A long-planned birthday trip for two longtime friends turned devastating after a woman was allegedly pushed down a staircase outside a beachside bar in South Carolina, suffering injuries that later proved fatal.

Mary Lopez Hunt, 68, faces charges of voluntary manslaughter and assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, according to Colleton County court records.

Ruth Peterson described the night to Fox News Digital on Oct. 1, 2026, two days before the anniversary of her friend’s death.

Peterson said she had stepped away to retrieve their car while her friend, 62-year-old Minnesota resident Joyce Tomlinson, remained behind to pay their bill at Coot’s Bar & Grill on Edisto Island. It was around 11 p.m. on Oct. 3, 2025.

As Peterson reached the bottom of the stairs, she heard Tomlinson’s voice and turned to look back up, she recalled.

At the top of the staircase, Peterson saw Tomlinson — whom she described as quiet and kind — briefly speak with another woman standing behind her. Peterson said she could not make out the exchange.

“All of a sudden, Joyce turned to walk back down, and this woman charged toward her and pushed her with both hands. Joyce just went flying,” Peterson said through tears.

“She didn’t stumble down the stairs. She didn’t roll down them. She didn’t even make contact with the steps,” Peterson said.

Instead, Peterson said, Tomlinson fell headfirst onto a concrete slab.

Peterson ran to her friend and said she could not detect a pulse. Tomlinson was bleeding from her mouth and ears, she recalled.

“I knew it was serious.”

According to court records, Hunt told investigators that Tomlinson had acted belligerently and shouted at bartenders before being asked to leave. Hunt claimed Tomlinson fell down the stairs.

A heavily redacted police report states that officers arrived to find Tomlinson on the pavement at the base of the stairs.

Tomlinson was airlifted to a hospital, where she died slightly more than three weeks later.

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‘Itty-bitty, tiny woman’

Peterson remembered Tomlinson as an “itty-bitty, tiny” woman with a “meek and mild” nature. She said it was difficult to imagine that her friend, who worked as a legal aide helping people address financial problems, would have provoked a confrontation.

Peterson said she and Tomlinson had shared a friendship spanning five decades.

The two met as girls in Minnesota and spent their childhood roller-skating together. Later, after marrying and raising families, they watched their children grow up alongside one another. Even after moving to different places, they remained close.

For years, the friends talked about celebrating their 60th birthdays together, but other responsibilities repeatedly got in the way, Peterson said.

That changed in 2025, when Tomlinson called Peterson and said she planned to visit in October so they could finally mark the milestone together.

After checking into a rented condominium in Edisto Beach, South Carolina, the friends followed an employee’s recommendation and headed to Coot’s Bar & Grill, Peterson said.

They sat at the bar and each had two drinks, Peterson said. When a solo performer began playing music, the two women stood up and danced.

Then the bar became crowded, so they decided to leave and catch up at the condo, Peterson said.

Tomlinson went to pay the bill. Peterson went for the car.

“I left the bar and walked down the steps, the same steps that we came up [to go] in. I turned around to see how far behind me she was … and that’s when I saw her standing at the top of the steps.”

Moments later, her friend was unconscious. They never spoke again.

‘Loving mom,’ ‘trustworthy friend’

Tomlinson’s friends and family still are trying to piece together how the fight could turned violent so quickly, Peterson said.

At her funeral, friends and family remembered Tomlinson as “a loving mom” and “a trustworthy friend,” Peterson wrote in a eulogy read at the funeral. She wasn’t married but did leave behind a son.

“It’s just been very surreal,” Peterson said. “It’s very hard to believe that she’s gone and that somebody would do that to another person.”

Hunt was released on $100,000 bond for each of her charges. Later, bond was revoked and she was taken back into custody in the Colleton County Jail in Walterboro, South Carolina. It was not immediately clear why her bond was revoked.

Fox News Digital reached out to Coot’s Bar & Grill for comment. Hunt’s attorney could not be reached.

Japanese authorities have arrested a U.S. Marine stationed in Okinawa on suspicion of killing and robbing a 39-year-old woman at a hotel, prompting Tokyo to issue a formal protest to Washington.

Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, is accused of killing Anna Yagi at a hotel in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture’s capital, early Saturday and stealing her wallet and backpack, according to police.

Police said Ballard has rejected the allegations.

The Marine Corps said Ballard serves with the III Marine Expeditionary Force and is based at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa.

According to Stars and Stripes, citing Okinawa police, security video showed Yagi entering the hotel with Ballard. He was later seen leaving by himself, and a hotel employee discovered Yagi unresponsive after she did not check out.

Authorities later found Ballard in Okinawa City and took him into custody, the outlet reported.

News Media has contacted the Okinawa Prefectural Police seeking further details.

The Marine Corps said it was working with Japanese investigators and confirmed that Ballard remained in Japanese custody.

“The Marine Corps takes these allegations very seriously and expects every Marine to adhere to the highest standards of behavior,” the service said in a statement obtained by Reuters.

The arrest drew an immediate response from Japan’s senior leadership. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi expressed sympathy for Yagi’s relatives and said Japan had delivered a “strong protest” to the United States.

“The occurrence of such an extremely brutal and heinous incident is a matter of profound regret,” Takaichi said in an English translation of her statement, which was originally issued in Japanese.

Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi separately summoned U.S. Ambassador George Glass. He called on the United States to fully assist the investigation, strengthen discipline among American military personnel and take steps to prevent similar cases.

Glass conveyed regret over the woman’s death and promised that the United States would cooperate with Japanese authorities.

The investigation unfolds amid decades of friction over the substantial U.S. military presence on Okinawa.

Most of the approximately 18,000 U.S. Marines serving in Japan are stationed on Okinawa. Local opposition has periodically intensified over crimes involving American service members, aircraft accidents and ongoing noise from military facilities.

Okinawa is also central to the U.S.-Japan alliance because of its strategic position in the western Pacific, close to Taiwan, as concerns grow over China’s military activity in the region.

Saturday Night Live has drawn backlash after turning the high-profile Cornell sexual assault lawsuit into a joke during a Weekend Update segment, with co-host Colin Jost becoming the target.

A woman identified in court documents as Jane Doe filed a lawsuit last month accusing seven students at the Ivy League university of gang-raping her. The case has since been widely referred to as the “Cornell seven” scandal.

According to the lawsuit, Doe alleged that she was given excessive amounts of alcohol, pressured to use ketamine and sexually assaulted multiple times over several hours at the Chi Phi fraternity house in October 2024.

The allegations were addressed on the latest episode of Saturday Night Live during Weekend Update, the news-focused segment hosted by Michael Che and Colin Jost.

“Of course, one of the big stories in the news this week is the sexual assault case at Cornell, and obviously we don’t want to make light of anything that happened,” Che said as he introduced the topic.

“But it is a good time to talk about men holding other men accountable. And look, we all have that one friend that seems like a nice guy,” Che continued, just as the camera shifted to Jost, who was looking down at the desk while holding a pencil.

Jost appeared to pretend he had no idea why the camera was on him. When the audience erupted in laughter, he looked up with a puzzled expression.

“But you know they’re definitely not,” Che added, laughing along with the crowd.

“And it could be someone you’re close to or someone you work with,” Che continued, prompting another cut to Jost.

“Maybe you can’t prove anything, but you could just look at him and tell those weird privileged Ivy League types always got some messed up stuff going on,” Che said, as the broadcast alternated between shots of him and Jost.

Che then turned to his co-host and asked, “And Colin, did you want to add anything?”

“What?” Jost replied with a grin. “No, stop cutting to me,” he said.

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“All right, don’t want to help women. Cool,” Che responded sarcastically.

The studio audience responded enthusiastically, breaking into laughter each time the camera returned to Jost.

Reaction online was far less unanimous. While some viewers considered the exchange a carefully delivered joke, others said the subject was too serious to be treated humorously and criticized the segment as offensive.

“Using Cornell as a lead-in to joke about rape was so disgusting and disrespectful and dismissive to women and SA victims everywhere,” one person wrote. “Apologizing isn’t enough — corrective action needs to be taken.”

Another commenter on YouTube offered a more mixed reaction: “I didn’t know where Che was going with the Cornell joke, but admittedly, I did chuckle a bit. He never fails to take a dig at Colin.”

‘“……wh…what? Stop cutting to me!” I genuinely have no idea if this was rehearsed or not, but dammit I laughed!’ another user on YouTube said.

‘Weekend Update remains the best part of SNL. Michael and Colin continue to be a great duo. “Stop cutting to me”,’ a third YouTube commenter chimed in.

Much of the negative reaction was posted on X, where one user tweeted: ‘I think the reason this was so upsetting is the fact that they have handled serious issues in a non offensive way before… 

‘But two men joking about a horrific rape case is just not funny! At all!’

Another user tweeted: ‘I don’t think Michael wrote that failed Cornell joke.’ 

‘SNL sucks,’ a third user simply said in response to a tweet about the SNL clip. 

WASHINGTON — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz pushed back after Vice President JD Vance suggested the Republican senator was already positioning himself for a 2028 presidential campaign, calling the vice president “insecure.”

Vance, broadly viewed as an early Republican favorite for 2028, took a swipe at Cruz last week by implying that the Texas lawmaker was looking beyond the upcoming midterm elections.

“In my experience, people engage in political bomb-throwing when they’re feeling insecure,” Cruz said in a Saturday interview with Politico.

“So he’s welcome to make whatever comments he likes,” Cruz, 55, added.

“I’m going to keep focusing on the midterms and helping us win on Election Day in the next 30 days.”

Cruz finished second to President Trump in the 2016 Republican primary after a bitter and bruising contest.

In August, Cruz told MS NOW that he would “certainly be part of the discussion” surrounding the 2028 race while arguing that Vance had not secured the GOP presidential nomination.

“It is really obvious to me that, at this very moment, Ted Cruz is running for president,” Vance said in response during an interview with NBC News.

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“At this moment, I’m not. I’m trying to help elect Republicans. That’s what I’m going to keep on doing.”

For many Republicans, the 2028 presidential campaign represents a chance to reshape the GOP after Trump. Traditional conservatives such as Cruz want the party to move back toward free markets and fiscal restraint.

MAGA Republicans, by contrast, want to preserve the party’s populist course and renew its emphasis on avoiding foreign entanglements.

Cruz, who has occasionally reflected on his previous White House campaign, has already taken part in some of the GOP’s internal arguments over its future. Last year, he held a fiery discussion with Tucker Carlson, the nicotine-pouch salesman and podcast giant, in June.

Carlson and Vance have maintained a close relationship, although the vice president has acknowledged recent political disagreements with the pundit, who has turned against Trump.

The Texas Republican also highlighted his work supporting GOP candidates ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections, as his home state faces a competitive Senate race.

“Over the last 10 years, there’s no Republican in the country who has campaigned for more Senate candidates, more House candidates, more gubernatorial candidates than I have, and this year will be no exception,” Cruz told Politico.

“Indeed, ironically, I spent a full day on the road with JD Vance, campaigning with him when he was running for Senate in Ohio [in 2022],” the senator said. “I was very glad he won that race. I was very glad to help him.”

The Post contacted Vance’s team for comment.

A woman wanted for 17 years in connection with the death of a Georgia mother following an illegal silicone injection inadvertently helped authorities track her down when she asked officials to renew a driver’s license obtained with a stolen identity, authorities said.

Tamaira Angell Smith, 52, is facing a felony murder charge in the death of Eyanna Moore, 29, of Loganville. Smith was extradited from Texas to Georgia and remains held in the Gwinnett County Jail.

According to a Gwinnett County criminal arrest warrant, Smith injected silicone into Moore’s left buttock inside a Holiday Inn Express room near Stone Mountain on May 30, 2009.

Moore died the next day.

Yolanda Hammond, Moore’s maternal aunt, told News Media that her niece carefully researched providers before agreeing to the procedure. Hammond said Smith and another woman claimed to be sisters, with one presenting herself as a doctor and Smith as a physician assistant.

“Eyanna did extensive research,” Hammond said. “The website looked legitimate and had reviews. But we later learned there was a real cosmetic location, only they were not the people they claimed to be.”

“They used someone else’s credentials to pose as those people.”

Shortly after the procedure, Smith called Moore’s husband, David, and told him to come to the hotel with yogurt and Gatorade, Hammond said. When he arrived, he found Moore in distress and called 911.

Hammond said Smith later called David to ask about Moore’s condition. He told her that Moore had died.

“He said she [Smith] was screaming ‘no,’ and then hung up the phone,” Hammond said. “Nobody ever heard from her again.”

Gwinnett police obtained an arrest warrant in June 2009, initially accusing Smith of practicing medicine without a license. By the time the felony murder warrant was issued months later, Smith had already fled.

Driver’s license renewal leads to an arrest

In November 2018, Smith obtained a South Carolina driver’s license using the stolen identity of another woman, according to a Sept. 25 news release from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, or SLED.

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In July 2026, Smith contacted the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles for help after an alert on the license blocked her from renewing it online.

SLED assigned the identity-fraud case to Special Agent Shawn Ludwig in August. Using facial-recognition technology, Ludwig identified Smith and discovered the outstanding murder warrant.

Renée Wunderlich, SLED’s director of public information, told News Media that Ludwig and Senior Special Agent Bridgette Lott worked together on the investigation. The investigators identified another alias Smith had used in McKinney, Texas, and provided local police with information about her vehicle.

McKinney police found Smith’s vehicle and arrested her in August.

Hammond said she was shocked by the way investigators ultimately located Smith.

“You ran for 17 years and then you call and ask for help under an alias—like, really?” she said.

A bond hearing has been set for Smith on Oct. 22 at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center. News Media reached out to her attorney.

Moore’s family hopes for justice

Moore’s death left her four children — Tatiyanna, Faith, Fantasia and Tristan — to grow up without their mother. Two of the children were so young that they have no recollection of Moore. Now, the family plans to attend court hearings and hopes for justice.

“She was always advancing herself for a better career for herself and her family,” Hammond added. “She’s 29 years old and she had a full life ahead of her…well educated young woman, married with children, and she just didn’t deserve that.”

Hammond now hopes Moore’s death will raise awareness of illegal silicone injections and help other families avoid the loss hers has endured.

“The thing that I would like for the world to know is just, you know, make sure you do your due diligence vetting these people. Make sure that you check the credentials.”

“No alteration of your body is worth you losing your life.”