A Michigan man, gravely injured following a vicious attack at a folk music gathering, now communicates solely through blinking, according to his family. This harrowing incident has left his loved ones distraught and seeking answers.

The Emmet County Sheriff’s Office reported that 37-year-old Darryl “Lonn” Hartman has been unable to share details with investigators about the events of the night on July 12 at the Blissfest Music Festival, located in Harbor Springs, Michigan.

Hartman, accompanied by his dance partner, ventured to Blissfest to showcase their talents at the annual celebration. Set on a sprawling 200-acre farm, the festival draws an impressive crowd of approximately 5,000 attendees each year.

Yet, what was meant to be an enjoyable night took a dark turn. Following his performance, Hartman retired to his tent early, only to be discovered the next morning around 9 a.m. hanging out of it, bearing two significant cuts near his neck, as reported by his friend Terace Garnier to Fox 2 Detroit.

A dedicated mentor to underprivileged youth in Detroit, Hartman has been hospitalized for more than a week, having lost nearly eight pints of blood due to this suspected assault, Garnier also disclosed.

“It was looking like he shouldn’t be alive right now,” Garnier said. “That’s basically what they were saying with the amount of blood that he lost.”

Officials said they are in contact with Hartman’s family after friends claimed Hartman revealed who attacked him by blinking and nodding his head from his hospital bed.

“He told us who did this so we know who did this. The individuals were Caucasian, so we believe it’s a hate crime and potentially a crime of passion,” Garnier added.

Investigators also said that, based on the evidence reviewed so far, they have found no evidence indicating the assault was a targeted hate crime or that Hartman’s injuries were self-inflicted.

“We remain committed to finding answers, identifying what occurred that evening, and bringing this investigation to a successful conclusion,” the sheriff’s office said.

Blissfest Music Festival is a yearly event that brings together more than 100 acts across several venues.

Blissfest organizers said that the alleged attack has “understandably stirred deep concern and speculation.”

“Our hearts go out to everyone who has reached out with concern following reports that an individual connected to this year’s event may have been the victim of an assault,” the festival said in a statement on Thursday.

“From the moment Blissfest became aware of this situation, the organization has cooperated fully with law enforcement as they carefully reviewed the circumstances surrounding this sensitive incident.

“Out of respect for the investigative process and those affected, Blissfest has refrained from commenting on unverified claims.”

The sheriff’s office urged the public to avoid speculation as the investigation continues.

Anyone with firsthand information is asked to contact the Emmet County Sheriff’s Office by emailing blissfestinvestigation@emmetcounty.org, calling 231-348-0605 or submitting a tip through the sheriff’s office mobile app.

Chris Anne Affleck, beloved mother of Hollywood stars Ben and Casey Affleck, has passed away at 82 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

The heart-wrenching news was shared by her family on Thursday, following her departure on June 2, as detailed in a Legacy obituary.

Chris Anne leaves behind her cherished sons, Ben, aged 53, and Casey, aged 50, along with five adoring grandchildren: Indiana, 22; Violet, 20; Atticus, 18; Fin, 17; and Sam, 14.

Her obituary shared a poignant detail: last December, doctors had given her a six-month prognosis. Her deepest wish was to witness her grandson’s high school graduation.

True to her hopes, she attended the ceremony on May 31, and peacefully slipped away in her sleep just two days afterward.

The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Ben Affleck and Casey Affleck for further comment on the story. 

Chris Anne had been born in December of 1942 in New York City. She graduated from Harvard University and was a public school teacher for 35 years prior to her retirement in 2008.

Ben, speaking with The Hollywood Reporter in 2012 about his mother, said, ‘My mother taught public school, went to Harvard and then got her master’s there and taught fifth and sixth grade in a public school.’

She was a staunch advocate for civil rights, and had traveled to the South in the 1960s during a time of social change, according to her obituary.

Chris Anne ‘taught literacy classes in Mississippi during Freedom Summer, marched against the Vietnam War, and reveled in 1960s counterculture,’ her obituary stated.

She carried these values into the classroom, according to the obit, as ‘every student, whether just arrived from Haiti or Cambridge upper crust, was a cherished citizen of her classroom republic, equal to each other and to herself.’

Chris Anne and ex-husband Timothy Affleck welcomed Ben in 1972 and Casey in 1975. In the mid-1970s, they moved to Massachusetts, as Chris Anne taught there. They got divorced when Ben was 12-years-old, and Timothy would move to California afterwards.

Casey Affleck, speaking to Boston Magazine in 2006, credited his mother for keeping the household steady during the turbulent time.

‘She always made us go on family vacations,’ Casey said. ‘When you’re a kid, you just want to stay home and hang out with your friends. You don’t want to go to your grandparents’ house.

‘But tradition meant a lot to her. She just insisted. We had a lot of fights about that. But now I love it and those are some of my favorite memories.’

She encouraged her son Ben’s show business aspirations early on, introducing him to casting director Patty Collins, who had been her roommate at Harvard when she attended college, according to THR. 

Collins assisted a young Ben with auditions for TV films and commercials.

Ben, in a 2007 interview with Parade, opened up about his early days in front of the camera with his mother’s support.

‘I got into acting as a young child on account of a sort of arbitrary thing,’ he said at the time. ‘A friend of my mom’s was a casting director so, really as kind of a lark.

‘I had a couple of acting jobs that had just enough exposure to give me the option to continue if I wanted to. I followed through with it.’

Chris Anne was behind Ben throughout his show business career, and went to the Academy Awards with him and Matt Damon in 1998, when they won the Oscars for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen.

Ben recalled to Vanity Fair in April of 2023: ‘We were sitting next to our moms and we won, and we kind of hugged our moms. I remember how everyone had made such a big thing out of it as if this was such a novelty.

‘I remember thinking, being insecure, like, “Why? Why is it weird that we’re bringing our moms?” Who else do you think we would bring?’

Chris Anne was very close with Ben’s ex-wife Jennifer Garner, and they remained friends following her son’s split from the actress. They had been spotted numerous times on outings in the years after the couple’s split.

She had also been to Ben’s 2022 nuptials to Jennifer Lopez, braving a health scare the day before with a leg injury before returning to see them exchange vows. 

FOX LAKE, Ill. (WLS) — In a dramatic and unexpected event on Monday afternoon, Somethin’ Fishy Pets in Fox Lake experienced a devastating accident when a gigantic fish tank ruptured, releasing a deluge of 2,000 gallons of water throughout the store. Tragedy struck as more than 350 fish were trapped inside, and many did not survive the sudden disaster.

Fortunately, the pet store was not open to the public when the incident occurred. Store owners are still trying to pinpoint the exact cause, although they suspect that an unnoticed seam at the tank’s top may have unexpectedly failed.

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Footage from within the store vividly captures the moment the tank burst, marking a sudden and chaotic situation.

“I was just carrying something over here, and you just hear, like, a loud break. I can’t even describe the noise, and then a whole bunch of water rushing,” said Derric Johnson, co-owner of the store, recounting the harrowing moment.

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A prominent French modeling scout, who had links to the controversial financier Jeffrey Epstein, was discovered dead in his Paris residence, according to the authorities.

The lifeless body of 69-year-old Daniel Siad was found on Monday evening. While an official autopsy is yet to be conducted, his lawyer, Menya Arab-Tigrine, informed the press that Siad suffered a heart attack.

“Though the cause was a heart attack, the overwhelming stress, relentless public scrutiny, and the stigma he faced undoubtedly contributed to his demise,” Arab-Tigrine stated. “We need to wait for the autopsy to understand if his body simply could no longer endure the strain.”

News outlets have sought comments from French legal authorities to shed more light on the situation.

Siad’s name appeared about 2,000 times in the Epstein files released by the Justice Department, Reuters reported.

“I am here in Barcelona I have girls staying with me from Australia Croecian origin, so you can speak with her very Sweet,” Siad allegedly wrote to Epstein in one email.

“I am looking to place her here and Paris.”

“Photo?” Epstein replied.

Another email from Siad to Epstein from April 2009 included images of a 17-year-old Slovakian girl while he was scouting models in Bratislava.

At least 24 women have come forward as victims or witnesses of alleged acts committed by Siad or others after the February launch of a human trafficking and fraud probe, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau told Reuters.

Investigators looked into Siad, but there wasn’t enough evidence to justify his immediate arrest, said Arab-Tigrine.

“Let us not forget that he was never prosecuted, nor was he ever formally implicated in any legal proceedings,” she said. “In the coming days, we must respect the grief of his loved ones. He has passed away, and he was innocent.”

In a dramatic turn of events off the coast of Washington, a floatplane carrying a dozen people burst into flames after an attempted emergency landing Thursday. The incident, which occurred near a Washington island, left multiple passengers injured, with one in critical condition.

The single-engine de Havilland DHC-3 aircraft went down in Shallow Bay, close to Sucia Island, positioned roughly 90 miles from Seattle and just four miles south of the Canadian border. The crash took place at about 5:15 p.m. local time, approximately 45 minutes following its departure from Seattle, as confirmed by the US Coast Guard via Fox 13 News.

The floatplane, part of the Kenmore Air fleet, was in the midst of an emergency descent when it caught on fire.

Captivating video footage captured the single-engine aircraft ablaze and disintegrated, floating near the rocky shores of Sucia Island.

In a fortunate outcome, all 10 passengers along with the pilot were found safe after the fiery mishap, according to officials.

Officials said one of the individuals was in critical condition, and that injuries among those treated ranged from “head injuries to broken bones and lacerations,” the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office told King 5 News.

Two injured passengers were rushed by the Coast Guard to a hospital in Bellingham — about a 20-minute boat ride from the crash site on the mainland.

Another two were taken to nearby Orcas Island for evaluation and treatment.

The Orcas Island Fire and Rescue wrote on Facebook that multiple agencies, including their department, the Coast Guard and the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, responded to the crash site.

The plane was headed to Roche Harbor — about 20 miles from where it went down, King 5 News reported.

Kenmore Air CEO David Gudgel confirmed to the outlet that the plane belonged to his company, and he was “grateful that everyone aboard has been accounted for.”

“Our immediate focus is ensuring our passengers and pilot receive the care and support they need,” Gudgel said in the statement.

“We extend our sincere thanks to the United States Coast Guard, local emergency responders, and everyone assisting in the response. Kenmore Air is fully cooperating with the investigating authorities, and we will continue providing verified information as it becomes available.”

The cause of the emergency landing and fire remains under investigation.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board have launched an investigation into the crash, King 5 News reported.

At the time of the crash, thunderstorms were rolling through the area, producing wind gusts of 12 to 20 mph, with visibility at 10 miles, National Weather Service meteorologist Harrison Rademacher said, the Seattle Times reported.

Kenmore Air, the largest seaplane operator in the US, flies more than 90,000 passengers annually to over 45 destinations across the Pacific Northwest and Canada.

Oprah Winfrey has ignited a wave of controversy with her remarks about young professionals and their approach to work-life balance at the onset of their careers.

The renowned media icon, aged 72, who recently faced critique for not pushing back on Meghan Markle’s allegations of being ‘silenced’ by the Royal Family, has stirred further debate while speaking on the Baby, This is Keke Palmer podcast.

Winfrey, a self-made success with an astounding $3.4 billion net worth, shared that she advises young women graduating from college not to anticipate a work-life balance early on. She suggests they invest in their work now to attain real ‘freedom’ in later stages, as she has achieved.

The discussion gained momentum after host Keke Palmer, 32, inquired of Winfrey: ‘What, for you, defines living your best life today? How does it manifest?’

Winfrey answered thoughtfully: ‘For me, it embodies freedom. It means making choices aligned with what you genuinely desire, which I consider the most significant question of all.’

‘You know, I think when you’re not free, not completely free, you can’t make decisions based upon what you want. You have to do what you want. This is what I say to my girls, you know, graduating from college and starting their first jobs and they’re talking to me about, you know, work-life balance.

‘At this point, I go, “you ain’t had no work life balance at 22… It’s not there. You’re not supposed to have it. You’re supposed to lay it in. Lay in the work.’

The star added that she has reached a point in her life where her choices come from ‘the purest part of myself,’ saying, ‘I only do what I want to do and I’ve earned the right to do that because there was lots of times I had to do what I had to do.

She added, ‘A lot of people think “oh I just want to do what I want to do.” You got to work to be able to do what you want to do.

‘You have to do what you have to do, until you can do what you want to do.’

Fans quickly weighed in with their comments, with some lambasting Winfrey for not being able to ‘relate to normal people’ while others praised her for sharing advice that helped her become a success after growing up in poverty with a single teenage mother.

One follower wrote: ‘Don’t take advice from billionaires. They can’t relate to normal peoples lives and give advice based on real life struggles. She became a millionaire at 32-years-old and has been living with financial freedom for a few decades now.’

A fan then responded, ‘That sounds absurd…she wasn’t born a millionaire. She worked for it. Why wouldn’t I take advice from someone who acquired billions out the mud?!’ 

Others praised the merit of Winfrey’s remarks but called out they are conditional on surviving long enough to enjoy the fruits of hard work.

One follower wrote, ‘Bad take!! Life is TOO short to sit around miserable, overworked, underpaid and mistreated! Everyday we have a new disease popping up, wars all over the globe! Flooding, wildfires, violence and so on! Happiness and peace isn’t a destination…we should be trying to find it everyday in our journey!!

Another penned, ‘I agree with Oprah in theory but the comment section is right, there is this level of expectation that you’re even living long enough to experience the doing what you want to do part. A double edged nuance.’

One fan called out Winfrey for endorsing a ‘generational’ value to ‘chronically overwork saying, ‘The younger generation are learning how to make money and do what they want. There is room for many avenues but I don’t believe fully in that ideology.

Others wrote, ‘I disagree on this take! Love Oprah down but she more than anyone can speak to/understand that it’s a systematic reason why we aren’t able to have work life balance. 

‘We are a part of a greedy capitalist society…we could be paid fair wages, we could have access to healthy food, marginalized neighborhoods could have access to healthy resources but it’s by design that we aren’t experiencing that. So the result was okay we just have to grind. No, advocate for something different just like we were taught from generations before.’

Others supported Winfrey’s advice, saying, ‘She literally gave advice that any grandmother would give. In life in general to get to that freedom of what you feel is freedom to do what you want without stress of blame, you have to put the work in.

‘She didn’t say work until you can’t work anymore or you have to lose sight of connections and enjoying life to make it. She said do the things to get there…it’s not realistic to think you just fall into the life you’re aspiring to have without very intentional effort.

‘She’s giving advice that she believes helped her on her journey if you don’t believe it’s right for you, don’t take it. We all have choices and freewill. Focus on what’s best for YOU instead of saying she doesn’t know what she’s talking about.’

Winfrey has a net worth of $3.4 billion, from her talk show, TV shows and brand deals, according to Forbes .

Dubbed the Queen of All Media by fans, Winfrey began working in media at 17 years old until she became the host of the iconic Oprah Winfrey Show in 1986.

She rose to millionaire status in 1989, and reached billionaire level by 2000, making her the first black female billionaire.

One of the richest self-made women in America, Winfrey reportedly makes $300 million per year, and owns $200 million worth of real estate.

The OWN network founder’s main residence is her 66-acre property in Montecito, with a 23,000-square-foot neo-Georgian mansion.

Since her talk show she has branched out into various other endeavors. In 1986 she founded Harpo Productions and in 2011 she launched cable channel OWN. 

In 1998, Winfrey created the Oprah’s Angel Network, a charity supporting nonprofit organizations around the world, and covered all administrative costs of the operation so that 100% of the funds would go to charity programs.

She has also given over 400 scholarships to Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, and in 2013, she donated $12 million to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.

In 2022, Howard Stern memorably called out Winfrey for showing off her lavish lifestyle on social media.

The controversial radio host spoke about how the media mogul ‘loves showing off’ her wealth and is ‘not embarrassed by’ it during The Howard Stern Show.

‘It’s f****** mind-blowing when you follow her on Instagram,’ he told his co-host Robin Quivers, before adding, ‘You gotta be a little self-aware and know that there are people struggling out there.’ 

‘Oprah’s not embarrassed by her wealth at all,’ he said. Stern also stated that when you follow the famed talk show host on Instagram you ‘see her estates, her gardens, the people who service her.’ 

Stern continued his critique, adding that Oprah ‘knows’ how to be rich and ‘likes’ to show it off. 

The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Winfrey for further comment and has yet to hear back.