Latest news with #Huffman
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Anti-Woke U.S. Dad Who Joined Putin's War Machine ‘Blown Away by Hate'
A Texas dad who moved his family to Russia to escape what he called 'LGBT indoctrination' is now stunned that his service in Vladimir Putin's army has elicited 'hatred' from critics. Derek Huffman, a 46-year-old former construction worker, made headlines earlier this year when he uprooted his wife and three young daughters for a new life in Moscow, leaving Texas in search of more 'traditional values.' In May, he joined the Russian military in the hopes of fast-tracking citizenship. By June, the new recruit was a little surprised to be heading for a combat role on the front lines in Ukraine. Earlier this month, Huffman was rumored—without evidence—to have been killed by a Ukrainian drone strike. A Maltese site even dubiously claimed he was 'confirmed dead,' citing unnamed footage it did not share. The reports were false, as Huffman revealed in a recorded phone call from July 25 and posted two days later on his and wife DeAnna's YouTube channel, Huffman Time. But the reports of his death and the jubilant response from some critics rattled Huffman. 'I'm just blown away at the level of hate,' he told DeAnna. 'I'm only doing what I feel is right... but the level of hate for Russia is insane.' Huffman appeared particularly shocked that the false news of his death had been met with open celebration on social media. 'Shame on all these people,' he said. 'They're saying they're glad I'm dead... I'm serving my military with honor.' The couple, who chronicle their new life in Russia online, were quick to dismiss the drone strike rumors as clickbait. '[It] is just publicity seeking,' Huffman claimed. In the same conversation, he pushed back on criticism that his Christian faith clashed with his decision to join a military accused by the International Criminal Court of war crimes—including forcibly deporting Ukrainian children and bombing hospitals. 'I don't relish the idea of taking life,' Huffman said. 'But I'm doing what I feel is right. People ought to try that sometimes.' The Huffmans, once a suburban family in the American South, now promote their brand of 'traditional values' from behind enemy lines on YouTube, where DeAnna, a former teacher and floral designer, shares videos about their Russian relocation and his military service. In a video from May, Derek addressed people who 'might think [he's] crazy.' 'A big part of it for me is respect and earning our place in Russia. If you think about America, people just come on in and are given everything, and they don't assimilate,' he said. 'They're just there for the free handouts.' His wife described the move to the frontlines as challenging in a since-deleted video.
San Francisco Chronicle
6 days ago
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
This California city relies on a highway that's sliding into the ocean. Fixing it will cost $2 billion
One of California's most expensive infrastructure projects is inching forward in a tiny city on the north coast, where landslides have long battered the main highway. The road in question is Last Chance Grade, a cliff-hugging stretch of U.S. 101 that links Eureka to Crescent City. Winding three miles through a redwood forest that overlooks the Pacific Ocean, the thoroughfare is beautiful and cursed. Ground tremors and winter storms send rocks tumbling from adjacent slopes, burying large sections of pavement and forcing closures. Parts of the overhang are steadily crumbling into the sea. After years of patch jobs and careful monitoring, Caltrans landed on a solution: A 6,000-foot tunnel that would bypass the landslide area, at a cost of $2.1 billion. If built, it would be the longest tunnel in state history, a bedrock lifeline for a relatively isolated place. Political leaders still aren't sure where they'll find all that money. But they see no other option. 'We're really racing against time,' said Democratic Congressman Jared Huffman, who represents a coastal span from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border. He considers Last Chance Grade the district's highest transportation priority — more urgent, even, than flood-endangered Highway 37 in the North Bay. 'Last Chance Grade is on the verge of falling into the ocean on any given day,' Huffman said, emphasizing the road's fragility, and its importance. It's an interstate artery that links Del Norte County not only to neighboring Humboldt, but to the rest of the outside world. About 6,000 vehicles travel the route daily, ranging from commuters to truckers to day-trippers. Big rigs rumble along the unsteady terrain, shipping goods from the Bay Area or Humboldt to Crescent City. The most perilous section forms a continental edge, bordered by state and national parks and the ancestral territories of multiple indigenous tribes. Caltrans has maintained the grade for years with a string of 'multimillion dollar band-aid' fixes that require squeezing the highway to one lane, Huffman noted. Neither the congressman nor the state's transportation agency think the rinse-and-repeat cycle of road repair is sustainable. And an indefinite shutdown of Last Chance Grade would paralyze the region. 'Our milk is hauled on that road every day,' said Kate Walker, an employee of Rumiano Cheese company in Crescent City, which relies on milk from 19 organic dairies, 16 of them south in Humboldt County. When the grade closes, the dairy trucks have a much longer journey, through Willow Creek and up Interstate 5 to Grants Pass. That trip can take 'hours and hours,' Walker said. Mulling the geological predicament of Last Chance Grade, Caltrans engineers have proposed many solutions, including bridges, culverts, smaller tunnels and different realignments of the road. Last year, the agency settled on a plan for the mile-long tunnel, which evidently had the most buy-in from lawmakers, local tribes, environmentalists and every other stakeholder. Building consensus was only the first step; the project is now undergoing environmental reviews as lawmakers try to rally funding. So far, Caltrans has set aside $275 million for design and engineering, with construction scheduled to begin in 2030. It's 'hugely consequential that we've gotten this far,' said Gregory Burns of the lobbying firm Thorn Run Partners, delivering a report to the Del Norte Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. Burns is the county's advocate in Washington D.C. Despite the progress, Burns conceded, 'there is a roughly $2.1 billion delta that we're going to have to deal with' between now and the project's completion in 2039. Del Norte County Supervisor Darrin Short hopes the federal government might swoop in to fill the $2 billion gap. That's happened at least once before in California. Federal emergency relief funds largely paid for the twin tunnels at Devil's Slide near Pacifica, where Highway 1 curves atop steep, eroding bluffs. The tunnels, which opened in 2013, were named for Peninsula Congressman Tom Lantos, who helped secure the money. Devil's Slide might be the most fitting analogue for the just-as-ominously-named Last Chance, despite a vast difference in project cost. The multibillion-dollar price tag for Last Chance Grade is more than quadruple the $439 million spent on the Tom Lantos bores, which also started as a big-swing idea that needed a lot of political backing — the citizen groups who saw it through became known as 'tunnelistas.' Undoubtedly, Del Norte County officials are grappling with a bigger financial drama, complicated, experts say, by inflation, rising construction costs and the remoteness of the location. Any colossal project like this one 'almost invariably requires multiple revenue streams,' said John Goodwin, a spokesperson for the Bay Area's Metropolitan Transportation Commission. In some past cases, like the replacement of the Bay Bridge eastern span, project planners combined federal, state and local funding sources. Ongoing maintenance and repairs for the Bay Bridge are paid for with incremental toll increases, which could be a model for Last Chance, albeit a daunting one. If each of the 6,000 vehicles that cross the grade daily were to pay $1, it would take 959 years to cover the estimated $2.1 billion construction cost. Huffman rejects the toll idea, citing the rural poverty in Humboldt and Del Norte counties. Instead, he's gambling on a federal mega grant program for 'inherently huge and expensive' transportation infrastructure. He and others acknowledge the challenges ahead. Costs only escalate over time, and their tunnel plan must pass through multiple presidential administrations. Short, the county supervisor, is relentlessly optimistic about the future of Last Chance. Raised in Crescent City, he's driven along the grade 'regularly' for years, and has more than one unsettling story. Decades ago, he said, his grandparents had to gingerly maneuver around a piece of road that had 'fallen away' from the three mile stretch. Had they been less attentive, he surmised, they might have fallen to the surf below. 'We're going to be groundbreaking (on Last Chance) by the end of this decade, and I think we can all feel it,' Short said, referring to the anxiety and long-shot faith among Crescent City's 6,000 residents. 'We're just hoping the state and the federal government can come together.'
Time of India
24-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
'Thrown to the wolves': American moves family to Russia to 'escape wokeness' — finds himself at the frontline fighting Ukraine war
(Photo: X) An American man who left US in search of traditional values has ended up on the front lines of Russia's war in Ukraine. Derek Huffman moved with his wife and three daughters from Texas to a village outside Moscow earlier this year, reports New York Post. Huffman hoped to raise his family away from what he described as the 'wokeness' and 'LGBTQ indoctrination' of the US education system. However, he now finds himself near the front lines, despite initially being promised a non-combat role. Huffman had joined the Russian military to secure fast-tracked citizenship. Huffman's wife, DeAnna, said in a YouTube video that he was misled during the recruitment process. The video is now deleted from social media. 'He feels like he's being thrown to the wolves right now, and he's kind of having to lean on faith, and that's what we're all doing,' she said. She added that he had no military experience and was trained in Russian, which he barely understands. 'Unfortunately, when you're taught in a different language, and you don't understand the language, how are you really getting taught? You're not,' she said. The family had moved to Istra, about 25 miles from Moscow, under Russia's 'shared values' visa scheme. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 15 most beautiful women in the world Undo The family was among only two known to have relocated to the so-called 'American village,' a settlement created by US expat and blogger Tim Kirby to attract Westerners tired of liberal norms. What was the final straw that made the Huffmans leave US? Their decision to move followed an incident at their daughter's school in the US. 'The final straw was when we found out my daughter Sophia learnt about lesbians from a girl in her class. She didn't fully understand it, but for us, that was enough to realise something had to change,' Huffman was quoted as saying by Russia Today. The family was later featured in several Russian state-affiliated media outlets, where Huffman said he wanted to earn respect through military service. 'The point of this act for me is to earn a place here in Russia. If I risk myself for our new country, no one will say that I am not a part of it. Unlike migrants in America who come there just like that, do not assimilate, and at the same time want free handouts,' he said. Despite these intentions, DeAnna now claims that her husband was offered roles such as a welder or war correspondent but was instead rushed through training and sent to the battlefield. She also said the family has yet to receive any of the promised military wages. Father's Day video message In June, Huffman appeared in a Father's Day video message wearing camouflage. 'I miss you all more than you can imagine,' he told his family. 'Just know I will do whatever it takes to be safe and to come home to you. Take care of each other.' A Telegram group titled 'Save that little girls' was recently linked to the family's deleted channel, calling on the US government to intervene. 'It's been just a few months since our family made the big move from America to Russia, and while we've had amazing adventures, this journey has also brought deep challenges,' DeAnna said. 'Being alone in a new country, raising kids, and trying to stay strong has tested me in ways I never imagined.'
Hindustan Times
24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Did Derek Huffman join Russian army? Here's the truth about Texas dad who moved to escape 'woke' culture
Derek Huffman, a father of four from Texas, has gone viral on social media for moving out of the United States and settling in Russia with his family. Derek and his wife, DeAnna Huffman, regularly post updates from their life in Russia on their YouTube channel. Derek Huffman (R) and Vladimir Putin. It was in one such YouTube vlog that the Huffman couple revealed that they moved out of Texas and settled in Russia to escape the "LGBT propaganda" in the US. While it was only a fascinating story, so far, a recent update on the Huffman family has sparked significant concern. In a recent YouTube vlog, Deanna Huffman claimed that Derek Huffman has joined the Russian army and is being sent to the frontlines in Ukraine. But the claims are unverified and DeAnna Huffman has since deleted the video. Here's a photo of the Huffman family in front of the Red Square in Moscow: The Truth About Derek Huffman Joining Russian Army Despite DeAnna Huffman's claim that her husband, Derek, has joined the Russian army and is being sent to Ukraine, there are no official records available to validate those claims. The fact-checking website Snopes researched the Texas family and found no evidence to support the claim that he joined the army in Russia on the Ukraine frontlines. Also read: NBA journo Taylor Rooks announces that she is married; Who is her husband? Snopes revealed that records show Derek Huffman and his family moved to Russia in April 2025. There is a video on their YouTube channel where the family recorded their move to Russia. Another video from May 2025 showed Derek Huffman supposedly enlisting in the Russian army. There are many photos of Huffman in the uniform of the Russian army. However, it is not clear what role he fulfilled in the army. Why The Huffman Family Moved To Russia Derek Huffman told Russian news broadcaster, Russia Today, that he moved to the country from Texas to escape the "LGBT propaganda" and "concerns over LGBT indoctrination in the American schools."
New York Post
22-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
American father-of-three who joined Russian army to escape ‘woke' US has been sent to the frontlines, wife says
A Texas father-of-three who moved his family to Russia and joined the military to escape 'wokeness' in the US has been sent to the frontlines of Moscow's meat grinder, his wife said. Derek Huffman, 46, claimed he was being tossed under the bus after being deployed to the frontlines in Ukraine despite assurances from the Russian military that he would be serving in a non-combat role, his wife DeAnna said in a now deleted YouTube page, according to the Telegraph. 'He feels like he's being thrown to the wolves right now, and he's kind of having to lean on faith, and that's what we're all doing,' she said of her husband's situation. 4 Texan Derek Huffman moved to Russia together with his family to escape 'wokeness' in the US. X / HuffmanTime 4 Huffman went on to join the Russian military, where he was allegedly promised a non-combat role, only for him to be deployed to the frontlines, his wife claims. YouTube / HuffmanTime The Huffmans had moved to Russia in March, with the father-of-three celebrating what he called an escape from the LGBTQ 'indoctrination' in America. He was one of two families who reportedly answered American blogger Tim Kirby's invitation to move to a village outside Moscow to be free of the 'liberal gender norm.' To secure an expedited citizenship process for his family and to earn the respect of his new countrymen, Huffman told Russian state media that he would gladly join the military. 'The point of this act for me is to earn a place here in Russia,' he told state media last month. 4 Huffman claimed he was happy to enlist in the army to expedite his citizenship process and earn the respect of his new countrymen. 'If I risk myself for our new country, no one will say that I am not a part of it. Unlike migrants in America who come there just like that, do not assimilate, and at the same time want free handouts,' he added. DeAnna, however, claims he was misled during the military recruitment process, where Russian officers allegedly promised him a role as a welder or war correspondent. Instead, Huffman, who has no prior military experience, underwent training in a language he did not understand and was shipped off to fight in the frontlines, where hundreds of Russian troops are killed every week. 4 His wife, DeAnna, said her husband has no prior military experience and received little training by the time he learned he would be deployed to fight Ukraine. YouTube / HuffmanTime 'Unfortunately, when you're taught in a different language, and you don't understand the language, how are you really getting taught?' DeAnna pointed out. 'You're not.' 'It seems as though he is getting one more week of training, closer to the front lines, and then they are going to put him on the front lines,' she added. The confused wife also claimed that even after a month of service, the family has yet to receive any of the wages promised to Huffman. Huffman was last seen on his family's social media accounts during a Father's Day message to his wife and kids in June, which showed him wearing camouflage and speaking to them directly. 'I miss you all more than you can imagine,' he said. 'I can't wait to see you, hopefully I get a vacation at some point and I get to go home and spend a couple of weeks with you. 'But man, you're on my mind 24/7 and just know that what I'm doing is important to me and important to our family. Just know I will do whatever it takes to be safe and to come home to you. Take care of each other,' he added.
