As a Brit growing up in the 1980s, Halloween was something of a rite of passage.

In October 1988, the buzz in our school canteen wasn’t over who fancied the new girl or who pissed in the swimming pool. It was about who was going as Freddy Krueger. We traded algebra for art as we painstakingly designed costumes in the back of our exercise books.

To light his way, the devil tossed Jack a burning ember from hell, which Jack put inside a hollowed-out turnip.

Of course, back then, we lived in a high-trust society: Parents let us roam the night streets unaccompanied, knocking on strangers’ doors until our pillowcases bulged with sweets we had to drag home and divide.

Fast-forward nearly 40 years, and Halloween in the U.K. feels as dead as a George Romero zombie.

Pooka power

Every year it’s the same. The commentariat inveighs against American cultural imperialism, and the British public prepares for what feels like a hostage situation. Entire streets plunge into darkness as homeowners tape up their letterboxes, turn off the lights, and pretend to be out.

I don’t blame them. If a teenager in a tracksuit and Ghostface mask knocks on a door on a typical English housing estate, he’s unlikely to be a fan of Wes Craven’s postmodern horror franchise. The knife he’s carrying will probably be real, and he won’t be after a Snickers bar.

In contrast, America seems to love Halloween. Entire neighborhoods build haunted houses, while parents dress up alongside their children and have street parades. It’s all very communitarian and, more importantly, fun!

The joke, of course, is on us. That wholesome, happy American family yelling “trick or treat” isn’t celebrating a homegrown invention. America didn’t invent Halloween. Like cricket, we gave it to you. But unlike cricket, you glammed it up, put it in a blood-soaked plastic body bag, and sold it back to us.

As with all eccentric British traditions, you have to go back over 2,000 years to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, celebrated in Ireland and elsewhere in the Celtic world around the end of October. Marking the end of harvest and the beginning of winter, it was associated with the turning of the year and the supernatural.

In later Irish folklore, this was a night when the boundary between the living and the spirit world grew thin, allowing creatures like the Pooka to roam the earth. Disguises, bonfires, and attempts to ward off troublesome spirits became part of the traditions associated with the season.

A proper carve-up

In the eighth century, the Catholic Church added another layer to the festivities. Pope Gregory III established a November 1 observance honoring the saints in Rome, a date later adopted more widely for All Saints’ Day. Whether the timing was intended to supplant Samhain remains disputed, but Christian and older folk customs eventually became intertwined. The night before All Saints’ Day became known as All Hallows’ Eve — what we now call Halloween.

British and Irish traditions helped lay the foundation for what we do today: souling and guising. In England, long before kids demanded an industrial-size bag of M&Ms or your car keys under threat of violence, children and the needy went door-to-door singing and offering prayers for souls in exchange for “soul cakes,” sweet spiced cakes. Across Scotland and Ireland, the locals were guising, a custom involving dressing in grotesque disguises and performing songs for fruit and money.

The tradition of carving jack-o’-lanterns has strong roots in Ireland, including the legend of Stingy Jack. According to Irish folklore, Stingy Jack was a notorious trickster who pranked the devil. After his death, God refused him entry to heaven for being too sinful, but the devil — aware of his shenanigans — didn’t want him either, casting him out to wander the night for eternity. To light his way, the devil tossed Jack a burning ember from hell, which Jack put inside a hollowed-out turnip. The Irish carved disturbing faces into root vegetables to frighten away wandering spirits.

During the 1840s, when famine devastated Ireland, a massive influx of Irish immigrants arrived in North America, joining Scottish immigrants who brought related customs of their own. They packed up their meager possessions and brought their traditions with them.

One thing they were happy to leave behind was the turnip. In America, pumpkins were plentiful, larger, and easier to carve. It sowed the seeds, literally, of a cultural revolution — even if some in the Protestant majority regarded the newcomers’ customs as backward, popish superstitions.

Guy tried

As America took its first steps toward cementing this new tradition, Brits were, as usual, busy dismantling their own. Halloween as we know it now didn’t really exist in 19th- and much of 20th-century England. The closest we got was “Penny for the Guy,” a tradition associated with Bonfire Night on November 5. That was when Britain celebrated sticking it to the Catholics, commemorating Guy Fawkes’ failed attempt to blow up Parliament in 1605.

By the 19th century, children were pushing straw-filled dummies around the streets of Britain in wheelbarrows, asking for pennies to buy fireworks. The life-sized effigy would then sit atop a bonfire and be subsequently burned.

By the 1980s, this once-popular custom was disappearing from the streets where I grew up. “Penny for the Guy” was either carried on by a small handful of die-hard traditionalists or turned into a rich person’s hobby, children bedecked in bespoke Victorian clothes pushing a cart the price of small sedan.

The practice was dying through a combination of classic British tropes: apathy and regulation. Fireworks were being legislated out of our tiny hands. As someone who sat at the crossroads of a new cultural era, I had no interest in building a guy. Spending an entire weekend stuffing clothes with straw and shredded newspaper was too much to ask a generation discovering video games and MTV.

RELATED: Dear America: Please give cricket a chance

Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

Blast from the past

Sourcing illegal explosives, however? We’d work overtime for that. Our autumn side hustle involved pyromania. Like all boys through recorded history, we thought explosions were awesome. Shopkeepers were legally banned from selling to under-16s and kept fireworks under the counter away from youthful eyes, but it was no deterrent.

This was the 1980s. Laws were merely suggestions, never enforced. All it took was an older mate or a “cool” adult — one who would probably buy you beer as well — and voila! A world of blowing stuff up awaited. Parents were also more liberal (in a good way) and often took a libertarian view of our minor pyrotechnic carnage. One year, we put a friend in a dustbin, threw in half a dozen lit bangers, and sat on the lid. When he climbed out, all we did was roll around laughing. He looked like Wile E. Coyote after being given a cigar marked TNT. Glory days.

Enter America with a rebrand. Recognizing a Jason Voorhees gaping knife-wound-sized void in the British calendar, Hollywood and the American retail machine swooped in. America deconsecrated Halloween. They took its ancient folk customs, stripped them of their myth, and repackaged them in lowbrow, high-fructose glitzy consumerism.

I don’t blame them. They saw a bunch of kids who wanted some fun without the tedium of manual labor. But we didn’t adopt trick-or-treating simply because we loved watching serial killers slash cheerleaders in dormitories. It was because we were too lazy to build a life-sized doll.

The irony? We now fork out £20 for a tacky “Scream” mask and a bag of imported Hershey’s, forgetting that the whole freak show was ours in the first place.

​Halloween, Lifestyle, Guy fawkes, Penny for the guy, Uk, Britain, England, Samhain, All saints day, Christianity, Letter from the uk 

The Trump administration lost a bid to force California to set aside ballots from a list of likely noncitizen voters.

The Department of Justice had flagged about 20,000 likely noncitizen voters and asked California to either verify their status as legal voters or segregate any ballots from those on the list.

‘There is a public interest in maintaining the integrity of elections. But as discussed, the district court found that the risks that noncitizens are voting are, at best, uncertain.’

California officials resisted, claiming that the list was vague and could lead to the disenfranchisement of legal voters.

The legal battle has worked its way through the court system and now may go to the U.S. Supreme Court.

A two-judge majority on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday that the list was not credible, as a lower court had found.

“As the district court found — and we discern no clear error — there is no feasible way to identify and segregate the ballots of specific individuals without potentially catastrophic effects on the entire system,” the unsigned ruling reads.

U.S. Circuit Judge Patrick Bumatay dissented from the majority.

“Throughout history, federal courts have acted to protect the voting and civil rights of our citizens by enjoining state action that violates the law,” Bumatay wrote. “And common sense also tells us that the federal government shouldn’t have to sit on its hands while a State allows the violation of federal law, especially when the integrity of federal elections is at stake.”

California Secretary of State Shirley Weber previously accused the federal government of making “vague and unsubstantiated allegations” in the list from the Department of Homeland Security.

“If the federal government possesses proof that certain registered voters in California are ineligible, we will welcome the opportunity to review that evidence and any supporting data or methodology,” Weber said.

The appeals court appeared to agree with that argument in its split ruling Friday.

“To be sure, there are countervailing public interests at stake,” the majority ruling reads. “There is a public interest in maintaining the integrity of elections. But as discussed, the district court found that the risks that noncitizens are voting are, at best, uncertain.”

The Trump administration could request that the entire Ninth Circuit Court review the case, or it could appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The election is in four days.

RELATED: Newsom is OUTRAGED over Justice Department lawsuit to block votes from 20,000 ‘likely noncitizens’

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom posted a brief statement about the ruling.

“The courts have thrown out Trump’s desperate and dangerous attempts to meddle in the California election process. We’ll continue to fight their illegal power grabs and deliver a free and fair election,” he wrote on social media.

The appeals judges who signed the majority included one nominated by President Donald Trump and one appointed by former President Joe Biden.

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​Department of justice, Election integrity, Ninth circuit, Trump administration, Politics 

Popular and controversial women’s basketball player Sophie Cunningham opened up about why her Christian faith is pivotal to her life.

On Thursday’s episode of his “This Past Weekend” podcast, comedian Theo Von asked the Indiana Fever player to talk about her religious beliefs.

‘There’s nothing that you can or can’t do that’s gonna separate you from God’s love and grace and forgiveness.’

“Let’s talk about your faith. You got baptized as an adult, right?” Von asked.

“I’m gonna bring you to church with me,” she responded.

Cunningham said she doesn’t have a home church because of her lifestyle but said she is very connected to her faith.

“I was raised Catholic, but now I’m just like more Christian. I can never say this word — nondenominational? Just said it,” she joked.

“I love Jesus, and I’ve actually listened to you a little bit that you’re starting to kind of maybe get into it or intrigued by it a little bit,” she added.

“Oh, yeah,” Von responded.

“Or maybe that was just you not actually. I don’t know, but it’s OK. But all I’m saying is, I rely a lot on my faith because of what I do for a living. You get a lot of hate; you get a lot of praise. And I think that just morally in my head, everything, it just keeps me stable, and it keeps me to be who I am,” she added.

“I don’t care what people’s opinions are about me because I’m not living for their praise,” Cunningham said.

Von said that he really liked having a prayer connection with God but admitted that he felt bad when he neglected that connection.

“I feel you. … There’s nothing — I’m just gonna say this, and this is for the people listening too, but there’s nothing that you can or can’t do that’s gonna separate you from God’s love and grace and forgiveness,” she responded.

“That’s why Jesus came and died on the cross because He already knew everything you were going to do. So, I mean, that’s up to you now to kind of educate yourself and read the Bible,” Cunningham added.

“But you’re already forgiven,” she added.

“I understand that. … I just feel more of personal connection when I’m prayed up,” he said.

“Yeah!” she responded.

“My buddy say, ‘Stay prayed up.’ My buddy, he say that all the time. ‘Stay prayed up.’ It’s almost like if you talk to somebody every now and then, then you don’t have to catch up with them,” he added.

“Well, that’s a thousand percent what it is,” she replied.

“That’s what I’m saying,” he added.

Von reiterated that sometimes he gets busy and neglects his prayer life.

“That’s natural. That’s what it is to be human. You just gotta prioritize the good,” she replied.

Cunningham went on to praise the people who were “bold and courageous” about speaking out publicly about their faith. She said she believes there is a revival under way.

RELATED: Black WNBA player blames ‘white privilege’ after getting ejected for flagrant foul on Sophie Cunningham

Cunningham also told Von he should bring on experts to talk more about the interaction between science and faith.

“Yeah. We want to have the pope on, but he won’t. I don’t even know if he has a phone,” Von responded.

“I mean, someone has a phone around there,” she responded. “They’re not the Amish. And even the Amish have phones.”

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​Christian faith, Jesus christ, Sophie cunningham, Theo von, This past weekend, Womens basketball, Politics 

Two popular financial platforms came under attack Thursday within hours of each other. The cryptocurrency platform Binance and prediction market platform Polymarket both suffered huge losses totaling billions of dollars, and it was all stolen directly from users’ accounts.

Both platforms are juggernauts in their categories. Binance is by far the biggest cryptocurrency exchange on the planet, boasting 335 million users, which makes it a prime target for hackers. Meanwhile, Polymarket is the leading prediction market, edging out Kalshi for global dominance.

Binance revealed that it set aside $6.34 billion to recuperate the losses suffered by its users.

Binance was the first to take a hit. According to an official post sent out by the company’s X account:

Our teams are aware of reports of a potential security issue and are actively investigating. User funds are completely safe.

Our security teams are reviewing all relevant information with urgency, and we will provide updates through official Binance channels as soon as we have verified information.

Users should remain cautious of scams and should not trust unofficial links, messages, or requests for account information.

Unfortunately, the claim that user funds were safe and secure quickly fell apart. In the next 24 hours, Binance revealed that it set aside $6.34 billion to recuperate the losses suffered by its users, all of which Binance vows to pay back in full.

Users can currently deposit money into their Binance accounts, but withdrawals are paused as the company works with law enforcement and blockchain experts to investigate the attack. So far, they know it is linked to TraderTraitor, a hacking group based in North Korea.

RELATED: Another major AI attack hits the internet — this time targeting the backbone of American capitalism

Black_Kira//Getty Images

Around the same time, Polymarket was hacked, with bad actors siphoning $2.7 million from 737 users’ accounts. The attack was made possible through a vulnerability in a third-party system that allowed the attackers to intervene in active trading sessions and take funds.

Just like Binance, Polymarket has vowed to repay the affected users. Trading on Polymarket was halted temporarily while the issue was resolved. All systems are now back online.

Although the Polymarket story may be over, the Binance debacle is still developing, even as it closes out a tumultuous Black October. Blaze News will have an update on the latest early next week as more details unfold.

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​Cryptocurrency, Attack, Hackers, Tech 

A former Minnesota high school special-education teacher who was accused of booking hotel rooms to have sex with a student has learned her fate, and she doesn’t have to return to jail.

Ann Margaret Bacon, 27, pleaded guilty in September to third-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a prohibited occupational relationship.

‘Please be assured that the trust and safety of our students remain our utmost priority.’

On Monday in Ramsey County District Court, the former teacher was sentenced to 180 days, according to the Pioneer Press. But Bacon will be permitted to serve her sentence on electronic home monitoring.

Judge Thomas Gilligan Jr. also sentenced Bacon to two years of supervised probation, and she will receive two days of credit for time already served in custody.

In August 2022, Bacon was hired as a special-education teacher at Tartan High School in Oakdale, according to the school district.

The Pioneer Press reported in February 2024 that a criminal complaint stated that a witness and her friend in July 2023 sounded the alarm about a possible teacher-student relationship of concern “because they did not feel the situation was appropriate.”

Another witness told police that the alleged male victim, who was 18 years old at the time, had been “acting secretively” and spending time with Bacon, according to the complaint.

The Pioneer Press said “Witness B” told police about sexually explicit messages and photos of Bacon and “Victim 1 on Victim 1’s phone.” There also were photos of them in a hotel room, the paper said.

The victim told authorities that he first had sex with Bacon in her car near his house in July 2023, according to the complaint.

The criminal complaint also said police obtained records showing Bacon rented hotel rooms on four different occasions for one night each time.

RELATED: VIDEO: Married teacher shows cops where in classroom she allegedly had sex with student — offered to leave husband for him

Witnesses allegedly informed investigators that Bacon purchased alcohol for minors, according to the New York Post.

The criminal complaint noted that she received a $40 Venmo payment that was labeled as “liqq” but that Bacon “claimed she didn’t remember who it was from or what it was for.”

The Pioneer Press also reported that Bacon resigned from her teaching position on Feb. 8, 2024 — the same day police interviewed her regarding accusations that she had an inappropriate relationship with a student.

Tartan Principal Bethany DeCent notified families and school staff in February 2024, “Please be assured that the trust and safety of our students remain our utmost priority. We are cooperating fully with law enforcement’s investigation and will continue to do so throughout the process.”

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​Teacher sex scandal, Bad teacher, Teacher arrested, Minnesota, Crime