Nationwide — Michael A. Deblois, a 44-year-old man from Independence, Missouri, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for leaving racist and threatening voicemails aimed at Judge Kenneth R. Garrett III. Prosecutors said the calls were filled with slurs, vulgar language, and violent threats.

Deblois, who is white, was convicted in July of tampering with a judicial officer and harassment motivated by discrimination. Police arrested him on March 26 after he repeatedly called Garrett, a Black judge with the 16th Circuit Court, over two days in March.

According to the Kansas City Star, investigators said Deblois left more than a dozen voicemails during that time. In those messages, he used the N-word, accused the government of corruption, and complained about “reverse discrimination” and a dispute with his homeowners’ association. He also mentioned foreclosure and claimed he was being mistreated.

One recording cited in court showed Deblois warning of an “eye for an eye” and hinting at future actions. Prosecutors said he openly identified himself in the calls, leaving both his name and phone number while making the threats.

At sentencing, Judge Garrett said threats against public officials undermine the justice system and weaken trust in government. He stressed that grievances must be raised respectfully, not through intimidation or violence.

“Without confidence in our system of government, our republic will fail and chaos will ensue,” Garrett said. He added that public servants should be able to perform their duties without fear.

Deblois will serve his 11-year sentence in state prison.

7:21 AM PT — Cops tell TMZ Sports … Rudi Johnson died by suicide in Florida just after midnight on Tuesday.

Former Cincinnati Bengals running back Rudi Johnson has died.

He was 45 years old.

Johnson created his foundation after turning pro … which focused on helping children and families through community programs.

James Van Der Beek has left fans feeling concerned after he looked frail during a virtual appearance at the Dawson’s Creek reunion.

The 48-year-old actor, who is currently battling colon cancer, made a surprise cameo at the charity event in a pre-recorded video after he was forced to cancel his in-person visit due to illness.

In his message, James explained that he had been excited for the reunion, which marked the first time in 22 years that the entire Dawson’s Creek cast had come together.

However, he revealed he had to pull out at the last minute due to suffering two stomach viruses.

Worried fans expressed their heartache after seeing James, with many noting that he did ‘not look well.’

In a thread on Reddit, one commented: ‘The poor man, he does not look well at all. He has got such a young family as well.’

Another said: ‘Omg I didn’t realize he’s lost that much weight from cancer, that’s scary.’

‘I’m not a particular fan but it makes me very sad to see him so frail and ill and so failed by our healthcare system,’ a third continued. ‘F**k cancer. I wish him and his family the best.’

‘Seeing how frail he is really broke me this morning,’ added a fourth. ‘I thought he was getting better based on recent updates. I hope his treatment is working.’

‘Seeing these photos made me genuinely emotional,’ another said.

A sixth penned: ‘This breaks my heart, he probably would have wanted to be there in person but with his immunity. I’m glad he stayed back. Sending him healing light.’

On Monday night, Dawson’s Creek stars Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson and Michelle Williams joined forces for a live reading of the show’s pilot episode to benefit F Cancer held at the Richard Rogers Theatre in New York City.

Mary Beth Peil, John Wesley Shipp, Mary-Margaret Humes, Nina Repeta, Kerr Smith, Meredith Monroe, and Busy Philipps were also present.

Despite cancelling his in-person appearance, James still showed up at the charity event virtually.

In his message to fans, James said: ‘I have been looking forward to this night for months and months ever since my angel Michelle Williams said she was putting it together.

‘I can’t believe I’m not there. I can’t believe I don’t get to see my cast mates, my beautiful cast in person.

‘And just I want to stand on that stage and thank every single person in the theater for being here tonight.

‘From the cast to the crew to everybody who’s doing anything and has been so generous, and especially every single last one of you – you are the best fans in the world.

‘Thank you for coming. It’s just absolutely humbling just how much you did for this night, and I just want to say thank you. Thank you to every single person here.’

Monday’s event raised money for F Cancer in honor of James, who is currently battling stage three colon cancer.

His cancer was discovered after undergoing a colonoscopy in August 2023. He did not reveal his diagnosis until November 2024.

Although he was unable to attend, James’s wife Kimberly and their six kids showed up to the event in his place.

The couple share daughters Olivia, 14, Annabel, 10, Emilia, eight, and Gwendolyn, six, and sons Joshua, 12, and Jeremiah, three.

Throughout the evening, Kimberly posted videos and pictures from behind the scenes.

After the fundraiser had wrapped, she thanked fans for coming together to show their support for James.

Speaking in a video from her hotel bed, she said: ‘This night was so special to the whole family and more importantly just feeling my husband fill the entire theatre and the love for him.

‘We will be unwinding this one for a while but thank you for the love and support and for the prayers because right here, front and center is my husband on my heart.

‘It was a beautiful night, and I miss my husband. I can’t wait to go and see him tomorrow.’

The mother of a Michigan elementary school student is speaking out after her son was expelled for taking a gun away from a classmate.

Lansing mom Savitra McClurkin told local outlet WILX in a Sept. 19 interview that her 11-year-old son was expelled from Dwight Rich School of the Arts back in May after his classmate brought a gun to campus.

According to McClurkin, her child is being punished for something she considers heroic, as he believed he was helping the other students around him.

“I’m frustrated. I’m at my wits’ end. I don’t know what to do,” McClurkin told WILX.

Back in May, WLNS and the Lansing State Journal reported that a disassembled, unloaded weapon was found inside the school. Police later arrested a 12-year-old boy, whose name has not been made public.

McClurkin told WILX that her son allegedly spotted his classmate carrying the gun, and he used his hunting knowledge to disarm and disassemble the weapon before throwing away the bullets.

“He didn’t want to implicate himself in it, nor did he want to tell on the person that actually brought the firearm,” she told the outlet. “Because he knows firearms aren’t supposed to be in school.”

In a GoFundMe established to help pay for the preteen’s homeschooling, a family friend wrote that the 11-year-old’s first instinct was not “to run away — it was to protect his classmates.”

“On what could have been a tragic and devastating day … [he] acted out of courage and compassion,” the fundraiser message reads.

When school administrators eventually learned that the 11-year-old had handled the weapon, they expelled him for possessing a gun, removing him from school for one year, his mother said.

“Instead of being recognized as a hero, [he] is now being treated like a criminal,” the GoFundMe post states of the child. “He has been expelled and barred from all school platforms, despite being an A/B student, a respectful young man, and an athlete who has been playing sports since he was 6 years old.”

The frustrated mother added that she has been trying to get in contact with the Lansing School District to discuss the matter, and even made an appearance at a recent board meeting.

“He’s 11 years old. Seventh grade. Never been in trouble before,” McClurkin said at the meeting, addressing the school board.

In a statement provided to PEOPLE, Lansing School District Director of Public Safety Dale Person and Executive Director of School Culture Cordelia Black said the expulsion was not a decision administrators took “lightly.”

“In May 2025, a serious incident involving a firearm occurred at Dwight Rich Middle School. After a thorough investigation, and in accordance with Michigan law regarding dangerous weapons on school property, the Lansing School District determined that expulsion was necessary,” the statement said.

“Expulsion is never a decision the district takes lightly. It is always considered a last resort,” the statement continued. “However, Michigan law provides very clear direction in cases involving dangerous weapons. The investigation — which included statements and video evidence — left no ambiguity and required this outcome.”

“The Lansing School District has both a legal and moral responsibility to ensure the safety of all students and staff,” the statement concluded. “While this decision is difficult, our priority remains creating and maintaining a secure environment where learning can take place without fear. Upholding these standards is essential to protecting our school community.”

According to McClurkin, her son is now enrolled in a non-accredited online program to keep him on track until another decision can be made about his future at school.

“Online schools are honoring [the school district’s] decision,” she told WILX. “Nor did they provide us a different resource or a different avenue to go.”

The GoFundMe page states that because of the “sudden expulsion, the preteen’s mother has had to take on the enormous challenge of educating him at home. This has forced her to cut back on work, creating serious financial strain on their household.”

“They are setting my child up for failure,” McClurkin told WILX. “They’re setting him up to being a statistic, and I’ve been doing everything in my will and my power to keep him from that.”

“It’s devastating because he’s a bright kid and all he wants to do is be a kid,” she added.

An actor has been accused of shooting a woman in the face during a road rage incident in New Jersey.

On Thursday, Sept. 11, Ernest W. Heinz, 46, was arrested by the Galloway Township Police Department, according to a statement shared on Facebook.

He was charged with criminal attempt homicide, aggravated assault with a firearm, aggravated assault, possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose in relation to the shooting of Maritza Arias-Galva.

According to authorities, Arias-Galva called police to report that she had been shot by a man while driving near Stockton University.

“Officers of the Galloway Township Police Department responded to a 911 call for a shooting. The Victim, Maritza Arias-Galva called 911 to report she had been shot in the face by a male subject, in another vehicle, who fled north onto Vera King Ferris Drive, on the campus of Stockton University. It was later determined the shooting was the result of an isolated road-rage incident,” the statement read.

Arias-Galva described the attacker “as a White male, with blonde hair in a ponytail” and told police that he was driving a white Honda SUV.

She received treatment at the Atlanticare Regional Medical Center, City Division, and authorities confirmed that she was “currently in stable condition and recovering from the injury.”

Using the information from the victim’s description, authorities launched a search, eventually finding Heinz “at a residence in the Blue Heron Pines Development in Galloway Township.”

He was arrested and taken to the Atlantic County Justice Facility.

“The prompt and professional actions of our officers resulted in a quick apprehension of Mr. Heinz” Chief Eric B. Hendrickson said in the release, thanking the Stockton University Police Department, the Atlantic County Sheriff’s Office, the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, the New Jersey State Police and all of the Atlantic County Agencies for their support in the investigation. “We wish Ms. Arias-Galva a swift recovery, and we are here to support our community following this senseless incident.”

ABC affiliate WPVI reported that the shooting took place at around 12:50 p.m. local time, citing court documents.

Arias-Galva said that she had been cut off by Heinz, who proceeded to threaten her with death and then allegedly shot her.

“Fortunately, it didn’t look like it caught anything major and she was able to maintain consciousness and speak to our officers. We’re very grateful she’s okay,” Capt. Mark D’Esposito told the outlet, adding that the suspect only fired one shot.

On Saturday, Sept. 13, Arias-Galva spoke to The Philadelphia Inquirer while recovering at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. She told the outlet that she tried not to engage with the suspect.

“I know that kind of person, because I work customer service. I just said, ‘Thank you, sir.’ And he said he was taking my life today,” she recalled.

She added that she was “thinking about [her] kids” while calling the police. “I was thinking, I need to survive this. I’m the only family they have in New Jersey.”

According to his profile on IMDb, Heinz worked as an actor and has a handful of credits through 2014. Notably, he was involved in two Resident Evil video games and played a role in 2011’s J. Edgar.

A family has expressed their shock and heartbreak after a father passed away at his own son’s funeral.

Norman White, 61, collapsed as his son’s coffin was being carried into St Bede‘s Chapel.

Norman’s son, David Beilicki, had sadly passed away on July 31, 2025. He had worked hard on his sobriety after struggling with addiction.

David, 41, had been staying with his sister, Chantelle, and her family after attempting to get clean.

Sadly, while he was making changes to his life, he was found dead on a relative’s sofa 10 years to the day after attending a memorial service for his stillborn twins, Karson and Deacon.

Chantelle shared that her children are ‘devastated’ about their uncle’s death, and now the family are struggling with the death of her father.

The 42-year-old mum-of-four said, as per Teesside Live: “It has been so traumatic, you wouldn’t ever think of anything like this happening, you couldn’t write it.”

An investigation is ongoing and is looking into the cause of David’s death.

At his 21 August 2025 funeral, Norman collapsed, and emergency crews rushed him to a nearby hospital.

During David’s funeral service, Chantelle said she noticed something was wrong when she couldn’t see her father, noting: “When we got into the chapel and sat down, I looked around and said ‘Where’s my dad?'”

That’s when someone informed her what had happened.

Norman was accompanied to the hospital by his sister, while the rest of the family continued with the funeral.

Sadly, the family soon was told that Norman, a father to seven, had passed away.

Chantelle shared that her father had no history of heart conditions and believes his death was caused by the grief of losing his son.

She said he died as the result of a ‘broken heart’ and that seeing the family all together for the funeral may have been too much for him to bear.

She said: “I think he must have died from a broken heart. I think seeing all the family together like that must have been too much.”

For the sister and daughter, it has been incredibly difficult to process the death of two people in such a short space of time.

Norman was well known for his love of boxing and was a ‘popular and well-liked’ figure in the community.

Chantelle said: “He was my dad and I idolised him.”

She said that David, who was also dad to his adult son, Ethan, and Jaxon, nine, was loved by everyone.

She said: “He had a heart as big as the ocean. He is so missed.”

The sister added: “My kids are devastated. The whole place just isn’t the same without him.”

Now, she is left grieving, as VT reported she admitted: “I think I’m still in shock, it hasn’t really hit me yet.”

As for Rose Funerals, Chantelle praised their professionalism on the day, stating: “They were fantastic throughout the traumatic event. Our family could not have got through that day without them. They were patient, caring and went through every emotion with us, all the time they were working to save my dad although they were traumatised too”

Norman’s funeral will take place on 18 September.

Nationwide — Jevon Castrillo, an African American man from Fort Pierce, Florida, recently received a letter his late mother, who was a flight attendant, wrote before the 9/11 attacks. The note, kept safe by his kindergarten teacher for more than two decades, reached him 24 years after her death.

In March 2001, Castrillo’s mother, Cee Lee Ross Lyles, wrote a letter praising her young son’s love for reading. At the time, she sent it to his kindergarten teacher, Tammy Thurman, as a way of celebrating his progress.

Just months later, Lyles, a former Fort Pierce police detective who became a flight attendant, was aboard United Flight 93. She died on Sept. 11, 2001, when the plane crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

According to KCTV5, Thurman kept the letter through years of moving between schools in Lee County. Recently, she handed it to Castrillo, now an adult and a new father, along with a class photo from his kindergarten days.

“It’s like a piece of history right here,” Castrillo said, holding the note. He also called it “an ancient artifact,” knowing it carried his mother’s voice from a time before tragedy.

 

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“Very touching. It seems very sweet, and it seems like something she would definitely say,” Castrillo remarked.

Thurman told him, “As a mom, I know you need to see those words from your mom.” She described Lyles as a wonderful woman and reminded Castrillo that he had always been a wonderful student.

Now raising his 3-month-old child, Castrillo said the letter motivates him to keep making his mother proud, just as she had been proud of him then.

A 13-year-old boy was shot in the head outside a Queens Dunkin’ Donuts Monday morning, leaving him clinging to life, cops said.

The boy was struck when a gunman opened fire around 8:20 a.m. in front of the shop at the corner of Linden and Springfield boulevards in Cambria Heights, police said.

The suspect, described as a man wearing a white hoodie, white sneakers and carrying a black backpack, ran off, sources said.

First responders rushed the teen to Cohen Children’s Medical Center, where he was still in critical condition by the late morning.

The motive was not yet clear.

Cops could not immediately confirm whether the teen was headed to school at the time he was shot, but the scene is just blocks from multiple schools — including PS/MS 147 Ronald McNair, Benjamin Franklin High School and PS 176 Cambria Heights.