The Eagles released their fourth studio album, One Of These Nights, which is widely regarded as their commercial breakthrough.
The album featured three top-10 hits: the title track, which became the band’s second #1 single; Lyin’ Eyes”; and “Take It to the Limit,” featuring Randy Meisner on lead vocals.
The record became the Eagels’ first #1 album on the Billboard 200 and went on to be certified four-times Platinum.
One Of These Nights earned the band a Grammy nomination for album of the year and their first Grammy award, winning best pop performance by a duo or group with vocals.
In May, Eagles released a deluxe edition of the album featuring a new mix of the record and a previously unreleased 1975 concert.
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner and his wife Amy Gertner wave to supporters as they arrive to Platner’s Primary Election event on June 9, 2026 in Blue Hill, Maine.. (Photo by CJ Gunther/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Closely watched primaries in four states on Tuesday showed a resounding victory for a Democrat who was facing some controversies but amassed much popular support, the continued strength of President Donald Trump’s endorsement, and set up a key governor’s race in November.
Here are some takeaways from Tuesday’s primaries:
Platner triumphant in Maine even amid controversies
Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and military veteran, is slated to take on longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November’s general election for the U.S. Senate in Maine, romping to victory in the primary even amid multiple controversies.
That included a late-breaking controversy from a New York Times report last Thursday that some of the Army veteran’s former girlfriends said that his actions could be “intimidating and disturbing.”
Platner denied allegations of being physically intimidating towards former partners, and said after the story broke that he had been open to Mainers about his past, and that it had never crossed his mind to drop out of the race.
Tuesday night’s results showed Maine Democrats rallying behind Platner, as he romped to a projected victory in the primary with almost 75% of the vote as of late Tuesday. While Maine Gov. Janet Mills was also on the ballot, she had suspended her campaign weeks ago and appeared on track to get less than a fifth of the vote.
“Over the last nine months I have seen Mainers come together behind a vision to take back our power from corporations and billionaires,” Platner told supporters on Tuesday night.
Platner’s win gives Democrats an everyman candidate who has been able to attract huge crowds and support.
But he and other Democrats now face months of a general election campaign where Republicans say they will bring up Platner’s controversies every chance they get, both to strike at Platner and to hound Democrats over supporting someone who the GOP says goes against values Democrats claim to support.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), for instance, shared a digital ad right as polls closed in Maine that called Collins “a senator we can be proud of” and portrayed Platner as out-of-touch and scandal-ridden.
But Platner will have the Democratic establishment backing him, too. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, both of New York, wrote on Tuesday night, “Over the past year, we have created a path to win a Democratic Senate majority and put a stop to the chaos and damage of the Trump administration by defeating the Republicans who enable his harmful agenda. … In November, Maine voters will elect Graham Platner, and we will win a Senate majority.”
Trump candidate advances in South Carolina while one who defied him doesn’t
Most of the U.S. House and governor candidates Trump endorsed in the 2026 cycle have won their primaries, even when Trump endorsed against established incumbents. In South Carolina’s Republican primary for governor, Trump’s endorsement was again on the ballot, as the president had endorsed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette — snubbing two U.S. representatives running for the seat, Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman.
And the power of Trump’s endorsement was borne out again, to an extent, as ABC News projected that Evette and state Attorney General Alan Wilson will advance to a June 23 runoff in the Republican governor’s primary.
While Trump’s endorsed candidate did not win outright, that might not be a shock, given the sheer number of prominent candidates running and South Carolina’s runoff rules, in which the top two candidates go to a runoff if no one gets more than half of the vote.
Mace, who overall is a staunch supporter of the president, had voted for the release of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in defiance of Trump’s wishes. Some observers had seen Trump’s snub of Mace’s gubernatorial bid as another example of his political vengeance against lawmakers who opposed him, although Trump did not mention Mace in his endorsement of Evette.
“I voted to release the Epstein files and lost some support for that,” Mace said during remarks on Tuesday night, where she conceded the gubernatorial race without mentioning Trump.
Evette, on the campaign trail, had promoted her own conservative bona fides and strongly pushed for the state to redraw its congressional districts, a move Republican state legislators ended up rejecting.
A toss-up match set for governor in Nevada
While the candidates who won Nevada’s primaries for governor were not surprising in and of themselves, the results on Tuesday set up what’s likely going to be one of the most closely watched gubernatorial elections this fall.
Republican incumbent Gov. Joe Lombardo, who is running for a second term and has Trump’s endorsement, cruised to a projected victory in his primary, while Democrats nominated Aaron Ford, the state’s Attorney General, as their candidate.
Democrats have said they think Lombardo is the most vulnerable governor up for reelection during the 2026 cycle. They’ve argued that voters impacted by rising prices and Latino voters in the state who are souring on the Trump administration will turn against him.
Republicans, meanwhile, have argued that Lombardo is the best choice to continue leading the Silver State. The Nevada Republican Party wrote in September that Lombardo “has shown he’s a true champion for Nevada families and our conservative values. As Sheriff, he kept our communities safe, and now as Governor, he’s battling against the Democrats’ radical agenda.”
The Cook Political Report rates the seat as “Toss Up,” meaning it could be anyone’s game come November.
ABC News’ Jared Kofsky, Clarissa Gonzalez, and Juhi Doshi contributed to this report.
Jeffrey Epstein is seen in a photo released by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice. (New York State Sex Offender Registry)
(WASHIGTON) — Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime executive secretary Lesley Groff told the House Oversight Committee Tuesday that the convicted sex offender was a “master manipulator” and that she was unaware of his crimes, according to her prepared opening remarks and multiple sources familiar with her closed-door testimony.
Groff appeared as part of the committee’s ongoing inquiry into the federal government’s handling of investigations into Epstein and his alleged co-conspirators, which to date has included interviews with former Attorney General Pam Bondi, Epstein’s longtime personal assistant Sarah Kellen, and a prison guard who was on duty the night Epstein died in his jail cell.
In her prepared opening remarks, Groff said she hoped her testimony would “dispel the false notions” that she “knowingly enabled or conspired with him to commit his evil acts.”
“Nothing could be further from the truth,” Groff said, according to a copy of the remarks shared with ABC News.
Groff said that since Epstein’s arrest in 2019, she has struggled to sleep and eat, been the target of harassment and death threats, and been “shunned” by many of her friends and acquaintances.
Groff, who worked for Epstein in New York for more than 18 years, was once described by her boss as an “extension of my brain.”
She was one of four women listed as potential co-conspirators in Epstein’s controversial non-prosecution agreement in 2007, which she said, “remains her scarlet letter.”
“I am not a conspirator and I never would have agreed to this language,” Groff said in her prepared testimony.
Among her job requirements were scheduling Epstein’s frequent meetings with celebrities, scientists and politicians, booking Epstein’s daily massage appointments when he was in New York, and arranging travel for women linked to Epstein.
Groff said she was told when hired that Epstein’s typical day included a morning muffin, yoga and a massage. She said she made daily massage appointments for Epstein, but “never met any of the masseuses” and never heard from these women or from anyone else that they were minors or that they were sexually abused.
Groff also told lawmakers Tuesday that she never had a romantic or sexual relationship with Epstein and said the message appointments she scheduled for Epstein with young women and girls were with massage therapists, a source said.
Groff could not recall scheduling massages for anyone other than Epstein and former Goldman Sachs chief counsel Kathy Ruemmler at a spa, and said the masseuses were both male and female, sources said. She testified that she would receive the names of the massage therapists from Epstein, and that he instructed her to schedule the massages.
Sources said Groff told lawmakers that she scheduled most of the massages for Epstein’s New York residence. Groff testified that she never witnessed or knew of any sexual abuse.
Groff testified that she never met a single massage therapist in person and believes that Epstein — or Bella Klein, a one-time Epstein associate — would pay them with “petty cash,” sources said. Groff told lawmakers that she would occasionally send cash via couriers, said sources.
Groff said that from the moment she was hired in 2001, Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell “established guardrails” and made it clear that she was replaceable.
She said she was told never to associate with their friends.
“Their business was none of my business,” she said she was told. She recalled that she was once “torched” by Epstein after he found out she had attended a party with one of his contacts, but he stopped short of firing her.
“In hindsight, I wish he had fired me,” she said.
Groff explained that she did not leave her job with Epstein after his arrest in 2006, because Epstein lied to her and “insisted that he had been blackmailed and set up,” she said in her prepared remarks.
“It was a shakedown, he claimed, for money,” she said. “In my mind, that was the reasons that he was treated so leniently by law-enforcement for such a serious crime.”
She described her now-deceased former boss as a “master manipulator and deceiver who separated his legitimate life from his secret life as an abuser” and made sure “those two worlds did not collide.”
“Members of the Committee, my heart breaks for these women. I believe them,” Groff said in concluding her opening remarks. “Words cannot express how badly I feel that I was employed by Mr. Epstein during the time he abused these women. I will live with this horrible feeling for the rest of my life. But what I cannot and should not live with are the false innuendos and accusations that I knowingly aided his evil conduct.”
Last September at a press conference in front of the U.S. Capitol, Epstein survivor Marina Lacerda specifically called out Groff, alleging that Groff had called her so many times to go to Epstein’s place for a massage that she dropped out of high school before the ninth grade.
Lacerda — who was one of the key witnesses that led to Epstein’s 2019 indictment for child sex trafficking — told ABC News in an interview this week that Groff was the conduit to Epstein.
“Anything that had to do with Jeffrey Epstein,” Lacerda told ABC News in an interview, “had to go through Lesley Groff.”
Michael Bachner, a lawyer for Groff, declined comment in advance of her appearance on Capitol Hill. He previously told ABC News that Groff “never knowingly booked travel for anyone under the age of 18, and had no knowledge of the alleged illegal activity whatsoever.”
“Ms. Groff, a parent herself, is incredibly shocked and deeply upset about the alleged wrongdoings of Mr. Epstein,” Bachner said.
After Epstein’s arrest in July 2019, federal prosecutors in New York included Groff in a list of potential co-conspirators and sent her a subpoena. Bachner informed the government, just four days after Epstein’s arrest, that his client “would invoke her Fifth Amendment privilege against compelled self-incrimination” if called to appear before a grand jury.
Prosecutors informed her lawyers that “numerous victims [of Epstein] had indicated that she was responsible for scheduling massages during which they were sexually abused,” and that she should consider cooperating with the investigation, according to DOJ records released in response to the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Groff, now 59, eventually interviewed with the investigators two years later, telling prosecutors that “making massage appointments was just another appointment she had to make” for Epstein, and said that scheduling massages was “around 1%” of her job.
Groff, who was hired by Epstein in 2001, told the FBI she was immediately struck by Epstein’s lifestyle and the company he kept, describing it as “pretty incredible to see all the people Epstein dealt with in politics, television, et cetera.”
“Groff felt, ‘Wow,'” according to an FBI account of her interview.
Groff was initially paid a salary of $60,000 a year, but saw it doubled to $120,000 by Epstein four years later, DOJ records show.
The New York Times reported in 2005 that Epstein bought Groff a new Mercedes and paid for a nanny to ensure she would keep working for him.
“There is no way that I could lose Lesley to motherhood,” Epstein said of Groff, according to the newspaper’s account.
Banking records included in the DOJ’s Epstein files indicate that Groff also received three payments of $100,000 and one for $110,000 from Epstein companies between 2016 and 2018, though the records do not indicate the reasons for the payments.
When Epstein was arrested a second time in 2019, she resigned, her lawyer told prosecutors.
“She felt betrayed and disgusted once the indictment came out,” Bachner wrote.
According to documents released by the Justice Department in response to the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, one victim — who was a minor at the time of her alleged abuse — told the FBI that she felt Groff “knew that the massage appointments were sexual” and “felt it was pretty obvious Lesley knew what was going on,” according to the DOJ records.
Federal prosecutors in 2021 informed Groff that she would not be charged, according to a statement from her attorneys.
“After a more than two-year investigation by the Department of Justice into Jeffrey Epstein’s conduct, which included lengthy interviews of witnesses and a thorough review of relevant communications, we have been informed that no criminal charges will be brought against Lesley Groff,” the statement said.
Lacerda said she hopes the congressional investigators press Groff for answers.
“I just think that she should be honest about it so that we can have some accountability here,” she said.
House Oversight Chairman James Comer said on his way in Tuesday morning that he believed Groff has “information that is very valuable to our investigation.”
“Hopefully, we’ll learn more today,” Comer said.
The chairman reiterated that the committee is conducting “the most thorough investigation ever of Epstein.”
“We’re bringing in the most important people in the whole Epstein criminal enterprise that are still alive, and hopefully we’ll get the truth to the American people. If there’s an opportunity for accountability, we sure want to see that happen,” he said.
Groff did not speak to reporters upon her arrival.
A customer shops for produce at an H-E-B grocery store on May 11, 2026 in Austin, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Inflation jumped for a third consecutive month as the Iran war continued to drive up prices in May, surpassing 4% for the first time in three years. The reading matched economists’ expectations.
Prices rose 4.2% in May compared to a year earlier, marking an increase from a year-over-year inflation rate of 3.8% in the prior month, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed.
As recently as February, inflation clocked in just a few ticks above the Federal Reserve’s target level of 2%.
The Middle East conflict prompted the Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a maritime trading route that facilitates the transport of about one-fifth of global oil supply. The standoff triggered one of the largest oil shocks ever recorded.
Energy prices — a broad index that includes gasoline — soared 23% in May compared to a year earlier, data showed.
As a result, gasoline prices surged. The price of an average gallon of gas stood at $4.15 as of Wednesday, AAA data showed — an increase of $1.17 per gallon since the war began on Feb. 28. That amounts to a nearly 40% price jump in about three-and-a-half months.
The oil shortage also drove up diesel prices, putting upward pressure on grocery prices. Diesel is the lifeblood of the food supply chain, fueling trucks and ships. Higher fuel costs for suppliers mean price hikes in grocery aisles as the increased costs are passed down the supply chain.
Prices for tomatoes soared 32% in May compared to a year earlier, government data showed. Seafood prices jumped 6% over that period, while beef prices climbed nearly 13%.
A persistent increase in consumer prices may put pressure on the Fed to raise interest rates as a means of dialing back inflation.
For now, futures markets overwhelmingly expect the Fed to hold interest rates steady when policy makers meet next week, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, a measure of investor sentiment.
The meeting will be the first since Kevin Warsh began a four-year term atop the central bank.
During his term as a Fed governor in the late 2000s and early 2010s, Warsh gained a reputation as an interest-rate “hawk,” meaning he generally preferred higher interest rates as a means of ensuring low and stable inflation.
Last year, however, Warsh voiced support for lower interest rates, rebuking the Fed’s concern about inflation risk posed by a flurry of new tariffs.
At his Senate confirmation hearing in April, Warsh emphasized the threat posed by elevated inflation.
“When inflation surges — as it has done in recent years — grievous harm is done to our citizens, especially to the least well-off,” Warsh said.
The arena for the upcoming UFC match on the South Lawn is seen as workers setup the Rose Garden for an evening event at the White House on June 3, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department on Tuesday urged a federal judge to reject a lawsuit seeking to stop the White House’s Ultimate Fighting Championship event scheduled for this weekend, attacking its plaintiffs as “two people who believe they have superior taste and want to spoil the event for everyone else.”
In a filing Tuesday evening, the department argued the lawsuit brought by two Virginia residents lacks any reasonable standing while describing the timing of the filing as “inexcusable” given the event was first announced nearly a year ago.
“It would be easy enough to simply avert their gazes for the weekend. Instead, they seek to enlist the power of a federal court to impose their idiosyncratic preferences on the rest of the country and ruin an event designed to celebrate the United States of America,” the department said. “No one is holding Plaintiffs in a jiu jitsu lock, forcing them to watch UFC Freedom 250 against their will. The public interest does not favor allowing them to exercise a heckler’s veto, particularly at this late date.”
In a lawsuit filed this weekend, the Public Integrity Project — representing a political activist and Vietnam veteran — claimed the event was improperly permitted, skipped an environmental review, and is an extraordinary use of public land to benefit President Donald Trump and his allies.
Calling the event “deeply corrupt,” the lawsuit alleged that the Trump administration improperly used a temporary rule for “America 250” to bypass the permitting requirements normally required to host events on National Park Service land. They argue that because the event is being organized by a private entity, not the federal government, and is not explicitly “for the celebration of the 250th anniversary of American Independence,” the fight does not qualify for that temporary rule.
In its filing, the Trump administration described the UFC fight as “one of the most highly anticipated events” in a series of others intended to celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States, at one point likening it to the annual Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn and the Congressional Picnic.
At the same time, the filing highlights the extraordinary collaboration between the government and the UFC in preparing for the event, citing “well over $60 million and tens of thousands of hours of labor” that “have been expended” in order to carry it out.
“More than 4,000 spectators are expected to attend on the South Lawn, including more than 1,000 members of our armed services, and more than 120,000 visitors are expected to watch from the nearby Ellipse after winning free tickets in a lottery,” the filing said. “Fourteen world-class athletes, who have been training for months, have traveled from all over the world to compete (including for two world championships).”
The filing continued: “All these hopes could be dashed at the very last moment, however, by the whim of two people who believe they have superior taste and want to spoil the event for everyone else.”
The government has informed the judge overseeing the case, Amit Mehta, that counsel is available on Thursday in the event he wishes to schedule oral arguments.
Kremlin L and the Saint Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow, Russia. Moscow, May 16, 2026, (Photo by Feng Kaihua/Xinhua via Getty Images)
(LONDON )– Russian air defenses shot down at least 22 Ukrainian drones heading toward Moscow overnight and into Wednesday morning, according to the city’s Mayor Sergey Sobyanin, marking the third consecutive day of Ukrainian long-range strikes on the Russian capital.
The latest attacks on Moscow were part of a large wave of Ukrainian drone strikes launched across southern and western Russia, according to the Defense Ministry in Moscow, which said in a post to Telegram that its forces downed at least 326 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Sobyanin said emergency services had been dispatched to sites where intercepted drones and debris fell. The mayor did not note any damage or casualties caused by any of the attacks reported since Monday. Since Monday, Sobyanin has reported the downing of at least 39 Ukrainian drones heading toward the capital.
It is unclear whether any drones penetrated Russian air defenses. Russian officials generally attribute any damage or casualties to debris from interceptions rather than successful impacts, even in cases when video footage shows Ukrainian munitions hitting targets.
Elsewhere, local officials reported attacks on industrial facilities in the Samara, Rostov, Vladimir and Cheboksary regions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post to Telegram that a Ukrainian-designed FP-5 Flamingo cruise missile was used in the attack on Cheboksary. The strike hit “a military plant” used to produce “components for drones and missiles,” Zelenskyy added.
Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian munitions hit major oil refineries in Samara and Vladimir regions.
A drone alert was also declared in the Omsk region of Siberia — more than 1,800 miles from Ukraine — by Governor Vitaly Khotsenko, citing a warning from the Defense Ministry.
Russia’s federal air transport agency, Rosaviatsiya, announced temporary flight restrictions for at least 10 airports in southern and western Russia overnight into Wednesday morning, according to statements posted on its official Telegram channel.
The restrictions affected airports stretching from Sochi on the Black Sea coast to Perm, close to the Ural Mountains and more than 900 miles away from Ukraine.
Ukraine has been rapidly expanding its drone campaign against Russia — which officials in Kyiv refer to as “long-range sanctions” — in recent months, according to data published by Ukrainian officials and by the Russian Defense Ministry.
May saw the Russian Defense Ministry claim the shooting down of 9,418 Ukrainian drones — the highest monthly total ever reported by the ministry. And in Moscow, Sobyanin reported the shooting down of at least 329 Ukrainian drones heading toward the Russian capital the same month — just short of the record monthly high of 398 claimed interceptions in March.
Zelenskyy has been clear in his goal to expand Kyiv’s strikes deep inside Russia, targeting energy facilities, military factories and other strategic targets. “Our long-range impact on Russian logistics, Russian oil refining and Russian military production is also significant,” Zelenskyy said while visiting Estonia on Tuesday. “The Russian budget is in tatters. We must keep up the pressure and bring Russia back onto the diplomatic track,” he added.
Russia continued its own long-range strike campaign into Ukraine overnight into Wednesday. Ukraine’s air force said in a post to Telegram that Russia launched 207 drones into the country in its latest barrage, of which 181 were intercepted or otherwise suppressed.
ABC News cannot independently verify the data released by either Russia or Ukraine. It is possible that both sides may seek to exaggerate the effectiveness of their air defenses, or to amplify the attacks against them as proof that their enemies are not interested in pursuing a peace deal, experts have suggested.
Moscow publishes only the number of Ukrainian drones and other projectiles it claims to have intercepted.
Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo speaks during a ceremonial groundbreaking for the USD 1.75 billion, 33,000-seat domed stadium for Major League Baseball’s Athletics on June 23, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada.. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Nevada’s gubernatorial primary has resulted in a face-off between incumbent Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo and Democratic nominee Attorney General Aaron Ford and the race is indicative of whether GOP governors in battleground states can survive while distancing themselves from President Donald Trump’s low approval ratings, a dynamic with implications for 2028.
Economic anxiety, conflict overseas, a polarizing mass deportation program and low approval ratings for the president might become headwinds for Lombardo, despite a Republican presidential candidate carrying the state for the first time in two decades in 2024.
Nevada offers a particularly revealing test case: a tourism-heavy economy, a working-class Latino electorate and an expanding bloc of nonpartisan voters. Since Lombardo’s 2022 victory, registered independents have surged in the state.
Las Vegas tourism fell 7.5% last year, while unemployment remains among the nation’s highest.
Asked whether he can guarantee unemployment will fall, Lombardo said in a statement that since he took office, “… Inflation has come down, wages are rising, housing prices are stabilizing, and Nevada leads the nation in post pandemic job creation, as well as both small business and wage growth.”
His supporters have pointed to his work on the state’s education system.
“The governor has worked to bridge the gap in per pupil spending with several billion dollars in funding without raising taxes, as well as open enrollment, more school choice, and accountability reforms,” John Burke, spokesman for a pro-Lombardo PAC, said. “We’re already seeing results, graduation rates are growing and students are getting the resources they need to succeed.”
Ford, who was a single father in college relying on food stamps and Medicaid, said he’s focused on affordability.
“Nevadans … cannot afford a home, they cannot afford health care, they can’t afford gas, they can’t afford groceries, and it’s all this Lombardo-Trump economy doesn’t work for the working people, it’s working for this billionaire class,” Ford said in an interview with ABC News.
Ford has been endorsed by former Vice President Kamala Harris and Nevada’s Democratic congressional delegation.
“He’s battled fentanyl being trafficked across our southern border, gone after fraudulent landlords who are jacking up prices on working families, and won more than $1 billion in settlements from taking on big drug companies,” said Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., in a statement to ABC News.
Lombardo, a former Clark County sheriff endorsed by Trump, said in a KLAS interview that Nevadans may need to “feel a little pain” over Trump’s tariff policies to see job growth — a line Democrats have campaigned on.
“[Trump] ran on it, he was very vocal about it and very transparent about it in how he was going to accomplish that,” Lombardo said last year. “So, I think we maybe need to feel a little pain in the short term and hopefully in the long-term it’s a huge benefit for us.”
Ford has taken the Trump administration to court more than 40 times, including over tariffs.
“I sued up those tariffs, I won, and I’m not going to stop until Nevadans get the $1,700 of stolen money out of the pockets they had to pay in extra taxes because of those tariffs,” Ford said.
Peter Guzman, president of Nevada’s Latin Chamber of Commerce, told ABC News that Lombardo had conversations with the White House that resulted in Nevada avoiding large-scale immigration raids.
“We’ve been able to prevent any kind of chaos when it comes to ICE, because of his relationships, not only with Trump administration, but also because of his years in law enforcement,” Guzman said.
Nevada Republicans have criticized Ford for spending at least 322 days out of state, mostly attending professional conferences, according to a Nevada Independent review of his calendar. GOP campaign ads have branded him “high-flying Aaron Ford.”
Ford called the attacks “juvenile” and said working with attorneys general nationwide helped “address issues that transcend state borders.”
In 2022, Lombardo ousted incumbent Democrat Gov. Steve Sisolak by just 1.5%.
“The average election in Nevada is often decided by a very narrow margin. Both parties have their constituencies, but there’s a group in the middle that decides these races and the best candidate will earn those voters,” Burke said.
The booking photo for Karmelo Anthony. (Frisco Police Department)
(FRISCO, Texas) — A teen was found guilty of murder over the fatal stabbing of another teen at a high school track meet last year and sentenced to 35 years in prison.
Karmelo Anthony, 19, was indicted on first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a track meet in Frisco, Texas, in April 2025.
Prosecutors called the stabbing “senseless” and “plain and simple murder,” while the defense argued that Anthony acted in self-defense.
Following the announcement of the jury’s announcement, Metcalf’s parents and his twin brother delivered emotional victim impact statements, addressing Anthony directly.
“We will never know what our future could have been,” Meghan Metcalf, Austin Metcalf’s mother, said, according to WFAA. “For journalists, activists, this is a story. For our family, this is our reality.”
Jeff Metcalf, Austin Metcalf’s father, said his son’s death destroyed the person he used to be.
“People think grief is sadness, it is not. It is rage. Pure unfiltered rage,” he said, as he slammed his fist on a table, according to WFAA.
The jury began deliberating midday Tuesday before reaching the guilty murder verdict in three hours, according to a court spokesperson. The jurors also could have considered manslaughter, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years.
The same jury reached a decision on the sentence after several more hours of deliberation on Tuesday.
After being remanded to the custody of the sheriff’s office, Anthony could be seen crying when he returned to the court for the punishment phase, according to ABC Dallas affiliate WFAA, which was in the courtroom for the trial.
Anthony’s mother was the only person to take the stand during the punishment phase, asking the jurors to show him mercy as he is sorry for what he did, WFAA reported. The judge said that Anthony waived his right to testify during the punishment phase, according to the station.
The murder charge carried a sentence of five years to life in prison. The state agreed to allow jurors to consider “sudden passion,” which, if proven, would have limited the sentence from two to 20 years, according to WFAA. The defense argued that Anthony was overwhelmed by a strong emotion and acted before having time to calm down.
The deadly stabbing occurred at a Frisco Independent School District stadium on April 2, 2025, during a track and field competition involving multiple schools in the district.
Police said Metcalf, an 11th grader at Frisco Memorial High School, was stabbed during an altercation under his school’s tent in the stadium bleachers. Witnesses said the two got into an argument over Anthony, a then-17-year-old student at Frisco Centennial High School, being under Metcalf’s school tent during the rainy track meet.
Jurors heard testimony over four days at the Collin County Courthouse in McKinney, Texas. Anthony did not take the stand in his own defense.
Judge John Roach imposed a gag order in the case, restricting what those involved can say, and barred any electronics from the courtroom during the trial due to the attention the case has garnered.
Collin County First Assistant District Attorney Bill Wirskye told jurors that the stabbing was not self-defense but “unjustified” murder, according to WFAA.
In his closing argument on Tuesday, Wirskye claimed that Anthony provoked Metcalf, questioned why the defendant didn’t walk away and called the stabbing disproportionate.
“You don’t get to meet a shove with a stab — especially if you provoke a shove,” Wirskye told jurors, according to WFAA.
Defense attorney Mike Howard told jurors that Anthony had gone to the Memorial tent to get out of the rain when Metcalf confronted him and told him to leave, WFAA reported. Howard said Anthony “acted in fear and chaos” after Metcalf pushed him, and stabbed the other teen in self-defense, according to WFAA.
During his closing argument on Tuesday, Howard said Metcalf had “no legal right” to use force on Anthony, WFAA reported. In response to contentions that Anthony could have just left, the defense attorney said, “I am sure he wishes he did,” according to WFAA.
Multiple students who were at the track meet that day testified that they saw Metcalf push Anthony, who was seated on the bleacher, with some describing it as a two-handed push, like a “lineman move,” while others said it was a one-handed “small shove,” WFAA reported.
One witness testified that Anthony was asked to leave the tent about 15 times, according to WFAA. Some recalled Anthony saying, “Touch me and see what happens,” during the altercation, which witnesses said lasted about four to six minutes, according to WFAA. Another witness quoted Metcalf as telling Anthony, “I’m not going to fight you,” the station reported.
Surveillance footage from the track meet played in court did not show the stabbing, and some of the witnesses were asked to demonstrate the incident, according to WFAA.
After the stabbing, witnesses said Anthony jogged away from the tent, and a coach who spoke to him on the track testified that he said, “He put his hands on me. I stabbed him,” according to WFAA.
A pocket knife used in the stabbing was found on the bleachers, police said. Collin County Medical Examiner Dr. Elizabeth Ventura testified that Metcalf was stabbed on the left side of his chest, and the knife perforated his right ventricle, according to WFAA.
Several people spoke during the trial of the efforts to save Metcalf. A football coach who was helping at the track meet testified that he put pressure on the stab wound, and Memorial’s athletic trainer said she did CPR until paramedics arrived, according to WFAA.
“Everybody was praying,” Memorial High School head track coach Robert Starr said in emotional testimony, according to WFAA. “I just knew Austin was gone.”
Metcalf was transported to an area hospital, where he was ultimately pronounced dead, police said.
Frisco ISD reacted to the verdict, saying in a statement, “We respect the judicial process and will continue to support our students with compassion and care.”
“We know this trial has brought strong emotions and deep grief, and we ask that our community continue to support each other with respect, sensitivity and understanding,” the statement continued.
Joan Cusack, the voice of Jessie, and Taylor Swift attend the ‘Toy Story 5’ Los Angeles World Premiere in Los Angeles, California on June 9, 2026. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for for TAS Rights Management)
Taylor Swift is sharing new details about the inspiration for “I Knew It, I Knew You,” her original song for Toy Story 5.
Swift said in a new interview with ABC News that she was inspired by the journey of Jessie, the beloved cowgirl ragdoll in the animated movie franchise.
“We have seen her go through such heartbreak and such, you know, triumphs and loss and we learned her back story,” Swift said in an interview that aired Wednesday on Good Morning America. “But in Toy Story 5, we see such a character development and, really, lessons that I could relate to as she’s grown up and as she has learned more about her experiences and her memories.”
The singer continued, “Just the feeling that, like, sometimes people’s paths diverge, and that doesn’t mean that that’s the last time that you get to feel those memories or know that person.”
When the song was released on June 5, Swift revealed that she collaborated on it with singer-songwriter and producer Jack Antonoff. She shared on social media that they wrote the song with “adoration” for the Toy Story characters that were staples of their childhoods.
Swift performed “I Knew It, I Knew You,” for the first time live at the Toy Story 5 world premiere Tuesday night in Los Angeles. She also performed “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” alongside Randy Newman, the man who wrote and sang Toy Story‘s signature tune.
Toy Story 5, a Disney and Pixar film, is scheduled to premiere in theaters on Friday, June 19. Swift posed at the film’s premiere with its stars, including Joan Cusack, who voices Jessie on the big screen.
The 14-time Grammy winner said that as a longtime Toy Story fan herself, it was a “poignant” moment for her to pen and perform a song for the movie’s latest release.
“I watched Toy Story when I was 5 and I’ve watched every single one of the films so many times,” she said. “So I really think that, like, to be able to be welcomed into something that has welcomed me, unknowingly, its entire existence, just as a fan, feels like very poignant for me and for my family.”
The Walt Disney Co. is the parent company of ABC News and Pixar.
Poster for second annual Rise and Rhythm Cruise (Rose Tours)
The Rise and Rhythm Cruise is returning for its sophomore year, offering four nights of entertainment over Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend.
The Norwegian Jewel will set sail Jan. 14, 2027, from Miami and make stops at Great Stirrup Cay and Freeport, Grand Bahama. Cletus Kassady returns as host, while the entertainment lineup includes performances by Kem, Mary Mary, Calvin Richardson, Avery*Sunshine, Madison Ryann Ward and more.
Guests will also hear from a lineup of speakers, including Anthony Anderson, Keion Henderson and Lady Shaunie Henderson, who will share their experiences, insights, wisdom and advice through live podcast recordings, meet-and-greets and other interactive events.
