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Former Miss North Carolina USA says conservative Christian values played role in losing crown
Former Miss North Carolina USA Brittany Boltinhouse is speaking out after being stripped of her crown weeks before the Miss USA pageant, saying she believes her conservative Christian values played a role in the decision.
The Miss USA Organization announced Aug. 5 that Boltinhouse had been stripped of her title. Chairman Thom Brodeur did not specify the conduct behind the decision but said the organization "does not tolerate racism, homophobia, transphobia nor language that strips any person of their dignity," adding that the conduct occurred "over an extended period of time."
The decision ended Boltinhouse's reign just weeks after she won the state title and less than three weeks before she was scheduled to represent North Carolina at the 75th annual Miss USA pageant on Aug. 27.
In an interview Friday with the Carolina Journal, Boltinhouse called losing the title a "blessing in disguise."
MISS NORTH CAROLINA USA LOSES CROWN AFTER ORGANIZER CONDEMNS 'RACISM, HOMOPHOBIA, TRANSPHOBIA'
"I'm very much at peace and I'm actually glad it happened to me and not some other young lady that, you know, maybe just probably wouldn't make it through what I'm going through right now," Boltinhouse said. "The scrutiny, my family behind it as well. But I will say that I'm very much at peace and I see the light at the end of the tunnel and I know who I am and I know what I can become."
Boltinhouse said a confidentiality agreement prevents her from discussing the circumstances that led to her losing the title, but she said she believes her political and religious views played a role.
"I believe and think I was stripped from my title because of my political stance and my belief system as a conservative Christian woman," she said.
"I'm proud of my faith. I'm proud of my standards. I'm a proud conservative woman, but a Christian woman. I'm a God-fearing woman," Boltinhouse added.
BRYAN KOHBERGER'S POST-CONVICTION RELIEF BID ENABLED BY FLAWED PLEA DEAL, PSYCHOLOGIST ARGUES
Asked whether she believed being conservative was disqualifying in the pageant system, Boltinhouse said people should be free to express their political beliefs.
"I believe that everyone has a right to say what they want to say and feel the way they want to feel," she said.
Boltinhouse said she did not know whether her support for President Donald Trump played a role in the decision.
"I don't know. I don't know. All I can say from the information that I have today and what I believe and I think is honestly I don't know," Boltinhouse said. "I wasn't really given anything."
Despite losing her crown, Boltinhouse said she forgives the organization and hopes other women will view her experience as encouragement to stand by their beliefs.
"Hopefully see me as an example," she said. "To always stand for what you believe, no matter what, no matter where, no matter what you do."
"I speak to the women that even are not conservative, that they have the right to speak the way that you feel, no matter what platform, no matter what belief system that you may have," she added.
Myla Hadley, the first runner-up in the state competition, will represent North Carolina on the national stage "with our full confidence and our support," Brodeur said in a previous statement.
Brodeur said the decision was made in consultation with Boltinhouse, her state directors and the Miss USA Organization. He also emphasized that the organization did not view accountability as justification for personally attacking Boltinhouse.
"There is a young woman at the center of this," Brodeur said. "She has been named, examined, and judged in public in a way that most of us would not survive, and she is still a human being with a family, a future, and a life ahead of her that is longer than this part of her journey."
"I have never believed that accountability requires cruelty, or that holding a line means enjoying the fall of the person who crossed it," he continued.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Miss USA Organization for additional comment.
Fox News Digital's Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
MIKE DAVIS: Chuck Grassley's behind-the-scenes work proved decisive in Todd Blanche confirmation fight
By voting to confirm Todd Blanche as the 88th Attorney General of the United States, Senate Republicans delivered a major victory for President Donald Trump, the American people and the rule of law. Blanche will fulfill President Trump’s mandate to Make America Safe Again. The key cabinet confirmation provides much-needed unity and momentum for Trump and Senate Republicans — and a good opportunity for Trump to hard-reset his relationship with the Senate, so they can go on offense this fall.
Blanche’s proven track record as the deputy and acting attorney general leaves no doubt that Trump nominated the right man, at the right time, for the right job. But with full Democrat opposition, Blanche’s confirmation process was tougher than it should have been given his unmatched experience and sterling qualifications. Blanche is a longtime former federal prosecutor in the most prestigious U.S. attorney’s office and Big Law partner in New York City who put everything on the line to defend Trump against Biden’s unprecedented, republic-ending lawfare. Blanche helped Trump beat this. Trump now sits in the White House instead of a federal prison cell, running our country instead of appealing his bogus convictions.
For the last 17 months, Blanche has brought reforms and accountability to the Justice Department — so the Democrats’ politicized and weaponized injustice never happens again. These reforms and accountability must and will continue. Blanche will continue to take the Justice Department back to its most crucial basics: arresting, prosecuting and imprisoning violent criminals, government fraudsters and other real criminals — instead of hunting down parents, Christians and other political opponents like we witnessed under the Obama and Biden Justice Departments.
TRUMP'S AG PICK OFF LIFE SUPPORT AFTER KEY REPUBLICAN REBELS RELENT
Getting here wasn’t easy. There were bumps in the road and moments when the confirmation looked like it could stall. The reason it didn’t, and the reason Blanche is now America’s confirmed attorney general, is Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
When the nomination hit headwinds from Senators John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., both of whom raised good-faith concerns, it was Grassley who stepped in. He meditated. He bridged the gap. He kept all parties at the table. And he got the deal done.
Likewise, when Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., had principled objections to DOJ policy, he worked with Grassley, other Senate colleagues and the Trump administration to find a workable resolution. Susie Wiles, Trump’s highly respected White House chief of staff, is always the invaluable glue.
Blanche closed the deal with his personal diplomacy, as he demonstrated to Cassidy he is uniquely qualified. Cassidy deserves great credit for his willingness to put his country over personal differences. That’s what the Senate process looks like when it works. And it worked here because the right people were in the right roles.
No one did more to get Blanche confirmed than Grassley. Grassley works; Grassley delivers — especially for Trump. Whether it is nominations, taxes, trade or almost all the rest of Trump’s greatest Senate accomplishments, Grassley is the key. He never brags about it. Grassley just quietly works hard and gets the job done.
This is Grassley’s fourth Republican attorney general he’s confirmed as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He brought more than four decades of institutional knowledge and experience from working on more than fifteen attorney general nominations since joining the committee. Grassley knows how to move a nomination through a committee full of competing agendas and a swamp press corps hungry for a Republican scalp.
In a town full of politicians looking to take credit for others’ work, Grassley stands out. He’s a work horse, not a show horse. Grassley exemplifies Iowa humility, so someone else has to brag for him. Blanche is now attorney general thanks to Grassley. And now Blanche can get back to work, fully Senate confirmed, continuing to help Trump Make America Safe Again.
The numbers don’t lie. The U.S. is approaching the lowest murder rate recorded since at least 1900. That’s according to the FBI’s own data, backed by the Council on Criminal Justice’s finding of a 21% drop in homicides from 2024 to 2025, with another 18% drop in the first half of 2026. We are living through a historic collapse in violent crime on President Trump’s watch.
Migrant encounters at the southern border hit their lowest level in more than 50 years, down from over two million under Biden to numbers not seen since 1970, according to Pew Research. We have control of our borders. Drug smuggling networks are being dismantled. Human traffickers are being prosecuted. Dangerous criminals — the ones Obama and Biden were too busy targeting conservatives to actually pursue — are being put away.
Biden and Obama treated the Department of Justice as a political weapon. And they pointed it at Trump. They pointed it at his allies. They pointed it at parents at school board meetings. They pointed it at Christians. Real criminals walked free while Democrats weaponized federal law enforcement against their political enemies for non-crimes. That ends with Todd Blanche.
Blanche is bringing real accountability — not the partisan, weaponized kind Obama and Biden practiced. He is reversing the politicization of the DOJ, not continuing it. His priorities are clear: prosecute illegal aliens, human traffickers, drug traffickers and dangerous criminals. Protect the American people. Hold bad actors accountable, including the ones in government. Never use the DOJ as a partisan sword. Ever. Again.
Trump made a bold choice in nominating Blanche. Not because Blanche isn’t qualified — he’s more qualified than anyone else for this role. But because the left was going to come at him hard, re-litigating every case and every decision. They tried. It didn’t work.
Trump’s instinct was right, as usual. He saw in Blanche what those of us in this fight have always seen: a man of genuine courage, deep experience and unshakeable commitment to the rule of law.
Blanche is the right man, for the right job, at the right moment in American history. He is a bold and fearless warrior for the Constitution who gave up millions in future earnings to stand in a courtroom and defend President Trump against the most weaponized, politically-motivated legal assault in American history. He bled for this fight and he won. That is the kind of person you want running the Department of Justice. And now the Senate has confirmed him.
America deserves a DOJ that fights for Americans, not for the political class, not for Democrat donors, not for the deep-state bureaucrats who spent decades building a machine that answers to no one. Blanche is going to change that. He already has.
Thankfully, Trump and Grassley made sure he got the chance.
Blanche survives Republican defectors as Trump gets his new attorney general
Once thought doomed, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department has survived the Senate and now will take the helm as the nation’s top law enforcement official.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was confirmed early Saturday morning as part of a mad blitz by lawmakers to wrap up their work and jet from Washington, D.C. Now, he’ll officially replace Pam Bondi as attorney general.
Blanche, who is Trump’s former personal lawyer, nearly saw his confirmation hopes go up in smoke as Republicans struggled to swallow his role in rolling out the nearly $2 billion anti-weaponization and sweeping IRS audit immunity for the president and his family.
TRUMP'S AG PICK SURVIVES — FOR NOW — AS REPUBLICANS QUESTION IF WHITE HOUSE DEAL WILL HOLD
However, a last-minute ally emerged: Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who announced on Friday that he would back Blanche’s confirmation after spending days keeping tight-lipped on his decision.
Though he was concerned about weaponization at the Department of Justice (DOJ) and just how binding an agreement to nix the anti-weaponization fund and limit Trump’s audit immunity would be, he argued that having a Senate-confirmed attorney general was a better option than a placeholder.
"Mr. Blanche is not perfect, and he will tell you this," Cassidy said on the Senate floor. "But the choice is not between perfection and Mr. Blanche. It is between Mr. Blanche and another acting attorney general, who may not run the department effectively under President Trump."
TRUMP'S PICK FOR TOP LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL GETS CRUCIAL LAST-MINUTE LIFELINE FOR CONFIRMATION
Still, Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, joined all Senate Democrats to oppose Blanche’s confirmation.
Murkowski announced her opposition hours before Cassidy’s lifeline. She contended that despite Blanche’s trek to Alaska and numerous meetings with him, she could not support him to be the next attorney general.
She was worried about his connection to the anti-weaponization fund, a weaponized Justice Department, Blanche’s role in the Epstein Files release, and the uncertain future of the fund, which several Republicans have raised concerns about over whether taxpayer dollars would flow to rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
"The country needs an Attorney General who will check the worst impulses of this administration," Murkowski said. "I hope Mr. Blanche is able to achieve that, if confirmed, but I simply do not have confidence that will be the case."
Collins raised similar concerns earlier in the week, and was the first Republican out of the gate to cast doubt on Blanche’s chances of confirmation.
"While I believe Mr. Blanche is a capable lawyer, the Department of Justice has become increasingly political," Collins said. "Mr. Blanche has taken several actions that have further eroded the Department’s independence, and that is the basis for my vote to oppose his confirmation."
Schumer caves, hands Republicans shutdown win after months of uncertainty
The Senate advanced its solution to avert a government shutdown on Saturday, capping off several months of hand-wringing that, if given the chance, Senate Democrats would use a shutdown to score political points in November.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus relented, and stayed true to the bargain they struck with Republicans to keep the government funded well past Election Night and into early December.
The about-face, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Fox News Digital, appeared to be a political calculation on Schumer and Democrats’ part.
SCHUMER CLAIMS VICTORY AS SENATE MOVES TO AVERT SHUTDOWN; GOP SAYS HE GOT PLAYED
"I think they didn't want to spend the next, well … three months defending attacks from Republicans about wanting to shut the government down," Thune said.
"I mean, I think there was a narrative starting to build out there based on what's happened the last 12 months, which I think, they probably — you know, these guys are political animals," Thune continued. "I'm assuming those guys are polling all the time."
DEMOCRATS BLINK AS SCHUMER HELPS GOP CLEAR KEY SHUTDOWN HURDLE
And Schumer claimed victory over the process, arguing that Democrats "for months" wanted to keep the government open, and had scored key concessions from the Trump administration on an ensuing rule change to federal grants in the bipartisan continuing resolution (CR).
"We want to reach across the aisle and hammer out a budget that delivers for the American people," Schumer said on the Senate floor. "Today, [this] CR gives us the breathing room necessary to work out a budget that helps make life more affordable to working families and reigns in Trump's rampant chaos, his rampant corruption."
However, Republicans have been messaging for months that congressional Democrats wouldn’t bat an eye at shutting the government down again. In the Senate, efforts have been made to inflict pain on lawmakers should another shutdown happen, like agreeing to forego their paychecks in the event of a closure.
SENATE TAKES MAJOR FIRST STEP TO PREVENT FUTURE SHUTDOWNS WITH PAINFUL ACCOUNTABILITY PLAY
That follows two government shutdowns that etched their way into the record books at 43 and 76 days, respectively, but the political winds didn’t appear to be in Democrats’ favor this go-round, the top Senate Republican said.
"And I think they see an issue set that works for them going into the fall election, and I think they view a government shutdown or the prospect of not funding the government as creating uncertainty that perhaps didn't help their chances," Thune said.
While the shutdown fight is over in the Senate, for now, it will continue on in the House.
And if passed, it will give lawmakers breathing room to continue stalled negotiations to fund the government through the appropriations process. However, by then, Congress will be in the post-midterm election lame duck period. And dependent on the swing of the political pendulum, there may not be much appetite to reach a broader funding deal.
"Us having a budget done on December 11? It takes on whiffs of frozen hell, donkeys flying," Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said. "I mean, it's probably not gonna happen."
SEE IT: Dem senators rally behind El-Sayed but duck questions on progressive agenda
Senate Democrats are rallying around Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed in the race to beat Republican Mike Rogers as the party scrambles to defend its seat in an effort to win back the Senate majority.
El-Sayed narrowly defeated moderate Rep. Haley Stevens after a bruising primary that exposed the party’s progressive-moderate divide, leaving Democrats with the task of unifying behind him ahead of one of the nation’s most competitive Senate races.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a progressive who endorsed El-Sayed, told Fox News Digital Friday that he believes El-Sayed will beat Rogers in November.
ROGERS OPENS DOOR TO DEMOCRATIC VOTERS AFTER EL-SAYED’S PRIMARY VICTORY: ‘THERE IS STILL HOPE’
Several Democratic senators approached by Fox News Digital expressed confidence in El-Sayed, even after prominent Democrats chose to back Stevens during the primary over questions of whether El-Sayed could win in November.
"I am very confident we’re going to win in Michigan," Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said.
But the same senators weren’t as quick to defend or back some of his more radical policies — like calling for defunding the police, abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Medicare for all and his strong opposition to Israel.
"You can ask him," Murray said after Fox News Digital followed up by asking for her views on his more extreme policies.
Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., also said she thinks El-Sayed will beat Rogers, but when Fox News Digital asked about her views on his policies, she walked away saying she was "looking for the ladies room."
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said "time will tell" when asked if he could beat Rogers in the general election. He was the only lawmaker to tell Fox News Digital he actually disagreed with some of El-Sayed’s progressive policies.
"He's got 90 days," Warner said. "He brought a lot of energy. There are obviously places I don't fully agree with him either."
‘SPECIAL SAUCE OF CRAZY’ — MIDWEST DEM CANDIDATE’S POLICIES TOO EXTREME FOR VOTERS: OPPONENT
Many lawmakers and candidates with socialist views have argued that the success of like-minded candidates in primaries reflects voters’ growing disconnect with the Democratic establishment.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., defended El-Sayed by pointing to his medical background as an epidemiologist and former Wayne County health director, arguing that experience is needed in the upper chamber amid concerns over healthcare.
"I am going to be working very hard to get a Democratic majority in the United States Senate," Baldwin told Fox News Digital.
She continued, "To have a doctor at a time when healthcare and the cost of healthcare is top of mind — that would be a voice that's very much appreciated."
BERNIE SANDERS, DSA REVEAL DEMANDS FOR DEM PARTY AFTER SOCIALISTS SWEEP NEW YORK ELECTIONS
Sen. Deb Fisher, R-Neb., warned "regular Democrats" that the radicalization of the party and leaving behind more mainstream Democratic principles will lead them to a party they no longer connect with.
"I think it just shows how crazy Democrats are becoming," Fischer said. "Regular Democrats who are working people, who are worried about their families… worried about making ends meet, they want to own their own businesses… create that… that's an American dream."
"They're going to realize that what they're watching that party morph into isn't them anymore."
Two men accused of posing as federal agents arrested after allegedly targeting 85-year-old in $200K gold scam
Two men accused of posing as federal agents were arrested after allegedly trying to scam an 85-year-old Washington, D.C., man into handing over more than $200,000 in gold bars, police said Friday.
The Metropolitan Police Department said Chu Lin, 50, of Fresh Meadows, New York, and Xiean Cheng, 42, of Cornelius, North Carolina, were arrested after allegedly showing up at the victim's home to collect the gold.
Both men were charged with second-degree financial fraud.
WOMAN EXPOSED RUNNING VISA FRAUD SCHEME SPANNING YEARS, POSING AS IMMIGRATION OFFICER
According to police, the scheme began July 8 when scammers contacted the victim by email and later by phone while posing as federal agents.
The scammers allegedly told the victim that funds in his bank account were "in jeopardy of being lost" unless he secured the money by purchasing gold bars and turning them over.
Believing the scheme was legitimate, the victim attempted to purchase more than $200,000 worth of gold bars before the gold dealer recognized the apparent scam and alerted him, police said.
The gold dealer then alerted MPD's Financial and Cyber Crimes Unit and the FBI, according to authorities.
When Lin and Cheng later arrived at the victim's home to retrieve the gold bars, officers with MPD's Violent Crime Suppression Division arrested the alleged scammers, police said.
Trump urges Jeanine Pirro to revisit dropped Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool vandalism case
President Donald Trump on Friday urged U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro to take a second look at the recently dropped charges over vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
"Now that people are able to see it up close, they are reporting pure VANDALISM at The Reflecting Pool," Trump wrote on Truth Social, sharing photos from a freelance photographer that allegedly showed vandalism.
The president claimed that "People were on their knees with their hands in the water at the exact location of the ‘slashes.’ Additionally, there were witnesses to the VANDALISM, and the flexible areas of the material were cut with a knife.
TRUMP SAYS HE 'DISAGREES 100%' WITH U.S. ATTORNEY JEANINE PIRRO OVER REFLECTING POOL CASE
"U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro should re-visit her hastily made decision, especially since it turned out that the ‘gentleman’ involved is a big player in ActBlue, a disgraceful fundraising SCAM, and is represented by a TRUMP DERANGED SLEAZEBAG, Political Hack Lawyer, Norm Eisen, and CREW, a group that uses ‘charity’ for political purposes which is, to the best of my knowledge, ILLEGAL!"
Trump has been highly critical of Pirro’s decision to drop the felony vandalism case against former Olympian David Hearn last Friday.
Earlier this week, Trump claimed Pirro "choked" under pressure from a judge regarding the case and "folded like an umbrella."
A day after the case was dropped, Trump wrote on Truth Social "I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool. I don’t know what she was thinking?"
FORMER US OLYMPIAN DAVID HEARN INDICTED IN ALLEGED REFLECTING POOL VANDALISM
Hearn was indicted on July 2 on one count of felony destruction of property. U.S. Park Police alleged Hearn grabbed and tugged at a loose section of the pool’s coating on June 19, continuing after a National Park Service employee told him to stop. Officials initially claimed he caused more than $1,000 in damage.
However, Pirro’s office said the Department of the Interior initially provided prosecutors with "barebones" reports and failed to disclose records documenting extensive problems with the coating’s installation.
"Had DOI been forthcoming with the information clearly in its possession, the government would not have sought a grand jury indictment," prosecutors wrote.
"It was not until after the return of the indictment, that the DOI provided additional documents to the USAO-DC indicating that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in June 2026 was the result of flawed installation by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings (‘AIC’), and the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration in the weeks surrounding Independence Day 2026."
OLYMPIAN CHARGED IN REFLECTING POOL VANDALISM DONATED THROUGH DEM FUNDRAISING GIANT
The DOJ said the new evidence made it difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Hearn caused the damage. Prosecutors asked the court to dismiss the indictment without prejudice, which would leave open the possibility of bringing the charge again.
"The Trump administration’s case against Davey Hearn should never have been brought," Hearn’s attorneys Norm Eisen, Mary Dohrmann and Steve Levin in a statement last Friday, according to the New York Post. "Its dismissal today does not erase the abuse of government power in arresting and charging a patriotic American who did nothing wrong. The government’s approach was ready, fire, aim. The administration owes Mr. Hearn an apology."
Fox News' Jackson Thompson and Reuters contributed to this report.
Ex-MLB pitcher gives his take on Mets reliever Jefry Yan's wild strikeout split celebration
Few sports are as steeped in tradition as baseball, and that's why it really raises some eyebrows when someone comes along and does something wildly untraditional.
Y'know, like what is basically a James Brown split after every strikeout.
That's why Mets reliever Jefry Yan has got the people talking, and why we here at OutKick reached out to former Big League pitcher Collin Balester to get his perspective on the unorthodox punch-out celebration.
BREWERS PITCHER ABNER URIBE APOLOGIZES AFTER CONTROVERSIAL STRIKEOUT CELEBRATION SPARKS BACKLASH
"I mean, there's guys that teeter down that line, that do a little celebration here and there," Balester said, before noting that big celebrations are common in winter leagues in Mexico and Yan's native Dominican Republic. "I don't think I've ever seen a guy jump ten feet in the air."
Balester — who played for the Nationals, Tigers and Reds — also noted that a celebration like Yan's comes with an injury concern.
"At the end of the day, if I was the team, I would be a little nervous about him blowing out his knee jumping up like that," he said. "Over time, throwing they say is bad, but I think jumping up and landing on your knee like that and doing the moonwalk up the mound, I would probably try to nip that."
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Which is why he says he was so surprised to see the 29-year-old bring the habit with him to the Majors.
"I said I don't know when this guy's getting into the big leagues, but if he gets up there, I guarantee you he's not going to do it," he said. "And hey, I mean, to his credit, he's done it."
But, of course, hitters aren't going to look kindly upon someone striking them out and then dropping a Jean-Claude Van Damme split on them for good measure.
"I know the game is a little bit different now; guys are a little bit more obviously pimping home runs and that kind of stuff," Balester — who played in the Majors between 2008 and 2015 — said. "But at the end of the day, guys are chomping at the bit to try to hit a home run to do something.
And perhaps, they'll want to do too much, and that could make Yan's over-the-top celebration his secret weapon.
"I think it's going to play in his favor, to be honest," he said. "I think people are going to be trying to do too much at first to make sure they can show him up, but at some point that's going to kind of falter.
"Unfortunately, (getting shown up) is what he's kind of asking for."
More than 50 bodies found decomposing inside Chicago funeral home after neighbors complained of 'stench'
Chicago authorities are investigating a South Side funeral home after more than 50 bodies were discovered improperly stored and in various states of decomposition Thursday.
The discovery came months after nearby residents began complaining about a "stench" coming from the funeral home.
The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office said state and local officials alerted it to improperly stored bodies at South Chicago Chapel. Investigators and forensic pathologists who responded found remains in various states of decomposition.
"Staff is assessing the conditions of the remains, searching for documentation regarding identification of the decedents as well as death certificates," the medical examiner's office said in a statement online. "This process could take several days to ensure proper disposition."
State officials suspended the license of one of the funeral home's directors, alleging multiple bodies were kept in an unrefrigerated area under "deplorable conditions."
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation said the conditions included rodent and maggot infestations, adding the lack of refrigeration had caused bodies to decompose.
No arrests have been made and no charges have been filed after the discovery, but Chicago police said detectives are investigating.
NEW CALIFORNIA LAW EXPANDS DNA TOOLS FOR MISSING PERSONS INVESTIGATIONS
State business records show funeral director Johanna Morgan incorporated South Chicago Chapel Inc. in 2022. Her funeral director's license was temporarily suspended Wednesday.
The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation said the suspension was based on a finding that Morgan's continued practice posed "a danger to the public safety, interest and welfare."
The agency accused Morgan of "allowing multiple decedents to be kept in an unrefrigerated area with deplorable conditions, including rodent infestation, causing decomposition and maggot infestation of the bodies."
The funeral home is operated by a couple who previously ran a crematory that authorities said was also shut down over the mishandling of remains.
Business records identify Clark Morgan, whom state officials describe as Johanna Morgan's husband, as president of the funeral home. His funeral director's license was revoked in 2024 for practicing with an expired license and "unprofessional conduct."
Fox News Digital has reached out to South Chicago Chapel for comment.
Latasha Johnson, 55, said her mother's funeral was held at South Chicago Chapel on Thursday, shortly before authorities arrived and made the discovery.
Johnson told The Associated Press that authorities informed her that her mother's body would need to undergo an autopsy and that she would have to identify the remains within the next several days.
"I'm discombobulated," Johnson said. "My heart is broken."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Former NBA player Royce White says he is declaring for next WNBA Draft after Enes Kanter announcement
EXCLUSIVE: Former NBA player Royce White told OutKick/Fox News Digital that he apparently plans to declare for the 2027 WNBA Draft, as he now claims to be transgender.
There are now two former NBA players to announce such a decision, after Enes Kanter Freedom made his announcement earlier on Friday.
"I'm transgender. I'm a woman. I identify as sometimes identifying as a woman for purpose of basketball, professional basketball, so I'll be declaring for the WNBA draft in 2027 as well," White said.
FORMER NBA FIRST ROUND PICK ENES KANTER FREEDOM DECLARES FOR 2027 WNBA DRAFT
"I think I’d be unstoppable. But I’m a team-first guy. I’m a pass-first kind of player. I do the little things. I led my team in all five major stat categories at Iowa State University, so I do a little bit of everything. I’ll do whatever the coach needs me to do. I’ll do whatever the girls need me to do...
"I think it’s only fair."
White said only the league could end his challenge by stating its position plainly on the subject of males playing in women's sports.
"I think the WNBA could come out and make a definitive statement about guys with a pair of balls playing in the Women’s Association," he said.
Asked whether he would proceed unless the league did make such a statement, White replied, "Oh, no, I’m declaring. And I don’t want to be discriminated against. I want fair treatment. I’m a young Black, hopefully United States Senator that would like a fair chance to participate as a sometimes-identifying-as-a-transgender-woman athlete."
White also suggested that he would pursue legal action if he goes undrafted and is not signed to a team.
"I have to file a discrimination lawsuit, right? I mean, that's, that's ridiculous," he said. "We're gonna have to have a huge legal battle about discrimination if I can't play."
White, 35, is also on the ballot in Minnesota’s Aug. 11 Republican primary for the U.S. Senate. He was the Republican nominee against Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar in 2024, losing the general election.
Freedom, who set the internet ablaze with his announcement earlier on Friday, said in a social media post that he and his team had reviewed the WNBA’s eligibility criteria and its approach to self-identification and inclusion. He argued that if declaring an identity were sufficient, he met the requirements to compete.
The WNBA’s actual governing language is more limited. Article XIII of the league’s 2026 collective bargaining agreement states that "only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA." The 409-page agreement does not further define "women" or set out a public policy governing transgender or intersex eligibility. It also does not say self-identification alone establishes eligibility.
The Women’s National Basketball Players Association addressed the broader controversy Friday without defining who is eligible to play.
"We embrace justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion," the union said. In the same statement, it added, "Hate, abuse, and demonization of any person or group of people, including transgender people, only fuel fear, division, and harm. We will continue to have hard conversations. But we will not be used as political pawns."
WNBPA ISSUES STATEMENT EMBRACING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION AMID TRANS ATHLETE DEBATE IN WOMEN'S SPORTS
White said that if he had his choice of WNBA teams, he would stay home and play for the Minnesota Lynx and head coach Cheryl Reeve. Reeve recently wore a "trans kids belong" T-shirt in a game against the Indiana Fever and Sophie Cunningham, who became the league's only player to recently speak out in support of protecting women's sports from biological males.
"It’s got to be the Minnesota Lynx, and I hear the coach loves a good transgender, so we’ll all be in perfect harmony," White said.
"How you gonna pass up on a 6-foot-8, 270-pound point forward?" he said. "That’s ridiculous."
The Houston Rockets selected White 16th overall in the 2012 NBA Draft after his lone season at Iowa State. He averaged 13.4 points, 9.3 rebounds and five assists and became the only Division I player that season to lead his team in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and blocks.
White measured 6-foot-8 and 260.6 pounds at the 2012 NBA Draft Combine, with an 11.5-inch hand width — the largest recorded among players at that combine.
He predicted current WNBA players would "have nightmares" about guarding him.
"I’m 260 pounds, 265 pounds, 6-foot-8, can palm a basketball — can palm a men’s basketball probably as easily as any player in history," White said. "I think I had the third-biggest hands in the modern NBA Draft Combine. So, yeah, I’m sure the women’s basketball is going to fare even easier to palm, which is a huge advantage."
"They’re going to have nightmares, and they should," he added. "I really feel like I’m going to be dominant."
White also said he would use the women’s locker room if he made a team.
"Of course," he said. "I don’t want to be discriminated against. Why wouldn’t I use the women’s locker room?"
White said he has deep respect for women’s basketball, noting that his younger sister Savannah White has played Division I basketball and that Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman coached him in the BIG3.
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"I have great respect for the skill of women’s basketball," White said. "Even at the girls’ level in high school, you see that the girls have to play a much more skilled game because they don’t have some of the physical, God-given abilities or natural physical abilities as the men."
"There’s a significant difference between biological men and women, and I think we’ve blurred that line, like we’ve blurred many other lines unnecessarily," he continued. "And I plan to exploit that for my economic and athletic benefit."
White claims he conceived of the declaration several days before Freedom’s Friday announcement. In an X post on Aug. 4, White declared that he is "transgender" and will "pursue a career in the WNBA."
"I think I was first," White said. "His must have been today or yesterday. I was about three days ago. But great minds think alike. There’s no time limit on these things. When great ideas and great opportunities pop up like this, you’ve just got to jump on them and ride them all the way."
White also floated the possibility of teaming up with Freedom.
"Maybe Enes," White said when asked whether any WNBA player could match up with him. "Maybe me and Enes should play on the same team. That’d be great...
"Maybe this is how it was supposed to all play out. Me and Enes Kanter running off about five, six WNBA championships."
A public declaration does not, by itself, place White or Freedom in the WNBA Draft pool, and it would not guarantee either player a selection or contract. The league has not publicly explained what criteria it would use to decide whether a transgender applicant satisfies the CBA’s women-only provision.
"I’d like to know what the parameters are," White continued. "What exactly are the specifics? What criteria do I need to meet in order to be able to play? Is it just a wig? Do I have to cut my beard? Does my voice have to get a little bit lighter? Do I have to do this snip-snip? I’d like to know the specifics of the criteria, and I hope they’d be able to defend it in a court of law."