AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas board has suspended the nursing license of Camp Mystic’s co-director in a scathing order that accused her of not helping children evacuate during last year’s catastrophic floods that killed 25 girls and two teenage counselors.
It’s one of the state’s first actions against a member of the family that owns and operates the all-girls Christian camp since the July 4 flood. Last month, Camp Mystic canceled plans to reopen this summer in the face of outrage from victims’ parents.
Mary Liz Eastland, a registered nurse, served as the camp’s medical officer. She has previously acknowledged in court that she never tried to reach children and staff in the low-lying area of the camp as the predawn flooding along the Guadalupe River worsened. Her father-in-law, Camp Mystic owner Richard Eastland, also died in the flood.
Allowing Mary Liz Eastland to keep practicing nursing would constitute a “continuing and imminent threat to public welfare,” according to an order signed Tuesday by Kristin Benton, executive director of the Texas Board of Nursing.
Eastland “abandoned the campers and staff when the camp site began to flood … by evacuating herself and her children to higher ground without providing any assistance or direction to all of the other campers and staff,” the order reads.
Eastland rejects the findings and will fight the suspension, said Camp Mystic attorney Joshua Fiveson. He said the board suspended her license with less than a day’s notice of a hearing and without taking testimony or conducting a full investigation.
“This is a sad day for Mrs. Eastland as well as every licensed nurse in Texas,” Fiveson said. “This was an exercise in premature punishment.”
According to the order, the board will issue a final decision on her license within two months.
Since the flood, the Eastland family has come under intensifying criticism from families of the victims and Texas lawmakers. Several families have filed lawsuits against the Eastlands, who for months forged ahead with plans to reopen before ultimately backing down.
In April, legislative hearings laid bare the camp’s lack of detailed planning for a flood emergency, reliance on poorly trained staff and missed chances to evacuate children from the cabins near the river.
Mary Liz Eastland recounted during the hearings her steps that night when she and her children left their house to join her mother-in-law. She described water pouring into the house and breaking a window to escape. The family was able to get to higher ground.
She and other staff gathered survivors for a head count, checking names against cabin rosters. She said she could not pass through the rising floodwaters to get to the campers closest to the Guadalupe River.
Eastland was also pressed as to why, as the camp’s chief medical officer, she did not try to call or alert other medical staff to get to the campers before disaster struck. When asked if the other staff could have helped with the camp evacuation, she said, “Maybe so.”
SULPHUR SPRINGS, Texas (KETK) – The Sulphur Springs Police Department is currently searching for a man who forced a minor out of a residence on Whitworth Street on Thursday.
Sulphur Springs PD said officers responded to the 400 block of Whitworth Street at around 10:23 a.m. on Thursday and met a male juvenile who told them that a man entered his residence and forced him out of the home towards Lamar Street.
The juvenile was able to get away from the man and went back to the residence.
The man is currently wanted by the Sulphur Springs PD in connection with this incident. He’s described as a Black man in his 20’s who was wearing red pants, a white shirt and a black backpack.
Sulphur Springs PD also said the man had gold teeth and a tattoo on one of his forearms. Officers reportedly checked cameras in the area but the man was never recorded.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Sulphur Springs PD Detective Joe Scott at 903-885-7602.
NACOGDOCHES, Texas (KETK) – The University of Texas Board of Regents approved $70 million in funds for Stephen F. Austin State University to construct their new 100,000-square-foot Lumberjack Crossing residence hall on Thursday.
The board’s also approved the design for new $70 million dorm which will be a four-story structure capable of housing 335 students in double-occupancy rooms, lounge and study spaces, offices and more.
Rendering courtesy of SFA.
The new hall will be located directly to the east of the current Lumberjack Landing residence hall and to the south of the new Pineywoods Dining Hall. The $70 million will also fund new campus cooling capacity by installing a new chiller.
Construction is expected to be substantially completed in 2028.
SMITH COUNTY — Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith announced Thursday evening that he will seek another term, according to our news partner KETK. He shared the news during his 70th birthday celebration surrounded by family, friends, law enforcement officials and community members. Larry Smith is a veteran of more than three decades in law enforcement, beginning his career with the Gregg County Sheriff’s Office in 1976. During his eleven years there, he advanced from Criminal Investigator to Lieutenant and ultimately Captain of the Criminal Investigation Division.
He continued his service at the federal level as a Special Agent with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Drug Enforcement Administration before joining the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in 1989. Over the next 22 years, he served as a Criminal Investigator specializing in fire, explosives and forensic mapping, and worked as a Task Force Team Leader on national and international response operations. Throughout his career, Smith completed more than 8,200 hours of advanced investigative training in areas such as fire, homicide, explosives, sex crimes and management. He also provided over 1,200 hours of instruction to state, local, and federal agencies, teaching explosives post?blast procedures, fire investigation, interview techniques and clandestine drug investigation.
In this photo illustration, the Telekom Malaysia company logo is seen displayed on a smartphone screen. (Photo Illustration by Piotr Swat/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Senior personnel at a telecommunications company orchestrated a "calculated embezzlement scheme" to divert millions of dollars into their own pockets, federal prosecutors in New York charged in the first case of its kind that involved self-reporting by the company that allowed the corporation to avoid criminal charges.
Mohd Hafiz Lockman, Mohd Yuzaimi Yusof and Khanh Thuong Nguyen allegedly misappropriated more than $20 million from Telekom Malaysia's U.S. subsidiary using false statements, forged records, fictitious transactions and corporate and individual impersonations to deceive counterparties, suppliers, auditors and supervisors, the indictment said.
Lockman, 48, of Dublin, California, Yusof, 44, of Livermore, California, and Nguyen, 48, of Manassas, Virginia, are charged with wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. All three were taken into custody last month and were released on bond. They have not yet entered pleas.
Their parent company, Telekom Malaysia Berhad, reported the alleged fraud to the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan last month and the company has been cooperating with the ongoing investigation, prosecutors said.
It's the first prosecution to result from a self-reporting program U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton announced earlier this year. Telekom Malaysia received a conditional declination of charges against the company provided it cooperates, pays restitution and agrees to report any future criminal conduct for the next three years.
"Today’s fraud charges come within weeks of receiving a self-report from the company,” Clayton said in a statement announcing the charges. “As alleged, Mohd Hafiz Lockman, Mohd Yuzaimi Yusof, and Khanh Thuong Nguyen perpetrated a sprawling fraud to steal over $20 million. The defendants deceived counterparties, suppliers, auditors, and their own supervisors. As a result of the fact that the conduct was reported to this Office and quickly investigated, the defendants will now be held to account for fraudulently lining their own pockets.”
According to the indictment, the defendants first schemed to sell Telekom. Malaysia's broadband capacity without authorization and divert the proceeds to their own accounts. Then, they allegedly impersonated one of Telekom Malaysia's suppliers and intercepted payments the company made to that supplier.
They also allegedly impersonated employees and interns and captured their salaries. The fourth component of the fraud involved reimbursements for fabricated work expenses, officials said.
As one example, the indictment said the trio collaborated to request reimbursement for expenses incurred for a work trip to Las Vegas in December 2025. In fact, no such trip occurred. According to the indictment, when the parent company requested pictures from the trip, the defendants hastily organized a trip to Las Vegas and photographed scenes with Christmas trees to make it appear as though photographs had been taken in December.
Soldiers assigned to Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, maneuver toward an objective during a Combined Arms Live-Fire Exercise as part of Ivy Mass at Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site, Colorado, on May 17, 2026. (Pfc. Jacob Cruz/US Army)
(WASHINGTON) -- The Army has canceled dozens of medical training courses as the service moves to manage a multibillion-dollar budget shortfall that is rippling across the force, according to multiple U.S. officials and internal documents reviewed by ABC News.
At least 34 medical-related courses have been canceled during the second half of the Pentagon’s fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, according to the documents.
The cuts come from the Army Medical Center of Excellence, the service’s hub for its medical training, headquartered at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
Those cuts come as commanders are being told to closely scrutinize their spending as the service faces ballooning operational costs, including those related to the war in Iran and skyrocketing fuel costs.
Many of the canceled medical training programs are tied to frontline combat casualty care. An internal memorandum describing the reductions cites "funding shortfalls and limited resources."
Other cuts include leadership and certification courses for senior medical officers, including training for officers preparing to command helicopter medical evacuation units. The service also canceled courses related to animal care, behavioral science, food safety inspections and operating in radioactive environments, according to internal service plans.
"The Army has issued guidance to subordinate commands – for the remainder of this fiscal year, to make tough and sound resource decisions that optimize and prioritize resources toward their most critical requirements, to include major training and readiness events," Col. Marty Meiners, a service spokesperson, said in a statement.
The cuts are part of a broader financial squeeze that has forced Army planners to slash training across the force while commanders reshuffle money. ABC News previously reported that Army planners had begun canceling training events as the service confronted a projected $4 billion to $6 billion funding shortfall.
The medical course cuts are in addition to what was previously reported, and the cancellations offer the most detailed account of specific training events getting axed until at least October, when the new fiscal year starts.
Last week, Gen. Chris LaNeve, who is serving as the Army’s top officer in an acting capacity, disputed ABC News’ earlier reporting during testimony before lawmakers.
"We haven't canceled anything," LaNeve said, while acknowledging the Army is in a funding pinch.
LaNeve seemingly conceded to lawmakers that some training cuts were planned, which he framed as typical toward the end of the fiscal year. Yet the service was only halfway through the fiscal year when those plans were being made, documents show. The Army did not make LaNeve available for comment.
Military spending does start to draw more scrutiny from commanders toward the end of the summer as money for the fiscal year dries up, but any belt-tightening is traditionally at the margins, multiple current and former U.S. officials explained.
The service’s III Armored Corps, based out of Fort Hood, Texas, which includes some 70,000 soldiers and made up of much of the Army’s tank and other heavily armored units, recently had much of its training funds diverted, while an internal memorandum warned that its helicopter units expected to deploy to Europe next year will be at “a lower state of readiness,” as pilot training had to effectively be frozen outside of the bare minimum military requirements to fly.
All of the Army's major formations are being directed to make cuts, officials explained. The full scope of training and other events being canceled is likely much more significant.
Just to keep its helicopters flying at that minimum level required, $26.6 million was siphoned from the corps’ ground combat training units, an amount of money just slightly higher than cost estimations to keep flying time at a minimum, internal documents show, which directs commanders to scratch any training of scale. Flyovers for public events were also canceled.
The shortfall stems from a combination of rising costs and increasingly demanding volume of operations, according to two U.S. officials, with one describing it as "a perfect storm."
Those costs include the Army’s support to the Department of Homeland Security during its 76-day shutdown, which involved border construction projects and assistance missions along the southern border. The Army is expected to eventually recoup nearly $2 billion tied to those DHS missions.
Additionally, rising fuel costs have forced commanders to heavily scrutinize travel, as soldiers mostly use commercial travel to fly to different courses and training events.
The service is also absorbing expenses tied to the conflict with Iran, as well as the expanding National Guard mission in Washington, D.C., which is projected to cost about $1.1 billion this year, according to estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. One U.S. official said the mission is set to roughly double in size, expected to grow to roughly 5,000 troops over the summer.
The financial strain comes as the Pentagon is seeking a $1.5 trillion budget next year, 50% above current funding levels. The sticker shock has drawn fierce blowback from Democrats on Capitol Hill. But the record-setting request does not account for the costs of the Iran war, which Defense Department officials estimate has already topped $29 billion as of last week. Those expenses are largely tied to munitions and do not include the potentially massive bill for rebuilding bases damaged in Iranian strikes.
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are now bracing for the Pentagon to send Congress a supplemental funding request to cover the mounting war-related costs.
On Thursday, Adm. Daryl Caudle, the Navy’s chief of naval operations, warned lawmakers that the service may soon face similar tradeoffs unless Congress approves supplemental funding on top of the Pentagon’s proposed $1.5 trillion budget request, which was finalized before the Iran conflict escalated.
"The [fiscal 2026] budget didn't bake in [Operation] Epic Fury," Caudle told the House Armed Services Committee. "You see a large Navy force in the Middle East. So we're burning bright … but it does come at cost, and it comes at operational costs."
LONGVIEW – New guidelines for youth supervision have been added to the Longview Mall’s updated Code of Conduct. According to the mall, anyone under the age of 17 must always be accompanied by a parent or supervising adult who is at least 21 years old on Fridays and Saturdays after 4 p.m. During the summer and holidays, those hours could change. The Longview Mall Code of Conduct states that unsupervised youth shoppers must either leave the mall by 4 p.m. or have a parent or other responsible adult join them right away. Proof of age, such as a state-issued driver’s license or ID card, a military ID, a school ID card, or a passport, may be requested from minors or supervising adults. A photo and the date of birth must be included, and the identification must be impenetrable.
TYLER – The City of Tyler announced that Old Bascom Road in Tyler will be closed starting May 22, until June 25. The closure will allow for construction of the roadway and drainage improvements, the city said in release. Drivers are encouraged to use alternate routes and should expect delays near the intersections of Old Omen Road and Old Bascom Road and Kent Drive and Old Bascom Road.
SMITH COUNTY – After entering a guilty plea, a man who was detained along with others for several alleged sexual assaults on a teenage girl in Tyler was given a 16-year jail sentence Tuesday.
In connection with crimes against a 15-year-old girl that took place last year, Lamarcus Hambrick, 32, entered a guilty plea to two charges of sexual assault of a child in the 475th District Court. According to arrest records, he was given a 16-year sentence for each offense, and his prior probation was overturned, meaning he would spend an additional two years in a state prison. The sentences will be carried out consecutively. Hambrick was discovered at a motel in September 2025 with the 15-year-old child. It was discovered by a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper that Hambrick and the child had been having sex for around a week. Then after, Hambrick was taken into custody. Continue reading Sexual assault suspect sentenced
TYLER (KETK) — As the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new requirements for the SNAP program are implemented, enrollment numbers in Texas are at half a million fewer than this time last year.
While Texas officials are calling the drop a “normal fluctuation,” advocacy groups like Feeding Texas are blaming the new requirements.
Since the pandemic, the monthly count of Texas SNAP participants has fluctuated between 3 million and 4 million, according to The Texas Tribune. Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the SNAP program, shows that besides the partial government shutdown in 2019, Texas monthly SNAP counts have not dropped below 3 million since 2009, at the official end of the Great Recession.
Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, however, SNAP enrollment eligibility includes new work requirements and further regulates non-citizens. Feeding Texas claims these requirements are preventing families from applying, even when their children qualify for benefits.
Regardless of the cause for the number drop, food banks across the state say they’re seeing more people asking for support and help.
“While charitable organizations like food banks are vital, there is no amount of private effort that can match the scale of SNAP,” Celia Cole, CEO of Feeding Texas, said. “For every meal that food banks facilitate, SNAP provides nine.”
Regarding possible SNAP fraud in the state, Feeding Texas says less than .1% of households were found to have committed intentional violations. The most common violation was providing false information to receive benefits and misusing benefits — like selling them for cash.
Kerry Washington of Onyx Collective's 'Unprisoned' poses for a portrait during the 2023 Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour at The Langham Huntington, Pasadena on Jan. 14, 2023 in Pasadena, California. (JSquared Photography/Contour by Getty Images) | The book cover for 'What Remains.' (Blackstone Publishing, Inc.)
Kerry Washington has found her next TV role.
The actress is set to star in and executive produce a new thriller drama called What Remains, ABC Audio has confirmed. Hulu is developing the series that is based on Wendy Walker's 2023 novel of the same name.
What Remains follows what happens to Detective Elise Sutton (Washington) after she takes the life of a disturbed man in the line of duty.
Detective Sutton, who is known as "a devoted wife, loving mother, and cold case specialist — reels from the guilt of her actions," according to the show's official logline. "To convince herself that she did the right thing, she makes contact with a mysterious man that she saved that day, only to discover that he's not at all what he seems. She’s soon caught in a dangerous game of cat and mouse, following the clues he leaves for her and realizing that the only person who can stop him…is her."
A Million Little Things' Chris Luccy is set to write the adaptation while McG will direct it. Both are set to executive produce. The series hails from 20th Television and Kapital Entertainment.
USA Today bestselling author Walker is set to produce the series. Her psychological suspense novels have been translated into over 23 different languages.
Disney is the parent company of ABC News, Hulu and 20th Television.
JASPER COUNTY – No investi-gator needed for this capture. In Jasper County, a 9-and-a-half-foot alligator was captured after stalling traffic on 1013 West Wednesday. According to our news partner KETK, Jasper County Sheriff’s Office deputies can add “alligator catchers” to their list of accolades after successfully removing the alligator from the road. After being captured by deputies, the alligator was handed over to Texas Game Wardens and was safely relocated.
Logan Keith Chewning is seen in a booking photo. (Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office)
(BROOKWOOD, Ala.) -- An Alabama man has been charged with manslaughter after his 1-year-old child was found dead in a vehicle, still strapped into a car seat, after the father had allegedly been drinking throughout the day while the infant was in his sole care, authorities said.
Multiple agencies responded to a home in Brookwood, in Tuscaloosa County, Wednesday evening after the child's family reported that the infant was found dead in the vehicle, authorities said.
"Initial investigation shows that the child was in the vehicle for an extended [amount] of time," Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office Violent Crimes Unit Capt. Jack Kennedy said in a statement, noting that the temperatures that afternoon were in the mid-90s.
The child, whose name was not released, had been in the "sole care of its father all day," Kennedy said.
The father, identified by the sheriff's office as 30-year-old Logan Keith Chewning, allegedly admitted to drinking at different points throughout the day and leaving the residence at one point to buy more alcohol, authorities said.
"The father reported that he believed that the child had been sleeping in its crib but must have been left behind in the vehicle," Kennedy said.
Chewning was charged with manslaughter following consultation with the Tuscaloosa County District Attorney's Office, the sheriff's office said.
He is being held in jail, with a bond to be set by a judge at a later date. It is unclear if he has an attorney at this time.
The child's exact cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner, authorities said.
Joseph Clifton Smith is shown in this booking photo released by the Alabama Department of Corrections. (Alabama Department of Corrections)
(WASHINGTON) -- In a rare move on Thursday, the Supreme Court spared the life of an "intellectually disabled" death row inmate, dismissing an appeal by Alabama officials who claimed the man's multiple IQ scores show he is competent and eligible for execution.
The justices were narrowly divided, 5-4, in allowing a lower court ruling to stand that determined death for Joseph Clifton Smith, a convicted first-degree murderer, would violate the Eighth Amendment prohibition of "cruel and unusual" punishment.
The high court did not formally explain its decision.
More than 20 years ago, the high court outlawed the execution of intellectually disabled people convicted of capital crimes.
The heart of the Smith case involved a dispute over who qualifies as intellectually disabled and how to analyze conflicting intelligence quotient – also known as IQ – test scores in making the determination.
The decision on Thursday left that question unanswered.
“The court is not equipped in this case to provide any meaningful guidance on how courts should assess multiple IQ scores,” wrote Justice Sonia Sotomayor in a concurring opinion joined by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.
While state officials had asked the court to set out a clear standard, Sotomayor suggested a case-by-case approach, considering legal precedent and “the views of medical experts,” should continue.
“If a conflict among the states or lower courts emerges and a case properly presents the issue, it may be appropriate for this court to weigh in with more specific guidance,” she wrote. “The court rightly decides it is inappropriate to do so in this case.”
Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Chief Justice John Roberts dissented.
"The court shies away from its obligation to provide workable rules for capital cases," Justice Alito wrote in a dissent joined by Thomas, Gorsuch and Roberts. "In doing so, the court disserves its own death-penalty jurisprudence, states' criminal justice systems, lower courts, and victims of horrific murders."
Justice Thomas wrote separately to call for a reinstatement of the death penalty for intellectually disabled people.
Smith, who will now spend life behind bars, confessed to a 1997 murder during a robbery, but challenged his death sentence on ground he has had "substantially subaverage intellectual functioning" since a young age.
He has taken five separate IQ tests over nearly 40 years, scoring 75 in 1979, 74 in 1982, 72 in 1998, 78 in 2014, and 74 in 2017.
People below 70 are generally considered to have an intellectual disability, but major American medical groups urge a holistic assessment that also looks at social and practical skills.
The groups note that standardized test scores alone should not be conclusive. Smith's score of 72, for example, could be 69 when factoring the 3-point margin of error.
Smith, who alleges he suffered physical and verbal abuse as a child, consistently functioned at two grade-levels below his placement in school, according to court documents. Smith's school classified him as "Educable Mentally Retarded" in 7th grade before he eventually dropped out.
Two lower federal courts ruled that a holistic analysis of Smith’s IQ scores and other evidence, including his behavioral history and school records, proved he is intellectually disabled.
"Joseph Smith is not intellectually disabled, and the Eighth Amendment does not override the death sentence he earned for murdering Durk Van Dam," Alabama argued in its brief to the court. "Whether and how to weigh multiple IQ scores is left to state discretion."
The state argued intellectual disability can only be proven by an IQ score of 70 or less by a preponderance of the evidence.
By one estimate, as many as 20% of the 2,100 people on death row in the U.S. may have some degree of intellectual disability, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Chlöe's worlds of music and acting unite in the upcoming Peacock film Strung.
She plays Laila, "a talented violinist [who] takes a prestigious job as a music tutor for the gifted daughter of an influential and enigmatic family," according to a press release.
A recently released trailer for the film shows Laila considering the position after being approached by the family matriarch, played by Lynn Whitfield. "We need somebody, a full-time live-in music tutor for my granddaughter," Lynn's character says while giving Laila a tour of the home.
"The type of money they paying, it's the perfect opportunity," Laila says as decides whether she should take the job.
Things take a turn when she's introduced to the gifted Zuri, who emerges with a mask on her face and warns, "The Zulu believe if you die in your dreams, you die in real life. Be careful what you dream."
"As she becomes entangled in their opulent world, unsettling secrets begin to surface, forcing her to question her safety, her dreams, and even her sanity," the press release says of Laila.
"Something is wrong in that house," Chlöe says in the trailer.
Strung premieres June 26 and also stars Lucien Laviscount, Anna Diop, Coco Jones and Romy Woods.
"i’m fighting for my life!!!" Chlöe wrote on socials when announcing the film's trailer.
In a statement, director Malcolm D. Lee said he was drawn to "the script's twists and turns," adding that the film combines "lush visuals, captivating performances and a riveting soundtrack that captivates viewers" designed to keep viewers on edge.
He then concluded with a tease: "Prepare to be Strung…"
Chlöe's worlds of music and acting unite in the upcoming Peacock film Strung.
She plays Laila, "a talented violinist [who] takes a prestigious job as a music tutor for the gifted daughter of an influential and enigmatic family," according to a press release.
A recently released trailer for the film shows Laila considering the position after being approached by the family matriarch, played by Lynn Whitfield. "We need somebody, a full-time live-in music tutor for my granddaughter," Lynn's character says while giving Laila a tour of the home.
"The type of money they paying, it's the perfect opportunity," Laila says as decides whether she should take the job.
Things take a turn when she's introduced to the gifted Zuri, who emerges with a mask on her face and warns, "The Zulu believe if you die in your dreams, you die in real life. Be careful what you dream."
"As she becomes entangled in their opulent world, unsettling secrets begin to surface, forcing her to question her safety, her dreams, and even her sanity," the press release says of Laila.
"Something is wrong in that house," Chlöe says in the trailer.
Strung premieres June 26 and also stars Lucien Laviscount, Anna Diop, Coco Jones and Romy Woods.
"i’m fighting for my life!!!" Chlöe wrote on socials when announcing the film's trailer.
In a statement, director Malcolm D. Lee said he was drawn to "the script's twists and turns," adding that the film combines "lush visuals, captivating performances and a riveting soundtrack that captivates viewers" designed to keep viewers on edge.
He then concluded with a tease: "Prepare to be Strung…"
Chlöe's worlds of music and acting unite in the upcoming Peacock film Strung.
She plays Laila, "a talented violinist [who] takes a prestigious job as a music tutor for the gifted daughter of an influential and enigmatic family," according to a press release.
A recently released trailer for the film shows Laila considering the position after being approached by the family matriarch, played by Lynn Whitfield. "We need somebody, a full-time live-in music tutor for my granddaughter," Lynn's character says while giving Laila a tour of the home.
"The type of money they paying, it's the perfect opportunity," Laila says as decides whether she should take the job.
Things take a turn when she's introduced to the gifted Zuri, who emerges with a mask on her face and warns, "The Zulu believe if you die in your dreams, you die in real life. Be careful what you dream."
"As she becomes entangled in their opulent world, unsettling secrets begin to surface, forcing her to question her safety, her dreams, and even her sanity," the press release says of Laila.
"Something is wrong in that house," Chlöe says in the trailer.
Strung premieres June 26 and also stars Lucien Laviscount, Anna Diop, Coco Jones and Romy Woods.
"i’m fighting for my life!!!" Chlöe wrote on socials when announcing the film's trailer.
In a statement, director Malcolm D. Lee said he was drawn to "the script's twists and turns," adding that the film combines "lush visuals, captivating performances and a riveting soundtrack that captivates viewers" designed to keep viewers on edge.
He then concluded with a tease: "Prepare to be Strung…"
