One year after a man was found fatally stabbed inside a tent at Burning Man in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, the homicide remains unsolved — and authorities say the victim’s final hours are still shrouded in uncertainty.

Vadim Kruglov, a 37-year-old Russian-born man who had been living in Washington state, was discovered lying in blood around 9:15 p.m. on Aug. 30, 2025, while the festival’s signature “Man” burn was taking place. As this year’s Burning Man event gets underway after opening Sunday and running through Labor Day, investigators have yet to announce any arrests.

Fresh information about Kruglov’s death and the days leading up to it has surfaced through KTLA and a yearlong SFGATE investigation that included interviews with more than 80 people tied either to Kruglov or to the massive desert gathering, which attracts as many as 80,000 attendees known as “burners.”

Pershing County Sheriff’s Sgt. Nathan Carmichael told SFGATE that investigators believe Kruglov was killed inside the red-and-white tent where his body was later found.

A knife remained lodged in his neck, and an autopsy found no defensive wounds, suggesting he had little or no chance to fight back, according to the outlet.

“When you get stabbed in the manner that he was, you’re going to be out in seconds,” Carmichael told SFGATE.

The weapon was recovered at the scene and yielded several DNA profiles, then-Pershing County Detective Josh Nicholson told SFGATE.

Kruglov’s cellphone was also recovered, but had not been unlocked at the time of Nicholson’s interview, the outlet reported.

One of the largest unanswered questions centers on the roughly four hours before Kruglov was found.

Black Rock Rangers — fellow burners who assist others in need — reportedly took him to Rampart, a temporary hospital on the festival grounds, where he spent much of Aug. 30, and received medical care, Nicholson told SFGATE.

He was released at about 5 p.m., but investigators have not publicly accounted for his movements between then and 9:14 p.m., when he was discovered with the fatal neck wound.

Earlier that morning, at about 2 a.m., Kruglov had reportedly been seen DJing with two men at a camp on the outskirts of the festival, not far from where his body would later be found.

Authorities have not identified those men, despite receiving hundreds of tips, according to KTLA.

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Friends and campmates also described troubling behavior in the days before Kruglov’s death. They told SFGATE that he became increasingly paranoid after using cocaine and what may have been methamphetamine, at one point saying people were watching him and wanted him out of the camp.

One campmate, Alex Barnov, told the outlet he believed Kruglov’s paranoia was drug-induced and said Kruglov appeared fine after waking the next day.

Another campmate said Kruglov was focused on getting an Apple AirTag to work on Aug. 29, so others could track him, though the remote location made the device difficult to use, according to SFGATE.

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Kruglov’s death unfolded as tens of thousands of festivalgoers gathered for the burning of “The Man,” the signature spectacle at the annual nine-day gathering dedicated to art, community and self-expression.

His death marked the first known homicide in Burning Man’s history, Carmichael told SFGATE.

A man initially alerted a deputy after finding Kruglov on the ground, according to the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities secured the area and established a perimeter while the celebration continued around them.

An anonymous witness later told The Hollywood Reporter that she and her partner were leaving Black Rock City when an older woman in a red dress flagged them down and calmly said a man inside her tent was “bleeding out and might be dead.” The woman reportedly said she had not checked his pulse because she “didn’t want to touch him.”

The group contacted a Black Rock Ranger using Starlink, and the information was relayed to law enforcement, the witness said.

Kruglov, who was originally from Omsk, Siberia, was identified through fingerprints by the Washoe County Regional Medical Examiner’s Office days after the killing.

His father, Igor Kruglov, later released an emotional video from Russia calling for justice.

“Words can’t express my feelings,” he said. “I’m proud of my son, now known worldwide. He felt injustice deeply and fought for fairness always. I believe a similar situation occurred here. I want those responsible to face consequences.”

In the days after the killing, the sheriff’s office appealed for any information that could identify a suspect in what it called a “heinous crime.”

Anyone with information is urged to contact the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office.

News Media reached out to the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office for an update on the investigation and Washoe County Regional Medical Examiner’s Office but did not immediately receive a response.

HOMEWOOD, Ill. (WLS) — State, federal and local officials are surveying storm damage throughout south suburban Cook County after the Aug. 11 severe weather, an important early step in deciding whether affected homeowners and renters may become eligible for federal disaster assistance.

Crews with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and partner agencies have been visiting impacted communities door by door as part of a joint preliminary damage assessment.

“We’re visiting impacted neighborhoods, looking to validate the damage that has been reported,” said Kim Keblish, a FEMA public affairs specialist.

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Investigators are recording both the locations of reported storm damage and how serious that damage appears to be.

“We want to know if they had flood damage, how much flood water entered their home. Was it inches? Was it feet? Did it impact essential living spaces? If they had high wind impacts, did that structurally impact their home, or just the faade of the home?” Keblish said.

Among those impacted are Michael and Sharon Luckett of Homewood, who have lived on their street for nearly 30 years. The retired couple said they are facing thousands of dollars in storm-related damage.

“We were without power for five days. We’ve thrown away groceries. The siding is horrible on the side of my house. It’s torn up. It’s torn off. We’ve got our backyard in disarray. We’ve got water into our house,” Sharon Luckett said.

Officials said accounts from homeowners help the Illinois Emergency Management Agency evaluate the extent of the damage and determine whether state leaders should seek federal assistance.

“FEMA looks at populations, they look at cost of living expenses, they look at unemployment issues, they look at, you know, a lot of things that take place on the domestic side,” said Greg Nimmo, recovery division chief for IEMA and the Office of Homeland Security.

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Prosecutors say the 24-year-old man charged in the deaths of four Pepperdine University sorority sisters had a “giant canister of nitrous oxide” — commonly known as laughing gas — sitting on his lap in the moments before he allegedly struck the women while driving 104 mph.

The dramatic new claim surfaced during a court hearing on Wednesday, leading the judge to delay the case just days before Fraser Bohm was expected to stand trial over the deadly 2023 Malibu crash on the Pacific Coast Highway, a roadway long criticized for its dangers.

Bohm has entered not guilty pleas to four counts of second-degree murder and four counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence in connection with the deaths of Niamh Rolston, 20, Asha Weir, 21, Peyton Stewart, 21, and Deslyn Williams, 21.

The four women were killed on October 17, 2023, after authorities say Bohm was speeding in a BMW along PCH and crashed into three parked vehicles in the shoulder lane near where they were walking.

Although the posted speed limit on that section of the Pacific Coast Highway is 45 mph, prosecutors pursued murder charges after data recovered from the BMW’s “black box” allegedly showed Bohm accelerated from 93 mph to 104 mph in the final two and a half seconds before impact.

Now, nearly three years on, prosecutors say a 10 to 12-lb canister of nitrous oxide found inside Bohm’s wrecked car could become key evidence in the case. 

Fraser’s lead attorney, Alan Jackson, pleaded that he needed more time to mount a defense against the prosecution’s explosive ‘new theory’ that the gas, which can produce a short, intense high when inhaled, could have been a factor in the deadly 2023 pile-up on Malibu’s notorious stretch of PCH known as ‘Dead Man’s Curve.’ 

Judge Thomas Rubinson, at Van Nuys court near Los Angeles, agreed, granting Jackson’s motion to delay the trial and setting a new trial date of December 1.

‘When the prosecution seeks to change its theory of its case, the defense is entitled to a continuance to give them time to investigate that theory,’ the judge told the court.

Bohm, wearing a light gray check suit, light blue tie and pale blue shirt, showed no emotion or reaction as he sat in court Wednesday with family members and friends in support.

Bohm’s defense team has tried twice unsuccessfully to have the murder charges dismissed, saying that prosecutors cannot prove ‘malice’ – that he knew his reckless driving could have caused death – which is the law’s standard for a murder charge to stick.

Jackson has consistently maintained that the deaths were the result of a tragic accident which happened when his client was being chased in a ‘road rage’ incident, a scenario the District Attorney (DA) insists there is no evidence to support.

Instead, the LA DA’s case is that the four victims were killed ‘because of the defendant’s wanton disregard for the high probability of death caused by driving at over 100mph’…which would constitute malice.

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Attorney Jackson complained in court documents filed earlier that the prosecutors’ announcement ‘on the eve of trial’ that they would use the 10-12 pound canister of nitrous oxide, with nozzle, found inside Bohm’s car as a major part of their case, ‘implied’ that Bohm was inhaling the gas at the time of the crash.

But on Wednesday, Deputy DA Nathan Bartos told the court that he did not intend to argue that Bohm actually inhaled the nitrous, only that he ‘possessed’ the canister ‘and that possession distracted his driving.’

Judge Rubinson told the court he would ‘hold prosecutors to that’ and he would not allow any suggestion to the jury at trial that Bohm was actually inhaling nitrous at the time of the accident, ‘not even a nod, nod, wink wink.’

Jackson, who pointed out that the tank of nitrous oxide was never mentioned at Bohm’s preliminary hearing in April last year, told the court that he needed time to ‘inspect the car and the chain of custody of evidence’ and investigate prosecutors’ claims of ‘a giant canister being on Mr Bohm’s lap.’

The lawyer said he also wanted his own experts to examine smears of Bohm’s blood found on the top of the nitrous tank and presumed to be from the facial injuries he suffered in the crash.

Jackson asked for the trial to be postponed until January because he has two other upcoming trials between now and the end of the year.

In response, Judge Rubinson protested: ‘Why do those other trials take priority over this one?’ 

He then held a lengthy meeting in his chambers with attorneys from both sides and reached a compromise date of December 1 for the start of jury selection.

Bohm remains free on $4 million bail until another pre-trial motion hearing Judge Rubinson scheduled for September 9.

The grieving parents of the four victims have all brought wrongful death civil lawsuits against Bohm and are also suing the State of California, LA County, the City of Malibu and the California Coastal Commission, alleging dangerous road design on PCH and lack of safety standards.

All four victims had been seniors at Pepperdine’s Seaver College of Liberal Arts, where they were members of the Alpha Phi Sorority. 

They were due to graduate with the class of 2024 and later were awarded their Pepperdine degrees posthumously.

A 2-year-old boy died Tuesday after officers responded to a home in Frankfort, Illinois, where police said they also found the child’s mother trying to injure herself in an incident neighbors worried could resemble the Lindsay Clancy case.

Police were called shortly after 4 p.m. to the 22700 block of Brook Stone Court following a report that a child was unresponsive.

When officers arrived, they discovered the young boy inside the residence and immediately began CPR. He was then transported to a nearby hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Authorities said the boy’s mother was also found at the home with injuries believed to be self-inflicted. She was taken to a hospital for treatment, and police said her injuries were not considered life-threatening.

The preliminary investigation points to a domestic-related homicide, police said. Authorities have not disclosed how the boy died, identified the mother or said whether she has been accused of a crime.

The Frankfort Fire Protection District told FOX 32 Chicago that five people were transported from the property after crews were dispatched minutes after police arrived.

Officials have not released information about the other three people or explained why they were taken to the hospital.

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The investigation continued Wednesday at the large, two-story home, which sits on a broad lawn at the end of the residential street. Police blocked off the roadway for several hours, and investigators were seen entering and leaving the property.

Neighbors told NBC Chicago that police remained at the home late Tuesday.

Carolyn Pappas, who lives nearby, said the death has left residents stunned. She told the station that the circumstances brought to mind the case of Clancy, a Massachusetts mother who admitted to killing her three children before attempting to take her own life.

“This is just absolutely devastating, that this could be another Lindsay Clancy situation in our neighborhood, in our community. You never think it’s going to hit so close to home,” she said, NBC Chicago reported. “And so yeah, that absolutely makes us think of that. And again, just more people I think are struggling than we realize and so we just need to be there for one another.”

Pappas said the case was a reminder that a person could be struggling with a serious crisis behind closed doors without neighbors realizing it. She urged residents to check on one another and offer support.

Frankfort is about 36 miles southwest of Chicago.

The Frankfort Police Department asked anyone with information about the incident to contact the department at 815-469-9435.

The NBA announced Wednesday that it is taking sweeping action against the Los Angeles Clippers, stripping the franchise of five first-round draft picks, fining billionaire owner Steve Ballmer $30 million and suspending the former Microsoft CEO for one year after an investigation into improper payments involving All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard.

In its statement, the league said the probe uncovered “a pattern of misconduct and multiple significant rules violations by the Clippers organization,” noting that the team had previously violated rules related to salary cap circumvention.

Leonard has been ordered to pay $700,000 in restitution tied to improper benefits received by him and his uncle and representative, Dennis Robertson, from the Clippers and other organizations. The NBA said Leonard, 35, will not have any contracts voided as a result of the investigation.

Robertson, however, has been barred from conducting any business with the NBA.

The league also disciplined senior Clippers executives, suspending president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank without pay for six months and issuing a one-year ban to president of business operations Gillian Zucker.

According to the a summary report prepared by law firm Wachtell Lipton, the Clippers violated NBA rules by ‘initiating off-court income opportunities between Mr. Leonard and four companies doing business with the team.’

Those companies include Aspiration Partners, Boingo Wireless, Daktronics, and Lockton Insurance.

Additionally, the Clippers are accused of facilitating endorsement deals, inducing companies to enter into these agreements by offering other business with the team, and paying personal expenses on behalf of Leonard and his representatives.

Lastly, the team failed to report improper solicitations made on Leonard’s behalf by Robertson.

Leonard and Robertson were found to have pressured ‘the Clippers to assist [Leonard] in obtaining off-court income opportunities, successfully obtaining those opportunities, and failing to reimburse payments by the Clippers for personal expenses,’ according to the statement. 

The Clippers recently agreed to trade Leonard back to Toronto, where he won an NBA title in 2019, but the deal with the Raptors was placed on hold as the league investigation continued over the summer. However, as Leonard revealed in his statement, it appears he is now headed back to the shores of Lake Ontario. 

‘Integrity and respect for this game are fundamental to who I am,’ Leonard said in a statement issued by his agent. ‘I accept full responsibility for lapses in judgment by people within my inner circle and regret the distraction this situation has caused the fans and my family.

‘I entered into my contract with the Clippers as well as the agreements in question in good faith, fully committed to fulfilling my obligations and with no knowledge of any intent on anyone’s part to circumvent the salary cap.

‘For 15 years, my priority has been giving everything to my family, the game, and those I share the court with. As I return to Toronto, I am focused on what I can control, closing this chapter, and moving forward with a clean slate.’

NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s predecessor, the late David Stern, similarly stripped the Minnesota Timberwolves of five first-round picks after discovering the team had circumvented the salary cap to pay star forward Joe Smith in 2000. However, the Wolves were fined only $3.5 million at the time.

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The allegations first surfaced on Pablo Torre’s podcast nearly one year ago. Since then, NBA has been investigating the Clippers and Ballmer for allegedly facilitating an under-the-table side deal for Leonard that allowed the team to add other stars, such as Paul George. The team has repeatedly denied the accusations, while Ballmer stated he had no knowledge of Leonard’s alleged $21 million ‘no-show’ endorsement deal with the doomed financial services firm, Aspiration.   

Torre made the claim against the Clippers by citing a 2025 bankruptcy filing that names the team and a company owned by Leonard under the list of creditors for Aspiration QFZ, LLC, a subsidiary of fintech and sustainability brand Aspiration Partners Inc. 

Torre claimed to have contracts showing Aspiration QFZ, LLC entered into a $28 million ‘no-show’ agreement with Leonard’s company, KL2 Aspire LLC, and later claimed – following a report from the Boston Sports Journal – that Leonard also received a separate $20million ‘side deal’ from Aspiration. 

Ballmer invested $50million in Aspiration.

The bankruptcy filing from federal court in Delaware, obtained by the Daily Mail, also shows unsecured claims of $30 million and $7 million for the Clippers and Leonard’s company, KL2 Aspire LLC, respectively. 

And while Ballmer said he was ’embarrassed’ that he didn’t pick up on any financial trouble from Aspiration, he defended his and the Clippers actions and said they ‘weren’t involved’ in the company’s deal with Leonard.

Aspiration Partners Inc. co-founder Joe Sanberg pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud in 2025 for what authorities described as a $248million scheme to defraud investors.

The team, as it pointed out in a statement, ‘ended its relationship with Aspiration years ago, during the 2022-23 season, when Aspiration defaulted on its obligation.’

Furthermore, as reported by Torre, Aspiration QFZ’s alleged payments to KL2 Aspire were sent to Robertson, Leonard’s uncle and advisor, who was previously investigated by the NBA in 2019 for allegedly requesting impermissible benefits for his nephew and himself.

That 2019 investigation did not find any impermissible benefits going from the Clippers to Leonard or anyone working on his behalf.

A year later, a self-described acquaintance of Leonard and Robertson named Johnny Wilkes sued the Clippers, claiming he was still owed $2.5 million from the team for helping them to sign the former Spurs and Raptors star.

Wilkes, a self-described acquaintance of Robertson, claimed in the lawsuit that Ballmer would ‘fund a $100,000,000.00 marketing campaign for Kawhi Leonard’ and the uncle would get his own Southern California home if the All-Star forward agreed to sign with the Clippers.

That lawsuit was ultimately dismissed and neither the Clippers nor Robertson admitted to any wrongdoing.

For years, the Dodgers’ relentless pursuit of star power has brought the same familiar complaint from rivals and irritated fans: Los Angeles is bad for baseball.

Quentin Lake believes the Rams may be starting to generate a similar kind of resentment across the NFL.

“The first thing that goes through your mind is, ‘Teams probably hate us,’” Lake told The Athletic. “All of these other teams probably hate us. We’re like the new Dodgers.”

From the Rams’ perspective, that is not exactly an insult.

The Dodgers have earned their role as baseball’s modern superpower — and, to many, its favorite villain — by stockpiling elite players, spending boldly and using every roster-building tool the sport allows. The criticism is constant, but the reality remains straightforward: they are playing by the same rules as everyone else.

The Rams are doing much the same thing — only with an NFL salary cap making the margin for error considerably smaller.

Los Angeles traded for Myles Garrett and All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie, added Jaylen Watson to the secondary and then convinced Aaron Donald to come out of retirement.

The reaction from rivals suggests Lake isn’t imagining the resentment.

When the Rams landed Garrett, 49ers tackle Trent Williams summed up the reaction outside Los Angeles succinctly: “It sucks.”

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Former Rams star Cooper Kupp, now with Seattle, jokingly texted Donald amid comeback speculation and told him, “Don’t even think about it.”

After the return became official, 49ers general manager John Lynch conceded: “They got better, certainly, with him deciding to come out of retirement. … We better get ready for it.”

But the Rams aren’t simply collecting recognizable names.

They already had a 12-win team, the reigning MVP in Matthew Stafford and a defense capable of contending. Their offseason moves targeted specific weaknesses at precisely the moment their championship window opened widest.

McDuffie and Watson strengthened a secondary that faltered late last season. Garrett transformed an already dangerous pass rush. Donald became the ultimate luxury addition to a front that led the NFL in four-man pressure rate without either superstar last year.

That has long been the Rams’ approach: recognize when the roster is close, then strike before the window closes.

The Dodgers receive plenty of criticism for doing essentially the same thing in baseball.

So, if NFL fans want to hate the Rams for it, Lake’s message might as well be: Bring it on.

In Los Angeles, all the hate is starting to sound less like an insult and more like proof that the plan is working.

The 21-foot steel beam, recovered from the wreckage of the South Tower, is traveling up the East Coast this week as part of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s Steel Across America tour.

Launched earlier this year, the tour is designed to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks while honoring U.S. service members, first responders and the sacrifices made in the years since. The beam is scheduled to make stops in Massachusetts, Washington, D.C., and New York City through Sept. 11.

On Wednesday night, the memorial tour will stop at Fenway Park in Boston during the Boston Red Sox game against the Seattle Mariners, before continuing Thursday to the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes Memorial.

The 16,900-pound beam will then head to the nation’s capital, where it will be featured at a private event on Friday. It will then head to New York City for another private event in Brooklyn on Sept. 11, before a final appearance at the New York Giants vs. Dallas Cowboys game at MetLife Stadium on Sept. 13.

The beam visited the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on Monday, where the superintendent, Lt. Gen. James B. Bartholomees III, said the piece of steel connects the courage shown by first responders on 9/11 with the Americans who answered the call to serve in the years that followed.

“As we approach the 25th anniversary of 9/11, this piece of steel reminds us of the courage of first responders like Stephen Siller and the countless Americans who answered the call in the years that followed, including generations of West Point graduates,” Bartholomees said. “Today, young men and women continue that legacy of service, guided by duty, honor country.”

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The ceremony brought together cadets, faculty, staff and guests and opened with a color guard and pipe and drum procession by members of the NYPD, FDNY and Port Authority Police Department. The program also included the national anthem, an invocation and blessing of the steel, and a moment of reflection accompanied by “Amazing Grace.”

Frank Siller, chairman and CEO of Tunnel to Towers and the brother of fallen FDNY firefighter Stephen Siller, recalled his brother’s final actions on Sept. 11.

“Twenty-five years ago, my brother Stephen strapped on 60 pounds of gear and ran through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel toward danger, duty and the people who needed him inside those towers,” Siller said.

“Duty, honor, country: Those values connect West Point cadets, Stephen and first responders all across this country,” he continued. “We are grateful to West Point for welcoming us, and we leave more committed than ever to making sure the sacrifice of Sept. 11 is never forgotten.”