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Memphis pastor charged with trafficking and sexual exploitation of a minor — after different pastor at same church convicted

A Tennessee pastor has been indicted on horrific charges related to the alleged abuse of a child in Memphis, after another pastor was convicted on similar allegations.

The mother of the child told WHBQ-TV that Martineous Tyler was the second pastor from the same church arrested in connection to alleged sexual abuse of her child.

‘It wasn’t enough time, because I don’t think it’s enough time in the world to give somebody for a crime like this.’

The mother, who wanted to remain unidentified, said her son first met Tyler in 2024 when he went to work for him at his businesses, the Memphis Obituary Company and Tyler’s Graphics and Printing.

“He liked doing graphic design, and the guy has a business, so he used to take him to the business to print out things and get little orders together; he liked that,” said the mother.

Another pastor by the name of Demarcus Smith was charged with sex crimes in 2025 involving the woman’s son after she looked at her son’s phone.

“When I opened it up, my heart shattered,” she said.

She said that she had found nude photos and sexual conversations on her son’s phone and called the police.

Then she discovered that Smith had previously been in prison for a conviction related to his coercing a boy to send him sexually explicit photographs of himself. Smith had been a pastor during that time, and when he was released from prison in 2023, he became a pastor at the same church as Tyler.

WHBQ reported that social media indicated Smith had preached at a “Clergy Appreciation Celebration” in Sept. 2024 at the Jordan River Missionary Baptist Church.

On Feb. 10, Tyler was indicted on state charges of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and human trafficking. His bail was set at $200,000.

RELATED: Man who brought Happy Meal to buy 11-year-old girl for sex slavery to be deported after decades in prison

Smith was sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to the newest federal charges in May 2025.

“It wasn’t enough time, because I don’t think it’s enough time in the world to give somebody for a crime like this,” said the boy’s mother.

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​Memphis pastor sexual assault, Child trafficking pastors, Martineous tyler, Damarcus smith, Crime 

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VIDEO: Grandma of slaughtered DC man tells critics to ‘back up off’ Trump at White House Black History Month event

A grandmother named Forlesia Cook stole the show at the White House Black History Month reception on Wednesday while praising President Donald Trump’s anti-crime policies.

Cook told critics to back off the president and thanked him for sending federal troops into Washington, D.C., to quell the crime there.

‘When is she running for office? Forlesia, when are you running for office? You have my endorsement.’

“One thing I like about him: He keeps it real, just like Grandma,” said Cook. “I appreciate that, because I can trust him because he tells exactly how he feels and what he thinks.”

The audience at the White House applauded loudly for Cook’s speech.

“Thank God for this president! I am filled. My cup runneth over! Because he allowed his … people to come to my house … to talk about the murder of my grandson. It seemed like nobody cared,” she continued.

“Nobody heard me, Democrats … until this Republican,” Cook said.

She said that the president had invited her twice to go before Congress and testify in favor of his crime policies.

“I love him. I don’t want to hear nothing you’ve got to say about that racist stuff,” she continued.

“And don’t be looking at me on the news, hating on me because I’m standing up for somebody that deserves to be stood up for. Get off the man’s back! Let him do his job! He’s doing the right thing! Back up off him!” she added.

“And Grandma said it!” she concluded.

The president jokingly asked Cook to run for office after the rousing speech.

“Wow, that’s pretty good,” Trump said. “When is she running for office? Forlesia, when are you running for office, please? You have my endorsement.”

The White House posted video of Cook’s comments to its official social media account.

RELATED: Morgan Freeman says Black History Month and the term ‘African-American’ are an ‘insult’

Trump went on to note the passing of activist Jesse Jackson, whom he called a “real hero” with real “street smarts.”

Cook’s grandson Marty William McMillan Jr. was gunned down in 2017 by a man who found him in bed with his significant other. The killer was sentenced to 16 years in prison for voluntary manslaughter and for tampering with evidence.

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​Forlesia cook speech, Black grandma speech, White house black history month reception, Trump on black history, Politics 

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Colbert and Talarico promoted phony censorship ‘hoax,’ FCC chair tells Glenn Beck

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr accused “The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert and Democrat Senate candidate James Talarico of spreading a “hoax” about their interview segment.

Colbert claimed during his Monday-night show that the FCC’s new guidance on the equal time rule forced CBS to block Talarico from appearing on his program.

‘This was a decision by Colbert, by Talarico to put a hoax out there that they knew the media would run for purposes of Talarico, apparently, scoring political points against Jasmine Crockett.’

“[Talarico] was supposed to be here, but we were told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast,” Colbert told his viewers.

CBS released a statement explaining that Colbert’s show was “provided legal guidance” that broadcasting the interview “could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates” running against Talarico for the U.S. Senate seat in Texas. The network stated that it “presented options for how the equal time for other candidates could be fulfilled,” but that Colbert’s team instead “decided to present the interview through its YouTube channel.”

During a Thursday episode of “The Glenn Beck Program,” Glenn Beck asked Carr whether the FCC had provided any legal guidance to CBS concerning the interview. Carr insisted the FCC had not.

He told Beck, “I woke up Tuesday morning and logged onto social media, and that was the first time that I’d even heard about this. And I woke up to a politician claiming that the FCC had somehow not aired — is what they said — the FCC refused to air this segment, and that wasn’t true at all.”

“Not only was that not true, but the subsequent claim that it was CBS that refused to air it was also proved to be a hoax as well,” Carr continued. “In fact, CBS, apparently, had advised Colbert they could run the exact interview that they wanted, and they just needed to be mindful that it could trigger an equal time obligation for other candidates.”

RELATED: Stephen Colbert melts down after CBS pulls interview with Democrat just months before his show ends

Stephen Colbert. Photo by Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images

He accused Colbert of running a “hoax,” arguing that “he knew he could fool … the legacy media by claiming he was censored.”

Carr speculated that the alleged trick aimed to give Talarico “a leg up” on his Democrat opponent, Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas.

“This was a decision by Colbert, by Talarico to put a hoax out there that they knew the media would run for purposes of Talarico, apparently, scoring political points against Jasmine Crockett,” Carr told Beck.

RELATED: ‘The View’ under investigation for potential violations, says Trump’s FCC chief

“The View.” Photo by Lou Rocco/American Broadcasting Companies Inc. via Getty Images

Beck also questioned Carr about “The View” after reports surfaced that the show is facing an FCC investigation for possible equal time violations.

Carr explained that “The View” has argued that it is a “bona fide” news program, meaning that it should be exempt from the equal time rule, which would allow the ABC program to have a political candidate on the show without providing an equal opportunity to other candidates running in the same election.

Carr insisted that “The View” has “not made the case to the FCC that they do, in fact, qualify for the exception to the rule.”

“And so we have started an enforcement inquiry, taking enforcement actions to explore this issue with them and move forward,” he stated, adding that the FCC is “actively looking” at the show’s claim that it is a bona fide news program.

CBS, ABC, Talarico’s campaign, and representatives for “The Late Show,” “The View,” and Colbert did not respond to a request for comment.

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Is Trump targeting Talarico? Colbert’s lie exposed

When late-night host Stephen Colbert told viewers CBS wouldn’t air his interview with Texas Democrat James Talarico due to FCC pressure from President Trump, the segment’s ratings went through the roof on YouTube.

The problem with this is that while Talarico championed their forbidden interview, it turned out that Trump had nothing to do with the FCC pressure.

“He is getting a lot of good press in this moment. This quote-unquote ‘forbidden’ interview that he had with Stephen Colbert is working really well for him,” BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey says on “Relatable.”

“On Monday night, February 16, during a segment of ‘The Late Show,’ Stephen Colbert told his audience that the show’s parent company, CBS, was stopping him from airing this pre-recorded interview that he had done with Talarico, due to pressure from the FCC,” she explains.

Colbert then pointed his audience to YouTube to watch the interview.

“So saying, ‘This is a big forbidden interview. Trump doesn’t want you to see this,’ it’s brilliant marketing. Both in the actual interview and in the promotion afterward, Colbert and Talarico reinforced that narrative, saying that, ‘Hey, Trump, really, really, doesn’t want you to hear what this guy has to say,’” Stuckey says.

“This is the party that ran against cancel culture, and now they’re trying to control what we watch, what we say, what we read. And this is the most dangerous kind of cancel culture — the kind that comes from the top. They went after ‘The View’ because I went on there. They went after Jimmy Kimmel for telling a joke they didn’t like. They went after you for telling the truth about Paramount’s bribe to Donald Trump,” Talarico said in the “forbidden” interview with Colbert.

And in a post on X, Talarico wrote, “This is the interview Donald Trump didn’t want you to see. His FCC refused to air my interview with Stephen Colbert. Trump is worried we’re about to flip Texas.”

“The problem is it’s fiction,” Stuckey comments. “It’s not true. The FCC — what they’re doing — this has nothing to do with Trump. They are enforcing a rule that has existed for a long time — that’s been around for almost a century — that says that you have to give equal airtime to a politician who is running, to their opponent.”

“Colbert and Talarico made it sound like the Trump administration is controlling free speech, but what the FCC is actually doing is just encouraging the networks — requiring that the networks actually give equal opportunity to all candidates,” she explains.

“So in this case, it’s not that the FCC is actually saying, ‘Hey, you’ve got to get Ken Paxton or another Republican on here.’ They’re saying in this case that he needs to have Jasmine Crockett on and Jasmine Crockett needs to have an equivalent time to also promote her campaign,” she continues.

“So this doesn’t even really have to do with Republican versus Democrat,” she adds.

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Rep. Jayapal pushes ‘Transgender Bill of Rights’ to oppose ‘cruelty’ of Trump policies

Two Democrat members of Congress are pushing legislation that would enact a “Bill of Rights” for transgender-identifying people.

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said the bill would combat the “cruelty” of policies of the Trump administration and other Republicans.

‘She’s a toxic person who is damaging our country.’

“The resolution creates a comprehensive framework to protect trans and nonbinary Americans from discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression,” read a press release about the bill.

The bill would change the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in order to “explicitly include gender identity and sex characteristics” and add protections in federal education laws for trans-identifying students. It would also reinforce the right of transgender-identifying people to access health care for their gender identity and would ban “conversion therapy.”

The bill was widely opposed and ridiculed by many on social media.

“What civil rights do ADULT trans people currently lack?! This is just a slippery slope to reach the kids. Absolutely not,” read one response.

“We don’t need her demanding a bill of rights for transgender people. She’s a toxic person who is damaging our country,” wrote another critic.

“The bill of rights is the same for all Americans regardless of race or gender. There is no special treatment for gender confusion,” said another X user.

“The Dems cannot define a woman, but they can do this!?!?! Now you know this is just made up to have some undermining influence on America’s history!” wrote another detractor.

Jayapal has said previously that she is the “proud mother of a transgender child.”

RELATED: USA Today obliterated online over bizarre claim about transgender athletes

Rep. Sara Jacobs (D) of California also issued a statement in favor of the bill.

“We need protections for the transgender and nonbinary communities at the federal level, because no one should live in fear of being who they are,” she wrote. “I’m so proud to co-lead the Transgender Bill of Rights as proof of our commitment to protect the health, safety, and well-being of trans people in this country. To the trans community: We see you, and we will not stop until you can live freely and authentically.”

Democrats are unlikely to gain support for the bill, as both houses of Congress are controlled by Republicans, but their chances may improve if they make enough gains in the midterm elections. However, the bill would still need to be signed by the president, which is very unlikely.

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First AI film hits theaters — viewers call for boycott: ‘This is complete garbage dude’

A short film made entirely with artificial intelligence has viewers up in arms and saying they are willing to boycott theaters that show it.

The film is reportedly set to be shown in thousands of theaters across the United States after winning an AI film festival.

‘Even for AI slop this is bad.’

The short in question is called “Thanksgiving Day,” made by Igor Alferov.

As reported by AI Films Studio, the winner of the Frame Forward AI film festival was left to a public vote, with the grand prize of getting a full theatrical run across 14,000 screens in 2,300 theaters.

Deadline announced “Thanksgiving Day” as the festival’s inaugural winner on Tuesday and confirmed that it would receive a two-week run in theaters through Screenvision Media.

However, movie fans were none too pleased to hear that news.

Spoilers for the short film are listed below.

The film, which features a bear and a duck in a seemingly Soviet-inspired spaceship, has the animal astronauts being exploited by various space thugs, which are also animals. A space cop beaver extorts the pair for money. Then, a pig, who is seemingly an environmental inspector, takes even more money before a rat “quarantine zone inspector” takes all their food.

Finally, a space turkey stops by and restocks the travelers’ fridge for Thanksgiving.

RELATED: AI bots are hiring humans now. Next stop: Slaves by choice?

The two-minute film received near-unanimously negative responses on YouTube, which included comments like “literal slop” and “I hated every second of that.”

“If I see this or another other ai slop before my movie im going to the front desk and getting a refund and leaving [sic],” another viewer wrote.

“Even for AI slop this is bad,” a user named Davie Jones wrote, while yet another unhappy audience member said, “this is complete garbage dude.”

On X, a lone commenter replied to Deadline with one word:

Pathetic.”

Multiple (unconfirmed) reports have surfaced online citing that AMC would be one of the theater chains showing the short before movie trailers air.

RELATED: My school’s AI challenge raised a scary question: What do students need me for?

Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images

While AMC has seemingly not announced this, and it is unclear where the claim derives from, it is true that AMC partners with Screenvision Media. On its website, Screenvision Media notes that its partnership officer signed a long-term contract with AMC as one of its 10 largest exhibitor partners.

This rumor prompted users to discuss possible boycotts of AMC online.

X user Nate Leport said he would “drive the extra 20 minutes” to a different theater after reading the claim.

“We need to protest at every” AMC in the country, another user suggested.

“I would rather have out of place feeling local business ads than this to be honest,” Jackie wrote.

Finally, Matthew wrote on X, “Upon reading this I will no longer go to your theaters for anything.”

Return reached out to AMC about the overwhelmingly negative response and asked if the theater chain plans to air the short film or any other AI films. This article will be updated with any applicable responses.

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​Return, Ai, Artificial intelligence, Movies, Film, Movie theaters, Boycott, Amc, Tech 

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Headed for sainthood? Catholic Church to beatify friars butchered in America for defending Christian marriage

Five Franciscan friars who traveled from Spain in the late 16th century to what is now Georgia were savagely murdered for defending the dignity of the sacrament of marriage. They are now well on their way to sainthood.

Monsignor Fred Nijem, drawing from the notes of Fr. Conrad Harkins — the vice-postulator for the canonization cause of the Georgia Martyrs — explained in Southern Cross magazine that “the missionaries met their death near present-day Darien. The reason for their death was their defense of the sanctity of marriage. The catalyst for their death was their refusal to allow a Catholic to take a second wife.”

‘They gave explicit and immediate witness of fidelity to Christ.’

According to the official website for the Georgia Martyrs, the friars lived for years with the coastal Indians of the Guale territory, learning their language, preaching the gospel, and welcoming many into the faith.

Among the coastal converts was a man named Juanillo, next in line to become tribal chief.

Friar Pedro de Corpa challenged the newly minted Christian’s decision to take a second wife, vowing to oppose his rise to power if he persisted in his polygamic choice. The Indian evidently did not appreciate this challenge to his power.

Msgr. Nijem indicated that:

Juanillo left the mission and returned under cover of darkness, and bludgeoned Fr. Pedro to death, and impaled his severed head at the mission landing. The remaining four missionaries were also killed. The Guales had decided to dispatch all the “troublesome friars,” who interfered with them having many wives.

All of the nearby friars were brutally murdered except for Friar Francisco de Avila, who was kidnapped and tortured until St. Augustine’s governor managed to secure his release — 10 months later. Despite the cruelty he suffered at the hands of the Indians, de Avila refused to testify against them at trial in order to spare their lives.

RELATED: ‘Pure bigotry’: CNN fearmongers about ‘Christian nationalism’ in election-narrative tease

St. Francis of Assisi. Photo by: Bildagentur-online/Universal Images Group via Getty Images.

Prior to his death, Pope Francis recognized the murdered men of the Order of Friars Minor — four of whom were priests — as martyrs whose slayings were committed out of hatred for the Catholic faith.

The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints recently announced that the Georgia Martyrs — Friars Pedro de Corpa, Blas Rodríguez de Cuacos, Miguel de Añón, and Francisco de Veráscola as well as lay brother Antonio de Badajoz — will be beatified at a ceremony in Savannah, Georgia, on Oct. 31.

An English translation of the dicastery’s announcement notes that “aware of the risks connected to the apostolate, they gave explicit and immediate witness of fidelity to Christ and His message by fully transmitting the teaching of the Church.”

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops notes on its website that “all Christians are called to be saints. Saints are persons in heaven (officially canonized or not), who lived heroically virtuous lives, offered their life for others, or were martyred for the faith, and who are worthy of imitation.”

Where official recognition by the Catholic Church goes, there are three steps to sainthood.

First, a candidate who “lived a heroically virtuous life or offered their life” is recognized by the pope as “venerable.” The second stage is beatification, which requires a finding of “one miracle acquired through the candidate’s intercession.” Finally, for canonization, a second miracle is required.

The UCCB noted, however, that “the pope may waive these requirements. A miracle is not required prior to a martyr’s beatification, but one is required before canonization.”

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​Faith, Religion, Catholic, Church, Martyr, Martyrdom, Georgia, Savannah, Georgia martyrs, Friar, Franciscan, Murder, Sainthood, Saint, Beatifcation, Politics 

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Sara Gonzales: Sharia law is already illegal — so now ban halal meat

While Texas politicians are adamant about banning Sharia law in Texas, BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales points out that it’s actually not necessary — because Islamic practices are already illegal in America.

“Sharia is already against the law. The way that they govern is already against the law. Islamic law is not the U.S. Constitution. Islamic law is not Texas law. That’s very obvious. You’re not allowed to amputate someone’s hand for stealing,” Gonzales explains.

“Can’t stone a woman to death because she was unfaithful. They can do that there. You can’t do that over here. You can’t throw someone off a building because they’re gay. They do that over there. Not so much over here. You’re not allowed to kill Christians because you think they’re infidels. Like, that’s why Islam isn’t compatible with our country,” she continues.

And Gonzales has made it her “personal goal” to do “whatever is necessary to make the state of Texas the most unfriendly, unwelcoming state to Islam, because it is not here to be friendly or welcoming to us.”

What she actually believes would be “key to stopping the Islamic takeover” is halal meat.

“So in the Quran, you have halal and haram. … Halal means, basically, allowed, permissible. So halal is allowed. Haram is not allowed. Okay? So one’s good, one’s bad,” Gonzales explains.

“And generally, Muslims are only supposed to eat halal food and halal-certified meat,” she continues, noting that pork is one meat considered “haram.”

“And it can only be certified halal if the slaughterer, who has to be Muslim, if the slaughterer participates in this Islamic prayer ritual while he slits the throat of the animal, and it has to hit arteries, and it’s this whole big thing that they have to let the animal bleed out entirely,” she says.

“Now, the thing is, is that animals in this country have to be stunned before slaughter. So they do this so that the animal can’t feel the pain. It’s supposed to be more humane — except there’s a religious exemption, obviously for Muslims or any other religion who want to take that up,” she continues.

“That is why I’m asking Republicans: If you are serious about stopping the Islamic invasion, ban halal meat. Just do it. Ban it,” she adds.

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Abbott celebrates explosive school choice demand as 100,000 Texas families apply

Over 100,000 students have already applied after the explosive launch of Texas School Choice — which Gov. Greg Abbott (R) calls “the biggest and best rollout of school choice in the history of the United States of America.”

“And it’s really a gamechanger for education in our state. You know, one thing about school choice is it provides school competition,” Abbott tells Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck on “The Glenn Beck Program.”

“What we want to see is competition in public education, private education, homeschool education. And when we have that, it is going to lead to better educational products for all the kids in the state of Texas,” he continues.

“And listen, if this can be done in the state of Texas, there is a lot of talk that this could sweep across the United States and truly transform education in the country,” he adds.

“Can you tell me either the demographics, or the income brackets, that are mostly benefiting from this? Because there’s people who say this is going to benefit the rich,” Glenn comments.

“I’m laughing because all those talking points are nothing more than the teacher union talking points,” Abbott laughs.

“There are, income wise, three different buckets for school choice in the state of Texas. The first would be low income, which would be capped at 200% of the poverty level. The second bucket would be the gap between the 200% poverty level to the 500% poverty level. And then the third would be anybody above the 500% poverty level,” he explains.

“And what we have in applicants so far out of about 100,000, they break down pretty evenly among those three different income levels,” he adds.

However, Glenn is still curious as to how exactly this will create competition between public schools.

“Public schools have had a monopoly on educating kids in the state of Texas, and they didn’t have to get up every day and find a way to compete and provide a better education product for their kids. They didn’t have to pay as much attention in the classroom and in doing what needed to be done to truly provide the kind of product that parents look forward to taking their child to every single day,” Abbott explains.

“Now, however, with a robust school choice program that’s being oversubscribed, which means that it may be expanding in the future, it means that public schools, they’re going to have to get back to the basics,” he continues, adding, “They’re going to have to provide the quality of education that will lead to a child actually learning.”

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