ZAVALLA – An Angelina County home was left with substantial damage after a fire broke out for unknown reasons on Monday morning, officials say. According to the Huntington Volunteer Fire Department, several VFDs were dispatched to assist Zavalla VFD at a structure fire on Kitchen Cemetery Road. The majority of the fire was contained to the attic space, but the home sustained major damage.
The cause of the fire is unknown to fire officials at this time, Huntington VFD said. No injuries were reported and several valuable items were saved.
MARSHALL — An educational aide has been terminated from Marshall ISD after being arrested for allegedly swinging a student by her feet last week. The Marshall ISD Police Department was made aware of an incident involving former educational aide Rachel Kirspel and a student at the Marshall Early Child Hood Center on May 14.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by our news partner KETK, Kirspel had hung a 5-year-old student upside down by her feet and “had swung her side to side and then up and down,” hitting her head. Kirspel told investigators that she was trying to help get the kids on their mats for nap time but one student did not and instead was “playing around.” Kirspel put the student over her shoulder but when that didn’t work, she hung her upside down.
The student told investigators that Kirspel had pulled her nap mat from underneath her and flipped her over before picking her up by her feet, swinging her, and calling her “ugly.” Continue reading Police probe injury to a child
CHEROKEE COUNTY – A woman has been arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly shooting her boyfriend twice in the head near Alto on Monday. According to our news partner KETK , Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched to a residence in rural Alto at around 7 p.m. Sheriff Brent Dickson said the shooting was initially reported as an accident.
33-year-old Alanna Bilbo, and her boyfriend were in an argument about their relationship when her boyfriend started “yelling at her to shoot him,” the affidavit said. Bilbo then reportedly shot him between the eyes with a .22 caliber revolver and then again in the back of the neck after he turned to the left. After being flown to a Tyler hospital, the victim remains in stable condition as of Tuesday morning, Dickson said.
Bilbo was arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, family violence and is being held at the Cherokee County Jail with a $150,000 bond.
Biblo and her boyfriend were allegedly using narcotics, Dickson told KETK News.
Exterior view of Nissan Stadium and downtown Nashville on December 24, 2023. (Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
(NASHVILLE) -- Super Bowl LXIV is heading to Music City.
Nashville, Tennessee, will host the final game of the 2029-2030 NFL season at the new Nissan Stadium, the National Football League announced Tuesday.
This marks the first time Nashville will play host to the big game, where it will welcome football fans from far and wide for the season finale.
"The 2019 NFL Draft in Nashville was one of the greatest fan events in our history,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.
"Super Bowl LXIV at the new stadium is the next step in this remarkable football journey," he continued. "We can’t wait to put on an unforgettable show in 2030.”
He also thanked the Tennessee Titans and their controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk for hosting the Super Bowl.
The 2019 draft held in Nashville brought in 600,000 fans.
"We are thrilled that the new Nissan Stadium will host Nashville’s first Super Bowl in 2030,” Strunk said in a statement. "This is an exciting moment for our city and our entire state. We cannot wait for our community to experience an event of this magnitude and for the world to see the energy, hospitality, and culture that make our city so special on a global stage."
The announcement was made at the NFL Spring League meeting taking place in Orlando and was the result of a "vote by full ownership."
Nissan Stadium is scheduled to open in 2027.
The final steel beam of the stadium was raised in November 2025 and commemorated in a ceremony attended by Goodell.
Los Angeles, Atlanta and Las Vegas will also host future Super Bowls.
NEW YORK (AP) — The bond market is usually a quiet corner of Wall Street, one where moves get measured in hundredths of a percentage point. But the warning signals it sends can be powerful enough to drag stock markets up and down and in the past have even convinced President Donald Trump and other world leaders to back off some of their most extreme actions.
It’s making noise again.
Bond markets around the world have seen yields climb to heights not reached in years and, in some cases, decades. Atop the litany of reasons for that is oil prices and whether they will stay high because of the war with Iran. Worries about big and growing debts for the U.S. government and others are also influencing bond markets.
The rising yields are putting downward pressure on stock markets after they rocketed to records on excitement about big corporate profits and the promise of artificial-intelligence technology. They’re also dragging on economies around the world. Here’s a look at what’s going on, and how things got this way:
Budding bond yields
In the United States, the centerpiece of the bond market has hit its highest yield in more than a year. The 10-year Treasury yield, which shows how much interest investors want the U.S. government to pay them before they’ll lend it money for a decade, has topped 4.60%. That’s up from less than 4% before the Iran war began in late February, and it’s a notable move for the bond market.
Other kinds of yields are even higher. The 30-year U.S. Treasury yield has jumped well above 5% and is back to where it was in 2007, before the 2008 financial crisis sent yields crashing toward zero worldwide.
In Japan, the yield on the 10-year government bond has climbed back to where it was in the 1990s.
High yields can slow the economy
When the U.S. and other governments have to pay more in interest to borrow money, so do people and companies without the power to repay debts by levying taxes.
For many U.S. households, that’s most easily seen through rates for mortgages. Such rates have climbed with Treasury yields since the Iran war began, and the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage has stubbornly remained above 6%, breaking from its general downdraft before the Iran war.
Higher yields also make it more expensive for U.S. companies to borrow money to build factories and otherwise grow. That’s particularly dangerous at this moment, when big investments in data centers to power AI are a major driver of the U.S. economy’s growth.
If higher yields discourage companies from borrowing to build more data centers, that could undercut the economy when U.S. households say they’re already discouraged about inflation and tariffs. High yields affect all kinds of investments
A slowdown in the economy is one of the reasons higher yields put downward pressure on the stock market. It threatens the amount of profits that companies can make, which is the lifeblood of the stock market.
High yields undercut the stock market in other ways too. When a Treasury is paying more in interest, that can draw investors away from investments that carry more risk. Why pay record prices for U.S. stocks when a U.S. government bond is paying more than before to wait in relative safety?
For Michael Wilson and other strategists at Morgan Stanley, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield crossing above 4.50% was a big moment. Above that level is when rates “could serve as more of a noticeable headwind” for stocks.
Not only do stock prices feel downward pressure from high yields in the bond market, so do gold, bitcoin and many other investments. High yields affect the government
When yields rise, the U.S. and other governments have to pay more in interest to cover their debts. That’s painful when debt loads for governments worldwide are ballooning as they spend far more than they’re bringing in through revenue.
That’s why jumps in yields can scare politicians even more than swings in the stock market.
The bond market helped make Liz Truss the United Kingdom’s shortest-serving prime minister in 2022, when it revolted against her plan to cut taxes and raise spending without a way to pay for them.
Last year, Trump said the bond market may have played a role in his decision to delay many of his proposed tariffs, saying that he noticed investors there “were getting a little queasy.”
And while Trump is famously difficult to predict, bond yields may have jumped enough that “this is the first time we may be close to the point that markets could force Trump’s hand” when it comes resolving the Iran war, according to Tobin Marcus at Wolfe Research. Can’t the Federal Reserve cut interest rates?
Yes, but there’s a catch. The Fed controls just one part of the bond market: the federal funds rate, which covers overnight loans. Otherwise, it’s not the Fed but investors who set yields for 2-, 10- and 30-year Treasurys.
Of course, where the Fed sets the federal funds rate does filter out and affect other areas of the bond market. But investors are also considering where the economy and inflation are heading in coming years as they settle on how much interest they need to be paid to lend the government money.
At the moment, the U.S. economy looks to be solid enough and inflation looks to be a big-enough threat, that they’re asking for higher yields. Reports showed that U.S. employers hired more workers last month than economists expected, while inflation worsened by more than forecast.
Because of such data and worries about oil prices staying high, investors believe the Fed will most likely leave the federal funds rate alone this year. If the Fed does make a move, expectations are more for a hike to rates than a cut, according to data from CME Group. That’s even though Trump keeps calling for lower rates and now has his man in place to lead the Fed as its chair.
If the Fed were to cut interest rates anyway, that could spark fears that its commitment to keeping inflation low is wavering. That in turn could send the 10-year Treasury yield even higher.
LUFKIN – A Lufkin man died Monday night from injuries sustained in wreck on U.S. 59 south, near College Drive. According to a release, 24 -year-old Jose Benitez, was traveling north in the outside lane of U.S. 59 around 5:50 p.m. Monday, approaching the intersection of College Drive when the FedEX truck he was driving struck the rear of an 18-wheeler that was slowing down due to traffic backed up at the traffic light.
Benitez swerved to the right to avoid impact, but the driver’s side of the truck struck the left back side of the tractor-trailer. Benitez was able to get out of the truck and was taken by Lufkin paramedics to a hospital, where he died around 8 p.m. from his injuries.
Lufkin Police continue to investigate the accident, and an autopsy has been ordered.
Ellen Pompeo stars in 'Grey's Anatomy' season 22. (Disney/Anne Marie Fox)
A spinoff of Grey's Anatomy is headed to ABC.
The network has ordered a currently untitled Grey's Anatomy spinoff series set in Texas for the 2026-27 season, ABC Audio has confirmed.
The new series is described as "an edgy drama about a team at a West Texas rural medical center — the last chance for care before miles of nowhere," according to its official logline.
ABC has given the one-hour drama a straight to series order. It is co-created by Shonda Rhimes and Meg Marinis. The pair also executive produce the show alongside Betsy Beers and the original show's star, Ellen Pompeo. The new spinoff series is produced by Shondaland and 20th Television.
“I am incredibly excited to expand the Grey’s Anatomy universe. This opportunity will bring new characters and stories to life that will embody the same heart, emotion and connection audiences have loved from Grey's for more than two decades — all set in my home state of Texas," Marinis said. "I am so grateful to Shonda Rhimes for creating this dynamic world and feel so fortunate that I get to be a part of it.”
Sources tell ABC Audio that Netflix is, and continues to be, the home of Shondaland. This new ABC show gives Marinis and Rhimes the opportunity to continue telling stories from the Grey's Anatomy universe, and to honor the original show's legacy and its loyal fans.
The upcoming TV season marks the second year in a row that ABC is set to increase its scripted slate, which includes the 23rd season of the original Grey's Anatomy.
Health supplies are seen as healthcare workers receive training on administering the Ebola vaccine in a study carried out with the support of the World Health Organization as part of the fight against the Ebola virus in Kampala, Uganda on February 14, 2025. (Nicholas Kajoba/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) -- A deadly Ebola outbreak is continuing to spread in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, with officials on Tuesday saying there were more than 600 confirmed and suspected cases and more than 100 suspected deaths.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, and at least one American in the DRC has tested positive, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Several public health experts told ABC News that while they agree with the CDC that the risk to the U.S. public is currently low, the outbreak is still concerning. They also expressed unease that the U.S. may not be prepared to adequately respond due to cuts to federal health agencies and its withdrawal from the WHO.
The experts noted cases have been found in remote regions of the DRC and Uganda, as well as urban areas, and the outbreak is growing rapidly. They added that although Ebola is a rare disease, it can be highly contagious and can lead to deadly consequences.
"We're worried that if this outbreak is not contained, that it could spread elsewhere on the continent, which could increase the risk of the virus spreading outside of the African continent," Dr. Jennifer Nuzzo, professor of epidemiology and director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University School of Public Health, told ABC News.
"Ebola is not as transmissible a virus as, say, a coronavirus ... and that's why I don't think that this will ever become a pandemic scenario, but it doesn't have to be a pandemic to be a worrisome situation," she added.
Americans affected by outbreak
On Monday, the CDC confirmed that least one American in the DRC contracted Ebola while working in the country.
Dr. Satish K. Pillai, incident manager for the CDC's Ebola response, told reporters that the individual developed symptoms over the weekend and tested positive late Sunday, adding that the patient and six other high-risk contacts were being moved to Germany for care and monitoring.
Serge, an international Christian missions organization, confirmed the patient is American medical missionary Dr. Peter Stafford, a board-certified general surgeon with a specialization in burn care, who was serving patients in the eastern DRC.
Pillai did not say if or when the Americans would be returning to the U.S., but experts say, even if the patient and contacts do, the risk level to the public does not change.
"We safely and effectively have [returned affected Americans home] many times before," Emily Smith, interim chair of the department of global health at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University, told ABC News. "It's something we have good experience in and have always safely and effectively done. So, to me, no concerns about doing that."
Dr. Jesse Goodman, a professor of medicine and infectious disease at Georgetown University and former chief scientist at the Food and Drug Administration, said it is encouraging that when countries such as the DRC have experienced outbreaks in the past, they have not progressed to pandemic status.
"I think the most [the U.S.] would see is the kind of limited transmission that we've seen in the past because this virus almost always appears that transmission is from people who have symptoms," he told ABC News. "I think if there are cases that come to this country, I would expect limited transmission and think we have the capability to contain it."
During the 2014 Ebola outbreak, there were two cases of suspected transmission from a patient with Ebola to nurses caring for him. The CDC has established detailed infection prevention and control procedures for health facilities that suspect they have cases of Ebola.
U.S. may not be as connected to the global health community
Even with possible U.S. capability to contain Ebola domestically, the experts who spoke to ABC News said the U.S. is likely at a disadvantage when it comes to responding to several health crises both at home and abroad due to public health capacity cuts.
Last year, the State Department announced it would be taking over programs previously run by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the agency -- which oversaw foreign aid, disaster relief and international development programs -- would no longer be providing assistance to other countries.
In previous Ebola outbreaks, USAID provided millions of dollars and operational support in response, in addition to helping with preparedness activities in neighboring countries.
Additionally, earlier this year, the U.S. officially completed its withdrawal from the WHO, with federal officials saying at the time there are "plans" in place to work with organizations on surveillance, diagnostics and outbreak response to fill in gaps left by exiting the WHO.
Brown University's Nuzzo said the Ebola outbreak is the kind of situation public health experts warned about as USAID was gutted and the U.S. withdrew from the WHO.
"We warned that the United States would be flying blind, and it would be learning about deadly outbreaks late, and then it would be very difficult for the U.S. to respond because we would have fewer tools to do that,'" Nuzzo said. "The big worry here is that the outbreak wasn't declared until there were more than 200 suspected cases of the virus and that is very unusual. Usually, we get signals of an outbreak much earlier."
George Washington University's Smith concurred, "When we are talking about public health infrastructure and global health infrastructure, we're in a worse place today than we were two years ago."
Nuzzo also noted that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, an agency within the National Institutes of Health, ended research at its high containment lab in Fort Detrick, Maryland, due to "a safety stand-down" last year.
The lab was one of the few federal facilities studying Ebola and other deadly pathogens, which Nuzzo said could have been useful in understanding the virus and developing therapies for the recent outbreak.
"So now that we have Americans potentially exposed to a virus that's deadly, for which we have no vaccines or treatments, you can imagine how beneficial it would be to have a laboratory that can conduct world-class research to make sure we develop cures for this," Nuzzo said. "But we don't have it. So, we're basically behind the curve in being ready for this."
Goodman also said that the U.S. may not be as prepared because Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been actively shifting the department's focus away from infectious disease management and towards chronic illnesses.
During his confirmation hearings last year, Kennedy argued that too much federal funding has been "devoted" to "infectious disease and to drug development and very little to chronic diseases."
Goodman argued that there needs to be a focus on infectious diseases because of the threats they may pose to public health.
"I think the message here is these infectious disease, we may be done with them, but they're not done with us," he said. "There's a reason that so many of us work for so many years to be prepared for whatever the next thing is because we don't know what it is and we just need to be ready."
Kennedy told ABC News on Monday that his agency is addressing the recent hantavirus and Ebola outbreaks.
"Yeah, we're working on it," Kennedy replied when asked if he was worried about the outbreaks. Kennedy did not respond when asked what his message might be to Americans who are concerned about the diseases potentially spreading in the U.S.
On Sunday, the State Department issued "Level 4 -- Do not travel" advisories for Uganda and the DRC due to the outbreak.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the Ebola outbreak "concerning" while speaking to the press on Tuesday.
"The lead is obviously going to be CDC and the World Health Organization, which was a little late to identify this thing unfortunately," he said. "It's a little tough to get to because it's in a rural area. So it's a kind of confined and hard-to-get-to place, in a war-torn country, unfortunately. But we'll have more to announce on that. We're going to lean into that pretty heavy."
Nuzzo said she's worried that the U.S. hasn't built a public health system that acknowledges viral outbreaks as recurring threats, saying the U.S. has been caught off guard with previous incidents such as COVID-19.
"We don't do that with other recurring hazards you know; we don't try to build FEMA in the midst of a hurricane," Nuzzo said.
ABC News' Shannon Kingston contributed to this report.
Town cars and taxis are viewed in the Financial District in the early hours of the morning on June 4, 2015 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) -- A 56-year-old Westchester County woman plunged to her death after stepping out of her car into an open manhole in Midtown Manhattan on Monday, sources told ABC News.
The woman, identified as Donike Gocaj of Briarcliff Manor, New York, parked her car at West 52 Street and Fifth Avenue just before 11:20 p.m. Monday, the sources said.
She stepped out of her Mercedes-Benz SUV and into an uncovered manhole, falling about 10 feet, sources said.
The woman was rushed to New York Presbyterian Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, sources said.
No construction was ongoing, and the manhole cover was discovered about 15 feet away from the opening, according to sources.
Con Edison said it is "actively investigating" the incident.
"We are deeply saddened to confirm that a member of the public has died after falling into an open manhole. We are actively investigating how this occurred. Our thoughts are with the individual's family, and safety remains our top priority," Con Edison said in a statement Tuesday.
cting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche testifies during a Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on May 19, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) -- Vice President JD Vance and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche faced questions Tuesday on the $1.776 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund" to compensate those who allege they were wrongly targeted under the Biden administration.
Both notably declined to rule out potential payouts for individuals who assaulted law enforcement, including the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Vance insisted that requests would be analyzed on a "case-by-case" basis and that "anybody can apply."
It has already drawn condemnation from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle amid growing questions over how the funds will be distributed and whether they could be awarded to political backers of the president.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Tuesday that he is "not a big fan" of the fund.
"And I am not sure exactly how they intend to use it. But my understanding is that was just announced. I don't see a purpose for that," Thune told reporters at the Capitol.
Vance, Blanche pressed on who will be eligible for payouts
ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl, during a press briefing on Tuesday, asked Vance about the fund.
"Why should taxpayers be paying to settle a $10 billion lawsuit that was brought by the president of the United States, and should people that attacked the Capitol building and assaulted police officers, should they be eligible, should they receive money? Should they receive money from this fund?" Karl asked.
Vance didn’t directly answer, instead claiming that none of the money would go to Trump personally, his administration or his family, but that "anybody can apply for it." Vance added that even Hunter Biden, former President Joe Biden's son, would be eligible to ask for funds.
"I understand that everybody is eligible to apply for this one. I mean, you're eligible, but I assume you're not going to apply, and you don't think you should get money out of this fund. So, isn't it just as easy to say that people that attacked police officers should not get taxpayer money from this fund?" Karl followed up.
"Well, look, Jon, we're not trying to give money to anybody who attacked a police officer. We're trying to give money -- not give money -- we're trying to compensate people where the book was thrown at them, they were mistreated by the legal system,” Vance said.
In a hearing on Capitol Hill earlier Tuesday, when pressed whether individuals who assaulted Capitol Police officers would be eligible for payments, Blanche similarly said, "Anybody in this country is eligible to apply if they believe they're a victim of weaponization."
Blanche wouldn't commit to setting a policy that bans funds being distributed to anyone who assaulted police, saying the commissioners overseeing the fund will be tasked with deciding who is eligible.
"But why not this specific issue of violent acts, convicted of violent acts against police officers? Do you feel they should get compensation after being convicted of violent acts?" Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley asked the acting attorney general.
"My feelings don't, don't matter, senator," Blanche replied.
Blanche was also questioned on whether he would rule out certain individuals from being eligible for payments, specifically Oath Keepers and Proud Boys. The acting attorney general reiterated that anyone can apply.
"The commissioners will set rules, I'm sure. That's not for me to set, that's for the commissioners. ... And whether an individual Oath Keeper, as you just mentioned, applies for compensation is -- anybody in this country can apply," Blanche said.
Blanche won't say who will be commissioners, claims there will be 'full transparency'
The acting attorney general sought to compare it to an Obama-era initiative that set up ways to settle claims brought by Native Americans who had alleged they had been subject to widespread mistreatment by the government
He also argued that the fund won't solely be used to compensate supporters of the administration.
"It's not limited to -- to Republicans, ... it's not limited to Biden weaponization, it's not limited to in any way, scope or form to Jan. 6 or to Jack Smith," Blanche said at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing. "There's no limitation on the -- on the claims."
Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen lambasted Blanche for seeking to compare the $1.776 billion fund to the Obama-era initiative for Native Americans.
Van Hollen noted that specific fund received sign off from a federal judge, whereas Monday's announcement had no judicial involvement or approval.
Facing questions about who would be eligible for possible payouts, Blanche told lawmakers he will "commit" to "making sure that the commissioners are effectively doing their job."
Blanche, though, did not name who will be on the five-person commission -- nor did he say who he would appoint.
He also said he has "no idea" if Trump will make suggestions.
Blanche also claimed there will be "full transparency" on the fund, but with caveats.
In an exchange with Democratic Sen. Chris Coons, Blanche was questioned over whether disbursements from the $1.776 billion will be subject to public disclosure.
Blanche said he wanted to be "careful" in his answer given privacy laws that might restrict the Justice Department from disclosing certain information, but otherwise said there would be "full transparency" via regularly quarterly reports that will be released by the department regarding the commission's actions.
"The reason why I want to be careful of my answer is because there's obviously laws that exist around privacy that would -- may prevent some of the information that commission takes in from being fully public," Blanche said. "Beyond that, there will be full transparency, and I commit to you that beyond the ... laws that exist around privacy and privileges and whatnot."
Brian Kemp, governor of Georgia, left, and Marty Kemp, Georgia's first lady, second left, watch as Derek Dooley, Republican U.S. Senate candidate for Georgia, second right, speaks during a campaign event at Whitetail Coffee Shop in Milton, Georgia, on Friday, May 15, 2026. (Photographer: Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) -- Donald Trump might not have been in attendance at the Atlanta Press Club Republican primary debate for U.S. Senate last month, but his presence filled the room.
“I am running for the United States Senate so that I can go to the Senate and be a warrior for Donald Trump and his ‘America First’ policies,” said U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter in his opening statement.
When Carter’s House colleague and opponent in the Senate primary, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, was asked about the direction in which the Republican Party should go once President Trump is no longer in office, Collins told the moderator “we need to continue Donald Trump's ‘America First’ agenda,” adding, “it's one of the reasons that I ran.”
In a midterm cycle where Trump’s endorsement power has taken down incumbents, plucked winners out of crowded special elections, and fueled intra-party spending wars, the president has not yet backed a candidate in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Georgia.
The absence of a Trump endorsement in the race has led both Carter and Collins to focus their campaigns around winning over Trump’s base – and maybe even Trump himself – as they both vie for the president’s backing in what is expected to be one of the most competitive states on the map this year, one that could decide the balance of power in Congress.
Incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff is one of the most vulnerable Senate Democrats up for re-election in 2026, and Tuesday's primary could decide who goes head-to-head with the rising star in the Democratic Party in November.
Brian Kemp, the two-term Republican governor of Georgia who turned down calls to run for the Senate seat himself this year, is supporting neither congressman. Kemp has instead thrown his political weight behind former college football coach Derek Dooley, the son of legendary University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley.
Kemp has made calls to donors to rally support for Dooley, a Kemp advisor told ABC News. Kemp’s PAC, Hardworking Americans Inc., has also poured millions in the race to help support Dooley, who calls himself a “political outsider.”
Kemp has had a rocky relationship with the president himself, after contesting Trump’s claims of election fraud in the 2020 election. However, Kemp remains popular among Georgians, winning reelection against a Trump-endorsed primary challenger in 2022.
Tuesday's primary races in Georgia will be a test of Kemp’s own political power in the state; the outgoing Georgia governor has not ruled out a potential 2028 presidential run.
The real test of Trump’s influence in Georgia will come in the Republican primary to replace term-limited Kemp as governor, where the president’s early endorsement of current Lt. Governor Burt Jones failed to clear the field and instead set the stage for a competitive primary battle against billionaire businessman Rick Jackson, who is neck and neck with Jones in the polls.
But unlike Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr – who are also running in the Republican primary for governor but are making appeals to more traditional GOP voters – Jackson is not shying away from running in the “Make America Great Again” lane, even without Trump’s backing.
“I'm a conservative outsider and a businessman that wants to bring business solutions to Georgia, just like President Trump did,” Jackson said at the primary debate for governor.
Trump hosted a tele-rally for Jones earlier this month, where he reiterated his endorsement for the longtime Trump loyalist.
“There's a lot of confusion. Everyone's saying I endorsed them. I didn't. I endorsed a man named Burt Jones,” Trump told supporters on the call.
On the other side of the aisle, the Democratic candidates for governor are also talking about Trump – in how best to fight his policies.
“Unlike some people, I'm not running for governor to be Donald Trump; I'm running to stand up to him,” said former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms in the latest ad from her campaign, which calls out Jackson and Jones over their courting of Trump’s favor.
Bottoms is endorsed by former President Joe Biden and is widely considered the frontrunner in the Democratic primary race, but it is unclear whether she will meet the vote threshold to avoid a runoff. Democratic opponents that Bottoms could face in a potential runoff include former DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond, former Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, and former Georgia state Sen. Jason Esteves.
In Georgia, if one candidate does not receive 50% of the vote, the top two finishers will advance to a runoff election on June 16. And with so many well-known contenders for office this year, runoffs may be more likely on both sides of the aisle, up and down the ballot.
Burrowing sea anemone from the San Julian Peninsula in Argentina. (The Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census/Agustín Garese)
(NEW YORK) -- Marine scientists have discovered a record number of new species living in the depths of the world's oceans over the past year.
A total of 1,121 new marine species were discovered in a single year, marking a "significant step" in the research needed to understand and protect the oceans, according to the scientists behind The Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census, the world’s largest mission to accelerate ocean species discovery.
The whopping number of discoveries marks a 54% jump in identifications in a single year, the researchers said.
Among the new species discovered include corals, crabs, shrimps, sea urchins and anemones -- some found living at depths of more than four miles beneath the ocean surface.
The "Ghost Shark" Chimaera, a distant relative of sharks and rays, was discovered in the Coral Sea Marine Park off the coast of Queensland, Australia. Chimaeras are among the most mysterious inhabitants of the deep ocean, the researchers said. They predate dinosaurs and diverged from rays and sharks into their own distinct evolutionary lineage nearly 400 million years ago.
Symbiotic bristle worms were found living within a "glass castle" on volcanic seamounts in Japan. The "castle" is actually intricate chambers of a glass sponge, whose skeleton is made of crystalline silica.
The ribbon worm, a predator marked by striking pigmentation, was discovered close to the surface, between depths of 3 and 16 feet.
A striking new species of shrimp -- the Mediterranean shrimp -- was also found in a sea cave off Marseille, France, the researchers said. It is marked by a vivid orange banding and intricate appendages.
The species were identified amid 13 expeditions across some of the world's most remote and least-explored ocean regions, as well as nine discovery workshops, the researchers said.
"This year, Ocean Census has shown what is possible when scientific ambition is matched by global collaboration at scale," Mitsuyuku Unno, executive director of the Nippon Foundation, said in a statement. "Through expeditions reaching polar depths to tropical seas, and the science to turn samples into discoveries, this team is revealing the extraordinary richness of ocean life.”
Up to 90% of ocean species remain undiscovered, previous research has suggested.
Documenting the breadth of species living in the oceans is necessary for policymakers and marine managers to properly protect the ocean, the researchers said.
The average time between a species' initial discovery and its formal "description" in scientific literature is historically about 13.5 years, which puts species at risk of extinction before they are even catalogued, the researchers said.
"With many species at risk of disappearing before they are even documented, we are in a race against time to understand and protect ocean life," Michelle Taylor, head of science at Ocean Census, said in a statement. "For too long, thousands of species have remained in a scientific "limbo" because the pace of discovery couldn't keep up."
To address this, marine scientists are now recognizing "discovered" as a formal scientific status that can immediately be recorded.
Tracee Ellis Ross is set to make her Broadway debut in the Broadway production of Every Brilliant Thing. She will take over the role from Mariska Hargitay, who is also set to make her Broadway debut in the production, taking over for Daniel Radcliffe May 26. Ross starts performances on July 7. Every Brilliant Thing is nominated for best revival of a play at the 2026 Tony Awards ...
It seems Ella Enchanted is getting a TV series adaptation. Deadline reports that a series based on the 2004 Miramax film that starred Anne Hathaway is in development at Disney+. Hathaway is set to executive produce the show, which the outlet reports is being written by Anyone But You scribe Ilana Wolpert ...
A24 has acquired the film Club Kid after it premiered at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival. Jordan Firstman wrote, directed and stars in the film, which follows a washed-up party promoter who's forced to turn his life around when he finds himself responsible for his 10-year-old son. "Bringing @jtfirstman’s CLUB KID home from Cannes," A24 wrote in its announcement post ...
Hollywood is calling to Kennedy Ryan, in more ways than one.
In addition to a TV show in the works at Peacock and a first-look deal with Universal, the romance author has released the latest book in her Hollywood Renaissance series, Score.
The story, a follow-up to 2021’s Reel, centers on the second chance romance between screenwriter Verity Hill, who’s living with bipolar disorder, and musician Bellamy “Monk” Wright — former college lovers who reunite on the set of a period film called Dessi Blue.
“I think I related to Verity as a writer. And I really related to her desire specifically around the Black community, around Black art and Black history,” Ryan says. “Really that's the soul of what this whole series is.”
Ryan also took great care to make sure Verity’s bipolar disorder was represented accurately. She says it was “one of the hardest books I've ever written” for that reason.
“In media, we have seen bipolar disorder sensationalized, misrepresented, harmful representation,” Ryan says. “And I really didn't want to perpetuate that, which meant really digging in with people who have the diagnosis, their family, their partners, their psychiatrist, their therapist. And that's really the foundation for the representation in this book. And I'm very, very proud of it.”
While her books cover some heavier topics, Ryan promises her readers that by nature of the romance genre, they’ll never get “hurt without healing.”
“There is someone who will walk with you through hurt to healing,” she says. “It is also to encourage people who have actually lived those experiences that joy is a possibility for us in life.”
PALESTINE – Three teenagers were placed under arrest on Sunday after driving a vehicle stolen from Jacksonville. According to our news partner KETK and the Palestine Police Department, officers on Sunday observed a vehicle matching the description of a vehicle recently reported stolen being driven near North Sycamore and West Pine Streets.
While the officers attempted to make a traffic stop, the driver sped off, prompting a police chase. The vehicle pursuit ended after the vehicle struck a curb, leaving it disabled.
The suspect, who was identified as a minor, and two other teenage boys proceeded to exit the car and attempted to leave the scene on foot. Two of the boys were located and arrested shortly after the incident on Sunday, while the third was taken into custody on Monday morning. Continue reading Teens held for car theft, other crimes
NEW YORK (AP) — The bond market is usually a quiet corner of Wall Street, one where moves get measured in hundredths of a percentage point. But the warning signals it sends can be powerful enough to drag stock markets up and down and in the past have even convinced President Donald Trump and other world leaders to back off some of their most extreme actions.
![Kennedy Ryan on why ‘Score’ was ‘one of the hardest books [she’s] ever written’](https://ktbb.com/post/wp-content/media/2026/05/d12fd6e30a4ea953a1045c6a16b4f5d9.jpg "Kennedy Ryan on why ‘Score’ was ‘one of the hardest books [she’s] ever written’")
