(LANCASTER, Texas) — A man was killed during a youth football game in Lancaster, Texas, Saturday night after an argument escalated into a shooting, according to police.
Witnesses told Lancaster police that the coaching staff and officials had gotten into a disagreement that became physical, leading to the shooting.
Lancaster police said they’re searching for Yaqub Salik Talib, the brother of former NFL cornerback Aqib Talib, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.
“Upon arrival, officers were notified of a disagreement among coaching staff and the officiating crew,” the Lancaster Police Department said in a press release. “During the disagreement, the opposing coaching staff were involved in a physical altercation and one of the individuals involved in the altercation discharged a firearm striking one adult male.”
The man was taken to a hospital, where he later died, according to Lancaster police.
The victim was identified Sunday as Michael “Mike” Hickmon, a youth football coach, according to the family, who has released a statement.
“On behalf of the Hickmon family we would like to thank everyone for the onslaught of [love] we’ve received,” the family said in a statement. “This is a very difficult time for our family and community. Michael was our everything. He was incredibly kind and generous. He loved to laugh and make others laugh. He could also be sarcastic and drive you crazy. But we loved him, because all of those things made him, him.”
“Mike loved his family,” the statement continued. “He adored his wife. He loved being a dad and grandpa. He was a great provider. The best brother you could ask for. He loved football and boxing, he went to as many fights as he could. He loved boxing so much, he also worked boxing matches. He loved to travel. Our family is grieving. Hard. Right now we don’t see an end to our grief. But what I know for sure is… We will find a way to move forward. We don’t have a choice. We miss him immensely. We always will. We will love him forever.”
Authorities have not publicly identified the victim.
The shooting happened at around 8:50 p.m. at the Lancaster Community Park, Lancaster police officials said in the press release. An investigation is ongoing.
Police said if people have any information about Yaqub Salik Talib’s whereabouts, please contact Detective Senad Deranjic at 972-218-2756.
Lancaster is located in Dallas County.
ABC News’ Nic Uff, Marcus Moore and Marilyn Heck contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — The Iranian government on Monday denied that its officials were responsible for the attack on Salman Rushdie, saying the government hadn’t previously heard of the man who allegedly stabbed the author on Friday.
“No one has the right to accuse Iran,” Nasser Kanaani, spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said in his weekly press conference on Monday, adding that Iran was not previously aware of the alleged attacker.
“We know nothing about this person more than what we heard from the American media,” Kanaani said.
Rushdie, an Indian-British citizen, was stabbed last week during a lecture event in New York. Police identified the suspect as Hadi Matar, 24, who was charged with attempted murder in the second degree and assault in the second degree.
In 1989, Iran’s then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini issued an apostasy fatwa over the author’s novel “The Satanic Verses.” The book was partly inspired by the life of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam. Iranian leaders and others accused Rushdie of blasphemy.
“Salman Rushdie exposed himself to the public anger by insulting Islamic sacred topics and crossing red lines of both over 1.5 billion Muslims and red lines of followers of all divine religions,” Kanaani said on Monday. “All of them were offended by someone insulting a divine prophet.”
“In attacking [Rushdie], no one deserves condemnation except of [Rushdie] himself and his supporters,” Kanaani said.
The Iranian foreign minister in 1998 said that the country had dropped Rushdie’s death threat, but the current supreme leader of the country, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in the country’s political decision-making and issuing of religious decrees, confirmed multiple times, including in 2017, that the fatwa was still valid.
Rushdie was taken off a ventilator and was on the “road to recovery,” his literary agent, Andrew Wiley, said on Sunday.
Prior to Iran’s official reaction, local media appeared to express some contentment that Rushdie had been stabbed. Iran Daily, which often reflects the government’s perspective, ran a story under the headline: “Satan’s neck under the blade.”
Another newspaper, Keyhan, whose managing editor was appointed by Iran’s leader, congratulated the man who allegedly stabbed Rushdie, calling him “courageous.” It called for “a kiss on his hand who tore the neck of God’s enemy with a knife.”
Another newspaper printed a front-page story with the headline “Satan on the Path to Inferno,” which ran with a picture of Rushdie on a stretcher being wheeled away.
Public opinion on the stabbing may differ from the official perspective, according to one source who spoke with ABC News on Monday.
“This is a clear attack not just on a great writer but to the freedom of speech. Such acts must stop,” said Sarah, an Iranian student in sociology, who asked that her last name be withheld for her safety. “I am so happy that Rushdie survived and is on the path to recovery and the extremists failed doing what they wanted.”
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The Russian military has since launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, capturing the strategic port city of Mariupol and securing a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Aug 15, 5:53 AM EDT
Griner to appeal Russian conviction, lawyer says
Brittney Griner’s defense team filed an appeal for the verdict by Khimky City Court, according to Maria Blagovolina, a partner at Rybalkin Gortsunyan Dyakin and Partners law firm.
The WNBA star was found guilty on drug charges in a Moscow-area court this month.
-ABC News’ Tanya Stukalova
Aug 14, 4:44 PM EDT
1st UN-chartered ship loaded with Ukrainian wheat set to depart for Africa
The first UN-chartered ship loaded with Ukrainian wheat is set to head for Africa from the near the port city Odesa, Ukrainian officials said Sunday.
The MV Brave Commander is loaded with 23,000 tons of wheat that will be shipped to Ethiopia as part of a mission to relieve a global food crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine that has halted grain exports for months, Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Alexander Kubrakov announced at a news conference.
Kubrakov said the UN-chartered ship is scheduled to leave the Pivdenny port near Odesa on Monday.
“When three months ago, during the meeting of the President of Ukraine (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy and the U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Kyiv the first negotiations on unlocking Ukrainian maritime ports began, we have already seen how critical it is becoming a food situation in the world.” Kubrakov wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday. “This especially applies to the least socially protected countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, for whom Ukraine has always been a key importer of agro-production.”
He said Ethiopia is in desperate need of Ukrainian grain.
“This country has been suffering from record drought and armed confrontation for the second year in a row,” Kubrakov said. “Ukrainian grain for them without exaggeration — the matter of life and death.”
He said he hopes the MV Brave Commander will be the first many more grain shipments under the U.N. World Food Program.
Aug 12, 2:28 PM EDT
‘They treat us like captives’: Exiled Zaporizhzhia manager on conditions at plant
An exiled manager at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant told ABC News that the Ukrainian staff is treated “like captives.”
Oleg, who asked to be referred by a pseudonym, said he felt threatened by the Russian soldiers.
“They didn’t say, ‘I’m going to shoot you now,’ but they always carry guns and assault rifles with them,” said Oleg, who managed one of 80 units at the plant but was able to leave last month. “And when an assault rifle or a gun has a cocked trigger, I consider it as a threat.”
Amid reported shelling in the vicinity of the plant, Oleg said he was primarily concerned about its spent fuel containers, “which are in a precarious position, and they are not shielded well.”
Aug 11, 4:43 PM EDT
UN secretary-general calls for all military activities around nuclear power plant to ‘cease immediately’
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “calling for all military activities” around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant in southern Ukraine “to cease immediately,” and for armies not “to target its facilities or surroundings.”
Ukraine’s nuclear regulator Energoatom said Russian forces shelled the plant for a third time on Thursday, hitting close to the first power unit. Earlier on Thursday, Energoatom said five rockets struck the area around the commandant’s office, close to where the radioactive material is stored.
Yevgeny Balitsky, the Russian-installed interim governor of Zaporizhzhya Oblast, issued a statement claiming Ukrainian forces struck the plant, hitting close to an area with radioactive material.
Guterres said he’s appealed to all parties to “exercise common sense” and take any actions that could endanger the physical integrity, safety or security of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
“Instead of de-escalation, over the past several days there have been reports of further deeply worrying incidents that could, if they continue, lead to disaster,” he said, adding that he’s “gravely concerned.”
Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, pleaded with the U.N. Security Council Thursday to allow for an IAEA mission to visit the plant as soon as possible. He said the situation at the plant is deteriorating rapidly and is “becoming very alarming.”
(HOUSTON) — Faith Mata threw Sunday’s first pitch at the Houston Astros game in honor of her sister, Tess, 10, who was killed in the devastating shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde in May. The fourth grader had been saving money to take her family to a game at Minute Maid Park to see her favorite player, Jose Altuve.
With tears in her eyes, the girls’ mom said the family never had the opportunity to bring Tess to a game, but she would be “so excited… She’d be jumping up and down right now,” she told ABC News.
“We wanted them to be treated like royalty,” Astros Foundation Executive Director Paula Harris told ABC News when describing what the team has dubbed “Uvalde Strong Day.” The foundation gave away thousands of tickets and sent buses to pick up 500 Uvalde residents, who either were directly affected by or responded to the tragedy, to shuttle them to Houston. When entering the city limits, the Houston Police Department escorted the buses directly to Minute Maid Park.
Jose Altuve posed for selfies with young fans, and the crowd of community members got to ask players questions and interact with them on the field. Dusty Baker, the team’s manager, said to the crowd of Uvaldeans that his hope for the day was that it would help with the healing process.
Attending with his family, Javier Cazares, the father of shooting victim Jackie Cazares, said he felt Houston’s support, was happy to be at Minute Maid and hoped for a good game. His shirt, bearing Jackie’s image with added wings and the words “Forever in our hearts,” was a stark reminder of the painful event that brought this still-healing community to Houston.
Harris told ABC News the event is the Astros saying to the Uvalde community, “You’re family. You’re neighbors. We want to do whatever we can to help you get through this process. And if it’s just a smile on a Sunday for our game, that’s what we want to do.”
When asked how Tess would be reacting to the day, her dad said, “She’s looking down on us right now, and I’m pretty sure she has a big ol’ smile.”
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Sunday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Kansas City 4, LA Dodgers 0
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Tampa Bay 4, Baltimore 1
Cleveland 7, Toronto 2
Houston 6, Oakland 3
Chi White Sox 5, Detroit 3
Texas 5, Seattle 3
LA Angels 4, Minnesota 2
Boston 3, NY Yankees 0
NATIONAL LEAGUE
San Diego 6, Washington 0
St. Louis 6, Milwaukee 3
Atlanta 3, Miami 1
NY Mets 6, Philadelphia 0
Cincinnati 8, Chi Cubs 5
Arizona 7, Colorado 4
San Francisco 8, Pittsburgh 7
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PRESEASON
Las Vegas 26, Minnesota 20
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
New York 87, Atlanta 83
Las Vegas 109, Seattle 100
Washington 95, Indiana 83
Chicago 82, Phoenix 67
Dallas 116, Los Angeles 88
Connecticut 90, Minnesota 83
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Minnesota 2, Nashville 1
Real Salt Lake 2, Seattle 1
Recently, their second daughter, Maggie McGraw, turned 24, and Tim celebrated with a sentimental Instagram post commenting on her character.
“Happy 24th birthday to our remarkable middle daughter MAGGIE! Your mom, sisters and I are so very proud of you. Your drive, work ethic and enthusiastic determination to make the world a better place inspires me every single day,” he writes alongside a photo of his daughter wearing a pink jumpsuit and cowboy hat. “I love you Mags-a-Million!!!!”
“Love you, dad,” Maggie responds in the comments with popping champagne emojis. “Yas,” agreed her sister Audrey McGraw.
Faith also commemorated the occasion with a video showcasing what often transpires in their household, Faith approaching her daughter from behind with sparklers as Maggie dances around singing.
“A glimpse into the world of the McGraw Women on any given day or night. Thought this video would be a fun and possibly embarrassing clip to share in celebration of Maggie’s 24th birthday!” Faith shares. “We love you so much Mags!!”
The couple is also parents to 20-year-old Audrey and 25-year-old Gracie.
Mariah Carey‘s Atlanta home was burglarized last month while she vacationed New York and Italy.
The incident was confirmed by police, who told Page Six, “this is still an open investigation, the information may be limited.”
The burglary was reported on July 27. It was not immediately clear what was taken, if anything, from the multi-million-dollar home.
Mariah was active on social media, sharing her summertime adventures as she traveled with her 11-year-old twins Monroe and Moroccan and her boyfriend, Bryan Tanaka. On July 19, the singer shared a picturesque photo of herself in the water and captioned it, “Ciao Capri!”
A week later, Mariah was dishing out thank-yous for her stay in the Hamptons.
“Out East for the week, soaking it all in,” she captioned a snapshot of herself in pajamas. “Thank you @dylaneckardt @shawnelliottrealestate and the @nestseekers team!”
Heche was declared brain dead Thursday night but was kept on life support for organ donation, and her heart was still beating, her representative said Friday.
Her representative told ABC News on Sunday night that she has been peacefully taken off life support.
“My brother Atlas and I lost our Mom,” her oldest son Homer said in a statement Friday. “After six days of almost unbelievable emotional swings, I am left with a deep, wordless sadness. Hopefully my mom is free from pain and beginning to explore what I like to imagine as her eternal freedom.”
“Rest In Peace Mom, I love you,” he said.
“We have lost a bright light, a kind and most joyful soul, a loving mother, and a loyal friend,” Heche’s family and friends said in a statement. “Anne will be deeply missed but she lives on through her beautiful sons, her iconic body of work, and her passionate advocacy. Her bravery for always standing in her truth, spreading her message of love and acceptance, will continue to have a lasting impact.”
The actress was driving on Aug. 5 when she crashed into a home in the Mar Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles, engulfing her car and the house in flames, according to Los Angeles police and fire officials. No one else was injured and the home’s resident and her pets were able to escape the blaze unharmed.
Theo Wargo/WireImage for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
A special tribute concert for longtime Yes drummer Alan White, who died on May 22 at age 72 after a brief illness, will take place on October 2 at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle.
The show will feature members of Yes and of Alan’s solo group White, as well as special guests, performing songs from throughout the drummer’s long career, including renditions of tunes by Yes, John Lennon, George Harrison and more.
The event will be hosted by Alan’s longtime friend, retired U.S. radio personality Bob Rivers, and all proceeds from the show will benefit the WhyHunger charity.
Tickets for the concert will go on sale to the general public this Friday, August 19, at 10 a.m. PT via Ticketmaster.
White was the drummer of yes from 1972 until his death. Prior to joining the famous British prog-rock band, he was a member of Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band, and he played on the 1969 album Live Peace in Toronto, John’s 1970 single “Instant Karma,” Lennon’s landmark 1971 album Imagine and 1972’s Some Time in New York City. Alan also contributed to Harrison’s All Things Must Pass album, including the chart-topping single “My Sweet Lord.”
In other news, another musical tribute to White is being planned for September 10 at the Newcastle Days festival in the Seattle suburb of Newcastle, Washington, where the British-born musician lived for many years up until his death.
(NEW YORK) — Scientists have a message about the spotted lanternfly: If you see one, squish it.
While that may sound harsh for bug lovers out there, experts say spotted lanternflies can be devastating to agriculture.
“It’s a good idea if you can kill them, to do that,” Brian Eshenaur, a senior extension associate for ornamental crops at Cornell University’s pest management division, told ABC News.
The New York City Parks Department offers similar guidance on its website.
“Harming our city’s wildlife is broadly prohibited, but in an effort to slow the spread of this troublesome species, the current guidance remains: if you see a spotted lanternfly, please squish and dispose of this invasive pest,” the department says.
New York state’s Department of Agriculture and Markets, Department of Environmental Conservation and the Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation launched a program this year to train volunteers on how to identify and track the invasive species in the state.
The invasive species originated in Asia but was first found in the U.S. in Pennsylvania in 2014 and soon after in other states in the Northeast, including Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Virginia.
The insect, known scientifically as the Lycorma delicatula, feeds on at least 70 different species of trees, as well as vines and shrubs, including fruit trees, grapevines and several hardwoods, according to a report from the University of Michigan.
The lanternfly isn’t dangerous to people and pets, experts say. The insect is viewed as more of a nuisance since they don’t bite or sting.
So if you plan on being vigilant for spotted lanternflies this summer, here are some key things to know.
Keep an eye out in backyards and parks
The bugs gather in large numbers and can be found in backyard trees and in parks, where they feed on trees and ooze a sugary substance called honeydew, which then can cause a sooty mold that can land on lawn furniture or your car, Eshenaur said.
The female lantern fly can lay between 30 and 50 eggs each, usually between September and October. The eggs hatch in the spring, where baby lanternflies called nymphs emerge, before becoming fully grown around July, according to the Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board.
They favor warmer temperatures
Climate change could exacerbate the problem, experts say.
“The spotted lanternfly needs a long growing season to complete their lifecycle,” Eshenaur said. “With earlier spring and later fall frost that could favor the development of the lanternfly and increase the range in which they can survive at.”
Insect development depends on the temperature, Kelly Oten, assistant professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources at North Carolina State University, told ABC News.
“As the temperature is warm, their development increases, which means they’re going to actively feed for longer periods of time, potentially causing more damage,” Oten said.
They’re a threat to agriculture
Wine lovers, here’s some bad news.
The spotted lanternfly can be devastating to the multi-billion-dollar wine industry since they feed on grapes, reduce their crops and diminish the quality of grapes, according to Oten.
Overall, they’re a huge threat to agriculture. If the species were to spread through Pennsylvania, the expected losses to the state’s economy would be nearly $554 million a year and potentially lead to the loss of 4,987 jobs, according to a 2019 impact study from Penn State University.
For forestry, the estimated economic loss could be up to $152.6 million annually throughout Pennsylvania, the study found.
What to do if you see one
Killing the pest if you encounter it isn’t the only way to address the problem.
People should check outdoor items for spotted lanternfly eggs, which can look like a mass covered with gray wax. Scrape them off, put the mass in a plastic zippered bag with hand sanitizer and throw it out, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says.
While spotted lanternflies can’t kill trees, they can cause damage to them. People can also use insecticides approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, which can kill lanternflies and not harm trees.
