A statue of Charlie Kirk outside Turning Point USA’s Arizona headquarters was vandalized over the weekend.

The monument, unveiled Thursday on the first anniversary of Kirk’s death, was discovered covered in red spray paint Sunday morning in Phoenix.

Phoenix Police Department officers responded at about 9am after receiving a report that the memorial had been defaced.

Red paint appeared to be concentrated around the bronze statue’s neck, seemingly referencing the location where Kirk was shot. A frowning face had also been painted onto its torso.

A second memorial outside the building was also targeted. It depicts the late conservative alongside the message: ‘May Charlie be received into the merciful arms of Jesus, our loving Savior.’

Images show a large red X painted across his face, while the word ‘Jesus’ was covered in red paint. Flowers and American flags remained placed near the memorial.

It was not immediately clear whether investigators had identified any suspects.

The apparent anti-Christian nature of the damage sparked anger among Kirk supporters. One social media user wrote: ‘These animals will burn in hell for all eternity.’

‘So, killing Charlie wasn’t enough. So noted,’ wrote another. 

Kirk was fatally shot on September 10, 2025, while speaking at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University. 

Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump, co-founded and ran the conservative youth organization. 

The 31-year-old father and husband was shot in the neck by a single rifle shot while he hosted a debate event in front of roughly 3,000 people that day. 

He was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. 

A manhunt was quickly launched for his alleged shooter, who was later identified as Tyler Robinson, 22. 

The Utah native surrendered to the local sheriff’s office after his parents allegedly convinced him to turn himself in following his confession to them. 

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Robinson has been charged with ten criminal counts, including aggravated murder. That charge makes his eligiable for the death penalty.

On September 1, a judge ruled that Robinson’s trial will move forward after prosecutors argued there was enough evidence against him. Meanwhile, his defense claimed the evidence was insufficient. 

His defense attorney then entered pleas of not guilty on all counts on his behalf. 

Robinson’s next court date is scheduled for October 23. 

Before the latest ruling, Utah County prosecutor Ryan McBride told the court: ‘It’s not difficult to understand the motive here. 

‘The defendant’s views were repugnant to the positions that Charlie Kirk famously took.’ 

The state has pointed to Robinson and Kirk’s opposing views on same-sex marriage and gender transitioning after it was revealed that the alleged shooter was in a romantic relationship with his former roommate, Lance Twiggs. 

Twiggs told investigators that he had been considering transitioning around the time Kirk was shot and killed, according to prosecutors. 

A note that Robinson wrote to Twiggs, who also went by Luna, was also presented by prosecutors. 

It read: ‘I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I took it. I wish we could have lived in a world where this was not necessary.’

The vandalism comes just days after chaos erupted in New York City after another Charlie Kirk statue was displayed. 

The life-sized statue was erected in Times Square on the one-year anniversary of Kirk’s death after sculptor Sergio Furnaru created the piece. 

Madness quickly ensued after its installation as both Kirk supporters and critics clashed on the streets.  

The Daily Mail contacted the Phoenix Police Department and Turning Point USA for comment. 

A Los Angeles pedestrian-safety activist has carried out another unauthorized street project, painting a crosswalk at a heavily traveled Hollywood intersection.

Jonathan Hale, joined by members of his group People’s Vision Zero, painted the markings at Sycamore and Lexington avenues on Saturday morning, NBC Los Angeles reported.

Hale has drawn attention across Los Angeles for creating unofficial crosswalks in areas where he says pedestrians urgently need safer places to cross.

He told NBC Los Angeles that the group relies on statewide crash data collected by UC Berkeley researchers when deciding where to focus its crosswalk campaign.

“We focus primarily on residential corners, where there is a four-way stop in the neighborhood,” Hale told the outlet. “There’s curb cuts. It’s a clear place for people to cross. The idea is that we’re not adding anything. We’re not changing the law because a crosswalk already exists.”

The DIY traffic-safety effort has previously brought Hale into contact with law enforcement. In December, he was arrested on suspicion of vandalism after painting a separate crosswalk at Kelton and Wilkins avenues in Sawtelle.

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This time, Hale said, LAPD officers did not arrive as the group painted the Hollywood intersection on Saturday.

After NBC asked about the citizen-led crosswalk effort, Mayor Karen Bass’ office defended the city’s ongoing pedestrian-safety strategy.

“Mayor Bass believes that streets and sidewalks should be safe and accessible for all Angelenos, no matter how they travel. The City will continue to install crosswalks that comply with federal, state, and local regulations,” her office said.

The mayor’s office also highlighted Bass’ recent announcement of nearly $8 million for pedestrian and street-safety upgrades along the Alameda and Spring Street corridors.

The project will bring protected bike lanes, new pedestrian crossings, curb ramp improvements and street resurfacing to parts of Downtown Los Angeles and Chinatown.

“Mayor Bass is tackling LA’s aging infrastructure by creating the long-term planning that the city had lacked for decades,” her office said.

Mississippi authorities have charged a 51-year-old Jackson man with murder after the death of Tasia Fortune, a 29-year-old Black mother of four, was formally ruled a homicide. Fortune was found hanging from a tree behind an abandoned home last month.

The arrest comes after weeks of heavy media coverage and widespread online speculation about Fortune’s death, particularly in a state marked by a long history of racial violence. Police identified the suspect as Jarques Ratliff, a Black Jackson resident who had a previous personal relationship with Fortune.

Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney said Saturday that Ratliff was arrested without incident while walking on Capitol Street in Jackson. The arrest took place shortly after investigators carried out search warrants at properties linked to the case. Brackney called the arrest an important development but said the homicide investigation is continuing, with detectives expecting to execute additional warrants as they pursue new leads.

Last week, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., warned of “racial terror” and “widespread modern-day lynchings” in the United States while joining dozens of Democratic lawmakers calling on the Department of Justice to investigate the hanging deaths of Black Americans.

Fortune’s body was found Aug. 3 in the backyard of a vacant house in the 500 block of Road of Remembrance in Jackson. Investigators spent the following month logging hundreds of hours, interviewing nearly 15 people and examining physical evidence. However, authorities could not act on arrest warrants until the Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office officially determined late Thursday that Fortune’s death was a homicide. After receiving that ruling, the Jackson Police Department’s robbery-homicide unit quickly obtained and served two search warrants, as well as the warrant for Ratliff’s arrest.

Responding to the intense public interest in the Tasia Fortune case, Brackney said police recognize the concerns driving the scrutiny. Still, she said the department must base its public statements and investigative decisions on physical and forensic evidence, not outside speculation.

“We understand that this case has received media attention from across the globe and across the community. We understand the questions and the desire for answers given Mississippi’s history,” Brackney said. “We understand this case is being viewed through a broader lens – a global lens – and we do not dismiss those concerns. We are taking them seriously. At the same time, we do have a responsibility to make sure that what we say publicly is supported by our evidence and the facts.”

Brackney also said police had not publicly identified any person of interest before Ratliff’s arrest. Her comments pushed back on social media claims that a 65-year-old man had previously been named as a suspect in Fortune’s death.

Fortune’s mother, Christy Spivey, said police promptly notified her family of the homicide ruling and Ratliff’s arrest on Friday. Spivey expressed gratitude for the police work and reiterated her firm belief that her daughter did not die by suicide, adding that Fortune would never take her own life.

According to family members and an online obituary published in Kentucky, Fortune grew up in Kentucky, skipped her junior year of high school, and was a star cross-country runner guided by strong religious faith before relocating to Jackson a decade ago. Spivey noted that her daughter had experienced homelessness in recent years but was actively working to launch a cleaning business and stabilize her life prior to her death.

Ratliff is being held at the Hinds County Detention Center on a charge of murder. According to Mississippi State Defender André de Gruy, Ratliff is scheduled to make his initial appearance in Jackson Municipal Court no later than Monday morning, where formal charges will be read and bond conditions set. Police have not publicly detailed the specific physical evidence linking Ratliff to the scene, nor have they expanded on the exact nature of his personal association with Fortune as investigators prepare for further potential arrests.

A few hours north of New York City, the Hudson River gives way to an idyllic mountain landscape of storybook towns, fertile farmland and hundreds of miles of hiking paths.

This is the Catskills, a fast-growing rural retreat that has become a favorite for New Yorkers seeking everything from a quick weekend reset to a scenic farm venue for their wedding.

The region has experienced a notable revival over the past decade, with momentum accelerating during the COVID-19 pandemic as travelers and new full- or part-time residents brought fresh energy to local villages and towns.

That surge of interest extends well beyond the usual weekend crowd.

Joseph Satto, broker and principal of Fresh Air Team at Compass, a firm focused on high-end Catskills real estate, said demand for second homes and weekend properties has risen sharply.

‘We still have a slight supply shortage,’ Satto told the Daily Mail. ‘And it just seems like there’s always more demand than there is supply, even in a high interest rate environment.’

Most of those buyers come from urban areas, Satto said. New York City residents account for the largest share, followed by purchasers from New Jersey and Long Island.

Foster Supply Company, which launched its first hotel, The Arnold House, in 2014, has since expanded to operate four Catskills properties. 

The Daily Mail was invited to stay at one of Foster Supply Company’s properties, the luxurious DeBruce hotel in Livingston Manor, New York, where rooms start at $449 per night.

The DeBruce is one of several upscale hotels that have opened in the area over the past decade as visitor numbers have grown – a trend that has accelerated as Americans increasingly look for getaways that offer the escape of an international vacation without the airfare, airport delays and exhausting itineraries. 

But travel planner Andrés Serra, head of operations at Optimise Travel, said he would not describe the trend as Americans abandoning international travel altogether.

‘I don’t think Americans are giving up on international travel,’ Serra told the Daily Mail. ‘Instead, I notice that people save long-haul flights for trips that feel worth the cost and effort and pick domestic spots for shorter getaways.’

Cost is also playing a role. According to Deloitte’s 2026 summer travel survey, just 45 percent of Americans planned a summer vacation with paid accommodation, the lowest level in six years.

Among those staying home, 35 percent said they could not afford a trip, while 32 percent said travel was too expensive. Those who were traveling expected to spend 17 percent more on their longest summer trip than they did in 2025.

For New Yorkers, Serra said, the Catskills can offer something that is difficult to replicate on a short international trip – ample vacation time without flights cutting in.

‘If you live in New York City and want to get away for three or four nights, the Catskills let you spend more of your time actually on vacation,’ he said. ‘Many areas are just a two to three-hour drive away.’

A short trip to Europe, by comparison, can involve an overnight flight, arriving at the airport hours early to get through check-in and customs and dealing with transfers at both ends.

‘All of that can eat up most of your first and last days,’ Serra said.

Driving also gives travelers more control over what they pack and when they leave – while allowing them to bring pets and avoid some of the costs associated with flying.

‘One car can replace two return plane tickets, checked bag fees, airport transfers, and some local transport,’ Serra said.

The shift comes as lodging continues to outperform, with short-term rental demand rising 2 percent and hotel RevPAR climbing 8.2 percent nationally, according to July 2026 data from the US Travel Association’s Travel Insights Dashboard.

For New Yorkers, that can mean swapping a European getaway for a three-hour drive to the mountains.

Kirsten Harlow Foster founded Foster Supply Company with her husband and partner, Sims Foster. She told the Daily Mail they are seeing more and more guests turn their Catskills trips into extended vacations rather than just a quick weekend escape.

‘You’re not getting on a plane, you’re not dealing with all sorts of logistical chaos,’ Harlow Foster told the Daily Mail. ‘You’re just getting in your car and throwing your hiking boots in the back.’ 

The company’s guest data shows that visitors are becoming increasingly loyal to the region.

Some 3,856 of their guests have returned after visiting one Foster Supply property, while the company’s most frequent guest has made 49 visits totaling 79 room nights.

More recently, Foster Supply has noticed guests staying at two of its properties on a single trip – turning a weekend getaway into a more deliberate regional tour.

Serra said the Catskills’ variety makes it particularly well suited to longer stays.

‘The Catskills are great for planning because you can stay in one place and still enjoy different kinds of trips,’ he said. ‘I can organize hiking, restaurant visits, and time in different small towns without needing to switch hotels.’

‘This way, a four-night stay feels varied, but you don’t have to schedule every day full of activities.’

And not all visitors are capitalizing on their PTO. In fact, these longer stays are also being helped by the flexibility of remote work.

Catapulted to popularity during the height of the pandemic, Serra said remote work can allow visitors to add nights to a trip without using additional vacation days. 

Deloitte’s survey even found that 34 percent of surveyed travelers planned to work during their longest summer trip in 2026, up from 23 percent in 2025.

‘Someone might arrive on Thursday evening, work from the accommodation on Friday, take the weekend off, work on Monday, and return that evening,’ he said. ‘That turns a two-night weekend into a four-night stay.’

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Staying longer can also have a bigger economic impact on the communities visitors are exploring.

‘Someone staying two nights might just pay for a place to stay and one dinner out,’ Serra said. ‘But if they stay four or five nights, they’re more likely to buy groceries, try different cafes, book a guide, and spend money in more than one town.’

That longer-stay model is particularly significant in a region where tourism has become a major economic engine. In 2025, visitors spent about $2.77 billion in the Catskills, more than they did the year before, according to the latest New York tourism report.

Ulster County saw about $1.24 billion in visitor spending, while Sullivan County received around $1.03 billion.

Tourism supported 18,848 jobs in the region, making up 15.7 percent of all local employment.

Serra cautioned that the figures do not prove remote workers or New York City residents alone caused the region’s growth. 

‘They just show how large and active the Catskills visitor economy is, even though people travel for many different reasons,’ he said.

Foster Supply is one of many boutique stays in the area that have capitalized on this interest, putting their own spin on the Catskills by investing heavily in culinary, design and wellness offerings, from restaurants sourcing produce from nearby farmers to spas at two of its properties. 

At The DeBruce, the restaurant offers a seasonal tasting menu that changes throughout the year, using ingredients tied to the surrounding region.

‘You don’t have to fly to Paris to get a great meal,’ Harlow Foster said.

Harlow Foster told us the company is not trying to compete with the Ritz, but wants to offer guests beautiful properties, thoughtful design, good food and amenities in an environment where they can actually slow down.

‘Less is more, as long as that less is executed perfectly,’ she said.

That idea is playing out beyond Foster Supply’s properties, too.

Livingston Manor’s Main Street has a nice mix of longtime local businesses and newer restaurants, shops and galleries that have arrived alongside the influx of New Yorkers. 

There is Johnny’s barbershop and Viv’s salon alongside Main Street Farm, a small bookstore and CAST, an arts organization that offers free exhibitions and art classes.

Harlow Foster said the result is a town that feels like a community rather than a tourist development dropped into the mountains.

‘It’s a nice combination,’ she said. ‘It doesn’t feel like it’s been cut and placed here.’

The same pattern can be seen in nearby hamlets including Jeffersonville, Callicoon, Narrowsburg and Roscoe, where new residents and businesses have arrived alongside long-established local institutions.

That growing appetite for the Catskills has also continued to push up property prices.

Satto said prices have continued to rise since the pandemic boom, driven largely by a mismatch between demand and supply.

‘Even though prices spiked, you’re still seeing prices go up,’ he said. ‘It’s just a function of supply and demand.’

For appropriately priced properties, he said, the region remains ‘very much’ a seller’s market – although sellers who overestimate what buyers are willing to pay can struggle to move their homes.

The bigger shift, Satto said, is in the type of buyer willing to spend millions on a Catskills retreat. Before COVID, $1 million was considered a high budget in the area, he said. Now, properties are increasingly trading for $2 million, $3 million, $4 million and even $5 million.

‘We’re seeing more of those numbers be achieved,’ Satto said, as buyers with greater resources compare what they can get in the Catskills with other high-end weekend destinations.

That surge in second-home buying was one part of a much broader transformation accelerated by the pandemic.

People who had once visited only for weekends began buying homes, in some cases without ever seeing them in person. Some eventually stayed, sending their children to local schools and becoming involved in the community.

For the hotels, COVID initially presented an obvious threat. But their rural locations and outdoor-focused layouts ultimately became an advantage as travelers looked for ways to get away without being surrounded by crowds.

Today, Harlow Foster said many guests are still discovering that they can get much more out of a trip when they don’t have to spend hours getting there.

And the region’s proximity may be its biggest selling point.

Most Foster Supply guests come from New York City, particularly Brooklyn, yet Harlow Foster said she is still surprised by how many first-time visitors tell her they had no idea the Catskills were so close – or offered so much.

‘With 48 hours, you can really reset,’ she said – not that there’s anything wrong with a whirlwind trip to Paris, but she detects a growing appetite among her guests for vacations built around doing less.

‘You don’t need a hundred things to do,’ she said. ‘You just need a few good ones.’

Serra said that ultimately, travelers should compare not just the price of a trip, but how much of their time they actually get to enjoy.

‘Being closer doesn’t always mean the trip is cheaper,’ he said. ‘A popular cabin, rental car, meals, and activity fees can sometimes cost more than an international package.’

‘I always compare the total cost with how many vacation hours you actually get.’

The Catskills, he said, are the better choice when they offer more time away, less hassle with transportation and a trip that fits into a few days without feeling rushed.

Fifty years ago, a modestly budgeted film about a down-on-his-luck Philadelphia boxer became one of Hollywood’s most improbable success stories. “Rocky” was written by and starred a then-unknown 30-year-old New Yorker named Sylvester Stallone.

United Artists had little confidence in the project at the time. The studio allotted “Rocky” just $1 million and did not even give it the splashy red-carpet premiere usually reserved for major releases.

Half a century later, Peter Farrelly’s “I Play Rocky” has arrived carrying a similarly underestimated aura. The “Green Book” director chronicles Stallone’s Balboa-like struggle to make his passion project — and to play its lead role himself.

Its 27-year-old star, Long Island native Anthony Ippolito, has only a handful of credits, inviting the same question once asked of Stallone: Who is this guy? After the trailer drew mixed reactions in July, “I Play Rocky” appeared headed for the kind of respectfully conventional Hollywood backstory seen in “Hitchcock,” starring Anthony Hopkins. Instead, the film received an enthusiastic world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday night.

And it is far better than that: stirring, funny, inspiring and remarkably easy to embrace. At a time when biopics often revisit stories whose every turn is already familiar, this one offers genuine surprises. More importantly, it avoids the reverential, museum-piece approach, embracing the scrappy, unconventional determination that made “Rocky” endure.

This is not another lazy exercise in conveyor-belt nostalgia, relying on old songs and recognizable faces for easy affection. It makes viewers actively root for Sly.

Bill Conti’s “Gonna Fly Now” does not arrive until more than an hour into “I Play Rocky,” yet the film generates the same chills throughout, as though the iconic theme were playing on a constant loop.

When producers Irwin Winkler (P.J. Byrne) and Bob Chartoff (Toby Kebbell) finally agree to let Stallone star in the film he wrote from the heart in just 3½ days, the moment lands with the force of Rocky reaching the top of the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps.

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The road there is anything but easy. Before accepting the meager $21,000 contract, Stallone is shown in New York City with barely $300 in the bank, working at a fish market and briefly appearing in softcore porn. Once he can no longer afford a $7.50-a-night fleabag motel, he sleeps on the street.

It’s in those early scenes that we first meet the excellent Ippolito. The initial encounter is reminiscent of seeing Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan in “A Complete Unknown.” At the start, you have to get used to a very distinctive voice, to say the least, coming out of another man’s mouth.

However, Ippolito’s performance, like Chalamet’s, is not a skit’s caricature. Never over the top, he captures a tenderhearted, well-read, hardworking dreamer who just so happens to have a gym rat’s body. And importantly Ippolito radiates a movie star’s energy.

Sly meets his future wife Sasha (AnnaSophia Robb, a chemistry class), and they move to LA so he can pursue acting. Screenwriting comes first, though, after he sneaks a script onto a “to read” pile at Winkler and Chartoff’s office. Impressed, the producers of Martin Scorsese’s movies ask him to go drum up something else. Something unique.

One night in 1975, while watching the Muhammad Ali and Chuck Wepner fight at a bar, Stallone is gripped by the Bayonne Bleeder’s spunk and against-all-odds determination. Not to mention the room’s emotional reaction to his doggedness. Thus, the idea for “Rocky” was born.

The middle of Farrelly’s movie has Stallone playing hardball to ensure he gets to also play Rocky. They want Charles Bronson or Clint Eastwood. A big name. Tart-tongued Tracy Letts is so damn funny as Sandy Maddox, a fictional composite of studio execs, who cannot believe he has to deal with this crap.

When Winkler and Chartoff make Maddox watch “Lords of Flatbush,” a 1974 movie Stallone had a supporting role in, Letts bitterly snaps, “Yeah, let’s watch ‘Lords of F–kbush,’.”

Byrne and Kebbell make a tight and quick-witted showbiz comedy duo, like a pair out of a Kaufman and Hart play only with parental care.    

The final third of the movie is the unbelievably scrappy filming process of “Rocky.” They change the setting to Philly to save money because there are no unions to deal with there. Stallone has to painfully pound his bleeding fists into a frozen beef carcass. Director John Avildsen (Jay Duplass as a fun crank) uses the brand-new Steadicam, not to innovate but to save time. Carl Weathers (Stephan James) doesn’t know how to box!

And Ippolito finally takes the emotional gloves off as Sly films the fight scene with Mickey at his apartment door while channeling all the people in his life, like his dad, who never believed in him. I was KO’d.

“I Play Rocky” is a rare thing, a film that gets more enjoyable as it goes on — right till the end. There’s no sag. I never once got tired of it. Frankly, I wouldn’t have said “no thanks” to another fifteen minutes.

Which makes me think Farrelly’s kind of a Rocky Balboa himself. The director of the best picture winner “Green Book” seemed down for the count after the deserved failure of “The Greatest Beer Run Ever.”

But paired with a story as absorbing as Stallone’s and an actor as exciting as Ippolito, he’s back in fighting form with “I Play Rocky.”