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JONATHAN TURLEY: France's free speech crackdown shows what happens when politicians define truth
French President Emmanuel Macron went full Orwell recently. While long the darling of Western media, Macron has been one of the most anti-free-speech leaders in the world. On Sept. 29, he declared that "The so-called American ‘free speech’ today, which some people have promoted, is the opposite of free speech." Having Emmanuel Macron holding forth on free speech is akin to Joey Chestnut proselytizing on veganism.
France has been in a headlong plunge into censorship and speech criminalization. These laws criminalize speech under vague standards referring to "inciting" or "intimidating" others based on race or religion.
For example, fashion designer John Galliano was found guilty in a French court on charges of making antisemitic comments in a Paris bar in 2010 and 2011.
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In another case, the father of French conservative presidential candidate Marine Le Pen was fined because he had called people from the Roma minority "smelly" in 2013. A French teenager was charged for criticizing Islam as a "religion of hate" in 2020.
Many of us were disgusted recently when Macron celebrated Brigitte Bardot's life as someone who "embodied a life of freedom." As I discussed, the French government repeatedly prosecuted Bardot for speaking about her views.
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Macron’s praise for Bardot’s "life of freedom" is reminiscent of the reaction of French officials to the massacre of editors at Charlie Hebdo, a satirical magazine. After hounding the victims for years with criminal investigations, the French government organized a march for free speech. As predicted, it then used the killing by Islamic extremists to further crack down on free speech.
In my book "The Indispensable Right," I discuss how France has careened down the slippery slope of censorship for decades, and the desire to silence others has now become an insatiable appetite.
Macron has supported figures like his anti-free-speech ally Thierry Breton in globalizing the reach of the infamous Digital Services Act (DSA) to curtail speech, including Americans and American companies.
In his latest pitch for censorship, Macron pulls out an old saw that if everyone can speak freely, no one can speak freely.
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Macron declared that: "There is no freedom if there is no limit to my freedom, which begins with the freedom of others and respect for a common framework. I know this when I walk down the street: my freedom cannot mean hitting you, insulting you or trashing the public space we all share."
That line is remarkably telling. It captures how even "insulting" language is treated as a crime in France.
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Since then, France has been a leader in the rollback of free speech in the West, with ever-widening laws curtailing free speech. France regularly charges people for political and religious speech, including comedians and those criticizing the police.
Macron's visceral reaction to free speech is shared by many in the European Union.
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I spoke in Berlin at the World Forum, which boasted the slogan, "A New World Order with European Values." Former President Bill Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and other Americans cheered on the European efforts.
The Digital Services Act bars speech that is viewed as "disinformation" or "incitement." When it was passed over the condemnations of many of us in the free speech community, European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager celebrated by declaring that it is "not a slogan anymore — that what is illegal offline should also be seen and dealt with as illegal online. Now it is a real thing. Democracy’s back."
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Despite his unpopularity in France, Macron remains a favorite of the establishment and the media in the United States. I was appalled years ago when he came to Congress to spread his anti-free speech gospel. Macron called for a joint war against "fake news" and declared, "Democracy is about true choices and rational decisions. The corruption of information is an attempt to corrode the very spirit of our democracies."
Our representatives applauded like seals with little recognition that he was referencing censorship. Macron believes that he should be able to dictate which views are "corrosive" to the spirit of democracy.
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The claim that more speech means less speech is an oxymoronic talking point of the anti-free-speech movement. As I discussed in my book, there has not been a single censorship system in history that has worked to kill a single idea or movement. Instead, it has given more power to politicians like Macron to silence critics and intimidate opponents.
In the end, the only true solution to bad speech is better speech. The public can sort out its own values and weigh opposing views without the strict guidance of the government. Free speech serves as its own disinfectant.
Ultimately, allowing people not just free inquiry, but free expression bends the arc of humanity toward truth. Hate and prejudice are inherently flawed values that tend to collapse when exposed to full, robust debate.
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That does not mean that it will eliminate racism, sexism or other forms of hate. Neither censorship nor free speech can make everyone better people. However, what Macron is peddling is the same tired, dishonest claim that free speech is harmful, and the government must control what people see and say in public discourse.
This is a nation that still echoes the cry of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity ("liberté, égalité, fraternité"). However, in today’s France, "liberté" remains a declining value. Individual rights of religion and speech are routinely sacrificed in the name of "equity" and "fraternity."
Dak Prescott heckled by car service driver after embarrassing loss, and then things got worse
The Dallas Cowboys suffered their annual 'embarrassing loss that nobody saw coming' Thursday night to the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and it was due in large part to Dak Prescott.
Put simply, the veteran signal-caller was bad. Really bad.
Prescott led the Cowboys to a touchdown on the opening drive of the game, and then was invisible for the rest of the night. He finished with 316 yards, but threw two interceptions, including a game-ending pick on a tipped ball in the red zone on the final possession.
It was a horrible night for the Cowboys. Just horrible.
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Jerry Jones was seen in his suite looking visibly frustrated after the last interception. Fans were on edge all night. Ceedee Lamb got hurt in the second half and barely played.
Most importantly, Dak wasn't very good ...
And everyone let him hear about it. I mean everyone:
"Embarrassing," an unidentified person — who witnesses say was a car service driver — can be heard saying off camera.
"You heard me," he added.
"You said it once I look off, huh?" Prescott then turns around and responds.
Whoooooooooooooof. Not great! Things are NOT great in Jerry's World today. At all.
Bad look here for Dak, by the way. Sure, the driver probably needs to keep his mouth shut given Jerry possibly signed his check last night, but he also didn't just go out there and lay a dud in primetime in a game everyone expected him to win.
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The Cowboys were whopping 8.5-point favorites Thursday night. The Bucs were winless and WITHOUT Baker Mayfield.
And they still won. On the road.
So, no, this worker didn't lay a dud last night. Dak did. That's life as a quarterback in the NFL, by the way. It's the price you pay for playing the highest-stress position in the league.
You're the hero win your teams win, and you're the villain when they lose. Fair or not, that's how it goes.
By the way ... what are the chances Jerry sees this and gives this guy a promotion? I'm serious. Again, Jerry Jones looked FURIOUS last night after Dak's final interception. He was boiling in his suite.
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Heck, this worker may be sitting in that booth for the next game!
Let's just hope Dak gives him a better performance.
Severe turbulence diverts New York City flight to Miami, 8 injured
Eight people were hospitalized after a New York City-bound flight was diverted following severe turbulence on Friday, a spokesperson for the Miami-Dade Aviation Department told Fox News Digital.
Avianca Flight 042 took off from Medellin, Colombia and landed in Miami around 3:30 a.m. local time.
After the eight injured passengers were directed to a local hospital, the remaining passengers departed for New York's John F. Kennedy Airport at 8:15 a.m., the spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Ex-WWE star to make TNA debut at Bound for Glory, challenge for tag team titles
Kiera Hogan returned to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) to help Allie win the Knockouts Tag Team Championship at Slammiversary against The Elegance Brand and with that feud behind them, the duo have been riding high as a team.
So much so that Allie and Hogan challenged Zoey Serrano on Thursday’s "Impact" as the wrestler had been a thorn in their sides over the last few weeks. Allie said that she and Hogan were "fighting champions" and weren’t going to back down from anyone. Hogan told Serrano they would see her and a partner of her choosing at Bound for Glory on Sunday.
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It didn’t take long for Serrano to make the call.
"Dude, I’m just going to jump straight into business here – I have a proposition for you," Serrano said in a backstage segment showing her on a video call with the person she wanted to team up with. "Kiera Hogan and Allie just called me out and it’s going to be for the Knockouts Tag Team Championship. I need your help dude. Are you available for little ol’ me?"
On the other line? Shayna Baszler.
"You don’t have to pay me to get into a fight with you. Just tell me when and where to be," Baszler said begrudgingly. "… As long as I get to break something I’m there."
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The match was made official. Baszler will make her TNA debut teaming with Serrano to take on Allie and Kiera Hogan for the Knockouts Tag Team Championship.
Baszler is an accomplished grappling champion who jumped into pro wrestling in the mid-2010s. She made her mark in WWE in 2017, first becoming the NXT women’s champion before moving up to the main roster and becoming a three-time tag team champion.
Baszler and Serrano have tag team history. The two teamed up in WWE multiple times in pursuit of the women’s tag team titles, but were never able to accomplish the goal there. Both wrestlers would end up parting ways with WWE and now find themselves back in the championship mix – this time, with TNA.
TNA will hold its premier event in Bound for Glory on Sunday in Tampa, Florida. The pay-per-view will coincide with the TNA Hall of Fame induction ceremony. The class will include Amazing Red, Konnan and ODB. Mickie James is also set to make an appearance at the show.
Elsewhere, the Bound for Glory card is stacked with championship and grudge matches.
Behind France's student riots: Communists, unions and a global propaganda network
When young adults stormed France's Bastille on Thursday, a little-known media outlet called BreakThrough News sent followers a "BREAKING" alert: "French students flood Bastille Square in Paris."
But that isn't the full story.
A Fox News Digital investigation has found that a transnational network of far-left communist and socialist organizations is seizing on France’s fiery student protests to advance a wider political and ideological agenda, using tactics deployed in the United States over the past decade to amplify unrest, deepen divisions and project an image of chaos.
Earlier in the week, BreakThrough News splashed another headline across the front of its website: "French students shut down schools in historic strike against austerity," mobilizing "with support from unions and progressive forces."
But those "progressive forces" aren't limited to students demanding education reform as part of their "Lycéenne Mobilisation," or high school student mobilization.
From France to the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Greece and India, adults with deep pockets are tapping France's school protests and turning a domestic education dispute into a platform for broader political and ideological confrontation. BreakThrough News is a pro-communist propaganda outlet based in New York City, funded by an American-born, Shanghai-based communist tech tycoon, Neville Roy Singham, who has financed a network of communist and far-left groups in the U.S. that have capitalized on grievances to stoke similar street unrest for almost a decade.
A Fox News Digital investigation traces how a movement that the media is mostly framing as students protesting deteriorating school conditions is actually part of an extensive infrastructure of unions, communist activists, far-left political parties and international media organizations that are organizing demonstrations, calling strikes, mobilizing supporters and broadcasting the unrest around the world with "BREAKING" alerts.
In a digital analysis of scores of news articles, social media posts and public statements, Fox News Digital has identified 50 organizations in the French student protest movement and its wider network of supporters and international amplifiers, revealing an activist ecosystem extending far beyond the students who launched the demonstrations.
Of the network of 50 groups, 15 are student or youth groups, including several communist youth movements and a Muslim student association.
The remaining 35 adult groups include a dozen labor unions; eight communist or socialist organizations; five groups spanning other issues from taxes to parental advocacy, environmental activism, economic justice, international media and diaspora organizing; five civil-rights or human-rights groups; four political parties, including La France Insoumise, or France Unbowed, and the French Communist Party; one Palestinian advocacy group that complete the "red-green" alliance of leftists with Muslims.
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The network stretches from French classrooms and labor federations to communist organizations in Greece and Britain and international socialist media outlets, such as BreakThrough News, demonstrating how a domestic education dispute has attracted organizations advancing broader political agendas involving capitalism, "austerity," policing, military spending and Israel.
"What we're seeing here is the same Red-Green ecosystem that disrupts infrastructure choke holds in our country such as the Brooklyn Bridge, college campuses and congressional hearings," Mike Gonzalez, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital. "And in the case of BreakThrough News, the same sugar daddy — Neville Roy Singham."
The case offers a revealing look at the ambitions of France's revolutionary left. Even in a country with powerful labor unions, an established Communist Party, a substantial parliamentary left and a long tradition of street protest, these organizations are demanding political and economic changes that go well beyond the existing left-wing establishment.
As one far-left environmental group, Les Soulèvements de la Terre, or "Earth Uprisings," declared in the midst of the riots, "Glory to the rebellious high school students."
The statement invoked a call for broader political subversion: "Pour un soulèvement antifasciste" – "For an antifascist uprising."
The network's amplification of France's protests illustrates how a local confrontation can be presented to international audiences as part of a broader struggle against Western governments and institutions.
"The communist Red and the Islamist Greens have nothing in common but a common enemy, the Judeo-Christian, capitalist, free West, led by the U.S.," Gonzalez said. "Their goal is to dismantle us."
The situation in France is potentially even more dangerous, according to Gonzalez, who cited the European nation's well-established and active communist parties and a history of government changing by street violence. He noted the fall of the Fourth Republic in 1958 after large protests over Algeria, and that the government nearly fell in 1968 over student protests.
"And of course, there was the blood-drenched violence of the 1789 French Revolution," Gonzalez added.
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Since late September, politicians from the far-left political party, La France insoumise, were seen working with students organizing blockades in Seine-Saint-Denis, a low-income suburb northeast of Paris. French-Moroccan journalist Nora Bussigny wrote that "many elected officials" from La France Insoumise "have indeed worked to co-opt the student protests, at the risk of seeing them spiral out of control: by fanning the flames, discrediting institutions like the police, and legitimizing the principle of political violence."
Soon after, a wide network of far-left groups put out the call for tens of thousands of secondary school students and supporters to march through Paris on Oct. 6, while demonstrations spread across France.
Student organizations in the network of 50 include the Union Syndicale Lycéenne, or High School Students' Union; Union Étudiante, or Student Union; Fédération des Associations Générales Étudiantes, or Federation of General Student Associations; and Union Nationale des Étudiants de France, or National Union of Students of France, helped mobilize students for the Oct. 6 demonstrations.
Other student organizations, including Solidaires Étudiantes, or Solidaires Students, have joined the broader campaign.
The organizational machinery supporting the mobilization extends beyond the teenagers who first took to the streets. National labor federations and professional education unions have called on adult workers to join the mobilization, bringing the institutional reach of organized labor into the student movement.
The Confédération nationale du travail, or National Confederation of Labour, declared: "The demands of high school students are also ours. They are right to revolt."
The adult-led labor organizations in the network of 50 include: the Confédération générale du travail, or General Confederation of Labour; Force Ouvrière, or Workers' Force; and Union nationale des syndicats autonomes, or National Union of Autonomous Trade Unions.
Several education-sector unions called for a strike and demonstration in support of the high school movement.
The organizations include the CFDT Public Education, Training and Research; CGT Éduc'action; the National Federation of Education, Culture and Vocational Training–Workers' Force; SUD Éducation; and Syndicat National des Enseignements de Second Degré, the National Union of Secondary Education, affiliated with the Unitary Trade Union Federation.
The support extends beyond teachers and students into a wider collection of organizations, including parents' associations, civil-rights groups, antiracist organizations and political movements.
Among them are the Fédération des Conseils de Parents d’Élèves, or Federation of Parents' Councils; Ligue des Droits de l’Homme, or Human Rights League; Mouvement Contre le Racisme et Pour L'amitié entre Les Peuples, or Movement Against Racism and for Friendship Between Peoples; and SOS Racisme, or SOS Racism.
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In Paris on Tuesday, the big day of the protests, the ideological character of the mobilization was visible on the streets.
In Paris, activists waved red flags of the far-left Fédération Syndicale Étudiante, or Student Trade Union Federation. Some demonstrators wore Palestinian keffiyeh scarves covering parts of their faces as they marched behind a bright red banner bearing the words "Contre Les Guerres Impérialistes," French for "Against Imperialist Wars."
The slogan is a recurring political message among anti-war, feminist and revolutionary-left organizations.
The message on the red banner continued, "Guerre De Clasee !" or "Class War!" over a bright yellow image of the hammer and sickle.
The banner identified the Young Communists, associated with the Mouvement Jeunes Communistes de France, or Young Communists Movement of France, which works closely with the French Communist Party.
Activists carried flags bearing the communist hammer and sickle.
On Instagram, the organization announced the launch of "Democratic and Antifascist Vigilance Committees."
"High school students neglected, pro-Palestinian activists persecuted, unionists fired. State repression against our democratic rights has intensified in recent years," the group declared.
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At the protest, Fabien Roussel, national secretary of the French Communist Party, took photos with protesters and later posted a message on X: "Standing alongside high school students in Paris, together with Communist elected officials and activists."
Red flags with white stars and the message "Parti Communiste Français" flapped around him.
Online the French Communist Party has continued advancing other political campaigns, including a demand to stop supplying arms to Israel, under the slogan "Stop arming the Palestinian genocide!"
On Wednesday, after the peak protests, the Nouveau Parti anticapitaliste – L’Anticapitaliste, "The New Anticapitalist Party," rallied supporters, declaring there are "always more reasons to mobilize."
Other revolutionary-left groups, including Le Poing Levé, or The Raised Fist, and Révolution Permanente, or Permanent Revolution, have promoted solidarity between high school students and university activists.
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In Saint-Denis, where the protests began, the Parti des Indigènes de la République, or Party of the Indigenous of the Republic, shared a photograph of young men standing outside Lycée Paul Éluard, a high school that has become a symbol of the unrest.
As red smoke billowed above them, the students stood in front of large gray letters spelling out the school's name, holding a Palestinian flag. The school was later featured in the New York Times under the headline, "The School Near Paris That Shows Why French Students Are Protesting."
In the network of 50 groups, Étudiants Musulmans de France, or Muslim Students of France, rallied followers to protest for the right of youth to "study with dignity." And members of Urgence Palestine, or "Palestine Emergency," marched proudly in the student protests with the Palestinian flag.
Elsewhere, French lawmaker Louis Boyard of the far-left party, La France Insoumise waved a Palestinian flag while standing at Paris-Est-Créteil University with students as they blocked their campus. In marches, their activists wave trademark purple flags that flutter with the group's acronym "FI" and a white φ symbol for the Greek word "phi."
On Wednesday, BreakThrough News published an article portraying the demonstrations as a "historic strike against austerity."
It also published a dramatic Instagram video of Bally Bagayoko, the far-left mayor of Saint-Denis and a politician with La France insoumise, sliding in front of students during a confrontation with police.
BreakThrough News described the scene as Bagayoko protecting "a line of French students from police as they attack the protesters."
The anti-policing video received about 346,000 likes in one day.
Among the accounts that liked the video were Twitch influencer Hasan Piker, a self-described Marxist; BreakThrough News editor Zoe Alexandra; the Houston chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, the Pittsburgh chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace and other groups in the Singham network.
Earlier this year, Piker traveled to Cuba as part of a far-left "caravan" supporting the island nation's communist government. There, he took a photo with Jodie Evans, Singham's wife and co-founder of CodePink, which has received $1.33 million from Singham.
From Latin America, teleSUR, an international television network in the Singham network, frequently circulates material from left-wing media outlets, including BreakThrough News, and it shared footage of French students clashing with police.
The video featured a dramatic soundtrack and the headline: "TENSIONS ESCALATE...."
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As French students stormed the streets, the Communist Youth of Greece publicly expressed solidarity with their movement. "Victory for the struggle of the school students in France!" the group said in a statement.
BreakThrough News quoted the Greek communist organization in its France coverage, describing the developments as "foreshadowing more student struggles to follow."
Another international connection runs through Indian Alliance Paris, a small France-based organization of students, researchers and professionals who describe themselves as committed to a "democratic and egalitarian" India.
In mid-January 2023, Indian Alliance Paris co-sponsored a teach-in in Manhattan, opposing the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The venue: the People's Forum Inc., a midtown Manhattan hub for communist organizing that Singham launched in 2017 with $22.44 million in funding. Over the past near decade, leaders of the People's Forum have coordinated hundreds of protests across America's streets.
The People's Forum co-sponsored the event with Democratic Socialists of America and other organizations in the Singham-funded activist ecosystem, including CodePink and the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
In mid-May 2024, the People's Forum hosted a screening of a 1967 French film "La Chinoise," and described the film as a story about a small group of French students studying Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong, "trying to find out their position in the world and how to change the world to a Maoistic community using terrorism."
Mao unleashed mass political persecution, violence, imprisonment and social upheaval in China.
Attendees were invited to purchase an $8 "solidarity ticket."
On Tuesday, Indian Alliance Paris promoted the French student agitation while drawing parallels with student demonstrations in India. It posted a message on X, sending a heart emoji "to Gen Z: In France. In India. Bravo for today."
The result is a self-reinforcing cycle: far-left activist networks amplify protests around the world, then package the unrest as evidence of a growing global uprising.
On Thursday, after the French students had headed home after their siege on Bastille, BreakThrough News posted a collage on Instagram of short video clips from the U.S., Spain, India, France, Brazil, Belgium, Chile and Germany with youth waving communist flags, clashing with police and flooding the streets.
It posted a headline in bold capital letters over the videos: "YOUTH RISE UP AROUND THE WORLD."
Aaron Judge's frustration with Yankees is understandable, but his 'all-in' criticism misses the mark
I preface this by saying Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone have overstayed their welcome in the Bronx.
But Aaron Judge knows how the average New York Yankees fan operates, and quite frankly, he has played them like a fiddle over the last couple of weeks.
When Boone confirmed that Judge had a "moderate" calf strain, Judge made it a point that night that he was not happy his manager, who has his players’ backs to a fault, had divulged that (obviously true) information. He made it known that if it were up to him, he’d be on the field in the postseason, arguably putting pressure on the team.
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Then, minutes after the Yankees were swept by the Tampa Bay Rays, he all but threw the front office under the bus.
Judge said he wanted the organization to be "all-in," and when asked if he felt they had been, he said, "it’s tough to say."
"I want to trade for everybody, sign everybody every single year, but I know that's not realistic. They give us a winning team every single year, but that's not good enough here in New York. We're the Yankees. You've got to go out there and expect championships and go all-in every year. I'm excited to see what they do," Judge said.
It goes without saying that the offseason of running back practically the same team, headlined by giving Trent Grisham the $22 million qualifying offer, was not exactly a decision made in a Mensa meeting.
But the Yankees have a payroll of over $308 million. The three teams remaining in the American League have a combined payroll of $273.4 million. Are the Rays, Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Guardians "all-in"?
Look, guys like Grisham, Ryan McMahon and Jazz Chisholm didn’t work here, whether it was the weight of New York or an organizational philosophy just not meshing.
Maybe Cashman should have made a harder push for, say, catcher Adley Rutschman – although Austin Wells’ bat was the least of the Yankees' concerns after the All-Star break and in October. Maybe there are a few prospects out there, like Jasson Dominguez, Clint Frazier and Miguel Andujar, that Cashman held on to for too long. Maybe gambling on the future of Anthony Volpe instead of bringing in the proven Corey Seager (who just hit a career-worst .227 at age 32 with six years left on his deal) was the wrong move. Maybe doing the same with George Lombard Jr. and passing on Tarik Skubal (as if they really needed him) is a mistake, too.
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But before Judge even had his first arbitration case, the Yankees acquired reigning National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton, eventual MVP candidate DJ LeMahieu, and bona fide ace Gerrit Cole, fresh off a 326-strikeout, 2.50 ERA season.
Throughout his tenure, they have added players like Anthony Rizzo, Carlos Rodon, Cody Bellinger, Devin Williams, David Bednar, Luis Garcia and Max Fried, while turning almost anyone who walks into the bullpen into a threat. The Yankees have developed their next MVP candidate in Ben Rice, and Cam Schlittler is going to win the Cy Young Award next month in his first full MLB season.
Meanwhile, anyone reading this would be lucky to name a total of 10 people on this year’s notably all-in Rays, White Sox and Guardians.
To make a guess, the one "all-in" move that could have been made was keeping Juan Soto. The Yankees acquired him after missing the postseason in 2023, knowing he was going to free agency. Soto hit a career-high 41 home runs to help the Yankees to their first World Series appearance since 2009 , as Judge and Soto were the best 1-2 tandem in recent memory.
That only lasted for a year, though, as the New York Mets won the Soto sweepstakes with a 15-year, $765 million deal. The Yankees offered 16 years and $760 million, but the Mets offered Soto travel, suites and $40 million more if he does not opt out after his fifth season.
I mean, are we really going to be mad at the front office that Soto chose to take over $800 million with the Mets?
And if Soto were still in the Bronx, Bellinger and Fried would not be, so there would be something else to complain about.
Were the Yankees "all-in" when they acquired Scott Brosius to play third base ahead of the 1998 season instead of, say, Ken Caminiti, who won the NL MVP just one year prior?
Going all-in doesn’t mean having an All-Star everywhere, and Judge obviously knows that. Sometimes, "all-in" is simply masked as players playing well.
Speaking of which, here’s the ugly truth — Aaron Judge would have at least one title is he wasn’t a .205 hitter in the postseason from 2017 to 2024.
The Yankees’ title drought, tied for the longest since 1923, is the fault of many — players (including Judge) and decision-makers alike. Judge will be 35 in April, and if the impending lockout goes awry, he could be 36 by the time baseball is played again. He sees his mortality, and he’s probably desperate at this point.
But his desperation is clouding his perception of reality.
Divers uncover ancient treasures linked to Roman giant who helped shape American history
A 2,100-year-old shipwreck off the coast of Turkey has revealed thousands of luxury dishes of a type once prized by Cicero, the famed Roman statesman whose writings later influenced America's Founding Fathers — with an expert calling the find "quite rare."
The recovery was recently announced by Turkish officials, the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) reported Sept. 28.
Pictures show divers working among piles of ancient pottery, with ceramic plates and bowls scattered across the sandy seabed.
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The artifacts include 122 different forms and sizes of plates, bowls and trays, including dishes used for nuts, soup and fish.
Researchers believe the ship was traveling from Rhosus to Rome when it struck a shallow area during a storm and sank, according to AA. The wreck lies about 138 to 180 feet below the surface.
The discovery is particularly significant because the ceramics are believed to have originated in Rhosus, a production center mentioned in the writings of Cicero — though there's no evidence that the recovered dishes belonged to Cicero himself.
Cicero, one of ancient Rome's most celebrated orators and politicians, significantly influenced the U.S.' Founding Fathers, especially Thomas Jefferson and John Adams.
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In a letter to his friend Atticus in 50 B.C., the statesman wrote that he had ordered ceramic vessels from Rhosus for him, according to AA.
Taco Terpstra, a professor of classics and history at Northwestern University, told Fox News Digital that the discovery offers an unusual opportunity to connect ancient artifacts with historical writings.
"It's unusual that we have so much of this type of ceramic," Terpstra said.
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He explained that coins found aboard the ship help researchers date the wreck, while the pottery can be traced to a production region in what is now southern Turkey and northern Syria.
The combination of archaeological evidence, ancient coins and historical writings makes the discovery especially rare, he said.
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Terpstra also described the ceramics as "the equivalent of fine china" today.
"This is not ordinary tableware," he said. "This is not the kind of stuff that ordinary Romans would have on their table."
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"This is for a high-end market, which is one reason why Cicero talks about these."
Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said the ceramics were remarkably well-preserved because clay had been packed between them before they were placed in wooden crates — a detail that caught Terpstra's attention.
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The historian suggested the material may have been unfired clay, although he noted that the report did not specify its exact form.
"I imagine they meant unfired soft clay, which, when the ship went down, preserved the ceramics to a very high degree," Terpstra said.
Terpstra added that, while Roman shipwrecks in the Mediterranean are "quite common," the convergence of historical evidence makes this find exceptional.
"It's quite rare for all of it … [all] the lines of evidence to come together, like monetary, archeological, literary," Terpstra said.
16-year-old allegedly led ransomware gang behind hundreds of attacks
When you picture the person running an international ransomware operation, a 16-year-old probably does not come to mind. Yet investigators say a teenager was the suspected main operator behind KillSec, a cybercrime group linked to around 1,000 suspected attacks worldwide. About 500 of those attacks have so far been identified as successful.
Now, an international law enforcement operation has taken KillSec's leak site and key servers offline. Authorities also secured at least 110 terabytes of stolen data that could have been exposed or used to pressure victims. The takedown offers a remarkable look at how accessible cybercrime has become. More importantly, it shows how attackers continue to find their way into poorly protected systems and turn stolen files into leverage. What investigators uncovered about KillSec shows how the group operated, how AI reportedly played a role and what you can do to make ransomware attacks harder to pull off.
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FBI STRIKES BACK AT HACKING GROUP WITH OVERSEAS ARREST OF ALLEGED LEADER
The crackdown, known as Operation KillSwitch, took place on Sept. 30. Authorities from the United States and several European countries participated in the investigation. Europol and Eurojust also helped coordinate the effort.
Police carried out eight searches in Greece, Romania, Spain and the United Kingdom. Three suspects were provisionally arrested. Investigators also took control of five central servers connected with KillSec's operation. One of the biggest moves involved KillSec's dark web leak site. The group allegedly used the site to name victims and threaten to publish stolen files unless they paid. Authorities have now taken control of that infrastructure.
Perhaps the most startling part of this case involves the age of the suspected operator. Investigators identified a 16-year-old as KillSec's suspected administrator and main operator. Another suspected member, described as a developer, turned 18 in August and was reportedly still a minor when some of the alleged crimes occurred.
Investigators also identified people suspected of serving as a negotiator and an affiliate. Authorities say the investigation remains ongoing. Age aside, the alleged operation was anything but small. KillSec has been active since around 2024. According to Europol, the group exploited software vulnerabilities and poorly secured access points to break into organizations. Attackers then copied sensitive internal files to systems they controlled.
Once attackers had the files, the pressure began. KillSec allegedly listed organizations on its dark web site and threatened to publish their stolen data if they refused to pay. In some cases, the stolen files were reportedly made available after victims declined to hand over a ransom.
Europol says the group received substantial ransom payments from some attacks. That strategy shows how ransomware has changed over the years. Criminals do not always need to lock every file on a computer to create leverage. Stolen information itself can become the threat. If an attacker gets employee records, customer information or confidential business documents, the victim can face serious consequences even when backups work perfectly.
Investigators also uncovered another detail that caught my attention. Europol says members of KillSec used artificial intelligence to help build and maintain ransomware infrastructure and identify potential victims.
That does not mean AI carried out the entire attack by itself. However, it shows how cybercriminals can use the same technology everyone else is experimenting with to speed up parts of their work. A teenager may no longer need to build every piece of an attack from scratch. Tools, stolen credentials, vulnerable systems and AI assistance can lower some of the barriers that once required deeper technical expertise. That should make all of us pay closer attention to basic security habits.
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The investigation remains active. Authorities are examining computers, servers and other seized evidence. Investigators are also following cryptocurrency and other alleged criminal proceeds.
That evidence could uncover additional attacks, victims or people connected with the operation. Europol also cautions that the current number of successful attacks may change as investigators continue reviewing what they seized.
For now, KillSec's core infrastructure has taken a significant hit. However, ransomware groups have a long history of disappearing, reorganizing and resurfacing under different names. That makes prevention especially important even after a major takedown.
KillSec appears to have focused mainly on organizations rather than individual home computer users. Still, the methods behind the attacks offer lessons that apply to everyone. Europol says the group exploited software vulnerabilities and poorly secured access points. Those are the same types of weaknesses security experts have warned about for years.
An old router, forgotten account or unpatched computer can give attackers an opening. A compromised password can do the same. Once criminals gain access, they can steal information before anyone realizes something has gone wrong. So, while you probably cannot stop an international ransomware gang yourself, you can make your devices and accounts harder to break into.
A few simple security habits can close some of the openings attackers commonly look for.
Do not keep putting off updates on your computer, phone, browser and other connected devices. Security updates often fix vulnerabilities attackers already know how to exploit. CISA recommends regularly patching operating systems and software, especially on devices exposed to the internet. Turn on automatic updates when that option is available.
Using the same password across several accounts gives an attacker more opportunities if one login is exposed. Create a different password for each important account. A password manager can help generate and store strong credentials without forcing you to remember every one. You should also check whether passwords you already use have appeared in known data leaks. Your iPhone or Android phone may already have tools that can flag compromised passwords.
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A stolen password becomes much less useful when your account requires another form of verification. Enable two-factor (2FA) or multifactor authentication on your email, financial accounts, cloud storage and other important services. When available, consider phishing-resistant options such as passkeys or security keys instead of relying only on text-message codes.
Ransomware becomes far more painful when your only copy of a photo, document or financial record lives on the compromised device. Back up important files regularly. Consider keeping one copy in the cloud and another on an external drive. If you use an external drive, disconnect it when the backup finishes. Some ransomware can also target drives that remain connected to an infected computer.
A convincing email, fake update warning or malicious attachment can provide an attacker with a way into your computer. Avoid opening files you were not expecting. Instead of clicking an urgent update prompt from a webpage or email, open the app itself and check for updates there. If something feels unusual, stop before entering a password or running a downloaded file.
Strong antivirus software can help detect ransomware, malicious downloads and other threats before they spread. Keep the protection updated and run a full scan if your computer suddenly behaves differently, redirects your browser or shows unfamiliar programs. Security software will never replace safe habits. However, it can provide another opportunity to catch a threat before the damage grows. Get my picks for the best 2026 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android & iOS devices at Cyberguy.com.
If you see a ransom message or suddenly lose access to important files, disconnect the affected device from your network. Avoid plugging backup drives into the compromised computer until you know the device is clean. The FBI says it does not support paying ransomware demands because payment does not guarantee that your information will be restored. The agency also encourages victims to report ransomware incidents. You can file a report with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov or contact your local FBI field office. The FBI specifically directs ransomware victims to use those channels. One more thing: type IC3.gov directly into your browser. The FBI has warned that scammers have created fake IC3 websites, including lookalike pages that may appear in sponsored search results.
The age of KillSec's suspected operator is going to grab the headlines, and I understand why. Sixteen is incredibly young to be accused of running an operation connected with this many attacks. What stays with me, though, is how familiar the alleged entry points sound. Vulnerable software and poorly protected access can still give criminals exactly the opening they need. That is why I keep coming back to the basics. Update your devices. Protect important accounts with more than a password. Keep a backup that an attacker cannot easily reach. You may never know which security step stopped an attack. That is far better than discovering which one you skipped after your files are already gone.
If a 16-year-old can allegedly help run a ransomware operation tied to hundreds of successful attacks, do you think powerful hacking tools and AI are making cybercrime too easy to enter at a young age? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com
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Woman says public was forced to leave California forum over her 'Save Girls Sports' shirt
A California women’s sports advocate and candidate for office says organizers cleared the audience from a school board candidate forum after a dispute over her "Save Girls Sports" shirt.
Shannon Kessler, the Republican candidate for California’s 30th Assembly District and founder of Save Girls Sports Central Coast, told OutKick she was instructed to cover the shirt at a Sept. 21 forum for Lucia Mar Unified School District trustee candidates in Arroyo Grande.
The shirt also carried her name and Assembly campaign information on the back, Kessler acknowledged. She said she offered to cover that portion before eventually agreeing to conceal the front as well.
The League of Women Voters of San Luis Obispo County hosted the forum with the American Association of University Women’s 5 Cities Pismo Beach Branch. Footage shows the host of the forum announcing a "violation," before instructing everyone to leave.
"From this point on, this forum has been cancelled, because of that violation, we can not proceed," he said, as seen in footage provided by Kessler. "We will ask you to leave now, yes, due to the violation. The violation that there are not to be any slogans, no campaign slogans in the forum, we can not continue."
The candidate forum continued without an audience, with participants answering previously submitted written questions on camera. The event was held at Arroyo Grande High School, rather than being a regular school board meeting.
Kessler said the confrontation began when she entered wearing the shirt and was told its message violated the event’s rules.
"It’s just a women’s rights shirt," she said.
She said organizers suggested she turn the shirt inside out in a bathroom, but she initially refused. Kessler argued that the slogan reflected her advocacy against transgender athletes competing in girls’ sports and was not specific to her Assembly campaign.
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Kessler said she then offered to borrow a jacket to cover the campaign information on the back.
"That wasn’t good enough for them. They said I had to cover Save Girls Sports, that message," she said.
According to Kessler, a woman she described as a League leader then told her the front needed to be covered because it carried an "anti-trans hateful message."
"I cannot control how you perceive it, but I don’t mean it that way," Kessler said she responded.
Kessler did not identify that organizer by name in the interview.
She also alleged that the rules were enforced differently against other attendees. Kessler said a person wearing a "Trans kids belong" shirt and attendees wearing other candidates’ campaign information were not asked to cover their clothing.
"I don’t have a problem with him wearing that shirt," she said of the attendee displaying the transgender advocacy message. "Once again, I feel that he has the right to carry that message."
The League’s published forum rules prohibit campaign signs, banners, buttons, clothing and literature inside the forum room. Its website allows campaign materials in a designated area outside the room and says organizers can refuse entry to attendees wearing clothing considered political or disruptive.
Kessler said companions wearing Save Girls Sports shirts were also instructed to cover them or turn them inside out. She said organizers threatened to call police if they did not comply.
Arroyo Grande police records list a disturbance-of-the-peace call at the high school’s address at 6:07 p.m. Sept. 21. The public log does not explain the underlying dispute or what action officers took.
Kessler said police never entered to remove her.
Instead, organizers dismissed the audience.
Footage provided by Kessler shows an exchange with a staffer about the shirt and audience members leaving the room.
Kessler said she ultimately covered the shirt with a borrowed jacket, had the signs taken away and put a campaign-branded water bottle in her purse after trustee Colleen Martin raised an objection to it.
"I had finally said, okay, look, if you’re going to eject everyone, I’ll cover the shirt. And they still canceled the meeting," she said.
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Kessler described the episode as discriminatory.
"I feel like it was viewpoint discrimination and against my First Amendment rights," she said.
The dispute follows a prolonged local debate over transgender students’ participation in girls’ sports and access to locker rooms.
OutKick reached out to the League of Women Voters of San Luis Obispo County; AAUW Five Cities–Pismo Beach branch President Jean Burns Slater; Lucia Mar School District communications representative Amy Jacobs; school board Vice President Colleen Martin; and the Arroyo Grande Police Department for comment.
"The Lucia Mar School District said the forum "was not a school- or District-sponsored event," explaining that the League rented the high school facilities through its facilities-use process," the district said.
"The Sept. 21 candidate forum was not a school- or District-sponsored event. The event was sponsored and conducted by the League of Women Voters, which rented Arroyo Grande High School facilities through the District’s facilities use process."
Beyond processing the facilities-use application, neither the school nor the District had a role in planning or conducting the event, establishing or enforcing event rules, or making decisions regarding the audience. Questions regarding those matters are best directed to the event organizers.
Kessler has advocated before the Lucia Mar board for restrictions based on biological sex. Her organization’s website says Save Girls Sports Central Coast was founded in March 2025, before she launched her Assembly campaign.
In May 2025, the board voted 5-2 against placing a proposed resolution supporting Title IX and fairness in girls’ sports on a future agenda. District Superintendent Paul Fawcett said the proposal would have committed the district to advocacy directed at state and federal officials and the California Interscholastic Federation, rather than immediately changing district policies.
Kessler, who is challenging Democratic Assemblymember Dawn Addis, said her advocacy extends beyond the election and that she intends to continue pressing school officials on the issue.
"We’re not against any individuals," she said. "We’re against this state policy."