The Paramount NetworkKevin Costner recently released the first entry in his series of Western films dubbed Horizon: An American Saga. However, for the vast majority of Yellowstone fans, the only saga they want is the conclusion of the Dutton familys story and a glimpse of what comes next. Costner reinvigorated his career by headlining Yellowstone as John Dutton, but his clashes with Paramount Network and showrunner Taylor Sheridan have led to Costners departure from the series.ContentsAlthough were still several weeks away from the return of the series, were sharing everything we know about Yellowstone season 5, part 2. And well keep updating this post when anything newsworthy comes up.Recommended VideosThe Paramount NetworkTo celebrate the sixth anniversary of Yellowstones premiere, Paramount Network has finally announced when the final episodes will release. Yellowstone season 5, part 2 will begin on Sunday, November 10 on Paramount Network. Viewers in Canada will be able to watch it on Paramount+ on the same day. In America, Peacock retains the streaming rights for Yellowstone, but its currently unknown how quickly those episodes will appear on the service.RelatedAdditionally, Paramount is attempting to bring in an even larger audience by sharing the midseason premiere with CBS. AT 10 p.m. on Sunday, November 10 two hours after its premiere on Paramount Network viewers will get a chance to see the encore presentation of the first episode from Yellowstone season 5, part 2. For now, only one episode from the new season will be on CBS.Paramount NetworkSure! You can try live TV streaming options like Sling, Hulu Plus Live, and YouTube TV. The cheapest and best possible, though, is Philo. Philo is a live television streaming service that offers more than 70 top-rated channels and the entire AMC+ library for just $28/month. Some of the channels include A&E, MTV, Hallmark Channel, Lifetime, MTV, BET, and the Paramount Network, which is the home of Yellowstone.Philo also has over 90 free channels available to watch anytime without creating an account.In addition, the service has a library of over 75,000 content titles on-demand and an unlimited DVR that saves recordings for a year. Philo can be used on mobile phones, tablets, TVs, and desktops so you can watch the Dutton clan pretty much anywhere on any device.Yes! At long last, the trailer is here, even if it seems somewhat disingenuous to include clips of Kevin Costners John Dutton, considering he wont be in the season unless theres some previously unrevealed footage with him.Yellowstone Official Trailer | Paramount NetworkThe trailer plays up the drama ahead and teases some surprising alliances as the fate of the ranch is determined. It also touches on the increasingly dangerous feud between Jamie and Beth. That builds on the previously released teaser for Yellowstone season 5.Jamie seems to be desperate to get Beth to back down, and he suggests that their family legacy is at stake. For her part, Beth doesnt care. Shell burn it all to destroy Jamie.Ahead of the mid-season premiere, Paramount Network revealed that the name of the episode is Desire Is All You Need. The short synopsis states that, After an event rattles the state of Montana, nothing will ever be the same. The event in question is likely the death of Montana governor and Dutton family patriarch John Dutton, due to Costners departure from the series.Paramount Network has also dropped an ominous poster for the final season.Paramount NetworkWarning: There are spoilers ahead for the mid-season premiere of Yellowstone season 5.The show didnt waste any time revealing what happened to the Dutton family patriarch. Governor John Dutton is dead, seemingly by his own hand. While appearing on SirusXMs The Michael Smerconish Program, Costner reacted to the fate of his character. I heard its a suicide, so that doesnt make me want to rush to go see it, said Costner. When Smerconish noted that John wasnt likely to commit suicide, Costner added, Well, theyre pretty smart people. Maybe its a red herring. Who knows? Theyre very good. And theyll figure that out.Costners instincts may be correct, as the show insinuates that John Duttons death was staged to look like a suicide by a hitman sent by one of his enemies. Either way, the Dutton family has been devastated by his death, and the war between Beth and Jamie Dutton is only going to get more intense.Paramount NetworkThe core cast expected to appear in Yellowstoneseason 5 part 2 includes:Luke Grimes as Kayce DuttonKelly Reilly as Bethany Beth DuttonWes Bentley as James Michael Jamie DuttonCole Hauser as Rip WheelerKelsey Asbilleas Monica Long DuttonGil Birmingham as Chief Thomas RainwaterBrecken Merrill as Tate DuttonDenim Richards as Colby MayfieldForrie J. Smith as Lloyd PierceIan Bohenas RyanJen Landon as TeeterFinn Little as CarterRyan Binghamas WalkerEmerson Miller / Paramount NetworkWith the new episodes now just a few months away, Paramount Network has released the first photos of Yellowstone season 5, part 2. And the first pic, seen above, doesnt look very good for John Dutton. His estranged adoptive son, Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley), is appearing alongside Governor Perry (Wendy Moniz), which may be how the show chooses to acknowledge the death of the previous governor, John.Emerson Miller / Paramount NetworkThe second pic features Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) and Mo (Moses Brings Plenty) presumably making their own plans for Yellowstone ranch.Emerson Miller / Paramount NetworkRip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) has a quiet moment with a resting Carter (Finn Little).Emerson Miller / Paramount NetworkIt wouldnt be Yellowstone without a porch side scene. In this case, Monica Long (Kelsey Asbille), Tate Dutton (Brecken Merrill), and Kacey Dutton (Luke Grimes).Emerson Miller / Paramount NetworkChances are very good that the future of the show will revolve around Rip Wheeler and Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly).Paramount NetworkRip and Beth are seemingly joined at the hip, and their bond may determine whether the Duttons still have control of the ranch at the end of the season.The cast of Yellowstone has been privy to the ending for months, but now Luke Grimes is sharing his thoughts about the series finale.I couldnt be happier, Grimes told EW. I think its a perfect ending for the show for every character. Its just a testament to what a good writer Taylor [Sheridan] is, and its a very, very profound, beautiful ending. I cant wait to sit down and watch it one day.Inevitably, some things had to have changed if the original plan was for Costner to finish out the series. But according to Kelly Reilly, John Dutton was already meant to be written out of the series by the final episode.The absence [of John Dutton] was part of the ending, Reilly told EW. Thats not something that we had to pivot, that was already written into the tapestry of the story. It was always going to happen, it just happened a little bit differently.ParamountDespite the hope that Costner and Paramount Network would work something out, the actor has definitively announced that he will not be back for the final episodes of Yellowstone.In a video posted on his Instagram account, Costner said, I just want to reach out and let you know that after this long year and a half of working on Horizon and doing all the things that thats required and thinking about Yellowstone, that beloved series that I love, that I know you love. I just realized that Im not going to be able to continue, season 5 or into the future.I loved it and I know you loved it, and I just wanted to let you know that I wont be returning, Costner added. I love the relationship weve been able to develop, and Ill see you at the movies.Costners public attempts to restart a dialogue about his return began earlier this year. Matthew Belloni of Puck News reported in March 2024 that Costner was telling people he will return in some capacity, perhaps in a cameo.Kevin Costner has been telling people hes planning to return for at least a cameo and possibly more, but there are currently no discussions for him to do that, Belloni wrote. Even if Costner significantly lowers his financial and time commitment demands, Sheridan may not want to bother reopening his finished scripts to accommodate a send-off for John Dutton.Costner teased a possible return to the showDespite the fact that the show appears to be moving on without him, Costner reiterated his interest in coming back, via Variety in mid-June.Ive supported that thing and Ive loved it, Costner said during a June 2024 appearance on Today. Its been really important to me. I would love to go back under the right circumstances I think that all of us want. For me, it really needs to be the right circumstances.Even now, Costner refuses to fully give up on the possibility of his return.Saying theres a chance, theres always a chance, added Costner. I love the thing. Youve got to be really clear about that.ParamountAfter almost a year of silence on the issue, Costner finally made some public comments about his potential return to Yellowstone for the final episodes. The good news is that he does want to return, but even Costner doesnt know whether its going to happen.Id like to be able to do it but we havent been able to I thought I was going to make seven [seasons] but right now were at five, Costner told Entertainment Tonight. So how it works out I hope it does but theyve got a lot of different shows going on. Maybe it will. Maybe this will circle back to me. If it does and I feel really comfortable with [it], Id love to do it.Costner also appeared to indicate that he wants a say in the fate of his character.[Dutton] needs to be proactive in what happens, and Ive kind of had my own fantasy how [the characters final arc] might be, Costner said. But thats Taylors thing. I said as much to him a while back. I had thoughts how it could happen, but we just have to see.Costner struck a more conciliatory note during an interview at the beginning of May.No, [Sheridan and I] havent [talked], Costner said. Hes doing special work in a lot of different ways. Hes very prolific about the things he does, and if he sees me in something that he wants to do, Ill look at it just the way I did Yellowstone and maybe we will end up doing something together. He likes a lot of the things that I like, and the idea of us working together is not out of the question for me. The subjects he chooses are very interesting to me. I like a lot of that stuff. Yellowstone stands as something that could continue. But that is a Taylor question. But other things that hes doing I think are really, really good. He likes the same subjects that I do.While Costner was feeling more hopeful about the future earlier in May, he came out with a more combative tone during his interview with Deadline on May 13, and he provided his side of the story for the first time.Well, I havent felt good about it the last year, what with the way theyve talked about it, Costner said. It wasnt truthful. So now Im talking about a little bit about what the real truth of it was. I made a contract for seasons five, six and seven. In February, after a two- or three-month negotiation, they made another contract. They wanted to redo that one, and instead of seasons six and seven, it was 5A and 5B, and maybe well do six. They werent able to make those. Horizon was set in the middle, but Yellowstone was first position. I fit [Horizon] into the gaps. They just kept moving their gaps.I dont want to get down in the gutter with the Yellowstone thing but what Im telling you is straight up, Costner said. I have taken a beating from those f***ing guys and I know a lot of times where its coming from. I just elected not to get into that. But if you know me well enough, I made Yellowstone the first priority, and to insinuate anything else would be wrong. I did not initiate any of those things. They did. They were doing a tap dance and this poor guy was also having to write so much. And I dont know why they didnt stick up for me.I could say no comment all the way through, Costner continued. I wont say my life is fair game or that any questions are fair game, but this is a realistic question. I will address it. They should have known that there was going to be an opportunity for me to say something. I didnt have to answer the slings and arrows over the last year and a half, because Ive just been busy working. Theyve been pretty slick about keeping their hands off; nobody was ever on the record.Fox Nation / Fox NationCostner also forcefully pushed back at the rumor that his commitments on Horizon kept him from shooting Yellowstone.Thats not true, Costner said. There were blocks of time that we didnt get 10 episodes done. Basically, we were starting in April and May, and wed usually go through August. Wed do 10. We didnt even get 10 done during that time. I only worked 43 days. So thats bulls***. Thats a lie. Thats not correct. They sent me away for seven days to go to London, to go to England during Covid, to do [promotion]. They made the contract and they picked the days.Costner also explained the origin of the report that he was only willing to film a week of Yellowstone season 5, part 2.They didnt have the scripts for anything else, Costner said. So, what you read in the end was that I said, Well, look, Im doing my movie. If you want me to work a week because you want to kill me or whatever else, I can give you a week. I really didnt have that week to give them, but I said, Ill do that. And then they [spun that] into, I only wanted to work a week.Im usually working six or seven days per each, whatever they are, Costner said. And they took that and a source on their side spun that into, well, he only wants to work a week for a whole season. Do you think thats who I am? Ive never missed a day of work. Ive never left before fulfilling my contractual obligations. A lot of times, I stay as much as I can. In fact, I worked the nine-day stretch just to try to help them in July, when I was starting [Horizon] on August 1. I worked a Saturday and Sunday for them, and they still needed four more days. I gave it to them, when I thought we were going to do this so-called B, but there was no B thing. I was just going to give em those extra four days.Even during this interview, Costner left the door open for his return. But it certainly seems a lot less likely now.Paramount NetworkSheridan had a very revealing quote on the subject when speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in June 2023. He said that Costners exit truncates the closure of his character. It doesnt alter it, but it truncates it. This implies that John Dutton wont survive the end of Yellowstone even if Costner does reappear.Via ScreenRant, one of the theories regarding Duttons fate is that he will meet his demise from colon cancer. During the first season, Dutton survived his first bout with that illness. If thats the way John Dutton dies, then it would bring his fate full circle.Paramount NetworkLuke Grimes, who plays John Duttons youngest son, Kayce Dutton, recently shared his thoughts about Kevin Costners apparent departure from the show. And he sounds largely supportive of Costners decision.Whatever happened there is unfortunate if its changed anything about how the show was going to unfold, said Grimes during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. I know, [Costner] got busy with his movies that were like passion projects. At a certain point, you gotta do what you gotta do, man; you gotta do what you love.Paramount NetworkWhile speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Yellowstone co-star Ian Bohen revealed that he hasnt seen any of the scripts from the final episodes yet, but he is aware of where the story is going. He also dropped a very bold prediction about the series finale.[The fans] are going to get the [best] conclusion that could possibly be written, Bohen said. Everything will land in a way that is perfectly set. A lot of shows just kind of finish and they dont satisfy you. This will be completed in a way that it will make sense.I dont know that any show has finished this strongly ever, Bohen added. Were expecting to have the best series finale in history. Overconfident maybe, but I think thats what its going to be. We thank everyone for their patience Itll be worth the wait, I promise.Bohen also indicated that he expects Yellowstones final season to resume production in May, but it could also be pushed to later in the summer.Paramount NetworkThat is the general idea that Paramount Network sold to fans when the end of Yellowstone was announced. However, a report on Puck states that three of the shows principal cast members, Kelly Reilly, Cole Hauser, and Luke Grimes, are in a pay dispute with Paramount Network because they want significant raises to reprise their respective roles as Beth Dutton, Rip Wheeler, and Kayce Dutton.The report also indicates that those cast members have to be paid for Yellowstone season 6even though it wont be produced. That was a provision in their contracts for the previous series. Theres no indication yet whether the actors and Paramount Network have come to terms. If they dont re-sign with the new show, then the spinoff series will lose key characters who could have been the bridge to the future of the franchise.Paramount NetworkYellowstone season 5, part 2, may not be the last time fans see Rip and Beth. In an April 2024 interview with Country Living, Hauser explained his focus is on finishing the final episodes of the series. Hauser then hinted that there could be a future for Rip and Beth in future Yellowstone iterations.Im so focused on finishingYellowstone the way it needs to be finished right now well, just the show itself, Hauser said. Well see where that leads, but I know that theres some stuff on the horizon when it comes to Taylors ideas for Kelly Reilly, myself, and some of the other cast. Im excited to see where he goes creatively with that, but right now its just, lets finish strong; lets do the best we can.Reilly shared a similar viewpoint about the spinoff in a March 2024 interview with Collider. Once again, the goal for Reilly is to finishYellowstoneon a high note. However, Reilly did not close the door on appearing in the spinoff.I just care about finishing [the main show] with as much care, as much passion, and as much love as I can muster to put into it, Reilly said. Thats what I care about. Im sort of prepping for that now, [and] thats my tunnel vision thing that I care about most. And what goes on beyond that? There are discussions, you know. Dont believe everything you read. Its just nonsense. But were gonna, you know, lets wait and see. I dont have an answer right now. But well see.The Paramount NetworkThe first half of Yellowstone season 5 featured the complete deterioration of the relationship between Beth and her adoptive brother who doubles as the black sheep of the family Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley). Beth and Jamie even openly contemplated murdering each other in a struggle that may destroy the Duttons. That is one of the big unresolved plotlines heading into the second half of the season.Note that Bentlys name was not mentioned in Pucks report about Yellowstone cast members seeking a raise for the spinoff series. If theres any veracity to that story, it may mean that Jamie isnt going to make it out of Yellowstone season 5, part 2. That doesnt necessarily mean that Jamie will die, it could also mean incarceration or exile from his family. For now, we can only speculate.HBOIf Sheridan wanted to follow the established model for TV spinoffs, Matthew McConaugheys new character from the upcoming spinoff would be introduced in Yellowstone season 5, part 2. The only problem with that idea is that theres no official report that McConaughey has even signed on for the spinoff.McConaugheys name has been mentioned in conjunction with the spinoff since February 2023. Since that time, all of the Hollywood trades have simply said that McConaughey is in talks to lead the spinoff. So its just talk until McConaughey actually signs on the dotted line. For now, theres no indication that he has.Yellowstone Season 5 Official Trailer | Paramount NetworkOriginally, only six episodes were planned to conclude the series. But Sheridan told THR in 2023 that he has the leeway to change that, if he chooses to. If I think it takes 10 episodes to wrap it up, theyll give me 10, said Sheridan. Itll be as long as it needs to be.Paramount NetworkVia The Wrap, Yellowstone season 5, part 2 has officially begun filming after a nearly two-year hiatus. As with the previous seasons, production is on-location in Montana. Notably absent from the news was any word about Kevin Costner returning to the show. Now that cameras are rolling again, its looking increasingly unlikely that Costner will return, barring some last minute deal.The current production schedule means that Yellowstone season 5, part 2 will be able to make its premiere window later this year.The Paramount NetworkWhile its still unknown whether or not Kevin Costner will return, John Dutton will be popping up in season 5, part 2. Josh Lucas, the actor who plays a younger version of Costners character, told Deadline on March 14 that he will return as the character for the final season of the show.I think were going to do 10 or more so episodes : Josh Lucas reveals of the final season of #YellowstoneTV pic.twitter.com/WFaSf3MWRw Deadline (@DEADLINE) March 15, 2024The actor revealed that part 2 will be 10 episodes or so, which, while still vague, does narrow it down a bit in terms of how many times well see the Dutton clan this season.Editors Recommendations

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Moon over Col de Sarennenagelestock.com/AlamyObservational astronomers hate the moon. This might be surprising to some of you after all, the moon is gorgeous, its the closest astronomical object we can observe and the dominant feature of the night sky on Earth. But that very spotlight is the problem: when the moon is out, its glare can hide nearly everything else. When you are looking for tiny details or deep-sky objects, that is a problem.Even in just the next couple of months, there are two meteor showers that will each happen within a few days of the full

The skeleton of Navaornis hestiae, an 80-million-year-old bird fossilS. Abramowicz/Dinosaur Institute/Natural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyAn 80-million-year-old fossil bird has been discovered with a skull so exquisitely preserved that scientists have been able to study the detailed structure of its brain.In both age and evolutionary development, the new species, named Navaornis hestiae, is almost midway between the earliest known bird-like dinosaur, Archaeopteryx, which lived 150 million years ago, and modern birds. It lived in the Cretaceous Period alongside dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops. AdvertisementThe fossil, which bears a superficial resemblance to a starling, was found near Presidente Prudente, Brazil, in 2016 and was immediately recognised as significant because of the rarity of a full bird skeleton, particularly one of that age.But Daniel Field at the University of Cambridge says it wasnt until 2022 that he and his colleagues realised the skull was so intact that they could possibly scan it and create a 3D model of its brain.High-resolution CT scanning allows palaeontologists to peer inside fossils. This involves careful digital dissection: separating out each individual component of the skull and then reassembling them into a complete, undeformed three-dimensional reconstruction, says Field. A monthly celebration of the biodiversity of our planets animals, plants and other organisms.Sign up to newsletterThe new fossil provides unprecedented insight into the pattern and timing by which the specialised features of the brain of living birds evolved.Based on the teams reconstruction of the brain, Field says the cognitive abilities and flying capacity of Navaornis were probably inferior to those of most living birds.Artists impression of Navaornis hestiaeJ. dOliveiraThe portions of the brain responsible for complex cognition and spatial orientation arent as enlarged as those of modern birds, he says.Although the cerebrum of Navaornis is greatly expanded relative to the condition in a more archaic bird relative like Archaeopteryx, it is not as expanded as what we see in living birds.The enlarged brains of modern birds support a huge range of complex behaviours, says Field, but understanding how their brains evolved has been challenging due to a lack of adequately complete and well-preserved fossil bird skulls from early bird relatives.Navaornis fills a roughly 70-million-year-long gap in our understanding of how the distinctive brains of modern birds evolved.Journal reference:Nature DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08114-4Topics:

Nature, Published online: 14 November 2024; doi:10.1038/d41586-024-03670-1Newly analysed fossil came from what could be the biggest-known member of a family of apex avian predators.

Alec Baldwin appeared on the most recent episode of "Saturday Night Live."Baldwin played Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's health secretary nominee.The show also saw Sarah Sherman play Matt Gaetz, Trump's pick for attorney general.It was hardly surprising that the latest episode of "Saturday Night Live" saw the cast debut impressions of President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet nominees.Several of Trump's more controversial picks, including Matt Gaetz as attorney general and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary, have had a lot of people talking this week, and the "SNL" cast didn't miss the opportunity to unpack the situation.The NBC show saw James Austin Johnson's Trump spoof introduce what he called "the most epic cabinet of all time," which he said included "some of the most dynamic, free-thinking, animal-killing, sexually criminal, medically crazy people in the country.""We've got Elon and Matt Gaetz. That's an 'Alien vs. Predator.' We've got Kristi Noem and RFK Jr. They're killing the dogs, they're killing the bears. And Melania will be working remotely from divorce," Johnson said.Sarah Sherman then entered as Gaetz, one of Trump's most surprising selections so far. Gaetz has previously faced sexual misconduct allegations, and his nomination reportedly blind-sided many Republicans.Sherman soon declared that she "had to resign from Congress because the confirmation process comes at the busiest time of year for me.""The holidays?" Johnson asked."Girls' volleyball season," Sherman said, before introducing Alec Baldwin as RFK Jr. a well-known vaccine skeptic and conspiracy theorist.With a rasping voice, Baldwin, who has previously played Trump on the show, said: "I am so honored to be the head of the Health and Human Services Department.""Americans need someone to teach them how to be healthy. Someone like me. A 70-year-old man with movie star looks and a worm in his brain," he went on."Alright, I got to go; I got a dead dolphin in my car. I think I might saw it in half and dump it in Central Park," he said, referencing Kennedy's story about once having dumped a dead bear in Central Park.Elsewhere in the episode, which saw British pop star Charli XCX make her hosting debut, Johnson made light of Trump's increasingly close relationship with Tesla CEO Elon Musk."I can't go back to Mar-a-Lago," he said. "Elon is there, and he will not leave."Trump, Musk, and RFK Jr. appeared together alongside other cabinet picks at UFC 309 on Saturday.The president-elect received a huge ovation from the crowd as he entered Madison Square Garden alongside a beaming Dana White.

Scambaiting is when the target of a phone or online scam knowingly tries to waste a scammer's time.Scambaiting can frustrate scammers and prevent them from targeting others.A UK company has now designed an AI chatbot that will do it for you."Scambaiting" is when the target of a phone or online scam realizes what's happening and plays along. The goal is to waste as much of the scammer's time as possible.The process is often hilarious and has given rise to a successful genre of online content in which users post their successful attempts to bait scammers.The process, however, can be time-consuming. So a UK company called Virgin Media O2 is offering a solution: an AI grandmother named Daisy.In a video demonstration last week, the company showed how someone could deploy the AI chatbot to waste a scammer's time on their behalf."This state-of-the-art AI Granny's mission is to talk with fraudsters and waste as much of their time as possible with human-like rambling chat to keep them away from real people while highlighting the need for consumers to stay vigilant as the UK faces a fraud epidemic," the company said.The problem is worldwide. Almost 1 in 3 Americans have been the victim of a scam in the past year, with an average loss of $1,600 a person, according to a study from IPX, a financial analysis firm. According to the Federal Trade Commission, consumers reported more than $10 billion in losses last year from online scams.Virgin Media O2 says it decided to create Daisy after conducting research that showed that 71% of Brits wanted to retaliate against scammers but that most of them didn't want to spend the time to do so.So the company partnered with one of the most popular scambaiters on YouTube, Jim Browning, to train the AI chatbot. Browning is known for pretending to be a clueless victim long enough to frustrate scammers. Browning has more than 4.3 million subscribers.Virgin Media O2 told BI in a statement that Daisy "combines various AI models which work together to listen and respond to fraudulent calls instantaneously and is so lifelike it has successfully kept numerous fraudsters on calls for 40 minutes at a time.""Daisy is turning the tables on scammers outsmarting and outmaneuvering them at their own cruel game simply by keeping them on the line," director of fraud at Virgin Media O2, Murray Mackenzie, said. "But crucially, Daisy is also a reminder that no matter how persuasive someone on the other end of the phone may be, they aren't always who you think they are."

In the wake of Donald Trumps victory in the 2024 presidential election, some couples planning same-sex weddings have begun to panic, worried they could lose the right to marry. An engaged wedding planner wrote in Vogue how she and her friends plan to move up their weddings; a chaplain in Iowa is helping dozens of couples plan for accelerated nuptials; advocates say theyre seeing an uptick in concern about marriage rights.People are very worried, no question about that, Jennifer Pizer, chief legal officer for LGBTQ rights group Lambda Legal, told Vox. These worries stem from attacks that Trump and his allies have made on LGBTQ rights, though the president-elect did not directly target same-sex marriage during his campaign. Trump instead made anti-trans policy a focal point of his rhetoric, and changes to LGBTQ rights appear more likely to focus on rolling back protections for trans people rather than the elimination of same-sex marriage. Related:There are also two safeguards in place a Supreme Court ruling and federal law that make any attack that might come on same-sex marriage, whether from the executive branch or elsewhere, tougher to make. Two major factors, however, have LGBTQ advocates concerned. The first is the conservative makeup of the Supreme Court. Same-sex marriage is protected in part by the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court decision. Previously, Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito openly expressed that theyd like to revisit the 2015 Obergefell decision which established a federal right to marriage equality.The other members of the Court havent attacked Obergefell in their writings, as Thomas and Alito have, and its not clear if theres a court majority to overturn the decision. However, there is always the possibility that Trump could expand the Courts conservative majority during his next term and if (a decently sized if, given their ages) he were able to replace some of the Courts liberal justices, he could elevate more judges in line with Thomas and Alito.The second is that Trumps allies from the religious right could lobby him to take a stance against same-sex marriage. Again, Trump himself has not explicitly targeted same-sex marriage, and has said the decision was settled. But other prominent Republicans, including those in his orbit like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), have said they felt Obergefell was wrongly decided. Some prominent conservative policy documents meant to influence the next Trump administration have also alluded to same-sex marriages in negative ways. For instance, the Heritage Foundations conservative policy blueprint Project 2025 claims in a chapter with ideas for the Department of Health and Human Services that social science reports that assess the objective outcomes for children raised in homes aside from a heterosexual, intact marriage are clear: All other family forms involve higher levels of instability. (Though Project 2025 cited some studies to support this claim, many refute it.)That said, LGBTQ advocates note that marriage equality seems less likely to be a chief target of the president-elect in the near term. I think theres reason for people to be watching how things unfold, [but also] not assuming that eliminating the freedom to marry is a top agenda item for the incoming administration, says Pizer. What protections does same-sex marriage have?Same-sex marriage was established by Obergefell, and Congress passed additional (though limited) protections for it in 2022.In order for same-sex marriage to get rolled back during the Trump administration, the Supreme Court and Congress would have to act. Again, while some prominent Republicans have made their opposition to same-sex marriage clear, there does not appear to be overwhelming GOP demand that the practice be outlawed. However, if it were to be banned, heres what would have to happen. First, the Supreme Court would have to overturn Obergefell. It isnt yet evident that a sufficient number of justices want to reverse this decision, though notably most of the dissenting voices in that case are still on the Court, while most of the majority voices are gone. (As Voxs Ian Millhiser has reported, it appears Justice Neil Gorsuch could side with Alito and Thomas on overturning the ruling if given the chance, but its less certain where the other conservative justices fall.)If the Court did overturn Obergefell, the legality of same-sex marriage would fall to the states, with each state making its own policy. People in 32 states where there are still same-sex marriage bans on the books could lose the right to marry, and be forced to travel somewhere else to do so. To further undo protections for same-sex marriage, the courts or Congressional Republicans would also have to repeal 2022s Respect for Marriage Act. That law requires all states to recognize same-sex marriages, though it does not require all states to issue marriage licenses. It also repeals the Defense of Marriage Act, which previously stated that all marriages are between a man and a woman, and mandates federal recognition of same-sex marriage. If Obergefell was overturned, the Respect for Marriage Act would guarantee that someone who marries in a state that allows same-sex marriage, like California, could move to a state that has a ban in place, like Arkansas, and still have their marriage be legally recognized. It would not require states like Arkansas to marry same-sex couples in the state, however. There are ways the Respect for Marriage Act could be struck down too, though theyre unlikely. The law could be repealed by Congress, for example, which will be narrowly controlled by Republicans. That seems less probable because of the Republican support it received when it passed in 2022, and because the legislation would require 60 votes in the Senate, where the GOP majority is slim. The law could also be challenged in court by states arguing that Congress overstepped its authority in telling them how to handle marriages, though its also not clear if that would be successful. The death of Obergefell and the Respect for Marriage Act represent the worst-case scenarios for marriage equality. Its possible that both could advance in the next four years. But at the moment, neither appears to be a primary aim for the incoming administration. Youve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More:

Inside this storyThe storm damage in western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene swept through on September 27 was immense. More than 1,000 bridges, some 5,000 miles of state-owned roads, 160 water and sewage systems, and an estimated 126,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. At least 100 people were killed, and about 20 more were still missing as of mid-October. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper estimated it would cost a record-breaking $53 billion to repair damage and cover all recovery needs. Its little surprise that in the weeks after the storm, grassroots response efforts inundated the region. Driving south from Bakersville into Asheville, nearly every church, grocery store, gas station, firehouse, and strip mall parking lot had been converted to some sort of supply distribution point or relief hub. Schools, agricultural centers, and abandoned gyms served as American Red Cross shelters housing nearly 1,000 people who lost their homes. Hand-painted signs pointing the way to a hot meal or free supplies dotted the roads. Droves of volunteers descended on downed trees with chainsaws, hacking a path through to isolated mountain communities and houses. With so many roadways damaged or simply washed away, nurses, paramedics, and other volunteers with medical training mounted ATVs to conduct welfare checks. Others loaded up mules and walked supplies into the mountains. Elsewhere, volunteers packed into neighborhoods to muck out homes removing water-damaged items, gutting houses down to their studs, and disinfecting remaining surfaces to prevent mold and help the house dry out before it could be rebuilt. Nonprofit organizations such as Operation Airdrop and individuals with military experience flew around in privately owned helicopters conducting rescue operations and airdropping supplies to people cut off from toppled roadways. In the first two weeks after Hurricane Helene, there was a constant whir of helicopters flying overhead. Its been like a war zone, a Swannanoa resident told Vox.But amid this deluge of goodwill and generosity pouring into western North Carolina, something sinister was also brewing: misinformation and outright false accusations about federal relief efforts, particularly about the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).Volunteers organize clothing, food, and other donated supplies at a gas station in October in Swannanoa, North Carolina.One Facebook post claimed the Biden administration reallocated some $1 billion in funds from disaster relief to house illegal immigrants, leaving FEMA underfunded to help hurricane relief and response efforts. Another rumor was that FEMA was limiting financial assistance for disaster survivors to $750 and that recipients would eventually have to repay those funds or risk losing their homes. Both claims were false, according to FEMA. The initial payout was meant to allow survivors to cover any urgent needs such as prescription medicine they lost during the storm, said Elizabeth Zimmerman, a former director of disaster operations at FEMA and now a senior executive advisor at IEM, an emergency management company.How I reported thisI live on the eastern coast of North Carolina, so when I heard about the news of the devastation in the western part of the state, I knew that I wanted to cover the community response there.Criticism over FEMAs slow response had been flying around on social media, and volunteers were reporting that locals were hesitant to come forward to receive aid. So I drove the six hours west to meet with residents, local politicians, first responders, and volunteers to hear about their experiences during and after the storm.That money is not going to be taken back from anybody, Zimmerman said. It is not a loan. And thats just the beginning. Even just two weeks after the hurricane blew through, some homeowners told Vox they had already been promised additional assistance, in the realm of $40,000, to help rebuild their homes. This misinformation has occasionally hindered relief efforts.During the weekend of October 12, there was a rumor among residents and FEMA staff that armed militias were threatening FEMA staff, which led the agency to briefly pause some of its response activities. The Rutherford County Sheriffs Office later arrested and charged a man who made public comments about harming FEMA employees. Late in October, local police in Tennessee also reported they were investigating reports of armed groups who were harassing hurricane relief workers. Beyond the outright false statements swirling on social media, much of the confusion and criticism comes down to a misunderstanding of how disaster response works, according to Brock Long, a former head of FEMA who now serves as the executive chair at Hagerty Consulting, an emergency management consulting firm. Many erroneously believe that FEMA is ultimately responsible for all relief and recovery efforts. People think its just FEMA comes in and they take over, Zimmerman said. They do not take over. They cannot take over.Even in a disaster the scale of Hurricane Helene, FEMA plays only a small role in the much larger recovery and relief effort. Its a team sport, Long said, and there are four major players: local county and state governments, the federal government, the private sector, and most importantly, the bedrock of disaster response volunteers. Misinformation in the wake of a natural disaster is nothing new, but prolonged power and cell service outages have made it worse. The erosion of local media and reliance on unverified information on social media has also exacerbated the misinformation crisis; if unchecked, it will continue to complicate future disaster response efforts. Understanding how disaster response really works and empowering volunteers and communities to be more prepared for these catastrophes will help us be more resilient in the face of threats.How disaster response worksLocal county and state governments are ultimately responsible for managing disaster recovery and relief efforts. However, in many cases and particularly in remote places like rural western North Carolina there are limited financial and human resources for disaster response, and counties can quickly become overwhelmed. An affected county government can reach out to neighboring counties for additional resources, be it manpower or equipment. If that influx of additional support is not sufficient, county governments can then ask the state government for assistance. If the resources available at the state level are still not enough to meet the needs of disaster-affected communities, the governor can then request assistance from FEMA. The FEMA administrator then gets in touch with the National Security Council at the White House to request that the president declare an emergency or major disaster declaration. This process can all happen within days or even hours. In the case of Hurricane Helene, the Biden administration approved an emergency declaration for North Carolina on September 26, the same day Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida. Once an emergency declaration has been approved, it unlocks a huge influx of federal funds. FEMA has doled out more than $200 million to individuals and households for recovery, according to a FEMA spokesperson. The US Department of Transportation has also allocated $100 million to rebuild bridges and roads in the state. Cooper has also proposed to provide an additional $3.9 billion in state funds for recovery efforts. In addition to federal funds, an emergency authorization also allows FEMA to tap into an entire family of federal agencies, including the National Guard, Army Corps of Engineers, and the Departments of Energy, Education, and Transportation, among others. All federal agencies involved in disaster response, alongside representatives from major volunteer organizations such as the American Red Cross, convene in the National Response Coordination Center at FEMAs headquarters in Washington, with additional coordination at regional headquarters and disaster-affected states. At each location, staff and volunteers work to identify community needs, recruit personnel, procure critical equipment and material items, and coordinate the overall response.The Maryland National Guard delivers supplies to Spruce Pine, North Carolina.What this all means is that FEMA plays more of a high-level management and coordinator role that supports the state. It is not, as it is often believed to be and blamed when it fails to be, the final authority on disaster response. The way that disaster [response] works is that theyre typically locally executed, state managed, and federally supported, Long said. But local, state, and federal governments are still just one of four major groups that help communities recover from disasters. Another key player is the private sector: the power, water, and communications companies, private health care facilities, and other businesses that own and operate local infrastructure that might need to be repaired and reopened following a disaster. About 1 million people in North Carolina lost power immediately after Hurricane Helene. At the time of writing, nearly 2,000 people in the state were still without power and more than 150,000 people were either without water or remain under boil-water mandates. In some of the hardest to reach areas, volunteer and relief workers told me power may not be restored until January. While FEMA often takes the heat when these services arent rapidly restored, the agency does not actually have any jurisdiction over this work, Long said. For all the importance of local, state, and federal government agencies and private sector companies in disaster response, volunteers, churches, and community-based groups are even more vital.The most important tool in the toolbox when it comes to response and recovery are the volunteer organizations active in disaster, Long said. The people who make up disaster responseIn the two weeks following Hurricane Helene, there was such an influx of food, water, and other supplies to western North Carolina that churches and volunteer groups on the ground were running out of storage space and were turning away donations. It demonstrated how, despite all the focus on the federal government, volunteers are the bedrock of disaster relief. They can quickly amass huge amounts of supplies and deploy resources to any area of the country long before state and federal governments have completed their bureaucratic processes to mobilize a response. Related:A lot of times, state and local and federal governments have to adhere to big, bulky laws, policies, and concepts, but the volunteer organizations active in disaster do not, Long said. And so a lot of times the most effective use of the volunteer organizations is pointing them in the right direction of the citizens needs that cannot be fulfilled by the federal government.Most major volunteer groups that help with disaster recovery and response are part of a formal coalition, the Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD). There is a national VOAD as well as associations for each US state and territory. While disaster relief and recovery efforts will always be a bit of organized chaos with well-meaning individuals and groups pouring in from around the country, these coalitions help to coordinate volunteer activities; ensure that funds, equipment, and people are evenly distributed across a disaster area; and reduce the duplication of efforts. Perhaps more importantly, many volunteers and organizations that are leading relief efforts are from affected areas, which is crucial for the kind of long-term recovery and rebuilding needed after a catastrophe of this magnitude. Immediately after a major disaster like Helene, there is a huge influx of donations and volunteers, but after a few months, the disaster fades from news headlines. Donations dwindle, while volunteers from the opposite side of the country stop coming or divert to another disaster. But local volunteers stay for the months or even years that it takes to rebuild their communities. In the parking lot of First Baptist Church in Swannanoa, on the eastern outskirts of Asheville, Dana Williams, 44, a neonatal ICU nurse from nearby Henderson County, has been volunteering at a makeshift medical clinic providing care to locals. She arrived four days after the hurricane hit, after being trapped in her home by downed trees. Im a nurse at heart. Im a fixer. I want to help always. And so the first couple of days after the storm, we were stuck at the house. I felt so useless, Williams said. For years, whenever there would be a major disaster somewhere, I would wish I could go and help those people. Never in a million years did I think it would happen in my own backyard.When Williams arrived at the makeshift clinic, other nurses had set out a folding table; with little more than a box full of blood pressure cuffs and ibuprofen, they started providing any kind of care they could. Initially, it was just very grassroots, Williams said. I mean, we started here and we were like, Were just going to see what people need and what we can do. Were hands; were bodies. We have medical training.At first, the nurses mostly provided first aid and trauma care, treating wounds and respiratory infections and rashes from the dirt and mud that pervaded the entire town after the storm. The volunteers worked to replace prescription medications that had been lost during the storm and to make sure that people who depended on oxygen had fresh tanks. The nurses also provided some basic medical education, making sure that everyone in the area, long accustomed to being able to drink from their local creek, knew that the water was now contaminated because of the flooding. Over time, the group of volunteers also started focusing on treating people with chronic diseases, while working toward ensuring that people had access to specialty health care services disrupted by the storm, such as chemotherapy. The nurses also connected with the American Red Cross and other larger organizations and started procuring and distributing medical supplies across the region. Donations poured in, and Williams has been able to procure even the most niche medical devices. Neonatal ICU nurse Dana Williams has been volunteering at a makeshift medical clinic at a church on the eastern outskirts of Asheville providing care to local residents.Williams is committed to volunteering until all needs are met. She is storing extra medical supplies in her home garage. Recently, she started working toward building a similar volunteer clinic in Bat Cave, a rural area hard hit by the hurricane that has been almost completely cut off from aid. And while Williams is committed, she recognizes that churches and businesses that have loaned out their buildings and parking lots for relief efforts will at some point want to return to business as usual. They have to get back to being the businesses that they are to survive now, Williams said. But I think if it becomes necessary, as time goes on, I think people are gonna be like, Okay, we need to do this for this community Mountain people are a different breed, and when the call goes out in two months, they will all show up again, just like this. So I dont have any concerns that anybodys going to be left behind. I think that everybody who has been involved to this point, we know that this is not a days or weeks endeavor.Even before the storm, there was a lack of medical care and a shortage of health care workers across western North Carolina. All 16 counties that make up the region had a shortage of primary care health workers, eight had no practicing psychiatrist, and seven had no OB-GYNs, according to the Mountain Area Health Education Center, a nonprofit regional medical provider. Lenore Ellis, program director at the Center for Rural Health Innovation, told me almost everyone in need of specialized services had to travel to Asheville or into Tennessee. Many schools relied on telehealth services to help kids see a provider. Williams hopes that hurricane relief efforts will eventually lead to long-term improvements in local health care. I didnt realize what the community needs really were because its just a whole different perspective when you spend your career inside the walls of the hospital, she said. Swannanoa and other small towns nestled in the Appalachian Mountains need more primary care and general practitioners but also affordable access to specialists such as oncologists. Free care would be wonderful because a lot of these people are going to need free care for a long time, and that wasnt really accessible here before, she said.Learning how to respond better to the next disasterAriel Morris, 26, had only lived in Beacon Village, a Swannanoa neighborhood, for about three months before the hurricane blew in. Morris recalled that in the early morning hours of September 27, as Helene descended on the area, there was at first just a lot of rain and wind, like any other bad storm coming through. But then, we got a little bit too much, and then the Montreat Dam and the Bee Tree Dam both let out at the exact same time at the height of the storm, Morris recalled. There are about 20 homes in the Beacon Village neighborhood. Half of them, including the house where Morris was staying with her mom, sat on a slight elevation. When the dams overflowed, the other half of the neighborhood flooded within minutes. Around 7 am that day, Morris and some of her neighbors heard people screaming for help. When they looked down toward the yelling, they saw their neighbors standing on their roofs or clutching their chimneys as their cars and sheds rushed by them. Morriss neighbor, John Arndt, a recreational kayaker from Oregon, grabbed some rope and jumped in one of the kayaks stored outside his house and paddled out to people and pulled them toward an island of higher ground where Morris and other neighbors had gathered. Morris told her mom to keep calling 911 until someone answered but she couldnt get through or the operator hung up on her. Finally, someone answered only to say, Were flooded with calls. Please stop calling.Another neighbor pulled off his insulin pump, jumped barefoot into one of Arndts other kayaks without even a lifejacket, and also started rescuing people, sometimes hacking through roofs to free people trapped in their attic. In all, Arndt and his neighbor rescued 15 people, 10 pets, and a bearded dragon, Morris said. One elderly neighbor couldnt hang on to the kayak long enough to be pulled out of the floodwaters so Arndt and his neighbor wrapped her in a tarp and blankets and waited for help to arrive, but it wasnt until around 6 pm that firefighters from Wilmington, on the eastern coast of North Carolina, arrived and took over the rescue operations.As a kayaker, Arndt had some training to rescue people from whitewater rivers, not necessarily from massive flooding. Ive been involved in rescues kayaking, but you dont have cars and tires floating past you and power lines and alarms going off and a bunch of different people yelling, Arndt said. Local residents who were renting a home that was flooded during Hurricane Helene survey the damage in their front yard in October 2024.Locals and communities are the last major players in disaster response, according to Long, but not all communities are well-equipped to respond when disaster strikes. National surveys have revealed that about 50 percent of Americans know how to do CPR, but only around 20 percent are up to date with the training. A FEMA survey reported that only 51 percent of Americans feel prepared for a disaster. Why do we allow people to graduate from some of the most prestigious universities in the state of North Carolina and still not know how to do CPR or invest $1 toward retirement or become financially resilient? Long asked. Weve got to get citizens to realize that in any situation, you are the true first responder, until the official first responder arrives, and theres always a time gap. Are you trained for the first five to six minutes of any emergency situation in your household or out in public? he added.There is also a nationwide shortage of emergency medical technicians, an ongoing problem that needs to be addressed. But poorly prepared civilians and a lack of first responders are only two challenges. All the key players involved in disaster response need to reform and improve. I think down the road, we really need to have a conversation around what are the core capabilities that should exist at the local, state, and federal levels, Long said. How do we better utilize the resources of nonprofits? How do we increase tangible skills within our citizenry? It starts with neighbor helping neighbor all the way to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.According to Long, one way to strengthen community-level disaster response is for Congress to start incentivizing local jurisdictions and states for prioritizing preparedness, for instance by passing and enforcing strong building codes, having disaster-cognizant land-use plans, and not building infrastructure on vulnerable land. The North Carolina government has not fully implemented updated building codes which require better flood and wind protection in homes and that has caused the state to lose out on some $70 million in disaster preparedness funds from FEMA.Some nonprofit disaster response organizations offer various types of training for civilians, but there is no formal state or federal programming or earmarked funding for these efforts.Until individuals, communities, local and state governments, federal agencies, and private companies come together to strengthen disaster preparedness, then response efforts will be lacking, and that will cost lives. Storms are not the only disasters we face. We have to be able to build dynamic capability at all levels to be able to handle different disasters, from cyberattacks to hurricanes, Long said. Youve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More: