In Lonoke County, Arkansas, a significant legal decision unfolded on Thursday as a judge dismissed a murder charge against Aaron Spencer, a Republican nominee for sheriff. Spencer had been awaiting trial for the fatal shooting of an individual accused of abusing his teenage daughter.

This judicial outcome arrives just weeks ahead of Spencer’s scheduled jury trial for second-degree murder. Spencer, who will appear on the ballot in November, secured a noteworthy victory in the March primary, defeating the incumbent three-term sheriff of Lonoke County—a predominantly Republican region with a population of approximately 76,000.

Spencer’s legal team acknowledges his involvement in the 2024 shooting of Michael Fosler, asserting that the act was a protective measure for his child. Special Circuit Court Judge Ralph Wilson Jr. sided with Spencer’s defense, dismissing the charge due to the loss of a crucial dash camera memory card by law enforcement, which might have recorded the incident.

Judge Wilson stated, “The court finds that conduct by law enforcement was so egregious that dismissal of this case is warranted.”

At the time of his death, Fosler, aged 67, was out on bond, facing numerous sexual offense charges concerning Spencer’s then-13-year-old daughter.

Court documents show on the night of the shooting, Spencer had woken up to find his daughter missing, and later found the girl in the passenger seat of a vehicle Fosler was driving. Spencer forced Fosler’s truck off the road and, after an altercation, called 911 to report he had shot the man.

Prosecutors said Spencer planned the killing and that he could have called police while pursuing Fosler. But Spencer pleaded not guilty and maintained he acted to protect his child from a predator.

Spencer’s attorney, Erin Cassinelli, said she is thankful for the court’s decision.

“No member of this family should ever again be forced to walk into a courtroom and relive this horror,” she said in a statement. “This father should have never been charged for protecting his child.”

Spencer said he is grateful this chapter is over and that his focus is now on his family and returning to normal life.

“There’s still work to do in Lonoke County, and I’m more committed to it than ever,” he said in a statement. “Together we can build a safer and stronger Lonoke County.”

Lonoke County Prosecuting Attorney Chuck Graham did not return messages Thursday seeking comment on the decision.

The Associated Press typically does not identify sex abuse victims, but Spencer has made his daughter’s experience with the criminal justice system a central part of his campaign for sheriff, pledging to establish a dedicated team to combat sex crimes against children.

Spencer’s attorneys filed the motion seeking to have the case dismissed, contending that video and audio of the dash camera from Fosler’s truck may have contained evidence that would have cleared Spencer of any wrongdoing. According to court records, a detective with the Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office removed the dash camera from the truck when responding to the scene of the shooting.

But the camera’s internal settings were not preserved and the battery of the camera was allowed to drain, and as a result the camera went back to its default settings. When the camera was sent to the attorney general’s office for a forensic exam, the memory card that was in it when it was collected from the truck was missing. The detective who collected the camera later admitted that it was not logged into evidence right away, but was instead stored in his personal office rather than the evidence room, according to court records.

Wilson replaced the original judge handling the murder case in January after the Arkansas Supreme Court removed Judge Barbara Elmore from the case, finding she had issued an overly broad gag order that violated Spencer’s First Amendment rights.

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Boone reported from Boise, Idaho. Associated Press reporter Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.

On Friday, The California Post unveiled new police video footage depicting the arrest of Zachariah Branch. The incident occurred as Branch appeared to be standing on a sidewalk amidst a crowd of people.

The wide receiver’s encounter with the Athens-Clarke County Police Department took place shortly after midnight on April 19 in Athens, Georgia. This was mere days before Branch was picked by the Atlanta Falcons in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft.

The body camera footage, which recently came to light, initially lacks audio for the first 28 seconds. During this silent segment, it seems an officer is trying to disperse a large gathering outside a bustling bar, instructing Branch and others to vacate the area.

After what appears to be a brief exchange with the officer, Branch shifts slightly to his left but remains among several other onlookers who are also stationary.

Without warning, the officer suddenly lunges toward Branch, handcuffs him, and informs fellow officers that she’s arresting the 22-year-old for “blocking the sidewalk.”

As Branch was being escorted to a nearby squad car, he was adamant he “didn’t do anything.”

The cop, however, insisted he committed a crime.

“I told you to move from blocking the sidewalk,” she said. “I gave you a legal order and you did not listen.”

“Ma’am,” Branch replied, “I was trying to walk away. What are we doing?”

The cop then went more in depth about why she arrested Branch with someone who had been with the former UGA receiver earlier in the evening.

“He should have moved the first three times I told him to move,” she said. “He looked at me, he smirked at me, and then he did it again. That’s obstruction.”

“I asked him if he wanted to be the example,” she later added. “And he chose to be the example. He made that decision. You cannot undo it for him. He’s going to jail.”

Branch was ultimately taken to a nearby jail and booked on two charges — one count of obstructing public sidewalks/streets and one count of obstruction of a law enforcement officer.

But on Wednesday, Branch’s lawyer announced prosecutors had dropped the case.

“After reviewing all evidence, including videos, and discussing the case with us, the State agreed to dismiss all charges against Mr. Branch yesterday,” attorney Kim Stephens said in a statement statement to media. “Zachariah cooperated fully with law enforcement and did not commit a crime on the night of his arrest, and never should have been arrested. We are glad this matter is over and that Mr. Branch’s excellent reputation and good name have been restored.”

Branch, who was picked by the Falcons on April 24 at No. 79 overall, began his collegiate career at USC before transferring to Georgia for the 2025 season.

He went on to have a huge year for the Bulldogs, recording 811 receiving yards and six touchdowns on 81 catches.

He’s impressed the Falcons so far this offseason, with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa telling reporters this week he “kind of reminds me of” Jaylen Waddle.

Authorities have apprehended a suspect in connection with the murder of Brett Scrogham, a 23-year-old Indiana University Business School graduate who was fatally shot in Indianapolis on May 28.

According to investigators, a 14-year-old is accused of shooting Scrogham as he sat in his car within a downtown parking garage. Scrogham was en route to an Indianapolis Indians Minor League baseball game at the time. The suspect’s identity has not been disclosed by police.

There’s a possibility that the young suspect could face charges as an adult, though this would necessitate a jurisdictional waiver under Indiana state law. The arrest took place on Wednesday.

Brett Scrogham was attacked in the Indianapolis parking facility on Thursday, May 28, 2026, and succumbed to his injuries by Saturday, May 30, 2026.

Police officers responding to the incident discovered Scrogham wounded inside his vehicle. He was transported to a hospital, where he unfortunately passed away.

Indianapolis Metro Police Department (IMPD) cruisers secure a crime scene where Brett Scrogham was killed on May 28, 2028. (WXIN)

In a statement IMPD Chief Tanya Terry said, “While today’s [Wednesday] arrest is significant, my heart breaks for everyone impacted by this tragedy. A young man lost his life, and another now faces allegations that will change his life forever.”

In a social post, Seth Davis, a man who described himself as a friend of Scrogham’s, said:

“My friend, Brett Scrogham, was murdered this past week in a parking garage in broad daylight in downtown Indianapolis while meeting up with his family for an Indians game in a random act of violence. He had graduated as a top 100 student at the IU Kelley School of Business just weeks ago, was well spoken, smart, loved Christ, incredibly kind, and had just started his new job as a property development analyst. He was exactly the kind of person the world needs more of.”

Police say a teen suspect shot and killed 23-year-old Brett Scrogham. The 14-year-old suspect was arrested in connection to the crime on Wednesday. (Google Maps)

WTHR reported Marion County Indiana Prosecutor Ryan Mears will be providing a possible update in the case Friday morning.

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More than a million residents across the American Southwest have been advised to keep their windows closed and limit outdoor activities due to a hazardous dust cloud sweeping through the region.

Air quality alerts have been issued in Texas, New Mexico, and parts of Arizona, as monitoring stations report a significant increase in harmful and potentially toxic particle levels following Friday morning’s dust storms.

El Paso, Texas, a major city with nearly 900,000 inhabitants located on the U.S.-Mexico border, finds itself at the heart of this air quality crisis.

The affected area stretches about 200 miles along the Texas and New Mexico border, enveloping a large portion of the region in potentially dangerous air.

The culprit behind these concerning conditions is fine particulate matter—tiny particles that can infiltrate the lungs, leading to inflammation, respiratory issues, and other health problems.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classified the air in the entire El Paso metropolitan area ‘unhealthy’ while a large patch near the US Army’s Fort Bliss has been deemed ‘very unhealthy.’

According to the World Air Quality Index project, a nonprofit providing real-time air pollution data for hundreds of countries, the air quality index (AQI) reached 411 in the northern part of El Paso.

Typically, air quality levels are only measured on a scale from 0 to 500. When outdoor air quality reaches 300 to 500, the EPA warns that everyone should avoid all physical activity outside.

A major plume of hazardous air has been detected over Texas, New Mexico and Arizona on Friday, June 5

The source of the air quality alert in El Paso, Texas (Pictured) is believed to be major dust storms being blown north from Mexico (Stock Image)

The main driver of the air pollution in the Southwest has been PM10, a type of fine particulate matter made up of tiny solid particles or liquid droplets floating in the air that are less than 10 micrometers in diameter, thinner than a human hair.

This form of air pollution is noticeably larger than the more common PM2.5, which is typically composed of toxins or heavy metals produced by factories and car exhaust.

However, PM10 can still damage the lungs, worsen respiratory issues such as asthma and contribute to heart attacks and strokes that cause premature death when inhaled consistently.

In an air quality notice, AccuWeather warned: ‘Exposure can result in eye and throat irritation, coughing or difficulty breathing, and aggravated asthma. More frequent and excessive exposure can result in more serious health effects.’

Air quality website IQAir revealed in their live tracking data that the conditions were being fueled by steady winds moving north from Mexico.

The severe conditions that have developed around El Paso have been largely blamed on the natural geography along the US southern border, including regular dust storms from the Chihuahuan Desert.

Severe smog from cars, trucks and factories has also flowed across the border from the Mexican city of Juárez, which has a rapidly growing population of more than 1.6 million people.

This has led the American Lung Association to give El Paso an ‘F’ grade for ozone pollution in 2025.

Pictured: A mother and child walk in an El Paso dust storm. Breathing in the particles carried by these storms can result in serious respiratory issues (Stock Image)

Air quality monitors in Texas have declared the conditions in El Paso, Texas ‘hazardous’ due to skyrocketing levels of fine particulate matter

In New Mexico, multiple cities have been warned that the air quality has reached levels which are harmful to ‘sensitive groups.’

These include people with lung or heart disease, older adults, pregnant women, children and those who spend most of their day working outdoors.

New Mexico’s Las Cruces, Silver City, Deming and Lordsburg are all in the affected area on Friday, impacting roughly 250,000 people.

The EPA said smaller patches of ‘unhealthy’ air also emerged in Arizona, mainly over the Maricopa Indian Reservation south of Phoenix.

Matt Brown, known for his role on “Alaskan Bush People,” had a supportive ex-girlfriend, Jamie, who reportedly did everything in her power to assist him through his challenging times before his unfortunate passing.

According to sources speaking to TMZ on Thursday, Jamie dedicated several months to encouraging Matt to seek professional assistance, recognizing that she couldn’t be his sole source of support during his most difficult periods.

Even after their relationship ended, Jamie is said to have continued caring about Matt’s well-being, remaining committed to his health and happiness up until his death.

The insiders also noted that their breakup was not attributed to Jamie’s actions.

In fact, those familiar with Matt’s situation viewed Jamie as a beneficial presence in his life, highlighting her positive influence, as shared by those close to him.

They said Matt’s loved ones considered Jamie “a blessing” and described her as sweet, quiet, patient and extremely supportive of Matt.

As Page Six previously reported, Matt was dealing with a lot emotionally — including his split from Jamie — in the days leading up to his death.

Brown family friend Chay Moore of Stardog Champion K9 said the breakup “was definitely” on Matt’s “mind” when he saw the Discovery Channel star three weeks before the tragedy.

Moore said Matt was also frustrated on the last day they saw each other because his truck broke down.

“He had been walking and riding buses and, you know, from town to town to, to survive,” Moore shared. “He was using buses and stuff.”

As for Jamie, Moore revealed she “spearheaded” the mission to find Matt’s body in the Okanogan River in Washington state.

“Matt’s girlfriend was really, really pushing us hard to get it moving and get out there on that water,” he told us. “I think she had a notion of where she thought he was, you know, in her mind, I think.”

The body was discovered when an eyewitness called 911 after spotting a man— later identified as 43-year-old Matt — wading in the Okanogan River.

On May 30, Matt’s younger brother, Bear Brown, announced Matt “took his own life.”

Bear claimed his older brother had “been struggling for a long time with alcohol and with drugs” and that he “didn’t want anything to do with the family.”

The Okanogan County Coroner ruled Matt’s death a suicide caused by a single penetrating gunshot wound to the head.

Matt appeared in 79 episodes of “Alaskan Bush People” between 2014 and 2019, which starred his parents, Billy and Ami, and his siblings.

The Discovery Channel series followed the Brown family as they lived off the grid in the wilderness.

If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.

Luigi Mangione, accused of murder, appeared in a New York City court on Wednesday. However, details about the proceedings were scarce, as the hearing was sealed following a request from his defense team, leaving reporters with little information 24 hours later.

The 28-year-old, a former Ivy League student, faces charges of stalking and shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, in the back outside a Hilton hotel in Manhattan.

When contacted for comments, a spokesperson for Mangione’s defense team chose not to discuss the hearing. Similarly, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office did not respond to inquiries.

Luigi Mangione was present at an evidence suppression hearing held at the Manhattan Supreme Court in New York City on May 18, 2026. (Photo by Jeenah Moon/Reuters)

The unexplained closure raised concerns about transparency in one of the country’s most high-profile legal cases, where the suspected killer has also received more than $1.5 million in donations for his defense from supporters.

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that a media lawyer who asked Judge Gregory Carro’s staff for an explanation received a terse response before a clerk hung up on him.

Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, is shown in an undated portrait provided by UnitedHealth. He was shot and killed on his way to an investor conference in New York City in what prosecutors described as a politically motivated assassination. (AP Photo/UnitedHealth Group via AP)

On Thursday, a court spokesperson did not respond to questions about the secrecy from News Media.

Mangione faces separate charges at the state and federal levels and is due back in respective courtrooms later this month in both cases.

He has pleaded not guilty to a slew of charges, including murder, criminal possession of a weapon and possession of a forged instrument.

But prosecutors allege he stalked Thompson, a father of two, from Minnesota to New York to kill him outside an investor conference scheduled to kick off just hours after the murder.

Luigi Mangione appears at an evidence suppression hearing at the Manhattan Supreme Court in New York City on May 18, 2026. (Steven Hirsch/New York Post via Pool)

Surveillance video shows a masked figure approach Thompson from behind and open fire with a handgun, striking him multiple times in the back.

A series of handwritten missives that police allegedly recovered from Mangione’s backpack during his arrest also paints sharp criticism of the health insurance industry as a potential motive, according to prosecutors.

Luigi Mangione shouts as officers restrain him while arriving for his extradition hearing at Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pa., on Dec. 10, 2024. Mangione is the prime suspect in the shooting death of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson last week. (David Dee Delgado for News Media)

The defense challenged evidence obtained during Mangione’s arrest in both cases. The federal judge, Margaret Garnett, is allowing it in.

Carro, overseeing the state case, found that some of the evidence from Mangione’s backpack is inadmissible in New York.

Evidence ruled admissible includes the gun, a 3D-printed silencer, and a red notebook that allegedly contains damning writing. Evidence to be suppressed includes a phone, Mangione’s passport, loaded magazines, a wallet and a computer chip.

His New York trial is scheduled to begin in September. The federal one will take place after that.

NASA is preparing to launch its $247 million (£183 million) “Son of Concorde” jet, the X-59, for an inaugural supersonic test flight.

Capable of reaching speeds of up to Mach 1.6, or 1,218 miles per hour (1,960 km/h), this aircraft has the potential to reduce travel time between London and New York to a mere four hours.

Unlike its predecessor, the Concorde, NASA’s X-59 is designed to transform the thunderous sonic boom into a much gentler “thump.”

Since its initial launch last October, the X-59 has undergone extensive testing in the skies, demonstrating its capabilities in numerous flights.

NASA now reports that they are preparing the aircraft for higher-speed and higher-altitude flights, aiming to achieve its first journey exceeding the speed of sound.

With a new series of tests starting in early June, the space agency plans to fly X-59 at speeds of over 630 miles per hour (1,014 km/h) at an altitude of 43,000 feet.

This will be followed by a ‘mission conditions flight’, during which the jet will hit Mach 1.4, 925 miles per hour (1,490 km/h), at 50,00 feet.

Finally, test pilots will push the jet to its absolute limit, reaching a top speed of Mach 1.6 at 60,000 feet – around twice the height and speed of a commercial airline.  

NASA’s experimental supersonic jet, dubbed the ‘Son of Concorde’, will take to the skies in its first faster-than-sound flight in July 

The X-59 has been specifically designed to solve a major problem that currently stands in the way of supersonic travel becoming more common.

When a plane flies at sub-sonic speeds, it pushes the air out of the way like a boat moving through water, creating ripples in the form of sound waves.

But when something reaches the speed of sound, it starts to outrun these sound waves, and the ripples bunch up and merge together into a powerful shockwave.

This means that supersonic jets are constantly generating shockwaves, which people on the ground hear as a deafening boom as they sweep past. 

Because these booms can be as loud as 110 decibels, similar to a loud rock concert, supersonic flights are generally banned over populated areas. 

To solve this problem, NASA has been working to develop ‘Quiet SuperSonic Technology (Quesst)’ that would muffle the boom into a muted ‘thump’.

The jet has been developed by American aerospace firm Lockheed Martin after being awarded the $247.5 million design contract by NASA in 2016. 

The X-59 features a radically redesigned geometry in which every feature is designed to diffuse and muffle the sonic boom.

The X-59 jet has been designed to produce a much quieter sonic boom when flying at supersonic speeds, creating a ‘thump’ rather than a bang 

Part of the reason that Concorde was eventually discontinued was that the sonic boom produced by breaking the sound barrier could be extremely loud for people on the ground 

During the upcoming tests, the experimental aircraft will be chased by a standard supersonic jet equipped with a probe to record the shockwave

The most obvious difference from a normal jet is the thin, tapered nose, which accounts for almost a third of the plane’s entire length and is shaped to break up the shockwave.

The downside of this novel design is that the cockpit is located around halfway down the length of the vehicle and doesn’t have any forward-facing windows.

Instead, the single pilot uses a system of cameras and augmented reality displays, known as the eXternal Vision System, to see out the front. 

Reaching these new speed and altitude records is a key milestone for Quesst, since they are NASA’s targets for the X-59 to eventually fly over American communities.

Cathy Bahm, project manager for NASA’s Low Boom Flight Demonstrator, says: ‘Every step of envelope expansion brings us closer to demonstrating the quiet supersonic capability that is at the heart of the Quesst mission. 

‘Completing the first mission-conditions flight is especially meaningful – it’s the moment where we begin validating the aircraft in the environment it was designed for.’

While the eventual goal is to produce quiet sonic booms, this upcoming batch of test flights will not be designed to assess the volume of the flight.

The X-59 will be accompanied by a standard supersonic chase plane, which would drown out any useful data with its own, much louder boom.

According to NASA, the sonic thump produced by X-59 passing overhead will be quieter than the sound of a car door shutting 20 feet away 

The X-59’s aerodynamic profile has been designed so that it breaks up the shockwave formed by passing the sound barrier and is much quieter in flight. Pictured: The sonic boom from a scale model of the aircraft during wind tunnel tests 

Travelling at speeds up to Mach 1.6, or 1,218 miles per hour (1,960 km/h), the X-59 could cut the trip from London to New York to just four hours

The X-59’s long nose accounts for a third of its total length, which means the cockpit doesn’t have room for a forward-facing window. Test pilots instead use a system of cameras and augmented reality displays to see where they are going (pictured)

However, the chasing jet will be equipped with a specialised probe to take initial measurements of the X-59’s shock waves.

Strain gages throughout the aircraft’s body will also gather data on how it handles higher speeds and whether it is structurally safe to fly.

This data will pave the way for a new set of tests later this year, dubbed Quesst Phase 2, in which NASA will begin to check whether it is really producing a quiet supersonic thump as intended.

Ms Bahm says: ‘As we look ahead to the upcoming flights, we’re poised to open the envelope even further – moving boldly toward the mission test point this aircraft was built to achieve.’

The history of Concorde  

Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger jet that was operated from 1976 until 2003.

It had a maximum speed over twice the speed of sound at Mach 2.04 (1,354mph or 2,180k per hour at cruise altitude) and could seat 92 to 128 passengers.

It was first flown in 1969, but needed further tests to establish it as viable as a commercial aircraft. Concorde entered service in 1976.

It is one of only two supersonic transports to have been operated commercially. The other is the Soviet-built Tupolev Tu-144, which ran as a passenger aircraft only for a few years in the 1970s due to safety issues.

Concorde was the world’s first supersonic airliner and operated for 27 years, but it was grounded in October 2003. Pictured is British Airways Concorde G-BOAB taking off with its landing gear still extended over the Cotswolds town of Fairford, Gloucestershire on July 20, 1996, during the annual RAF Fairford airshow

Concorde was jointly developed and manufactured by Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) under an Anglo-French treaty. Concorde’s name, meaning harmony or union, reflected the cooperation on the project between the UK and France.   

Concorde was retired in 2003 due to a general downturn in the commercial aviation industry after its only crash in 2000, the September 11 attacks in 2001, and a decision by Airbus, the successor to Aérospatiale and BAC, to discontinue maintenance support. 

It wasn’t the first plane to break the sound barrier, however; that achievement was managed by the Bell X-1, piloted by Chuck Yeager, in October 1947.

The legendary rocket engine-powered aircraft, designed and built in 1945, achieved a speed of 700 miles (1,127 kilometers) per hour.