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Beloved teacher killed as she slept, daughter stabbed in attack as motive remains unclear: DA
A beloved Southern California elementary school teacher was killed and her daughter, a nationally recognized mental health advocate, was critically injured after a man allegedly broke into their home and stabbed them as they slept, prosecutors said.
Sergio Meza Fraire, 30, of Burbank, has been charged with murder and attempted murder in the April 20 attack on 59-year-old Arti Varma and her 25-year-old daughter, Meera Varma, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Authorities say Fraire entered the home sometime between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. while the victims were asleep. Around 6 a.m., he allegedly went into a bedroom and repeatedly stabbed both women.
Arti Varma, a first-grade teacher at Bret Harte Elementary School, later died from her injuries. Her daughter survived and remains hospitalized.
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Meera Varma is a prominent mental health advocate and TEDx speaker who has worked alongside high-profile figures including Oprah Winfrey, President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, former Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, according to her personal website.
She was the youngest speaker in TEDxUCLA history and has been invited to the White House to discuss youth mental health. In 2023, she appeared with Winfrey at UCLA to speak about the youth mental health crisis, focusing her work on supporting young people and encouraging open conversations around mental health.
Investigators have said the attack does not appear to have been random, though authorities have not publicly disclosed a possible motive or whether the suspect knew the victims.
"Detectives do not believe this was a random act; however, they continue to investigate the relationship between the suspect and the victims, as well as motive," Burbank Police Department Lt. Brent Fekety told Fox News Digital.
Despite a burglary charge, police indicated there is no evidence the suspect intended to steal anything.
"It does not appear the suspect entered with the intent to commit theft," Fekety continued.
Fraire was identified as a suspect following what police described as a comprehensive investigation involving interviews, surveillance review and evidence collection.
Fraire pleaded not guilty in court and is being held without bail. He is expected to return to court in June as the case moves forward.
"Arti Varma was a deeply beloved elementary school teacher who was senselessly taken from her family and community in an act of horrific violence," Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said.
"We will take every necessary step to ensure that the defendant is held accountable for this vicious and unprovoked attack."
If convicted, Fraire could face life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty, prosecutors said. A decision on whether to seek capital punishment will be made at a later date.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Transgender lawmaker 'doesn't know what a woman is,' White House says after dig at Trump firings
The White House brushed aside remarks made by Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., to a reporter alleging that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard would be the next Cabinet official to leave the administration because President Donald Trump "only fires women."
"Rep. McBride doesn’t know what a woman is," White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said of McBride, a biological male who identifies as a woman.
McBride speculated to MeidasTouch reporter Pablo Manríquez that Tulsi Gabbard will be the next Cabinet member on President Donald Trump's chopping block. In separate interviews, Manríquez asked McBride and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who they believed would be next to be fired. Both said it would not be a man.
The remarks come amid a shake-up in the Trump administration, as Trump announced the dismissal of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi within a span of four weeks. On Monday, Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned amid allegations of misconduct towards staffers.
"All of them deserve to be fired," McBride quipped. "I'm supporting impeachment of Pete Hegseth, because obviously right now, we are engaged in a reckless war of choice that he was a primary driver of."
"But we know this president," McBride said. "He only fires women, so my guess is Tulsi Gabbard."
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., echoed McBride's sentiment when asked the same question by Manríquez.
"Is he out of women?" Ocasio-Cortez asked. "Because that seems to be his pattern right now."
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She went on to say that Trump "seems to only have the capability to fire female secretaries."
In response to a follow-up question about the "clownish behavior" of War Secretary Pete Hegseth and FBI Director Kash Patel, Ocasio-Cortez claimed that what Patel has done is "a thousand times worse" than what other officials have done.
Neither Manríquez nor Ocasio-Cortez gave specific examples of misconduct by either man. Patel has filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic over reported allegations that he is a heavy drinker and that it affects his work. Meanwhile, Hegseth faced sexual assault and drinking allegations during his confirmation hearings, which he denied, and his tenure at the War Department was rocked by two separate Signal chat leaks in which information about military airstrikes were inadvertently shared with a journalist.
While the White House has stood by Hegseth, Democratic lawmakers have demanded his resignation and criticized his handling of the war with Iran.
"If you're a man in the Trump administration, it seems that they reward misconduct," Ocasio-Cortez said.
LeAnn Rimes poses in red bikini in Cabo, shares emotional message about 'heart-wrenching' family issues
LeAnn Rimes is posing in a tiny red bikini as she celebrates her wedding anniversary that is filled with "very tense, heart-wrenching things happening at home with family."
On Thursday, Rimes took to Instagram to share photos with Eddie Cibrian for their 15th wedding anniversary in Cabo, revealing family struggles.
"we got to step away for 3 days amidst work and some very tense, heart wrenching [sic] things happening at home with family," Rimes' caption began.
"it’s been a different anniversary, one filled with tears and worry, but in between, there were moments of laughter and deep gratitude for this love of ours. day by day, we walk hand in hand through the rollercoaster of life… and god, i’m so grateful that it’s with each other.
"we’ve been through so much in our 15 years as husband and wife," she continued. "we know how to ride the waves 🌊, hold each other in times of need, mend what needs mending. i’m so proud of what we have created together. 15 years is just the beginning."
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Rimes included photos with Cibrian on the beach and also thanked the Las Ventanas Al Paraíso romance director for making their anniversary "so special."
Amid the very heavy message, Rimes shared a photo of herself in a red bikini, holding a drink in a coconut. "till next time, cabo..." she wrote alongside the image.
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Cibrian and Rimes first met while filming the TV movie "Northern Lights" in 2008. Their relationship began controversially while both were still married to other people, leading to highly publicized divorces before they eventually married in 2011.
In February, Rimes spoke to E! News about her marriage to Cibrian ahead of their anniversary.
"We've evolved so much. We've been through so much together. Now our boys, my stepsons are 22 and 18. They're grown boys. And to help raise his sons — we have a very calm life, which is wonderful," she began. "And it didn't start out that way at all, but now, we've really grown into — we just love each other. We love being around each other. We laugh a lot. He's just a good guy, he really is."
"So, 15 years is wild to think about that it's been that long. But so far, so good," Rimes concluded.
Man confesses to dismembering father, stuffing remains in suitcases as DNA finally solves cold case: police
New DNA technology has cracked yet another cold case surrounding a man's dismembered body parts being found inside two suitcases in Ohio nearly three decades ago, police said.
Larry Drotleff, 81, of Euclid, confessed to the 27-year-old dismemberment of his father, Lawrence A. Drotleff, who would have been 93 at the time his remains were found, Tuscarawas County Sheriff Orvis Campbell said in a news release.
The case began in February 1998, when authorities received a complaint regarding a suitcase found by a group of children on Winkler Hill Road in Dover Township containing unidentified male body parts – including a pelvis and part of one leg.
One week later, a second suitcase containing a torso was found along Boltz Orchard Road in Jefferson Township, authorities said.
Despite the recovery of a body, authorities were unable to determine the identity of the victim or a potential suspect.
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"While DNA was collected from the remains in both suitcases, neither fingerprints from the suitcases themselves nor the DNA from the body parts ever led to the identification of the remains or a suspect," Campbell said. "All leads were run out and leads that did come in over the years were investigated with no progress on identifying the victim or a suspect."
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The case ultimately ran cold until investigators decided to take another look in February 2023, with DNA testing pointing to Larry Drotleff as a family member of the deceased, Lawrence A. Drotleff, police said.
Authorities then learned Larry Drotleff had previously been caught collecting retirement and social security funds from his father, according to police. When questioned by social security investigators at the time of the alleged thefts, Larry Drotleff offered the explanation that his father had moved away.
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In January 2024, Larry Drotleff told investigators he was living with his father when he came home from work and found him deceased, according to authorities. He cooperated with the investigation by providing his own DNA for investigators to confirm his father’s identity.
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"Larry indicated that he then cut up his father’s body with a manual hand saw and disposed of some body parts in the suitcases and others by just putting them in bags in a dumpster near his workplace," Campbell said.
Although the statute of limitations has passed on abuse of a corpse charges, Larry Drotleff is facing two federal counts of stealing his father's Social Security and pension funding, totalling over $250,000.
"While the case did not prove to be a murder, it should be noted that the inhumane treatment of the Corpse was conduct so inexcusable that this case remained a priority for the Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Office," Campbell said. "It remains difficult to comprehend that the greed of theft could cause someone to treat their father’s body in this manner."
Your daily coffee habit may be quietly reshaping your gut and mood, study finds
Coffee may do more than keep you going: It could have a noticeable impact on your digestive health, even if you drink decaf.
Researchers from APC Microbiome Ireland found that habitual coffee consumption alters the trillions of microbes living in the digestive tract, creating a chemical feedback loop that directly influences mood, stress levels and cognitive sharpness.
The study followed 62 participants to determine how coffee interacts with the microbiome. The group included 31 coffee drinkers and 31 non-coffee drinkers, who went through a series of psychological tests and kept detailed journals about their diet and coffee consumption.
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The researchers defined "coffee drinkers" as those consuming three to five cups daily, a range the European Food Safety Authority deems safe and moderate.
After people stopped drinking coffee for two weeks and then started drinking it again, the bacteria in their digestive systems behaved differently than the non-drinkers, according to a press release.
"Coffee is more than just caffeine," study author Professor John Cryan, principal investigator at APC Microbiome Ireland, said in a statement.
"It’s a complex dietary factor that interacts with our gut microbes, our metabolism and even our emotional well-being."
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The coffee drinkers were found to have higher levels of specific beneficial bacteria, such as Eggertella and Cryptobacterium curtum.
These microbes play a vital role in releasing gastric acids and creating bile, both of which help the body eliminate harmful bacteria and manage inflammation, the researchers noted.
Both caffeinated and decaf drinkers reported lower levels of perceived stress, depression and impulsivity. This suggests that the non-caffeine components of coffee, like polyphenols and antioxidants, are doing the heavy lifting for mental health.
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However, the two types of brew offer different perks. Caffeinated coffee was specifically linked to reduced anxiety and better focus, while decaf was shown to lead to significant improvements in learning and episodic memory.
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Researchers believe these cognitive gains in decaf drinkers may be tied to better sleep quality and increased physical activity.
The study’s findings are limited by a small sample size, which may not accurately represent the diverse microbiome profiles found across different global populations.
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Because the research relied heavily on self-reported data regarding participants' coffee habits and mood levels, the results are subject to memory errors and subjective bias, the researchers noted.
The study also did not strictly control for other dietary variables, such as sugar and dairy additives, which could independently influence gut health and cloud the specific impact of the coffee bean itself.
The research was published in the journal Nature Communications.
Nebraska ends in-state tuition benefits for illegal immigrants under DOJ deal
Illegal immigrants in Nebraska will no longer receive in-state tuition after the state agreed to stop enforcing a two-decade-old law that the Trump administration called unconstitutional.
Under a proposed consent decree filed Tuesday and still awaiting court approval, Nebraska agreed not to enforce laws that allow reduced in-state tuition and certain financial aid benefits for people in the country illegally. The agreement came hours after the Justice Department sued the state.
In its federal lawsuit, the Justice Department argued that Nebraska’s laws violate federal law by allowing some students in the country illegally to qualify for reduced in-state tuition rates and state financial aid, while U.S. citizens from other states may not qualify for the same benefits.
The complaint asked a federal judge to strike down those provisions and bar Nebraska from enforcing them. Later that same day, the United States and Nebraska jointly filed the proposed consent decree, which asks the court to permanently enjoin the challenged laws.
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"For two decades, the Nebraska legislature gave preferential treatment to illegal aliens over American citizens," Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said in a Tuesday announcement. "We encourage all States to follow the commonsense correction of Attorney General Hilgers, ceasing any policy that rewards illegal entry into our nation with educational opportunities not available to U.S. citizens."
The DOJ said that since 2006, Nebraska had ignored federal law that prohibits illegal immigrants from receiving in-state tuition benefits denied to out-of-state U.S. citizens.
Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said the unconstitutional laws "should never have been passed in the first place."
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WILL NO LONGER GET IN-STATE TUITION IN KENTUCKY AFTER FEDERAL RULING
"Nebraska’s unconstitutional and un-American laws should never have been passed in the first place and are prohibited by federal law," said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. "The Department of Justice has won on this exact issue in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kentucky, and we will take this fight to any states that fail to put American citizens first."
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen also celebrated the legal agreement.
"Nebraskans expect that illegal aliens won’t get the benefit of in-state tuition and financial aid, and federal law forbids it," Pillen said. "Outdated Nebraska laws to the contrary are deeply misguided and unconstitutional, and I am grateful for the combined efforts of President Trump’s Department of Justice and Attorney General Hilgers to deliver this long-overdue correction."
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The Justice Department said this is the eighth lawsuit in a series of actions it has filed over state laws that it says benefit immigrants living in the country illegally over U.S. citizens. The department said it has already won similar cases in Texas, Kentucky and Oklahoma, while lawsuits remain pending in Illinois, Minnesota, Virginia and California.
Melania Trump unveils a White House replica beehive buzzing with new colonies on the South Lawn
First lady Melania Trump on Friday announced a sweet new addition to the South Lawn, expanding the White House honey program with a newly installed and fully functioning beehive modeled after the executive mansion.
An official video released by the Office of the First Lady showcased the expanded setup — designed by the White House Executive Residence staff — buzzing with a large amount of bees.
The queen-worthy new hive, hand-crafted by a local Virginia artisan in the image of the White House, will add two new bee colonies to the property's existing two.
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The expansion is expected to boost annual honey production by an estimated 30 pounds, allowing for even greater use in preparing White House culinary dishes, serving as official gifts from the president and the first lady, and supporting charitable donations of healthy foods to local food kitchens, according to the Office of the First Lady.
Funded through the Trust for the National Mall, the installation will support the existing colonies in pollinating the nearby White House Kitchen Garden, Flower Cutting Garden and vegetation on the National Mall.
It will also serve as an educational feature, offering potential opportunities for visitors on the South Lawn to get a closer look at a working colony and learn about pollination and food production firsthand.
The White House beekeeping program started in 2009 after a White House carpenter, Charlie Brandt, started keeping bees on the complex as a hobby a few years prior.
The Office of the First Lady said the hobby has since become "a lasting tradition."
Obama chooses supporter Stephen Colbert for debut interview at controversial presidential center
For his first televised interview from the controversial Obama Presidential Center, Barack Obama is turning to a familiar ally: Stephen Colbert.
The sit-down comes just weeks before Colbert is set to exit late-night television after CBS and parent company Paramount canceled "The Late Show." Obama’s decision to sit down with Colbert, an adoring fan of the former president, drew derision from some conservative commentators.
Colbert has long been a Democratic supporter, notably MCing a $26 million fundraiser for former presidents Joe Biden, Bill Clinton and Obama at Radio City Music Hall in 2024.
The former president has appeared multiple times on Comedy Central’s "The Colbert Report" and "The Late Show." During a 2020 interview, Colbert told Obama he needed to "drink [Obama] in" because he missed seeing a real president. He also once cooed, "I miss you" to a clip of Obama on his show during Trump's first term.
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The announcement of the interview prompted criticism from Outkick writer Ian Miller, who argued Colbert has long traded comedy for partisan activism. "Stephen Colbert going out the way he came in, absolutely refusing to do comedy and putting on the most boring, generic left wing talk show imaginable," he wrote on X.
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Colbert announced the interview during his show on Thursday, saying, "Tuesday, May 5 here on ‘The Late Show’ in his first interview from the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, I will be sitting down with former President Barack Obama."
Alongside a clip posted on Instagram, "The Late Show" captioned it "Thanks, @barackobama." The interview was confirmed by the Obama Foundation on Instagram, which wrote, "Couch booked. Volume up. Ready to go."
The Obama Presidential Center is slated to open in June following years of public scrutiny over its design and its impact on the Chicago community. The building sits on Chicago’s South Side, where residents have offered mixed reviews of its aesthetics since construction began in 2021.
A Fox News Digital investigation revealed that surging public infrastructure costs needed to support the project are being funded by the public. The advocacy group Protect Our Parks also spent years in court fighting the project, arguing that the use of Jackson Park was an illegal handover of public space to a private group.
Colbert’s interview with Obama comes only weeks before his show will go off the air on May 21. Paramount canceled "The Late Show" after reports it was losing more than $40 million annually for CBS.
CBS said the cancellation was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night" and denied the show’s content played a role.
In addition to Colbert's left-wing commentary, he books far more political guests than his late-night counterparts. His guests down the stretch of his show have recently included Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Pete Buttigieg and John Kerry.
Cardinals had to delay drafting Jeremiyah Love because they had a wrong phone number
We've all seen teams calling the NFL draft prospects they intend to select minutes before the card is turned in to the league. The moment often plays out on television or is shared on social media — but the Arizona Cardinals initially couldn't connect for their call with Jeremiyah Love Thursday night.
It wasn't a lack of trying; the club dialed the number they had for Love.
But, nope, no connection to the intended No. 3 overall draft pick. So the team's brain trust calmy stepped back, took a breath, considered options and tried something else.
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And all the while underlings scrambled madly for a correct number.
"If you want me to tell you the honest-to-God truth, we had the wrong phone number," Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort said later.
"The phone number that we were given was the wrong one and so that was a little bit of the delay. But we got that straightened out and we called Jeremiyah and got ahold of him. That is what the delay was, technical difficulties."
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We have to thank Ossenfort for his transparency. But, on the other hand, yikes!
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What made matters somewhat more uncomfortable is the Cardinals actually were hoping to trade down from their No. 3 pick to add more draft resources later on. But there simply wasn't the kind of demand for Love they had hoped.
"There was very minimal conversations, some surface-level but nothing that came anywhere close to getting us to move off the pick," Ossenfort said.
Eventually, the club found the correct number for Love. And picked him.
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Here’s where it helps to understand that the NFL provides players with phones for the draft and then distributes those numbers to teams.
But after Shedeur Sanders last year had his number leaked to various sources — including the son of Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich who turned it into a prank phone call with his buddies — the league made changes this year.
The league limited access to prospects’ contact information to one person within each franchise.
It's unclear if the person holding the numbers for the Cardinals relayed the digits incorrectly or got a bad number from the NFL. Whatever the case, it eventually got resolved.
Maybe the club called Love’s personal number because Ossenfort had it and had used it previously.
"We had a great interaction with him at the combine," Ossenfort said. "I followed up with him with a call over the weekend and just had a great overall interaction. Like I said, you guys will get the chance to meet him, an impressive kid. Just really excited to add the person to our locker room."
California millionaire trampled to death by elephants while on African hunting expedition
A California vineyard owner has died after being crushed by elephants while on a hunting expedition in Africa.
Ernie Dosio, 75, was hunting yellow-backed duikers in Gabon when the deadly April 17 incident occurred.
Dosio, who kept an extensive collection of animal heads in his home, was trampled to death when he and his guide stumbled into five female elephants with a calf in the Lope-Okanda rainforest, the Daily Mail reported.
Collect Africa, the Nigerian-based safari operator, confirmed Dosio’s death to the publication. The California-Hawaii Elks Association also confirmed Dosio’s death on Facebook.
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"It is with a most heavy heart and sadness that I am reporting the passing of Ernie Dosio earlier this week," Tommy Whitman, secretary of Lodi Lodge 1900 and Central District Scouting chairman, wrote in a statement.
"May all of our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and loved ones. He will be sorely missed."
Fox News Digital has reached out to the U.S. Embassy in Gabon and the safari company.
An unnamed hunter in Cape Town who knew Dosio told the news outlet that Dosio had been "hunting since he could hold a rifle and had many trophies from Africa and the U.S."
"Although many disagree with big game hunting, all of Ernie’s hunts were strictly licensed and above board and were registered as conservation culls to manage animal numbers," he said.
"Ernie had booked a hunt for dwarf forest buffalo and duikers — in particular, the yellow-backed duiker — and, under strict licensing laws, he could not take along his own guns."
The hunting company would supply a shotgun and cartridges for the duiker hunt, he said.
The hunter added he believes Dosio and his guide surprised the elephants, who attacked because they felt threatened.
"I would rather not go into detail, but it is safe to assume it would have been quick," he said. "Ernie was a very well-known and popular hunter in the U.S. and in Africa and a very keen conservationist; he did a hell of a lot of charity work and was a really good guy. What happened has been deeply felt by many on both sides of the Atlantic."
Dosio's body is being repatriated to America with assistance from the U.S. Embassy.
Dosio owned Pacific AgriLands Inc., a Modesto, California, vineyard land management company with its own 12,000-acre vineyard, according to Lodi News.
Central Africa is home to roughly 95,000 endangered forest elephants, with the largest numbers being found in Gabon, according to the World Wildlife Fund.