Elementary school students in Kansas reportedly chose the likes of Jesus, President Donald Trump, and Charlie Kirk as role models during an assignment — but a guidance counselor reportedly squashed those picks, KWCH-TV reported.

The incident at Marshall Elementary School in Eureka took place in late October, the station said, citing a civil rights complaint the American Center for Law & Justice filed Tuesday.

‘This action undermines trust between schools, students, and parents.’

The ACLJ is representing a parent and an elementary school student in the case, KWCH said.

The station reported that a guidance counselor assigned sixth-grade students to call out their role models in a project called “Find Your Voice” while one student designated as a “student teacher” wrote the names on a board.

The ACLJ provided the following narrative of what it said happened, KWCH noted:

“When a student identified Charlie Kirk as a role model, [the guidance counselor] got very uncomfortable and refused to allow this name to be written on the board, yelling that he was ‘not a hero,’ and that he was not a role model. The student teacher had already started writing Charlie Kirk’s name on the board, and was ordered by [the guidance counselor] to remove it. When another student selected President Donald J. Trump as a role model, [the guidance counselor] reiterated her prohibition even more angrily, stating that students could not write political or religious figures on the board, and in fact excluded political and religious topics altogether. However, [the guidance counselor] permitted other controversial figures to be listed as heroes.”

The station said it spoke with a Eureka parent of a sixth-grade student who recalled that another student wanted Jesus as a role model, but that choice also was not allowed as part of the assignment.

RELATED: Yet another SoCal HS teacher allegedly embroiled in anti-Trump controversy — this time it’s over a student’s MAGA clothing

The ACLJ’s complaint accuses the school district of religious discrimination, political/viewpoint discrimination, violation of free speech rights, and retaliation, KWCH noted.

Oh, and the law firm also accused the powers that be of encouraging students to not tell their parents about the incident, the station said.

Specifically, the ACLJ called out “egregious conduct in engaging in viewpoint-based discrimination against students who identified conservative political figures as role models, and the subsequent directive instructing students not to report concerns to their parents,” KWCH reported.

In addition, the ACLJ maintained that while students were allowed to list whomever they wanted in their written assignments, they were prohibited from calling out the names of “religious or political heroes publicly on the board,” the station said.

The ACLJ further argued that “the selective prohibition created immediate confusion among students about whose voices were valued and whose were not,” KWCH said.

More from the station:

The group also called out school’s response to what happened, saying that the administration claimed that prohibiting political and religious figures from being discussed in the “Find Your Voice” activity was in the name of being “inclusive and neutral.”

The American Center for Law & Justice particularly took issue with an alleged instruction for students to bring concerns to teachers or the principal first, not directly to their parents.

The ACLJ said the directive “instructing children not to report concerns to their parents … violates fundamental principles of parental rights, educational ethics, and child safety,” KWCH added.

The Eureka school board reportedly addressed the issue during a Dec. 8 meeting and met in executive session, the station said. However, the ACLJ said “no public response was provided, no corrective action has been announced, and the violations continue to remain unaddressed,” KWCH reported.

U.S. Rep. Ron Estes of Kansas’ 4th Congressional District, which includes Eureka, shared the following on social media about the controversy, the station said:

“It’s alarming to hear of a Kansas teacher silencing students’ voices in the classroom. Schools shouldn’t be a place where a teacher’s political beliefs are forced onto students. This is a violation of their constitutional rights and does not represent Kansas schools’ fundamental principles.

“Parents should have the confidence in schools to allow their children to grow and engage in classrooms that support their children’s ideas and opinions. This action undermines trust between schools, students, and parents. I do not condone this type of political censorship in any school.”

Marshall Elementary School Principal Stacy Coulter noted the following in response to the civil rights complaint and a request to discuss the issue, KWCH reported:

“We are aware of this incident and are always working with families and our school staff to make sure every learning activity is a positive and encouraging experience for every student.

“We are unable to comment on the individuals involved because of our commitment to the privacy of our students and employees. This information is also protected by confidentiality laws. Thank you for your understanding.”

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“Star Wars” fans may be celebrating a bit too early when it comes to Kathleen Kennedy’s departure.

Kennedy headed Lucasfilm for 14 years, controlling iconic franchises like “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones.”

‘After destroying a beloved modern myth … Kathleen Kennedy is finally stepping down.’

Fans rejoiced online as Disney announced Kennedy will be replaced by two executives: chief creative officer Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan, president and general manager. Filoni will be president at Lucasfilm, while Brennan will be co-president.

Director Filoni’s pairing with Brennan was described by Variety as a move that suggests Disney wanted to pair a strong filmmaker with a person who has a solid sense of budgets.

However, despite what appears to be good news for “Star Wars” fans, Kennedy’s tenure is not exactly coming to a screeching halt.

One to ‘Grogu’ on

Kennedy will still serve as a producer for two theatrical “Star Wars” films, the first being 2026’s “The Mandalorian and Grogu.”

This is the same wing of the franchise’s universe that fired former MMA fighter and actress Gina Carano for speaking out against mask mandates.

Additionally, Kennedy will produce “Star Wars: Starfighter,” which is set for a 2027 release.

RELATED: ‘Put a chick in it, make it lame and gay!’ ‘South Park: Joining the Panderverse’ review

Photo by Gerardo Mora/Getty Images for Disney

That didn’t seem to bother detractors like Babylon Bee editor Joel Berry, who posted, “After destroying a beloved modern myth and replacing it with a 14-year, malice-filled tantrum against the patriarchy, Kathleen Kennedy is finally stepping down. Finally.”

Cartoonist George Alexopoulos joked that Kennedy put the franchise “in a grave.”

Others screamed from X’s rooftops that “Star Wars” is now “free” and is “going to be amazing.”

Put a chick in it

X owner Elon Musk even jumped into the mix by simply posting a clip from “South Park: Joining the Panderverse.”

The 2023 episode was internationally recognized for hilariously mocking the downward spiral of Disney’s intellectual properties at the hands of Kennedy. The episode showed Kennedy demanding the diversification of every character Disney had to offer, changing movies to ensure they had “lame,” gay, and female characters, no matter how unsuccessful they were.

The cartoon popularized the phrase, “Put a chick in it! Make it lame and gay!” as a way to describe needless and forced diversity in media.

RELATED: Male ‘Star Wars’ fans attack women, Kathleen Kennedy says ahead of latest woke series ‘The Acolyte’

Your worshipfulness

Disney CEO Bob Iger praised Kennedy in a statement on her way out, saying “We’re deeply grateful for Kathleen Kennedy’s leadership, her vision, and her stewardship of such an iconic studio and brand.”

During her time at Lucasfilm, Kennedy has been criticized by fans not only for her film choices, but for comments that she made toward them.

In 2024, Kennedy accused fans who were unhappy with the show “The Acolyte” of attacking women online.

“I think a lot of the women who step into ‘Star Wars’ struggle with this a bit more. Because of the fan base being so male dominated, they sometimes get attacked in ways that can be quite personal.”

While adding that she too has been a victim, Kennedy alluded to the fact that some of the fans were bigots.

“I stand by my empathy for ‘Star Wars’ fans. But I want to be clear. Anyone who engages in bigotry, racism or hate speech … I don’t consider a fan.”

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Paramount Plus gave away a very expensive product for free.

After reports that “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” cost between $10 million and $20 million per episode to produce, the network bizarrely posted the entirety of its premiere episode on YouTube, likely in hopes of garnering interest from a wider audience.

‘He goes to Starfleet Academy, makes a ton of friends, and they help him be OK with who he is.’

However the typically popular franchise hardly made a big splash, with just over 85,000 views in the first 24 hours. While the city-sized viewership would be nothing to scoff at for an independent operation, reviewers were shocked by the numbers, revealing that during its premiere, the show allegedly hit a peak of just 1,316 concurrent viewers.

Set phasers to ‘slay’

The show has been heavily criticized for its obvious diversity push, with sci-fi author Brad Torgersen even calling it a “huge, gay, glee club middle finger to everyone who liked” the franchise, back in December. Torgersen blamed “theater kids” for ruining the franchise as well.

Since its debut, it has become even more apparent how deep the production went down the diversity rabbit hole. One scene was described as cadets being “required to get DEI training.” In the scene, an instructor tells her students that being in the academy means “being open to the people around you” as a student is questioning his colleagues’ identities.

RELATED: Comedian Whitney Cummings mocks liberal hypocrisy: ‘We don’t believe in gender, but we need a female president’

Photo by Taylor Hill/FilmMagic

The instructor is played by actress Tig Notaro, whose real name is Mathilde O’Callaghan Notaro.

Notaro has previously described seeing her 5-year-old son in rainbow-colored clothing — particularly for gay pride — as “incredible” and even apologized for not being active in gender politics until it affected her.

Space cadet

Series creator Alex Kurtzman has not shied away from revealing the show’s devotion to diversity either.

“I think we’re not slowing down on representation in any way,” Kurtzman said according to Comic Book Club. “We’re certainly planning like representation is at the beating heart of [‘Star Trek’ creator] Roddenberry’s vision, and we’ve already done the work of bringing it to that new place.”

“So there’s really no reason to change course there,” he added.

The cast of characters also has an obvious and plainly stated agenda. The same outlet reports that a new lesbian couple will be introduced in the series, and the Klingon character, played by actor Karim Diane, will have his sexuality “explored.”

Here to make friends

Diane alluded to as much in a recent interview posted on the show’s official Instagram page.

“He doesn’t like to battle. He wants to love people and heal people and save people,” he said about his character. “He goes to Starfleet Academy, makes a ton of friends, and they help him be OK with who he is.”

RELATED: Trump fatigue: Golden Globes host on why she kept jokes politics-free

Other cast members include Zoe Steiner, who has shown up nearly nude to press junkets, and even late-night host Stephen Colbert.

Colbert announced his participation in the series in October and appears in 10 episodes as the Digital Dean of Students, which serves as a comic relief voiceover. He has already been mocked for his “absolute cringe” voice work in at least one scene.

Before the show aired, it was picked up for a second season by Paramount Plus.

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There was another ICE shooting in Minnesota, but while leftist politicians and media try to spin it to incriminate ICE, BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales points out that they’re the ones fanning the flames.

“Things are not cooling down, cooling off in Minneapolis, in Minnesota. It’s actually just intensifying because there was another person shot by ICE in Minneapolis, and you’re getting the exact same reaction from the left that you would expect,” Gonzales comments.

According to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security, “Federal law enforcement officers were conducting a targeted traffic stop in Minneapolis of an illegal alien from Venezuela who was released into the country by Joe Biden in 2022.”

When the subject attempted to flee the scene, he crashed into a parked car — and then fled on foot. When the ICE officer caught up to him, the subject not only began to resist and assault the officer, but two more subjects came out of a nearby apartment and began attacking the officer with a snow shovel and a broom handle.

While the officer was being attacked, the original subject got loose and began hitting the officer with the shovel or broom handle. As the officer was beginning to fear for his life, he fired a defensive shot to defend himself and hit the immigrant in the leg.

“He was being attacked by three people, only fired one shot. That’s way more restraint than I would show. Way more restraint than I would show. … At this point, you have so many people going after ICE. You have so many people who mean to cause them harm. To me, it would be justifiable self-defense,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales comments on “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered.”

And while Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) is now claiming that he’s never encouraged anything other than peace in his city, Gonzales has the receipts.

“Let’s be very clear,” Frey began in a recent press conference. “I’ve seen conduct from ICE that is disgusting and is intolerable. We don’t use the word ‘invasion’ lightly. What we are seeing is thousands, plural, thousands of federal agents coming into our city.”

“They are not here to cause safety in this city. What they are doing is not to provide safety in America. What they are doing is causing chaos and distrust. And I have a message for ICE. To ICE, get the f**k out of Minneapolis. We do not want you here,” Frey continued.

“That’s very peaceful,” Gonzales comments. “That’s very, very peaceful rhetoric coming from Jacob Frey. … He’s not the one trying to generate attention or controversy or fan the flames. That’s not him. In fact, he and all of the elected officials in Minnesota have done nothing but try to promote peace.”

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Against a backdrop of mounting attacks on churches, the Biden administration worked ardently to curb religious liberties wherever they came into conflict with the left’s radical agenda.

For example:

the Biden Equal Employment Opportunity Commission implemented a rule requiring employers — including Christian organizations — to accommodate workers’ efforts to abort their unborn children;the EEOC attempted to force Christians to pay for employees’ sex-rejection mutilations; the Biden Department of Health and Human Services attempted to bar Christian providers who hold biblical and scientifically grounded views about sex and marriage from the foster-care system; and under Biden, a Catholic, the FBI characterized conservative Catholics as potential domestic terrorists and proposed to infiltrate Catholic churches as “threat mitigation.”

It’s clear from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty’s latest Religious Freedom Index that unlike the administration voted out of power in 2024, the American people overwhelmingly — and increasingly — support religious liberties.

‘Our nation still believes that our first freedom belongs at the heart of our culture; not as a source of conflict, but as a foundation for overcoming it.’

Over the past six years, Becket has tracked public opinion on religious freedom. The legal group’s index for 2025 published on Friday registered the highest cumulative score for public support of religious freedom to-date — 71 on a scale from 0 to 100 where 0 indicates complete opposition to religious liberty and 100 indicates robust support.

This amounts to a dramatic shift, especially when compared to 2020, when the composite score was 66.

Whereas in 2020, 52% of respondents agreed that religious freedom is inherently public and that Americans should be able to share their faith in public spaces, that number jumped to 57% in the latest RFI.

There was an even bigger shift when it came to support for parents’ ability to opt out of public school curricula they believe to be inappropriate — a jump from 63% in 2021 to 73% in 2025.

RELATED: 6 ways I’m using 2026 to deepen my relationship with God

Photo by ANOEK DE GROOT/AFP via Getty Images

When asked specifically about the Supreme Court’s June 2025 ruling in Mahmoud v. Taylor, 62% of respondents signaled support for the high court’s decision to side with the Maryland parents who wanted to protect their children from LGBT propaganda in Montgomery County Public Schools.

On the question of whether public funding for education should be available to all families, including those who choose religious schools, 77% of respondents said they were mostly or completely in favor.

The report noted that “although this year’s Index found that Americans have cooled on the benefits of religion to society and are skeptical of institutions, they unify around the simple principles of religious freedom for all, even in difficult cases that invite scrutiny or controversy.”

A clear majority, 58%, of Americans said they support the right of a Christian baker to decline to make cakes that conflict with her sincere religious views.

Sixty-one percent of respondents said that the First Amendment’s guarantee of the free exercise of religion should protect Catholic priests from having to break the seal of confession as would have been required by Washington state Democrats’ now-enjoined Senate Bill 5375.

There was markedly less support for the Christian counselor in the case Chiles v. Salazar who challenged Colorado’s prohibition on so-called “conversion therapy” for non-straight youth. Only 47% expressed support for her ability to provide talk therapy to children to help them overcome their gender dysphoria.

“Year after year, the Index has made clear that religious liberty remains one of our most cherished values,” Mark Rienzi, president and CEO of Becket, said in a statement obtained by Blaze News.

“Even amid deep divisions, our nation still believes that our first freedom belongs at the heart of our culture; not as a source of conflict, but as a foundation for overcoming it,” continued Rienzi. “The work before us is to see that freedom protected for our children and theirs in the years to come.”

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A St. Louis-area mayor obsessed with race and swamped with lawsuits has been arrested — and the accusations against him are horrifying.

On Thursday, Mayor Michael Cornell of Riverview, Missouri, was arrested and charged with nine felonies: four counts of second-degree statutory sodomy, three counts of first-degree sodomy or attempted sodomy, and one count each of first-degree harassment and possession of child pornography — film/videotape.

‘Tell me why we’re being sued because you made sexual advances to an employee and when he refused, you fired him.’

As of Thursday afternoon, Cornell remained in custody on a $1 million, cash-only bond.

The statutory sodomy charges relate to repeated incidents between 2016 and 2017 of alleged sexual contact with a teenager under 17 years of age, KSDK reported.

Prosecutors claimed that Cornell has also attacked three adult males: one between 2016 and 2017, one in May and September 2024, and one just last month.

Police worry that other victims, including minors, may be out there.

“In these types of cases with this type of behavior, based on the victims that we’ve talked to, it’s possible that this is a predatory type of behavior. And we’re concerned that if he was willing to do it to a minor, there may be other minors that we’re just not aware of,” St. Louis County Police Lieutenant Colonel Jerry Lohr said, according to KSDK.

A bond hearing has been scheduled for next week, and a preliminary hearing has been scheduled for February 18, KSDK said.

RELATED: Noncitizen Kansas mayor accused of voter fraud has cast dozens of ballots since 2000, documents show

Bill Oxford/Getty Images

Cornell, 39, has been inundated with accusations since before he was elected mayor in April 2024. He currently faces litigation related to sexual harassment, wrongful termination, gender discrimination, fostering a toxic work environment, and jokes on social media.

A former Riverview alderwoman also filed a suit after Cornell allegedly ordered her to be placed in handcuffs after she mentioned the sexual harassment allegations against him at a town hall meeting last February.

“I held up the court papers. I said, ‘Tell me why we’re being sued because you made sexual advances to an employee and when he refused, you fired him,'” Regina Davis said, according to KMOV, which has covered the accusations against Cornell extensively.

At least seven lawsuits have been filed against Cornell in just two years, the outlet noted.

Cornell has also recently made bizarre claims about members of the KKK vandalizing both public and private property in Riverview.

“I am writing to inform you of the disturbing markings and threats against the City of Riverview and its residents by racist and cowardly KKK affiliates throughout the night. Over the past six months, alarming KKK and hate-related markings or destruction of City property and churches in Riverview have been reported,” he posted to Facebook in December.

Additionally, Cornell issued KMOV a rambling seven-page letter on city letterhead, referring to not only the alleged KKK problem, but other wild allegations, including that the chief of police had orchestrated “conspiracies to blow my head off, commit a mass shooting, and then kill himself.”

Former Riverview Police Chief Thomas Tumbrink filed a lawsuit against Cornell and other officials in June, alleging wrongful termination.

In response to a request for comment on the lawsuits, Cornell told KMOV: “Just let the system play that out, and you just follow the facts, you understand? We’re not here to be choked in with the smoke. When the smoke clears, a lot of facts. And if you are someone with some type of integrity, follow the facts.”

RELATED: ‘Experience your first orgasm’: Rabid Trump-hater allegedly packs sex toys for ‘date’ with supposed 11-year-old

Cornell’s bio on the Riverview website evinces a man obsessed with race and overly impressed with his resume. The first paragraph of many notes his “unmatched knowledge, courage, and strength, he has broken barriers and shattered ceilings at such a young age counting back over 20 years.”

Cornell also brags about his call for “environmental justice” and greater “integrity” and “transparency.”

Among other accomplishments, he claims to be the “youngest and First African American” chairman of the Riverview Board of Trustees and that in 2022, he became a “State Licensed Private Investigator.”

A public records request to the state law enforcement licensing agency revealed that Cornell had a peace officer license that has since “expired.” Cornell pled guilty to one count of impersonating an officer in 2017, but his record was later expunged, KMOV said.

Through a public records request, Blaze News learned that while Cornell has been registered to vote in Missouri since at least September 2020 and has cast a vote 10 times since then, he is not registered with a particular political party.

Riverview City Hall did not respond to a request for comment.

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As Minnesota begins to resemble its 2020 self after the Immigration and Customs Enforcement shooting of Renee Nicole Good and widespread Somali fraud, a discussion of Trump invoking the Insurrection Act has been circulating — and BlazeTV host John Doyle is a fan.

“Sometimes you can use power in ways that are counterproductive obviously. However there are also absolutely instances where it is counterproductive to not use power, when it is necessary to use power. I believe this is one of those cases,” Doyle explains.

“If the left is allowed to run wild, it is only going to embolden them. These are people who are entropic by nature, and it’s going to just create more public resistance to mass deportations, everything’s just going to get uglier,” he continues.

However Doyle points out that if the Trump administration actually cracks down on what he calls a “criminal resistance,” the left will have to “realize that it’s not winning.”

“It’s going to lose energy. These people are paper tigers. Like, if the average left-wing dysgenic freak is scared to interfere with ICE, having seen so many of his, like, gay, race, communist comrades getting arrested, getting pepper-sprayed, physically harmed, whatever, he’s going to have second thoughts about doing this whole revolutionary larp,” Doyle says.

And Doyle believes the movement is already losing energy.

“Where was the resistance, right, when Trump won in 2024? You remember when Trump won in 2017, 2016? They had fires in D.C. … they were burning stuff in D.C. at the Inauguration. Where was that in 2024? Where were all the Antifa riots during his campaign rallies?” Doyle asks.

“What about after he won, you know, throughout the city? Where was our women’s march? Like the energy just is not there. The radical left, of course, is still around because these people are on welfare. They’re taking hormones. Like their job is to be that,” he continues.

“They do maintain a sort of presence, right? However, it’s not as prominent as it used to be. That is good, as it would turn out. You actually win by winning,” he adds.

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