Author: News US

“Why Did You Take My Son?”: Heartbroken Parents of Charlie Kirk Break Their Silence as His Body Arrives in Phoenix – Wife Collapses in Tears Watching Her Husband’s Casket Lifted Onto the Plane in Front of Supporters

Charlie Kirk came home to Phoenix for the last time on September 11, his flag-draped casket carried off Air Force Two under the watch of grieving family, devastated friends, and a stunned nation.

The conservative firebrand and Turning Point USA founder, assassinated in Utah just days earlier, was met with silence and tears as a motorcade of black vehicles and flashing lights carried him through the city streets to Hansen Mortuary Chapel.

But behind the public display of mourning, a private heartbreak unfolded. For the very first time, Charlie’s parents – who had lived their entire lives in the shadows, fiercely private and never once appearing with their son in public – stepped forward. They flew in immediately, shattered, to stand by his side and bring him home to Arizona.

Witnesses said his mother sobbed uncontrollably the moment she saw the casket being lifted. Clutching her chest, she cried out: “Why did You do this to my son? Please, give me my boy back.” His father, usually silent and composed, was described as pale and broken, barely able to walk as he leaned on relatives for support.

Erika Kirk, Charlie’s wife, stood beside her mother-in-law, trying to stay strong for their two children – but the moment the casket of her husband, her partner, the father of their kids, was raised onto the plane, she broke down. Friends said she wept quietly at first, then completely lost control, her cries echoing across the tarmac as supporters holding American flags bowed their heads in grief.

The heartbreaking scene came only hours after an air traffic controller, his voice cracking over the radio, welcomed Kirk’s remains to Phoenix with the haunting words: “Welcome home, Charlie. You didn’t deserve this. May God bless your family.”

Dozens of mourners lined the roads near the airport, waving flags and holding candles as the motorcade passed. Some wore bright red MAGA hats, others carried handmade signs calling Kirk “a hero” and “a patriot silenced.”

No details about the funeral have yet been announced, but former President Donald Trump has already vowed to attend. “They’ve asked me to go, and I think I have an obligation to be there,” Trump said earlier in the day.

For now, what remains is raw grief: a wife suddenly widowed, children without their father, and parents who, after decades of protecting their private lives, are now forced into the public eye in the most devastating way imaginable – weeping over the son they can never bring back.

“There’s been a lot of highs this year but it’s also been a year where I’ve had to manage a lot of physical pain,” says Guy Sebastian.

Former Voice coach Guy Sebastian is recovering in hospital following spinal surgery.

On Instagram he told his followers, “They say it comes in threes. There’s been a lot of highs this year but it’s also been a year where I’ve had to manage a lot of physical pain. The worst of it has been this nerve pain in my spine shooting down my right side. I wouldn’t wish this pain on anyone. It just never stops and it’s all consuming, while trying to work, travel, do gigs etc.

“I am however so grateful for the fact that I have been able to have spinal surgery yesterday. I hope it gives me relief and the strength comes back in my arm.

“My goal is to get all of this sorted and bounce back hard for tour early next year. I’ll get there and I will get it done but wow, in a fair bit of pain right now.”

Get well soon!

LAS VEGAS — After losing by 16 in Game 1 and giving away homecourt advantage of the WNBA semifinals to the Indiana Fever, A’ja Wilson was as upset as she has been all season.

“I told my team yesterday that the loss yesterday was more embarrassing to me than the 53-point loss (to Minnesota) because we really didn’t do anything,” Wilson said Monday. “We didn’t do our job, so if we come to  work and do our job, it’s a different story.”

In order for the Aces to get back to their winning ways, setting the tone started with Wilson. Las Vegas’ roster has turned over in recent years, and the departures of Candace Parker, Alysha Clark and Sydney Colson, among others, have left Wilson not only as the Aces’ best player, but also as their leader.

Las Vegas needed a bounce-back game Tuesday from its star, and she has grown accustomed to shaking off individual bad performances. The last five times Wilson had made fewer than 30 percent of her field goals prior to Game 1, she responded with an average of 30.8 points and 12.2 rebounds.

She posted 25 points and nine rebounds in the Game 2 90-68 win, shooting 10 of 18 from the field after making 6 of 22 Sunday. Leading by example on the court comes easily to Wilson.

Keeping the locker room together has been a new challenge, but is also the natural evolution of a veteran in her eighth season trying to take on a bigger role for her team.

“My leadership skills looked different this year, it wasn’t something that I was used to,” Wilson said. “I had to put us all together as a team and figure out what makes people go.”

D’POY steal M’VP lay @_ajawilson22 // #RaiseTheStakes pic.twitter.com/1XYsjLaCkx

— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) September 24, 2025

That process kicked into high gear after the loss to the Lynx on Aug. 2. Coach Becky Hammon tasked individual Aces with designing their own scouting reports for every game going forward, and Wilson took the lead on that assignment. She was in charge of players-only meetings before the coaches got a look at the scouts.

Wilson noticed that some of her teammates were more willing to speak up in those meetings with her at the helm than when the entire coaching staff was involved. She met them at their level and then relayed that information to Hammon and her assistants.

“She’s communicating and talking a lot more in huddles and meetings and organizing us, little things on scouting reports during practice,” Aces guard Chelsea Gray said. “She’s just a lot more vocal, which is a step that she wanted and needed to take. … Her ability to relate and talk to everybody on different levels all the time has been great this year, and everyone has needed that.”

Hammon has said that this Aces roster more than others she’s coached required positive encouragement. She created highlight reels to remind players of their strengths and constantly reinforced how close she felt they were to turning the corner, even when they passed the midway point of the season with a .500 record.

Wilson latched onto that and figured out how to uplift her teammates and instill confidence in them. New Aces’ additions, like Dana Evans from Chicago, NaLyssa Smith from Dallas and Indiana, and even Jewell Loyd from Seattle, came from teams on which they no longer felt valued.

Earning validation from the best player in the world changed their trajectories.

“I want people to feel great in their own way, because that’s how we continue to push forward in life,” Wilson said. “This basketball’s going to stop dancing, but I need my teammates to know that I believe in them, we believe in them.”

“How she pours into each person on the team, that’s not really talked about a lot,” Loyd said. “The confidence she gives all the players and all the coaches, it’s remarkable.”

The Aces want to follow Wilson’s lead on the court, but seeing her vulnerability off of it has brought them closer. They’re watching her grow, navigating a new role and learning how to be better for her teammates; it makes their superstar more relatable. It has created a culture where they are able to hold each other accountable and confidently respond to a blowout loss. They know what Wilson will produce, but they can also rely on her to coax the best out of the rest of them.

Smith struggled in the series opener, making a string of defensive miscues that allowed the Fever to get in a first-half rhythm. Las Vegas doesn’t have frontcourt options beyond her, so Hammon was forced to ride with her and hope that Smith improved upon her earlier performance.

The four-year forward responded with her best playoff performance yet, scoring 18 points and adding seven rebounds while keeping the Aces’ defensive shell intact. As has been the case since Smith was traded from the Wings, she relied on Wilson’s communication to help her in tough spots.

“Having somebody alongside of me like A’ja, where she’s talking to me on the back side and telling me where things are at that helps a lot,” Smith said.

The Aces go as Wilson does. She had to take more ownership of the team to get Las Vegas where it wanted to be — as if the league’s only four-time MVP needed more on her plate. That is the price of greatness. Sometimes she falls short, but 19 wins in the last 21 games is a solid report card for Wilson’s new role.

In the glittering and glamorous world of Hollywood, where success stories are celebrated, a dark side always exists, lurking behind the closed doors of power and fame. Recently, one of the most powerful moguls in the entertainment industry, Tyler Perry, became the center of a shocking scandal, raising big questions about ethics, abuse of power, and the truth behind fairy tales of success.

It all started when Derek Dixon, an actor and former collaborator of Tyler Perry, went public in a television interview to share horrific allegations of sexual harassment and abuse in the workplace. Dixon, with incredible courage, spoke out to demand justice and to prevent similar behavior from happening to others. He asserted that he did not want what happened to him to happen to anyone.

It is worth mentioning that, shortly after these allegations were made, Tyler Perry made a surprising and confusing move: he left the United States. According to sources, he is currently in Europe, possibly Switzerland or France. This is not a simple vacation, but a carefully calculated “strategic evacuation”. Before leaving, Perry is said to have quietly put a series of his luxurious real estate properties in Atlanta, California and New York on sale. Not only that, he is also said to have transferred ownership of other assets such as cars, companies and studio equipment. His lawyers have been working continuously, moving between the United States and major financial centers in Europe such as Zurich and Luxembourg.

Although Perry’s legal team insists he has nothing to hide, his actions have raised serious questions. His use of Swiss bank accounts and shell companies has led many to question his true motives. Some in the industry believe Perry’s departure was not out of fear, but rather an attempt to avoid legal and public repercussions, a flight from a tarnished image.

Derek Dixon’s allegations paint a dark picture of abuse of power. He says Tyler Perry made his career dependent on pleasing him. When Dixon resisted, his character on “The Oval” was written in a violent way, as a cold and cruel retaliation. Dixon also revealed creepy text messages from Perry, which he describes as not “friendly messages from a boss,” suggesting a working relationship had degenerated into psychological manipulation.

Dixon’s specifics are even more shocking. He recounts an incident where Perry allegedly climbed onto his bed and began rubbing his legs, causing him to immediately jump up. Another time, while measuring him, Perry allegedly pulled down his underwear. Dixon refused and pushed him away, but the actions left a deep psychological scar.

The deafening silence from Tyler Perry’s famous friends and associates, including Oprah Winfrey and Alfonso Ribeiro, is telling. Usually, in celebrity scandals, friends come to his defense or at least offer advice. But their silence suggests that this could be a bigger issue, one that even the most influential people want nothing to do with.

There are rumors of a new documentary in the works, called “Surviving Tyler Perry.” It is said to reveal stories from other victims of his abuse and exploitation. This shows that Derek Dixon is not the only one who has suffered similar acts, and that there is a group of people willing to speak out to expose the truth.

The big question now is whether Tyler Perry will come back to face these allegations. Or will he succeed in setting a new precedent for celebrity scandals: walk away and leave it all behind. Whatever the outcome, this case has shaken Hollywood, exposing a dark side of the entertainment industry that many people don’t want to see. It’s a reminder that, behind the glamour and fame, there are stories of suffering, abuse, and truth that need to be brought to light. And people like Derek Dixon, with their courage, have opened the door for change.

The latest negotiations between Jimmy Kimmel and Disney are moving in a positive direction, with Disney taking a fair step. Kimmel expressed gratitude for the “kindness of fans” and, above all, for his wife Molly McNearney, whose fierce defense of her husband he believes has shaken one of today’s leading news outlets.

In a raw, emotional Instagram post that’s ripped through Tinseltown like a viral clip gone wrong, Jimmy Kimmel just laid bare his soul, thanking the “kindness of fans” who’ve turned his indefinite suspension into a full-blown free speech crusade – but saving his deepest love for wife Molly McNearney, the Emmy-winning head writer whose “fierce” takedowns of media hypocrisy have insiders whispering she’s the one rattling cages at Fox News and beyond!

As Disney execs huddle in Burbank for round-the-clock compromise talks, sources tell Gossip Central the late-night funnyman is “cautiously optimistic” about a swift return to ABC, but not without strings attached. “Molly’s been his shield and sword – her op-eds and off-the-record blasts at conservative outlets have flipped the script,” dishes a Kimmel confidant. “Jimmy’s calling her the real MVP in this mess.”

It all detonated on that explosive Monday, September 15, when Kimmel’s razor-edged monologue on Jimmy Kimmel Live! lit the fuse. Just days after conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk – the 31-year-old Turning Point USA co-founder and Trump whisperer – was gunned down in a shocking assassination at Utah Valley University on September 10, Kimmel didn’t hold back. “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” he quipped, slamming Trump’s supporters for allegedly politicizing the tragedy before the dust settled on suspect Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old with no clear MAGA ties but a manifesto ranting against “right-wing hate.” The studio audience erupted, but online? It was Armageddon. Trump fired off a Truth Social scorcher: “Kimmel’s fake laughs are over – bad ratings and worse judgment!” By Tuesday, FCC Chair Brendan Carr – Trump’s point man and Project 2025 architect – went nuclear on a conservative podcast, vowing “fines or license revocation” for ABC affiliates airing “leftist lies” that could “incite more violence.” Death threats flooded Kimmel’s team, doxxing emails and phones in a chilling echo of post-January 6 paranoia.

Enter the corporate panic button: Nexstar and Sinclair, the station giants beaming ABC to millions (and eyeing FCC blessings for mega-mergers like Nexstar’s $6.2B Tegna grab), bolted first, preempting Kimmel in two dozen markets and branding his words “offensive and insensitive.” By Wednesday afternoon, September 17 – taping time at Hollywood’s El Capitan Theatre – Disney CEO Bob Iger and TV overlord Dana Walden hit speed dial. “Jimmy, we’re preempting indefinitely – safety first, but this firestorm’s torching our affiliates,” Walden reportedly broke it to him in a “businesslike” call, per Deadline insiders. Kimmel, stunned, stormed out sans smirk, his mind on the 100+ crew facing payroll purgatory and his four kids, including son Billy’s heart-defect battles that’ve fueled Kimmel’s gun-reform fire. Celebrity guests – en route for that night’s taping – got the rug-pull via frantic texts, while audience lines snaked in vain outside the theater.

The backlash? A Hollywood hurricane meets MAGA schadenfreude. Protests clogged Disney gates in Burbank and NYC, with “Free Jimmy!” chants drowning out counter-signs like “MAGA Mourns Kirk – Kimmel Cancels Comedy.” Stars swarmed socials: Jason Bateman blasted it as a “gutless cave to bullies” on Today, Henry Winkler tweeted, “Jimmy’s humor shows us who we are – don’t silence the mirror!”; even Conan O’Brien thundered on X, “This should disturb everyone on the Right, Left & Center.” Odd allies emerged: Ted Cruz warned on his pod of “boomerang precedents” if Dems reclaim power, while Barack Obama posted, “Defend speech, whether it’s Kirk or Kimmel – democracy demands it.” Disney+ subs cratered – crash reports spiked, stock dipped 3% – as Tatiana Maslany urged a boycott: “Cancel your subs – this is the hill we die on!” Inside the Mouse House? Mutiny: Execs leaked fury at Iger, one griping, “This isn’t what Bob should be doing – it’s not our soul.”

But by Friday, September 19, the plot twisted toward détente. Deadline spilled: Disney’s wiring paychecks to Kimmel’s crew next week – a “major olive branch” amid “deep, daily huddles” with Iger, Walden, and Kimmel’s reps. Variety confirms no full deal yet – murmurs of “toned-down monologues” or FCC disclaimers swirl – but leverage tilts Kimmel’s way. “The boycott burn’s real; they’re hopeful for a swift return,” a network vet spills. Even conservatives like Adam Carolla chime in, decrying “precedent that’ll boomerang.”

Cue the heartstrings: Molly McNearney, Kimmel’s 48-year-old writing wizard and Vegas-wed soulmate since 2013, morphed into warrior queen. While Jimmy sheltered with family, Molly unleashed scorched-earth op-eds in The Hollywood Reporter, rallying A-listers and allegedly cornering a Fox exec in a “blistering” green-room clash: “She quoted MLK, eviscerated their double standards on Kirk coverage, then mic-dropped – pure legend,” a pal gushes. Kimmel’s Saturday IG post (his first since the axe) melted timelines: “Grateful beyond words for the kindness of fans who’ve flooded my DMs with love. But above all, to my fierce Molly – your defense has moved mountains and rattled the giants. Couldn’t do life without you. #FamilyFirst #BackSoon?” Replies exploded: “Molly’s the queen we need!” hit 50K likes.

Yet shadows loom. James Woods torched Kimmel on X: “Future was DOA – ratings tanked!”; Trump smirked from the UK: “Good riddance – NBC, you’re next!” Will Kimmel swallow a gag for glory, or Netflix-bolt and burn bridges? As one exec quips, “This FCC siege could redefine late-night – or torch it.” One truth shines: In America’s comedy coliseum, love, laughs, and leverage might just outfox the fallout.