An intense eight-hour standoff in California ended with the release of a hostage after an armed suspect barricaded himself inside a pickup truck with a rideshare passenger over the weekend.

The dramatic incident began around 2:45 p.m. on Sunday, when a rideshare driver, allegedly carrying a weapon, engaged police in a chase through Beverly Hills, as reported by FOX 11.

The suspect, who was sought by police on charges related to the attempted murder of a peace officer, refused to surrender to authorities, leading to a brief pursuit.

Video footage captured at the scene depicts officers from the Beverly Hills police and Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies surrounding the gray pickup truck, with both the suspect and the rideshare passenger remaining inside.

In response to the situation, authorities were on high alert after reports emerged of a rideshare driver allegedly taking a passenger hostage in Beverly Hills, California, on May 3, 2026. (FOX 11)

Around 10:45 p.m., the passenger was able to safely exit the car, marking the end of an eight-hour standoff, according to FOX 11. 

Authorities surround a vehicle after a rideshare driver allegedly held a passenger hostage while fleeing from police in Beverly Hills, Calif., on May 3, 2026. (FOX 11)

At the time the standoff came to an end, authorities reportedly had not made any arrests.

Authorities surround a vehicle after a rideshare driver allegedly held a passenger hostage while fleeing from police in Beverly Hills, Calif., on May 3, 2026. (FOX 11)

Details regarding what led up to the chase, aside from the alleged attempted murder on a peace officer, were not immediately available. 

The Beverly Hills Police Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Significant changes are unfolding in Orlando, shaking up the landscape of the city’s beloved basketball team. In a swift and unexpected move, just a day after the Magic’s playoff exit, the team has decided to part ways with head coach Jamahl Mosley.

Mosley’s tenure saw the team achieve a respectable 45-37 record and secure a playoff spot. However, this performance fell short of the high expectations set at the start of the season. The Magic’s ambitions were clear when they made a bold move prior to the season, acquiring Desmond Bane by trading away four unprotected first-round picks and additional assets.

Despite these high hopes, the decision to fire Mosley comes as a surprise to many. The Magic faced the formidable top-seeded Pistons in the first round, entering the series as clear underdogs. Nonetheless, they fought valiantly, challenging the Pistons at every turn. This spirited performance has left some questioning the timing and necessity of the coaching change.

Orlando went all in before the season started when they traded for wing Desmond Bane in exchange for four unprotected first-round picks, among other assets.

Still, the announcement is at least a little surprising considering the Magic entered their first-round series as massive underdogs and gave the Pistons everything they could handle.

The Magic arguably should have won this series against the Pistons, leading 3-2 and looking ripe to defeat them in Game 6, up 22 points at halftime at home.

Though the offense collapsed from that point, as the Magic were on the wrong end of an insane 55-19 run.

They lost Game 6, 93-79, and were also blown out in Game 7 to signal Mosley’s obituary as the Magic’s coach.

Magic team president Jeff Weltman will lead the charge to find a new coach in Orlando who can unlock the offensive prowess of star forward Paolo Banchero, along with Jalen Suggs and Wendell Carter Jr.

When asked whether the team has enough to be successful in the future, Banchero had a tough answer after they were eliminated in the first round for the third straight season.

“I want to say yes, but we haven’t been out of the first round,” Banchero told reporters. “I can’t say we’re good enough to be in the Finals or Eastern Finals because the last three years we’ve had the same result.”

Mosley, who played college basketball at Colorado and overseas professionally, is still under contract and will be paid through the 2027-28 season by the Magic after he signed an extension in 2024.

A recently unearthed recording has brought the voice of Amelia Earhart back to life, nearly a century after it was made.

This remarkable find captures a portion of a speech delivered by the pioneering aviator in London on May 22, 1932. Earhart spoke to an audience shortly after her historic solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

In the recording, Earhart recounts an unprecedented incident during her journey: “Something happened which had never happened before in my 12 years of flying,” she says.

“The altimeter, the instrument required to register altitude – height above ground – failed,” she explains.

“The hand swung around the dial in such a manner that I knew it was out of commission for the rest of the night,” Earhart describes, illustrating the challenges she faced during her monumental flight.

Earhart’s flight across the Atlantic took place just five years before she disappeared on one of the final legs of a circumnavigational flight of the globe.

This final fatal flight departed Lae Airfield in Papua New Guinea and was heading east with a destination of Howland Island, a trip of 2,556 miles. 

Both Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan, 44, were communicating with a nearby Coast Guard ship, USCGC Itasca, before their plane lost contact. 

Amelia Earhart’s voice has been revealed in a newly–discovered recording dating back almost 100 years

The recording was discovered by Amanda Zimmerman, a reference specialist in the Library of Congress’ Rare Book and Special Collections Division, on a tiny 78 rpm record, tucked inside the back cover of Earhart’s memoir, ‘The Fun of It’

The recording was discovered by Amanda Zimmerman, a reference specialist in the Library of Congress’ Rare Book and Special Collections Division, on a tiny 78 rpm record, tucked inside the back cover of Earhart’s memoir, ‘The Fun of It’.

Dating back almost a century, the record was not in good condition. 

‘It was just meant to be ephemeral, kind of like a ring you would get in a box of Cracker Jack,’ Ms Zimmerman said. 

‘It wasn’t really meant to last.’ 

The grooved part on the top was made from a cheap plastic, while the bottom was made from cardboard – meaning placing it on a standard record player could destroy it.

Instead, the researchers turned to the IRENE project – a technique that uses optical imaging to play records,

Amazingly, without ever having to touch the record’s surface, the team were able to bring Earhart’s voice back to life, if a little scratchy and hard to hear. 

You can listen to the full recording here.  

Both Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan, 44, were communicating with a nearby Coast Guard ship, USCGC Itasca, before their plane lost contact in 1937

‘The project did what IRENE does – unlock a tiny moment of recorded history from an obsolete piece of technology and preserve it for the modern world,’ the researchers said. 

Earhart initially won fame in 1932 as the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. 

However, her attempt to circumnavigate the globe ended in disaster just five years later.

In the last in–flight radio message heard by Itasca, Earhart said: ‘We are on the line 157 337 …. We are running on line north and south.’

The numbers 157 and 337 referred to compass headings – 157° and 337° – and described a line passing through their intended destination, Howland Island.

A popular and relatively straightforward theory is that the plane crashed into the sea when it ran out of fuel and then sank. 

Both Earhart and Noonan were either instantly killed upon impact or were unable to get out and drowned, the theory goes. 

The tragic loss has spawned more fantastical theories, including that they were eaten by crabs and imprisoned by the Japanese. 

It’s generally agreed that the wreckage lies beneath the waves near the planned destination Howland Island or another island around 350 miles southeast called Nikumaroro. 

A newly released video captures the tense moment when a United Airlines flight, arriving from overseas, collided with a light pole and a tractor trailer as it approached Newark Liberty International Airport over the weekend.

Flight 169, which had departed from Venice, Italy, was on its final descent to New Jersey when it clipped the pole and collided with a Schmidt Bakery truck around 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Fortunately, all 221 passengers aboard the flight were unharmed, and the plane managed to land safely despite the close call.

The dramatic footage from inside the bakery truck, en route from Baltimore to a depot in New Jersey, reveals the driver’s perspective on the New Jersey Turnpike just before the aircraft’s landing gear and underside struck the vehicle, sending it spinning down the road.

Surveillance video captures the moment the United Airlines aircraft makes contact with the tractor trailer as it nears its landing at Newark Liberty International Airport on May 3, 2026. (Footage provided by WBFF)

Miraculously, the driver was transported to a local hospital with only minor injuries from broken glass, according to Chuck Paterakis, senior vice president of Transportation and Logistics and co-principal at the company. 

“Upon its final approach into Newark International Airport, United flight 169 came into contact with a light pole,” United Airlines said in a statement. “The aircraft landed safely, taxied to the gate normally and no passengers or crew were injured.”

The airline said maintenance teams are inspecting the aircraft for possible damage and conducting a full safety review. The crew members on board have been temporarily removed from service.

“The crash remains under investigation, and no additional information is available,” New Jersey State Police told FOX Business.

Surveillance footage shows a United Airlines plane clipping a tractor trailer during its approach at Newark Liberty International Airport on May 3, 2026. (Obtained by WBFF)

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed the aircraft struck the pole at roughly 2 p.m. local time and said it is investigating.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is also looking into the incident and said an investigator is expected to arrive in Newark on Monday.

“The agency has directed United Airlines to secure and provide both the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder to support the investigation. A preliminary report outlining the facts and circumstances of the event is expected within 30 days,” NTSB told FOX Business in an email.

If you’re captivated by the ongoing feud between tech moguls Elon Musk and Sam Altman, you’re in for a treat. The saga is set to continue well beyond the conclusion of their highly publicized trial later this month.

Amazon MGM is planning the release of its new film, “Artificial,” directed by Luca Guadagnino. The movie stars Andrew Garfield as Sam Altman and Ike Barinholtz as Elon Musk. Insiders report that the studio is targeting an early 2027 release date, as they wish to avoid competition with the sequel to “The Social Network.” This sequel, titled “The Social Reckoning” and featuring Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg, is scheduled for a fall release, specifically hitting theaters on October 9, courtesy of Aaron Sorkin.

As of now, “Artificial” remains unseen by anyone outside of Amazon MGM, including Altman himself. When he finally views it, the experience might be less than pleasant.

According to a source close to the project, Altman’s portrayal in “Artificial” is not particularly flattering, and neither is Musk’s. This could be awkward considering Altman’s friendship with Amazon’s founder and executive chairman, Jeff Bezos. Additionally, Altman’s company, OpenAI, has recently entered into a significant partnership with Amazon. This collaboration includes an immediate $15 billion investment from Amazon, with a further $35 billion to follow once certain conditions are met, as stated on OpenAI’s website.

Interestingly, the film’s standout character is neither Garfield’s Altman nor Barinholtz’s Musk. Instead, the spotlight falls on Yura Borisov, a Russian actor nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 2025 for his role as Igor, a henchman in “Anora.” Borisov portrays real-life OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever, who, according to someone familiar with the script, is portrayed as having been “most wronged.”

Last year, Puck got its hands on Simon Rich’s “top secret” script and reported that Warner Bros. and Paramount passed on it because it was “dull.” But sources deny that Rich’s script was ever shopped, and say Amazon bought it as a pitch before a script existed. And, as is typical with a Guadagnino film, the script changed significantly once the director began working on it.

Amazon is about to lock the picture, which is finishing up its test screenings.
Amazon declined comment.

Kim Kardashian appears poised to make yet another bold fashion statement at this year’s Met Gala, reportedly drawing inspiration from a piece associated with royalty.

Buzz is building around the possibility that, four years following her controversial appearance in Marilyn Monroe’s iconic ‘Happy Birthday Mr. President’ gown, the reality TV star, now 45, may have secured the late Princess Diana’s famed 1994 ‘Revenge Dress’ for the prestigious event.

This renowned garment, famously worn by Diana at a Kensington dinner in 1994, became emblematic of her quiet defiance. The evening gown, crafted by Christina Stambolian, was donned shortly after her then-husband, now King Charles, publicly admitted to infidelity, lending the dress its moniker.

Currently, the ‘Revenge Dress’ belongs to Graeme Mackenzie, a private collector from Scotland. Mackenzie acquired the gown in a 1997 auction for a sum exceeding $74,000. It remains securely stored in a bank vault, ensuring its preservation away from permanent public exhibition.

Adding fuel to the speculation, Rishi Davda, an entertainment correspondent, hinted at the potential fashion coup during a segment on Good Morning Britain. He remarked, “If the rumors hold true, she is borrowing another legendary dress — none other than Princess Diana’s 1994 revenge dress.”

Kim Kardashian is said to be stealing another slice of fashion history at Monday evening’s Met Gala – this time in the form of royalty (pictured at the 2022 Met Gala in Marilyn Monroe’s 1962 dress) 

Tongues are wagging that four years after the reality star, 45, damaged Marilyn Monroe’s iconic ‘Happy Birthday Mr President’ gown, she has now acquired the late Princess Diana’s 1994 ‘Revenge Dress’ (Diana pictured in the dress in 1994)

One X user wrote: ‘So Kim is reportedly trying to acquire Diana’s “revenge dress.” After destroying the look of Marilyn’s dress! Kim u can wear an iconic dress, but u can’t replicate the presence, context, or legacy that made it unforgettable’. 

Anger over the use of a historic garment comes after she wore Marilyn’s dress, which was famously worn by the Some Like It Hot actress when she sang happy birthday to then-President John F. Kennedy in 1962.

Kim faced backlash once again for allegedly ‘damaging’ the dress with videos and images emerging claiming to show rips and tears to the gown after the star wore the delicate bedazzled gown to the 2022 Met Gala.

A video claimed to show the dress on display at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! in Hollywood, following Kim borrowing the gown.

The clip shows the dress on a mannequin inside a glass display case and features close-up footage of the back right strap, which has a visible tear in it.

Marilyn fans claimed the damage was sustained as a result of the dress being transported to New York and then worn by Kim on the red carpet.

Instagram user Darrell Rooney shared the video and said ‘Notice the damage to the right strap in the back of Marilyn Monroe’s 1962 gown’.

In another post highlighting the stretched fabric, he wrote: ‘Look at the damage caused by KK. Irreversible. Marilyn Monroe’s 1962 gown has multiple tatters now.’

The Christina Stambolian-designed dress is owned by a private Scottish collector, Graeme Mackenzie, who purchased the gown a 1997 auction for over $74k, and is kept in a bank vault to preserve, rather than being on permanent public display

Kim faced backlash once again for allegedly ‘damaging’ the dress with videos and images emerging claiming to show rips and tears to the gown after the star wore the delicate bedazzled gown to the 2022 Met Gala

Images and video that were allegedly taken of the dress (pictured left before it was worn by Kardashian) while it is on display at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! show the 1962 gown with a visible tear at the back of the right strap (right) 

The posts prompted an outpouring of rage from Monroe fans – many of whom were quick to bash Kardashian and Ripley’s in the comments section.

‘Ripleys don’t deserve the dress. They’ve proved they have no integrity & lack the professional skills to maintain historical artifacts of value,’ one person wrote.

‘Can [Kardashian] be sued? For damaging the dress?’ asked another, adding: ‘This is absolutely disgusting. I am so upset she ruined a beautiful piece of history tailored just for one queen and one queen only…. MARILYN.’

‘She somehow thought that wearing that dress was going to elevate her, as she so desperately wants to be in the league of the likes of MM,’ one user chimed in.

‘She tried to place herself in perpetuity by linking herself to MM. But she’ll go down in history as an egotistical individual who in order to get more attention destroyed one of MM most precious possessions.’

In 2024, Kim was branded ‘vulgar’ for wearing Princess Diana’s iconic amethyst cross necklace, which she famously wore to a charity event in 1987 and purchased the Attallah Cross at Sotheby’s for just under $200k in 2023 

Diana, Princess Of Wales, is pictured wearing the pendant on a string of pearls when she attended the 1987 Birthright charity gala, where she donned a purple velvet Catherine Walker gown

In 2024, Kim was branded ‘vulgar’ for wearing Princess Diana’s iconic amethyst cross necklace, which she famously wore to a charity event in 1987 and was purchased the Attallah Cross at Sotheby’s for just under $200k in 2023. 

Named for its previous owner, Naim Attallah, the Palestinian-British businessman lent the amethyst and diamond piece to Diana throughout the 1980s.

Diana, Princess Of Wales, was pictured wearing the pendant on a string of pearls when she attended the 1987 Birthright charity gala, where she donned a purple velvet Catherine Walker gown.

The Attallah Cross was originally made by Garrand in the 1920s, and features square-cut amethysts surrounded by 5.25 carats of circular-cut diamonds.

Featuring 900 pearls, the late Princess Of Wales wore it at several events, including film and theater premieres over the years. 

Standing solemnly outside the historic Memphis motel where Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was tragically assassinated in 1968, Willie Simon gazed upon a site that now serves as a museum honoring the Civil Rights Movement. The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to dismantle a crucial element of the Voting Rights Act weighed heavily on his mind. Simon, a Black American, couldn’t help but ponder the implications for both his community and the entire nation, where political stability seems increasingly fragile.

As the leader of the Shelby County Democratic Party in Tennessee, Simon expressed his concerns about the precedent set by the court’s conservative majority. He feared that those who don’t belong to the “in-crowd” could be effectively marginalized and erased from the political landscape.

The Supreme Court’s decision undermined a vital requirement for states to draw congressional districts in a manner that allows minorities a chance to shape their destinies. This has intensified the redistricting battles across the nation, where both Democrats and Republicans have abandoned longstanding traditions in pursuit of political advantage. This week, two Republican-led states are set to convene sessions aimed at dismantling U.S. House districts currently held by Democrats, with more such actions anticipated.

This latest development is yet another strain on the American democratic experiment, which has been tested over the past decade, notably since Donald Trump’s ascent to power. The political discourse has become increasingly extreme, with a noticeable uptick in political violence and a disturbing series of assassinations. Even now, five years after the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Trump’s supporters continue to exploit unfounded claims of voter fraud to alter the electoral process.

It’s the latest example of how the American democratic experiment has been pushed to the breaking point in the decade since Donald Trump rose to power. Extreme rhetoric has become commonplace. There’s been a spike in political violence and a rash of assassinations. Five years after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Trump’s allies are trying to harness the same falsehoods about voter fraud to reshape elections.

The rules and norms that once helped smooth over an unruly country’s vast differences have given way to a race for power at all costs.

“I’ve never subscribed to the idea we’re in a civil war, but the gerrymandering wars and the recent decision from the Supreme Court do not make the United States more united,” said Matt Dallek, a political scientist at George Washington University. “It speeds up the hyperpartisan force and atmosphere that people feel on both sides.”

‘No more rule of law’

Trump ignited the conflict over redistricting last year by urging Republicans to redraw congressional maps to reduce the likelihood that his party loses the U.S. House in the November midterm elections.

It was an unusual step, since redistricting normally only takes place after the once-a-decade census to accommodate population shifts. But in 2019 the Supreme Court ruled federal courts cannot prevent partisan gerrymandering, and Trump saw a chance to push the limits.

Once Republican-led states like Texas started shifting district lines, Democratic-led states like California countered. The fight was heading for a draw until the Supreme Court’s conservative majority issued its long-awaited decision in Louisiana v. Callais.

The court weakened the last remaining national impediment to gerrymandering — the Voting Rights Act’s requirement that, in places where white people and outnumbered racial minorities vote differently, districts be drawn to give those minorities a chance to elect representatives they prefer.

The ruling opened a new set of political floodgates.

Republicans in Tennessee plan to erase the only Democratic congressional district, which is majority Black and centered in Memphis, by splitting it up among more conservative suburban and rural white communities. More than a dozen other majority-minority districts, mainly in the South, could face the same fate.

Louisiana moved to postpone its congressional primaries, set for May 16, to have a chance to redraw two majority-Black Democratic seats it was required to maintain before the recent ruling. Alabama is trying to get the Supreme Court to let it redraw its two majority-Black seats.

“We should demand that State Legislatures do what the Supreme Court says must be done,” Trump wrote on social media on Sunday. “That is more important than administrative convenience.”

He said Republicans could gain 20 seats through redistricting.

Democrats have threatened to retaliate by splitting up conservative bastions in states like New York and Illinois, which would reallocate Republican voters to more liberal, urban districts.

With fewer limits — either legal or self-imposed — people expect the issue to become a perpetual race to squeeze every possible advantage out of legislative maps.

“It’s hard to know where it ends,” said Rick Hasen, a law professor at UCLA.

Partisans gleefully shared color-coded maps of California with all 54 House seats drawn for Democrats, or southern states with only a couple of blue districts. Most agreed that eventually it will be very hard for Democrats to get elected to the House in any Republican-run state, even if there are large swaths of blue-leaning terrain, and vice versa for Republicans in Democratic-run states.

That seems un-American, said Jonathan Cervas, a political scientist at Carnegie Mellon who’s redrawn maps on behalf of judges reviewing redistricting litigation. The country’s system, he said, “was founded on this idea that it’s majority rule with minority rights.”

“There is no more rule of law in redistricting,” Cervas said. “There have to be some constraints, somewhere. Otherwise we don’t really have elections.”

Politicians’ best tool to game elections

The arcane art of drawing legislative lines is the most powerful tool that politicians have for gaming elections. They can make districts an almost guaranteed win for their side by drawing lines that scoop up a majority of their voters and just enough of the opposition’s supporters to ensure the other party cannot win that seat or the one next door, either.

Lawmakers have used the trick since the country’s founding. Democratic gerrymanders helped the party hold onto the House through the Reagan revolution. After the 2010 midterms, Republican majorities in state legislatures allowed the GOP to draw districts to lock up control of the House even during President Barack Obama’s reelection two years later.

However, that didn’t prevent the “blue wave” in 2018, during Trump’s first term, when Democrats retook the House. It was a reminder that even the most partisan gerrymanders may stifle shifts in public opinion but eventually crack as political tides turn.

“When you try to get every last ounce of blood from the stone you can end up shooting yourself in the foot,” said Michael Li of the liberal Brennan Center for Justice in New York.

Political coalitions also change, and voters that a party thinks will be reliable can switch sides. That’s what’s happened in the Trump era, as Democrats have expanded their support among wealthier and suburban voters and Republicans among Blacks and Latinos.

Although Republicans won’t be able to exploit the full force of the Supreme Court ruling until after the November midterms, it will be challenging for Democrats to find enough seats to counter those gains.

Sean Trende, a political analyst who has drawn maps for Republicans, agreed that the court decision is likely to lead to partisan gerrymandering run amok. He said it’s been hard to find neutral arbiters to rein in politicians who draw lines to benefit themselves.

The coming storm, Trende said, will be more of a symptom of polarization than its root cause.

“All our institutions are broken. We don’t speak a common political language,” Trende said. “This is what you get.”