With the anticipation building around Alex Murdaugh’s upcoming retrial, his legal team is ramping up efforts by pushing for a comprehensive search to uncover potential weaknesses in the prosecution’s arguments.

In legal documents filed on Wednesday, Murdaugh’s attorneys made a compelling case that, given the time elapsed since his initial trial, it is imperative for prosecutors to launch a thorough investigation for any evidence that might support the defense or question the integrity of the state’s testimony.

Additionally, Murdaugh’s legal team is on the lookout for information that could call into question the trustworthiness of a witness. This includes any records of misconduct, disciplinary actions, contradictory statements, plea agreements, or any incentives or promises that might have been offered to witnesses for favorable testimony.

The request also covers new forensic or DNA findings, additional search warrants and information related to two other SLED investigations known as the “Side of Road” and narcotics cases.

The lawyers also want written confirmation that prosecutors completed a current search and disclosed everything required.

They’ve asked for the information within 30 days.

Murdaugh, once a powerful Lowcountry lawyer from a prominent legal dynasty, was convicted in March 2023 of gunning down his wife and son, Maggie and Paul.

The case was thrown back into turmoil after allegations surfaced that court clerk Rebecca Hill made improper comments to jurors during the trial.

The court found that Hill was drawn by the “siren call of celebrity” and allowed public attention to overcome her duty.

The state has maintained that Murdaugh received a fair trial, but the South Carolina Supreme Court reversed the murder and weapons convictions and remanded the case for new proceedings.

News Media has reached out to the state prosecutors’ office for comment. Murdaugh’s defense declined to comment.

Murdaugh is back in court on Friday, Aug. 14.

Patrick Mahomes’ eagerly anticipated return to the gridiron might face a slight delay, as fans will have to extend their patience a bit longer.

The star quarterback, who underwent surgery last December to mend a torn ACL and LCL in his left knee, is unlikely to make a comeback in the Kansas City Chiefs’ opening preseason matchup. Despite actively participating in all training camp activities, Mahomes may also be absent from the following two games.

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid addressed the media on Friday, hinting at Mahomes’ potential absence. “I mean, there’s a pretty good chance where I don’t play him,” Reid commented.

Reid elaborated, “The percentages are leading that way. I don’t know if I’ll play him in the second or third game. I don’t know that. The percentages probably lean against not doing that.”

Should Mahomes miss all three preseason games, it would be an unprecedented scenario in his impressive nine-year NFL career, marking the first time he would bypass the entire preseason lineup.

It will also come as a surprise to many, after the three-time Super Bowl MVP has looked as healthy as possible throughout training camp, leading the first-team offense in every 11-on-11 period thus far.

Despite a large knee brace around his left leg, Mahomes has shown off his patented scrambling ability this summer, seemingly not losing any improvisation skills with the injury.

Regardless of how much Mahomes plays in the preseason, though, he will have his eyes set for a regular season return in the Chiefs’ opener on Sept. 14 against the Broncos.

“I’m a competitor, so [on] game day, I’m going to want to be out there,” Mahomes said in July.

“But I understand the process of getting myself ready to play in the regular season is more important. We’ll see. The coaches and doctors will make that decision for me, but I’ll prepare myself like I’m going to play.”

In the meantime, Reid and company can use the reps Mahomes would have gotten in the preseason to bring backup quarterback Justin Fields and rookie Garrett Nussmeier up to speed.

Fields, who joined the Chiefs this offseason after a year with the Jets, saw his first reps with the first-team offense on Thursday.

“We’ve got new people behind [Mahomes] that need some work,” Reid said. “The more reps they get, the better.”

Ohio Congressman Max Miller, who enjoys the endorsement of former President Trump, is facing growing pressure to resign amid serious allegations of domestic violence by his ex-wife. Despite his staunch denials, his controversies continue to intensify within Republican circles.

The allegations surfaced in a detailed report by the Daily Mail this past May. Recent revelations include photographs purportedly taken in Miller’s bedroom, showing a syringe and a separate image depicting him displaying a bag containing high-potency marijuana gummies.

Whispers of discontent have turned into open criticism from within the Republican Party, particularly from those closest to the 37-year-old lawmaker. The sentiment spreading through his political base is reportedly unforgiving.

A GOP operative, dripping with sarcasm, critiqued Miller’s ability to handle the scandal, suggesting it requires ‘a little talent, likability, and discipline.’ The operative continued, starkly claiming Miller may lack these essential qualities more than any other member of Congress.

A Republican insider offered a blunt assessment to the Daily Mail, declaring, “Max Miller’s political career is toast.” The insider further predicted his downfall, noting that his exit from Congress is inevitable, whether it happens by August 10th or extends to November 3rd.

Under Ohio law, Miller has until 4pm on Monday, August 10, to withdraw so local party chairs can install a replacement on the ballot. After that, Republicans are stuck with him in the November midterm election whether they like it or not. 

This week, a new element to the saga has shocked members of the public and DC insiders alike. Miller’s ex-father-in-law, Senator Bernie Moreno, told reporters that his granddaughter, Miller and Emily Moreno’s daughter, ‘has a little blue bunny that she sleeps with. Max would not hand over the little blue bunny. Literally held it hostage for 48 hours.

‘This girl is crying at night because she can’t sleep without her little blue bunny. And his answer is, “I’m just not going to give it to you,”‘ he added. ‘This is the level of total and complete depravity.’

An Ohio political insider predicted to the Daily Mail that it is ‘only going to get uglier if he doesn’t step aside,’ adding: ‘The American public shouldn’t know about a child’s blue bunny.’ 

Miller denies withholding the bunny, and insisted in a post on X that his daughter got the toy back within 14 hours, not 48.

On Wednesday, Miller posted screenshots of the purported text messages and emails on X, insisting they prove he never withheld his daughter’s beloved blue bunny and that she got it back within 14 hours.

The messages appear to show he agreed to a pickup arranged by the couple’s parenting coordinator, but refused to hand the toy over to a family friend who wasn’t on the approved exchange list. Miller demanded that his father-in-law collect the stuffed animal himself.

As well as private criticism of Miller, the public blows are landing just as hard, with Ohio Senator Jon Husted declaring on Thursday that Miller ‘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.’

It was a screeching U-turn from just days earlier, when Husted was still telling everyone to let the two families ‘sort this at a family level.’

Moreno has already branded him ‘a danger to my daughter’ and declared he ‘should not serve in the House of Representatives.’

Moreno has even moved Miller’s ex-wife Emily and the former couple’s two-year-old daughter out of Ohio altogether, telling reporters: ‘I sent my daughter, granddaughter, and wife out of State to a secure place until such time as they feel safe.’

Fueling the panic is brutal electoral math, because a northeast Ohio district that Donald Trump carried by 11 points in 2024 is suddenly in danger of tumbling to the Democrats, who smell blood in the seat, according to two Ohio insiders.

A bombshell new poll released Thursday also shows the bottom falling out for Miller. A co/efficient survey has him trailing his Democratic opponent Brian Poindexter by 14 points, 47 to 33.

Just one week earlier, the gap was five. The collapse tracks the scandal flooding the airwaves, with voter awareness of the domestic abuse allegations rocketing from 53 percent to 86 percent in seven days.

The pollster Ryan Munce declared, ‘the data no longer supports a viable path to victory for Max Miller.’

Party chiefs are already war-gaming substitutes behind his back as the August 10 deadline nears, with names including former congressman Jim Renacci and state representative Mike Dovilla in the mix.

Miller is refusing to budge, vowing this week, ‘I’m not dropping out of this race, and I’ll win in November,’ and even comparing his ordeal on CNN to Trump toughing out the storm of allegations that battered him in 2016.

Trump himself sounds far less bullish, with Miller admitting the President warned him ‘Maxi, it’s going to be a tough race’ and said he did not know if he could ‘pull this one out.’

The President told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday that he’s ‘not going to get involved’ with getting Miller out of his congressional race.

On Tuesday, the Daily Mail exclusively obtained a photograph that a source said appears to show a syringe in Miller’s bedroom despite the Ohio congressman’s insistence, in a recorded conversation with Emily that he himself released, that he has ‘never had a needle in my bedroom drawer.’ 

In a separate recording Miller released, from about a month later, he acknowledged using syringes for testosterone treatment and said he had told Emily about it. 

The photo was taken during Miller’s romantic relationship with Moreno, a source told the Daily Mail. 

Miller admitted on CNN this week to having illegal drugs ‘several years ago’. Nothing yet proves who owned the syringe or what substance it contained.

He vehemently denies ever abusing Emily or their two-year-old daughter.

The Daily Mail was first to reveal the abuse accusations in May, which include a claim that he threw hot water on his ex-wife.

The House Ethics Committee has now formally opened an investigation into the domestic violence and drug abuse accusations as he demanded to clear his name. Miller himself called for the investigation into the allegations. 

In a gambit to clear his name from the nasty allegations lobbed at him, Miller also released a trove of files last weekend.

Among them are audio recordings of him arguing with his ex-wife over the syringes she claims to have found near his bed.

‘I have gone into your backpack because I truly do believe you have a drug problem,’ Emily said in one of the audio tapes.

A defiant Miller shot back: ‘Okay, what drugs?’

‘First it was weed, then I found needles next to your bed,’ Moreno told Miller, according to the recording. ‘I took a picture of it. You can try to deny it to me.’ 

Miller repeatedly denied any drug use during the back and forth, promising so to his ex-wife by invoking his ‘Jewish word of honor.’

Pressed by CNN host Jake Tapper this week on the last time he had illegal drugs, Miller responded that it was years ago, though exactly when, he said, he was unsure.

‘I would have to say, the last time I had illegal drugs would have been, I don’t know, several years ago. I mean I don’t have a time frame on it, but I don’t use illegal drugs.’

Miller, a former aide to Trump during the Republican’s first term, has also been accused by his ex-girlfriend Stephanie Grisham, a former press secretary for the President during his first term, of domestic abuse. Miller denied the allegations. 

After he sued her for defamation over her claims, which first surfaced in 2021, the pair settled the case and signed a non-disclosure agreement to refrain from disparaging each other. They dated in 2019 and 2020.

This week, Grisham filed a petition for a restraining order against Miller.

‘The settlement included certain promises that Congressman Miller made to our client Stephanie Grisham, and those promises were broken,’ Grisham’s lawyer, Marc Dann, told the Ohio Capital Journal.

Miller has not commented on the restraining order.  

However, it’s not just the Ohio delegation that have knives out for Miller.

Republican Kansas Senator Roger Marshall said Miller ‘should resign.’

Miller ‘shouldn’t be in office,’ Republican Senator Rick Scott of Florida said.

House and Senate GOP leadership have largely remained mum on the matter, likely in deference to Trump, who has not yet called on Miller to resign.

Still, Trump understands that the scandal could be damaging to Republicans.

The President spoke to Miller by phone about the ongoing scandal on Monday.

‘Things aren’t looking good,’ Trump reportedly told the embattled Congressman, to which Miller responded that he would be staying in the race.

The President told reporters earlier that day that the allegations against Miller are just ‘accusations,’ adding that ‘I’m going to let them figure that out.’

The White House did not respond to the Daily Mail’s inquiries on whether the President has spoken to Miller since Monday, or whether he still stands by his endorsement of Miller.

The Congressman’s conviction to stay in the race despite the allegations against him could imperil Republicans’ larger hopes of maintaining control of Congress.

As the November midterm elections approach, and incumbent lawmakers increasingly focus on their campaigns to secure re-election, some GOP members of Congress have tried to avoid speaking out on Miller’s scandal altogether.

‘I have heard people are concerned and do not want to publicly support him as more comes out,’ one Republican House member told the Daily Mail.

Prediction markets show Republicans are poised for a beatdown in November, with Kalshi projecting that Democrats have an 83 percent chance of controlling the House next year. The projections are similar on rival prediction platform Polymarket.

The Daily Mail has contacted Moreno and Miller’s legal representatives for comment.  

In what was meant to be a leisurely day of sports, a California father found himself in an unexpected encounter with park authorities who suspected him of conducting unauthorized tennis lessons.

Sam Dogen, a dad from San Francisco, recounted to News Media how his simple plan of hitting the tennis court with his young daughter, aged six, and son, aged nine, after a Hawaiian vacation quickly took a surprising turn at Golden Gate Heights Park.

“I just wanted to help the kids shake off some jet lag with some outdoor fun and tennis—it’s an activity we’ve enjoyed countless times before,” Dogen explained, reflecting on his intentions for the day.

However, roughly 20 minutes into their game, Dogen recounted that two rangers from the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department approached them, questioning whether he had the necessary permit for teaching tennis.

“I was immediately thinking to myself, ‘What are you talking about? These are my kids,'” he recalled.

According to Dogen, the confusion ended only after one of his children spoke up.

“He’s my daddy,” his son told the rangers, Dogen said.

The family was never cited, but Dogen said one ranger told him the penalty for teaching without a permit could have been $192.

Dogen emphasized that the encounter ended with what he described as an educational warning, not a citation. Still, he questioned why the interaction happened at all.

“There was nobody waiting,” he said. “It was just a surprise to me. Why even bother trying to disrupt a perfectly nice afternoon, father with his children?”

The Recreation and Parks Department previously told The San Francisco Standard that rangers routinely check whether people providing instruction on public courts are operating commercially, since paid tennis instruction requires a permit.

“This was a routine interaction,” department spokesperson Tamara Aparton told the outlet. “Because paid instruction is not allowed on public courts without a permit, rangers will sometimes ask questions to determine whether someone is providing commercial instruction or simply using the courts for personal recreation or coaching their kids.”

Dogen said he understands why the city regulates commercial instruction but added that he believes parents teaching their own children should be treated differently.

“Raising children in a city as expensive as San Francisco is hard enough,” Dogen told News Media. “When you add law enforcement officers who aren’t friendly, it gets even tougher.”

He said his immediate concern during the interaction was making sure the situation stayed calm with his children standing nearby.

“My only instinct was to de-escalate and keep my 6-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son safe,” Dogen said.

Looking ahead, Dogen joked that he may carry documentation with him the next time he takes his children to the public courts.

“I’m going to get their birth certificates and carry them with me in my tennis bag just to prove they’re my children,” he said. “I’m not going to get a permit to teach my children.”

Dogen said he hopes the incident prompts city officials to take a more family-friendly approach to enforcing park rules.

“My hope is that San Francisco becomes a more welcoming place for children and families, not a place where a father teaching his own kids tennis on an empty court gets threatened with a $192 fine,” he said.

In a shocking turn of events, a California man is accused of murdering his roommate, concealing his body in a shallow grave in their backyard, and then fleeing in the victim’s truck. The suspect was apprehended over 1,100 miles away, authorities claim, while he was pretending to be the deceased roommate.

Last week, authorities in Oregon stumbled upon the unexpected while patrolling the Mt. Hood National Forest. They found a camper who introduced himself as 61-year-old Daniel Joslin, the rightful owner of a parked black Ford F-150 nearby.

Although the vehicle’s paperwork and license plate appeared in order, there was a significant issue: Joslin had been reported as missing.

Further investigation revealed that the individual in the forest was not Joslin but was allegedly his 60-year-old roommate and killer, Cris Jones.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office informed Oregon counterparts that they were on the lookout for Jones following the unexplained disappearance of Joslin, who had not been seen or heard from in 10 days.

Then came the grisly discovery.

One day before Oregon cops encountered Jones — and more than a month after Joslin was reported missing — California investigators executing a search warrant at the roommates’ home in Yucca Valley found Joslin’s body buried in “a shallow grave,” authorities said.

Jones had apparently fled the California home and made his way north, ending up more than 1,100 miles away in Oregon’s Mt. Hood National Forest.

Oregon authorities finally swooped in Aug. 2, deploying a SWAT team and air unit to arrest Jones near Harriet Lake, where cops had first encountered him.

Aerial footage captured the dramatic arrest, with officers surrounding Jones at gunpoint.

Cops also allegedly found a knife and sheath tucked into Jones’ front pants pocket. He also had outstanding warrants in Clackamas and Washington counties, officials said.

Jones was being held Friday in the Clackamas County Jail on the murder case and is awaiting extradition to California.

According to Jones’ Facebook profile, he attended Portland State University.

The investigation remains ongoing.