A troubling twist has emerged in the high-profile cases concerning the alleged gang rape of Louisiana State University student Madison Brooks, as the presiding judge, Gail Ray, is grappling with her personal connection to similar charges borne by her son, according to official records.

Desmond Carter, one of the individuals accused in the grim incident involving Brooks, is preparing to face trial slated for August 17. This marks a crucial phase in the legal proceedings as Carter becomes the first of the three suspects to appear in court with Judge Ray at the helm.

The unfortunate series of events occurred in 2023, when Madison Brooks, then a 19-year-old student at LSU, allegedly fell victim to a gang rape following a night out. Tragically, she was later fatally struck by a vehicle.

Further complicating the scenario, court documents reviewed by News Media reveal Judge Ray’s son, Nelson Taylor, now 46, faced a conviction for multiple counts of forcible rape back in 1997. Taylor’s ongoing attempts to overturn his convictions have become a point of contention, instigating a legal clash between the district attorney’s office and the 19th Judicial District Court, where his mother serves.

Taylor admitted to raping several girls who went to high school with him between October 1995 and April 1996.

All judges within the 19th Judicial District Court recused themselves from the case in December 2025. Taylor’s attorney filed a motion to have the convictions overturned in a November 2025 motion. While the motion was filed in November, the conflicts of interest prevented it from being heard by a judge until late July.

District Attorney Hillar Moore, who’s prosecuting the men accused of raping Brooks, filed a motion to recuse Ray from presiding over the state’s case against Casen Carver, whose trial is set to begin in November. Carver is charged with video voyeurism, first-degree rape and third-degree rape.

Moore’s office filed the motion to recuse Ray from Carver’s case in November 2025, arguing she couldn’t judge fairly after the suspect waived his right to a jury trial, making her the sole decider of the case.

Prosecutors pointed to Ray’s previous exposure to evidence about Brooks’ alleged sexual history, which is being excluded from the trial, and previous rulings that went against them. Those included her order for the state to turn over data from Brooks’ cellphone, her initial ruling that evidence of Brooks’ activities in the 72 hours before the alleged rape would be admissible, and her decision ordering the state to produce items from Carver’s phone.

However, the prosecutor’s central argument for Ray’s recusal was a series of text messages between Carver and his father, where the rape suspect claimed “we are friends with” Ray, adding that “she knows to help us,” given the judge’s son is a convicted rapist.

In another text message, Carver told his father that “judge is on our side” and was “going to rule in our favor.”

“These are not the ‘musings’ of a teenager who was hoping for the best outcome in his case. These are affirmative statements that show that Mr. Carver believed that the judge ‘knew to help him’ because of an alleged friendship with him or someone he knew and the judge’s son’s interactions with the criminal justice system,” 19th Judicial District Judge Bradley Myers wrote in his ruling.

The unusual combination of evidence, combined with Ray’s previous rulings and her son’s criminal history, is what prompted prosecutors to seek the recusal.

Ray was initially recused from the case in November 2025, but the Louisiana Supreme Court would later allow her to preside over Carver’s case.

Former Louisiana prosecutor Franz Borghardt explained to News Media why the text messages weren’t enough to get a recusal.

“So the standard in Louisiana for recusal is, does the judge have a bias or a personal interest such that they can’t be fair and impartial to both sides?” Borghardt said. “And while those text messages on their face certainly present that, if someone says, ‘hey, this judge is a friend,’ doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re gonna be fair or impartial. And in fact, oftentimes judges that are friends will rule against you just as quickly as judges that dislike you.”

News Media reached out to Ray’s office and Taylor’s attorney for comment.

With an iconic location comes a significant duty.

In Queens, a homeowner discovered that he had unintentionally acquired the legendary home of “Spider-Man” and Aunt May. Embracing his new role, he has become a guardian of this famed address and finds joy in receiving heartfelt letters from young fans of the superhero.

Three years ago, Jack Shi purchased the residence at 20 Ingram St. in Forest Hills without realizing its notable history. This was the fictional homestead of Peter Parker and Aunt May, a detail cherished by Spider-Man enthusiasts worldwide. Nestled in the picturesque Forest Hills, this multimillion-dollar property had long captured the attention of fans, even before the blockbuster “Brand New Day” hit cinemas.

“Visitors from Ireland, England, and Italy often come here, always eager to snap photos,” Shi shared with The Post. “Many Americans, too, recognize this as Spider-Man’s home.”

“Spider-Man encapsulates the spirit of America,” Shi reflected. “He stands as a symbol of heroism and inspiration.”

The 64-year-old Chinese native takes his part in the fanfare seriously since he bought the home three years ago at the height of the Tom Holland film franchise.

“I feel mild responsibility because Spider-Man, this is the American spirit. If I am living here, I should do as Spider-Man,” the dad of two added. “If someone wants to take a picture, I say yes.”

Shi added that kids from around the world write letters and draw pictures addressed to the Web Head that wind up at his home, which is labeled as “Spider-Man’s home” on Google Maps.

“Spider-Man, how do you do the things that you do like saving the world?” Julius from South Dakota penned in April.

“Can you come over to my house to play? We can watch TV together,” another letter a child named Cooper wrote not just to Spidey, but Deadpool as well.

The family of little Kannon in Nebraska even invited Spider-Man to the tyke’s 5th birthday party.

“This is where I wanted to live. It is an exciting place,” Shi said.

“[My neighbors], they are good people,” he added of the area by Union Turnpike and Metropolitan Avenue.

Nearby at Frank Torres’ residence, he’s also used to being asked “if my house was a Spider House” — even though the Holland films are set closer to the East River around Astoria and Long Island City.

“I’d say it happens a few times every time a movie comes out,” said Torres, a 76-year-old who’s called Ingram Street home for three decades.

He has been local for long enough to know that not only the address made it into Marvel lore, but the real residents as well.

“The people who lived here were Parkers,” added Torres, a retired detective. “The Parkers told me about it, and then they told me that, and it was very easy to figure out, that whoever wrote the story had to know the people.”

It wasn’t only the good guys who lived on Ingram Street.

Across the block, neighbor Terry Osborne’s surname is now synonymous with the evil Green Goblin, aka Norman Osborn, according to Torres.

Terry and his family, however, were anything but supervillains, the former cop said.

“They were extremely gracious and wonderful, and even his son would dress up as Santa Claus and would give gifts to the kids in the neighborhood,” added Torres.

“It was [a] comic book. So nobody really got mad at it.”

This week, U.S. intelligence agencies put forward a startling analysis suggesting that Russia might deploy an armed contingent to seize NATO territory within Europe.

The alarming prediction surfaces amid increasing setbacks for Vladimir Putin, as Ukrainian forces intensify their offensive, extending their reach further into Russian domains.

Previously, American intelligence operatives maintained the belief that the Kremlin’s leader would refrain from antagonizing NATO while embroiled in the Ukrainian conflict.

Nevertheless, this year has seen a shift in that stance, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Additionally, NATO allies suspect that Putin has already initiated exploratory attacks aimed at testing the alliance’s cohesion and resolve.

Western fighter jets have been scrambled three times in the last few weeks to shoot down drones, while Ukraine recently intercepted a drone that had earlier crossed into Romanian airspace.

And fighter jets were scrambled over 250 per cent more in July compared with a year ago as Russia continues to probe the West’s defences. 

The sharp increase in the monthly figure for July compared with the same month in 2025 highlights Putin’s aggressive stance. 

‘The numbers do not lie,’ said a post by NATO’s Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum.

‘The possible threats range from a cyberattack on a NATO country or sending unmarked armed groups to occupy territory to a limited incursion on the alliance’s eastern flank,’ said the WSJ report.

The time frame for a Russian move is between this autumn and 2029, according to US intelligence assessments.

‘We are always thinking through and preparing for any number of scenarios,’ said NATO spokesman Col. Martin O’Donnell.

‘NATO is watching and we are ready to deter and defend as necessary.’

The warnings come amid US concern about a shortfall of munitions after supplies to Ukraine and use in the Middle East conflict.

One theory is Putin could grab a city or region in Poland or one of the three Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, all NATO members which have strongly backed Ukraine.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda warned recently: ‘I cannot deny that we have such information and that it concerns kinetic operations.

‘Not on a large scale, but targeted kinetic operations that are very likely to be directed against critical infrastructure.’

Russian opposition politician and chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov said: ‘I think the chances [are] that he’ll cross NATO borders — Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, just a small incursion using drones.

‘I think the chances are growing because Putin needs a winning narrative and Ukraine doesn’t offer it.’

All three Baltic states have strengthened their border defences against Russia and close ally Belarus.

The Baltic states have some of the highest defence spending in all of NATO in relative terms – Lithuania directs 5.3 percent of GDP to defence, the most of NATO’s 32 members. 

Last month, Washington warned the Kremlin could be planning an armed incursion on Polish land to test Nato’s response.

The provocation could see Putin’s troops cross over into Poland, and vital infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones.

Sources close to Polish President Karol Nawrocki told news outlet Onet that the US had been warning Warsaw about the plan for a while.

Russia’s plan aims to start a crisis to scare Western nations into stopping their support for Ukraine. 

Polish security experts also warned that Russia and Belarus might send a small number of troops across the Nato border.

Power stations could also be targeted in the incursion, through air strikes that would force Poland to activate its air defence systems.

Moscow’s strategy relies on the assumption that the US would compel Poland to negotiate rather than engage militarily. 

It comes as Ukrainian long-range drones hit a warehouse in the Ural Mountains belonging to Russia’s biggest online retailer, more than 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) from the two countries’ border, local officials and the company said Friday.

Ukraine has regularly hit targets in the distant Urals this year and has even struck a Russian oil refinery in western Siberia, nearly 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) from the border. 

The attacks are examples of how Kyiv has used drone innovation as a key part of its response to the invasion by its much bigger enemy more than four years ago.

Its successes have drawn international interest and drone cooperation agreements with nine countries, with further deals being negotiated with 15 other countries, according to Kyiv officials.

A Wildberries warehouse in Yekaterinburg, Russia’s fourth-largest city, was set ablaze by the attack, the company said. 

Most merchandise wasn’t damaged, it said, unlike at some of the more than a dozen other Wildberries depots struck by Ukraine in recent weeks that have burned down. Kyiv is trying to rattle the Russian public and the Kremlin with the attacks.

The regional governor, Denis Pasler, said three drones hit the warehouse’s roof. Artyom Zhoga, the Kremlin’s representative in the region, said that 800 people were evacuated from the warehouse and nobody was hurt.

And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is pushing for his country to keep up the pace of technological development, especially in air defense systems to help stop Russian ballistic missiles that are exploiting Ukraine’s shortage of American-made Patriot interceptor missiles and battering civilian areas.

A joint European anti-ballistic development program is already underway, Zelenskyy said late Thursday, with 10 countries engaged in developing an anti-ballistic shield. Europe is concerned about Moscow’s ambitions on the continent beyond Ukraine.

‘Ukraine is capable of producing its (anti-ballistic) missile and launcher, while our partners will provide the necessary components and critical elements – radars, sensors, and everything else required,’ Zelenskyy said on social media.

‘An anti-ballistic program of our own – one that is truly large-scale – will greatly benefit everyone in Europe.’

At the same time, Ukraine is working on manufacturing its own ballistic missiles to use against Russia. ‘The tests have shown strong potential. We need to turn this into a real weapon,’ Zelenskyy said.

Ukrainian front-line defenses in eastern regions, meanwhile, remain under strain as Russia’s bigger army looks for a breakthrough after months of minimal advances that Western analysts and official says have had a high cost for Moscow in troop casualties.

Ukraine has been evacuating children from Kramatorsk, one of the four eastern Donetsk region cities that make up Ukraine’s so-called Fortress Belt. 

The line of four large and heavily defended cities, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) long, has been key to denying Moscow its goal of seizing Ukraine’s industrial heartland.

The head of the Donetsk region’s regional military administration, Vadym Filashkin, said Friday that more than 800 people, including 91 children, were evacuated over the previous 24 hours.

Ukraine has been deploying midrange strike drones to disrupt Russia’s supply lines and slow it advance.

Russia and Ukraine sustain nightly drone attacks

Russia’s air defenses downed 203 Ukrainian drones from late Thursday through early Friday, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said.

Meanwhile, Russia attacked Ukraine with 147 long-range strike drones, according to the country’s air force.

In Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, a Russian drone struck a busy market Friday morning, wounding 10 people, authorities said.

Russia also launched glide bombs and drones of various types at the regional capital, according to the head of regional administration, Oleh Hryhorov.

The attack targeted residential buildings, transport and infrastructure, wounding two people, he said.

Rising reports of Iranians resorting to stealing essentials like bread, cheese, and meat underscore the deepening economic crisis, placing immense strain on households across the nation.

In an article released Wednesday, the Iranian daily Jahan-e Sanat detailed instances where grocery store employees confronted customers allegedly hiding low-cost food or consuming products in-store without payment. While these incidents are individual experiences and not indicative of widespread food theft, experts suggest they mirror the rising strain from inflation, depreciating currency, and diminishing purchasing power.

“These accounts, though anecdotal, correspond with undeniable data,” said Miad Maleki, an associate fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, in an interview with News Media.

Maleki observed, “Iran has entered a critical juncture. However, it’s not marked by a singular crisis; instead, it unfolds progressively with the currency collapsing, food prices soaring to wartime levels, and staples being pilfered. This sequence is leading to a dangerous threshold where a significant portion of the populace, extending beyond just the destitute, struggles to afford basic nutritional needs.”

The reports surfaced as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian acknowledged that the country was facing “difficulties and problems,” while insisting during a televised address Wednesday that Iran remained powerful and respected.

“The enemy is exerting pressure in an attempt to provoke the people into protesting,” Pezeshkian said, according to an account of his Aug. 5 address published by Iran’s state-affiliated Press TV.

Maleki said worsening food insecurity could become a trigger for renewed demonstrations, pointing to Iran’s November 2019 protests following a sharp government-imposed increase in gasoline prices.

“The regime’s own history proves it, because its most dangerous moments have been economic, not ideological,” Maleki said.

He cautioned, however, that economic desperation would not necessarily produce immediate political change. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Basij paramilitary forces have repeatedly demonstrated their willingness to suppress unrest rather than make significant economic concessions, he said.

A supermarket employee identified only as Amirhossein told Jahan-e Sanat that he had witnessed several suspected thefts during the previous 10 months. The employee described customers allegedly taking cheese, butter, cakes, pastries and meat, according to Iran International’s account of the newspaper investigation.

“I think poverty is the main reason,” the employee told the newspaper. “You cannot judge everyone the same way, but when someone steals a simple item, they are probably under enormous pressure.”

Maleki, a former Treasury Department sanctions official, said Iran’s annual food inflation reached between 112.5% and 113.8% in March 2026, with the prices of bread and cereals rising 140% and dairy products and eggs increasing 116.8%.

The Statistical Center of Iran data cited in separate reports showed point-to-point inflation of 113.8% for food and beverages and 112.5% for food items in March compared with the same month a year earlier. Bread and cereal prices increased 140%, while milk, cheese and egg prices rose 116.8%.

“While a single newspaper’s petty-crime roundup isn’t proof of imminent collapse, it’s a credible symptom layered on top of verified macro data,” Maleki said. “And when or if this conflict ends and market demand is not suppressed by a state of war, inflation will skyrocket even higher.”

Maleki said Iran’s currency crisis has intensified the pressure on households. The U.S. dollar reached approximately 1.5 million rials in January before surpassing 1.94 million rials on Iran’s open market in July amid renewed regional conflict.

The government’s response, Maleki said, has included issuing monthly cash credits worth approximately $7 at the open-market exchange rate after eliminating subsidized exchange rates for certain imports. He argued that removing those subsidies contributed to further price increases.

The critical threshold, he added, would come when access to basic nutrition deteriorates not only among Iran’s poorest citizens but across a large portion of the population.

The supermarket accounts do not prove that the Iranian government is on the verge of collapse. Maleki argues, however, that they provide an increasingly visible sign that the country’s economic crisis is affecting Iranians’ ability to afford basic necessities.

A political figure in Arkansas, campaigning for the position of county judge, has been taken into custody amid allegations of domestic violence.

Austin McCollum, age 35, currently serving as a state representative and vying for the Republican nomination as Benton County judge, was detained on Saturday. By Wednesday, he had stepped down from his legislative role.

According to his wife Ragen, 34, the altercation stemmed from an incident on their way back from a wedding when Austin reportedly ‘became angry and began hurling objects at me.’

The accusations detail a variety of items being thrown her way, ranging from shoes and a deodorant bottle to a metal hanger, all outlined in her legal filing.

She further describes being prevented from exiting the bedroom, claiming he obstructed the door by positioning himself directly in its path.

‘At some point he threw me face down on the bed and put both knees (and full body weight) on my back, holding my arms back. Then he removed his left knee and slid his right knee to the back of my neck, pushing my face into the mattress so that I couldn’t breathe.’

Austin then allegedly mocked Ragen, she alleges, before she ran to the door and opened it, only for her husband to slam it on her hand multiple times, according to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette.  

Ragen then claims that as she begged him to let her go, he ‘punched me multiple times.’

‘There was blood everywhere and I couldn’t see. He grabbed my hair and slammed my head to the ground multiple times.’

The petition continues to claim that he continued to attack her as she crawled to the door before he let her up. 

‘He finally let me up and began telling me to clean up and shower so that he could help stop the bleeding,’ she wrote.

Ragen then ran down the stairs to find her grandmother before yelling for someone to call 911, the petition states.

The story matches an affidavit after Austin was arrested on Saturday on suspicion of aggravated assault on a family or household member, false imprisonment in the first degree and misdemeanor domestic battery. 

Authorities claimed they found Austin intoxicated and with blood on his legs and arms, as well as injuries consistent with punching someone repeatedly on his knuckles when they made it out to their home.

Ragen’s order of protection was granted by the county court. 

Austin, who refused to give police a statement, has not yet been formally charged, with a hearing set in county court on the order of restraint set for August 25.

He was released Sunday on $10,000 bond and is scheduled to be arraigned on September 8.

She filed for an order of protection in the county’s circuit court Wednesday and documented how he allegedly abused her on several occasions. 

The disturbing allegations include a story where she tried to leave a room to get away from her husband before he pushed her down a flight of stairs.

In one shocking story, following Austin yelling at her in their car on a drive home, she got out of the car and slammed the door when Austin drove the car forward into her with their two children sleeping in the car.

She threw her cellphone at the windshield out of fear and as she went to check on her children, her four-year old son asked her why he had tried to hit her.  

She also accuses Austin of putting her in a headlock, choking her to the point of being unable to breathe and dragging her by the hair from one room to another.

Ragen testifies in the petition that she’s broken her hand trying to punch Austin in self-defense. 

‘He has threatened me to not speak out by saying he is ‘building a case against me’ and that I’ll never see my children,’ she wrote. 

McCollum announced he was resigning as a state representative in a letter published Wednesday, The Arkansas Advocate reported. 

‘As I focus on my family, I do not intend to fulfill the remainder of my House term,’ McCollum wrote. 

‘I am thankful to the people of House District 8 for the honor of serving all of Arkansas these past nearly 10 years.’ 

Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Senator Tom Cotton were among those calling on McCollum to resign.  

He has yet to confirm whether he’s dropping out of the county judge’s race.  

The Daily Mail has reached out to Austin McCollum’s attorney for comment. 

In response to North Korea’s latest ballistic missile test, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command affirmed its dedication on Thursday to safeguarding both its homeland and regional allies, emphasizing ongoing defense commitments.

This missile launch precedes the impending large-scale military exercises that the U.S. and South Korean forces are set to carry out later this month. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed that the missile was launched from North Korea’s eastern city of Wonsan at approximately 5 p.m. local time.

“We are closely monitoring this missile activity and maintaining regular communication with our allies and partners. According to our current evaluations, this launch does not pose an immediate danger to U.S. personnel or territories, nor to our allies,” stated the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

The statement reiterated, “The United States remains steadfast in its commitment to the defense of the U.S. homeland and regional allies.”

South Korea’s military bolstered its surveillance posture and is closely coordinating with the U.S. and Japan in the wake of the event, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the missile landed in the waters off North Korea’s east coast and that there were no reports that the weapon reached Japanese territory.

Koizumi added that North Korea’s repeated missile launches pose a threat to Japan and the region and that Tokyo lodged a protest to Pyongyang through their embassies in Beijing. South Korea’s presidential national security council called the North Korean launch “a provocation” that violates U.N. Security Council resolutions and urged the North to stop it.

It was North Korea’s first ballistic missile launch since late June, when it tested a tactical ballistic missile with a “special mission” warhead and other weapons. After watching the testing activities, leader Kim Jong Un said at the time that the military needed to bolster its “deadly and destructive offensive posture.”

South Korean and U.S. officials haven’t yet released details about this year’s Ulchi Freedom Shield joint exercise, but the drills are typically held in the latter half of August.

“This annual exercise aims to build understanding between Combined Forces Command, United States Forces Korea, the United Nations Command, and ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), ROK government agency, ensuring their ability to fortify the combined defense posture and enhance Alliance response capabilities against a spectrum of security threats,” United States Forces Korea said about the exercises on its website.

“It will feature live, virtual, constructive and field-based training, engaging personnel from the various military services,” it added.

U.S. and South Korean officials say the training is defensive in nature, but North Korea says the maneuvers are a practice invasion and often responds with missile tests, according to The Associated Press.