North Carolina health authorities are warning residents to come forward if they recently handled baby goats at a traveling petting zoo, after multiple animals were confirmed to have rabies.

According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS), the rabid goats were connected to Farm Adventures, a mobile petting zoo operating out of Harmony, North Carolina, that brought animals to events in several counties.

State officials say anyone who touched baby goats from Farm Adventures—whether at the Harmony site or during an off-site event held between July 28 and Aug. 27—should reach out to their local health department to find out if preventive rabies treatment is recommended.

NCDHHS noted that, during that timeframe, Farm Adventures appeared at multiple off-site gatherings that included children and older adults, two groups officials are now working to identify as part of the rabies exposure investigation.

The agency said event organizers are being contacted as the investigation continues, and more details about possible rabies exposure locations will be shared as they become available.

In a Facebook statement, Farm Adventures said four of its baby goats had contracted rabies and that the animals had been euthanized to prevent further spread.

The petting zoo identified the goats as Molly, Maggie, Cow and Uno.

“We are working closely with public health officials, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, and animal control to address this issue and ensure the safety of our animals and clients,” Farm Adventures said.

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According to Farm Adventures, the baby goats were housed in a separate pen away from the other animals at the petting zoo.

The four goats were too young to receive their vaccinations when a skunk entered their pen, according to Farm Adventures. While the skunk was removed, the petting zoo was not aware that the goats had been bitten.

“They showed no sign or symptoms of rabies,” Farm Adventures said.

Farm Adventures said one of the animals was ultimately sent for a necropsy after its veterinarian investigated what was happening. State health officials said several goats tested positive for rabies at the North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health.

“These past few days have been incredibly difficult for us,” Farm Adventures said.

Rabies is a viral disease that is deadly if people do not receive medical care before symptoms begin, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The virus primarily spreads through bites or scratches from an infected animal. Bats, skunks, raccoons and foxes are the animals most frequently found with rabies in the US, according to the CDC.

The CDC said roughly 100,000 Americans receive rabies vaccinations following a potential exposure each year.

Human rabies infections are extremely rare in the US, and no human cases have been reported in North Carolina since 2011, according to NCDHHS.

Bill Maher had to correct himself on live television after a sharp fact-checking message from Donald Trump challenged a claim the comedian made about the former president’s political endorsements.

The late-night host had suggested that candidates supported by Trump during the current election cycle were largely falling short at the ballot box.

‘Trump used to win all of his endorsements, now he’s winning almost none of them,’ Maher said during his August 21 broadcast.

The comment quickly drew pushback — and, according to Maher, the criticism appeared to come directly from Trump himself.

‘I heard from one viewer who was very upset about this, contacted me directly,’ the comedian told viewers on Friday’s episode, adding that he and the unnamed viewer ‘text’ and that he is ‘glad’ they do.

‘And he sent me charts, he sent me a lot of information, and I promised, “If this is not true what I said, I will say it on the air.”‘

When he then reviewed the information, Maher said he came to the conclusion that the president was ‘right.’

‘I did overstate it,’ the late night host admitted, acknowledging that what he said just one week prior ‘wasn’t true.’

‘Was that so hard to not be a d**k about everything?’ Maher then asked, rhetorically. 

Maher then explained that Trump has endorsed 260 people this election cycle, only nine of whom have lost their primaries, giving him a 97 percent success rate.

‘So he still has very powerful endorsements,’ Maher acknowledged.

‘But the full picture is a little more nuanced,’ he continued. ‘My point was that the trend looks like it was going downward on that, because he did lose five governorships.’

Republican primary voters have now also rejected 10 Trump-backed candidates for statewide office this season, equal to the number who lost in the 2018, 2020 and 2024 primaries combined, he noted, citing data from CNN.

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‘Now, he says that’s because he backs a lot of ones who were sure losers, but he did it out of loyalty. I don’t doubt that some of that is true,’ the Real Time with Bill Maher host said.

‘I also think it’s true on the other side that he wins some because he picks some easy winners – he picks incumbents sometimes and uncontested [candidates], people with overwhelming [support].’

But that ‘doesn’t matter,’ Maher said.

‘He just won in South Carolina, Lindsey Graham’s know-nothing sister,’ he said of Darline Graham, who pulled off a victory in the South Carolina Republican Senate runoff last week, defeating Congressman Ralph Norman.

‘And he won in Oklahoma. So, OK when he shows up at a place like he did for Lindsey’s sister, he’s still a star,’ Maher then admitted. ‘And they come out and they vote for him.

‘So there, that’s the truth. It’s a little more nuanced, but yes, I overstated it. Now, stop texting,’ the comedian told the president.

Maher’s remarks came during a roundtable discussion with Congressman Byron Donalds who defeated businessman James Fishback in Florida’s Republican primary for governor.

Fishback had made Donalds his central target from the moment he entered the race, attacking the congressman as a pawn of the Republican establishment and questioning whether he was conservative enough for Florida.

He also played dirty, calling Donalds a ‘slave’ and attacking his relationship with corporate interests. He even referred to his opponent as ‘By’rone,’ while accusing him of wanting to turn Florida into a ‘Section 8 ghetto.’

Trump-backed Mike Mazzei, a former state senator and former Oklahoma budget secretary, also emerged with the Republican nomination Tuesday night over Gentner Drummond, the state’s attorney general in the runoff race.

It was a victory by the narrowest of margins, with Mazzei edging out Drummond by less than a single point.

The president endorsed Mazzei ahead of the June primary and repeatedly returned to the race in the weeks before the runoff, attacking Drummond and urging Oklahoma Republicans to back his preferred candidate.

The Daily Mail has reached out to the White House for more information. 

A group of retired Port Authority police officers is calling on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul to stay away from the 25th anniversary 9/11 memorial ceremony at Ground Zero, arguing that their presence would cause renewed anguish for victims’ relatives, survivors and the first responders who lived through the attack.

John McDevitt, president of the Port Authority Retired Police Association, made the appeal in separate Aug. 14 letters to the two Democratic leaders, asking them not to attend the Sept. 11 remembrance at the World Trade Center site, where the deadliest terrorist attack in American history unfolded.

In his message to Mamdani, McDevitt stressed that the anniversary should not be treated as a political event, media moment or stage for elected officials. He described September 11 as a sacred day to honor those killed, the responders who rushed in, the survivors who endured the horror and the families who have carried their grief for a quarter-century.

The association emphasized its deep connection to the World Trade Center, calling it “our home,” and pointed to the devastating toll within its own ranks: 37 Port Authority police officers and 47 additional members of the broader Port Authority community were killed in the attacks of September 11, 2001.

“Thirty-seven of our brothers and sisters made the ultimate sacrifice,” McDevitt wrote. “Their memorial should not become the center of political controversy.”

The letter said the retired officers have “profound concerns” about Mamdani’s public statements, political associations and positions, which they believe are inconsistent with the sacrifice of victims and law enforcement officers.

“We believe your presence at Ground Zero on this 25th anniversary would cause deep pain to many members of the 9/11 community,” McDevitt wrote. “It also risks shifting attention away from the people whose lives, courage, and sacrifice the ceremony exists to honor.”

McDevitt suggested Mamdani could instead recognize the anniversary through a written statement, public message or a separate event.

“This is our day to remember,” he wrote. “Please allow us to remember in peace.”

The association struck a similarly blistering tone in its letter to Hochul, taking issue with her decision to illuminate One World Trade Center for Muslim American Heritage Month.

The retired officers said they did not object to Hochul’s proclamation itself, but to the decision to use the World Trade Center and Ground Zero for the observance.

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“We believe that political pandering played a role in a decision that showed such disregard for the significance of this sacred site,” McDevitt wrote.

The association called the decision “insensitive, tone-deaf, and an affront” to those who served at the World Trade Center, victims’ families, survivors and first responders.

“Because of that decision, we believe that you have forfeited your right to stand alongside us at Ground Zero on the 25th anniversary,” McDevitt wrote to Hochul.

Hochul’s office pushed back on the retired officers’ demand in a statement to News Media, saying the governor “has enormous respect for all the families who lost loved ones on 9/11” and will “proudly stand alongside them at this year’s commemoration.”

The spokesperson added that Muslim New Yorkers “served as first responders and helped unite the city in the aftermath of 9/11,” and said, “The Governor knows we can respect these families while being clear that Islamophobia has no place in New York.”

Mamdani previously said he plans to attend the commemoration and “proudly honor” the families, survivors and first responders forever affected by the terror attack.

The retired officers’ demand comes as a petition asking organizers to bar Mamdani from the ceremony has drawn more than 95,000 signatures.

The petition was launched in July by Giovanni Galante, whose wife, Grace Catherine Galante, was killed in the Sept. 11 attacks.

“Speaking as the husband of Grace Catherine Galante, we are taking measures to shield our loved ones by barring anyone who opposes our way of life from the ceremony,” Galante wrote on the petition page.

Former Jill Biden spokesman Michael LaRosa, who also served as a special assistant to former President Joe Biden, signed the petition and warned that Mamdani’s presence would be a “lightning rod” that diverts attention from victims and their loved ones.

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum previously told News Media that it keeps the annual commemoration free of politics. Government officials who attend do not deliver remarks and are asked to remain in a designated area, a spokesperson said.

News Media has reached out to Mamdani’s office for comment.

GARY, Ind. (WLS) — The family of a 67-year-old security guard who was shot and killed by police at a Gary transit station is pressing for answers about what happened in the moments before the fatal encounter.

Relatives and investigators said Kenneth Williams Sr. was on duty Friday night, working security at the Metro station near 4th Avenue and Broadway, when officers shot him.

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Indiana State Police said the agency was called in to investigate the officer-involved shooting, which involved officers with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department and the Gary Police Department. State police said one person was killed, and no officers were hurt.

Williams’ family said they are devastated and trying to make sense of why he died while simply doing his job.

“He went to work as a normal day, you know, a 67-year-old man, and he didn’t come home from work. And I want to know why,” said Kenneth Williams Jr., the victim’s son.

Another son, Raymond Brown, said the family has been left searching for answers.

“It’s my birthday, today, so I’m devastated. That’s all I can say right now. I ain’t got no answers. I just want answers,” Brown said.

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Investigators marked evidence throughout the area surrounding the Metro station following the shooting.

Indiana State Police said the shooting occurred Friday evening near 4th Avenue and Broadway in Gary and involved officers from the Lake County Sheriff’s Department and Gary Police Department. The agency has not released details about what led to the gunfire.

“No other information is immediately available to be released,” Indiana State Police said in a statement Saturday morning, adding that there is no ongoing threat to the public.

The Lake County Coroner and Medicolegal Death Investigation Team responded to the Metro station at 12:10 a.m. Saturday. The coroner’s office said Williams, of Gary, was positively identified by family members. His death was certified at 1 a.m.

The Lake County Coroner’s Office said a forensic autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday at the Lake County Forensic Science Center in Crown Point. The preliminary cause and manner of death remain pending.

Indiana State Police are leading the investigation. No officers were reported injured.

A prank-focused social media influencer whose videos have drawn viral attention has admitted to criminal impersonation in Arizona, after authorities said he posed as a business employee in a Phoenix-area suburb and staged short-lived but disruptive takeover-style stunts.

The guilty plea drew approval from critics and court-watchers who viewed the case as a warning to online creators chasing viral fame: internet pranks that spill into unlawful behavior can carry real-world consequences.

Heston James Cobb, who creates content under the name “Heston James,” was arrested in July 2025 following incidents in Tempe, where police said he and several others entered local businesses while pretending to be employees, moved into staff-only spaces and ignored demands to leave. Cobb formally entered his plea on Friday.

One video cited in the case showed Cobb dressed in a Chipotle Mexican Grill shirt and telling workers he planned to “clean house.” Moments later, several men in dark shirts poured into the restaurant, disregarded employees’ requests to exit and disrupted operations. At one point, a man posing as a worker used a mop to wipe down a tabletop.

Investigators said the prank videos attracted millions of views online and may have produced substantial revenue for the creator.

Vicki Lopez, an attorney representing Cobb, declined to comment Saturday. The Associated Press left a message with Cobb’s TikTok account seeking comment.

Steve Chucri, president of the Arizona Restaurant Association, said he hopes Cobb’s punishment is “severe” to deter copycats.

“There’s no place for it,” Chucri said. “That’s the last thing we need to put up with in the restaurant industry. The amount of money it takes to operate today is expensive.”

Chucri said the association does not offer any formal training or advice to restaurants on dealing with social media pranksters, and he hopes it does not come to that.

“We’re a society of civility,” Chucri said. “We shouldn’t have to.”

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Matthew Pittman, a social media professor at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, hopes the arrest will be a warning to influencers about boundaries when creating prank or satirical content.

Pittman said he and others who teach aspiring content creators generally stress that “real world norms and laws” extend into the digital world.

“So doing something that is illegal in real life would also be illegal on social, even if you are doing it for content,” he said. “This is a clear case of going beyond what the law allows.”

Among the recent cases he cited was an influencer in Long Island, New York, who was arrested last year after a series of pranks.

They included videos of him going to eateries; pouring food such as raw eggs or beans over his head; and then running off, leaving the mess to be cleaned by others.

“Every few years a YouTuber, influencer or prank content creator goes a little too far, gets in trouble, and reminds the rest of us creators that digital actions can have real world consequences,” Pittman said.

Cara Hawkins-Jedlicka, a communications professor at Washington State University who teaches about content creation, said it’s not enough for influencers to stay within the law.

They also need to have basic empathy.

“When is it pulling a prank, and when it is being cruel?” Hawkins-Jedlicka said. “Before anything else, this is truly kind of unkind. This influencer was really only thinking about himself and how can I take advantage of this community.”