U.S. News
Pretrial Publicity Wars: Robinson Defense Demands Death Penalty Be Dropped Over Prosecution’s Bullet ‘Media Tour’
The capital murder trial of Tyler Robinson—the 23-year-old accused of the September 10, 2025, assassination of conservative Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk—has dissolved into an aggressive legal brawl over media control and prosecutor misconduct. Appearing in a Provo, Utah courtroom, Robinson’s defense team formally requested that 4th District Judge Tony Graf strip the state of its ability to seek the death penalty. The defense argues that state prosecutors launched an unauthorized, toxic “media tour” regarding highly sensitive ballistics evidence, deliberately tainting the prospective jury pool and violating direct judicial orders. At The Modern Memo, we break down the forensic dispute over a critical bullet fragment, the defense’s high-stakes push for severe sanctions, and the free-speech justifications prosecutors are using to defend their press engagements. The “Media Tour” Accusation: Demanding the Ultimate Sanction Tyler Robinson faces a potential death sentence if convicted of aggravated murder for the shooting that occurred on the campus of Utah Valley University. However, the case has shifted away from the scene of the crime and into a bitter dispute over extrajudicial statements. The Contempt Charge: Robinson’s defense attorneys filed a motion to hold the Utah County Attorney’s Office in contempt of court. They allege that prosecutors explicitly breached restrictions imposed by Judge Graf that strictly barred both sides from discussing details of the case outside the courtroom. Taking Death Off the Table: While Robinson’s lawyers did not specify standard procedural fines, their court filings explicitly pointed to prior case law where a state’s contempt resulted in the loss of a capital option. The defense noted that while such a remedy is rare, the court possesses the full structural authority to take the death penalty off the table if the facts demonstrate the state compromised a defendant’s right to a fair trial. The Sealed Exhibit War: The defense’s push directly coincides with their ongoing efforts to seal dozens of upcoming prosecution exhibits and enforce a total media camera ban inside the courtroom to guard against coverage they claim constantly misrepresents Robinson. The Forensic Fuse: The Bullet Fragment Dispute The specific trigger for the defense’s outrage centers on media interviews given by prosecutors regarding an expert ballistics report—data that both sides view as a critical pillar of the state’s physical case. The Inconclusive Finding: Rumors originally leaked out of the case detailing an initial, inconclusive finding by ballistics experts. These early reports indicated that scientists could not immediately match the specific bullet fragments recovered from Charlie Kirk’s body directly to the firearm seized from Robinson. The Exoneration Narrative: The preliminary findings spurred a wave of viral media stories and public speculation hinting at Robinson’s potential innocence or imminent exoneration. The Prosecutor Counter-Strike: Alarmed by the shifting public narrative, state prosecutors gave interviews to clarify the context of the expert report, explaining that preliminary inconclusiveness did not eliminate the firearm or rule out Robinson’s involvement. The State’s Defense: The Right to Correct the Record Faced with the threat of losing their capital prosecution or being held in contempt, the Utah County Attorney’s Office mounted a fierce defense of their media interactions, arguing they had a constitutional and ethical duty to intervene. Setting the Record Straight: Deputy Utah County Attorney Christopher Ballard aggressively pushed back against the defense’s motion in written filings. “The rules expressly allow lawyers to set the record straight,” Ballard wrote, arguing that prosecutors were reacting to distorted leaks originating from the defense’s side of the aisle. The Public Right to Know: Prosecutors contend that their comments did not violate the spirit of Judge Graf’s gag order because they were explicitly intended to correct active, public misinformation rather than inject new prejudicial facts into the ecosystem. The Victims’ Stance: The political dimension of the trial remains highly charged. Kirk’s wife, Erika Kirk—who has taken the reins of Turning Point USA following her husband’s death—has publicly aligned against the defense’s secrecy push, explicitly demanding that the press and the public retain unconstrained access to every phase of the court hearings. Final Word The defense’s demand to strip the death penalty from the Tyler Robinson case is the definitive proof that modern capital trials are fought as much in the court of public opinion as they are before a judge. When you look past the noise of the “media tour” allegations and focus entirely on the hard data—a defendant facing the ultimate punishment for a high-profile campus assassination, prosecutors stepping outside court to manage a collapsing ballistic narrative, and the defense leveraging that press engagement to dismantle a capital charge—you gain an unvarnished view of a trial on a knife’s edge. Quality information replaces the theatrical outrage with the cold mechanics of due process. It allows you to see that while prosecutors believe they were merely balancing the scales of public perception, they gave the defense a potent weapon to challenge the state’s ultimate authority. By forcing Judge Graf to rule on whether the state’s words compromised a fair trial, Robinson’s team has effectively put the prosecution itself on the witness stand.
Breaking Trust: Loudoun County Parents Outraged After Superintendent Defends Transgender Policies on Capitol Hill
The bitter, long-running war over parental rights and gender identity in public education returned to the national spotlight on June 10, 2026, during a contentious congressional hearing on Capitol Hill. Entitled “Breaking Trust: Attacks on Parental Rights, Inappropriate Content, and Legal Abuses in America’s Schools,” the House Education and Workforce Committee hearing put the leaders of three major school systems directly in the hot seat. Among them, Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) Superintendent Aaron Spence faced an intense grilling from lawmakers. His vigorous defense of the Virginia district’s transgender policies—coupled with claims that schools and families are not at odds—has sparked fierce backlash from local parents who declare they are anything but satisfied. At The Modern Memo, we break down the fiery congressional testimony, the legal clashes over bathroom and locker room access, and the deep-seated local outrage that continues to make Loudoun County the epicenter of America’s parental rights revolution. The Hearing: “Too Often, the Narrative Frames Us as Adversaries” Superintendent Spence appeared alongside the chiefs of Chicago Public Schools and San Francisco Unified School District to answer for policies that critics argue systematically sideline parents and fuel radical ideologies in the classroom. The Soft Narrative: In his opening remarks, Spence attempted to downplay the ongoing friction between his administration and Loudoun County families. “Too often, the public narrative frames schools and parents as adversaries,” Spence testified. “That is not the reality I see in our community or in public education more broadly.” The Immediate Backlash: Local parental rights groups quickly condemned the statement as blatant gaslighting. Parents pointed to years of explosive school board meetings, formal complaints, and deep transparency deficits regarding student transitions as clear evidence that the administration remains severely out of touch with its constituents. The Legal Complaints: Compounding the pressure, the conservative advocacy group America First Legal filed formal complaints with the Trump administration just 48 hours prior to the hearing. The complaints demand immediate federal civil rights and Title IX investigations into LCPS for allegedly concealing student gender transitions and withholding vital pronoun information from families. The Clashes: Biological Men in Women’s Spaces The temperature in the committee room spiked dramatically when Republican lawmakers pinned Spence down on the mechanics of Loudoun County’s restroom, locker room, and field-trip lodging arrangements. The Locker Room Exchange: Representative Robert Onder Jr. (R-Mo.) pressed Spence directly on the district’s boundaries. “Yes or no, should biological men be allowed in locker rooms with biological women or girls?” Onder asked. “Transgender women should be allowed in women’s spaces,” Spence responded, doubling down when pressed further by asserting, “Federal law requires it.” The Title IX Divide: Lawmakers fiercely disputed Spence’s legal justification. While Spence cited the 2020 Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board Fourth Circuit ruling to argue that restricting restroom access violates Title IX, committee Republicans countered that the federal law’s original intent is to protect biological women and girls. The Trump administration has already threatened Loudoun County with a total loss of federal funding if it continues to allow biological males into female private spaces. Overnight Field Trips: Representative Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) further targeted the district’s overnight field trip policies that allow biological males to share sleeping quarters near biological females. Spence defended the rule, stating it is “appropriate and lawful” to treat transgender students as their identified gender, while noting parents can theoretically “seek alternatives” if they object. Local Frustrations Boil Over: A History of Shielding Incidents For Loudoun County parents, the congressional testimony reopened deep wounds left by previous, highly publicized safety failures within the district’s gender-inclusive facilities. The Bathroom Incidents Raised: Lawmakers repeatedly interrogated Spence over a past incident at an LCPS high school where a transgender student was accused of surreptitiously filming other boys in a bathroom. Committee members demanded to know why the victims who complained about the privacy violation allegedly received harsher disciplinary suspensions than the perpetrator. The Privacy Shield: Spence hid behind student privacy laws to evade specifics, claiming the public reports were inaccurate. However, parents noted that the U.S. Department of Education had already found Loudoun County in violation of Title IX over its disastrous handling of that specific incident, entirely invalidating the district’s deflections. The “Partnership” Farce: “We are completely unsatisfied with his answers,” said one Loudoun County mother who watched the broadcast. “Spence stands up there in Washington and tells Congress that parents are ‘partners’, but when we ask what is happening to our daughters in the locker rooms, we are met with stonewalling and lawsuits. The trust isn’t broken—it’s gone.” Final Word Superintendent Aaron Spence’s defensive display on Capitol Hill is the definitive proof that institutional education bureaucrats remain entirely insulated from the families they are paid to serve. When you look past the hollow public relations platitudes of “safe and welcoming environments” and focus entirely on the hard data—a district explicitly permitting biological males into girls’ locker rooms and overnight cabins, pending federal complaints over hidden social transitions, and threats of a total cutoff of federal funding—you gain an unvarnished view of an administrative regime in complete denial. Quality information strips away the narrative of “lawful compliance” and exposes the reality of an institutional elite treating parental authority as an obstacle to be bypassed. By standing before Congress to declare that parents and schools are not adversaries, Spence didn’t heal the divide in Loudoun County—he proved exactly why local parents will not stop fighting until local control is fully restored.
The Takeover Triumph: Test Scores Soar in Texas’ Largest School District, Smashing ‘Systemic Racism’ Narratives
The bitter national debate over local control and state intervention in public education has been handed an undeniable empirical verdict. The Houston Independent School District (HISD)—the largest school system in Texas and the eighth-largest in the United States—has recorded historic, sweeping academic gains across its more than 270 campuses. The achievement data arrives three school years into a highly controversial state takeover that was heavily vilified by local progressive politicians as a “racist, power-grabbing partisan assault.” The data released by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) reveals a total institutional turnaround: the number of high-performing, A- and B-rated campuses across the school system has more than doubled, exploding from 93 to 197 schools since 2023. At The Modern Memo, we analyze the raw test data dismantling the low-expectations narrative, the mechanics of Superintendent Mike Miles’ aggressive New Education System (NES), and why the district’s rapid success has left institutional critics completely uncoupled from reality. The Hard Metrics: Historic Turnaround by the Numbers When the state officially intervened in June 2023, dissolving HISD’s democratically elected school board and firing its superintendent, opponents predicted a total collapse of urban education. Instead, the academic metrics have improved by historic margins. Doubling the Gold Standard: Prior to the state intervention, only 35% of HISD students were privileged enough to attend a top-tier school. Today, 75% of all students are enrolled in an A- or B-rated campus. The sheer count of these high-performing schools surged by 111%, bringing the total to 197 campuses. Eradicating Failure: In 2023, HISD was weighed down by 56 separate F-rated, failing campuses and a total of 121 schools holding a D or F grade. Under the state-appointed leadership, F-rated schools have been completely eliminated from the district. Today, only 7% of schools remain at a D-level, down from 45% before the takeover. STAAR Score Surge: Across elementary, middle, and high schools, students in grades 3 through 8 recorded substantial year-over-year gains in reading and math on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) tests, effectively narrowing historical performance gaps compared to wealthier suburban state averages. The Reform Engine: How the ‘New Education System’ Fixed the Rot The dramatic upswing in student performance is directly attributed to the unyielding, corporate-style restructuring executed by state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles, a former U.S. Army Ranger, diplomat, and charter school architect. The NES Model: Miles immediately forced the lowest-performing schools into his New Education System (NES) framework. The model completely abandoned the district’s previous decentralized approach—where individual campus bureaucrats maintained autonomy over failed teaching methods—and replaced it with a rigorous, centrally created, and standardized curriculum. The “Adults First” Staffing Shakeup: Miles ruthlessly targeted institutional inefficiency, executing 177 principal changes and removing hundreds of underperforming teachers. In their place, HISD instituted higher base salaries for proficient educators alongside a rigid merit-pay structure. “We removed some principals and some teachers who were not as effective. As you can see, that strategy worked,” Miles told reporters. “It’s putting kids first, not adults first.” The “Team Center” Innovation: In a move that drew fierce pushback from local unions, Miles repurposed campus libraries into “Team Centers.” Instead of letting classrooms stagnate at the pace of the slowest learner, students who demonstrate mastery on daily core subject lessons are immediately sent to Team Centers to engage in advanced, unconstrained problem-solving and critical thinking exercises, while teachers provide targeted intervention to those lagging behind. Dismantling the Politics of Grievance The undeniable success of the state takeover serves as a severe embarrassment for the local Democratic establishment and progressive activist networks, who spent years using racial grievance to mask their own administrative incompetence. The Racism Smear: When the TEA first announced the intervention—triggered legally by a single high school failing academic standards for seven consecutive years—local leaders immediately weaponized identity politics. Congressional Democrats demanded federal civil rights investigations, labeling the state-backed takeover a “racist” attempt to disenfranchise a district where Black and Hispanic students make up the overwhelming majority of the roughly 180,000-student population. The High-Expectations Reality: The state’s intervention proved that the true disservice to minority students wasn’t the takeover—it was the soft bigotry of low expectations perpetuated by the previous administration. By enforcing uniform standards, raising teacher accountability, and treating urban students as capable of academic excellence, the state-appointed board closed historic achievement gaps faster than any urban district in modern Texas history. The Fragile Trust: While local activist groups continue to hold protests over rigid lesson structures and high teacher turnover, everyday families are quietly moving past the political noise. The district’s internal Family Sentiment Survey revealed that over 90% of respondents across all demographic groups now report a highly favorable perception of their children’s experience under the new system. Final Word The dramatic academic redemption of the Houston Independent School District is the definitive proof that structural accountability, centralized curriculum rigor, and high expectations will always outperform left-wing political rhetoric. When you look past the noise of progressive “racism” allegations and focus entirely on the hard data—the complete eradication of 56 failing schools, the doubling of top-tier A and B campuses to 197, and 75% of minority students now learning in high-performing environments—you gain an unvarnished view of a successful intervention. Quality information replaces the narrative of “state-level disenfranchisement” with the reality of an urgent rescue mission for vulnerable kids. It allows you to see that while local politicians were obsessed with adult issues of control, Superintendent Mike Miles focused on the children. By proving that an urban school system can be transformed in less than three years, Texas has written the ultimate playbook for saving failing public schools nationwide.
The Centennial Firewall: Colorado Outdoorsmen Demand Constitutional Protections to Defeat ‘Ballot-Box Biology’
The national movement to permanently protect outdoor sporting traditions has found its most critical battleground in the Rocky Mountains. Driven by a volatile cycle of anti-hunting ballot initiatives designed to override state wildlife scientists, Colorado outdoorsmen are fighting back with the ultimate legal counter-offensive: demanding a permanent, state-level constitutional amendment safeguarding the right to hunt and fish. At the absolute vanguard of this preemptive legal defense is the International Order of T. Roosevelt (IOTR). Operating as a proactive hunting rights and conservation foundation, the organization has thrown its full weight into the state, mobilizing grassroots momentum to protect the historic North American Model of Wildlife Conservation from political erosion. Action Alert: Defend Your Heritage and Sign the Petition Our outdoor heritage is under active attack by well-funded, out-of-state anti-sporting groups trying to permanently lock us out of public lands, ban traditional hunting, and manipulate wildlife management through unscientific ballot measures. The International Order of T. Roosevelt is leading the charge to fight back, launching massive grassroots campaigns and constitutional ballot initiatives across the country to protect the rights of sportsmen. To bypass activist interference and secure a spot on the upcoming statewide ballot, we need a massive groundswell of support from registered voters. If you believe that wildlife populations should be managed by trained, apex scientists rather than emotional political campaigns, it is time to take a stand. You can join the front lines of this fight by going directly to the link below to sign the official petition, join a volunteer grassroots coalition, or find out how you can fund the fight to protect our right to hunt and fish today: 🎯 Take Action Now: Click Here to Sign the Official Right to Hunt and Fish Petition 🎯 The Colorado Catalyst: Pushing Back Against Proposition 127 The urgency defining Colorado’s constitutional push is not a response to abstract fears; it is a direct reaction to a multi-year, coordinated assault by out-of-state activist groups looking to dismantle the state’s outdoor heritage. The Big Cat Battle: The tipping point arrived following the defeat of Proposition 127 (previously known as Initiative 91). Backed by well-funded, anti-hunting organizations under the banner Cats Aren’t Trophies, the measure sought a total statutory ban on the hunting of mountain lions and bobcats across Colorado, deceptively labeling heavily regulated wildlife management as “trophy hunting.” Defeating Ballot-Box Biology: A broad coalition of rural conservation groups, independent ranchers, and organizations like the IOTR successfully defeated the measure, with 54.7% of Coloradans voting “No.” Opponents argued that managing wildlife through emotional public voting—coined “ballot-box biology”—utterly strips authority from the trained biologists at Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW). The Looming Threats: Despite the victory, sportsmen recognize that statutory laws are incredibly vulnerable. Anti-hunting groups have already signaled intentions to iteratively introduce new bans targeting prairie dogs, black bears, archery seasons, and traditional harvesting methods, leaving Colorado’s outdoor traditions exposed to an endless war of attrition. 🔥 Don’t let radical activists rewrite Colorado’s outdoor history. Make your voice heard before it’s too late. 👉 Join the Fight: Protect Colorado’s Wildlife Heritage Now 👈 The Strategy: The Right to Hunt and Fish Constitutional Initiative To establish an unbreachable legal wall, pro-conservation advocates filed the Colorado Right to Hunt and Fish Initiative for the upcoming state ballot. If successful, the measure will add a permanent new section to Article XVIII of the Colorado Constitution. The Supermajority Hurdle: Amending the Centennial State’s constitution is intentionally difficult. Constitutional amendments in Colorado require a 55% supermajority vote from the public to be officially ratified and added to the state constitution. The Legal Scope: The proposed constitutional text specifically protects the right to harvest wildlife utilizing traditional, science-backed methods. Crucially, it leaves intact all necessary federal and state protections for endangered species, nongame animals, and routine CPW regulatory authority—ensuring wildlife management stays strictly in the hands of professionals, not urban voters. The Funding Reality: Who Actually Pays for Colorado’s Wildlife? The core message driving the IOTR’s statewide educational campaign centers on a brutal fiscal reality: the very activists trying to ban hunting contribute virtually nothing to the state’s conservation budget, while hunters single-handedly foot the bill. The $410,000 Direct Hit: Financial modeling from the Common Sense Institute revealed that if anti-hunting bans like Proposition 127 had succeeded, CPW would have faced an immediate, direct drop of $410,000 annually just from lost big-cat permit revenues. The $61 Million Avalanche: The long-term dynamic impact is far worse. Apex predators like mountain lions consume massive numbers of elk and mule deer. An unmanaged predator surge would decimate Colorado’s world-famous elk herds, triggering a catastrophic loss of standard hunting permit sales. Experts project this would slash CPW revenues by up to $6 million annually and drain more than $61.6 million out of the state’s outdoor economic output, devastating rural mountain communities that rely on seasonal hunting tourism. The Pittman-Robertson Engine: Under the North American Model, license sales combined with federal excise taxes on firearms and ammunition fund roughly 75% of CPW’s budget. This capital funds habitat restoration, wildfire mitigation, and the management of both game and non-game species alike. Final Word The mobilization to enshrine the Right to Hunt and Fish in the Colorado Constitution is the definitive proof that the state’s sporting community will no longer play defense against radical environmental activism. When you look past the noise of emotional street-level campaigns and focus on the raw data—the narrow 54% defeat of a radical big-cat ban, a projected $61 million economic hit from unmanaged apex predators, and the strict 55% supermajority required to fortify the state constitution—you gain an unvarnished view of a foundational culture drawing a line in the sand. Quality information replaces the progressive narrative of “humane intervention” with the reality of reckless ecosystem defunding. By stepping into the arena to champion Theodore Roosevelt’s legendary conservation ethic, the International Order of T. Roosevelt is helping Colorado sportsmen guarantee that the wildlife, the wild landscapes, and the outdoor freedoms of the Rocky Mountains will remain managed by…
Beyond the Blade: The Hidden Psychological Hurdle That Will Define the Karmelo Anthony Track Meet Murder Trial
As testimony resumes in the first-degree murder trial of Karmelo Anthony, public interest has completely locked onto the explosive undertones of race and Texas’s unyielding “Stand Your Ground” statutes. The 19-year-old former Frisco Centennial High School student stands accused of the April 2025 stabbing death of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf during a stormy district track meet at David Kuykendall Stadium. Dueling narratives have turned the case into a lightning rod: a Black teenager claiming self-defense against an unarmed peer, tried before a newly selected Collin County jury that contains zero Black panelists. Yet, legal experts warn that the loudest arguments in the media are entirely overshadowing the actual mechanics of the law. According to veteran Texas prosecutors, the true hinge of this trial is an invisible, psychological hurdle that standard physical evidence cannot easily solve. At The Modern Memo, we analyze the raw courtroom metrics as the prosecution rests, the critical insights of legal analysts on jury psychology, and the hidden statutory trap that could seal Anthony’s fate. The Current State of Play: Prosecutors Rest Their Case The trial enters its second week under a mountain of heavy emotional strain. Over the weekend, the state’s prosecution team rested its case after calling 21 separate witnesses to the stand to paint Anthony as a calculated, hot-tempered aggressor. The Brutal Timeline: Jurors were shown harrowing stadium surveillance footage capturing the exact moment the dispute erupted over a seat inside a rival team’s rain tent. After an unarmed Metcalf told Anthony to leave the space, a brief physical push escalated instantly. The Fatal Plunge: The state presented forensic metrics detailing the single, precise knife strike that pierced Metcalf’s chest. Witnesses testified to Metcalf’s agonizing final words—“I have been stabbed”—as he collapsed and bled to death in the arms of his twin brother, Hunter. The “I Did It” Admission: Prosecutors heavily emphasized Anthony’s immediate, unprompted statements to arresting officers on the track. When an officer initially referred to him as an “alleged suspect,” Anthony explicitly shot back: “I am not alleged, I did it.” The Expert View: Evaluating Far More Than the Physical Evidence With the defense team, led by attorney Mike Howard, currently calling witnesses to establish a narrative of “fear and chaos,” the trial has moved past raw forensic facts. Larry Taylor, a prominent former Texas prosecutor and seasoned criminal defense attorney, notes that the case is rapidly shifting from what happened to how 12 individual minds process human emotion. “When it comes down to an issue like this, I’m pretty sure the guys [the jury] are looking at: OK, what was the situation? Was he really in danger? Was he really fearful? Why did he have a knife? Why didn’t he just get up and leave?” Taylor explained. According to Taylor, the physical evidence of the stab wound and the tape of the push are essentially baseline common ground. Instead, the trial’s final trajectory will be shaped by how the jury interprets the invisible subtext of high school athletic culture, teenage impulsive decision-making, and the atmospheric pressure of a highly charged, crowded stadium. The Hidden Hurdle: The Duty to Retreat vs. Provocation While the national media continues to obsess over the racial dynamics of the unsealed case, Taylor highlights that the true legal battleground lies within the dense vocabulary of the Texas Penal Code. The Stand Your Ground Shield: Texas is an explicit Stand Your Ground state, meaning a person who has a legal right to be present has zero statutory obligation to retreat before deploying force. The defense is banking heavily on this, arguing that the moment Metcalf laid hands on Anthony to force him from the tent, Anthony was legally justified in standing his ground against an unfolding assault. The Provocation Trap: This is the hidden hurdle Taylor warns could dismantle the defense. Under Texas law, you completely forfeit your right to claim self-defense if you intentionally provoke a confrontation as an excuse to use force. The Fatal Phrase: Prosecutors possess a devastating piece of data: multiple eyewitnesses confirmed that when first told to move, Anthony reached into his bag and warned, “Touch me and see what happens.” If the jury decides that single phrase was an intentional trap designed to bait an unarmed teenager into a physical reaction, Anthony’s entire Stand Your Ground defense legally vanishes. Final Word The first-degree murder trial of Karmelo Anthony is the definitive proof that the intersection of street-level populism and statutory law is a brutal, unforgiving landscape. When you look past the noise of racial demonstrations outside the courthouse and focus on the data—21 prosecution witnesses resting a case, a single knife blow answered by an immediate confession, and a 12-person panel tasked with parsing the intent behind a five-word verbal warning—you gain a clearer picture of a trial hanging entirely on human psychology. Quality information replaces the emotion of the public gallery with the cold mechanics of a jury charge. As Larry Taylor expertly observed, the physical evidence is clear; the verdict will entirely depend on whether 12 jurors believe a teenager pulled a knife out of genuine, terrifying fear, or whether he brought a weapon to a track meet looking for a reason to use it.
The Flesh-Eating Scourge: U.S. Ag Chief Brooke Rollins Warns of ‘Really Scary Time’ for Ranchers as Screwworm invades Texas
A terrifying blast from the agricultural past has officially breached the American southern border, threatening to decimate an already strained livestock economy. In an emergency announcement, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins confirmed that the New World screwworm—a horrific parasitic fly whose flesh-eating larvae feed exclusively on the living tissue of warm-blooded animals—has been detected in Texas cattle for the first time in over half a century. With early estimations indicating that a wider outbreak could hit the state’s economy with over $1.8 billion in losses, Rollins openly warned lawmakers and producers that the industry is entering a “really scary time”. At The Modern Memo, we examine the raw biological data behind this gruesome parasite, the immediate quarantine zones erected in South Texas, and the frantic federal scramble to weaponize millions of sterile flies to stop an agricultural catastrophe. The Breach: A Three-Week-Old Calf and the Return of the Scourge The nightmare scenario materialized in Zavala County, Texas, roughly 50 miles from the Mexican border. What agriculture officials hoped would be a localized anomaly has quickly intensified, with multiple confirmed cases emerging within days of each other. The Initial Case: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) initially identified the parasite in a three-week-old calf in La Pryor, Texas. The unsealed veterinary report noted that the flesh-eating larvae were actively infesting the newborn animal’s umbilical area. The Spread Manifests: Demonstrating the extreme difficulty of halting the airborne pest, the USDA announced that the confirmed case count quickly rose to four. The infestations have been confirmed in animals hundreds of miles apart—including a second young calf nearby, an animal in La Salle County, and a domestic dog located deep in Andrews County. The Ghost of 1966: This outbreak represents the first time the New World screwworm has been detected in Texas since it was aggressively eradicated from the state in 1966. Prior to its eradication, the parasite cost American ranchers tens of millions of dollars annually—amounting to billions in contemporary capital. The Biology of Horror: How Screwworms Feed Unlike standard blowflies or maggots, which perform an ecological service by consuming dead, decaying tissue, the New World screwworm is uniquely malevolent because it feeds exclusively on living, healthy flesh. The Wound Cycle: Female flies are highly sensitive to the scent of blood and will seek out any breach in an animal’s skin—ranging from a massive de-horning wound to a scratch as miniscule as a single tick bite. The fly lays hundreds of eggs inside the wound, which hatch within hours into parasitic larvae. Eating Alive: The larvae utilize specialized, screw-like ridges on their bodies to actively burrow deeper into the living muscle tissue and fluids of the host, eating the animal alive from the inside out. If left untreated, the extensive tissue destruction invariably leads to systemic toxicity and death. The Herd Vulnerability: Because cattle cannot protect their own open wounds, a single unmanaged case can quickly transform into a geometric outbreak across an entire herd as subsequent generations of flies swarm the growing wounds. The Counter-Offensive: Deficit Concerns and Quarantine Lines Faced with a direct threat to the nation’s $113 billion cattle industry, state and federal authorities have launched a localized, aggressive containment strategy to stop the parasite’s northern trajectory. The 12-Mile Lock: Texas State Veterinarian Bud Dinges moved immediately to establish a strict, 12-mile (20-kilometer) infested quarantine zone surrounding the primary detection sites. Under emergency orders, no warm-blooded animals—including livestock, horses, and household pets—are allowed to leave the zone without undergoing a rigorous physical inspection. The Supply Shortage: The chief obstacle facing the USDA is a severe deficit in biological weapons. The historic method for eradicating screwworms relies on breeding millions of sterile male flies and dropping them from aircraft to mate with wild females, causing the population to naturally collapse. However, because the pest was thought to be permanently contained in Panama, production has withered. “The challenge is we need about 400 to 500 million flies a week to push it back,” Rollins told lawmakers, revealing that current production facilities in Central America are only yielding about 100 million flies per week. The Food Supply Security: Amid growing consumer panic, federal inspectors were quick to offer a silver lining. The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) stressed that the flesh-eating maggots restrict themselves strictly to the living surfaces of animals and do not affect commercial meat supplies. The American beef supply remains completely safe. Final Word The return of the New World screwworm to the dusty ranches of Texas is the definitive proof that nature’s most destructive forces do not respect historical victories. When you look past the political finger-pointing and focus on the raw data—four confirmed infections ranging from newborn calves to domestic dogs, a severe production deficit of 300 million sterile flies per week, and a vulnerable national herd already resting at a 75-year low—you gain a clear picture of an impending agricultural crisis. Quality information replaces the stomach-churning panic of a “flesh-eating maggot” headline with the cold reality of a logistical war of attrition. It allows you to see that while America’s food supply remains uncompromised, the economic survival of the independent rancher is hanging by a thread. By implementing instant quarantine boundaries and racing to convert international breeding centers, the USDA is attempting to choke the parasite out before it turns the Texas range into a graveyard. For the cattlemen of the Lone Star State, vigilance isn’t just a recommendation anymore—it’s the only shield they have left.
The Majestic Vanguard: ‘Seen and Unseen’ Maritime Might Collides as Sail 250 Ignites America’s Birthday in New Orleans
The mighty Mississippi River transformed into a staggering theater of global friendship, historical reverence, and raw naval power. Dropping anchor from May 27 through June 1, 2026, New Orleans officially made history as the inaugural host city for Sail 250, kicking off a massive, multi-city maritime tour celebrating America’s Sestercentennial (250th anniversary). The event brought together the largest-ever flotilla of international tall ships and state-of-the-art military vessels ever assembled along the city’s iconic riverfront. At The Modern Memo, we look past the generic festival brochures to analyze the “seen and unseen” dualities of this once-in-a-generation event: the high-visibility, romantic elegance of historic windjammers contrasted against the low-profile, devastating warfighting readiness of modern naval armor. The Seen: The Romance of the Windjammers For five days, the Crescent City became a visual masterpiece as millions of spectators lined the riverfront from the Crescent City Connection to the Poland Avenue Wharf to watch a majestic Parade of Sail navigate the muddy waters of the Mississippi. The Fleet Embarks: More than 3,000 Sailors, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen from across the globe descended on the city. Towering tall ships hailing from all corners of the world offered free public tours, providing visitors an interactive walk through living nautical history. The Sovereign Icons: Chief among the visible spectacles was the legendary USCGC Eagle—known as “America’s Tall Ship” and the only active square-rigger remaining in U.S. military service. The Eagle was flanked by international training vessels including Chile’s Esmeralda, Peru’s massive BAP Unión, Colombia’s vibrant ARC Gloria, and Uruguay’s ROU Capitán Miranda. The Cultural Exchange: True to New Orleans fashion, the maritime heritage festival seamlessly fused with local culture. Pier-side welcoming events featured U.S. Navy and Marine Corps band performances, a highly competitive Seafood Cook-Off at Spanish Plaza, and a massive Saturday night fireworks display that lit up the downtown skyline. The Unseen: Stealth, Firepower, and Global Deterrence While the white canvas sails of the 19th-century replicas captured the public’s imagination, the true strategic undercurrent of Sail 250 New Orleans rested in the gray hull steel docked alongside them. Hidden in plain sight was a stark reminder of America’s contemporary warfighting readiness and global deterrence capabilities. The Amphibious Giant: Looming over the tall ships was the USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), a massive Wasp-class amphibious assault ship. Capable of deploying Marine Expeditionary Units via landing craft or helicopters, the Kearsarge represents the apex of modern power projection and crisis response. The Guided-Missile Shield: Sitting low in the water was the USS Farragut (DDG 99), an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer. Equipped with advanced Aegis combat systems and vertical launching cells, the Farragut brought a quiet, lethal air defense and anti-submarine shield to the celebration. The Defensive Perimeter: The inclusion of these front-line combatants, alongside Coast Guard cutters like the USCGC Mohawk, underscored the dual purpose of Sail 250. It served as a rare opportunity to connect the American public directly with the military personnel and cutting-edge tech that aggressively preserve freedom of navigation worldwide. The Economic Catalyst: Launching the National Tour Beyond the historic pageantry and military displays, hosting the kickoff port call was a massive logistical and economic victory for the region. The Heartland Gateway: “As a historic port city and gateway to America’s heartland, New Orleans is the perfect place to present the fleet,” noted Captain Seth “Easy” Eisenmenger, the lead planner for Sail 250 New Orleans. The festival coincided with the Port of New Orleans’ tenth annual Maritime Month, spotlighting the critical role the working river plays in driving international commerce. The Economic Surge: Local hospitality leaders reported massive windfalls, with hotels throughout the French Quarter, Central Business District, and Warehouse District hitting maximum capacity. The Horizon: The completion of the New Orleans block party, marked by a traditional Blessing of the Fleet ceremony on Monday, June 1, officially passes the torch eastward. The national Freedom 250 maritime tour will now chart a course toward Norfolk, Baltimore, New York, and Boston as the summer progresses. Final Word Sail 250 New Orleans is the definitive proof that America’s identity remains permanently tied to the sea. When you look past the noise of the festival grounds and focus on the raw data—more than 3,000 international personnel deployed on the riverfront, the concurrent showcase of active-duty amphibious assault ships, and the launch of a multi-city national tour—you gain a clearer picture of a superpower honoring its roots while maintaining its grip on maritime dominance. Quality information replaces the narrative of a standard summer festival with the reality of an intentional, dual-layered demonstration. It allows you to see that the “seen” beauty of the tall ships inspires patriotism, while the “unseen” readiness of the gray fleet guarantees the freedom to celebrate it. By choosing to light up the Mississippi River first, Sail 250 has set an elite standard for the rest of the nation’s 250th birthday tour.
Blood on the Sidewalk: Four Illegal Alien Tren de Aragua Members Plead Guilty to Ruthless Double Murder of Unarmed Americans
The horrific reality of transnational migrant crime hit a definitive legal milestone in a Manhattan federal courtroom. Four illegal alien members of the vicious Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua (TdA)—which has been formally designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government—entered guilty pleas for execution-style street murders. The gang members admitted to gunning down two unarmed American citizens and severely wounding a third in a residential neighborhood. At The Modern Memo, we break down the raw investigative data from the Homeland Security Task Force, the violent criminal profile of Keiber Jaen Martinez and his co-defendants, and how open-border vulnerabilities allowed a foreign terror syndicate to establish a lethal foothold in New York City. The Ambush: Execution on Davidson Avenue The admissions of guilt put an end to the legal maneuvering surrounding a shocking act of public violence that occurred on May 24, 2024, in the middle of a residential street in the Bronx. The Slaying: Federal prosecutors detailed how TdA members cornered three unarmed New York City residents in the vicinity of 2290 Davidson Avenue. Operating with cold, tactical coordination, the gang members opened fire with semi-automatic handguns. The Victims: The barrage of gunfire instantly killed 44-year-old Claretha LaQuesha Daniels and 36-year-old Justin Lawless. A third unarmed American citizen, identified in court documents as “Victim-3,” survived multiple non-fatal gunshot wounds but was left with severe, permanent physical trauma. The TdA Roster: Appearing before U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote, the four primary trigger-men entered guilty pleas to two counts of murder through the use of a firearm and one count of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. The defendants are: Keiber Jaen Martinez, alias “Keybe” Samuel Gonzalez Castro, alias “Klei” Eferson Gabriel Morillo-Gomez, alias “Jefferson” Keineyer Ibarra-Mujica, alias “Keiner” The Border Pipeline: Exploiting Leniency The most damning aspect of the federal case is the official immigration timeline of the killers, which confirms that every single one of the gunmen entered the United States illegally through the southern border. The 2023 Wave: Keiber Jaen Martinez, Eferson Morillo-Gomez, and Keineyer Ibarra-Mujica all illegally crossed the border into Texas in 2023. Despite their lack of legal status, they were processed and released into the interior of the country under the previous administration’s border protocols. The Enforcement Lag: Samuel Gonzalez Castro crossed illegally into the U.S. even earlier, in 2022, and was similarly cut loose. By the time the Department of Justice issued final orders of removal for these men, they had already integrated into TdA’s active criminal cells in New York City. The Total Conviction Rate: The guilty pleas mean all eight in-custody defendants tied to this specific TdA enforcement cell have now been convicted. A fifth co-defendant, Jarwin Valero-Calderon (alias “La Fama”), pleaded guilty a week prior to racketeering conspiracy and gunpoint carjacking, while three others have already been sentenced for related offenses. The Terror Syndicate: Sex Trafficking and “Multadas” The double murder on Davidson Avenue wasn’t a random dispute; federal prosecutors exposed it as an enforcement action designed to protect TdA’s multi-million-dollar human trafficking operations. Slavery in the Five Boroughs: Court filings from Joint Task Force Vulcan revealed that TdA has flooded New York City neighborhoods like the Bronx and Queens with sex trafficking rings. The gang systematically smuggles young women out of Venezuela, Colombia, and Peru, forcing them into prostitution to pay off fabricated “debts”. Enforcing Compliance: Within the gang, these enslaved women are referred to as “multadas” (the fined ones). TdA enforces compliance through absolute terror, including kidnapping, severe physical assaults, and public executions of women who attempt to escape or withhold money. The Federal Response: “Tren de Aragua is a terrorist organization with no place and no future in the United States,” warned Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin echoed the hardline stance, noting that under current directives, the government is utilizing aggressive task forces to systematically hunt down and permanently eliminate TdA infrastructure. Final Word The guilty pleas of Keiber Jaen Martinez and his gang associates are the definitive proof that the chaos of an unsecured border directly translates to the slaughter of American citizens on municipal streets. When you look past the media spin of “isolated incidents” and focus on the data—four illegal alien terrorists, two dead New Yorkers, and a transnational syndicate funding itself through human sex trafficking—you gain an unvarnished picture of the migrant crime crisis. Quality information replaces the progressive narrative of harmless asylum seekers with the reality of a vicious foreign prison gang raping, maiming, and murdering for sport. It allows you to see that Claretha Daniels and Justin Lawless paid the ultimate price for years of federal enforcement failures. By forcing these killers to admit to their crimes in a federal court, the justice system has finally delivered accountability—but the fight to purge TdA from American soil has only just begun.
The Title IX Ultimatums: Inside the Shockwaves of the Trump Administration’s Unsealed San Jose State Volleyball Report
The multi-year, highly localized cultural battleground that transformed San Jose State University (SJSU) into the epicenter of the national transgender athletic debate has reached a severe structural tipping point. Fox News Digital obtained the official findings of a comprehensive, fast-tracked investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). The unsealed federal document outlines what Trump administration officials characterize as a “clear, obvious, and systemic” violation of federal law. The report accuses the California university of actively stripping biological women of their civil protections under Title IX, using scholarships to prioritize a male-born athlete, and engaging in targeted intimidation to silence dissenting players and staff. At The Modern Memo, we analyze the raw data behind the OCR’s investigative findings, the mandatory terms of the federal settlement package, and why the California State University system’s decision to launch a counter-lawsuit has pushed the entire collegiate athletic infrastructure into a high-stakes fiscal game of chicken. The Investigative Findings: Scholarship Hijacking and Biological Advantages The federal investigation, spearheaded by Kimberly Richey, the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, concluded that SJSU had willfully engaged in systemic sex discrimination by permitting a biological male, outside hitter Blaire Fleming, to occupy a critical roster spot on the women’s volleyball team from 2022 through 2024. The Erasure of Female Opportunity: The OCR report explicitly states that by awarding an athletic scholarship to a transgender woman, SJSU denied vital financial and competitive opportunities specifically reserved for biological females. “Those opportunities are being attacked and dwindled away to protect men who would like those opportunities for themselves,” noted Kim Jones, co-founder of the Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS). The “Dangerous Strike” Metrics: Federal investigators directly cited the immense physical hazard introduced into the women’s division. Incorporating data from game film and media reports, the OCR documented Fleming’s “dominant performance” and noted that her biological male development gave her permanent, unsafe physical advantages. The report highlighted that multiple Mountain West Conference teams—including Boise State, Wyoming, and Utah State—chose to absorb immediate forfeit losses specifically to safeguard their female athletes from high-velocity spikes directed at their faces. The Locker Room Coercion: Perhaps the most disturbing element of the findings details the psychological pressure applied to female players. Investigators corroborated prior congressional testimony from college athletes showing that female players who expressed discomfort regarding shared intimate facilities were offered “psychological services” intended to “re-educate” them into accepting a biological male in their locker rooms. The Retaliation Clause: Silencing the Whistleblowers Beyond the physical and competitive imbalances, the Trump administration’s report focused heavily on what it termed an institutional cover-up designed to aggressively suppress campus dissent. The Batie-Smoose Ouster: The investigation thoroughly validated complaints filed by former SJSU associate head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose. The OCR determined that the university’s decision to suspend Batie-Smoose indefinitely after she raised Title IX concerns constituted unlawful, direct retaliation. The administration found that her removal was engineered explicitly to prevent external scrutiny and shield the athletic department’s policies from public view. Fractured Team Dynamics: The report detailed a hostile team environment where players like co-captain Brooke Slusser faced intense administrative pushback for joining the class-action lawsuit against the NCAA. The federal document revealed that university officials repeatedly threatened players with the loss of their roster spots, academic standing, or scholarships if they spoke out to the press or refused to share hotel rooms with Fleming during away games. The Ultimate Ultimatum: Apologies, Erasures, and Fiscal Chicken Rather than executing an immediate funding cutoff, the Department of Education handed SJSU a strict settlement proposal designed to completely reverse the university’s administrative record. Federal Compliance Mandate Required Action by SJSU Consequences of Non-Compliance Biological Alignment Accept federal definitions of “male” and “female” restricted strictly to sex assigned at birth. Immediate referral to the Department of Justice for prosecution. Record Rectification Erase and vacate all individual titles, awards, and team records “misappropriated by male athletes”. Permanent revocation of all federal educational funding. Institutional Apology Send personalized, formal apologies to all female players from 2022-2024 and to every school that forfeited games. Total exclusion from participating in future NCAA-sanctioned events. The university, backed by the sprawling California State University (CSU) system, has refused the administration’s terms. SJSU President Cynthia Teniente-Matson and the CSU Board of Trustees have filed a counter-lawsuit against the federal government, seeking an emergency injunction to block the enforcement actions. SJSU insists that its athletic departments followed all existing NCAA hormone-therapy eligibility guidelines and that the student-athlete’s privacy rights remain shielded by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Final Word The unsealed Department of Education findings are the definitive proof that the era of institutional evasion on women’s sports is officially over. When you look past the bureaucratic language of “inclusive environment” platitudes and focus on the hard data—the unlawful suspension of a whistleblowing coach, the systematic re-education threats leveled at teenage female athletes, and the absolute hijacking of female collegiate scholarships—you gain a clear, unvarnished picture of an obvious problem. Quality information strips away the progressive narrative of “routine biological inclusion” and exposes it as a calculated, coercive campaign to force women into compliance. By choosing to sue the federal government rather than protecting its own female players, San Jose State has made its priorities unmistakably clear. The Trump administration has drawn a line on the gym floor: universities can either protect the dignity of female athletes under Title IX, or they can watch their federal funding burn.
The Burden of Proof: Karmelo Anthony’s Self-Defense Claim Prepares to Anchor Frisco Track Meet Murder Trial
Jury selection began in Collin County for the highly anticipated first-degree murder trial of Karmelo Anthony. The 19-year-old former Centennial High School student-athlete is facing prosecution for the April 2, 2025, stabbing death of 17-year-old Memorial High School student Austin Metcalf during a district track meet at David Kuykendall Stadium in Frisco, Texas. Legal analysts point out that the entire outcome of the high-stakes trial will ultimately hinge on a single, high-threshold statutory battle: whether the defense can successfully justify a fatal stabbing under Texas’s strict self-defense laws. At The Modern Memo, we analyze the raw evidentiary data from the Frisco Police arrest reports, the tight courtroom restrictions imposed by the judge, and the legal anatomy of the self-defense strategy that will dictate Anthony’s fate. The Bleacher Confrontation: What the Eyewitness Data Reveals Because the trial is bound by a strict judicial gag order and severe courtroom security measures, the public’s understanding of the physical altercation relies heavily on unsealed police arrest logs and limited media reviews of stadium surveillance footage. The Team Tent Dispute: According to the Frisco Police Department’s initial arrest report, the fatal encounter began when heavy thunderstorms delayed the track and field championship event. Anthony, a captain of the Centennial track team, sought shelter under a pop-up tent designated exclusively for the rival Frisco Memorial team. The Escalation: Eyewitness accounts from Memorial student-athletes indicate that Metcalf and his twin brother, Hunter, confronted Anthony and told him he had to leave their team’s tent. According to statements, Anthony reached into his backpack and warned, “Touch me and see what happens.” The Physical Shove: The legal gray area begins with the physical contact that followed. One witness told detectives that Metcalf stood up and pushed Anthony to force him out of the tent. Moments later, Anthony pulled a black knife from his bag, striking Metcalf once directly in the chest before fleeing the stadium grounds. Metcalf tragically collapsed and died of his injuries shortly after arriving at the hospital. The Self-Defense Threshold: The Texas Legal Battle Anthony’s defense attorney, Mike Howard, has maintained that the teen will plead not guilty, arguing that the state’s prosecution will be unable to overcome the reasonable doubt surrounding whether Anthony acted to protect his own physical safety. The Spontaneous Statements: The defense is expected to leverage Anthony’s immediate, hysterical reactions to police following his quick surrender. According to responding officers, a crying Anthony repeatedly asked, “Is he going to be OK?” and explicitly stated, “I was protecting myself… He put his hands on me, I told him not to.” The Reasonable Belief Standard: Under Texas law, a person is justified in using force against another when and to the degree they reasonably believe the force is immediately necessary for protection. However, the use of deadly force—such as a knife strike to the chest—requires the defense to prove that Anthony reasonably believed it was necessary to protect himself against an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury. The Aggressor Exception: Prosecutors will counter Anthony’s claim by arguing that he forfeited his right to self-defense by allegedly provoking the encounter. The state intends to use his statement, “Touch me and see what happens,” as definitive proof that Anthony entered the confrontation with the intent to deploy a hidden weapon, making a single physical shove an insufficient justification for a fatal stabbing. A Trial Under Lockdown: Misinformation and Maximum Security The case has generated intense national scrutiny, racial tension, and a barrage of online viral misinformation, prompting District Judge John Roach to implement unprecedented operational rules to protect the integrity of the Collin County courtroom. The Absolute Blackout: Judge Roach has instituted a total ban on live streaming, television cameras, and any form of audio or video recording inside the courthouse, citing the need to safeguard juror privacy and prevent outside theatrical pressure from compromising the trial. The Swatting Campaigns: The heightened security follows a turbulent year where both the Metcalf and Anthony families were subjected to severe cyber-harassment, physical intimidation, and dangerous “swatting” incidents at their respective homes. Local police were even forced to deploy extra security details at Metcalf’s funeral due to online threats. The Fake Evidence: Frisco police have continuously warned the public to disregard a flood of falsified digital documents circulating on social media, including a fake X account impersonating the Frisco Police Chief and a entirely fabricated medical examiner’s report designed to sway public opinion before a jury could be seated. Final Word The murder trial of Karmelo Anthony is the definitive proof that inside a court of law, a tragedy cannot be evaluated through the lens of internet outrage or social media hashtags. When you look past the noise of digital rumors and focus on the hard data—a fatal knife wound to the heart of a 17-year-old twin, an admitted physical push under a rainy stadium tent, and the absence of any prior criminal history for the accused—you gain a clearer picture of a case balanced on a razor-thin legal edge. Quality information replaces the emotion of the gallery with the strict mechanics of Texas statutory law. It allows you to see that while the defense faces an immense uphill climb to justify deadly force against an unarmed peer, the prosecution must completely dismantle the claim of self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt. By locking down the courtroom and enforcing a total media blackout, the justice system is ensuring that the final verdict will be written by facts, evidence, and the law—exactly as it should be.