American 'gap year' student arrested after her newborn baby was thrown out of Paris hotel 2nd-floor window and died



An American "gap year" student was arrested after her newborn baby was thrown out of a Paris hotel 2nd-floor window and died earlier this week.

French prosecutors said the baby was believed to have been thrown from the Ibis Styles hotel in eastern Paris, USA Today said, citing a report from CNN. The incident occurred Monday morning, the Associated Press said, citing the Paris prosecutor.

'We are deeply shocked and saddened by this tragic event, and our thoughts are with everyone affected during this difficult time.'

Emergency responders rushed the newborn to a hospital, but the child was pronounced dead, the AP said.

USA Today, citing AFP and local French outlet Le Parisien, reported that the student in question is 18 years old. She was taken to a hospital for medical treatment following childbirth and was placed in custody there, officials told the AP.

Paris prosecutors are investigating the crime as a homicide of a minor under the age of 15, USA Today reported, adding that the mother of the infant has not been named.

The U.S. Department of State told USA Today it's aware of the situation and is monitoring the case: “We are deeply saddened to learn of the recent tragedy involving the loss of a young life. Due to privacy and other considerations, we have no further comment at this time."

The AP said "authorities are considering the possibility of pregnancy denial, a condition in which a woman remains unaware of or in denial about her pregnancy until labor."

The student was traveling through Europe from the U.S. with a group of young adults, the AP said. A spokesperson from the group that organized the travel — Massachusetts-based EF Gap Year — on Tuesday told the AP in a statement that "we are deeply shocked and saddened by this tragic event, and our thoughts are with everyone affected during this difficult time."

The statement added that "we are fully cooperating with local authorities as they continue their investigation. Counseling support has been offered to all group members, and we are extending our support to the impacted families," the AP said.

Students who take a "gap year" typically do so after high school and prior to beginning college. The EF Gap Year website says, "Our educational philosophy celebrates travel as a pathway to understanding and self-discovery."

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Migrating Mona Lisa and a $50 van Gogh: Two controversies that have the art world in hysterics



Two controversies have just flipped the art world on its head: The “Mona Lisa” is apparently leaving the Louvre in Paris, France, and a long-lost van Gogh painting has experts at odds.

Pat Gray and the “Unleashed” team unpack the reports.

The Louvre — once “the most famous, most exclusive art museum in the world” — has apparently become “a run-down dump,” says Pat. “Paint is peeling off the walls; the temperature control system isn’t working … which can ruin the art.”

France’s President Emmanuel Macron has announced that renovations are under way, with a special space being created for da Vinci’s masterpiece.

However, Francesca Caruso, the regional assessor for culture of Italy’s Lombardy region, has since suggested that the painting be returned to its original home in Italy.

“Leonardo represents Italian genius. Milan would be an ideal location to display the work,” she wrote, noting that the Winter Olympics, which Milan will host, is just a year away and is sure to elevate tourism.

On the other hand, a French king — Francis I — purchased the “Mona Lisa” in 1519. It has been hanging in France’s Louvre for over 200 years.

Regardless of who ends up with one of the art world's greatest treasures, it’s likely that this tug-of-war wouldn’t be happening if France were a thriving nation — that is, it did not open its borders and implement socialism.

“You open the door to socialist policies, you put your country in a position to pay for everything, you don't have a big enough tax base for this utopia, so … you have to import cheap labor from third-world countries, and here they come from North Africa and the Middle East, and what do you got? You got an entire continent that's been overrun,” says Keith Malinak.

The second controversy that’s shaking up the art world involves a long-lost van Gogh painting that was purchased for $50 in 2016 at a garage sale in Minnesota. It took expert analysts at the New York-based LMI group years and $30,000 to verify its authenticity, but their recently released 450-page report has declared that it is indeed a product of the Dutch Post-Impressionist master.

Titled “Elimar” after an inscription on the front of the canvas, the work is believed by the art data science firm to belong to Saint-Rémy, now called Clinique van Gogh — a collection of paintings van Gogh made during his year-long stint at Saint-Paul sanitarium, during which he was a self-admitted patient.

However, the Van Gogh Museum, the ultimate authority on van Gogh paintings, has denied the attribution to the Post-Impressionist painter, deeming the LMI group’s report insufficient.

The painting is “thought to be worth over $15 million” and will soon be up for auction, says Pat, calling the entire ordeal “bizarre.”

To hear more on these two art controversies, watch the clip above.

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Trump Takes Firm Stand, Exits Paris Agreement Again

The Biden administration implemented new emissions goals as part of its efforts to solidify its climate strategy

Socialist theater that put on free event faces bankruptcy after hundreds of military-age African migrants refuse to leave



The French Red Cross Foundation held a free conference titled "Reinventing the Reception of Refugees in France" on Dec. 10 at the Gaîté Lyrique, a woke arts center owned by the socialist-led council of Paris and housed within a historic 19th-century building. Fellow travelers evidently keen to put theory into practice ushered over 250 migrants from Algeria, Mali, and other African countries to the venue.

While some of the military-aged migrants bothered listening to the supposed refugee experts speak, others right away began picking out where on the premises they would spend the next several weeks squatting.

Now, over 300 migrants are occupying the space. Radio France indicated that the problem has been compounded because the theater has also become a destination for homeless Parisians.

The woke theater reaping the whirlwind originally stated that the institution was not "designed or equipped for accommodation on such a scale," but the Gaîté Lyrique would nevertheless "maintain its activity to allow the venue to remain open to its various audiences."

'They're being frightened away by all these young men.'

Unsurprisingly, hundreds of foreign nationals issuing demands and squatting in place without a sufficient number of latrines is a business killer, not to mention a toxic environment to have beside a children's playground and war memorials. After all, the occupiers' disruptive presence has not been not limited to the confines of the theater.

According to the Times (U.K.), the occupying forces hold general assemblies daily, banging drums and shouting slogans.

The theater presently states on its website, "Due to the occupation of the building, and in the absence of solutions proposed by the competent authorities, the Gaîté Lyrique is currently unable to maintain the conditions allowing the reception of the public in its spaces. The decision has been taken to keep the building closed: Scheduled events are canceled, postponed, or relocated to partner locations until further notice."

All of the performances at the theater have been canceled through at least Jan. 24. The Times noted that with ticket sales accounting for roughly 70% of its income — the remainder coming from subsidies — the theater may not only fail to pay or retain its 60 employees but might ultimately go under.

Although the theater is effectively dying by its own weak hand, it is poised to take other businesses down with it.

The manager of the Bistrot De La Gaite, a restaurant next door to the theater, told the Times, "They are ruining my business."

"They hang around outside my terrace, smoking joints and fighting among themselves," said the manager, a daughter of Algerians identified in the report only as Elia. "Not only do we no longer get theatergoers because the theater is shut, but we don't get passers-by either. They're being frightened away by all these young men."

'There's a racist system in place that doesn't give people of color a chance.'

It appears that the leadership behind the theater, including its CEO Vincent Carry and director Juliette Donadieu, lack the requisite intestinal fortitude and survival instinct to save the institution by giving the occupiers the boot, claiming on the one hand that "it is unthinkable for the Gaîté Lyrique to throw these people out onto the street in the middle of winter," and admitting on the other that the number of foreign youths squatting on the premises continues to increase, and the "sanitary conditions are deteriorating day after day."

The socialist-led council has proved similarly useless, concluding that it could not find a place to move the migrants. Members reportedly tried to pass their problem off on the country's Ukraine-focused president, Emmanuel Macron, whose government rejected their request.

The Times indicated that the migrants' identification as minors is fraudulent. After all, were that the case and the migrants were under the age of 18, the city would be obligated to find housing and assistance for them. Authorities determined, however, that they were adults.

The leftist activists who organized the occupation, members of a group called the Collectif des Jeunes du Parc de Belleville, have campaigned against the age cut-off, calling it "racist and expeditive."

The radical activist group vowed not to leave the theater "without an offer of decent accommodation," claiming that if their demands are not met, "It's because there's a racist system in place that doesn't give people of color a chance."

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Notre Dame’s reopening calls for celebration — and reflection



After five years of renovation and repair following the devastating fire in 2019, the bells of Notre Dame are tolling once again. Tourists can now visit the iconic Gothic cathedral, and the few practicing Catholics in Paris can once again attend Mass there. President-elect Donald Trump was among those present during its reopening weekend.

This is undoubtedly a moment of celebration for believers and nonbelievers alike. When news of the fire broke, many commentators, including myself, saw it not only as the destruction of a historic monument but also as a reflection of the cultural decline it symbolized. For millennia, France and the West upheld the true faith, fostered beauty, and pushed the boundaries of human achievement. Today, they have descended into mediocrity, marked by government entitlements, cultural erosion, and mass consumerism.

If people in the 21st century want to rebuild monuments like the Notre Dame cathedral, they need to start rebuilding the very spirit of these monuments in their souls.

Yet like the resurrected Christ, Notre Dame has re-emerged triumphant. It now draws even larger crowds, who appreciate it more deeply after nearly losing it. If the fire symbolized the West’s decline, then surely the cathedral's reopening must symbolize the West’s restoration — right?

As appealing as that narrative may be, we have little evidence to support it. In fact, a cursory look at the current state of Christianity in the West reveals a situation worse than it was five years ago. In France, a news channel faced severe penalties for factually reporting that abortion is the leading cause of death worldwide. Across the channel, England has legalized assisted suicide.

Meanwhile, in the United States, the Supreme Court has been forced to weigh in on whether states may outlaw genital mutilation and hormone treatments for minors. During this time, Pope Francis and his cardinals have spent years debating the meaning of synodality without resolution.

Rather than finding false solace in Notre Dame’s reopening, it would be more prudent to re-examine the cathedral’s fire with the benefit of hindsight.

For those who remember, the cause of the fire was initially unclear. French authorities attributed it to a random accident, while some “truthers” speculated it was an act of arson by a radical Muslim. Their suspicion stemmed from reports of Islamists celebrating the burning of Notre Dame and a wave of church-burnings across France at the time.

Elites vs. non-elites

From Emmanuel Macron’s perspective and that of the French government, blaming a Muslim fanatic for the fire was nearly as convenient as attributing it to stray cigarette embers. This explanation aligned with an anti-immigration narrative that blamed many of the West’s problems on unassimilated Muslim migrants. Framing the fire as a threat to Christian civilization posed by Muslim newcomers conveniently avoided challenging the political and economic status quo.

Recent history casts doubt on this framing. When examining all the details, the fire symbolized not a global clash between Christian and Muslim civilizations but an ongoing struggle between elites and non-elites.

If the fire had been solely a matter of Muslim non-Westerners resisting French culture, the French populace would have responded decisively. They might have voted for politicians and policies aimed at blocking and deporting North African and Middle Eastern migrants. And they might have re-evaluated their spiritual commitments, recognizing the importance of attending church and rejecting the hollow propaganda of French secular nationalism, known as “laïcité.”

Instead, the French remain as secular as ever, if not more so due to COVID-19 closures. They continue to vote for liberal politicians like Macron, who welcome ever more immigrants. This context makes it plausible that the fire was either directly or indirectly caused by French authorities seeking to gain sympathy, secure billions of euros for maintaining famous tourist sites, and distract the population to retain power. It’s reasonable to assume the reopening of Notre Dame will serve a similar purpose.

Without belief, everything shrinks

Those pointing to the recent collapse of the French legislature as evidence of a populist takeover and the end of elite secular dominance should temper their optimism. “Put not your trust in princes,” as the psalmist says. As I wrote a few years ago, the leaders of French populism are essentially no different from the French elites, aside from their opposition to immigration. If burning down a famous Gothic cathedral served their cause and helped them gain power, they would exploit the opportunity just as willingly.

Christians, populist conservatives, and self-proclaimed guardians of Western civilization should take a new lesson from the fire and reconstruction of Notre Dame Cathedral: a genuine revival of Christendom and Western civilization demands nothing less than a complete spiritual conversion.

It’s not enough to mourn the potential loss of a famous building. Humanity must refocus on first things. The ultimate reason Notre Dame burned is that the West abandoned belief — and everyone knows it. Without belief, everything shrinks, and the transcendence that enables the creation of beautiful churches and advanced societies vanishes. As a result, many in France and across the West now embody Nietzsche’s “Last Man” — oblivious dullards who seek only “little pleasures” and stupidly blink at the idea of pursuing anything meaningful or great.

If people in the 21st century want to rebuild monuments like the Notre Dame cathedral, they need to start rebuilding the very spirit of these monuments in their souls.

Trump to attend Notre Dame reopening celebration



President-elect Donald Trump will attend the grand reopening ceremony at Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, France, this weekend, marking his first international trip since winning re-election.

In 2019, during Trump's first term, the 800-year-old cathedral, one of the most awe-inspiring sites in all of Christendom, tragically caught fire, and much of the interior and exterior grandeur was damaged or destroyed.

Now, after more than five years of careful restoration efforts, the magnificent church is once again ready to return to its regular schedule and to welcome visitors from around the world to join in the worship and to admire the beauty and wonder of the structure.

The service will include the rite of reopening the doors and a rite to 'awaken the grand organ,' the cathedral website said. The archbishop will also lead the faithful in the chanting of the office.

To mark the occasion, clergy and French officials have arranged a series of events this week. On Saturday, Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich will preside over a reopening service attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, donors, members of parishes across the archdiocese, and about 50 statesmen and other dignitaries from around the world — including President-elect Trump.

"It is an honor to announce that I will be traveling to Paris, France, on Saturday to attend the re-opening of the Magnificent and Historic Notre Dame Cathedral, which has been fully restored after a devastating fire five years ago," Trump posted to Truth Social on Monday evening.

"President Emmanuel Macron has done a wonderful job ensuring that Notre Dame has been restored to its full level of glory, and even more so. It will be a very special day for all!"

The service will include the rite of reopening the doors and a rite to "awaken the grand organ," the cathedral website said. The archbishop will also lead the faithful in the chanting of the office, which consists of "a hymn, a psalm, the Magnificat, prayers for the world, and the Lord’s Prayer."

The service will be followed by musical performances from several high-profile artists, including French opera singer Julie Fuchs and cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who was born in Paris.

The first official Mass will be held on Sunday. That first Mass will also initiate the "octave of reopening" — eight days of celebrations at the cathedral.

Trump's trip to Notre Dame — French for "Our Lady" — follows multiple public statements he has made about the Virgin Mary and other Catholic figures. On September 8, the feast day of the birth of the Virgin Mary, Trump shared the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe with the message "Happy Birthday Mary!" Three weeks later, he tweeted out the prayer to St. Michael.

Melania Trump is Catholic, as is Vice President-elect JD Vance. Trump was baptized a Presbyterian, but he later described himself as a "nondenominational Christian."

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Kitchen Confidentielle

In 2009, Chicagoan Jane Bertch began establishing a culinary school business in Paris, which is raison d’être for her debut memoir. Readers who come for the food, know this: Puff pastry secrets are not disclosed, and the book’s title does not refer to butter. The author’s revelations deal with much broader issues, some of which […]

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French police arrest several Christians for protesting attacks on Christians



In the wake of the 2024 Olympics opening ceremony mocking the Last Supper, members of a conservative advocacy group headed to Paris to protest such routinized attacks on Christianity. They were promptly arrested and left to conclude that the underlying problem is perhaps worse than first imagined.

The watchdog group Open Doors revealed in its latest annual report that one in seven Christians worldwide — over 365 million Christians — faces "high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith."

Blaze News previously reported that the 10 worst countries for Christians are North Korea, Somalia, Libya, Eritrea, Yemen, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan, Iran, and Afghanistan. Christians stand a good chance of being tortured, imprisoned, raped, and murdered for their faith in these third-world nations as well as in countries far higher up the list, such as China.

Attacks on Christians and on their churches are not limited, however, to Africa, the Middle East, or the Orient.

Arielle Del Turco, director of the Center for Religious Liberty at the FRC, revealed in a report earlier this year that between 2018 and 2023, there were at least 915 acts of hostility against American churches. Canada, too, has seen hundreds of churches razed by radicals since 2021.

Against this backdrop of anti-Christian persecution and hatred, the French — who have seen their fair share of anti-Christian attacks — kicked off the 2024 Olympics with a ceremony mocking Christianity.

The opening ceremony contained a scene intended to resemble Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper." However, instead of depicting Christ and his disciples, the ceremony's designer, Thomas Jolly, instead had several transvestites strike poses on either sides of a morbidly obese lesbian named Barbara Butch.

Jolly then had a virtually naked man painted blue — intended to represent Dionysus, Greek god of wine-making — set upon the table as a substitute meal.

The ceremony generated significant controversy and elicited denunciations from various Christian institutions around the world, including the Vatican.

The Madrid-based conservative advocacy group CitizenGo started a petition demanding an apology and an explanation from all members of the International Olympic Committee.

"Enough is enough! This grotesque spectacle was an affront to everything we hold sacred, and it cannot go unchallenged," said the petition, which had over 392,500 signatures at the time of publication.

"All too often, we stand by and do nothing while they step on us and mock our Christian faith. But after today, I’ve seriously had enough! What happens if we stay silent? Our faith, our Christian symbols, will become a permanent parody promoted by queer, LGBTI, and trans lobbies, backed by our globalist leaders and the international left."

CitizenGo sent a bus into the heart of Paris Monday with "Stop attacks on Christians!" written on the side.

The bus was also emblazoned on one side with images of both Da Vinci's "The Last Supper" as well as a photograph of the Olympic ceremony mocking the religious imagery, striking a damning contrast.

Catholic activist Caroline Farrow alleged that despite having no issues early in the day, the bus was ultimately stopped "at gunpoint" by French police who surrounded the vehicle and claimed they were "conducting a 'public demonstration without the government's permission.'"

'They are tyrannical, anti-Christian bullies.'

A lawyer for the group claimed, "It appears impossible to constitute the crime of failing to communicate a protest because there is no protest in the presence of one unique vehicle. The prosecutor pushed the law to its limits to stop the bus and limit their free speech."

According to Farrow, six members of her team — including two from the U.K. — were arrested, then taken to the police station "where they were put in handcuffs and transferred to a second secure facility."

"They are tyrannical, anti-Christian bullies. It's absurd," the group said on X.

"Fearing the campaign's impact and the stain on France's image to the world, the political elites viciously censored CitizenGO in a manner akin to an authoritarian regime," continued Farrow. "The French police, under political orders from high-level political authorities, arrested six campaigners and the bus driver. All of their belongings were confiscated, they were stripped and searched, and they were illegally denied to call their personal lawyers. [S]ome were even not allowed to call their family members and were held on non-existent charges."

Farrow suggested further that the effort to shut up the protesters backfired, granted their bus, which was "clearly offensive to the French police and authorities, [was] still parked at the Police Station in District 16th, 3 blocks from the Arc de Triumph in front of everyone in the middle of downtown Paris."

The conservative group indicated that French police escorted their bus out of the city the next day.

Ignacio Arsuaga, president of CitizenGo, tweeted, "Our lawyer tells us there is no case, and that the prosecutor ordered the gendarmerie to arrest the campaigners even though there was no case."

"We are now going to file a lawsuit against Macron, the Attorney General, and the gendarmerie. Woke governments are becoming increasingly totalitarian," added Arsuaga.

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Second Olympic boxer who failed gender test dominates female fighter in Paris



Another Olympic boxer surrounded by gender controversy just had a dominating victory.

Lin Yu‑ting of Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) beat Uzbekistan's Sitora Turdibekova in a unanimous decision Friday in the 57 kg round of 16.

'Every person has the right to practice sport without discrimination.'

Lin dominated Turdibekova and displayed a clear and obvious athletic advantage, often pushing around Turdibekova with ease. The Uzbekistan fighter was dejected by the loss, while Lin's corner and fans in the French audience were raucous.

The International Boxing Association disqualified Lin at the March 2023 world championships over failure to meet gender eligibility requirements. Lin, Taiwan's double world champion, reportedly was denied a bronze medal at the event. Algeria's Imane Khelif also was disqualified at the event for the same reason.

According to Reuters, IBA President Umar Kremlev told Russian outlet TASS at the time that the boxers had "XY chromosomes." Males have XY chromosomes; females have XX chromosomes.

But the International Olympic Committee dropped the IBA as a governing body in June 2023 and put the IOC's Paris 2024 Boxing Unit in charge. The Paris Boxing Unit's rules have been described as more relaxed.

According to the Guardian, the IOC acknowledged in its internal system that Lin was “stripped of her bronze medal after failing to meet eligibility requirements based on the results of a biochemical test" and that Khelif was “disqualified just hours before her gold medal showdown against Yang Liu at the 2023 world championships in New Delhi, India, after her elevated ­levels of testosterone failed to meet the eligibility criteria."

Still, Lin and Khelif were allowed to box against women at the Paris Olympics.

Indeed, the Olympic women's boxing category has dominated the headlines this week, particularly after Italy's Angela Carini forfeited her Thursday bout against Khelif after just 46 seconds. Carini walked away after one big punch from the Algerian boxer.

The IOC has answered questions surrounding the issue, stating that "all athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition's eligibility and entry regulations."

Even after the shocking end to the fight between Khelif and Carini, the IOC expressed sadness but stood firmly in their decision to allow Khelif and Lin in the women's category.

"The IOC is saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently receiving," the IOC said in a statement Thursday, per ESPN. "Every person has the right to practice sport without discrimination."

Khelif will fight in the 66kg quarterfinals Saturday against Anna Luca Hamori of Hungary. Lin will fight in the 57kg quarterfinals Sunday against Svetlana Kamenova Staneva of Bulgaria.

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