A former assistant principal in Virginia is currently on trial, facing felony charges of child neglect. The charges stem from accusations that she ignored warnings about a 6-year-old student carrying a loaded gun, which led to the student shooting a teacher in 2023.

Jury selection commenced on Monday in Newport News for the trial of Ebony Parker, who previously served as the assistant principal at Richneck Elementary School. Parker, maintaining her innocence, is charged with eight felony counts of child neglect in connection to the shooting incident involving first-grade teacher Abby Zwerner, as reported by The Associated Press.

According to prosecutors, multiple school staff members alerted Parker to the possibility that the young student had a gun, but she allegedly did not act on these warnings before the shooting occurred.

Parker’s defense contends that she is being scapegoated for larger systemic issues that contributed to the unfortunate event.

In the courtroom, former assistant principal Ebony Parker appeared during the proceedings of Abby Zwerner’s lawsuit in Newport News, Virginia, on October 28, 2025. (Photo by Stephen M. Katz/The Virginian-Pilot)

Prosecutors brought one count for each of the eight bullets loaded in the gun. If convicted, Parker could face up to five years in prison for each count, AP reported.

The shooting happened on Jan. 6, 2023, when authorities said the 6-year-old student shot Zwerner while she was teaching. 

She was hospitalized for nearly two weeks and underwent six surgeries after the bullet narrowly missed her heart. She still has limited use of her left hand, according to the AP.

Former Richneck Elementary School teacher Abby Zwerner looks back in the courtroom during her civil lawsuit trial in Newport News, Virginia, on Oct. 28, 2025. (Stephen M. Katz/The Virginian-Pilot)

In November 2025, a jury awarded Zwerner $10 million in a civil lawsuit against Parker, alleging the former administrator dismissed concerns that the student may have brought a gun to school.

In a statement to Fox News Digital at the time, Zwerner’s legal team said the verdict marked a “major step forward in Abby’s long road of healing.”

During the earlier civil trial, Parker’s attorneys argued the shooting was “unforeseeable” and maintained she did not have a legal responsibility to protect Zwerner from the attack.

Students return to Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, on Jan. 30, 2023.  (Billy Schuerman/The Virginian-Pilot)

Zwerner is expected to testify in the criminal trial, AP reported.

Authorities said the child got the gun from his mother’s purse after climbing onto a dresser. The student’s mother was previously sentenced to nearly four years in prison. 

Stephen Colbert began his last week hosting the “Late Show” by nostalgically revisiting some unused graphics, including one that prematurely celebrated Hillary Clinton’s victory in the 2016 presidential race.

During a segment titled “Graphics Graveyard,” a nod to a Slack channel where “Late Show” staff discard ideas that don’t make the cut, Colbert showcased the Clinton graphic that had never been aired before.

The image portrayed a beaming Clinton as the “Winner” of the 45th presidential election, an outcome ultimately won by Donald Trump.

In response to Colbert highlighting the Clinton graphic, a member of the graphic team wryly commented, “Oh, grow up. It all worked out fine.”

Monday night’s episode, humorously dubbed “The Worst of the Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” also featured other rejected graphics, sketches, and past gags that never found their way to television screens.

The other never-aired graphics included a “Thanksgiving porn magazine” called “Giblets” and a cover of “Martha Stewart Living” that read “Donner party or dinner party.”

Colbert’s nearly 11-year “Late Show” run will come to a close on Thursday, after more than 1,800 episodes on CBS.

Tuesday’s episode will feature “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart, filmmaker Steven Spielberg and a special performance by Talking Heads frontman David Byrne and Colbert.

Wednesday’s episode will feature unspecified special guests throughout the night and a performance from Bruce Springsteen. The finale’s programming remains unclear.

CBS’s decision to end “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” sparked uproar in the entertainment community and led to claims that Paramount Global was trying to appease Trump while finalizing its merger with Skydance Media.

The network has denied that political motivations fueled the choice, maintaining that the move was purely financial over the show’s reported $40 million annual loss.

Critics, including David Letterman and fellow late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, have remained skeptical over the reasoning, particularly given Paramount’s efforts to secure regulatory approval for the Skydance deal.

Letterman, who launched “The Late Show” in 1993 and hosted it for more than two decades before Colbert took over in 2015, marched back into the Ed Sullivan Theater on Thursday and blasted the network’s decision to axe the late-night special.

The pair capped the blistering segment by tossing couches, office chairs, watermelons and a wedding cake off the roof of the landmark Manhattan theater.

Trump celebrated Colbert’s cancellation on Truth Social, writing that he “absolutely love[d] that Colbert got fired” while claiming the comedian had less “talent” than his ratings.

A seasoned cave diving expert, familiar with the underwater landscapes of the Maldives, has provided insight into the harrowing final moments likely experienced by a group of five divers in a tragic incident that has been described as an “accident waiting to happen.”

The alarm was raised on Thursday when five Italian divers, including a mother and her daughter, did not surface after descending to explore underwater caves at a depth of approximately 165 feet (50 meters).

On Friday, the body of their leader, local diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti, was found within a passageway leading from the entrance of Thinwana Kandu cave, also known as Shark Cave, at a depth of around 197 feet (60 meters).

The remaining members of the group were discovered on Monday by a team of three Finnish divers. They were located at the end of a tunnel, deep within the third chamber of the cave, an area shrouded in complete darkness.

This incident now stands as one of the most severe single diving accidents in the history of the Maldives.

‘I have visited those caves countless times. There is no current. They swam into that third cave. They chose to go in there,’ Shafraz Naeem, a former military diver for the Maldives National Defence Force, told the Daily Mail.

‘I believe the instructor intentionally swam away from the group. Maybe he legged it up before he ran out of air. The rest of the group died in that third chamber and Benedetti died in the passageway trying to get out.’

The cave is divided into three separate chambers, connected by narrow passageways, which sharks, stingrays and lobsters inhabit. Mr Naeem, despite being an expert diver, has intentionally never entered the third chamber due to safety concerns.

Shafraz Naeem, a former military diver for the Maldives National Defence Force, pictured in the Thinwana Kandu cave 

Mr Naeem, 50, has visited the cave ‘countless times’ but has never entered the third chamber, where four of the five members of the group were found

The cave opens at 164ft (50m), which is already significantly deeper than the 98ft (30m) recreational diving limit under regulations in the Maldives. The Indian Ocean nation is known as a diving location that strictly regulates technical diving, making it near impossible to do while restricting available equipment. 

‘The cave is unforgiving,’ Mr Naeem, who is from the island of Male, described. ‘It is closed, pitch-black and you can only see where you shine the light. 

‘If something goes wrong, you cannot shoot up to the surface like you can in open dives. You are stopped and restricted, and, at that depth of below 55m [181ft], it is just completely dangerous.’

The perilous conditions initially limited the search for the group, notably conducted by professional divers, due to considerations over oxygen and decompression – as well as rough weather and sea conditions.  

An initial search operation for the victims ended in tragedy on Saturday when Maldivian military rescue diver Mohamed Mahudhee was admitted to hospital and died from decompression sickness after assisting in the recovery effort. 

Mr Mahudhee was a close friend of Mr Naeem. The 50-year-old is now questioning why the Maldivian government made the decision to send his pal down as an emergency diver who ‘doesn’t have the proper training and equipment’, given the nation’s restrictions on technical dives – adding: ‘Maybe a politician wanted a badge.’ 

As well as Benedetti, the other victims of the diving group have been identified as Monica Montefalcone, an associate professor of ecology at the University of Genoa; her daughter, Giorgia Sommacal; marine biologist Federico Gualtieri and researcher Muriel Oddenino.

Notably some members of the group seemingly did not have adequate diving qualifications for the caves depth, Mr Naeem said, nor were well-known safety rules followed.

The use of ropes, or lines known as ‘Ariadne’s thread’, is mandatory in certain caves to guide divers and keep them together, especially in darkness or at extreme depths. 

This photograph, shared by the Maldives President’s Media Division, shows divers preparing to search for the four missing Italian divers near Alimathaa Island, Vaavu Atoll, Maldives, Saturday, May 16, 2026

Sergeant Major Mohammed Mahudhee, a diver for the Maldives coast guard, lost his life as recovery operations continued in the Vaavu Atoll on Saturday

However no ropes were found within the cave walls when the trapped bodies were recovered, Mr Naeem said, further implying the group’s ill-preparation. 

Despite visiting the caves numerous times and recovering drowned bodies as a previous profession, the military diver has never traced the group’s journey into the third chamber – and believes last week’s tragedy was ‘an accident waiting to happen’, with a lack of knowledge and prior groundwork.

He added: ‘The talk on the local island is they must have tried to plan it, otherwise they wouldn’t have done it.’

For a dive of this depth, technical diving equipment is required, while the group was discovered carrying only recreational gear, used to dive down to 98ft (30m).

Mr Naeem explained: ‘The body of the guide who was recovered had a single air tank on him. Where is your back up or redundancy? People who are not trained in cave diving or without proper equipment, like this, tend to get knocked by nitrogen narcosis. Then things start to spiral down from there and get worse.’

Nitrogen narcosis is the poisoning of blood due to a lack of oxygen, leaving divers with impaired judgement or anxiety. Normal compressed air can become toxic around 181ft (55m) and hits people differently at different depths, dependent on fitness level. 

Mr Naeem speculates the group got into difficulty while in the dark depths and, without ropes to guide them back or the appropriate equipment, ran out of oxygen, were hit by nitrogen narcosis – or the above mixed together.

It is understood the tour operator Albatros Top Boats is known locally for hosting deep dives on its two boats, breaking the government’s diving regulations, as officials fail to check up on rule abidance by local companies.

Instructor Gianluca Benedetti was recovered from the mouth of the cave, while the other four divers were located deep at the bottom of the cave’s third chamber 

One of the victims was named as Monica Montefalcone, a professor and researcher at the University of Genoa

Giorgia Sommacal, 22, Montefalcone’s daughter, also died

‘That operator are well known to do all these deep dives, breaking rules, everybody knows it but don’t do anything,’ Mr Naeem said. 

‘The owner doesn’t dive herself but the boat managers are known to go deep, breaking the 98ft (30m) regulations.’ 

This is backdropped by the Maldives being the only dive destination in the world where technical diving is banned, therefore the equipment is not readily available to use. 

Current diving regulations date back to 1991, with a current reform being pushed through government to increase recreational dive limits from 98ft (30m) to 131ft (40m). 

‘Local dive centres and other companies are appeasing tourists and allowing them to dive deeper, where there may be more sharks,’ Mr Naeem, who runs the podcast Shaff Dives You Crazy, said. 

‘So for them, it is “let’s go see the sharks. Let’s go see the treasure sharks”. A lot of boats go below the legal 98ft, many going to 131ft or 164ft. But this one was life-threatening.’ 

The Italian tour operator that managed the diving trip has denied authorising or being aware of the deep dive that violated local limits, its lawyer told Italian daily Corriere della Sera on Saturday.

Orietta Stella, representing Albatros Top Boat, said the operator ‘did not know’ the group planned to descend beyond 98ft (30m) – the recreational diving limit in the Maldives.

Muriel Oddenino, a victim of the diving incident, was also a researcher at the University of Genoa

Federico Gualtieri who died in the Maldives diving tragedy 

That threshold requires special permission from Maldivian maritime authorities, and the tour operator ‘would have never allowed it’, she said.

The dive far exceeded what was planned for a scientific cruise focused on coral sampling at standard depths, Ms Stella added.

The victims were experienced divers, she said, but the equipment used appeared to be standard recreational gear rather than technical equipment suited for deep cave excursions.

The Divers’ Alert Network Europe (DAN), which deployed the three Finnish divers, said on its website that they are technical and cave divers with international experience in search and recovery missions, including operations in ‘deep overhead environments, confined spaces, and high-risk scenarios’.

The team used advanced technical systems, including closed-circuit rebreathers, a system that recycles exhaled breathing gas and removes carbon dioxide through a chemical scrubber, allowing for ‘significantly longer dives,’ the organisation explained.

Monday’s operation involved a ‘technical cave dive’, beginning at 8.30am Italian time and lasting approximately three hours.

‘During this first operational intervention, the team of specialists successfully explored the underwater cave system, assessed the environmental and operational conditions, located all four victims still missing, and collected the key information needed to plan the next phases of the operation,’ said DAN Europe, the organisation responsible for the recovery effort.

According to local media, one of the most widely accepted hypotheses by the coast guard and experts is oxygen toxicity.

Mr Naeem speculates the group got into difficulty while in the dark depths and, without ropes to guide them back or the appropriate equipment, ran out of oxygen and/or were hit by nitrogen narcosis

This phenomenon occurs if the tank’s mixture is inadequate, making oxygen toxic at certain depths.

‘At 50m of depth in the sea, there are several risks; it’s a real tragedy,’ says Alfonso Bolognini, president of the Italian Society of Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine.

‘There are several hypotheses we can make right now: an inadequate breathing mix can create a hyperoxic crisis when there’s an increase in the partial pressure of oxygen in the tissues and blood plasma, which can cause neurological problems.

‘Inside a cave at 50m of depth, all it takes is a problem for a diver or a panic attack for a diver,’ he adds, saying that ‘the agitation causes the water to become cloudy and can impair visibility.

‘In these cases, the panic component could lead to even fatal errors.’

It is also unclear whether the Italians’ dive, being at a depth of over 160ft, was regulated, according to the MNDF.

Meanwhile, it has been revealed that there was no local guide to accompany the group into the cave, as required by Maldivian law.

The Maldives, a nation of 1,192 tiny coral islands scattered some 500 miles across the equator in the Indian Ocean, is a luxury holiday destination popular with divers, who often stay at secluded resorts or on dive boats.

Diving and water-sport-related accidents are relatively rare in the South Asian nation, although several fatal incidents have been reported in recent years.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has apprehended a mother, who was residing in the country illegally, following a tragic car accident in Arizona. The incident resulted in the death of her 9-year-old daughter and left three other children injured. These details were reported by Fox News Digital.

Authorities have identified the woman as Brenda Liliana Rivera-Estrada, a 30-year-old Mexican national. Investigators suspect she was impaired when the accident occurred on April 12. The crash ejected her daughter from the vehicle and injured two boys, aged 11 and 3, as well as a 1-year-old baby girl. Reports indicate that the daughter was sharing a seatbelt with one of her siblings at the time.

Rivera-Estrada faces allegations of several felony charges, including manslaughter and child abuse. Initially held on a $100,000 bond, she was released from local custody after county prosecutors chose not to press charges. ICE subsequently detained her on an immigration hold.

“The arrest of Brenda Liliana Rivera-Estrada by ICE highlights the crucial role of the Criminal Alien Program in ensuring public safety,” stated Alejandro Almeida, Deputy Field Office Director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in Phoenix, in a statement to Fox News.

This tragic incident has drawn attention to the ongoing efforts of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations as they address cases involving individuals who are in the country illegally and pose a potential threat to public safety.

“Her fate now rests with the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review, and any available administrative or judicial appellate recourse, which will determine her eligibility to remain in the United States,” Almeida added.

ICE officers first encountered Rivera-Estrada at the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Intake, Transfer and Release facility on the day she was booked April 16. ICE said it maintains a presence at the facility and interviews those booked there to identify illegal immigrants and removable criminal aliens.

The agency said that work is part of ICE’s Criminal Alien Program, which is designed to transfer removable criminal aliens into federal immigration custody in a controlled setting.

Rivera-Estrada allegedly entered the United States through Nogales, Arizona, on Feb. 14, 2009, as a nonimmigrant border crosser with authorization to remain for up to 30 days, according to ICE. Officials said she remained in the country beyond that period in violation of federal immigration law.

She will remain in ICE custody pending immigration proceedings, according to officials.

“The suspect chose to get in a vehicle where she was allegedly under the influence of marijuana,” a prosecutor told Fox 10 Phoenix. “Multiple witnesses stated that she was driving above the posted speed limit, which was 65.”

Arizona troopers reportedly smelled the odor of marijuana at the crash scene, and officials said Rivera-Estrada admitted in a court hearing that she smoked marijuana, Fox 10 reported.

Mark Fuhrman, a former detective with the Los Angeles Police Department, has passed away, as confirmed by the Kootenai County Coroner’s Office in Idaho. Fuhrman gained notoriety in the O.J. Simpson murder trial for uncovering the infamous bloody glove and for his recorded use of racial slurs, which were pivotal elements during the proceedings, according to ABC News.

The coroner’s office reported his death on May 12 at the age of 74. While the cause of death remains unspecified at this time, the announcement marks the end of a controversial figure in American legal history.

Over thirty years ago, Fuhrman faced conviction for perjury during Simpson’s trial. His testimony became a focal point in the case that captivated the nation.

As one of the initial detectives assigned to the 1994 investigation of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson, O.J. Simpson’s ex-wife, and her companion Ronald Goldman, Fuhrman’s involvement highlighted racial and policing tensions in the United States.

During the investigation, Fuhrman claimed to have discovered a bloody glove at Simpson’s residence. However, his integrity was fiercely challenged as the defense alleged racial prejudice, suggesting that Fuhrman had planted the glove in an attempt to implicate Simpson unjustly.

Under cross-examination, Fuhrman testified that he had never made anti-Black racial slurs over the previous 10 years, but a recording made by an aspiring screenwriter showed he had used the n-word repeatedly.

The former detective was charged with perjury and pleaded no contest in 1996. He went on to become a TV and radio commentator and New York Times best-selling author. He wrote the book “Murder in Brentwood” about the killings. He served as an LAPD detective for 20 years before the felony conviction for perjury.

During Simpson’s criminal trial, the prosecution asked him to put on gloves believed to have been worn by the killer, but they didn’t appear to fit properly.

Defense attorney Johnnie Cochran famously told the jury in his closing argument, “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.” On Oct. 3, 1995, Simpson was acquitted of all criminal charges.

Simpson was later found liable for the deaths in a separate civil case, and then served nine years in prison on unrelated charges. He died in Las Vegas of prostate cancer at the age of 76.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

In an exhilarating showdown in Oklahoma City, the San Antonio Spurs emerged victorious against the Oklahoma City Thunder, clinching a 122-115 win in double overtime to kick off the Western Conference finals on Monday night. Victor Wembanyama was the star of the night, delivering a stellar performance with 41 points and 24 rebounds. His decisive pair of dunks in the final minute, including an exciting three-point play, helped the Spurs clinch the win and seize home-court advantage. This victory marks the fifth win for the Spurs against the Thunder in their last six encounters this season.

Dylan Harper also shone brightly for San Antonio, contributing 24 points and setting a team playoff record with seven steals. Despite missing De’Aaron Fox due to ankle stiffness, the Spurs had strong support from Stephon Castle, who added 17 points, while Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson each pitched in 13. Julian Champagnie rounded out the team’s dynamic performance with 11 points.

On the Thunder’s side, Alex Caruso delivered an impressive performance off the bench, scoring 31 points—the second-highest of his career. However, this wasn’t enough to maintain Oklahoma City’s nine-game playoff winning streak, which stretched back to Game 7 of last season’s Finals. Jalen Williams returned from a six-game hiatus due to a hamstring strain, contributing 26 points. Meanwhile, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, fresh off receiving his second consecutive Most Valuable Player award, tallied 24 points and 12 assists, though he struggled with his shooting, going 7 for 23.

Alex Caruso scored 31 points, the second-highest scoring game of his career, off the bench for the Thunder — whose nine-game playoff winning streak dating to Game 7 of last season’s Finals was snapped.

Jalen Williams returned from a six-game absence caused by a hamstring strain and scored 26 points for the Thunder, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — on the night he got his second straight Most Valuable Player trophy — had 24 points and 12 assists but shot 7 for 23.

It was the sixth Game 1 in NBA playoff history to go into double overtime — the first since a Spurs-Warriors game in 2013.

And as the clock ticked toward midnight, Wembanyama decided enough was enough.

Game 2 is Wednesday at Oklahoma City.

The Spurs were up by 10 with 9:10 left in regulation, wasted it all, then survived a frantic final stretch where the lead changed hands twice and the game was tied three times in a span of less than two minutes.

Wembanyama had an off-balance chance to win it on the last play of regulation, but Chet Holmgren swatted it away.

Gilgeous-Alexander had his worst first half, shooting-wise, in nearly three years — 1 for 5 from the field, four points. It was the first time since Oct. 29, 2023, a span of 270 appearances including playoffs, that he didn’t have at least two field goals before halftime.

Meanwhile, Wembanyama was doing whatever he wanted — dunking over trios of defenders, flexing at times, finishing the half with 14 points and 10 rebounds, looking perfectly comfortable in his debut on this stage.

And the Spurs’ lead was only seven at the break, 51-44.

Gilgeous-Alexander got a couple shots to fall in the third, and the Thunder even briefly reclaimed the lead. But the Spurs were unfazed and the margin was still seven. San Antonio was ahead 80-73 going into the fourth.

Mandy Moore recently addressed her past connection with Ashley Tisdale French during an interview, bringing attention to their shared experiences.

During a conversation with Andy Cohen on Monday for SiriusXM’s Radio Andy, Moore, 42, admitted that she found Tisdale French’s essay about the ‘toxic’ mom group that had allegedly given her the cold shoulder to be ‘very upsetting.’

“It’s surreal when anyone comments on your personal life. Hilary [Duff] has expressed similar feelings,” Moore shared, nodding to another celebrity mom in their circle that Tisdale French mentioned. “We both grew up in this industry under scrutiny, with people constantly analyzing our identities and decisions. However, this situation felt distinctly more personal and deeply unsettling—it really hits home.”

The Daily Mail has reached out to Tisdale French’s team for her response.

Moore’s comments came shortly after Tisdale French, 40, enjoyed a significant business triumph, with her haircare line reportedly surpassing $250 million in sales as of April.

Back in January, Tisdale penned an essay for The Cut, detailing her experience with a group of new mom friends who, she claimed, began to exclude her from their gatherings.

Mandy Moore, 42, admitted that she found Tisdale French’s essay about the ‘toxic’ mom group that had allegedly given her the cold shoulder to be ‘very upsetting’ during a conversation on Monday with Andy Cohen; pictured May 12 in NYC

In January, Tisdale published an essay in The Cut about a friend group of new mothers she had belonged to that allegedly began to give her the cold shoulder and stopped inviting her to events, leading her to break up with them; pictured in May 2025 in NYC

Fans and observers have theorized that Tisdale French was referring to a group of mothers that includes Moore, Hilary Duff and Meghan Trainor, based on past social media posts

Fans and observers have theorized that Tisdale French was referring to a group of mothers that includes Moore, Duff and Meghan Trainor, based on social media posts showing the group hanging out in the past, but Tisdale French’s representatives have previously denied the speculation about which women she may have been referring to. 

Tisdale French revealed in her essay that she eventually severed ties with the unnamed group of women by sending a group text reading, ‘This is too high school for me and I don’t want to take part in it anymore.’ 

While Moore has previously thrown her support behind Duff and her husband, Matthew Koma, after they spoke out about the essay, her latest statement seems to confirm that she is part of the mothers’ group that inspired the essay.

Moore told Cohen that ‘The most important thing in my life is being a kind person and like that legacy of kindness, and anyone even insinuating that that might not be the case, and with the company that I choose to keep is very upsetting.

‘I’d say that was the biggest takeaway, sort of the shock of like, “Wow,”‘ she added.

Moore admitted that it could be difficult to address interpersonal differences, and she admitted that she is ‘really scared by confrontation.’ 

However, she also said she’s a ‘huge proponent’ of having direct communication when her ‘feelings are hurt.’

‘It’s not always like the most comfortable of situations, but I think that’s where I sort of differed in feeling like I wouldn’t have handled the situation this way,’ Moore continued. 

Moore told Cohen that ‘The most important thing in my life is being a kind person and like that legacy of kindness, and anyone even insinuating that that might not be the case, and with the company that I choose to keep is very upsetting’; seen Monday in NYC

Moore added that she was a ‘huge proponent’ of direct communication when her feelings are hurt, even though she admitted she’s ‘really scared by confrontation’; Tisdale French and husband Christopher French are pictured with daughter Jupiter, now five

She said her ‘biggest takeaway from that whole ridiculous debacle’ was that Tisdale French’s essay ‘sort of perpetuates this silly trope that women can’t be supportive of one another, and that we’re inherently petty and that we’re inherently out to one-up each other, and I have not felt that one iota since becoming a parent.’ 

Instead, the Candy singer claimed she had been ‘surprised by the meaningful relationships I found with other moms and other parents,’ adding that it is important to find ‘community’ and ‘support wherever you can get it.’

‘You need to be able to talk about all of that,’ Moore said.

She shares two sons and a daughter with her husband, Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith: August ‘Gus’ Harrison, five; Oscar ‘Ozzie’ Bennett Goldsmith, three; and 20-month-old Louise ‘Lou’ Everett Goldsmith.

Moore and Goldsmith began dating in 2015, and they got engaged two years later, before tying the knot in November 2018 in Los Angeles. 

Moore has a special connection to fellow mom-group member Hilary Duff that was forged after her home was destroyed in the devastating LA Fires in January 2025.

While she and Goldsmith were without a home, Duff shared her mansion with Moore’s family until they could find more stable accommodations. 

Moore’s fullest response to the mom group drama follows Duff’s admission in February on the Call Her Daddy podcast that she felt ‘used’ after Tisdale French’s essay was published.

Moore shares two sons and a daughter with her husband, Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith: August ‘Gus’ Harrison, five; Oscar ‘Ozzie’ Bennett Goldsmith, three; and 17-month-old Louise ‘Lou’ Everett Goldsmith; Moore and Goldsmith pictured in 2024 in Santa Monica, Calif.

In February, Hilary Duff said on the Call Her Daddy podcast that she felt ‘used’ after Tisdale French’s essay was published 

‘I honestly felt really sad,’ she said of the drama. ‘I was, like, pretty, pretty taken aback and felt just, like, sad.’

Duff, 38, said that being a mother had connected her to new friends, rather than shrinking her social circle, and she claimed to have significant friendships within multiple groups of mothers.

‘I have so many groups of friends. I’m so lucky,’ she said. ‘Motherhood has brought on, like, I have my core group of friends who have been my ride-or-dies for 10 to 20 years, and I have tons of different groups of mom friends because I have four kids. 

‘So I think I just was like, “Whoa.” It sucks to read something that’s, like, not true,’ Duff continued. ‘And it sucks on behalf of, like, six women in all of their lives.’

When host Alex Cooper noted that Tisdale French had declined to name any of the allegedly catty members of the mom group, Duff shot back, ‘I don’t really think people had to connect very many dots.’

In an earlier conversation with the Los Angeles Times, Duff addressed how she reacted to speculation brought on by Tisdale French’s essay. 

‘It’s hard because you’re like, “Wait, whoa, that person kind of got it right,” and “Whoa, that person doesn’t know what they’re talking about,” she said, recalling a rumor that other moms and even teachers allegedly disliked her.

‘I was like, “First of all… the women at school are lovely and I’m obsessed with all of them,”‘ Duff added.

It was Duff’s husband, the musician and producer Matthew Koma, who most directly appeared to confirm that Tisdale French had been writing about Duff and the other celebrities she had previously posed with on social media; (Duff and Koma in December)

Duff shares son Luca Cruz Comrie, 13, with ex-husband Mike Comrie, and daughters Banks Violet, 7, Mae James, 4, and Townes Meadow, 1, with Koma 

Meghan Trainor revealed that she ‘felt bad’ for Tisdale French in a conversation with Us Weekly from April; pictured in August 2025

It was Duff’s husband, the musician and producer Matthew Koma, who most directly appeared to confirm that Tisdale French had been writing about Duff and the other celebrities she had previously posed with on social media. 

Shortly after the essay was published, Koma shared a version of The Cut’s cover photo of Tisdale French, but he had photoshopped his own face over the Disney Channel star’s visage and added a new headline: ‘When You’re The Most Self-Obsessed Tone-Deaf Person On Earth, Other Moms Tend To Shift Focus To Their Actual Toddlers.’ 

In a smaller subheading, he joked, ‘A Mom Group Tell All Through A Father’s Eye.’

Meghan Trainor, who was also alleged to be part of the group of mothers that Tisdale French wrote about, offered a more measured response to the drama while speaking to Us Weekly in April.

‘I felt bad for Ashley,’ she said. ‘I felt bad that she was ever that sad, and I think it was just a lot of miscommunication and confusion. I don’t know what happened, but I wish them all the best.’

Trainor also said that the former High School Musical star had apologized to her after the uproar.

‘Ashley texted me like, “I’m sorry your name got dragged in.” And I was like, “It’s all right, girl. The world’s a silly, crazy place, and they just want something to talk about,”‘ she said

Trainor also said she hadn’t seen Tisdale or other members of her moms group in some time.

The All About That Bass singer joked that she was such a ‘bad mom friend’ because the last time she saw members of the friend group was ‘a year ago,’ which, ironically, was when she took them out to dinner as an apology for being an absent friend.