson, a prosecutor during the first trial of record producer Phil Spector in 2007. Like Read’s, it ended in a mistrial.
WATCH: Zoomed-in clip appears to show Karen Read backing into parked SUV
Still, she said, she believes there is plenty of room for jurors to find reasonable doubt.
“They gotta prove she hit him,” she said. “It’s really as simple as that. It’s a drunk-driving hit-and-run.”
Read’s SUV has a broken taillight, and police witnesses described finding matching pieces on Albert’s front lawn.
But the defense also played surveillance video from O’Keefe’s garage that appears to show her backing her SUV into his parked vehicle shortly before she found his remains along with two other women, Kerry Roberts and Jennifer McCabe.
Still, the veteran trial attorney praised Brennan’s handling of the case and how he’s left out key witnesses who may have tanked the prosecution in the first trial and gave the defense less room to maneuver.
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“The way Brennan has tried this case is that he’s not letting any of the bad stuff in, so whenever Alan Jackson goes to the stuff that really hurts them, he doesn’t have a place to go there,” she said.
For one, he left former Massachusetts State Tpr. Michael Proctor off the prosecution’s witness list. Proctor sent a series of rude, lewd and unprofessional text messages about Read and the investigation, which led to his firing.
He is still on the defense’s witness list and could be called to the stand later.
America’s largest remaining antebellum mansion burns down in devastating fire
Historic Nottoway Plantation, the largest antebellum mansion in the U.S., burned to the ground this week after a fire broke out on Thursday. There have been no reports of injuries or deaths connected to the fire.
Fire crews worked to extinguish the flames with water reportedly being poured onto the rubble as long as 18 hours after the fire started, according to Fox 8. As of Saturday, the cause of the fire was still under investigation.
“Some staff members stated they had gone into the museum and there was smoke. When they returned, the whole room was in flames,” Iberville Parish President Chris Daigle told Fox 8, adding that it was “a total loss.”
2 DEAD AFTER HOUSE BURNS DOWN IN NEW JERSEY FOLLOWING ‘GIGANTIC EXPLOSION,’ CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION UNDERWAY
Daigle noted in a post on the Iberville Parish Government’s Facebook page that “The loss of Nottoway is not just a loss for Iberville Parish, but for the entire state of Louisiana. It was a cornerstone of our tourism economy and a site of national significance.”
The 64-room mansion was built by John Hampden Randolph in the late 1850s, according to multiple sources. It sat on more than 53,000 square feet and — in addition to the dozens of rooms — it contained 365 doors and windows and 22 white columns, Fox 8 reported. The property overlooked the Mississippi River.
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Randolph first arrived in Louisiana in 1841 and began by planting cotton, but ultimately shifted to sugar cane, according to the LSU Scholarly Repository. The scholarly repository article also notes that the mansion was named “Nottoway” after the county in Virginia where his ancestors lived.
U.S. Department of the Interior records cited by Axios show that Randolph owned 155 slaves and 6,200 acres of land by 1860.
In addition to the luxurious mansion, the property also featured several trees that are over 100 years old, several of which are more than 120 years old, according to Nottoway Plantation’s website.
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In modern times, the mansion and the surrounding property functioned as a museum, resort and wedding venue. Nottoway Plantation’s website states that it sat on 31 acres, which included 40 overnight rooms, a bar, a restaurant, event space, a pool, tennis courts and more.
“While its early history is undeniably tied to a time of great injustice, over the last several decades it evolved into a place of reflection, education, and dialogue,” Daigle wrote in the Facebook post. “Since the 1980s, it has welcomed visitors from around the world who came to appreciate its architecture and confront the legacies of its era. It stood as both a cautionary monument and a testament to the importance of preserving history — even the painful parts — so that future generations can learn and grow from it.”