(JASPER, Texas) — Four teenagers have been arrested in the wake of a shooting that injured 11 people at an after-prom party at a home in Texas, authorities announced on Friday.
The suspects, an 18-year-old man and three 19-year-old men, are charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and engaged in organized criminal activity, the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office said.
About 250 people were at the home at the time of the early Sunday morning shooting.
The investigation is ongoing and authorities ask anyone with information to come forward.
(NEW YORK) — A 70-year-old man survived a cougar attack in Utah without serious injuries, officials said.
He suffered only lacerations to his head and arms when he was confronted by the animal at Spanish Fork Canyon around 1 p.m. Thursday, the Utah County Sheriff’s Office said.
He was hospitalized and listed in fair condition, according to the sheriff’s office.
Authorities said officials with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources will search for the cougar on Friday.
Cougars, also known as mountain lions or pumas, are seen regularly in mountainous regions of Utah. There are about 1,600 cougars in Utah, according to the Division of Wildlife Resources, though that number is declining “due to increased trophy hunting and habitat loss.”
(NEW YORK) — One of three Colorado teenagers accused of throwing large landscaping rocks toward at least seven cars allegedly took a photo of the final victim’s car after hitting it “as a memento,” according to court documents.
Joseph Koenig, Nicholas “Mitch” Karol-Chik and Zachary Kwak, all 18-year-old high school seniors, were arrested this week in connection to the April 19 rock-throwing spree, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said. The final rock-throwing incident claimed the life of 20-year-old driver Alexa Bartell. In two of the seven incidents, drivers suffered minor injuries.
After Bartell’s death, Kwak said Koenig and Karol-Chik talked about being “blood brothers,” and said they agreed to never speak of the incident again, according to court documents. The day after Bartell was killed, they allegedly met up to discuss what happened, according to court documents.
Karol-Chik told police all three teens threw rocks at cars and they were “excited” when they hit them, according to court documents. He said Kwak was the one who threw the fatal rock at Bartell’s car, the documents said. After Bartell’s car was hit, Kwak allegedly said, “We have to go back to see that,” and when they turned around, Kwak allegedly took a photo of Bartell’s car, according to the documents.
When Kwak was questioned, he admitted taking a photo, saying “he thought Joseph or Mitch would want it as a memento,” according to court documents.
Kwak said the impact of the rock on Bartell’s car made a very loud noise, like a “rail gun shooting a block of concrete,” and he saw the 20-year-old’s car leave the road, according to court documents.
The teens are charged with first-degree murder with extreme indifference. Additional charges are expected, authorities said.
Koenig and Karol-Chik had allegedly thrown rocks at cars on at least 10 separate occasions since February, according to court documents.
As the three suspects made their first court appearance on Thursday, prosecutors said the community is outraged, and that the teens’ reckless and irresponsible actions took away “an innocent life.”
The teens, who were held on no bond, are set to return to court on May 3.
Koenig’s father was also arrested for allegedly trying to obstruct his son’s arrest, the sheriff’s office said.
Judy Blume‘s coming-of-age book Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret has finally been made into a film, which hits theaters April 28. Abby Ryder Fortson plays Margaret, a sixth-grader in 1970 who’s struggling with a new school, puberty and religion. Abby, 15, says even though the movie’s set 50 years in the past, there’s plenty for kids today to relate to.
“We have social media and the internet and all of these new things. But I think the core experience of growing up and puberty, it never really changes. It’s always going to be awkward, and messy and weird,” she tells ABC Audio. “You’ll have all of these thoughts and feelings that you don’t really know how to deal with yet.”
Director and screenwriter Kelly Fremon Craig says she set the movie in the ’70s because she wanted to remain faithful to the book. But also, she explains, “Girls today watching somebody go through the same thing that they’re going through 50 years ago is very connecting … it makes you feel that this is something we all go through.”
Blume thinks the movie is better than her book because Margaret’s parents, and her grandma, played by Kathy Bates, are full-fledged characters with their own inner lives.
As the 85-year-old Blume explains, “You couldn’t know them in the book and you didn’t need to, because that was first-person from a 12-year-old’s point of view.”
Of all the cringy puberty moments in the film, Abby said the cringiest was the scene where Margaret and her mom, played by Rachel McAdams, go bra shopping.
“I think everyone has an awkward first bra story,” she laughs. “[And the] first kiss … that’s always so awkward, God.”
Queen continues their in depth look at their iconic stage wear in episode 15 of their weekly YouTube series, Queen The Greatest Live.
This week the band focuses on three classic performances of the Roger Taylor-penned track “Sheer Heart Attack,” showing the evolution of frontman Freddie Mercury’s style in the ’70s and ’80s.
The first clip was shot in December, 1977 at Houston’s The Summit, with Mercury rocking a silver sequin catsuit with an opening down to the navel. That’s followed by a December, 1979 performance at London’s Hammersmith Odeon, with Freddie in red leather pants. It ends at the Montreal Forum in November, 1981, with Freddie donning tiny white shorts and a red neckerchief.
Martin Scorsese unveiled the teaser for his upcoming crime drama Killers of the Flower Moon during an appearance at CinemaCon on Thursday and also shared that the film was tough to make given that his home is in New York.
“It wasn’t an easy film to make,” he said while being interviewed by one of the film’s stars, Leonardo DiCaprio, according to Variety. “I am a New Yorker, and there were prairies out there. Wild horses. Coyotes…”
Killers of the Flower Moon is set in 1920s Oklahoma, where a string of brutal murders, known as the Reign of Terror, struck members of the oil-wealthy Osage Nation, leading to the formation of the FBI.
“This is a big screen movie, and that’s what we made,” Scorsese told the crowd during Paramount’s presentation. He promised a story told on an “epic scale.”
Along with DiCaprio, the film stars Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, Cara Jade Myers, JaNae Collins, Jillian Dion and Tantoo Cardinal.
Killers of the Flower Moon is set to hit theaters on October 6.
(NEW YORK) — Multiple tornadoes were reported in Florida and Georgia on Thursday, as a new storm brings a severe weather threat and possible tornadoes to Texas.
Seven tornadoes were reported in the Florida Panhandle and southern Georgia on Thursday. A large and “extremely dangerous” tornado was confirmed west of Tallahassee Thursday afternoon. Major damage to homes was reported in Hosford in the area.
Straight-line winds gusted to 76 mph near Panama City, Florida, as severe storms progressed east across the southeast Big Bend.
Another storm is forecast to bring a severe weather threat for most of eastern Texas Friday, from Dallas to Houston and down to Corpus Christi.
Damaging winds in excess of 75 mph, huge hail and tornadoes are possible. The highest tornado threat will be from Dallas to Waco Friday afternoon between 3 and 7 p.m. CT.
On Saturday, this severe threat moves into the Florida Panhandle again, as well as southern Georgia and Alabama. Damaging winds will be the biggest threat, but a few tornadoes can’t be ruled out.
(KANSAS CITY, Mo.) — The first round of the NFL Draft is in the books and Alabama quarterback Bryce Young was selected first from the 2023 class.
The 21-year-old former Heisman Trophy winner joined Good Morning America Friday morning after a night of celebration at the draft site in Kansas City, Missouri.
When NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell called his name, Young said, “It was surreal.”
“That’s something that you dream of. For that to come to fruition, I was super blessed to have my parents there and my family around me and be able to share that with them,” Young said, smiling. “It’s a moment I’ll never forget.”
While most mock drafts had Young as the preferred top pick, there were some lingering questions of if it would actually happen.
“Just being No. 1 was not something I was too focused on. I want to be in the right fit,” he said. “In big picture things like this in my life, I feel like that’s not up to me, I feel like God leads those things and I knew I was going to end up wherever he wanted me to be.”
Young continued, “For me to be a Carolina Panther, it’s surreal. I couldn’t ask for a better situation, so I’m super blessed with how things turned out.”
Young also made history as the first Alabama player in the school’s storied football program to go No. 1 in the draft.
“For me to be able do something that hasn’t been done at the university, that means a lot. I take a lot of pride in that, it’s a huge honor,” he said. “But it doesn’t entitle me to anything at the next level. I’m super excited and ready for the work that it’s going to take and ready to get to work in my new place.”
While the 5-foot-10, 204-pound quarterback doesn’t fit the prototypical size of a successful NFL quarterback, he said “everyone’s entitled to their own opinion.” He said he is confident he can stand up to the hits he will take on the field.
“I have been this size relative to everyone around me my entire life. I know who I am. I know it’s gonna take a lot of work to be able have success at the next level and this is a new environment for me, I’m just blessed to have this opportunity — I’m ready to help the Carolina panthers win some football games.”
Coi Leray just dropped a new single, “Bops,” which the star says “just has big energy.”
“I got to talk my s***. I like to talk my s***. I like to say what I got to say,” she said of the song when speaking to Apple Music. She says she heard the Johnny Goldstein-produced beat while working on her second studio album and instantly thought, “Oh my God, this s*** is going to be insane.”
“Bops” follows the chart-topping success of “Players” and precedes “My Body,” which Coi plans to release Friday. All songs will appear on what she says will be “one of the biggest projects ever.”
“I’m so excited about this second album because it’s mostly myself. I told myself, like, I have a couple features, which I’m going to keep discreet because it’s only literally a little bit, not even a handful, but I’ve been working on this project constantly, constantly,” says Coi.
“When it comes to my melodies, my versatility, whether if I’m rapping, singing, doing the baby voice, if I’m dancing or whatever it is, I’m just that girl. And I say that in the most humble way,” she continues.
Coi says the new album will show her “true talent and what God really brought me here to do” and that she hopes it will make people focus on the music rather than the negative headlines. “This is just Coi on a whole ‘nother level, and that’s a little hint for you,” she says.
Her desire is to “become the next icon, the next It girl for my generation,” Coi adds. “I feel like I am the best of my generation, I’m not even gonna lie to you … it’s time for people to wake up and understand I’m here forever.”
Hulu dropped the trailer for season 3 of The Kardashians, and Kris Jenner sums things up best when she declares, “This has been a whirlwind of a year.”
Kim Kardashian can’t seem to remember where the show left off last season. When a producer reminds her that she was dating Pete Davidson, the 42-year-old mother of four replies, “Things change really quickly.”
Amid her divorce from Kanye West, a tearful Kim reveals she’s “not okay,” later explaining that the rapper is painting “the most insane narrative” about her and her kids, but that they “stay silent through all the lies for my kids.”
Kim also faces the ire of her sister Kourtney, who thinks the SKIMS founder used her wedding to Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker as a “business opportunity.” Kim denies the accusations, insisting she “couldn’t have been more mindful.”
Meanwhile, Khloé Kardashian has problems of her own, dealing with a melanoma scare. She also reveals that she doesn’t want to lean on her on-off-boyfriend, Tristan Thompson, any longer.
Kylie Jenner brings up the topic of cosmetic surgery, hoping her daughter Stormi, 5, doesn’t follow her example.
“I don’t want my daughter to do the things I did. I wish I never touched anything to begin with,” she admits.
The trailer concludes with Kylie Jenner declaring, “I just don’t think everything’s gonna be okay.”
The Kardashians returns for its third season May 25 on Hulu.
