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Copyright Information Website ©2025 Nebraska Rural Radio Association | All rights reserved. | Website developed by Hollman Media you will be automatically redirected here whenever you go to https://ruralradio.com you can click the "Clear home" link in the footer of the site Communist China is our greatest external threat Our $36 trillion national debt is our greatest domestic threat I’ve focused on both of those issues on behalf of Nebraskans.  We discussed ways to push back on Communist China’s aggression Xi Jinping has said he wants to be the world’s dominating power by 2049 Communist China’s dramatic military buildup and increasingly provocative actions are designed to force everyone to bend to its will it took over an island in the West Philippine Sea They manipulate or disregard rules to gain advantages that risk our security That threatens our security and threatens the security of many of our allies and partners Another focus of my trip was expanding trade opportunities for American producers There is a lot of interest in signing new trade deals Taiwanese Vice President Hsiao expressed an interest in buying more of our soybeans instead of from Brazil Others expressed interest in buying more of our natural gas They know Communist China is a bad trading partner Last week, I also held public events in the Western I gave an update on how I’m fighting to control our spending I shared how I’m working with President Trump to secure the southern border I also heard feedback and answered questions directly from Nebraskans These conversations help me stay connected to the priorities and values of my constituents.  I spoke to the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce I gave a legislative update and answered questions about taxes I partnered with Nebraska Farm Bureau to call for making the Trump tax cuts permanent Americans would see a $4 trillion tax increase The child tax credit will be cut by $1,000 The standard deduction will be cut in half A family of four making $80,000 would pay $1,700 more in taxes. And the deduction for the Death Tax would also be cut in half putting our Nebraska family farms and ranches at risk Farmers and ranchers would face higher taxes when trying to pass on the family operation. I want to see Nebraskans’ taxes cut I held several important roundtable meetings I heard directly from local Chambers of Commerce They shared some innovative strategies for economic development and revitalization which is attracting events from all over the region They shared with me the challenges facing rural communities Nebraska’s farmers and ranchers feed the world I’m committed to passing a comprehensive farm bill that delivers the tools they need to succeed.  I took part in a cattle branding in Sioux County Branding is a part of the western way of life honest work that brings families and communities together Nebraska is the Beef State because of the grit demonstrated every day by our ranchers I’ll always advocate for Nebraska agriculture.  Nebraskans expect leaders who travel the state My public events are opportunities to hear from Nebraskans My team and I will also continue hosting Mobile Office Hours in all 93 counties And I’ll continue fighting every day to make sure Nebraskans’ voices are heard in Washington The five-month fellowship wraps up in May and all four fellows are ready to take the next step toward commercialization — whether that be pursuing external funding or beginning the patent process program coordinator for Nebraska Innovation Studio robotics said this first iteration of the fellowship program exceeded expectations.  “When you’re doing something completely new like this there is a hold-your-breath moment of hoping that it takes off,” Strope said and what the fellows have achieved in such a short amount of time is astonishing.” now a surgical robotics engineer with Virtual Incision started the fellowship with an idea he explored in a master’s degree project several years ago That idea blossomed into an automated trocar placement device to enhance the safety and precision of laparoscopic and robotic abdominal surgeries With the product developed during the fellowship “I didn’t have a prototype or anything when I started,” Reynolds said and my goal at the end of this program is to have a fully functioning device that we can test.” a doctoral candidate in biological systems engineering applied to the program wanting to take a design from the pages of his doctoral thesis to a working mechanical weed control system artificial intelligence and a tilling mechanism to target and remove weeds from agricultural fields With a prototype nearly finished and through the mentorship offered in the program he is thinking bigger and may pursue commercialization we got to talk to a lot of people and entrepreneurs and I feel like this is a very good opportunity where I can take this and maybe have a business of my own,” Balabantaray said thing I got from this program were the connections.” and having mentors through this program and getting that network and roots planted here has been really beneficial,” he said Balabantaray did not think he would have developed a prototype The extended access to Nebraska Innovation Studio helped solve that problem for Balabantaray and for Brooke Bode “What I really liked about the program is that I got extended access to the studio,” said Bode a senior mechanical engineering major from Hershey “I get the chance to come in here when it’s not technically open and work on things and ask a lot of questions One of the biggest things I’ve gained is the ability to ask questions with no barriers I previously had a membership to work on this project but I made very little progress because I was scared to ask questions.” Bode was able to redesign and fine-tune her prototype for the Cattle Kettle Monitor a product she is developing to automate water management for cattle producers.  “The original prototype worked really well for about three weeks who is also a University Honors and Raikes School student “Cattle are probably the most difficult customer that I will ever have to work with because if you cross an elephant with a toddler They’re just really curious and big.” The extra time — and the allocation of $2,500 in monetary resources for supplies — was also beneficial for Teresa Monsees a senior mechanical engineering major from Harrisburg Having a deaf family member inspired her to take flash card sketches into the future with an interactive robotic toy that could help deaf children and their family members learn sign language.  “It’s really hard to find toys specifically for deaf children and I’ve had this idea for about a year,” Monsees said I didn’t have the means or the time to work on it.” Monsees was able to 3D print and wire a robotic hand that will be able to sign the alphabet in American Sign Language when the programming is finished.  “The end goal is to have a small doll that will be able to sign along with kids as they read to them I want to have a minimum viable product — something I can show to people to say “Signing incorporates pacing and even facial expression and lots of movement When you’re looking at static imagery on cards it’s really hard to grasp how to do the whole sign.” Northeast Community College and Metro Community College to expand training research and implementation of robotics and grow Nebraska’s economy Strope said they are seeking financial support from various partners to establish funding for future cohorts with a goal of offering the program each fall and spring semester and the impact has been incredible,” Strope said “We’ve received really positive feedback from everyone I can’t wait to see where things go from here.” MCCOOK – The Western Nebraska Community College softball team is two wins away from claiming a Region IX title after splitting a pair of games at the Region IX tournament on Saturday WNCC dropped a winner’s bracket contest in a thrilling contest to McCook Community College 2-1 in eight innings That pushed the team to a elimination game later that night and the Cougars took care of Otero College 11-3 WNCC will now face McCook on championship Sunday and will need to beat the Indians twice to punch their ticket to the NJCAA national tournament that will be played May 19-24 in Yuma the two teams will play for the title at 1:30 p.m The first game of the day against McCook was a barnburner as both defenses were stellar Both teams scored a run in the third innings and the other six regulation innings were scoreless WNCC had base runners in the first and second innings but couldn’t get the big hit to score the runners Randi Mitchell got a single followed by Tina Horton getting a line drive Mitchell scored the first run of the game on a Kallie Stocking single McCook came back to score once in the third on two singles and a sacrifice fly for the 1-1 game The eighth inning saw the international tie-breaker put into place McCook loaded the bases with one out and Rocio Mascorro singled in Laila Gutierrez with the winning run WNCC finished with six hits in the contest going the complete game in scattering eight hits with just two runs and striking out five The elimination game with Otero was all WNCC from the start The Cougars plated a single run in the first as Kallie Stocking had a 2-out double and scored on an Adi Duke single for the 1-0 lead The Cougars added four more in the second frame with all the runs coming with two outs JoLee Huffaker and Sierra Hilgner each earned walks and both scored on a 2-out double by Randi Mitchell Mitchell came in to score to make it 4-0 on a Horton hit Horton scored to make it 5-0 on a Stocking single Otero battled back with three in the bottom of the second to make it a 5-3 contest WNCC answered in the third with three runs to go up 8-3 Huffaker led off by reaching on an error and scored on the next batter as Tori Travers ripped a run-scoring double Travers later scored to make it 7-3 and Alyssa Albaugh scored on a wild pitch to make it 8-3 WNCC added two runs in the sixth as Mykah Klumpp got a 2-out double followed by Huffaker earning a walk Klumpp scored on a Travers single and then Hilgner scored Huffaker with a single to make it 10-3 The final run came in the seventh as Mitchell had a double followed by Horton reaching on an error Duke followed by scoring Mitchell with a sacrifice fly for the final run Four players had two hits each with Mitchell WNCC ripped off five doubles in the win with Mitchell getting two Mitchell also had two RBIs and two runs scored going all seven innings in scattering four hits Sunday’s championship game will be between two teams that have faced each other a number of times in the title game McCook won their only Region IX title in 2022 while the Cougars have seven Region IX titles to their credit the first in 2008 and the last one in 2019 This will be the two teams’ third time meeting for a Region IX title The first time was in 2015 when the Cougars defeated McCook 10-1 at the tournament in Sterling The last time was 2019 when WNCC defeated the Indians 14-5 in the championship game at Volunteer Field Game 1WNCC                   001 000 00 – 1 6 0McCook               001 000 01 – 2 8 1LP – Kayli Cooper.2B – Tina Horton Game 2WNCC                   143 002 1 – 11 11 3Otero                    030 000 0 – 3 4 5WP – Kayli Cooper.2B – Randi Mitchell 2 The Western Nebraska Community College baseball needed two wins Friday to lock up the second seed for the Region IX tournament next weekend the two teams split contests at Cleveland Field which sets up Saturday’s regular season final between the two teams as pivotal with the winner claiming the second seed for regionals while the loser will get the third seed The first and second seeds will get a first-round bye in the regional tournament while the next four teams will have to play a first-round playoff game in the regional tournament that begins Thursday in Pueblo Saturday’s 9-inning contest will begin at 5:30 p.m Friday’s contest went WNCC way in the opener as the Cougars registered a 7-3 win and only trailed once in the contest The first game saw NJC start fast as they got one run in the first inning with two outs WNCC stayed composed and retied the game with a run in the second when Ren Sato reached on an error and scored on a Will Harbison single The Cougars went up 4-1 with three in the third as Calab Caciari walked and Vaughn Wilson followed with a double Jin Kobayakawa followed as he delivered a 3-run home run for his parents who flew in from Japan to watch the freshman play NJC followed with a run in the fourth to make it 4-2 The lead stayed that way until the sixth when the Cougars added three more runs Harbison got things going with a single followed by Kensei Oikawa earning a walk Caciari followed with a 2-run double to make it 6-2 NJC got one back in the seventh on a home run WNCC finished with nine hits in the contest Wilson and Harbison led the way with three hits each Kobayakawa had two hits with a home run and three RBIs going five innings in scattering five hits Zane Hendrickx tossed the sixth in striking out two and then Alex Renfrow picked up the save The second game saw the Cougars manage six hits and couldn’t get the base hit when needed to score the runners when they got on the NJC defense was making plays to thwart WNCC’s scoring changes NJC pitcher Tony Slizowski went the distance in scattering six hits and striking out seven WNCC starting pitcher Rocco Harmon went six strong innings in allowing just two runs while allowing six hits WNCC fell behind 2-0 after NJC plated single runs in the second and third innings WNCC had a golden opportunity to score first in the first inning as they got the first two batters aboard after Caciari and Wilson each singled WNCC had another opportunity to score in the fifth when Kyler Adams was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and then Caciari singled with one out but an inning-ending double play got NJC out of the jam NJC plated three insurance runs in the seventh to make it 5-0 WNCC tried to mount a comeback in the seventh as Catcher Gladysh and Ren Sato each had singles Caciari led the offense with two of the team’s six hits Game 1NJC                       100 100 1 – 3 8 0WNCC                013 003 x – 7 9 0WP – Julian Garza; S – Alex Renfrow.2B – Calab Caciara Will Harbison.3B – Vaughn Wilson.HR – Jin Kobayakawa Game 2NJC                       011 000 3 – 5 10 1WNCC                000 000 0 – 0 6 2LP – Rocco Harmon MCCOOK – The Western Nebraska Community College softball team opened the Region IX tournament in McCook with an 11-5 win over No will face McCook Community College in the winner’s bracket final at 1:30 p.m The winner of that game advances to the championship game slated for 11 a.m McCook defeated Trinidad State 10-3 on Friday in the other first-round game Trinidad and Otero will play an elimination game Saturday morning The winner of that game will then play another elimination game against the loser of the WNCC/McCook contest Saturday evening with the winner of that game going to the championship on Sunday Friday’s win was one where the Cougars took control early with three runs in the first inning after Lydia Tibbals blasted a 3-0 home run The Cougars went up 9-0 with a 6-run third inning JoLee Huffaker had a double and Mykah Klumpp earned a walk Randi Mitchell singled to score two more runs Albaugh made it 8-0 after tagging up on a sacrifice fly and Mitchell closed out the scoring Otero came back with two in the fourth to make it 9-2 WNCC responded with one in the fifth when Tina Horton double in Mitchell The Rattlers plated three in the fifth to slice the deficit in half at 10-5 Huffaker led off with a triple and scored on a Klumpp sacrifice fly WNCC then got the Otero hitters to go 1-2-3 in the final inning as starting pitcher Kayli Cooper got the last batter to strikeout It was Cooper’s seventh strikeout of the game Cooper scattered eight hits in the contest and walked just one Huffaker led the way with a 3-for-3 ocntest with two runs scored with a double and triple Mitchell had a double with two runs scored and two RBIS while Tibbals had a home run with three RBIs and two runs scored The win moves the Cougars to 26-23 on the season WNCC                306 011 0 – 11 11 2Otero                   000 230 0 – 5 5 4WP – Kayli Cooper.2B – Randi Mitchell JoLee Huffaker.3B – JoLee Huffaker.HR – Lydia Tibbals SCOTTSBLUFF- The Scottsbluff boys golf team shot a combined 44 over par to finish four strokes ahead of Gering at Scotts Bluff Country Club Friday The Bearcats were paced by Noah Shaddick and Gavin Carrizales who each shot 81 While Tyce Spady (83) and Dagan Cranmore (87) rounded out the four best scores for Scottsbluff who finished third overall on the day while the team finished second Deakon Tuttle (88) and Reece Knight/Kelen Dunn (89) rounded out the team score for Gering HERE ARE THE FULL RESULTS FROM FRIDAY GALLERY (IMAGES AVAILABLE FOR SALE AT: https://tharimon.picfair.com/) Wyoming State-backed grant funding to aid in landscape-scale wildfire restoration and recovery efforts is nearing deployment will deliver nearly $50 million in legislatively-allocated funds for on-the-ground projects to prevent the spread of invasive annual grasses and restore resilient grass and rangelands The support for the wildfire restoration grants came through Senate Enrolled Act 62 which appropriated $49,479,564 to the Wyoming Wildlife Natural Resources Trust (WWNRT) account The funds were authorized to provide grants to conservation districts and the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission for projects that directly address restoration of habitats on both state and private lands Funded projects must be habitat restoration-focused related to wildfire response – no funding may be used for equipment or structures.  and recovery must be approached thoughtfully and in concert with private landowners,” Governor Gordon said “I thank the Legislature for recognizing this need and for putting resources behind a grant program that can enable land managers to get to work on rehabilitation efforts quickly.” WWNRT solicited grant applications beginning in mid-March from eligible entities Applications were discussed regionally with meetings held in Wheatland Gillette and Buffalo that included project proponents; state agency and Governor’ office representatives; and legislators.  “Our grasses and natural resources are the underpinning of nearly all our state’s economic drivers Time is of the essence – we cannot wait for these restoration projects and we do not want to see a loss of habitat from lack of effort We have an opportunity to treat those areas impacted by wildfire today to circumvent a less than desirable future,” Bob Budd a multi-agency committee will convene to review proposals and make final award recommendations Announcements are projected for mid-May.  Grant funding for wildfire recovery was one of the Governor’s top priorities during the 68th Legislature the Legislature also made available a loan program through Senate Enrolled Act 62 Under the State Loans and Investment Board $100 million is available for state and private land for habitat restoration other private facilities and infrastructure damaged by fire and other natural disasters.  Catch those stories and more-right now on KNEB.tv News: at the Morrill County Hospital in Bridgeport Her Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30am on Friday at All Souls Catholic Church in Bridgeport with Fr A Rosary will be recited at 9:30am preceding the service Online condolences may be made by viewing Kathleen’s memorial page at www.bridgmanfuneralhome.com My mom was a warrior born and raised in Red Willow County They tell me she was a free-spirit who rode on the back of a motorcycle broke wild horses and shot blue rocks for sport she was drawn to the bright lights of the big city and got her degree in Nursing from Creighton University in Omaha inspiring person to have as the perfect role model for our journey to adulthood she was guiding us through life by sharing her knowledge and experience She taught us how to endure difficult times and overcome any obstacles that stood in our way She was an accomplished horsewoman who had the astonishing ability to communicate with all species of animals and birds botanical garden that rivaled anything hung in Babylon When grandchildren came into the fold her attention was diverted to spoiling those kids especially at Christmas when family time became a precious gift in itself before any presents were allowed to be opened She reveled in retirement and traveling to exotic locales was a dream fulfilled Her favorite adventure had to be exploring the jungles of Panama where she marveled at the wildlife and fascinating culture her physical health began to decline but her mental powers were as super as ever ancient history and other mysteries of the universe through intensive study and note taking As I sit here at the old homestead writing these final words The peacocks have gathered around the porch waiting for her to come back and talk to them My mom has flown to Paradise for all eternity MORRILL- The Hemingford boys and girls track teams both finished well ahead of the field to bring home both Panhandle Athletic Conference titles Friday The lady Bobcats racked up 157 points on the day and finished 60 points ahead of runner-ups Morrill Hemingford racked up five gold medals on the day The Bobcat boys also finished well ahead of the crowd with a team score of 246 Hemingford’s team tally put them 97 points ahead of runner-ups Hyannis 12 The Bobcats racked up a staggering 12 first place finishes in 17 possible events as they bring home the first place team finish GALLERY (images available for purchase here: https://tharimon.picfair.com/): 100m Hurdles – 33″ Varsity – Finals 300m Hurdles – 30″ Varsity – Finals Shot Put – 4kg Varsity – Finals 110m Hurdles – 39″ Varsity – Finals 300m Hurdles – 36″ Varsity – Finals Shot Put – 12lb Varsity – Finals Discus – 1.6kg Varsity – Finals Governor Jim Pillen has revised a burn ban to allow fire chiefs discretion in granting burn permits to irrigation districts so that they can continue to clear vegetation from ditches burning remains off limits in central and western Nebraska until midnight on May 10 Under the requirements of the new executive order Burning is still prohibited across a wide swath of the state to help mitigate risks associated with potential grassland fires Highway 81 from the South Dakota border to Highway 92 Highway 281 and runs south to the Kansas border Under no circumstances are burns to be authorized when the National Weather Service (NWS) issues a red flag warning MCCOOK – The Western Nebraska Community College softball team has won 14 of 16 games in the month of April as they get ready for the Region IX tournament that begins Friday in McCook and runs through Sunday with the championship game WNCC comes into the tournament with a 25-23 record and is the third seed in the tournament The Cougars will open tournament play Friday at 3:30 p.m WNCC head coach Courtney Medina said the key for the Cougars at regionals to bring home a regional title is to keep playing the way they have been “The key to this game (on Friday) and all the games is execution,” Medina said staying grounded and just focusing on doing the job that’s being asked.” What makes this an interesting tourney and any team is capable of winning Top seed McCook Community College opens the tournament when they face No 4 Trinidad State College at 12 noon on Friday Play continues Saturday with the championship game slated for Sunday at 11 a.m The winner qualifies for the national tournament in Yuma The last time WNCC won a regional title was in 2019 when they went 35-20 Medina said this team can win another title if they play Cougar ball “We need to keep playing Cougar softball and stay true to our culture,” she said “This group is very selfless and play their best softball when they’re competing and playing hard for each other WNCC is one of the hottest teams in the tournament having won 14 straight matches beginning with an 8-7 win over Otero on March 28 WNCC reeled off another 13 straight that included two wins each against Ft Hays Tech Northwest and Lamar Community College WNCC then swept NJC and Luna and won the first game against McCook 12-4 last weekend Medina has seen plenty of improvement of the team through the season WNCC was 4-10 through February and allowed three teams to score 10 or more runs during that stretch the Cougars have a streak of 19 straight games where they have held their opponent under 10 runs “They have improved tremendously since the beginning of the season in terms of playing and their ability to get well with each other,” Medina said “They have always been great people and awesome culture kids but now that they’ve been outside for a while it’s nice to see their softball ability really shine through That fun is having themes on road trips and the theme for the road trip to regionals was “wiggin’ out” That wiggin theme shows how close this team is and every player has come into a game and provided something at some key moment “We have a great culture and 1-19 are important to us and important to playing hard,” Medina said “It would mean a lot but we’re just trying to take care of playing good softball and not think about anything other than competing well and playing Cougar ball.” have one three straight and are 8-4 in April Otero won the series against WNCC 3-1 the end of March and 7-6 before the Cougars got the fourth game 8-7 WNCC has a team batting average of .345 while holding their opponents to .324 WNCC has scored 328 runs this season while allowing their opponents 269 The Cougars have 89 doubles this season while they have 19 triples and 14 home runs WNCC’s Tina Horton leads the team with 12 doubles followed by Randi Mitchell with 10 while Mykah Klumpp and Lydia Tibbals each has five home runs WNCC has four players hitting .400 or better on the season Faythe Lafirenza leads the team at .410 followed by JoLee Huffaker at .403 Randi Mitchell at .377 and Kallie Stocking at .359 The pitching has really been solid for the team as the team has a 4.63 team Kayli Cooper leads with a 3.29 ERA and 16-7 record while Kallie Stocking has a 4.42 ERA and Jenika Fuentes at 4.79 The Region IX tournament games can be watched online at the McCook website at www.mccindians.com/watchlive Alliance hosted their boys golf invite with Scottsbluff winning the team title and Kimball’s Kyler Lusche coming out on top on the individual leaderboard Lusche went out in 37 and then shot 39 on the back nine to finish with a round of 76 which was good for a two shot win over Scottsbluff’s Noah Shaddick Scottsbluff got the team title with combined round of 317 for a comfortable win Chadron was second with a 343 and Sidney finished in third place shooting 349 Two runners and one basketball player from Gering High School are set to give collegiate athletics a try as as three Bulldogs were featured at the signing table on Wednesday afternoon We’ll have the full feature on these three coming up on the Monday Just wanted to make sure we highlighted these three here today with a quote from all three on the big accomplishments Christopher Cross’ iconic debut album has just gotten an update An expanded edition of Cross’ Grammy-winning self-titled debut is out now on digital services all of which were recorded during the original sessions for the album Some of the bonus material includes early takes on the hit single “Ride Like The Wind,” as well as three songs that have never been released before — “What Am I Supposed To Believe,” “Smiles Of Angels” and “Passengers.” In addition, double vinyl and CD versions of the expanded edition will be released on June 20 and are available for preorder now record and song of the year for “Sailing,” and best new artist for Cross No other artist won all four major categories until Billie Eilish repeated the feat in 2020 The album peaked at #6 on the Billboard Albums chart with “Sailing” hitting #1 on the singles chart The album went on to be certified five-times Platinum LOCASH‘s follow-up to their #1 “Hometown Home” is “Wrong Hearts,” from their new Bet the Farm album You can check out Rebecca Lynn Howard‘s first album in 15 years, I’m Not Who You Think I Am, now, as well as her new music video for “Strong.” The two-time Grammy winner scored her biggest hit so far in 2002 with “Forgive.”  If you missed Zach Top doing “I Never Lie” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, you can watch his performance on YouTube now (OCEAN COUNTY, N.J.) — A second teenager has been arrested for arson in connection with a massive New Jersey wildfire as prosecutors reveal more details about how the fire allegedly began The second suspect — an unidentified 17-year-old boy — was taken into custody on Thursday and charged with arson and aggravated arson for allegedly helping set wooden pallets on fire and leaving the area when the fire wasn’t fully extinguished Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said The 17-year-old was also charged with hindering apprehension for allegedly giving “misinformation to law enforcement about how the fire started,” Billhimer said in a statement The first suspect, 19-year-old Joseph Kling was arrested on April 23 in connection with the Jones Road Wildfire which ignited in Ocean Township on April 22 Kling picked up his friends and then took multiple wooden pallets prosecutors said at Kling’s detention hearing Friday Kling allegedly lit multiple wooden pallets on fire using gasoline in a pit to create a bonfire Kling’s friend was involved in a dirt bike accident and the prosecutor said in Kling’s haste to leave and meet his friend he allegedly disposed of the remaining pallets on the fire and left the blaze burning The fire — which began due to the “improperly extinguished bonfire,” according to Billhimer — destroyed a commercial building shut down a major highway and forced thousands of people to evacuate the Jones Road Wildfire had burned about 15,300 acres The blaze was 75% contained as of Thursday aggravated arson and hindering apprehension appeared in court Friday to determine if he will continue to be held in custody before his trial Kling’s attorney argued that his client is a lifelong resident of Ocean County is six weeks from finishing his vocational school program and does not have a Real ID The judge continued the detention hearing until Monday saying there’s significant concern to the community but would consider releasing Kling ahead of trial if he had a higher monitoring level The 17-year-old is being held at the Ocean County Juvenile Detention Center Dierks Bentley will headline Music City’s 2025 Independence Day celebration Niko Moon and Grace Bowers will also take the stage at First and Broadway in Downtown Nashville to celebrate America’s freedom the action will move to nearby Ascend Amphitheater where the Nashville Symphony will play a half-hour set that’s synchronized to the fireworks and drone show You can find out more at VisitMusicCity.com (NEW YORK) — One of the key witnesses in the Karen Read murder retrial continued to testify for a third day Friday on the events surrounding the death of Read’s boyfriend who was found unresponsive in the snow outside a Massachusetts home in 2022 that Read struck O’Keefe with her Lexus SUV outside of a get-together at another officer’s home and left him to die in a blizzard in January 2022 An autopsy found that the 46-year-old died of hypothermia and blunt force injuries to the head After a jury was unable to reach a verdict in the initial murder trial last year Read is being retried on charges including second-degree murder vehicular manslaughter while operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol and leaving the scene of a collision causing death She has pleaded not guilty and maintains her innocence a friend of O’Keefe who had testified during the first trial took to the stand for the third day during the retrial on Friday in Dedham McCabe recounted that she had attended a social gathering at a bar the night before O’Keefe was found unresponsive in the snow with him McCabe was also at the get-together following the gathering at the bar at a home belonging to her sister and brother-in-law McCabe and another friend of O’Keefe’s — Kerry Roberts — another key trial witness who testified last week — drove with Read through a blizzard to search for O’Keefe after he never came home the night before ultimately finding him outside McCabe’s sister’s home unresponsive McCabe testified Wednesday that while talking to a first responder at the scene Defense attorney Alan Jackson grilled McCabe on her recollection of the events of that day and in the days highlighting inconsistencies in her various testimonies and against police reports after receiving a call from O’Keefe’s niece and Read that O’Keefe was missing though she did not mention that call while testifying to the grand jury that indicted Read on the manslaughter and murder charges “There’s nothing nefarious,” McCabe said about the call testifying that her sister did not answer and she didn’t remember calling her Asked by Jackson on her use of the word “nefarious,” McCabe said “There’s nothing about me calling my sister that is nefarious and I feel like you’re insinuating it might be and it’s not.” Mark Jarret Chavous/The Enterprise via APJackson also questioned McCabe about a broken taillight on Read’s SUV McCabe testified that Read first mentioned the broken taillight in the early morning call with O’Keefe’s niece though Jackson said that wasn’t included in a police report When pressed on forgetting certain details from that time “There are certain things I’ll never forget.” Jackson’s cross-examination also focused on McCabe’s Google search for how long it takes to die in the cold She testified this week that Read asked her to Google that after finding O’Keefe in the snow Though Jackson said there is evidence it was made at 2:27 a.m McCabe denied she made the search at 2:27 a.m and said she searched it later that morning Jackson also alleged that a group chat including McCabe and several family members showed they were colluding in the days following the death to coordinate their statements Jackson grilled McCabe on the moments after they found O’Keefe in the snow outside her sister’s home and why she didn’t run in to check on her sister and brother-in-law “The reason you didn’t go inside the house is because you knew better,” he charged McCabe said she wasn’t worried because “something happened on the front lawn that had nothing to do with anything inside that house.” “You weren’t worried about them at all because you knew what really happened I didn’t know that he was hit by a vehicle and there was taillight found next to him,” she responded special prosecutor Hank Brennan questioned McCabe on her state of mind upon finding O’Keefe anxious — my friend was lying there on the ground I didn’t know what happened,” she said McCabe affirmed that Read asked her to search how long to die in the cold and that she had never attempted that search before then Brennan brought up McCabe’s texts with Roberts later that day “I can’t stop seeing him in the snow “Is your state of mind collusion?” Brennan asked McCabe with a forensic scientist from the Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab on the stand Following McCabe’s testimony on Wednesday Read alleged McCabe was lying on the stand saying she never told the witness to make a Google search that morning “This is very similar to what we saw a year ago.” (NEW YORK) — Activists are demanding an investigation after they say a humanitarian ship headed to Gaza was bombed by a drone in the Mediterranean Sea overnight Friday The passenger vessel Conscience made a mayday call shortly after midnight located off the coast of Malta in international waters at the time was being operated by activists with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) which is campaigning to end Israel’s ongoing blockade of aid into Gaza Israel began the aid blockade on March 2 after the end of the temporary ceasefire deal saying they were imposing the blockade to put pressure on Hamas to release the remaining Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza after the Oct Malta’s government said that 12 crew members and four civilian passengers were on board and none were injured It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the reported attack FFC spokesperson Yasemin Acar told ABC News in a video interview from Valletta that most of those aboard were asleep when they awoke to the sound of an explosion Acar said the vessel was struck twice “which why they knew they were under attack.” The group claims the blasts were caused by a drone whose immediate origin the group did not know ABC News has not been able to verify the group’s claims Video and photos provided by the FFC showed fire and smoke on board Conscience as well as damage to the bow of the vessel in the aftermath of the reported attack ABC News showed the FCC photos showing the damaged sustained to the Conscience to Trevor Ball Army explosive ordinance disposal specialist “The damage is consistent with two small blast munitions which can be deployed by drone,” Ball said “You’d need remnants to confirm that though Acar said the vessel had been carrying humanitarian aid which Israel’s government is not allowing to enter Gaza the FFC called for an investigation into the reported attack and demanded that “Israeli ambassadors must be summoned and answer to violations of international law including the ongoing blockade and the bombing of our civilian vessel in international waters.” ABC News has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the U.S State Department for comment on the incident The moments after the reported strike are visible in ship tracking data from MarineTraffic the Conscience can be seen veering off its course on Wednesday and was scheduled to dock in Malta on Friday the vessel planned to bring aboard more passengers — including climate activist Greta Thunberg and retired US Army Colonel Mary Ann Wright — before continuing on to Gaza Data from online flight tracker ADSBExchange shows that a military transport plane operated by Israel’s military flew over Malta in the hours before the attack The Lockheed KC-130H plane entered Maltese airspace at around 3:25 p.m Data shows the plane flying in a zig-zag pattern around the eastern coast of Malta at an altitude as low as 4,350 feet before beginning its return to Israel at around 7:30 p.m nearly five hours before the reported attack on Conscience ABC News’ Dana Savir and Benjamin Siu contributed to this report (WASHINGTON) — The CIA is stepping up its recruiting efforts in China releasing two Mandarin-language videos that appeal to government officials who might be open to partnering with the American spy agency published on the CIA’s YouTube and X accounts follow fictional men who presumably belong to the Chinese Communist Party one a senior official and the other a junior staffer as they work daily with classified information Their Mandarin voiceovers say they have seen colleagues and friends “disappear.” “I must have a backup plan,” one protagonist says the officials are shown reaching out to the CIA via the dark web following Mandarin instructions handed out by the CIA to do so securely “[We’re] ensuring that folks know that CIA is open for business,” a CIA official told ABC News “Here’s where to reach us.” CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement that the approach represents the agency’s “creativity” in its China espionage strategy “No adversary in the history of our Nation has presented a more formidable challenge or capable strategic competitor than the Chinese Communist Party,” he added The videos follow a similar effort undertaken by the CIA in Russia in 2023 when it released Russian-language productions in which characters decide to spy on the CIA’s behalf The CIA official told ABC News the agency is continuing the effort after its Russia series yielded positive results but the official could not provide details about partnerships that might have developed from the outreach in Russia which leads human intelligence efforts in the U.S said the videos are a modern approach to its mission of gathering intelligence from spies around the globe we can’t recruit sources the same way that we did 20 years ago probably the same way you did 10 years ago,” the CIA official said referring to the acronym for universal technical surveillance we have to go where the people go — that’s online,” the official added National Security and Technology Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies said the CIA may find success by appealing to people in China disaffected by political or economic conditions “The gains of our collective efforts are indulged by a select few,” the junior CCP member says in his Mandarin voiceover “One of the main reasons that people do spy against their country is [the] ideology piece,” Harding noted conceding that “China is a particularly hard target.” “They have a robust surveillance state that makes it very very hard to maintain contact with an asset,” she said The CIA’s online gambit wouldn’t broadly affect international relations since the United States and China are known to spy on each other — and recruit spies government layoffs began under President Donald Trump earlier this year China was “very aggressively reaching out to places online … to put out feelers like One of the two CIA productions ends with the Mandarin text of a Chinese proverb that translates roughly in English to “Fortune favors the bold.” it reads as “Heaven helps those who help themselves.” Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry were back onstage together Wednesday night for a San Francisco show benefiting Tyler’s organization Janie’s Fund Photos from the evening were posted to Aerosmith’s Instagram with the caption “The #ToxicTwins back in the saddle for a great night benefitting Janie’s Fund in San Francisco!” The post also thanked the night’s other performers: Cheap Trick’s Robin Zanders singer Suzie McNeil and keyboardist Buck Johnson According to the set list shared on Aerosmith’s Instagram Story Tyler and Perry teamed up for Aerosmith classics “Toys in the Attic,” “Same Old Song And Dance,” “Sweet Emotion,” “Dream On” and “Walk This Way,” with all of the performers joining for the encores of “Train Kept A Rollin’” and The Beatles classic “Come Together.” This marks the first time Tyler and Perry have performed together since September 2023 when Tyler fractured his larynx onstage during Aerosmith’s Peace Out tour Aerosmith canceled the tour in 2024 and announced their retirement from the road Catch those stories and a whole lot more- right now on KNEB.tv News: – The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team managed just three hits on Saturday and the Northeastern Junior College Plainsmen earned the No 2 seed for the Region IX tournament with a 7-0 win over the Cougars in Sterling falls to 16-12 on the conference and will have the No 3 seed for next weeks regional tournament that begins Thursday in Pueblo The top two teams get a first-round bye while the next four play a first-round game while the other first-round game will be No Southeast won the conference and is the top seed with NJC No Saturday’s contest was one where the Cougars had base runners in several innings but couldn’t get the base hit to score them Jin Kobayakawa got a 2-out single but was left stranded on the base paths NJC came back with two runs in the bottom of the first and then added a single run in the third to take a 3-0 lead WNCC had base runners in the first four innings including the fourth when Kensei Oikawa had a 2-out double both innings the two runners were left stranded NJC added three more in the seventh and one in the eighth for the 7-0 lead going five innings in scattering seven hits Matthew Hazzard tossed the next two innings and struck out four and allowed three hits and three runs Carter Reisig tossed the eighth inning in allowing two hits and one run The official bracket for the Region IX tournament will be released on Monday with game times and dates for the double elimination tournament WNCC                000 000 000 – 0 3 3NJC                    201 000 31x – 7 12 0 Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock are reteaming for a new film untitled movie in development at Amazon MGM Studios Jackie screenwriter Noah Oppenheim is penning the script for the new movie of which the plot details are being kept under wraps The studio describes the film as a “propulsive romantic thriller.” Bullock and Reeves will produce the film along with Mark Gordon reuniting the team who worked together on the hit 1994 action film Gordon and Oppenheim had the idea for this new film who then went on to help develop the project with them Reeves and Bullock also starred together in the 2006 film The Lake House We now know who some of Jelly Roll‘s friends are Dasha and Ashley Cooke are definitely on board to join him for his Tuesday show at Billy Bob’s Texas at the Fort Worth Stockyards The Jelly Roll & Friends show is one of the big lead-up events to the 60th Academy of Country Music Awards Both Lainey and Dasha played Jelly’s benefit for ACM’s charitable arm Did you miss the chance to watch Sinners on an Imax screen The Warner Bros. Pictures film has been brought back to Imax 70mm screens by popular demand Imax has invited the picture to play a limited rerelease in nine cinemas across North America from May 15 to May 21 citing “overwhelming popular and critical response.” “Welcome back to Club Juke. Starting May 15, #SinnersMovie returns to IMAX 70mm locations for one week only. Tickets on sale now!” IMAX shared on Instagram The cities showing the Imax rerelease are Dallas Sinners has had the best debut for an original film since 2019 having grossed $122.5 million domestically as of April 27 Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks are celebrating 37 years together shared Instagram tributes to one another on Wednesday “Happy 37th Anniversary my love!!!” Wilson captioned a photo of her and her husband bundled up in hats and jackets Hanks, meanwhile, shared a warm-weather selfie his wife took of them while out for a swim capitalizing the first two letters in “thanks” as a play on his own initials Back in 2013, Hanks opened up about his marriage to Wilson in a CNN interview calling “every day” with her a “blast” and “fun.” this is what it’s supposed to be like when you are married to somebody,” Hanks said “It’s supposed to be this carefree and easy and Over the years, Wilson has expressed her gratitude for Hanks as well, writing in a 2019 Instagram post that her song “The Spark” was inspired by her relationship with her husband that beautiful glimmer that ignites into a lasting love,” Wilson wrote in part As long as there is a spark you’ll always have a fire and share a blended family: their sons Chester “Chet” Marlon Hanks and Tom’s son Colin Hanks and daughter Elizabeth Hanks whom he shares with ex-wife Samantha Lewes For Mitchell Tenpenny, “Same Moon” is more than just his new single It’s an autobiographical reflection on how he and his wife “I had that title I wrote down because I was and she was somewhere else,” he remembers and it feels like we’re a little bit closer.'” It didn’t take long before the joke started to seem like a pretty good song idea that’s kind of a cool title,” Mitchell says “I wrote down ‘Look Up at the Moon,’ and then I just kind of … (liked) the way the ‘Same Moon’ kind of flowed.” Tenpenny confesses it took a couple tries before any of his co-writers saw the vision Derrick Southerland and Dallas Wilson came around “That day everyone was kind of on board,” Mitchell tells ABC Audio I kind of want to write this song about the life me and my wife are living.’ And so it kind of just fell out because it’s where my head was.” (AUDIO IS ABC 1-ON-1) These days, Mitchell’s particularly proud because Meghan just charted her first top-40 hit in the States with “Golden Child.” “Same Moon” is from his third studio album Mitchell’s currently on tour with Kane Brown ahead of his run with Jordan Davis this fall who was involved in security for an underground nightclub that was the site of a federal raid over the weekend A federal complaint alleges Orona-Rodriguez sold cocaine to an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration agent last month near the soldier’s home in Colorado Springs His text messages also allegedly revealed “months of suspected cocaine trafficking,” according to the complaint He faces federal charges related to the distribution of cocaine Orona-Rodriguez was one of 17 active-duty service members present during a federal raid of an “afterhours unlawful nightclub” in Colorado Springs over the weekend He “appears to hold a leadership/ownership role in a business called Immortal Security LLC,” a company that “provides armed security at ‘nightclubs,'” including the underground club that was the site of the DEA raid DEA agents “believe employees of Immortal Security are involved in drug distribution,” the complaint alleged Immortal Security employs some active duty and former service members The complaint stated Orona-Rodriguez’s commanding officer informed him in March that Immortal Security “is off limits to members of the Armed Forces” and he is “prohibited in engaging in off-duty employment” without battalion commander approval the soldier is “suspected of unlawfully trafficking firearms including those with high-capacity magazines to illegal aliens,” the complaint stated ABC News was unable to reach Immortal Security for comment Orona-Rodriguez was taken into custody with the assistance of the DEA’s Rocky Mountain Field Division the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division and Fort Carson officials “We will continue to cooperate with all agencies involved,” a Fort Carson official said in a statement on Thursday The DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division said it is conducting a joint investigation with the FBI and Army Criminal Investigation Division Orona-Rodriguez is scheduled to appear in court at 2 p.m Online court records do not list any attorney information for him He does not appear to have any prior felony convictions Fort Carson is located south of Colorado Springs A Fort Carson spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday that 17 service members were identified at the scene during the nightclub raid over the weekend and were allowed to leave on their own The DEA said it detained more than 200 people — including members of the military — at the unlicensed nightclub 114 illegal migrants were taken into custody Drugs and weapons were also seized at this nightclub ABC News’ Anne Flaherty contributed to this report The official teaser trailer for season 3 of The Gilded Age has arrived HBO released the teaser for the new season on Thursday The eight-episode third season of the period drama arrives June 22 on HBO and will also be available to stream on Max “Happiness is a byproduct of a well-ordered life Our children will be among the highest-ranking people on Earth,” Carrie Coon‘s Bertha Russell says in the trailer when you set your mind on a thing no one can stop you,” her husband George Russell Bertha responds: “I take that as a compliment.” The Gilded Age follows the period of immense economic and social change in America when empires were built where “the old guard is weakened and the Russells stand poised to take their place at the head of society,” according to its official logline “Bertha sets her sights on a prize that would elevate the family to unimaginable heights while George risks everything on a gambit that could revolutionize the railroad industry — if it doesn’t ruin him first.” Denée Benton and Taissa Farmiga also star in the third season (WASHINGTON) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F will require new vaccines to undergo placebo testing marking what a department spokesperson called “a radical departure from past practices.” to undergo studies in which half of individuals in a study receive a placebo – typically a saline shot – to compare results against the vaccine Placebo-controlled trials are already used to test new drugs or vaccines for safety and efficacy but some experts consider it unethical to conduct such trials when a vaccine or treatment is already considered safe and efficacious giving half of the kids in a trial a placebo for the measles vaccine when an already proven vaccine exists would put those participants unnecessarily at risk for the virus It remains unclear what HHS considers a “new” vaccine and whether that includes the flu and COVID vaccines which are updated on an annual basis to better protect against currently circulating strains Marty Makary has indicated that significant updates to existing vaccines—such as those addressing seasonal strain changes or antigenic drift—may be considered ‘new products’ requiring additional clinical evaluation,” the department spokesperson told ABC News But the spokesperson indicated the yearly flu vaccine might not be affected by the policy calling it “tried and tested for more than 80 years.” that the policy could impact the rollout of future COVID vaccines When asked to elaborate on what the department considers a “new” vaccine the spokesperson said that federal health agencies would follow the “Gold Standard of Science” Kennedy has long questioned the safety of vaccines and argued that placebo-based trials are needed to ensure vaccines aren’t doing more harm than good Even as thousands were dying during the COVID-19 public health emergency COVID vaccines still underwent placebo-controlled studies with more than 100,000 volunteers from diverse populations Experts say the practice is necessary to determine if a vaccine is not only effective Many childhood vaccines were originally tested with placebo trials providing data from millions of people showing those vaccines are overwhelmingly safe and effective Once a vaccine for a disease is approved safe and effective future versions of the shot are tested in clinical trials against the already approved shot Clinical trials test whether the updated vaccines generate an immune response that’s comparable to or better than previous versions of the vaccine Even after vaccines are made available to the public scientists continue to monitor them for safety They also review any reports of side effects or reactions and share these facts with the public A Scottsbluff man has been cited for his role in causing a three vehicle crash Thursday afternoon at the intersection of Highway 26 and 20th Street Police say 49-year-old Brian Livingston of Scottsbluff was at the stop sign at the intersection and failed to yield to an eastbound Ford Expedition with the two vehicles colliding in the eastbound lanes and causing the Expedition to veer south and strike the stop sign and a Cadillac that was that had been travelling behind Livingston’s vehicle Scottsbluff Police say one occupant was transported by Regional West Ambulance Services for treatment of a minor neck injury All three vehicles were towed from the scene Estimated damages were $7,000 to the Expedition Livingston was issued a citation for Failure to Yield The intersection was closed for approximately 45 minutes Scottsbluff Fire Department and RWMC Ambulance Services assisted in the response The Rocky Horror Picture Show is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a new 4K restoration and slate of special events The cult-classic 1975 film has been newly restored and remastered on Blu-ray in 4K Ultra HD by the Walt Disney Studios Restoration team and included a digital scan and preservation process that made sure every frame of the film was presented in a new way with unprecedented clarity and vibrancy the new restoration includes a newly mixed Dolby Atmos audio track to enhance the iconic soundtrack with further depth and dimension The original mono audio has also been restored allowing fans to experience the film just as it was when it premiered 50 years ago The Rocky Horror Picture Show was directed by Jim Sharman and stars Barry Bostwick It follows a newly engaged couple after their car breaks down on a rainy night Frank-N-Furter for an adventure like they’ve never experienced before While theatrical dates for this new restoration have yet to be announced a press release promises future announcements coming soon “It’s a privilege to help preserve the legacy of a film that has meant so much to so many,” Kevin Schaeffer the director of restoration & library management “Bringing The Rocky Horror Picture Show to life in 4K allows us to honor its bold genre-defying spirit and ensure that audiences – both longtime fans and first-time viewers – can experience it as it was originally intended Van Morrison has released another track off his upcoming album The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has shared the new single, “Cutting Corners,” the second track released from the record following “Down to Joy.” “Cutting Corners” is available now via digital outlets Remembering Now is made up of 14 original tracks and is Morrison’s first album of all new material since 2022’s What’s It Gonna Take? The album will be released June 13 digitally and on black double vinyl, orange double vinyl, CD and cassette. It is available for preorder now Morrison has several European dates on his schedule this summer The next shows are June 4 and June 5 in Madrid He’s also set to open for Neil Young at his BST Hyde Park show in London on July 11 and will wrap his tour with two 80th birthday shows in his hometown of Belfast A complete list of dates can be found at VanMorrison.com and Ukrainian governments touted the signing of a controversial minerals sharing deal as a launchpad for expansive bilateral economic cooperation — and as a signal of America’s long-term investment in a free Ukraine American and Ukrainian representatives signed the accord in Washington on Wednesday after months of tense negotiations President Donald Trump long having framed the proposal as means to recoup more than $100 billion worth of aid given to Kyiv since Russia launched its invasion three years ago “This partnership allows the United States to invest alongside Ukraine to unlock Ukraine’s growth assets capital and governance standards that will improve Ukraine’s investment climate and accelerate Ukraine’s economic recovery,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a video announcing the deal Details of the agreement were later shared online by some members of Ukraine’s parliament with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal expected to present the deal to the body — known as the Rada — on Thursday Shmyhal this week previewed some parts of the agreement saying it would not undermine Ukraine’s potential for accession to the European Union The draft published by lawmakers does not include any explicit U.S security guarantees — long one of Kyiv’s primary demands the agreement “guarantees new deliveries of American weapons including air defense systems — their cost will be credited to a joint fund,” according to Mykhailo Podolyak an advisor to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Thursday that the deal “marks an important milestone in Ukraine-U.S strategic partnership aimed at strengthening Ukraine’s economy and security.” Podolyak said the deal meant “Moscow has lost: Putin’s attempt to offer the U.S a stake in the occupied Donbas’ mineral wealth has failed securing resources to continue our resistance and forcing the world to see Ukraine as an equal player.” the key outcome of this agreement is that the world’s leading power has become a co-investor in Ukraine,” Podolyak wrote The deal will need to be ratified by the Ukrainian parliament members of which suggested on Thursday it was too early to fully evaluate the agreement “Judging by the statement of the prime minister it is better than the initial version,” Oleksandr Merezhko a lawmaker representing Zelenskyy’s party and the chair of the parliament’s foreign affairs committee “It seems like we have managed to dodge Trump’s idea to turn the previously-provided U.S military and material aid into Ukrainian debts,” he added The lawmaker suggested it was too early to say whether the deal represented a win for both Kyiv and Washington “It seems like Trump put pressure on us in an attempt to get a victory in his first 100 days in office,” Merezhko said we have improved relations with Trump for whom it’s a win.” Other members of parliament suggested that ratification would not be immediate “I would really like to see the final document of the agreement,” lawmaker Oleksiy Goncharenko wrote on Telegram suggested it may take until mid-May for the parliament to vote on the minerals agreement — “and that’s only if everything is submitted to the Rada on time,” he wrote on Telegram Dmitry Medvedev — the former president and prime minister now serving as the deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council — framed the deal as a defeat for Kyiv “Trump has broken the Kyiv regime into paying for American aid with minerals,” Medvedev — who through Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has become known for his hawkish statements — wrote on Telegram “Now they will have to pay for military supplies with the national wealth of a disappearing country,” he wrote Bessent said the agreement “clearly to Russian leadership that the Trump administration is committed to a peace process centered on a free sovereign and prosperous Ukraine over the long term it’s time for this cruel and senseless war to end the killing must stop.” Bessent also said this deal was because of “President Trump’s tireless efforts to secure a lasting peace.” Nataliia Popova and Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report home-built kit airplane crashed in Simi Valley catching fire and killing two people onboard The Vans RV-10 that crashed near High Meadow Street and Wood Ranch Parkway around 2:10 p.m. Ventura County Fire Department Public Information Officer Andrew Dowd told reporters at a news conference “Simi Valley PD in coordination with the medical examiners office has verified there were two passengers in the aircraft both of whom were fatally injured in the accident,” the fire department said in a statement Some 40 firefighters were dispatched and put out the flames There were people inside the two homes at the time of the crash Shelby Joice told ABC News she lives across the street from where the plane crashed She said she and her mother were watching TV when they heard what sounded like a helicopter passing over we heard a big crash and our entire house started shaking We actually thought something crashed into our house,” Joyce said massive fireball” and black plumes of smoke Fox Airfield in Lancaster and was heading to Camarillo Airport The National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation and work with the FAA Simi Valley is located about 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles ABC News’ Matthew Holroyd contributed to this report Shōgun season 2 will start filming in early 2026 FX Entertainment has announced that the Emmy-winning drama series will begin production on season 2 in January 2026 The first season of Shōgun is the most-viewed program in the history of FX It was based on James Clavell‘s novel of the same name A writers room led by creators Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks has created an entirely original new chapter in the story for season 2 based on the characters created by Clavell Part two of Shōgun takes place 10 years after the events of season 1 It tells the stories of Lord Yoshii Toranaga Season 2 will continue “the historically-inspired saga of these two men from different worlds whose fates are inextricably entwined,” according to an official synopsis Sanada and Jarvis will serve as executive producer and co-executive producer on the series set the record for the most Emmy Awards won by a series in a single season with 18 wins Sanada recently spoke with reporters on the red carpet of the TIME100 Gala where he talked about the pressure of living up to the success of the first season “Since we got a great reaction and numbers or award[s] But I think that’s going to be a good motivation,” Sanada said but also pressure always can be a power — energy (WASHINGTON) — A Catholic school in Oklahoma is asking the Supreme Court to clear the way for it to become the nation’s first religious charter school funded directly by taxpayers Oral arguments will be heard in the landmark case on Wednesday pitting claims of religious freedom against efforts to maintain strict separation of church and state The justices will be weighing whether the First Amendment which prohibits a government role in establishing religion while also protecting an individual right to practice religion means only nonsectarian organizations can qualify for Oklahoma’s charter schools program or whether faith-based groups are also eligible The case turns in large part on whether the state’s charter schools meet the definition of “public” schools and “The claim in this case is not that government schools are allowed to be Catholic or religious charter schools are contractors,” said Rick Garnett a constitutional law professor at the University of Notre Dame Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School which was created by the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa in 2023 argues state funding for charter schools is made generally available to qualified organizations and that the state cannot discriminate on the basis of religion A series of recent Supreme Court decisions has made clear that taxpayer-funded public benefit programs from school vouchers to state-run scholarships even if a person or organization has a religious affiliation “It’s a pretty settled rule of the Supreme Court that once a government opens up a benefit program it can’t discriminate on the basis of religion,” Garnett said of the school’s argument Oklahoma argues that its charter schools are part of the public school system and nondiscriminatory and nonsectarian.” Forty-five other states and the federal government have similar guidelines The state’s highest court ruled last year that taxpayer-funded religious schools would violate both the state and U.S the charter school law defines charter schools as public schools so the case is sort of closed there,” said Rachel Laser president of Americans United for Separation of Church and State “This school is run by the Catholic diocese in Oklahoma and they say they will conduct themselves as a Catholic school according to the morality codes of a Catholic schools means that they will discriminate against LGBTQ kids and families,” Laser said Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said the state supports school choice and access to private religious education including through the use of tax credits and state-funded tuition assistance Drummond argued that charter schools are not simply “contractors” receiving a benefit and subject to continuing government regulation and oversight as to curriculum and a host of other matters,” the state said in its brief to the justices The state warned that a decision in favor of St Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School would have “sweeping consequences” nationwide upending charter school programs and the education of millions of students Advocates for the school say not allowing the Catholic school to receive charter school funding amounts to religious discrimination A decision in the case is expected by the end of June Screen legend Dick Van Dyke has written an autobiography all about what it is like to live for an entire century The actor has announced the upcoming release of his book 100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist’s Guide to a Happy Life Grand Central Publishing will release the book for publication on Nov It will be available to purchase in hardcover This new book will arrive just ahead of Dyke’s 100th birthday stories that span across Dyke’s nine decades and reflections on how he maintains his good health and zest for life The Disney Legend is known for his iconic film roles in Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as well as the starring role in his sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show The stories Dyke tells in the book will span from his past and present including moments from his childhood through his experience falling in love later on in his life He will reflect “on both the joyful times and the challenges that shaped him,” according to a press release “His indefatigable spirit and positive attitude will surely inspire readers to count the blessings in their own lives and appreciate the beauty and complexity of being human.” (LONDON) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reportedly oversaw the test of a supersonic cruise missile fired from a new battleship — the destroyer Choe Hyon — this week according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency KCNA said the first test firing of the Choe Hyon’s weapons systems were conducted on Monday and Tuesday The platforms tested included a supersonic cruise missile an anti-aircraft missile and a 127mm shipboard automatic gun Kim toured the vessel and observed the weapons tests The North Korean leader said that “it is important to establish a proactive and aggressive defence system on the premise of powerful attack capability,” KCNA wrote Kim also said there was a need for “accelerating the nuclearization of the navy,” KCNA said The 5,000-ton destroyer was unveiled last week During a ceremony to launch the vessel at the port of Nampo on the country’s western coast Kim said the ship’s construction represented “a breakthrough” in North Korea’s naval modernization Kim also said he “intends to build a blue-water operational fleet” — meaning a force capable of operating in open ocean rather than solely in the coastal waters around the Korean Peninsula The launch of the Choe Hyon comes as North Korea — which has traditionally lagged behind its neighbor and rival South Korea in terms of naval technology — deepens military cooperation with Russia amid the latter’s invasion of Ukraine and subsequent standoff with the West Ukrainian and South Korean officials have warned that Moscow may repay Pyongyang’s support for its invasion — which over three years of war has graduated from ammunition supply to the deployment of frontline troops — by sharing military technology North Korea has also continued and expanded its ballistic missile testing program intended to enhance its nuclear strike capabilities Pyongyang fired a series of short-range ballistic missiles days after the conclusion of U.S.-South Korean military drills that Pyongyang said it considered an invasion rehearsal A 22-year-old Bruce Springsteen auditioned for Columbia Records A&R exec John Hammond in New York City Hammond was known for working with such artists as Billie Holiday Springsteen had already gained a local following due to his live shows but he had yet to garner a larger following Bruce performed “It’s Hard to be a Saint in the City” at the audition and Hammond was impressed and wanted to sign him Springsteen performed for Columbia execs at the Gaslight Club in New York and later recorded a demo Springsteen wound up signing to Columbia on June 9 He’s also set to release the box set Tracks II: The Lost Albums on June 27 Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Led Zeppelin’s classic album Physical Graffiti with a new tour launched his JBLZE tours in 2010 and tells ABC Audio there’s a good reason why he keeps doing them “It would have stopped many years ago if we didn’t feel that people liked it and if I didn’t enjoy it,” Jason says “It just says something about the music … that’s the main thing.” Jason and the band will play Physical Graffiti in its entirety Since this is the first time they’ve performed a complete album He adds that Physical Graffiti is his “favorite album” from Zeppelin and one of the main reasons is because “it’s got ‘Kashmir’ on it.” He suggests the song is where the band “went to another level.” “Now no band can put any kind of Eastern promise in any riff or anything without people going ‘Oh it sounds like Zeppelin,'” he adds And although Jason has had plenty of other projects he’s worked on there’s a simple reason why he keeps coming back to play Led Zeppelin “I do it for passion and the love of the music and the people that come to see it,” he says Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening Celebrating 50 Years of Physical Graffiti kicks off Saturday in Wallingford, Connecticut, and wraps May 21 in Los Angeles. A complete list of dates can be found at jasonbonham.net Neil Young has finally announced details of his new album with The Chrome Hearts The rocker and his new band will release Talkin To The Trees on June 13 The album is Young’s first with The Chrome Hearts — organist Spooner Oldham bassist Corey McCormick and drummer Anthony LoGerfo Young released the first single from the record, “Big Change,” back in January and now they’ve shared the second single, “Let’s Roll Again.” This one is a protest song that has Young calling out American car companies Ford and GM while also taking a dig at Elon Musk by singing “if you’re a fascist The title of the song may sound a bit familiar to Young fans He had a song on his 2002 album Are You Passionate titled “Let’s Roll,” which was written about the Sept 11 attacks and the bravery of the passengers on United Flight 93 Neil Young and The Chrome Hearts will set out on a world tour Talkin To The Trees is available for preorder now Here is the track list:“Family Life”“Dark Mirage”“First Fire Of Winter”“Silver Eagle”“Let’s Roll Again”“Big Change”“Talkin To The Trees”“Movin Ahead”“Bottle Of Love”“Thankful” (PITTSBURGH) — The baseball fan critically hurt in a 20-foot fall at PNC Park in Pittsburgh has been identified as Kavan Markwood Markwood fell from the bleachers onto the field during the seventh inning of the Pirates-Cubs game on Wednesday night The game was briefly halted as emergency crews responded The Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety said the “incident is being treated as accidental.” according to the department of public safety Markwood previously attended Walsh University in Ohio “The Walsh University community was deeply saddened to learn about the tragic accident involving former student Kavan Markwood,” the university said in a statement “Our thoughts and heartfelt prayers are with him and friends during this very difficult time We are hoping and praying for a full recovery.” Markwood transferred to Wheeling University in West Virginia where he was a member of the football team in 2023 “The Wheeling University Community is heartbroken,” the university said in a statement “Our thoughts and prayers are with Kavan The Cardinal family is praying for a full and speedy recovery.” who was sitting next to Markwood at the game “As he jumped out of his seat to celebrate it appeared that he had his hands on the fence in front of us which I had done several times during the game I think the momentum from him jumping up in his seat and the way he grabbed the rail just seemed like he catapulted himself over the railing.” “To be right next to him in the chair and see him go over the railing Pirates manager Derek Shelton said he saw the fall as it happened while a play is going on … it’s extremely unfortunate that’s an understatement,” he told reporters after the game Shelton said he wanted to ask “everybody to keep him in their prayers.” Matthew Holroyd and Victoria Beaule contributed to this report (WASHINGTON) — In an exclusive interview with ABC News to mark his 100th day in office President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he “could” secure the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia the Maryland man his administration said in court was mistakenly deported to El Salvador “Now the Supreme Court has upheld an order that you must return him to the– facilitate his return to the United States What are you doing to comply?” ABC News anchor and Senior National Correspondent Terry Moran asked Trump in the Oval Office the lawyer that said it was a mistake was here a long time was not appointed by us– should not have said that The president then said that Abrego Garcia is a member of the criminal MS-13 gang and “is not an innocent wonderful gentleman from Maryland.” Abrego Garcia’s lawyers have maintained he’s not MS-13 and has not been charged with or convicted of a crime “I’m not saying he’s a good guy “He came into our country illegally,” Trump maintained There’s a phone on this desk,” Moran told Trump pointing to the phone on the Resolute Desk you could call up the president of El Salvador and say ‘Send him back right now,’” Moran explained “And if he were the gentleman that you say he is “I’m not the one making this decision.” “You’re the president,” Moran told him If I were the president that just wanted to do anything I’d probably keep him right where he is—” Trump said “The Supreme Court says what the law is,” Moran said saying he “was elected to take care of a problem” that was an “unforced error that was made by a very incompetent man,” – an apparent jab at President Joe Biden There’s new music ahead from Chris Stapleton thanks to the soundtrack for Brad Pitt‘s new racing movie Stapleton contributes “Bad As I Used To Be” to the movie which also includes tracks by other big-name artists like Ed Sheeran It’s Stapleton’s first new music since 2023’s Higher save for “California Sober,” his contribution to Post Malone‘s F-1 Trillion return to the race track nearly 30 years after an accident nearly ended his career the same day the film premieres on Apple TV+ will get to hear a preview of the album as part of the F1 The Album activation which will be featured at the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix 2025 George Clooney, Sarah Snook and Bob Odenkirk are among this year’s nominees at the 78th annual Tony Awards The nominations for the 2025 Tonys were announced on Thursday by previous winners Sarah Paulson and Wendell Pierce Clooney earned his first Tony nomination for his Broadway debut in Good Night Snook was recognized with a nomination for her performance juggling 26 different roles in The Picture of Dorian Gray while Odenkirk got nominated for his role in Glengarry Glen Ross Other Hollywood stars who received Tony nominations this year include Sadie Sink Maybe Happy Ending and Buena Vista Social Club lead the pack as this season’s most nominated shows They will all compete against Dead Outlaw and Operation Mincemeat for best musical John Proctor is the Villain and The Hills of California were the most nominated of the group Audra McDonald also made history as she landed her 11th nomination for her role in the revival of Gypsy The recognition has made her the most nominated performer in Tony history She has won six Tony Awards over the course of her career The 78th Tony Awards will occur on June 8 at Radio City Music Hall which will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+ Blake Lively is reflecting on the roller-coaster year she’s had so far While speaking on Late Night With Seth Meyers Thursday night who stars in the new film Another Simple Favor touched on the lighter moments that she’s experienced including working on the highly anticipated film and moments with her family She also briefly alluded to her ongoing legal battle with her former It Ends With Us co-star and director this year has been full of the highest highs and the lowest lows of my life,” she began “I see so many women around afraid to speak especially right now afraid to share their experiences.” “And fear is by design,” she added But I also acknowledge that many people don’t have the opportunity to speak So I do feel fortunate that I’ve been able to And it’s the women who have had the ability to use their voice that’s kept me strong and helped me in my belief and my fight for the world to be safer for women and girls.” Lively’s remarks were met with applause before Meyers turned the conversation to her husband whose professional football club Wrexham A.F.C recently notched a win over Charlton Athletic F.C. earning Wrexham a promotion to the Sky Bet Championship league “It’s unbelievable,” Lively said Asked whether she enjoyed attending the team’s games often-drunk family you’ve ever had in your life … My husband compares it — he’s like being here,’ and I see what he means.” Lively’s public legal battle with Baldoni first began in December 2024 when the actress filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment on the set of the film the two filed dueling lawsuits against each other with Lively alleging in her lawsuit that Baldoni and key stakeholders of the film sexually harassed her and attempted along with Baldoni’s production company and his crisis PR company to orchestrate a smear campaign against her and Sloane’s public relations company Lively honored female survivors of domestic violence and assault in a speech at the TIME100 Gala who she said is “a survivor of the worst crimes someone can commit against a woman.” but she told others how,” Lively said in her speech The 60th Academy of Country Music Awards will start with 12 nonstop minutes of music as the show pays tribute to six decades of ACM songs of the year LeAnn Rimes and Sugarland are all set to take part in the performance show also has several superstar pairings on tap: Backstreet Boys and Rascal Flatts You can watch the 60th ACM Awards live from Ford Center at The Star starting at 8 p.m you can click the 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