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  • Who is Charlie Kirk? The conservative activist shot at Utah Valley University

    Who is Charlie Kirk? The conservative activist shot at Utah Valley University

    Press conference we will first hear from Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Be Mason. Then we’ll hear from the FBI special agent in charge, Robert Bowles. Uh, we’ll then hear from Utah Valley University Vice President Val Peterson, who’s been in touch with President Timenez. And then we’ll hear from Governor Cox, turn the time over to Commissioner Mason. Hello everyone I’m Bo Mason, commissioner for the Utah Department of Public Safety. Today at approximately 12:20 Mountain Standard Time. Political influencer Charlie Kirk was shot in an event at the Utah Valley University. He was taken by private vehicle to Timpanoga’s Hospital where he later passed. The Utah Department of Public Safety will be co-leading this criminal investigation to find this killer along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. We’re working in unison with the county sheriff’s office, the local police department, and the university police department, all of which have been very cooperative and fully engaged in this process. Shortly after the shooting, we did have *** suspect in custody, George Zinn. But he was released from custody after we identified that he did not match the shooting suspect, um, and was not an accurate person of interest. However, he has been booked into the uh county jail by Utah Valley University Police Department for obstruction of justice. We do still have an active investigation for the person of interest. This incident occurred with *** large crowd around. There was one shot fired and 11 victim. While the suspect is at large, we believe this was *** targeted attack towards one individual. This is *** tragic moment in our state and in our country. As we heal, we encourage everyone who’s struggling with news of the incident to call 988, our state mental health crisis line. In addition to that, our partners with the FBI will also be discussing other ways we can communicate through the public for tips and other information. Thank you. Good afternoon On behalf of the FBI, we extend our sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Charlie Kirk. Our thoughts are also with the people who witnessed this traumatic event. We know that you, what you experienced was very difficult. Our thoughts are with you as well. As soon as we heard about the shooting, special agents and personnel from the Salt Lake Field Office. Responded immediately. We have full resources devoted to this investigation, including tactical, operational, investigative, and intelligence. To be clear, the FBI will fully support and co-lead this investigation alongside with our partners. We’re working on setting up *** digital media tip line and as soon as it’s established, we’ll get that information out to everyone. I know there’s *** lot of questions. This is very much an active case and this investigation is in its early stages. We are following all the leads and all the evidence. If anyone has any information, please report it to the FBI or local law enforcement. Thank you. On behalf of President Tenez, who we’ve been communicating with and she’s on her way back right now, I, um, say that on behalf of Utah Valley University we are shocked and saddened by the tragic passing of Charlie Kirk. We express our sincere condolences to the Kirk family. We grieve with our students, faculty and staff who bore witness to this unspeakable tragedy. He was invited by the student group Turning Point USA to speak on our campus. We firmly believe that UVU is *** place to share ideas and to debate openly and respectfully. Any attempt to infringe on those rights has no place here. We do not condone any form of violence at UVU and seek to make our campus *** safe place for all. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us on this uh on this dark and and tragic occasion. I wanna thank our law enforcement officers who are leading this investigation, starting with Chief Long, uh, and, and his, uh, his response here with the UVU police department. Um, we’re grateful for your leadership and, uh, and your team, and again to the, the speakers that you’ve just heard from who are are co-leading this investigation. I also want to uh recognize Sheriff Mike Smith who has been an invaluable partner as uh as this investigation moves forward. I’ve been in touch with uh with with President Trump, with FBI Director Cash Patel, um, we are completely aligned with our state and federal partners as uh as we work through this case now. This is *** dark day for our state. It’s *** tragic day for our nation. I want to be very clear that this is *** political assassination. We are. Celebrating 250 years of the founding of this great nation. That founding document, the Declaration of Independence. That this this great experiment on which we embarked together 250 years ago that we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights. The first one of those is life. And today, *** life was taken. Charlie Kirk was first and foremost. *** husband and *** dad to two young children. He was also Very much politically involved and that’s why he was here on campus. Charlie believed in the power of free speech and debate. To shape ideas. And to persuade people. Historically Our university campuses in this nation and here in the state of Utah have been the place where truth and ideas are formulated and debated. And that’s what he does. He comes on college campuses and he debates. That is foundational to the formation of our country. To our most basic constitutional rights. And when someone takes the life of *** person. Because of their ideas or their ideals. Then that very constitutional foundation is threatened. Now we have *** person of interest in custody. The investigation is ongoing. But I want to make it crystal clear right now to whoever did this. We will find you. We will try you And we will hold you accountable to the furthest extent of the law. And I just want to remind people that we still have the death penalty here in the state of Utah. Our nation is broken. We’ve had Political assassinations recently in Minnesota. We had an attempted assassination on the governor of Pennsylvania. And we had an attempted assassination. On *** presidential candidate and former president of the United States and now current president of the United States. Nothing I say can unite us as *** country. Nothing I can say right now can fix what is broken. Nothing I can say can bring back Charlie Kirk. Our hearts are broken. We mourn. With his wife, his children, his family, his friends, we mourn as *** nation. If anyone in the sound of my voice. Celebrated even *** little bit at the news of this shooting. I would beg you To look in the mirror. And to see if you can find *** better angel in there somewhere. I don’t care what his politics are. I care that he was an American. We desperately need our country. We desperately need leaders in our country, but more than the leaders we just need every single person in this country. To think about where we are and where we want to be. To ask ourselves, is this, is this it? Is this what 250 years has wrought on us? I pray that that’s not the case. I pray that those who hated. What Charlie Cook stood for. We put down their social media and their pens. And pray for his family. And that all of us. All of us will try to find *** way to stop hating our fellow Americans. With that we’re happy to take *** few questions. The FBI director is posting that *** that *** suspect is in custody. I would just like clarification. Do you or do you not have *** suspected shooter? We have *** person of interest in custody that is being interviewed right now. We do not that is not George Zim. That is correct. Are you still searching or looking for another shooter or anybody else related to this? Yes, we are actively looking for anyone and everyone who has any any possible information relating to the shooting. Can you tell us details about the suspect being taken into custody, where, you know, how long ago. We, we cannot at this point, but we will get you that information when when we can. Is there believed to be *** second individual involved in the shooting? At this point there is no information that would lead us to believe that there is *** second person involved. Can you guys talk. Um, we. Do you want to talk about what we know there? Yeah. The only information we have on on the suspect, uh, the possible shooter is taken from closed circuit TV here on campus. Um, we do have that we’re, we’re analyzing it, um, but it is security camera footage so you can, you can, uh, kind of guess what the, what the quality of that is, um, but we do know, uh, dressed in, in all, all dark clothing, uh, but we don’t have *** much better description other than that. The shot came from here on campus, um, from, uh, *** location, um. And *** Uh, potentially from *** roof, yes, and longer distance shot from *** roof. So to clarify with the security camera footage you have and the personal interest that’s in custody, do those, does that match up? That’s what we’re trying to decipher right now. Did the FBI or DHS have anything on the threat for this morning? I can’t speak I’ll just say that the investigation is ongoing and as soon as we have further information, we will be sure to release it. Any indications of foreign intelligence involvement? As of now I can’t comment on any of that. Can you talk *** little about the security of the event itself, but who was there security wise and, and what happens on these kind of events. So my name is Jeff Long. I’m the police chief here at UVU, and I’ll tell you right now we’re devastated. We’re *** small, uh, small police department. Uh, we have *** very large campus. We have over 40,000 students, and we love our students. Uh, we love our visitors and we’re, we’re devastated by what happened today. This is the police chief’s nightmare. Um, I’m, I’m very saddened for the Kirk family. um, I know his, uh. His wife and parents, uh, found out about this, you know, obviously he’s away from home. He’s here in Utah they find out, uh, by police officer, uh, that that visits their home. That’s tragic. Nobody wants that, but I can tell you about our venue today. This was an open venue. This is outside. Uh, we did have, um, 6 officers working in that event. Um, we had, uh, probably over 3000 people that were in attendance, um, it sat down in kind of *** bowl area here on the central campus. We have *** waterfall area. And so he was uh kind of in *** *** lower area, uh, surrounded by uh by buildings, um, you know, we, we had, um, uh, some plain clothes police officers that were in the crowd as well, you know, we trained for these things and and you think you, you, you have things covered and um. You know, these things, um, you, you know, unfortunately they happen. You try to get, you try to get your bases covered and unfortunately today we didn’t and because of that we had this tragic incident, so we did have officers there. We had, uh, Charlie Kirk’s team, um, he has *** security team that travels with him and they were here with him when, when he, when he was shot. I’m sorry, the recovered. Um, I, at this point, I, I, I can’t disclose that. I was shot. There was *** question being asked about mass shooting. Was that person apprehended? And do you know who asked that question? Say the question again. I don’t know if I understand what you’re saying. When Charlie Kirk was shot, he was answering *** question about mass shootings specifically. Was that person apprehended and do you know who asked that question? Uh, I do not, we do not have that at this moment. ladies and gentlemen, we have time for just one more question, so thank you. Yeah, um, *** question for the chief as well, um, was it your team or Kirk’s team or *** combination of both that kind of set the security protocol for the event? So we worked together, you know, he has his team and and they do this all over the country we all know that this is not uncommon for them uh they’re very comfortable on campuses and I was coordinating with his lead security guy and, um, uh, so yeah, we were working together. Was this *** sharpshooter type shot? Ladies and gentlemen, that’s that’s, um, those are all the questions that will be answered today um again, thank you for for covering this. uh, we will be, uh, we’ll be updating you as soon as we have additional information through uh through normal channels working with law enforcement again our. Our deepest condolences uh to the uh to the Kirk family and uh and to the students who were who were there today um and uh I would, I would just ask everyone everywhere to please pray for their family and uh and to pray for our country and we need it now more than ever thank you.

    Who is Charlie Kirk? The conservative activist shot at Utah Valley University

    Updated: 12:10 AM EDT Sep 11, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and Donald Trump ally, was fatally shot at an event at Utah Valley University, President Trump confirmed.Video above: Utah officials give first news conference after Charlie Kirk shootingKirk is a well-known political activist who helped found conservative youth organization Turning Point USA. He has millions of followers on social media and is considered one of the most popular conservative media personalities. A backer of Trump during the president’s initial 2016 run, Kirk took Turning Point from one of a constellation of well-funded conservative groups to the center of the right-of-center universe.Turning Point’s political wing helped run get-out-the-vote for Trump’s 2024 campaign, trying to energize disaffected conservatives who rarely vote. Trump won Arizona, Turning Point’s home state, by five percentage points after narrowly losing it in 2020. The group is known for its flamboyant events that often feature strobe lighting and pyrotechnics. It claims more than 250,000 student members.Kirk is known for attending events at high schools and colleges across the country while advocating for conservative views.Because of this, Kirk is seen by some as a controversial figure, as he tends to argue with people who do not agree with his points of view. He often records these arguments and posts them to social media for people to discuss. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and Donald Trump ally, was fatally shot at an event at Utah Valley University, President Trump confirmed.

    Video above: Utah officials give first news conference after Charlie Kirk shooting

    Kirk is a well-known political activist who helped found conservative youth organization Turning Point USA. He has millions of followers on social media and is considered one of the most popular conservative media personalities.

    A backer of Trump during the president’s initial 2016 run, Kirk took Turning Point from one of a constellation of well-funded conservative groups to the center of the right-of-center universe.

    Turning Point’s political wing helped run get-out-the-vote for Trump’s 2024 campaign, trying to energize disaffected conservatives who rarely vote. Trump won Arizona, Turning Point’s home state, by five percentage points after narrowly losing it in 2020. The group is known for its flamboyant events that often feature strobe lighting and pyrotechnics. It claims more than 250,000 student members.

    Kirk is known for attending events at high schools and colleges across the country while advocating for conservative views.

    Because of this, Kirk is seen by some as a controversial figure, as he tends to argue with people who do not agree with his points of view. He often records these arguments and posts them to social media for people to discuss.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    Source link

  • Who is Charlie Kirk? The conservative activist shot at Utah Valley University

    Who is Charlie Kirk? The conservative activist shot at Utah Valley University

    Press conference we will first hear from Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Be Mason. Then we’ll hear from the FBI special agent in charge, Robert Bowles. Uh, we’ll then hear from Utah Valley University Vice President Val Peterson, who’s been in touch with President Timenez. And then we’ll hear from Governor Cox, turn the time over to Commissioner Mason. Hello everyone I’m Bo Mason, commissioner for the Utah Department of Public Safety. Today at approximately 12:20 Mountain Standard Time. Political influencer Charlie Kirk was shot in an event at the Utah Valley University. He was taken by private vehicle to Timpanoga’s Hospital where he later passed. The Utah Department of Public Safety will be co-leading this criminal investigation to find this killer along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. We’re working in unison with the county sheriff’s office, the local police department, and the university police department, all of which have been very cooperative and fully engaged in this process. Shortly after the shooting, we did have *** suspect in custody, George Zinn. But he was released from custody after we identified that he did not match the shooting suspect, um, and was not an accurate person of interest. However, he has been booked into the uh county jail by Utah Valley University Police Department for obstruction of justice. We do still have an active investigation for the person of interest. This incident occurred with *** large crowd around. There was one shot fired and 11 victim. While the suspect is at large, we believe this was *** targeted attack towards one individual. This is *** tragic moment in our state and in our country. As we heal, we encourage everyone who’s struggling with news of the incident to call 988, our state mental health crisis line. In addition to that, our partners with the FBI will also be discussing other ways we can communicate through the public for tips and other information. Thank you. Good afternoon On behalf of the FBI, we extend our sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Charlie Kirk. Our thoughts are also with the people who witnessed this traumatic event. We know that you, what you experienced was very difficult. Our thoughts are with you as well. As soon as we heard about the shooting, special agents and personnel from the Salt Lake Field Office. Responded immediately. We have full resources devoted to this investigation, including tactical, operational, investigative, and intelligence. To be clear, the FBI will fully support and co-lead this investigation alongside with our partners. We’re working on setting up *** digital media tip line and as soon as it’s established, we’ll get that information out to everyone. I know there’s *** lot of questions. This is very much an active case and this investigation is in its early stages. We are following all the leads and all the evidence. If anyone has any information, please report it to the FBI or local law enforcement. Thank you. On behalf of President Tenez, who we’ve been communicating with and she’s on her way back right now, I, um, say that on behalf of Utah Valley University we are shocked and saddened by the tragic passing of Charlie Kirk. We express our sincere condolences to the Kirk family. We grieve with our students, faculty and staff who bore witness to this unspeakable tragedy. He was invited by the student group Turning Point USA to speak on our campus. We firmly believe that UVU is *** place to share ideas and to debate openly and respectfully. Any attempt to infringe on those rights has no place here. We do not condone any form of violence at UVU and seek to make our campus *** safe place for all. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us on this uh on this dark and and tragic occasion. I wanna thank our law enforcement officers who are leading this investigation, starting with Chief Long, uh, and, and his, uh, his response here with the UVU police department. Um, we’re grateful for your leadership and, uh, and your team, and again to the, the speakers that you’ve just heard from who are are co-leading this investigation. I also want to uh recognize Sheriff Mike Smith who has been an invaluable partner as uh as this investigation moves forward. I’ve been in touch with uh with with President Trump, with FBI Director Cash Patel, um, we are completely aligned with our state and federal partners as uh as we work through this case now. This is *** dark day for our state. It’s *** tragic day for our nation. I want to be very clear that this is *** political assassination. We are. Celebrating 250 years of the founding of this great nation. That founding document, the Declaration of Independence. That this this great experiment on which we embarked together 250 years ago that we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights. The first one of those is life. And today, *** life was taken. Charlie Kirk was first and foremost. *** husband and *** dad to two young children. He was also Very much politically involved and that’s why he was here on campus. Charlie believed in the power of free speech and debate. To shape ideas. And to persuade people. Historically Our university campuses in this nation and here in the state of Utah have been the place where truth and ideas are formulated and debated. And that’s what he does. He comes on college campuses and he debates. That is foundational to the formation of our country. To our most basic constitutional rights. And when someone takes the life of *** person. Because of their ideas or their ideals. Then that very constitutional foundation is threatened. Now we have *** person of interest in custody. The investigation is ongoing. But I want to make it crystal clear right now to whoever did this. We will find you. We will try you And we will hold you accountable to the furthest extent of the law. And I just want to remind people that we still have the death penalty here in the state of Utah. Our nation is broken. We’ve had Political assassinations recently in Minnesota. We had an attempted assassination on the governor of Pennsylvania. And we had an attempted assassination. On *** presidential candidate and former president of the United States and now current president of the United States. Nothing I say can unite us as *** country. Nothing I can say right now can fix what is broken. Nothing I can say can bring back Charlie Kirk. Our hearts are broken. We mourn. With his wife, his children, his family, his friends, we mourn as *** nation. If anyone in the sound of my voice. Celebrated even *** little bit at the news of this shooting. I would beg you To look in the mirror. And to see if you can find *** better angel in there somewhere. I don’t care what his politics are. I care that he was an American. We desperately need our country. We desperately need leaders in our country, but more than the leaders we just need every single person in this country. To think about where we are and where we want to be. To ask ourselves, is this, is this it? Is this what 250 years has wrought on us? I pray that that’s not the case. I pray that those who hated. What Charlie Cook stood for. We put down their social media and their pens. And pray for his family. And that all of us. All of us will try to find *** way to stop hating our fellow Americans. With that we’re happy to take *** few questions. The FBI director is posting that *** that *** suspect is in custody. I would just like clarification. Do you or do you not have *** suspected shooter? We have *** person of interest in custody that is being interviewed right now. We do not that is not George Zim. That is correct. Are you still searching or looking for another shooter or anybody else related to this? Yes, we are actively looking for anyone and everyone who has any any possible information relating to the shooting. Can you tell us details about the suspect being taken into custody, where, you know, how long ago. We, we cannot at this point, but we will get you that information when when we can. Is there believed to be *** second individual involved in the shooting? At this point there is no information that would lead us to believe that there is *** second person involved. Can you guys talk. Um, we. Do you want to talk about what we know there? Yeah. The only information we have on on the suspect, uh, the possible shooter is taken from closed circuit TV here on campus. Um, we do have that we’re, we’re analyzing it, um, but it is security camera footage so you can, you can, uh, kind of guess what the, what the quality of that is, um, but we do know, uh, dressed in, in all, all dark clothing, uh, but we don’t have *** much better description other than that. The shot came from here on campus, um, from, uh, *** location, um. And *** Uh, potentially from *** roof, yes, and longer distance shot from *** roof. So to clarify with the security camera footage you have and the personal interest that’s in custody, do those, does that match up? That’s what we’re trying to decipher right now. Did the FBI or DHS have anything on the threat for this morning? I can’t speak I’ll just say that the investigation is ongoing and as soon as we have further information, we will be sure to release it. Any indications of foreign intelligence involvement? As of now I can’t comment on any of that. Can you talk *** little about the security of the event itself, but who was there security wise and, and what happens on these kind of events. So my name is Jeff Long. I’m the police chief here at UVU, and I’ll tell you right now we’re devastated. We’re *** small, uh, small police department. Uh, we have *** very large campus. We have over 40,000 students, and we love our students. Uh, we love our visitors and we’re, we’re devastated by what happened today. This is the police chief’s nightmare. Um, I’m, I’m very saddened for the Kirk family. um, I know his, uh. His wife and parents, uh, found out about this, you know, obviously he’s away from home. He’s here in Utah they find out, uh, by police officer, uh, that that visits their home. That’s tragic. Nobody wants that, but I can tell you about our venue today. This was an open venue. This is outside. Uh, we did have, um, 6 officers working in that event. Um, we had, uh, probably over 3000 people that were in attendance, um, it sat down in kind of *** bowl area here on the central campus. We have *** waterfall area. And so he was uh kind of in *** *** lower area, uh, surrounded by uh by buildings, um, you know, we, we had, um, uh, some plain clothes police officers that were in the crowd as well, you know, we trained for these things and and you think you, you, you have things covered and um. You know, these things, um, you, you know, unfortunately they happen. You try to get, you try to get your bases covered and unfortunately today we didn’t and because of that we had this tragic incident, so we did have officers there. We had, uh, Charlie Kirk’s team, um, he has *** security team that travels with him and they were here with him when, when he, when he was shot. I’m sorry, the recovered. Um, I, at this point, I, I, I can’t disclose that. I was shot. There was *** question being asked about mass shooting. Was that person apprehended? And do you know who asked that question? Say the question again. I don’t know if I understand what you’re saying. When Charlie Kirk was shot, he was answering *** question about mass shootings specifically. Was that person apprehended and do you know who asked that question? Uh, I do not, we do not have that at this moment. ladies and gentlemen, we have time for just one more question, so thank you. Yeah, um, *** question for the chief as well, um, was it your team or Kirk’s team or *** combination of both that kind of set the security protocol for the event? So we worked together, you know, he has his team and and they do this all over the country we all know that this is not uncommon for them uh they’re very comfortable on campuses and I was coordinating with his lead security guy and, um, uh, so yeah, we were working together. Was this *** sharpshooter type shot? Ladies and gentlemen, that’s that’s, um, those are all the questions that will be answered today um again, thank you for for covering this. uh, we will be, uh, we’ll be updating you as soon as we have additional information through uh through normal channels working with law enforcement again our. Our deepest condolences uh to the uh to the Kirk family and uh and to the students who were who were there today um and uh I would, I would just ask everyone everywhere to please pray for their family and uh and to pray for our country and we need it now more than ever thank you.

    Who is Charlie Kirk? The conservative activist shot at Utah Valley University

    Updated: 6:46 PM PDT Sep 10, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and Donald Trump ally, was fatally shot at an event at Utah Valley University, President Trump confirmed.Video above: Utah officials give first news conference after Charlie Kirk shootingKirk is a well-known political activist who helped found conservative youth organization Turning Point USA. He has millions of followers on social media and is considered one of the most popular conservative media personalities. A backer of Trump during the president’s initial 2016 run, Kirk took Turning Point from one of a constellation of well-funded conservative groups to the center of the right-of-center universe.Turning Point’s political wing helped run get-out-the-vote for Trump’s 2024 campaign, trying to energize disaffected conservatives who rarely vote. Trump won Arizona, Turning Point’s home state, by five percentage points after narrowly losing it in 2020. The group is known for its flamboyant events that often feature strobe lighting and pyrotechnics. It claims more than 250,000 student members.Kirk is known for attending events at high schools and colleges across the country while advocating for conservative views.Because of this, Kirk is seen by some as a controversial figure, as he tends to argue with people who do not agree with his points of view. He often records these arguments and posts them to social media for people to discuss. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and Donald Trump ally, was fatally shot at an event at Utah Valley University, President Trump confirmed.

    Video above: Utah officials give first news conference after Charlie Kirk shooting

    Kirk is a well-known political activist who helped found conservative youth organization Turning Point USA. He has millions of followers on social media and is considered one of the most popular conservative media personalities.

    A backer of Trump during the president’s initial 2016 run, Kirk took Turning Point from one of a constellation of well-funded conservative groups to the center of the right-of-center universe.

    Turning Point’s political wing helped run get-out-the-vote for Trump’s 2024 campaign, trying to energize disaffected conservatives who rarely vote. Trump won Arizona, Turning Point’s home state, by five percentage points after narrowly losing it in 2020. The group is known for its flamboyant events that often feature strobe lighting and pyrotechnics. It claims more than 250,000 student members.

    Kirk is known for attending events at high schools and colleges across the country while advocating for conservative views.

    Because of this, Kirk is seen by some as a controversial figure, as he tends to argue with people who do not agree with his points of view. He often records these arguments and posts them to social media for people to discuss.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    Source link

  • Why is ‘The Bear’ considered a comedy show at the Emmy Awards?

    With the 2025 Emmy Awards airing on Sunday, many television shows are being talked about and rewatched as people prepare for the big night.“The Bear” has been widely discussed recently because, while it has little to no comedic elements, it is in the comedy category at the Emmys. Why?Simply put, “The Bear” is labeled as a comedy at the Emmys simply because it can be. The Emmys and Television Academy have no rules about how shows are chosen and placed into each category. In fact, the Television Academy does not even pick which categories they believe each television show should compete in. Instead, the network picks the category for each show. In the case of “The Bear,” FX decided they wanted to submit it to the comedy category, and since there are no rules against it, it will be considered a comedy. FX could have decided to put “The Bear” in a comedy category for a few reasons. The first reason is that comedy categories are often less competitive than the drama categories when it comes to Emmy Awards. When FX first nominated “The Bear,” if it were in the drama category, it would have been up against “Succession” in its final season. Knowing that “Succession” would potentially sweep, the network gave “The Bear” a better chance in the comedy category.The second reason pertains to the 2024 Emmy Awards. This year, FX also nominated its show, “Shōgun,” for the Emmys’ drama category. If “The Bear” was also in the drama category, it would be competing with another FX show. To maximize the network’s hopeful wins, FX can put both shows in separate categories.

    With the 2025 Emmy Awards airing on Sunday, many television shows are being talked about and rewatched as people prepare for the big night.

    “The Bear” has been widely discussed recently because, while it has little to no comedic elements, it is in the comedy category at the Emmys.

    Why?

    Simply put, “The Bear” is labeled as a comedy at the Emmys simply because it can be. The Emmys and Television Academy have no rules about how shows are chosen and placed into each category.

    In fact, the Television Academy does not even pick which categories they believe each television show should compete in. Instead, the network picks the category for each show.

    In the case of “The Bear,” FX decided they wanted to submit it to the comedy category, and since there are no rules against it, it will be considered a comedy.

    FX could have decided to put “The Bear” in a comedy category for a few reasons.

    The first reason is that comedy categories are often less competitive than the drama categories when it comes to Emmy Awards. When FX first nominated “The Bear,” if it were in the drama category, it would have been up against “Succession” in its final season. Knowing that “Succession” would potentially sweep, the network gave “The Bear” a better chance in the comedy category.

    The second reason pertains to the 2024 Emmy Awards. In 2024, FX also nominated its show, “Shōgun,” for the Emmys’ drama category. If “The Bear” was also in the drama category, it would be competing with another FX show. To maximize the network’s hopeful wins, FX can put both shows in separate categories.

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  • Who is Nate Bargatze? What to know about the host of the 2025 Emmy Awards

    Who is Nate Bargatze? What to know about the host of the 2025 Emmy Awards

    Updated: 1:55 PM PDT Sep 9, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    Comedian Nate Bargatze will be hosting the 77th Emmy Awards on Sept. 14, but many people are unfamiliar with the comedian’s work.Bargatze is currently one of the highest-grossing comedians after his latest tour sold more than 1.2 million tickets.Bargatze has hosted “Saturday Night Live” twice, appeared on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” 14 times and has also appeared on Conan and Seth Meyers’ respective shows. Bargatze told CBS that he is honored to host the Emmys, and this is a dream of his. “I’m used to performing in front of live people, not an audience like this of all the people that you know,” he said. “So, it will be fun to get in there, get on stage, get that first joke, hear that first laugh and then just get running and just really make your own of it.”

    Comedian Nate Bargatze will be hosting the 77th Emmy Awards on Sept. 14, but many people are unfamiliar with the comedian’s work.

    Bargatze is currently one of the highest-grossing comedians after his latest tour sold more than 1.2 million tickets.

    Bargatze has hosted “Saturday Night Live” twice, appeared on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” 14 times and has also appeared on Conan and Seth Meyers’ respective shows.

    Bargatze told CBS that he is honored to host the Emmys, and this is a dream of his.

    “I’m used to performing in front of live people, not an audience like this of all the people that you know,” he said. “So, it will be fun to get in there, get on stage, get that first joke, hear that first laugh and then just get running and just really make your own of it.”

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  • Who is Nate Bargatze? What to know about the host of the 2025 Emmy Awards

    Who is Nate Bargatze? What to know about the host of the 2025 Emmy Awards

    Updated: 4:55 PM EDT Sep 9, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    Comedian Nate Bargatze will be hosting the 77th Emmy Awards on Sept. 14, but many people are unfamiliar with the comedian’s work.Bargatze is currently one of the highest-grossing comedians after his latest tour sold more than 1.2 million tickets.Bargatze has hosted “Saturday Night Live” twice, appeared on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” 14 times and has also appeared on Conan and Seth Meyers’ respective shows. Bargatze told CBS that he is honored to host the Emmys, and this is a dream of his. “I’m used to performing in front of live people, not an audience like this of all the people that you know,” he said. “So, it will be fun to get in there, get on stage, get that first joke, hear that first laugh and then just get running and just really make your own of it.”

    Comedian Nate Bargatze will be hosting the 77th Emmy Awards on Sept. 14, but many people are unfamiliar with the comedian’s work.

    Bargatze is currently one of the highest-grossing comedians after his latest tour sold more than 1.2 million tickets.

    Bargatze has hosted “Saturday Night Live” twice, appeared on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” 14 times and has also appeared on Conan and Seth Meyers’ respective shows.

    Bargatze told CBS that he is honored to host the Emmys, and this is a dream of his.

    “I’m used to performing in front of live people, not an audience like this of all the people that you know,” he said. “So, it will be fun to get in there, get on stage, get that first joke, hear that first laugh and then just get running and just really make your own of it.”

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  • Sabrina Carpenter incorporated some protest into her MTV VMA performance

    Sabrina Carpenter incorporated some protest into her MTV VMA performance

    Updated: 2:08 PM EDT Sep 8, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    Sabrina Carpenter’s performance Sunday night at the MTV Video Music Awards seemed meant to inspire both dancing and resistance.The petite powerhouse performed her new song, “Tears,” with backup support from drag performers made famous by the reality series “Drag Race,” as well as dancers dressed as police officers.One of the drag performers, Honey Balenciaga, was recently featured on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter tour.Carpenter, who started out in what appeared to be a silver, sparkly fringe dress before a quick costume change, delivered an energetic performance that also contained a message.Some of those on stage with her held signs with messages that read “In Trans We Trust” and “Protect Trans Rights.”It comes at a time when many in the trans community are raising concerns about state and national legislative efforts to limit gender identity care.Carpenter is a well-known ally to the LGBTQIA+ community, and her performance Sunday night felt inspired by the music video for “Tears.”Emmy-winning actor Colman Domingo appears in drag in that video, which pays homage to the classic, campy film “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

    Sabrina Carpenter’s performance Sunday night at the MTV Video Music Awards seemed meant to inspire both dancing and resistance.

    The petite powerhouse performed her new song, “Tears,” with backup support from drag performers made famous by the reality series “Drag Race,” as well as dancers dressed as police officers.

    One of the drag performers, Honey Balenciaga, was recently featured on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter tour.

    Carpenter, who started out in what appeared to be a silver, sparkly fringe dress before a quick costume change, delivered an energetic performance that also contained a message.

    Some of those on stage with her held signs with messages that read “In Trans We Trust” and “Protect Trans Rights.”

    It comes at a time when many in the trans community are raising concerns about state and national legislative efforts to limit gender identity care.

    Carpenter is a well-known ally to the LGBTQIA+ community, and her performance Sunday night felt inspired by the music video for “Tears.”

    Emmy-winning actor Colman Domingo appears in drag in that video, which pays homage to the classic, campy film “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

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  • Trump attends the US Open as Rolex’s guest despite Swiss tariffs. Mixed cheers and boos greet him

    President Donald Trump attended the U.S. Open on Sunday and briefly stepped out from a luxury box to wave at a main court crowd mostly still arriving for the men’s final. He drew mixed cheers and boos.Arthur Ashe stadium was only partially full and Trump’s waves weren’t announced beforehand. They were also brief enough so that some of those in attendance didn’t notice them.The president attended as a guest of Rolex despite imposing steep tariffs on the Swiss watchmaker’s home country, and organizers were seeking to keep booing of him from being seen on the TV broadcast.Trump has built the bulk of his second term’s domestic travel around attending major sports events rather than hitting the road to make policy announcements or address the kind of large rallies he so relished as a candidate.Because of extra security screening, the final between second-seeded Carlos Alcaraz, a 22-year-old Spaniard, and No. 1 seed and defending champion Jannik Sinner, 24, of Italy, was pushed back half an hour — meaning Trump arrived more than 45 minutes before the new start time. The president was watching from Rolex’s suite, and his acceptance of Rolex’s invitation comes mere weeks after the Trump administration imposed a whopping 39% tariff on Swiss products.The levy is more than 2 1/2 times higher than the one the Trump administration agreed to for European Union goods exported to the U.S. and nearly four times higher than on British exports to the U.S. It has raised questions about Switzerland’s ability to compete with the 27-member bloc that it neighbors.The White House declined to comment on Trump accepting a corporate client’s invitation at the tournament, but the president has had few qualms about blurring lines between political and foreign policy decisions and efforts to boost the profits of his family business.That includes tirelessly promoting cryptocurrency interests and luxury golf properties around the country and the world that bear his name. He announced Friday that the U.S. will use its turn hosting the Group of 20 summit in December 2026 to stage the sweeping event at Trump National Doral in South Florida.Any negative reaction to Trump’s presence won’t be shown on ABC’s national telecast, per standard policy, the U.S. Tennis Association says.”We regularly ask our broadcasters to refrain from showcasing off-court disruptions,” the organization said in a statement.As heavy rains began mostly clearing, and throngs of fans arrived for the match, no major street protests against the president could be seen from the touranment’s main stadium. Attendees also steered clear of wearing any of the president’s signature “Make America Great Again” caps, though.A 58-year tennis fan originally from Turin, Italy, came from her home in the Boston area to watch the final and said that when she bought a U.S. Open cap, she went with a fuchsia-hued one so it wouldn’t be mistaken for the signature darker color of MAGA hats.”I was careful not to get the red one,” said the fan, who declined to give her name because of her employer’s rules about being publicly quoted.Attending with Trump were White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, special administration envoy Steve Witkoff and Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff.Elsewhere in the crowd were a slew of celebrities — some of whom publicly backed then-Vice President Kamala Harris during last year’s election against Trump. Among them were Pink, Bruce Springsteen, Shonda Rhimes, Michael J. Fox, Sting, Shaggy, Ben Stiller and Courtney Cox.Trump came back to the press cabin on Air Force One during the flight to New York to note that the plane would be flying over Ashe stadium, but didn’t offer any further comment.Trump was once a U.S. Open mainstay, but hasn’t attended since he was loudly booed at a quarterfinals match in September 2015, months after launching his first presidential campaign.The Trump Organization once controlled its own U.S. Open suite, which was adjacent to the stadium’s television broadcasting booth, but suspended it in 2017, during the first year of Trump’s first term. The family business is now being run by Trump’s sons with their father back in the White House.Trump was born in Queens, home of the U.S. Open, and for decades was a New York-area real estate mogul and, later, a reality TV star. Attending the tournament before he was a politician, he usually sat in the suite’s balcony during night matches and was frequently shown on the arena’s video screens.In recent years, however, including between his presidential terms, Trump primarily lived at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago.Alcaraz said before the final that having Trump on-hand would be a privilege and “great for tennis,” but also suggested that such sentiment went for any president watching from the stands. “I don’t want myself to be nervous because of it,” he said.The president has also frequently attended sporting events — where the roar of the crowd sometimes features people booing him while others cheer him.Since returning to the White House in January and prior to Sunday’s U.S Open swing, Trump went to the Super Bowl in New Orleans and the Daytona 500, as well as UFC fights in Miami and Newark, New Jersey, the NCAA wrestling championships in Philadelphia and the FIFA Club World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey.Having a sitting president attend the U.S. Open hasn’t happened since Bill Clinton went to the 2000 tournament, though former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, attended the event’s opening night in 2023.___Associated Press writer Brian Mahoney contributed to this report.

    President Donald Trump attended the U.S. Open on Sunday and briefly stepped out from a luxury box to wave at a main court crowd mostly still arriving for the men’s final. He drew mixed cheers and boos.

    Arthur Ashe stadium was only partially full and Trump’s waves weren’t announced beforehand. They were also brief enough so that some of those in attendance didn’t notice them.

    The president attended as a guest of Rolex despite imposing steep tariffs on the Swiss watchmaker’s home country, and organizers were seeking to keep booing of him from being seen on the TV broadcast.

    Trump has built the bulk of his second term’s domestic travel around attending major sports events rather than hitting the road to make policy announcements or address the kind of large rallies he so relished as a candidate.

    Because of extra security screening, the final between second-seeded Carlos Alcaraz, a 22-year-old Spaniard, and No. 1 seed and defending champion Jannik Sinner, 24, of Italy, was pushed back half an hour — meaning Trump arrived more than 45 minutes before the new start time. The president was watching from Rolex’s suite, and his acceptance of Rolex’s invitation comes mere weeks after the Trump administration imposed a whopping 39% tariff on Swiss products.

    The levy is more than 2 1/2 times higher than the one the Trump administration agreed to for European Union goods exported to the U.S. and nearly four times higher than on British exports to the U.S. It has raised questions about Switzerland’s ability to compete with the 27-member bloc that it neighbors.

    The White House declined to comment on Trump accepting a corporate client’s invitation at the tournament, but the president has had few qualms about blurring lines between political and foreign policy decisions and efforts to boost the profits of his family business.

    That includes tirelessly promoting cryptocurrency interests and luxury golf properties around the country and the world that bear his name. He announced Friday that the U.S. will use its turn hosting the Group of 20 summit in December 2026 to stage the sweeping event at Trump National Doral in South Florida.

    Any negative reaction to Trump’s presence won’t be shown on ABC’s national telecast, per standard policy, the U.S. Tennis Association says.

    “We regularly ask our broadcasters to refrain from showcasing off-court disruptions,” the organization said in a statement.

    As heavy rains began mostly clearing, and throngs of fans arrived for the match, no major street protests against the president could be seen from the touranment’s main stadium. Attendees also steered clear of wearing any of the president’s signature “Make America Great Again” caps, though.

    A 58-year tennis fan originally from Turin, Italy, came from her home in the Boston area to watch the final and said that when she bought a U.S. Open cap, she went with a fuchsia-hued one so it wouldn’t be mistaken for the signature darker color of MAGA hats.

    “I was careful not to get the red one,” said the fan, who declined to give her name because of her employer’s rules about being publicly quoted.

    Attending with Trump were White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, special administration envoy Steve Witkoff and Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff.

    Elsewhere in the crowd were a slew of celebrities — some of whom publicly backed then-Vice President Kamala Harris during last year’s election against Trump. Among them were Pink, Bruce Springsteen, Shonda Rhimes, Michael J. Fox, Sting, Shaggy, Ben Stiller and Courtney Cox.

    Trump came back to the press cabin on Air Force One during the flight to New York to note that the plane would be flying over Ashe stadium, but didn’t offer any further comment.

    Trump was once a U.S. Open mainstay, but hasn’t attended since he was loudly booed at a quarterfinals match in September 2015, months after launching his first presidential campaign.

    The Trump Organization once controlled its own U.S. Open suite, which was adjacent to the stadium’s television broadcasting booth, but suspended it in 2017, during the first year of Trump’s first term. The family business is now being run by Trump’s sons with their father back in the White House.

    Trump was born in Queens, home of the U.S. Open, and for decades was a New York-area real estate mogul and, later, a reality TV star. Attending the tournament before he was a politician, he usually sat in the suite’s balcony during night matches and was frequently shown on the arena’s video screens.

    In recent years, however, including between his presidential terms, Trump primarily lived at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago.

    Alcaraz said before the final that having Trump on-hand would be a privilege and “great for tennis,” but also suggested that such sentiment went for any president watching from the stands. “I don’t want myself to be nervous because of it,” he said.

    The president has also frequently attended sporting events — where the roar of the crowd sometimes features people booing him while others cheer him.

    Since returning to the White House in January and prior to Sunday’s U.S Open swing, Trump went to the Super Bowl in New Orleans and the Daytona 500, as well as UFC fights in Miami and Newark, New Jersey, the NCAA wrestling championships in Philadelphia and the FIFA Club World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

    Having a sitting president attend the U.S. Open hasn’t happened since Bill Clinton went to the 2000 tournament, though former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, attended the event’s opening night in 2023.

    ___

    Associated Press writer Brian Mahoney contributed to this report.

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  • FDA urges child-resistant packaging for nicotine pouches

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is urging nicotine pouch manufacturers to use child-resistant packaging on their products. This comes as a rise in nicotine pouch exposure cases has been reported among young children – with some causing nicotine poisoning.In an announcement Tuesday, the FDA called on manufacturers to use child-resistant packaging to reduce the risk of these “accidental” and “harmful” exposures.”I am concerned about rising reports of nicotine exposures in young children caused by nicotine pouches,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary said in the announcement. “The fruity flavors and bright, colorful designs of nicotine pouch products could resemble candy and seem attractive to children. Manufacturers should consider what steps they can take to prevent accidental exposures and ingestion.”The FDA noted in its announcement that it has authorized 20 nicotine pouch products, all of which use child-resistant packaging. The FDA gave marketing authorization to certain nicotine pouches for the first time in January.”ZYN is the only nicotine pouch authorized by the FDA as appropriate to protect public health. In making that conclusion the agency noted that ZYN’s packaging is designed to be child resistant – and has been since its launch 11 years ago,” Philip Morris International, which owns nicotine pouch brand Zyn, said in a statement Tuesday.But several brands of pouches on the market have not received FDA authorization, and not all have child-resistant packaging.The FDA urged manufacturers to contact the agency if they have a pending premarket application for a nicotine pouch product and intend to incorporate child-resistant packaging or other measures to mitigate the risk of accidental exposure to children.Nicotine pouches are small packets, filled with a powder made of nicotine, flavorings and other ingredients, that users can tuck between their lip and gum, where the nicotine is absorbed through mucous membranes.From April 2022 through March 2025, the number of reported nicotine pouch exposure cases reported to U.S. Poison Centers steadily climbed, according to the FDA, and about 72% were in children younger than 5.The FDA warned in its announcement that the concentrated nicotine in these products can be harmful or potentially fatal to young children, even in small amounts. In young children, ingestion of doses as low as 1 to 4 milligrams of nicotine has been associated with “toxic effects,” according to the FDA.Symptoms of nicotine poisoning can include abdominal cramps, confusion, seizures, loss of consciousness, headache and vomiting.The FDA offered information for consumers in its announcement on how to properly store nicotine pouches and prevent accidental exposure to children.”Parents and caregivers should safely store all nicotine products, including pouches, in secure locations away from children in original packaging and seek immediate medical attention if accidental ingestion occurs,” the agency said. And if anyone of any age eats a nicotine pouch, accidental or not, the best first step is to immediately call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222.”The recent rise in accidental exposure to nicotine pouches is deeply troubling, especially when it involves our youngest and most at risk,” Kathy Crosby, CEO and president at the Truth Initiative, a nonprofit focused on preventing youth and young adult nicotine addiction, said in a statement.”To help safeguard young people from the preventable harms of these products, it’s critical for manufacturers to prioritize child-resistant packaging and that the FDA consider risks of accidental exposure and packaging safety when reviewing new products,” Crosby said. “The FDA can also immediately reduce the likelihood of accidental exposure by ensuring that only authorized products are on store shelves.”Nicotine pouches have become the second most-used nicotine product among young people, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.A report released Thursday by the Truth Initiative says that oral nicotine pouch use among high school students has nearly doubled, increasing from 1.3% in 2023 to 2.4% in 2024.Still, the overall user base remains small. Just 0.5% of Americans use nicotine pouches, compared with 9% who smoke cigarettes and 3% who vape or use e-cigarettes, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

    CNN —

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is urging nicotine pouch manufacturers to use child-resistant packaging on their products. This comes as a rise in nicotine pouch exposure cases has been reported among young children – with some causing nicotine poisoning.

    In an announcement Tuesday, the FDA called on manufacturers to use child-resistant packaging to reduce the risk of these “accidental” and “harmful” exposures.

    “I am concerned about rising reports of nicotine exposures in young children caused by nicotine pouches,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary said in the announcement. “The fruity flavors and bright, colorful designs of nicotine pouch products could resemble candy and seem attractive to children. Manufacturers should consider what steps they can take to prevent accidental exposures and ingestion.”

    The FDA noted in its announcement that it has authorized 20 nicotine pouch products, all of which use child-resistant packaging. The FDA gave marketing authorization to certain nicotine pouches for the first time in January.

    “ZYN is the only nicotine pouch authorized by the FDA as appropriate to protect public health. In making that conclusion the agency noted that ZYN’s packaging is designed to be child resistant – and has been since its launch 11 years ago,” Philip Morris International, which owns nicotine pouch brand Zyn, said in a statement Tuesday.

    But several brands of pouches on the market have not received FDA authorization, and not all have child-resistant packaging.

    The FDA urged manufacturers to contact the agency if they have a pending premarket application for a nicotine pouch product and intend to incorporate child-resistant packaging or other measures to mitigate the risk of accidental exposure to children.

    Nicotine pouches are small packets, filled with a powder made of nicotine, flavorings and other ingredients, that users can tuck between their lip and gum, where the nicotine is absorbed through mucous membranes.

    From April 2022 through March 2025, the number of reported nicotine pouch exposure cases reported to U.S. Poison Centers steadily climbed, according to the FDA, and about 72% were in children younger than 5.

    The FDA warned in its announcement that the concentrated nicotine in these products can be harmful or potentially fatal to young children, even in small amounts. In young children, ingestion of doses as low as 1 to 4 milligrams of nicotine has been associated with “toxic effects,” according to the FDA.

    Symptoms of nicotine poisoning can include abdominal cramps, confusion, seizures, loss of consciousness, headache and vomiting.

    The FDA offered information for consumers in its announcement on how to properly store nicotine pouches and prevent accidental exposure to children.

    “Parents and caregivers should safely store all nicotine products, including pouches, in secure locations away from children in original packaging and seek immediate medical attention if accidental ingestion occurs,” the agency said. And if anyone of any age eats a nicotine pouch, accidental or not, the best first step is to immediately call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222.

    “The recent rise in accidental exposure to nicotine pouches is deeply troubling, especially when it involves our youngest and most at risk,” Kathy Crosby, CEO and president at the Truth Initiative, a nonprofit focused on preventing youth and young adult nicotine addiction, said in a statement.

    “To help safeguard young people from the preventable harms of these products, it’s critical for manufacturers to prioritize child-resistant packaging and that the FDA consider risks of accidental exposure and packaging safety when reviewing new products,” Crosby said. “The FDA can also immediately reduce the likelihood of accidental exposure by ensuring that only authorized products are on store shelves.”

    Nicotine pouches have become the second most-used nicotine product among young people, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    A report released Thursday by the Truth Initiative says that oral nicotine pouch use among high school students has nearly doubled, increasing from 1.3% in 2023 to 2.4% in 2024.

    Still, the overall user base remains small. Just 0.5% of Americans use nicotine pouches, compared with 9% who smoke cigarettes and 3% who vape or use e-cigarettes, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

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  • Rudy Giuliani injured in New Hampshire car crash, his spokesperson says

    Rudy Giuliani is recovering from a fractured vertebra and other injuries following a car crash in New Hampshire in which he was a passenger, a spokesperson for the former New York City mayor said Sunday.Giuliani was being driven in a rented Ford Bronco by his spokesperson Ted Goodman when their vehicle was struck from behind by a Honda HR-V driven by a 19-year-old woman late Saturday evening, New Hampshire State Police said in a statement.Troopers witnessed the crash, which caused both vehicles to hit the highway median and left them “heavily damaged,” state police said. Goodman and the 19-year-old suffered “non-life-threatening injuries” and were taken to hospitals for treatment, the agency added.State police said they are investigating the crash and no charges have been filed.Giuliani, 81, was taken to a nearby trauma center and was being treated for a fractured thoracic vertebra, multiple lacerations and contusions, as well as injuries to his left arm and lower leg, according to a statement posted on X by Michael Ragusa, Giuliani’s head of security.Giuliani “sustained injuries but is in good spirits and recovering tremendously,” Ragusa said, adding: “This was not a targeted attack.”Prior to the accident, Giuliani had been “flagged down by a woman who was the victim of a domestic violence incident” and contacted police assistance on her behalf, Ragusa said. After police arrived, Giuliani continued on his way and his vehicle was hit shortly after pulling onto the highway in a crash that was “entirely unrelated” to the domestic violence incident, Ragusa told The Associated Press in an emailed statement.State police said troopers were investigating a domestic violence report on the southbound Interstate 93 highway shortly before 10 p.m. and observed the crash, which occurred on the northbound lanes. Troopers and fire personnel quickly crossed to provide help.New Hampshire State Police declined to comment on whether Giuliani had contacted the agency regarding the account of a domestic violence incident.Goodman did not respond to requests for comment and Giuliani’s team did not provide additional details about the circumstances surrounding the crash.“Thank you to all the people that have reached out since learning the news about my Father,” Andrew Giuliani, Rudy Giuliani’s son, wrote in post on X. “Your prayers mean the world.”The crash follows some rocky years for the onetime Republican presidential candidate, who was dubbed “America’s mayor” in light of his leadership in New York after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001.Giuliani later became President Donald Trump’s personal attorney for a time and a vocal proponent of Trump’s allegations of fraud in the 2020 election, won by Democrat Joe Biden. Trump and his backers lost dozens of lawsuits claiming fraud, and numerous recounts, reviews and audits of the election results turned up no signs of significant wrongdoing or error.Two former Georgia elections workers later won a $148 million defamation judgment against Giuliani. As they sought to collect the judgment, the former federal prosecutor was found in contempt of court and faced a trial this winter over the ownership of some of his assets. He ultimately struck a deal that let him keep his homes and various belongings, including prized World Series rings, in exchange for unspecified compensation and a promise to stop speaking ill of the ex-election workers. ____Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz in New York City contributed to this report.

    Rudy Giuliani is recovering from a fractured vertebra and other injuries following a car crash in New Hampshire in which he was a passenger, a spokesperson for the former New York City mayor said Sunday.

    Giuliani was being driven in a rented Ford Bronco by his spokesperson Ted Goodman when their vehicle was struck from behind by a Honda HR-V driven by a 19-year-old woman late Saturday evening, New Hampshire State Police said in a statement.

    Troopers witnessed the crash, which caused both vehicles to hit the highway median and left them “heavily damaged,” state police said. Goodman and the 19-year-old suffered “non-life-threatening injuries” and were taken to hospitals for treatment, the agency added.

    State police said they are investigating the crash and no charges have been filed.

    Giuliani, 81, was taken to a nearby trauma center and was being treated for a fractured thoracic vertebra, multiple lacerations and contusions, as well as injuries to his left arm and lower leg, according to a statement posted on X by Michael Ragusa, Giuliani’s head of security.

    Giuliani “sustained injuries but is in good spirits and recovering tremendously,” Ragusa said, adding: “This was not a targeted attack.”

    Prior to the accident, Giuliani had been “flagged down by a woman who was the victim of a domestic violence incident” and contacted police assistance on her behalf, Ragusa said. After police arrived, Giuliani continued on his way and his vehicle was hit shortly after pulling onto the highway in a crash that was “entirely unrelated” to the domestic violence incident, Ragusa told The Associated Press in an emailed statement.

    State police said troopers were investigating a domestic violence report on the southbound Interstate 93 highway shortly before 10 p.m. and observed the crash, which occurred on the northbound lanes. Troopers and fire personnel quickly crossed to provide help.

    New Hampshire State Police declined to comment on whether Giuliani had contacted the agency regarding the account of a domestic violence incident.

    Goodman did not respond to requests for comment and Giuliani’s team did not provide additional details about the circumstances surrounding the crash.

    “Thank you to all the people that have reached out since learning the news about my Father,” Andrew Giuliani, Rudy Giuliani’s son, wrote in post on X. “Your prayers mean the world.”

    The crash follows some rocky years for the onetime Republican presidential candidate, who was dubbed “America’s mayor” in light of his leadership in New York after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001.

    Giuliani later became President Donald Trump’s personal attorney for a time and a vocal proponent of Trump’s allegations of fraud in the 2020 election, won by Democrat Joe Biden. Trump and his backers lost dozens of lawsuits claiming fraud, and numerous recounts, reviews and audits of the election results turned up no signs of significant wrongdoing or error.

    Two former Georgia elections workers later won a $148 million defamation judgment against Giuliani. As they sought to collect the judgment, the former federal prosecutor was found in contempt of court and faced a trial this winter over the ownership of some of his assets. He ultimately struck a deal that let him keep his homes and various belongings, including prized World Series rings, in exchange for unspecified compensation and a promise to stop speaking ill of the ex-election workers.

    ____

    Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz in New York City contributed to this report.

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  • US judge bars government from sending Guatemalan children back, for now

    After the U.S. government loaded children onto planes overnight to be sent back to their native Guatemala, a federal judge temporarily blocked the flights — with the youngsters still inside — as their attorneys said authorities were violating U.S. laws and sending vulnerable kids into potential peril.The extraordinary drama played out over predawn hours on a U.S. holiday weekend and vaulted from tarmacs in Texas to a courtroom in Washington. It was the latest showdown over the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration — and the latest high-stakes clash between the administration’s enforcement efforts and legal safeguards that Congress created for vulnerable migrants.For now, hundreds of Guatemalan children who arrived unaccompanied will stay while the legal fight plays out over the coming weeks.”I do not want there to be any ambiguity,” said Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan, who said her ruling applies broadly to Guatemalan minors who arrived in the U.S. without their parents or guardians.Minutes after she wrapped up a hastily scheduled hearing Sunday afternoon, five charter buses pulled up to a plane parked at the border-area airport in Harlingen, Texas. Hours earlier, authorities had walked dozens of passengers — perhaps 50 — toward the plane in a part of the airport that’s restricted to government planes, including deportation flights. The passengers were wearing colored clothing that is used in government-run shelters for migrant children.The U.S. government insists it’s reuniting the Guatemalan children with parents or guardians who sought their return. Lawyers for at least some of the minors say that’s nonsense and argue that in any event, authorities still would have to follow a legal process that they did not.While Sunday’s court hearing came in a case filed in federal court in Washington, similar emergency requests were filed in other parts of the country as well. Attorneys in Arizona and Illinois asked federal judges there to block deportations of unaccompanied minors, underscoring how the fight over the government’s efforts has quickly spread.Alarm bells raised among immigrant advocatesThe episode has raised alarms among immigrant advocates, who say it may represent a violation of federal laws designed to protect children who arrive without their parents.Shaina Aber of Acacia Center for Justice, an immigrant legal defense group, said it was notified Saturday evening that an official list had been drafted with the names of Guatemalan children whom the U.S. administration would attempt to send back to their home country. Advocates learned that the flights would leave from the Texas cities of Harlingen and El Paso, Aber said.She said she’d heard that federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials “were still taking the children,” having not gotten any guidance about the court order.The Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Sunday.Trump administration plans to remove nearly 700 Guatemalan childrenThe Trump administration is planning to remove nearly 700 Guatemalan children who came to the U.S. unaccompanied, according to a letter sent Friday by Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon. The Guatemalan government has said it is ready to take them in.It is another step in the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration enforcement efforts, which include plans to send a surge of officers to Chicago for an immigration crackdown, ramping up deportations and ending protections for people who have had permission to live and work in the United States.Lawyers for the Guatemalan children said the U.S. government doesn’t have the authority to remove the youngsters and is depriving them of due process by preventing them from pursuing asylum claims or immigration relief. Many have active cases in immigration courts, according to the attorneys’ court filing in Washington.Although the children are supposed to be in the care and custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, the government is “illegally transferring them to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody to put them on flights to Guatemala, where they may face abuse, neglect, persecution, or torture,” argues the filing by attorneys with the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights and the National Immigration Law Center.An attorney with another advocacy group, the National Center for Youth Law, said the organization starting hearing a few weeks ago from legal service providers that Homeland Security Investigations agents were interviewing children — particularly from Guatemala — in Office of Refugee Resettlement facilities. HSI is ICE’s investigative arm.The agents asked the children about their relatives in Guatemala, said the attorney, Becky Wolozin.Then, on Friday, advocates across the country began getting word that their young clients’ immigration court hearings were being canceled, Wolozin said.Migrant children traveling without their parents or guardians are handed over to the Office of Refugee Resettlement when they are encountered by officials along the U.S.-Mexico border. Once in the U.S., the children often live in government-supervised shelters or with foster care families until they can be released to a sponsor — usually a family member — living in the country.The minors can request asylum, juvenile immigration status or visas for victims of sexual exploitation.Due to their age and often traumatic experiences getting to the U.S., their treatment is one of the most sensitive issues in immigration. Advocacy groups already have sued to ask courts to halt new Trump administration vetting procedures for unaccompanied children, saying the changes are keeping families separated longer and are inhumane.Guatemala says it is willing to receive the unaccompanied minorsGuatemalan Foreign Affairs Minister Carlos Martínez said Friday that the government has told the U.S. it is willing to receive hundreds of Guatemalan minors who arrived in the U.S. unaccompanied and are being held in government facilities.Guatemala is particularly concerned about minors who could pass age limits for the children’s facilities and be sent to adult detention centers, he said.President Bernardo Arévalo has said that his government has a moral and legal obligation to advocate for the children. His comments came days after U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited Guatemala.___Santana reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jennifer Peltz in New York and Corey Williams in Detroit contributed.

    After the U.S. government loaded children onto planes overnight to be sent back to their native Guatemala, a federal judge temporarily blocked the flights — with the youngsters still inside — as their attorneys said authorities were violating U.S. laws and sending vulnerable kids into potential peril.

    The extraordinary drama played out over predawn hours on a U.S. holiday weekend and vaulted from tarmacs in Texas to a courtroom in Washington. It was the latest showdown over the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration — and the latest high-stakes clash between the administration’s enforcement efforts and legal safeguards that Congress created for vulnerable migrants.

    For now, hundreds of Guatemalan children who arrived unaccompanied will stay while the legal fight plays out over the coming weeks.

    “I do not want there to be any ambiguity,” said Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan, who said her ruling applies broadly to Guatemalan minors who arrived in the U.S. without their parents or guardians.

    Minutes after she wrapped up a hastily scheduled hearing Sunday afternoon, five charter buses pulled up to a plane parked at the border-area airport in Harlingen, Texas. Hours earlier, authorities had walked dozens of passengers — perhaps 50 — toward the plane in a part of the airport that’s restricted to government planes, including deportation flights. The passengers were wearing colored clothing that is used in government-run shelters for migrant children.

    The U.S. government insists it’s reuniting the Guatemalan children with parents or guardians who sought their return. Lawyers for at least some of the minors say that’s nonsense and argue that in any event, authorities still would have to follow a legal process that they did not.

    While Sunday’s court hearing came in a case filed in federal court in Washington, similar emergency requests were filed in other parts of the country as well. Attorneys in Arizona and Illinois asked federal judges there to block deportations of unaccompanied minors, underscoring how the fight over the government’s efforts has quickly spread.

    Alarm bells raised among immigrant advocates

    The episode has raised alarms among immigrant advocates, who say it may represent a violation of federal laws designed to protect children who arrive without their parents.

    Shaina Aber of Acacia Center for Justice, an immigrant legal defense group, said it was notified Saturday evening that an official list had been drafted with the names of Guatemalan children whom the U.S. administration would attempt to send back to their home country. Advocates learned that the flights would leave from the Texas cities of Harlingen and El Paso, Aber said.

    She said she’d heard that federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials “were still taking the children,” having not gotten any guidance about the court order.

    The Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Sunday.

    Trump administration plans to remove nearly 700 Guatemalan children

    The Trump administration is planning to remove nearly 700 Guatemalan children who came to the U.S. unaccompanied, according to a letter sent Friday by Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon. The Guatemalan government has said it is ready to take them in.

    It is another step in the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration enforcement efforts, which include plans to send a surge of officers to Chicago for an immigration crackdown, ramping up deportations and ending protections for people who have had permission to live and work in the United States.

    Lawyers for the Guatemalan children said the U.S. government doesn’t have the authority to remove the youngsters and is depriving them of due process by preventing them from pursuing asylum claims or immigration relief. Many have active cases in immigration courts, according to the attorneys’ court filing in Washington.

    Although the children are supposed to be in the care and custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, the government is “illegally transferring them to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody to put them on flights to Guatemala, where they may face abuse, neglect, persecution, or torture,” argues the filing by attorneys with the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights and the National Immigration Law Center.

    An attorney with another advocacy group, the National Center for Youth Law, said the organization starting hearing a few weeks ago from legal service providers that Homeland Security Investigations agents were interviewing children — particularly from Guatemala — in Office of Refugee Resettlement facilities. HSI is ICE’s investigative arm.

    The agents asked the children about their relatives in Guatemala, said the attorney, Becky Wolozin.

    Then, on Friday, advocates across the country began getting word that their young clients’ immigration court hearings were being canceled, Wolozin said.

    Migrant children traveling without their parents or guardians are handed over to the Office of Refugee Resettlement when they are encountered by officials along the U.S.-Mexico border. Once in the U.S., the children often live in government-supervised shelters or with foster care families until they can be released to a sponsor — usually a family member — living in the country.

    The minors can request asylum, juvenile immigration status or visas for victims of sexual exploitation.

    Due to their age and often traumatic experiences getting to the U.S., their treatment is one of the most sensitive issues in immigration. Advocacy groups already have sued to ask courts to halt new Trump administration vetting procedures for unaccompanied children, saying the changes are keeping families separated longer and are inhumane.

    Guatemala says it is willing to receive the unaccompanied minors

    Guatemalan Foreign Affairs Minister Carlos Martínez said Friday that the government has told the U.S. it is willing to receive hundreds of Guatemalan minors who arrived in the U.S. unaccompanied and are being held in government facilities.

    Guatemala is particularly concerned about minors who could pass age limits for the children’s facilities and be sent to adult detention centers, he said.

    President Bernardo Arévalo has said that his government has a moral and legal obligation to advocate for the children. His comments came days after U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited Guatemala.

    ___

    Santana reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jennifer Peltz in New York and Corey Williams in Detroit contributed.

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  • Thousands of redheads celebrate their strands at a festival in the Netherlands

    The southern Dutch city of Tilburg is seeing more color than usual this weekend, as thousands of redheads from all over the world gather in the Netherlands for a once-a-year festival to celebrate their flaming locks.The 2025 edition of the Redhead Days festival includes music, food trucks and workshops tailored to particular needs of redheads, from makeup explainers to skin cancer prevention.Organizers expect the three-day event to draw several thousand attendees from some 80 countries.Elounda Bakker, a Dutch festival veteran of 15 years, played cards with a group of redheaded friends from across the world who meet together every year at the festival.”I came out of curiosity mostly, just to see what it would be like not to stand out in the crowd,” said Bakker, 29. “It was really an interesting first experience and I just keep coming because I met some really nice friends here.”Magician Daniel Hank traveled six hours from Germany to join the festivities, now proud to flaunt the hair that made him the target of bullying when younger.”I think it’s really easy to recognize me because there are not that many people with a red beard, there are not many guys with long red hair,” he said.The festival is free and open to all, with the exception of the group photo on Sunday. That event is restricted to “natural” redheads.The 2013 edition set a Guinness World Record for the “largest gathering of people with natural red hair” with 1,672 people posing for the group photo.The tradition emerged two decades ago when Dutch artist Bart Rouwenhorst put out a call for 15 red-haired models for an art project in a local newspaper. He got 10 times the response he was expecting and brought the group together for a photo.The project got so much attention, Rouwenhorst organized a similar meetup the following year and has continued to oversee the festival as it has expanded into the multiday event it is today.”The festival is really amazing because all the people, they resemble each other and they feel like it’s a family,” he said.

    The southern Dutch city of Tilburg is seeing more color than usual this weekend, as thousands of redheads from all over the world gather in the Netherlands for a once-a-year festival to celebrate their flaming locks.

    The 2025 edition of the Redhead Days festival includes music, food trucks and workshops tailored to particular needs of redheads, from makeup explainers to skin cancer prevention.

    Organizers expect the three-day event to draw several thousand attendees from some 80 countries.

    Elounda Bakker, a Dutch festival veteran of 15 years, played cards with a group of redheaded friends from across the world who meet together every year at the festival.

    “I came out of curiosity mostly, just to see what it would be like not to stand out in the crowd,” said Bakker, 29. “It was really an interesting first experience and I just keep coming because I met some really nice friends here.”

    Magician Daniel Hank traveled six hours from Germany to join the festivities, now proud to flaunt the hair that made him the target of bullying when younger.

    “I think it’s really easy to recognize me because there are not that many people with a red beard, there are not many guys with long red hair,” he said.

    The festival is free and open to all, with the exception of the group photo on Sunday. That event is restricted to “natural” redheads.

    The 2013 edition set a Guinness World Record for the “largest gathering of people with natural red hair” with 1,672 people posing for the group photo.

    The tradition emerged two decades ago when Dutch artist Bart Rouwenhorst put out a call for 15 red-haired models for an art project in a local newspaper. He got 10 times the response he was expecting and brought the group together for a photo.

    The project got so much attention, Rouwenhorst organized a similar meetup the following year and has continued to oversee the festival as it has expanded into the multiday event it is today.

    “The festival is really amazing because all the people, they resemble each other and they feel like it’s a family,” he said.

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  • Taylor Swift announces engagement to Travis Kelce

    Taylor Swift has announced her engagement to Kansas City Chiefs football star Travis Kelce.Swift announced her engagement with a slideshow of photos featuring her and Kelce on Tuesday.“Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married,” the caption said.The news comes after Swift joined Kelce and his brother Jason on their New Heights podcast in August, where she announced her new album, “The Life of a Showgirl.”The two have been dating for around two years since Kelce went to Swift’s Eras Tour and afterwards announced on New Heights that he wanted to meet the superstar.

    Taylor Swift has announced her engagement to Kansas City Chiefs football star Travis Kelce.

    Swift announced her engagement with a slideshow of photos featuring her and Kelce on Tuesday.

    “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married,” the caption said.

    The news comes after Swift joined Kelce and his brother Jason on their New Heights podcast in August, where she announced her new album, “The Life of a Showgirl.”

    The two have been dating for around two years since Kelce went to Swift’s Eras Tour and afterwards announced on New Heights that he wanted to meet the superstar.

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  • Popular ice cream recalled for nut allergy risk—check your carton now

    Popular ice cream recalled for nut allergy risk—check your carton now

    Updated: 10:19 AM PDT Aug 24, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    Blue Bell has issued a recall after a packaging mix-up resulted in the wrong flavor being placed in the wrong container—specifically, Moo-llennium Crunch ice cream being packed inside Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough half-gallon cartons. The problem: Moo-llennium Crunch contains tree nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans) that aren’t declared on that Cookie Dough carton, which is a serious hazard for anyone with allergies.If you’re looking at a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough half gallon with a Moo-llennium Crunch lid and the code 061027524 is stamped on top, you’ve got a problem. An employee caught the error while restocking, and the company promptly removed the affected product. No illnesses have been reported.The mix-up reached retailers across parts of 16 states, including Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Kansas, Kentucky, New Mexico, and portions of Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, and Virginia. Undeclared tree nuts can trigger severe reactions in people with allergies, and shoppers rely on labels to make informed choices. If your carton matches the description, don’t eat it. Return it to the store for a refund or toss it if returning isn’t possible.A few more notes for the detail-oriented: the affected ice cream was produced at Blue Bell’s Brenham, Texas, plant. The recall targets the specific half-gallon described above—not the entire Cookie Dough line—and Blue Bell says no other incorrect packaging has been found to date.One code check, one quick swap, and you’re back to stress-free scoops. If you have questions, Blue Bell’s consumer relations team can assist you during business hours. However, the fastest solution is to bring the matching carton back and trade it in.

    Blue Bell has issued a recall after a packaging mix-up resulted in the wrong flavor being placed in the wrong container—specifically, Moo-llennium Crunch ice cream being packed inside Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough half-gallon cartons. The problem: Moo-llennium Crunch contains tree nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans) that aren’t declared on that Cookie Dough carton, which is a serious hazard for anyone with allergies.

    If you’re looking at a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough half gallon with a Moo-llennium Crunch lid and the code 061027524 is stamped on top, you’ve got a problem. An employee caught the error while restocking, and the company promptly removed the affected product. No illnesses have been reported.

    blue bell chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream

    The mix-up reached retailers across parts of 16 states, including Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Kansas, Kentucky, New Mexico, and portions of Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, and Virginia.

    Undeclared tree nuts can trigger severe reactions in people with allergies, and shoppers rely on labels to make informed choices. If your carton matches the description, don’t eat it. Return it to the store for a refund or toss it if returning isn’t possible.

    A few more notes for the detail-oriented: the affected ice cream was produced at Blue Bell’s Brenham, Texas, plant. The recall targets the specific half-gallon described above—not the entire Cookie Dough line—and Blue Bell says no other incorrect packaging has been found to date.

    One code check, one quick swap, and you’re back to stress-free scoops. If you have questions, Blue Bell’s consumer relations team can assist you during business hours. However, the fastest solution is to bring the matching carton back and trade it in.

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  • How families can save money this back-to-school season

    With back-to-school season in full swing, families across the country are continuing to feel the sting of high prices.In May and June, before the latest round of the Trump administration’s tariffs, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimated that tariffs on back-to-school items had risen to 18% (up from 5% a year earlier). A new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that prices of educational books and supplies increased 9.4% from May 2024 to May 2025.As costs pile up, over half of parents are planning to cut back on necessities to pay for school-related shopping, and 44% are planning to take on debt, according to a Credit Karma consumer survey. American families expect to spend an average of $570 per student on back-to-school shopping this year, according to a Deloitte survey released in July, and price pressures are pushing consumers to look for savings wherever possible.Track when (or if) your state has a back-to-school tax holidaySeventeen states have or had sales tax holidays in summer 2025. Each of those states has different policies on which items are included in the tax holiday, and the holidays are spread out, so it’s important to pay close attention to when your state’s holiday is, if it has one.These purchases don’t have to be in-store either — Amazon and other online retailers won’t charge taxes on eligible deliveries to states with these holidays on the books.Get library cards for the whole familyLibraries are a great way to save money not only on physical books, but also e-books, audiobooks and movies. Some public libraries also offer printing services, discounts for local attractions and cost-free tutoring services that can be used year-round.Shop localDeloitte found that over 2 in 3 shoppers will be looking to online retailers to do at least part of their back-to-school shopping.Shopping online can be a convenient and efficient way to directly compare prices between retailers and makes buying items in bulk (which can take your dollar further) easier. But consumers who do most of their back-to-school shopping online actually spent $100 more than families who relied on in-person shopping, Deloitte reported.Finding great local deals in person, may mean going beyond traditional retailers.Tina Marie Barnes, the manager of one of the Chatham PTA Thrift Shops in central North Carolina, said the stores — which raise money for local schools — started stocking up on “any back to school, items, backpacks, lunch boxes, pencils, crayons, notebooks, notebook paper, anything that a child could use” in January. The shops see hundreds of people a day, from families to college students, looking for find deals on clothes and school supplies.Repair instead of replacingA growing number of Americans live in states with “right to repair” laws that make it easier for consumers and independent businesses to repair electronics without having to go through manufacturers.These laws are relatively new – New York, the first state to enact one of these laws for consumer electronics, only did so in 2023, and Texas’s governor signed a right to repair law in June. An advocacy organization that supports these laws estimates that they might save families upwards of $300 a year.Take advantage of tax laws529 plans have traditionally allowed families to save money for college, but recent changes might allow families to increase savings before their kids graduate high school.Included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is a change to 529 plans that allow parents to withdraw money from the accounts to pay for expenses related to K-12 schooling, including books, standardized test prep and other “instructional materials.”While contributions cannot be deducted from federal income taxes, most states allow residents to deduct contributions to these plans from their state income taxes. But importantly, “the earnings are not subject to federal or state tax when they’re used for qualified education expenses,” says Alexander Maged, an employee benefits lawyer at Ivins, Phillips & Barker. Withdrawals for qualified educational expenses are not subject to federal income taxes.When withdrawing money from these 529 plans, it’s important to maintain good records for purchases, balance current spending with future savings goals, and consult with an IRS representative if you’re unsure about what expenses qualify.Make budgeting a teaching lesson for kidsImpulse buying can quickly add up costs, especially when kids want the newest sneakers or an expensive first-day-of-school outfit. Setting a firm budget for back-to-school costs and giving kids a role in the discussion can help save money in the short term and teach kids an invaluable life lesson.”Families that include kids in back-to-school budgeting often find the process less stressful as children are incentivized to work within limits instead of pushing against them,” Julia Perez, a wealth manager at Crux Wealth Advisors, told CNN in an email.Kids are often tempted by immediate gratification, she said, so explaining what’s worth saving for can help “develop critical longer-term perspectives that can re-direct impulses and shape behavior.””Over time those habits compound. By the time they’re managing rent, student loans, or saving for a first home, saving isn’t an afterthought… it’s second nature.”

    CNN —

    With back-to-school season in full swing, families across the country are continuing to feel the sting of high prices.

    In May and June, before the latest round of the Trump administration’s tariffs, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimated that tariffs on back-to-school items had risen to 18% (up from 5% a year earlier). A new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that prices of educational books and supplies increased 9.4% from May 2024 to May 2025.

    As costs pile up, over half of parents are planning to cut back on necessities to pay for school-related shopping, and 44% are planning to take on debt, according to a Credit Karma consumer survey. American families expect to spend an average of $570 per student on back-to-school shopping this year, according to a Deloitte survey released in July, and price pressures are pushing consumers to look for savings wherever possible.

    Track when (or if) your state has a back-to-school tax holiday

    Seventeen states have or had sales tax holidays in summer 2025. Each of those states has different policies on which items are included in the tax holiday, and the holidays are spread out, so it’s important to pay close attention to when your state’s holiday is, if it has one.

    These purchases don’t have to be in-store either — Amazon and other online retailers won’t charge taxes on eligible deliveries to states with these holidays on the books.

    Get library cards for the whole family

    Libraries are a great way to save money not only on physical books, but also e-books, audiobooks and movies. Some public libraries also offer printing services, discounts for local attractions and cost-free tutoring services that can be used year-round.

    Shop local

    Deloitte found that over 2 in 3 shoppers will be looking to online retailers to do at least part of their back-to-school shopping.

    Shopping online can be a convenient and efficient way to directly compare prices between retailers and makes buying items in bulk (which can take your dollar further) easier. But consumers who do most of their back-to-school shopping online actually spent $100 more than families who relied on in-person shopping, Deloitte reported.

    Finding great local deals in person, may mean going beyond traditional retailers.

    Tina Marie Barnes, the manager of one of the Chatham PTA Thrift Shops in central North Carolina, said the stores — which raise money for local schools — started stocking up on “any back to school, items, backpacks, lunch boxes, pencils, crayons, notebooks, notebook paper, anything that a child could use” in January. The shops see hundreds of people a day, from families to college students, looking for find deals on clothes and school supplies.

    Repair instead of replacing

    A growing number of Americans live in states with “right to repair” laws that make it easier for consumers and independent businesses to repair electronics without having to go through manufacturers.

    These laws are relatively new – New York, the first state to enact one of these laws for consumer electronics, only did so in 2023, and Texas’s governor signed a right to repair law in June. An advocacy organization that supports these laws estimates that they might save families upwards of $300 a year.

    Take advantage of tax laws

    529 plans have traditionally allowed families to save money for college, but recent changes might allow families to increase savings before their kids graduate high school.

    Included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is a change to 529 plans that allow parents to withdraw money from the accounts to pay for expenses related to K-12 schooling, including books, standardized test prep and other “instructional materials.”

    While contributions cannot be deducted from federal income taxes, most states allow residents to deduct contributions to these plans from their state income taxes. But importantly, “the earnings are not subject to federal or state tax when they’re used for qualified education expenses,” says Alexander Maged, an employee benefits lawyer at Ivins, Phillips & Barker. Withdrawals for qualified educational expenses are not subject to federal income taxes.

    When withdrawing money from these 529 plans, it’s important to maintain good records for purchases, balance current spending with future savings goals, and consult with an IRS representative if you’re unsure about what expenses qualify.

    Make budgeting a teaching lesson for kids

    Impulse buying can quickly add up costs, especially when kids want the newest sneakers or an expensive first-day-of-school outfit. Setting a firm budget for back-to-school costs and giving kids a role in the discussion can help save money in the short term and teach kids an invaluable life lesson.

    “Families that include kids in back-to-school budgeting often find the process less stressful as children are incentivized to work within limits instead of pushing against them,” Julia Perez, a wealth manager at Crux Wealth Advisors, told CNN in an email.

    Kids are often tempted by immediate gratification, she said, so explaining what’s worth saving for can help “develop critical longer-term perspectives that can re-direct impulses and shape behavior.”

    “Over time those habits compound. By the time they’re managing rent, student loans, or saving for a first home, saving isn’t an afterthought… it’s second nature.”

    Source link

  • ‘Saturday Night Live’ taps comedian-actor Bill Burr and Charli XCX as hosts for after the election

    ‘Saturday Night Live’ taps comedian-actor Bill Burr and Charli XCX as hosts for after the election

    Comedian-actor Bill Burr will host the first post-election “Saturday Night Live” with musical guest guitarist, producer and vocalist Mk.gee. Charli XCX is also coming up.Burr, on tour with his “Bill Burr Live” show and who will join Kieran Culkin and Bob Odenkirk on Broadway this spring on a revival of “Glengarry Glen Ross,” makes his second appearance as host on Nov. 9.Charli XCX will do double duty on Nov. 16 in her first appearance as “SNL” host and third appearance as musical guest. She’s fresh off the hit album “Brat” and two connected albums.Mk.gee will perform as a musical guest for the first time. He is currently on a world tour prompting his debut album, “Two Star & The Dream Police.”SNL returns Nov. 2 with already announced host John Mulaney and musical guest Chappell Roan.The 50th season has featured Maya Rudolph as Vice President Kamala Harris, James Austin Johnson as former President Donald Trump, Dana Carvey as President Joe Biden, Andy Samberg as second gentleman Doug Emhoff and Jim Gaffigan as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

    Comedian-actor Bill Burr will host the first post-election “Saturday Night Live” with musical guest guitarist, producer and vocalist Mk.gee. Charli XCX is also coming up.

    Burr, on tour with his “Bill Burr Live” show and who will join Kieran Culkin and Bob Odenkirk on Broadway this spring on a revival of “Glengarry Glen Ross,” makes his second appearance as host on Nov. 9.

    Charli XCX will do double duty on Nov. 16 in her first appearance as “SNL” host and third appearance as musical guest. She’s fresh off the hit album “Brat” and two connected albums.

    Mk.gee will perform as a musical guest for the first time. He is currently on a world tour prompting his debut album, “Two Star & The Dream Police.”

    SNL returns Nov. 2 with already announced host John Mulaney and musical guest Chappell Roan.

    The 50th season has featured Maya Rudolph as Vice President Kamala Harris, James Austin Johnson as former President Donald Trump, Dana Carvey as President Joe Biden, Andy Samberg as second gentleman Doug Emhoff and Jim Gaffigan as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

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  • ‘Bob’s Burgers’ actor sentenced to 1 year in prison for role in Capitol riot

    ‘Bob’s Burgers’ actor sentenced to 1 year in prison for role in Capitol riot

    An actor known for his roles in the television comedies “Bob’s Burgers” and “Arrested Development” was sentenced on Monday to one year in prison for his part in a mob’s attack on the U.S. Capitol nearly four years ago.Jay Johnston, 56, of Los Angeles, joined other rioters in a “heave ho” push against police officers guarding a tunnel entrance to the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. Johnston also cracked jokes and interacted with other rioters as he used a cellphone to record the violence around him, prosecutors said.Johnston expressed regret that he “made it more difficult for the police to do their job” on Jan. 6. He said he never would have guessed that a riot would erupt that day.”That was because of my own ignorance, I believe,” he told U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols. “If I had been more political, I could have seen that coming, perhaps.”The judge, who sentenced Johnston to one year and one day of imprisonment, allowed him to remain free after the hearing and report to prison at a date to be determined. Nichols said he recognizes that Johnston will miss out on caring for his 13-year-old autistic daughter while he is behind bars.”But his conduct on January 6th was quite problematic. Reprehensible, really,” the judge said.Johnston pleaded guilty in July to interfering with police officers during a civil disorder, a felony punishable by a maximum prison sentence of five years.Prosecutors recommended an 18-month prison sentence for Johnston. Their sentencing memo includes a photograph of a smiling Johnston dressed as Jacob Chansley, the spear-carrying Capitol rioter known as the “QAnon Shaman,” at a Halloween party roughly two years after the siege.”He thinks his participation in one of the most serious crimes against our democracy is a joke,” prosecutors wrote.Johnston played pizzeria owner Jimmy Pesto Sr. in “Bob’s Burgers,” a police officer in “Arrested Development” and a street-brawling newsman in the movie “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.” Johnston also appeared on “Mr. Show with Bob and David,” an HBO sketch comedy series that starred Bob Odenkirk and David Cross.Johnston, a Chicago native, moved to Los Angeles in 1993 to pursue an acting career. After the riot, Johnston was fired by the creator of “Bob’s Burgers,” lost a role in a movie based on the show and has “essentially been blacklisted” in Hollywood, said defense attorney Stanley Woodward.”Instead, Mr. Johnston has worked as a handyman for the last two years — an obvious far cry from his actual expertise and livelihood in film and television,” Woodward wrote.Woodward accused the government of exaggerating Johnston’s riot participation “because he is an acclaimed Hollywood actor.”Johnston attended then-President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House on Jan. 6 before he marched to the Capitol. He used a metal bike rack to scale a stone wall to reach the Capitol’s West Plaza before making his way to the mouth of a tunnel entrance that police were guarding on the Lower West Terrace.”When he was under the archway, he turned and waved to other rioters, beckoning them to join him in fighting the police,” prosecutors wrote.Entering the tunnel, Johnston helped other rioters flush chemical irritants out of their eyes. Another rioter gave him a stolen police shield, which he handed up closer to the police line. Johnston then joined other rioters in a “heave ho” push against police in the tunnel, a collective effort that crushed an officer against a door frame, prosecutors said.Johnston recorded himself cracking a joke as rioters pushed an orange ladder toward police in the tunnel, saying, “We’re going to get those light bulbs fixed!”A day after the riot, in a text message to an acquaintance, Johnston acknowledged being at the Capitol on Jan. 6.”The news has presented it as an attack. It actually wasn’t. Thought it kind of turned into that. It was a mess,” Johnston wrote.FBI agents seized Johnston’s cellphone when they searched his California home in June 2021.More than 1,500 people have been charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. Over 1,000 rioters have been convicted and sentenced. Roughly 650 of them received prison time ranging from a few days to 22 years.

    An actor known for his roles in the television comedies “Bob’s Burgers” and “Arrested Development” was sentenced on Monday to one year in prison for his part in a mob’s attack on the U.S. Capitol nearly four years ago.

    Jay Johnston, 56, of Los Angeles, joined other rioters in a “heave ho” push against police officers guarding a tunnel entrance to the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. Johnston also cracked jokes and interacted with other rioters as he used a cellphone to record the violence around him, prosecutors said.

    Johnston expressed regret that he “made it more difficult for the police to do their job” on Jan. 6. He said he never would have guessed that a riot would erupt that day.

    “That was because of my own ignorance, I believe,” he told U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols. “If I had been more political, I could have seen that coming, perhaps.”

    The judge, who sentenced Johnston to one year and one day of imprisonment, allowed him to remain free after the hearing and report to prison at a date to be determined. Nichols said he recognizes that Johnston will miss out on caring for his 13-year-old autistic daughter while he is behind bars.

    “But his conduct on January 6th was quite problematic. Reprehensible, really,” the judge said.

    Johnston pleaded guilty in July to interfering with police officers during a civil disorder, a felony punishable by a maximum prison sentence of five years.

    Prosecutors recommended an 18-month prison sentence for Johnston. Their sentencing memo includes a photograph of a smiling Johnston dressed as Jacob Chansley, the spear-carrying Capitol rioter known as the “QAnon Shaman,” at a Halloween party roughly two years after the siege.

    “He thinks his participation in one of the most serious crimes against our democracy is a joke,” prosecutors wrote.

    Johnston played pizzeria owner Jimmy Pesto Sr. in “Bob’s Burgers,” a police officer in “Arrested Development” and a street-brawling newsman in the movie “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.” Johnston also appeared on “Mr. Show with Bob and David,” an HBO sketch comedy series that starred Bob Odenkirk and David Cross.

    Johnston, a Chicago native, moved to Los Angeles in 1993 to pursue an acting career. After the riot, Johnston was fired by the creator of “Bob’s Burgers,” lost a role in a movie based on the show and has “essentially been blacklisted” in Hollywood, said defense attorney Stanley Woodward.

    “Instead, Mr. Johnston has worked as a handyman for the last two years — an obvious far cry from his actual expertise and livelihood in film and television,” Woodward wrote.

    Woodward accused the government of exaggerating Johnston’s riot participation “because he is an acclaimed Hollywood actor.”

    Johnston attended then-President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House on Jan. 6 before he marched to the Capitol. He used a metal bike rack to scale a stone wall to reach the Capitol’s West Plaza before making his way to the mouth of a tunnel entrance that police were guarding on the Lower West Terrace.

    “When he was under the archway, he turned and waved to other rioters, beckoning them to join him in fighting the police,” prosecutors wrote.

    Entering the tunnel, Johnston helped other rioters flush chemical irritants out of their eyes. Another rioter gave him a stolen police shield, which he handed up closer to the police line. Johnston then joined other rioters in a “heave ho” push against police in the tunnel, a collective effort that crushed an officer against a door frame, prosecutors said.

    Johnston recorded himself cracking a joke as rioters pushed an orange ladder toward police in the tunnel, saying, “We’re going to get those light bulbs fixed!”

    A day after the riot, in a text message to an acquaintance, Johnston acknowledged being at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

    “The news has presented it as an attack. It actually wasn’t. Thought it kind of turned into that. It was a mess,” Johnston wrote.

    FBI agents seized Johnston’s cellphone when they searched his California home in June 2021.

    More than 1,500 people have been charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. Over 1,000 rioters have been convicted and sentenced. Roughly 650 of them received prison time ranging from a few days to 22 years.

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  • Volunteer found file with information regarding Delphi double murder after case went cold

    Volunteer found file with information regarding Delphi double murder after case went cold

    For five years after two teenage girls were killed and their bodies left along an Indiana trail, Richard Allen’s name sat unnoticed in a box with thousands of other tips about the mystery, until it was rediscovered by chance.Stashed in a box of tips from the public, Allen’s note said he saw three girls as he walked along the Monon High Bridge Trail between 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. on February 13, 2017.In September 2022, as volunteer receptionist Kathy Shank filed the tip in an online database, she realized the time Allen said he was on the trail matched the time the girls were thought to have gone missing, according to CNN affiliate WLFI.Shank submitted the tip to the detective in charge of the investigation because she thought it was worth looking into, she testified last week at Allen’s trial for the murders of Abigail “Abby” Williams, 13, and Liberty “Libby” German, 14, in Delphi, Indiana.Carroll County Sheriff Tony Liggett said despite the tip, Allen “got lost in the cracks,” according to CNN affiliate WLFI. The suspect never left the small town, working at a local CVS pharmacy until he was arrested.The revelation about the tip box is one of many facts surfacing in what is known as the Delphi murder case. Many details of the case, including how exactly the girls died, have remained unknown to the public for years. In December 2022, a judge issued a gag order to stop attorneys, law enforcement officials, court personnel, the coroner and the girls’ relatives from making public comments on the case.But with the trial underway, more of the story is beginning to come to light. Here’s what we’ve learned about the case in the first full week of the trial.Both girls were killed by cuts to the neckA pathologist who performed the girls’ autopsies testified both had wounds on their necks, which seemed to be from a serrated edge, though he could not determine exactly what or how many instruments were used to make the cuts, according to CNN affiliate WLFI.Abby had one seven-inch-long wound on the side of her neck, pathologist Roland Kohr testified. Libby had four or five wounds on her neck and the three main blood vessels in her neck were cut, according to WLFI.Fourteen images from the girls’ autopsies were shown in court, WLFI reported. Family members cried and other members of the audience were visibly shaken, according to CNN affiliate WRTV.Libby would have bled to death from her wounds within five to 10 minutes, Kohr testified, according to WRTV.Neither of the victims’ bodies showed any signs of sexual assault or defensive wounds, Kohr said, according to WRTV.While Abby’s body was discovered fully clothed – in Libby’s clothes – Libby was discovered nude, Kohr testified, according to WRTV. Abby’s T-shirt, jeans and jacket were discovered in the nearby river, the station reported.More than 50 photos of the crime scene were shown in court, sparking emotional reactions, WRTV reported.Unspent bullet ties Allen to crime scene, prosecutors sayProsecutors have worked to link Allen to the crime scene with an unspent bullet found between the girls’ bodies investigators said came from Allen’s gun.Former Indiana State Police Firearm Examiner Melissa Oberg testified the .40 caliber round found between the bodies matched a pistol seized from Allen’s home, according to CNN affiliate WTHR. She explained she matched the cartridge to the pistol through the “quality and quantity of marks” on the cartridge.The defense has sought to cast doubt on the bullet evidence, questioning why more images were not taken of the cartridge and suggesting the bullet could have come from a law enforcement officer’s weapon, according to CNN affiliate WRTV.The pistol is one of several weapons found in Allen’s home in 2022, prosecutors said. Police also discovered multiple knives and ammunition within his home, according to WLFI. He was arrested shortly after authorities said they determined the unspent round matched his handgun.The defense, meanwhile, has raised questions about the absence of DNA evidence linking Allen to the killings. Asked if any DNA evidence taken from the swab of Libby’s wrists was matched to Allen, Indiana State Police investigator Brian Olehy said no, according to CNN affiliate WTHR.’Bridge Guy’ video played in fullThe trial has also seen the screening of a video captured on Libby’s cell phone. Authorities had previously only released a screenshot from the “Bridge Guy” video, which shows a man in a blue jacket and jeans walking on the Monon High Bridge, as well as a short audio clip with a man’s muffled voice saying, “Down the hill.”Authorities have long held they believe the man shown in the video, dubbed “Bridge Guy,” to be the person responsible for the girls’ deaths.The 43-second video shown in court, enhanced by investigator Jeremy Chapman, seems to show Libby recording the trail before turning the camera to record Abby. Then “Bridge Guy” comes into view, according to CNN affiliate WNDU. Libby can be heard telling Abby “the trail ends here, we have to go down,” on the video, WNDU reported.One witness, Sarah Carbaugh, testified driving back from the Monon High Bridge Trail on February 13, 2017, she saw a man who looked “muddy, bloody, and unfriendly,” whom she identified as the man on the bridge shown in the video, according to CNN affiliate WLFI.Defense calls again for ‘Odinism’ theoryAlthough the trial has revealed a wealth of new information surrounding the case, one aspect remains unclear: the motive behind the gruesome crime.The victims’ bodies were found partially covered with sticks, Indiana State Police investigator Brian Olehy testified on October 22, according to CNN affiliate WTHR.Olehy suggested the sticks may have been used in “an attempt at concealment” but the victims’ bodies were not fully covered.The defense, meanwhile, is hoping to use the placement of the sticks as evidence of their theory the girls were killed not by Allen, but rather in a ritualistic murder, perhaps as part of Odinism, a branch of Norse paganism with a far-right strain.Allen’s defense attorneys filed a new motion on October 23, arguing for their alternate killer theory to be allowed in court, according to CNN affiliate WTHR. In the motion, the attorneys argue, “the sticks on the girls appear to be arranged in a pattern/arrangement.” The judge previously blocked a similar effort to allow the Odinism theory in court.

    CNN —

    For five years after two teenage girls were killed and their bodies left along an Indiana trail, Richard Allen’s name sat unnoticed in a box with thousands of other tips about the mystery, until it was rediscovered by chance.

    Stashed in a box of tips from the public, Allen’s note said he saw three girls as he walked along the Monon High Bridge Trail between 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. on February 13, 2017.

    In September 2022, as volunteer receptionist Kathy Shank filed the tip in an online database, she realized the time Allen said he was on the trail matched the time the girls were thought to have gone missing, according to CNN affiliate WLFI.

    Shank submitted the tip to the detective in charge of the investigation because she thought it was worth looking into, she testified last week at Allen’s trial for the murders of Abigail “Abby” Williams, 13, and Liberty “Libby” German, 14, in Delphi, Indiana.

    Carroll County Sheriff Tony Liggett said despite the tip, Allen “got lost in the cracks,” according to CNN affiliate WLFI. The suspect never left the small town, working at a local CVS pharmacy until he was arrested.

    The revelation about the tip box is one of many facts surfacing in what is known as the Delphi murder case. Many details of the case, including how exactly the girls died, have remained unknown to the public for years. In December 2022, a judge issued a gag order to stop attorneys, law enforcement officials, court personnel, the coroner and the girls’ relatives from making public comments on the case.

    But with the trial underway, more of the story is beginning to come to light. Here’s what we’ve learned about the case in the first full week of the trial.

    Both girls were killed by cuts to the neck

    A pathologist who performed the girls’ autopsies testified both had wounds on their necks, which seemed to be from a serrated edge, though he could not determine exactly what or how many instruments were used to make the cuts, according to CNN affiliate WLFI.

    Abby had one seven-inch-long wound on the side of her neck, pathologist Roland Kohr testified. Libby had four or five wounds on her neck and the three main blood vessels in her neck were cut, according to WLFI.

    Fourteen images from the girls’ autopsies were shown in court, WLFI reported. Family members cried and other members of the audience were visibly shaken, according to CNN affiliate WRTV.

    Libby would have bled to death from her wounds within five to 10 minutes, Kohr testified, according to WRTV.

    Neither of the victims’ bodies showed any signs of sexual assault or defensive wounds, Kohr said, according to WRTV.

    While Abby’s body was discovered fully clothed – in Libby’s clothes – Libby was discovered nude, Kohr testified, according to WRTV. Abby’s T-shirt, jeans and jacket were discovered in the nearby river, the station reported.

    More than 50 photos of the crime scene were shown in court, sparking emotional reactions, WRTV reported.

    Unspent bullet ties Allen to crime scene, prosecutors say

    Prosecutors have worked to link Allen to the crime scene with an unspent bullet found between the girls’ bodies investigators said came from Allen’s gun.

    Former Indiana State Police Firearm Examiner Melissa Oberg testified the .40 caliber round found between the bodies matched a pistol seized from Allen’s home, according to CNN affiliate WTHR. She explained she matched the cartridge to the pistol through the “quality and quantity of marks” on the cartridge.

    The defense has sought to cast doubt on the bullet evidence, questioning why more images were not taken of the cartridge and suggesting the bullet could have come from a law enforcement officer’s weapon, according to CNN affiliate WRTV.

    The pistol is one of several weapons found in Allen’s home in 2022, prosecutors said. Police also discovered multiple knives and ammunition within his home, according to WLFI. He was arrested shortly after authorities said they determined the unspent round matched his handgun.

    The defense, meanwhile, has raised questions about the absence of DNA evidence linking Allen to the killings. Asked if any DNA evidence taken from the swab of Libby’s wrists was matched to Allen, Indiana State Police investigator Brian Olehy said no, according to CNN affiliate WTHR.

    ‘Bridge Guy’ video played in full

    The trial has also seen the screening of a video captured on Libby’s cell phone. Authorities had previously only released a screenshot from the “Bridge Guy” video, which shows a man in a blue jacket and jeans walking on the Monon High Bridge, as well as a short audio clip with a man’s muffled voice saying, “Down the hill.”

    Authorities have long held they believe the man shown in the video, dubbed “Bridge Guy,” to be the person responsible for the girls’ deaths.

    The 43-second video shown in court, enhanced by investigator Jeremy Chapman, seems to show Libby recording the trail before turning the camera to record Abby. Then “Bridge Guy” comes into view, according to CNN affiliate WNDU. Libby can be heard telling Abby “the trail ends here, we have to go down,” on the video, WNDU reported.

    One witness, Sarah Carbaugh, testified driving back from the Monon High Bridge Trail on February 13, 2017, she saw a man who looked “muddy, bloody, and unfriendly,” whom she identified as the man on the bridge shown in the video, according to CNN affiliate WLFI.

    Defense calls again for ‘Odinism’ theory

    Although the trial has revealed a wealth of new information surrounding the case, one aspect remains unclear: the motive behind the gruesome crime.

    The victims’ bodies were found partially covered with sticks, Indiana State Police investigator Brian Olehy testified on October 22, according to CNN affiliate WTHR.

    Olehy suggested the sticks may have been used in “an attempt at concealment” but the victims’ bodies were not fully covered.

    The defense, meanwhile, is hoping to use the placement of the sticks as evidence of their theory the girls were killed not by Allen, but rather in a ritualistic murder, perhaps as part of Odinism, a branch of Norse paganism with a far-right strain.

    Allen’s defense attorneys filed a new motion on October 23, arguing for their alternate killer theory to be allowed in court, according to CNN affiliate WTHR. In the motion, the attorneys argue, “the sticks on the girls appear to be arranged in a pattern/arrangement.” The judge previously blocked a similar effort to allow the Odinism theory in court.

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  • This Halloween, be safe when trick-or-treating by watching for cars

    This Halloween, be safe when trick-or-treating by watching for cars

    The scariest things lurking around the corner on Halloween aren’t monsters or ghosts.According to doctors, it’s cars. Halloween is one of the deadliest days of the year for pedestrians, especially for kids.”There’s a lot of focus on the risks of candy that might be a little misplaced,” said Britney Lombard, an injury prevention manager at Children’s Hospital Colorado. But one thing experts are sure of, she said, is an increase in child pedestrian fatalities on Halloween.”There are a lot of things that they can do to mitigate those risks,” she said.Here are some tips to make sure Halloween is safe and fun for everyone — from cars to costumes.Walk defensivelyAn easy way to keep yourself and your kids out of harm’s way on Halloween is being aware of your surroundings, Lombard said.That goes for drivers and pedestrians.”We see a lot of distracted drivers who are on their phones, and we see a lot of distracted pedestrians who may have headphones in or (are) on their phone,” she said.Kids under the age of 12 generally should be with adults when trick-or-treating. Older kids who are out by themselves should be aware of the rules of the road and practice being responsible pedestrians, she said. That includes staying off phones, making eye contact with drivers before crossing the road and using crosswalks and sidewalks.Lombard also urged people to drive the speed limit, don’t drink and drive and pay close attention to the road — especially at night.”There are going to be a lot of children out when it gets dark, and there is limited visibility,” she said.Backing out of driveways can be particularly dangerous on Halloween with kids running from house to house. Lombard recommends rolling down your window to listen for children, as well as checking for them in all mirrors and reversing slowly.Costume tipsCostumes can be fun and creative, but experts say they should also be safe.Make sure costumes fit well, and avoid tripping hazards like capes or bulky get-ups that aren’t safe for car seats.If your child’s costume includes a mask, make sure it fits well and they can see with it on. When in doubt, Lombard said, opt for face paint.Wearing bright, reflective costumes is a good idea, too — try adding glow sticks or reflective tape.Also consider non-flammable costumes, said Dr. Nicholas Algu, a pediatrician at Louisiana’s Ochsner Health. On the other side, if you decorate outside for Halloween, avoid long cords and open fire — just in case.”A lot of kids are walking around, and there are going to be flames, candles, things like that,” he said. “It’s really easy to have an accident.”Carve pumpkins safelyJack o’ lanterns are practically synonymous with Halloween, but carving them can be dangerous.To avoid accidents, Algu said to make sure the pumpkin is completely dry, use a marker to draw cut-outs beforehand and leave the carving to adults.”You can get the kids to scoop up pumpkin seeds instead,” he said. “That way, they feel like they’re helping and doing a lot of stuff, but it’s safer for them.”You can also forgo the carving entirely and attach things to the gourd to give your pumpkin some personality.Be careful with candy and strangersSure, there are myths about doctored candy hurting people on Halloween.But more importantly, Algu said, parents should consider telling their kids to avoid eating their stash until they get home in the case of any emergencies — like gooey, sticky or chunky candy that could cause young kids to choke.And even though the call for candy might be strong, Halloween isn’t the night to explore new parts of town.Algu recommends avoiding going inside homes, and sticking to houses with their lights on and places you know.Even in familiar neighborhoods, it’s likely you’ll meet strangers — that’s why it’s important to stay with your group, he said, and use common sense to avoid sticky situations.

    The scariest things lurking around the corner on Halloween aren’t monsters or ghosts.

    According to doctors, it’s cars. Halloween is one of the deadliest days of the year for pedestrians, especially for kids.

    “There’s a lot of focus on the risks of candy that might be a little misplaced,” said Britney Lombard, an injury prevention manager at Children’s Hospital Colorado. But one thing experts are sure of, she said, is an increase in child pedestrian fatalities on Halloween.

    “There are a lot of things that they can do to mitigate those risks,” she said.

    Here are some tips to make sure Halloween is safe and fun for everyone — from cars to costumes.

    Walk defensively

    An easy way to keep yourself and your kids out of harm’s way on Halloween is being aware of your surroundings, Lombard said.

    That goes for drivers and pedestrians.

    “We see a lot of distracted drivers who are on their phones, and we see a lot of distracted pedestrians who may have headphones in or (are) on their phone,” she said.

    Kids under the age of 12 generally should be with adults when trick-or-treating. Older kids who are out by themselves should be aware of the rules of the road and practice being responsible pedestrians, she said. That includes staying off phones, making eye contact with drivers before crossing the road and using crosswalks and sidewalks.

    Lombard also urged people to drive the speed limit, don’t drink and drive and pay close attention to the road — especially at night.

    “There are going to be a lot of children out when it gets dark, and there is limited visibility,” she said.

    Backing out of driveways can be particularly dangerous on Halloween with kids running from house to house. Lombard recommends rolling down your window to listen for children, as well as checking for them in all mirrors and reversing slowly.

    Costume tips

    Costumes can be fun and creative, but experts say they should also be safe.

    Make sure costumes fit well, and avoid tripping hazards like capes or bulky get-ups that aren’t safe for car seats.

    If your child’s costume includes a mask, make sure it fits well and they can see with it on. When in doubt, Lombard said, opt for face paint.

    Wearing bright, reflective costumes is a good idea, too — try adding glow sticks or reflective tape.

    Also consider non-flammable costumes, said Dr. Nicholas Algu, a pediatrician at Louisiana’s Ochsner Health. On the other side, if you decorate outside for Halloween, avoid long cords and open fire — just in case.

    “A lot of kids are walking around, and there are going to be flames, candles, things like that,” he said. “It’s really easy to have an accident.”

    Carve pumpkins safely

    Jack o’ lanterns are practically synonymous with Halloween, but carving them can be dangerous.

    To avoid accidents, Algu said to make sure the pumpkin is completely dry, use a marker to draw cut-outs beforehand and leave the carving to adults.

    “You can get the kids to scoop up pumpkin seeds instead,” he said. “That way, they feel like they’re helping and doing a lot of stuff, but it’s safer for them.”

    You can also forgo the carving entirely and attach things to the gourd to give your pumpkin some personality.

    Be careful with candy and strangers

    Sure, there are myths about doctored candy hurting people on Halloween.

    But more importantly, Algu said, parents should consider telling their kids to avoid eating their stash until they get home in the case of any emergencies — like gooey, sticky or chunky candy that could cause young kids to choke.

    And even though the call for candy might be strong, Halloween isn’t the night to explore new parts of town.

    Algu recommends avoiding going inside homes, and sticking to houses with their lights on and places you know.

    Even in familiar neighborhoods, it’s likely you’ll meet strangers — that’s why it’s important to stay with your group, he said, and use common sense to avoid sticky situations.

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  • Woman wedged upside down between rocks for 7 hours after trying to retrieve her phone

    Woman wedged upside down between rocks for 7 hours after trying to retrieve her phone

    A woman who tried to retrieve her lost phone from between boulders in Australia’s Hunter Valley became stuck upside down for seven hours before she was rescued earlier this month.Just the bare soles of the woman’s feet can be seen in photos of the incident posted on social media Monday by the New South Wales (NSW) Ambulance service.The woman had been walking with friends on a private property in Laguna, a country town in the Hunter Valley about 75 miles from Sydney, when she dropped her phone.Somehow, as she tried to retrieve it, she slipped face-first into a nearly 10-foot crevice between two large boulders.Her friends tried for an hour to free her, according to the NSW Ambulance service, but eventually gave up and called for help.NSW Police said emergency services were called at 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 12 about a 23-year-old woman who had become trapped while attempting to retrieve a cellphone.For the next seven hours, police, ambulance, fire and volunteer rescue crews tried to free her, police said in a statement.Several heavy boulders were removed to create a safe access point, then rescuers built a frame to perform what was becoming a very delicate operation, they added.”With both feet now accessible, the team faced the challenge of navigating the patient out through a tight ‘S’ bend over the course of an hour,” NSW Ambulance shared in a post on Facebook.A winch was used to move a 1,100-pound boulder to free the woman, and she was finally released at around 4:30 p.m. the same day.Miraculously, she escaped with only minor scratches and bruising.Peter Watts, NSW Ambulance specialist rescue paramedic, said he’d never seen anything like it.”In my 10 years as a rescue paramedic I had never encountered a job quite like this, it was challenging but incredibly rewarding,” Watts said. “Every agency had a role, and we all worked incredibly well together to achieve a good outcome for the patient.”The woman, whose name has not been made public, was taken to the hospital for observation. Her phone, however, remains trapped between the rocks.

    CNN —

    A woman who tried to retrieve her lost phone from between boulders in Australia’s Hunter Valley became stuck upside down for seven hours before she was rescued earlier this month.

    Just the bare soles of the woman’s feet can be seen in photos of the incident posted on social media Monday by the New South Wales (NSW) Ambulance service.

    The woman had been walking with friends on a private property in Laguna, a country town in the Hunter Valley about 75 miles from Sydney, when she dropped her phone.

    Somehow, as she tried to retrieve it, she slipped face-first into a nearly 10-foot crevice between two large boulders.

    Her friends tried for an hour to free her, according to the NSW Ambulance service, but eventually gave up and called for help.

    NSW Police said emergency services were called at 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 12 about a 23-year-old woman who had become trapped while attempting to retrieve a cellphone.

    For the next seven hours, police, ambulance, fire and volunteer rescue crews tried to free her, police said in a statement.

    Several heavy boulders were removed to create a safe access point, then rescuers built a frame to perform what was becoming a very delicate operation, they added.

    “With both feet now accessible, the team faced the challenge of navigating the patient out through a tight ‘S’ bend over the course of an hour,” NSW Ambulance shared in a post on Facebook.

    A winch was used to move a 1,100-pound boulder to free the woman, and she was finally released at around 4:30 p.m. the same day.

    Miraculously, she escaped with only minor scratches and bruising.

    Peter Watts, NSW Ambulance specialist rescue paramedic, said he’d never seen anything like it.

    “In my 10 years as a rescue paramedic I had never encountered a job quite like this, it was challenging but incredibly rewarding,” Watts said. “Every agency had a role, and we all worked incredibly well together to achieve a good outcome for the patient.”

    The woman, whose name has not been made public, was taken to the hospital for observation. Her phone, however, remains trapped between the rocks.

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  • ‘Game of Thrones’ dragon-forged Iron Throne fetches nearly $1.5 million at auction

    ‘Game of Thrones’ dragon-forged Iron Throne fetches nearly $1.5 million at auction

    “Game of Thrones” fans came out in droves to bid on hundreds of costumes, props and other items from the series in an auction that raked in over $21 million.From Thursday through Saturday, the Heritage Auctions event in Dallas featured over 900 lots including suits of armor, swords and weapons, jewelry and several other items of significance from the HBO series.The top-dollar item was the very thing the characters in the series vied for throughout its eight-season run: the Iron Throne. After a six-minute bidding war, the throne sold for $1.49 million.The replica was made of plastic and molded from the original screen-used version, then finished off with metallic paint and jewel embellishments. In the series, the throne was forged with dragon breath that melted the swords of a thousand vanquished challengers and became a symbol of the struggle for power throughout the show’s run.Heritage Auctions said in a statement Sunday that the event brought in $21.1 million from more than 4,500 bidders. The auction marked Heritage’s second-best entertainment event, just shy of the record set by a Debbie Reynolds sale it held in 2011.Heritage Executive Vice President Joe Maddalena said in a statement he knew the auction would resonate.”These are extraordinary treasures made by Emmy-winning costume designers and prop makers, who worked tirelessly to adapt George R.R. Martin’s wonderful novels,” Maddalena said. “People wanted a piece of that ‘Game of Thrones’ magic.”Beyond the coveted Iron Throne, over 30 other lots commanded six-figure price tags.Jon Snow’s signature sword, Longclaw, wielded onscreen by Kit Harington, sold for $400,000 and his night’s watch ensemble, featuring a heavy cape, went for $337,500. Both items kicked off prolonged bidding wars.Starting bids ranged from $500 to $20,000, but several items went for thousands of dollars more. Such was the case for several cloaks and dresses worn by Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen and Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister. A gray suede ensemble worn by Daenerys sold for $112,500, exactly $100,000 over its starting bid, and the red velvet dress Cersei wears in her final appearance on the show went for $137,500, which was $122,500 over its starting bid.Suits of armor also proved popular, especially when they included sought-after weapons. Jaime Lannister’s black-leather armor ensemble fetched $275,000 and his Kingsguard armor — including his iconic Oathkeeper longsword — went for $212,500. Queensguard armor worn by the character Gregor ‘The Mountain’ Clegane sold for $212,500.In an interview when the auction was announced in September, Jay Roewe, HBO’s senior vice president of global incentives and production planning, said the sale speaks to the series’ staying power five years after its finale.”‘Game of Thrones’ was a zeitgeist moment in our culture. It was a zeitgeist moment in high-end television. It was a zeitgeist moment in terms of HBO,” he said. “It’s impacted the culture.”

    “Game of Thrones” fans came out in droves to bid on hundreds of costumes, props and other items from the series in an auction that raked in over $21 million.

    From Thursday through Saturday, the Heritage Auctions event in Dallas featured over 900 lots including suits of armor, swords and weapons, jewelry and several other items of significance from the HBO series.

    The top-dollar item was the very thing the characters in the series vied for throughout its eight-season run: the Iron Throne. After a six-minute bidding war, the throne sold for $1.49 million.

    The replica was made of plastic and molded from the original screen-used version, then finished off with metallic paint and jewel embellishments. In the series, the throne was forged with dragon breath that melted the swords of a thousand vanquished challengers and became a symbol of the struggle for power throughout the show’s run.

    Heritage Auctions said in a statement Sunday that the event brought in $21.1 million from more than 4,500 bidders. The auction marked Heritage’s second-best entertainment event, just shy of the record set by a Debbie Reynolds sale it held in 2011.

    Heritage Executive Vice President Joe Maddalena said in a statement he knew the auction would resonate.

    “These are extraordinary treasures made by Emmy-winning costume designers and prop makers, who worked tirelessly to adapt George R.R. Martin’s wonderful novels,” Maddalena said. “People wanted a piece of that ‘Game of Thrones’ magic.”

    Beyond the coveted Iron Throne, over 30 other lots commanded six-figure price tags.

    Jon Snow’s signature sword, Longclaw, wielded onscreen by Kit Harington, sold for $400,000 and his night’s watch ensemble, featuring a heavy cape, went for $337,500. Both items kicked off prolonged bidding wars.

    Starting bids ranged from $500 to $20,000, but several items went for thousands of dollars more. Such was the case for several cloaks and dresses worn by Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen and Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister. A gray suede ensemble worn by Daenerys sold for $112,500, exactly $100,000 over its starting bid, and the red velvet dress Cersei wears in her final appearance on the show went for $137,500, which was $122,500 over its starting bid.

    Suits of armor also proved popular, especially when they included sought-after weapons. Jaime Lannister’s black-leather armor ensemble fetched $275,000 and his Kingsguard armor — including his iconic Oathkeeper longsword — went for $212,500. Queensguard armor worn by the character Gregor ‘The Mountain’ Clegane sold for $212,500.

    In an interview when the auction was announced in September, Jay Roewe, HBO’s senior vice president of global incentives and production planning, said the sale speaks to the series’ staying power five years after its finale.

    “‘Game of Thrones’ was a zeitgeist moment in our culture. It was a zeitgeist moment in high-end television. It was a zeitgeist moment in terms of HBO,” he said. “It’s impacted the culture.”

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