A disgraced Minnesota judge's petition to have his first name legally changed to "Judge" was denied by Ramsey County Judge Leonardo Castro, MPR News reported. The man, former Anoka County Judge John Dehen, retired from his position on Oct. 10 following a suspension from the Minnesota Supreme Court over misconduct.
Dehen filed for the name change in August, requesting that his given name be changed instead to Judge John Dehen. The case was assigned to Castro, who slammed the petition made "in bad faith and with the intent to mislead" the public.
"To permit a former district court judge, who has been suspended for abusing his position of authority, to regain the title he was stripped of, would make the administration of justice a practical mockery. The Applicant is not replacing his first name of John with Judge but is requesting that Judge be added before John so he can be addressed as 'Judge John Dehen,'" Castro said in his order.
"By using the name ‘Judge,’ the Applicant would be holding himself out as a judge, a position he held for 15 years, but no longer holds," Castro added. The judge also denied Dehen's request to keep the filing private, though his home address was redacted.
Last month, the Minnesota Supreme Court suspended Dehen for nine months and censured him after Dehen was accused of a "pattern" of prejudice, KSTP-TV reported. The recommended punishment from the state panel was originally a six-month suspension, but Minnesota’s high court felt his misconduct warranted a more severe penalty.
Some of the misdeeds Dehen was accused of included holding a remote hearing from the passenger seat of his moving vehicle, attempting to rehire his court reporter with double the salary he state allows, and injecting his opinions about illegal immigration to "influence his decisions" in guardianship cases for troubled youth.
"His actions wasted precious judicial resources and disrespected the rule of law and the administration of justice that he took an oath to uphold," the order from the Supreme Court charged. It also said Dehen "damaged the professional function of the Judicial Branch" and that he "exhibited little if any remorse" for doing so.
For his part, Dehen's testimony before the state panel included an admission that he had "poor judgment" when he decided to hold a hearing from his vehicle, but he would not budge on the guardianship decisions. Dehen claimed those were "merely an error of law" rather than ideological influences.
However, the Supreme Court disagreed, instead finding that Dehen had weaponized his official position and that the only remedy was to censure the judge. The high court said it had a duty to "fulfill our obligation to ensure that the misconduct is not repeated again, and to deter others from similar behavior."
In 2022, Dehen was disciplined privately after making threats during proceedings in a small claims lawsuit, MinneapoliMedia reported. Later, he was accused of using immigration status and lack of English proficiency while ruling on guardianship hearings.
“Just because you’re an immigrant doesn’t mean you’re eligible for an at-risk status,” Dehen told the initial panel investigating earlier this year. In at least three cases, other judges have either overturned Judge Dehen’s findings or ordered him removed entirely from at-risk juvenile cases.
Petitions in Minnesota for guardianship assignments for at-risk youth are seldom denied. In the county Dehen was presiding, he was responsible for all of them.
“He does what he wants to do and doesn’t accept disagreement,” Eric Magnuson, the former Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court who anrgued the state’s case angainst Dehen, said. That hasn’t worked out so well for Dehen after all.
Dehen seems to do whatever he wants, perhaps believing that his position as judge gives him the cover to do so. Unfortunately for him, that’s not the way it works, and the judge will have to deal with the consequences of his actions.
The U.S. Supreme Court could limit the 1965 Voting Rights Act and alter the way congressional redistricting maps are created, according to The Washington Times. The case stems from a lower court's decision to mandate that Louisiana add a second majority-Black district, based on its overall population, rather than the geographic distribution of that population.
It's always been the case that the winning political party gets to draw the districting maps, including when it is advantageous to the party in power. However, Democrats have used the 60-year-old legislation as a way to push their own version of how the maps should be drawn, and it has become a way to discriminate.
This is what happened in Louisiana, as the arbitrary factor of skin color became the method by which to redraw the maps, thanks to a lower court's decision. That scheme may now be in jeopardy with the case before the conservative-leaning high court.
Some, including Louisiana Solicitor General Benjamin Aruinaga, argue that the Voting Rights Act is reductive when it comes to race and that at least part of it is unconstitutional. "The Constitution does not tolerate this system of government-mandated racial balancing," Aguinaga argued before the Supreme Court.
Janai Nelson, an attorney for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said that redrawing the maps to eliminate the new Black districts would be "a staggering" change to the way voting is made fair. "This is about race," Nelson said, arguing in favor of keeping the status quo.
"Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is laser-focused on eliminating racial discrimination from our electoral process regardless of party," she added. However, the justices have been hinting that Section 2 of the legislation may be on the chopping block, especially those appointed by President Donald Trump.
Justice Neil M. Gorsuch pushed back on Nelson's assertion, noting that it sounds as if it is "sometimes acceptable for a federal district court to order a map that intentionally discriminates on the basis of race," he said. Similarly, Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh said that Section 2 may be obsolete, or at least on its way to becoming so.
"This court’s cases, in a variety of contexts, have said that race-based remedies are permissible for a period of time … but that they should not be indefinite and should have an endpoint," Kavanaugh said. Democrats see it differently, of course, and Biden-appointed Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson insisted that racial discrimination is the only way to fix racial discrimination.
"They’re so tied up with race because that’s the initial problem. That’s the beginning," Jackson said.
As per the usual arrangement, the left is doing mental gymnastics to explain how racial discrimination is actually a good thing because it suits their purposes this time around. As the Daily Wire's Matt Walsh pointed out in a post to X, formerly Twitter, Democrats are attached to the law because it has been a boon for them.
"Democrats have used the Voting Rights Act to rig the system for decades. If the Supreme Court finally fixes this problem, and it looks like they will, Democrats may never win a majority in the House ever again," Walsh wrote on Thursday.
"This is a huge, huge case," he added. The post included a photo of the southern states and how Democratic strongholds would be "wiped out" if the law was repealed.
Democrats have used the Voting Rights Act to rig the system for decades. If the Supreme Court finally fixes this problem, and it looks like they will, Democrats may never win a majority in the House ever again. This is a huge, huge case. https://t.co/oSG3isAxLA
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) October 16, 2025
There is no excuse for racial discrimination, even when it is ostensibly done to make things fairer for a downtrodden population. The only truly fair move is to treat people like individuals and not based on the color of their skin, but the left is simply incapable of doing so.
Several journalists chose to hand in their access badges and clear their work areas on Wednesday rather than sign onto the Department of War's new agreement on what can be shared from the Pentagon, Breitbart reported. Reporters have been given until Tuesday night to sign or leave, and several chose the latter.
Journalist Eric Daugherty shared photos of signs for major news outlets piled up near offices as reporters exited. "BREAKING: The Pentagon has just confiscated the badges of nearly every major media organization in the United States, barring their access, after they refused to sign on to Pete Hegseth's new security rules to guard sensitive information. Reporters were seen leaving," Daugherty wrote.
He quoted the Pentagon Press Agency's statement about the move. "Today, the Defense Department confiscated the badges of the Pentagon reporters from virtually every major media organization in America. It did this because reporters would not sign onto a new media policy over its implicit threat of criminalizing national security reporting and exposing those who sign it to potential prosecution," the Pentagon Press Association said
🚨 BREAKING: The Pentagon has just confiscated the badges of nearly every major media organization in the United States, barring their access, after they refused to sign on to Pete Hegseth's new security rules to guard sensitive information.
Reporters were seen leaving.
"Today,… pic.twitter.com/icRZWDhxaj
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 15, 2025
The credentialing agreement these journalists were asked to sign pertained to what should and shouldn't be made public as reporters are given an insiders view into the goings on at the Department of War. This is for the safety of the troops as well as the integrity of any given military action, officials said.
"The policy does not ask for them to agree, just to acknowledge that they understand what our policy is. This has caused reporters to have a full-blown meltdown, crying victim online. We stand by our policy because it’s what’s best for our troops and the national security of this country," Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth also slammed the actions of the reporters. "You would think that the Pentagon press corps, of all press corps, would be front and center across the board on wanting to give credit to the President for forging this kind of peace, and instead, what they want to talk about is a policy about them," Hegseth said.
"Maybe the policy should look like the White House or other military installations, where you have to wear a badge that identifies that you’re press, or you can’t just roam anywhere you want. It used to be, Mr. President, the press could go anywhere, pretty much anywhere, in the Pentagon, the most classified area in the world," Hegseth explained.
"If they sign on to the credentialing, they’re not going to try to get soldiers to break the law by giving them classified information. So it’s common sense stuff. Mr. President, we’re trying to make sure national security is respected, and we’re proud of the policy," Hegseth told President Donald Trump.
It appears that this change has led to a mass exodus of journalists from the Pentagon reporter pool for now. Outlets that withdrew their support included The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, and CNN, while One America News said that it would sign the agreement.
The journalists claimed that such a policy exerts too much control on the press under the guise of national security. Steven Cheung, White House communications director, said that in reality "a few reporters on this wall have privately said they were bullied into participating in the walkout when they actually wanted to stay," Cheung posted to X on Wednesday.
"They were physically confronted and threatened with retaliation if they didn’t join the protest," he charged. Whether that's true or not, it appears that the "in brief" form they were asked to sign outlined the proper procedure for navigating the building that houses America's military secrets, rather than editorial decisions.
The Department of War insists that it isn't about controlling the messaging or coverage, but rather ensuring that what's being reported doesn't jeopardize the mission as members of the media are privy to official information. Journalists believe that signing onto such an agreement would expose them to potential legal or professional problems in the future.
The press is right to demand as much transparency as possible from the government. However, they weren't concerned when Trump's predecessor was in the White House, so their objections ring hollow in this pure political spectacle.
Dan Kleban has dropped out of the race for U.S. Senate and endorsed fellow Democrat and Maine Gov. Janet Mills in the challenge to unseat Sen. Susan Collins (R) in next year's election, The Hill reported. The Maine Beer Co. co-founder made the announcement Tuesday that he would be one fewer candidate in a crowded primary.
"Today, I am suspending my campaign for U.S. Senate and enthusiastically endorsing Governor Janet Mills. Right now, our country is at a crossroads," Kleban said in a video statement shared to X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday.
"Susan Collins is not doing what’s right for the state of Maine, and hardworking Mainers are literally paying the price—housing, health care, groceries, and electric bills are all too high and getting worse. I believe Governor Mills will win next year and put Mainers first by addressing these pressing issues," the beer brewer added.
Today, I am suspending my campaign for U.S. Senate and enthusiastically endorsing Gov. Janet Mills. I got in this race for the same reason I started Maine Beer Company–to ‘Do What’s Right.’ Gov. Mills is the right leader for this moment. Thank you to everyone who supported me, &… pic.twitter.com/8MJCfmwITr
— Dan Kleban (@mainebeerbrewer) October 14, 2025
It was only last month when Kleban threw his name into the running, and now he's dropped out and made way for Mills. Perhaps not so coincidentally, the governor entered the fray on Tuesday, marking another big name to run in the Democratic primary.
Mills was a favorite for Senate Democrats hoping to capture votes from a majority of the people in Maine. With a term-limited governor who won more than half of the statewide vote both times she ran for the state's top executive, Democrats are hopeful they can flip the seat from red to blue.
Others vying for a crack at the Senate seat include Graham Platner, a veteran and oyster farmer, and Jordan Wood, who was the chief of staff to Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA). However, it seems that Mills has the upper hand among the current candidates as early analysis suggests that the seat becomes in play with the governor on the ballot.
According to NPR, the Democratic Party's chances of picking up more seats in 2026 are slim, so they are pinning all their hopes on the 77-year-old who made a name for herself by opposing President Donald Trump. In February, Trump threatened to pull funding from states that would continue to allow men to play in women's sports despite a federal ban on the practice.
The Maine governor took Trump to court over the issue and won, which she touted in her campaign launch video shared to X. "I've never backed down from a bully and I never will. Donald Trump is ripping away health care from millions, driving up costs, and giving corporate CEOs massive tax cuts. And Susan Collins is helping him. My life’s work has prepared me for this fight—and I'm ready to win," she captioned it.
In the launch video, Mills shared footage of a confrontation with Trump that all but guarantees full Democratic support. In fact, the entire thrust of her candidacy comes from her promise to square off with the "bully" Trump in the hopes that Democrats can once again be successful as the opposition party.
"My life's work has prepared me for this fight, and I'm ready to win. This election will be a simple choice: Is Maine going to bow down or stand up? I know my answer," Mills said in the video.
"When I was a little girl growing up in Farmington, my father always said you have to stand up to bullies. You can't let them have their way, or they'll never stop. And I think that's what's going on in Congress right now ... Congress is not standing up to him. Susan Collins is not standing up to him," Mills added.
I've never backed down from a bully and I never will.
Donald Trump is ripping away health care from millions, driving up costs, and giving corporate CEOs massive tax cuts. And Susan Collins is helping him.
My life’s work has prepared me for this fight—and I'm ready to win. pic.twitter.com/pAcTqJEk5l
— Janet Mills (@JanetMillsforME) October 14, 2025
If Mills wins the primary and goes on to become the senator for Maine, she will be 79 by that time, and Trump will be heading into the last half of his presidency. This fact is sad as Democrats are running their same playbook and believing that opposing Trump is all they have to do to get elected.
Democratic New York Rep. Josh Riley was briefly forced out of his own town hall meeting by an anti-Israel protester who shouted him down for nearly six minutes, the Daily Caller reported. The Oct. 6 incident occurred in Riley's upstate New York district, which has been a battleground for both Republicans and Democrats.
The problem for Riley and other Democrats is that support for Israel has been tanking since the beginning of the war with Gaza, a little over two years ago. Although Hamas was initially the aggressor in the conflict, sympathies among leftists in particular are increasingly with the Palestinian people.
As a politician who supports giving aid to the Israeli military, Riley was singled out by the people in New York’s 19th congressional district as being part of the problem. The Caller shared a video posted to YouTube of the exchange.
The people in Riley's district confronted the freshman lawmaker at the State University of New York's Sullivan campus over the unpopularity of continuing the war. "Seventy-five percent of Democratic voters are against you, the United States, giving arms to Israel," a woman shouted at Riley as the lawmaker was trying to speak.
"Why are you voting for arms to Israel?" she added. Riley said he would answer the question, but he admonished the gray-haired woman for being disrespectful in her approach and told her she would need to be more polite about it to get a response.
"Just answer it. People are dying. Americans do not want to support genocide," the woman shouted back at a stunned Riley. She also mentioned that Riley and other House Democrats participated in an August visit to Israel, sponsored by the American Israel Education Foundation, which has ties to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
"I would love to answer your question," Riley pushed back again at the woman, which prompted another man in the crowd to interject. "You’re filibustering!" a male protester yelled at Riley.
"You’re supposed to listen to your voters!" the woman again interjected. Flustered, Riley replied to the woman, "I'm trying to." The woman left the room, and Riley continued with his event in the question-and-answer segment of the town hall.
There was a time when being a radical leftist meant there was no reason to fear public disruptions or attacks, as their ire was reserved for Republicans with the "wrong" viewpoints. However, those incensed about the support for Israel in the war with Hamas have caused Democrats to turn on their own, including Riley.
In August, a Quinnipiac poll revealed that nearly 75% of Democrats opposed sending military assistance to Israel, meaning that just about any move that sides with Israel will outrage the Democratic base, even in a "leans left" jurisdiction like Riley's. He is no centrist Democrat, either, as the 44-year-old has repeatedly proven his leftist bona fides.
For instance, Riley opposed allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to wear masks and has supported a system to confer citizenship on illegal immigrants who have not broken the law (except the law against entering the country illegally, of course). He also purchased $15,000 worth of shares in a "women-owned, queer-led" distillery in Washington, D.C., which sells liquor branded Dissent Gin and Fascist Tears Vodka, according to the New York Post.
So far, early polling for the 2026 race still indicates that the district skews for the Democratic Party, but support for Riley could wane if this issue persists. The good news is that, as CBS News reported, President Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire between the two sides, potentially fostering peace and taking the issue off the table by the time the 2026 midterm elections roll around.
Regardless of the issue, it's quite fitting that Riley was heckled by the same unhinged leftists that Democrats court and support. It's about time one of these leftists gets the same treatment from their own that's usually reserved for right-wing commentators and politicians.
Pop star John Legend, a left-wing critic of President Donald Trump, said on Instagram that Trump should get the Nobel Peace Prize next year for his work to bring peace to the Middle East, but added some other qualifications to his support.
Not surprisingly, Legend said that Trump should remove the National Guard from American cities and also end ICE's operations there.
If Trump can additionally go a year without any missile strikes on foreign nations, then Legend said he should be awarded the prestigious global prize.
Of course, the entire video by Legend was dripping with contempt for Trump and condescension toward him and his efforts. His followers loved every second of it, which should tell you everything you need to know.
View this post on Instagram
The singer used the video to call Trump out on what he called "authoritarian" actions--sending the National Guard into crime-ridden Democrat-run cities to restore order and directing ICE to actually arrest and deport illegal immigrants (which is the law, by the way).
Legend posted the video from somewhere in his house, with family pictures in the background and him in a bathrobe.
He attempted to sound intelligent by waxing on about who has earned the prize in the past and some of the reasons they have won it.
Of course, he doesn't think Trump deserves the prize, as was evident by the description of everything Trump is doing that he'd have to stop in order to "deserve" the prize next year.
This year's award went to Venezuelan Opposition Leader Maria Corina Machado for fighting dictatorship in that country.
She dedicated the award in a post on X "to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!"
Trump was a little bit salty about not getting the prize after his administration almost singlehandedly brought about peace in the Middle East (for as long as it lasts).
"President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives... The Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace," White House spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a post on X.
While it's pretty certain that Trump will not meet Legend's qualifiers before next year's prize is awarded, there's no telling how many more peace agreements he may be able to broker--like maybe for Russia and Ukraineb, for starters--by then.
More than a month has passed since the tragic murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University, and court watchers are closely following developments in the case against the man accused of committing the heinous crime.
As Breitbart reports, as defendant Tyler Robinson prepares for upcoming appearances in the courtroom, he is asking the presiding judge to allow him to present himself not in prison garb and shackles, but rather in civilian clothes.
The accused killer’s request came in the form of a 21-page motion submitted to Judge Tony Graf last week, a document that outlined the defense team’s rationale for the desired adjustment.
Robinson’s attorneys made reference to the Idaho murder case of Bryan Kohberger in their contention that allowing their client to wear civilian attire would help secure his constitutional right to a fair trial.
In addition to their request regarding Robinson’s clothing, defense lawyers also now seek a closed-door hearing regarding whether physical restraints will be used during courtroom appearances.
The motion stated, “In the face of worldwide scrutiny, permitting Mr. Robinson to wear civilian clothing for court appearances is a minor inconvenience compared to the already present concerns with securing a fair trial before an impartial jury.”
Their filing continued, “With each development in the case generating thousands of articles and comments online, the likelihood of potential jurors seeing and drawing conclusions regarding Mr. Robinson’s guilt and or deserved punishment from obvious signs of pretrial incarceration will only increase.”
It is not just Robinson’s trial attire on which his defense team is focusing, as attorneys are busy developing their approach to evidence in the case and strategic arguments in furtherance of their attempt to secure an acquittal -- or at the very least prevent the imposition of the death penalty upon conviction.
Speaking to Fox News Digital, veteran defense attorney Randall Spencer described some of the priorities likely guiding the work of Robinson’s team.
Spencer noted how critical it will be to maintain the confidentiality of evidence ahead of trial in order to safeguard the impartiality of potential jurors.
“If the prosecutor or the defense of leaking…evidence to the public…that may inhibit Tyler’s right to a fair trial.”
In terms of potential defense theories, Spencer opined, “There perhaps could be a factual innocence defense being raised indicating that Tyler wasn’t actually the shooter. Probably more likely the defense…is addressing the aggravating factor…whether the defendant’s alleged actions had a high probability of causing the death of someone other than Charlie Kirk,” suggesting that such a pivot -- if successful -- could shift the charge downward “from capital homicide to standard murder.”
Even so, former Assistant U.S. Attorney Neama Rahmani suspects that prosecutors in the case will focus on efforts to “dirty up” Robinson to boost the chances that, if convicted, he will receive the death penalty, working to present evidence of alleged statements from the defendant regarding Kirk’s supposed “hatred,” his apparent admission of guilt to a romantic partner, and incriminating words said to have been etched on bullets used in the crime.
Noting that 12 of 12 jurors must agree for Robinison to be put to death, Rahmani observed, “So when jurors are weighing the death penalty, the reason why someone killed another human being, if it was for political reasons, that’s certainly an aggravated factor” but whether such consensus will be reached at the end of the process, only time will tell.
First lady Melania Trump said that she has an "open channel of communication" with Russian President Vladimir Putin when it comes to the matter of children displaced by the war between Russia and Ukraine, ABC News reported. The first lady boasted that their joint efforts have already resulted in reuniting eight children with their parents in the last 24 hours alone.
The Putin-obsessed left will no doubt make all sorts of insinuations about Melania Trump's relationship with the foreign leader. However, it appears she and Putin are doing good work in righting some of the wrongs that have come from the war.
"HOLY SMOKES: First Lady Melania Trump just announced that she’s been working behind the scenes with Russian President Vladimir Putin to return displaced children to their homes in Ukraine. Most powerful woman in the world," user Johnny Maga posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Friday.
🚨 HOLY SMOKES
First Lady Melania Trump just announced that she’s been working behind the scenes with Russian President Vladimir Putin to return displaced children to their homes in Ukraine.
Most powerful woman in the world.pic.twitter.com/U3DfhpHhql
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) October 10, 2025
Relations between Russia and the U.S. have not always been friendly, but this unexpected alliance comes when the world needs it the most. "Russia has demonstrated a willingness to disclose objective and detailed information reflective for the current situation," Trump said.
She went on to note that a "detailed report" outlined the process that led to eight children rejoining their families, thanks to the efforts of Trump and Putin. "This is an important initiative for me," the first lady said.
"It is built on shared purpose and lasting impact," Trump said. "A child's soul knows no borders, no flags," she added.
"We must foster a future for our children which is rich with potential, security, and complete with free will. A world where dreams will be realized rather than faded by war," Trump said.
The first lady was a notoriously tight-lipped figure during her husband, President Donald Trump's, first term and office and has largely remained mum even into his second term. However, this issue has brought Melania into the spotlight since she wrote a letter in August enlisting Putin's help.
According to Politico, Melania Trump raised the issue of displaced children in a letter, which President Donald Trump relayed to Putin during their meeting in Anchorage, Alaska. "A simple yet profound concept, Mr. Putin, as I am sure you agree, is that each generation’s descendants begin their lives with a purity—an innocence which stands above geography, government, and ideology," Melania Trump wrote.
She added that "it is time" for them to get the Ukrainian children back to their homes, and she committed to doing that work. "My ongoing mission is two-fold — to optimize a transparent, free-flow exchange of information surrounding all children who have fallen victim to this war and to facilitate the regular communication of children with their families until each individual returns home," Melania Trump said.
This is all excellent news for the children of Ukraine, but there will no doubt be leftists who see this as more evidence that Melania Trump is a Russian asset, as was asserted in Business Insider in 2018. Some believed that because she speaks several languages and spoke cordially to Putin, she must be an undercover spy.
This insane conspiracy theory was an outgrowth of the other outlandish and since-debunked lie that Donald Trump colluded with the Kremlin to win the 2016 election. It was an obsession of the leftists, and that kind of pathological focus is not easily forgotten.
Melania Trump is doing important work for the children, and her heart is certainly in the right place. While she risks derision for cooperating with the Russian leader, the first lady remains fearless and noble in her pursuit of the cause of these children, and that's all that matters.
Kiss frontman Gene Simmons was taken to an area hospital on Tuesday after he crashed his SUV in Malibu, the Associated Press reported. Simmons was driving the Pacific Coast Highway when he passed out behind the wheel, causing him to cross several lanes of traffic before hitting a car parked on the side of the waterfront highway.
On the day after the crash, Simmons took to X, formerly Twitter, to thank his fans for reaching out to make sure he was okay after being treated and released from the hospital. "Thanks, everybody, for the kind wishes," the 76-year-old rock star wrote.
"I’m completely fine. I had a slight fender bender. It happens. Especially to those of us were horrible drivers. And that’s me. All is well," Simmons concluded.
Thanks, everybody, for the kind wishes. I’m completely fine. I had a slight fender bender. It happens. Especially to those of us were horrible drivers. And that’s me. All is well.
— Gene Simmons (@genesimmons) October 8, 2025
While authorities have not released official word on the circumstances of the crash, it's believed that Simmons possibly fainted behind the wheel that made him lose control of his vehicle. He is no stranger to traveling, as his "Rock and Roll All Nite" band has spent nearly the last half-century touring.
In 2023, Kiss officially ended their live shows, but Simmons and the rest of his band are still slated to play in Las Vegas in November for a special event. President Donald Trump had also announced in August that the band would be among the Kennedy Center honorees for this year.
Hopefully Simmons makes a full recovery, as he is not the only band member to suffer medical problems this year. According to the New York Post, Ace Frehley, co-founder of Kiss and a former guitarist for the band, had to cancel the rest of his tour dates for the year "due to some ongoing medical issues," the Instagram account for his band, the Spaceman and Space Ace, posted on Monday.
This comes after the 74-year-old was forced to cancel a Sept. 26 performance after suffering "a minor fall in his studio" that required "a trip to the hospital." It will also derail the planned November reunion festival in Las Vegas with original bandmates, including Simmons, Frehley, Peter Criss, and Paul Stanley.
The three-day festival, Kiss Kruise: Land-Locked in Vegas, was slated for Nov. 14-26 with an itinerary mimicking a sea cruise. It was to be the first time the band played together since their 2023 retirement, but with half of the founding members of the band suffering medical issues, it's unclear what the future holds.
Kiss was known for their signature look, which included black-and-white face makeup, black wigs, and a lot of studded leather. They have a following that spans generations, and the band was looking forward to tapping into the energy their fan base again brings to the shows.
"Because we’re not touring, and because the band isn’t what it was, doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten our fans. Our fans made us who we are and continue to keep us where we are," Stanley said to Joel Madden's Artist Friendly podcast earlier this year.
Stanley also talked up the upcoming festival. "We’re doing a Kiss cruise without a ship. We’ve got the Virgin Hotel. We’re going to play. Other bands are going to play," Stanley explained.
"We’ll do Q&As," he added about the band's plans for the November gig. "There will be competitions. There’s going to be everything that people expected on the Kiss cruise," he added.
Kiss is a band beloved by many, but even rock stars have to slow down at some point. There's a chance there's still music left in Simmons, Stanley, and the rest of the band, but it's no secret that the time will soon come to hang up the wigs and leather for good.
President Donald Trump vowed to designate Antifa as a foreign terrorist organization during a roundtable discussion on Wednesday with independent journalists Jack Posobiec and Nick Sortor, Breitbart reported. The group has already been identified as a domestic terrorist group, but proponents of the move say it has ties worldwide.
The subject arose in a question from the press, and Trump seemed open to the idea and perhaps even under the impression that it was already in the works. "Well, has that been done? Pretty close, right? Would you like to see it done?” Trump said to Posobiec, who responded, "Yes, Mr. President."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he'd "take care of it," and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller also said it was something he'd agree to do. "Yes, it’s true. There are extensive foreign ties, and I think that would be a very valid step to take," Miller explained.
NOW - Trump will classify Antifa a foreign terrorist organization. pic.twitter.com/Em4cvJP5WH
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) October 8, 2025
As Posoibec noted, Antifa has "foreign links all across Western Europe, the Middle East," but has caused a great deal of chaos in the U.S. already. Trump invited the independent journalists to speak with him at the White House over those concerns, especially considering that Sortor was arrested by Portland police while attempting to cover the escalating Antifa protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
For his part, Sortor showed off the Cabinet officials and the press, presenting an American flag he snatched from demonstrators who attempted to burn it. The journalist told Trump that he knew the identity of the man who had done this, and Trump instructed him to share the information with Attorney General Pam Bondi so she could "start prosecutions."
Posobiec also brought proof of Antifa's aim and dangerous messaging, including what the suspected assassin, Tyler Robinson, allegedly etched onto the bullets meant for Charlie Kirk. "Thank you for mentioning the fact that one of the bullet casings read, ‘Hey fascist! Catch!’ on it," Posobiec said to the president.
"One of the other bullet casings right next to that had ‘Bella Ciao’ written on it. Now, ‘Bella Ciao’ is a song that is known in Antifa circles as the international anthem of Antifa," he explained. "And Mr. President, I think the situation is getting worse," Posobiec warned.
"When you look at people like Luigi Mangione in his twenties, Thomas Matthew Crooks, of course, who took a shot at you sir, the ICE shooter in Dallas, and now this Tyler Robinson, we’re starting to see a pattern of more and more murderous violence," Posobiec said of the alleged CEO assassin and Trump shooter, respectively. He later warned that action against this movement was cricual as "the next one who could be killed could be sitting at this table right now."
Antifa has been terrorizing American cities for decades. Still, cities like Portland routinely ignore the problem and allow the riots and destructive demonstrations to continue, along with other crimes that leftists are unwilling to prosecute. Sortor believes that all of this tolerance for chaos and continued criminal activity is out of "spite" for Trump, and it's the people who live in those cities who pay the price.
"That's simply what it's about at this point. Because if you go and talk to some of these citizens, like, I'll use Portland as an example again, because I've been there for so long now. You talk to the neighbors that live in the apartments next door to the ICE facility," Sortor said during the meeting, according to Real Clear Politics.
"They are veterans with PTSD that live there, and they're here all night long, screaming, fireworks being lit off by these rioters, children crying, because they can't sleep at night, and they're scared of all the noise outside. And they can't leave. They got a lease. You can't just leave. These people aren't wealthy individuals. And that's one of the major problems here," Sortor went on.
"These people are afraid to come out and speak out, and they're getting no help from their government at all. They've been begging for the noise ordinance to be enforced outside of their apartment complex for months now, and the city of Portland has ignored them every single time. The victims are, as I said, they're afraid, but the governments aren't doing anything because they want to spite the administration. It's all political," Sortor said.
This roundtable discussion was necessary because these problems have been allowed to fester under Democratic leadership for years. Those days are over as Trump is finally willing to crack down on these terrorist organizations and clean up these cities, and it appears leftists hate nothing more than law and order and safety.