“Heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs,” Kevin Root recalled to KDVR-TV about a heart-stopping 3:30 a.m. encounter at his family’s Denver home last month. “As a parent, you know your kids’ footsteps, and this was not any of our kids.”

The unsettling noises woke up Kevin and his wife, Sarah, the station said — and Kevin got up to find out where the sounds were coming from.

‘It feels unsettling that something so invasive and violating is permitted to happen and the person is back on the street.’

“We had our door slightly cracked, and I saw the shadow go by, and that just is a sinking feeling,” Sarah added to KDVR.

Turns out an intruder had broken the lock on the Roots’ front door — and now he was on the staircase, the station said.

“As I heard him coming up, I said, ‘Who is this?’ I just yelled, thinking, ‘Let me just let him know, like, we know you’re here. We’re awake,’” Kevin recalled to KDVR.

The Roots told the station the intruder kept silent and was heading to where their children were sleeping.

“As a mom, it’s just your worst nightmare,” Sarah shared with KDVR. “It’s terrifying.”

Neither parent had any idea if the intruder was armed, either, the station said — but Kevin knew there was only one thing to do.

“There comes a moment where you’re like, ‘This is me. I’m a husband and a father; it’s on me to do something,'” he told KDVR.

The station noted that while Sarah called 911 from their bedroom, Kevin got physical: “It was just one of those, like, ‘This is my moment.’ So I jumped out of the bedroom, and I pushed him down the stairs.”

More from KDVR:

He says the man fell all the way to the bottom, knocking some pictures off the wall and leaving a dent in the molding. He took a video as police arrived minutes later while the man laid on the floor.

The man eventually went peacefully into custody; all he took from the home was a fall decoration from the porch.

“We’re just thankful that everyone is OK,” Sarah added to the station.

Charley Cooley, 36, faced a felony second-degree robbery charge, KDVR reported, adding that his record shows he already had been arrested in September for another felony robbery charge in connection with an incident earlier in 2025.

RELATED: Army vet learns daughter got attacked, but she’s at college 1,000 miles away. So he’s on a plane that day and settles things.

Fox News reported that after his September arrest, Cooley was released just days later.

“We found out later about his criminal background, and that stirred up a whole new layer of emotion,” Sarah added to the cable network. “It feels unsettling that something so invasive and violating is permitted to happen and the person is back on the street.”

But it gets even worse.

The Denver District Attorney’s Office told Fox News that a judge set Cooley’s bond at $5,000 property/surety or $500 cash following the break-in at the Roots’ home.

Sure enough, Cooley posted $500 cash, the cable network said, citing KDVR.

“Multiple offenses, and he’s been released both times,” Kevin shared with Fox News. “The reality is he’s back out and has a history of doing this.”

Sarah added to the cable network that “we hope there’s justice and that he’s placed somewhere that prevents him from hurting anyone else.”

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​Crime thwarted, Denver, Break-in, Home invasion, Repeat offender, Fighting back, Self-defense, Defending family, Arrest, Crime 

Last week, many of you likely sat around the Thanksgiving table with people who don’t share your worldview, but it didn’t stop you from breaking bread. In the end, family trumped ideological disputes.

But not everyone was willing to set aside their differences in the name of community and celebration. Jimmy Kimmel and his wife, Molly McNearney, for example, have cut contact with their family members who voted for Donald Trump.

On November 6 during an episode of the “We Can Do Hard Things” podcast, McNearney said, “It hurts me so much because of the personal relationship I now have where my husband is out there fighting this man, and to me, them voting for Trump is them not voting for my husband and me and our family, and I unfortunately have lost relationships with people in my family because of it.”

“I feel like I’m kind of in constant conflict, and I’m angry all the time. … I personalize everything now. When I see these terrible stories every day, I’m immediately mad at certain aunts, uncles, cousins who put him in power. … I wish I could deprogram myself in some way, but I get really angry,” she added.

“It’s weird how things have changed now,” Glenn Beck says in response. “But I’ve been thinking about it, and I think politics was not the sacred altar that it is now. Washington was not the center of our personal universe. Family was, community was, how we treated each other was. We had room to be wrong, room to disagree, room to be human.”

Glenn’s question, not just for McNearney and other like-minded liberals but also people on the right who let politics destroy their relationships, is: “Why is it so important to us that everyone sees the world exactly the way we do?”

“My relatives, I don’t hate them because they don’t agree with me. We hash it out, we roll our eyes, and then, ‘Pass the potatoes, will you?’” he says, noting that there are a lot of people in his family who vehemently oppose his views.

In the interview, McNearney also stated, “To me, this isn’t politics. It’s truly values,” but Glenn calls out her hypocrisy.

“Here’s one value that we all used to share: the value of accepting that other people, even family, even people you love, are allowed to be wrong. They’re allowed to fail. They’re allowed to see a world through a different prism,” he says.

“This belief that everybody who doesn’t agree with you, they’re somehow or another misinformed, that they’re somehow lesser, that if they don’t vote the way you want, they’re not voting for your family — that’s not democracy; that’s the seed of authoritarian thinking.”

Eventually, that little whispering voice that convinces you to be angry and reject people who don’t agree with you gets louder and louder.

“Do you force them eventually to see it your way? Because if you’ve tried to convince them and they can’t be convinced, your choice really is love them or force them into silence,” Glenn says.

Or, as Glenn suggests, “You shrug your shoulders and say, ‘Pass the potatoes.’”

To hear more of Glenn’s commentary, watch the video above.

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​The glenn beck program, Glenn beck, Jimmy kimmel, Thanksgiving, Molly mcnearney, Politics, Family, Blazetv, Blaze media, Donald trump, Trump voters 

Wait … it’s not over yet?

This critic enjoyed “Wicked: For Good” better than some, but at the very least, it’s comforting to know the saga is over after two gargantuan films.

“I’m going to change the channel. … I am gonna do my own research like I’ve done with everything my entire life. I’m gonna listen to other voices.”

Or is it?

“There are things under way,” Universal Pictures’ chief marketing officer, Michael Moses, told Vulture regarding more “Wicked” stories. That’s what happens when a film makes $147 million stateside in just one weekend despite the rickety nature of the theatrical market.

“The Scarecrow’s Revenge”? “It Ain’t Easy Being Green (Like Elphaba)”?

“Toto: The Movie”?

The mind reels. The turnstiles will keep spinning until this franchise has been squeezed dry …

Number one with a bullet

Enrico Pallazzo, call your agent.

Variety magazine trumpeted the 100 greatest comedies of all time last week. Listicles remain subjective, but any list leaving out “Raising Arizona,” “There’s Something About Mary,” “Beverly Hills Cop,” and “Animal House” is suspect beyond belief.

Except its number-one selection.

The 1988 parody “The Naked Gun” scored top honors, a tribute to sanity and the enduring genius of director/co-writer David Zucker.

Leslie Nielsen’s pitch-perfect comedy remains as good as it was on opening day 37 years ago. Who could forget Nielsen belting out the national anthem, pretending to be a world-famous opera singer?

The legacy media has reached the broken-clock stage. Twice a day it gets something right …

RELATED: Liberals really want to believe Colbert’s show was canceled for political reasons

Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images

Fake blues

First country, now Christian music?

A few weeks ago, the number-one country song on the Billboard genre chart came from … a computer. The AI-generated Breaking Rust band did the honors, courtesy of “Walk My Walk.”

Now, it’s happening again.

Solomon Ray’s EP “A Soulful Christmas” hit the top spot on iTunes’ 100 Christian and Gospel Albums chart. And, you guessed it, Ray shares something in common with “It” actress Tilly Norwood.

Both exist only in AI.

What’s next? Why should Hollywood shell out millions making a new “Running Man” movie, which flopped in spectacular fashion just days ago, if movie makers could just feed the 1987 original into a computer and spit out a remake?

The film’s hero, Ben Richards, said he would be back in the first film, but he didn’t specify how …

Et tu, David?

We’re lucky David Letterman signed off “The Late Show” in 2015. Had he still ruled the CBS show, his TDS might be worse than Stephen Colbert’s or Jimmy Kimmel’s … combined.

Letterman is running defense for far-left host Seth Meyers after President Donald Trump shredded the “Late Night” star on social media.

Letterman dubbed President Trump a “dictator” and broke out the hyperbole machine in the process.

“It’s like 18 times the worst behavior one has witnessed ever anywhere. Think of the worst thing that you’ve ever seen humans accomplish. This is so much worse.”

Forget serial killers. Nazi strongmen. Communist leaders who starved millions without batting an eye. Trump is worse by nearly 20 times.

Boy, Letterman would fit right into today’s late-night landscape …

Sheen the light

Talk about a change of heart.

Troubled star Charlie Sheen wanted the very worst for President Donald Trump during the real estate mogul’s first term. He Tweeted “Trump next, please” six times in the wake of singer George Michael’s shocking 2016 death.

Now, Sheen is on a comeback tour, both professionally and personally. He’s clean, sober, and willing to make amends. And he’s chatting with plenty of right-leaning interviewers as part of the process. He explained to SiriusXM’s Megyn Kelly how expanding his news feed made him see things in a different light.

“I’m going to conduct an experiment. Literally, I’m going to change the channel. I’m gonna do my own research like I’ve done with everything my entire life. I’m gonna listen to other voices. I’m gonna explore just hearing both sides of the g*****n story, you know?”

What happened next?

“Some of the stuff I’d bought into, and some other stuff I was worshipping, and some of the people I was hating because I was told I was supposed to hate them.”

He even suggested that he didn’t vote for Trump last year but wishes he could have a do-over. He went from “winning” to “red-pilling” before our eyes …

Leave ‘Home’ alone

How about we don’t but say we did?

“Home Alone” star Macaulay Culkin knows Hollywood loves nothing more than sequels. So he has come up with a plan for a novel “Home Alone” extension for his Kevin McCallister character. Sure, we’ve already seen him get “Lost in New York” before getting replaced by younger stars for four “Home Alone” films.

Now, it’s Kevin Jr.’s turn.

“I’m either a widower or a divorcee. I’m raising a kid and all that stuff. I’m working really hard and I’m not really paying enough attention, and the kid is kind of getting miffed at me — and then I get locked out.”

The lad decides against letting Daddy in. Next, instead of the Wet Bandits causing our hero mayhem, it is Kevin’s own son creating those devious traps for Daddy.

Maybe it’s best to leave this franchise alone, no?

​Leslie nielsen, The naked gun, Variety, Entertainment, Culture, Donald trump, David letterman, Toto recall, Macaulay culkin 

President Donald Trump is weighing in ahead of a high-stakes special election in Tennessee.

Constituents in Tennessee’s 7th congressional district will cast their last votes on Tuesday to replace retired Republican Rep. Mark Green, choosing between Trump-endorsed Matt Van Epps and scandal-ridden Democrat Aftyn Behn.

‘She hates Christianity. … She hates country music.’

“Matt Van Epps, he’s a winner,” Trump said over the phone during a rally with Speaker Mike Johnson. “He’s going to be great. Don’t let this stuff fool you. The Democrats are spending a fortune.”

Apart from party affiliation and policy platform, Trump pointed to two main reasons why Tennesseans should turn their backs on Behn.

RELATED: It gets worse for Nashville Democrat who ‘hates’ her own city: ‘Burning down a police station is justified’

Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

“She said two things above all else that bothered me,” Trump said.

“Number one, she hates Christianity. Number two, she hates country music,” Trump said. “How the hell can you elect a person like that?”

Trump is referring to just some of Behn’s many scandals that have plagued the Democrat’s campaign, including a number of notorious comments and erratic displays. Behn infamously expressed her hatred for Nashville, the very city she is running to represent, and in at least one instance refused to walk it back.

“I hate the city, I hate the bachelorettes, I hate the pedal taverns, I hate country music, I hate all of the things that make Nashville, apparently, an ‘it’ city to the rest of the country,” Behn said. “But I hate it.”

RELATED: ‘Do I have to stay until I’m assassinated?’ Marjorie Taylor Greene lashes out over calls to finish her term

On a separate occasion, Behn was confronted for past tweets condoning the burning down of police stations during the 2020 riots, which she also failed to apologize for.

One of these tweets read, “Good morning, especially to the 54% of Americans that believe burning down a police station is justified.”

If Behn’s past podcast episodes or deleted tweets didn’t come back to haunt her enough, another video resurfaced showing the Democrat state legislator storming into Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s office in 2019 before being forcibly removed by security. This video put Behn’s capacity to govern on full display, showing her kicking, screaming, and later sobbing on the floor as she was removed by Lee’s security.

Blaze News reached out to Behn’s campaign for comment.

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​Donald trump, Aftyn behn, Mark green, Matt van epps, Tennessee, Mike johnson, Bill lee, 2020 riots, Defund the police, Nashville, Christianity, Country music, Special election, Leftist, Politics 

In one of the latest setbacks for the Trump administration, New Jersey’s acting U.S. attorney has been disqualified from the role after an appeal by the government.

On Monday, an appellate court ruled that New Jersey acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, a Trump appointee, is disqualified from the role.

‘It is apparent that the current administration has been frustrated by some of the legal and political barriers to getting its appointees in place.’

A panel of three judges on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — two George W. Bush appointees and one Obama appointee — unanimously affirmed a lower-court judge’s ruling against Habba’s appointment.

“It is apparent that the current administration has been frustrated by some of the legal and political barriers to getting its appointees in place. Its efforts to elevate its preferred candidate for U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Alina Habba, to the role of Acting U.S. Attorney demonstrate the difficulties it has faced — yet the citizens of New Jersey and the loyal employees in the U.S. Attorney’s Office deserve some clarity and stability,” the court wrote, according to the Associated Press.

RELATED: California judge disqualifies Trump’s LA-area prosecutor — but he’s not going anywhere

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

The administration can either ask for a full panel of 3rd Circuit judges to reconsider the decision or it can turn to the Supreme Court, according to Fox News.

Habba was sworn in as interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey on March 28 of this year, replacing John Giordano, now the ambassador to Namibia.

The Trump administration has fought tirelessly to keep his appointed U.S. attorneys in their positions, including Bill Essayli in the Central District of California and Sigal Chattah in Nevada.

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​Politics, Alina habba, New jersey, Acting attorney general, 3rd us circuit court of appeals, Bill essayli, Sigal chattah, Trump, Trump administration 

President Donald Trump confirmed on Sunday that he recently spoke with Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan president whom the State Department recently identified as the leader of a foreign terrorist organization and for whom the U.S. is offering a $50 million bounty.

Trump would not elaborate on the nature or details of the call, which reportedly occurred last week. When asked whether it went well, Trump said, “I wouldn’t say it went well or badly. It was a phone call.”

‘That’s going to start very soon.’

Sources allegedly familiar with the exchange told the Miami Herald that the White House gave Maduro an ultimatum: “Safe passage would be guaranteed for him, his wife Cilia Flores, and his son only if he agreed to resign right away.”

The leadership in Caracas reportedly proposed in turn that Maduro surrender control to his political opposition but maintain control of the country’s military.

One source told the Herald that the call amounted to a last-ditch effort to stave off a direct confrontation.

“First, Maduro asked for global amnesty for any crimes he and his group had committed,” said the source. “Second, they asked to retain control of the armed forces — similar to what happened in Nicaragua in ’91 with Violeta Chamorro. In return, they would allow free elections.”

Washington rejected both proposals, and Caracas rejected, in turn, the demand that Maduro resign immediately, said the source.

RELATED: Europeans want US missiles to defend them, not America — and Rubio’s had enough of their hypocrisy

Photo by Gladjimi Balisage/US Navy via Getty Images

The White House did not respond to Blaze News’ request for comment.

An individual in regular contact with regime officials recently told the Wall Street Journal that Maduro and his cohort largely regard Washington’s threats as a bluff.

The skepticism in Caracas appears misplaced, given that the Trump administration has not only proven willing to blow away scores of alleged Venezuelan drug traffickers in the Caribbean Sea, incurring international and domestic condemnations in the process, but has amassed over a dozen warships and 15,000 troops in the region.

The Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, which entered the Caribbean Sea last month, features the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, as well as over 70 aircraft, two Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, and an integrated air and missile defense command ship, the destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill, the Navy said.

The carrier strike group joined the two guided-missile destroyers that were already operating in the Caribbean along with a pair of guided-missile cruisers — the USS Lake Erie and the USS Gettysburg — and elements of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, which includes the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit.

The source in contact with regime officials told the Journal that Maduro figures the only way the U.S. can remove him from power is by sending troops to Caracas.

In his Thanksgiving Day address to U.S. troops, Trump lauded the efforts of the U.S. Air Force’s 7th Bomb Wing for its efforts to “deter Venezuelan drug traffickers” by sea and hinted at taking the fight ashore, stating, “We’ll be starting to stop them by land.”

“The land is easier,” said Trump. “But that’s going to start very soon.”

On Saturday, Trump said in a social media post, “To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.”

It appears that Caracas may now be taking the Trump administration more seriously.

Venezuela’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday, “Venezuela denounces and condemns the colonialist threat that seeks to affect the sovereignty of its airspace, constituting yet another extravagant, illegal, and unjustified aggression against the Venezuelan people.”

Citing sources familiar with the matter, CNN indicated that Trump will hold a meeting at the White House on Monday to discuss next steps on Venezuela.

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​Maduro, Venezuela, Regime change, Military, Intervention, War, Marco rubio, Politics 

Journey’s Jonathan Cain first met Charlie Kirk in 2016 outside the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

The conservative firebrand was in rare form, recalls Cain. The activist held a Big Government Sucks sign and vowed, “We’re gonna change the world.”

‘I said to Paula, “He could be president someday,”‘ he says. ‘He had the drive and the wisdom of the ages. … He reached generations.’

Kirk did just that. He started a youth movement in Turning Point USA. The organization empowered conservative college students nationwide and played a pivotal role in President Donald Trump’s 2024 re-election campaign.

His viral debates woke up countless Gen Zers to the power of faith and conservative values. And following his Sept. 10 murder, his legacy sparked a conservative college revival.

‘No one else’

Cain, a singer/songwriter and keyboardist for Journey for 45 years, got to know Kirk via his wife, President Donald Trump’s spiritual adviser Paula White-Cain.

“It was such a blow to free speech, a mockery of everything he had done,” Cain tells Align of Kirk’s murder. The musician decided to write a pastor appreciation song for the slain leader.

“Not many pastors came close to what he accomplished … the revival, bringing kids back to church, having them look at their family values,” Cain says.

That impulse became “No One Else,” a new single dedicated to Kirk’s memory and cultural impact.

No one else reached generations
Could heal with truth and conversation
Setting all differences aside
No one else could question hate
Turn hearts and minds with true debate
From the battle our nation will arise
Faithful servant, you’ve done well
No one else

Like a few songs in his decades-long repertoire, this one came to him quickly.

“I went into my studio. … Thirty minutes later, I fleshed out everything I wanted to say,” he says.

Men of faith

The track, like Kirk’s death, brought out the worst of the venomous left.

“The social commentary was really disgusting,” Cain recalls of some online reactions. “They accused me of trying to make money. … There’s very little money in music any more.”

Cain is an industry veteran, so he shrugged off the naysayers. He still seems stunned that he tried to get Rolling Stone magazine interested in covering his song, to no avail.

“They didn’t want to touch an interview with me,” he says. “The song was about Charlie.”

Like Kirk, Cain is a man of deep faith, as is his wife. The Cains’ Trump connection found them running into Kirk often over the years. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member was continually struck by how Kirk got “into the hearts and minds” of his young followers, sharing his conservative Christian values along the way.

“I said to Paula, ‘He could be president someday,’” he says. “He had the drive and the wisdom of the ages. … He reached generations.”

RELATED: Where evil tried to win: How a Utah revival turned atrocity into interfaith miracle

MELISSA MAJCHRZAK/AFP via Getty Images

‘He saved you for music’

Cain credits his father, a “prayerful man,” for instilling faith in him at an early age. His faith was shaken by a 1958 fire at his school in Chicago, a disaster that took the lives of 93 children and three nuns.

“How could that evil happen?” he asked himself at the time.

His father, again, nudged him toward a spiritual path. He took the youngster to music school, imploring him to share his gifts with others.

“He saved you for music,” his father told him. The 8-year-old couldn’t initially get his hand around a guitar, but he did as he was told, and the music began to flow through him.

That wasn’t all.

“The idea of Jesus stayed with me, firmly planted,” he says.

Fateful Journey

The rest, as they say, is music history. Cain released his first solo record in 1976, joined the Babys three years later, and, in 1980, took over as the keyboardist for Journey. The band became a sensation, with Cain contributing keyboards and critical songwriting for the iconic band.

He played a key role in the band’s most famous song, “Don’t Stop Believin’,” with lyrics inspired by his father.

Now, at 75, he is prepping for Journey’s 2026 tour, complete with a reconstructed knee. Journey may keep rocking, but Cain knows when it’s time to step away from the band.

“I don’t want to die on the road. I’ve been out there for 50 years. … It feels like the time to get off the train is here,” he says.

He admits that matters have not always been smooth with longtime bandmates like Journey founder Neal Schon, including legal dustups in recent years.

“It’s sad, but it happens to most bands,” he says, noting that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards aren’t mates in the traditional sense, given their decades of acrimony. Still, the show must go on, and Cain appreciates his bandmates and, even more, the fans.

“They’re the gold that has given me a career. … I’m grateful and thankful for them. I want to go out the right way,” he says. “I’ll be 77 to 78 [by the time the tour ends]. That’s enough.”

​Journey, Christianity, Abide, Faith, Jonathan caine, Don’t stop believin’, Music, Entertainment, Culture, Charlie kirk, Donad trump, Align interview