A fiery scene erupted on a rural New York highway when a State Police cruiser was engulfed by towering flames and dense black smoke following a chain-reaction crash. The incident, which occurred on a Tuesday morning, left two state troopers injured as dramatic photographs captured the harrowing aftermath.

The accident took place shortly after 7 a.m. along State Route 374 in Plattsburgh. According to the New York State Police, two marked Dodge Charger patrol cars were traveling westbound when traffic began to slow down near an intersection due to a vehicle preparing to make a turn.

Authorities revealed that a 2018 Jeep Cherokee, driven by 41-year-old Michelle L. Donah from Saranac, failed to reduce speed in time, crashing into the back of one patrol car. The impact forced it into the second police vehicle, escalating the situation.

The collision ignited a fierce fire that consumed one of the patrol cars. Dramatic images from the scene reveal flames soaring high above the vehicle as thick, black smoke billowed into the atmosphere. Fortunately, local fire departments responded promptly and extinguished the blaze.

Troopers Jacob R. Casey, of the Plattsburgh barracks, and Jakai E. Townsend, of the Lewis barracks, were taken to Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

Donah was evaluated at the scene but declined additional medical treatment after signing a refusal, according to police.

The crash remains under investigation.

WASHINGTON — As Senate Majority Leader John Thune anticipates the upcoming hearings, he holds an optimistic view regarding Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Director of National Intelligence nominee Jay Clayton’s prospects for confirmation.

Blanche’s candidacy faced turbulence last month amidst a Republican protest triggered by the now-abandoned $1.776 billion DOJ weaponization fund. Meanwhile, Clayton’s initial confirmation efforts faltered due to Trump’s insistence on a new Manhattan US Attorney’s Office prosecutor before endorsing Clayton, leaving Bill Pulte as the interim DNI.

“Blanche’s recent discussions have gone remarkably well, as feedback has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Thune (R-SD) in an interview with The Post. He continued, “Clayton, likewise, benefits from prior confirmation experience here for the SEC.”

Expressing confidence in their chances, Thune remarked, “Unless the upcoming confirmation hearings reveal an unexpected twist, both should be in a favorable position. My goal is to have them finalized before we pause for the August recess.”

Although Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) had previously shown concerns over Blanche’s involvement with the weaponization fund, Thune noted that recent dialogues have been notably productive.

Blanche has been the acting head of the Justice Department since April 2, when Trump elevated him from his deputy attorney general post after firing Pam Bondi. The president tapped Blanche, his onetime personal attorney, to serve in his Cabinet permanently about two months later.

Police unions representing more than 670,000 officers, 300 angel families and 100 bipartisan DOJ officials “spanning the Reagan, H.W. Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump and Biden administrations” have all written to Congress voicing their support for Blanche’s nomination, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said Tuesday.

Former Attorney General John Ashcroft, who served under former President George W. Bush; Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association President John Adler; and Jennifer Bos, the mother of a woman whose death was covered up by an illegal immigrant in Illinois, have been invited by Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans to testify in support of Blanche’s nomination, according to Politico.

Democrats on the panel are bringing in Dani Bensky, a victim of notorious sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein, and Liz Oyer, a former DOJ official, to testify in opposition to Blanche.

Their invitations suggest Democrats plan to attack Blanche’s handling of the release of documents related to Epstein and accuse him of weaponizing the Justice Department in service of Trump.

Oyer was “fired by Blanche for refusing to rubberstamp gun ownership rights to Mel Gibson, a convicted domestic violence abuser and friend of Donald Trump,” while Bensky had her name “included in multiple batches of released Epstein Files,” due to an apparent failure by the DOJ to redact her name from the documents, Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Dick Durbin (D-Ill) said Monday.

Thune does not expect any Democrats to vote in favor of either Blanche or Clayton.

“They’re both probably, you know, looking at party-line votes,” he said, noting that Clayton’s 2017 nomination to head the Securities and Exchange Commission garnered bipartisan support “back when Democrats actually produced some votes for qualified nominees.”

After touting the work of Senate Republicans to confirm more than 500 executive branch nominations and 47 federal judges during Trump’s second term — noting he has “another 50 plus [nominations] teed up to go” — Thune laid into Democrats once more.

“What’s frustrating, obviously, is that everything takes longer than it should,” Thune said, because Democrats have refused to confirm “a single judge or a single civilian executive branch” via unanimous consent.

“They’re forcing us to go the long way on everything,” he lamented.

“They’re obstructing even qualified nominees, and it’s really a sad commentary on kind of where the Democrat Party is — these people really have, in a lot of ways, lost their minds in the way that they’re playing with, not just nominees, but other things.”

In stark black-and-white print, a California newspaper showcases the latest, and potentially final, efforts by two of Brad Pitt’s children to legally distance themselves from their renowned father.

According to a notice published in the Los Angeles Daily Journal, Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt has officially requested a court decree to change her name to Zahara Marley Jolie.

Similarly, the journal publicized a notice from Pitt’s oldest son, announcing, ‘Petitioner Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt has submitted a request to change his name to Maddox Chivan Jolie.’ Each of these notices appeared four times consecutively in the newspaper between June 10 and July 7.

In California, the legal name change process involves such filings to deter fraudulent activities and provides sufficient time for anyone opposing the petition to present their arguments against it.

Sources reveal that Pitt reportedly believes that any attempt to contest the name changes might exacerbate the situation, leaving him feeling powerless.

‘He’s always going to respect his kids’ choices at the end of the day,’ one source said, adding that ‘any parent intentionally excluded from their children’s lives as punishment is obviously going to be upset by it.’

The breakdown in Pitt’s relationship with Zahara, Maddox and their siblings has been years in the making, but those closest to the family remain deeply divided over why. 

To start, one must go back to Pitt’s tumultuous relationship with their mother, Angelina Jolie. The exes were involved in a grueling eight-year divorce battle that was finalized in 2024.

The marriage ended after a volatile plane incident in 2016 and abuse allegations, which Pitt has adamantly denied. He has also never been charged with a crime and the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services cleared Pitt of physical abuse allegations.

Following the split, a source close to Pitt, 62, suggested that Jolie, 51, allegedly attempted to reconcile with her ex-husband – but he rejected her. A separate source has denied the actress ever wanted her ex back and instead said she ‘participated in years of family therapy with Pitt and the children, for everyone to try to heal.’

A decade later, there is still more healing to do.

According to a second source, it’s not easy for their kids – Zahara, 21, Maddox, 24, Pax, 22, Shiloh, 20, and 18-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne – to forgive and forget.

‘None of the kids respect Brad because of what he has done to their mother,’ the insider told the Daily Mail on Monday. 

‘They remember how awful it was when they were married, all the fights and drama. They always preferred their mom: Brad always told them what they shouldn’t do while Angelina told them what they could do, so it’s no wonder they gravitated toward her.’

Many close to Pitt are convinced, though, that the now-adult children are victims of a long-running ‘alienation campaign.’ 

‘This very sad situation is the result of a deliberate, devastating, harmful alienation campaign against the kids’ father by the mother,’ the first source alleged. ‘It’s textbook language from children who were taught to alienate another parent.’

The source also claimed that it is ‘the result of years of one parent weaponizing the children against the other, with no regard for the consequences.’

In May, an insider familiar with the situation insisted to Page Six that Jolie has never set out to isolate her children and condemned the use of the word ‘alienated.’

While they seemingly grow further away from their father – with Shiloh, Vivienne and Knox also making moves to drop Pitt’s name, they appear to become closer to their mother.

As one source put it, Jolie is ‘the superwoman’ and Pitt ‘is the villain.’ 

And it hasn’t helped that following the divorce, another arduous legal battle ensued.

The exes have been fighting over Jolie’s sale of her stake in their French winery Chateau Miraval, where the two ironically said ‘I do’ in 2014.

The lawsuit has reportedly given their kids more ammunition to despise their dad. 

‘They hate that Brad has been so difficult with Miraval, they feel he is punishing their mother with the constant bickering over money from the winery,’ the second source said. ‘She has had to spend a fortune on lawyers, and they feel bad for their mom.’

It’s been reported that Jolie has made upwards of $80 million following her divorce, including from the sale of Miraval and other financial agreements.

In addition, we’re told the reason Pitt has been fighting Jolie in court over her Miraval stake is that the sale ‘directly impacted the children’s inheritance.’

The children reportedly also feel resentment for how little Pitt is doing to help their future.

Jolie has ‘built a very positive and creative world for them, and they are grateful,’ the second source said. ‘She is even helping them build their careers, which Brad has never done. Maddox, Pax and Vivienne are thriving behind the scenes in showbusiness.’

Sources close to Pitt say, however, he never had the opportunity to give them a leg up in Hollywood. Jolie ‘deliberately excluded him from having any of these conversations,’ the first source claimed.

A third insider shared just how much Pitt is at his wits’ end with the ordeal, calling it an ‘impossible position as more of his children have chosen to drop his last name.’

‘He views the situation as deeply painful and believes Angelina’s role in how things unfolded is the ultimate betrayal.’

Because of how much Pitt allegedly believes Jolie is at fault for the ’emotional fallout that has been building for years,’ his ‘resentment toward Angelina now extends far beyond the heartbreak of losing his relationship with his children.’

The third source added that Pitt, who has found love again with 33-year-old jewelry designer Ines de Ramon, has zero interest in making amends with his ex-wife and, from his perspective, ‘that chapter of his life is permanently closed.’

‘He no longer dwells on the happy memories of their relationship, and what once felt like a great love now feels so distant that it almost seems as though it belonged to someone else’s life,’ the insider further explained.

‘More than anything, he no longer wants his life or emotions to be dictated by Angelina. He’s tired of carrying that weight and has reached a point where he’s ready to leave the bitterness behind and move on.’

Pitt has, to an extent, ‘accepted that he cannot control’ what is happening with his kids and is instead focused on ‘taking the high road’ and moving on.

According to the insider, he will always hold out hope for his children and that they will one day be able to repair their relationships. 

‘If his children ever decide they want him back in their lives, he would welcome them without hesitation,’ the third source concluded.

‘He is choosing to focus on moving forward, believing that time has gradually helped heal wounds he once thought would never close.’

The Daily Mail has contacted Pitt and Jolie’s representatives for comment.