Tara Alexis Sykes was taken into custody on Friday and charged with attempted murder while engaged in aggravated child abuse, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post on Monday.

An arrest report alleged that Sykes communicated with her 10-year-old daughter on the online gaming platform Roblox and instructed the girl “on various methods to kill the infant.” The court documents said Sykes is related to the 2-month-old.

“Sykes instructed the 10-year-old to drown the infant in the bathtub, burn the infant with scalding water, and drop the infant on the floor to kill the infant,” the sheriff’s office said.

On Thursday, the sheriff’s office was contacted by Gulf Coast Kids House about a 2-month-old infant who had suffered serious injuries after being dropped on the kitchen floor by the 10-year-old. Gulf Coast Kids House is a child advocacy center where forensic interviews and medical exams of children suspected of abuse are conducted.

The arrest report alleged that the 10-year-old picked up the infant “after he became fussy and was walking into the kitchen with him to find an adult” when the baby fell. The foster father picked up the baby and took him to the hospital where doctors said he had a skull fracture.

Morgan Lewis, a spokesperson with the sheriff’s office, said the 2-month-old is expected to survive.

The 10-year-old allegedly said during a forensic interview that she dropped the baby “on the floor at the direction of her mother,” the arrest report stated. The girl said she was “terrified of her mother and felt that if she did not follow through with the instructions, Sykes would harm or kill her as well,” the report said.

An investigation into the incident also revealed that Sykes had allegedly instructed the 10-year-old on “how to kill the adults the 10-year-old was temporarily living with by cutting their throats with a knife while they slept and burning their house by dousing bed sheets with aerosol spray and setting them on fire,” the sheriff’s office said.

The 10-year-old allegedly doused the sheets but was not able to carry out the instructions, according to authorities.

Sheriff Chip W. Simmons said he was “truly disturbed” by the allegations “and the thought that anyone could think like this, let alone instruct these acts to be carried out.”

“I have been in Law Enforcement for over 40 years and have never seen anything quite like this,” he said in a statement. “There is something really wrong with her.”

Sykes is being held without bond. The sheriff’s office spokesperson said they do not foresee the 10-year-old being charged. The case remains under investigation.

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The deadly crash killed four people, including a child, after the helicopter struck a radio tower and sparked a large fire in Houston on Sunday, officials said.

The helicopter, which was operating as an air tour flight, had taken off from Ellington Airport in Houston, the NTSB said. It was not equipped with a flight recorder or “black box.”

“Our condolences go to the family and friends of those who were lost,” NTSB investigator Brian Rutt said on Monday, adding the wreckage is a “complex scene” and officials are being meticulous in examining all the evidence available.

As part of the crash investigation, NTSB officials are investigating the pilot, the aircraft and the operating environment, NBC affiliate KPRC-TV reported on Tuesday. NTSB officials also began recovering debris for further examination.

Officials are also gathering additional information such as the helicopter’s maintenance records, flight track data as well as air traffic control communication recordings, surveillance videos and witness statements, KPRC reported.

The crash also damaged some vehicles on the ground but no people were reported injured, Houston police Lt. Jonathan French said.

“This was a horrible tragedy, but obviously it could have been much worse,” French said on Monday.

The NTSB expects to release a preliminary report in 30 days.

Four new cases of avian influenza were detected in farmworkers in Washington state this week, the latest in a drumbeat of human infections cropping up across the U.S. as the virus continues to spread among farm animals. 

Washington is the sixth state to report human cases of bird flu, which has spread rampantly in wild birds, poultry and cattle. Assuming the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms the state’s positive tests, they will bring the U.S. tally to at least 31.

Flu experts said the risk of a broader outbreak among humans will continue to simmer if the virus remains uncontrolled in animals.

“The longer this virus hangs out in the environment, the more animals it spills over into, the more it changes in ways we don’t understand or predict, the more concerned we are going to be that this becomes the next global pandemic,” said Dr. Amber Itle, the Washington state veterinarian.

For now, however, health officials maintain that the virus has not made key genetic changes that would allow it to spread between people. 

“There is no evidence of any sustained human transmission. And that is a key milestone for all of us. It’s a key trigger for all of us. That’s when we really start to say, ‘Oh, something that’s markedly different about this virus,’” Dr. Umair Shah, Washington’s health secretary, said at a news conference Sunday. 

A CDC spokesperson said Tuesday morning that a federal team was being deployed to Washington and that risk to the public remained low. 

However, the virus is a growing concern for farmworkers on the front lines. The four latest cases were among workers who had culled birds at a commercial egg farm where an outbreak of avian influenza was reported in chickens.

Shah said the workers were part of a contract crew tasked with depopulating — or euthanizing — all chickens at the farm in Franklin County, in southeastern Washington, which had more than 800,000 birds. Itle said the workers wore full protective equipment: suits made of Tyvek, goggles and respirators. 

“It’s hot, it’s dusty. It’s a lot of birds in close proximity, and we’re getting a lot of viral exposure,” she said.

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The four people who tested positive after that work reported mild respiratory symptoms and conjunctivitis, or pink eye — symptoms now understood to be common when people are infected. None of the workers were hospitalized. 

Dr. Richard Webby, director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Studies on the Ecology of Influenza in Animals and Birds, said the Washington cases represented “more of the same” in a pattern observed across the U.S. as workers tasked with culling sick animals have fallen ill. 

However, one human case — in Missouri — has puzzled researchers and health officials, because that person did not have contact with animals. It is not clear how the person was exposed, and results of further tests that could offer clues are still pending, according to the CDC. Six health workers exposed to the patient reported respiratory symptoms.

Webby said the virus’ spread in cows for the past 10 months has raised experts’ level of concern because cows are mammals and interact with humans frequently. That increases the likelihood the virus could mutate to pass from person to person. 

“Just because it hasn’t happened in 10 months … it doesn’t mean it can’t,” said Webby, an infectious disease researcher at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. 

Research suggests that incredible amounts of virus are shed in infected cows’ mammary glands, so the virus could spread through raw milk. (Milk sold in grocery stores is pasteurized, which inactivates the virus.) 

At the same time, the U.S. is preparing for flu season, when circulation of common influenza viruses increases in fall and winter. If two influenza viruses share the same host, they can share genetic information and mutate more quickly.

“You don’t want people affected with the seasonal flu virus to get a virus from animals and for those viruses to potentially recombine,” said Dr. Peter Rabinowitz, a professor of environmental and occupational health sciences at the University of Washington and the director of its Center for One Health Research.

Rabinowitz added that it is important to improve protection protocols for farmworkers and encourage them to get their flu shots. 

“This is a wakeup call. We need to do a better job of protecting workers,” he said.

Itle said cases in poultry were not unexpected in Washington state, because migrating birds passed through during summer and early fall. Recently, owls and other birds of prey were found dead, suggesting some wild animals had been stricken with the virus. 

Wild birds can spread the virus to farms through direct contact with poultry or livestock or via droppings, saliva or feed.  

More than 103 million birds have been sickened, killed or culled in the current bird flu outbreak, according to CDC statistics. The virus has been detected in poultry in 48 states. 

The CDC says 330 dairy herds have been affected. 

Washington has not had an outbreak among dairy producers, Itle said, but dairy farms there are now testing weekly.

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The once-routine business of running elections in America has become much more fraught with risk in the wake of the 2020 campaign, with poll workers facing harassment, violent threats and chaotic protests. It’s a dynamic that has forced many election officials out of the industry, while those who remain have taken in some cases dramatic steps to protect poll workers and voters ahead of Election Day. Some poll workers are also receiving pay bumps as incentives to stay on through a stressful voting period.

In interviews, county and state election officials shared details of security plans with NBC News.

Maricopa County, Arizona, has been a hotbed of conspiracy theories, protests and threats for years, fueled by baseless voter fraud claims from former President Donald Trump and his allies.

The county, the largest in one of the most critical battleground states on the map, will have some of the most intense security in the nation. Its tabulation center will have snipers on the roof, metal detectors and security at every entrance, drones surveilling overhead, and security cameras and floodlights to help law enforcement monitor the area.

There are also two layers of security fencing, and some workers will be bused in from off-site parking to accommodate the newly implemented measures.

“They spared no expense in 2022, they’re all in again this cycle,” Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, a Republican, said of local law enforcement’s plans.

In Cobb County, Georgia, the sheriff will have officers at every early voting site and patrolling local precincts. The county has set up an emergency operations center at the local 911 call center, where the sheriff’s office, fire department and local utilities will be monitoring CCTVs and social media to keep an eye on everything from traffic and long lines to any potential disturbances at the polls.

“They’re going to pull up the cameras closest to all the 148 polling places to monitor for traffic, accidents, things like that — high volume,” said Tate Fall, the county’s director of elections.

The county allocated money for so-called panic buttons that would allow election workers to quickly contact authorities in emergencies. But officials found implementing the technology difficult since the county doesn’t give poll workers smartphones. They decided to give police radios to election workers instead.

In nearby Gwinnett County, the sheriff will be overseeing security for all its polling sites, even in unincorporated areas typically monitored by local police. The local schools are closed on Election Day, so school police officers will be deployed at polling sites there.

The local election office will have police officers, who been trained specifically on how to best work around an election, monitoring early voting and absentee ballot counting once it begins, said Zach Manifold, the county’s director of elections.

Daniel Baxter, the Detroit election official who oversees absentee counting, said poll worker pay was doubled in 2022 in hopes of easing recruitment and attracting more qualified personnel.

Poll workers this year who agree to work three shifts counting absentee ballots in the convention center, where Republican protesters tried to shut down ballot counting while making baseless allegations of fraud in 2020, will make $2,250.

In Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, police plan to shut down the street outside the building where the election results are tabulated to control access to the building, said Aaron Dobson, inspector for the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office.

In Colorado, where counties are required to undergo an election-related security analysis, the state is making funds available so that officials can make recommended upgrades.

For some county officials, that means upgrading their locks and cameras, while others have installed bulletproof glass and purchased bulletproof vests, according to Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat. Poll workers who work this election will also make an additional $3 an hour in pay, the same premium rate they made in 2020.

A new state law to fend off insider threats also requires that election equipment be under 24/7 surveillance and protected by keycard access.

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Griswold said officials in the state are preparing for threats they’ve never seen, including those stemming from artificial intelligence.

“We have layers of security — we have military and law enforcement joining our team to protect our cyber support systems,” she said. “People are voting on paper so that, of course, can’t be hacked, but what they’re doing is protecting our support systems.”

She and her staff routinely face threats. One person who made threats against her was arrested while Griswold was in the hospital giving birth.

“We are definitely on top of it, and take all of our security very seriously,” she said. “But the No. 1 thing we do is vote on a piece of paper.”

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

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But a group of e-cigarette users are suddenly finding themselves with a little extra cash, thanks to a massive class action settlement involving one of America’s tobacco giants.

In online forums and on social media this week, users of Juul Labs nicotine products have been posting screenshots of online deposits for hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars that they now have access to.

The source of the funds is two settlements totaling $300 million agreed to by Juul and Altria, which owns 35% of Juul, over claims the companies misled consumers about the products’ addictiveness and safety. They were also charged with unlawfully marketing to minors.

Altria has denied the allegations, while Juul did not admit wrongdoing. A court has not ruled on whether either company violated any laws.

Juul agreed to a settlement in 2022, but the Altria settlement, which was needed to kickstart payouts, was not approved until earlier this year. And it was only this month that claims for the approximately 842,000 eligible Juul customers began to be verified.

The deadline for submitting claims has already passed.

After deducting for fees, taxes and contingencies, eligible claimants were entitled to a total of approximately $202,000,000. An average claim amount was not immediately available; payouts were based in part on how many receipts a Juul user could produce showing proof of purchase.

A lawyer representing the plaintiffs class did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Vaping remains mired in controversy in the U.S., as e-cigarette companies and federal regulators continue to haggle over the products’ health effects and marketing guardrails. In June, the Food and Drug Administration rescinded an earlier ruling that effectively banned Juul products — but stopped short of greenlighting them for outright sale pending additional review of new health studies and case law. 

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 While it’s possible the election results could be known within hours and not days, the Democratic campaign is preparing for a much longer stretch — perhaps even an election “week” — without an outcome, these people said.

That plan could include several different speeches and venues for delivering them. Precisely what Harris says publicly and the backdrop for her remarks would depend on how Election Day and the rest of the week unfolds, the people familiar with the planning said.  

“Bottom line: we have to be ready for anything,” one of the people said.

The Harris campaign did not return a request for comment. 

The careful planning reflects the new reality presidential campaigns face after the drawn-out counting process in 2020, only heightened by how close the 2024 race appears to be and how long it could take for the final tallies to materialize in the key battleground states. 

Howard University is currently a leading contender for Harris’ election night headquarters, but no final decisions have been made. Other locations are being scouted as well, according to four of the people involved in the planning. Two of those people said that the D.C. convention center is one of the other options.

The idea of spending election night where the Harris campaign headquarters is located — President Biden’s hometown of Wilmington, Delaware — wasn’t a natural fit for the vice president, who is from California. She inherited the campaign and location of its headquarters from Biden when he dropped out of the race in July.

If a winner remains undeclared for days, it’s possible Harris could address the country multiple times, the people familiar with the planning said. If former President Donald Trump were to declare victory before the results are in, as he wrongly did in 2020, there would be a campaign strategy for handling that, they said.

The Harris campaign is also preparing for possible legal challenges that could end up deciding the race and has been assembling a team of lawyers to handle the potential battle with Trump’s attorneys, one of the people familiar with the planning said. 

Harris aides are also bracing for the possibility that Trump could lose but then seek to overturn the results through the courts, this person said. 

Though there are preparations developing behind the scenes, Harris aides don’t expect the vice president to talk about these various scenarios on the campaign trail because they don’t want to depress voters with the idea that their ballots could ultimately be discounted somehow by a legal outcome.  

“People need to go out and vote. You don’t want people thinking about legal challenges,” one Harris aide said. 

Beyond the length of time it took to call the election in 2020, the Harris team is also looking to lessons from the 2000 election as a guide and hoping to avoid a very protracted battle. 

As a trained attorney, Harris herself has thought about how Trump could react in various scenarios, one Harris aide said. 

And as the vice presidential nominee last cycle, she had a front row seat to how the process played out when Trump lost but repeatedly claimed he won. That began with Trump declaring himself the winner during remarks at the White House in the overnight hours of Election Day.

Biden, for his part, also spoke briefly on election night, slightly before 1 a.m. He appeared from Wilmington, Delaware, and urged Americans to be patient as the nation awaited results. 

“We feel good about where we are, we really do,” Biden said at the time. “We’re gonna have to be patient until the hard work of tallying votes is finished and it ain’t over until every vote is counted.”  

Biden then spoke several more times that week, both to reporters and to the nation, saying he was “confident” he and Harris would be declared the winners once all was settled but said they were still waiting for a final call. 

Once that happened on Saturday, four days after the election, Biden and Harris both delivered victory speeches from Wilmington.

NBC News’ Peter Alexander and Tara Prindiville contributed.

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The outbreak has been reported in at least 10 U.S. states so far, with most cases in Colorado and Nebraska, though several Midwest states have also seen cases.

In total, 49 people have been sickened, 10 of whom have been hospitalized and one of whom has died.

“Everyone interviewed has reported eating at McDonald’s before their illness started, and most specifically mentioned eating a Quarter Pounder hamburger,” the CDC said in an alert Tuesday, calling it a “fast-moving outbreak investigation.”

Investigators have been working to find the source of the outbreak, centering in on two ingredients so far: fresh, slivered onions, and fresh beef patties.

“McDonald’s has pulled ingredients for these burgers, and they won’t be available for sale in some states,” the CDC reported.

The CDC said McDonald’s is “proactively making these changes while investigators work to confirm the contaminated ingredient” and noted that quarter pound beef patties are only used on the Chicago-based chain’s Quarter Pounders.

McDonald’s said in a statement the removal of ingredients was “out of an abundance of caution” and includes locations in Colorado, Kansas, Utah and Wyoming, as well as portions of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.

“We take food safety extremely seriously and it’s the right thing to do. Impacted restaurants are receiving a stock recovery notice today and should reach out to their field supply chain manager or distribution center with any questions,” the company said in a statement.

Of the cases reported so far, 27 have been reported in Colorado, including the one death, and nine have been reported in Nebraska. Other states to report cases include Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

What you should do

The CDC urged anyone who experiences E. coli symptoms after eating at McDonald’s to call their healthcare provider.

According to the CDC, most people infected with E. coli experience severe stomach cramps, diarrhea, and vomiting. Symptoms typically appear within three to four days of ingesting the bacteria, and most people recover between five and seven days.

Symptoms include:

• Diarrhea and a fever higher than 102°F
  • Diarrhea for more than 3 days that is not improving
  • Bloody diarrhea
• So much vomiting that you cannot keep liquids down
• Signs of dehydration, such as:
  • Not peeing much
  • Dry mouth and throat
  • Feeling dizzy when standing up

Some people may also develop serious kidney problems known as hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, which requires hospitalization. The CDC noted that at least one child experienced that symptom in connection with this outbreak.

McDonald’s full statement

“Across the McDonald’s System, serving customers safely in every single restaurant, each and every day, is our top priority and something we’ll never compromise on.

It is why we are taking swift and decisive action following an E. Coli outbreak in certain states. The initial findings from the investigation indicate that a subset of illnesses may be linked to slivered onions used in the Quarter Pounder and sourced by a single supplier that serves three distribution centers. As a result, and in line with our safety protocols, all local restaurants have been instructed to remove this product from their supply and we have paused the distribution of all slivered onions in the impacted area.

Out of an abundance of caution, we are also temporarily removing the Quarter Pounder from restaurants in the impacted area, including Colorado, Kansas, Utah and Wyoming, as well as portions of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. We take food safety extremely seriously and it’s the right thing to do. Impacted restaurants are receiving a stock recovery notice today and should reach out to their field supply chain manager or distribution center with any questions.

We are working in close partnership with our suppliers to replenish supply for the Quarter Pounder in the coming weeks (timing will vary by local market). In the meantime, all other menu items, including other beef products (including the Cheeseburger, Hamburger, Big Mac, McDouble and the Double Cheeseburger) are unaffected and available. We will continue to work with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and are committed to providing timely updates as we restore our full menu.“

Bottom line: It’s usually up to you, the parents. A few states have established a legal age; most have not. (See below for the full list.) There is no national age minimum for when kids can be left home alone.

When is it OK to leave kids home alone?

Generally, 12 and older is “a pretty acceptable age,” family therapist Sheryl Ziegler tells TODAY.com, echoing the recommended range from the American Academy of Pediatrics. According to Ziegler, tweens have usually experienced slices of independence like walking to a friend’s house or to the bus stop.

Of course, it depends on your kid. Parents need to think about a child’s comfort level, maturity, emotional and physical health, environment, access to support and whether older or younger siblings will be present.

If you want to take the leap, learn your state law — and all its nuances — to avoid accidentally committing child neglect.

“Many states’ child protection laws classify ‘failing to provide adequate supervision of a child’ as child neglect,” according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “But in most cases, States do not define what is considered ‘adequate supervision.’”

Then, ask these questions before taking what Ziegler calls “a thoughtful, calculated risk.”

Is my child emotionally ready?

Even if you trust your child, they may not be prepared for this milestone. Check whether they’re comfortable and interested in a daytime experiment that Ziegler says shouldn’t exceed 30 to 45 minutes.

“You could say, ‘Your brother is so busy with sports and I know you hate tagging along. You’re starting to show signs that I can trust you to stay home alone for a short period of time,’” says Ziegler, author of “The Crucial Years: The essential guide to mental health and modern puberty in middle childhood (ages 6-12).”

She adds, “Some kids are excited and others are scared, in which case, this isn’t an issue you want to push.”

You should feel confident that your kid follows rules and respects boundaries — even if you plop them down in front of a device, they still might snoop through people’s bedrooms, access adult content online or play with matches, says Ziegler, recommending that parents keep alcohol, tobacco and weapons securely locked.

Is my child a problem-solver?

“Can your kid do basic things for themself?” asks Ziegler.

Before staying home alone, kids should be self-sufficient to a certain degree, able to prepare a meal, use the bathroom independently and clean a cut and apply a bandaid, says Ziegler.

Do kids understand not to open the door for anyone, be it delivery people, solicitors or people they know? Do they know to stay inside the home and not leave? If your child can’t answer these questions correctly, teach them the rules.

Does my child have support?

Your child should memorize your phone number, their home address and any access codes to the building, along with how and when to call 911.

While you’re out of the house, “Check in with your child mid-way through, but don’t overdo it or they won’t feel trusted,” says Ziegler. Or, ask a neighbor to drop by, provided your child knows who to expect.

Also, charge all electronic devices are so your child has a line to the outside world.

What is the legal age that children can be left home alone in each state?

TODAY.com checked with every state to find out the official rules on leaving kids home alone. Here’s what we found:

Alabama: No specific age

“There is no legal age in Alabama which kids can be left home alone,” a spokesperson from the Alabama Department of Human Resources, tells TODAY.com.

Alaska: No specific age

“A common and dangerous form of neglect is inadequate supervision,” according to the Alaska Department of Family and Community Services. “Alaska does not have a law that outlines when it is safe to leave a child unsupervised, however each year a number of Alaskan children die as a result of drownings, fires, firearm incidents, and other incidents related to a failure of caregiver supervision.”

Arizona: No specific age

”Arizona’s statutes (laws) do not designate an age when a child can be left alone,” according to the Arizona Department of Child Safety. “A parent is responsible for the decisions he or she makes about their children being left alone. The law does require however, that the (state) investigate reports of neglect which include failure to provide supervision that places a child at substantial risk of harm. Leaving children alone is included in the category of supervision.”

Arkansas: No specific age

“There is no specific statute setting an age requirement for the legal age that kids can be left home alone by their parents,” a spokesperson from the Arkansas Department of Human Services, tells TODAY.com. “The determining factors include an appropriate age, appropriate circumstances and whether there is a substantial risk of serious harm.”

California: No specific age

“In California, child welfare services, including child protective services, are administered by counties,” a spokesperson for the California Department of Social Services, tells TODAY.com. “We recommend contacting counties for any information that may be available.”

The spokesperson adds, “Counties are not empowered to set a minimum age limit, and state law does not specify an age for when children may be left home alone. However, there are laws in place regarding child safety. For example, parents or guardians could be found in violation of child safety laws if a child in their care is not appropriately supervised and exposed to danger.”

Colorado: No specific age (but an informal guideline of 12)

“Colorado law does not set a specific age after which a child can legally stay home alone,” a spokesperson for the Colorado Department of Human Services tells TODAY.com. “All children and youth are different (developmentally, emotionally, cognitively, ability), so the amount of supervision needed varies.”

According to CO4Kids, a campaign by the Colorado Department of Human Services, “In general, Colorado has accepted the age of 12 years as a guideline for when it might be appropriate for a child to be left alone for short periods of time.”

Connecticut: No specific age

“There is no set age, either prescribed by law or by child development experts,” according to the Connecticut State Department of Children and Families. “It comes down to a judgment call on the part of parents.”

Delaware: No specific age

“There is no law in Delaware regulating an appropriate age for a child to be left home alone,” according to Delaware’s Department of Services for Children, Youth & Their Families.

Florida: No specific age

“There is no age stated in Florida statute at which a child can be left unattended or alone,” according to the State of Florida Department of Children and Families. “There are also no established time frames for how long a child of any given age can be left alone.”

Florida defines “inadequate supervision” as “a parent/caregiver leaving a child without adult supervision or arrangement appropriate for the child’s age or mental or physical condition, so that the child is unable to care for the child’s own needs or another’s basic needs or is unable to exercise good judgment in responding to any kind of physical or emotional crisis. There is no age stated in Florida Statute at which a child can be left unattended or alone.”

Georgia: 9

“Children (8) eight years or younger should not be left alone,” states the Georgia Department of Education. “Children between the ages of (9) nine years and (12) twelve years, based on level of maturity, may be left alone for brief (less than two hours) periods of time; and children (13) thirteen years and older, who are at an adequate level of maturity, may be left alone and may perform the role of babysitter, as authorized by the parent, for up to twelve hours.”

Hawaii: No specific age

“There is no Hawaii statute specifying an age at which a child may safely be left alone,” a spokesperson from the State of Hawaii Department of Human Services tells TODAY.com.

Idaho: No specific age

“Idaho does not have an age in statute that children can be left home alone,” a spokesperson for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare tells TODAY.com. “When child protection is called with a concern about lack of supervision we consider the age and developmental level of the child, the length of time the child is being left alone, if the child is responsible for providing care to other younger children in the home, their access to supportive adults nearby to tend to them if they need assistance, etc. when we are determining if child protection will respond.”

Illinois: 14 (depending on the amount of time)

“Illinois law defines a neglected minor, in part, as ‘any minor under the age of 14 years whose parent or other person responsible for the minor’s welfare leaves the minor without supervision for an unreasonable period of time without regard for the mental or physical health, safety or welfare of that minor,’” according to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).

The states defines an “unreasonable” period of time with different variables, a spokesperson from Illinois’ DCFS, tells TODAY.com

“Is the caregiver leaving them alone for two hours or five days? Who else is the child also responsible for taking care of, if anyone?” said the spokesperson. “Does the child have adequate food and shelter and are they in a safe environment? Do they know how to contact medical personnel if needed? Do they know what to do in case of emergency?”

Indiana: No specific age

“A parent is ultimately responsible for supervision of their child until the child reaches the age of 18,” states the Indiana State Government. “Often parents leave their children unattended at an earlier age or allow children younger than age 18 to provide childcare for other children. Under the age of 18, the law gives parents discretion to make these decisions based on the perceived risk and weighing such factors as maturity of the child, physical environmental risks, etc.”

Iowa: No specific age

“Iowa Code does not define a specific age that determines when a child can be left at home alone,” a spokesperson from the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, tells TODAY.com. “There are a variety of factors that should play into that decision, including, but not limited to age, capability, functioning level, ability, etc.”

Kansas: No specific age

“At the current time there is no clear legal definition as to what constitutes an unsupervised child,” states the Kansas Department for Children and Families. “In determining if a child is old enough and mature enough to be left alone, a number of factors considered in tandem assists in the determination.”

Kentucky: No specific age

“We don’t have a hard line for age,” a spokesperson from the Paducah Police Department in Kentucky tells TODAY.com. “We base it off of a number of factors to include the maturity of the child, their circumstances for the parent’s absence, the resources available to them while the parent is away, the environment they are left in, and their availability to communicate with emergency services or their parents in the event of an emergency.”  

Louisiana: No specific age

“It’s largely left to the parent’s discretion based on the child’s maturity level,” a spokesperson from the Louisiana State Police tells TODAY.com. “Do they feel confident that their child can be left alone safely where they can’t harm themselves, are able to care for themselves, not open the door for strangers, and things like that?”

Maine: No specific age

“Maine has no law prescribing the age at which it is legal to leave a child home alone without a parent or guardian,” a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services in Maine, tells TODAY.com.

Maryland: Age 8

“Maryland Family Law states that it is a crime to leave a child younger than 8 years old unattended, locked or confined to a home, car, building or other enclosure without proper supervision,” a spokesperson from Maryland’s Executive Office of the Governor, tells TODAY.com.

Massachusetts: No specific age

“Massachusetts doesn’t set a specific age at which a child can be left home alone,” states the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. “In Massachusetts, such issues are decided on a case-by-case basis.”

Michigan: No specific age

“There is no agreed-upon age when all children are able to stay home alone safely,” according to the State of Michigan. “Because children mature at different rates, you should not base your decision on age alone. You may want to evaluate your child’s maturity and how he or she has demonstrated responsible behavior in the past.”

Minnesota: No specific age

A spokesperson from the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families, tells TODAY.com, “This information is not spelled out in statute.”

Mississippi: No specific age

“Neither Mississippi law nor MDCPS policy sets a minimum age for children to be left home alone,” a spokesperson from the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services, tells TODAY.com.

Missouri: No specific age

“Missouri statutes do not provide a legal age restriction” for when children can be left home alone, according to the Missouri Department of Social Services.

Montana: No specific age

“There is no magic age when children develop the maturity and good sense they need to stay home alone … YOU need to decide if the time alone is too much, based on your child and your situation,” states Montana’s Child and Family Services Division.

Nebraska: No specified age

“There is no legal age in Nebraska for when a child can be left alone,” a spokesperson from the Omaha Police Department in Nebraska, tells TODAY.com. “We educate officers that we rely on the maturity level of the child and their availability to assistance/resources. It is at the discretion of the officer to determine if neglect charges apply and this is on a case by case basis.”

Nevada: No specific age

“Nevada law does not specify an age at which children can be left home alone,” a spokesperson from the Division of Child and Family Services in Nevada, tells TODAY.com. “From a child welfare perspective, when determining if a child is safe, child protective services would consider a variety of factors.”

New Hampshire: No specific age

“New Hampshire law does not specify an age at which children may be left at home alone,” a spokesperson from the Department of Health and Human Services in New Hampshire, tells TODAY.com.

New Jersey: No specific age

“The State of New Jersey does not specify any appropriate, legal age to leave a child or children home alone,” according to the Bergen County Department of Human Services in New Jersey.

New Mexico: No specific age

“New Mexico … does not have a law or Statute that stipulates a specific age where this is appropriate, however municipal government has adopted ordinances in specific cities,” a spokesperson for the Children, Youth & Families Department in New Mexico, tells TODAY.com.

The spokesperson points to the example of Albuquerque, where children under age 11 cannot be left home alone.

New York: No specific age

“In New York State, it is neglect to leave a child who is too young home alone if the child’s condition is impaired or at risk of harm,” a spokesperson from the New York State Executive Chamber tells TODAY.com. “Since State law does not set forth a bright line rule based on the specific age, it will depend on the child and circumstances. Child Protective Services can determine what’s ‘too young’ based on the child and circumstances.” 

North Carolina: 8

“In most cases, it depends on the maturity and skills of the child. The only statewide law with a specific age restriction is the NC Fire Code, which states that a child under the age of eight cannot be left alone unsupervised,” according to Wake County Health & Human Services in North Carolina.  

North Dakota: No specific age

“There are no specific North Dakota laws that govern the legal age a child can be left home alone,” a spokesperson from the state’s Health and Human Services tells TODAY.com.

Ohio: No specific age

“Ohio law does not indicate an age that children can be left unattended. Therefore, parents and caregivers need to consider their child’s maturity level and their ability to make safe and sensible decisions,” according to the state’s Department of Children & Youth.

Oklahoma: No specific age (but at least 6 as an informal guideline)

“There is no law or policy in Oklahoma for how old a child has to be in order to be left alone,” states the Oklahoma Human Services. According to the agency’s recommended guidelines, “Infants and children under 6 years of age should never be left alone without adult supervision.”

The guidelines continue, “Generally, grade school children who demonstrate the ability to be responsible and mature may be left alone one or two hours during the day with access to a responsible adult. Grade school children should never be left to care for younger children.”

“Middle school children who demonstrate the ability to care for themselves without help may be left alone for up to four hours during the day and evening,” read the guidelines. “Middle school children may care for one or two younger children if there is constant access to a responsible adult.”

Oregon: 10

“Oregon law indicates a child under age 10 may not be left alone for a period that could endanger their welfare,” according to the Oregon Department of Human Services.

“Key words here are ‘period of time that could endanger a child,’” a spokesperson from the Oregon Department of Human Services tells TODAY.com. “This might be different depending on the vulnerability and needs.”

Pennsylvania: No specific age

“Pennsylvania does not have a legally defined minimum age at which a child can be left home alone,” a spokesperson from the state’s Department of Human Services tells TODAY.com. “Parents or guardians must use their judgment based on their child’s maturity level to decide when it is appropriate to leave them unsupervised.”

Rhode Island: No specific age

“There are no specific provisions related to allowing children to be left home alone or unsupervised for any period of time,” a spokesperson for the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth & Families tells TODAY.com.

South Carolina: No specific age

A spokesperson from the South Carolina Department of Social Services was unable to comment when asked by TODAY.com, instead pointing to a news article that states there is no law in South Carolina that outlines a specific age for a child to be left home alone.

South Dakota: No specific age

“There is no state law that outlines specifics for the legal age of when a child can be left unsupervised,” a spokesperson from the Rapid City Police Department tells TODAY.com. “If we do encounter a situation that requires intervention, we work directly with the South Dakota State Department of Social Services.”

Tennessee: No specific age (but a guideline of 10, at least)

“There is no legal age for children to stay at home alone,” states the Tennessee Courts. “Parents are advised to use their best judgment, keeping the child’s maturity level and safety issues in mind. Younger children have a greater need for supervision and care than older children. Obviously, young children under age 10 should not be left without supervision at any time. In most cases, older teenage children may be left alone for short periods of time.”

Texas: No specific age

“There is no Texas law that states how old the child must be before parents can leave them home alone,” according to the Texas State Law Library. “Instead, the concept of ‘neglect’ is used to determine if they have failed to supervise their child properly.”

Utah: No specific age

“The state of Utah values a parent’s responsibility and right to parent their child how they see fit, as long as they are parenting safely,” a spokesperson for the Utah Department of Health & Human Services tells TODAY.com. “There are some exclusions, but generally a parent has the discretion to determine what is age appropriate and for how long their child is left unsupervised.”

Vermont: No specific age

“Vermont does not have an age restriction law for when a child can stay home alone,” a spokesperson from the Vermont Department for Children and Families tells TODAY.com. “Parents are permitted to make that determination.”

Virginia: No specific age

“There are no laws in Virginia that say when or for how long a child can be left alone,” according to the Fairfax County Department of Family Services — Children, Youth and Families.

Washington: No specific age (but 10 as an informal guideline)

“Washington State does not have any laws or rules that say at what age a child can be left home alone,” a spokesperson from the Washington State Department of Children, Youth & Families tells TODAY.com. “Guidance we have previously shared is that in general, children under 10 should not be left on their own.”

According to the spokesperson, the department would get involved is cases where leaving a child alone meets the state’s definition of child abuse and neglect.

West Virginia: No specific age

“There is not a certain age stated in West Virginia statute, rule, or policy,” a spokesperson for the West Virginia Department of Human Services tells TODAY.com.  

Wisconsin: No specific age

“Wisconsin does not have statutes or regulations that state the age at which a child may be left unsupervised, or left in charge of other children,” states the Wisconsin State Law Library.

Wyoming: No specific age

“In Wyoming, there is no statute or rule specifying the legal age that a child can be left home alone,” a spokesperson from the Wyoming Department of Family Services tells TODAY.com. 

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In a decision released Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Lewis Litman ordered Giuliani to transfer personal property “including cash accounts, jewelry and valuables, a legal claim for unpaid attorneys’ fees, and his interest in his Madison Avenue co-op apartment to a receivership” within seven days.

Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss filed an action to seize the former New York City mayor’s assets in August in an effort to begin collecting on the $146 million in damages they were awarded last year after a judge found Giuliani liable for repeatedly defaming them. Giuliani had falsely accused the pair of election fraud after the 2020 presidential election.

NBC News reached out to a representative for Giuliani for comment.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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A new analysis of breathing data from 52 volunteers over a 24-hour period revealed that people with a normal sense of smell had little spikes, or “sniffs,” during each breath that were not seen in those with no sense of smell, according to the report published in Nature Communications on Tuesday.  

People can be born with no sense of smell, a condition called anosmia, or they can acquire it, as has been the case with many who had a Covid infection.

The volunteers in the study without the ability to detect odors were all born with the condition.

Nearly 1 in 4 people have anosmia, according to National Institutes of Health estimates. Experts say that number is likely an undercount.

A 2023 report determined that more than 60% of people diagnosed with Covid developed anosmia. About 72% of those completely regained their sense of smell, while about a quarter partially got their sense of smell back. Nearly 4% of people after Covid infection didn’t recover their ability to smell.

Even for those in the 4%, there may still be hope, since some get their sense of smell back as late as three years after their infection, experts say. There are treatments that may help, such as smell training or a procedure known as a stellate ganglion block.

The main takeaway from the study is better insight into some of the mental issues that some Covid patients who have lost their sense of smell experience, said the study’s lead author, Lior Gorodisky, a Ph.D. candidate in the brain sciences department at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel.   

The differences in breathing between those who can smell and those who can’t are pretty significant. “We are now also able to identify lifelong anosmia just based on the respiratory pattern,” Gorodisky said in an email.

The little inhalations during a breath, known as the “sniff response,” are something that most of us experience unconsciously every day, Gorodisky said. Those little sniffs tell our brains about good and bad smells. “When you go to a bakery or a flower field, once your brain has sensed the good smell of a pastry or a flower, you immediately take a deeper breath,” Gorodisky said.

To determine whether having anosmia might affect respiration, the researchers supplied the 52 volunteers with nasal devices that would monitor breathing as they went about their days.

Previous research has linked anosmia to a wide variety of negative outcomes, ranging from dulled emotions and depression to a shortened lifespan, the authors noted.

Although people in the study with anosmia had had it their entire lives, the researchers believe their findings will apply to others who developed the condition.

Losing the ability to detect odors can lead to impaired memory of events linked to specific smells, Gorodisky said. Because of that, it can take away the joy from daily activities such as eating and socializing with friends and family. 

As for shortened lifespans, that could be due at least in part to people not smelling odors that could indicate danger, such as smoke, Gorodisky said.

A study published in August found that people who lost their sense of smell as a result of Covid had behavioral, functional and structural brain changes.

The number of people with smell dysfunction are “vastly underestimated, said Valentina Parma, assistant director at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia.

She called the new study a “very first step.”

“We are piecing together more reasons why we need to pay more attention to the sense of smell,” said Parma, who was not involved with the new research.

The value of the sense of smell is often underappreciated.

“For the majority of the world, smell is an afterthought,” Parma said. “Covid helped bring it into the mainstream. It was a game changer.”

Currently, health care providers often don’t ask about or test for anosmia, Parma said. And that needs to change since its development later in life has been linked to the start of a number of serious disorders, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, she said.

The findings underscore the importance of testing for anosmia and finding treatments, said otolaryngologist Dr. Jonathan Overdevest at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City. 

Researchers also need to work out the details of how losing one’s sense of smell might affect other aspects of health, Overdevest said. “One thing we do know is that a portion of the brain affected earliest by Alzheimer’s is in charge of the sense of smell,” he added.

Brain scanning studies have shown that the sense of smell connects with many aspects of thinking, said Benjamin tenOever, chair of the department of microbiology at the New York University Langone Medical Center in New York City.

If there is an odor from a noxious fume, “the neurons in the nose tell the brain that there is something dangerous to avoid,” tenOever said. “And when there is a pleasant smell, the brain tells the nose to increase the amount of air inhaled. It’s not something that’s done consciously, but instead, the brain is hardwired to do it.”

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The news of his arrest comes one year after BBC News published an explosive report that said Jeffries exploited men at sex parties he hosted. That report said 12 men described attending or organizing events that included sex acts for Jeffries and his partner Matthew Smith, and those events took place from 2009 to 2015. Some of the men who spoke to BBC said they were exploited or didn’t participate willingly. 

They are expected to appear in federal court in Florida and Wisconsin today, and arraigned on a later date in the eastern District of New York. 

Jeffries’ attorney, Brian Bieber, told NBC News on Tuesday in response to the arrest: “We will respond in detail to the allegations after the Indictment is unsealed, and when appropriate, but plan to do so in the courthouse — not the media.”

Read the full indictment below:

If you or someone you know is the victim of sexual assault, the National Sexual Assault hotline is available 24/7 at 1-800-656-4673.

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

Here’s what to know about the drug cocktail.

What is pink cocaine?

Pink cocaine is typically a powdery mix of ketamine and illegal substances such as methamphetamine, MDMA (also called molly or ecstasy), or opioids, according to WebMD. Researchers have also found new psychoactive substances, which are a new kind of synthetic drug, mixed in, the health-focused news outlet said. Pink cocaine can also include benzodiazepines, caffeine, hallucinogens, and the street drug bath salts.

Despite its name, the recreational drug may not contain cocaine at all and gets its color from food coloring. It is also referred to as tusi, tusibi, tuci, or tucibi.

How does pink cocaine affect someone?

It can be hard to determine how the drug cocktail may affect someone after ingesting it. WebMD said this is due to several factors: the types of drugs mixed in the pink cocaine; whether alcohol is involved; how much pink cocaine is taken; and how the body reacts to the drugs.

Pink cocaine also often includes both depressants and stimulants.

Potential side effects can vary but may include confusion, hallucination, strange thoughts, agitation, and feelings of sickness, according to WebMD. The National Capital Poison Center said physical and sexual assaults, as well as traumatic injuries, have occurred when people are impaired by the drug.

Shortly before Payne’s death, a hotel receptionist called 911 to report that a distressed guest who was intoxicated with alcohol and drugs was “breaking the whole room.” According to audio obtained from local media by Telemundo, the caller said that the guest was “in a room that has a balcony, and, well, we are a little afraid that he might do something life-threatening.”

Argentina’s emergency health service, Sistema de Atencion Medica de Emergencia, or SAME, confirmed to Telemundo that Payne fell from the balcony of his third-floor room at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel. Payne, 31, was found dead a few minutes after the 911 call, SAME director Alberto Crescenti told the Argentine TV station Todo Noticias TV.

An autopsy found that the singer had 25 injuries “compatible with those produced by a fall from height” and that his cause of death was “polytraumatism, internal and external hemorrhage,” according to the Argentina National Prosecutor’s Office.

Is pink cocaine dangerous?

Yes.

Because it is a street drug, “there’s no way to know exactly what’s in pink cocaine,” WebMD said, noting there’s concern that some batches may include fentanyl, the highly potent opioid responsible for many overdose deaths.

“The drug market now is more dangerous than I’ve ever seen it,” Bridget Brennan, the special narcotics prosecutor for New York, told NBC News in August after pink cocaine — commonly used in the club and party scenes — was mentioned in a lawsuit against music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.

Brennan warned that “you absolutely cannot trust that your dealer is selling you a product that you asked for.”

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“If something seems off, it probably is,” Dawson warns in the video spot, shared exclusively with NBC News. 

Other celebrities featured in the video include Chris Rock, Laura Dern, Michael Douglas, Amy Schumer and Jonathan Scott delivering the message that Americans should rely on state secretaries of state for information about voting in the 2024 election and not to fall for unverified claims about alleged changes at polling stations.

The celebrities say Americans may receive a fake message claiming voting has been extended, or a polling location has closed or changed due to an emergency, or that new documentation is required to vote. “These are all scams designed to trick you into not voting. Don’t fall for it,” the celebrities say.

At the end, the video reveals that some of the Hollywood stars are mere deepfakes, with their voices and images superimposed on other actors.

The public service announcement, organized by the nonpartisan group RepresentUs and set to appear on YouTube, comes amid growing concern that artificial intelligence technology could be used to confuse Americans about the time, place or manner of voting at their local polling places.

False information and other dirty tricks aimed at discouraging people from going to the polls is nothing new. But increasingly advanced A.I. tools could make it easier to confuse and deceive voters with video and audio that looks and sounds plausible, experts say.

“We’re not going to stop this from coming into existence,” said Miles Taylor, one of the organizers of the campaign. “But what we can do is make people aware that this is the new spam, that this is going to be the type of thing they see all the time online that tries to deceive them, and to make sure that they don’t fall for that deception, especially in a critical period of democratic transition.”

In January, AI-generated deepfake robocalls mimicking President Joe Biden’s voice urged voters to stay home and not take part in the New Hampshire Democratic primary. And last month, a deepfake caller posing as Ukraine’s former foreign minister held a Zoom meeting with the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland. 

If the technology “can be deployed against sitting U.S. senators effectively, then your average voter could be a potential target,” said Taylor, a former senior official in the Department of Homeland Security during the Trump administration who resigned in 2019 and publicly criticized the former president.Taylor and other organizers said that as AI technology improves at a rapid pace, raising public awareness will be crucial to inoculating Americans against attempts to spread false information, especially during an election year.

Joshua Graham Lynn, CEO and founder of RepresentUs, said that using a light-hearted approach with celebrities offered a way to alert Americans to the issue without causing panic.

“It was really important on this particular issue to get the point across, to not freak people out, but to get them thinking about it,” Lynn said. 

All the celebrities involved “were enthusiastic about doing it because they want to get the message in front of voters,” Lynn said.

Instead of trying to mimic a nationally known figure, the effort to mislead voters could try to use a deepfake to persuade a voter that they are hearing from a local election official or a church leader, experts and former election officials say. 

“You could make quite a lot of havoc just by hitting a number of precincts across the country, and because it’s not a known individual, it would be a little harder to verify quickly,” said Kathy Boockvar, the former secretary of state in Pennsylvania.

Organizers of the campaign ran simulations over the past year to try to anticipate what might happen in this year’s election with AI-powered tools. “The most alarming scenarios were the ones where deep fake technologies were used to target local voters and to try to deceive them about their right to vote,” Taylor said.

The campaign does not attempt to tackle or fact-check the flood of false information circulating this election cycle, from candidates, commentators, deepfakes or other means. Instead, it focuses on verifiable, concrete details about when, where and how Americans can cast ballots on Election Day, Lynn said.”No one should come between an American and their vote,” Dawson said in a statement. “Unfortunately, it’s safe to say people are going to try.”

To assist understaffed state and local election offices in handling the onslaught of false information, including deepfakes, a nonpartisan coalition of more than 70 nonprofits have organized to help election authorities identify and debunk false information about voting before it goes viral. 

Efforts to mislead Americans about their ability to vote may have already begun, according to rights groups.

Last week in Wisconsin, voting rights advocates asked state and federal authorities to investigate anonymous text messages that seemed aimed at intimidating college students from voting. 

College students in Wisconsin are permitted to register to vote either at their home or their school address.

In the 2020 election, U.S. authorities accused Iran of sending emails to Democratic voters in multiple battleground states aimed at intimidating them into voting for then-President Donald Trump. The emails falsely claimed to be from the far-right group Proud Boys and warned the recipients that “we will come after you” if they didn’t vote for Trump. It’s unclear to what degree it had any effect. Iran has denied trying to interfere in U.S. elections.

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The woman slipped into a 10-foot crevice between two boulders earlier this month, but ended up hanging by her feet upside down and unable to get out, the New South Wales Ambulance said in a news release. Hunter Valley is located north of Sydney in New South Wales.

Her friends tried to free her to no avail and after she was hanging upside down for over an hour, her friends called Triple Zero, Australia’s emergency call number. 

NSW Ambulance responded with a team to remove heavy boulders to create a “safe access point,” the release said. 

“With care, a hardwood frame was built to ensure stability while rescuers worked,” the service said. “The team faced the challenge of navigating the patient out through a tight ‘S’ bend over the course of an hour. It took teamwork and a specialised Tirfor winch to move a massive 500 kg boulder (1,100 lbs).”

NSW Ambulance shared photos showing the woman’s bare feet sticking out between the small gap in the boulders and first responders removing the giant rocks to reach her.

NSW Ambulance Specialist Rescue Paramedic Peter Watts said in his 10 years as a rescue paramedic, “I had never encountered a job quite like this, it was challenging but incredibly rewarding.”

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation named the woman as 23-year-old Matilda Campbell and reported that she remained calm and cooperative despite her ordeal.

“She was such a trooper,” Watts told the outlet. “I would have been beside myself stuck in that sort of situation, but when we were there she was calm, she was collected, anything we asked her to do she was able to do it to help us get her out.”

In total crews had to remove seven boulders weighing between 80 to 500 kilograms (176 lbs to 1,100 lbs), the outlet reported.

The woman was finally safely freed after she had been stuck for seven hours — and she came away with just minor scratches and bruises. 

However, in the end she was unable to retrieve her phone.

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One of Mexico’s most versatile sweet sauces is chamoy — a blend of dehydrated fruit, chili powder, salt, sugar and citrus.

Chamoy is so popular among the Mexican community that when Mexican entrepreneur Annie Leal couldn’t find a sugar-free version of it in her father’s sugar-free candy drawer, she was stunned.

“I’m looking through all of the little bags of sugar-free candy. He had sugar-free Hersheys, sugar-free Reese’s, Jolly Ranchers. Every American candy had a sugar-free version, and I didn’t see any Mexican candy. And I was like, ‘That is extremely weird.’”

Leal’s family moved to the United States when Annie was in college. The family left Monterrey, Mexico, for McAllen, Texas, after increased violence and organized crime hit close to home.

“Unfortunately, one of my cousins was kidnapped by the narcos and he was held ransom for 12 days. Thankfully, he was rescued by the Mexican military,” Leal said. “My dad called my mom and was like, ‘Grab the girls and come to the U.S. immediately,’ which was like 2 hours away. So we packed everything in one night: a couple of shirts, laptops, books, and we left.”

Leal’s father was diagnosed with diabetes shortly after the move.

“When my dad gets diagnosed, he completely changes his lifestyle,” Leal said. “He’s incredibly disciplined… He was able to control his diabetes, but I didn’t pay attention very much to all of his lifestyle changes.”

One of those changes was the consumption of the famous sauce, which on average includes 1.2 grams of sugar per tablespoon, according to Nutritionix.

Leal was determined to revolutionize the chamoy market in the U.S., using her background in marketing and content creation for digital-first brands like Mitú, which produces content for the U.S. Latino community.

“I wanted to make this for my dad, but I’m like, ‘He can’t be the only person struggling with this.’ […] I knew how Mexican culture was just exploding and exploding. People loved it. They loved our music and our food. They’re starting to love our candy.”

Annie Leal spoke to NBC’s Bísness School about how she launched her product I Love Chamoy and what were the steps to finding the perfect formula. Her answers have been edited for length and clarity.

Bísness School: What was your next step after you got the idea for I Love Chamoy?

Annie Leal: I didn’t have any idea what the next step should be. I told my parents this idea. Surprisingly, they [were] not like, “That’s a bad idea.” I went to the store, and I bought notebooks, sketchbooks, pencils, you know, like [you do] the first day of school because I didn’t know where to start. I get the notebooks and I just start drafting. I started with the marketing stuff first. That’s what I knew. 

BS: How easy or hard is it to build your first formula? How long did it take?

AL: It took a long time. We tested many different sugar-free sweeteners. You have Splenda, Stevia, monk fruit. How do you make something carb-free and sugar-free this day and age? [How do you] make sure that it doesn’t spoil, that it can be  shelf-stable. So it was just a long process. We tested over 40 different formulas. Around month three, I was  getting exhausted, and I was seeing my bank account. [I thought,] “This is terrifying.” It took us about six months to get the final formula.

BS: So then you have your product. What’s next, are you ready to sell?

AL: I wanted to make 500 [units] and then somebody convinced me to make 750. The goal was to sell them in a span of six months. The day our product was ready, I posted a video on TikTok. The video goes viral. We sold those 750 bottles in six days instead of six months. It was so rewarding.

Watch the full conversation with Annie Leal to learn what she did after losing $10,000 worth of product and why she said no to appearing on “Shark Tank Mexico.”

Krishna Kunapuli, 39, faces one count of lewd, indecent and obscene acts while in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts. He was arrested Monday and is set to appear in federal court in Boston on Tuesday.

Prosecutors allege that Kunapuli made unwanted advances to a female passenger while onboard the Etihad Airlines flight Monday, including touching the woman’s hair and taking pictures of her without permission. A crew member intervened, but later other passengers seated near Kunapuli reported that he was masturbating under a blanket, at times exposing himself. A flight attendant intervened and reported the situation to law enforcement, officials said.

The charge carries a sentence of up to 90 days in prison, up to one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $5,000.

More details were not immediately available.

The IRS has announced new federal income tax brackets and standard deductions for 2025.

In its announcement Tuesday, the agency raised the income thresholds for each bracket, which applies to tax year 2025 for returns filed in 2026. The top rate of 37% applies to individuals with taxable income above $626,350 and married couples filing jointly earning $751,600 or more for 2025.  

The IRS also boosted figures for dozens of other provisions, including long-term capital gains brackets, estate and gift tax exemption and eligibility for the earned income tax credit, among others. 

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Federal tax brackets for 2025

Federal income tax brackets show how much you owe on each part of your “taxable income,” which you calculate by subtracting the greater of the standard or itemized deductions from your adjusted gross income.

After 2025, lower taxes enacted by former President Donald Trump will sunset without action from Congress. If the provision expires, the tax brackets will revert to 2017 levels, shifting to 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, 35% and 39.6%.

Higher standard deduction

The standard deduction will also increase in 2025, rising to $30,000 for married couples filing jointly, up from $29,200 in 2024. Starting in 2025, single filers can claim $15,000, a bump from $14,600.

Trump’s tax cuts also included higher standard deductions, which will sunset after 2025 if Congress doesn’t extend that tax break. 

Jeffries has been arrested in West Palm Beach, Florida. Two other associates, Matthew Smith of West Palm Beach and James Jacobson of Wisconsin, were also arrested in connection with sex trafficking charges.

They are expected to appear in federal court in Florida and Wisconsin today, and arraigned on a later date in the eastern District of New York. 

Jeffries was the CEO of the popular clothing brand from 1992 to 2014. 

Jeffries, Smith and Jacobson each face a single count of sex trafficking as well as 15 counts of interstate prostitution tied to 15 alleged victims. 

A federal indictment alleges Jeffries — along with Smith, his romantic partner, and Jacobson, who was described as a recruiter — operated an “international sex trafficking and prostitution business” from 2008 to 2015. 

It alleges that they organized “sex events” in England, France, Italy, Morocco, St. Barts and New York for Jeffries, Smith and “others.” They “employed coercive, fraudulent and deceptive tactics in connection with the recruitment, hiring, transportation, obtaining, maintaining, solicitation and payment of the men to engage in commercial sex.”

The men who attended the events allegedly were led to believe that it could lead to modeling opportunities or help their careers or “that not complying with requests for certain acts during the Sex Events could harm their careers.”

The men were required to sign non-disclosure agreements and surrender their wallets and cell phones during the events.

Jeffries, Smith and Jacobson also allegedly recruited, hired and paid an exclusive set of household staff to “facilitate and supervise the sex events.” The staff provided Jeffries, Smith and the men who attended alcohol, muscle relaxants known as “poppers,” lubricant, Viagra and condoms, among other items. Either Jacobson or the staff paid the men for attending the sex events, the indictment said. 

Breon Peace, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a news conference that Jeffries and Smith spent millions on the sex trafficking enterprise — from paying staff, paying for travel and paying to maintain secrecy.

Peace said the operation used a referral system and interview process, during which the men that were allegedly preyed upon were not informed about the details of the sex events before attending. During those “tryouts” of potential candidates, Jacobson typically had candidates first engage in commercial sex acts with him, the indictment said. 

At the events, the men were pressured to drink and consume poppers, and “on more than one occasion when men did not or could not consent, Jeffries and Smith violated the bodily integrity of these men by subjecting them or continuing to subject them to invasive sexual and violent contact by body parts and other objects,” Peace said.

“Powerful individuals, for too long, have trafficked and abused for their own sexual pleasure young people with few resources in a dream, a dream of securing a successful career in fashion or entertainment,” Peace said. He warned anyone who thinks they can exploit or coerce by using the “so-called casting couch system” that they should “prepare to trade that couch for a bed in federal prison.”

Peace said his office became aware of the alleged crimes through media reports. 

The news of Jeffries’ arrest comes one year after BBC News published an explosive report that said Jeffries exploited men at sex parties he hosted. That report said 12 men described attending or organizing events that included sex acts for Jeffries and his partner Matthew Smith, and those events took place from 2009 to 2015. Some of the men who spoke to BBC said they were exploited or didn’t participate willingly. 

Jeffries’ attorney, Brian Bieber, told NBC News at the time that Jeffries would not comment on reports about his personal life. Abercrombie & Fitch said the company was “appalled and disgusted” by the allegations in the BBC report. 

Bieber told NBC News on Tuesday in response to the arrest: “We will respond in detail to the allegations after the Indictment is unsealed, and when appropriate, but plan to do so in the courthouse — not the media.” 

Shortly after that report, Abercrombie & Fitch and Jeffries were sued for allegedly turning a blind eye to Jeffries’ alleged misconduct. That civil suit alleged he sexually abused numerous men after luring them with the promise of coveted modeling contracts, CNBC reported.

“Today’s arrests are monumental for the aspiring male models who were victimized by these individuals,” attorney Brittany Henderson, who is representing victims from that class action lawsuit, said in a statement Tuesday. 

“Their fight for justice does not end here,” the statement said. “We look forward to holding Abercrombie and Fitch liable for facilitating this terrible conduct and ensuring that this cannot happen again.”

When asked if the alleged sex trafficking enterprise possibly continued after 2015, Peace said the investigation is ongoing, and encouraged any victims or any witnesses to come forward.

If you or someone you know is the victim of sexual assault, the National Sexual Assault hotline is available 24/7 at 1-800-656-4673.

Peloton’s stationary bikes will soon sell at Costco’s stores and on its website as the beleaguered fitness company looks for new ways to reach younger and affluent customers, Peloton is set to announce Tuesday.

Under the terms of the deal, Costco will offer Peloton’s Bike+ in 300 of its U.S. stores for $1,999, and on Costco.com for $2,199 between Nov. 1 and Feb. 15. It is a steep discount from the typical price of the Bike+, which is selling on Peloton’s website for $2,495. It is unclear how the price will compare to any holiday promotions Peloton plans to offer. 

The new partnership comes during a state of transition for Peloton, which is being led by two board members after its former CEO Barry McCarthy stepped down earlier this year.

Long focused on growth at all costs, Peloton has turned its sights to profitability and has had to become more creative as it tries to reach new users.

As sales fall and losses mount, Peloton is looking for cheaper ways to attract new customers. Costco is one way to get there, Dion Camp Sanders, Peloton’s chief emerging business officer, told CNBC in an interview. 

“We’ve been able to architect a deal with Costco that meets our needs with regard to profitable, sustainable unit economics, while at the same time delivering robust and clear value to Costco members,” said Camp Sanders. “We’ve structured this deal with Costco to both meet our needs for profitable, sustainable growth and getting us access to Costco’s very large net incremental audience.” 

Camp Sanders said Peloton’s partnership with Costco is only for a limited time because fitness is a seasonal category for the company, but Peloton hopes to keep building on the relationship and perhaps expand it to future locations both in the U.S. and abroad.

The deal with Costco gets Peloton onto the shelves of a retailer with a strong fan following and wealthier customers. The membership-based club has gained popularity as shoppers across all incomes prioritize value and try to get more for their money with bulk packs and private-label items.

As of Sept. 1, store traffic at Costco had increased 31% compared with the same period in pre-pandemic 2019, according to Placer.ai, an analytics company that estimates visits to locations based on smartphone data. 

Costco’s members are also getting younger. Those consumers prioritize health and wellness — and are willing to invest in it — in ways that older generations do not. 

About half of Costco’s new membership sign-ups last fiscal year came from people who were under 40 years old, and the average age of its 76 million members has fallen since the Covid-19 pandemic, Chief Financial Officer Gary Millerchip said on an earnings call in late September. 

According to Numerator, 36% of Costco’s customers have a household income of more than $125,000. Numerator has a panel of 150,000 U.S. consumers that is balanced to be representative of the country’s population.

Camp Sanders said Costco’s members “have the disposable income to be able to afford our premium products,” and their lifestyles align with what Peloton offers. 

“Many of Peloton’s members are affluent, they often have larger homes in the suburbs and they also have life situations where Peloton fits a clear need,” said Camp Sanders. “Many Costco members are juggling families, they maybe have a busy career … and they’ve got the space in their home” to build their own gyms, he continued. 

Costco’s Executive Vice President of Merchandising Claudine Adamo declined to comment to CNBC.

Peloton already sells its workout equipment through Amazon and Dick’s Sporting Goods, but has also been working to develop relationships with other companies that cater to similar customer bases. 

For example, hundreds of Hyatt Hotel properties have Peloton equipment on site. As of this month, hotel members can earn points for completing workouts on the Peloton Bike and Row during their stay. 

It also announced a deal with Truemed — the PayPal of the health savings account and flexible spending account world — that allows Peloton members to use pretax earnings to buy certain hardware products, including the Bike, Bike+ and Tread.

An arrest warrant was issued for John Callis, 24, after cellphone video of an assault on two men in Commanders jerseys went viral. The warrant included allegations of first-degree aggravated assault and second-degree assault, police said.

It wasn’t clear whether Callis was released after his arrest Monday. An attorney for Callis did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday night.

The victims seen on video were identified only as 23-year-old men.

Police allege Callis was the man in the video wearing a Ravens jersey and walking in the Federal Hill neighborhood, known for its nightlife, sports bars and historic architecture, a few blocks from M&T Bank Stadium, where the Ravens had just defeated the Commanders 30-23.

In the video, the man in the Ravens jersey kicks one of two men in Commanders jerseys who face him as he approaches. The Commanders fan is dropped with a punch as the other lunges at the Ravens fan, only to be thrown into a brick wall and ultimately felled.

The man in the Ravens jersey raises his arm and high-fives someone off camera while shouting, “I don’t lose!”

In court documents obtained by NBC affiliate WBAL of Baltimore, police said the suspect assaulted two of three victims twice after they returned to the area to retrieve a cellphone believed to have been lost during the initial altercation.

Video appeared to reflect only one of the two alleged encounters.

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If you do a Google search, it’s the first thing that comes up.

So imagine being a high school student researching a project online – it’s totally different than even just a few years ago.

The Hingham High School student and another classmate were writing a history paper last year when they used AI for some of their research notes – not to write the paper itself.

A teacher discovered the AI usage, and the students were given a detention, kept off the National Honor Society, and given a zero on that portion of the project.

But it was such a large portion of their grade that this normally straight A student got a C+ for the class.

He’s now a senior applying to colleges, and his parents are concerned this will affect where he gets accepted.

At Tuesday’s hearing the 17-year-old student, who NBC10 Boston is not naming due to his age, spoke about his experience, saying that the only time AI use was explicitly discussed was in his AP ELA class. In that case, he says AI use was allowed for general assignments, though on the exam essays would be written by hand, so AI wouldn’t be an option.

Acting district Superintendent Kathryn Roberts and the social studies teacher who gave the grade were also on the stand. Roberts explained that while there was no explicit mention of AI usage in the handbook at the time, students are given guidelines on AI in the ELA classes which is expected to apply in other classes. But the student pushed back, saying that wasn’t clear and that his social studies teacher said they could use any resource to brainstorm project ideas.

The judge will take a day’s worth of testimony and legal arguments to decide whether the court should step in to reverse the discipline.

The family believes the punishment is too harsh for using technology that is used every day now, the implications of which haven’t been fully fleshed out even beyond high school.

And they argue that there were no AI rules in the school handbook for their son to follow.

“We should be embracing artificial intelligence, developing an appropriate curriculum and integration with that in our schools, and in this case this young man is caught in the middle of that,” said attorney Peter Farrell, who is representing the family.

Hingham Public Schools declined comment, but since the incident, have released updated guidance on AI use.

“His punishment for this situation has been extreme and ongoing and it is now interfering with his applications to college, which they promised us when we discussed it back in December that it wouldn’t do, so we had to get a lawyer involved because they were not being transparent, they were dragging their feet, I think trying to get to the summer so we would drop it and not think about it,” said Jennifer Harris, the mother of the Hingham High student.

The family’s attorney noted that the student was able to apply for the National Honor Society again and was admitted last week, so that part of their complaint has been resolved.

Israel’s security cabinet has discussed the Egyptian proposal for a two-week truce in Gaza, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The Egyptian proposal calls for the release of just six Israeli hostages in exchange, the official said. It was suggested by Hassan Mahmoud Rashad, the new head of Egyptian intelligence, who took up his post last week. 

The proposal was first reported by Axios.

Blinken arrived in Israel early Tuesday as part of a Middle East tour aimed at renewing talks for a comprehensive deal to end the intensifying regional conflict after the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

It comes as Israel continues to mount a deadly offensive in northern Gaza, where thousands of people have fled intense Israeli operations in areas like the Jabalia refugee camp in recent days. Israeli forces also continued their invasion of southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah on Tuesday while striking parts of the country’s capital, Beirut, in an assault that sparked the evacuation of a local hospital.

“The thinking is that efforts at a big deal kept meeting challenges. So the idea is to get the momentum going with a smaller deal,” the Israeli official said. The official cautioned that while the proposal has been discussed by Israeli leaders it has not been approved.

It’s also unclear if Hamas would be open to a smaller agreement.

While the U.S. is hopeful that the killing of the militant group’s hardline leader last week could create an opportunity for negotiations, a U.S. official acknowledged that Washington does not know who — if anyone — is currently in charge of Hamas and could negotiate on its behalf.

Asked about the Egyptian proposal, a U.S. official told NBC News: “Who are you going to negotiate with? Hamas has to decide on its next leader.”

Blinken’s diplomatic push

A senior State Department official told NBC News, which is traveling with Blinken, that he had five major goals on his trip to the region.

At the top of his list of priorities was discussing with Israel how to bring an end to fighting in Gaza and secure the release of the hostages who remain held there, the official said. Blinken’s immediate focus is also on pressing Israel to get more food and other aid into northern Gaza where there is a growing hunger crisis, the official said.

He will also look to discuss a post-war plan for the Palestinian enclave and to drill down on the humanitarian steps Israel must take to relieve widespread suffering its offensive has caused in Gaza.

Blinken will look to push forward talks on how to secure a diplomatic solution to the fighting in Lebanon and to discuss with Israeli officials their expected response to a strike launched by Iran in retaliation for the assassinations of top Hamas and Hezbollah commanders.

The secretary of state will also discuss the use of an advanced anti-missile system sent by the U.S. to Israel to fortify the country’s already robust missile defense program, which was put in place this week.

It comes as the U.S. investigates an apparent leak of top-secret documents showing U.S. spy agencies tracking possible Israeli preparations for the strike against Iran.

Beirut hospital evacuation

As Blinken arrived in Israel, officials at a hospital in Dahieh, a southern suburb of Beirut known as a Hezbollah stronghold, told NBC News they had evacuated the medical facility after Israel claimed a Hezbollah cash bunker was under the site.

The Israeli military alleged that Hezbollah has hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and gold stashed in a bunker built under the Sahel General Hospital, a charge which the facility’s director denied.

The Israel Defense Forces said they would not attack the hospital directly, but the medical facility’s director, Dr. Fadi Alami, told NBC News that officials still moved to evacuate the hospital.

He said they hoped to be able to return patients to the facility by late Tuesday morning as he dismissed the Israeli military’s allegations.

“We completely deny the enemy allegations,” he said. “They’re dreaming. This whole thing is theater.”

At least 13 people including a child were killed in an Israeli strike nearby Monday night that also caused damage to the Rafik Hariri University Hospital in southern Beirut, the Lebanese health ministry said. The Israeli military said that overnight it had struck “Hezbollah weapons storage facilities, command centers, and additional terror targets in Beirut.”

Raf Sanchez reported from Tel Aviv, and Chantal Da Silva from London.

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The sources added that Weinstein is currently undergoing treatment while in prison at Rikers Island in New York. Chronic myeloid leukemia is an uncommon form of cancer of the bone marrow, according to the Mayo Clinic.

In a statement to NBC News Monday night, Weinstein’s legal health care representative Craig Rothfeld said in part, “Out of respect for Mr. Weinstein’s privacy, we will offer no further comment.”

The news of Weinstein’s diagnosis comes amid a myriad of health issues. In September, Weinstein underwent emergency heart surgery to alleviate a significant amount of fluid from his lungs and heart.

In July, he was hospitalized and tested positive for Covid-19 and double pneumonia.

Weinstein’s health issues come amid his legal battle with Manhattan prosecutors over their efforts to combine his original 2020 sexual crimes with a new criminal indictment. Prosecutors have sought to consolidate the new charges with the ones previously brought against Weinstein so that they could be tried in court together.

Weinstein, who was serving a 23-year sentence, saw his New York conviction overturned earlier this year. That came after New York’s Court of Appeals found that the judge in the landmark trial prejudiced Weinstein with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.

But Weinstein did not walk free amid the court’s decision because he was convicted in 2022 of rape in Los Angeles and sentenced to 16 years in prison. His legal team is currently appealing that conviction.

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Italian surfer Giulia Manfrini has died after a fatal run-in with a swordfish.

The 36-year-old was surfing near the Mentawai Islands Regency in Indonesia on Oct. 18 when a swordfish “unexpectedly jumped towards Manfrini and pierced her chest,” Lahmudin Siregar, the acting head of the Mentawai Islands’ Disaster Management Agency, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

She was rushed to the Pei Pei Pasakiat Taileleu Health Center but succumbed to her injuries, per the outlet.

Manfrini suffered a deep wound measuring nearly two inches and showed signs of drowning, according to medical reports obtained by the news corporation.

In a statement, Manfrini’s colleague James Colston — with whom she co-founded AWAVE Travel, a surfing and snowboarding excursion company — called the incident a “freak accident.”

“Unfortunately, even with the brave efforts of her partner, local resort staff and doctors, Giulia couldn’t be saved,” Colston he wrote in an Oct. 18 Instagram post. “We believe she died doing what she loved, in a place that she loved.”

Describing Manfrini as the “lifeblood” of the company, Colston continued, “Giulia couldn’t travel without people falling in love with her smile, laugh and endless Stoke. Anyone was lucky to have her on board a charter or surf trip.”

He added, “We love you Giulia. I am so sorry to say goodbye.”

Manfrini was a snowboard instructor with the Associazione Maestri Sci Italiani — also known as the Association of Italian Ski Instructors — prior to getting her teaching certification with the International Surfing Association, per her LinkedIn.

According to Manfrini’s bio on the AWAVE Travel website, she was a former professional snowboarder whose love of surfing “led her all over the world to chase waves.”

“When not organizing trips,” her profile read, “you’ll find her waves and powder hunting, song-writing, dancing & playing beach volley!”

Manfrini had traveled to the Mentawai Islands years before her death. In a 2022 Instagram post geotagged from the surfing locale, she wrote, “Witnessing one of the most incredible and very rare phenomenons on Earth: the so-called ‘GLORY,’ a full circle rainbow in the sky.”

She added at the time, “Grateful for this life and nature!”

Two fishermen from Nantucket, an island in Massachusetts, made a life-saving catch this weekend, saving a frantic fellow fisherman clinging to what was left of his capsized boat.

“I sort of saw out of the corner of my eye, something a little unusual,” said Joe Thormay. “At first, I thought it was maybe, like, a dead whale.”

Thormay and Nick Whitbeck were out Saturday afternoon testing some lures for their company, Island X Lures, when they saw something on the horizon.

“We were sort of both looking, and then that is when we realized there is somebody waving sort of frantically on top of what happened to be an overturned vessel,” Whitbeck said.

The two packed up as fast as they could and raced to the fisherman in distress.

“It was scary at first, that we got there, and he later told us that he had been out there for an hour, and he had also had three boats go by, when he couldn’t get any of their attention,” Whitbeck added. “That’s when it kind of hit how lucky this situation was, that we were able to get to him.”

Working together, the two were able to get close to the fisherman’s boat and throw him a lifejacket. Thormay, who used to be in the Coast Guard, also called for more help.

“The way he explained it on the boat, he was fishing down a rip line, and we did have waves, there was no wind, it was calm, we had rollers that were four-to-six-plus feet that would occasionally come through, and I think in almost a perfect scenario, he got caught in the rip and it rolled over his stern and immediately flipped the boat,” Whitbeck explained.

The two say they are so thankful they were in the right place at the right time. They connected with the wife of the fisherman on Sunday and learned he is doing great. They added that his boat is in the shop, and they hope to see him back on the water very soon.

“We were a couple of hours away from sunset, so, nightfall, so who knows. One of those things were there are strong rip currents, tides get moving over there, and once night hits, that is a whole other game,” Thormay said. “We are very thankful that he’s able to be on dry land and everything worked out well.”

The petition, created by Musk’s America PAC, comes amid the entrepreneur’s larger campaign over the last week to register conservative voters in swing states.

Paying someone to vote or to register to vote is explicitly illegal under federal law. Musk’s payouts seem to skirt those laws, though. Musk and America PAC have said that payouts or lottery entries will be given to registered voters for their petition signatures or referrals of other signatories. The petition is supportive of free speech and gun rights. Signing the petition does not require any specific party affiliation. 

“I think it straddles the line, and it’s a little unclear whether it goes over the line or not,” said John Fortier, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who specializes in election administration.

The fact that the lottery is contingent on signing a petition, rather than merely registering to vote, may be enough to keep Musk from overtly breaking the law, experts told NBC News, but it’s not clear-cut.

“This is at best very questionable legally,” said Michael Morse, an assistant professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. “Federal law says that you cannot pay someone to register to vote. I think you can read this petition as an inducement to register to vote.”

“I’ve never heard of a million-dollar lottery in the last weeks of a presidential campaign, to either sign a petition or to induce people to register, so we’re in new legal territory here,” said Nate Persily, a professor at Stanford Law School.

“The relevant legal question is whether this is payment to induce people to register. If it is, then it violates the law. If it’s payment to induce people to sign a petition, then it’s not a problem,” he said. 

Musk’s PAC announced the initial payouts to signatories and referrers of signatories of the petition on Oct. 6. Over the last several days, Musk has upped the ante, adding money to his promises several times.

Rick Hasen, the director of the UCLA School of Law’s Safeguarding Democracy Project and an NBC News election law analyst, wrote Saturday that he believes Musk’s plan is “clearly illegal” because the petition requires signers to be registered voters in particular states. 

Hasen noted that the Justice Department’s Election Crimes Manual explicitly cites “lottery chances” as an example of a type of illegal bribe if it’s “intended to induce or reward the voter for engaging in one or more acts necessary to cast a ballot.”

Pennsylvania Gov. Democrat Josh Shapiro said on Meet the Press Sunday that the lottery was “deeply concerning” and suggested law enforcement could investigate it. 

But none of the experts who spoke with NBC News believed law enforcement is likely to stop the lottery or fine Musk before the election.

“The Department of Justice is authorized to enforce the statute,” Morse said. “But I think in the next three weeks they have other things to do.”

The Justice Department, Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office, and Federal Election Commission declined to comment.

Musk endorsed Trump in July, after Trump became the Republican Party’s nominee. The world’s wealthiest person, Musk is engaged in at least 11 regulatory or legal battles with the federal government related to his companies, a previous NBC News tally found, making the stakes of the presidential election high for him. Musk’s companies have won billions in federal contracts over the last decade, according to a recent tally from The New York Times.

The deadline for voter registration in Pennsylvania and Michigan is Monday. The contest’s rules appear to say that while it no longer accepts new entrants after Monday, it will continue to name new $1 million prize winners each day until the election. So far it has named two.

On Monday morning, Musk celebrated Republican voter registration in Pennsylvania.

“New Republican voter registration last week in Pennsylvania absolutely crushed Democrat voter registration!” he wrote on X. 

Morse, the Penn law professor, said he viewed the lottery as unlikely to be a consequential stunt, and instead it seemed more like a data mining operation.

“You can only register to vote in Pennsylvania until today. I just see this as a political stunt. It’s a stunt to mine people’s data, to build up an email list for contacts, for campaigning, for mobilization,” he said, referring to get-out-the-vote efforts and other voter engagement.

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Lewisville police responded to an ‘active shooter’ call Thursday afternoon, Oct. 17, at Allegiance Trucking on Lakeway Drive.

Officers responded quickly and on foot because the police department’s temporary building shares a parking lot with the trucking accessory company.

Employees immediately identified the shooter, who surrendered to police without incident.

The victim, identified by police as Tahmara Collazo, suffered five gunshot wounds and died at the hospital.

Travis Merrill, 51, is charged with murder and is in the Denton County Jail on a $10 million bond.

According to the probable cause affidavit, Merrill agreed to speak with the detective on the case.

Merrill allegedly confessed to the attack, telling police he was ‘obsessed with Collazo’ and became increasingly angry over her long unauthorized breaks and her ‘not paying any attention’ to him.

The affidavit did not mention specific dates or a timeline of events, but at one point, Collazo reported Merrill’s behavior to the administration.

He was made to speak with a counselor on the phone before being allowed back at work.

Upon returning to his job, Merrill told police he felt like his colleagues probably considered him ‘a psychopath.’  When Collazo began intentionally avoiding him, he said it fueled his anger, so he started to purchase guns.

Merrill allegedly went on to say his co-worker ‘had caused him pain, and he wanted her to feel pain, so he intentionally planned to shoot her at work with everyone there,’ according to the affidavit.

Merrill said he contemplated taking action on at least two occasions, including driving to work on his day off and sitting in the parking lot.

Merrill allegedly admitted to following Collazo out to the parking on her lunch break last Thursday, ‘readied his guns,’ waited, and followed the unsuspecting woman to her cubicle, “ambushing her” in front of horrified co-workers.

It’s unclear if Merrill has obtained an attorney to speak on his behalf.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, ‘acts of violence’ are the third leading cause of deadly work injuries in the U.S.

John Helmstadter, 82, and Pamela Helmstadter, 72, went for a walk in a forested area behind their Alexander, Maine, home last Sunday with their dogs. 

But what was meant to be a casual stroll along a network of trails turned tragic when they got off one of the trails and John Helmstadter fell, then was unable to get up. Neither of them had cellphones and were unable to call for assistance.

Pamela Helmstadter went to get help, but “got disoriented in the woods and could not get home,” the Maine Game Wardens said in a news release.

After spending four nights in the woods, she was located on Thursday — alive, but hypothermic — by the Maine Game Wardens and warden K9s, over a mile from her home. Her husband was found deceased, 200 yards from her, officials said.

“Pamela was found severely hypothermic but alert with her dog by her side,” the Maine Game Wardens said. “Her body temperature was 90.7 when she was found, but she was able to discuss what had occurred.” She was transported to a hospital for observation. 

In the days the couple were lost in the woods, the temperature dipped to as low as 26 degrees Fahrenheit at night, according to Accuweather. 

Mark Latti, the Communications Director for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, said the couple’s dog may have helped save her life as wardens found the dog very protective of her and saw it would lay on top of her chest.

“It sounds like that’s what the dog would do at night, as well, to help keep her warm,” Sgt. Josh Beal with the Maine Warden Service told Portland station WMTW.

She told authorities she had given up hope of being found until she heard the Warden Service Airplane circling over her five different times on Thursday.

A search for the couple had been launched Wednesday after their neighbor who checks on them alerted authorities that they were missing.

That neighbor reported bringing a package from their porch into their house on Tuesday, and she became concerned after noticing it was in the same place she had left it the following day and after noticing one of the couple’s dogs had returned home, but there was no sign of the couple nor their other dog.

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Twenty people, including filmmakers Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee and Ken Burns and singers Missy Elliott and Queen Latifah, received National Medals of Arts. Two of the arts medals were awarded posthumously: one to late singer Selena Quintanilla and one to late artist Ruth Asawa.

The arts medals are given “to individuals or groups who are deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support, and availability of the arts in the United States.”

Biden was also honoring 19 recipients of National Humanities Medals, including playwright-screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and historian Jon Meacham. Late chef-author Anthony Bourdain received a posthumous humanities medal.

“Above all, you are the masters of your craft that have made us a better America with all of you have done,” Biden said at the White House ceremony.

Biden took a brief detour in his remarks to give a shout-out to Vice President Kamala Harris’ run for the White House.

“I know the power of the women in this room to get things done” and boost the next generation, he said, adding that the female winners were “proving a woman can do anything a man can do, and then some, and that includes being president of the United States of America.”

The line drew a standing ovation.

Biden also told the winners that the moment was a “very consequential time in the arts and humanities in America” because “extreme forces are banning books, trying to erase history, spreading misinformation.”

Actors Idina Menzel and Eva Longoria, producer Bruce Cohen and musicians Leonardo “Flaco” Jimenez and Herbert I. Ohta also received arts medals, along with photographers Randy A. Batista and Clyde Butcher, artists Carrie Mae Weems, Alex Katz and Mark Bradford, arts leaders Jo Carole Lauder and Bruce Sagan and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Other humanities winners included former U.S. poet laureate Joy Harjo, actor-literacy advocate LeVar Burton, cartoonist Roz Chast and philanthropists Wallis Annenberg and Darren Walker. The humanities medals honor “an individual or organization whose work has deepened the nation’s understanding of the human experience, broadened citizens’ engagement with history or literature, or helped preserve and expand Americans’ access to cultural resources.”

The arts medals are managed by the National Endowment for the Arts, and the humanities medals by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Jeffries has been arrested in West Palm Beach, Florida. Two other associates, Matthew Smith of West Palm Beach and James Jacobson of Wisconsin, were also arrested in connection with sex trafficking charges.

They are expected to appear in federal court in Florida and Wisconsin today, and arraigned on a later date in the eastern District of New York. 

Jeffries was the CEO of the popular clothing brand from 1992 to 2014. 

Jeffries, Smith and Jacobson each face a single count of sex trafficking as well as 15 counts of interstate prostitution tied to 15 alleged victims. 

A federal indictment alleges Jeffries — along with Smith, his romantic partner, and Jacobson, who was described as a recruiter — operated an “international sex trafficking and prostitution business” from 2008 to 2015. 

It alleges that they organized “sex events” in England, France, Italy, Morocco, St. Barts and New York for Jeffries, Smith and “others.” They “employed coercive, fraudulent and deceptive tactics in connection with the recruitment, hiring, transportation, obtaining, maintaining, solicitation and payment of the men to engage in commercial sex.”

The men who attended the events allegedly were led to believe that it could lead to modeling opportunities or help their careers or “that not complying with requests for certain acts during the Sex Events could harm their careers.”

The men were required to sign non-disclosure agreements and surrender their wallets and cell phones during the events.

Jeffries, Smith and Jacobson also allegedly recruited, hired and paid an exclusive set of household staff to “facilitate and supervise the sex events.” The staff provided Jeffries, Smith and the men who attended alcohol, muscle relaxants known as “poppers,” lubricant, Viagra and condoms, among other items. Either Jacobson or the staff paid the men for attending the sex events, the indictment said. 

Breon Peace, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a news conference that Jeffries and Smith spent millions on the sex trafficking enterprise — from paying staff, paying for travel and paying to maintain secrecy.

Peace said the operation used a referral system and interview process, during which the men that were allegedly preyed upon were not informed about the details of the sex events before attending. During those “tryouts” of potential candidates, Jacobson typically had candidates first engage in commercial sex acts with him, the indictment said. 

At the events, the men were pressured to drink and consume poppers, and “on more than one occasion when men did not or could not consent, Jeffries and Smith violated the bodily integrity of these men by subjecting them or continuing to subject them to invasive sexual and violent contact by body parts and other objects,” Peace said.

“Powerful individuals, for too long, have trafficked and abused for their own sexual pleasure young people with few resources in a dream, a dream of securing a successful career in fashion or entertainment,” Peace said. He warned anyone who thinks they can exploit or coerce by using the “so-called casting couch system” that they should “prepare to trade that couch for a bed in federal prison.”

Peace said his office became aware of the alleged crimes through media reports. 

The news of Jeffries’ arrest comes one year after BBC News published an explosive report that said Jeffries exploited men at sex parties he hosted. That report said 12 men described attending or organizing events that included sex acts for Jeffries and his partner Matthew Smith, and those events took place from 2009 to 2015. Some of the men who spoke to BBC said they were exploited or didn’t participate willingly. 

Jeffries’ attorney, Brian Bieber, told NBC News at the time that Jeffries would not comment on reports about his personal life. Abercrombie & Fitch said the company was “appalled and disgusted” by the allegations in the BBC report. 

Bieber told NBC News on Tuesday in response to the arrest: “We will respond in detail to the allegations after the Indictment is unsealed, and when appropriate, but plan to do so in the courthouse — not the media.” 

Shortly after that report, Abercrombie & Fitch and Jeffries were sued for allegedly turning a blind eye to Jeffries’ alleged misconduct. That civil suit alleged he sexually abused numerous men after luring them with the promise of coveted modeling contracts, CNBC reported.

“Today’s arrests are monumental for the aspiring male models who were victimized by these individuals,” attorney Brittany Henderson, who is representing victims from that class action lawsuit, said in a statement Tuesday. 

“Their fight for justice does not end here,” the statement said. “We look forward to holding Abercrombie and Fitch liable for facilitating this terrible conduct and ensuring that this cannot happen again.”

When asked if the alleged sex trafficking enterprise possibly continued after 2015, Peace said the investigation is ongoing, and encouraged any victims or any witnesses to come forward.

If you or someone you know is the victim of sexual assault, the National Sexual Assault hotline is available 24/7 at 1-800-656-4673.

When a real estate agent works with a prospective homebuyer, they’re required to point out physical or material defects in the property.

A death on the property? It depends on the state where the house is located. In most states, death doesn’t count as a material defect requiring disclosure.

Some homes are considered “stigmatized properties,” or dwellings that have been “psychologically impacted by a past or suspected event on the property, but has no physical impact of any kind,” according to the National Association of Realtors. 

Stigmatizing events include murder, suicide, alleged hauntings or a notorious previous owner, NAR noted. 

Which states require disclosure of death

Listing agents will have different requirements state-by-state on what to disclose to a buyer. Most states don’t have any death disclosure requirements.

Among those that do, rules can be straightforward and explicitly require prior death to be disclosed to homebuyers. Even those rules may only apply to recent deaths or more stigmatizing events such as murder.

In California, for example, a seller must disclose if someone died in the house within the last three years.

Meanwhile, in Alaska, the listing agent must communicate if any known murders or suicides happened in the last year. South Dakota requires sellers to disclose deaths within the last 12 months.

Regulations will depend on the stigma in question. In New York, a seller doesn't need to disclose if the house was the site of death or crime. But if a seller has made claims of paranormal activity in the home, they have to inform the buyer of potential ghosts in the property, experts say.

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Oftentimes, it falls on the homebuyers directly asking the agent about the property's history. States like Georgia do not require real estate agents or sellers to disclose upfront if the home was the site of a death. But they have to be truthful if a prospective buyer inquires.

Outside of what the disclosure laws are in a specific state, listing agents have a fiduciary responsibility to the sellers, said Harrison Beacher, a real estate agent and managing partner at Coalition Properties Group in Washington, D.C.

"If somebody asks me about it, I can point them towards empirical resources to get answers, but I'm not under any requirements to go into detail," said Beacher.

Here's what homebuyers should know about properties that have been stigmatized by murder, suicide, alleged hauntings or notorious prior owners, and how to find more detail about the home's history.

Who buys stigmatized properties?

Stigmatized homes can be a "turn off" for homebuyers who believe in ghosts or spirits, said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin, an online real estate brokerage firm.

"Some people are spooked away," said Fairweather, while others might "seek out those homes."

Nearly three-quarters, 72%, of potential homebuyers said they would buy a haunted house for a lower price, according to a new report by Real Estate Witch. The site polled 1,000 U.S. adults in September to discover their views on buying and selling haunted houses.

Some buyers don't care what happens in a stigmatized property "if it can get them a discount on price," Beacher said.

About 43% of polled Americans would offer at least $50,000 below market value on a haunted house, Real Estate Witch found in the report.

In 2021, the LaBianca mansion, the home where Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were murdered by Charles Manson's followers in 1969, sold for $1.875 million. The previous owner, Zak Bagans, a paranormal activity investigator, originally put the house on the market for $2.2 million, but later cut the price to $1.9 million.

"Different people interact with stigmatized properties in different ways," Beacher said.

In 2023, about 67% of would-be buyers said they would buy a haunted house if it met their wants, like having appealing features, the right location or a more affordable price, according to Zillow.

But buyers should know that "every property has a history," said Connie Vavra, managing broker of RE/MAX, a real estate brokerage franchise, at Elgin, Illinois.

"We can't erase the history that's been done there … That doesn't mean that you can't have good energy in there and have [a] good experience living in that home."

How to find out a home's history

If you have questions or concerns about a property's history, the first thing you should do is ask the real estate agent. In some states, real estate agents need to provide truthful information upon a buyer's request, or at the very least, point you towards the right direction to find out.

Here are two ways to check, experts say:

1. Talk to neighbors and officials

Keep an eye out for the property's neighbors, experts say. Besides the real estate agent, neighbors can give you first-hand experience of the area, as well as information about the previous homeowners. 

You can also call the county manager where the property is located, said Theresa Payton, a former White House chief information officer who is now the CEO of cybersecurity firm Fortalice Solution.

You can also ask for someone at the county manager's office who may know about the property you're considering and if there are any crime records associated with it, she said. 

2. Follow the paper trail

"The internet is a dangerous source for information," Vavra said, as you can find a wealth of details about a property.

If police responded to any activity at the house, the event will likely be reported in the newspaper and it would be public record, Payton said.

You can do an advanced search online through newspaper headlines and police reports, as "all that information is free," she said.

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Two couples and their young children who lived in the home on Coby Hunt Court managed to escape the house unharmed before the explosion reduced their home to an unrecognizable pile of debris the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 15. They thought their three pets likely died in the blast, which shook the neighborhood.

“Nothing’s going to bring them back unless somehow they made it out alive, which I hope they did, but who knows where they are,” said Jarrett Struniak, who lived in the home with his fiancee and 3-year-old daughter.

On Monday morning, firefighters found one of the animals — a brindle pitbull named Brandy — alive.

“The explosion was six days ago, so we were kind of shocked to hear that there was a dog possibly there still,” said Gavin Morrison with Prince William County Fire and Rescue.

“Usually when we do make pet rescues and people rescues, it’s at the time of the incident, said Lt. Mark Waldrop with Prince William County Fire and Rescue. “To go back six days later and get the dog out was a great feeling.”

Prince William County Fire and Rescue said they went back to the home after someone called Monday and said they could hear a dog barking from underneath the rubble. Crews freed the dog and fire officials said she would be reunited with her family.

“She appeared to be in good shape and showed her happiness of being freed by rapid tail wagging,” Assistant Chief Matt Smolsky said in a statement.

Waldrop says the actual rescue was pretty straightforward. Thankfully, they could see and hear Brandy, so once they stabilized the structure, they just had to coax her out.

Understandably, she was a little shaken up, but they quickly figured out a way to win her over.

“Dog treats and some ham turns out it ended up being the best,” said Andrew Silvernale with Prince William County Fire and Rescue. “We were able to get the dog to trust us a little bit. The owner was there.”

Brandy was taken to the vet, but officials say it looks like she will be okay.

“Just happy for the family,” Silvernale said. “After going through something like this, to be able to give them something to look forward to, something to hold on to, it means a lot to us as well.”

Firefighters say that the rescue took about 30 minutes.

“It was really nice,” said Carl Nunziata with Prince William County Fire and Rescue. “Animals are members of our family.”

“Makes you feel good about your job when you do stuff like this,” Waldrop said.

Contractor ruptured gas line before explosion

Fire investigators said on Wednesday a private contractor who was working on replacing the water line to the home hit and ruptured a gas line.

Firefighters came shortly after 4 p.m. and evacuated the home, along with the neighboring houses. Washington Gas arrived to the home about an hour later to make repairs, but the home exploded a short time after, fire officials said.

“I mean, honestly, you can see everything go away in an instant and you realize you have nothing,” Struniak said. “It’s frustrating and demoralizing.”

Struniak said he was relieved his loved ones were OK. 

“You can’t really do anything about it. You can be angry, but what’s that going to do? You’re being angry at the wind,” he said. “The silver lining is that nobody was hurt. Not a firefighter, not a city worker, not a single person in the cul de sac was hurt, and that’s really great in itself.”

Crews spent much of the day Wednesday sifting through the wreckage.

The blast rattled neighbors, some of whom were standing outside at the time.

“I’m standing there and my back’s to it. It’s just this boom!,” neighbor Rob Karas said. “Last night my whole back hurt and I was in pain. And it blew out my garage and then there was some debris.”

“I just heard a loud boom and I screamed because I got really scared,” neighbor Mouna Karas said.

Struniak said the work at the home was supposed to be a routine repair. When workers hit the gas line, he said he had no idea there would be an explosion. 

“You could smell gas and they were addressing it, you know, nothing, it wasn’t shut down,” Angie Rick, another neighbor, said Tuesday.

Investigators are still working to learn what ignited the explosion.

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But back on the ground, one airport in New Zealand is implementing a maximum time just three minutes for loved ones to say goodbye to their relatives with a hug.

“It’s hard to say goodbye so make it quick. 3 minutes max,” one of a series of signs at Dunedin Airport on the country’s South Island says.

“Max hug time three minutes” another reads.

Those seeking “fonder farewells” should “use the car park” where a generous 15-minute window is allowed, a third says.

Dan De Bono, the airport’s CEO has said that that lighthearted approach is aimed at keeping the traffic into the terminal flowing smoothly.

“We’re trying to have fun with it. It is an airport and those drop off locations are common locations for farewells” he told Radio New Zealand (RNZ) earlier this month.

Recognizing that the signage had “caused quite a stir” he said that the signs were designed to keep drop-off zones moving at the airport.

“There’s no space left for others,” he said. “It’s about enabling others to have hugs.”

NBC News has reached out to De Bono and the airport for comment.

Although many people recognize the comfort and joy that come from a hug, there are also broader scientific benefits to pressing the flesh.

Hugs can improve mood, well-being and even physical health, boosting the immune system, Professor Michael Banissy, the head of psychological science at the U.K.’s University of Bristol told NBC News Monday.

He added that the three-minute period suggested by the airport “should provide enough of a window to facilitate the release of hormones that contribute to these health and well-being benefits.”

However, Banissy said the “context and quality of the hug are crucial” as “for some people, time limits might undermine the natural, comforting nature of hugging, potentially preventing individuals from fully experiencing a farewell hug’s emotional and physiological rewards.”

Defending the introduction of the signs, in his interview with RNZ, De Bono quoted a study that suggested a 20-second hug is long enough to release oxytocin, otherwise known as the “love hormone.”

But Banissy said that despite this, there are some people where time limits might “undermine the natural, comforting nature of hugging” which could “potentially prevent individuals from fully experiencing the physiological rewards” of a heartfelt farewell.

The debate is still up in the air.

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Though former President Donald Trump visited a Pennsylvania McDonald’s location on Sunday, the fast-food giant is trying to stay neutral in the presidential race.

“As we’ve seen, our brand has been a fixture of conversation in this election cycle. While we’ve not sought this, it’s a testament to how much McDonald’s resonates with so many Americans. McDonald’s does not endorse candidates for elected office and that remains true in this race for the next President,” the company said in an internal message viewed by CNBC and confirmed by a source familiar with the matter.

Trump learned how to operate a fry cooker and work the drive-thru line during his short shift at a Feasterville, Pennsylvania, restaurant. He used the stunt as an opportunity to take more shots at his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump often accuses Harris of lying about working at McDonald’s for a summer in her twenties, but has offered no proof backing up the claim. Harris has denied the accusation. McDonald’s and its franchisees don’t have all of their employment records for workers dating back to the early 1980s, when the 60-year-old Harris would have worked there, the company said in the Sunday memo.

“Though we are not a political brand, we’ve been proud to hear former President Trump’s love for McDonald’s and Vice President Harris’s fond memories working under the Arches,” McDonald’s said.

Both McDonald’s and the franchisee who operates the location emphasized that the chain opens its doors to “everyone.”

“As a small, independent business owner, it is a fundamental value of my organization that we proudly open our doors to everyone who visits the Feasterville community,” franchisee Derek Giacomantonio said in a statement. “That’s why I accepted former President Trump’s request to observe the transformative working experience that 1 in 8 Americans have had: a job at McDonald’s.”

Although McDonald’s publicly supported the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, it has tried to portray itself as an apolitical brand to avoid alienating customers. It follows a broader shift in Corporate America away from politics or initiatives perceived as ideological.

A number of companies, including Ford, Lowe’s and Harley-Davidson, have walked back their diversity, equity and inclusion policies and practices this year.

And that’s a change that many Americans want; only 38% of U.S. adults believe that businesses should take public stances, down from 48% in 2022, according to a Gallup-University of Bentley study conducted this spring. 

But McDonald’s has already been involved with another controversy this election cycle.

In late May, several viral social media posts criticized the burger giant’s affordability, citing everything from an $18 Big Mac meal at a Connecticut location to charts that alleged the chain’s prices had more than doubled over the last five years. Republicans latched onto the controversy, tying a jump in McDonald’s menu prices to Biden’s economic policy in a bid to win over voters fed up with inflation.

To quell the controversy, McDonald’s U.S. President Joe Erlinger wrote an open letter and released fact sheets about the company’s pricing.

— CNBC’s Kate Rogers contributed reporting

Federal student loan payments for some 8 million borrowers will remain on pause for six months or longer, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Education said. 

The development on Monday comes as the Biden administration has been dragged into a slew of legal battles waged by Republicans over its recent student loan relief efforts. 

The borrowers who are excused from their monthly payments are those enrolled in the Biden administration’s new SAVE plan. SAVE enrollees will be placed in an interest-free general forbearance, the Education Department spokesperson said.

A federal court issued an injunction earlier this year preventing the department from implementing parts of the Saving on a Valuable Education plan. The agency had billed SAVE as the most affordable repayment plan in history, and many people were expected to see their monthly bills cut in half. 

Republican attorneys general in Kansas and Missouri, who led the legal challenges against SAVE, argue that President Joe Biden is essentially trying to find a roundabout way to forgive student debt after the Supreme Court blocked its sweeping debt cancellation plan in June 2023.

SAVE comes with two key provisions that lawsuits have targeted: It has lower monthly payments than any other federal student loan repayment plan, and it leads to quicker debt erasure for those with small balances.

Before the legal challenges, the Education Department had already forgiven $5.5 billion in student debt for 414,000 borrowers through the SAVE Plan.

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Right now, health insurers must cover the cost of prescribed contraception, including prescription birth control or even condoms that doctors have issued a prescription for. But the new rule would expand that coverage, allowing millions of people on private health insurance to pick up free condoms, birth control pills, or “morning after” pills from local storefronts without a prescription.

The proposal comes days before Election Day, as Vice President Kamala Harris affixes her presidential campaign to a promise of expanding women’s health care access in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to undo nationwide abortion rights two years ago. Harris has sought to craft a distinct contrast from her Republican challenger, Donald Trump, who appointed some of the judges who issued that ruling.

“The proposed rule we announce today would expand access to birth control at no additional cost for millions of consumers,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “Bottom line: women should have control over their personal health care decisions. And issuers and providers have an obligation to comply with the law.”

The emergency contraceptives that people on private insurance would be able to access without costs include levonorgestrel, a pill that needs to be taken immediately after sex to prevent pregnancy and is more commonly known by the brand name “Plan B.”

Without a doctor’s prescription, women may pay as much as $50 for a pack of the pills. And women who delay buying the medication in order to get a doctor’s prescription could jeopardize the pill’s effectiveness, since it is most likely to prevent a pregnancy within 72 hours after sex.

If implemented, the new rule would also require insurers to fully bear the cost of the once-a-day Opill, a new over-the-counter birth control pill that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved last year. A one-month supply of the pills costs $20.

Federal mandates for private health insurance to cover contraceptive care were first introduced with the Affordable Care Act, which required plans to pick up the cost of FDA-approved birth control that had been prescribed by a doctor as a preventative service.

The proposed rule would not impact those on Medicaid, the insurance program for the poorest Americans. States are largely left to design their own rules around Medicaid coverage for contraception, and few cover over-the-counter methods like Plan B or condoms.

The king, who is the first reigning British monarch to visit Australia in 13 years, was addressing lawmakers and other dignitaries in the Great Hall of Parliament House in Canberra, the Australian capital. His five-day visit along with Queen Camilla, his first to an overseas realm as monarch and his first major foreign trip since his cancer diagnosis, comes as the Commonwealth country debates severing ties with the British monarchy.

“You are not our king. You are not our sovereign. You committed genocide against our people,” Lidia Thorpe, an independent senator from the southeastern state of Victoria, shouted at Charles, who appeared not to respond but spoke quietly with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

“Give us our land back. Give us what you stole from us. Our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people! You destroyed our land!” Thorpe, who wore traditional clothing, continued to shout as security officers escorted her outside.

Speaking outside Parliament House, Thorpe told reporters, “We’ll continue to resist the colony until we have a peacemaking treaty where we can celebrate this country together. We don’t need a king from another country to dictate to us what we do here.”

Later on Monday, Thorpe told Sky News that she did not interrupt the king’s speech but “respectfully waited till the end.”

“There’s thousands of massacre sites in this country from invasion and someone needs to answer for that,” Thorpe said. “If he is the successor, then he needs to answer.”

Australia was under British colonial rule for over a century. By some estimates, British colonists carried out more than 400 massacres against Australia’s Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people, killing thousands. The country’s Aboriginal population continues to struggle with racism and discrimination today.

Reconciliation is difficult. In a landmark referendum last year, all six states in Australia voted against recognizing Aboriginal people in the country’s constitution and establishing a body to advise Parliament on Indigenous matters.

Australia became a fully independent country in 1986 but remains a constitutional monarchy in which the British monarch serves as the head of state, a role that is largely symbolic.

In a 1999 referendum, a majority of Australians voted against transitioning to a republic. Charles has said it is up to Australians whether they want to break ties with the monarchy.

Though the debate has been revived following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, the nation is still ambivalent about becoming a republic. According to a YouGov poll published last year, about one-third of Australians want the country to transition to a republic as soon as possible, while 35% would prefer to remain a constitutional monarchy and the rest are undecided.

Thorpe, the first Aboriginal female senator from Victoria, is known for her strong opposition to the monarchy. When she was sworn into office in 2022, Thorpe was asked to take the oath again after she referred to the reigning British monarch as “the colonizing Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.”

Albanese is a lifelong republican, but his government said in January that holding another referendum on the subject was “not a priority” and that there was “no timeline” for it.

Albanese hinted at the republican cause in his remarks before the king spoke.

“You have shown great respect for Australians, even during times where we’ve debated the future of our own constitutional arrangements and the nature of our relationship with the crown,” he said. “Nothing stands still.”

Earlier on Monday, a traditional Aboriginal welcoming ceremony was held for the royal couple outside Parliament House.

Charles referenced the ceremony at the start of his 10-minute speech, saying he “deeply” appreciated the gesture, which offered him a chance to pay respects to “the traditional owners of the land on which we meet.”

The king, who spent six months living in Australia as a teenager, acknowledged Australia’s First Nations people, who inhabited the land long before the arrival of British settlers more than 230 years ago.

“Throughout my life, Australia’s First Nations people have done me the great honor of sharing so generously their stories and cultures,” Charles said. “I can only say how much my own experience has been shaped and strengthened by such traditional wisdom.”

The king arrived in Australia last Friday. Before his address to lawmakers on Monday, he was greeted by more than a thousand well-wishers along with some protesters during a wreath-laying ceremony at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

On Wednesday, the king will travel to the Pacific island nation of Samoa, where he will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

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On Oct. 8, Fischer, 50, shared an Instagram post for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, revealing she had been diagnosed with Stage 1 triple-positive breast cancer in December 2023. She wrote that after undergoing surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, she’s now cancer free. 

In a one-on-one conversation with TODAY’s Hoda Kotb, which aired on Oct. 21, Fischer said she hoped sharing her story will bring comfort and hope to another woman receiving a breast cancer diagnosis.

The diagnosis

The actor told Hoda that in October 2023, she went in for her routine mammogram appointment that she had been putting off. 

“Three weeks later, they said, ‘Oh, your mammogram was fine. There were a few spots that were difficult to see. You have very dense tissue. We would recommend that you do another mammogram and maybe follow up with a breast ultrasound,’” she said of the conversation with her doctor. 

“I was like, ‘This is the appointment that won’t end,’” Fischer added, laughing. 

She explained that she felt “no level of concern” when she went back for her breast ultrasound. However, they then asked her to do a biopsy, saying it likely was a “10% chance it’s cancerous.” 

Fischer said she was on a hike by herself when she received the results via her patient portal.

“I checked the portal on the hike, and that’s when I saw words like ‘invasive,’ ‘ductal,’ ‘carcinoma,’ ‘malignant,’” she said. “And I was like, ‘Those words sound like cancer words.’” 

She then called her husband, Lee Kirk, to tell him the results, though she wasn’t sure it was cancer until her doctor confirmed it later that same day. 

When her doctor told her of her diagnosis, Fischer said she just felt “disbelief.” 

“I think the word that really got me was when we found out that I was triple-positive and my oncologist said chemotherapy. That was when I really lost it,” she said. 

Treatment

Fischer opened up to Hoda about the reality of losing her hair during chemotherapy, which she said was one of the side effects she was most concerned about. 

“I started by having just a big bald patch down this side of my head. And I would kind of do a real elaborate comb-over,” she said, laughing. “I was like, ‘Oh, I understand why the gentlemen do this now. Yes, I can sort of pretend like that isn’t there for a while.’” 

Although Fischer said she considered it, she never had a “big shave-your-head moment.” Aside from styling her new part, she said she also opted to wear more hats and wigs during treatment. 

Leaning on her support system

When it came to sharing the news with friends and family, the “Hall Pass” actor revealed one of the first people she called after receiving her diagnosis: Christina Applegate. 

“I called her, and she answered the phone, and she said, ‘Which one is it?’ And I said, ‘It’s breast cancer.’ And she said, ‘I effing knew it.’” Fischer recalled of their conversation. “She’s salty. Salty language that one. I love her for it.” 

Fischer said Applegate put her in touch with fellow survivors and that they took on her journey “together.” 

As for telling her children, Weston Lee, 13, and Harper Marie, 10, Fisher said she and her husband “sat them down” and were “very honest with them.” 

“They’re 10 and they’re 13, and they were going to be living in the house while I went through this. They’re going to see it. And the biggest thing that I wanted them to know was that any ways that I seemed sick during this process were side effects of treatments. They weren’t cancer making me sick,” she said. 

“That distinction, I think, really put them at ease. And then we just kind of did it together. And they were amazing.” 

Where things stand

Along with chemotherapy, Fischer said she also underwent a lumpectomy and radiation. Following her latest screenings, the actor said she’s cancer free, though she’s continuing to take tamoxifen and Herceptin for the next year. 

Fischer told Hoda that two saving graces during her experience were maintaining a sense of humor and normalcy.

“Humor helped through all of this. And working helped. And staying in the world helped,” she said. “My oncology nurse, Ron, was an amazing man. … When I started chemotherapy, he said to me, ‘Listen, I want you to get up every day, and I want you to walk. Every day.’”

“‘I want you to drink a ton of water. Walking and water. That’s what I want you to do. And I want you to take care of those kids. The women who get up and at it are the women who do better in my experience.’” 

Fischer said some of the best advice she received was to “live your life during this process,” while also listening to her body. 

“I did that,” she said. “And some days I just walked circles in my own living room. Some days I walked all around the block. But I did every day get up and do those things. And I think it made a really big difference.” 

Looking back at the past year, Fischer told Hoda that one of the biggest lessons she’s learned is the impact of people taking care of other people. 

“So many people took care of me, and my family, and my children, and I am so grateful for it — in so many small ways,” she said. “And the thing is, is that everybody had the right way or the perfect way to do it.” 

Fischer explained that some friends put her chemotherapy schedule on their calendars, while others sent thoughtful texts and picked her kids up from school. She said her mother-in-law recorded prayers that she would send before treatments. 

The mother of two said this entire journey caused her to look at the world through a new lens of gratitude. 

“I liked that people were annoyed if I was late with an email,” she said. “I liked being regarded as my old self, so to speak.” 

“All of the most important things became so clear so quickly. And the cool thing is that that focus never leaves. So I will get to carry that with me now. … I’ll say I find the world to be such a beautiful place in all of its quirkiness.” 

Fischer added that everyday annoyances have suddenly become “charming” to her. 

“Like, you know, just traffic. ‘Oh, look at you, cute traffic. Look at all the people just goin’ places,’” she said. “How great that I get to sit in traffic. How cool.” 

Fischer’s final takeaway from her experience is a message to all women: “Please don’t skip your mammogram appointment. Please get all the extra screenings that the doctor wants you to get.” 

She credits the success of her treatments to her early diagnosis, encouraging more people to book the “annoying” appointment. 

“If I had waited six more months, it could have been much worse. It could have spread. It was a very aggressive form of cancer,” Fischer said. “I’m really lucky that my cancer had not spread into my lymph nodes. It hadn’t spread anywhere else in my body.” 

“My tumor was still very small, too small to feel,” she added. “That’s the thing. A self-exam would not have (caught the cancer). It really was that routine mammogram that started all of this. And I’m so grateful that I went to that appointment.”

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New York neighbors who became cross-country rivals, the Yankees and Dodgers renew their starry struggle in the World Series for the first time in 43 years.

“When you’re playing for the Dodgers and playing for the Yankees, it better feel different,” L.A. manager Dave Roberts said at Yankee Stadium last June. “If not, you better do something different for a profession.”

Two of baseball’s most successful teams face each other starting Friday at Dodger Stadium, the Yankees coming off their 41st American League pennant and the Dodgers their 25th National League championship. New York is seeking its 28th World Series title but first since 2009, the Dodgers their eighth and second in a five-year span.

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Yankees pinstripes vs. Dodgers Pantone 294. The Bronx Bombers vs. the Dem Bums’ descendants. The granite-and-limestone of new Yankee Stadium on chilly autumn nights vs. Dodger Stadium in sunny Chavez Ravine, with the San Gabriel Mountains beyond the pavilions.

“It’s kind of what the people wanted, what we all wanted,” Dodgers star Mookie Betts said. “It’s going to be a battle of two good teams, a lot of long flights across the country.”

New York is 8-3 against the Dodgers in the most frequent World Series matchup, including 6-1 against Brooklyn and 2-2 since the rivalry became Big Apple against Tinseltown.

Mickey Owen, Al Gionfriddo, Cookie Lavagetto, Sandy Amoros, Johnny Podres, Don Larsen, Sandy Koufax and Reggie Jackson created indelible images in the matchup, which started in 1941 with one of the wackiest World Series turns.

Trailing 2-1 in the Series, Brooklyn led 4-3 with two outs in the ninth inning at Ebbets Field when Tommy Henrich swung and missed at strike three from Hugh Casey. The ball bounced away from Owen and rolled toward the Dodgers dugout as Henrich reached on the dropped third strike. Joe DiMaggio singled, Charlie Keller hit a two-run double and Joe Gordon added another two-run double later in the inning as the Yankees won 7-4 and went on to win the title in five games.

Lavagetto’s two-out, pinch walk-off double in the ninth ended Bill Bevens’ no-hit bid in 1947’s Game 4 and two games later Gionfriddo robbed DiMaggio of a tying three-run homer.

New York beat the Dodgers again in 1949, 1952 and 1953, frustrating the fans in Flatbush, but Brooklyn finally won the title in 1955 when Podres pitched a Game 7 shutout at Yankee Stadium and Gil Hodges drove in both runs. Amoros preserved the lead when he made a running catch of Yogi Berra’s sixth-inning drive in the left-field corner with two on and relayed to shortstop Pee Wee Reese, who threw to Hodges at first and doubled up Gil McDougald. Those players were celebrated in Roger Kahn’s 1972 book “The Boys of Summer.”

Larsen pitched the World Series’ only perfect game in 1956’s fifth game in the Bronx, Berra jumping into his arms after the final out, and the Yankees won Game 7 behind Johnny Kucks’ three-hit shutout in what turned out to be the last World Series game at Ebbets Field.

Walter O’Malley moved the Dodgers to California after the 1957 season, and Koufax had an interlocking “LA” on his cap instead of a “B” when he struck out a then-Series record 15 in the 1963 opener at Yankee Stadium. The rivalry didn’t resume until 1977 with the first of three matchups in a five-year span.

Jackson’s three home runs led the Yankees to a clinching win in 1977’s Game 6. The Yankees won another six-game Series the following year, highlighted by third baseman Graig Nettles’ diving stops on Reggie Smith, Steve Garvey and Davey Lopes.

Los Angeles lost the first two games in the Bronx in 1981, and then won four in a row — capped by a 9-2 victory that had Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda dancing. The defeat prompted Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, his right hand bandaged after an alleged fight with Dodgers fans in a hotel elevator, to issue a written apology “to the people of New York and to the fans of the New York Yankees everywhere.”

Both teams feel the history created by their predecessors.

“You put that jersey on and those pinstripes, it just feels different,” Yankees slugger Juan Soto said.

Los Angeles took two of three when they met in a much-hyped series in June.

Roberts is reminded of the history when he approaches Dodger Stadium.

“I can’t believe I’m driving up Vin Scully Way, when I go to work,” he said. “It’s overwhelming, but I try not to let my head go there too often; I just try to do my job.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken was set to travel to the Middle East on Monday for a trip that will focus on talks to end the U.S. ally’s conflict with Iran-backed militant groups in Lebanon and Gaza after the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar — and amid mounting outrage over Israel’s deadly assault on the north of the Palestinian enclave, where the United Nations said life had been made “impossible.”

But it also comes as Israel prepares an attack against Iran itself. 

An advanced anti-missile system sent by the U.S. was now in place in Israel, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said early Monday, boosting its defenses while the U.S. was investigating an apparent leak of top secret documents showing American spy agencies tracking possible Israeli preparations for the strike.

Israel targets bank branches across Lebanon

Hundreds of residents of Lebanon’s capital and surrounding suburbs were forced to suddenly flee their homes Sunday night after the Israel Defense Forces issued a string of evacuation orders, with blasts ringing out shortly after.

IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari warned the evacuation orders for residents of Beirut and other areas of Lebanon were ahead of strikes targeting buildings he said were being “used to finance Hezbollah’s terror activities.”

Hagari did not name the institutions being targeted, but over the course of the night a string of branches belonging to the Al-Qard Al-Hassan bank were hit in a volley of airstrikes. The U.S. and Israel have linked the bank to the Iran-backed militant and political group.

An NBC News crew in Beirut heard the blasts ring out as Lebanese national media reported strikes on bank branches in the city’s southern suburbs. Video shared on social media and geolocated by NBC News showed buildings on fire and collapsing after apparent air strikes.

United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis described “widespread panic” across the country after the evacuation orders. In a post on X on Sunday, she said there had only been a “brief window to escape to safety” before “intense blasts” hit.

“I can’t describe the panic,” Beirut resident Wafaa Ezeldinne told NBC News after fleeing her home before returning hours later. “Everybody was on the streets. Even displaced people left locations that were close to Al-Qard Al-Hassan. Streets at night were jammed with cars, people.”

Ranim Halawani, who works with the Development for People and Nature Association, or DPNA, in the coastal town of Saida, told NBC News that she and others also fled their homes after hearing about the evacuation orders. In the end, she said, “we didn’t have an attack in Saida, but people were afraid and they left.” She said many had since returned to their homes.

Al-Qard Al-Hassan, or AQAH, has been under U.S. sanctions since 2007, with the Treasury Department describing the bank as being used by Hezbollah “as a cover to manage the terrorist group’s financial activities” and to “gain access to the international financial system.”

In the years since, Treasury officials have continued to accuse Hezbollah of using the bank to “abuse the Lebanese financial sector and drain Lebanon’s financial resources at an already dire time” in a country grappling with protracted economic and political crises.

Al-Qard Al-Hassan, which translates to “the good loan,” has more than 30 branches across Lebanon, according to local media, with many based in the Shiite-majority southern suburbs of Beirut and at least some appearing to have been connected to residential buildings.

Israel’s strikes on the bank marked an expansion of its war against Hezbollah beyond what the IDF has described as the targeting of the group’s military sites.

The IDF said Monday that Israeli soldiers also continued to launch ground raids into southern Lebanon and had dismantled “large quantities of Hezbollah’s weapons,” while also killing Hezbollah members, including “tactical-level commanders.”

At least 2,464 people, including 127 children, have been killed in Lebanon since hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah began to escalate last year following Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack, according to the Lebanese health ministry, while an estimated 1.2 million people have been displaced from their homes.

In an interview with Al Arabiya on Monday, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said he believed there would be “no solution except through diplomacy” to bring fighting in the region to an end but that he’d had no direct contact with Hezbollah since the middle of last month.

Israeli military making life ‘impossible’ in northern Gaza, U.N. says

Meanwhile, Israeli forces continued a deadly offensive in northern Gaza, where dozens of people were killed over the weekend in Israeli airstrikes in the areas of Beit Lahia and the nearby Jabalia refugee camp, according to local health officials.

The IDF said Monday that troops had killed militants and continued to dismantle militant infrastructure and tunnel shafts in the area of the Jabalia refugee camp over the past day. The military said troops were also operating across southern and central Gaza.

The United Nations Human Rights Office said in a statement that it was “increasingly concerned that the manner in which the Israeli military is conducting hostilities in north Gaza” may be “causing the destruction of the Palestinian population in Gaza’s northernmost governate through death and displacement.”

It said this appeared to be the case particularly in areas including Jabalia, Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun.

Over the past two weeks, it said, “the Israeli military has taken measures that make life in north Gaza impossible for Palestinians while repeatedly ordering the displacement of the entire governorate.”

Zoya Awky reported from Zouk Mosbeh and Chantal Da Silva from London

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Abdullah Bozkurt, the former editor of the Gülen-linked Today’s Zaman newspaper, who is now in exile in Sweden, said Monday that he spoke to Gülen’s nephew, Kemal Gülen, who confirmed the death. Fethullah Gülen was in his eighties and had long been in ill health.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the death has been confirmed by Turkish intelligence sources.

“The leader of this dark organization has died,” he said.

Gülen spent the last decades of his life in self-exile, living on a gated compound in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains from where he continued to wield influence among his millions of followers in Turkey and throughout the world. He espoused a philosophy that blended Sufism — a mystical form of Islam — with staunch advocacy of democracy, education, science and interfaith dialogue.

Gülen began as an ally of Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but became a foe. He called Erdogan an authoritarian bent on accumulating power and crushing dissent. Erdogan cast Gülen as a terrorist, accusing him of orchestrating the attempted military coup on the night of July 15, 2016, when factions within the military used tanks, warplanes and helicopters to try to overthrow Erdogan’s government.

Heeding a call from the president, thousands took to the streets to oppose the takeover attempt. The coup-plotters fired at crowds and bombed parliament and other government buildings. A total of 251 people were killed and around 2,200 others were wounded. Around 35 alleged coup plotters were also killed.

Gülen adamantly denied involvement, and his supporters dismissed the charges as ridiculous and politically motivated. Turkey put Gülen on its most-wanted list and demanded his extradition, but the United States showed little inclination to send him back, saying it needed more evidence. Gülen was never charged with a crime in the U.S., and he consistently denounced terrorism as well as the coup plotters.

In Turkey, Gülen’s movement — sometimes known as Hizmet, Turkish for “service” — was subjected to a broad crackdown. The government arrested tens of thousands of people for their alleged link to the coup plot, sacked more than 130,000 suspected supporters from civil service jobs and more than 23,000 from the military, and shuttered hundreds of businesses, schools and media organizations tied to Gülen.

Gülen called the crackdown a witch hunt and denounced Turkey’s leaders as “tyrants.”

“The last year has taken a toll on me as hundreds of thousands of innocent Turkish citizens are being punished simply because the government decides they are somehow ‘connected’ to me or the Hizmet movement and treats that alleged connection as a crime,” he said on the one-year anniversary of the failed coup.

Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan said Monday that Gülen’s death “will not make us complacent or relaxed. This organization has been a threat rarely seen in the history of our nation.”

“Our nation, our state will continue to fight against this organization as they do with all kinds of terrorist organizations,” Fidan said.

He also called on Gülen’s followers to turn away from “this treasonous wrong path.”

Gülen was born in Erzurum, in eastern Turkey. His official birth date was April 27, 1941, but that has long been in dispute. Y. Alp Aslandogan, who leads a New York-based group that promotes Gülen’s ideas and work, said Gülen was actually born sometime in 1938.

Trained as an imam, or prayer leader, Gülen gained notice in Turkey some 50 years ago. He preached tolerance and dialogue between faiths, and he believed religion and science could go hand in hand. His belief in merging Islam with Western values and Turkish nationalism struck a chord with Turks, earning him millions of followers.

Gülen’s acolytes built a loosely affiliated global network of charitable foundations, professional associations, businesses and schools in more than 100 countries, including 150 taxpayer-funded charter schools throughout the United States. In Turkey, supporters ran universities, hospitals, charities, a bank and a large media empire with newspapers and radio and TV stations.

But Gülen was viewed with suspicion by some in his homeland, a deeply polarized country split between those loyal to its fiercely secular traditions and supporters of the Islamic-based party associated with Erdogan that came to power in 2002.

Gülen had long refrained from openly supporting any political party, but his movement forged a de facto alliance with Erdogan against the country’s old guard of staunch, military-backed secularists, and Gülen’s media empire threw its weight behind Erdogan’s Islamic-oriented government.

Gülenists helped the governing party win multiple elections. But the Erdogan-Gulen alliance began to crumble after the movement criticized government policy and exposed alleged corruption among Erdogan’s inner circle. Erdogan, who denied the allegations, grew weary of the growing influence of Gülen’s movement.

The Turkish leader accused Gülen’s followers of infiltrating the country’s police and judiciary and setting up a parallel state, and began agitating for Gülen’s extradition to Turkey even before the failed 2016 coup.

The cleric had lived in the United States since 1999, when he came to seek medical treatment.

In 2000, with Gülen still in the U.S, Turkish authorities charged him with leading an Islamist plot to overthrow the country’s secular form of government and establish a religious state.

Some of the accusations against him were based on a tape recording on which Gülen was alleged to have told supporters of an Islamic state to bide their time: “If they come out too early, the world will quash their heads.” Gülen said his comments were taken out of context.

The cleric was tried in absentia and acquitted, but he never returned to his homeland. He won a lengthy legal battle against the administration of then-President George W. Bush to obtain permanent residency in the U.S.

Rarely seen in public, Gülen lived quietly on the grounds of an Islamic retreat center in the Poconos. He occupied a small apartment on the sprawling compound and left mostly only to see doctors for ailments that included heart disease and diabetes, spending much of his time in prayer and meditation and receiving visitors from around the world.

Gülen never married and did not have children. It is not known who, if anyone, will lead the movement.

___

Associated Press Writer Suzan Fraser contributed from Ankara, Turkey.

I tested the new hearing health features coming to Apple‘s AirPods Pro 2 headphones, and they saved me a long-overdue trip to the audiologist. 

Apple unveiled the features during an event in September, and they will be publicly available through a free software update next week. Users can take a clinically validated hearing test with the AirPods Pro 2, and the buds will serve as an over-the-counter hearing aid if applicable. The headphones will also be equipped with new hearing protection capabilities, such as loud sound reduction, that are switched on by default. 

More than 1.5 billion people are living with hearing loss, according to the World Health Organization. Tapping into this market could help Apple juice sales for the $249 AirPods Pro 2, which the company first launched two years ago. 

If you already own the headphones, the hearing health features are worth exploring. They take just a few minutes to set up, and they’re easy to use from the comfort of your home. The AirPods Pro 2 are also a cost-effective option for those looking for assistive hearing technology. Other over-the-counter hearing aids can cost thousands of dollars without insurance, for instance. 

Taking the hearing test

I have a pair of third-generation AirPods that I use every day, but this was my first time trying the AirPods Pro 2. I took them straight out of the box, flipped open the lid to the charging case and paired them with an iPhone. After that, I popped them in my ears and prepared to take Apple’s hearing test.

During its event in September, Apple said 80% of adults in the U.S. have not had their hearing checked in the past five years. That’s certainly true in my case. The last time I remember getting my hearing tested was in elementary school. 

Admittedly, I haven’t gone out of my way to protect my hearing, so I wasn’t sure what my results would look like. I felt a little nervous beforehand. 

To access the test, you can go into the Health app or into the earbuds’ settings menu. I pulled it up, and it prompted me with a few basic questions about my age, my health and whether I’d been exposed to a loud environment in the past 24 hours. 

You need to be in a very quiet space to take the test. Apple runs a background noise test to ensure your environment is suitable, and then it assesses the fit of your headphones within your ears. The AirPods Pro 2 come with medium-sized flexible ear tips attached, but there are extra small, small and large tip sizes included in the box. Apple sells a set of ear tips on its website for about $13 if you’ve misplaced yours.      

I took the test in my apartment, and I didn’t need to adjust the fit of the headphones. I read the test’s instructions and then it was time to get started. 

The hearing test plays a series of tones at different volumes and frequencies, and you tap the screen each time you hear a sound. It started with my left ear and moved to my right, and it took a little more than five minutes.

The hearing test was easy. There are some long pauses between tones, so I felt like I second-guessed myself occasionally. And Apple isn’t kidding about finding a quiet space to take this test. Some of the tones were so soft that I practically had to hold my breath to hear them. My test also automatically paused a few times as traffic passed by outside, so I’d recommend finding a room that’s as close to silent as possible.  

You can take the test as many times as you want, and you’ll get your results as soon as you’re done. A copy is stored in the Health app, and you can share it with your doctor. 

I learned that I have little to no hearing loss in both ears, though there are some frequencies that might be harder for me to pick up on. It’s nice to have that peace of mind. 

Using your headphones as a hearing aid

Since I have minimal hearing loss, I was prompted to turn on a feature called “Media Assist,” which uses my hearing test results to adjust the clarity of my calls, music and videos based on my specific profile. 

I had Media Assist enabled as I used the AirPods Pro 2 to FaceTime friends and family, watch CNBC and listen to different genres of music on Spotify. I didn’t hear much of a difference with music or TV, but I did notice that voices seemed amplified on my FaceTime calls. It’s a subtle change, but I found it helpful. 

If your test results show you have mild to moderate hearing loss, you’ll be prompted to set up and use your headphones as a clinical-grade hearing aid. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Apple’s hearing aid software in September. 

“After you take a hearing test, your AirPods Pro are transformed into a personalized hearing aid, boosting the specific sounds you need in real time, like parts of speech, or elements within your environment,” Dr. Sumbul Desai, Apple’s vice president of health, said in a prerecorded video last month.

The hearing aid feature is intended for adults with mild to moderate hearing loss, but users can turn it on in their settings even if they don’t fall under that category. Out of curiosity, I switched it on while walking around New York City, running errands, watching TV and chatting with my roommates. 

The feature instantly amplified the world around me, and I joked that it felt like a superpower. It was easier for me to hear quiet dialogue on TV, and my conversations were magnified. Interestingly, I didn’t feel overwhelmed by the loud sounds of the city, which I suspect is due to the earbuds’ new hearing protection features. 

Using a hearing aid can take some getting used to, so don’t worry if it doesn’t feel natural right away. You can also make specific adjustments to your liking in your settings and the iOS Control Center. 

The hearing aid feature was cool to try, even if I don’t need to use it. It would be nice to switch it on in a crowded New York City restaurant, but otherwise, I got the support I needed from the Media Assist feature.        

If you have mild to moderate hearing loss and are prompted to turn on the hearing aid feature, Media Assist will also be activated. Your AirPods Pro 2 will automatically adjust as you make calls, watch videos and listen to music across all your Apple devices. 

Though I wasn’t the ideal candidate for the hearing aid, I’m excited to tell my parents and grandparents about it. Since the AirPods Pro 2 look like any other pair of Apple headphones, they’re less conspicuous than many existing hearing aids, which I expect will be an added perk for many users. 

The pair were in the same aircraft, a Navy EA-18G Growler, on a routine training flight when it crashed, the Navy said in a statement. The wreckage of the plane was found Wednesday but the two crew members remained missing and the search for the bodies is ongoing.

“It is with a heavy heart that we share the loss of two beloved Zappers,” said Cmdr. Timothy Warburton, commanding officer of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 130, referring to the nickname of squadron members.

“Our priority right now is taking care of the families of our fallen aviators, and ensuring the well-being of our sailors and the Growler community. We are grateful for the ongoing teamwork to safely recover the deceased,” he said.

The identities of the crew will not be released until 24 hours after their families have been informed.

Warburton said a search team continues to comb through a large area, “recovering debris and planning for the long-term salvage and recovery effort.” The crash site is around 6,000 feet above sea level, in a heavily wooded area east of Mount Rainier, the Navy said last week.

The cause of the crash is under investigation, Warburton said.

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An estimated 700 people were on Sapelo Island, about 72 miles south of Savannah, to celebrate the Gullah Geechee history and its unique blend of African culture and American life when the collapse took place.

McIntosh County Coroner Melvin Anderson identified the deceased to NBC affiliate WSAV of Savannah as Jacqueline Crews Carter, 75, of Jacksonville, Florida; Cynthia Gibbs, 74, of Jacksonville; Charles L. Houston, 77, of Darien, Georgia; William Johnson Jr., 73, of Atlanta; Carlotta McIntosh, 93, of Jacksonville; Isaiah Thomas, 79, of Jacksonville; and Queen Welch, 76, of Atlanta.

Authorities said about 20 people fell in the water when the gangway leading to the island’s Marsh Ferry Dock gave way shortly before 4 p.m. as a ferry was docked, Georgia Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Walter Rabon said at a news conference Sunday.

The crowds at Saturday’s celebration were enough that officials requested extra ferry trips to take visitors back to the mainland, Rabon said.

A number of bystanders, including some of the 40 state employees on hand to deal with the extra crowds, jumped in the water as part of many attempts to save those who needed help, he said.

Houston, one of the people who died, was a Department of Natural Resources chaplain who had been on hand for the celebration because he believed in “preservation of the Gullah Geechee heritage and preservation of threatened communities,” daughter Heather Houston-Meeks told NBC News.

Houston-Meeks and her father were among a stream of people expecting to embark the ferry shortly, when she ended up in the water in a flash before making it safety to shore, she said.

Some of her father’s coworkers told her he sprung into action, she said.

“I’m told that what he was doing when we went in the water was immediately kick it into action and look out for other people and rescue other people,” Houston-Meeks said. “He was until the last second serving others and looking out for others.”

‘Catastrophic failure’

Rabon blamed “catastrophic failure” of the gangway and said an investigation that may determine what caused the failure was underway.

Asked if overcrowding on the gangway, which took visitors to the ferry Annemarie, may have precipitated the collapse, Rabon said, “At this time I wouldn’t rule out anything as being a possibility.”

The structure was rebuilt in 2021 and hardly needed inspections, though it underwent them regularly, Rabon said. On Sunday, images from the scene showed the collapsed gangway attached to the dock at one end and submerged at the other.

Cellphone video showed a chaotic scene in the milky waters off the island’s west side as civilians in street and Sunday clothing waded toward victims and tried to pull them to shore, where others administered CPR.

Of the half-dozen others who survived but required medical attention, three remained hospitalized in critical condition on Sunday, officials said at the news conference.

The U.S. Coast Guard sent two air crews to assist with a search of survivors into the night Saturday, a spokesperson said. The nearby Camden County Sheriff’s Office sent divers who searched the murky shadows of the gangway’s structure and railing, partially submerged, according to social media posts from the office.

It wasn’t clear at the time if there were people missing in the water, but on Sunday authorities said it appears everyone involved was accounted for.

Sapelo Island ferry service will resume Monday using an auxiliary dock, Department of Natural Resources spokesperson Tyler Jones said Sunday.

Fight over island’s future

Sapelo is divided from the rest of Georgia by the Duplin River and coastal sounds created by fingers of the Atlantic.

The Department of Natural Resources controls and operates almost all the land on the island, which came into the state’s hands after a set of transactions with its owner, Annmarie Reynolds of the Reynolds tobacco-producing family, roughly a half-century ago.

There remains a Black enclave, Hog Hammock, created by her late husband R.J. Reynolds to consolidate the island’s residents, that survives as a rare outpost of the Gullah Geechee people, who were the center of Saturday’s festivities.

Their culture has employed parts of indigenous African traditions continuously since its first adherents were forcibly removed from Africa and brought to the Southeastern United States against their will and enslaved on plantations.

It’s not clear if any of those who died in Saturday’s collapse were Gullah Geechee people.

The deaths came as residents of Hog Hammock, also spelled Hogg Hummock, have been battling the McIntosh County government over what they say have been attempts to squeeze them off the land with taxes and rules that would allow luxury accommodations.

Despite the community’s existence on the National Register of Historic Places, some residents, like J.R. Grovner, believe the county and state are upending the Gullah Geechee people there through new regulations and neglect.

Grovner, who splits his time between Hog Hammock and the mainland, said he had complained to a Georgia Department of Natural Resources employee four months ago about the gangway in question, saying it bounced too much with a few school children running across it or just him alone.

The department and county government did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Monday.

Plaintiffs in the community sued the county over regulations passed a year ago that they argued would make it difficult for Gullah Geechee people to remain on the island while simultaneously opening the door to three-story coastal development in Hog Hammock.

The suit was dismissed earlier this year.

A referendum seeking to overturn the county’s new regulations on Sapelo Island development was scheduled for a countywide vote this fall, but a judge blocked it, and now plaintiffs have petitioned the state Supreme Court for intervention.

“I’ve been doing this work for 15 years,” Grovner said in a pair of interviews Sunday.

He said he’d like to see a federal investigation into what led to the collapse of a relatively new structure, part of improvements on the island hastened by a previous Gullah Geechee-led lawsuit over alleged government neglect that was settled.

Meanwhile, Grovner said, survivors of those who died Saturday will be embraced by the Gullah Geechee and their longstanding fight to exist.

“The family members who lost their loved ones have now become our family members,” he said.

Jesse Kirsch and Maria Piñero reported from Darien, Georgia. Dennis Romero reported from San Diego. 

This article first appeared on NBCNews.com. Read more from NBC News here:

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That’s the worrying message from a major international study released Wednesday.

Half of the world’s population already faces water scarcity, and that proportion is growing, too, according to the Global Commission on the Economics of Water, which is funded by the Dutch government and facilitated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development — a group of the world’s richest economies.

While water scarcity will have a seismic effect on humans and the environment, it will also have an economic impact. The Global Commission on the Economics of Water estimates that a lack of clean water due to climate change and the chronic mismanagement of land could cut global economic growth by 8% on average, almost double the losses in lower-income countries.

“The global water crisis is a tragedy but is also an opportunity to transform the economics of water — and to start by valuing water properly so as to recognize its scarcity,” a co-chair of the commission, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general of the World Trade Organization, said in a statement.

With nearly 3 billion people living in areas experiencing unstable water trends and several cities sinking because of the loss of belowground water, densely populated areas such as northwestern India, northeastern China, and southern and eastern Europe will bear the brunt of global water mismanagement, the report says. 

Part of the problem is a lack of collective will among governments and businesses, as well as market forces that treat water like a commodity, Mariana Mazzucato, a professor and founding director of the University College London Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, told NBC News.

“We can do it. We’ve just chosen not to because we have inertia, because we have profits being made from not dealing with the crisis. Some 80% of wastewater isn’t recycled,” Mazzucato said.

“Like many problems, including climate change, biodiversity and health pandemics, we can turn those problems into massive opportunities for investment,” she added.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the government of the Netherlands set up the water economics research body in 2022, with Dutch lawmakers giving it enough funding to operate for two years and deliver this week’s report, which will be its last. The OECD says it wants to explore continuing the commission’s work in collaboration with other organizations.

One glaring absence from the world’s response the release highlights is the lack of any coordinated approach to dealing with water crises. Last year, the United Nations held its first water conference in 50 years, and only last month did it appoint a special envoy on water. 

“The global water crisis is a ticking time bomb. If we do not tackle it now, the cost of inaction will be felt by us all,” Tim Wainwright, U.K. chief executive of the international nongovernmental organization WaterAid, said in a statement. “Tackling this crisis requires government leadership, finance and the coordination of donors, private sector and affected communities worldwide to drive the crucial action needed.”

Among the report’s recommendations are transforming how water is used in farming — improving efficiency and shifting from animal-based diets — as well as restoring natural habitats and treating and renewing more wastewater.

Even so, a lack of public funds’ being devoted to water issues around the world will do little to solve the problem. Governments “can’t even react to the symptoms of the water problem, let alone solve the problems if they’re being fiscally strangled,” said Mazzucato, of University College London.

The impact of climate change appears frequently in the report, with water systems being the first to show the impact of changing weather patterns. In recent years, the Amazon has experienced more droughts, mountain glaciers have melted, and Europe has suffered more floods.

Parts of the U.S. have felt increasing pressure on their water systems, with droughts, floods and aging infrastructure affecting farming and leaving some areas with a lack of clean drinking water. North Carolina experienced its own water crisis in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which washed away parts of its infrastructure. 

Last year, extreme precipitation — most likely made worse by climate change — hammered nearly every corner of the U.S. For every degree Fahrenheit of warming, the atmosphere can hold about 3% to 4% more moisture. With global temperatures 2.43 degrees higher last year than in preindustrial times, today’s storms can deliver a stronger punch.

In September last year, New York City got 7 inches of rain in 24 hours, submerging buses and shuttering rail travel.

Reuters contributed.

This article first appeared on NBCNews.com. Read more from NBC News here:

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Police Chief J. Noe Diaz said at a news conference that four people were on board, including a child, and that there were multiple deaths when the private helicopter crashed.

The Houston Fire Department initially reported the crash took place in the city’s Second Ward neighborhood, where the helicopter appeared to have struck a radio tower before it sparked the fire about 7:54 p.m. local time.

PIO is en route to a reported helicopter crash at Engelke & Ennis. Preliminary info that a helicopter hit a radio tower at about 7:54 pm. No details yet on injuries/fatalities. All info further information will come from the scene. #hounews

— Houston Fire Dept (@HoustonFire) October 21, 2024

At the news conference, fire officials said a blaze spread as far as three blocks before it was stopped. Businesses in the area were closed at the time.

Diaz said it did not appear anyone on the ground was hurt. He described the helicopter as a Robinson R44.

The identities of the people on board have not been released.

Officials said the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration would investigate.

This article first appeared on NBCNews.com. Read more from NBC News here:

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The Dodgers defeated the New York Mets in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series Sunday night and will face the Yankees in the Fall Classic.

It’s the Dodgers’ first World Series appearance since 2020.

After beating the Cleveland Guardians in five games in the ALCS, the Yankees are headed to their first World Series since 2009, when the Bronx Bombers won their last championship.

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Here’s what you need to know about the 2024 World Series featuring the Yankees and Dodgers:

When will the World Series start in 2024?

The 2024 World Series will begin on Friday, Oct. 25 at 8:08 p.m.

How can I watch the World Series?

The World Series will be broadcast on FOX.

What is the World Series schedule?

Here’s the schedule for the 2024 World Series.

Which teams are playing in the 2024 World Series?

The World Series will be between the Yankees and Dodgers, the 12th time the two teams have met in the Fall Classic.

What is the World Series format?

The World Series features a 2-3-2 format where the higher seed hosts Games 1 and 2, along with Games 6 and 7 if necessary.

Where will the World Series games be played?

The team with the best regular season record gets home field advantage in the World Series, meaning they get Games 1 and 2 at home, along with a potential Games 6 and 7. The other team gets Games 3 and 4, and a possible Game 5, at home.

Because the Dodgers had a better regular season record than the Yankees, Games 1, 2 and possibly 6 and 7 will be at Dodger Stadium, while Games 3 and 4 and a potential Game 5 will be at Yankee Stadium.

• Game 1: Dodger Stadium
• Game 2: Dodger Stadium
• Game 3: Yankee Stadium
• Game 4: Yankee Stadium
• Game 5: Yankee Stadium (*if necessary)
• Game 6: Dodger Stadium (*if necessary)
• Game 7: Dodger Stadium (*if necessary)

Jeffries has been arrested in West Palm Beach, Florida. Two other associates, Matthew Smith of West Palm Beach and James Jacobson of Wisconsin, were also arrested in connection with sex trafficking charges.

They are expected to appear in federal court in Florida and Wisconsin today, and arraigned on a later date in the eastern District of New York. 

Jeffries was the CEO of the popular clothing brand from 1992 to 2014. 

Jeffries, Smith and Jacobson each face a single count of sex trafficking as well as 15 counts of interstate prostitution tied to 15 alleged victims. 

A federal indictment alleges Jeffries — along with Smith, his romantic partner, and Jacobson, who was described as a recruiter — operated an “international sex trafficking and prostitution business” from 2008 to 2015. 

It alleges that they organized “sex events” in England, France, Italy, Morocco, St. Barts and New York for Jeffries, Smith and “others.” They “employed coercive, fraudulent and deceptive tactics in connection with the recruitment, hiring, transportation, obtaining, maintaining, solicitation and payment of the men to engage in commercial sex.”

The men who attended the events allegedly were led to believe that it could lead to modeling opportunities or help their careers or “that not complying with requests for certain acts during the Sex Events could harm their careers.”

The men were required to sign non-disclosure agreements and surrender their wallets and cell phones during the events.

Jeffries, Smith and Jacobson also allegedly recruited, hired and paid an exclusive set of household staff to “facilitate and supervise the sex events.” The staff provided Jeffries, Smith and the men who attended alcohol, muscle relaxants known as “poppers,” lubricant, Viagra and condoms, among other items. Either Jacobson or the staff paid the men for attending the sex events, the indictment said. 

Breon Peace, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a news conference that Jeffries and Smith spent millions on the sex trafficking enterprise — from paying staff, paying for travel and paying to maintain secrecy.

Peace said the operation used a referral system and interview process, during which the men that were allegedly preyed upon were not informed about the details of the sex events before attending. During those “tryouts” of potential candidates, Jacobson typically had candidates first engage in commercial sex acts with him, the indictment said. 

At the events, the men were pressured to drink and consume poppers, and “on more than one occasion when men did not or could not consent, Jeffries and Smith violated the bodily integrity of these men by subjecting them or continuing to subject them to invasive sexual and violent contact by body parts and other objects,” Peace said.

“Powerful individuals, for too long, have trafficked and abused for their own sexual pleasure young people with few resources in a dream, a dream of securing a successful career in fashion or entertainment,” Peace said. He warned anyone who thinks they can exploit or coerce by using the “so-called casting couch system” that they should “prepare to trade that couch for a bed in federal prison.”

Peace said his office became aware of the alleged crimes through media reports. 

The news of Jeffries’ arrest comes one year after BBC News published an explosive report that said Jeffries exploited men at sex parties he hosted. That report said 12 men described attending or organizing events that included sex acts for Jeffries and his partner Matthew Smith, and those events took place from 2009 to 2015. Some of the men who spoke to BBC said they were exploited or didn’t participate willingly. 

Jeffries’ attorney, Brian Bieber, told NBC News at the time that Jeffries would not comment on reports about his personal life. Abercrombie & Fitch said the company was “appalled and disgusted” by the allegations in the BBC report. 

Bieber told NBC News on Tuesday in response to the arrest: “We will respond in detail to the allegations after the Indictment is unsealed, and when appropriate, but plan to do so in the courthouse — not the media.” 

Shortly after that report, Abercrombie & Fitch and Jeffries were sued for allegedly turning a blind eye to Jeffries’ alleged misconduct. That civil suit alleged he sexually abused numerous men after luring them with the promise of coveted modeling contracts, CNBC reported.

“Today’s arrests are monumental for the aspiring male models who were victimized by these individuals,” attorney Brittany Henderson, who is representing victims from that class action lawsuit, said in a statement Tuesday. 

“Their fight for justice does not end here,” the statement said. “We look forward to holding Abercrombie and Fitch liable for facilitating this terrible conduct and ensuring that this cannot happen again.”

When asked if the alleged sex trafficking enterprise possibly continued after 2015, Peace said the investigation is ongoing, and encouraged any victims or any witnesses to come forward.

If you or someone you know is the victim of sexual assault, the National Sexual Assault hotline is available 24/7 at 1-800-656-4673.

When Liberty Media Chairman John Malone finalized the $4.4 billion acquisition of Formula One in 2017, he knew he was onto something.

“There’s an opportunity to take F1 to another level,” he told reporters in 2016. “There’s an untapped digital market [that] F1 has only scratched the surface on.” 

What no-one could have foreseen was how soon F1’s opportunity would present itself. As global lockdowns began in 2020, sports fans surged online and Liberty Media had a chance to realize Malone’s vision. 

For it to work however, Liberty first had to get a handle on the sport’s finances.

“If you have a look before Covid in 2019 it was a tough situation, close to bankruptcy,” said Fred Vasseur, team principal of Scuderia Ferrari HP, one of three teams spending more than $400 million a season to remain in contention for the Constructors’ Championship.

This not only priced out participants such as Honda, but created a huge disparity on the grid. While the top three teams — Ferrari, Red Bull, and Mercedes AMG — were outspending everyone else, they were also receiving disproportionate TV rights and prize-money, leaving the rest to scrap it out for funding.

With some teams on the brink of financial collapse, Liberty took an ax to F1’s structure.

“Heritage bonuses” for the oldest teams were curbed, and a more equitable broadcast split devised. With funding under control, they outlined plans to limit spending.

“Now [we] have a cost cap in place,” Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing, told CNBC’s “Inside Track.”

“It’s a much smaller spend than it was previously, which has allowed all 10 teams to really kind of play with the same size bat.”

Evening out the field created more exciting story lines, which Netflix seized on. The timing was perfect. As the world entered Covid lockdowns, Netflix dropped the second series of “Drive to Survive,” introducing legions of new fans to a sport defined more by the personalities and drama than the tinkering going on behind garage doors.

“I used to think it’s the most important thing that’s happened in motorsport for 40 years, now I think it’s the most important thing that’s happened in sport in 40 years,” Stuart Pringle, managing director at race circuit Silverstone, told CNBC.

As reported previously, the “Netflix effect” was only one part of the “untapped digital market” that Malone had envisioned, with fans following F1 creators online and racing around virtual tracks on the franchise’s official video game.

Recognizing the strategic importance of these channels, Liberty invested heavily in F1’s digital ecosystem.

“We needed new types of corporate partners in the sport,” said Brown. “The Googles, the Coca-Colas, the Dells, who have not historically been in the sport.”

To draw them in however, F1 would need more than a digital fanbase.

Liberty set about investing heavily in the U.S. as the pandemic eased, adding the Miami Grand Prix to the 2022 calendar and bringing the total number of American races to two (alongside Austin).

But to crack America, F1 needed a spectacle, and the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix would provide it. Costing a reported $600 million to put on, the race weekend brought 315,000 visitors to town, creating a backlog of private jets across the city’s airports.

“The reason why we invested in Vegas was because we understood immediately the potential of the American market,” F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali told CNBC.

The strategy paid off. Sponsorship deals doubled in value after the Vegas Grand Prix, as giant U.S. firms poured into the sport. Major deals with brands such as American Express put F1 in front of a lucrative new fanbase, while partnerships with Hilton and Virgin Hotels helped build the sport’s globe-trotting appeal.

Since Liberty Media acquired F1 in 2017, the sport’s value has doubled from $8 billion (including debts) to around $17 billion in 2023. But headwinds are starting to blow. A spat between Liberty and American motorsports giant Andretti Global over their entry to the grid is turning ugly, while the sport’s globe-spanning calendar could put sustainability targets out of reach. 

Coming through them unscathed will require the same vision and adaptability that led Forbes to crown Liberty Media as the world’s most valuable “sports empire.”

With new race rules coming into effect in 2026, expect more drama off the track as F1 prepares to defend its crown.

The Olympic cyclist shared the news in an interview for the Sunday Times, published Sunday.

Hoy, 48, revealed he had been diagnosed with cancer in 2023 in an Instagram post in February. At the time, he said it was a “huge shock” and that he had had no symptoms up until that point. He added that he was receiving treatment, including chemotherapy, and that it was “going really well.”

At the time, he described his attitude as “optimistic, positive.”

But Hoy has known for a year that the cancer was terminal, and kept it under wraps until now, according to the Sunday Times interview.

He’s written a tell-all memoir about his experience with cancer. The memoir spares no details, sharing the ins and outs of his diagnosis and mental state throughout, according to the Sunday Times.

“I think it’s important to show how bad it was,” Hoy told the newspaper of his memoir.

“There’s so much positivity that can come out of this from all angles,” Hoy added. “I’m just really excited that this book hopefully will be able to help people.”

Last September, Hoy visited the doctor for what he thought was a strained shoulder, but a scan of the joint revealed a tumor.

Two days later, he was faced with worse news: A second scan found the cancer originated in his prostate and had metastasized to his bones, leaving tumors in his shoulder, pelvis, hip, spine and rib — incurable stage 4 cancer.

Chemo began in November. Hoy chose to wear a cold cap to preserve his hair during all six rounds that took place over the course of 18 weeks, the Sunday Times reported. He faced a “violent” allergic reaction to the chemo in round two, forcing the two-hour session to extend to four hours.

Hoy was “absolutely broken by the end of it,” according to the Sunday Times.

The chemo was not guaranteed to shrink the size of Hoy’s tumors, but he told the Sunday Times the results after treatment were promising. He said he has faith that by the time his tumors regrow, someone might have invented a new treatment for him to try.

Hoy, who had been trying to keep his diagnosis and treatment a secret from the public, said it was “frustrating” when the news leaked halfway through his treatment. He learned of the leak when a friend called his wife to tell them a journalist had just called her to ask if Hoy had a terminal illness, according to the Sunday Times.

Around the same time as his diagnosis, Hoy told the Sunday Times Sarra found out she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

“It’s the closest I’ve come to, like, you know, why me? Just, what? What’s going on here? It didn’t seem real,” Hoy told the Sunday Times. “It was such a huge blow, when you’re already reeling. You think nothing could possibly get worse. You literally feel like you’re at rock bottom, and you find out, oh no, you’ve got further to fall. It was brutal.”

Despite both facing incurable diseases, Hoy told the newspaper “I still feel like we’re lucky.”

Hoy is keeping a positive mindset and said he is trying to change “the perception of stage 4” with the release of his memoir. He noted “most of the battle for me with cancer hasn’t been physical. For me, it has been in my head.”

“I’m not trying to pretend that every day is amazing. But I have genuine moments of joy. I have laughter,” Hoy told the Sunday Times. “I’m not thinking about it all the time. I’m back to my old self.”

Hoy is currently in Copenhagen for the World Track Cycling Championships broadcasting for the BBC. On Saturday, he shared a message with his Instagram followers.

“You may see in the news this weekend some articles about my health, so I just wanted to reassure you all that I’m feeling fit, strong and positive, and overwhelmed by all the love and support shown to my family and me. Onwards!”

This article first appeared on NBCNews.com. Read more from NBC News here:

• Harris says Trump ‘demeans the office’ of the president after he calls her a ‘s—‘ vice president
• Andrew Garfield gets vulnerable about grief, with support from Elmo
• Sen. Lindsey Graham to Republicans supporting Harris: ‘What the hell are you doing?’