A man in Michigan is facing several years in prison after he was arrested for killing his visually impaired girlfriend at a motel and living with her dead body for several days.

Daniel J. Varnes pleaded no contest during a court hearing on Tuesday, March 3, to one count each of second-degree murder, torture and concealing a death in the death of his girlfriend, Teressa M. Johnson, according to Law & Crime.

Varnes, 47, has reached a deal with prosecutors and agreed to serve 32 years in a state correctional facility for the crime.

Johnson was found mutilated at the Rodeway Inn and Suites in Saginaw, Michigan, in the early hours of September 1, 2024.

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Her body was discovered by a drug dealer who met with Varnes at a nearby gas station to sell him crack, according to MLive. Varnes reportedly took the drugs and ran away without paying the dealer, so the dealer called Varnes and he was told to come to his motel room.

Once the drug dealer got to the motel, he saw a human body on the bed that was covered with a blanket. He said that Varnes tried to explain why he stole the drugs as he gestured toward the bed and said he had “this situation going on.”

The dealer then asked Varnes what was beneath the covers, and he reportedly responded, “You know exactly what that is,” according to MLive.

The drug dealer said that Varnes then removed the blanket and revealed Johnson’s body, which the dealer said appeared to have been dead for several days.

Varnes reportedly claimed that Johnson died from injuries she sustained when she was visiting friends days earlier. After Varnes noted that no one knew her body was at the motel with him, he reportedly told the drug dealer that it would be easy to get rid of her body.

After the dealer left the room, he called 911 to report the body. Police arrived soon after and Varnes fled the motel on foot. However, authorities managed to locate him in a nearby wooded area later that day around 4 p.m.

Varnes then spoke to detectives and “admitted to committing several acts of brutality” against Johnson, according to WJRT. He reportedly admitted to beating the woman with his fists and other objects, as well as using needle-nose pliers on her mouth “to shut her up.”

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Police claim a Wisconsin man charged with murdering his girlfriend allegedly told investigators she had asked him to shoot her in the forehead, Us Weekly has learned. Lance Devon White, 29, was charged with one count of first-degree intentional homicide for killing Alicia Machnik, also 29, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Us […]

“He had said at one point that he ‘beat the s**t out of her,’” a detective reportedly testified, per the outlet. “At one point in the conversation, he said he hit her at least 10 times.”

Police recovered scissors, a ratchet, side cutters, screwdrivers and pliers from the motel room, which all reportedly tested positive for Johnson’s blood.

An autopsy also determined that Johnson’s cause of death was “multiple traumatic injuries, recent and remote with related complications,” according to the outlet.

It is not clear if Varnes had a motive while committing the crime.

Varnes is scheduled to return to court for his sentencing hearing on April 13.

‘Pawn Stars’ Rick Harrison
Pushes Back At Corey Over Hospital Bills

Published
March 6, 2026
2:48 PM PST

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 26 seconds ago

While it has been controversial, Starfleet Academy has tried to establish itself as a must-see TV for those who loved Star Trek: Voyager. One reason for that is the presence of the amazing Robert Picardo, reprising his role as the fan-favorite holographic Doctor. Another reason is that the new show has picked up on the threads of multiple classic Voyager stories, including the Doctor raising (and subsequently losing) a holographic daughter back in “Real Life.”

Now, the most recent episode of Starfleet Academy (“300th Night”) has followed up on the Voyager episode “The Omega Directive,” which revealed that Starfleet deeply feared a a desructive cosmic element known as the Omega particle. In “300th Night,” we learn that future Starfleet has found a way to weaponize this particle against its enemies. Unfortunately, a central aspect of this episode makes one thing crystal clear: the Federation has now and forever become the bad guy.

The Alpha And The Omega

What is the Omega particle, you ask? In the aptly-named Voyager episode “The Omega Directive,” Captain Janeway reveals that the Omega particle is one of the biggest threats Starfleet has ever encountered. When these particles explode, it becomes impossible to travel through the affected area at warp speed. Therefore, Starfleet has a standing order: when captains encounter Omega, they must do anything and everything in their power to destroy it.

With her usual poise and style, Janeway manages to find and safely detonate all of the offensive Omega particles in the area. However, the Starfleet Academy episode “300th Night” revealed that the Federation of the 32nd century had secretly changed its mind about Omega. Rather than destroying these particles on sight, one skeezy starbase has developed a way to turn these pesky particles into the ultimate weapon.

When Star Trek Meets Star Wars

In a previous episode of Starfleet Academy (“Come, Let’s Away”), Nus Braka acted like a reluctant ally before enacting his scheme: destroying a Starfleet vessel and ransacking Starbase J19-Alpha. At the time, it was unclear what he stole or even what kind of starbase J19-Alpha really was. However, “300th Night” revealed that the base specializes in advanced weapons research, and one of their creations was Omega-47. As the name implies, this is a synthetic variant of the Omega particle, one that has all the destructive potential of the real thing.

“300th Night” was actually a really solid episode, but I was shocked at how it casually confirmed that Starfleet is developing superweapons that would make the Empire from Star Wars blush. So far, it seems that Section 31 doesn’t exist in the 32nd century, which is a good thing: after all, most fans don’t like the idea of the peace-loving Federation relying on a secret cabal of paranoid murderers.

Unfortunately, the revelation that Starbase J19-Alpha was developing such unethical weaponry is proof that the fringe Section 31 is no longer necessary; the high and mighty Starfleet is happy to break bad and violate intergalactic law whenever and however they see fit.

The development of Omega-47 is also insanely hypocritical because the Federation of this era had to survive the Burn, a freak cosmic incident that made warp travel absolutely impossible. In both Discovery and Starfleet Academy, this is portrayed as something that ruined countless lives and generally transformed a utopian future into a brutal, survival-of-the-fittest slugfest. Considering that the primary effect of Omega is that it can shut down subspace and make warp travel impossible, it’s clear that Starfleet is now ready and willing to cripple entire civilizations by restricting their travel and leaving them at the mercy of pirates.

Never Beam Your Heroes

On the balance, “300th Night” is actually a very good episode of Star Trek: it builds on Starfleet Academy lore, develops our favorite characters, and follows up on one of Voyager’s wildest stories. For longtime fans of the show, this episode is proof of how much potential this series really has. Meanwhile, if you’re someone who ditched this show early on, this latest episode is arguably the best to watch if you’re ready to give the show another shot.

Unfortunately, Starfleet weaponizing Omega is at the heart of this Starfleet Academy episode, and this does immense damage to our characters’ reputation. How are we supposed to root for the next generation of Starfleet officers when we know all these tortured geniuses will grow up to support supervillains? This organization is rotten from the top down, which makes for the ultimate bittersweet homage to The Original Series: in the 32nd century, all admirals are badmirals!

Ryan Murphy‘s Love Story has caused a variety of strong reactions — but why has there been so much backlash surrounding the show about John F. Kennedy Jr.?

Before Love Story even premiered on FX in February 2026, Murphy was criticized by the Kennedys for his plans to dramatize Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy and JFK Jr.‘s story after their deaths in a 1999 plane crash. Kennedy Jr.’s nephew Jack Schlossberg accused Murphy in June 2025 of “grotesque[ly]” profiting off his late uncle’s death.

“Lately, my news feed has been filled with pictures of my uncle, John F. Kennedy Jr., a great man,” Schlossberg wrote via Instagram at the time. “For those wondering whether his family was ever consulted, or has anything to do with the new shows being made about him, the answer is no. And there’s really not much we can do.”

Schlossberg continued: “For that matter, [JFK Jr. is] considered a public figure, so there’s not much we can do. I hope those making these shows about him take seriously what he stood for in his life, all that he achieved in it. And that they donate some of the profits [that] they’re making.”

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In response, Murphy called out the “inflammatory” criticism and how it came before the show was released.

“I thought it was an odd choice to be mad about your relative that you really don’t remember,” Murphy said on Gavin Newsom’s “This Is Gavin Newsom” podcast one month later. “The days of civil discourse are over, and it’s very hard. And you kind of either get into the muck or you try and rise above it.”

The public backlash continued once Love Story started airing with Sarah Pidgeon as Bessette, and Paul Anthony Kelly portraying JFK Jr. Keep scrolling for a breakdown of the drama:

What Is ‘Love Story’ About?

The FX series is the first installment in Ryan Murphy’s Love Story anthology and is inspired by Elizabeth Beller’s book Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette Kennedy. Sarah Pidgeon plays Carolyn Bessette, while Paul Anthony Kelly portrays JFK Jr.

After meeting in 1992, Bessette and JFK Jr. were on and off for years before getting married. Their relationship was thrust into the spotlight, with highs and lows making headlines. They both died in a plane crash in 1999.

“We had Elizabeth Beller’s book for reference, but we did face challenges [capturing certain moments]. They died so young, but we had enough information from people around them to know what the problems were in their marriage, what the tensions were, what the highs were, what the lows were,” executive producer Brad Simpson exclusively told Us Weekly in February 2026. “People don’t have an idea of what her voice was like because we only have a tiny clip of her voice, but they have a very distinct idea of what her image was like. So we had to get the walk down and the look and the allure. But Sarah could really interpret and go with it. John, we have a lot of recordings of him, and we have a lot more on him.”

What Is Ryan Murphy’s History With Adapting Real-Life Stories?

Ryan Murphy found success adapting true crime stories and high-profile events, which often resulted in backlash from the subjects of his shows. After getting his start with Nip/Tuck, Glee and American Horror Story, Murphy expanded by taking on projects such as American Crime Story, which chronicled the murder trial of O.J. Simpson, the killing of designer Gianni Versace and the sex scandal involving former President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky.

Murphy also created the American Sports Story spinoff, which focused on the rise and fall of former NFL player Aaron Hernandez in its first season.

Has Ryan Murphy Received Backlash for His Scripted Shows?

Ryan Murphy’s most controversial spinoff has been the Monster anthology series. In 2022, the limited series centered on Evan Peters’ portrayal of Jeffrey Dahmer, which received backlash from the families of the serial killer’s victims.

Season 2 faced similar backlash after Erik Menendez slammed Murphy’s portrayal of him and brother Lyle Menendez.

FX’s Love Story has also been called out for dramatizing events in JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette’s lives before their tragic death.

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What Has Been Said About Ryan Murphy’s Love Story?

Kennedy Jr.’s nephew Jack Schlossberg slammed the show when it came out.

“If you want to know someone who’s never met anyone in my family, knows nothing about us, talk to Ryan Murphy,” Schlossberg said on CBS Sunday Morning in February 2026. “The guy knows nothing about what he’s talking about, and he’s making a ton of money on a grotesque display of someone else’s life.”

Meanwhile Daryl Hannah, who is played by Dree Hemingway on the show, broke her silence on how she was portrayed. Hannah, who dated JFK Jr. in the ‘80s called the show not “remotely accurate” in its “representation of my life, my conduct or my relationship with John.” She also wanted to clarify the “actions and behaviors attributed” to her, which she called “untrue.”

“I have never used cocaine in my life or hosted cocaine-fueled parties. I have never pressured anyone into marriage. I have never desecrated any family heirloom or intruded upon anyone’s private memorial,” she continued. “I never compared Jacqueline Onassis’ death to a dog’s. It’s appalling to me that I even have to defend myself against a television show. These are not creative embellishments of personality. They are assertions about conduct — and they are false.”

What Have the Executive Producers Said?

Executive producer Brad Simpson told Us in February 2026 that they hadn’t heard from any of the real people featured on screen, adding, “We haven’t yet, and we hope that people appreciate their portrayals. Every actor approached [their role] with love.”

He added: “You reach out to one person, and then it becomes, ‘Why are you not reaching out to every person?’ We love these characters. We did deep, deep research. It’s based on not just the Elizabeth Beller book but many other artifacts from that time and many other historie.We came from a place of love, but if you foreground one person’s personal story and their version of the truth, then you have to foreground everybody’s, and often they’re in conflict. On all our shows we tried to be true to what we think the characters were and show you what it was like to walk in their footsteps.”

Fire Country‘s Bode makes it clear that he can’t forget Tyler after Chloe’s son admitted to causing Vince’s death.

In Us Weekly‘s exclusive clip from the Friday, March 6, episode of the hit CBS series, Bode (Max Thieriot) is visited by Chloe (Alona Tal), who asks him for help with Tyler (Conor Sherry). Bode, however, has no sympathy for the teenager responsible for starting the fire that killed his father, Vince (Billy Burke).

“He lit up half of Edgewater,” Bode tells Chloe. “Why would Tyler take the fall for something so bad if he didn’t actually do it?”

Chloe asks for Bode’s help supporting Tyler, saying, “I know that your family has done too much for my family already. But Tyler won’t talk to me and he’s alone and he’s scared in jail. I can’t help him. I know that you cared about him. You and I both know that you have the best shot to get through to him, so please.”

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Bode shuts Chloe’s request down while referring to Tyler as a “lost cause.”

His strong reaction comes shortly after Tyler turned himself in for arson. Before the show’s midseason return, showrunner Tia Napolitano hinted that the show’s story will be going through some changes.

“[You should] be worried [about the rest of the season]. We’ve got Bode and Tyler in a fire shelter in the middle of a blaze. Those things are built for one, there’s two lives in there,” Napolitano exclusively told Us Weekly in December 2025, one month before her departure from the CBS series was announced. “And we’ve got Jake and his brother over the side of a cliff. You see how many times that vehicle goes over and over. We see heads hit hard surfaces.”

Napolitano teased that “those are not easy things to come back” from, adding, “We’ll watch our people fight to get out of there.” She also teased a “huge twist” coming in the second half of the season.

“It’s going to change everything that hugely impacts Bode. He is going to really fight to continue to be on his path to progress and growth that we love to see him on. He has made those good choices — though he still struggles — and winning those struggles and really becoming someone who can continue to be someone Tyler wants to grow up to be,” she said. “Bode is a role model. Look how far we have come.”

She continued: “Eve is going to find her way with these new guys at Three Roc. Sharon is learning even more so how to stand on her own. Ruby — her mother — comes back. There’s a lot of surprises, twists and turns and drive coming out of that twist that comes at the end of the midseason premiere.”

Following her exit from the show, news broke on Thursday, March 5, that Eric Guggenheim will be taking over for Napolitano. According to Deadline, Guggenheim is coming onboard after previously serving as showrunner of Magnum P.I and co-showrunner of Hawaii Five-0.

Fire Country airs on CBS Fridays at 9 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on Paramount+.

British author J. R. R. Tolkien wrote an enormous mythology surrounding his own made-up world, Arda. Though, Arda is more commonly known by the name of its central continent, Middle-Earth. His works detail thousands upon thousands of years of history, legends, and storylines about the world, which became his life’s work, some of which is still posthumously being published.

Throughout the history of Arda, one of the most prominent villains that pops up again and again is the Dark Lord Sauron. Sauron also happens to be the main antagonist behind The Lord of the Rings trilogy of novels, and its subsequent film adaptations. Although Sauron is a dangerous beast in the world of Arda, many who aren’t well-versed in Tolkien’s lore may be surprised to know that there are forces in Middle-Earth that could still stand against Sauron’s enormous power.

5

Tom Bombadil

Image via Amazon Prime Video

Tom Bombadil actually appears in the original novel of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (though he is absent from the film), and he’s remained kind of a mystfiying character since. This jolly moss-collector lives in the heart of the Old Forest, near the Shire, along with his wife, Goldberry. However, it’s never made clear who or what exactly Tom Bombadil is. His species is unknown, as is his purpose and his age. Gandalf seems to know a bit more about him, and believes that Tom is just as older, if not older than Gandalf is.

One thing that remains even more mysterious about him is that the One Ring’s corrupting power has no effect on him whatsoever. He is able to see and hold the One Ring, but he isn’t tempted by it for even a second, which is pretty bizarre, considering almost anything and everything else will find themselves tempted by it. While Tom Bombadil is no warrior, and likely couldn’t defeat Sauron in a physical fight, he renders Sauron’s greatest asset completely worthless, leaving Sauron at a severe disadvantage.

4

Gandalf

Image via New Line Cinema

Gandalf is one of the Maiar, a race of demigods that were created along with the gods, the Valar, by the supreme creator, Eru Ilúvatar. Gandalf and Sauron are actually both the same species–they’re both Maiar, and thus, both demigods. The difference is that Gandalf is one of the five wizards, so he has a little more magic behind him. He also has his own Ring of Power, carrying one of the rings that were given to the Elves by Sauron.

While this ring doesn’t compare to the power of the One Ring, Gandalf could definitely stand a chance against Sauron. There’s still a fair chance he could lose a fight against him, but Gandalf has proven that he is a capable warrior and wizard, and can hold his own when he needs to. While Gandalf loses a fight to Sauron directly in The Hobbit (which isn’t mentioned in the books), in Tolkien’s version of things, Gandalf would probably fare much better, rather than be so swiftly defeated.

3

Saruman the White

Image via New Line Cinema

It doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense that Saruman the White decided to join Sauron. It would be understandable if Saruman’s power paled in comparison to Sauron and joined him to escape destruction, but this isn’t the case, so this implies that Saruman is really just evil. As another of the Maiar, Saruman has enough power behind him to stand against Sauron. The White Wizard is the chief and most powerful of the five wizards, also known as the Istari, even more powerful than Gandalf.

Moreover, Saruman is easily able to rally armies to his cause and create armies in the form of the Urûk-hai, coming up with quite a formidable host of thousands of troops. Honestly, if Saruman had fought on the side of Gondor and Rohan, the War of the Ring probably would have been a heck of a lot shorter. With his inner magic and his combined armed forces, he’d probably make a pretty even match for Sauron.

2

Ungoliant

Image via New Line Cinema

Ungoliant is the first of the Great Spiders, and was known for her immense size. It’s not sure where she came from, but she is an ancient being, almost as old as Middle-Earth itself. Ungoliant doesn’t make a physical appearance in the films, but her daughter, Shelob, does. Famously, Shelob has a lair in the mountain pass of Cirith Ungol, an orc stronghold, though she is no friend of Sauron’s or hs minions.

Ungoliant was, at the time, such a remarkable force, that she was almost able to defeat Morgoth, coming close to destroying him completely. This really impressed Morgoth, although he did send Balrogs after her in retaliation. Needless to say, if Ungoliant is able to nearly kill the ultimate evil, who is a literal god himself, it’s likely that Ungoliant could easily overpower Sauron, who is only a demigod.

1

Morgoth

Image via J.M. Kilpatrick

Morgoth is one of the Valar, which means he is basically a god. In fact, he is the only one of the Valar that turned against the rest of them, opting to embody the darkness rather than the light. Morgoth, formerly known as Melkor, waged war against the Valar, and is the primary reason for most of the conflict throughout Tolkien’s legendarium. His influence is far-reaching and his power is immense, with few living beings, mortal or immortal, able to match his prowess.

In fact, Sauron is not the ultimate Dark Lord–he is only a servant of Morgoth, and ultimately lives to do his master’s bidding. While Sauron is a dangerous force and a serious threat to the safety of Middle-Earth, his power is microscopic compared to his master’s. Morgoth could easily best Sauron in a fight, and could probably crush him between the tip of his finger and thumb, to be honest. Due to his species and inherent power, there is no doubting that Morgoth (or any of the Valar, really) could dwarf Sauron’s power and really give him a run for his money.

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Bipolar Disorder, Addiction Must Be Her Focus

Published
March 6, 2026
1:14 PM PST