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Oregon fire looms near town as 4th firefighter dies weeks after Colorado blaze

As dry, windy weather fueled a big wildfire near a city in central Oregon, a fourth firefighter died after he and several colleagues last month were overcome by a fast-moving wildfire near the Colorado-Utah border.

Nathan Matthews, 43, of Lincoln, Nebraska, died Friday, the federal Interior Department said in a release Saturday.

Meanwhile, several fierce wildfires in a summer of big ones continued burning across the western U.S.

One of the worst — and the one deemed top priority for firefighting efforts — was just a few miles (5 kilometers) north of Sisters, a central Oregon city of about 3,000 people.

Winds gusting up to 30 mph (50 kilometers per hour) threatened to push flames into new areas. Firefighters made progress keeping the fire in check, however, and officials were optimistic the city would be in the clear once the worst of the wind died down Sunday.

“It’s going to take a while to put it out entirely. But as long as it stops moving, I think that’ll get people to relax a little bit,” Sisters Mayor Jennifer Letz said.

As of Saturday, the lightning-caused fire had burned about 40 square miles (105 square kilometers) and was 5% contained. About 30 people evacuated from areas north of Sisters were in a shelter at the local high school, with about as many more staying in recreational vehicles parked outside, Letz said.

The city wasn’t in any immediate danger, and business was carrying on like usual, Letz said.

“We’re not necessarily asking everybody to come to Sisters. But it’s safe here,” said Letz.

Months of dry weather, a record lack of snow in some areas, hot spells and erratic winds have contributed to the blazes in Oregon, Washington, California, Colorado and elsewhere this summer.

In Canada, 926 fires were burning Saturday, including 82 deemed out of control, according to the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System.

About 300 aircraft and 5,300 people were involved in fighting the fires. They included 133 in northwestern Ontario alone, according to the province’s Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services agency.

The biggest in Ontario had covered some 1,200 square miles (3,200 square kilometers).

The U.S. firefighter who died was among a group that had deployed tentlike emergency shelters to try to shield themselves when flames closed in June 27. Three of them died at the scene: Emily Barker, 38; Nick Hutcherson, 27; and Sydney Watson, 26.

They were part of a Helitack crew — a group that gets dropped by helicopter into remote areas to try to squelch new, rapidly expanding fires — that had been deployed in Mesa County, Colorado, west of the city of Grand Junction.

Matthews and another firefighter were taken for medical treatment. The Interior Department declined Saturday to discuss their treatment, Matthews’ career or the surviving firefighter’s current condition.

Watson, Hutcherson and Barker were honored at a memorial service earlier this month. Memorial arrangements for Matthews weren’t yet announced.

Iran-backed Houthis fire missiles at Saudi Arabia in response to airstrikes in Yemen

Fireworks burst as Houthi supporters rally against the Saudi-led coalition in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, July 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)

CAIRO (AP) — Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said Saturday that they fired missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia in response to Saudi airstrikes on the strategic Red Sea city of Hodeida, in an escalation over vital shipping routes in the Middle East while the United States and Iran vie for control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, the Houthis’ military spokesperson, said in a prerecorded statement that the attack targeted facilities in the Red Sea cities of Yanbu and Jizan that belong to Aramco, the world’s largest oil company.

Saudi Arabia’s civil defense said alerts sounded multiple times early Saturday in both cities, but the kingdom didn’t comment further.

There were no reported strikes overnight in Iran, in an apparent break from nearly two weeks of consecutive nights of U.S. attacks.
Red Sea escalation further threatens global shipping

The Houthis have said they would close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Saudi-linked shipping in retaliation for the kingdom’s blockade on Yemen and a recent attack on the international airport in Yemen’s rebel-held capital, Sanaa.

“Nothing short of ending the aggression and lifting the blockade, otherwise, it’s all illusion and mirage,” Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the Houthi-led Supreme Political Council governing rebel-controlled territories in Yemen, said of what it would take for the Houthis to not blockade the Bab-El-Mandeb.

That strait, at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, is a vital shipping chokepoint connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Around 12% of the world’s trade, including a quarter of its container traffic, passes through the narrows.

The Houthis targeted two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea this week. In response, Saudi Arabia struck Hodeida, the Saudi-led coalition opposing the rebels said Saturday. The strikes late Friday hit the port and the state-run telecommunications corporation, injuring two people, said Anees al-Asbahi, a spokesperson for the Houthi-run health ministry.

The Saudi-led coalition said it didn’t hit the port but struck “legitimate military targets” in Hodeida province that “were linked to threats to commercial vessels in the Red Sea.”

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, called for “diplomacy and dialogue” to solve the Yemen conflict without “military confrontations” in an interview published Saturday by the state-run newspaper called Iran.

Iran condemns Ukrainian attack on commercial vessel

“Iran had a peaceful night,” Hossein Kermanpour, a spokesperson for Iran’s Health Ministry, posted on X. U.S. Central Command didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Unlike the previous 13 nights, it didn’t announce new strikes.

But Iran’s foreign ministry condemned what it called a Ukrainian attack Saturday on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea, saying one person was killed and another was hurt and calling it an act of aggression.

In a separate statement, Araghchi said he spoke with European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas about it and that Tehran demanded a response. Ukraine’s diplomatic representative to Iran was summoned, Iranian state media reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier said on X that Ukraine “achieved very strong results with long?range strikes in the Caspian Sea — including vessels used in military cargo shipments involving Iran.”

While efforts at mediation between the U.S. and Iran continue, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to travel to the United States next week and meet with President Donald Trump in Washington on Tuesday, his office said Friday. They last met in Washington in February, weeks before they launched the war.

Over 7,000 people have been killed, including in Lebanon

A tenuous ceasefire that halted major operations for weeks has seemed to unravel this month. The U.S. accused Iran of striking three ships in the Strait of Hormuz and responded by striking dozens of targets in Iran, which retaliated by firing at U.S.-allied Gulf Arab states.

The U.S. military has renewed its blockade of Iran’s ports. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has advised residents of neighboring countries to stay away from bases with U.S. troops.

The war has killed more than 3,400 people in Iran, according to its Health Ministry. Eighteen U.S. service members, 24 civilians in Israel and smaller numbers of civilians including foreign workers and mariners have been reportedly killed across the region.

In Lebanon, more than 4,000 people have been killed since Iran-backed Hezbollah militants fired at Israel in support of the Islamic Republic two days after the war began and Israel responded with strikes and ground forces. Thirty-eight Israeli troops have also died.

___

Dell’Orto reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press reporter Cara Anna in Lowville, New York, contributed to this report.

SpaceX launches Starship on another, more advanced, test flight

STARBASE, Texas (AP) – SpaceX’s mammoth Starship rocket blasted off Friday on another test flight stretching halfway around the world, this time releasing 20 of the most advanced Starlinks.

Towering 407 feet (124 meters), Starship soared from the company’s base at the southern tip of Texas. NASA monitored the space-skimming flight, a critical step toward using the Starship as a lunar lander for moon crews.

The hourlong journey ended with a splashdown so soft that the spacecraft remained afloat in the Indian Ocean as the SpaceX webcast drew to a close, drawing cheers from employees back at the launch site.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX had replaced six of the 33 engines on the first-stage booster after some of them failed to ignite last week, resulting in a last-second launch abort. The previous Starship flight in May also experienced engine trouble, which prevented the booster from making a controlled return.

This time, all of the engines fired at liftoff, but not enough of them lit back up for the booster’s return, causing it to descend too fast and slam into the Gulf of Mexico. The spacecraft continued soaring eastward, popping out the Starlinks one by one 124 miles (200 kilometers) up before reentering.

It was the 13th flight of the world’s biggest and most powerful rocket, and the second this year of the new version dubbed V3. Like the previous demo, neither the booster nor spacecraft was meant to be saved, instead plunging into the sea.

The stainless steel, retro-looking spacecraft hovered upright over the Indian Ocean before lowering into the water, more than 10,000 miles (16,000 kilometers) from where the flight began.

It was the best reentry yet, according to SpaceX, with the intact booster floating amid just a few flames. Previous flights ended with the spacecraft engulfed in flames and exploding at splashdown — or rupturing in midair.

“We’re really pumped about this,” said SpaceX engineer Kate Tice, calling it “lucky flight 13.”

The Starlinks accomplished all their jobs before reentering over the Indian Ocean.

After being ejected from the Starship’s Pez-like dispenser, the Starlinks had just 20 minutes to communicate via lasers and radio before reentering. SpaceX said its engineers made contact and even downloaded data from each one. With more than 10,000 Starlinks currently providing internet, SpaceX boasts the world’s largest satellite constellation.

Six of the newly launched Starlinks carried cameras that photographed Starship’s heat shield at flight’s end, beaming back amazingly crisp shots even as the spacecraft bobbed in the ocean. The heat shield was also equipped with sensors to measure the extreme pressure placed on the spacecraft during launch. Most of the heat shield’s thermal tiles were black, but some were deliberately painted white to simulate missing tiles, part of an experiment to test the shield’s robustness.

“We got all the heat shield data we needed and then some!” Musk said on X.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman offered congratulations. “Excited for what will be learned from this mission,” Isaacman noted on X.

SpaceX wants to make sure Starship’s heat shield can withstand the heat of entry before trying to return it to the Starbase launch pad near the Texas-Mexico border. The company already has used a pair of giant mechanical arms at the pad to capture a Starship booster. The company plans to do the same with the actual spacecraft, which is designed to be totally reusable.

NASA needs Starship to wrap up testing and reach orbit soon so the Artemis III astronauts — three Americans and one Italian — can practice docking their capsule with it next year.

Starship is also the vehicle with which Musk intends to build a city on Mars. He’s already booking tourist trips to Mars, as well as the moon.

The latest test flight was delayed first by the July 16 launch abort, then again on Thursday by thick clouds from Tropical Storm Bertha.

FAA: No injuries reported in plane crash

WILLS POINT – The Federal Aviation Administration said that a plane crash in Wills Point on Thursday afternoon resulted in no injuries. Around 12:50 p.m., a Glasair plane ground looped and came to a stop east of the runway, causing significant damage, according to preliminary FAA data. The landing gear, tail, and empennage were all damaged in the collision. Wills Point Volunteer Fire Department Chief Ed Leipply said the plane remained upright in the crash, but sustained damage, including to its propeller and elevator.

Parents sentenced in hot-car abandonment

TYLER – After entering guilty pleas, two parents who abandoned their four young children in a hot car while shopping last year were sentenced to eight years of probation on Friday. Arp residents David Alan and Emily Kay Bearden entered guilty pleas to child endangerment in the 114th District Court on Friday. Each of them received an eight-year deferred adjudication probationary period. As a special requirement of their probation, both will have to spend four days in jail, according to Smith County Assistant District Attorney Heath Chamness. The four kids who were in the car are represented by the four-day jail sentences. Continue reading Parents sentenced in hot-car abandonment

Probation continues in fatal DWI case

TYLER – A man who is accused of killing his two parents while driving while intoxicated will be allowed to continue on probation, but he will be sent to a facility for substance abuse felonies. In 2025, Jose Luis Bravo Jr. received a 10-year probationary sentence in relation to the collision that claimed the lives of his mother, Jose Bravo Delgado, and Santa Lucia Bravo. He was detained in April on suspicion of violating his probation. Officials confirmed on Friday that Bravo’s probation will continue with a modified sentence of being sent to a facility for the punishment of felonies involving substance abuse. Continue reading Probation continues in fatal DWI case

More health workers strike as Ebola cases in Congo near 3,000, including over 1,300 deaths

BUNIA, Congo (AP) — Health workers at an Ebola treatment center in eastern Congo went on strike Saturday over payment issues, disrupting care for patients in the epicenter of the country’s rapidly growing outbreak.

The number of confirmed cases of Ebola in Congo has reached 2,973, including 1,309 deaths, according to government data released Friday in what authorities say is the fastest-growing outbreak on record.

Activities at the Elikya Ebola Treatment Center in Bunia, Ituri province, were largely paralyzed after doctors, nurses and security staff stopped work.

About a hundred health workers protested outside the treatment center on Saturday. They said the unpaid bonuses were undermining morale and disrupting patient care, and called on Congolese authorities to settle the arrears so they could resume their work.

In a statement issued Friday, staff said they had unanimously voted to strike from Saturday until “concrete solutions” were found to resolve “two months of unpaid performance bonuses.”

Last week, health workers at Bunia General Hospital, the region’s largest medical center, went on strike over unpaid salaries. Some had told The Associated Press they have not received any payment since they started work at the onset of the outbreak.

The World Health Organization says more than 100 healthcare workers have been infected since the beginning of the outbreak.

The Central African nation has been battling the Ebola outbreak caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus since May 15. A total of 766 patients remain in isolation or in hospitals, while 540 have recovered so far, according to data from Congo’s Ministry of Health.

The eastern province of Ituri accounts for nearly 90% of confirmed cases.

The outbreak continues to spread faster than health officials can track despite an expanding response.

A key challenge is that health authorities have yet to identify the outbreak’s patient zero, while displacement from armed conflict and mining-related movements have made it difficult to trace thousands who have come in contact with infected individuals.

The response is being hampered by a funding gap, attacks on health centers, an ongoing conflict in eastern Congo and mistrust among local communities.

Response efforts have also been challenged by the lack of approved vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugyo virus, unlike the more common Zaire virus for which there is a vaccine and which was responsible for most of Congo’s past 16 outbreaks of the disease.

Enrollment in a highly anticipated study of two possible Ebola treatments recently started in Ituri.

The WHO says the global risk of the outbreak spreading outside Central Africa is low, noting Ebola spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person rather than through the air, making it much harder to spread than respiratory viruses.

Russian and Ukrainian officials report 11 dead in latest attacks

Moscow-installed officials said Saturday Ukrainian forces attacked holiday camps in the partly Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia region, killing eight people, while authorities in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region said a Russian drone strike killed three people.

The strikes followed a major Russian attack on Friday near Kyiv that killed at least 10 people and wounded nearly 100 others, a relentless cycle of tit-for-tat attacks that dims the potential of reaching a diplomatic end to Russia’s more than 4-year-old invasion of its neighbor.

Two children were among the eight people killed in the attack on the resorts in Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia, Yevgeny Balitsky, the Kremlin-installed regional head, said Saturday, adding that 14 people were wounded.

Ukraine did not immediately comment on the attack.

Sumy regional head Oleh Hryhorov said on Saturday three people were killed when a large fire broke out after a Russian drone struck a “civilian facility,” adding that the victims were drivers for private Ukrainian postal and courier service Nova Poshta.

Russia’s defense ministry said it attacked a “storage and launch site” for Ukrainian drones in the Sumy region.

In Zaporizhzhia, in southeastern Ukraine, a Russian drone attack late Friday hit a shopping center, causing a fire that spread over a 500-square-meter area and injuring several people, regional head Ivan Fedorov said.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned in his evening address on Friday that intelligence assessments indicated that Russia was preparing missiles for a large attack, saying there were indications that this could happen in the next 48 hours.

On Saturday, Romania’s defense ministry said its forces “safely shot down” a drone that breached its airspace in an “unpopulated area” near the Ukrainian border. The drone was “shot down by a Romanian pilot from an F-16 aircraft,” President Nicu?or Dan said in a post on Facebook.

Saturday’s interception came after a drone was shot down around Padina, northeast of the Romanian capital, Bucharest, on Friday.

A series of drone incursions by Russia and Ukraine have hit Romania and other NATO members since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In June, a Ukrainian maritime drone exploded at the Black Sea port of Constanta, while three other sea drones exploded outside the port. No one was hurt.

A Russian drone that was part of an attack on Ukraine in May went astray and struck an apartment building in eastern Romania, injuring two people.

Tony Romo arrested for allegedly driving while intoxicated

(NEXSTAR) – Former Dallas Cowboys star Tony Romo was arrested Thursday night in Milwaukee for allegedly driving while intoxicated, according to an arrest report from the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office.

The former quarterback “performed poorly” during a field sobriety test and was taken into custody, the arresting officer wrote. Officers stopped Romo around 6 p.m. while he was driving south on Interstate 43, according to the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office.

Romo was booked under a first-offense charge of OWI and released. Romo, who played with the Dallas Cowboys from 2004 to 2016, grew up in Burlington, Wisconsin, where he played quarterback for his high school team.

He is due in court Sept. 21.

Astros’ Spencer Arrighetti leaves start against White Sox in second inning with foot injury

CHICAGO (AP) — Houston Astros right-hander Spencer Arrighetti left his start against the Chicago White Sox while warming up in the second inning Friday night with a foot injury.

Arrighetti was throwing pitches before starting the second inning when he called for a trainer and was visited at the mound by manager Joe Espada and pitching coach Joshua Miller. After a short discussion, Arrighetti left the game and was replaced by AJ Blubaugh.

The Astros announced a few innings later that Arrighetti is dealing with nerve irritation in his right foot. The 26-year-old righty told reporters after the game he felt pain “on just about every pitch I threw” after hurting the nerve between his third and fourth toe during warmups before the game.

“I’ve never felt it before today,” he said. “The way it was explained to me is there’s something that’s pushing on a nerve in my foot or inflammation of some kind.”

Arrighetti thought he could pitch through the pain.

“Usually you write the things off that feel not important,” he said, “and, honestly, I didn’t think a little nerve sensation was going to bother me as much as it did.”

Arrighetti struggled in the first inning, allowing three runs and two hits with two walks and two hit batters while throwing 33 pitches. He’s 7-5 and has a 4.60 ERA and hasn’t won since May 28, when he was 7-1.

Arrighetti didn’t factor into the decision Friday night, when the Astros used an eight-run sixth inning to rally past the White Sox 9-5.

Jake Burger’s homer, 3 RBI, lead Rangers past Mariners 5-4 to open series between AL West leaders

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Jake Burger hit a two-run home run and a go-ahead single to lead the Texas Rangers past the Seattle Mariners 5-4 on Friday night in the opener of a four-game series between the top two teams in the AL West.

With the win, the Rangers improved to 52-51 and increased their divisional lead to 1 1/2 games ahead of the 51-53 Mariners.

Burger’s fourth-inning homer off Bryce Miller (4-5) tied the score at 3-3. In the sixth, Burger hit the first pitch from Eduard Bazardo up the middle to score Brandon Nimmo and put Texas ahead 4-3.

Nicky Lopez then bunted in front of the plate with runners on the corners. Bazardo fielded the ball bare handed and tossed underhand high off the glove of catcher Cal Raleigh allowing Evan Carter to score.

Peyton Gray (5-0) pitched a scoreless sixth inning and Jacob Latz allowed a run in the ninth but earned his 20th save in 22 opportunities.

Burger was hitting .150 in July before his home run barely cleared the right field wall. He has 18 homers and 64 RBIs to lead the club in both categories.

Wyatt Langford gave Texas a 1-0 lead in the first inning with a home run to left field one pitch after fouling a ball off his left foot and limping out of the batter’s box.

Weston Wilson’s two-out, opposite-field single to right tied the score 1-1 in the second.

Dominic Canzone’s opposite-field, two-run double to left center in the fifth tied the score 3-3.

Rangers starter MacKenzie Gore, pitching on five days’ rest, allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks in five innings.

Miller was charged with five runs in 5 1/3 innings.

Texas’ Joc Pederson had his 1,000th career hit.

Seattle’s Cole Young matched a career best with three hits.
Up next

Mariners RHP Bryan Woo (7-6, 4.16 ERA) will face Rangers RHP Nathan Eovaldi (9-8, 4.21) on Saturday.

Dallas’ Azzi Fudd first rookie to win 3-point shootout at WNBA All-Star weekend

CHICAGO (AP) — Azzi Fudd had no idea she was the first rookie to win the WNBA All-Star 3-point contest. She put forth a stellar effort in the championship round to do it.

Fudd, the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft by Dallas, scored 30 points in the finals to top Portland’s Bridget Carleton.

“I was shocked, that’s crazy to be the first is definitely an honor,” Fudd said of being the first rookie to win.

Fudd’s 30-point effort was tied for the second-most ever, equaling Sabrina Ionescu and Allie Quigley’s total. Ionescu holds the record, scoring 37 points in 2023.

Fudd hit her first six shots in the finals to get into rhythm. Carleton, from the expansion Fire, had 29 points in the opening round, but struggled in the finals, scoring 19 points.

Fresh off her victory, Fudd issued a playful request for a rematch with Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry. The two had a 3-point competition when Fudd went to his camp when she was in high school.

“I mean Steph if you’re listening, I’m asking for a rematch,” Fudd said.

The 3-point competition capped off the Friday night festivities. Elena Delle Donne, Shakira Austin and high schooler Jezelle Banks led team Washington to the Shooting Stars championship to tipoff the action. The trio scored 31 points to edge Seattle’s three in the finals, with Banks hitting two of the 4-point shots from just inside halfcourt to put the team over the top.

“She carried. She carried,” Austin said of Banks. “You could just tell in her energy, like as soon as we started, like it was confidence and I think that showed in how she hit those tough shots.”

In the 3-point competition, Carleton had a stellar first-round, scoring 29 points. She hit 13 of her first 16 shots. Fudd also had a great opening round, scoring 24 points. She made four of her final five shots. That carried over to the finals.

Carleton’s hot shooting in the opening round brought the crowd, which included Jayson Tatum, Russell Westbrook, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Dwyane Wade and Sheryl Swoopes, to its feet.

Other players in 3-point contest were Atlanta’s Rhyne Howard, who scored 20 points, Golden State’s Janelle Salaun, who had 19 points; Toronto’s Marina Mabrey, who had 18 and Minnesota’s Natisha Heideman, who had 17.

In the Shooting Stars competition, Seattle had 24 points to finish as runner-up after missing all of the team’s 4-point shots.

This was the first year that the contest was conducted. A skills competition was done in previous All-Star weekends. The format was a two-round, timed shooting competition in which teams had 70 seconds to score as many points as possible from seven shooting locations around the court. The competition featured shots ranging from a layup to the 4-pointer.

Washington had the highest score in the preliminary round, posting 35 points. Once again, Banks hit 4-point shots to help her team reach the championship round.

Seattle’s squad needed to beat the 20 points that the Detroit/Dallas team put up to advance to the finals. High schooler Tatianna Griffin hit two of the 4-point shots to help Seattle reach the finals. Minnesota finished in fourth with 19 points with a team of Courtney Williams, Rebbekah Brunson and Ryan Carter.

Detroit/Dallas had former Shock great Deanna Nolan, Wings All-Star Jessica Shepard and high schooler Morghan Reckley.

The new CBA gave Fudd $20,000 for winning the 3-point contest and each participant received $10,000. That’s about eight-times last season’s prize money.

Each shooting stars winner received $15,000. Each competitor, not including the high school players, will receive $7,500. Last year, the winners of the skills contest each received $2,575 from the WNBA.

In addition Aflac, like it has the past two years, gave extra money to the winners. Fudd took home $40,000 for winning the 3-point contest. Carleton received $30,000 for finishing second and Howard got $15,000 for placing third.

Patrick Mahomes cleared with no limits for the start of Chiefs training camp after knee surgery

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been cleared to participate in the start of training camp, checking off one of the major goals that the two-time MVP set for himself when he underwent surgery late last year to repair torn ligaments in his left knee.

Mahomes said Friday he visited earlier this week with Dr. Dan Cooper, the Dallas-based orthopedic surgeon who performed the operation, and that he met all the benchmarks necessary to report to Missouri Western State University on time.

The Chiefs begin practice Saturday for rookies, quarterbacks and players coming off injuries. Full-squad work begins next week.

None of those players is more important than Mahomes, who hurt his knee late in a loss to the Chargers in December. He underwent surgery immediately afterward, and rather than spend the offseason at his Texas home like usual, Mahomes toiled away at the Chiefs’ practice facility, pushing forward with his rehab so he would be ready to go by the late-July start of camp.

“It was always the goal to be able to practice when I got to training camp. We kind of hit that step,” Mahomes said. “Now, it’s about building and keep getting better and better, so when the regular season comes around, I can be available.”

Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Mahomes was fully cleared — no limitations at all — but that he would evaluate the cornerstone of the franchise on a daily basis. Whether he participates in any of the Chiefs’ preseason games remains to be seen.

The preseason opener against the Rams is Aug. 15. But the far more important date is Sept. 14, when the Chiefs welcome the AFC West-champion Broncos to Arrowhead Stadium for a marquee Monday night showdown in Week 1.

“We’ll see about games and all that once we get there,” Reid said, “but right now, we’re just taking it day by day.”

Mahomes, who signed a lucrative restructured contract in June that will tie him to the Chiefs through the 2033 season, plans to wear a brace on his left knee, much like he did while recovering from an injury in college, in part because it doesn’t really bother him.

But other than that, he plans to participate in camp just like he has for the past decade.

“Like, I’m a competitor,” Mahomes said, “so gameday, I’m going to want to be out there. But I understand the process of getting myself ready to play in the regular season is more important (than the preseason). But we’ll see. I mean, the coaches and doctors will kind of make that decision for me, but I’ll prepare myself like I’m going to play. And then if I’m just doing a very hard warmup, I’ll take that as serious as playing in the preseason game. It’s just a couple of weeks away, but it feels like a long ways away.”

Not nearly as long as it probably felt in December, when Mahomes was rehabbing largely by himself. He got some advice from Tom Brady and former teammate Tyrann Mathieu, who overcame similar injuries in their careers, about how to proceed, and then he found an unexpected virtual workout buddy in Eagles tight end Zach Ertz.

Ertz also tore his ACL last December, and the two would send each other videos of themselves doing deadlifts, sprints and agility, each trying to upstage the other as they progressed through the long, difficult days of the rehab process.

“They all said, ‘Stay on top of it,’” Mahomes said. “I mean, it’s a long process. I remember sitting on the table and watching us play those last few games, how much it hurt me. But I knew that if I continue to work, I can be at this spot where I get cleared for practice, and now I’m trying to get to that spot where I’m cleared to play for the regular season.”

Notes: DT Omarr Norman-Lott is likely to begin camp on the physically unable-to-perform list after tearing his right ACL in October, Reid said. “Big guys with ACLs, it takes a little time to come back,” he said. … WR Rashee Rice was cleared to practice after surgery in May to clean up debris in his right knee. … CB Mansoor Delane, the Chiefs’ first-round pick, was undergoing physicals Friday and Reid is hopeful that he will be on the practice field soon. He hurt his shoulder during offseason workouts.

Tens of thousands of people flee raging wildfires in France and Spain, some escaping by boat

ARCACHON, France (AP) — Massive forest fires forced the evacuation of some 200,000 people in southwestern France and central Spain on Friday, with residents fleeing towns near Madrid and Bordeaux as the flames raged out of control.

Firefighters and authorities in both European countries were caught off guard by the virulence of the fires, which were fueled by high temperatures and the long-term effects of climate change. Firefighters in Spain admitted the fires were so fast and violent that they could not be tackled head on. Some people even fled by boat when flames swept through the touristic area on France’s Atlantic coast.

Some 141,000 fled homes in the Gironde and Landes departments in France, the French interior ministry said. In central Spain, 60,000 were forced from their homes, according to the Spanish interior ministry.

Dozens of French firefighters were injured, authorities said, but no deaths were reported in either country despite the scenes of panic as townsfolk fled by car and police went door to door to tell people to leave as large plumes of smoke rose from the neighboring woodlands.

Wildfire headed toward Bordeaux

France’s Interior minister Laurent Nunez said that the large wildfire that ravaged large swaths of land in southwestern France is heading toward the city of Bordeaux.

Speaking to French TV channel Tf1, Nunez said the wildfire that earlier in the day forced the evacuation of the Cap Ferret peninsula has swept across 140 square kilometers, with 110,000 people fleeing their homes in the Gironde region.

“We learned in the middle of the afternoon that, following the wind shift, it had become a large, self-sustaining fire that is extremely difficult to bring under control,” Nunez said. “It is now moving east, toward the Bordeaux metropolitan area. We are going to reorganize our response so we can fight it from the ground and prevent it from advancing toward Bordeaux.”

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron has asked the Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to activate the government’s crisis response unit, and has instructed the armed forces to mobilize in order to provide the maximum possible reinforcement to the civilian emergency services.

“This fire that we have been living with and fighting against here in Gironde for three days has reached an unprecedented magnitude,” Sophie Brocas, the Nouvelle Aquitaine Prefect, said. “To combat it, we will receive extremely significant national reinforcements.”

The blaze started on Wednesday near Cap Ferret peninsula on France’s Atlantic coast, located 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Bordeaux. Local authorities in the Gironde department said 53 homes and a campsite were destroyed, adding that 42 firefighters were injured. Around 1,500 people who fled the peninsula arrived by sea in the city of Arcachon, some aboard small water taxis and others on larger boats.

“It’s quite impressive and even frightening,” said Laurent Moretti, a resident in the town of Arès. “An evacuation on this scale has never happened before. All we really hope is that the firefighters can quickly get it under control.”

A separate wildfire broke out in Landes, causing 31,000 evacuations. Authorities believe the causes of both fires in France were accidental.

More than 20,000 people had already been evacuated from towns and vacation resorts on Thursday, but that number exploded on Friday as both France and Spain asked fellow European Union members for help.

Macron said France will receive EU reinforcements including two Croatian Canadair firefighting aircraft, two Portuguese Air Tractor aircraft, and two heavy-lift Black Hawk helicopters from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said that Italy and Greece are each sending two Canadair water-dumping airplanes, while a thousand Spanish soldiers helped firefighting efforts.

Spain struggles to tackle multiple fires amid a heatwave

In Spain, the government declared a national emergency for wildfires for the first time as the blazes in Madrid and the nearby province of Ávila prompted the evacuation of some 60,000 people from towns west of the capital.

“I want to send a message of support to the thousands of families who face a difficult night ahead,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who will visit the fire-ravaged area on Saturday, wrote on X.

The fires are being fanned by a heat wave with temperatures expected to top 39 degrees Celsius (102 Fahrenheit).

Two major fires near Madrid merged into one single blaze that had quickly charred 30 square kilometers (11.5 square miles) by Friday afternoon. Regional President Isabel Díaz-Ayuso called it the worst in Madrid’s history.

Francisco Martín, the central government representative for the region of Madrid, said that another 20,000 people had been ordered to shelter at home. Martín said more evacuations could be coming and that the priority now was to protect the town of San Lorenzo, the home of the Escorial, Philip II’s 16th-century royal palace and monastery.

Meanwhile, a blaze in Ávila, less than two hours northwest of Madrid, consumed 90 square kilometers (34 square miles). Spain’s Civil Guard arrested one man and is investigating another for allegedly having used heavy machinery in an area where it was prohibited for fire risk. Police believe a spark ignited the fire on Thursday.

“All around the town was smoke and fire, I was scared. Everything was fire and smoke, people were nervous,” 33-year-old Joaquin Espinosa said before he and his neighbors were evacuated from the village of Chapinería.

Devastating summer for fires in Spain

In one week, Spain has had the worst fires on record for both the regions of Castilla La Mancha and Madrid.

Firefighters were still trying to extinguish Spain’s second-largest ever fire in the Guadalajara province of Castilla La Mancha after it had destroyed some 320 square kilometers (120 square miles) over the last week. Thirteen people were also killed in a fire in southern Spain earlier this month, the deadliest fire in recent memory for Spain.

Spanish Minister for the Ecological Transition Sara Aagesen said that Spain has seen 1,140 square kilometers (440 square miles) already burned this year, more than five times the burned terrain it had through the first half of 2025.

Spain has experienced record temperatures in recent summers and forest fires of increasing violence.

Wildfire analyst Raúl Quílez said that besides the impact of climate change, Spain’s rural areas have become more exposed to fires with the abandonment of farmlands that traditionally provided buffer zones around villages. Now, he said, trees and undergrowth often reach right to homes, putting them in harm’s way.

“That makes a perfect cocktail for this type of fires,” Quílez told The Associated Press by phone from Valencia, where he works as an analyst for regional firefighters.

___

Alicia León in Chapinería, Spain, contributed to this story. Petrequin reported from Paris. Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain.

SpaceX launches Starship on another test flight, this time with the most advanced Starlinks

STARBASE, TX. (AP) – SpaceX’s mammoth Starship rocket blasted off Friday on another test flight stretching halfway around the world, this time carrying 20 of the most advanced Starlinks.

Towering 407 feet (124 meters), Starship soared from the company’s base at the southern tip of Texas. NASA monitored the flight, a critical step toward using the Starship as a lunar lander for moon crews.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX replaced six of the 33 engines on the first-stage booster after they failed to ignite last week, resulting in a last-second launch abort. The previous Starship flight in May also experienced engine trouble, which prevented the booster from making a controlled return.

It was the 13th flight of the world’s biggest and most powerful rocket, and the second this year of the new version dubbed V3. Like the previous demo that climbed as high as 125 miles (200 kilometers), neither the booster nor spacecraft was being saved, instead ditching into the sea. The booster was bound for the Gulf of Mexico and the stainless steel, retro-looking spacecraft for the Indian Ocean more than 10,000 miles (16,000 kilometers) from where the hourlong flight began.

The Starlinks had a job to do before reentering over the Indian Ocean. Their solo-flying time was expected to be no more than 20 minutes.

Once deployed in space from the Starship’s Pez-like dispenser, the Starlinks were going to extend their solar wings and antennas, and attempt to communicate via lasers with older Starlink models already in orbit. With more than 10,000 Starlinks currently providing internet, SpaceX boasts the world’s largest satellite constellation.

Six of the newly launched Starlinks carried cameras to photograph Starship’s heat shield. The heat shield was also equipped with sensors to measure the extreme pressure placed on the spacecraft during launch. Most of the heat shield’s thermal tiles were black, but some were deliberately painted white to simulate missing tiles, part of an experiment to test the shield’s robustness.

NASA needs Starship to wrap up testing and reach orbit soon so the Artemis III astronauts — three Americans and one Italian — can practice docking their capsule with it next year.

Starship is also the vehicle with which Musk intends to build a city on Mars. He’s already booking tourist trips to Mars, as well as the moon.

The latest test flight was delayed first by the July 16 launch abort, then again on Thursday by thick clouds from Tropical Storm Bertha.

Machete attacker get 45 years

QUITMAN – The last of three people who assaulted a Wood County woman in 2023 was sentenced to 45 years in state prison on Friday.According to our news partner KETK, Acey Joe Farris, 64 of Quitman sentenced to serve 45 years in state prison by visiting Judge Paul Banner on Friday in connection to an assault that happened in Wood County in 2023. On April 6 2023, Farris, Bryan Scott Ransom and Ruby Dee Isaacs went to a Wood County woman’s property without permission at around 10:30 p.m. that night. Continue reading Machete attacker get 45 years

Stocks waver on Wall Street while crude oil prices fall for the first time in a week

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks drifted on Wall Street and oil prices fell for the first time in a week, even as heavy fighting in the Middle East again threatened to slow the global flow of oil. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.6%. All three indexes finished the week lower. After shooting to $102 a barrel a day earlier, Brent crude fell almost 4% to settle at $96.78 a barrel. Treasury yields moved lower in the bond market. European markets rose and Asian markets closed lower.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks wavered Friday as oil prices slipped for the first time in a week, but Wall Street is still heading for a losing week.

The S&P 500 was mostly unchanged. The index is on track for its second consecutive losing week, which hasn’t happened since March.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 167 points, or 0.3%, as of 2:51 p.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq fell 0.6% and was weighed down by sharp losses from several big stocks. Both indexes are also on track for weekly losses.

Micron Technology fell 7.5% and Nvidia fell 1.1%. Both companies have large market values that tend to weigh more heavily on the market. They were big reasons for the technology-heavy Nasdaq losing more ground and for the broader market being kept in check despite more gainers than losers within the S&P 500.

U.S. stocks are seesawing as oil prices slip.

Wall Street is closing out a week of increasing pressure from a sharp escalation in the U.S. war with Iran. Heavy fighting in the Middle East again threatened to slow the global flow of oil and gas. Many of the buffers in the energy market from earlier in the year, including strategic reserves in the U.S., have also been weakened.

“If escalation continues and the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, the impact will land on an energy market with far less resilience than in the spring,” wrote Theodore Bunzel, head of geopolitical advisory at Lazard Asset Management, in a report.

Brent crude, the international standard, fell 4.2% to $96.51. It has generally been rising all week and moved back above $100 on Thursday before easing a bit. Before the Iran war began in late February it was trading around $72 per barrel.

Bond yields also eased and relieved some of the pressure on stocks. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.68% from 4.71% late Thursday.

Markets in Europe gained ground, while Asian markets closed lower.

The U.S. is also ramping up its global trade war with a fresh round of tariffs on dozens of nations. The new round of tariffs impacts nearly all U.S. imports and they are paid by companies importing those goods, who then typically pass the added costs along to consumers. That move came just as the clock was running out Friday on stopgap levies the president imposed after a stinging defeat for other tariffs at the Supreme Court.

Rising energy prices and fresh tariffs could result in hotter inflation, which has been squeezing consumers and looming over the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy.

The Fed meets later this month and has been closely monitoring prices and their impact. Rising inflation dashed hopes earlier this year for an interest rate cut. Wall Street has since leaned more toward a potential rate increase, which the central bank can use to help cool inflation.

Wall Street is anticipating one rate hike by the end of the year, with a nearly 36% chance that could happen at the upcoming meeting next week, according to CME FedWatch.

Higher energy costs threaten to take a bigger chunk out of household budgets, which means a shift in spending toward more basic needs, like gasoline. Nationally, a gallon of gasoline costs $4.10 per gallon, according to AAA. That’s still lower than this spring as the conflict in Iran expanded, but it’s almost a dollar higher than last year at this time.

Investors are worried about the impact to companies profits. Those profits and expectations for more growth are what typically justifies a stock’s value. The latest round of corporate earnings showed that companies are still notching growth, but concerns are growing.

American Express fell 4.9% despite reporting a jump in profit during its most recent quarter. Amex maintained its profit forecast for the year and has been spending more heavily to keep wealthy individuals amid more competition.

Worries about the sustainability of broader profits are on top of lingering concerns about AI-focused tech companies. Companies like Alphabet and Nvidia have been spending heavily on AI technology. Investors are increasingly questioning whether those investments will produce profits to justify the large stock values that have been steering the broader market higher throughout the year.

East Texas woman named new Game Warden Captain for Nacogdoches district

NACOGDOCHES (KETK) – The Texas Game Wardens announced the promotion of a new Nacogdoches District Captain on Friday.

Shawna Poole, an East Texas native, is returning to her roots and moving back to the Piney Woods to serve Nacogdoches as the district’s new Game Warden Captain.

Captain Poole said her interest in a law enforcement career began at a young age with her involvement in the Nacogdoches Police Explorers.

After attending college at Stephen F. Austin State University and some time as an educator, she found her passion and graduated from the 59th Texas Game Warden Academy in 2015.

After graduation, Poole was stationed in Webb County and after spending a year down south took the opportunity to get closer to home and transferred to Freestone County, where she was serving before this promotion.

Poole was recognized in 2022 as the Hunter Education Game Warden of the Year and in 2016 she received the Director’s Citation Award.

Captain Poole’s service to the Nacogdoches District will begin August 1.

‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ debuts season 3 teaser trailer

Jamie Campbell Bower stars in season 3 of 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.' (Ben Rothstein/Prime Video)

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3 teaser trailer has arrived.

Prime Video released the new trailer for the upcoming third season on Friday. It debuted during a panel at San Diego Comic-Con for the fantasy series.

Appearing on the panel were showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, as well as cast members Benjamin Walker, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Owain Arthur, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Charlie Vickers and Daniel Weyman. Season 3 newcomer Jamie Campbell Bower also participated in the panel.

Season 3 finds Middle-earth at war. "Five years have passed since the fall of Eregion. Sauron’s armies have marched across the whole of the world, conquering all in their path. Only a few isolated pockets stand between the Dark Lord and total victory – Khazad-dûm, where the Dwarves are now sealed deep within their mountain halls, and the elven realms of Lindon and Rivendell, which are protected by their Three Rings," according to the season's official description.

"But deep in the land of Mordor, in his newly completed tower of Barad-dûr, the Dark Lord toils day and night, obsessed with harnessing a power that will bring the last of his enemies to their knees: One Ring to rule them all," the description continues. "Now, all the free peoples of Middle-earth – Dwarves, Elves, Men, and Wizards alike – must find a way to come together, in a race against time to prevent Sauron from achieving his goal of utter domination of all life."

The panel also revealed that Simon Pegg will take on the voice of the Balrog.

The first four episodes of season 3 are set to premiere on Nov. 11. They are followed by episodes five and six premiering on Nov. 18 and the final two episodes dropping on Nov. 25.

Discord ordered to protect children from online predators

AUSTIN (KETK) — The popular social messaging app Discord has been handed a 90-day deadline to assure the protection of Texas children after Attorney General Ken Paxton secured a court order on Thursday demanding the app add safety parameters for children.

The court hearings come after the Texas attorney general’s office started an investigation into the app in Oct. 2025 due to reports that the platform is “addictive” and has allegedly exposed minors to sexual exploitation and extremist content. Paxton sued the online platform in May 2026, claiming that the tech company was deceiving users about the platform’s safety.

Nearly 500,000 reports of suspected child exploitation on Discord were submitted to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in 2025 alone, according to the Texas Attorney General’s Office.

Currently in the United States, users under 13 are prohibited from using Discord according to the company’s own policies, but Paxton claims that they have no way of actually knowing how many of the 200 million monthly active users are teenagers, or how many adults are posing as teenagers. More than 90% of users are never asked to confirm their age, the attorney general’s office said.

“Discord built a platform where adult predators could hunt Texas children, then looked parents in the eye and told them it was safe,” Attorney General Paxton said. “It wasn’t. Discord built safety measures to protect these kids. It extended these measures to children in Britain and denied them to children in Texas. That ends now. My office forced Discord to turn those protections on for every Texas child, and I will never stop fighting to keep predators away from our kids.”

According to Paxton’s office, Discord announced in February 2026 that it would roll our protections for children worldwide after facing a legal deadline in the United Kingdom. Discord, however, delayed the rollout until the second half of 2026.

After a two-day evidentiary hearing that included the testimony from four Texas parents whose children experienced abuse or exploitation, the court ordered a temporary injunction which orders Discord to extend its existing safety features in the United Kingdom to Texas within the next 90 days.

Under the order, Discord must implement the following:

“Discord must route messages from strangers into a separate request inbox.”
“Block sensitive content for Texas teens and lock that setting unless it confirms the user is an adult.”
“Close adult-only spaces to anyone it has not age-assured.”

Additionally, Discord must report its progress on the protections to the Office of the Attorney General every 30 days. The judge’s order will stand until a final judgment is reached in the trial.

CBS NFL analyst and former Cowboys QB Tony Romo arrested on suspicion of OWI

MILWAUKEE (AP) — CBS NFL analyst and former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has been arrested on suspicion of operating a vehicle while under the influence.

According to the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office’s arrest report, Romo performed poorly on field sobriety tests after getting stopped while driving south on Interstate 43 on Thursday. Sheriff’s officials said Romo was taken into custody, booked and released.

He has a court appearance set for Sept. 21.

Romo went to high school about 35 miles from Milwaukee in Burlington, Wisconsin.

The 46-year-old Romo has been the lead game analyst for CBS’ NFL coverage since 2017 after making four Pro Bowl appearances during an NFL career that ran from 2004-16 and was spent entirely with Dallas.

CBS had no comment regarding the arrest.

Romo remains the Cowboys’ franchise leader in career touchdown passes with 248. He held the franchise record for career passing yards (34,183) until Dak Prescott overtook him last season.

A third death has been confirmed from catastrophic Texas floods, governor says

AUSTIN (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday that a third person has been confirmed killed by catastrophic floods this month that prompted more than 500 rescues, damaged homes and businesses, and are still making some areas inaccessible.

Abbott said a person attempting to drive through floodwaters was swept away Monday.

The governor went to the city of Cotulla, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) southwest of San Antonio, for a flyover to assess the damage of floodwaters he said have left some areas of the city still unreachable. The Nueces River reached major flood stage at 29 feet (8.8 meters), but has crested and is expected to continue to decline.

Other areas downstream will continue to see waters rise into early August, notably at the Lake Corpus Christi reservoir, Abbott said.

“Anyone living, working, commuting or just walking around areas downstream of the Nueces … needs to be aware of possible dangers,” Abbott said.

The Central Texas area was pounded by rain for several days last week. Tropical Storm Bertha made landfall Thursday, but Abbott said state officials had not received any new reports of flooded homes or businesses from that storm.

The governor has already issued a disaster declaration for 59 counties and requested federal disaster help for 33 counties.

Sky Yang, Sean Kaufman to star in ‘Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow’ film adaptation

A photo of Sean Kaufman. (Eddy Chen) | A photo of Sky Yang. (James Greenhalgh)

Sky Yang and Sean Kaufman are taking on a popular book film adaptation.

The actors have joined the cast of the movie adaptation of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, ABC Audio has learned.

They join star Daisy Edgar-Jones, who is set to play Sadie Green in the upcoming Paramount Pictures film adaptation of Gabrielle Zevin’s bestselling novel. Yang will play the role of Sam Masur while Kaufman will take on the character Marx Watanabe.

CODA director Siân Heder will write and direct the upcoming film based on script drafts written by Mark Bomback and Zevin.

The film is a modern love story about two friends who meet during childhood and reunite as adults. Together, they create video games and find intimacy "in digital storytelling that eludes them in their real lives," according to its official synopsis.

"The relationship explores the intimacy, passion, and heartbreak of creative collaboration, set against the visually groundbreaking worlds brought to life by the rising video game industry of the 1990s-2000s," the synopsis continues.

Zevin will executive produce while Wyck Godfrey, Marty Bowen and Isaac Klausner will produce for Temple Hill.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow spent over a year on The New York Times Best Sellers list. It has sold over 4 million copies worldwide, including 2 million in North America alone.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow will be released in theaters on Nov. 12, 2027.

Man sentenced to 10 years for Trinity County child sex crime

TRINITY COUNTY (KETK) — A 33-year-old man was sentenced to 10 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Friday after being convicted on three felony charges related to child sex crimes. The Trinity County Sheriff’s Office said Timothy Michael Zawodny entered a no contest plea. He was convicted of sexual performance of a child and possession of child pornography.

A district judge ordered that Zawodny serve his 10-year sentence concurrently and register as a sex offender under Texas Law. Zawodny was arrested in February 2022 after investigators with the Texas Attorney General’s Office and Trinity County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant.

Sheriff Woody Wallace stated that protecting children remains one of the Sheriff’s Office’s highest priorities and thanked the investigators, prosecutors, and the Texas Attorney General’s Office for their work in bringing this case to a conclusion.

Hunter Schafer, Michelle Yeoh star in ‘Blade Runner 2099’ teaser trailer

Hunter Schafer stars in 'Blade Runner 2099.' (Amazon MGM Studios)

The teaser trailer for Blade Runner 2099 has arrived.

Prime Video released the new trailer for its upcoming limited series on Friday. It was first revealed onstage during a panel at San Diego Comic-Con with stars Michelle Yeoh and Hunter Schafer.

"Fifty years after the events of Blade Runner 2049, Los Angeles has been reborn, just not by humanity. Cora, a fugitive in a final bid to stop running, takes on one last identity: a Blade Runner. Forced to partner with Olwen, a Replicant days from dying, she hunts down a runaway hiding a truth that could collapse their fragile city," according to an official description of the show.

The trailer finds Schafer's Cora monologuing about the state of the world.

"We already fought a war. We lost. Replicants. They keep taking it all away. Not much longer until we have nothing. Until we are nothing," she says.

All of the limited series' eight episodes are set to premiere on Nov. 25.

Dimitri Abold and Lewis Gribben also serve as series regulars alongside Yeoh and Schafer. Katelyn Rose Downey, Daniel Rigby, Johnny Harris, Amy Lennox, Sheila Atim, Matthew Needham, Tom Burke and Maurizio Lombardi are recurring guest stars on the show.

Silka Luisa serves as showrunner on the series while Ridley Scott, Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson executive produce.

Former President Barack Obama surprises WNBA All-Stars at their practice at his Presidential Center

CHICAGO (AP) — Caitlin Clark was in awe after meeting former President Barack Obama after he surprised the WNBA All-Stars on Friday at his Presidential Center.

Clark called her conversation with Obama “a moment I’ll probably remember for the rest of my life.”

“It was obviously super cool. He just complimented me for the way that I handle everything, obviously with everything that’s been going on,” the Indiana Fever star said Friday after meeting Obama. “He’s somebody that has been in front of the media quite a bit and he reminded me, ‘When I got famous in my 40s, I didn’t have to do it in my 20s.’”

Obama spoke to the players for a few minutes on the basketball court at the center which opened last month.

“Some of you I’m meeting for the first time. All of you are extraordinary and I could not be bigger fans,” Obama said. “The way the game has been growing lately, the way it’s been picking up and people paying attention to your excellence, I think it’s been something for basketball fans, generally, a sight to see. It’s been making me happy.”

He spoke to the players for a few minutes before taking a group photo. Obama then spent about 10 minutes shaking hands with the players and taking photos with them, including Clark.

“I know many of you are involved in some wonderful ventures off the court, looking out for other young people and inspiring them. I just wanted to say thanks,” Obama said.

The former president gave a shout out to A’ja Wilson in his talk to the players and then went over and chatted with her as well.

After the photo-ops were done, Obama stepped on the court and talked with New York Liberty star Jonquel Jones, getting down in a defensive stance for a few seconds on her.

“I feel like as a hooper, you know when someone’s challenging you. So I was just like, let me go over there with the basketball, you know, do a little cross, bump him a little bit,” Jones said. “And I knew that I would get him activated a little because he’s a hooper, too.”

Jones said she had met Obama once before.

“He’s a role model for me and it was nice to be able to have that moment,” Jones said. “Someone that I look up to, someone that has paved the way for a lot of people to be here and see him continuing, his family continuing to give back to the community when they’ve already done so much is just so inspirational.”

That was the extent of his time on the court. He told the players that he didn’t play 5-on-5 anymore to protect his Achilles. He did say that he broke in the court with a game of “horse.”

Obama was the first sitting U.S. President to attend a WNBA game when he and his daughter, Sasha, sat courtside in 2010 for a Washington Mystics game. He also has hosted many of them at the White House after they either won WNBA championships or NCAA titles.

Obama was gifted with a No. 44 WNBA All-Star jersey that the players were going to autograph later.

This was the first professional sport to use the basketball court at the center, which opened in June. Obama went to the NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles in February. Obama said he unfortunately wasn’t going to be able to make the All-Star Game on Saturday because of a previous engagement with his wife, Michelle.

“It’s fitting for our 30th anniversary that we’re here as the first sports league to play in the Obama Presidential Center,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said. “Someone who has inspired hundreds of millions of people to dream big and accomplish things like President Obama has and his tie to basketball is amazing, too. I think there’s no more fitting person to be meeting with the players.”

After talking to the players, Obama went across the center to talk to a group of investors in the league and nearly 100 high school girls to talk.

Water line repaired late Friday

UPDATE: KTBB received this notice from the City Of Marshall. Repairs are now complete and water pressure is being restored to areas impacted by the water main break on FM 1998. Customers who continue to experience low water pressure after 7 p.m. Friday or over the weekend should contact the Public Works Emergency Line at 903-935-4487.

MARSHALL – A water main break has caused low water pressure across the city of Marshall on Friday as crews work to make repairs. According to our news partner, KETK, the City of Marshall is asking residents to limit water use.

A 16-inch water main is leaking due to a break from construction along FM 1998 and east of Loop 390. Residents and businesses on the east side of Marshall are reportedly experiencing low water pressure.

As crews work to repair the break, residents and businesses in the Oak Lawn Municipal Golf Course area are asked to limit their water usage.

New court date for shooter

TYLER – A trial date has been set for 23-year-old Dayton Morgan, who is accused of fatally shooting a man during an alleged road rage incident in Tyler. According to our news partner KETK, on Friday, Judge Austin Reeve Jackson announced that a trial has been scheduled for Feb. 8, 2027. Morgan faces a murder charge in the death of Trevor Julian, a 29-year-old from Whitehouse.

The prosecution has requested that a hearing for a bond reduction be postponed until early next month while they gather a mental health evaluation, as records have indicated that Morgan has a history of anger issues. Defense attempted to have the documents suppressed from trial, but the request was denied.

The Tyler Police Department reported that officers responded to a shooting incident on February 13 at approximately 5:10 p.m. The shooting took place in the eastbound lanes of Grande Boulevard, where vehicles were halted at a red light at Paluxy Drive. Continue reading New court date for shooter

Weekend Watchlist: What’s new in theaters, on streaming

Ready, set, binge! Here's a look at some of the new movies and TV shows coming to theaters and streaming services this weekend:

Hulu
King of the Hill: Hank and Peggy return for season 15 of the adult animated TV series.

Paramount+
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: The Star Trek series returns for its fourth season.

HBO Max
Stuart Fails to Save the Universe: The Big Bang Theory spinoff series makes its debut.

Netflix
72 Hours: Kevin Hart and Marcello Hernández star in the new comedy film.

AMC, AMC+
The Walking Dead: Dead City: Maggie and Negan are back in the season 3 premiere.

Movie theaters
Her Private Hell: Sophie Thatcher and Charles Melton star in the horror thriller film.

That’s all for this week’s Weekend Watchlist – happy streaming!

11 indicted in smuggling deaths of 7 migrants in rail cargo container in Texas

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A U.S. attorney announced a federal indictment on Friday against 11 people in the smuggling deaths of seven migrants who were hiding inside a sweltering rail cargo container in Texas in May.

Six people were found dead inside the shipping container in a rail yard in Laredo, Texas, and another had been left for dead alongside the tracks along the way, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

“It’s very hard to survive in an un-air conditioned, sealed container with … the temperature being what it was on that day,” Simmons said.

The group boarded the train in the Texas border town of Del Rio and headed to San Antonio, which officials believe was their intended final destination. But when smugglers opened the door, a man fell out, so the smugglers closed the door and fled. It’s unclear if he was already dead by then, Simmons said.

The remaining six people were left inside the shipping container, and the next day the train departed for Laredo, where a worker at the Union Pacific Rail Yard saw a leg sticking out and found the six bodies inside.

“One of those individuals frantically contacted their family as they were dying from the sweltering heat in that container,” Simmons said.

The migrants were from Honduras and Mexico and included a 14-year-old boy, authorities said. Six of the bodies were discovered by a Union Pacific employee. The Webb County medical examiner suspected the deaths were caused by hyperthermia, or heat stroke.

The shipping container was stacked on top of another container, could not be opened from the inside and had no ventilation or cooling system. The temperatures that day ranged from 88 to 92 degrees Fahrenheit (31 to 33 degrees Celsius), the U.S. Attorney’s office said.

The group was indicted on two charges: Conspiracy to transport aliens, resulting in death, and aiding and abetting the transportation of aliens resulting in death. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, Simmons said.

The migrants paid “generally the equivalent of $1,500 -$10,000 to individuals in Honduras, Mexico, the United States, and elsewhere, to be transported into the interior of the United States,” according to the indictment.

One of the defendants was arrested May 12 in Del Rio, and eight more were arrested over several days last week in central and south Texas. Two of the 11 remain at large, including a man and a woman. Officials said four are U.S. citizens and two are permanent U.S. residents. They didn’t specify any other nationalities.

Smuggling on trains has long been a concern partly because trains headed to the United States often slow or stop in Mexico before crossing the border. That creates an opportunity for smugglers or immigrants to climb aboard or hide drugs or other contraband on a train before it enters the U.S.