A 23-year-old who has been volunteering as a Little League umpire for a decade is getting rewarded with a chance to officiate the league’s World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

James Farque of Summerville, South Carolina, said he umpired his first game at age 13 after realizing he was not equipped to advance very far as a player in the sport.

‘I pride myself on volunteering and giving back to the community.’

“I realized I would not excel at the high school level, so I still wanted to stay connected to the game, so I started umpiring,” Farque said. “Umpired my first game [at age 13] and haven’t stopped since.”

He told WCIV-TV that he’s proud to be called up to the Little League Baseball World Series.

“This is every Little League umpire’s dream,” he added. “It’s a tremendous honor; there’s only 20 people each year that are chosen.”

His performance at four games of the contest will determine whether he gets assigned further spots. He said he is going to try not to be intimidated by the bright lights of the ESPN coverage of the event.

“That’s a big aspect of everything. Big mental side of umpiring is being in the spotlight,” Farque said. “Then again, it’s just another baseball game. Anytime you step on the field, it’s just another baseball game. Just a higher stage in front of more people.”

He said that volunteering as an umpire is how he gives back to the community.

“Little League is run by volunteers. It prides itself on volunteerism,” Farque added. “I pride myself on volunteering and giving back to the community.”

RELATED: Actress who played mom in ‘Little Big League’ now has a son playing Major League Baseball nearly 30 years later

Farque said that he has aspirations to make it to college baseball or the major leagues, but he’ll always return to the Lowcountry of South Carolina where he’s from.

“I don’t think I can ever hang it up. Even if I do the championship game at Williamsport, I still have this to come back to,” Farque said.

“The local level is what I enjoy the most, getting to mentor these kids and the sense of community around here,” he added.

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​World series, Little league, Baseball, Feel good story, Human interest 

An AI-backed robot teacher pilot program that was already under fire over privacy concerns has hit another bump in the road.

Teachers and parents had expressed concerns about having AI in the classroom and the possible replacement of humans, but that was before the latest revelations came to light.

‘It can help students engage with educational material and gain hands-on exposure to AI and robotics.’

Realbotix, the company behind the program, planned to implement “Sally,” a fembot of sorts with “lifelike appearance” that included silicone skin and long, brown hair. Sally was to be an in-classroom teacher who addressed students’ questions based on their identification codes, which are numbers assigned to the kids.

The pilot targeted high school students in the Salamanca City Central School District, which is reportedly located on the Seneca Nation of Indians reservation in New York state, according to Spectrum News 1.

As word of the program spread, the New York State Education Department stepped in to put a pause on the program to ask questions about privacy and intent. However, it has since been revealed that Realbotix shares the same parent company as another company involved in the production of sex dolls.

Parent company Realbotix Corp. operates both Realbotix LLC for “commercial robotics” and Intima LLC, which manufactures products “for the adult wellness and companionship market,” according to Morningstar. The Associated Press further reported that Intima LLC holds an ownership stake in RealDoll, which creates sex dolls.

RELATED: This ‘lifelike’ fembot teacher is so problematic she’s already been put on pause

Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service/Getty Images

The teachers’ union has since caught wind, with president Melinda Person stating that “a robot built by a company associated with sex dolls has no business in our classrooms.”

The New York State United Teachers rep further stated, “Our students don’t need robots. They need real relationships with caring adults.”

Blaze Media reached out to Realbotix to ask about student privacy and its connection with using the bots for “companionship.”

A spokeswoman said the technology is meant to serve as a classroom resource for older high school students who participate in the district’s science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics curriculum.

“Like a calculator, laboratory apparatus, or other instructional tool, it can help students engage with educational material and gain hands-on exposure to AI and robotics, but it does not perform the work of a teacher,” Jessica Starman told Blaze Media on behalf of Realbotix.

“Characterizations suggesting that the technology would replace teachers or assume their responsibilities are false,” she said.

Starman addressed media reports that “falsely connected” the school project to adult products, stating that the Salamanca robot is a “newly manufactured, purpose-built educational unit; no existing consumer product or hardware is being modified or repurposed for the school.”

“No adult-products business has any involvement in the Salamanca project or in any product or initiative developed by Realbotix LLC,” Starman further explained.

As for student privacy, Realbotix said the robot would not be connected to “public internet” and does not record audio, video, nor use facial recognition.

“Realbotix would not receive, access, or store personally identifiable student information or student interactions,” the spokeswoman added.

RELATED: Before you say ‘no’ to a data center, here’s what you’re giving up

Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images

The company said it has no additional school deployments to announce at this time, and local news reports say the pilot program remains on pause.

The district previously said it was working through “enhanced student data privacy agreements” with state education officials, but it is unclear what will be done moving forward.

“The physical robot has not been deployed,” Realbotix said.

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​New york, Robots, Artificial intelligence, High school, Tech 

President Donald Trump is escalating his pressure campaign against Senate Majority Leader John Thune, urging Republicans to scrap the Senate filibuster and remain in session until the SAVE America Act reaches his desk.

And in a fiery Truth Social post, Trump warned that Thune’s failure to take action could have devastating consequences.

“John Thune should not allow the United States Senate to ‘leave town’ until it passes The Save America Act or, far better still, TERMINATES THE FILIBUSTER, where Republicans can then quickly pass everything they ever dreamed of, including a full and deep throated SAVE AMERICA ACT, the Budget, and the ever looming Debt Ceiling disaster, 1929!” Trump wrote.

“The Dumocrats will do it on day one, and can’t believe how lucky they got with this Senate leadership. Remember, stupidity always brings LOSING & DEATH!” he added.

“Very true,” BlazeTV host Pat Gray comments on “Pat Gray Unleashed,” before playing a clip of the president addressing questions about his relationship with Thune.

“He’s got to get his job done. It’s fine. I have a good relationship with John Thune. He’s just got to get his job done,” Trump told a reporter.

“You got to get the SAVE America Act passed. Or better than that would be the filibuster. If you terminate the filibuster, everything happens. If you don’t terminate the filibuster, only bad things will happen,” he added.

“For his part,” Gray says, “John Thune was like, ‘My hands are tied. Show me how I can do this. There’s no path. There’s no path.’”

“It’s maddening,” co-host Jeff Fisher comments.

“He just doesn’t seem to understand and grasp what needs to happen,” he adds.

“He’s not willing to do it,” Gray agrees. “He’s just not.”

Want more from Pat Gray?

To enjoy more of Pat’s biting analysis and signature wit as he restores common sense to a senseless world, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Donald trump, Jeff fisher, John thune, Pat gray, Save america act, Senate filibuster, Truth social, Blazetv show 

Hispanic comedian George Lopez says he has given up his longtime devotion to the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Lakers after discovering the owner’s investments in federal immigration detainment centers.

Lopez made the comments on a Facebook post and during an interview with Shaquille O’Neal on “The Big Podcast” released June 10. Clips from the episode have gone viral on social media this week.

‘So as soon as I found that out, I disassociated myself. … I lost two teams in one week.’

The team has tried to encourage its fandom among members of the Latino community in Los Angeles despite activists’ complaints about the displacement of a Latino community when the stadium was built in 1959.

Lopez, who was born in 1961, referred to that history when he said the team blocked him on Facebook after he called them out for not speaking out against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in L.A.

“So they’ll take a stand on me, but not on the treatment of the families who called Chavez Ravine home before they decided to build a baseball stadium where they lived and where their families called home,” Lopez responded. “Also, no comment from the owners. … If anyone doesn’t belong, it’s the Dodgers.”

Lopez had been a common sight at the Dodgers games and had participated in many promotions with the team.

The Dodgers principal owner Mark Walter reportedly held a financial stake in the GEO Group, which operates for-profit detention centers. He also leads TWG Global, which has links to Palantir Technologies, a company that has received millions from ICE for data analytics.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Walter’s investment firm had completely divested from GEO Group as of March.

Lopez told O’Neal that he also dropped his support for the Lakers.

“Mark Walter owns detention centers and runs them for profit,” Lopez said.

“So as soon as I found that out, I disassociated myself from the Dodgers and the [Los Angeles] Lakers, unfortunately. I lost two teams in one week.”

RELATED: LA Dodgers say they blocked ICE at stadium after campaign to pressure team to condemn deportations

He added the complaint about Chavez Ravine.

“The idea that Dodgers Stadium was built on a Latino neighborhood that was, people were forcibly removed in the late ‘50s,” he continued.

“Then, when I found out they run that [detention] thing for profit and part of ICE and where they put people, I dissociated myself.”

While activists continue to call for Latinos and others to boycott the Dodgers, a recent report showed the team still enjoys the highest attendance rate in the entire league, with 50,544 per game.

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​George lopez, Immigration and customs enforcement, Sports, Boycott, Politics, Dodgers 

President Donald Trump says thousands of illegal alien truck drivers put Americans at risk on U.S. highways — but he has a solution.

Trump spoke at the White House on Thursday, providing plenty of context for his new program that hopes to encourage former military members to get back on the road.

‘They don’t speak the language for the most part. … They don’t want to learn the language.’

The president cited tens of thousands of illegal commercial driver’s licenses being distributed across the United States, which have resulted in the deaths of Americans in recent months.

One such case of an Indian truck driver, who is an illegal immigrant, was directly criticized by Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who took the state of California to task over the alien’s ability to get a CDL.

“For many years, American highways and roadways have been terrorized by unqualified illegal aliens dangerously driving big rigs,” Trump said from the podium.

“They don’t speak the language for the most part. Many of these illegal aliens don’t even come close. They don’t want to learn the language,” he added.

Trump then announced a new pathway for American veterans to replace the illegal truckers who are taking up space on the road. The government program is titled Freedom Haulers, and it will fast-track the licensing of veterans who have experience with air brakes, trailers, and the like from their time in the military.

“We want veterans to take the wheel of big rigs and secure the economic supply lines of the country you swore to defend,” the federal website reads.

RELATED: ROAD RULES REFRESH: Forgot how to drive? Let Uncle Josh bring you up to speed.

The program promises up to 100% of tuition coverage for approved CDL programs that can result in annual salary of $70,000 for truckers.

The administration also stated that after annual earnings of truckers were down 3% under President Joe Biden, they have risen by 7.42% under Trump, which will provide great opportunity for the 25% of military veterans who are truckers.

“Any American who has driven a heavy truck for our military will automatically be eligible for a commercial driver’s license. … We’re going to make it as easy as possible for the veterans,” the commander in chief explained.

RELATED: TATTLETALE EXPRESS: School buses may soon become America’s largest mobile surveillance network

Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

The president also claimed that federal authorities had “already removed more than 24,000 non-English speakers from behind the wheel.”

“We’ve also forced states to cancel more than 28,000 commercial driver’s licenses unlawfully issued to illegal aliens. They were given illegally,” Trump added.

Secretary Duffy firmly stated on Thursday, “Illegal alien truckers are OUT, and American Veterans are IN.”

“Thank you, [President Trump,] for putting OUR safety first,” Duffy added.

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​Illegal immigration, Transportation, Donald trump, Military, Politics 

Thousands of migrants stormed the border into the small Spanish territory of Cueta from Morocco, leading authorities to order the military to restore order.

Videos on social media show the migrants streaming across the border in the territory located in the northernmost tip of Morocco across the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain.

‘It’s not possible to give precise numbers, but there are thousands of migrants crossing.’

Rachid Sbihi, a representative of Cueta border officers, told the Associated Press that the border had “totally collapsed” under the onslaught.

“The situation is absolute chaos,” he added. “It’s not possible to give precise numbers, but there are thousands of migrants crossing.”

The government indicated that nine bodies of people who died trying to make the crossing were recovered. Local authorities said that dozens have died this year trying to reach Cueta.

Spain’s Interior Ministry said that Moroccan officials were “closely cooperating” with Spain to bring order to the border and to secure “the return, as soon as possible, of all the people who entered Ceuta illegally.”

The mass invasion might be due to a recent Spanish Supreme Court decision that found migrants who arrived in Spain by sea could not be immediately deported without due process — unlike those who crossed by land.

Juan Jesús Vivas, the head of the regional government in Ceuta, had warned Spanish authorities that they were being overwhelmed with migrants and called for a national emergency to be declared.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni decried the breach and threatened to shut down an immigration agreement with Spain in order to defend her country’s sovereignty.

“The images coming from Ceuta are shocking and demonstrate, once again, that uncontrolled illegal immigration poses a real threat to the security of Europe’s borders,” she said in a post on social media translated from Italian.

RELATED: 8 immigrants with possible ties to ISIS caught in sting operation after crossing the southern border

“Italy will not stand idly by. We are convening the relevant bodies, and following these meetings, we are prepared to take action,” she added. “We will not yield an inch on the issue of illegal immigration.”

BlazeTV host Auron MacIntyre put the invasion into historical perspective.

“After a brutal civil war and decades of rule under Francisco Franco, the communists still managed to remerge and open the floodgates to destroy Spain,” he wrote. “This is why they banned ‘Camp of the Saints,’ because it accurately portrayed the future communists wanted for the West.”

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​Illegal immigration, Migrants, Morocco, Spain, Politics 

Actors from the Sam Altman biographical movie are not surprised.

Amazon said in June that the Altman biopic would be better served by going to another studio after dropping the film on mysterious grounds.

‘I’m shocked they picked it up in the first place.’

Drop it like its hot

Amazon parted ways with the film, “Artificial,” saying it had the “utmost respect and admiration” for director Luca Guadagnino, despite no longer distributing the film.

“We believe that ‘Artificial’ will be better served if it were released by a different studio and are working closely with the filmmaking team to find the film a new home,” the company added.

Little was known about the split, despite obvious theories made about the Big Tech connections between Altman and Amazon owner Jeff Bezos. Now, stars of the film have gone on the record about the movie, with actor Cooper Hoffman offering the most intriguing take.

Son of deceased actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, the 23-year-old was asked by a reporter if it caught him off guard when the movie left Amazon.

“Were you surprised?” Variety’s Marc Malkin asked Hoffman.

“That it got dropped? No!” the actor replied emphatically. “I’m shocked they picked it up in the first place.”

Hoffman continued, “I was like, this feels like you all are in, like, I don’t know — I don’t know who’s running everything,” the young star went on, seemingly stopping his train of thought.

“When they dropped it, I was kinda like, ‘Oh, yeah, that actually kinda, I guess, makes sense,” he added.

RELATED: Amazon drops Sam Altman biopic — and everyone wants to know why

Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images

Neon dreams

Andrew Garfield, who plays Altman, told the reporter, “I was and I wasn’t [surprised].”

“I think there are certain things that fit certain places and don’t fit other places and they [Amazon] were nothing but supportive and nothing but encouraging while we were making the film,” the former “Amazing Spider-Man” actor explained.

Garfield added that he was grateful to Amazon for helping the film find new distribution.

That new company is Neon, the New York-based distributor behind films like Stephen King’s “The Monkey” and “Ferrari” from 2023.

Hoffman said he “couldn’t be more happy” about working with the company.

RELATED: OpenAI wants to make its losses public property

Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Too close to call

Critics have pointed to Altman’s appearance at Bezos’ wedding last year as evidence of a possible relationship responsible for the movie not fitting in at Amazon.

Meanwhile, actor Ike Barinholtz — who plays Elon Musk in the film — added fuel to the Big-Tech fire last year when he was asked if he had considered meeting Musk before portraying him.

“I’m OK,” Barinholtz said, adding that Musk is “famous enough that you get it.”

The “MADtv” alumnus added, “All I hope is that if he puts me into a gulag, it’s one with all of my friends. That way we can have a party.”

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​Sam altman, Andrew garfield, Elon musk, Cooper hoffman, Amazon, Jeff bezos, Entertainment