The News

Publisher Atlus and developer Studio Zero have released a new trailer for the upcoming fantasy RPG, Metaphor: ReFantazio, and it features plenty of new gameplay. It also reveals Metaphor: ReFantazio will hit PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on October 11. 

Dubbed “The King’s Trial,” this new trailer sets up a bit of the Metaphor: ReFantazio’s world more, highlighting a tournament for the king’s throne at the center of the narrative. It seems our protagonist and the friends and allies they encounter along the way are vying for a crown that others are also after. In order to claim it, players must complete trials across the lands, proving their worth. 

Check it out for yourself in the Metaphor: ReFantazio gameplay trailer below: 

As you can see, Metaphor: ReFantazio continues to look excellent, with its Persona inspirations on full display. That’s not surprising, though, considering Studio Zero is composed of various leads from Atlus’ popular Persona series, including the latest in the franchise, Persona 5. 

If you’ve played Persona 5 Royal, or even the recently released Persona 3 Reload, then you know we’re likely in for a treat when it comes to a few things: combat, narrative, and art. And if this new look at the game’s menu are any indication, the Persona team has been cooking something special for Metaphor: ReFantazio. 

The trailer also reveals Metaphor: ReFantazio will get a special Collector’s Edition for $149.99. The game’s standard release will cost $69.99.

Here’s what the Collector’s Edition looks like: 

Metaphor: ReFantazio hits PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on October 11, 2024. 

For more about the game, watch the Metaphor: ReFantazio reveal trailer. Read Game Informer’s Persona 5 Royal review, and then read Game Informer’s Persona 5 Tactica review after that. 

A group of parents are suing an Ohio school district after a female student allegedly suffered ‘severe emotional trauma’ by teachers accused of pressuring her to identify as male.

The parents filed a lawsuit against Hilliard City Schools in January last year in a bid to prohibit educators from discussing sexual matters with students. The suit also aimed to ban teachers from wearing badges issuing support of LGBTQ students.

In an amended suit filed this month, the parents accused school officials of forcing a female student to adopt ‘a new name and identity as the opposite sex’.

School officials ‘treated the child as the opposite sex’ without parental consent after allegedly ‘diagnosing’ the girl with gender dysphoria, according to the complaint obtained by DailyMail.com.

Her parents were not privy to the district’s diagnosis and, according to the suit, the student’s ‘condition spiraled out of control’ after the family was made aware of the situation when a postcard using the child’s male name and pronouns arrived at the home.

The parents allege the district’s actions caused the student to take self-harming actions and resulted in a suicide attempt at school, the filing claims. 

A group of parents filed a lawsuit against Hilliard City Schools in January last year in a bid to prohibit educators from discussing sexual matters with students. They have since filed an amendment to the complaint, alleging a female student allegedly suffered ‘severe emotional trauma’ by teachers accused of pressuring her to identify as male. Pictured is the school’s board in 2022

In the complaint, which lists the school board and its members as defendants, the parents accused school officials of deceiving them about the girl’s alleged-condition.

They claim that although they referred to the student using their ‘opposite-sex name’ while in school, teachers used pronounced consistent with their ‘biological sex’ in the presence of the parents.

‘The district’s acts were reckless because district officials are not qualified – and are specifically denied entitlement to – make diagnoses and treatment decisions for somebody else’s child,’ the amended complaint filed on April 1 states.

The parents cited the student’s experience as one of several reasons they are concerned the district is ‘hiding their child’s gender dysphoria from them’.

The suit questions if school officials would ‘affirmatively deceive parents’ if the guardians are not identified as a ‘safe person’ or supporter of the LGBTQ community.

‘”Support” for ‘[LGBTQ+] youth or issues’ is a matter of personal opinion,’ the parents state. ‘Thus, a district official’s opinion of whether a parent is a “safe person” could arise from judgments related to a parent’s constitutionally-protected practices, such as practicing certain religions, expressing certain political views.’ 

President of the school board Brian Perry

VP Kara Crowley of the school board and member Zach Vorst

The district, in a response to the compliant filed on Monday, denied nearly all of the allegations and said the ‘alleged damages, if any, were proximately caused by the sole or contributory or comparative negligence of the plaintiffs.’

Hilliard City Schools stated the district ‘acted reasonably, in good faith, upon advice of counsel, in accordance with law and/or in the exercise of their statutory duties and responsibilities,’ according to the filing. 

The district’s response also said the claim made by the parents is outside the statute of limitations.

The parents’ amended claim does not identify when the alleged suicide attempt occurred of what school the student attended. 

It does state, however, that through ‘professional therapy and counseling’ it was determined that the student’s ‘problems were not gender dysphoria.’

The suit also aimed to ban teachers from wearing badges issuing support of LGBTQ students

Hilliard City Schools, in a statement to NBC 4, said the substance of the complaint remains the same as the version originally filed in January 2023.

The district reiterated its position on the suit has not changed and that its motion to dismiss remains applicable. The district is still waiting for a ruling on the motion.

At the time of the original filing, the district said the lawsuit contained ‘thread-bare assertions, innuendo, rumor, and spurious legal conclusions’. 

Superintendent David Stewart added it was ‘filled with misstatements of fact and mischaracterizations.’

DailyMail.com has approached the district and school board for comment. 

For confidential help or support, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline 

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — A local police department has a new team member to offer emotional support to the community.

Meet Griffin. He’s a therapy K-9 at the University of South Dakota. He’s a seven-month-old corgi. Standing at 11 inches tall and weighing in at 19 pounds, he’s ready to give his love and support to those who need it.

More than 70 donors contributed $1,700 dollars to USD’s police department, so they could start this program.

Not only will Griffin report for duty at various outreach events, he’ll also be on standby to offer support to victims of crime as they navigate the legal process.

Rex Heuermann’s lawyer is attempting to shift the blame for the Gilgo Beach murders on to the corrupt former police chief who was previously in charge of the case. 

Speaking outside the Long Island courthouse where his accused serial killer client had a hearing Wednesday morning, attorney Michael Brown said disgraced PC James Burke is ‘involved’ in the sordid affair. 

‘We received approximately almost 3,000 leads on this case,’ he told reporters outside Suffolk County Supreme Court in Riverhead. 

‘There were numerous leads that came into the Suffolk County Police Department, suggesting that Chief Burke was involved in this.’ 

Burke allegedly led a double life involving crack, cross-dressing and relationships with prostitutes. He is serving jail time after being convicted of several offences including assault, public lewdness and unlawful solicitation after flashing in a park. 

Heuermann, 60, has spent most of his days since his July 2023 arrest in a small windowless cell at the Riverhead Jail as he awaits trial. (Pictured: Heuermann in court Wednesday)

Pictured: Former Suffolk County police chief James Burke (center) is escorted to a vehicle by FBI personnel outside the FBI office in Melville, New York on December 9, 2015

His ex-wife, Asa Ellerup (pictured) was also spotted pulling up in a black Mercedes outside the Long Island courthouse

Speaking about the former cop’s involvement with the Gilgo Beach murders case, Brown said: ‘Chief Burke would not let the FBI in to the investigation back then, with their expertise.

‘It’s problematic for us that the chief of police who was running the investigation had this very checkered past and was involved in criminal activity.

‘He recently served a four or four-and-a-half year prison sentence in the federal system.

‘Just recently he was arrested on some allegation of being very deviant sexually. We want to see those records.’

Brown’s comments came after his client, Heuermann, appeared in court wearing a black suit, white shirt and navy blue tie on Wednesday morning. 

He listened intently to the hearing, which centered around troves of potential evidence seized from various devices related to the case. 

The 60-year-old father-of-two is charged with murdering four female sex workers whose bodies were found buried on a remote stretch of Gilgo Beach more than 10 years ago. 

His ex-wife, Asa Ellerup, was also spotted pulling up in a black Mercedes outside the Long Island courthouse. 

The 60-year-old father-of-two is charged with murdering four female sex workers whose bodies were found on Gilgo Beach more than 10 years ago

Alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex A. Heuermann, right, appears in Judge Tim Mazzei’s courtroom next to his attorney Michael Brown at Suffolk County Court in Riverhead on Wednesday

Asa Ellerup, left, the estranged wife of Long Island serial killing suspect Rex Heuermann, arrives at court in Riverhead, N.Y. on Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Ellerup, left, who also shares two children with Heuermann, filed for divorce six days after he was charged with the first three murders

Speaking outside the Long Island courthouse where his accused serial killer client had a hearing Wednesday morning, attorney Michael Brown said disgraced PC James Burke (pictured in August 2023) is ‘involved’ in the case

It comes just weeks after she claimed her partner of 27 years is ‘not capable’ of murdering the four women. Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to the charges. 

Ellerup, who also shares two children with Heuermann, filed for divorce six days after he was charged with the first three murders. 

But she still visits him in jail because she believes he ‘deserves the benefit of the doubt’ and attends his hearings with a documentary camera crew. 

Ellerup reportedly signed a controversial seven-figure deal with NBC Universal, Texas Crew Productions and G-Unit to feature in a series about the case. 

During Wednesday’s hearing, attorneys discussed troves of potential evidence held on hundreds of devices. The judge said he wanted the discovery phase of the case to by completed by July. 

Suffolk DA Ray Tierney said prosecutors have ‘a tremendous amount of material’ to contend with.

‘When you are talking about terabytes upon terabytes upon terabytes on information – it doesn’t happen overnight,’ he told reporters outside court.  

Heuermann last appeared in court early February for an update on the progress of his case, during which he stayed silent.

He was brought into a silent Suffolk County Courthouse in Riverhead, Long Island, New York, for a procedural hearing not attended by Ellerup. 

It marked the first time the architect had appeared in court since January 16, when he pleaded not guilty to killing Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, in 2007.

Pictured: Asa Ellerup in court on Wednesday ahead of Heuermann’s latest hearing 

The alleged victims known as the ‘Gilgo four’ – Maureen Brainard-Barnes; Amber Lynn Costello, 27; Megan Waterman, 22; and Melissa Barthelemy, 24

Heuermann was earlier charged with three counts of first-degree murder over the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy in 2009, and Megan Waterman and Amber Lynn Costello in 2010. 

He has spent most of his days since his July 2023 arrest in a small windowless cell at the Riverhead Jail as he awaits trial. 

His attorney earlier revealed to DailyMail.com that the accused murderer was still being held in solitary confinement and was ‘lonely and depressed’. 

Officials at the high-security New York prison said he has been isolated because he would otherwise be a ‘major target’ for inmates.

‘We have very good information that he would be a target of violence if he was not in a secure location,’ Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon Jr. told Newsday previously. 

‘There was an individual that did say if he was able to get into close contact with him, ‘I’m going to do something.’ 

Alleged victims Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, Melissa Barthelemy, 24, Megan Waterman, 22, and Amber Lynn Costello, 27 went missing between 2007 and 2010.

They were all sex workers who advertised their services on Craigslist and Backstory The women were found tied up in burlap sacks within a few miles of each other.  

Long Island architect Heuermann was arrested outside his Manhattan office last year after DNA evidence linked him to their disappearances.