City officials in a West Virginia town are disputing claims from their own police department that staff members were all dismissed. This clarification follows a sweeping internal review initiated due to accusations of a break-in at the department’s evidence room.

The Barrackville Police Department stirred controversy with a Facebook post on July 7. In the message, they stated that city authorities had terminated the entire department.

“With immediate effect, the Barrackville Police Department has been relieved of duty by the Mayor and City Council,” read the department’s post. “We are deeply thankful for the support, trust, and encouragement received from the Barrackville community during our tenure. Serving and protecting this town has been an honor and a privilege.”

The statement came on the heels of the abrupt resignation of then-Police Chief Zachary Freeburn, who also stepped down “effective immediately.”

However, in a statement to News Media, Barrackville’s general counsel, John Funkhouser, said the police department’s claim of a mass firing is “entirely inaccurate.” He said two officers were placed on temporary leave pending an internal investigation into an alleged break-in at the department’s evidence room.

Funkhouser said then-Chief Freeburn told council member Alex Neville on July 1 that the department’s evidence locker was cleaned out under an order from the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, leaving firearms confiscated years ago along with $30 in abandoned cash. The following day, Freeburn resigned.

Officer David Hunt then reached out to Barrackville Mayor Thomas Straight regarding an “action plan” for the department. Due to an alleged lack of “proper records and other documentation,” Straight placed Hunt and officer Ethan Darden on temporary inactive status to give the town’s council “time to review all pertinent information regarding the operation of the Barrackville Police Department.”

Straight raised concerns on July 6 that unauthorized individuals could remotely access surveillance cameras at the police department, which included those housed in the evidence room. When several council members entered the evidence room, they found “a list of safe combinations on a desk and used one to open the safe, which turned up nothing.”

One police cruiser was also found unlocked by the council members, along with another one that had an “unsecured rifle” inside. The officers were placed on leave the following day.

Hunt responded by saying he was going to investigate the alleged break-in at the police department and wanted to claim “whistleblower” status, inviting the West Virginia State Police to investigate. After town officials met with the West Virginia State police, the Barrackville Police Department’s clerk resigned.

“The assertion that the entire police staff has been fired in entirely inaccurate. The Mayor and Council engaged in necessary acts of oversight to ensure the accountability of the Barrackville Police Department and confirm that the Department was complying with all rules and regulations under which the department should have been operating. The Town of Barrackville is committed to transparency, accountability and the safety of its residents,” Funkhouser said in a statement.

Hunt’s account to WBOY differs from the town’s version of events, telling the outlet that he discovered the evidence room had been entered by someone else when he got to work on July 7.

After accusing town officials of entering the evidence room, he and another officer, who consist of the entire town’s police force, were fired.

In a Facebook post, the Barrackville Town Council announced that the July 7 meeting was canceled due to “a lack of sufficient information regarding items listed under unfinished business.”

In the meantime, Marion County Sheriff Roger Cunningham told WBOY that their agency will handle calls within Barrackville.

News Media has reached out to the Barrackville Police Department for comment.

Bryce Harper recently addressed his role in a contentious FanDuel video, accusing the online sportsbook of misleading him to exploit a gambler battling addiction.

Per the Philadelphia Inquirer, Harper had filmed a video message for Terry Thompson, a VIP client who gambled away $18.5 million with FanDuel. Thompson faced financial ruin, eventually losing his home after securing second and third mortgages to cover his mounting losses.

In a desperate attempt to recoup financial stability, Thompson also parted with a company stake he had held for twenty years.

Thompson has now filed lawsuits against both FanDuel and DraftKings.

The personalized video message Harper made for Thompson stirred significant controversy. However, the Phillies star released a statement on Instagram Monday, asserting that he was unaware of the video’s full purpose when he participated.

“I joined Cameo to engage with fans through paid personalized videos. What happened here went beyond anything I knew about or approved,” he began.

“In November 2024, someone identifying themselves only as ‘Bryttanni’ submitted an order through Cameo for a personal ‘holiday video for Terry.’ Cameo had a separate category for business video requests, and at the time, I did not know this video would be used for commercial purposes.

“The request included a short script. I read it in good faith. FanDuel then put its own logo on the video and used it as a gambling promotion. I did not know FanDuel would do this, I did not consent to it, and FanDuel had no right to do it.”

Harper also posted a screenshot of the Cameo request from Thompson’s VIP host, Brytttani, which included the script that he ultimately read in the video.

“Hey Terry, what’s up, brother, your host Bryttanni from FanDuel wanted to make sure your Thanksgiving was extra special,” Harper said in the video.

“I just wanted to hop on here and wish your family a wonderful Thanksgiving. Tell [redacted name to protect the identity of minor] I said ‘Hello.’ I appreciate all of the support through the years.”

Harper added that he also was unaware of Thompson’s gambling addiction, and has “no affiliation with FanDuel whatsoever.”

Thompson told the Inquirer that he was addicted to micro-betting, and FanDuel gave him lavish perks such as Super Bowl tickets.

However, he ultimately lost nearly $2 million, and police were reportedly called to check on him at his home after he lost his final $10,000.

On Monday, Minnesota prosecutors revealed significant advancements in their investigation into the tragic shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, which occurred amidst protests against federal immigration enforcement measures in the state earlier this year.

“Thanks to the cooperation with our federal partners, we have successfully acquired the hard drives containing previously unreleased evidence related to the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, as well as the shooting incident involving Julio Sosa-Celis,” announced Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty. “Additionally, we have now secured some physical evidence that had been out of our reach, including Renee Good’s vehicle.”

Prior to this development, federal authorities had withheld various pieces of evidence, including witness statements, police body camera footage, and other critical information related to the cases.

Moriarty confirmed that local and state investigators now have access to the damaged car that belonged to Good, further aiding their investigation.

Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was fatally shot in her vehicle as she departed an anti-immigration enforcement demonstration in Minneapolis on January 7. This tragic event unfolded as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents intensified their activities in the area.

Her death and that of Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse shot and killed by federal officers just weeks later during a Jan. 24 protest, sparked outrage across the country and calls to rein in immigration enforcement.

“The wonderful thing now is we have all the evidence,” Moriarty said.

Investigators are going through all the evidence, including hard drives with statements, hours of video recorded by body-worn cameras and the physical car Good was driving, Moriarty said.

“We need transparency. We need cooperation. Our community needs it,” she said. “Our democracy requires it.”

At the end of June, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Moriarty asked a federal judge to push out the deadlines in their lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice because they said they were in the midst of recently reinitiated “ongoing discussions” with the FBI about information sharing.

Those ongoing discussions with the FBI about information sharing are likely to affect Minnesota’s request for summary judgment in the case, Ellison and Moriarty wrote in their motion to the court.

The attorneys representing the federal government signed onto the motion.

Ellison said he remains “deeply troubled that the federal government spent more than half a year attempting to conceal this evidence from state investigators.”

“It should never have taken this long for Minnesota law enforcement to gain access to the federal government’s evidence,” he said in a statement. “I hope that this is the beginning of a major course correction on the part of the federal government.”

There have been at least eight deaths since the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement campaign began last year, but nobody has been charged in connection with them.

A Minneapolis resident, Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, was also shot and injured in his home while ICE agents were in pursuit of another man.

In May, Christian Castro, an ICE agent, was arrested and charged with assault as well as falsely reporting a crime in connection with that Jan. 14 nonfatal shooting.

Prosecutors say Castro, 52, fired through a home’s front door and shot Sosa-Celis in the thigh.

In April, Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr., another ICE agent, was charged with pointing his gun at a motorist and passenger on a Minneapolis highway.

Prosecutors said at the time it was the first criminal case against a federal officer involved in the Minnesota immigration crackdown.

On Monday, ICE was involved in the fatal shooting in Maine, according to state House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, a Democrat.

Details of what transpired in Biddeford, a coastal city of about 23,000 people roughly 15 miles (24 kilometers) southwest of Portland, remain unclear.

Last week, an ICE agent in Houston fatally shot a Mexican national who had lived in the U.S. for decades as the homebuilder drove his construction crew to a job site.

The federal Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, has acknowledged officers were looking for someone else when they attempted to stop Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s vehicle. The agency maintains Salgado Araujo rammed an ICE vehicle, prompting an officer to open fire in self-defense.

A Colombian migrant, who was just 26 years old, lost his life in an altercation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Maine. The tragic incident unfolded right before the eyes of his young daughter, still in her pajamas.

Despite possessing permission to work legally in the U.S. and holding a social security number, the man faced an order mandating his departure from the country, although his identity remains undisclosed.

A Maine senator, Angus King, disclosed that the deceased was wanted by law enforcement and the focal point of an ICE operation on Monday morning, which inevitably resulted in his death.

The reasons behind the deportation decision remain unclear and unverified. Initial details about the man began surfacing as unsettling video footage emerged, depicting his white Kia sedan driving in circles while being pursued by officers.

According to a witness, the incident reached its fatal conclusion when the man, operating his vehicle in Biddeford, was shot shortly after 7 a.m. Eastern Time on Monday. The confrontation escalated after he reportedly ignored commands from ICE agents and accelerated towards them.

Another eyewitness, Cecilia Humiston, 22, told the Portland Press-Herald that the shooting tragically unfolded in front of the migrant’s family, including his toddler daughter who was wearing Bluey pajamas. 

Humiston said an older woman was at the scene yelling at the ICE officers, ‘You took her dad, you took her dad’, and claimed a ‘rude’ officer also yelled at the young girl as she tried to smell flowers nearby. 

It comes as new footage from the scene showed the victim’s white Kia driving slowly in circles at an intersection, as an ICE agent runs alongside the vehicle. 

It is unclear if the footage was taken before or after the driver was shot, with lawmakers calling for urgent answers. 

Locals say ICE had been operating in the town for about a week although it is unclear if Monday’s fatal incident was a random encounter that spiraled out of control or if the Kia driver had set out to confront officers. 

Separate Ring camera footage obtained from inside a nearby home by The Maine Wire captured the sound of the deadly confrontation, as a barrage of around five shots were fired rapidly. 

Photos taken in the aftermath showed a bullet hole on the windshield of the white Kia sedan being driven by the victim when he was killed.

A witness told the Portland Press-Herald that the man emerged from the car bleeding profusely from his head moments after the shooting.

Photos taken from the scene show the victim lying on a nearby road, as ICE agents and police consoled each other. 

Witness Lucas Scott, 18, told the Press Herald that he was driving through the intersection moments before the shooting, and saw a group of unmarked vehicles descend on another car. 

He said he saw agents in ICE uniforms confronting the driver of the vehicle, seconds before an agent pulled his weapon and ordered the man to exit his car.

‘The car was put into drive and was trying to hit the ICE officer,’ Scott said. He said he then heard the ICE agent fire several shots quickly. 

Mary Hayes, a resident who lives near the scene, told the Press Herald that she did not see the agent open fire, but arrived in time to see the victim lying in the street. 

‘There’s a dead body down there,’ she said. 

‘I mean, we live in Maine. We don’t expect this to happen here. What have we come to?’ she added. 

Maine Congresswoman Chellie Pingree said she was ‘deeply disturbed and angry’ by the news. 

‘I, of course, need to know all of the answers here,’ the Democrat said. 

Pingree said she wanted to know if the ICE agents were pursuing a migrant with a criminal record or if the shooting was a routine traffic stop, but added, ‘More than anything else, I want to know why you’re in Maine?’

‘Every report we hear is about somebody being picked up who legally was here, and is this going to be another one of those stories?’  

Maine’s House Speaker Ryan Fecteau said he was waiting to hear details over what led to the deadly shooting, saying in a short statement: ‘A person was killed. ​ICE was involved.

‘State Police and the Department of Public ​Safety are now on scene to gather details and would expect the FBI to investigate as well. These are the details that I have at this time. I will provide further updates, as they are relayed to me.’ 

It comes just days after an ICE agent fatally shot a Mexican immigrant during a traffic stop in Houston, which sparked mass protests. 

Scrutiny on ICE activities was also compounded by the fatal shootings of anti-ICE protesters Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota earlier this year. 

The shooting on Monday has quickly led to calls for protest, with the social justice group Biddeford Saco for Racial Justice saying on Facebook that it would be holding a demonstration within a matter of hours. 

‘Folks are really upset,’ the group said. ‘I imagine there will be more.’ 

Tragically, a pilot who was assisting in containing a fierce wildfire in Colorado was discovered deceased following the crash of their firefighting plane into a mountainous reservoir on Sunday evening, as reported by authorities.

According to Gunnison County Sheriff Adam Murdie, the Montrose County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team successfully retrieved the pilot’s body from Silver Jack Reservoir. The remains will be transferred to the Gunnison County Coroner’s Office for further examination.

Officials have withheld the pilot’s identity as they work to inform the next of kin.

The incident was reported around 5:17 p.m. on Sunday when the Gunnison Regional Communications Center received a notification about a downed aircraft in Silver Jack Reservoir, situated in the southwestern part of Gunnison County.

Sheriff’s officials said the aircraft was assigned to the Gold Mountain Fire, which has been burning in southwestern Colorado. Early information indicated the pilot was the only person on board.

Investigators have not said what caused the aircraft to crash. Deputies, investigators and the Montrose County Sheriff’s Office dive team responded to the scene.

The Gold Mountain Fire has burned about 35,600 acres and was 5% contained as of Sunday, according to the Interagency Wildland Fire Air Quality Response Program. Fire officials expect the blaze to remain active, with shifting winds likely to push smoke into different communities over the next several days.

An air quality health advisory for wildfire smoke remains in effect across parts of central, southern and western Colorado.

Authorities said they will release additional information after the pilot’s next of kin has been notified.

The Port of San Diego has begun the public commentary phase for an extensive redevelopment initiative aimed at transforming East Harbor Island. The vision is to convert this bustling California harbor into a lively entertainment destination.

This phase follows the announcement of a Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Residents and stakeholders have the opportunity to provide their feedback on the project until August 24.

Upon receiving approval, the extensive project would overhaul the area opposite the airport and near the Harbor Police Headquarters. Currently serving as a location for surface parking, rental car operations, and temporary construction for the airport, this site is poised to become a premier coastal hotspot.

Part of the proposal includes a 10.1-acre public waterfront park that will feature a promenade, plazas, playgrounds, restrooms, and installations of public art, according to a report from NBC.

Next to this park, planners are proposing a sprawling 16.5-acre entertainment district to entice visitors and locals alike.

Topgolf is slated to anchor 9.8 acres in that section with its popular arcade and driving-range concept, while the remaining acreage will be reserved for future “eatertainment” venues selected through a competitive public bidding process.

To accommodate the influx of visitors, the proposal also calls for rearranging local infrastructure, including the realignment of Liberator Way, the addition of new public parking, sidewalks, and planting buffers, and the reconfiguration of nearby intersections.

Port officials emphasized that no final approvals have been made yet. Comments collected during this public window will be used to shape the Final EIR.

Both the environmental report and a Port Master Plan Amendment are expected to come before the Board of Port Commissioners for a vote in late 2026, alongside a proposed lease agreement option for the Topgolf facility.

The draft EIR is available for public review online.