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We have a curated list of the most noteworthy news from all across the globe. With any subscription plan, you get access to exclusive articles that let you stay ahead of the curve.
We have a curated list of the most noteworthy news from all across the globe. With any subscription plan, you get access to exclusive articles that let you stay ahead of the curve.
We have a curated list of the most noteworthy news from all across the globe. With any subscription plan, you get access to exclusive articles that let you stay ahead of the curve.
California nurse Nicole Linton allegedly caused a high-speed crash that killed six people, including an eight-months-pregnant woman whose unborn child was expelled from her body and found in the roadway, prosecutors said.
Family members of the victims wept and left the courtroom during opening statements on Sept. 8 as prosecutors presented images from the 2022 collision, according to ABC7. Linton also cried during the proceedings, the New York Post reported.
“The defendant had plenty of time to stop, to brake, to swerve,” Deputy District Attorney Brittany Vannoy told jurors, according to the Los Angeles Times. “But instead she floored that gas pedal to 131 mph, ignored that red light, and barreled toward that intersection, killing six people.”
Linton faces six murder counts and has pleaded not guilty. Her defense attorneys maintain that she was suffering a mental health crisis before the crash and then experienced a seizure that caused her to lose control of the vehicle.
But a doctor who treated Linton after the collision previously testified that there was “no evidence of a neurological episode,” the Times reported.
Prosecutors say Linton, a traveling nurse from Texas, was driving her Mercedes-Benz through Windsor Hills on Aug. 4, 2022, when she accelerated to 131 mph and struck several vehicles.
The dead included Asherey Ryan, her 11-month-old son, Alonzo Quintero, Ryan’s boyfriend, Reynold Lester, and the couple’s unborn child, whom they intended to name Armani.
Ryan was eight months pregnant and on her way to a medical appointment. Her infant son was thrown from his car seat into a nearby parking lot, where a bystander found him.
“She went to go pick him up and realized his neck was broken and screamed, ‘The baby, the baby!’” Vannoy said, according to the Post. “She tries to perform CPR on Baby Alonzo but it was too late.”
Ryan’s unborn child was “ripped” from her womb in the impact, Vannoy said, according to the Post. ABC7 reported that the baby was found on the roadway with the umbilical cord still attached.
Two friends, Nathesia Lewis and Lynette Noble, who were traveling in another vehicle, also died in the crash.
Linton suffered little physical injury, but first responders said she appeared confused at the scene.
“She asked, ‘Did I kill people? Did I hurt people?’” emergency medical technician Isabel Schrama testified in 2024, according to the Los Angeles Times. “And then she started to, I would say, freak out.”
Vannoy also argued during opening statements that Linton had been frustrated with her assignment at Kaiser Permanente and angry with coworkers. According to the Times, the prosecutor said Linton “got in her car and channeled that fury, that frustration, into her driving.”
The prosecution cited a 2020 blog post written by Linton and titled “Bitter F- – -ing Nurse,” in which she complained about her life, the Times reported. Linton’s attorney argued that the post had no relevance to the case.
Linton obtained her California nursing license fewer than five months before the fatal collision.
“At that time, Ms. Linton did not have a criminal history or a record of discipline that would have precluded her from obtaining licensure; and, the BRN did not have any information calling her mental state into question,” a spokesperson for the California Board of Registered Nursing told FOX 11. “At this time, upon the request of counsel representing the BRN, Ms. Linton has been suspended from practicing nursing until the resolution of her criminal proceeding, or unless and until the court orders otherwise.”
A Kaiser spokesperson did not immediately respond to Oxygen’s request for comment.
After the tragedy, Kaiser described the Windsor Hills collision as “horrific.”
“It’s impossible to imagine the pain those involved are experiencing,” a spokesperson said in a statement to Fox 11. “Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy.” The company referred additional questions to law enforcement.
Oxygen could not reach Linton’s attorney for comment.
A Maryland hunter is accused of fatally shooting a woman after mistaking her for a deer as she walked through a Delaware field with her children, according to state police.
Walter Moorhead, 74, was arrested on manslaughter and other charges after shooting Santos Maria Chilel Soto, 39, on Friday evening in Ellendale, Delaware, state police said in a news release.
Soto was walking through an open field with a man and two children at about 7:40 p.m. when Moorhead, who was hunting deer from a ground blind, opened fire. A ground blind is a camouflaged structure hunters use to conceal themselves from wildlife.
Walter Moorhead, 74, was arrested on manslaughter and other charges.(Delaware State Police)
Police said Moorhead believed he had seen a deer before firing his rifle and striking Soto.
State troopers responded and provided life-saving medical treatment at the scene. Soto was then taken to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Moorhead faces multiple felony charges, including manslaughter for recklessly causing another person’s death, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and three counts of first-degree reckless endangerment.
Santos Maria Chilel Soto was described as a mother of five and a “beloved” aunt.(Iglesia De Dios Fuente De Verdad Delaware)
He was released from custody after posting a $43,000 cash bond.
The investigation remains ongoing.
A GoFundMe page described Soto as a mother of five children and a “beloved” aunt.
“Maria’s family is now facing the overwhelming pain of this sudden loss while also trying to make sure she is laid to rest with dignity,” the fundraiser says. “This heartbreaking situation has placed a heavy financial burden on the family at a time when they are grieving deeply.”
Police said Walter Moorhead mistakenly believed he had seen a deer before firing his rifle.(Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The fundraiser was created to help pay for funeral expenses and transport Soto’s body to Guatemala. About $12,000 had been raised by Monday evening.
Beau Lamarre-Condon’s lawyer has told the court that his client entered the home of his former boyfriend, Jesse Baird, to retrieve jewellery—not to murder him.
In opening remarks on Tuesday, barrister John Stratton SC said Lamarre-Condon wanted to avoid the embarrassment of seeing Baird that morning.
The court heard he waited until the property was empty before entering, wearing an Uber Eats uniform so he could appear to be making a delivery if someone answered the door.
According to Mr Stratton, Baird was armed with a knife and failed to recognise Lamarre-Condon, who was wearing a motorcycle helmet and high-visibility clothing.
Lamarre-Condon had his firearm with him because his police training instructed him never to leave a gun unattended in a car, where it could be stolen, the court was told.
Mr Stratton said Baird seized the firearm during a struggle, causing it to discharge and fatally injure him.
The weapon was thrown into the living room before Lamarre-Condon moved along the hallway while calling Triple-0, the court heard.
He then encountered Luke Davies, who was Baird’s new partner.
Lamarre-Condon seized Davies by the arm and moved the gun away from his own body. Mr Stratton said Davies then pulled the trigger and was fatally shot.
The defence barrister said Lamarre-Condon had no intention of hurting anyone in Paddington that day and was acting in self-defence.
‘After that, the accused panicked, he knew it looked bad,’ Mr Stratton said.
‘He cleaned up as much as he could and threw the knife into the yard of a house on Lawson street.’
Mr Stratton also rejected the claim that his client had broken into Baird’s home in August 2023, saying Lamarre-Condon entered using a key he had been given.
The court heard Lamarre-Condon struggled to deal with the end of the relationship and engaged in what Mr Stratton described as ‘stupid things’, including checking Baird’s phone and deleting messages.
The lawyer said Lamarre-Condon had never threatened Baird and that the relationship had not involved a pattern of escalating violence.
The trial’s first witness was due to give evidence after morning tea at 11.50am.
One of regional New South Wales’ most recognisable farm-to-table restaurants is set to close its doors after 12 years, only months after its owners redesigned the venue to bring it closer to its original vision.
Zin Food + Wine House in Mudgee will welcome its final diners on December 21, owners Kim Currie and David Lowe confirmed this week.
The couple launched the restaurant as The Zin House in 2014, earning a devoted following for produce-led dishes prepared largely with ingredients grown on their farm and in its gardens.
Earlier this year, they reshaped the acclaimed fine-dining venue, removing “The Zin House” from its name, scrapping the $155 degustation menu and reopening with a more casual $95 offering.
Currie said at the time that the restaurant had evolved into a “bucket-list” destination she scarcely recognised, as local diners were increasingly displaced by visitors marking special occasions.
However, the decision to close was not ultimately driven by the restaurant’s performance. Instead, the couple said they wanted to take back more control of their time.
“After more than a decade as The Zin House, and our recent chapter as Zin Food + Wine House, David and I have decided to close the restaurant at the end of the year,” Currie wrote on Instagram.
“Since opening in 2014, Zin has achieved everything we set out to do and more – highlighting our region, sharing our love of uncomplicated food and wine of outstanding quality, and creating a space for people to connect.”
Zin Food + Wine House in Mudgee will serve its final guests on December 21, owners Kim Currie and David Lowe announced this week
‘The decision to close is a hard one’
Set among Mudgee’s vineyards and gardens, Zin was founded on a straightforward principle: prepare food using what could be grown on the property.
Currie said the restaurant’s direction over its 12-year history had been shaped by three words displayed prominently on her office wall: “generosity, authenticity, quality”.
“From day one our ethos has been to cook simply with what we grow,” she said.
After more than a decade at the helm, however, Currie and Lowe – who also makes wine through Lowe Family Wine Co – said their personal priorities had shifted.
“The decision to close the doors on this chapter is a hard one, but ultimately feels right,” Currie said.
“As parents, grandparents, and business owners, we are at a stage where we want to reprioritise our time.”
Currie said she was looking forward to the freedom to cook when inspiration arrived, refine recipes, write and take on new kitchen projects without the constant pressure of operating a restaurant.
Hidden among the vineyards and gardens of Mudgee, Zin was built around a simple philosophy: cook with what could be grown on the property
The restaurant had only recently undergone a dramatic transformation
The announcement comes just months after Currie took the unusual step of dismantling many of the fine-dining elements that had turned The Zin House into a destination in its own right.
Although the restaurant had enjoyed considerable success, Currie acknowledged late last year that its awards, acclaim and formal dining structure had gradually pulled it away from the place she had originally hoped to create.
“Every time I heard the word degustation, I cringed. I would look out and think, there’s nobody here I know. The locals aren’t coming. We’ve become a special-occasion place,” she told The Sydney Morning Herald at the time.
The Zin House subsequently became Zin Food + Wine House in January 2026.
The $155 tasting menu was replaced by a $95 set menu influenced by Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooking, with three small pours of Lowe Family wines included.
The changes were designed to make the restaurant less formal, more affordable and easier for locals to visit regularly.
‘I just want to cook simply, from scratch, with the food that we grow,’ Currie said ahead of the relaunch.
‘After more than a decade as The Zin House, and our recent chapter as Zin Food + Wine House, David and I have decided to close the restaurant at the end of the year,’ Currie said online
‘I want the restaurant to be more inclusive, less expensive, and just a little more energetic and playful.’
Instead of lengthy degustations, dishes were brought to the table together, with menus featuring the likes of flatbread with olive oil and dukkah, za’atar chicken skewers and eggplant prepared three ways.
Opening hours were also expanded across Fridays and Saturdays so customers could stop in for a glass of wine without committing to a lengthy meal.
Even QR codes were introduced to allow diners to access recipes and footage from the vineyard.
It was a deliberate attempt to strip away some of the ceremony the restaurant had accumulated during its success and revive the relaxed farmhouse experience Currie originally envisaged.
A changing landscape for Australian restaurants
Zin’s reinvention came during a difficult period for Australia’s hospitality industry, as rising operating costs and changing spending habits have forced restaurants to reconsider increasingly expensive dining formats.
Currie had already recognised that diners were looking for greater flexibility and value, particularly as households became more selective about how often they ate out.
Rather than continuing to chase the prestige attached to degustation dining, she chose to make Zin more accessible.
The decision to now close means that experiment will ultimately be short-lived, although Currie has made clear the restaurant’s final chapter is ending on her and Lowe’s terms.
She thanked the customers and generations of employees who had contributed to Zin since 2014.
‘To all our customers, the teams who have cooked, served, cleaned, gardened, marketed, and to everyone who has supported us and been part of the Zin journey I offer my heartfelt thanks and warm respect,’ she said.
After 12 years creating one of Mudgee’s most recognisable dining experiences, Currie and Lowe will enter 2027 without a restaurant – and, for the first time in over a decade, with the freedom to choose what comes next.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — By almost any standard, Sebastian Berhalter is still young. At 25, he would only be beginning to establish himself in many professions outside soccer.
Yet his career has accelerated over the past year. Berhalter broke into the United States men’s national team, played at the World Cup and earned a transfer to England’s Middlesbrough.
Inside the squad Mauricio Pochettino assembled for the U.S. team’s first camp since the World Cup, however, Berhalter is considered one of the older players — almost a veteran. The gathering could be called Camp Cavan, after 16-year-old standout Cavan Sullivan, but 12 of the 28 players are too young to legally buy alcohol, making that name feel somewhat exclusive.
Cavan Sullivan (6) of the Philadelphia Union celebrates after scoring a goal against San Diego FC during the first half of a game at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. Getty Images
The number of teenagers in camp was clear Monday morning, when Berhalter and Gio Reyna appeared at a news conference as two of the group’s older, more experienced players. No matter how many times it is read, that still sounds unusual.
“I think older guy is actually a good way to put it,” Berhalter said. “I’ve only been part of the team for a year now, and it feels like I’m an older guy, which is crazy. It’s good. I think that’s something that I take in stride.”
Reyna, 23, has already accumulated enough storylines to fill an entire career. Even so, he encountered a new kind of role reversal when striker Justin Ellis told reporters in Orlando, Fla., that Reyna had been his favorite player growing up.
Ellis is 19, only four years younger than Reyna, but he was still in middle school when Reyna was a celebrated prospect making his debut for Borussia Dortmund and the U.S. national team. The pair met for the first time after Ellis joined his first senior U.S. camp. Ellis hopes to make his national-team debut against Peru on Saturday in Orlando, where he has recorded one goal and nine assists for Orlando City SC this season.
“He’s a great kid,” Reyna said. “It’s nice to get to know him so far. It makes me feel a little bit old, but it’s nice to have a lot of [the young guys] here. Looking forward to getting to know them better on and off the field. Just here trying to help them. Show them what we’ve built and what we’re striving to build. Obviously, all of them are very, very talented, so we’re just here to help.”
Gio Reyna of the United States moves with the ball during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group D match between Türkiye and USA at Los Angeles Stadium on June 25, 2026, in Inglewood, California. Getty Images
It is far too early to project the roster for next summer’s Gold Cup, much less the 2030 World Cup. Still, the next major competitions will not simply feature the same 26-man group that reached the World Cup’s Round of 16. The next generation will have every opportunity to claim a place, while the players from that squad will have to earn their positions again — not only against the teenagers in camp, but also against the players they beat out for World Cup selection.
Sullivan will attract the most attention and face the greatest expectations, but each player has a clear reason for being included. Every position group features someone who was absent from the World Cup. After Ricardo Pepi withdrew because of an injury, all three strikers — Ellis, Julian Hall and Damion Downs — fit that description. Downs, unlike the other two, already has senior international appearances.
The teenagers must show they can handle the demands of the senior team. The young veterans, meanwhile, must demonstrate that they can help guide them through it.
“They need to know that the young players are going to see everything in the way that you move, walk, talk, behave — on the field and off the field,” Pochettino said. “That is why I think it’s a very important period for us, also, to observe if senior players are good role models for the young. If someone is not behaving well, not behaving in the way that we are expecting, that is going to have some consequences.”
Prince Harry has revealed the “most British thing” he, Meghan and their children have been doing since returning to Britain from California.
The Duke of Sussex, 42, said Archie and Lilibet are now happily eating Marmite on crumpets, despite once teasing him for keeping the famously divisive spread in the family home.
Speaking to HELLO! at the WellChild Awards in London last night, Harry was asked about the most British activity he had enjoyed with his family since moving back to the UK.
“Gone for a walk. Lots of walks. Isn’t that the most British thing?” he joked.
However, Harry soon made clear that the family’s return to British life had extended beyond countryside walks and into their breakfast routine.
“OK, yes, Marmite on crumpets – please tell me that is a British thing because it has always been in my life and now the kids are eating Marmite on crumpets, which is a big moment for me.”
When asked whether seven-year-old Archie and five-year-old Lilibet enjoyed the strong-flavoured spread, Harry replied: “They do, they do very much.”
He continued: “They used to dis me for having Marmite in the house but now we are in the UK that is kind of water under the bridge.”
Harry said his children had been far less enthusiastic about another classic British breakfast when he previously tried introducing it to the family.
“I already tried beans on toast,” he said.
Prince Harry spoke to HELLO! at the WellChild Awards in London about the most British thing he has done with his family since returning to the UK
The Duke of Sussex embraces Adeleigh, the sister of Margot Jones-Billington, during the 2026 WellChild Awards
Harry poses with Gaby Roslin, left, and the winners at the annual awards ceremony at London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel
Asked how the meal had been received, the Duke replied: “That was in California. That was years ago. It didn’t go down very well at all.”
The humorous family anecdote came as Harry discussed life with his young children at the WellChild Awards, where he appeared visibly emotional.
He became more reflective while explaining how parenthood has changed his experience of the charity’s annual event, which honours seriously ill children and the families who care for them.
“Once you become a parent it does change everything,” Harry said.
“It is not the fact that all the years I wasn’t a parent that meeting the kids didn’t matter as much but you suddenly realise how grateful you are to have kids that are not sick.”
Harry also shared a relatable moment from the breakfast table earlier that day, saying Archie and Lilibet had been experiencing the “Monday blues” before school.
“Breakfast this morning they had Monday blues,” he said, comparing it with the “Sunday night blues” he felt before being sent away to boarding school.
But the Duke said he managed to turn the mood around by explaining what he would be doing at the WellChild ceremony later that evening.
‘You know what you are just being a little bit tricky so I am going to tell you what I am doing tonight and they were genuinely fascinated and interested and had all sorts of questions.’
The Duke of Sussex receives a gift of a mug and tea towel for his new house by the winner of the Inspirational Nurse, Rachel Shanahan (right) and her husband Paul (centre)
Harry meets with winner of the Inspirational Child 4-6, Margot Jones-Billington during the WellChild Awards 2026
The Duke meets with winner of the Inspirational Child aged 7-11, Will Messer
Duke of Sussex is shown a book of when the winner of the Inspirational Young Person 12-14
Harry said he and Meghan want to use their work to help their children understand more about the lives of others, adding that now ‘no longer being 5000 miles away should make it easier to be more available to support the charities that need us and that we really enjoy working with’.
His comments come after Harry and Meghan returned to Britain with Archie and Lilibet from their California home in August, with the children beginning school in the UK.
The Sussexes have spent recent weeks settling into their new life in Britain, with Harry making a series of charity appearances while Meghan has remained focused on the children.
The Duke’s return has also allowed him to spend more time with WellChild, a cause he has supported for 18 years.
He attended the charity’s 2026 awards at the Royal Lancaster Hotel on Monday night, where he met winners and their families before presenting the Inspirational Child award to six-year-old Margot Jones-Billington.
Harry also gave a speech during the ceremony, saying the awards were an opportunity to celebrate children and young people living with complex medical needs as well as the families supporting them.
The event marks the latest chapter in Harry’s long association with the charity, which says he has attended the awards on 16 occasions.
And after years of being thousands of miles away, his comments suggest he is relishing the chance to become more closely involved once again.
Trump-backed Republican Congressman Max Miller is facing an intense legal battle alongside one of the toughest political challenges of his career.
Miller’s re-election campaign has been engulfed in a new level of nastiness after his Democratic opponent, Brian Poindexter, put out a new political ad that highlights abuse allegations that have been levied against him by his ex-wife, Emily Moreno.
An advertisement from Poindexter features a female police officer who says she spent 34 years in law enforcement. She lists allegations against Miller, several of which were first reported by the Daily Mail, and concludes: “Max Miller does not belong in power.”
Miller has repeatedly and emphatically rejected every abuse allegation made against him by Moreno.
The congressional race has become increasingly competitive as more allegations have emerged. On August 10, the Cook Political Report downgraded the contest from “likely Republican” to “toss up.”
Miller’s attorney, Alejandro Brito, has demanded that Ohio news station WKYC remove the advertisement, arguing that it contains “false, malicious, and defamatory statements,” according to a cease-and-desist letter obtained by Politico.
Poindexter addressed the legal threat in a follow-up video, saying Miller “is threatening to sue because he doesn’t want people to hear the facts.”
“His family says they hold their breath every minute he has custody of his child,” Poindexter added.
Poindexter also accused Miller of relying on wealth and high-priced attorneys to avoid consequences throughout his life. “Not this time,” he said. His campaign is urging supporters to help keep the advertisement on air through additional donations.
Ohio Republican Max Miller is confronting difficult legal and political battles this fall
Poindexter’s advertisement shows a female officer who says she has 34 years of law-enforcement experience listing allegations against Miller before declaring that he should not remain in power
Emily Moreno has accused Max Miller of abusing her and their young daughter, allegations he has denied
Ohio Republican Senator Bernie Moreno, Emily Moreno’s father, ended months of silence in August by calling for his former son-in-law to resign. He said Miller should not serve in public office.
“He is a danger to my daughter, and I hold my breath every minute he has custody of my granddaughter,” Moreno said.
Miller has also faced accusations from former girlfriend Stephanie Grisham, who previously served as White House press secretary.
Miller sued Grisham for defamation in late 2021 over her abuse allegations. The case later concluded with a confidential settlement that included a mutual agreement not to disparage one another.
The Daily Mail first reported Moreno’s allegations against Miller in May, including photographs of injuries she said resulted from an incident in which he threw scalding water at her.
Although Miller has denied Moreno’s claims of abuse, he later acknowledged using illegal drugs.
Moreno accused Miller of drug use in a previously undisclosed collection of audio recordings involving the two, which Miller himself released.
Moreno said the alleged drug use was the “impetus” for her decision to leave the marriage. Miller denied using drugs in the recordings.
He later told CNN’s Jake Tapper that he had used testosterone therapy.
The admission came when Tapper asked about photographs of needles that Moreno took, allegedly by Miller’s bedside, that the Daily Mail first published.
This image appears to have been taken by Emily Moreno inside the home she shared with Miller, a source familiar with the matter told the Daily Mail
Miller appeared on CNN Tuesday for an interview with Jake Tapper
In his lengthy video, Miller also levied an accusation that Moreno ‘has struggled with significant mental health challenges.’ Her spokesperson fought back against the claims.
Miller has also been called to resign and drop out of his congressional race by Ohio’s other GOP Senator John Husted, who is in a tough re-election fight of his own this fall.
‘I believe Max would be making the right decision to step aside as a candidate and resign from Congress to focus on what is in the best interest of his daughter,’ Husted noted back in August.
He did not drop out of the race, and instead doubled down on his innocence.
Neither Miller’s lawyer nor his political campaign responded to the Daily Mail’s requests for comment.
At the end of the Sept. 17 Gainesville City Commission meeting, Commissioners (except Cynthia Chestnut, who left) listen to recorded comments from UF parents
BY JENNIFER CABRERA
Before the afternoon General Public Comment session, Mayor Harvey Ward said the city had received 18 voice recordings through a program created during the COVID-19 pandemic but never previously used. The recordings were intended to be played during public comment, so Ward asked commissioners to “make a motion to waive the rules as they pertain to pre-recorded General Comment to play at the end of the meeting.”
Commissioner Bryan Eastman moved to play the recordings at the end of the meeting and extend the regular General Public Comment period beyond 30 minutes. Commissioners approved the motion unanimously.
Click here to read about the 19 people who spoke during General Public Comment in support of ending a Gainesville Police Department policy concerning contact with “suspected unauthorized aliens.”
Mayor Harvey Ward: “GRACE Marketplace is one of the few places in North Florida where someone can register an address if they don’t actually have an address… Just because someone uses GRACE as their mailing address does not mean that they live at GRACE Marketplace.”
One man used the in-person comment period to raise public safety concerns near campus. Ward responded that the issue appeared to involve the statewide criminal justice and court systems, which, he said, do not operate for the city or GRACE Marketplace. “GRACE Marketplace is one of the few places in North Florida where someone can register an address if they don’t actually have an address,” Ward said. “Just because someone uses GRACE as their mailing address does not mean that they live at GRACE Marketplace.”
81 people were enrolled at GRACE from state prisons between Sept. 2025 and Sept. 2026
Mark Bonner, GRACE Marketplace’s interim CEO, addressed concerns that the organization has become a magnet for people released from Florida state prisons. He said nearly 25,000 people were released from state prisons between September 2025 and September 2026, and GRACE identified 81 who were later enrolled in its services. “That is 0.33%, or one in every 306 people,” Bonner said.
Mark Bonner, Interim CEO at GRACE Marketplace: “If GRACE disappeared, the people who need shelter would not disappear with it; they would remain in Gainesville without the help that they need to change their current circumstances.”
Bonner said GRACE welcomes questions about its work and asked that the organization’s responses be considered alongside the concerns. “If GRACE disappeared, the people who need shelter would not disappear with it; they would remain in Gainesville without the help that they need to change their current circumstances,” he said.
After public comment, Ward pointed to changes in downtown homelessness since GRACE opened. He said that before GRACE, more than 100 people slept nightly on Bo Diddley Plaza and more than 1,500 people were identified as unsheltered in the community. In 2026, he said, that number is closer to 500 or 600. “GRACE has had a tremendous positive impact on this community,” Ward said.
Commissioner Ed Book asked Bonner how GRACE assists people who come to North Central Florida and whether the organization works to help them return to places where they can overcome their challenges.
58% of people receiving services at GRACE Marketplace are from Alachua County
Bonner said monthly reports to the city show that most people receiving services at GRACE are from Alachua County, with the latest figure at 58%. Those arriving from elsewhere, he said, generally come from counties included in the Continuum of Care. “We’re not going to turn people away, right?” Bonner said.
Alachua County residents receive priority when there is a waiting list for a bed, Bonner said. He added that GRACE tries to prevent people from entering the homeless response system when they have an opportunity to be housed elsewhere. That can include helping them return to communities with housing support and closer connections to family.
Interim City Manager Andrew Persons referenced a press release announcing that the Gainesville Police Department and University of Florida Police Department were expanding patrols in Midtown.
Commissioner Casey Willits: “I bristle at listening to people who don’t live close to prisons and are upset that maybe someone who’s released from a prison, on their way home, ends up in our community at some point.”
Commissioner Casey Willits noted that many state and federal prisons are located north and west of Gainesville. Only a small number of people leaving the Florida Department of Corrections, he said, end up in the local community with an address registered through GRACE. “I bristle at listening to people who don’t live close to prisons and are upset that maybe someone who’s released from a prison, on their way home, ends up in our community at some point,” Willits said. “Homelessness is a statewide problem.”
Ward called homelessness an international issue and said Florida’s failure to take mental health and substance abuse treatment seriously would allow the problems seen in Gainesville to continue.
Commissioners vote to eliminate voice recordings for comments
At the end of the evening’s business, Ward referred to the 19 voice recordings that had been submitted by callers concerned about the safety of UF students and said the rule about voice recordings was implemented during COVID, “and it has not been used since then… But we do spend staff time, every single meeting, to comb through it and make sure that there are no comments.”
Ward said Commissioners could amend the rules to omit the “artifact of COVID planning that we just never took out of the rules, and I would like us to direct the Attorney via a motion to amend our Rules Resolution at the next meeting to take that out because it is costing us resources… and has been used exactly once.”
Eastman made a motion to direct the City Attorney to remove the voicemail option for public comment. There was no public comment, and the motion passed unanimously.
Willits: “I do want to encourage people… to keep emailing us and reaching out, having personal conversations and meeting with us, because it does work.”
Willits said, “For people watching at home, we really do read emails… I do want to encourage people… to keep emailing us and reaching out, having personal conversations and meeting with us, because it does work.”
The motion passed 6-1, with Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker in dissent.
Eastman: “One thing I can say is that we, as a City, you can see clearly, have been committed to public safety and continue to be committed to public safety. We’re putting our money where our mouth is.”
Eastman said he wanted to “make a point before we start listening to a lot of these calls… You’re about to hear about 20-30 minutes of parents who are concerned about the safety of their kids. They have different hypotheses as to why they think that is; part of it relates to our homeless shelter, part of it relates to funding for our police. One thing I can say is that we, as a City, you can see clearly, have been committed to public safety and continue to be committed to public safety. We’re putting our money where our mouth is.” He said public safety funding has increased by 25% since 2023, while “everything else has been cut by 3%.”
Ward: “I am very, very proud of the work that our law enforcement does, and I am proud of the way that we fund law enforcement in our community. And it’s important to… tell that story before we go into a few minutes of being told that we don’t, by people who generally don’t live in our community.”
Ward said he wanted to note that there are three police departments operating inside the city limits of Gainesville: the Gainesville Police Department (GPD), the University of Florida Police Department (UFPD), and the Santa Fe College Police Department. He said the combined “360-ish sworn officers [are] a lot for a city of 151,000 people.” He also reiterated the City’s commitment to public safety: “It does not mean we do not have crime,… but I am very, very proud of the work that our law enforcement does, and I am proud of the way that we fund law enforcement in our community. And it’s important to… tell that story before we go into a few minutes of being told that we don’t, by people who generally don’t live in our community.”
Ward told Commissioners that they did not need a quorum, so “I’m not going to pay attention to anybody, you know, easing out the door.”
Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut left during the first comment, but the other Commissioners stayed to hear the comments.
Parent: “These are not rumors. These are first-hand experiences.”
In the 18 recordings (one was blank, according to the Clerk), parents of UF students spoke about various incidents experienced by or witnessed by their students:
One student “watches drug deals happen all the time” outside her apartment building. This parent called out Campus Walk, a condominium complex that she said was “a halfway house that’s basically on campus.”
A parent who lives in New York and has a son who is a UF junior said she was concerned about the “growing issues regarding disturbances, attacks, and concerns with the growing mentally ill homeless population circulating the streets of Gainesville, specifically near and around student off-campus housing and sorority and frat houses.” She said she was afraid there would be “another tragic national news story.”
Another parent of “two Gators” said Gainesville “needs a more effective and compassionate approach to the persistent homelessness around the university and surrounding neighborhoods.” She asked the Commission to prioritize increased police visibility in “areas heavily traveled by students,” better lighting and security, better coordination between GPD and UFPD, and effective services and interventions for people experiencing homelessness.
Another parent called for a “serious data-driven review” of local crime data and how students are affected. She said, “Recurring concerns have been raised about individuals involving indecent exposure, trespassing into occupied residences, voyeurism, violence or threatening behavior, and sexual misconduct. What’s being done to protect the students?”
Another parent mentioned Campus Walk again, saying, “There have been instances involving individuals… screaming at students [and] students from the sorority house even being chased right out front. Whether these individuals are connected to a particular facility or not, they raise legitimate concerns about whether adequate safeguards, supervision, and law enforcement response are in place.”
One parent said her daughter was followed by a man this past spring, and he tried to get into her apartment; six hours later, she said, he was arrested for “brutally beating somebody.” She said he has over 30 criminal convictions and has been released and re-arrested at least twice since then. She added that she and her students “regularly see people doing drugs, outside in public.”
A parent said the number of homeless people has “significantly increased since two years ago,” when her daughter entered UF, and “Gainesville has to do something about this because it is becoming a potentially dangerous place for our students.”
A father who lives outside Boston said GRACE had 384 dispatch calls for service in the month of July 2026, an average of 12 a day, with 205 of them involving criminal behavior. He said, “These included violent disturbances, sexual assault, rape, and drug overdoses.”
A mother of two double Gators said her youngest son had a man “incessantly harassing him” at his house “from an outside window, and then he attempted to open a front door that had just been locked… What happened to Gainesville?… Students deserve to be able to walk safely around campus without being harassed, verbally accosted, followed, stalked, and even assaulted.”
The father of two students said, “The University of Florida is one of the nation’s top universities, and students and families should be able to expect a safe environment, both on campus and in the surrounding neighborhoods.”
A mother of two students said she was concerned about “incidents of sexual offenders being located around campus [and] aggressive panhandling on the corner of 13th and University.”
The mother of a recent graduate said her daughter experienced two home invasions in her apartment near Campus Walk, “and a knife was pulled on her when she was walking home from her sorority house at about 7:00 last fall.” She said that while the police responded quickly to the home invasions, it took 45 minutes to respond to her call about a knife being pulled on her. She said a homeless man also pounded on the windows of her daughter’s car while she was parked in a parking garage. The mother said she has personally “seen homeless people urinating in the streets, I’ve seen people clearly intoxicated on meth and very hard drugs, sitting in the median, moving their hands around.” She said a man once lunged at her eight-year-old son on University Avenue near 13th Street, and she added that all three of the people involved in the incidents with her daughter had GRACE Marketplace as an address.
A mother from South Florida with a student who is a junior at UF said “the element that circulates around [University and 13th] is so scary.” She referred to the recent arrest of a man who was living in a common area at The Standard and another man who was living in a bathroom on campus and said, “It shouldn’t be happening… Please make a change.”
The founder of the Swamp Watch Facebook group said her son has graduated, but she is “passionate… about protecting the students who are there today and the ones that will come after.” She said GPD’s data shows a 22% increase in violent crime, compared to the same period in 2025, with a 27% increase in reports of rape. She said, “Being homeless is not a crime. This is a public safety conversation. Our concern is criminal behavior, repeat offenders, and whether policies adequately protect the surrounding communities… We have been sounding the alarm for years.”
The mother of a female student asked for a stronger police presence on campus and “especially around Sorority Row.”
The mother of a UF student said she has seen people sleeping in front of the university gates, and when she was in Gainesville, multiple people approached her and asked for money.
The mother of a female freshman student and two students who have graduated said her middle daughter watched a homeless man brutally assault her male friend without provocation, and her daughter’s next-door neighbor faced an armed man who broke into her apartment. She said her daughter was afraid to walk alone and was frequently accosted by homeless individuals. She said, “These are not rumors. These are first-hand experiences.” She said there is no requirement for a background check at GRACE “and no sobriety requirement.” She also questioned whether the number of sworn officers at GPD is sufficient, given that it is lower than it was in 2017, despite the growth in population.
Ward: “[Gainesville is] higher than the standard of officers that FDLE recommends.”
After the recordings were finished, Ward said, “I do not want anyone to think that we don’t take this seriously. Obviously, we do. That’s why we spend more than half our budget on public safety.” He repeated his earlier statement that GPD is not the only agency that serves the community: “It’s also Santa Fe Police and University of Florida Police. That puts us higher than the standard of officers that FDLE recommends.”
Ward: Campus Walk “is not a halfway house; it is not GRACE Marketplace; it is a place where people live, and sometimes those people are not very savory.”
Ward said Campus Walk is a condominium development, “so there is not one manager, and they are a set of private apartments. We are not in the business, here in Florida, of regulating who can live in an apartment, and that is something you might want to take up with people at a higher pay grade than ours.” He added that Campus Walk “is not a halfway house; it is not GRACE Marketplace; it is a place where people live, and sometimes those people are not very savory.”
Ward said his daughter, a senior at UF, walks from campus to downtown for work, “and I am not saying that there are not dangers to be watched out for, but this is a city, it is an urban environment,… and it is important to be aware of your surroundings.”
Ward also said another daughter just moved into the University of Central Florida in Orlando: “There were homeless people around the outside of campus. I saw them. I have not called the Mayor of Orlando.” He committed to “have those conversations” with the owners of Campus Walk units.
Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker: “No one on this dais… wants to see any of the students in any unsafe conditions… We’re committed to everyone’s safety here.”
Duncan-Walker said that recent conversations between the new UF leadership and Commissioners could “present a tremendous opportunity,” and she suggested meeting with UF leadership “as a body, sitting with them and having these conversations about the areas of opportunity, but also the areas of capacity, because… no one on this dais… wants to see any of the students in any unsafe conditions… We’re committed to everyone’s safety here.”
Eastman said, “This is personal for us here in this community… We want to ensure that we have a safe city. We want to ensure that we have a city that cares for people… I think [public safety] is a very important task, and we need to continue to figure out ways we can improve that, as it relates to GRACE Marketplace.”
Eastman on GRACE Marketplace: “It’s not that there are no rules or that people that are dangerous are allowed in; it’s just — there’s no blanket rules… They absolutely screen for people that are dangerous to people in there, because we want people to feel safe.”
Eastman said that in 2014, City officials had no answers for the tent encampments downtown and “all the way down Hawthorne Trail… What we did is, we created a low-barrier shelter, where anyone can come in there. It’s not that there are no rules or that people that are dangerous are allowed in; it’s just — there’s no blanket rules… They absolutely screen for people that are dangerous to people in there, because we want people to feel safe.” He said GRACE is designed for people to stay 30 days at a time, “so that we can get you onto Social Security, we can get you on disability, we can help you find a job so you can get back on your feet.” He said the Point-in-Time count was at 1,516 on the street in 2014, and now it’s 536.
Eastman continued, “I heard someone say that [the number of homeless people] keeps going up every year, and it feels that way at times, [when] you’re walking around, but that’s not the reality. The reality is that homelessness was cut by 28%, just this past year.” He said there “are no silver bullets” or easy answers, but “in this community, we figure out ways to solve problems. We come together.” He encouraged parents of UF students to “come meet with us and talk with us and figure out ways that we can solve the problem.”
Commissioner Ed Book: “Money is really not the issue. The question is, are we doing the right initiatives?”
Commissioner Ed Book said, “I, personally, am never satisfied with the level of crime… For the callers that think we’re not funding — we are funding all of our public safety, and we’re doing it well… Money is really not the issue. The question is, are we doing the right initiatives?… We’ve had a little setback recently, in my opinion, related to some surveillance mechanisms… We’ve had a three-year decrease in crime overall,… and it’s still too high. The last few months… have not been good, and that’s why we’ve just initiated some additional efforts with Gainesville Police and UF.”
Willits said, “We see a lot of data, so it’s always good… to hear [your concerns]… The recent uptick in some of the crime statistics is concerning… I want all your students to keep on coming to a world-class institution. We are trying and are committed to having a world-class city to go along with it, but… it’s going to take some cooperation between UF and the City to make that happen, as it always has.”
Ward said there were a few more things he needed to address: “We have never passed any sanctuary city policy… I want to be very, very clear: you will not find, in any of our records, that we have ever claimed to be a sanctuary city. That said, if you want to live in this community, if you want to be a part of Gainesville, I want you to be a part of Gainesville… If you are a student at the University of Florida who lives in the city limits of Gainesville,… we’re glad you’re here… You are our neighbor, as we say in Gainesville.”
Ward: “This isn’t the issue [students] bring up… The people who live here are the ones I really want to talk to the most.”
Ward continued, “When I say ‘you,’ I mean students — you’re the ones we’re really talking about in this. I would love to meet you. I’m on campus, probably at least once a week, talking to classes and in a variety of groups. This isn’t the issue they bring up.” He said he knows that parents are frustrated by his focus on residents of Gainesville, “but the people who live here are the ones I really want to talk to the most.” He advised students against responding to “folks asking for money on the street corner… It’s dangerous to be out there.”
Ward said again that he would “be in touch with all of the owners of the Campus Walk condo apartments” and adjourned the meeting.
A severed Verizon cable plunged the Northeast into travel chaos, forcing United Airlines to cancel every domestic flight to and from Newark Liberty International Airport after construction crews accidentally cut the line.
Ground stops were imposed at Newark Liberty International (EWR), Teterboro (TEB), Philadelphia International (PHL) and John F. Kennedy International (JFK), with delays stretching as long as seven hours.
Service began returning to normal after telecommunications crews repaired the damaged lines. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on X that “all airport operations in the Northeast are resuming.”
However, Duffy warned that it could take time to work through the backlog. “Please check with your airline for the latest information,” he wrote.
LaGuardia Airport (LGA) in New York, Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) and Philadelphia International Airport also reported ground delays as the disruption spread across the region.
Bryan Bedford, administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, said the 600-foot fiber-optic cable was cut somewhere between New Brunswick and Newark, New Jersey.
“Somebody dug it up,” Bedford told reporters, according to video recorded by CBS News.
Duffy said an Amtrak construction crew accidentally severed the fiber-optic line, causing a telecommunications outage that rippled through the air-travel network.
“This incident underscores the need for additional funding to modernize aging infrastructure and prevent disruptions like this in the future,” Duffy said in a post on X.
Flight-tracking data showed dozens of aircraft waiting on the Newark runway, while passengers reported being stuck for hours before returning to airport gates.
Pictured: United Airlines aircraft at Newark Airport. The carrier canceled all domestic flights to and from the airport on Monday after the cable was cut (Stock Image)
The disruption came as 130 world leaders and dozens of government ministers arrived in New York for the annual high-level session of the United Nations General Assembly.
With airport equipment affected by the outage, the FAA directed flights bound for Newark to remain at their departure airports.
The agency said ground delays across the Northeast were expected to continue until at least 9 p.m. Eastern time.
FAA alerts showed average delays ranging from 45 minutes to five hours. At the worst-hit airports Monday afternoon, delays approached seven hours.
The FAA also issued a ground stop for flights headed to JFK, holding aircraft at their departure airports until at least 6:30 p.m. Officials said there was a moderate chance the restriction could be extended.
Flights bound for New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport were likewise ordered to remain at their departure points across the United States and parts of Canada.
The outage highlighted the vulnerability of the aging U.S. air traffic control system, which Congress allocated $12.5 billion to modernize last year.
Bedford said a backup circuit had also failed, although traffic to JFK and LaGuardia was beginning to resume. He added that it remained unclear when operations would restart fully at Philadelphia and Newark.
More than 1,000 flights at Newark had been delayed or canceled. Across the country, nearly 4,000 flights were delayed and about 500 were canceled.
A ground stop in Boston, which stopped accepting flights because of spillover volume, was lifted earlier in the day.
The FAA said it would not restart the system for incoming flights at the affected airports ‘until we make sure the airspace is safe,’ Bedford said.
The loss of communications was tied to some frequencies at a Philadelphia air traffic control facility that handles air traffic for the airports, Bedford said. Then authorities discovered that a backup fiber line was accidentally cut by a construction crew in New Jersey.
At Newark alone, more than 1,000 flights had been delayed or canceled. Throughout the US, there were nearly 6,000 delayed flights and 1,000 canceled.
‘When it went to flip into the backup, we discovered that the backup fiber had a break, and that fiber break is probably 13 hours to repair,’ Bedford said.
‘It’s massive, I’m told. Meanwhile, we’ve got the new circuit ready to install now.’
