President Donald Trump’s order to begin dismantling the US Department of Education, which he’s expected to sign this week, is a welcome step toward shrinking government and shedding woke policies.
Yet it’s just a step: He’ll need Congress to fully scrap the agency.
And to rethink (or end!) programs that now automatically shovel out cash to benefit blue states and teachers unions.
Recall that the DOE was born of a crass political bargain: Back in 1976, the nation’s largest teachers union, the National Education Association, offered its endorsement to obscure presidential hopeful Jimmy Carter if he agreed to push one through.
Carter agreed, got NEA’s backing and won first the Democratic nomination and then the general and got cracking on making good.
So DOE launched in 1980, and has been growing ever since.
Yet even Al Shanker, head of the other main teachers union, the American Federation of Teachers, noted that appeal for such a department was based on the “mythology” of what it could accomplish.
And he worried about handing the feds control over local schools.
But it did lead to an army of 4,400 bureaucrats making up rules and guidances — DEI requirements and other mandates benefiting teachers and Democrats — and strong-arming localities to adopt them.
That cash has also done much harm; at the college level it’s fueled soaring tuition — even as it’s led to soaring spending at all levels to bloat school bureaucracies that ensure compliance with DOE regulations.
Yes, most DOE outlays are pass-along grants authorized by Congress.
That’s why Trump must get lawmakers behind him to not only rescind the legislation that created the agency, but to reconsider the substance of Uncle Sam’s impact on education.
For K-12, shift funds into vouchers that parents can use to send their kids to the schools of their choice — and push states to boost the number of private schools, as a condition of any federal aid.
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Boosting competition in this way can only benefit education.
And when lefties, unions and other vested interests scream that Trump and fellow Republicans are aiming to hurt kids and set back education, ask them to show the evidence.
Point out the harm the agency’s done, such as via DOE’s Diversity & Inclusion Council. And how nationalizing education through such an agency was a top priority for Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s.
I have been eyeing shares in baker Greggs (LSE: GRG) for a while. After a big fall in the Greggs share price this week following the company’s results, I decided to make a move and buy.
Why I like the investment case
To start with, let me explain what attracts me to the company.
It operates in an area with high, resilient consumer demand. People always need to eat and Greggs is an affordable, convenient option for many.
As the business has grown, it has built economies of scale. For example, centralised production plants mean that much of the food prepping can be done in bulk at more efficient, lower-cost locations than the chain’s high street sites.
The business has been quite innovative when it comes to product launches. It now has an offering that includes some unique items. I see that as giving it a competitive advantage over rivals.
The results were good – or were they?
Looking at the double-digit percentage fall in the Greggs share price following the release of annual results, it would seem that they were poor. Many commentators seemed unimpressed with the performance.
Personally, though, I saw lots to like.
Sales revenues grew 11%, pre-tax profit was up 8%, and diluted earnings per share were 8% higher than a year before. The annual ordinary dividend per share was increased by 11%, meaning that the FTSE 250 share now offers a dividend yield of 3.9%.
Sales in company-managed stores grew more slowly than sales overall (some of the sales growth came from opening new shops) and this year has started with only modest sales growth.
On balance, though, I did not think that the results undermined the investment case.
That is lower than it has been for a while and in my view looks like good value.
Sure, there are risks that help explain why the Greggs share price has been falling. Its cash pile fell last year. Costly capital expenditure requirements could continue to eat into it, as the chain keeps expanding its operations.
But when I look at the company I see a solidly profitably, cash generative business with a proven model and ongoing growth prospects.
I have been waiting a while for the share price to get to a level that I think offers an attractive buying opportunity. Now it has.
Like billionaire investor Warren Buffett, my stock market approach is to buy stakes in what I think are great businesses at attractive prices, with a view to holding them for the long term.
A tumbling Greggs share price has given me an opportunity to do just that – and I have seized it.
The browser suite includes new secure sign-ins, user authentication, and identity management across Google services. Google Identity integrates with Google Workspace and other third-party applications, allowing businesses to streamline access management, bolster security, and make sure users have the correct permissions and access.
Google
IT teams also benefit from better profile reporting and data protection for unmanaged devices in BYOD environments, the company said, and can enable reporting for managed users across Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android. In one view, they can access key info such as browser version, OS, policies, extensions, and device management status, making it easier to monitor BYOD or contractor setups.
With Chrome Enterprise Premium, companies can apply data controls and access restrictions, such as blocking copy/paste or screenshots, when employees or contractors sign into a work profile. Those company policies can be enforced on all devices through Chrome.
It seems that Instagram is working on a “community chat” feature that allows people to organize groups of up to 250 people in the app. The so-far unreleased feature was spotted by developer Alessandro Paluzzi, who has a solid track record of uncovering new features within Meta’s apps.
According to screenshots shared by Paluzzi, it seems that community chats will function similarly to Discord. Individual users can form the chats around specific topics and control who can join, though there’s apparently a limit of 250 people per community.
Unlike Instagram’s , which allow creators to blast out messages to their followers, anyone who is in the community chat can participate in the conversation. There are also built-in moderation features. “Admins can remove messages and members to keep the channel safe,” the screenshot says. “We also review Community Chat against our Community Standards.”
It’s not clear when, or if, the feature may launch. An Instagram spokesperson described it as an internal prototype that’s not being tested outside the company. But Meta has previously released similar features in its other apps. WhatsApp began experimenting with a “” feature in 2022, and brought “Community Chats” and Messenger later that same year. Mark Zuckerberg said it was meant to help people find “a new way to connect with people who share your interests.”
Please, please, please—why do celebrity couples keep breaking up? One of the hottest couples of 2024 was Sabrina Carpenter and Barry Keoghan, who began dating in December 2023. The two starred together in her music video for “Please Please Please,” in which she sings, “Heartbreak is one thing (heartbreak is one thing), my ego’s another (ego’s another)/I beg you, don’t embarrass me, motherf**cker.” Sabrina and Barry’s chemistry made them a fan-favorite couple, but despite their on-and-off romance, it wasn’t until late 2024 when reports revealed they were no longer together.
According to Page Six, an anonymous message to Deuxmoi read, “I snooped around a bit out of curiosity and apparently he and his pop star girlfriend called it quits very suddenly less than a week before her final shows in L.A .after she found out he had been chatting with said influencer behind her back for months in a not-innocent-at-all way.”
To learn more about Barry and Sabrina’s relationship, Hollywood Life has gathered all the details below.
Why Did Sabrina Carpenter and Barry Keoghan Split?
While neither Barry nor Sabrina has publicly commented on the reasons for their breakup, a source who spoke with People on December 3, 2024, shared that “they are both young and career-focused, so they’ve decided to take a break.” Although no official statement has been made regarding the breakup’s cause, rumors suggested that Barry may have cheated on Sabrina. However, none of these rumors have ever been confirmed.
Barry seemingly broke his silence on the rumors by deactivating his Instagram account and addressing fans in an X post on December 7, 2024.
“I can only sit and take so much. My name has been dragged across the internet in ways I usually don’t respond [to],” the Masters of the Air alum tweeted. “I have to respond now because it’s gettin to a place where there are too many lines being crossed. I deactivated my account because I can no longer let this stuff distract from my family and my work. The messages I have received no person should ever have to read them. Absolute lies, hatred, disgusting commentary about my appearance, character, how I am as a parent and every other inhumane thing you can imagine.”
Barry also accused a person of stalking his family by “knocking on my granny’s door” and “sitting outside my baby boy’s house intimidating them.”
“That’s crossing a line,” Barry added. “Each and every day, I work harder to push myself on every level to be the healthiest and strongest person for that boy. I want to provide opportunities for him to learn, fail and grow. I want him to be able to look up to his daddy, to have full trust in me and know I will have his back no matter what. “I need you to remember he has to read ALL of this about his father when he is older. Please be respectful to all.”
In February 2025, Sabrina dropped her remixed version of “Please Please Please” along with a music video alongside Dolly Parton. In it, the two women are seen driving off with an unknown man tied up in their backseat, which fans took as a sly reference to Sabrina’s split from Barry. Not only that, but the Thelma & Louise-styled video dropped on Valentine’s Day.
In March 2025, the superstar took her Short n’ Sweet tour to Dublin, where she seemingly made a remark about Barry, telling the crowd, “But my goodness, these Irish boys are hard work.”
Is Barry Keoghan Dating Someone Else?
Rumors have circulated that Los Angeles influencer Breckie Hill may have been involved in the breakup. Yahoo Entertainment reported that the influencer has been reposting posts about Barry and Sabrina’s split, fueling speculation. Despite the rumors, no official relationship between Barry and Breckie has been confirmed.
Who Has Sabrina Carpenter Dated?
Before her relationship with Barry, Sabrina, known for her role on Disney Channel, was romantically linked to Shawn Mendes and dated Joshua Bassett. Sabrina gained significant attention during the speculated love triangle between her, Joshua Bassett, and Olivia Rodrigo after the 21-year-old released her hit song “Driver’s License.” Many speculated that the song was about Sabrina, with lyrics referring to “that blonde girl” who is “older.”
One beautiful Spanish city – voted the best place to live in 2022 – is the ultimate March escape, with 20C heat and £4 wine. The charming thing, as with many Spanish cities, is just how walkable everything is. Within a tiny radius, you can traipse around food markets, ogle at ancient architecture, and kick back with a sangria in hand on the beach.
When you add that to the fact an average meal sets you back €13.25 (£11.09), a bottle of wine is around €5 (£4.18), and the morning coffee is just € 2.04 (£1.71), according to transfer platform Wise, it’s easy to see why Valencia was voted the best place to live by Forbes. One of the first stops should be the old town, where you can check out a momentous piece of Christian history at the Valencia Cathedral – the Holy Grail – which archaeological studies claim could be the chalice used by Jesus in the Last Supper.
The beautiful Cathedral is a mix of Gothic, Romanesque and Baroque styles, and if you’re up for it, climb the Miguelete Tower for a spectacular panoramic view of the city.
Just a short walk away, you’ll find the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Silk Exchange ( La Lonja de la Seda), which was the heart of Valencia’s bustling silk trade in the 15th century.
The building is a true masterpiece of Gothic architecture, with impressive columns, intricate stonework and a stunning ceiling worth craning your neck for.
Truly an outdoor city – you’ll see locals drinking coffee on sunny plazas in true Mediterranean style – make sure you walk through the beautiful Turia Gardens, which were once a riverbed and now one of Spain’s largest urban parks.
Valencia also boasts 20km of blue-flag beaches, where some of the best Paella restaurants can be found. All you have to decide is whether to walk to nearby Cabanyal or Malvarrosa, or cycle further afield to beaches like El Saler.
If paella shockingly isn’t your thing, the Central Market has a huge variety of fresh produce, as well as tapas, the ripest olives you can taste, and fresh seafood.
It has been a jittery start to March for the US stock market. Concerns around tariffs and the impact they could have on economic growth and inflation have caused some investors to get worried. Some S&P 500 stocks have seen a significant move lower in a short space of time. Here’s one that has fallen that I think could be worth buying.
Reasons for the fall
I’m referring to Vistra Corp (NYSE:VST). The stock is down 24.6% over the last month, but still up 122% over the past year. Vistra’s a US-based energy company engaged in the production and distribution of electricity and related services.
One reason why the stock has struggled so far in 2025 is due to the rise of DeepSeek, a Chinese AI-model that was reportedly trained and built for a fraction of the cost of other large language models (LLMs). You might think that this story doesn’t really have anything to do with Vistra, but you’d be wrong.
A key reason for the surge in the stock over the past year has come because the energy infrastructure it owns is seen as the future for powering AI projects. The ability to fuel such energy-hungry processors means that Vistra could see revenue significantly increase in coming years. However, the DeepSeek breakthrough caused the stock to fall. If investors have to dial back optimism about how much electricity is actually going to be needed, then maybe Vistra won’t be as profitable as initially thought.
Another factor has been lower electricity prices. The mild winter in the US has further reduced electricity demand, putting downward pressure on energy company revenues.
The long-term view
Despite the short-term negatives, it doesn’t change the fact that Vistra is still hot property. The 2024 results mentioned that “in these 12 months, we closed on a unique acquisition, adding three nuclear sites, approximately one million additional retail customers in the key PJM market and 2,000 new team members”.
The bottom line is that there’s a lot of progress being made at the company, aside from the AI-hype and speculation. The share price will likely continue to be volatile. But I think that it will move back higher this year. As the dust settles on some of the AI concerns, people should realise that Vistra is a profitable utility company.
Further, it’s pushing ahead with renewable energy. Even though this will be attractive for big tech with AI spending plans, it’s also appealing to other corporate customers. So even if AI slows down, it can still do very well with other clients.
Summing it up
Overall, I think this is a dip opportunity worth considering for investors. In contrast to some other AI-related stocks, Vistra has a strong core utility business, which I think makes it more sustainable going forward.
Revenge, reclamation, and resurrection fuel Guns of Redemption, a sharply focused post-Civil War tale about a weary soldier hoping for solace yet destined for struggle. Director Brian Skiba’s (The Gunslinger) intentionally straightforward storytelling hones in on four key characters, reigning in any excess. Between its solid cast, gritty action sequences, and alluring American West backdrop, the film intrigues but is several bullets short of being an epic Western.
The film centers around a Civil War veteran named Luke (Casper Van Dien of Starship Troopers and Sleepy Hollow) who hopes to fade away in a small town. Fate has other plans as he’s soon drawn back into chaos when he tries to rescue two women (Kaitlyn Kemp, Siena Bjornerud) from a traveling brothel run by a sinister fellow named General Bork (Jeff Fahey). That doesn’t end well, and the aftermath becomes the main focus of the film, along with Luke’s determination to get revenge.
Based on a story by Kieth Merrill (The Great American Cowboy, Amazon) and Jamie R. Thompson (Old Henry, 97 Minutes), the film also stars Sean Astin (The Lord of the Rings, Stranger Things) playing a preacher trying to rebuild the town’s church. Perfectly cast and successful in how it establishes a distinct Civil War-era tone, fans of Westerns and revenge stories will appreciate the film’s sharp pivot early on and how the plot builds toward traditional Western tropes toward the end. In between, Guns of Redemption trips over choppy editing and a thin screenplay.
Searching for redemption, a mysterious gunslinger with a violent past tries to save a young woman from vicious men who run a travelling brothel.
Release Date
March 7, 2025
Genres
Drama, Thriller, Western
Runtime
94 Minutes
Cast
Kaitlyn Kemp, Celeste Blandon, Francis Cronin, Myrom Kingery, James Logan, Jesse Gallegos, Michael Arata, Sean-Michael Argo, Kim DeLonghi, Sean Astin, Jeff Fahey, Casper Van Dien
Director
Brian Skiba
Writers
Kieth Merrill, Jamie R. Thompson
Distributor(s)
Shout! Studios
Pros & Cons
A great cast enlivens an otherwise basic script.
Ticks off everything you’d want from a typical Western, from the great scenery to the gunslinging.
The editing is choppy and sometimes confusing, and the action scenes aren’t always well-directed.
Guns of Redemption begins on a sweet note. Preacher Parson Dyer (Astin) welcomes in Luke (Van Dien), a reserved stranger who eventually agrees to help him rebuild a church. Praise be. Luke has endured enough hardship and has the scars to prove it. He desperately wants to leave his harsh past behind. That proves to be challenging when General Bork (Fahey) rolls into town with his mobile stage-coaching brothel, dragging along two unwilling sisters, Charlotte and Anna.
Luke can’t sit back, you see. He wants to help the women, but the confrontation turns bloody and Luke is horribly wounded. Bork and his men leave the man for dead and off the mobile brothel goes. It may require taking a leap of faith to make the rest of the film seem plausible, but fear not, you’ll tend to forgive some of the plot devices here once Luke — surprise — manages to spring back to life and embark on a full-out revenge mission.
The Western genre has a rich history of films, and these are 45 of the best movies of all time in this important genre.
Luke’s determination may drive the second half of the film, but even with Casper Van Dien in the role, a fine actor to be sure, the character never truly grabs us. Two other characters do. The first is General Bork, and as embodied by Jeff Fahey, we are given a true Western villain we easily love to despise. As steely as he is cold-blooded, Bork is a formidable foe. Fahey is pitch-perfect in the role. Meanwhile, Kaitlyn Kemp, as Charlotte, emerges as the character to truly root for.
A Great Cast & Scenice Locale Makes Up for Narrative Flaws
We’re living in a Western renaissance right now with the huge successes of Yellowstone, 1923, 1883, Landman, and indie Westerns like Calamity Jane, The Outlaws, The Thicket, and The Dead Don’t Hurt. We’d like to see Guns of Redemption get some love, too. This may not be the most effectively executed Western, but the cast sets a winning tone.
It’s nice to see Sean Astin here, leaning into another role cut from similar creative clothes — earnest, trustworthy, middle-aged (see also The Conners, Stranger Things, Holiday Twist, and The Invisible Raptor). Astin is a likable actor, and he makes the film’s preacher believable if not somebody we all seem to know somewhere in our own lives. He’s solid to the core. The chemistry between Van Dien and Astin works, too, making Luke’s fierce drive to find Bork all the more engaging overall. And those sparks between Van Dien and Kemp perfectly hit the mark.
These Westerns have garnered a cult following despite not being able to gain worldwide prominence.
In the meantime, the film’s scenic nature checks off all the visual boxes on the Westerns list — dusty towns, big skies, rocky landscapes, broad vistas. The gunslinging fits the bill, too. You may be jarred by some of the overt violence featured here, but if you’re a Western fan going into this film, you’re already used to such gritty and bloody scenes. The filmmaker may teeter a bit at how these important moments are executed, but if you can surrender to the almost sleepy tone of the movie, you will feel suspended in time with it and enjoy that time with its characters. Bottom line: the stellar cast elevates this tale, making Guns of Redemption a Western you can ultimately appreciate. Guns of Redemption is in theaters and on demand beginning March 7, 2025.
This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.
Wicked star Cynthia Erivo is set to star in an upcoming corporate action thriller said to have a samurai twist.
Per Lionsgate, Erivo will star in Karoshi, which will also feature Chad Stahelski, Teo Yoo, Alex Young, and Jason Spitz. The movie is set to enter production in June, and Takashi Dioscher will direct from a script he penned himself, and the plot is currently under wraps at the moment.
More to follow…
Source: Lionsgate
This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.
On Wednesday night, Gen Z’s favorite heavy rock band took a moment onstage at the Kia Forum to remember their first gig there.
“Our first time at the Forum was 1995, opening for Ozzy Osbourne,” Deftones singer Chino Moreno said, sweating through his T-shirt before the first of two sold-out crowds. “It was f— crazy.”
Since the early ’90s, Deftones — the Sacramento-raised, metal-tinged experimentalists — have defined the bleeding edge of heavy guitar rock, working in elements of post-punk, shoegaze, electronics and melancholy whispered vocals. They’ve had six top 10 albums in four different decades, founded a hugely popular festival (Dia De Los Deftones, in San Diego) and cultivated one of the most devoted, multicultural and open-minded subcultures in rock.
But something happened over the last five years where the band’s precise lane of ambient sadness and tensile rage hit a whole new generation right where it hurts. To judge by the Forum crowd on Wednesday, Deftones have never been bigger, or more definitional for what young people want out of heavy music in all its gradients. A band ahead of their time, for 30 years and counting.
Deftones’ last album, 2020’s “Ohms,” was a return to the more brutal form of their breakthrough late ’90s and early 2000s LPs, despite the band (now Moreno, guitarist Stephen Carpenter, drummer Abe Cunningham and keyboardist Frank Delgado) recording at the peak of pandemic lockdowns.
At the time, Moreno’s assessment of the album matched the mood of the era — “The record has a dystopian vibe that, in hindsight, really feels current to me,” Moreno told The Times. “It just kind of happened how that’s the current state of a lot of people’s lives now — uncertainty about their surroundings and not feeling super optimistic.”
Well, we’re all right back in it.
Deftones performing at the Kia Forum on March 5, 2025.
(Clemente Ruiz)
If anything’s changed since, it’s that younger audiences — entranced by the shoegaze atmospheres on singles like “Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away) and the ’90s metal aesthetics of their retro merch — have brought fresh perspective onto why Deftones remain so captivating and cathartic. Their plays are into the billions on Spotify, and “Cherry Waves” became a TikTok hit for documenting the murk of young lust — something is clicking anew.
After an opening set teasing hypnotic new music from Latin-infused heavy rockers the Mars Volta (who know a thing or two about responding to oppressive environments), Deftones rose to the occasion of fresh stardom. Wednesday’s Forum show felt locked into the full scale of an arena tour, with beautifully-framed abstract visuals that positioned the group on two stories of risers, leaving Moreno plenty of room to bloodlet up front on the churning “My Own Summer” (Shove It),” while commanding the void in silhouette on “Sextape.”
With a fresh wave of interest and a vast catalog to pull from, the band’s range and sequencing for the show were exceptional. They’ve always moved between gloss and grime, shimmer and savagery. But following them from the misty, Cocteau Twins-indebted early single “Digital Bath” to the contemporary, bone-cracking crunch of 2020’s “Genesis” made the old stuff feel visionary and new material ageless. Mid-career tracks like “Prayers/Triangles” showed the melodic panache that’s helped these albums stand the test of time, while era-defining cuts like “Change (In the House of Flies)” haven’t lost of drop of menace — if anything, they’ve gained power with time.
The band didn’t pander to the newbie meme crowds though. In this political environment, it takes some guts to wrap up with “7 Words,” their famously anti-cop grinder from 1995, where a very young Moreno taunted “Resist to cease, understand? / God hates black shades and all the clergy / Mr. P.I.G., could I f— see?” In 2025, he played it with reverence for the purity of that rage, the absolute conviction that the world he saw was broken. It’s worth rediscovering that feeling today.
