Sisters of arrested parenting advice YouTuber ‘did as much as we could’ to protect malnourished children
Two sisters of a former YouTuber who gave online parenting advice said they “did as much as they could” to protect her children before she was arrested on suspicion of aggravated child abuse.
Ruby Franke, whose now-defunct 8 Passengers channel followed her family, was arrested on Wednesday in Utah and taken into custody.
Franke’s 12-year-old son had climbed out of a window in the city of Ivins and ran to a neighbour’s house on Wednesday morning before asking for food and water, according to an affidavit filed by an officer with the Santa Clara-Ivins Public Safety Department.
According to the document, the neighbour saw duct tape on the boy’s ankles and wrists and called law enforcement.
The boy was taken to a hospital, where he was put on a medical hold “due to his deep lacerations from being tied up with rope and from his malnourishment,” arrest records show.
Franke’s 10-year-old daughter was later found malnourished and was also taken to the hospital, officers said. Two other of Franke’s children were in the custody of child protection services, the affidavit said.
Franke was arrested alongside her business partner and collaborator, Jodi Hildebrandt, who is the founder of the controversial life counselling organisation ConneXions Classroom. The two women create advice videos that critics say promote a harsh style of parenting.
‘We did as much as we could’
After her arrest, Franke’s sisters have said they are “all on the same page” about their sibling and are glad that the children are now safe.
In a now-deleted YouTube video titled ‘My statement on my sister Ruby Franke’, Bonnie Hoellein, who is also a social media personality, said “we all did as much as we could, legally,” when speaking about protecting her niece and nephews.
“For the last three years, we have truly clung on to each other and offering support to one another, and I don’t think any of us could’ve seen this coming.
“I know that timing is everything, and I know that they will be taken care of. I know the kids will be OK and that our family will be OK.”
The day before Ms Hoellein posted on YouTube, Ellie Mecham, another of Franke’s sisters, said in a statement that they had done “everything we could to try and make sure the kids were safe”.
Posting on Instagram, where she has over 500,000 followers, Ms Mecham said the family had kept quiet on the subject of their sister for the last three years, “for the sake of the children”.
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On Thursday, a judge denied Franke bail after a detective cited “the severity of the injuries of her two kids located in the home,” and told the judge the Department of Child and Family Services had taken four of Franke’s children into custody with the officer yet to speak to two of them.
Ivins, Utah. Pic: AP
Who is Ruby Franke?
Franke and her husband launched their family YouTube channel, 8 Passengers, in early 2015. The channel chronicled the lives of the parents and their six children and had nearly 2.3 million subscribers.
As many family channels on YouTube do, 8 Passengers focused on parenting style, the children’s upbringing and discipline as the kids grew up in Utah. The parents, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (known as the Mormon Church), also shared their children’s home-schooling.
Although the Frankes grew a sizable following, the family became the subject of harsh criticisms in recent years.
This is the most significant statement from the US president in days, though it still keeps everyone guessing.
In a message conveyed through his press secretary, he is giving diplomacy up to two weeks to work.
“Based on the fact that there’s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks,” Karoline Leavitt quoted him as saying.
It is not clear what “whether or not to go” entails.
Israel-Iran conflict: Latest updates
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Trump: Iran ‘weeks away’ from nuclear weapon
We know that he has been given a spectrum of different military options by his generals and we know that the Israelis are pressuring him to use American B2 bombers with their bunker-busting bombs to destroy Iran’s nuclear facility at Fodow.
The Israelis are encouraging no delay. But against that, he is weighing up many risks, both military and political.
Militarily, it is not clear how successful a bunker-busting strike on Fordow would be.
Experts have suggested it would require several of the massive bombs, which have never been used in combat before, to be dropped on the site.
It is not as simple as one clean strike and job done.
Politically, the president is under significant pressure domestically not to get involved in Iran.
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MAGA civil war breaks out over Iran
Within his own MAGA coalition – influencers, politicians and media personalities are lining up in criticism of involvement in the conflict.
One of those leading the criticism, his former chief strategist Steve Bannon, who maintains huge influence, was seen entering the White House on Thursday.
His press secretary reiterated to us that the president always wants to give diplomacy a chance and she confirmed that his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has spoken to the Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi.
Steve Bannon, seen recently at a conservative event in Maryland, is against US involvement in Iran. Pic: AP
European leaders, including the UK foreign secretary David Lammy, who is in Washington, are meeting Mr Araghchi in Geneva on Friday.
The two-week window – assuming it lasts that long – also gives space to better prepare for any strike and mitigate against some of the other risks of US involvement.
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There are 40,000 troops in bases across the Middle East. It takes time to increase security at these bases or to move non-essential personnel out. It also takes time to move strategic military assets into the region.
The USS Nimitz aircraft carrier and its support vessels were redeployed from the Indo-Pacific on Monday. Their last known position was the Strait of Malacca two days ago.
The Nimitz Carrier Group will overlap with the USS Carl Vinson group which was deployed to the Middle East in March.
The potential two-week window also allows for more time for a ‘day after’ plan, given that the Israeli strategy appears to be regime change from within.
Since the Israeli action in Iran began last week, the worst-case scenario of mass casualties in Israel from Iranian attacks has not materialised.
The president is said to be surprised and encouraged by this. “Israel has exceeded a lot of people’s expectations in their abilities,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
The Israeli success, the absence of a mass casualty event in Israel, and the lack of any sustained counterattack by Iranian proxies in the region remove reservations that previous presidents have had about taking on Iran.
That said, sources have told Sky News that the president is determined that the diplomatic solution should be given a chance despite current pessimism over the chances of success.
A critical two weeks ahead.
A SpaceX rocket has exploded before launch – sending a dramatic fireball high into the sky.
Starship 36 was preparing for its 10th test flight at Starbase – SpaceX’s launch site at the southern tip of Texas – when the incident occurred on Wednesday evening.
During take off procedures just after 11pm local time, the rocket exploded into a giant fireball.
The company described the incident as a “major anomaly”.
Starship 36 was preparing for its 10th test flight. Pic: NASASpaceFlight
The test flight failed at Starbase – SpaceX’s launch site. Pic: NASASpaceFlight
In a statement, it added: “A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for.
“Our Starbase team is actively working to safe the test site and the immediate surrounding area in conjunction with local officials.
“There are no hazards to residents in surrounding communities, and we ask that individuals do not attempt to approach the area while safing operations continue.”
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It marks the latest failure for the space flight company, which hopes that Starship will one day be used to ferry people and cargo to Mars.
Last month, a Starship test flight began spinning out of control about 30 minutes after its launch because of fuel leaks – meaning it broke up on re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.
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May: SpaceX rocket spins out of control
That followed explosive past failures in January, where a rocket blew up about eight minutes after take-off, and March, which forced flights in Florida to be temporarily grounded.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in May that despite the rocket failure, the test flight was a “big improvement”.
A day later, he said he wants to send a spacecraft crewed by humanoid robots on a voyage to Mars by the end of 2026.
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