Law enforcement officials are expressing shock at the conditions that allegedly led to the death of a 7-year-old boy in Michigan.

Paramedics were called to the home in Flint Township on Nov. 4, 2025, over the report of a child in distress.

‘It was just one of the most unbelievable scenes that the police have seen, that I’ve reviewed in my 22 years as prosecuting attorney.’

They found Casper O’Brien having difficulty breathing and unable to move because he weighed 255 pounds, according to the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office.

His parents, Damien and Jessica O’Brien, had also packed the home with so many objects that it was difficult to move around. Police reported there was feces throughout the home because the toilet didn’t work.

They also said the boy had “some of the worst open sores and rashes they’ve ever seen.”

He died later that evening at a hospital.

His parents were charged with one count of second-degree murder, one count of torture, and three counts of second-degree child abuse.

Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said the autopsy showed the boy died of a heart muscle disease, and morbid obesity was listed as a contributing factor.

“What we allege is that he was not fed in a nutritious way,” Leyton said. “He was neglected, and he was abused, and his diet is part of it, and not getting whatever help he needed because he was nonverbal as part of it. All that adds up to an extreme case of child abuse resulting in someone’s death.”

They also found a 5-year-old child who was morbidly obese. She was found naked outside by officers and was dirty, with knots in her hair.

Leyton gave a rundown of the evidence gathered in the case.

“We’ll present the body camera footage,” Leyton said. “We’ll present the autopsy results. We’ll present the fact that this child died from fairly natural causes brought on by the obesity and the lack of nutrition. And we’ll present what we think as a case of neglect and abuse and torture.”

RELATED: People so ‘extremely obese’ they were almost bedridden starved 14-year-old girl until she weighed 35 pounds, police say

The parents could face life in prison if convicted.

Leyton expressed disbelief at the parents’ behavior because the father had a good job with health insurance but had only taken the boy to a doctor once.

“They had called the veterinarian about one of their pets. They knew what to do for the dog, but they didn’t do it for their own child,” he added. “Sadly, he died because of neglect.”

Leyton said the case was difficult for the police — as well as Child Protective Services — to investigate.

“It was just one of the most unbelievable scenes that the police have seen, that I’ve reviewed in my 22 years as prosecuting attorney,” Leyton added.

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​Child abuse, Michigan, Torture, Child protective services, Morbid obesity, Crime 

In New York City, three Democratic Socialists of America members recently won their primaries, pushing out two longtime incumbent Democrats. Far-left influencer Hasan Piker celebrated the victories by declaring, “It’s the decade of socialism. It’s coming to a neighborhood near you.”

Piker has called the Republican Party the world’s “biggest terrorist” and recently said Israel, in its current form, “does not have a right to exist.”

Far-left activists are using the education system to undermine Western institutions and advance a fundamentally different political vision.

Socialist and neo-communist partisans such as Piker and the DSA are gaining momentum in major cities. Many Americans do not realize that these far-left “people’s movements” often are not grassroots uprisings at all. They are driven by billionaire-funded activist organizations and progressives with elite academic backgrounds.

How did an anti-Western ideology gain such influence, especially among young people?

Part of the answer lies in the education system.

The radical left has turned American children, teachers, and K-12 schools into pieces of a political apparatus designed to build immediate and long-term power. From colleges of education to preschool lessons to youth activism, classrooms are increasingly used to advance an intentionally vague socialist “political revolution.”

The training begins before teachers ever enter the classroom.

Many colleges of education now treat anti-racism and social justice activism as core elements in the training of future and current educators. Schools of higher education also promote critical pedagogy as a “best practice.” That philosophy, rooted in cultural Marxism, treats teaching as inherently political and justifies far-left activism and diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the education system as necessary tools to overcome supposed oppression.

What is taught in colleges of education never stays there.

The New York State Education Department’s Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education Framework promotes critical pedagogy to help dismantle “systems of biases and inequities rooted in our country’s history, culture, and institutions.”

New York City schools have adopted this strategy. A key component is “critical consciousness,” or what many would call a woke mindset. This approach seeks to “identify and interrupt policies and practices that center on historically advantaged social/cultural groups.”

In other words, New York City teachers are expected to incorporate far-left political orthodoxy into teaching methods, curriculum development, lesson planning, and classroom activities.

RELATED: Who wants to eat a trillionaire?

Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis/Getty Images

New York is not alone.

In Joliet Public Schools in Illinois, the district’s “Teacher Evaluation Framework” says contracted staff can receive an “excellent” mark if they demonstrate critical consciousness in classroom interactions and performance.

Once these abstract concepts reach the classroom, they are woven into curricula such as ethnic studies, conditioning children to see society almost exclusively through the lens of oppressor and oppressed. Sold to school boards, parents, and communities as the study of history and culture, ethnic studies often functions as an activist training program rooted in critical pedagogy.

Some students are exposed to this framework as early as preschool. They are not merely taught to view the world through an anti-Western political lens. They are also encouraged, and in some cases required, to engage in activism or “action research” aimed at dismantling “systems of oppression” such as capitalism and the “patriarchy.”

Those seeds of politicization bore fruit last spring when schools across the country dealt with hundreds of student walkouts in support of far-left political causes and a “political revolution.”

These youth protests were not fully organic. They were often organized, promoted, or funded by activist organizations such as the Party for Socialism and Liberation, the Sunrise Movement, and teachers’ unions.

The most extreme example came from Chicago Public Schools, which gave in to the Chicago Teachers Union’s demand to use students and district resources for its May Day mass mobilization effort.

Regardless of political affiliation, Americans who care about the constitutional republic should recognize what is happening. Far-left activists are using the education system to undermine Western institutions and advance a fundamentally different political vision.

Thomas Paine wrote 250 years ago that “tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered.” If this republic is to endure, it will require the same love of liberty and willingness to defend it that animated previous generations.

American children deserve the same opportunity for self-government enjoyed by those who came before them. That’s why the corruption of the education system in service of anti-Western ideology and political activism must end.

​Activism, Chicago teachers union, Critical pedagogy, Democratic socialists, Diversity equity inclusion, Education, Hasan piker, Indoctrination, Leftism, New york city, Opinion & analysis, Public schools, Social justice, Socialism 

Bill Maher did not suddenly become a conservative. That is what makes his recent comments to Vice President JD Vance so politically revealing.

Maher is still Maher — a liberal comedian, secular critic of Christianity, supporter of abortion, and longtime enemy of the religious right. He is not about to show up at a Turning Point USA conference in a red cap. He is not quoting Milton Friedman at CPAC. He is not becoming a Baptist.

Bill Maher is not moving right because Republicans suddenly became perfect. He is moving right because Democrats moved left into madness.

Yet in a recent conversation with Vance, Maher said his 2028 vote is “in play.” He said he could imagine voting for Vance or Marco Rubio if Republicans nominated the right candidate.

That should terrify Democrats.

Maher does not represent the average American voter in every respect. But he represents something dangerous for Democrats: the liberal who still remembers what liberalism used to be. He remembers when Democrats imagined themselves as the party of free speech, civil liberties, working-class people, and common sense. He remembers when liberals mocked religious fundamentalists rather than replacing them with secular versions in HR departments, faculty lounges, and school boards.

Maher’s point was not that Republicans have become irresistible. It was that Democrats have become repellent.

That is the real story.

For years, Democrats have comforted themselves with the idea that the country is divided over Donald Trump. Maher’s comments reveal a different problem. What happens when the choice is not Trump? What happens when the Republican nominee is Vance, Rubio, or someone else who can speak fluently about the failures of the left without carrying all of Trump’s baggage?

Then, Democrats have to defend themselves. That is where things get difficult.

Look at New York City.

The city that once elected Rudy Giuliani after years of chaos and vowed never to forget 9/11 is becoming the showcase for democratic socialism and outright communism. Candidates backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the Democratic Socialists of America just swept important Democratic primaries.

RELATED: ‘Weak and pathetic’: Mamdani-backed radicals sweep Democratic establishment in New York’s electoral bloodbath

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

These candidates are not progressive in the old sense. They reject the assumptions that once made the Democratic Party nationally competitive. They talk as if capitalism is the enemy, policing is oppression, borders are immoral, and Israel is uniquely evil among nations. They embrace socialism, excuse anti-Semitism, and treat Western civilization as a crime scene.

The old Democratic establishment used to understand that this was a problem. It knew America was not a socialist country. It knew most Americans did not want their cities run by activists. It knew Americans might debate the policies of Israel while still rejecting anti-Semitism.

Now, the Democratic establishment mostly shrugs. Or worse, it congratulates the winners and pretends this is normal.

It is not normal.

It is not normal for open socialists to become the energy center of a major American political party. It is not normal for candidates surrounded by anti-Israel radicalism to be treated as the future. It is not normal for Jewish voters to be told, in effect, that their concerns about anti-Semitism are merely bad-faith efforts to silence criticism of Israel.

That is one reason Maher’s discomfort matters. He is not a Christian Zionist or conservative evangelical. He is an irreverent liberal comedian who can see that something has gone wrong when the left cannot clearly distinguish between criticism of a government and hostility toward Jews as Jews.

Anti-Semitism is not the only issue.

The same problem appears in gender ideology. Americans are generally willing to be kind and decent to adults who identify as transgender. What they will not do is surrender reality.

They do not want boys in girls’ sports. They do not want men in women’s prisons. They do not want children rushed into medical pathways that can alter their bodies permanently. They do not want schools hiding gender transitions from parents. They do not want bureaucrats punishing anyone who says male and female are real categories grounded in nature.

Yet the Democratic Party has made this agenda a test of moral purity. Ordinary Americans who believe the obvious — that men are not women — are treated as bigots.

This is political insanity. It is also moral bullying.

The left first demanded tolerance. Then it demanded affirmation. Then it demanded participation. Now it demands that Americans deny what they can see with their own eyes. If they refuse, they are told they are hateful.

That kind of politics creates backlash. It also creates strange coalitions.

RELATED: Sorry, socialists: The system isn’t the savior

Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg/Getty Images

A voter does not have to become a movement conservative to conclude that Democrats have become dangerous. He may simply want his daughter to play sports against girls. He may want his Jewish neighbor to be safe walking to synagogue. He may want police to arrest criminals. He may want schools to teach reading instead of gender ideology. He may want politicians who like the country they seek to govern.

That is the opening Republicans now have.

The opportunity is not merely to say, “Vote Republican because we are Republicans.” That is not enough. The opportunity is to say, “You may not agree with us on everything, but we are not asking you to pretend reality is fake.”

Maher is not the whole electorate. But he is a warning flare. When even Bill Maher looks at Democrats and says his vote is up for grabs, the problem is not Republican messaging. The problem is Democratic extremism.

Democrats can keep telling themselves that voters are being manipulated by right-wing media. They can keep insisting that concerns about socialism, anti-Semitism, crime, schools, and gender ideology are manufactured panics. They can keep nominating activists who sound as if they are running a graduate seminar in revolutionary decolonization resentment.

Or they can notice what is happening.

Bill Maher is not moving right because Republicans suddenly became perfect. He is moving right because Democrats moved left into madness.

If Democrats keep going, Maher will not be the last liberal to say: enough.

​Bill maher, Jd vance, Opinion & analysis, Democratic socialists of america, Republicans, 2028 election, Democrats, Progressives, Zohran mamdani 

BlazeTV host Christopher Rufo believes the Democrat Party machine and its woke politics is being replaced by something far more sinister: die-hard socialists and third worldism.

Just last week, three Zohran Mamdani-backed Democratic socialists — Claire Valdez (NY-7), Darializa Avila Chevalier (NY-13), and Brad Lander (NY-10) — won their Democratic congressional primaries, defeating establishment incumbents and candidates, including two sitting representatives.

“The Dem establishment is totally crushed, totally weak, totally ineffective,” says Rufo, “and in New York, we’ve seen this playing out now for about a year where they tried to run moderate Dem candidates … trying to stop the DSA candidates from gaining so much power, but the DSA is really running the show.”

“They have control over the municipal government; they have control over the greater New York City congressional delegation; they have a permanent infrastructure,” he continues.

The Democrat establishment, Rufo argues, has virtually become a “misnomer” because the Democratic Socialists of America has really become the establishment power now. They’re the ones with “full-time activists, a full-time messaging apparatus, [and] a full-time get-out-the-vote operation.” They have mastered the art of “out-organizing” their opponents, he says.

Co-host Jonathan Keeperman doesn’t see the Democrat establishment vs. the DSA as a matter of “competing architectures,” however. He believes the left’s “lack of leadership” has allowed the DSA to begin “colonizing the old Democrat machine.”

“The Democrats have nothing even close to … a singular figure who can point that constituency in a particular electoral direction,” he says, calling the Democrat Party “a totally rudderless ship.”

“[The Democrat Party is] up for contest,” says Rufo, “and it seems clear that the more radical left-wing factions within the Democratic Party feel like they have all of the energy; they have all of the momentum; and that they can ride it to the end point, which is changing the party from within.”

While he acknowledges that DSA power is still relatively confined — pocketed in deep-blue places like New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco — its ability to “take a minority faction in a larger political body, capture it, subvert it, bully it, and then get it to submit” is disturbing.

“I think you’re going to see a lot of the DSA ideas trickling upward in the party. These activists are going to use their leverage, their star power, their charisma, and it’s going to change the Democratic Party,” Rufo predicts.

And that’s a terrifying prospect because these ideas will be rooted not in wokeism, which is bad enough, but in “third worldism” — an even more “serious threat to life, liberty, and property.”

“The left has molted the dead skin of woke,” he says.

The push is no longer “the oppressor-oppressed narrative” that urges redistribution of goods and services to “oppressed groups.” The DSA promotes a far “harder-edged political ideology,” says Rufo. “If you listen to these candidates like Darializa Chevalier, it’s seize property, seize housing, seize wealth.”

“It is a third-worldist ideology,” he declares.

To hear more, watch the episode above.

Want more from Rufo & Lomez?

To enjoy more of the news through the anthropological lens of Christopher Rufo and Lomez, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Rufo & lomez, Jonathan keeperman, Darializa chevalier, New york, Democratic socialists of america, Dsa, Democrat party, Christopher rufo 

A 16-year-old male is accused of opening fire on an occupied Augusta, Georgia, home last month, and law enforcement said the public should consider the suspect “armed and dangerous.”

The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office obtained aggravated assault warrants for Kawung Bentley Jr. in connection with the May 18 shooting in the 2300 block of Travis Pines Drive, the Augusta Press reported.

‘Deputies found about four bullet holes in the bedroom window and two more in the exterior wall near the window.’

Deputies responded to the residence around 4:17 a.m. after multiple shots were fired into the home while two people were inside, the Press reported.

The 63-year-old homeowner told deputies that he and a 30-year-old woman were lying in a bedroom when gunfire shattered a bedroom window, the Press reported, adding that the woman told deputies she ran into a bathroom and hid in a bathtub as bullets struck the home.

The homeowner said he saw four males creeping outside the home moments before the shooting, the Press said, adding that the homeowner grabbed his firearm as the suspects fled in a Dodge Durango.

More from the Press:

Deputies found about four bullet holes in the bedroom window and two more in the exterior wall near the window. A parked Dodge Charger outside the home was also struck twice by gunfire.

Investigators recovered two spent shell casings in the roadway along with a backpack believed to have been left behind by one of the suspects.

Despite the gunfire entering the occupied home, there is no indication in the incident report that either of the two people inside was struck or injured.

The Sheriff’s Office released a wanted flyer this week identifying Bentley as the suspect and warning the public not to approach him.

RELATED: 4 children alone at home when thugs shoot up house; Mom says it’s payback after son, 14, fought at school when he got jumped

Image source: Richmond County (Ga.) Sheriff’s Office

Those with information on Bentley’s whereabouts are asked to contact investigator Sean Morrow at 706-432-5281 or the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division at 706-821-1080 or 706-821-1020, the Press added.

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​Georgia, Richmond county sheriff’s office, Teen wanted, Shooting, Aggravated assault warrant, Augusta, Crime 

Billionaire George Soros is heading toward breaking his own record in campaign donations after already spending nearly $103 million in the midterm elections.

Soros was the largest single donor in the midterms four years ago when he spent $128 million, according to a review of Federal Election Commission records.

‘The Soros family is angrier than ever at American politics. … They would prefer to remake America into something entirely different.’

The 95-year-old has made less than $1 million of donations in his own name, while the vast majority of his donations were funneled through the Democracy Political Action Committee he launched in 2020.

“Money talks, and Soros money says the most insidious, unconstitutional, costly tax hikes in American history are on the table,” said Douglas Kellogg of the Americans for Tax Reform organization.

He went on to describe him as the “wannabe Bond villain” who is responsible for the left-wing takeover of the Democratic Party.

Capital Research Center investigative researcher Parker Thayer told the New York Post that George Soros has begun the process of transferring his power to his eldest son, Alexander Soros.

“He wants to be more political than his dad. This is the first midterm cycle where he is in control,” Thayer said of the younger Soros.

“George is not in control; he hasn’t been in control in some time,” he added.

Both Soroses have backed the controversial Maine senatorial candidate Graham Platner, as well as Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.).

“The Soros family is angrier than ever at American politics,” Thayer said. “They would prefer to remake America into something entirely different.”

RELATED: ‘We will find you’: Soros-backed district attorney vows to ‘hunt down’ ICE agents who violate law

While Trump has mocked the Democrats for not fighting the communist takeover of the party, a group of Democratic lawmakers has begun to organize a pushback against extremist ideologies.

“We’re for capitalism, not socialism. We’re for safety, not lawlessness,” Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York said about the effort. “We’re proud of America, not ashamed of America — and we need to be promoting those things.”

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​Campaign donations, Midterm elections, Alexander soros, George soros, Politics 

Seemingly out of nowhere, the United States is knee-deep in the quantum computing race.

President Trump signed the executive order Ushering in the Next Frontier of Quantum Innovation on Monday, but the effects of the impending research are rarely discussed.

‘These are the problems where today we cannot run high enough fidelity simulations in a classic computer.’

Quantum computing is typically explained by comparing the calculations of a traditional computer that uses ones and zeros to a quantum computer that uses the numbers in between to make calculations much faster.

A flat coin versus a spinning coin is also used as an analogy, essentially meaning that a quantum computer holds data in a special state that allows it all to be analyzed at once, resulting in faster (more numerous) calculations.

“Quantum information science and technology (QIST) will provide transformational capabilities that will drive American innovation, power economic growth, generate high-paying jobs, and bolster national security,” the executive order reads.

Simply put, the bizarre-looking machines will calculate a lot faster.

RELATED: Science now says time travel is real (just not how we thought) — and it proves God exists

Mandel NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

“A quantum computer is going to solve a very particular type of problem that isn’t solved well today with a classic computer, and it’s going to solve it much better,” Amazon AI executive Peter DeSantis told CNBC.

The reluctance (or inability) to pin down the actual end result of quantum computing can be difficult to surmise, but DeSantis theorized “the problems that I would think are going to be tackled first are the ones that are quantum-based problems, so things like chemistry, material science.”

He added, “These are the problems where today we cannot run high enough fidelity simulations in a classic computer, and once we have a quantum computer, we’re going to find some real progress.”

These computers will allegedly be more adept at code-cracking and designing batteries or superconductors because they are able to model atomic behavior precisely.

RELATED: New lawsuit claims Ring’s smart doorbell spyware is taking photos of millions without their consent

David Zorrakino/Europa Press/Getty Images

White House Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy Michael Kratsios promised more jobs and an increase in the domestic supply chain for quantum infrastructure and materials.

These materials include superconducting circuits, semiconductors, and other supplies so unheard of they are hard to describe outside of their definitions.

For example, required materials include a photonic circuit, which is a chip that modulates and controls laser beams.

In addition, a trapped-ion system is a physical, trapped qubit (a quantum computer bit) that is suspended or trapped in an electromagnetic field.

According to ABC News, Kratsios said the United States should be ready to expand the quantum workforce through apprenticeships, credentials, and workforce development.

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​Quantum computing, Donald trump, News, Executive order, Tech 

Law enforcement officials ended a hostage situation at a jail in North Carolina hours after the inmates were able to overpower guards.

The inmate takeover began at about 5 a.m. at the Bertie-Martin Regional Detention Center in Windsor.

‘The perpetrators must be held accountable for this horrifying action.’

Three guards were accosted and two were taken hostage, while the third was able to escape, according to police.

Hours later, the Federal Bureau of Investigation office in Charlotte announced that an FBI hostage team and a SWAT team helped clear the facility.

“All inmates and staff are safe and accounted for, and those who sustained injuries received treatment,” the FBI statement reads. “Inmates were transferred to other facilities for housing, and the detention center will remain secured while personnel assess the extent of the damage.”

There were 88 inmates at the detention center, which has about 90 beds. The facility houses pretrial detainees and short-term inmates for Bertie County and Martin County.

Bertie County Sheriff Tyrone Ruffin said the two released guards were being treated for injuries, but he did not elaborate on the nature of the injuries.

Ruffin did not answer questions about the cause of the takeover.

“Right now we have a lot going on that we’re trying to get under control,” he added. “I will release that information to the public as soon as I can.”

RELATED: Bystanders taunted and laughed as police officers were being fired upon in Philadelphia

“The perpetrators must be held accountable for this horrifying action,” Gov. Josh Stein (D-N.C.) said on social media.

“We also must do everything in our power to ensure this doesn’t happen again — and that includes doing more to recruit, retain, and compensate the county and state officials who are charged with keeping our jails and prisons safe,” he added.

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​Federal bureau of investigation, Hostage situation, Swat team, North carolina, Crime 

The Supreme Court said in a partisan decision Monday that the president had expansive authority to fire government agency employees.

The ruling overturns a 1935 decision in which the highest court in the land found that Congress could shield government workers from being fired by the president unless it was for cause.

‘Such a Monumental Ruling at such an important time!’

The six conservatives on the court ruled in favor, while the three liberals dissented.

“Although it is up to the Senate to decide whether to confirm those with whom the President would prefer to work, neither Congress nor the courts may saddle him with those with whom he cannot work,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority ruling.

“Subordinates who exercise the President’s power are subject to removal by him,” he added. “Then, and only then, can they remain accountable to the President, and the President to the people.”

The president praised the ruling for expanding his power in numerous posts on the Truth Social platform.

“Today’s Historic Slaughter Decision by the Supreme Court is the Greatest Increase in Presidential Power in the last 100 years. Such a Monumental Ruling at such an important time!” the president posted on Truth Social.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote the dissent, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

“Put simply, today the majority reshapes our Government,” Sotomayor wrote.

RELATED: Thomas RAILS against SCOTUS ruling on firing of Fed governor — with 2 conservatives siding with liberals

“Dozens of independent commissions are now likely to become purely executive agencies, shifting tremendous power over broad swaths of American life into the President’s hands,” she added.

The case was first filed by Rebecca Slaughter, who was appointed by Trump to the Federal Trade Commission in his first term. He sought to dismiss her in his second term without cause, and she sued on the basis of the 1935 precedent set during the New Deal era.

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​Chief justice roberts, Executive branch, President donald trump, Rebecca slaughter, Supreme court, Politics