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Rubio rejects RFK's 'crazy' diet, jokes Pop-Tarts are 'one of the great American innovations'

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 21:02:40 -0400

Secretary of State Marco Rubio jokingly proclaimed his love of Pop-Tarts while rejecting Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s diet during an interview with podcast host Katie Miller on Tuesday.

Rubio appeared with his wife, Jeanette, on "The Katie Miller Podcast", during which Miller asked his thoughts about Kennedy's reported diet of "red meat and fermented vegetables."

"This is a crazy diet," Rubio said in jest. "This is a diet that consists of eating sauerkraut and meat. Now you understand, like, this is not a sustainable thing ... He has to travel with coolers of sauerkraut! I'm not going to travel the world with a cooler full of sauerkraut. It's ridiculous. I can't do it."

HOW MARCO RUBIO IS RIDING LAUGHTER AND MEMES TO SOCIAL MEDIA DOMINANCE

During the exchange, Rubio clarified that he was in favor of Kennedy's "MAHA," or "Make America Healthy Again" movement, though his wife pushed back, claiming that he eats Pop-Tarts.

"No, I don't eat Pop-Tarts every day," Rubio said.

"You eat sweets," Jeanette said.

"The Pop-Tart is one of the great American innovations in the history of the world, if you think about it. It comes in this beautiful foil package," Rubio joked.

"He eats all the things you should not be eating. Like every single thing," Jeanette insisted.

MARCO RUBIO ADDRESSES UAP GOVERNMENT COVER-UP ALLEGATIONS, SAYS TRUMP WOULD GIVE A SPEECH IF ADMIN KNEW MORE

Fox News Digital reached out to the HHS secretary and Mars Inc., the company that owns Pop-Tarts, for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Rubio has been considered a potential 2028 presidential candidate to succeed President Donald Trump. In a recent New Hampshire poll, Rubio was only 10 points behind Vice President JD Vance in a hypothetical match-up.

In addition to being a presidential contender, Rubio was also the subject of a viral internet meme featuring him sitting on an Oval Office couch during Trump's meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2025.

RUBIO REFLECTS ON REMARKABLE POLITICAL JOURNEY FROM TRUMP CRITIC TO TRUSTED CABINET MEMBER

Rubio finally addressed the viral image in an interview on Fox News' "My View with Lara Trump" last month.

"The meme thing, it was interesting because when it first came out, I hated that picture," Rubio said. "Because what happened is in that couch, if you don’t have a pillow behind your back, you kind of sink. So, I looked at the picture; I said, ‘Oh, this is terrible,’ I looked like whatever. And then it turned into this other thing. And it was fine, and it’s funny."

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"I don’t really follow it very closely, but people have shown me pictures out there," he added. "We have a good friend here that works at the White House, Dan Scavino, made a nice board for me. And even since he made that board, we had to update it, so — of all the different pictures. So that stuff is funny."

Convicted rapist who preyed on women at America's top party school faces reckoning after courthouse dash

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 20:35:20 -0400

A former UC Santa Barbara student convicted of raping and sexually assaulting multiple women will spend at least three decades behind bars, capping a yearslong prosecution involving disturbing allegations of sexual violence at one of America's top party schools.

Arian Eteghaei, 24, was sentenced to 30 years to life in California state prison after a jury found him guilty of forcible rape and forcible sexual penetration, but not before authorities say he made a brazen run for freedom, bolting from courthouse custody moments after his conviction.

His sentencing comes amid renewed scrutiny over sexual violence at UC Santa Barbara, which has been ranked the nation's top party school by Niche for the past two years.

Eteghaei's case adds to those concerns. He was also convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence, while jurors found true a special allegation that the sexual offenses were committed against more than one victim.

AMERICA'S TOP PARTY COLLEGE HIT BY ANOTHER SEX ATTACK WEEKS AFTER BRUTAL CAMPUS RAPE CASE

"This case would not have been possible without the extraordinary courage of the victims who came forward and participated in a long and difficult legal process," Santa Barbara County District Attorney John T. Savrnoch said. "Their strength and willingness to testify allowed the truth to be heard and ultimately allowed the defendant to be held accountable for the serious harm he caused."

Authorities say Eteghaei escaped by force while in custody on Jan. 16, the same day the jury returned its verdict.

The alleged escape landed Eteghaei another felony case, with prosecutors charging him in March with one count of escape by force.

STUDENTS AT TOP PARTY COLLEGE ON EDGE AFTER RAPE, STRANGULATION REPORTED IN CAMPUS HOUSING

Eteghaei's sexual assault prosecution stretched back years and centered on crimes committed while he was a student at UC Santa Barbara.

"This case required years of persistence, careful investigation, and tremendous support for the victims," Savrnoch said. "The collective work of this team exemplifies the commitment of law enforcement, prosecutors, investigators, and victim advocates to seeking justice for survivors of sexual violence."

Campus crime data previously reviewed by Fox News Digital show more than 100 reported rapes between 2022 and 2024, while two separate sexual assault reports this spring and summer prompted campus-wide warnings and heightened concerns about student safety.

In June, UC Santa Barbara police issued a campus-wide Timely Warning after a woman reported being stalked and groped in broad daylight near Tierra De Fortuna Park.

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Police said the woman was walking along a paved access road on UCSB's West Campus around 11:30 a.m. June 24, when a man riding a bicycle passed her before circling back multiple times over the next 15 minutes.

During the first two encounters, police said the man stopped to ask her questions. On the third pass, investigators said he approached the woman from behind, groped her and fled toward nearby Tierra De Fortuna Park.

The incident marked the second Timely Warning issued by UCSB police in under two months.

In May, an 18-year-old freshman reported she was raped and strangled after meeting a man at a fraternity party before returning to her dorm at Tropicana Gardens in Isla Vista.

FORMER UCLA GYNECOLOGIST SENTENCED AFTER PLEADING GUILTY TO SEXUALLY ASSAULTING PATIENTS AT SCHOOL

Days after the attack, the survivor's family, through attorney Tyrone Maho, publicly appealed for witnesses to come forward, saying anyone who attended the fraternity party or was near Tropicana Gardens on the night of May 9 could hold critical information.

The family also urged the university's chancellor to ask the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office to take over the investigation, arguing that the unidentified attacker remained "a potential threat to our community," while expressing gratitude for the work already done by UC Santa Barbara police.

The attack prompted a candlelight vigil where students gathered to support the survivor and raise concerns about campus safety.

UC Santa Barbara has been ranked the nation's top party school by Niche for the past two years.

TEACHER WHO SERVED AS GOP STATE LAWMAKER ALLEGEDLY USED ROBLOX TO LURE STUDENT INTO SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP

Campus crime data previously reviewed by Fox News Digital showed the university recorded more than 100 reported rapes between 2022 and 2024, according to its Annual Security and Fire Safety Reports.

The reports also showed increases in other reported crimes in recent years, including weapons arrests and burglaries.

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In a statement previously provided to Fox News Digital following the May attack, UC Santa Barbara police said federal law limits what officials can disclose about active investigations, but emphasized that reports of crimes on university property are fully investigated by sworn officers.

The department said it remained in direct contact with the survivor's family and works closely with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office and District Attorney's Office when appropriate.

Fox News Digital reached out to the UCSB for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.

Fox News Digital's Kelsie Cairns contributed to this report.

Unearthed interview exposes Dem senator's past support for reparations: 'There is a debt unpaid'

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 20:00:11 -0400

Shortly after announcing his intention to run for U.S. Senate, then-candidate Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., said he would support reparations legislation — government-led efforts to make up for the social harms of slavery and other injustices against Black Americans.

In a 2019 radio interview, Ossoff said it was only a question of how much the government was obligated to give.

"There is a debt unpaid. I think it is a very, very difficult question: how to pay it," Ossoff told a local radio host.

"But see, that should be the question — not if it should be paid," the host noted.

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"Exactly," Ossoff replied.

Seven years later, as Ossoff wages a re-election campaign that’s likely to be one of the most competitive in the nation, his resurfaced comments raise questions about his stance on the proper role of government in addressing social inequality.

In the past, progressive groups like Movement for Back Lives (M4BL) and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) have made reparations a part of their platforms.

"Despite the elimination of Jim Crow and openly discriminatory laws against Black Americans a half century ago, Black people and the Black community as a whole still suffer economic, political and social discrimination and inequality," DSA stated in 2019.

"Formally equal treatment on the basis of inequality means the perpetuation of inequality. Reparations for these and other offenses is a current topic of significant discussion during this election."

Ossoff, while not a member of the DSA, said he would support legislation to evaluate the matter.

"Sen. Cory Booker has legislation in the Senate to establish a commission for the purposes of studying the right way to redress the grievance — to pay the debt never paid," Ossoff said in the 2019 podcast appearance.

"Forty acres and a mule was never paid out," Ossoff said, referring to an unfulfilled 1865 promise from Union General William Sherman for land redistribution made to former slaves.

BLUE STATE POURED THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS INTO STUDY ON REPARATIONS AS EFFORT LAUNCHES

The proposal never became law but has been reintroduced by Booker several times, most recently in 2025. It remains under consideration in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Notably, Ossoff has not signed on as a sponsor.

Conservatives have traditionally opposed reparations, arguing that they would effectively amount to a form of positive discrimination — a treatment based on race, which is prohibited by the 14th Amendment.

The Supreme Court tangentially touched on the issue of positive discrimination in its 2023 decision Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard — a case evaluating affirmative action.

In that case, the court considered whether schools like Harvard had violated the 14th Amendment by creating a different standard for admissions depending on race that favored minorities.

"The student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual — not on the basis of race," the court ruled.

"Many universities have for too long done just the opposite. And in doing so, they have concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built or lessons learned by the color of their skin. Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice."

NEW YORK FAR-LEFT GROUP CLAIMS REPARATIONS 'OWED' AS BLACKS' MEDIAN WEALTH 'NEARLY 15 TIMES LESS' THAN WHITES

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Ossoff’s office did not immediately respond to questions on whether he envisioned a constitutional challenge to reparations or if his stance on the proposal had shifted since 2019.

Having cleared the Democratic primary for his race earlier this year, Ossoff now heads to the general election on Nov. 3, where he will face off against Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga.

Ossoff won the election in 2021 with a 50.6% to 49.4% victory over then-Republican incumbent Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga.

Composer of 'Halo' video games says he was disinvited from convention event for being a Republican politician

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 20:18:15 -0400

Republican congressional candidate and Grammy-nominated composer Marty O'Donnell spoke to Fox News Digital on Wednesday about how he was disinvited from a reunion with his fellow creators of the "Halo" video game series for comments made on the campaign trail.

On Tuesday, O’Donnell shared a screenshot of an email he received from his booker who handles his event appearances, informing him he had been uninvited from a reunion of his fellow "Halo" creators at a pop culture convention, saying, "The promoter for SacAnime has shared that his LGBTQ staff does not feel comfortable if you attend the event. Based on your recently reported statements of the political campaign, they have rescinded their invitation to not cause any further staff upset."

"I’m very disappointed that SacAnime has disinvited me from a Halo 25 reunion at their conference next month. If you thought we defeated Cancel Culture in 2024, guess again!" O’Donnell responded in a tweet.

O’Donnell spent decades creating some of the most iconic music in video game history. He has since thrown his hat in the ring as the Trump-backed Republican nominee to represent Nevada's 3rd Congressional District. O’Donnell shared a statement about the incident with Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

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"In January, I was invited to attend a Halo reunion at SacAnime over Labor Day weekend in Sacramento, CA. I was excited to attend with so many stars, including Jen Taylor and Steve Down[e]s, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Halo with all of our fans. They even asked me to record a video promoting my attendance two weeks ago," he recalled.

"After SacAnime made numerous announcements of my attendance over this last weekend, I was told I was being disinvited because I called Marxism an existential threat. They have removed me from their website and deleted all their posts on social media promoting my appearance," O'Donnell continued.

"My existential threat comment has been twisted a lot by my political opponents over the last few weeks and anyone who saw the video knows that to be true," he added. "That is why I know it’s not why I have been pulled from SacAnime. I was pulled because I am a Republican candidate for office."

"Funny enough, SacAnime’s decision proves my point. Silencing the opposition is a key component of Marxism and that is one reason why Marxism is an existential threat to our country," O’Donnell said. "I genuinely believed we had put an end to Cancel Culture after the 2024 election, but that was just the end to what AOC called ‘Woke 1’ earlier this week. Woke 2 is here, and it is just as eager to silence and destroy conservatives as Woke 1."

"Unfortunately for them, I can’t be silenced. I will continue to use my voice to speak out against the threats our country faces, especially from Marxists who seek to destroy the United States," he concluded.

‘HALO’ VIDEO GAME MUSIC COMPOSER AIMS TO REARRANGE WASHINGTON

The comment that appeared to have caused the firestorm was when he condemned the rise of Marxism and identity politics, noting that this coalition seems to be between groups that share little in common aside from a common enemy.

"Talk about an existential threat, this is where we are right now," he said during an appearance on The WDW Pro Show. "We are on the cliff looking down into the abyss. And the abyss is Marxism, it’s anti-Western philosophy. There’s a weird alliance of all these groups who like to pretend they’re oppressed. The LGBTQ+ people, the Islamists, the Marxists, they’re all together now, acting like they’re all together on the same side. They’re not on the same side."

"Islam and communism do not mix at all," he said. "They'll be partners for a while in order to overthrow the West."

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Fox News Digital contacted the SacAnime convention in northern California for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Birth order linked to 150 health conditions in study of 10 million American siblings

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 20:15:09 -0400

Whether someone is the older or younger sibling may be linked to certain health outcomes later in life, according to a massive new study.

Analyzing medical data from 10 million U.S. siblings over two decades, researchers from the University of Chicago and Columbia University found links suggesting that birth order may be connected to specific long-term health risks.

Researchers examined 569 disease categories across families and among siblings, identifying 150 conditions that were significantly associated with birth order.

LONGER LIVES, WORSE HEALTH? SCIENTISTS UNCOVER TROUBLING TREND ACROSS GENERATIONS

First-born children showed a higher likelihood of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric diagnoses, including autism, ADHD, Tourette's and OCD, as well as immune-allergic conditions like food allergies.

Second-born children were statistically more prone to migraines, shingles, substance use disorders and gastrointestinal issues like gastritis.

Discussing the findings on "Fox & Friends," Dr. Marc Siegel, senior medical analyst for Fox News, noted the value of such a wide-scale study.

"I love this study because it opens a lot of questions more than it gives answers, but I think I have some answers," the doctor said.

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Regarding the heightened prevalence of ADHD among first-borns, Siegel offered his own hypothesis about parental behavior.

"My theory, they get more stimuli. The parents are like hovering over them, helicoptering them ... and they don't know where to look," he said.

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Addressing the disparities in allergic conditions, Siegel pointed to early environmental exposure, stating, "I think it's because the firstborn's immune system hasn't seen the environment before. And if it's not set properly, you get an allergy."

Siegel also touched on biological and psychological factors when evaluating differences between siblings.

"I think the womb changes after you have your first child, and the second child gets a womb that's already been used. So therefore, it's more set for it," he said.

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Regarding the higher rate of substance use disorders among second-born children, Siegel suggested emotional drivers, saying, "it may be the same idea: 'I want attention. I'm looking for attention. I wanna do something to get a rise out of you.'"

While the research highlights patterns across a large population, the study comes with limitations.

The findings demonstrate correlations rather than direct causation, meaning the trends don't necessarily stem from physiological changes, early microbial exposures or social dynamics.

Additionally, the data relies on commercial health insurance claims, which can reflect differences in diagnosis, healthcare-seeking behavior and parental attention rather than true biological functions alone.

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Factors such as the age of parents between births and varying age gaps between siblings also complicate these associations. Ultimately, researchers emphasized that birth order serves as a modest population-level risk marker rather than a definitive health predictor.

The research was published in the journal Nature Health.

Los Angeles Lakers buyer, ex-Disney chief Bob Iger once said rooting for team was 'not in my DNA'

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 20:13:12 -0400

The Los Angeles Lakers just sold for $12.5 billion to an ownership group that includes a guy who once openly admitted he couldn't bring himself to root for them.

Former Disney CEO Bob Iger teamed up with Josh Kushner to buy the Lakers, which is a pretty wild turn for a guy who spent decades sitting courtside rooting for their little brother, the Clippers.

When news of the Lakers sale broke Wednesday, fans quickly resurfaced Iger's old comments about why he could never root for the team.

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Back in January 2021, Iger explained his Lakers problem during an appearance on The Old Man and the Three podcast, hosted by none other than current Lakers head coach JJ Redick. Iger told Redick why, after moving to California in 2000, he simply couldn't bring himself to root for the Lakers.

"I couldn't root for the Lakers very easily," Iger told Redick. "It just was not in my DNA."

Iger explained that growing up a New York Knicks fan made backing the Lakers an absolute non-starter.

Instead, he adopted the Clippers to get his basketball fix. His other reason for picking the Clippers over LA's powerhouse was even simpler: price.

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Iger explicitly told Redick that "their seats were a lot cheaper than the Lakers."

The man who just helped buy the Lakers for $12.5 billion originally chose the Clippers because the tickets were cheaper. Iger once said rooting for the purple and gold wasn't in his DNA.

Now he owns a piece of the franchise.

The timing of the blockbuster deal is where things get even more interesting. Billionaire Mark Walter agreed to buy the Buss family's controlling stake in June 2025 at a roughly $10 billion valuation. Just 14 months later, he's flipping the Lakers for $12.5 billion.

That lightning-fast turnaround comes as Walter's business empire reportedly faces federal scrutiny, including questions surrounding billions of dollars in private-credit investments. There's no evidence the investigation forced the sale — or that Walter suddenly needed cash — but unloading the Lakers barely a year after buying them certainly makes the timing interesting.

As for Iger, he clearly has the resources to help purchase the franchise. But for a guy who once said rooting for the Lakers wasn't in his DNA, becoming one of their owners is one hell of a plot twist.

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Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders give Browns a preseason quarterback battle worth watching

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 20:09:29 -0400

The NFL preseason is generally a tough sell. Fans are excited that football is back, sure, but then the starters play a series or two, and a bunch of guys who aren't going to make the roster finish the game.

But the Cleveland Browns just gave us two reasons to pay attention to their first two preseason games.

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Head coach Todd Monken informed his quarterbacks Wednesday afternoon that Deshaun Watson will start Cleveland's preseason opener Saturday in Chicago against the Bears. Monken also plans to start Shedeur Sanders in the Browns' second preseason game, at home against the Buffalo Bills on Aug. 22.

Now we're talking.

Monken said the plan is for Watson and Sanders to play roughly a half apiece against Chicago, then flip the order the following week against Buffalo.

Cleveland has spent the offseason treating its quarterback job like an actual competition, and Monken has backed that up with how he's handled practice. Watson and Sanders have alternated days working with the first-team offense during training camp after both received opportunities with the starters during the spring.

But preseason football is where that competition finally becomes something the rest of us can actually evaluate.

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Watson gets the first crack, and his start against Chicago carries plenty of weight even if Monken isn't ready to call anyone QB1. Watson hasn't appeared in an NFL game since rupturing his Achilles in October 2024. He later needed a second surgery after re-rupturing the tendon and didn't play at all last season.

So, watching Watson take an actual snap against an opposing defense is going to be a little more interesting than the standard August opener.

The Browns don't just need to know whether Watson can operate Monken's offense. They need to see whether he still resembles an NFL starting quarterback after nearly two years without playing in a game. He's obviously not the player the Browns traded three first-round picks to obtain in March 2022.

Watson led the NFL in passing yards in 2020, then didn't play at all in 2021 after requesting a trade. During that time, dozens of massage therapists accused him of sexual misconduct, further complicating his situation in Houston. The final two civil lawsuits tied to those allegations were dismissed earlier this year.

None of it stopped the Browns from trading for Watson in what might be the worst trade in NFL history. The 30-year-old quarterback has started 19 games in the past four seasons, compiling a 9-10 record.

Cleveland doesn't need Watson to be the guy who was considered one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. They just need him to prove he can still be a competent QB.

Then there's the 24-year-old Sanders, who slid to the Browns in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Sanders wasn't even the first quarterback drafted by the Browns; that was Dillon Gabriel in the third round. Gabriel is still on the roster and technically part of the team's competition to be the starter, but appears to be behind Watson and Sanders. They also drafted Taylen Green in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL Draft.

BROWNS DRAFT ANOTHER QUARTERBACK, MAKING SHEDEUR SANDERS' STARTING JOB EVEN LESS SECURE

Unlike Watson, Sanders has recent game tape, and plenty of it. The second-year QB appeared in eight games as a rookie and started seven, throwing for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions. There were flashes of promise, most notably a 364-yard, three-touchdown performance against Tennessee, but there were also the mistakes you'd expect from a young quarterback trying to figure out the NFL.

That's what makes this battle so intriguing. Not only is Sanders technically the incumbent, but he comes with a ton of hype thanks to his bravado and last name. He's already started meaningful NFL games, showed enough to make the Browns curious about what comes next and has now had a full offseason under a new head coach to make his case.

Usually, there's an obvious answer to a QB "competition" and teams just go through the motions. But this feels like a true battle for the starting gig. Giving Watson and Sanders their own preseason starts makes it pretty clear Monken wants to see both guys in game action with the first-team offense.

More importantly, Cleveland has created something that's usually missing from August football: stakes that people actually care about.

Nobody is going to remember who wins Browns-Bears on Saturday. Nobody should. But if Watson looks sharp, moves well and pushes the ball downfield, that's meaningful. If he looks tentative or rusty after such a long layoff, that's meaningful too.

The same applies to Sanders against Buffalo. He'll get a home crowd that already knows him, and every good throw is going to add fuel to the idea that he should be Cleveland's starter now and into the future. Every bad decision will be a reminder that his rookie season was uneven for a reason.

Monken doesn't have to name a regular-season starter after either game. In fact, he probably shouldn't unless someone makes the decision obvious.

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Cleveland still has a third preseason game against New England on Aug. 27, so there's room to keep evaluating before the real games begin. And if Monken really wants to mess with everyone, he could even throw Gabriel a start in that contest.

For now, Watson gets Chicago. Sanders gets Buffalo. And for two Saturdays, Cleveland's quarterback competition becomes one of the most interesting things the NFL preseason has to offer.

Texas judge accused of 'doxxing' political critic faces federal lawsuit, growing push to oust him from office

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 20:05:01 -0400

What began as a controversial Facebook post has spiraled into a legal firestorm for a West Texas judge, who now faces a federal civil rights lawsuit and an unprecedented effort by his own district attorney to remove him from office.

Midland County Judge Terry Johnson is accused of posting a political critic’s Social Security number, driver’s license number and date of birth on Facebook less than 24 hours after the man published federal court records involving Midland County.

Christino Rodriquez, who goes by "Nino America" online, alleges in a 26-page federal lawsuit that Johnson retaliated against him for criticizing local government by using his position to obtain confidential information and publishing it online.

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According to the lawsuit, Johnson posted a 2015 arrest warrant on his personal Facebook page with the caption, "Convicted felon trying to be a player." The complaint alleges the charges connected to the warrant were later dismissed and Rodriquez was not convicted in the case.

The filing also points to what was redacted — and what wasn’t.

Rodriquez’s home address and telephone number appeared blacked out, while his Social Security and driver’s license numbers remained visible. The lawsuit argues the selective redactions support its allegation that the disclosure was intentional.

James "Trey" Trainor, an attorney representing Rodriquez, told Fox News Digital the case goes beyond one Facebook post.

"The lawsuit is really about retaliation and abuse of power," Trainor said. "It’s kind of secondarily about First Amendment rights and the ability of people to actually criticize government without having government being used as a weapon against them."

Trainor said Rodriquez is active in the Midland community, attends public events and speaks out about local government.

"At the end of the day, he did that and he upset the county judge, and the county judge thought it was time to retaliate against him," Trainor alleged.

Trainor said Johnson had an employee access a criminal justice information system to obtain information about Rodriquez.

The federal complaint alleges Johnson obtained the unredacted warrant either through his own official access or through county personnel acting at his request or direction.

Trainor said the disclosure has left Rodriquez and his wife worried about identity theft and where the information could end up.

IS YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER ON THE DARK WEB?

"This is probably the highest form of doxxing that you could ever engage in by putting this type of personal information out there," Trainor said.

"We don’t know how many pictures were taken, how many screenshots were saved, all of those types of things," he added. "So we really don’t have an overall understanding yet of how broad the damage is."

Trainor said his team has begun discussions with the Social Security Administration about potentially changing Rodriquez’s Social Security number.

The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages and other relief, including lifetime identity-theft protection and credit monitoring. No dollar amount has been attached to the case.

"We’re still looking into how much it’s actually going to cost and talking to experts on what the overall negative effect on Nino’s life is going to be," Trainor said.

For Trainor, the case also raises a broader question about what happens when citizens criticize those in power.

"We need that information to be available to law enforcement to track down the bad guys," Trainor said of criminal justice information. "The only difference here is that my client wasn’t a bad guy. He was just somebody who decided to speak out about a local issue."

Meanwhile, the separate effort to remove Johnson from office is also evolving.

Midland County District Attorney Glenn Harwood filed a petition Aug. 6 seeking Johnson’s removal, the first step under Texas law in attempting to oust a county-level elected official.

"There’s a lot of gates that it has to go through before it actually gets to a removal action," Harwood told Fox News Digital.

Harwood said the petition goes to the region’s administrative judge, who can dismiss it or assign it to another judge. An outside prosecutor would also have to decide whether to pursue the civil action.

Now, Midland ISD Trustee Brandon Hodges has moved to intervene in the case, arguing his involvement could keep the removal effort alive if a legal challenge arises over Harwood’s dual role as district attorney and the resident who initiated the proceeding.

Hodges’ filing says he is not seeking to replace Harwood or add new allegations against Johnson. Instead, he is asking to join as an independently qualified Midland County resident and adopt the same grounds for removal already alleged by Harwood.

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"I intervened so this removal case does not die on a procedural technicality tied to Glenn Harwood’s dual role," Hodges said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. "If the court rules against him on that issue, the case still needs to move."

"Midland County deserves a real decision, not delay, excuses, or a quiet escape hatch for insiders," Hodges added. "I filed to help make sure that happens."

The 16-page filing argues Harwood occupies an unusual position because he initiated the removal proceeding as a Midland County resident while also serving as district attorney and swearing that the factual allegations in his petition are within his personal knowledge.

Hodges does not allege Harwood acted improperly and is not asking the court to remove him from the case. His filing instead describes the intervention as a way to prevent a potential dispute unique to Harwood from derailing the removal proceeding.

Steven Villela, a candidate for Midland County Commissioner Precinct 3, also joined those calls in a Facebook post, saying he agreed with Harwood that Johnson should resign.

"No elected official is above the law, and every public servant has a duty to protect the rights and confidential information of the people they serve," Villela wrote.

"Accountability isn’t about politics, it’s about doing what’s right," he added.

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Harwood emphasized that the removal effort is separate from Rodriquez’s federal lawsuit, saying he has "no role" in that case.

He also acknowledged what he described as a "potential criminal case," but declined to comment further because "nothing has happened on that front publicly yet."

Trainor separately told Fox News Digital that he and Rodriquez were interviewed by a Texas Ranger.

Trainor said the Ranger asked questions to verify whether the information shown online, including the Social Security and driver’s license numbers, belonged to Rodriquez.

Trainor also said subpoenas had been issued to Meta seeking confirmation of when and where the information was posted and potentially viewed.

The controversy has also generated public calls for Johnson to leave office.

Midland County resident Shandi Williams called for Johnson’s resignation during a Commissioners Court meeting, according to the Midland Reporter-Telegram.

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Johnson lost his reelection bid after failing to advance from the March 3 primary. If he remains in office, his term is expected to end in early 2027, when election winner Jay Marquez is set to take office, according to the Reporter-Telegram.

Fox News Digital reached out to Johnson and his attorney for comment.

Is Orlando destined to be one of the next MLB cities? The Orlando Dreamers are looking to make it happen

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 19:48:11 -0400

When you think of Orlando, Florida, your mind immediately goes to theme parks.

That's fair enough; they're what helped make Orlando one of the most-visited cities in the world, drawing tens of millions of tourists every year.

And that's just one of the reasons the Orlando Dreamers think the Central Florida city is the perfect place for a Major League Baseball team.

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While cities like Nashville and Charlotte are often at the top of people's lists when they talk about MLB expansion, Dreamers co-founder and COO Jim Schnorf believes there's a multitude of reasons why Orlando will land a team.

"We have no Major League Baseball here. We don't have minor league, and we don't have spring training," Schnorf said. "Every other competing city except one has Triple-A, and the one that doesn't have Triple-A has Double-A. So there's an anomalous absence of professional baseball from the Orlando market."

Orlando also happens to be the biggest media market in the country without an MLB presence.

And then, of course, there's the tourism.

"We're the most visited destination in the Western Hemisphere, with over 80 million tourists this year," Schnorf said. "Tourism matters a lot. Anyone who doesn't believe that merely needs to look at the Las Vegas model."

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Schnorf — who got the Dreamers ball rolling with the late Pat Williams, the long-time NBA executive who helped bring the Orlando Magic to town — was referring to how Las Vegas went from no teams in the Big 4 professional leagues to being on the cusp of having all of them within about a decade.

Schnorf pointed to the success of the Vegas Golden Knights and the relocation of the Las Vegas Raiders as examples of how a city with tourism as its biggest industry could support big league teams.

"So tourism matters immensely when it comes to the success of sports," he said.

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It can also help pay for it.

The organization recently put out new renderings of a state-of-the-art stadium that would be built on land near SeaWorld just off of I-4, the main thoroughfare through the Orlando area.

The Dreamers hope to use some of the tourism resort tax money that Orange County, Florida generates to fund it.

"Orlando generates the most tourism resort tax of any metro area in the country, which can be used for tourism, sports facilities, convention centers, and so forth," Schnorf said.

However, while a task force was put together to review proposals for projects like the stadium, they did not recommend moving forward with it.

Schnorf said that this was not a surprise as it came in the middle of an election cycle, among other reasons, plus the Dreamers' pitch had to be distilled into just fifteen minutes.

"We requested $975 million," he said. "To put that in perspective, we got only 15 minutes to present that package. Normally, you would spend a minimum of a day, following months and months of work and research on our financial model and metrics."

He did note, however, that the Dreamers already have a hefty amount of funding committed to the team.

"We've got well in excess of $2 billion towards stadium financing and team acquisition in place under letters of intent," he said.

Of course, even with a stadium in place, the MLB has to want to come to Orlando. Considering there are already two franchises — the Tampa Bay Rays and Miami Marlins — and neither one is known for packing stadiums, that seems like a tough sell.

However, Schnorf pointed to a moment in baseball history that suggests it can work.

"People ask about the other two teams in the state, 'How can Florida possibly support a third team here?' Well, in 1969, California had five teams with a significantly lower population than the state of Florida has today," Schnorf said. "Orlando is the fastest-growing metro area in the fastest-growing state in the country.

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"We can definitely support Major League Baseball here."

Jim Nantz speaks out on 'great friend' Tony Romo's OWI arrest, says he will 'always' be there for him

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 19:40:20 -0400

Jim Nantz, CBS Sports’ top play-by-play announcer, has spoken out about Tony Romo’s OWI arrest in July, which has led to him having a new partner in the booth ahead of another NFL season.

Nantz and Romo have been together since the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback signed his massive 10-year contract to join CBS Sports as its top NFL analyst to work alongside the legendary broadcaster.

During "NFL on CBS" Media Day on Tuesday, Awful Announcing asked Nantz about Romo and whether he has been kept in the loop by CBS Sports regarding his status for the NFL season.

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"I really was just laying low," Nantz responded. "I had golf events to do and I knew they had a lot to, you know, look at, sort out. But I made my mind up because we have this late flurry of golf events on the schedule. I was going to communicate with Tony, which we have, back and forth. …I just kind of wanted to focus on what’s in front of me, and that’s what I’ve done.

Romo was arrested by Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office deputies after showing signs of impairment while driving in Wisconsin on his way back from a golf event.

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He was charged with operating while intoxicated after allegedly performing poorly during field sobriety tests. Romo was also charged with having an open bottle of alcohol in his vehicle and with unsafe passing.

CBS Sports President said at the same media day that Romo’s situation is "evolving" and that the network is "still assessing."

"We have to consider the impact on our image and our brand," Berson said. "That’s very important to us. The focus should be and needs to be on our presentation and this great product and not on any others.

"Fortunately, we have a deep bench and everybody is stepping up."

CBS Sports announced that Houston Texans legend J.J. Watt will be taking Romo’s spot next to Nantz. However, the play-by-play great still has love for Romo as a friend and will always be there for him.

"Tony is a great friend of mine and has been for years," Nantz explained. "He and I go back to 2011 when he got married, I was invited to his wedding. So, this was not someone in 2017 when he entered the booth I was just getting to know for the first time. So, he’s a great friend, continues to be, always will be.

"I adore his family, his wife (Candice Crawford) is awesome. They’re the ones that are on my mind right now. The contents of what we talked about, I’m just going to leave that private, and I think that’s the only way and the appropriate way for me to look at it."

Romo is in the middle of his massive 10-year, $180 million deal with CBS as their top NFL analyst, and he is reportedly still owed $72 million after signing the deal in 2020.

OutKick reported in late July that Romo’s future with CBS is in jeopardy beyond his leave, as there were doubts prior to his arrest about whether the network would keep him as its lead analyst after the 2026 season. It’s also worth noting CBS will be airing the Super Bowl in 2028.

Debate about Romo’s preparation has come up in recent seasons, especially among critics saying he hasn’t gelled with Nantz like in years past.

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It’s also been reported that Romo’s contract has an industry-standard morals clause, which CBS could invoke to fire Romo over the arrest video. His legal team, though, would almost certainly fight that with millions still owed.

Romo’s court date has been set for Sept. 21, which comes eight days after CBS Sports’ first NFL broadcast with Nantz and Watt.

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Campus antisemitism extends beyond student protests and into classrooms, ADL warns

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 19:35:33 -0400

University campuses have been at the center of the national discussion about antisemitism since the beginning of the 2023 Israel-Hamas war and the wave of protests and encampments that followed. However, a new Anti-Defamation League report found that while the attention on campuses was focused on students, there was far less scrutiny over what was happening behind classroom doors.

The report documents allegations of professors and teaching assistants injecting anti-Israel activism into coursework, even going so far as to offer extra credit for attending anti-Israel events. Some have been accused of singling out Jewish and Israeli students in classroom settings.

While public attention has largely focused on student-led protests and demonstrations, the ADL said faculty conduct and curriculum choices occur in the "relative opacity of academic spaces," making them more difficult for outsiders to observe.

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In January 2025, the ADL released a campus antisemitism report conducted in partnership with Hillel International and College Pulse, stating that 27.3% of Jewish students reported observing antisemitic behavior by faculty. The organization noted that its January 2025 report showed that exposure to faculty engaging in antisemitic rhetoric was associated with higher perceptions of a hostile campus environment.

The report points to several ways in which those dynamics have surfaced in classrooms, including course content and assigned readings, political activism and the treatment of Jewish and Israeli students. According to the ADL, there were reported instances of faculty canceling classes in order for students to attend anti-Israel protests. The organization said that as part of a course at the University of California, Berkeley, students were allegedly offered "extra credit" for attending a university-sponsored event series titled "Thinking from Palestine: Dispossession, Liberation, and Return."

In response to Fox News Digital's request for comment, UC Berkeley Asst. Vice Chancellor Dan Mogulof said the school had "no record of students being offered extra credit to attend the lecture in question."

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This was not the only reported incident at UC Berkeley. In October 2023, just weeks after Hamas' attacks on Israel, a teaching assistant at the school offered students extra credit for participating in an anti-Israel walkout that she said was "against the settler-colonial occupation of Gaza." The email went viral and drew scrutiny from social media users. The ADL noted that the university addressed the issue, citing a policy prohibiting political indoctrination on campus.

Other schools in the UC system faced similar allegations. The ADL reported that in October 2023 a teaching assistant at UCLA allegedly told students they could receive extra credit for attending an "Emergency Teach-in on the Crisis in Palestine."

In addition to course content and incentives for participation in political events, the report also documented allegations of instances in which Jewish and Israeli students were allegedly singled out by faculty.

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The ADL cited findings from Columbia University's Task Force on Antisemitism, which released a report on the classroom experience at the school. The task force reported that an Israeli student was asked: "You must know a lot about settler colonialism. How do you feel about that?" In another instance, an unnamed instructor pointed at a student who held a combat role in the Israel Defense Forces and said that "she should be considered as one of the murderers."

Columbia's task force also noted that a Jewish student, who was not Israeli, reported being told, "It’s such a shame that your people survived in order to commit mass genocide."

In response to a request for comment, a university spokesperson provided a statement and directed Fox News Digital to a letter from Columbia's then-acting President Claire Shipman, which was released after the task force's report.

"Over the past year, Columbia has prioritized implementing the recommendations of faculty, students, staff, and the University's Task Force on Antisemitism, focusing on enhancing reporting mechanisms for bias incidents, enforcing campus protest policies to ensure non-discriminatory environments, and fostering inclusive classroom settings where Jewish students can engage in academic life without fear of harassment," the spokesperson said in a statement emailed to Fox News Digital.

"We will continue to work alongside Columbia’s vibrant Jewish organizations, like Hillel and Chabad, to support their community building and improve the campus experience for our Jewish students, faculty, and staff," the spokesperson added.

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The ADL argued that incidents of antisemitism involving faculty carried added weight because of the power that professors hold over students. The organization warned that "such activity from trusted professors contributes disproportionately to an unsafe and hostile environment for Jewish and non-Jewish students alike."

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In its report, the ADL encouraged universities to "implement comprehensive measures" aimed at combatting antisemitism and creating a safe environment for all students.

Mystery Wi-Fi network aboard flight raises 'unusual' alarm about travelers' information

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 19:10:06 -0400

A Delta Air Lines flight from Las Vegas to Atlanta on Monday, Aug. 10, was disrupted for a period of time after an unauthorized Wi-Fi network appeared onboard — prompting the crew to shut down the aircraft's internet service.

Delta confirmed that none of its systems were hacked, including the in-flight Wi-Fi, and that no aircraft operating systems were affected, Delta said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

"Safety of flight was never in question and no aircraft operating systems were affected," Delta said.

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"We are fully investigating to gather a complete set of facts, which will take time. We will partner with federal law enforcement and aviation regulators to ensure the incident is thoroughly investigated," the airline said.

"We thank our crew for their professionalism and our customers for their understanding."

As the situation unfolded, cabin crew members turned off the aircraft's Wi-Fi functionality for about 30 minutes, according to Delta.

No emergency was declared by air traffic control. The flight continued on to Atlanta.

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The unusual incident has raised questions about what travelers should watch for when connecting to Wi-Fi thousands of feet in the air.

California-based travel expert Lee Abbamonte told Fox News Digital that seeing an unauthorized network on a commercial flight is uncommon, and that travelers should pay close attention to which network they select.

"I think that the unauthorized network appearing on a commercial flight is pretty unusual," Abbamonte said. "I'm hoping this is not a sign of things to come."

Social media posts about the incident claimed a rogue network called "Delta WiFi Fast" appeared onboard. The posts also said several passengers onboard had attended a cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas.

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Abbamonte said that when passengers are on a flight, it's easy to get confused about networks.

"I think the passengers are vulnerable on an airplane because they're a captive audience," he said.

He encouraged travelers to connect only to the Wi-Fi network identified by their airline. He also said carriers could help by making the correct network name clear to passengers.

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"I think the airlines need to make an announcement. When the flight attendants go over the safety demonstration and all that stuff — they should add that for this particular plane route, this is the official Wi-Fi network that you should join and don't join any others," Abbamonte said, expressing his opinion.

He also said he believed that Delta's decision to temporarily disable its Wi-Fi was an appropriate response while the crew dealt with the situation.

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Despite the incident, Abbamonte said he would still feel comfortable connecting to Wi-Fi while flying.

"I would just double-check to make sure you're on the right network," he said.

Knoxville police love triangle drags police chief into mess for flirty texts with one of the female officers

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 18:52:10 -0400

Love is still in the air in Tennessee, and police officers are still getting themselves caught up in all kinds of on-duty extracurricular activities.

Last month's love triangle involving officers with the Metro Nashville Police wasn't the only one that took place in the state recently. There was one in Knoxville that had a little more to it than your average love triangle.

One of the officers from the Knoxville Police Department involved in the love triangle was also exchanging flirtatious texts with the police chief. An internal investigation into the officer's love triangle uncovered the texts.

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Jasmine Reed had been exchanging inappropriate messages with Chief Paul Noel, reports WBIR's Katie Inman. Messages along the lines of the police chief inviting her to go out of town with him.

There were also reportedly statements about him wearing a wedding ring, but that he plays and is careful. The chief was suspended last week for a month and is under investigation for the messages.

The text exchanges that went on for years with the chief didn’t show that there was a physical relationship between the two, reports WVLT. The same could not be said for Reed's other investigation.

Reed was investigated and suspended after she was found to have had an affair with married Lieutenant Keith DeBow. An affair that included the two having sex on the job, according to WVLT.

DeBow's wife, who also worked for the police department, Captain Tammy DeBow, was also suspended after she found out about the affair and sent text messages to Reed about it.

Keith DeBow retired prior to the internal complaint being filed and wasn't investigated. The three were found to have not committed any criminal wrongdoing, just wrongdoing of the workplace variety.

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Reed admitted to the affair and reportedly told investigators that she and the lieutenant had sex multiple times on-duty in a relief trailer. They also would meet in a storage room to "make out and stuff."

That making out and stuff, investigators found thanks to surveillance video, added up to 37 times the two entered the room together for a total of 8 hours and 7 minutes. That's a lot of "and stuff."

Tammy's actions, while understandable given the situation, were found to be inappropriate given her rank as a captain. That's why she was suspended.

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On top of all of Reed's drama involving her coworkers, she has also been investigated for her performance on the job too. She has reportedly been found to have mishandled evidence on as many as 20 separate occasions.

That's not all that surprising given the text messages she was busy sending and the visits to a storage room she was making.

Ms Rachel posts support for reparations, sharing Ta-Nehisi Coates quote on slavery and Jim Crow

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 18:31:41 -0400

Children's YouTuber Ms. Rachel posted support for reparations on Instagram Monday in the latest in a series of political moves by the online educator.

Ms. Rachel, whose real name is Rachel Accurso, posted a quote on her account from Ta-Nehisi Coates' 2014 essay "The Case for Reparations" about the need to "reckon" with America's history of slavery.

"Two hundred fifty years of slavery. Ninety years of Jim Crow. Sixty years of separate but equal. Thirty-five years of racist housing policy. Until we reckon with our compounding moral debts, America will never be whole," the quote read.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Accurso and Coates for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

"The Case for Reparations" was one of Coates' most famous essays, in which he argued that "American prosperity was ill-gotten" and that the nation needs to reconcile with its past beyond handing out money.

"What I’m talking about is more than recompense for past injustices — more than a handout, a payoff, hush money, or a reluctant bribe," Coates wrote. "What I’m talking about is a national reckoning that would lead to spiritual renewal. Reparations would mean the end of scarfing hot dogs on the Fourth of July while denying the facts of our heritage. Reparations would mean the end of yelling 'patriotism' while waving a Confederate flag. Reparations would mean a revolution of the American consciousness, a reconciling of our self-image as the great democratizer with the facts of our history."

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The post was the latest openly political move by Accurso, who has increasingly spoken out in favor of progressive causes using her children's entertainer brand.

Last month, she endorsed a dozen Democratic candidates, including former Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., and Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, ahead of major primary elections.

Days before that, she suggested that race was a factor in the investigation into Nolan Wells’ mysterious death.

"We know the investigation and everything that followed would have been different if Nolan Wells were White and his friends were Black," Accurso wrote in a post. "Nolan and his family deserve justice."

At the time, former Palm Beach County, Fla., State Attorney Dave Aronberg attacked Accurso for weighing in on the investigation as it was being conducted, as well as "injecting division" through her past comments on the Israel-Hamas war.

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"Ms. Rachel is at it again. Whether it's injecting division into domestic tragedies or spreading toxic, antisemitic rhetoric in her posts about the Middle East, she constantly pushes narrative over facts," Aronberg told Fox News Digital, adding, "We need real investigative transparency [in the Wells case], not popular children's creators using tragic deaths and foreign policy to divide us."

Tulane Green Wave wins offseason 'uniform wars' with their Mardi Gras-inspired threads

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 18:23:43 -0400

One of the most exciting parts about the college football offseason is figuring out which uniform combinations your team will go with for the upcoming season.

Some programs are a little more forward-thinking when it comes to alternate jerseys and helmets than others (think Oregon versus Alabama), but regardless, it's nice to know which games your favorite team will be "swagged out" in, as the kids say.

While we've seen several intriguing combos leaked this summer, one program has risen to the top with one of the best uniform concepts in a long time.

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The Tulane Green Wave are known for already having some phenomenal traditional uniforms to pull from, however, they've really outdone themselves with these Mardi Gras-inspired threads that are sure to turn heads on TV screens across America this fall.

I'm not even a Mardi Gras guy. Hell, I rarely, if ever, drink, but these are about as clean as it gets.

Those helmets are so glorious, it nearly brought a tear to my eye looking at them.

Giving the Angry Wave mascot a jester hat was a nice touch, and the argyle stripe really ties the whole thing together.

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They even made the warning sticker on the back of the helmet in the style of a Mardi Gras sign.

It's the little things that count.

To get a better idea of how it all looks when paired with the jersey and the pants, Tulane gave us a Mardi Gras-themed uniform reveal video, complete with a parade float and beads.

It's hard for college football fans to agree on much of anything these days, but aside from some vocal trolls, these uniforms seem to be universally beloved by everyone on social media.

Not only do the uniforms look clean and eye-catching, but they represent something about the culture of the city that the team plays in, and that is the hallmark of a next-level uniform.

College football is all about culture and tradition as well as the passion of the fanbase, and I think the Green Wave captured that perfectly with these bad boys.

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From what I can tell, Tulane will be wearing their Mardi Gras uniforms against South Alabama on September 12, so you can bet your bottom dollar that game will be front and center on my television.

ICE eyes $20M purchase of electric shock gloves as Hochul warns of legal consequences

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 18:22:29 -0400

New York's Democratic leaders are threatening potential legal action against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers over a new piece of equipment ICE could soon add to its arsenal: gloves capable of delivering an electric shock.

Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James said Wednesday that recently enacted state protections could expose ICE officers to legal consequences if the devices are used in New York.

The warning comes as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) moves toward acquiring thousands of devices described in federal procurement records as "conductive distraction and de-escalation devices."

ICE could spend up to $20 million on the equipment.

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The new devices are known as the G.L.O.V.E., short for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, and they are designed to deliver an electrical charge through contact with a person.

"You cannot trample on someone’s constitutional rights, and you cannot cause them undo harm. You will be held accountable," Hochul said when asked about the electric shock gloves. "[The protections] should be in effect here."

James said her office is reviewing the DHS proposal and examining whether use of the technology would violate New York law.

The proposal "appears to be in violation of a number of laws," James said, including the State Administrative Procedure Act.

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James also indicated that her office would pursue legal action against DHS if a person in New York were injured by the devices.

"You can best be assured of that," James said.

ICE defended its process for evaluating equipment in a statement to Fox News Digital, saying the agency considers officers' safety and existing law enforcement standards when assessing new technology.

"ICE is constantly assessing the needs of our officers in the field to ensure they have the tools and equipment necessary to safely arrest and remove criminal illegal aliens from our country," a DHS spokesperson wrote.

"Every decision is made with careful consideration and appropriately reviewed to ensure that any technology ICE utilizes is consistent with all applicable law enforcement policies and standards.

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"Our officers are highly trained in de-escalation tactics and regularly receive ongoing use of force training. The latest ICE use of force policy is available here."

The gloves are manufactured by Compliant Technologies, a company based in Lexington, Kentucky. Demonstration videos released by the company show the devices being used on test subjects who fall to the ground after physical contact with a person wearing the gloves.

Compliant Technologies founder and CEO Jeff Niklaus declined to discuss the potential federal purchase when contacted by The Associated Press.

"Unfortunately, we are unable to speak on this subject," Niklaus wrote in an email to The Associated Press.

The clash over ICE equipment comes as Hochul and James are also seeking to curtail cooperation between local law enforcement agencies and federal immigration authorities.

New York law enforcement agencies have until Aug. 24 to end civil immigration enforcement agreements with ICE or potentially face legal consequences.

James said a dozen law enforcement agencies in the state maintained such agreements as of July, including Nassau County.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Hochul's office and Compliant Technologies for comment.

Kansas convicted felon, sex offender allegedly kills fellow family members before taking his own life: police

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 18:17:34 -0400

This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

A registered sex offender with a lengthy criminal history allegedly slaughtered the mother of his children and their four young kids inside their Kansas home, weeks after police had encounters with him over what the chief described as "erratic behavior."

Ronald H. Williams Sr., 53, allegedly killed Kelly L. George, 44, and their four children, Carol A. Williams, 9; Ronald H. Williams Jr., 7; Sarah K. Williams, 5; and Kelly M. Magee-Williams, 3, before making a chilling 911 call Tuesday morning, according to authorities.

Williams allegedly told the dispatcher that he had killed his entire family and was preparing to kill himself.

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Officers happened to be working a traffic crash roughly two blocks away and raced to the Winfield home almost immediately, Police Chief Robbie DeLong said during a news conference.

As the first officer approached the house, a single gunshot rang out from inside.

With officers initially unable to determine what had happened inside, police backed away, established a perimeter and treated the home as a barricaded situation.

Nearly two hours later, officers breached the front door.

Inside, they discovered a devastating scene, with Williams, George and all four children dead from gunshot wounds.

Investigators also believe the final gunshot heard by the arriving officer was Williams taking his own life.

MICHIGAN DAD SHOT WIFE, SIX KIDS THEN SET FAMILY HOME ABLAZE IN MURDER-SUICIDE, SHERIFF SAYS

But the news conference also revealed that Tuesday's massacre was not law enforcement's first encounter with Williams.

DeLong said officers had dealt with Williams over "erratic behavior," including contact as recently as within the previous few weeks.

Police had also received calls involving aggressive behavior in public and reports of gunfire, although DeLong said investigators had been unable to determine the source of the reported shots.

Williams’ behavior had raised enough concern to put him on law enforcement's radar, but DeLong said nothing officers encountered suggested he was on the verge of killing his family.

The disturbing killings came after decades of brushes with the law for Williams, who operated under a long list of aliases and whose criminal history included a felony sex offense and a requirement to register as a sex offender in Kansas.

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Williams appeared on the Kansas Bureau of Investigation's sex offender registry under the name Freddie Lu'Carl's Williams, with "Ronald Williams" among numerous aliases listed by the state.

His encounters with the criminal justice system stretched for nearly three decades.

Court records reviewed by KCTV showed Williams faced felony charges involving drugs, battery, assault on a law enforcement officer, burglary, attempted rape and kidnapping, among other alleged crimes, in cases dating from 1995 through 2024.

The charges spanned multiple jurisdictions, including Wyandotte, Johnson and Franklin counties, according to KCTV.

For those who lived just steps from the family, the killings left behind shock, heartbreak and haunting questions about whether something had been missed.

Ann Stofferan, who lives only a couple of houses from the scene, told KWCH that learning children were among the dead made her "stomach churn."

"I just felt so sad and heartbroken for that family," Stofferan told the outlet. "Because I just can't imagine what that man was thinking to do that. I just can't."

DISPATCH AUDIO RELEASED IN MICHIGAN FAMILY MURDER-SUICIDE AS TROUBLED FAMILY'S SECRETS EMERGE

Another neighbor offered an especially haunting recollection, telling KWCH she remembered hearing Williams make an ominous statement to his wife before the killings.

"I remember him telling his wife, 'I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it, I'm going to call the cops, and I'm going to do it,'" the woman told the outlet.

She said she did not know at the time what Williams allegedly meant.

"How do you kill your own family? How do you do that? I just don't get it," she said.

Tonya Asbury, who lives about a block away, told KWCH the killings left her wondering whether something could have been done before five lives were lost.

"I hate to say it, but somebody failed," Asbury said. "Somebody in this community failed that family. Failed him and that family."

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Investigators have not publicly identified a motive for the killings.

The scene had a profound impact on the officers and investigators who responded, with peer-support teams and mental health professionals called in to help them process what they encountered.

For DeLong, the scale of the killings was unprecedented during his career in the community.

"In my 20-plus years here, no, I can't remember anything remotely close to this," DeLong said.

The KBI and Winfield Police Department are continuing to investigate.

Major League Baseball has a huge problem brewing for the 2026-2027 offseason

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 18:15:51 -0400

Major League Baseball's league office and ownership has made a concerted effort this season to make spending money the enemy.

A concerted marketing campaign promoted during broadcasts on the league's streaming services has made it clear that payroll disparities are now unacceptable. "Level the Playing Field," the advertising says. The Los Angeles Dodgers are the enemy, they explain with a bar chart showing their payroll and luxury tax bill. Ignoring that the luxury taxes are paid back to the league and redistributed to small market teams.

This campaign is designed to increase fan support for a lockout and eventual salary cap. And it's working. Baseball social media is littered with fans complaining, taking the owners' side, ignoring results and demanding that teams be allowed to pocket more profits.

MLB'S SALARY CAP PROPOSAL WON'T FIX THE LEAGUE'S NON-EXISTENT COMPETITIVE BALANCE PROBLEMS

The insinuation with this coordinated effort is that small market teams or lower payroll organizations, more specifically, have little chance of competing against the big market, big spending franchises. As examples, they use the New York Yankees, those evil Dodgers, then fall curiously silent when looking at the other teams in those same markets.

The New York Mets, per Sportrac, actually have the highest payroll obligations this season, in terms of dollars paid in 2026. Those Mets are 53-68, in last place in the NL East by 19.5 games, and buried 11 games back of the third wild card spot. The Los Angeles Angels play just 30 miles from Dodger Stadium, in the country's second-largest media market. They haven't reached the playoffs since 2012, and at 46-74, have literally the worst record in baseball with just over 40 games remaining in the season.

What about San Francisco? One of the country's largest media markets, a historic franchise with the Giants, and around $200 million in payroll obligations. They're 50-70, a mere 22 games out of first place in the NL West. Philadelphia, reliably one of baseball's highest big market spenders, lost Wednesday afternoon to fall out of playoff position, if the season ended today.

The Yankees are in second place. Toronto, with a top-five payroll, is effectively eliminated at 58-63. Houston, with a top-10 payroll, is 61-60, while their big market rival Texas Rangers are 60-60.

TRUMP CAN'T HELP BUT TAKE JAB AT METS IN SPEECH WHILE PRAISING BRAVES CEO: 'THEY LOSE ALL THE TIME'

"Too many fans in markets across the game have too little hope that their team has a fair chance to win," MLB says in an attempt to advance their preferred narrative.

With big market teams struggling, then, who's succeeding? Well, with again just over 40 games remaining, the two best records in baseball belong to the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays.

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Milwaukee entered Wednesday at 74-46, in position to enjoy a first-round bye and home field advantage throughout the postseason. In the American League, the Rays' dominant win over the Athletics improved their record to 74-46 and extended their streak to nine wins in a row.

The Brewers are 19th in payroll, per Sportrac, while the Rays are 23rd. Another first place team, the Chicago White Sox, are 25th. The Cleveland Guardians, dead last in payroll, are just two games out of a wild card spot, even after a 2-8 streak.

So what happens to the "fans have no hope" narrative now? Will MLB and the owners face an uphill battle in the war of public opinion on a salary cap thanks to the success of the Brewers and Rays, yet again?

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The answer of course, is likely no. Fans don't follow regular season outcomes, ignoring that the best records and performances over a 162-game sample are far more meaningful than other samples. Public support for a salary cap will be determined based on what happens in the playoffs and World Series. Incorrectly.

Postseason series wins are based on fortunate timing and randomness, with some small amount coming from talent advantages. Unlike the NFL, the best team doesn't always win in MLB. In fact, it's more likely that they don't. Just like the Dodgers' failure in 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023, winning 100 games and building the best possible roster can't guarantee any level of playoff success.

The Rays and Brewers have built some of the best rosters in baseball, and have been rewarded for it with regular season success over the broadest sample. But come October, those samples are compressed to a best-of-five or best-of-seven, with little advantage to having the best record.

Fans will judge the necessity of a cap on whether the Dodgers win again. But what if the Brewers or Rays win a title? Tampa Bay reached the World Series in 2020, after all, much more recently than the Mets, Red Sox, or Giants, as just a few examples. Would that change perception? Or would the excuses and propaganda continue?

Is reaching the World Series enough to give fans "hope" that their team can win? Based on Milwaukee and Tampa's success this year, we might find out.

Fox News Poll: New matchup, same result: Maine Senate race stays locked

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 18:00:02 -0400

Maine voters are weighing concerns about both U.S. Senate candidates, with anxieties over Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins' ties to President Donald Trump outpacing concerns about Democratic challenger Troy Jackson's progressive alignment, according to a Fox News statewide poll released Wednesday.

Collins has represented Maine in the Senate since 1997, winning her fifth term in 2020 by nearly 9 percentage points.

The new survey shows more than half of Maine voters, 55%, are concerned her voting record aligns with President Trump too often, while fewer, 43%, are worried Jackson is too close to the democratic socialist movement.

FOX NEWS POLL: GOP DIVISIONS SHAPE TEXAS SENATE RACE

By a 14-point margin, more independents are worried Collins is too close to Trump than are concerned Jackson is too close to the democratic socialists.

Jackson, a fifth-generation logger from Allagash and former president of the Maine Senate, replaced Graham Platner as the Democratic nominee in July after Platner withdrew amid an assault allegation.

Jackson’s candidacy makes the contest more of a referendum on Collins: 61% of his supporters say their vote is mainly against Collins, up from 48% when Platner was the opponent. Only 36% say they’re voting for Jackson, down from Platner’s 50%.

FOX NEWS POLL: DEMOCRATIC ENTHUSIASM SHAPES NORTH CAROLINA SENATE RACE

The contrast is even clearer for Collins: 71% of her backers say they’re voting mainly for her, up from 53% in June. Just 27% are voting against Jackson, down from 45% when it was Platner.

Despite a major change in the Democratic ticket, the survey finds the Maine Senate race remains competitive. Jackson tops Collins by 2 percentage points, 48-46%, well within the survey’s margin of sampling error. In June, Collins was ahead of Platner by 3 points. Since then, Collins’ support is down 4 points, while Jackson does 1 point better than Platner.

Among the subgroup of voters who rate themselves a 10-out-of-10 on certainty to vote, Jackson’s edge increases to 4 points (50-46%).

By an 8-point margin, more of those backing Collins say their choice is locked in. One in five Jackson supporters say they may change their mind before voting.

Roughly 9 in 10 partisans back their respective candidate, while independents narrowly prefer Jackson.

Jackson’s best groups include liberals, women with a college degree and those under age 35. He also leads among men under age 45 and those in union households. He’s favored by women by 4 points, while men are evenly divided.

Collins’ biggest support comes from conservatives, White evangelical Christians, men ages 45 and up and voters without a college degree. She’s also ahead among rural and married voters.

Compared to Platner’s numbers in June, Jackson mostly holds steady with key constituencies including women, voters with a college degree and suburban voters, while making gains among those under age 45 (12 points better than Platner). At the same time, Collins’ previous 10-point advantage among men has evaporated.

Almost all MAGA Republicans back Collins, but that drops to three-quarters among non-MAGA Republicans (nearly one in five non-MAGA back Jackson).

For Jackson, almost all supporters of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) movement back him, but that falls to two-thirds among non-DSA Democrats and independents.

"Replacing Platner with Jackson has allowed two other factors to assert themselves — opposition to President Trump and a desire for change," says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts Fox News polls with Democrat Chris Anderson.

"The race remains close, and I’d never count Collins out, but you have to give a slight edge to the Democrats here."

FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS WANT MAJOR CHANGE AMID ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL DISCONTENT

Collins is the only GOP senator running for re-election this year from a state Trump lost in 2024 (former Vice President Kamala Harris won the Pine Tree State by 7 points). Meanwhile, Trump’s personal favorable rating is underwater by 20 points (39% favorable vs. 59% unfavorable).

Democrats view Maine as a must-win seat in their effort to take control of the Senate.

Inflation remains the top issue in Maine, and one-third say it will be the most important factor in deciding their Senate vote. The other priorities are immigration/border security, healthcare and political divisions within the country.

Part of Jackson’s lead is built on the support of the 4 in 10 who say they’re falling behind financially, where he leads by 29 points.

Ratings of Collins are unfavorable by 10 points (44% vs. 54%), which is more negative than in June when her ratings were underwater by 3 points (47-50%). Jackson’s favorable rating is positive by a single point (47% favorable vs. 46% unfavorable). Views of both Senate candidates are more positive than those of their respective political parties.

Voters who hold negative opinions of both candidates prefer Jackson by 3 points in the horse race, while those viewing both major parties unfavorably back him by 22 points.

Ratings for both MAGA and DSA are about equally negative, with MAGA at minus 19 points and DSA at minus 21. However, there is more intensity in views of MAGA, as 50% have a "strongly" unfavorable opinion of it compared to 38% saying the same about DSA.

Many more Democrats than Republicans say they’re extremely interested in the election (D+18), and are more motivated to vote (D+9), but nearly equal numbers of both groups say they are certain to cast a ballot in November (D+3).

In the governor’s race, Democrat Hannah Pingree continues to lead Republican Bobby Charles by 11 points, with third-party candidate Rick Bennett garnering 9%. However, nearly 3 voters in 10 say their preference in the race could change.

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Party loyalty plays a big part in Pingree’s lead, as more Democrats (92%) support her than Republicans (83%) back Charles — and the largest share of independents favor her as well.

Pingree’s personal favorable rating is net positive by 15 points (52% favorable vs. 37% unfavorable). Charles’ rating is underwater by 6 (36% vs. 42%), while 23% are unfamiliar with him. Bennett is even less well known, with 52% unable to rate him.

Conducted August 6-10, 2026, under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News Poll includes interviews with a sample of 1,000 Maine registered voters randomly selected from a statewide voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (128) and cellphones (626) or completed the survey online after receiving a text message (246).

Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ± 3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Sources for developing weight targets include the most recent American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis, and voter file data. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education and area variables to ensure the demographics of respondents are representative of the registered voter population. Results among subgroups are only shown when the sample size is at least N=100.

Fox News’ Victoria Balara contributed to this report.

Russell Westbrook retires after 18 wild NBA seasons, leaving behind one of basketball's craziest careers

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 17:55:07 -0400

The NBA’s human battering ram just called it a career.

Russell Westbrook made it official Wednesday, walking away after 18 seasons of anger-fueled basketball.

The 37-year-old broke the news with a farewell video on X narrated by actor Michael B. Jordan, punctuated by an ice-cold caption: "Sometimes you don't even know when you've already watched the end. You had to be there. And now it's over."

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In today's load-managed NBA, Russ was a violent throwback. He attacked the rim like it owed him money and played every possession with the urgency of a man trying to run through a brick wall.

No coasting. Just 100% Westbrook, every damn night. You can hate the jumper, the turnovers and the chaos. Good luck arguing with the résumé.

Westbrook walks away as the undisputed Triple-Double King with 209, blowing past Oscar Robertson's once-unthinkable record of 181. And that's hardly the whole trophy case: nine All-Star appearances, nine All-NBA selections, two scoring titles, the 2017 MVP and a spot on the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team.

Nothing captured the Brodie Experience quite like 2016-17. Kevin Durant skipped town for the Golden State juggernaut, Oklahoma City was left for dead and Russ responded by going completely nuclear. That season, Westbrook averaged 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists, becoming the first player since Oscar Robertson in 1962 to average a triple-double for an entire season. He won the MVP — then averaged a triple-double three more times.

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Was it always pretty? Not even close. Russ could brick a wild bank shot, cough up the ball in crunch time and make fans want to launch their remotes through the TV. But he never cheated you on effort.

His 18-year NBA odyssey stretched from Oklahoma City to Houston, Washington, both sides of L.A., Denver and finally Sacramento. And at 37, Russ still had something left in the tank, starting 58 of 64 games for the Kings while averaging 15.2 points and 6.7 assists.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, both Sacramento and Washington were asking him to sign on for another run. Russ said no thanks, choosing to shut the door on his own clock.

The Lakers years turned Russ into basketball's piñata. Every bad shot and turnover became fresh meat for debate TV as the LeBron-Anthony Davis-Westbrook experiment spectacularly combusted.

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Westbrook leaves the game 14th on the all-time scoring list (27,176 points) and fifth in assists (10,351), to go along with 9,025 rebounds and 2,038 steals.

Love the chaos or hate the field-goal percentage, you couldn't turn the channel when Russell Westbrook had the ball.

The league has plenty of stars. It just lost one of its last true psychos.

Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela

Raiders' No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza will get 'plenty of experience' in preseason debut Thursday

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 17:45:58 -0400

Preseason football are not always the most exciting games to watch, but Las Vegas Raiders fans will surely be tuned in Thursday night against the Arizona Cardinals.

Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 pick of the 2026 NFL Draft and the future at quarterback for the franchise, will take his first NFL snaps in a real game.

Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak said that Mendoza will be getting "plenty of experience in the game," as he also prepares for his first time leading the Raiders on the sideline.

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Kubiak, fresh off a Super Bowl victory with the Seattle Seahawks as their offensive coordinator, is looking to lead the Raiders back to playoff contenders in his first season. And though he named Kirk Cousins as their starting quarterback right now in training camp, Mendoza is someone he will need to develop into the franchise quarterback the organization believes he can be.

"Look forward to seeing him out there with his teammates," Kubiak said, according to Raiders.com. "Lot of guys that we need to evaluate but he'll get plenty of reps."

RAIDERS' FERNANDO MENDOZA SHARES TOM BRADY'S ADVICE AS HE BEGINS NFL CAREER

Cousins joined the team in free agency, and Kubiak always made it known that he preferred the veteran to lead the way first before Mendoza took over as the team’s starter.

That is the plan, but Mendoza will have a heavy spotlight on him during these preseason games to see how quickly he has learned Kubiak’s offense, as well as his chemistry with new teammates.

Starters are expected to play a couple series, though, which should mean Cousins is the first quarterback to step foot on the field for the Raiders. From there, Mendoza and Aidan O’Connell will take the reins at quarterback.

But just because Cousins has been named the starter, it doesn’t mean Kubiak can’t change his mind. Mendoza could play so well this preseason that Kubiak decides he is ready for regular-season NFL play.

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Time will tell, but Mendoza’s expectations are through the roof and fans will be looking for him to execute quickly, even if the games don’t count toward their 2026 record just yet.

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Hasan Piker cheers Mamdani aide going 'beast mode' with 'impoverish the White middle-class' remark

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 17:43:45 -0400

The socialist Twitch streamer who claimed America "deserved 9/11" heaped praise on an aide to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who previously professed hope of "impoverishing the White middle class."

Hasan Piker was in the middle of a long riff mocking liberal comic Bill Maher over his incredulity at various socialist platforms on his "Real Time" program when he responded to Maher’s criticism of Mamdani aide Cea Weaver.

"Mamdani’s top aide, Cea Weaver said, ‘If you don't believe in the government's sacred right to seize property, it's over’, and ‘impoverish the White middle class’," Maher said last week, before Piker interrupted the clip.

"You know you’re supposed to scare people into voting ‘for’ you, right," Maher quipped.

PIKER TELLS MAMDANI TO ‘SHUT THE F--- UP’ OVER CAUTIOUS MESSAGING, CLAIMS MAYOR NEEDS TO BE MORE 'BOLD'

Piker interjected that he "love[s Weaver] so much."

"Beast mode," he said. "One of the things I love about Zohran is that the people surrounding him are oftentimes … so much cooler than he is, but that's also part of the reason why I really respect what he's doing; she's awesome."

FLASHBACK: MAMDANI'S HISTORY OF DODGING QUESTIONS ABOUT WHERE HE STANDS ON KEY ISSUES

The phrase "beast mode," referencing total focus and brute power, was popularized in the 2010s by former Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch in an apolitical context.

Weaver, who is White, grew up in a wealthy neighborhood of Rochester and attended the School of the Arts in the upstate city, according to a profile in The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.

Mamdani's predecessor, Eric Adams, said Weaver's comments exuded "extreme privilege and total detachment from reality."

Meanwhile, Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed called Piker’s 2019 comments about the 9/11 terror attacks "dumb" in an interview Sunday with NBC but remains an ally of the far-left streamer.

Piker, who has appeared with his uncle Cenk Uygur on the progressive "Young Turks" program, has also appeared with other far-left candidates and figures, including Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., and Wisconsin State Assemblywoman Francesca Hong, D-Maple Bluff, who narrowly lost the Democratic nomination for governor Tuesday.

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Piker continued his attacks on Maher, including Maher's comments to Vice President JD Vance that his vote could be up for grabs in 2028 if Democrats align themselves with socialists.

At one point, Maher criticized Piker, saying the far left’s "most popular influencer … thinks communism is so groovy, he laments the fall of two of the most murderous regimes in history."

Piker responded by saying Maher’s ensuing mention of the USSR is a "bastardization of my quote" and disputed the comic's contention that the China of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping has ever actually "fallen." Mao died in 1976, and Deng soon emerged as China's de facto leader, holding several official roles through 1990 before his death in 1997.

Piker disputed Maher's suggestion that the China of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping had similarly "fallen." Mao died in 1976, after which Deng emerged as China's paramount leader and oversaw sweeping reforms through 1990.

MARK HALPERIN CALLS HASAN PIKER A 'HORRIBLE PERSON' AS DEMOCRATS FACE PRESSURE TO DISTANCE FROM STREAMER

"The fall of the USSR was one of the great catastrophes of the 20th century. Mao Zedong is one of the great leaders of this world. Both are true. Both are objectively true statements," Piker said, calling Maher "smug" and suggesting he "read a book."

Piker then defended his comments about the USSR by saying Russian President Vladimir Putin — "certainly no Communist" — agrees with him.

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Putin, an ex-Soviet KGB agent, said in 2005 the 1991 collapse of the USSR was the "greatest geopolitical catastrophe" in history.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Weaver through Mamdani’s office and to Maher through Warner Bros. Discovery for comment.

Paris Jackson says dad Michael’s unusual rule helped protect her childhood

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 17:36:20 -0400

Behind the glitz of Michael Jackson’s larger-than-life world, Paris Jackson said her father enforced a strict rule to protect his children’s sense of normalcy.

The late King of Pop kept a tight rein on his children despite their unusual upbringing. Jackson recalled her father requiring them to finish their homework and chores before earning weekend fun, limiting television and movies and having them wear masks in public to shield their identities from the intense spotlight surrounding his fame.

"The cool, like very congruent line throughout my childhood that kind of started there and then just continued on wherever we went was, if you're good, and you do your chores, and you do your homework, and you do the things that you're supposed to do. Then on the weekends you can go see some animals, and you can go ride some rides, and you can go to the movies," she told "Call Her Daddy" host Alexandra Cooper.

VICTORIA BECKHAM REVEALS STRICT NO-PHONES RULE AT FAMILY DINNER KEEPS HER KIDS GROUNDED

"It was made very, very clear that all of the attractions [at Neverland] were not for us," she added. "That it did not belong to us. That was for, you know, underprivileged children and children that were terminally ill that couldn't go to like Disneyland."

Paris said the rule remained in place as the family moved frequently and rarely stayed anywhere for more than a year.

"If we were living in Vegas, and it's like, 'OK, if you're good you can go to Circus Circus on the weekends.' Or like we were in like some random place in Virginia. Like, 'OK, if you're good you can go to Chuck E. Cheese this weekend,'" she recalled.

Michael’s rules extended to television. Paris said his children could watch movies or TV after completing their responsibilities, with an exception of studying film without sound.

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Michael also took steps to protect his children from the spotlight, having them wear masks in public so they could go unnoticed.

"I mean it just, it made sense because it was like, 'Oh yeah, if you do this now, then you can go to Chuck E. Cheese and be normal this weekend 'cause no one will know who you are,'" the "Wilted" singer recalled. "Like that made sense to me."

The masks helped Paris maintain some anonymity, but she still understood that her father was famous. What she didn’t grasp was the sheer magnitude of his celebrity.

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"I just didn't know how famous ... There was definitely part of me that, like when I looked out my hotel window, and it was one of the times where like the alias didn't work and there's just like a sea of people with signs and stuff – I'm not so naive to think, yeah, everyone experiences this, you know?" Paris admitted. "I just didn't understand the lengths."

Jackson, the only daughter of late pop superstar and Debbie Rowe, built an entertainment career through modeling, acting and music.

After making highly publicized appearances with her family following Michael Jackson's 2009 death, she pursued modeling and landed acting roles before signing with Republic Records and releasing her debut album, Wilted, in 2020.

She has two brothers, Prince Jackson and Bigi Jackson.

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Sophie Cunningham vs DiJonai Carrington: How two ex-football players collided in the 'privilege' debate

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 17:30:51 -0400

It was one dreaded moment after another for the WNBA.

Months of conflict came to a breaking point Saturday when DiJonai Carrington struck Sophie Cunningham in the face. A scuffle ensued, Carrington was ejected and then came the social media post that lit the internet on fire.

"White privilege."

DIJONAI CARRINGTON DECLARES 'WHITE PRIVILEGE' AFTER EJECTION FOR SMACKING SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM IN THE FACE

And just like that, the WNBA discourse was about race again. Not just sex, as it had been for weeks.

The hit was a product of two different players from two different worlds, but with novel similarities.

Cunningham and Carrington both played football, but in very different settings

The WNBA's infamous hit just so happened to involve two former football players that played against boys.

Carrington played two years of flag football and then two years of tackle during her elementary school years. She wanted to play because her brother and sister played it too.

Growing up in San Diego, Carrington's father Darren Carrington played for five different NFL teams, but they called San Diego home.

Her father's career earnings are not known, but based on the averages of NFL salaries at the time, he likely made multiple millions of dollars across his eight-year career. DiJonai attended the private Horizon Christian Academy, where her mother was her basketball coach coach.

On the first day of 2015, DiJonai penned an essay that was published in ESPN.com about flying out to California to watch her brother, Darren Jr., play in the Rose Bowl.

Meanwhile, Cunningham went to public high school in Columbia, Missouri. But she attended a private Catholic school during her younger years.

Cunningham played football at Rock Bridge High School with grown boys, but didn't do any tackling like Carrington did in elementary school.

Cunningham was a placekicker, and was protected from any plays that involved tackling, but she still made school history as the first girl to score varsity points.

She grew up on a 2,500 acre farm, and once suggested she came from a "blue-collar" background.

"I would never speak down upon middle class, blue-collar working people. That's where I come from," Cunningham said last July, in an apology for criticizing the selection of Cleveland as a WNBA expansion city.

Her maternal family operated a large farm while her father worked as a building contractor, but things changed for the Cunningham family in 2008.

Cunningham revealed in a July interview on the "Sons and Daughters" podcast, that the 2008 financial crisis impacted her family.

"We were raised in a really good family who gave us more than what we could think of. But that doesn't mean that we didn't have hard times. Our dad was a contractor in the 2008 Economic [crisis], all that stuff that hit our family very hard. And when I say very hard, very very hard," she said.

"And so people look at me and it's really easy to be like 'Oh, she had everything' or 'She did whatever.' It's like, no, we went through some hard times as a family. But honestly, looking back, those were our most fun times. Like we were in a smaller house. We were together 24/7. There were no extra rooms to go to. Some people could be embarrassed by that, but I take great pride like 'Hey, our family isn't built on fluff and all the shiny and crazy things. We have a real family that when hard times hit, they're going to show you even more love than you knew existed."

Cunningham stayed close to home for college, Carrington went on a journey

Both were nationally ranked recruits. Both became McDonald's All-Americans. Both played AAU basketball, which put them in front of college coaches beyond their hometowns.

But Cunningham's recruitment was practically over before she entered high school.

After eighth grade, Cunningham joined the Missouri Eclipse on the AAU circuit. Missouri coach Robin Pingeton began recruiting both Sophie and her older sister Lindsey, eventually offering each a full scholarship.

The sisters committed to Missouri, even as Cunningham's reputation grew and other coaches continued calling.

The decision kept her close to home, but it also continued a family tradition. Her mother, father, aunt, uncle and grandfather had all competed for Missouri.

And Sophie immediately became the face of the program.

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In her fourth college game, she scored a school-record 42 points against Wake Forest. She was named SEC Freshman of the Year and helped Missouri reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a decade.

The Tigers made the tournament in all four of her seasons.

By the end of her career, Cunningham was a three-time First-Team All-SEC selection and a Third-Team All-American. She finished as Missouri's all-time leading scorer with 2,187 points and also set the school record for free throws made.

Carrington took a longer winding road through college.

Two ACL surgeries limited her to two and a half seasons of high school basketball. But she still scored more than 2,000 points, played for Cal Sparks Gold on the club circuit and became a five-star recruit.

She first committed to Stanford, the famed elite university on the West Coast.

Carrington came off the bench as a freshman for a team that reached the Final Four and won the Pac-12 Tournament. Two years later, she became a full-time starter and averaged 14 points and 7.5 rebounds.

She was named All-Pac-12 and helped Stanford win another conference tournament title before reaching the Elite Eight.

Then her knee interrupted her career again.

Carrington played just five games during her senior season before another injury forced her out. She still graduated from Stanford with two undergraduate degrees, one in psychology and another in African and African American studies.

She also received a medical hardship waiver, giving her another year of eligibility.

So while Cunningham spent her entire college career in the city where she was raised, Carrington entered the transfer portal and started another recruiting process during the COVID-19 shutdown.

Carrington ended up going to Baylor, and started only one game there. But she became the team's second-leading scorer with 14.1 points per game. She was named both the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and Sixth Player of the Year.

Baylor won the Big 12 regular-season and tournament championships before losing to UConn by two points in the Elite Eight.

Cunningham and Carrington have since become symbols for two different sides of the WNBA

Both players entered the WNBA as second-round picks.

Cunningham went 13th overall (first pick of the second round) to the Phoenix Mercury in 2019. Carrington went 20th (eighth pick of the second round) to the Connecticut Sun two years later in 2021.

Cunningham spent six seasons in Phoenix, where she developed the "Spicy Sophie" nickname and a reputation for playing with emotion. She was a shooter, an agitator and a willing participant in almost any confrontation.

Carrington spent four seasons in Connecticut and built a similar reputation from the defensive side of the ball.

She went from a reserve to one of the league's most disruptive perimeter defenders. In 2024, Carrington was named the WNBA's Most Improved Player and made the All-Defensive First Team.

But their reputations eventually became bigger than their performances.

Cunningham was traded to Indiana before the 2025 season, placing her alongside Caitlin Clark and in front of the largest audience in the league.

Her popularity exploded in June when she committed a hard foul on Connecticut's Jacy Sheldon after Sheldon made contact with Clark's eye. Cunningham was ejected, but many Fever fans celebrated the foul as an act of protection.

Then came Cunningham's label: "The Enforcer."

Cunningham leaned into her bold personality through fashion, social media and a podcast she launched with longtime friend and reality television personality West Wilson.

Her romantic life, however, has remained mostly private.

Cunningham has not publicly identified a current partner. On her podcast, she said she has only dated older men and discussed wanting to eventually get married and have children.

"I want to get married and I want to have a family," Cunningham said in October.

Carrington's relationship was much more public.

She began dating NaLyssa Smith after the two played together at Baylor. Their on-and-off relationship continued after both entered the WNBA, with fans following the couple through social media posts, vacations and courtside appearances.

Carrington resisted putting a label on her sexuality.

"I'm not gay, I just like Lyss," she said in 2025.

Their careers brought them together again in Dallas in 2025, when Carrington was traded to the Wings and Smith arrived from Indiana.

It lasted only a few months.

Dallas traded Smith to Las Vegas in June, leaving Smith "sick to my stomach" about being unexpectedly separated from Carrington, according to a social media post she made after the deal.

Carrington was later traded to Minnesota in August 2025. But by November, the relationship was over.

Carrington initially said the two remained on good terms but had grown in different directions. Then, in July 2026, she publicly accused Smith of cheating on her with other WNBA players.

Smith questioned why Carrington brought the allegations forward after their breakup and disputed Carrington's portrayal of the surrounding events, but did not directly confirm or deny the accusation.

One of the WNBA's most visible romances had become part of the league's public drama.

The two players also became political symbols.

Carrington has repeatedly spoken about racial justice, gender equality and the treatment of Black women. She has connected that advocacy to the African and African American studies education she received at Stanford.

"I'll never back down from a conversation or from standing up for what I know is right," Carrington said in 2025.

That outspokenness made her popular with some WNBA fans and a villain to others.

During the 2024 playoffs, Carrington accidentally struck Clark near the eye while attempting to block a pass. Clark said she did not believe it was intentional, but Carrington still received racist messages, sexual threats and death threats.

Cunningham became a political figure from the opposite direction.

In 2026, she voiced support for excluding transgender girls and women from female sports. The comments attracted praise from conservative figures and protests outside Fever games.

Cunningham said she would not hide her beliefs simply because others disagreed.

The controversy transformed her from a popular role player into one of the most polarizing athletes in the league.

Meanwhile, Carrington signed with Chicago while recovering from her foot injury. She returned to the court in late July 2026 after missing the first half of the season.

Cunningham returned to Indiana after recovering from the knee injury that ended her 2025 season.

By the time the two collided on Aug. 8, neither was viewed as just another WNBA player.

Cunningham was the white, heterosexual, Christian enforcer who had become a conservative symbol.

Carrington was the Black activist and former half of one of the league's most visible same-sex relationships.

So when Carrington hit Cunningham, the public did not see only a foul.

It saw everything the two women had come to represent.

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And when Carrington made her "White privilege" post, it cemented the whole thing as a potential defining moment in WNBA history, or at least this current volatile chapter.

Carrington later insisted her post was not about the officials’ decision. "I never once claimed that the assessment of the foul was white privilege," she wrote Monday. She said "I would never use that term as a rhetorical weapon knowing the historical and social weight it holds without having the proper evidence to substantiate it."

Still, she's remained vague about what she meant.

JCB Hydromax shatters a world record with ‘extraordinary’ speeds topping 400 mph in hydrogen-powered car

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 17:27:20 -0400

There is fast, and then there is what JCB Hydromax achieved with its hydrogen-powered car Tuesday.

The twin-engined, 32-foot car completed two runs at the Bonneville Salt Flats, recording an average speed of 400.623 mph in its first run, and going 412.135 mph on its second run.

The average speed of 406.320 mph set the world land speed record and is the fastest a hydrogen-powered internal combustion car has ever traveled, shattering the previous mark of 185.5 mph set by the BMW H2R in 2004.

The record is subject to official confirmation by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA).

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Wing Commander Andy Green, who drove the car, called the record an "extraordinary" engineering achievement.

"This is the first of a new breed. They have created a new class at Bonneville Speed Week for hydrogen racing, the internal combustion engine. And it's not only a new class, but it's also blown every other hydrogen car out of the water with this record," Green told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.

Green said the process to get a car up to 400 mph normally takes about three to five years. JCB Hydromax had its first design meeting just over a year ago.

"JCB, by comparison, just over a year ago, sat down for their first design meeting with their project team to work out how they were going to do this," Green said.

"They had nine months to design and manufacture components. They built the car in five weeks, tested it for three weeks in the U.K. and then came straight to Bonneville with the aim of setting a record on their first visit in a brand new car using new technology, which these hydrogen engines they're running.

"They were running them at a perfect fuel ratio, which no one had ever built for a hydrogen engine. This is unique technology."

Green said the professionals who do this year in and year out thought it would take a few visits over five or six years to achieve the feat.

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"Instead of five or six years, they did it in five or six days," Green said.

The esteemed driver praised the team’s work in putting it together considering the process of achieving 400 mph is an arduous one.

Engine development presented plenty of problems for the engineers to work around, including being 6,000 to 7,000 feet above sea level and dealing with temperatures of 100 to 105 degrees at the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Packaging such a high-energy engine output in a small space also creates cooling problems. To combat that, the car was equipped with about 400 pounds of ice and water to cool not only the engines but also the air being sucked in and turbocharged.

The hydrogen engines cannot run with hot air, because, with hot air, the hydrogen "will go bang straight away."

"It’s a small angry molecule that loves to burn," Green said.

However, if the water seeps into the crevices of the engine and mixes with the engine oil, it will destroy the bearings and the engine in just a few seconds.

To counteract that, the oil needs to be heated so that when the water inevitably hits it, the water will boil and evaporate right away. Yet, the oil can’t be so hot that it is overheated.

After about a week of testing, it was determined the oil needed to be heated to about 180 degrees Fahrenheit.

Just as important as hitting top speed is making sure the car stops safely. The parachute system is paramount to slowing the car safely and is unique to the car. It plays a massive role in slowing down a 5,500-pound car going 400 mph.

After ensuring everything was correct, Green said the team got the exact result it was looking for.

"All of those things came together. Today, we went away from Wendover towards Salt Lake City," Green said. "It had done an average through the measured mile of 400 miles an hour. It's exactly what we were aiming for as a minimum. Then did the full turnaround."

After doing a full body check and replacing the tires because they get exceptionally hot at those speeds, the team felt confident about pushing the car a little further because everything went so well on the first run.

"This is the most power we've ever run, the most speed we've ever run. Eased up another 20 mph. We got, I think it was 412 miles an hour the other way. An average, which,subject to confirmation, is a new world record for a hydrogen car, 406 mph. Absolutely amazing achievement," Green said.

The time it took to complete the measured mile was just under nine seconds. The track is 105 feet wide, and Green said he was gently steering the "beast" of a car down the track.

"You can do 70 to 80 miles an hour on the interstate. So, it's five or six times faster than that. It's fast. It has the weird effect that the track is 105 feet wide, and there's marker boards a quarter mile down each side. So, the marker boards as you're looking in the distance at the marker boards, and they come to get at you about a second away or two seconds away. But as you accelerate, you need to look further and further and further in the distance," Green said.

"The marker boards that you're looking at now are much, much closer together and coming at you much faster. It actually makes the track look narrower and narrower and narrower as you go faster. It's quite a weird visual effect, but it's very powerful."

On the second run, Green was more concerned about slowing down the car because the faster it went, the longer it took to stop.

"And, on both occasions, the car stopped right there into the track exactly as we planned," Green said.

For Green, going fast is common. He discovered the world of driving at supersonic speeds through a press release, and his day job gave him the perfect background for it.

"I've been lucky enough to have as a career working in the military as a jet fighter pilot in the U.K., in the Royal Air Force. So, world's best day job flying jet fighters," Green said.

"I don't pretend to be Tom Cruise. Tom Cruise pretends to be me. It's that kind of job. It's one of those, ‘Do they really pay me to do this?’ It's fantastic."

So, when Green saw a press launch for a new project for the land-speed record, he thought with his background he’d be perfect for the task.

"(In) college, I did math, that was very much my thing, so I'm very much into the science of how these things work. And then, since then, I've been flying supersonic vehicles, and I look at this, and that's not really a racing driver's job. Not at those speeds, that's more, ‘Where are you going to get somebody that is qualified to understand and drive a supersonic vehicle powered by jet engines?’ That would be my day job," Green said.

"The more I looked at it, the more fascinating a technical challenge it became to work out how we were going to do this."

In 1997, Green set the world land-speed record, reaching 763.035 mph, and became the first and only person to break the sound barrier on land. The record still stands today.

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What makes Green excited is that today’s technology is the beginning of a new era in motorsport.

"It's actually showcasing the genuine zero-carbon technology of the future," Green said.

"This is, you know, you can make hydrogen from sunlight and water, put it in a race car and do 400 miles an hour. That's an exciting future for motorsport."

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