NC lawmaker confronts school officials over ‘gay Santa,’ nude books in fiery hearing
A North Carolina school district faced pressure from Republican lawmakers on Wednesday at a heated oversight hearing, where legislators threw LGBTQ children’s books and accused school officials of openly violating parts of a new parental rights law that requires parents be notified about gender identity changes and LGBTQ-themed curriculum for young children.
Officials with Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools appeared before the North Carolina House Select Committee on Oversight and Reform to testify about their compliance with the Parents’ Bill of Rights, Senate Bill 49.
SB 49, passed in August 2023, bars instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten through fourth grade in public schools, requires schools to notify parents about health services, well-being changes and any requested changes to a child’s name or pronouns, and gives parents the right to review materials and opt in or out of sex-related instruction.
In written testimony submitted ahead of the hearing, School Board Chair George Griffin and Superintendent Rodney Trice said the district “has always been, and continues to be, in compliance with the law.” However, lawmakers pressed school officials on past comments from Griffin in January 2024 calling the bill “discriminatory” and suggesting the board did not need to follow it entirely, according to WRAL.
Griffin also wrote in a February 2024 email to staff that the district had adopted the new law as policy but intentionally left out sections dealing with classroom instruction on gender identity and the parental-notification requirement for name or pronoun changes, the outlet reported.
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State House Majority Leader Brenden Jones, R-Columbus, confronted the officials at the hearing.
“You’re here today because you chose to wage war against the law,” Jones said. “You chose to deceive the public, and now you’re here because you got caught.”
“This wasn’t passive resistance,” he added. “It was a coordinated middle finger to this legislature and every parent in your district.”
During the hearing, Jones held up several books he said were being promoted by the district on its website, including “Santa’s Husband,” which tells the “true story of Mr. and Mr. Claus” and features “a Black Santa, his White husband and their life at the North Pole.” Jones said the book had been promoted as a “top pick” for elementary students.
He also read from the book, “These Are My Eyes, This Is My Nose, This Is My Vulva, These Are My Toes,” including a passage saying “some boys have a penis but not all boys do,” as well as a line advising children, “Always use your manners, ‘May I ask what I can call you?’”
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Jones further questioned officials about “It Isn’t Rude to Be Nude,” which he said is rated for very young children and features cartoon drawings of nude adults. He claimed these titles were recommended in the district’s elementary resources.
“Do you think it’s appropriate for 4-year-olds to be exposed to naked men and women and soft porn?” Jones asked Trice during the hearing.
Trice replied that such material would not be appropriate, but said he did not know whether the books were actually recommended by the district.
Throughout the hearing, Trice and Griffin maintained that the district was complying with state law. Griffin apologized for any confusion caused by his earlier comments and said the provisions the board initially held back in February were later adopted after administrators were instructed to develop detailed procedures and employee guidance, WRAL reported.
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A spokesperson for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools denied claims that the books Jones referenced were offered in schools or listed as recommended reading.
“Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools is committed to parental involvement in everything we do,” the district spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “We believe it’s essential that staff, families and students work together to achieve the best outcomes in our schools. We appreciated the opportunity to answer questions and clarify any misunderstandings. As our testimony demonstrated, CHCCS is in compliance with the law.”
Jones pushed back on the district’s statement.
“The School District’s attempts to conceal the filth they’re peddling to children just further goes to show how egregious their actions are,” he told Fox News Digital. “Rather than admit fault, they spent this morning trying to dodge backlash, spinning the narrative after they got caught violating the same laws they bragged about breaking earlier this year. Their website has a recommended reading section found under their LGBTQ Elementary Resources page that directly links kids to a resource that not only includes, but recommends the filth we called them to answer for. That fact is undisputed. If Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools is so ashamed of the books they’re recommending to children, they should just own up to it and take down the links.”
His office provided an October screenshot showing a link to “LGBTQIA+ Resources In Our District” on the district’s website under its “Equity and Engagement” section. The link on that page appears to have been removed, but the page is still hosted elsewhere on the school district’s site.
On that page for “Elementary Resources”, the district lists recommended third-party resources for elementary school students. The books “Santa’s Husband,” “It Isn’t Rude to Be Nude,” and “These Are My Eyes, This Is My Nose, This Is My Vulva, These Are My Toes” were linked under the district’s “Book lists” section.
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Charlie Kirk’s accused killer to appear in court amid media’s fierce fight over transparency
PROVO, Utah – The man accused of assassinating Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk is set to make his first in-person court appearance Thursday, nearly three months after he was taken into custody.
The hearing marks the most significant step in the case so far and comes amid growing concerns from media outlets and from Kirk’s widow about the increasing secrecy surrounding the proceedings.
Tyler Robinson, charged with aggravated murder and multiple related felonies in Kirk’s fatal shooting during a Sept. 10 event at Utah Valley University, has appeared via video or audio from jail in previous court hearings. Since then, much of the case has unfolded behind closed doors, prompting a coalition of media organizations, including Fox News, to demand greater transparency.
That coalition requested that prosecutors and defense attorneys be required to give advance notice whenever they seek to seal filings or restrict public access so that those limits can be challenged before taking effect.
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Legal analyst and California-based trial attorney Roger Bonakdar said the dramatic shift in transparency has been striking from the start.
“It has been pretty odd that the information tap was at full blast for a little while and now it’s completely shut off,” he said. “It’s really kind of inconsistent with how you see cases move forward typically.”
Bonakdar said authorities were unusually forthcoming early in the investigation, releasing details that prosecutors typically hold back.
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“When they first arrested Tyler Robinson, the information tap was at full blast,” he said. “They told us that they had audio recordings from Tyler Robinson and a purported confession. They told us that there was video footage from a local fast food restaurant. They were very, very almost oversharing in the beginning.”
WATCH: Expert calls secrecy in Charlie Kirk murder case ‘pretty unique’
But he said that openness abruptly ended.
“Now they’ve shut that tap off and they’re saying you can’t even come to court and hear about what we’re doing when most of it’s probably procedural,” he continued.
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Because prosecutors proceeded by indictment rather than complaint, he noted, the public will not see a preliminary hearing, and substantive evidence may only emerge if the defense files certain motions months down the road.
The push for transparency intensified after both sides jointly moved to classify the audio and transcript from a closed Oct. 24 hearing as “private.” That session focused on courthouse-security questions and how Robinson should appear in court going forward.
Media organizations argued the public has a right to know when records are being sealed and to challenge those limitations in real time.
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Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s widow, voiced concerns last month about the shrinking visibility around the case. She questioned why the suspect is being shielded from cameras when her husband was killed in front of a crowd.
“There were cameras all over my husband when he was murdered,” she told Fox News’ Jesse Watters in an exclusive interview. “There have been cameras all over my friends and family mourning. There have been cameras all over me, analyzing my every move, analyzing my every smile, my every tear. We deserve to have cameras in there.”
Bonakdar said her reaction is understandable, explaining, “Erika’s sentiments are readily understandable. She’s a grieving widow and, you know, our hearts all go out to her.”
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At the same time, he said the court is under immense pressure given the political and national significance of the case.
“This process has become complicated because of how significant Charlie was,” he said. “This is a very politically charged case. There are very high emotions in this case. And there’s also issues of tainting the jury pool.”
He explained that judges must balance the First Amendment rights of the media with the need to preserve the integrity of the trial, saying, “Court proceedings are supposed to be open and public… but you do have some real issues with how the public is going to access this information as to the consequences for the integrity of the trial.”
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The judge has ordered that Thursday’s hearing be held in person and open to the public as much as possible, although no details from the Oct. 24 proceeding may be disclosed. If the hearing transitions into a closed session, the media coalition’s attorney may remain in the courtroom but may not share any portion of the sealed discussion with any outlet or client.
The court has also imposed strict guidelines on how Robinson may be shown. He cannot be photographed or filmed in shackles and may only be depicted while seated. Images of his family members are prohibited, and reporters must comply with the court’s decorum order.
These restrictions mirror earlier rulings, including the postponement of a prior hearing after disputes over whether Robinson could appear in jail attire and how that might influence public perception.
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Bonakdar said such concerns are rooted in fairness.
“Courts oftentimes will prohibit the media from depicting the defendant in shackles or in jail clothing because it creates this inference of guilt,” he explained.
Appearing restrained, he said, can lead jurors to view a defendant as dangerous or guilty before any evidence is presented. Still, he noted the restrictions may have limited impact in such a widely covered case.
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“Anybody who does a Google search will know… at some point it may be an exercise in futility. Is the damage already done?”
Robinson’s limited physical appearances have raised questions as well. Bonakdar said the most likely explanation for keeping him on video is security.
“They’re gonna say that Tyler Robinson is a security risk… he’s at risk for being hit by someone who wants to seek revenge,” he said. While he acknowledged the reasoning, he added that it is “very clearly a deviation from the norm.”
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WATCH: Street clothes at center of Tyler Robinson court case
Despite public frustration with the pace of the case, Bonakdar said the timeline is typical for a homicide case, particularly one in which prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty.
“The timing of the case is actually very consistent with the severity of the allegation,” he said. Murder cases “move very slowly,” he added, especially when prosecutors proceed by indictment rather than complaint.
He said Thursday’s hearing will be narrow in scope but significant.
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“It’s going to be somewhat of a one-trick pony,” he said. “It’s going to be about this prior sealing order.”
The court, he said, set the hearing “specially” to address media objections claiming the secrecy violates First Amendment protections.
Whether Thursday’s proceeding brings clarity or adds more restrictions remains to be seen, but Bonakdar noted that the public deserves to understand at least the procedural posture of the case as it moves slowly toward trial, which he cautioned could still be a year or more away.
Man diagnosed with incurable disease tied to increasingly popular kitchen trend
Massachusetts health officials announced Tuesday that the state has confirmed its first case of an incurable lung disease linked to exposure to certain countertop stones.
The disease is particularly associated with quartz, which has become increasingly popular in recent years for its practicality and aesthetic, according to health officials.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) said a 40-year-old man, who has worked in the stone countertop industry for 14 years, was recently diagnosed with silicosis, a condition that can cause death.
“The confirmation of this case in Massachusetts is a tragic reminder that silicosis is not just a distant threat. It is here, and it is seriously impacting the health of workers in Massachusetts,” Emily H. Sparer-Fine, a director at DPH, said in a statement.
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The unnamed patient reportedly performed activities such as cutting, grinding and polishing, which can generate crystalline silica dust. When inhaled, this dust scars lung tissue and can lead to silicosis, DPH said.
The disease is preventable but irreversible and progressive, officials said. Symptoms include a persistent cough, shortness of breath, fatigue and chest pain. Because there is often a long latency period between exposure and symptom onset, diagnoses are frequently delayed, according to DPH.
As the disease progresses, it can result in serious complications, including lung cancer, tuberculosis and even death, the department added.
Officials added that “most cases of silicosis are work-related – it is very rare for silicosis to occur outside of workplace exposure.”
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Officials said the risk exists when handling natural stones, such as granite, but is especially high when working with engineered stone, such as quartz. While natural granite typically contains less than 45% silica, engineered stone can contain more than 90%, DPH reported.
“In recent years, the disease has become more prevalent among stone fabrication workers due to the rise in popularity of countertops made from engineered stone (also known as quartz or artificial stone),” DPH reported.
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The department noted that, while this is the first confirmed case in Massachusetts within this industry, more cases are expected due to the disease’s long latency period and the rising popularity of engineered stone.
Other states have also reported cases of silicosis. In a 2023 study, California researchers identified 52 quartz countertop workers with silicosis. Twenty of them had advanced disease and 10 died.
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Despite the disease’s potential severity, there has not been an outright ban on quartz in U.S. kitchens. By contrast, all work involving engineered stone has already been banned in Australia due to the severe risks it poses to workers. Other countries are also pushing for more regulations.
The DPH emphasizes that silicosis is “absolutely preventable” through proper workplace controls. The alert urges employers in the stone countertop fabrication industry to implement effective safety measures, such as wet cutting and proper ventilation, to minimize silica exposure and protect workers.
“Silicosis is a devastating, life-altering disease and one that is also absolutely preventable,” Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein said in a statement.
Michigan coach lands in jail hours after firing over ‘inappropriate relationship’
Fired Michigan Wolverines head football coach Sherrone Moore was booked into jail on Wednesday night after the school’s athletic director dismissed him for having an “inappropriate relationship” with a staffer.
Moore, 39, was in Washtenaw County Jail in Michigan, Fox News Digital confirmed. No charges were listed.
Pittsfield police said they responded to a home as part of an assault investigation. Police said a suspect was taken into custody and that the incident does not appear to be random in nature. Police said the suspect was lodged in the Washtenaw County Jail pending review of charges by the Washtenaw County prosecutor.
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Police said the investigation was ongoing.
Earlier in the day, Moore was dismissed by the program. Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said in a statement that “credible evidence was found that Coach Moore engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.”
“The conduct constitutes a clear violation of University policy, and U-M maintains zero tolerance for such behavior,” Manuel added.
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Following the news of the police investigation, the University of Michigan Athletic Department told Fox News Digital it “cannot comment on personnel matters” and had “nothing to share beyond the initial statement.”
Francis Xavier “Biff” Poggi was named the interim head coach and will be on the sidelines when Michigan takes on Texas in the Citrus Bowl on Dec. 31. Earlier this season, Poggi took over for Moore in two games as the head coach served a suspension for his role in a sign-stealing scandal.
Moore is married to his wife, Kelli. The two wed in 2015 and have three daughters together.
He took over as the team’s head coach in 2024 when Jim Harbaugh left for the Los Angeles Chargers job. The Wolverines were 8-5 in his first season and won the ReliaQuest Bowl.
This season, the Wolverines improved to 9-3, but lost to the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Moore has not yet commented on his dismissal.
Before he became head coach at Michigan, he was the team’s tight ends coach from 2018 to 2020 and three years as the offensive line coach from 2021-2023. He was the team’s offensive coordinator 2023 and served one game as a head coach when Harbaugh was suspended.
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He was a part of the coaching staff when the team won the national championship.
Actress defends controversial comments about Charlie Kirk following assassination
Actress Amanda Seyfried said in a newly published interview that she would not apologize for calling Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk “hateful” in an Instagram post shortly after his assassination in September.
According to screenshots that circulated online, she commented that Kirk was “hateful” on Instagram and shared a post that read, “You can’t invite violence to the dinner table and be shocked when it starts eating.”
Speaking with “Who What Wear” in an interview published Wednesday, the “Mean Girls” actress spoke about the backlash she faced but refused to back down from her original comments.
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“I’m not f—ing apologizing for that,” Seyfried said. “I mean, for f—‘s sake, I commented on one thing. I said something that was based on actual reality and actual footage and actual quotes. What I said was pretty damn factual, and I’m free to have an opinion, of course. Thank God for Instagram. I was able to give some clarity, and it was about getting my voice back because I felt like it had been stolen and recontextualized — which is what people do, of course.”
She added how she has to remember to “keep [her] head on” regarding politics.
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“It’s always hard to see people who are tricky and harmful have success — like our gorgeous president, the best possible example of that,” Seyfried said while sitting in a restaurant with her interviewer. “It’s so weird to sit in a civilized restaurant. People are serving us food. You can’t unpack it too much, or else you’ll go f—ing insane. Like, how is the world still spinning?”
In a comment to Fox News Digital, Turning Point USA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet said Seyfried is free to say what she wants, but “deserved whatever backlash she gets.”
“Amanda Seyfried obviously knows nothing about who Charlie Kirk actually was. She’s a victim of her own algorithm and echo chamber. But if your reaction to an innocent husband and father being assassinated in cold blood is to pile on and call him ‘hateful’ instead of offering condolences, or just remaining silent — I know wild concept — then you are the hateful one,” Kolvert said.
After the backlash in September, Seyfried wrote in a public post: “We’re forgetting the nuance of humanity. I can get angry about misogyny and racist rhetoric and ALSO very much agree that Charlie Kirk’s murder was absolutely disturbing and deplorable in every way imaginable.”
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“No one should have to experience this level of violence,” she added. “This country is grieving too many senseless and violent deaths and shootings. Can we agree on that at least?”
In her caption to the post, she appeared to address her previous controversy, “I don’t want to add fuel to a fire. I just want to be able to give clarity to something so irresponsibly (but understandably) taken out of context. Spirited discourse- isn’t that what we should be having?”
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Actress Wendy Davis struck and killed by vehicle in Manhattan theater district at 60
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” actress Wendy Davis died Monday after a car crash. She was 60.
According to authorities, the actress, who went by the stage name Wenne Alton Davis, was struck by a vehicle while crossing the street around 9 p.m. Monday at the intersection of West 53rd Street and Broadway in New York.
Davis suffered severe trauma to her head and body as a result of the collision and was transferred to Mount Sinai West Hospital. She was pronounced dead.
The driver of the 2023 Cadillac XT6 was a 61-year-old male who stayed behind after the accident. As of Wednesday, he faces no charges no arrest has been made and an investigation by the NYPD Highway District Collision Investigation Squad remains ongoing.
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Her manager, Jamie Harris, told The New York Times Davis moved to New York in her 20s, originally to pursue stand-up comedy, before transitioning to acting, even working at John F. Kennedy International Airport to support herself while trying to break into the entertainment industry.
“She had a huge love for New York, for acting, for her colleagues at JFK and, most of all, her family and her circle of friends (which was also huge),” Harris told The New York Times.
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In addition to playing a police officer in a 2023 episode of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” Davis also appeared in “Girls5eva,” “Blindspot,” “New Amsterdam” and “The Normal Heart.”
When speaking with the Daily News, Davis’ neighbor, Edward Reynoso, shared that, just hours before her death, Davis told him, “I love you, I appreciate you.”
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“It was so weird to me because I felt like she was saying goodbye,” Reynoso said. “Now that this happened, it all seems so odd to me.”
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Trump admin drops hammer on ‘ghost students,’ claws back $1B from alleged loan scammers
FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Education thwarted more than $1 billion in student aid fraud under President Donald Trump’s first year in office, including stopping suspected bots and “ghost students” from obtaining taxpayer-funded loans, Fox News Digital learned.
Officials say the savings come from new “enhanced fraud controls” the department implemented in June to combat fraudsters from working to obtain financial assistance loans from colleges.
College officials and cybersecurity experts in recent years have pointed to a new scam trend of “ghost students,” which are fabricated or stolen identities created solely to enroll, trigger financial aid disbursements and then disappear. Ghost students are believed to be powered by AI bots or run by criminal networks using real Americans’ personal information.
Other scams have included the use of deceased individuals’ identities in order to fraudulently obtain loans.
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To crackdown on fraud, the Department of Education heightened its identification verification process for first-time applicants attempting to receive Federal Student Aid. The department said in June that the Biden administration “removed verification safeguards and diverted resources from fraud prevention toward its illegal loan forgiveness efforts” amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which compounded fraud schemes.
“American citizens have to present an ID to purchase a ticket to travel or to rent a car — it’s only right that they should present an ID to access tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars to fund their education,” U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon told Fox Digital Thursday.
“From day one, the Trump Administration has been committed to rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse across the federal government,” she added. “As a result, $1 billion in taxpayer funds will now support students pursuing the American dream, rather than falling into the hands of criminals. Merry Christmas, taxpayers!”
The new verification process requires first-time applicants to “present, either in person or on a live video conference, an unexpired, valid, government-issued photo identification to an institutionally authorized individual and the institution must preserve a copy of this documentation.”
The verification measure has thwarted more than $1 billion from flowing to suspected fraudsters, which the Department of Education said includes “coordinated international fraud rings and AI bots pretending to be students.”
The increased verification process followed the Trump administration uncovering nearly $90 million that was disbursed to suspected scammers in 2024, including $30 million in loans to dead people and more than $40 million disbursed to companies using bots disguised as fake students.
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Recent data from the California Community College System, for example, indicated that 34% of community college applications in 2024, resulting in millions of dollars in federal and state aid being misdirected.
Local media reported in the spring of this year that Democrats and Republicans alike were working to address loan fraud in the state and heighten security measures, including a Democratic assembly member calling for a state audit to identify fraud patterns.
The Foothill–De Anza Community College District received roughly 26,000 applications, according to media reports in 2024, with 10,000 placed on hold for possible fraud before the beginning of the term. In Nevada, the College of Southern Nevada wrote off $7.4 million in the fall 2024 semester due to a “ghost student” scheme, media reports show.
Another “ghost students” scheme in Minnesota has left Riverland Community College averaging more than 100 potentially fraudulent applications per year.
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Within the first week of the new verification process in June, officials say they flagged almost 150,000 suspect identities in current Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) filings and “immediately alerted” colleges and universities to the suspicious activity.
“Colleges and universities across the country reported being under siege by highly sophisticated fraud rings and requested the Trump Administration for help,” the Department of Education said in a press release on Thursday.
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In addition to rolling out its heightened security measures, the department has also published materials online warning families against “fake college websites to trick students with AI-generated content and false promises designed to seem real” and is in the midst of hiring a “new fraud detection team within FSA that will be responsible for combatting fraud and abuse.”
Ex-sheriff admits to killing judge as defense unveils new claim: report
A former Kentucky sheriff accused of gunning down a sitting judge inside his courthouse chambers has admitted to pulling the trigger, according to newly filed court documents, while his defense moves to lean heavily on an insanity argument as the case heads towards trial.
Shawn “Mickey” Stines, who resigned as Letcher County sheriff after the September 2024 killing, admitted in the filing that he shot District Judge Kevin Mullins during a confrontation in the Whitesburg courthouse, according to court documents obtained by the Lexington Herald-Leader.
The video, with no audio, showed a man identified by police as Stines pulling out a gun and shooting at the judge, who was seated at his desk. The man walked around the desk, pointed the gun at the judge and repeatedly shot him. Stines has been charged with first-degree murder and murder of a public official.
The admission comes as the former sheriff’s attorneys have worked to establish that Stines was suffering from “extreme emotional disturbance” prior to the shooting, suggesting his legal team is preparing a broad insanity defense, the outlet reported.
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In a document written a few days after the shooting, a social worker who met with Stines in jail said he had remained in “an active state of psychosis” and didn’t appear to understand the criminal charge against him. Stines had “episodes of combativeness which has required pepper spray,” The Associated Press reported.
In a deposition Stines gave investigators in the days leading up to the shooting, he claimed to have been suffering from dizziness, headaches, sweating and memory loss brought on by California encephalitis, a neurological disease resulting from bug bites, the Herald-Leader reported.
Prosecutors have not commented on the latest filings. Stines’ legal team has argued that a portion of his mental evaluation should remain sealed, a position that the judge recently upheld.
Stines resigned as sheriff days after the shooting and is being held without bond in eastern Kentucky.
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Under Kentucky law, proof of mental incapacitation or extreme emotional distress could take the death penalty off the table in Stines’ case, the Herald-Leader reported. However, a defendant’s standards of intent reportedly differ in civil cases, with Mullins’ widow filing a wrongful death lawsuit against Stines and three other Letcher County Sheriff’s Office employees in September.
Kimberly Mullins and the couple’s two children are reportedly accusing Stines of assault and battery, while alleging that three other sheriff’s employees did not warn or protect the judge from Stines, who was showing signs of being anxious, violently paranoid and psychotic.
On Nov. 12, Stines admitted to shooting Mullins in his answer to the civil lawsuit, adding that he was “exhibiting paranoid and psychotic conduct,” according to the Herald-Leader.
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Stines’ attorneys reportedly moved to dismiss the case under the sovereign immunity doctrine, which shields government officials from civil liability claims while acting in their official capacity. They also asked a judge to dismiss the negligence claims against him, citing the accusation must show proof of intent.
“As Sheriff, he was a county employee and, therefore, is entitled to the same sovereign immunity granted to the County itself,” his attorneys wrote, according to the Herald-Leader. “Based on this, the official capacity claims against Shawn Stines must be dismissed.”
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Additionally, Stines’ attorneys reportedly detailed a possible defense they could use to portray their client’s state of mind during the alleged killing, insisting that he “had no control,” and was suffering from “pre-existing conditions.”
Stines’ attorneys did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Last week, a judge reportedly denied two motions to dismiss the criminal charges against Stines, with his attorneys saying prosecutors never informed the grand jury of their client’s mental state when the crime was committed and that the proceeding was intentionally not recorded.
Body language expert spots multiple ‘red flags’ in Luigi Mangione’s police confrontation
A body language expert said that Luigi Mangione displayed several “red flags” when he was arrested by police in Pennsylvania after allegedly killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024.
Prosecutors released body camera video on Tuesday that shows police officers confronting Mangione at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 9, 2024. An employee at the fast-food restaurant reportedly recognized Mangione and told a co-worker, who then alerted police.
Body language expert Susan Constantine told Fox News Digital that Mangione displayed “red flags” when police first confronted him at the McDonald’s and said someone reported him as being suspicious.
“So he does this expression on his face when he’s asked that question, is that frozen freeze response. Like that, right? Eyes wide open, mouth drops. And then he doesn’t deny. He doesn’t ask any questions. He doesn’t defend himself,” Constantine said. “He doesn’t say anything. And the fact that he doesn’t say anything, all of those were red flags because you would naturally be curious.”
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Constantine also pointed out how Mangione “positioned himself in the corner conspicuously” and was fully masked. Constantine said that concealment is one of the ways she can determine “dangerous intent,” which she says Mangione is doing.
“So the fact that he was hiding in the back, that’s one pin, right? Then he’s got the concealment of the clothing. He’s got his little hat down over his eyebrows, then he’s got the mask on, and he’s looking down, right? So he’s trying to remove himself from ever being noticed, and that’s what he was doing,” Constantine said.
She added that Mangione knew it was “game over” when he went to grab the driver’s license to hand to police, and had a “fear response” when approached by the officer.
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“At that point, I knew he knew it was game over just because of his body language of being more in a low confidence. You know, his shoulders are kind of pulled in, he’s kind of huddled together. He’s not leaning out and just, you know, going on his computer just doing work. There were so many signals,” Constantine said. “All of those things led to this is an anomaly compared to everybody else that was in that restaurant. That’s what it is. It’s an anomaly.”
The McDonald’s employee who made the initial 911 call identified Mangione as the suspect in Thompson’s death, according to a transcript of the call.
WATCH: Police confront Luigi Mangione at Pennsylvania McDonald’s
“I’m a manager at Plank Road McDonald’s out here on the boulevard,” a McDonald’s manager told the 911 dispatcher. “And I have a customer here, that some other customers were suspicious of, that he looks like the CEO shooter from New York.”
Altoona Police Officer Christy Wasser testified in court on Monday that she found a magazine with bullets wrapped in wet underwear that was inside Mangione’s backpack.
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“There was another magazine hidden in his underwear,” Wasser can be heard saying.
Mangione faces numerous state and federal charges, including the possibility of the death penalty being handed down.