French President Macron sues right-wing podcaster Candace Owens
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'This is a foreign government attacking the First Amendment rights of an American independent journalist,' the spokesperson said.
The French Embassy could not be reached for comment.
Tom Clare, an attorney representing the Macrons, called the suit a 'clear-cut case of defamation.'
The Macrons said in a statement that they 'concluded that referring the matter to a court of law was the only remaining avenue for remedy' after three retraction requests were disregarded.
Owens worked for the Daily Wire and Turning Point USA before starting her own podcast. She has more than 4.4 million subscribers on YouTube.
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What will Trump's new homelessness executive order mean for California?
An executive action taken by President Donald Trump on Thursday, aiming to push cities and states to remove homeless people from the streets, could make California governments' ability to secure Federal funding contingent on taking such steps and changing the state's current approach to homelessness. Trump signed an order directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek to reverse federal and state judicial precedents and end consent decrees that limit local and state governments' ability to move homeless people from streets and encampments into treatment centers. The move, first reported by USA TODAY, also redirects federal funds to ensure the homeless people impacted are transferred to rehabilitation, treatment, and other facilities, though it was unclear how much money would be allocated. Here's what to know about Trump's executive order on removing homeless people from the streets. More: In major decision, Supreme Court allows cities to ban homeless camps What did Trump's executive order say? Under the order ‒ which the White House has titled "Ending Crime and Disorder on America's Streets" ‒ Bondi is also required to work with the secretaries of Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development and Transportation to prioritize federal grants to states and cities that "enforce prohibitions on open illicit drug use, urban camping and loitering, and urban squatting, and track the location of sex offenders." White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, in a statement to USA TODAY, said Trump is "delivering on his commitment to Make America Safe Again and end homelessness across America." "By removing vagrant criminals from our streets and redirecting resources toward substance abuse programs, the Trump Administration will ensure that Americans feel safe in their own communities and that individuals suffering from addiction or mental health struggles are able to get the help they need," Leavitt said. More: The average American is closer to being homeless than being Elon Musk What order may mean for California In recent years, California has become a national poster child for the issue of homelessness, the challenges it poses and the difficulty governments can have with meaningfully addressing it. The US Senate Housing Committee reported earlier this year that a recent homeless count found that just over 187,000 people were homeless in California. That represented a 3% increase from the year before, less than the 18% increase observed nationwide. But it was still the highest homeless population of any state and accounted for 28% of the homeless people in America, while the state makes up just 11.7% of the population. The report also said that 66% of homeless people were "unsheltered," the highest percentage in the nation. In recent years, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has made several efforts to help — and, increasingly, push — cities in the state to address issues with homelessness and people living without shelter. In 2023, the state made $1 billion in funding available through grants to communities to address homelessness. A year later, urged cities to take action to make homeless encampments illegal in their cities and take action to move people off their streets and provide them with shelter and services. Earlier this year, he released a "model ordinance" that he encouraged cities to use as a template for passing their own laws banning camping in their cities. "There's nothing compassionate about letting people die on the streets," Newsom said in a statement he issued at the time he released the model ordinance. "Local leaders asked for resources — we delivered the largest state investment in history. They asked for legal clarity — the courts delivered. Now, we're giving them a model they can put to work immediately, with urgency and with humanity, to resolve encampments and connect people to shelter, housing, and care." Trump's order pushes for many of the same approaches and aims Newsom has advocated for, while making the government's eligibility for Federal grant money contingent on communities taking steps to get people off the street and into treatment and showing success in doing so. The order says that eligibility for grants will be based on cities and states' ending "housing first" policies. Such policies emphasize an approach to addressing homelessness focused on getting unhoused people into permanent housing as a first step to successfully transitioning them out of homelessness. All California housing programs have been required to adopt a "housing-first" model since 2016, with a bill that would've ended that requirement failing to advance out of committee earlier this year. On Thursday, a spokesperson for Newsom criticized the order to KQED, saying it was based on "harmful stereotypes and ineffective policy" in comparison to Newsom's executive order on encampments that she said had been based on the law and facts. But she also said that Trump's imitation of Newsom (even poorly executed) is the highest form of flattery. Trump's action follows major Supreme Court decision on homeless camps Trump's action comes after the Supreme Court ruled in June 2024 that that people without homes can be arrested and fined for sleeping in public spaces, overturning a lower court's ruling that enforcing camping bans when shelter is lacking is cruel and unusual punishment. The 6-3 decision, split among ideological lines in the conservative-majority court, upheld a ban in Grant Pass, Oregon, prohibiting homeless residents from sleeping outdoors. Homeless residents of the southern Oregon city of 38,000 face fines starting at $250 and jail time for repeat offenses. More: Homelessness rates jumped by double digits in 2024 as Americans battled to afford housing In a statement, the National Homelessness Law Center condemned Trump's order, characterizing it as misguided at best, and counterproductive and dangerous at worst. "The safest communities are those with the most housing and resources, not those that make it a crime to be poor or sick," said Jesse Rabinowitz of the National Homelessness Law Center. 'As a licensed mental health professional, I know that forced treatment is unethical, ineffective, and illegal." "People need stable housing and access to healthcare," Rabinowitz said. Rather, Trump's actions will force more people into homelessness, divert taxpayer money away from people in need, and make it harder for local communities to solve homelessness." Across the U.S., more than 771,800 people lived without housing in 2024, according to a HUD count taken annually on a single night in January. It was the highest tally ever recorded, a 18.1% jump than in 2023, when officials counted about 650,000 people living in homeless shelters or in parks and on streets. Many cities have struggled to build more affordable housing in recent years, while some communities have pushed for harsher laws banning tents and sleeping in public spaces. More: The homeless population is increasing. Will Trump's second term make it worse? Trump has often expressed his distaste of homeless camps, singling out the removal of encampments on parks and federal land in Washington as a priority. Trump, in a 2023 campaign video, said: "We will use every tool, lever, and authority to get the homeless off our streets. We want to take care of them, but they have to be off our streets.' Other items in Trump's order include language that seeks to ensure that grants intended for substance use disorder prevention and recovery don't fund drug injection sites or illicit drug use. The order also prohibits convicted sex offenders who receive homelessness assistance from being housed with children and supports new homeless programs to exclusively house women and children. Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison. Paul Albani-Burgio covers growth, development and business in the Coachella Valley. Email him at This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: How Trump homelessness order could impact California Solve the daily Crossword
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A Texas man moved his family to Russia to flee LGBTQ+ values. Here's what we know
In July 2025, a claim circulated online that a Texas father had moved his family to Russia before enlisting in the country's armed forces and fighting on the front lines of the war in Ukraine. While it was true that Derek Huffman moved his wife and three daughters to Russia and enlisted in the military there, we found no proof that Huffman ever fought on the front lines of the war in Ukraine. The Huffmans documented their move and Derek Huffman's enlistment on their YouTube channel. In a since-removed video, DeAnna Huffman, Derek Huffman's wife, expressed concern that her husband would be sent to the front lines. However, Tim Kirby, the founder of American Villages in Russia who helped secure housing for the Huffmans, told Snopes over email that Derek Huffman "was never involved in front line combat." Derek Huffman's exact location and role within the Russian armed forces remained uncertain at the time of this writing. In July 2025, a claim (archived) circulated online that a man from Texas named Derek Huffman moved his family to Russia to avoid "woke" values but ended up joining the Russian armed forces and fighting on the front lines of the war in Ukraine. One X claim recounting the Huffman family's story claimed that Huffman had "disappeared somewhere in eastern Ukraine." The claim also circulated on Facebook (archived), Threads (archived), Instagram (archived), Bluesky (archived), Reddit (archived) and TikTok (archived). Snopes readers searched our site to find out if the claim was true. The Huffman family documented their move to Russia on their YouTube channel, including a video of the family arriving in Russia in April (archived) and another in May (archived) about Derek Huffman's enlistment with the Russian armed forces. In a since-deleted video (archived), DeAnna Huffman, Derek Huffman's wife, expressed fears about Derek Huffman being sent to the front lines after he enlisted, something the family hoped to avoid. The most recent video (archived) showing Derek Huffman, posted on June 15, showed the father of six in military fatigues talking about being away from the family. Russian media also reported that Derek Huffman moved his family to Russia before enlisting. However, exactly what role Derek Huffman was fulfilling in the Russian armed forces and where were unclear at the time of this writing. Tim Kirby, a travel blogger who founded the expat village where the family lives, told Snopes over email on July 22 that Huffman was "doing the work that is inline with what he agreed to during his sign up negotiations." According to DeAnna Huffman's since-deleted video, her husband had wanted to be a war reporter or in a "repair battalion," owing to his extensive experience in welding. Kirby said Derek Huffman "was never involved in front line combat from what I understand and he is certainly not doing so now." We reached out to DeAnna Huffman through the Huffman Time YouTube channel to ask if she knew whether Derek Huffman was in active combat on the Russian front lines. We also reached out to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to confirm whether Derek Huffman had enlisted with the country's armed forces and what role he was carrying out. We await replies to our queries. Tracking the Huffmans The family, as seen on their Huffman Time YouTube channel, consisted of DeAnna and Derek Huffman, their three daughters and a dog. According to reports, the couple has three adult sons between them who remain in the U.S. In May, Derek Huffman told Russia Today the family first moved from Arizona to Texas to escape "LGBT propaganda." However, after one of Derek Huffman's daughters "learned about lesbians from a girl in her class," the Huffmans decided "something had to change." Derek Huffman said in a March 9 video that "concerns over LGBT indoctrination in the American schools" were a primary reason the family made the move. On April 5, Kirby posted a video (archived), titled "The arrival of the second family to the American Village in Russia" that showed the Huffmans on VK, a Russian social media platform. Around a month later, Huffman Time posted a video (archived) showing the family getting their Temporary Residence Permit. This visa, established by decree by Russian President Vladimir Putin, allows people "from countries where neoliberal values are promoted at the state level" a fast-track way to enter, work and live in Russia for three years. The U.S. was one of more than 40 countries where citizens could seek the Temporary Residence Permit. Huffman enlisted for Russian citizenship By the end of May, Derek Huffman had evidently decided that he wanted more than just a Russian visa. In a video recorded in Nizhny Novgorod, Huffman said he would enlist in the Russian armed forces as a way to get his family Russian citizenship. Huffman explained in a May 26 video that if he signed and served a one-year contract with the Russian armed forces he and his family could get Russian citizenship immediately. He said (at 8:10): A big part of it for me is about the respect and earning our place here in Russia, earning our citizenship. You think about America, people just come on in. They're given everything. They just don't really assimilate and they're just there for the free handouts. I don't want anyone here in Russia or anywhere to be able to say we don't belong here. And if I go put my body on the line for Russia, I defend the country, our new country, I've earned our place here and nobody can tell me different or tell my family different that we don't belong here. Huffman said in the video that he would join the "special military operation" (the term used by the Russian government to describe the war in Ukraine) "today." Around three weeks later, on June 15, former Ukrainian politician Anton Geraschenko posted a video showing DeAnna Huffman talking about her husband's deployment. In the footage, Huffman said that it seemed as if the armed forces would send her husband to the front lines. According to Huffman, unnamed people had petitioned for Derek Huffman to serve as a war reporter rather than in active combat, but that request was denied. "They" then attempted to place him on a "repair unit" to utilize his welding experience, which also did not happen, according to DeAnna Huffman. DeAnna Huffman also said that recruits in the foreigner's unit received instruction in Russian, a language the family had not yet mastered: He's kind of struggling a little bit with that and not getting really any training because, unfortunately, when you are taught in a different language and you don't understand the language, how are you really getting taught? You're not. So, unfortunately he feels like he is being thrown to the wolves right now. Huffman also said that though her husband had not yet been paid for his time in the armed forces, officials had asked him to contribute money to help pay for supplies. She said that the family was lobbying "public figures" to get a safer deployment for him. The clip Geraschenko shared did not appear on the Huffman Time YouTube channel at the time of this writing. Comments on a June 28 video, titled "Russia: Big Water Adventures with Our Husky & Family Update!" that showed DeAnna Huffman wearing the same (archived) shirt and glasses as the Geraschenko clip, seemed to suggest that the Huffmans removed the clip from that video before re-uploading it. One commenter wrote, "Wait, we already saw this a week ago!?" to which another replied, "The previous video was attacked by bots because of the same topic and had to be deleted, leaving only the part about the lake." On June 16, Huffman Time uploaded a video of Derek Huffman in army fatigues sending a Father's Day video to his family. Huffman did not say in the video where he was, which is standard procedure for deployed soldiers to preserve operational security. However, it seemed that the Huffmans' money issues were persistent despite his seemingly active enlistment. On June 24, Kirby, the man who helped the Huffmans secure housing through American Villages in Russia, posted (archived) on VK asking people to send money to the Huffmans, who were still without an income due to delays with Derek Huffman's paychecks from the armed forces. The Huffman Time YouTube channel replied to a comment on a July 15 video that Derek Huffman was "fine" but that the family would not "give details or videos for everyone's safety." DeAnna Huffman said (archived) in the video that "He is alive and safe and just counting down the days. He will be finishing up his army and coming home and visiting. We miss him very much," referring to Derek Huffman. DeAnna Huffman also said she was due to fill out citizenship paperwork for herself and her daughters. Huffman did not respond to media inquiries by Russian media in July about where her husband was. In an interview with Russian-language media Vot Tak, Kirby said the family was tired of "Kyiv trolls" contacting them about the family's choices but did not comment on where Derek Huffman was. American Villages. Accessed 22 Jul. 2025. "Huffman Time." YouTube, Accessed 22 Jul. 2025. Shared Values EN – Welcome to Russia. Accessed 22 Jul. 2025. "Кабмин РФ утвердил список стран с политикой, противоречащей традиционным ценностям." 20 Sep. 2024, "Многодетный американец сбежал с семьёй в Россию от ЛГБТ-пропаганды и ушёл на СВО." RT на русском, 21 May 2025, Новости, Р. И. А. "Зачем многодетный американец перевез семью в Россию и ушел на СВО." РИА Новости, 20250609T0800, ""Они Хотят, Чтобы Мы Были Толстыми и Тупыми". Американец Сбежал в Россию От "ЛГБТ-Пропаганды" — и Оказался На Передовой." Новая Газета Европа, 1753107300000, "Почему мы уехали из Америки в Россию?" Семья Хаффман пояснит русским людям. 12 Jul. 2025, Рыбалкин, Сергей. ""Американская деревня" на два дома: в Подмосковье провалился проект поселения для граждан США, ищущих "традиционные ценности". Один из них ушел на войну." Vot Tak, Accessed 22 Jul. 2025. Solve the daily Crossword
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Examining reports Texas man who moved family to Russia died in Ukraine war
In late July 2025, amid high media interest in Derek Huffman, a Texas man who moved his family to Russia to escape LGBTQ+ values in the U.S., a claim (archived) circulated online that Huffman had died in combat after enlisting in the Russian armed forces. One X user wrote, "American Derek Huffman, who fled to russia over 'LGBT propaganda,' was killed on the front lines by a drone strike." The user attributed the claim to The Maltese Herald, a news site from Malta that ran the story on July 23, 2025. The claim also circulated on Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived), Threads (archived), Bluesky (archived), Reddit (archived) and TikTok (archived). Snopes readers searched our page, asking whether the claim was true. We found no evidence Huffman had died in combat at the time of this writing. The Huffman Time YouTube channel, where the family documented their move to Russia, told several commenters on July 24 that Derek Huffman was alive. We also found no evidence of a reported video showing Huffman's death. DeAnna Huffman, Derek Huffman's wife, told Snopes via email on July 25 that "we are not doing any interviews or answering any questions at this time." A U.S. State Department spokesperson said the department was "aware of unconfirmed media reports of a U.S. citizen killed in Ukraine," and reiterated a warning against U.S. citizens traveling to Russia. We also reached out to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to confirm whether Derek Huffman had died in combat and await a reply. The claim appeared to stem from a July 23 report in The Maltese Herald. That report, which the Herald has since updated, claimed Derek Huffman died in a drone strike on the front lines of the Russia-Ukraine war. It further claimed that footage of Huffman's death circulated online, but did not provide any links. We reached out to The Maltese Herald to ask why it initially believed the story to be true and await a reply. The updated version of the Herald's report included screenshots of the Huffman Time YouTube channel, run by DeAnna Huffman in her husband's absence, denying reports of his death. Despite this, the report still included the sentence "Derek Huffman, the US citizen from Texas, has been confirmed killed on the Ukrainian front lines by a drone strike." The Maltese Herald also had not updated an X post (archived) that claimed Derek Huffman died in combat. DeAnna Huffman, via the Huffman Time YouTube Channel, replied to a comment on July 24 reading, "Update: Derek has passed," writing in a series of comments: Why are you here lying? He's with his unit and for safety, not allowed to. Let people talk and lie. We know the truth, and when safe, it will eventually be widely seen. Yes, I understand you believe everything that the news says… and my husband and I have been laughing about it. You're more than welcome to believe the lies. Huffman said her husband was "alive and well." We found no reports in Russian media about Derek Huffman dying. On July 25, Russian President Vladimir Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov told Russian state media he had not previously heard about Huffman joining the armed forces but that it was possible for foreigners to volunteer. Snopes previously reported that Huffman enlisted with the Russian armed forces as a way to secure Russian citizenship for his family. Huffman said he moved himself, his wife and three daughters from Texas to Russia in order to escape LGBTQ+ values in the U.S. "Anti-Woke Dad Who Moved Family to Russia Sent to War Zone." The Daily Beast, 20 Jul. 2025, Bennetts, Marc. Texan Who Fled 'Woke' America Has Been Sent to Putin's Front Line. 22 Jul. 2025, "Derek Huffman Confirmed Killed by a Drone Strike." The Maltese Herald, 23 Jul. 2025, Huffman Time. "Girls Show Their Art, Summer Hats & Russian Life Updates 🇷🇺 | Big News & Fun Moments!" YouTube, 15 Jul. 2025, Reyes, Ronny. American Who Joined Russian Army to Escape "woke" US Has Been Sent to the Frontlines, Wife Says. 22 Jul. 2025, "Песков прокомментировал данные о добровольце из США Хаффмане на СВО." TACC, Accessed 25 Jul. 2025.
