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Blanche must meet with Epstein victims to earn confirmation vote, Sen. Tillis says

Sen. Thom Tillis attends the confirmation hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee for acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Capitol Hill, July 15, 2026, in Washington. Win McNamee/Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) -- A key GOP member of the Senate Judiciary Committee whose vote is needed to secure acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's confirmation as the next attorney general said Thursday that he will require Blanche to sit down with victims of deceased convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein before he can vote for him.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., announced the new condition during a hearing Thursday where one of the witnesses was Epstein victim Dani Bensky.

Facing a potentially rocky confirmation, Blanche made a brief attempt to meet with Epstein survivors on Capitol Hill Thursday afternoon.

He and his team arrived at a Senate Judiciary Committee office where they sat for about half an hour, but no one joined them.

"I rearranged my schedule to try to meet with them," Blanche told ABC News after leaving the office. "I've been here waiting. It didn't work out, so we're going to see if there's a way we can meet either later today or sometime soon."

"There's nothing newsworthy about this fact because the Department of Justice will always meet with victims or their representatives, and if those victims or their representatives have evidence that anybody committed a crime, whether it has to do with Jeffrey Epstein, anybody else that was associated with Jeffrey Epstein, or anybody else, we will of course move forward and investigate and prosecute," Blanche said.

Bensky testified in Thursday's hearing that Blanche has never responded to repeated attempts to reach him to sit down and recount her story.

"Blanche was willing to say that he would meet with [Epstein victims] and counsel -- I understand the restriction that counsel has to be present," Tillis said. "I expect that meeting to occur before I vote to vote out of this committee and I'm trying to get to yes. But this is a very important part of getting to yes."

"There should not be any reason why, based on what Mr. Blanche said yesterday, if he said that he would do it today, then he can certainly do it over the next two weeks," Tillis added.

Blanche told lawmakers during his confirmation hearing Wednesday that he would be happy to meet with victims but initially said he couldn't meet with them personally if they were represented by legal counsel, before correcting himself later in the hearing.

"I never said I can't meet with them. I said if they were represented, I had to meet through counsel," Blanche said. "But of course, I can meet with them. I'm the acting attorney general of the United States, so yes, I can."

Blanche must meet with Epstein victims to earn confirmation vote, Sen. Tillis says

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., announced the new condition during a hearing Thursday where one of the witnesses was Epstein victim Dani Bensky.

Facing a potentially rocky confirmation, Blanche made a brief attempt to meet with Epstein survivors on Capitol Hill Thursday afternoon.

He and his team arrived at a Senate Judiciary Committee office where they sat for about half an hour, but no one joined them.

Bensky testified in Thursday's hearing that Blanche has never responded to repeated attempts to reach him to sit down and recount her story.

"There should not be any reason why, based on what Mr. Blanche said yesterday, if he said that he would do it today, then he can certainly do it over the next two weeks," Tillis added.

New Washington, DC, bill would allow foster youths to select their own legal families

ABC News' Alex Presha (middle) discusses the SOUL Act with Princess (left) and Kay Kay (right). (ABC News)

(WASHINGTON) -- A new bill in Washington, D.C., would allow foster youth to help define their own families — and it's crafted by the very young people it seeks to serve.

Former and current foster youth helped create the Support, Opportunity, Unity and Legal Relationships Act, known as the SOUL Act. It's a Washington, D.C., bill that would allow teens -- ages 16 and up -- to legally enlist multiple guardians, blood relatives or other trusted adults for support without having to completely cut legal ties to their birth parents.

Five of the youth involved in the legislation process sat down with ABC News' Alex Presha in an exclusive interview for ABC News Live Prime.

The SOUL Act, which received unanimous support in the D.C. City Council, was signed by Mayor Muriel Bowser and sent to Congress where it has bipartisan support. It's expected to take effect in September.

Kay Kay, 26, was born and raised in Washington, D.C., and placed in the foster care system when she was eight years old. She and the other foster youth advocates did not want to give their last names to ABC News for privacy reasons.

Kay Kay said her mother -- who was raising her and her four sisters alone -- just didn't have the resources to care for them. "My mom did what she could," Kay Kay told ABC News. "We all knew we was in poverty."

She said she shuffled between foster homes and relatives until she turned 16 years old. Kay Kay learned to advocate for herself, figuring out her rights and speaking up as a teenager. She said she demanded that social workers include her in decisions about her own life.

"I was just speaking up for myself, like in an advocacy role," Kay Kay said. "I thought I just always was an advocate for myself, for people, for thing. ... I just always had that spirit in me." That experience is what motivated her to team up with other current and former foster youth to help make a difference for the next generation.

"This would be the first permanency plan embracing that social norms and a family dynamic look different for each and every person," Cierra, 28, a foster youth advocate and former foster child who worked on the bill, said to Washington, D.C., councilmembers during a council hearing she attended to advocate for the bill. Kay Kay, along with over 20 other youths who lived through D.C.'s foster care system, were enlisted by the Children's Law Center and Family & Youth Initiative to craft the legislation.

If successful, our nation's capital would be the second jurisdiction with a law like this on the books. Kansas passed similar legislation in 2024.

Through the SOUL Act, trusted adults who are chosen by youth and have been approved by the city, can aid them in making decisions about education, financial management, accessing health care and can even provide financial assistance and a home for them to live in.

"Your family can be your coach, your family can be your teacher, your family can be that auntie, uncle, cousin," Princess, 27, an advocate and former foster child who worked on the bill, said in an interview with Presha. "Your family can, should be, and will always be your choice, no matter what anybody tells you. And I hope that they carry that within their hearts."

Many D.C. teens choose to stay in the foster care system for resources, like education programs, housing placement and an assigned social worker after they age out, according to the Children's Law Center. And while some have family members who can support them in certain ways, not all can provide a stable place to live. Under the new law, teens would be able to build their "SOUL family" and maintain that stability.

Youths who age out of foster care without support are more likely to experience housing insecurity, incarceration, unemployment, or have children at an early age, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

According to federal data, between 15,000 to 20,000 young people a year exit the foster care system -- nationally -- without adoption, a legal guardian or reunification with their biological family. In D.C., 18% of foster youth age out of the system without that support -- twice the rate of the national average.

The estimated annual cost of a "SOUL family" in Washington, D.C., is about half of the price for a current foster care placement -- $24,000 per year vs. $45,000 per year — according to the Children's Law Center.

"I'm hoping that the youth can have something that I never had...Every child deserves a great childhood," said 19-year-old- Zaniya.

Cierra continued, "I believe that there is a youth who's coming after me who deserves a community...doesn't matter about your behavior, doesn't matter what you look like, it doesn't matter where you came from. You deserve to have a family."

Teen charged in triple murder outside DMV while another shooter remains at large

In this Feb. 21, 2025, file photo, a police perimeter is erected at the crime scene at the Fairdale Kentucky branch DMV in Louisville, Kentucky. According to Louisville police, three people were shot and killed outside a drivers licensing office. (Stephen Cohen/Getty Images, FILE)

(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) -- A teenager has been arrested in the 2025 fatal shooting of three people outside of a DMV in Kentucky. Another shooter remains at large, police said.

The unnamed teen, who was 17 years old at the time of the murders, has been charged with three counts of murder complicity, five counts of first-degree wanton endangerment and receiving stolen property, according to the Louisville Metro Police Department.

The teen is now 19 years old, according to police.

The teen was identified as one of the three shooters after police used a DNA profiles obtained from a stolen vehicle to tie him to the killings, according to the LMPD.

Investigators believe a second shooter was killed in a separate incident and said they are working to identify the third shooter.

The February 2025 shooting happened outside the Driver's License Regional office in Valley Station, Kentucky, according to LMPD.

The three shooters allegedly approached a line of people standing in line to go into the DMV and opened fire toward the line, fatally shooting three people, Louisville Metro Police Department Lt. Les Skaggs said at a press conference Thursday.

Leslye Harbin Jr., 18, died at the scene while his mother, 33-year-old Antwanette Chillers, and another victim, 29-year-old Raysa Valdes, were taken to a hospital where they died, Skaggs said.

The three shooters fled the scene of the shooting in a vehicle, Skaggs said.

LMPD marked vehicles were parked near the scene while officers were at a business next door, according to Skaggs. By the time the officers reached the scene the suspects had fled, Skaggs said.

Shortly after the shooting, police identified a suspect vehicle, enabling them to track the vehicle’s movements. Investigators were able to recover the vehicle the same day, police said.

The vehicle was stolen from a dealership, but the dealership had not noticed the vehicle was missing until after the shooting had occurred, according to Skaggs. It had been stolen several days before the shooting, he said.

Investigators obtained evidence from the vehicle, which was sent to DNA Labs International. DNA Labs International was able to get several DNA profiles from inside the vehicle, Skaggs said.

In the last 17 months, detectives have written and served around 50 search warrants to obtain evidence that helped them identify the individual arrested Wednesday, Skaggs said.

The DNA profiles have also helped investigators identify other people who may be involved in the murder, Skaggs said.

One possible suspect identified by the DNA profile has since been murdered in a separate incident, police said.

Police are still working to identify the third suspect in this incident.

Third DWI gets life sentence

GREGG COUNTY – A man has been sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of his third DWI conviction on Wednesday. According to our news partner KETK, Jeffry Scott Web was found guilty of driving while intoxicated three or more times. The jury deliberated only 45 minutes on the sentence, according to the Gregg County District Attorney’s Office.

Officials said Wednesday’s conviction stems from a report to the Longview Police Department of a drunk driver at the Majestic Inn motel. Upon arriving to the scene, responding officers spoke to a witness that claimed a man drove around the parking lot, parked and stumbled out of his vehicle into a motel room.

Motel security footage was later shown to the officers, which confirmed what the witness had said. Continue reading Third DWI gets life sentence

Kris Jenner’s mother Mary Jo ‘MJ’ Shannon dies at 91

Kris Jenner's mom, Mary Jo (MJ) Shannon, is shown on an episode of 'Celebrity Family Feud.' (Byron Cohen/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)

Kris Jenner is mourning the death of her beloved mother, Mary Jo "MJ" Shannon. She was 91 years old.

The TV personality and entrepreneur posted on Instagram Thursday that she and her family "said goodbye to my beautiful Mommy MJ."

"There are no words that could ever capture what she has meant to me or the heartbreak of having to say goodbye," Jenner wrote. "My mom was the heart of our family. She taught me everything that truly matters… to love your family fiercely, to be kind, to show up for the people you love, and to never take a single moment together for granted."

She continued, "She taught us that family is everything. She showed us how to love unconditionally and how to find joy in the little moments. She showed me how to face life’s challenges with resilience and faith."

The media personality, who is a mom of six — Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian, Rob Kardashian, Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner — said that her mother's legacy will continue to live on in their family and traditions.

Over the years, MJ appeared with Jenner and the rest of the Kardashian-Jenner clan on the reality shows Keeping Up with the Kardashians and The Kardashians.

She also appeared with the family on an episode of ABC's Celebrity Family Feud.

Born on July 26, 1934, MJ was a model and also an entrepreneur.

Before the Kardashians opened their famous Calabasas clothing boutique, Dash, and launched their own clothing lines, MJ owned a clothing store called Shannon & Company in 1980, according to People.

Jenner previously talked about what it was like growing up in the store and working there with her mom when she was younger.

MJ was married three times. Her first marriage lasted only four months, according to People.

In 2017, Kim Kardashian shared a conversation with her grandmother talking about how they had similar marriage experiences.

"We have a lot in common," Kim Kardashian said in the video, which has since been taken down. "We both got married for two months once."

MJ replied, "History repeats itself."

MJ is also a two-time cancer survivor, battling both breast and colon cancer.

Fed probe suggests Tesla’s self-driving feature wasn’t to blame in crash that killed a grandmother

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal safety investigators looking into a runaway Tesla that killed a grandmother in her home say the driver had pressed the accelerator to full speed, suggesting the vehicle’s self-driving software was not to blame.

The driver had told police that he had the self-driving software turned on, but a report from the National Transportation Safety Board on Wednesday concluded that he had actually overridden that feature when he pushed hard on the pedal. Moments later the Tesla Model 3 raced down a residential street in Katy, Texas, at highway speeds, slammed into a brick home and killed a 76-year-old woman standing in the front room.

The crash last month drew national attention because Tesla CEO Elon Musk is seeking to reassure the public its self-driving feature is safe as he prepares to turn hundreds of thousands of Teslas already on the road into fully automatic vehicles and begin selling two-seated Cybercabs missing steering wheels and pedals.

The crash came two months after officials at a separate federal agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, announced it was elevating a 2024 investigation of the self-driving feature to new “engineering analysis” level, raising the possibility of a recall of 3.2 million Tesla vehicles.

That NHTSA probe was triggered by crashes where the self-driving feature failed to alert drivers to take control in fog and other poor visibility conditions.

The agency opened an investigation last year into 58 incidents in which Teslas reportedly violated traffic safety laws while using self-driving technology, leading to more than a dozen crashes and fires and nearly two dozen injuries.

Separate from the National Transportation Safety Board, NHTSA is also looking into the Tesla house crash in Texas, one of 46 “special crash” investigations of Tesla’s self-driving or driver-assistance technology in the past decade, according to the agency’s records. In more than a dozen of those crashes, at least one person — a driver, passenger or pedestrian — was killed.

Tesla had originally called its driver assistance software Full Self-Driving, or FSD, but auto experts and regulators complained it was misleading because drivers must always keep their eyes on the road and be ready to take over at any time.

The company has since changed the name to Full Self-Driving (Supervised).

Video of the Katy, Texas, accident shows the Tesla traveling at more than 70 mph (112.65 kilometers per hour), jumping a curb then tearing across a lawn before crushing through a brick wall of a home. A woman standing feet away, Martha Avila, was found amid piles of crumbling plaster, split beams and bits of furniture and rushed to a hospital but died.

Sales of Tesla cars still haven’t recovered fully from boycotts last year over Musk’s far-right political stands, but the stock is rising anyway as he has successfully shifted attention away from the sales figures. He says they matter less now that the company is on the cusp of major technological advances, such as turning Teslas into hands-free vehicles and having its Optimus robots take over for humans for tasks at home and work.

Tesla stock has risen 22% in the past year and is currently trading at 170 times expected annual earnings compared to 20 for the S&P 500.

For its second-quarter financial results out next week, financial analysts surveyed by FactSet expect earnings per share will barely budge — 32 cents versus 33 cents a year earlier — continuing a sixth quarter streak of flat or falling profits.

TxDox ‘Slow Down’ to start

SMITH COUNTY – Starting Saturday, the Smith County Sheriff’s Office will increase traffic enforcement along I-20 and Toll 49 in partnership with TxDOT for Operation Slow Down, which looks to keep roads safer. According to our news partner KETK, the sheriff’s office said increased stops will take place around portions of I-20 and Toll 49, to curb speeding, deter aggressive driving and to protect everyone on the road.

The initiative is focusing on decreasing the amount of speeding-related crashes and fatalities across the state. Last year, TxDOT reported that 1,247 people were killed in speed-related crashes.

“Excessive speed makes any crash more dangerous. Higher speeds mean less time to react and a much greater risk of serious injury or death. We’re asking Texans to slow down and drive with care,” TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams said. Continue reading TxDox ‘Slow Down’ to start

Chloe Fineman departs ‘Saturday Night Live’

Chloe Fineman appears in her 'Saturday Night Live' season 51 cast headshot. (Rosalind O'Connor/NBC)

Chloe Fineman is saying goodbye to Studio 8H.

The comedian is leaving Saturday Night Live ahead of season 52 after starring as a cast member on the late-night sketch comedy series for seven seasons.

Fineman announced her departure in an Instagram post Thursday.

"After 7 wonderful seasons at SNL I have decided it’s time for my next chapter," Fineman wrote. "It’s cliche to say this but working at SNL has been the greatest privilege of my life. I still can’t really believe I got to be a part of it. I fell in love with the place the second I walked through the door. Lorne (if you’re reading this on your burner account) I want you to know that I am forever in your debt."

The comedian continued, "It’s really hard to leave SNL but it does feel like the right time."

"I’m going to miss it a lot. But the people who work there are my family and that place is my home, and I know I’ll never be too far away," Fineman wrote.

Fineman joined SNL as a featured player on season 45 before being promoted to the main cast in season 47.

Her choice to leave the show comes after the midseason departure of Bowen Yang during season 51. Additionally, many cast members exited the series after the landmark season 50 of the show. Ego Nwodim, Heidi Gardner, Devon Walker, Michael Longfellow and Emil Wakim all left the cast ahead of season 51.

New cast members for season 51 included Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska. Please Don't Destroy member Ben Marshall joined the show's cast at the same time.

Lufkin PD is asking for your help

LUFKIN – Lufkin Police detectives are asking for the public’s assistance in solving the murder of Darrence Kindle, a case that has remained unsolved for nearly nine years, according to release from the City of Lufkin. Kindle was shot and killed during the commission of an aggravated robbery at approximately 10 p.m., November 3, 2017, at the Dollar General on Kurth Drive.

The only description detectives have at this time is that the man is approximately 6-feet 1-inches tall, African American, and he was wearing a mask from the movie Scream.The shoes the man was wearing have been identified as limited-edition Nike Zoom Kobe Venomenon 4. The shoes were identified by a forensics company in Arizona.

“We will continue to investigate this murder,” said Lt. James Cowan, LPD Criminal Investigations Division. “It has never been closed, and we remain committed to seeking justice for Kindle and his family.”

Detectives believe there are members of the public who may hold information — no matter how small it may seem — that could help solve this case. Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to come forward.

If you have any information, please contact Lieutenant James Cowan, Criminal Investigation Division, at 936-633-0325 or email jcowan@lufkinpolice.com.

What Gerry Ford got right.

FILE – Betty Ford waves goodbye to her husband, President Gerald Ford, as he leaves their Alexandria, Va., home, Aug. 13, 1974, on his way to the White House. (AP Photo/Bob Daugherty, File)

Shortly after assuming office following the resignation of President Richard Nixon in August 1974, President Gerald Ford addressed a Joint Session of Congress. His goal was to move the country past the Watergate scandal. Contained within that speech was this passage:

Whether we like it or not, the American wage earner and the American housewife are a lot better economists than most economists care to admit. They know that a government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.”

Those 50 words perfectly set up the examination of the divide between the Democratic Socialists who are quickly taking over the once semi-sane Democratic Party, and the rest of us who know better.

What we who know better understand is that freedom isn’t merely the absence of chains. It’s the ability to make choices, accept consequences, try, fail, and try again; all toward the goal of building a life through personal responsibility. I am fond of saying that personal responsibility is the ultimate expression of freedom.

That freedom so expressed is what built the most successful society in history. An appreciation of that belief, together with the resulting desire to protect those freedoms, is why conservatives (and to be fair for much of our history all but the craziest liberals) know now and knew then that grand promises of free health care, subsidized housing, free college tuition, free child care, guaranteed universal income and the rest of the socialist smorgasbord cannot withstand objective scrutiny. The reason is amazingly simple.

Nothing is free.

It’s worth looking closely at those who are on the vanguard of the Democratic Socialist movement. All of them have in common that they were either born here or have lived here long enough as to make it possible to take the abundance afforded by the American free market economy for granted. In their cossetted existences, plenty to eat, a safe place to sleep and an iPhone in the hand are just things that naturally occur. They never ask who had to put capital at risk and who had to do the work necessary to provide such things.

America has been so successful and enjoys such enormous economic wealth that minds-full-of-mush socialists look at it all and decide that there’s plenty to go around. No need for anyone to unduly exert oneself. Everyone should be free of the daily burdens of making a living so that everyone can enjoy economic freedom in its ultimate form.

What they don’t understand is that every promised benefit supplied by government must first be confiscated from the fruits of someone’s labor. The larger those promises become, the larger the confiscatory power of government must become – until one day that power becomes absolute.

When that happens, you get the blood-soaked regimes of Stalin, Mao, Castro and Maduro.

The ascendant socialists in the Democratic Party are promising what they believe will be economic freedom. If they ever succeed in gaining power, they will deliver precisely the opposite.

Money laundering scheme worth $29K discovered during Panola County traffic stop

PANOLA COUNTY (KETK) — A traffic stop in Panola County led to the discovery of a nearly $30,000 money laundering scheme on early Thursday morning.

According to the Panola County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy conducted a routine traffic stop on State Highway 315 in Long Branch at 3:15 a.m. for a traffic violation.

During the stop, the deputy observed several indicators of criminal activity including false statements from the driver. The deputy requested a K9 unit, which gave a positive alert for narcotics prompting a search of the vehicle.

Within the vehicle, a bag containing multiple bundles of money wrapped in rubber bands were found, totaling over $29,000.

The driver, Jose De Jesus Torres, Jr. of McAllen was arrested for money laundering $2,500 to $30,000, which is a state jail felony. The currency was held as it awaits a seizure hearing.

Additionally, there were two children in the vehicle who were released to Child Protective Services and later placed with other family members.

Ghost and Tommy take center stage in ‘Power: Origins’ ?teaser

Spence Moore as James "Ghost" St. Patrick and Charlie Mann as Tommy Egan in 'Power: Origins' (Starz)

Fans are getting their first glimpse of the upcoming Starz series Power: Origins. The prequel explores the early lives of fan-favorite characters James "Ghost" St. Patrick, Tommy Egan and Kanan Stark as they set out to make their mark in the New York City drug game.

The clip opens with young Ghost, played by Spence Moore, and Tommy, played by Charlie Mann, sitting in a car. “We came in this motherf***** to touch the sky brother," Ghost says. "I won’t let us settle for less.”

The two are then seen confronting a group of men before attacking them with bats.

“This moment right here is when we start dreaming. It’s about proving to ourselves that we can do this s*** on our own,” he continues, as the teaser cuts to a meeting with Kanan Stark, played by Mekai Curtis.

The clip then returns to Tommy and Ghost in the car. “This how legends get made," Ghost says. Tommy lets out a "whoo" before Ghost adds, “I don’t know if I actually believe all that s*** I just said, but it sounded so f****** dope coming out my mouth.”

Power: Origins is currently in production in New Jersey. The series picks up after the events of Power Book III: Raising Kanan, which drops its finale on Aug. 7.

The original Power starred Omari Hardwick as Ghost, Joseph Sikora as Tommy and executive producer 50 Cent as Kanan.

(Video contains uncensored profanity.)

Man detained after sneaking into 30 Rock looking for ‘Today’ show host: Police

People walk by the Comcast building which houses NBC Studios in Manhattan on June 29, 2026 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) -- A man is in custody after he allegedly snuck into an NBC building at New York City's Rockefeller Center on Thursday morning, authorities said.

The suspect said he was looking for "Today" show weather anchor Al Roker, and he allegedly repeatedly uttered a racial slur, police said.

He also made other statements that lead police to believe he is emotionally disturbed, police said.

The man was detained by an NYPD officer working a paid detail, police said.

Charges are pending, police said.

ABC News has reached out to NBC for comment.

NBC News told Variety in a statement, “An individual entered an unauthorized area in a vestibule near Studio 1A. The person approached anchor Craig Melvin, who alerted security."

"The individual was detained and taken into custody by law enforcement without further incident. There was no altercation, and no one was injured," NBC said.

NBC said it takes "the safety and security of our employees, talent, staff and guests extremely seriously. We are reviewing the incident and our security protocols and remain committed to providing a safe and secure environment for everyone who works at and visits our studios."

2 Florida deputies airlifted after shooting, suspect dead

A helicopter airlifts two deputies to the hospital after they were shot on July 16, 2026 in Ruskin, Fla. (Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office)

(RUSKIN, Fla.) -- Two deputies were airlifted to a Florida hospital Thursday after they were shot while approaching a suspect who was accused of holding a woman hostage overnight, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

The suspect, identified as 34-year-old Chris Dmuchowski, was shot by a third responding deputy and died after being transported to the hospital, the sheriff's office said.

Deputies arrived on the scene on West Shell Point Road in Ruskin, Florida, after a report that the suspect had taken his ex-girlfriend hostage overnight, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a press briefing Thursday.

The suspect allegedly restrained his ex-girlfriend at her residence and threatened to kill her, and then released her after she regained consciousness in the morning, Chronister said.

That morning, she went to a sheriff's office building to request an order of protection, after which authorities sent a drone to the scene upon identifying the suspect and learning of his criminal record, according to the sheriff.

An exchange of gunfire ensued in the parking lot outside of the residence after the suspect exited the building, the sheriff said.

"Our suspect ambushed our deputies from the moment they arrived on scene," Chronister said. "He was intent on taking the life of a deputy sheriff."

The suspect opened fire at two deputies, striking one in the face and another in the neck area, after which a third deputy approached and shot the suspect multiple times, Chronister said.

Dmuchowski was a one-time convicted felon on charges of tampering with physical evidence.

The sheriff's office said there is no threat to public safety at this time.

"Thank you to every single deputy who was on scene and responded to this scene today," Chronister said.

Warren Buffett explains why his kids, not the Gates Foundation, will now give away all his fortune

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Billionaire Warren Buffett said Wednesday that his decision to cut the Gates Foundation out of his charitable giving is more about believing his three kids are ready to handle giving away his entire fortune than it is about Bill Gates ‘ ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Buffett told CNBC that Gates’ association with Epstein was “distasteful,” but the 95-year-old investor suggested that Gates’ actions weren’t much different from mistakes he himself had made over the years in hiring the wrong person or in choosing friends.

“No one bats a thousand in the business of choosing people,” Buffett said on CNBC.
Buffett read up on Gates’ ties to Epstein

Buffett said he “read a great deal since Jan. 1 in terms of what happened with Bill and Epstein. And I have read his remarks to Congress given under oath, and I read the cross-examination.” He noted that Gates eventually ended his relationship with Epstein.

Buffett said Gates wasn’t surprised by the decision Buffett announced Tuesday to eventually donate all the rest of his $140 billion of Berkshire Hathaway stock to foundations associated with his family and his three children, Howard, Susie and Peter. Gates flew to Omaha a few weeks ago and spent several hours talking with Buffett. The two hadn’t spoken much since before additional details about Gates and Epstein started to come out when the federal government began releasing files from the Epstein investigation.

Gates has said that he only met with Epstein because he thought it might help him raise money for charitable causes, and he didn’t know about Epstein’s ongoing crimes.

Epstein, who was accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls, was found dead at the Manhattan federal lockup in August 2019. His death was later ruled a suicide by New York City’s medical examiner.

Gates called Buffett “one of the greatest philanthropists of all time, and a dear friend” who he hopes to spend much more time with in the future.

“His wisdom, generosity, and deep sense of purpose have defined both his life and his philanthropy. His support for the Gates Foundation, at nearly $50 billion over the past twenty years, has been unprecedented, and it has helped save millions of lives,” Gates said in a statement.

Buffett said in 2024 that he planned to cut off donations to the Gates Foundation after he died and let his three children decide how to distribute the rest of his fortune.

The Gates Foundation will still have tremendous resources: its endowment was worth nearly $90 billion at the end of last year and Gates has promised to donate nearly all his remaining fortune to the foundation.

In other news from the CNBC interview, Buffett revealed that he recently broke his leg and underwent surgery for it, but he said he is recovering well.
Drastically increasing donations to give away his fortune by 2034

Buffett said he wants his own Berkshire shares to be distributed even quicker than he has previously indicated: by the end of 2034. To do that, he will have to drastically increase the amount he donates every year, to more than $17 billion annually.

Right now he is giving roughly $6 billion to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation and the foundations his children run: the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and the Novo Foundation. Buffett filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday afternoon that showed he had donated a total of 12 million Class B Berkshire shares a day earlier to those foundations.

The majority of that is going to the foundation named in honor of his late wife, which may quickly become one of the world’s largest such organizations. Buffett also traditionally gives additional gifts to his family foundations around Thanksgiving each year.

He has said that after his death, a new foundation will be created to distribute the rest of his shares and that his children will have to agree unanimously on where to donate them. He wants his children to be able to make those decisions before they die or become senile, and his oldest daughter will be nearly 81 in eight years.
Buffett’s donations may affect his successor’s support

The accelerated pace of Buffett’s plan to give away his fortune over the next eight years rather than doing it over the 10 years following his death will mean that his successor at Berkshire Hathaway, Greg Abel, won’t be able to count on the support of Buffett’s family as the company’s biggest shareholder for as long as he thought. Buffett currently controls nearly 30% of the voting power with his 188,290 Class A shares.

Nevertheless, Buffett said he believes it’s clear that Abel is the right man to lead the conglomerate he built, and “that becomes more evident by the day.”

However, Buffett did note that Berkshire’s big investment in Google’s parent company, which has grown in value considerably over the past year, is one he initiated and not an investment Abel picked, though Abel did agree on it. Just last month, Berkshire agreed to invest another $10 billion in Alphabet after previously tripling its stake in the company. ___ A previous version of this story misspelled Warren Buffett’s last name in the headline.

Disney+ rebooting ‘The Mickey Mouse Club,’ the show that gave us Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and more

Justin Timberlake, child star of 'The Mickey Mouse Club,' poses for a portrait Sept. 9, 1993 in Hollywood, California. (Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)

M-I-C ... see ya real soon! K-E-Y ... why? Because Disney+ is bringing back The Mickey Mouse Club.

ABC Audio has confirmed that Disney+ has ordered a pilot for a reboot of the legendary show, which first aired in the '50s, returned in the '70s and then migrated to the Disney Channel from 1989 to 1996.

During that last run, the show's cast included, at various times, future music superstars Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez of *NSYNC, as well as Ryan Gosling and Keri Russell.

The pilot will be executive produced by Ben Winston, whose credits include the Grammy Awards, Carpool Karaoke, The Late Late Show with James Corden and music projects for One Direction, Ed Sheeran, Adele, Bruno Mars, Harry Styles, Elton John, Sam Smith and Justin Bieber.

According to Disney+, the show will be "a showcase for today’s most talented young performers, where music, innovation, and self-expression take center stage." The 11 new cast members boast credits including The Lion King, Camp Rock 3, Young Rock, Elio and Black Rabbit.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

Grateful dog owner describes mountain rescue after canine apparently ingests cannabis

LONDON (AP) — Christina Bluhme was high on the flanks of Britain’s tallest mountain with her dogs and one of the hounds was a lot higher — and not in a good way.

Tokyo, a 5-year-old black Labrador retriever, had apparently ingested cannabis along the trail and had to be rescued after she began to sway like she was drunk and then couldn’t walk at all.

“She had a very bad trip,” said Bluhme, who was mystified at the time about what nearly doomed her dog during the July 5 hike. “It was a very terrifying experience.”

Bluhme knows a thing or two about dogs, having worked as a canine trainer for 25 years. But she never suspected Tokyo might be stoned.

While cases of cannabis toxicity in pets is rising in the U.K., it’s an even bigger problem in the U.S., where marijuana has been legalized in many states and is available as a medical option in others. Marijuana and other drugs entered the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals top 10 list of toxins for pets for the first time in 2023. Its poison control center said 10% more calls were related to potential marijuana ingestion than the previous year, and they had increased nearly threefold over the past five years.

With the dog collapsed, Bluhme, her son and two dogs were more than three hours into their climb and near the peak of Ben Nevis, the 4,413-foot (1,345 meter) mountain in the Scottish Highlands. The weather, which had been clear at the start of the day, had turned to rain and the temperature had plunged to 5 C (41 F).

She told her son, Magnus, that their quest to reach the summit was over.

“I said, listen, we’ve got to turn around and get her down,” Bluhme said Monday. “There’s something completely wrong here.”

Her son called for help but police said they weren’t sure they could send a rescue crew.

Luckily for Bluhme and Tokyo, though, a crew from the all-volunteer Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team was already making their way down from the peak after helping a helicopter airlift an injured hiker. The crew put the 55-pound (25-kilogram) dog in their stretcher and quickly carried her down the steep, slick, rocky trail, making it to the trailhead in about an hour.

“They were almost running,” Bluhme said. “I was clinging on to the stretcher. They were so agile and so fast. It was incredible.”

Police had called Crown Vets in nearby Fort William, and a veterinarian was standing by when Bluhme arrived.

Veterinarians initially thought the animal had a spinal issue but a senior vet concluded she was on some kind of neurotoxin because she was drifting in and out of consciousness. When they consulted with a poison control center, her symptoms checked all the boxes for cannabis intoxication.

The dog was given activated charcoal and made a full recovery overnight.

After fearing she would lose the beloved dog on the mountain, Bluhme said the 1,000 pound ($1,335) vet bill was money well spent.

“The next day it was like nothing ever happened,” said Bluhme, who lives in southern England. “She recovered so quickly, and I’m the one still hanging a bit.”

Sophie Nélisse to star in ‘This Summer Will Be Different’ Netflix series adaptation

A photo of Sophie Nélisse. (Garrett Naccarato)

Sophie Nélisse is ready to take on another romance series.

The French-Canadian actress will star as Lucy in Netflix's TV adaptation of author Carley Fortune's bestselling romance novel This Summer Will Be Different.

It will be "a simmering, sun-soaked romance set across multiple summers on Prince Edward Island about Lucy, a young woman navigating her 20s and her first real love with her best friend’s brother, the one person she was never supposed to fall for," according to the show's logline.

Dane Clark and Linsey Stewart serve as the adaptation's creators and showrunners. They also both executive produce the show alongside Fortune.

This Summer Will Be Different will film on location in Prince Edward Island and in Toronto. It will span 10 episodes.

“I fell in love with Prince Edward Island first in the pages of L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables and again when I visited with my best friend in my early 20s,” Fortune told Netflix. “That vacation, the beauty of the island, the warmth of its people, and the friendships that sustain us are the foundation of This Summer Will Be Different. I’m thrilled to bring this sweeping love story to the screen with Netflix and to transport audiences to the glittering shores and windswept beaches of PEI.”

Nélisse is known for her role as young Shauna in Yellowjackets. She's also the fan-favorite character Rose Landry in Heated Rivalry.

At least 1 person has died as Texas flooding forces evacuations and rescues, governor says

UVALDE (AP) — Rescuers saved dozens of stranded drivers and people trapped in homes from catastrophic flooding in Texas while many more fled to higher ground Thursday across a region still recovering from devastating floods just a year ago.

So far, at least one person has died, said Gov. Greg Abbott, who added that it appeared that many of summer camps hit hard last year were not facing any danger. “Our number one focus is saving lives,” he said.

After days of pounding rain, the National Weather Service said a “large and deadly flood wave” was barreling down the same river wrecked by flash floods last summer when two dozen children and counselors were killed at Camp Mystic.

Forecasters urgently warned “Move to higher ground now!” as rivers rose hour by hour, turning them into fast-moving seas of white water. Several tornado warnings were also issued.

The Texas Hill Country floods over the July Fourth holiday last year killed more than 100 people.

The governor said there was “one loss of life” so far but did not specify where or when. More than 1,300 personnel were responding and have rescued well over 70 people, he said Thursday.

The unfolding crisis brought back haunting memories of last summer’s unimaginable floods for many.

“It’s crazy happening two times in one year,” said Josiah Rodriguez, who woke to the sound of heavy rain around 2 a.m. Thursday in Kerrville. He navigated flooded roads to help evacuate relatives.

“Last year there was no warning of it,” he said. “It just kind of happened overnight and it took everyone by surprise. This year, a lot more alerts have gone into place, a lot more safety measures.”

Residents said they were caught off guard a year ago and didn’t receive any warning when floods overtopped the Guadalupe River. Some local leaders were criticized for not acting quickly.

The storms and flooding this time threatened multiple counties close to the border with Mexico and in the Texas Hill Country near San Antonio. City officials in Kerrville urged people to shelter at the highest levels of their homes.

Images along a creek in Kerr County showed propane tanks that had been pushed onto a bridge and a mess of tangled trees.
Uvalde residents isolated by floodwaters

Floodwaters overran the city of Uvalde overnight, cutting off outside access. The Leona River, normally dry most of the year, filled streets with water.

“People really can’t get anywhere” said Carmen Rodriguez, who was nervously watching water engulf her neighborhood Thursday morning as a helicopter roared overhead. “We have a place to go, but all the streets are closed.”

Phones buzzed with warnings throughout the night warning of flash floods in the morning. Rodriguez said it seemed that authorities were well prepared. By Wednesday, Uvalde police had ordered some mandatory evacuations, with first responders notifying people directly.

Uvalde officials sent out rescue boats and found multiple people trapped in vehicles overnight, said Juli Alvarado, a spokesperson for Uvalde police.

“There’s no way into the city at this point,” she said.

Texas Game Wardens rescued more than 40 people and evacuated about a dozen others, mostly in the Uvalde County area, according to a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department spokesperson.
Flooding could reach last year’s deadly high

The floodwaters were expected to reach a crest similar to last year’s flood, the weather service said.

Gauges in some spots along the Guadalupe River showed it rose by more than 30 feet (9 meters) in just hours overnight. One gauge outside Kerrville showed the river had risen 32 feet (9.7 meters) in four hours.

Close to Camp Mystic, which remains shut, the Guadalupe River near Hunt reached about 20.5 feet (6.3 meters), according to a U.S. Geological Survey gauge, which is just under the level expected to inundate structures and roads.

Flooding hits towns still rebuilding

Volunteer firefighters spent the night helping people evacuate their homes and answering calls about rising water in Ingram, just up river from Hunt, where summer camps dot the shores of the Guadalupe, Ingram Mayor Claud Jordan said Thursday morning.

While the water didn’t rise as high as a year ago, he believes this round of flooding was more widespread and “worse” in his city. “The rural part of Ingram, all the roads are just trashed,” he said.

“There are a bunch of businesses that haven’t reopened from last year. They’re still trying to rebuild from the July 4 floods,” Jordan said. “This doesn’t help.”
A rush to higher ground

Residents at an RV park in Comfort, Texas, near the Guadalupe River moved their trailers as local fire department sirens sounded, manager Duke Earwood said Thursday.

Water rose over the hoods of vehicles parked closest to the river.

While the water started to recede, another surge was expected, Earwood said at the Comfort RV Resort, which has about 200 residents. “People need to know to just kind of stay put for now,” he said.

Markers showed the flooding already matched the level from the big flood last July.

“Too familiar for sure, and too soon,” Earwood said.
Another test for Texas Hill Country after the Camp Mystic disaster

The Texas Hill Country is especially prone to flash floods because the area’s signature limestone is covered by just a thin layer of soil. During heavy rains, water can quickly shoot downhill before quickly filling the narrow river basins.

The weather service said 10 to 20 inches of rain (25 to 50 centimeters) had fallen in the past two days, with 8 inches (20 centimeters) in just two hours early Thursday.

The deluge dumped nearly a foot of rain in some counties and put people in multiple counties under flood watches, with some were expected to remain in effect through Friday evening.

The governor issued disaster declarations for dozens of counties. As of late Wednesday, six million residents in 57 counties were under a National Weather Service flood watch.

A’ja Wilson is drafted No. 1 as Cooper and Weatherspoon pick WNBA All-Star teams

CHICAGO (AP) – Four-time MVP A’ja Wilson was selected first in the WNBA All-Star draft for the exhibition game that will be played on July 25 in Chicago.

Acting as honorary general managers, WNBA greats Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon each drafted All-Star teams Wednesday from players that previously were either voted as starters by fans, media and fellow players or chosen as reserves by the league’s coaches.

Previously, the top two fan vote-getters would serve as captains and draft their own teams. This year that would have been Dallas’ Paige Bueckers and Indiana’s Caitlin Clark. Instead, they were each assigned to a team, with Bueckers headlining Cooper’s team and Clark atop Weatherspoon’s squad.

Joining Bueckers in the starting lineup were New York’s Breanna Stewart, Indiana’s Kelsey Mitchell, Minnesota’s Natasha Howard and Golden State’s Gabby Williams. Weatherspoon picked Las Vegas’ Wilson, Minnesota’s Olivia Miles, Indiana’s Aliyah Boston and Dallas’ Jessica Shepard.

Cooper had the first pick of the reserves and chose Atlanta’s Angel Reese. She’ll play against her two Dream teammates Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray, who were chosen by Weatherspoon.

Cooper also drafted Toronto’s Marina Mabrey, Seattle’s Dominique Malonga, Los Angeles’ Kelsey Plum, Las Vegas’ Jackie Young and Washington’s Sonia Citron as reserves. Weatherspoon also took New York’s Jonquel Jones, Minnesota’s Courtney Williams, Washington’s Kiki Iriafen and Los Angeles’ Nneka Ogwumike. Ogwumike, an 11-time All-Star, was chosen with the final pick of the draft.

Las Vegas’ Becky Hammon will coach Cooper’s team and Minnesota’s Cheryl Reeve will be in charge of Weatherspoon’s squad. Las Vegas and Minnesota had identical records through July 10, but the Aces had a tiebreaker with their victory over the Lynx. That put Hammon in charge of Bueckers’ squad because she was the leading vote-getter.

Portland, Chicago, Connecticut and Phoenix have no All-Stars.

Expanded playoffs make it hard to predict whether Skubal, Chapman, Gray get dealt

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Expanded playoffs make it harder to predict whether Tarik Skubal and other choice acquisitions will be dealt before the Aug, 3 trade deadline.

Twenty-three of the 30 teams are within four games of a playoff position heading into the season’s second half, which opens Thursday with the back-in-contention Philadelphia Phillies hosting the woeful New York Mets.

“You’ve got a lot of really good teams that were on the bubble that have gotten in and kind of made it,” Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper said. “Anybody that has an opportunity to get in, anything can happen and that’s what makes our sport great.”

Skubal, a two-time Cy Young Award winner who can become a free agent after the World Series, is the most prominent possible trade bait. The 29-year-old left-hander is 2-3 with a 3.62 ERA in six starts for the Detroit Tigers since surgery on May 6 to remove a loose body from his pitching elbow.

He returned to a big league mound on June 13 after Dr. Neal ElAttrache operated with a NanoNeedle scope 2.0, a miniaturized, flexible version of the traditional arthroscope.

Detroit was 22-38 at the start of June — at 16 games under matching the 1914 Braves (12-28) as the most under .500 of a team that rebounded to reach the postseason, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The Tigers are 22-14 since and trail by 3 1/2 games for the last AL wild card, needing to overcome six teams. Their performance in 16 games before the deadline will help determine whether they are buyers or sellers.

Minnesota’s Joe Ryan and the Mets’ Freddy Peralta also could become available. The Mets also could deal left-handed relievers Brooks Raley and A.J. Minter to contenders and San Francisco may try to jettison second baseman Luis Arraez.

Baseball’s only division leads of more than three games are held by the Los Angeles Dodgers (11 1/2) and Milwaukee (five).

“There are some middling teams that are potentially going to finish stronger and some teams that are front-running right now that might fall back to the pack,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It’s what the fans wanted. It keeps everyone involved through September, as many teams as possible.”

Just seven teams of the 30 teams are more than four games out of a wild-card berth: the Athletics (6 1/2), Cincinnati (eight), Kansas City and the Los Angeles Angels (10 each), the Giants (10 1/2), the Mets (12) and Colorado (13 1/2).

“I think having more teams involved and more fan bases feeling like there’s something to play for later in the season is always good,” said Toronto pitcher Dylan Cease, the All-Star Game winner.
Phillies rebound after Mattingly becomes manager

Philadelphia fell to 9-19 when Rob Thomson was fired on April 28 and replaced by Don Mattingly. The Phillies are 44-24 since and trail NL East-leading Atlanta (55-40) by two games.

Harper thinks a key to the turnaround was when Zack Wheeler rejoined the rotation on April 25 after surgery last August for thoracic outlet syndrome. Wheeler is 10-1 with a 2.13 ERA.

“Once we got Wheels back, I think everybody kind of took a deep breath,” Harper said. “That helped a lot of our other starting pitching kind of just fall into place.”
Red Sox hottest team going into second half

Boston fired Alex Cora after a 10-17 start and the Red Sox are 36-31 under Chad Tracy, ending the first half with their first 9-0 road trip since 1977.

Despite a 46-48 record, the Red Sox trail by just a half-game for the last wild card in an AL that has just five teams with winning records.

“We’ve done a much better job overall with our approach,” Tracy said. “We’re taking more pitches. We’re seeing more pitches against starters. We are getting starters deep in counts earlier in games. We’re scoring runs in the first five innings of the game and letting our starting rotation pitch with a lead.”

If the Red Sox struggle in the next few weeks, closer Aroldis Chapman and starter Sonny Gray could get dealt.
First-round byes at stake

Three of the four teams that had first-round byes last year advanced to League Championship Series: Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Seattle and Toronto. Among the teams emerging from Wild Card Series, only the Dodgers won their Division Series.

Having the bye allows teams to reset their rotations and assure opening the Division Series with their best starters.

Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler thought back to New York losing the AL East title and the bye to Toronto on a tiebreaker last year.

“Every game matters,” he said.

Rumbunctious pro-Argentina crowd makes defending World Cup champions feel at home in Atlanta

ATLANTA (AP) — Argentina fans are well known for their rabid, boisterous support of their national soccer squad, and that fevered passion made their beloved team feel right at home in Atlanta at the World Cup.

This wasn’t Buenos Aires, but the rumbunctious pro-Argentina crowd made their voices heard: Serenading the team with songs, chants and screaming at the top of their lungs throughout Wednesday’s semifinal match.

And when Enzo Fernandez scored the equalizing goal for Argentina off an assist from Lionel Messi in the 85th minute, water splashed from the top floor to the bottom at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Cups and water bottles followed. Shirts were removed and swung in the air. Long after Lautaro Martinez scored the winning goal in the 2-1 victory over England, Argentina fans cheered as if it had transpired only seconds earlier.

Messi, Fernandez and others paraded around the field with their shirts off, soaking in the atmosphere as fans cheered the players on — none of them wanting the moment to end.

“No words, no words. A joy for our country, for our people,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “We are unique, truly, and it’s not arrogance, it’s from the heart. We are unique. These people today carried us to win the match, so I’m grateful.”

It wasn’t until security began to weave through the stands, blowing whistles to direct foot traffic, that the sea of Argentine fans began to make its way toward the exits.

Gaston Reinoso, an Argentine who lives in Houston and traveled to Atlanta for the match, said the devotion of the fan base can’t be easily described.

“It’s really hard to explain the passion that these fans have,” Reinoso said. “When you are Argentinian, you feel soccer like religion. This may be everything for you. You can see an event like this, it’s a moment when people forget about religion, politics, everything. Everyone is united. This is Argentina, there’s nothing like it.”

Some Argentina fans haven’t always been on their best behavior at previous World Cup tournaments, but Atlanta has been good to them this year — even if Messi and Co. have had to rally to win games.

Reinoso said getting off to fast starts hasn’t been Argentina’s strength, but the fan base hasn’t waivered.

Argentina was back at the site of one of the World Cup’s greatest comebacks — its 3-2 victory over Egypt on July 7. And when they pulled off another improbable victory on Wednesday with a pair of late goals, the water started flying.

“It was like a spray from God, from the sky,” Reinoso said. “I started crying.”

Next stop for the Argentine road show will be Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey, for the World Cup final against Spain. And it’s a safe bet there will be more than a few blue-and-white jerseys in the stand.

Sponsor-driven Cowboys waste little time pulling World Cup covers from stadium signage

ARLINGTON (AP) — Jerry Jones didn’t waste any time starting to get his stadium signage back when the World Cup was finished at the home of his Dallas Cowboys.

The high-profile owner of the NFL’s Cowboys had to surrender AT&T Stadium to FIFA for the tournament-high nine matches held under the giant video board and retractable roof. It was renamed Dallas Stadium for a month — even on Google maps.

Since none of the primary sponsors of the Cowboys matched those of the governing body of the World Cup, coverings were put over the large letters and logos on the roof and the smaller “AT&T Stadium” signs above the giant sliding glass doors on each end of the stadium.

Less than three hours after Spain beat France 2-0 in the semifinals on Tuesday in the final match in Texas, the Cowboys sent an email announcing a photo opportunity for 7 a.m. Wednesday. That’s when workers were set to begin removing the coverings. The same email was sent again early Wednesday morning.

While the process was expected to take a few days, the large stadium name on one side of the roof was completely uncovered well before noon. Workers also were removing World Cup and FIFA banners that were on temporary fencing around the perimeter of the stadium.

Jones was a pioneer for radical changes in sponsorships in the NFL. When he bought the Cowboys in 1989, NFL teams shared almost all sponsorship money.

Six years later, the NFL and Jones sued each other as he fought for the right to strike his own sponsorship deals. Jones famously showed up on the field before a Monday night game with Nike CEO Phil Knight after reaching a deal with that shoe company when the NFL’s shoe sponsor was Reebok.

There were plenty of coverings inside AT&T Stadium for the World Cup, including over signs for Pepsi, Dr Pepper and Ford.

NHL unveils its 2026-27 schedule, the first with 84 games apiece since ’93-94

NEW YORK (AP) — The most expansive season in NHL history will begin in September, not October, and limit most teams to four preseason games.

The league’s first 84-game season since 1993-94 opens Sept. 29 as 32 teams will combine to play a total of 1,344 games. The season runs through Saturday, April 10, before the playoffs begin the following week.

The increase from an 82-game slate, which had been the standard since the mid-’90s, was agreed upon by team owners and players in the last round of talks on a collective bargaining agreement. The intent is to provide more space between the end of the Stanley Cup Final and the draft in late June before free agency commences July 1.

When the Panthers and Oilers went the distance in ’24, there were just three days between Game 7 on June 24 in South Florida and the first round of the draft on June 28 in Las Vegas.

After defeating Vegas to win the Stanley Cup, the Carolina Hurricanes will raise their second championship banner on Sept. 29 against Florida.

That opening night, featuring five games, matches the earliest start date in NHL history and is the first time the regular season begins in North America before October. The Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings played games in London on Sept. 29 and 30, 2007.

The most recent — and only other — September hockey outside of exhibitions came during the pandemic playoff bubble in 2020, culminating when Tampa Bay hoisted the Cup in an empty arena in Edmonton on Sept. 28.

Games to watch

Oct. 21: New Florida Panther Brady Tkachuk returns to Ottawa. The former Senators captain plays his first game against his old team since getting traded to Florida to play with his brother, Matthew. It did not end well in Canada’s capital, from Brady bristling at his name being in rumors to asking out and then the team offering to take Tkachuk No. 7 jerseys fans wished to exchange.

Oct 25: Heritage Classic. The Montreal Canadiens visit the Winnipeg Jets in the return of outdoor hockey to Canada for the first time since 2023.

Dec. 21: Stanley Cup Final rematch: The Hurricanes return to the scene of their championship triumph to face the Golden Knights in Las Vegas. The two teams meet again in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Jan. 17.

Dec. 31: Winter Classic: Utah takes center stage outside, hosting the Colorado Avalanche in the Winter Classic in Salt Lake City.

Feb. 20: Jerry World hockey: The Dallas Stars host Vegas in at the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium in Arlington, Texas.

April 4: Washington hosts Pittsburgh. Alex Ovechkin is back for a 22nd NHL season with the Capitals. If this is it for him at age 41 — and it very well may not be if he wants to shoot for 1,000 career goals — this would be the last regular-season game against Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the Penguins.

Andrew Garfield stars in ‘The Uprising’ official trailer

Andrew Garfield stars as Ploughman in 'The Uprising.' (Betina La Plante/Focus Features)

Andrew Garfield stars in the official trailer for The Uprising.

Focus Features released the new trailer for the upcoming film on Thursday.

Captain Phillips director Paul Greengrass wrote and directed the movie, which finds Garfield playing the leader of a ferocious rebellion against King Richard II's tyranny.

"As war burns across England, he forms an army of the people to face the King’s might in a fight for justice and survival," according to the film's official synopsis.

Jamie Bell, Stephen Dillane, Tom Hollander, Cosmo Jarvis, Thomasin McKenzie, Jonny Lee Miller, Woody Norman, Katherine Waterston and Sky Yang also star in the film.

The trailer finds Garfield's character gathering support for a rebellion against the king.

"I am no soldier. I am no priest. I'm just a farmer. The land is broken. We are forced to work beyond what our souls can take," he says. "There will be no peace until we are free."

In addition to writing and directing the film, Greengrass produces alongside Jason Blum.

The Uprising arrives in theaters on Sept. 11.

Amid wildfires, Minneapolis’ air quality ranks worst in world among major cities

An aerial shows smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketing the city on July 16, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

(MINNEAPOLIS) -- Minneapolis' air quality ranked the worst in the world among major cities Thursday due to thick smoke from wildfires burning throughout northern Minnesota and Ontario, Canada.

Much of the city's air quality entered the "hazardous" category Wednesday night and remained there into Thursday.

Parts of the city reached an air quality index, or AQI, of 460. A hazardous AQI is categorized as 300 and above.

The air quality in Detroit also ranked worst in the world alongside Minneapolis.

All people are advised to remain indoors while the air quality is hazardous.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey urged residents to "please take this seriously" in a post on X Thursday morning.

"If you can, stay indoors, avoid activity outside, and keep indoor air as clean as possible," Frey said in the post. "The risks are greater for kids, older adults, and anyone with heart or lung conditions."

As of midday Wednesday, there are 15 active wildfires burning across Superior National Forest, including four in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The Forest Service noted several fires have merged since earlier reports.

In a press briefing Wednesday, officials warned the fires could keep burning until the fall.

While light rain is in the forecast in northern Minnesota on Thursday, Phil Manuel, incident meteorologist at the National Weather Service, said in the briefing it would not be enough to put out the fires.

"How are we going to end this? Weather's going to have to change," Manuel said. "It takes rain with a name to put out big fires."

The fires in northern Minnesota come amid a slew of wildfires raging throughout Canada, which are sending dangerous smoke down to the Northeast and upper Midwest of the United States.

More than 183 wildfires were burning in Ontario on Wednesday, its Ministry of Natural Resources reported.

The Minnesota fires spread so rampantly because of hot, dry and windy conditions, as well as increased lightning strikes, officials said during the briefing.

Temperatures in the area recently rose into the 100s, while they typically only get to the upper 70s at this time of year, Manuel said.

First responders conducted door-to-door evacuations to bring residents and visitors to safety, and were continuing evacuations as of Wednesday, according to officials.

Firefighters continue working to extinguish the fires in coordination with Canadian first responders.

British Open returns to a new Royal Birkdale and an old chase for the claret jug

SOUTHPORT, England (AP) — Matthew Baldwin teed off at Royal Birkdale, just as he has done countless times as a member of the century-old links who grew up a short walk away. What made Thursday different was having a full grandstand surrounding him and a shiny claret jug reminding him what’s at stake.

Baldwin hit the opening tee shot at the 154th edition of the British Open, an iron that split the middle of the brown fairway and was approved by a cheering crowd.

James Nicholas was in the first group for the second straight major. The New York native was first off at Shinnecock Hills last month in the U.S. Open, hitting his opening tee shot in fog so thick he couldn’t see it land in the fairway. This shot at Birkdale didn’t go so well, pulled into the thick grass and leading to an opening bogey.

And with that began the longest day in golf, part of what makes this major stand out from the others — 15 hours of golf along the Irish sea, summer daylight seemingly endless.

Defending champion Scottie Scheffler was among those playing early, along with Jordan Spieth, the last Open champion at Royal Birkdale in 2017.

But it’s different now. The course was green and the rough was lush when Spieth won. A heat wave across Europe, and a forecast of sunshine, has left the course brown and baked, conditions that make for the best brand of links golf because the ball rolls and tumbles and bounces.

“The ball is just going to run forever,” Scheffler said.

The course also has an entirely new 15th hole, a par 3 at 241 yards, and four other holes that have gone through significant changes.

Scheffler is coming off a missed cut at the Scottish Open — his first in nearly four years — and will try to become the first repeat winner of the British Open since Padraig Harrington in 2007-08. He also is trying to win for the first time since January.

He will be alongside Bryson DeChambeau, who has missed the cut in every major this year.

Baldwin is among 21 players from England in the field, and hopes have never been higher for an English links to produce an English champion for the first time since Tony Jacklin in 1969.

Tommy Fleetwood, the FedEx Cup champion, grew up in Southport. Justin Rose is still among the top 10 in the world at age 45, having first made his mark at Royal Birkdale when he tied for fourth as a 17-year-old amateur in 1998. Matt Fitzpatrick is No. 3 in the world, and his three victories this year are more than Scheffler and Masters champion Rory McIlroy combined.

McIlroy played in the afternoon, the back-to-back Masters champion who last won the British Open in 2014 down the coast at Royal Liverpool.

US designates 2 new Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The U.S. government has designated two new Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

They are the Juárez Cartel, on the border with Texas, and Los Viagras, a criminal group from the western state of Michoacán. The Federal Register, the U.S. government’s gazette, published the designation on Thursday.

They joined six other Mexican criminal organizations that the U.S. considers terrorist groups, including the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Gangs in other Latin American countries, including Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador and El Salvador, also have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump administration.

President Donald Trump began to extend the terrorist label to Latin American cartels in February 2025 to allow U.S. authorities to take more aggressive action against them or against anyone who the U.S. sees as aiding the groups.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that both criminal groups either have committed terrorist acts or pose a serious risk of committing acts that threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States.

The measure represents a further increase in pressure on Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration following the indictment of 10 current and former officials from the state of Sinaloa for alleged ties to the Sinaloa Cartel, as well as the controversies about U.S. operations in Mexico.
Higher pressure on the Texas border

Juarez Cartel is one of Mexico’s oldest drug trafficking organizations, which for decades has controlled a key crossing point in the central part of the Mexico-U.S. border: Ciudad Juárez, across from El Paso, Texas.

Both its founder, Amado Carrillo Fuentes — known as “El Señor de los Cielos” for smuggling massive drug shipments by light aircraft in the 1990s — and the brothers and sons who succeeded him, turned the trafficking of tons of drugs into a multimillion-dollar business. Despite the arrests of many of its leaders, the cartel and its allied gangs maintained control of a vast infrastructure for smuggling illegal shipments into the U.S..

According to Mexican analyst David Saucedo, the designation is key to enabling the United States to take more decisive action along the border, where two other groups both located at the eastern end of the border with Texas — the Gulf Cartel and the Northeast Cartel — were declared terrorist organizations in February 2025.

The US again targets Michoacan

Los Viagras is a local cartel in the western state of Michoacan, which is already home to two other criminal groups designated as terrorist organizations: Cárteles Unidos and La Nueva Familia Michoacana.

Los Viagras emerged following the 2013–2014 armed uprising led by farmers who succeeded in driving out many of the old cartels, only to see them replaced by new ones.

The cartel is led by Nicolás Sierra Santana, who faces a formal indictment in the District of Columbia for conspiracy to traffic drugs, filed in June 2025. The State Department is offering a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture.

The group has shifted its loyalties and alliances to consolidate its regional control of the territory through extortion. It also produces synthetic drugs, which sells to other cartels that traffic them into the United States.

Brandy, Rita Ora reunite for new ‘Descendants’ movie, tease duet

Brandy Norwood and Rita Ora attend the premiere of Disney Channel Original Movie 'Descendants: Wicked Wonderland' on July 14, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. (Amy Sussman/Getty Images)

Brandy and Rita Ora are returning to the world of Descendants.

The actresses reprise their roles as Cinderella and the Queen of Hearts in Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, the next chapter following the success of Descendants: The Rise of Red.

Speaking with ABC News entertainment contributor Kelley Carter in an interview aired on Good Morning America Thursday, the stars shared how the new film reimagines familiar Disney characters while bringing their own friendship to the screen.

Ora said she was drawn to the complexity of playing her role.

"I did love the idea of the Queen of Hearts, you never really know if she's pretending or if it's real," Ora said. "You've got obviously Cinderella, who is always that anchor within the movies."

Meanwhile, Brandy added, "I did have my villain pants on ... that's new for Cinderella."

The pair also teased a new duet, which they said is one of the moments they're most excited for fans to see.

"It was magical. The song is called 'The Girl I Used to Be.' I think people are gonna love it," Brandy said.

Ora agreed, saying, "It was my dream to be not only on a song with her, but also just in anything with her because I've been looking up to her since I can remember."

Their collaboration was years in the making.

"What people don't really know is that I met Rita when she got her start," Brandy said. "I saw this beautiful light in her then and I see it now. And when we got a chance to do this movie together, I mean, our chemistry was just unmatched."

Descendants: Wicked Wonderland premieres Wednesday on Disney Channel and begins streaming Friday on Disney+.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News and Disney Channel.