Jonathan Rinderknecht is seen in a photo released by the Department of Justice. (Department of Justice)
(LOS ANGELES) — The federal trial for a man accused of starting a fire that eventually became the deadly blaze that devastated the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles last year is set to begin.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday in the case against Jonathan Rinderknecht, who is accused of “maliciously” starting a fire that six days later developed into what became known as the Palisades Fire, one of the most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles history.
Rinderknecht, a former Los Angeles resident living in Florida, was arrested nine months after the Palisades Fire leveled neighborhoods in Los Angeles County and left 12 people dead.
He was indicted on three counts — destruction of property by means of fire, arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and timber set afire. He pleaded not guilty and faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted.
Federal prosecutors allege that Rinderknecht, who was working as an Uber driver at the time, ignited a brush fire that became known as the Lachman Fire on Jan. 1, 2025.
Despite being suppressed by fire crews, prosecutors allege that the fire continued to smolder until it surfaced again nearly a week later amid high winds in the Los Angeles area, eventually becoming the Palisades Fire.
In a criminal complaint, authorities allege Rinderknecht caused the initial fire by lighting a combustible material, such as vegetation or paper, with an open flame, likely a lighter.
The complaint included an image Rinderknecht allegedly generated in July 2024 using ChatGPT, showing in part “a burning forest and a crowd fleeing from it.”
“You could see some of his thought process in the months leading up, where he was generating some really concerning images up on ChatGPT, which appears to show a dystopian city being burned down,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said during a news conference following Rinderknecht’s arrest in October 2025.
In a court filing last month, the defense stated that Rinderknecht “denies he willfully and maliciously set” the Lachman Fire “and therefore cannot be responsible for either the Lachman or the Palisades Fire, or the resulting damages.” The defense attorney, Steven Haney, also questioned the government’s “holdover theory,” which posits that the Palisades Fire was caused by the Lachman Fire, and argued that the fires were two distinct events.
The trial is estimated to last seven to 11 days.
The Palisades Fire erupted on Jan. 7, 2025, burning more than 23,000 acres over more than three weeks and destroying nearly 7,000 structures, decimating the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, according to California fire officials.
It ignited the same day as the Eaton Fire, which burned more than 14,000 acres in Los Angeles County, destroying more than 9,400 structures and killing 19 people, according to officials.
The fires started burning during strong Santa Ana winds, which, combined with dry conditions, helped their ability to spread quickly.
Investigators pursued more than 200 leads, conducted hundreds of interviews and collected more than 13,000 pieces of evidence, including fire debris, digital data and DNA samples, as part of the probe into the cause of the Palisades Fire, according to Kenny Cooper, special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Los Angeles Field Division.
“We have a lot of different data that all concluded where this fire started, and the fire behavior from that origin, from that Lachman Fire, was clearly established in the Palisades Fire,” Cooper said at a press briefing last year.
Dua Lipa and Callum Turner attend the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party on March 15, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Amy Sussman/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)
Dua Lipa and her husband Callum Turner hosted a second wedding celebration in Sicily Saturday, after first tying the knot May 31 in London.
Vanity Fair reports the couple wed in Palermo at Villa Valguarnera, an historic 18th century mansion. Elton John, who flew in on a private jet, serenaded the couple with “Your Song” as they said their vows in a gazebo. A wedding banquet followed, featuring local Sicilian specialties, followed by dancing with superstar DJs David Guetta, Martin Garrix, Carl Cox and Peggy Gou manning the sound system.
According to Vanity Fair, the 200 guests included Donatella Versace, Charli XCX, Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker, actor Joe Alwyn, Mark Ronson and Olivia Dean.
The wedding weekend began June 5 with a party at the Gallery of Modern Art, where guests were treated to a private tour and cocktails, followed by a reception in a local piazza that had been decorated with vintage cars, lights and music. Also part of the decoration was a huge bookcase filled with real books, since the couple first connected over the fact that they were both reading the same book and were “on the same page,” literally.
As for why they chose Palermo as the site of the wedding, Vanity Fair reports that Dua and Callum spent several days on vacation in the city last year.
Kamala Harris speaks during a fireside chat at MEET Las Vegas on May 07, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ian Maule/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Former Vice President Kamala Harris said she’s “thinking about” a 2028 presidential bid, but some previous supporters are unenthusiastic — despite her national name recognition and experience as second in command.
ABC News spoke with more than 15 former donors, fundraisers, campaign aides, Biden White House staffers and current advisers about Harris running again, some of whom asked not to be named to be able to speak freely.
A source familiar with Harris’ thinking told ABC News that she’s considering all options, but hasn’t begun explicitly deliberating on a run with her team.
Kamala Harris vs. Gavin Newsom
Like Harris, California Gov. Gavin Newsom got his start in San Francisco politics. He is also viewed as a top 2028 presidential contender and may gain some of her supporters, though has not formally committed.
Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, one of California’s top powerbrokers, told ABC News while it’s early to speculate, he believes the most “viable” between his two mentees would be Newsom, “because he would not be the most recent loser.”
“When you embrace somebody for the job, you really want to embrace a winner, and Newsom would be what you would have to say at the moment is a winner,” Brown said.
Brown said he was “surprised” that Harris decided not to run for California governor in 2026.
“I would have advised her to be elected governor, so that she would be in the same identical position, if not better than for electability nationally than Newsom. …. If she was in the category of being on January 8, 2027, the governor of California, the dialogue would be about her candidacy, not about anybody else’s,” Brown said.
An influential California donor and early Harris supporter told ABC News, “I have not heard one person suggest it would be good for anything if she ran. … We are looking for someone who is fresh and not imposed on the voters. We understood we were stuck with the situation last time, but this is not the case going forward.”
Asif Mahmood, a bundler who’s backed Harris for 15-plus years, said, “If it is Kamala and Newsom, the money will be divided, and I think Newsom might have little edge on that because he’s currently governor.”
“It is not that I can say with certainty that I will be backing her the way I was backing before, depending on the field,” Mahmood added.
A source close to Harris said that if she ran, she’d be aware that donors and operatives may align with other campaigns.
Sour feelings among some donors
Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign burned through more than $1 billion in 15 weeks — which some fundraisers said has discouraged them from giving large sums to campaigns going forward.
“I think the electorate is going to be extremely hungry for a new, fresh, younger voice with a different perspective, and who can effectively articulate an agenda for the future. … I don’t believe that Kamala is the right person for this moment by any stretch of your imagination,” said a fundraiser who raised money for Harris’ 2024 run.
A longtime Democratic donor who raised money for Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign told ABC News, “I really have not heard anybody say that they want her to run. In fact, it’s the opposite.”
“I really think that anyone who became the nominee after Biden dropped out would have raised a ton of money. … I don’t know a lot of at least big donors who were like, ‘I feel really great about putting this money in for her.’ It was just, she was the top of the ticket,” the donor added.
One Harris 2020 fundraiser who was involved with her 2024 run said, “For somebody who wants to have a future political career, she has done nothing … to maintain any relationships with anybody that I’m aware of … that were her big donors. We’re now two years into it, and I don’t know anybody’s even got a thank you note.”
But a couple fundraisers ABC News spoke with felt differently.
“The average Democratic voter who gives 10 bucks, 20 bucks, right now likes Kamala Harris, so she’ll have an ability to raise a lot of grassroots money, which is the mother of local politics,” said Tom Nides, a former Biden administration official who fundraised for Harris in 2024 when she became the nominee. “The big dollar money is becoming less significant, and they will come on board if they think she’s gonna win.”
In response to a request for comment regarding the seemingly unenthusiastic sentiment among some donors, a spokesperson for Harris said in a statement, “The Vice President is grateful to the supporters who have stood with her. Right now, as Americans look for leadership in the fight against the rollback of their fundamental rights and freedoms — including the Supreme Court’s devastating gutting of the Voting Rights Act — she is focused on electing Democrats up and down the ballot in the midterms and building up state parties for the critical fights ahead.”
‘Biden fatigue’
For some, Harris’ association to former President Joe Biden — who withdrew from the race only after facing mounting pressure from Democrats — will be scrutinized.
“There is a kind of Biden fatigue,” said a former senior campaign adviser who worked on Harris’ 2024 campaign.
“She was obviously his vice president, which is a benefit. … But also, a detriment in other ways, especially when your boss was not very popular when he left office. … I think the donors, and just the electorate writ large, they have an appetite for a fighter, but they kind of want some new faces,” the former adviser said.
One 2020 Harris fundraiser said her opponents would seize on her not calling on Biden to drop out earlier in a potential 2028 debate.
However, Ashley Etienne, the vice president’s former communications director, said Harris distanced herself enough with her book “107 Days,” which details her frustrations with Biden.
“I think that in 2028, if things are continuing as they are now, and there’s the affordability issue, costs, unemployment, lack of democratic principles, I think that Biden thing is not going to be an issue anymore,” said one former senior campaign adviser who remains close to Harris.
Another source close to Harris said enough time would have passed by, and she could address her association with Biden with self-reflection about topics she couldn’t address as vice president.
Decision to not run for governor Harris’ decision not to run for California governor this year came as a disappointment for some, but was viewed as strategic to others.
“Had Harris entered the race, she would have cleared the field and saved Democrats a lot of pain and uncertainty that developed in this primary,” Mahmood said.
Etienne said if she jumped into the gubernatorial race, it would’ve been a “losing proposition.”
“For somebody who wants to be president, somebody who was already vice president, I didn’t see that as a really good, sound move. … I just didn’t think she gained anything by doing it,” Etienne said.
A longtime supporter of Harris said he was “surprised” by Harris’ decision not to run for governor, because it would’ve been a “significant” role for her, but said at the time she was making the decision, her campaign would have been hit by questions regarding her defense of Biden and why she didn’t press him to drop out sooner.
A former senior campaign adviser who remains close to Harris said there was a sense that Harris had to make a decision on a gubernatorial run too quickly after the presidential campaign.
How Harris may be approaching her 2028 decision A source close to Harris said that if she ran in 2028, she’d have high name recognition, favorability among Democrats, freedom to articulate her vision without restraints of the vice presidency and more time.
The source added that Harris is focused on the midterms — helping raise money for candidates and state parties — and vocalizing opposition to Republican-led redistricting efforts in the South.
In August, Harris will be delivering a keynote speech to Louisiana Democrats at the party’s annual fundraiser gala, where she will outline what she thinks Democrats must do to counteract the Louisiana vs. Callais decision that gutted Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The former vice president has also been placing calls to federal and state lawmakers impacted by the decision, including members of the Congressional Black Caucus. During the spring, she anchored fundraising events for Democratic state parties in North Carolina, South Carolina, Arkansas, Georgia and Nevada.
Her decision could hinge on whether she thinks a presidential campaign or setting up a foundation would be a better vehicle to advance her vision for America, according to the source familiar.
Adrienne Elrod, who served as Harris’ senior adviser and spokesperson in 2024, said, “I think anyone who has valuable ideas about how to move our country forward. … they should run for president, especially if they have broad experience to bring to the table, and she certainly fits that bill.”
Etienne said she thinks Harris should run and said she can distinguish herself from the field as she’s not currently serving in office for the first time in her political career.
“Folks think she’s fantastic, but there was some obvious, baggage that she had, and so how are you in this short period of time addressing that, offloading it, and then coming out with this combination of feeling fresh and new, yet seasoned enough to bring the nation through what Trump is taking us,” Etienne said.
“It’s really hard to run for president, and I think people who haven’t done it underestimate the difficulty and the scrutiny and all the things that come with it at that level, and so in a lot of ways the best way to be prepared to run is to have run already,” said a former senior campaign adviser who remains close to Harris.
Preparations continue for the Ultimate Fighting Championship Freedom 250 event on the White House South Lawn on June 05, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — One week ahead of the White House hosting an Ultimate Fighting Championship event, a public interest law firm is attempting to stop the high-profile sports event from taking place.
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.
They asked a federal judge to declare the authorization for the event, framed around the country’s 250th anniversary, unlawful. Scheduled to take place on Sunday, which is also President Trump’s birthday, the UFC plans to host a mixed martial arts event in a caged octagon on the South Lawn of the White House, as well as host thousands of fans at the nearby Ellipse.
“The President is giving [Dana] White and his company what none have enjoyed before: unfettered access to the White House and Lincoln Memorial to stage a private, for-profit sports event, with all the promotional and branding opportunities that accompany such access,” the lawsuit said.
The White House and UFC did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
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.
“It is not in any material sense a ‘celebration of the 250th anniversary of American Independence’—it is, instead, a celebration of the UFC’s brand and the 80th anniversary of Donald Trump’s birth,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit also alleged that the construction of the 600-ton steel arch over the South Lawn should have undergone an environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act.
The lawsuit was filed by a retired government employee who frequently attends protests and other events near the National Mall and White House as well as a Vietnam War veteran who said he frequently enjoys the DC landscape while working part-time as a rideshare driver. The lawsuit alleged they are suffering “aesthetic, dignitary, and procedural harms as a result of Defendants’ unlawful acts.”
Lawsuits challenging Trump’s attempt to reshape the White House and DC have had a mixed track record, in part because judges are often skeptical if plaintiffs have standing to sue. A judge attempted to block construction of Trump’s ballroom before his ruling was lifted by an appeals court. Lawsuits challenging his planned arch, golf course renovations and the repainting of the reflecting pool have so far been unsuccessful in stopping work. As of Sunday, the case was assigned to Judge Amit Mehta, an appointee of former President Barack Obama.
In addition to alleging improper permitting and a lack of a necessary environmental review, the lawsuit alleged that Trump and his allies are profiting from the event. The lawsuit noted that Trump owns some stock in UFC’s parent company, that the UFC is selling VIP packages for more than $1 million while offering sponsorships to an overseas cryptocurrency exchange, and how the fight is being streamed through the UFC’s broadcast partner Paramount Skydance.
We now know when season 3 of Lioness is set to debut on Paramount+. The third season of the series that stars Zoe Saldaña and Nicole Kidman will premiere on Aug. 2. From creator Taylor Sheridan, the espionage thriller continues with even more hidden networks, foreign operatives and personal betrayals …
Henry Cavill has joined the cast of Kevin Hart’s upcoming spy comedy. Variety reports that Cavill will star alongside Hart in a Netflix comedy where they’ll play rival spies who cross paths when their wives become friends. According to a synopsis, “their double lives collide in unexpectedly hilarious and dangerous ways, forcing the two men to reluctantly become confidantes and partners on the road to fatherhood.” …
The Harry Potter HBO series is looking to cast another young wizard. Deadline reports that casting directors are searching for a young actor to play the character Colin Creevy in season 2 of the fantasy series based on the books by J.K. Rowling. According to the outlet, auditions are currently underway …
There’s no denying Riley Green is one of the hottest artists in country music right now, with two songs currently climbing the country chart.
The fun “Think As You Drunk” is the first radio single from his upcoming That’s Just Me album and borrows from 2005’s “As Good As I Once Was,” a hit from one of his heroes, Toby Keith.
“I don’t think I’ve ever written a song the same way twice,” Riley says. “Sometimes it’s something that comes to me and I write it in 20 or 30 minutes. Sometimes it’s an idea that I think, ‘Man, that’s a great idea,’ and I mull it over for a month and a half, and then it takes a while to write it. And sometimes I write with other people on a scheduled time and day.”
And if Riley could pick how his songs come together?
“The songs that are the easiest to write, certainly the ones I like the most, are ones that are about something I’m passionate about, you know, something that’s going on in my life,” he says. “‘I Wish Grandpas Never Died,’ I wrote when my granddaddy passed away.”
“It was a really personal song for me, and I think people find a way to make the lyrics about their own life,” he adds.
Riley’s currently on the verge of his next #1, as “Change My Mind” nears the top of the chart.
Adam Lambert has, so far, released two very different songs from his upcoming album, ADAM. “Eat U Alive” draws on ’90s alternative rock and electronica influences, while “Under the Rhythm,” released Friday, is a darker dance song that interpolates a 2000s club classic. Do these two songs represent what the album sounds like as a whole? Well, sort of.
“There is a through line [to the album], but it’s interesting because, you know, you start picking singles and it’s not necessarily — you know, they’re not next to each other on the album,” Adam told ABC Audio. Rather than jarring transitions between styles, Adam said, “There is the sequence. There’s a flow on the album.”
He notes there’s a reason he chose to lead the album with those two tracks. “I guess in terms of trying to find which songs to get out there it was like, I wanted to give people some of the range of the album,” he explained.
“Eat U Alive” represents a number of songs pretty well — there’s a lot of, like, darker industrial energy on the album, heaviness,” he said. “And then there is some levity, you know? There’s some danceability, like ‘Under the Rhythm.'”
ADAM arrives on July 10.
Meanwhile, Adam shared a few of his personal top LGBTQ anthems in honor of Pride month after Billboard compiled a list of them.
“Ooh, I mean, Sylvester … ‘Mighty Real,’ I mean, I did a cover of it for that reason, that’s a pretty bold one,” he told ABC Audio. “Anything George Michael, I love George Michael. I love, obviously, Freddie [Mercury], I mean, all the stuff I’ve done with Queen. Those all kind of feel like musicians that I can feel proud of, that I feel like reflect the spirit of Pride.”
According to the publication, they are among the honorees, aka “the VIP of the Forbes Universe” — “leaders in finance, business, technology, media, entertainment and philanthropy that are changing the game in real time, disrupting their industries and challenging the status quo.”
Forbes only considered those who had previously appeared on one of its lists and ensured they had made a significant impact or disrupted their respective fields within the past two years before selecting the top 50.
Coogler, who previously made the Forbes 30 Under 30 All Star Alumni list and the 30 Under 30 Hollywood & Entertainment list, was recognized as “one of Hollywood’s most influential filmmakers.” He’s directed movies that have grossed more than $2 billion worldwide, including Sinners, which won the 2026 Oscar for best original screenplay.
The Weeknd, who topped Forbes‘ Highest-Paid Musicians list in 2025 and appeared on the Celebrity 100 list in 2019, earned an estimated $298 million over the past year. His earnings increased after he sold his music catalog to Lyric Capital in a reported $1 billion deal. He also holds the record for the highest grossing tour by a male artist with his ongoing After Hours Til Dawn Tour.
Beyoncé, who just made Forbes‘ America’s Richest Self-Made Women list, is one of 10 women on the list. Among her accomplishments are becoming the fifth musician to reach billionaire status, winning album of the year at the 2025 Grammy Awards and making history as the first Black woman to win for best country album for Cowboy Carter. The supporting tour also became the highest grossing tour of 2025.
(L-R) Ronnie Wood, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards attend The Rolling Stones Album Launch Event at The Weylin on May 05, 2026 in Brooklyn, New York. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
The Rolling Stones have released a visualizer for the Foreign Tongues track “Rough and Twisted.” In the clip, a businessman runs and dances on a city street in slow motion. It also includes clips of him slowly stripping out of his constricting suit.
“Rough and Twisted” was actually the first taste Rolling Stones fans got of the band’s upcoming album. The song was originally released on vinyl under the pseudonym The Cockroaches.
The track was part of a viral campaign in which posters popped up in London featuring a QR code that directed folks to a website run by Universal Music. Fans quickly guessed that The Cockroaches were really The Stones, since the name was an alias the band used in the ’70s when they wanted to play secret shows.
It was later confirmed that “Rough and Twisted” would appear on Foreign Tongues, due out July 10.
Speaking of “Rough and Twisted,” Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger has posted a carousel photos and video on Instagram of his time in Italy, including a clip of him driving a small vehicle set to the song. There’s also another clip of him hiking up a mountain to a helicopter, set to the Foreign Tongues track “In The Stars.” Jagger captioned the post, “Working break in Italy.”
