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We have a curated list of the most noteworthy news from all across the globe. With any subscription plan, you get access to exclusive articles that let you stay ahead of the curve.
We have a curated list of the most noteworthy news from all across the globe. With any subscription plan, you get access to exclusive articles that let you stay ahead of the curve.
We have a curated list of the most noteworthy news from all across the globe. With any subscription plan, you get access to exclusive articles that let you stay ahead of the curve.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — By almost any standard, Sebastian Berhalter is still young. At 25, he would only be beginning to establish himself in many professions outside soccer.
Yet his career has accelerated over the past year. Berhalter broke into the United States men’s national team, played at the World Cup and earned a transfer to England’s Middlesbrough.
Inside the squad Mauricio Pochettino assembled for the U.S. team’s first camp since the World Cup, however, Berhalter is considered one of the older players — almost a veteran. The gathering could be called Camp Cavan, after 16-year-old standout Cavan Sullivan, but 12 of the 28 players are too young to legally buy alcohol, making that name feel somewhat exclusive.
Cavan Sullivan (6) of the Philadelphia Union celebrates after scoring a goal against San Diego FC during the first half of a game at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. Getty Images
The number of teenagers in camp was clear Monday morning, when Berhalter and Gio Reyna appeared at a news conference as two of the group’s older, more experienced players. No matter how many times it is read, that still sounds unusual.
“I think older guy is actually a good way to put it,” Berhalter said. “I’ve only been part of the team for a year now, and it feels like I’m an older guy, which is crazy. It’s good. I think that’s something that I take in stride.”
Reyna, 23, has already accumulated enough storylines to fill an entire career. Even so, he encountered a new kind of role reversal when striker Justin Ellis told reporters in Orlando, Fla., that Reyna had been his favorite player growing up.
Ellis is 19, only four years younger than Reyna, but he was still in middle school when Reyna was a celebrated prospect making his debut for Borussia Dortmund and the U.S. national team. The pair met for the first time after Ellis joined his first senior U.S. camp. Ellis hopes to make his national-team debut against Peru on Saturday in Orlando, where he has recorded one goal and nine assists for Orlando City SC this season.
“He’s a great kid,” Reyna said. “It’s nice to get to know him so far. It makes me feel a little bit old, but it’s nice to have a lot of [the young guys] here. Looking forward to getting to know them better on and off the field. Just here trying to help them. Show them what we’ve built and what we’re striving to build. Obviously, all of them are very, very talented, so we’re just here to help.”
Gio Reyna of the United States moves with the ball during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group D match between Türkiye and USA at Los Angeles Stadium on June 25, 2026, in Inglewood, California. Getty Images
It is far too early to project the roster for next summer’s Gold Cup, much less the 2030 World Cup. Still, the next major competitions will not simply feature the same 26-man group that reached the World Cup’s Round of 16. The next generation will have every opportunity to claim a place, while the players from that squad will have to earn their positions again — not only against the teenagers in camp, but also against the players they beat out for World Cup selection.
Sullivan will attract the most attention and face the greatest expectations, but each player has a clear reason for being included. Every position group features someone who was absent from the World Cup. After Ricardo Pepi withdrew because of an injury, all three strikers — Ellis, Julian Hall and Damion Downs — fit that description. Downs, unlike the other two, already has senior international appearances.
The teenagers must show they can handle the demands of the senior team. The young veterans, meanwhile, must demonstrate that they can help guide them through it.
“They need to know that the young players are going to see everything in the way that you move, walk, talk, behave — on the field and off the field,” Pochettino said. “That is why I think it’s a very important period for us, also, to observe if senior players are good role models for the young. If someone is not behaving well, not behaving in the way that we are expecting, that is going to have some consequences.”
Prince Harry has revealed the “most British thing” he, Meghan and their children have been doing since returning to Britain from California.
The Duke of Sussex, 42, said Archie and Lilibet are now happily eating Marmite on crumpets, despite once teasing him for keeping the famously divisive spread in the family home.
Speaking to HELLO! at the WellChild Awards in London last night, Harry was asked about the most British activity he had enjoyed with his family since moving back to the UK.
“Gone for a walk. Lots of walks. Isn’t that the most British thing?” he joked.
However, Harry soon made clear that the family’s return to British life had extended beyond countryside walks and into their breakfast routine.
“OK, yes, Marmite on crumpets – please tell me that is a British thing because it has always been in my life and now the kids are eating Marmite on crumpets, which is a big moment for me.”
When asked whether seven-year-old Archie and five-year-old Lilibet enjoyed the strong-flavoured spread, Harry replied: “They do, they do very much.”
He continued: “They used to dis me for having Marmite in the house but now we are in the UK that is kind of water under the bridge.”
Harry said his children had been far less enthusiastic about another classic British breakfast when he previously tried introducing it to the family.
“I already tried beans on toast,” he said.
Prince Harry spoke to HELLO! at the WellChild Awards in London about the most British thing he has done with his family since returning to the UK
The Duke of Sussex embraces Adeleigh, the sister of Margot Jones-Billington, during the 2026 WellChild Awards
Harry poses with Gaby Roslin, left, and the winners at the annual awards ceremony at London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel
Asked how the meal had been received, the Duke replied: “That was in California. That was years ago. It didn’t go down very well at all.”
The humorous family anecdote came as Harry discussed life with his young children at the WellChild Awards, where he appeared visibly emotional.
He became more reflective while explaining how parenthood has changed his experience of the charity’s annual event, which honours seriously ill children and the families who care for them.
“Once you become a parent it does change everything,” Harry said.
“It is not the fact that all the years I wasn’t a parent that meeting the kids didn’t matter as much but you suddenly realise how grateful you are to have kids that are not sick.”
Harry also shared a relatable moment from the breakfast table earlier that day, saying Archie and Lilibet had been experiencing the “Monday blues” before school.
“Breakfast this morning they had Monday blues,” he said, comparing it with the “Sunday night blues” he felt before being sent away to boarding school.
But the Duke said he managed to turn the mood around by explaining what he would be doing at the WellChild ceremony later that evening.
‘You know what you are just being a little bit tricky so I am going to tell you what I am doing tonight and they were genuinely fascinated and interested and had all sorts of questions.’
The Duke of Sussex receives a gift of a mug and tea towel for his new house by the winner of the Inspirational Nurse, Rachel Shanahan (right) and her husband Paul (centre)
Harry meets with winner of the Inspirational Child 4-6, Margot Jones-Billington during the WellChild Awards 2026
The Duke meets with winner of the Inspirational Child aged 7-11, Will Messer
Duke of Sussex is shown a book of when the winner of the Inspirational Young Person 12-14
Harry said he and Meghan want to use their work to help their children understand more about the lives of others, adding that now ‘no longer being 5000 miles away should make it easier to be more available to support the charities that need us and that we really enjoy working with’.
His comments come after Harry and Meghan returned to Britain with Archie and Lilibet from their California home in August, with the children beginning school in the UK.
The Sussexes have spent recent weeks settling into their new life in Britain, with Harry making a series of charity appearances while Meghan has remained focused on the children.
The Duke’s return has also allowed him to spend more time with WellChild, a cause he has supported for 18 years.
He attended the charity’s 2026 awards at the Royal Lancaster Hotel on Monday night, where he met winners and their families before presenting the Inspirational Child award to six-year-old Margot Jones-Billington.
Harry also gave a speech during the ceremony, saying the awards were an opportunity to celebrate children and young people living with complex medical needs as well as the families supporting them.
The event marks the latest chapter in Harry’s long association with the charity, which says he has attended the awards on 16 occasions.
And after years of being thousands of miles away, his comments suggest he is relishing the chance to become more closely involved once again.
Trump-backed Republican Congressman Max Miller is facing an intense legal battle alongside one of the toughest political challenges of his career.
Miller’s re-election campaign has been engulfed in a new level of nastiness after his Democratic opponent, Brian Poindexter, put out a new political ad that highlights abuse allegations that have been levied against him by his ex-wife, Emily Moreno.
An advertisement from Poindexter features a female police officer who says she spent 34 years in law enforcement. She lists allegations against Miller, several of which were first reported by the Daily Mail, and concludes: “Max Miller does not belong in power.”
Miller has repeatedly and emphatically rejected every abuse allegation made against him by Moreno.
The congressional race has become increasingly competitive as more allegations have emerged. On August 10, the Cook Political Report downgraded the contest from “likely Republican” to “toss up.”
Miller’s attorney, Alejandro Brito, has demanded that Ohio news station WKYC remove the advertisement, arguing that it contains “false, malicious, and defamatory statements,” according to a cease-and-desist letter obtained by Politico.
Poindexter addressed the legal threat in a follow-up video, saying Miller “is threatening to sue because he doesn’t want people to hear the facts.”
“His family says they hold their breath every minute he has custody of his child,” Poindexter added.
Poindexter also accused Miller of relying on wealth and high-priced attorneys to avoid consequences throughout his life. “Not this time,” he said. His campaign is urging supporters to help keep the advertisement on air through additional donations.
Ohio Republican Max Miller is confronting difficult legal and political battles this fall
Poindexter’s advertisement shows a female officer who says she has 34 years of law-enforcement experience listing allegations against Miller before declaring that he should not remain in power
Emily Moreno has accused Max Miller of abusing her and their young daughter, allegations he has denied
Ohio Republican Senator Bernie Moreno, Emily Moreno’s father, ended months of silence in August by calling for his former son-in-law to resign. He said Miller should not serve in public office.
“He is a danger to my daughter, and I hold my breath every minute he has custody of my granddaughter,” Moreno said.
Miller has also faced accusations from former girlfriend Stephanie Grisham, who previously served as White House press secretary.
Miller sued Grisham for defamation in late 2021 over her abuse allegations. The case later concluded with a confidential settlement that included a mutual agreement not to disparage one another.
The Daily Mail first reported Moreno’s allegations against Miller in May, including photographs of injuries she said resulted from an incident in which he threw scalding water at her.
Although Miller has denied Moreno’s claims of abuse, he later acknowledged using illegal drugs.
Moreno accused Miller of drug use in a previously undisclosed collection of audio recordings involving the two, which Miller himself released.
Moreno said the alleged drug use was the “impetus” for her decision to leave the marriage. Miller denied using drugs in the recordings.
He later told CNN’s Jake Tapper that he had used testosterone therapy.
The admission came when Tapper asked about photographs of needles that Moreno took, allegedly by Miller’s bedside, that the Daily Mail first published.
This image appears to have been taken by Emily Moreno inside the home she shared with Miller, a source familiar with the matter told the Daily Mail
Miller appeared on CNN Tuesday for an interview with Jake Tapper
In his lengthy video, Miller also levied an accusation that Moreno ‘has struggled with significant mental health challenges.’ Her spokesperson fought back against the claims.
Miller has also been called to resign and drop out of his congressional race by Ohio’s other GOP Senator John Husted, who is in a tough re-election fight of his own this fall.
‘I believe Max would be making the right decision to step aside as a candidate and resign from Congress to focus on what is in the best interest of his daughter,’ Husted noted back in August.
He did not drop out of the race, and instead doubled down on his innocence.
Neither Miller’s lawyer nor his political campaign responded to the Daily Mail’s requests for comment.
At the end of the Sept. 17 Gainesville City Commission meeting, Commissioners (except Cynthia Chestnut, who left) listen to recorded comments from UF parents
BY JENNIFER CABRERA
Before the afternoon General Public Comment session, Mayor Harvey Ward said the city had received 18 voice recordings through a program created during the COVID-19 pandemic but never previously used. The recordings were intended to be played during public comment, so Ward asked commissioners to “make a motion to waive the rules as they pertain to pre-recorded General Comment to play at the end of the meeting.”
Commissioner Bryan Eastman moved to play the recordings at the end of the meeting and extend the regular General Public Comment period beyond 30 minutes. Commissioners approved the motion unanimously.
Click here to read about the 19 people who spoke during General Public Comment in support of ending a Gainesville Police Department policy concerning contact with “suspected unauthorized aliens.”
Mayor Harvey Ward: “GRACE Marketplace is one of the few places in North Florida where someone can register an address if they don’t actually have an address… Just because someone uses GRACE as their mailing address does not mean that they live at GRACE Marketplace.”
One man used the in-person comment period to raise public safety concerns near campus. Ward responded that the issue appeared to involve the statewide criminal justice and court systems, which, he said, do not operate for the city or GRACE Marketplace. “GRACE Marketplace is one of the few places in North Florida where someone can register an address if they don’t actually have an address,” Ward said. “Just because someone uses GRACE as their mailing address does not mean that they live at GRACE Marketplace.”
81 people were enrolled at GRACE from state prisons between Sept. 2025 and Sept. 2026
Mark Bonner, GRACE Marketplace’s interim CEO, addressed concerns that the organization has become a magnet for people released from Florida state prisons. He said nearly 25,000 people were released from state prisons between September 2025 and September 2026, and GRACE identified 81 who were later enrolled in its services. “That is 0.33%, or one in every 306 people,” Bonner said.
Mark Bonner, Interim CEO at GRACE Marketplace: “If GRACE disappeared, the people who need shelter would not disappear with it; they would remain in Gainesville without the help that they need to change their current circumstances.”
Bonner said GRACE welcomes questions about its work and asked that the organization’s responses be considered alongside the concerns. “If GRACE disappeared, the people who need shelter would not disappear with it; they would remain in Gainesville without the help that they need to change their current circumstances,” he said.
After public comment, Ward pointed to changes in downtown homelessness since GRACE opened. He said that before GRACE, more than 100 people slept nightly on Bo Diddley Plaza and more than 1,500 people were identified as unsheltered in the community. In 2026, he said, that number is closer to 500 or 600. “GRACE has had a tremendous positive impact on this community,” Ward said.
Commissioner Ed Book asked Bonner how GRACE assists people who come to North Central Florida and whether the organization works to help them return to places where they can overcome their challenges.
58% of people receiving services at GRACE Marketplace are from Alachua County
Bonner said monthly reports to the city show that most people receiving services at GRACE are from Alachua County, with the latest figure at 58%. Those arriving from elsewhere, he said, generally come from counties included in the Continuum of Care. “We’re not going to turn people away, right?” Bonner said.
Alachua County residents receive priority when there is a waiting list for a bed, Bonner said. He added that GRACE tries to prevent people from entering the homeless response system when they have an opportunity to be housed elsewhere. That can include helping them return to communities with housing support and closer connections to family.
Interim City Manager Andrew Persons referenced a press release announcing that the Gainesville Police Department and University of Florida Police Department were expanding patrols in Midtown.
Commissioner Casey Willits: “I bristle at listening to people who don’t live close to prisons and are upset that maybe someone who’s released from a prison, on their way home, ends up in our community at some point.”
Commissioner Casey Willits noted that many state and federal prisons are located north and west of Gainesville. Only a small number of people leaving the Florida Department of Corrections, he said, end up in the local community with an address registered through GRACE. “I bristle at listening to people who don’t live close to prisons and are upset that maybe someone who’s released from a prison, on their way home, ends up in our community at some point,” Willits said. “Homelessness is a statewide problem.”
Ward called homelessness an international issue and said Florida’s failure to take mental health and substance abuse treatment seriously would allow the problems seen in Gainesville to continue.
Commissioners vote to eliminate voice recordings for comments
At the end of the evening’s business, Ward referred to the 19 voice recordings that had been submitted by callers concerned about the safety of UF students and said the rule about voice recordings was implemented during COVID, “and it has not been used since then… But we do spend staff time, every single meeting, to comb through it and make sure that there are no comments.”
Ward said Commissioners could amend the rules to omit the “artifact of COVID planning that we just never took out of the rules, and I would like us to direct the Attorney via a motion to amend our Rules Resolution at the next meeting to take that out because it is costing us resources… and has been used exactly once.”
Eastman made a motion to direct the City Attorney to remove the voicemail option for public comment. There was no public comment, and the motion passed unanimously.
Willits: “I do want to encourage people… to keep emailing us and reaching out, having personal conversations and meeting with us, because it does work.”
Willits said, “For people watching at home, we really do read emails… I do want to encourage people… to keep emailing us and reaching out, having personal conversations and meeting with us, because it does work.”
The motion passed 6-1, with Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker in dissent.
Eastman: “One thing I can say is that we, as a City, you can see clearly, have been committed to public safety and continue to be committed to public safety. We’re putting our money where our mouth is.”
Eastman said he wanted to “make a point before we start listening to a lot of these calls… You’re about to hear about 20-30 minutes of parents who are concerned about the safety of their kids. They have different hypotheses as to why they think that is; part of it relates to our homeless shelter, part of it relates to funding for our police. One thing I can say is that we, as a City, you can see clearly, have been committed to public safety and continue to be committed to public safety. We’re putting our money where our mouth is.” He said public safety funding has increased by 25% since 2023, while “everything else has been cut by 3%.”
Ward: “I am very, very proud of the work that our law enforcement does, and I am proud of the way that we fund law enforcement in our community. And it’s important to… tell that story before we go into a few minutes of being told that we don’t, by people who generally don’t live in our community.”
Ward said he wanted to note that there are three police departments operating inside the city limits of Gainesville: the Gainesville Police Department (GPD), the University of Florida Police Department (UFPD), and the Santa Fe College Police Department. He said the combined “360-ish sworn officers [are] a lot for a city of 151,000 people.” He also reiterated the City’s commitment to public safety: “It does not mean we do not have crime,… but I am very, very proud of the work that our law enforcement does, and I am proud of the way that we fund law enforcement in our community. And it’s important to… tell that story before we go into a few minutes of being told that we don’t, by people who generally don’t live in our community.”
Ward told Commissioners that they did not need a quorum, so “I’m not going to pay attention to anybody, you know, easing out the door.”
Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut left during the first comment, but the other Commissioners stayed to hear the comments.
Parent: “These are not rumors. These are first-hand experiences.”
In the 18 recordings (one was blank, according to the Clerk), parents of UF students spoke about various incidents experienced by or witnessed by their students:
One student “watches drug deals happen all the time” outside her apartment building. This parent called out Campus Walk, a condominium complex that she said was “a halfway house that’s basically on campus.”
A parent who lives in New York and has a son who is a UF junior said she was concerned about the “growing issues regarding disturbances, attacks, and concerns with the growing mentally ill homeless population circulating the streets of Gainesville, specifically near and around student off-campus housing and sorority and frat houses.” She said she was afraid there would be “another tragic national news story.”
Another parent of “two Gators” said Gainesville “needs a more effective and compassionate approach to the persistent homelessness around the university and surrounding neighborhoods.” She asked the Commission to prioritize increased police visibility in “areas heavily traveled by students,” better lighting and security, better coordination between GPD and UFPD, and effective services and interventions for people experiencing homelessness.
Another parent called for a “serious data-driven review” of local crime data and how students are affected. She said, “Recurring concerns have been raised about individuals involving indecent exposure, trespassing into occupied residences, voyeurism, violence or threatening behavior, and sexual misconduct. What’s being done to protect the students?”
Another parent mentioned Campus Walk again, saying, “There have been instances involving individuals… screaming at students [and] students from the sorority house even being chased right out front. Whether these individuals are connected to a particular facility or not, they raise legitimate concerns about whether adequate safeguards, supervision, and law enforcement response are in place.”
One parent said her daughter was followed by a man this past spring, and he tried to get into her apartment; six hours later, she said, he was arrested for “brutally beating somebody.” She said he has over 30 criminal convictions and has been released and re-arrested at least twice since then. She added that she and her students “regularly see people doing drugs, outside in public.”
A parent said the number of homeless people has “significantly increased since two years ago,” when her daughter entered UF, and “Gainesville has to do something about this because it is becoming a potentially dangerous place for our students.”
A father who lives outside Boston said GRACE had 384 dispatch calls for service in the month of July 2026, an average of 12 a day, with 205 of them involving criminal behavior. He said, “These included violent disturbances, sexual assault, rape, and drug overdoses.”
A mother of two double Gators said her youngest son had a man “incessantly harassing him” at his house “from an outside window, and then he attempted to open a front door that had just been locked… What happened to Gainesville?… Students deserve to be able to walk safely around campus without being harassed, verbally accosted, followed, stalked, and even assaulted.”
The father of two students said, “The University of Florida is one of the nation’s top universities, and students and families should be able to expect a safe environment, both on campus and in the surrounding neighborhoods.”
A mother of two students said she was concerned about “incidents of sexual offenders being located around campus [and] aggressive panhandling on the corner of 13th and University.”
The mother of a recent graduate said her daughter experienced two home invasions in her apartment near Campus Walk, “and a knife was pulled on her when she was walking home from her sorority house at about 7:00 last fall.” She said that while the police responded quickly to the home invasions, it took 45 minutes to respond to her call about a knife being pulled on her. She said a homeless man also pounded on the windows of her daughter’s car while she was parked in a parking garage. The mother said she has personally “seen homeless people urinating in the streets, I’ve seen people clearly intoxicated on meth and very hard drugs, sitting in the median, moving their hands around.” She said a man once lunged at her eight-year-old son on University Avenue near 13th Street, and she added that all three of the people involved in the incidents with her daughter had GRACE Marketplace as an address.
A mother from South Florida with a student who is a junior at UF said “the element that circulates around [University and 13th] is so scary.” She referred to the recent arrest of a man who was living in a common area at The Standard and another man who was living in a bathroom on campus and said, “It shouldn’t be happening… Please make a change.”
The founder of the Swamp Watch Facebook group said her son has graduated, but she is “passionate… about protecting the students who are there today and the ones that will come after.” She said GPD’s data shows a 22% increase in violent crime, compared to the same period in 2025, with a 27% increase in reports of rape. She said, “Being homeless is not a crime. This is a public safety conversation. Our concern is criminal behavior, repeat offenders, and whether policies adequately protect the surrounding communities… We have been sounding the alarm for years.”
The mother of a female student asked for a stronger police presence on campus and “especially around Sorority Row.”
The mother of a UF student said she has seen people sleeping in front of the university gates, and when she was in Gainesville, multiple people approached her and asked for money.
The mother of a female freshman student and two students who have graduated said her middle daughter watched a homeless man brutally assault her male friend without provocation, and her daughter’s next-door neighbor faced an armed man who broke into her apartment. She said her daughter was afraid to walk alone and was frequently accosted by homeless individuals. She said, “These are not rumors. These are first-hand experiences.” She said there is no requirement for a background check at GRACE “and no sobriety requirement.” She also questioned whether the number of sworn officers at GPD is sufficient, given that it is lower than it was in 2017, despite the growth in population.
Ward: “[Gainesville is] higher than the standard of officers that FDLE recommends.”
After the recordings were finished, Ward said, “I do not want anyone to think that we don’t take this seriously. Obviously, we do. That’s why we spend more than half our budget on public safety.” He repeated his earlier statement that GPD is not the only agency that serves the community: “It’s also Santa Fe Police and University of Florida Police. That puts us higher than the standard of officers that FDLE recommends.”
Ward: Campus Walk “is not a halfway house; it is not GRACE Marketplace; it is a place where people live, and sometimes those people are not very savory.”
Ward said Campus Walk is a condominium development, “so there is not one manager, and they are a set of private apartments. We are not in the business, here in Florida, of regulating who can live in an apartment, and that is something you might want to take up with people at a higher pay grade than ours.” He added that Campus Walk “is not a halfway house; it is not GRACE Marketplace; it is a place where people live, and sometimes those people are not very savory.”
Ward said his daughter, a senior at UF, walks from campus to downtown for work, “and I am not saying that there are not dangers to be watched out for, but this is a city, it is an urban environment,… and it is important to be aware of your surroundings.”
Ward also said another daughter just moved into the University of Central Florida in Orlando: “There were homeless people around the outside of campus. I saw them. I have not called the Mayor of Orlando.” He committed to “have those conversations” with the owners of Campus Walk units.
Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker: “No one on this dais… wants to see any of the students in any unsafe conditions… We’re committed to everyone’s safety here.”
Duncan-Walker said that recent conversations between the new UF leadership and Commissioners could “present a tremendous opportunity,” and she suggested meeting with UF leadership “as a body, sitting with them and having these conversations about the areas of opportunity, but also the areas of capacity, because… no one on this dais… wants to see any of the students in any unsafe conditions… We’re committed to everyone’s safety here.”
Eastman said, “This is personal for us here in this community… We want to ensure that we have a safe city. We want to ensure that we have a city that cares for people… I think [public safety] is a very important task, and we need to continue to figure out ways we can improve that, as it relates to GRACE Marketplace.”
Eastman on GRACE Marketplace: “It’s not that there are no rules or that people that are dangerous are allowed in; it’s just — there’s no blanket rules… They absolutely screen for people that are dangerous to people in there, because we want people to feel safe.”
Eastman said that in 2014, City officials had no answers for the tent encampments downtown and “all the way down Hawthorne Trail… What we did is, we created a low-barrier shelter, where anyone can come in there. It’s not that there are no rules or that people that are dangerous are allowed in; it’s just — there’s no blanket rules… They absolutely screen for people that are dangerous to people in there, because we want people to feel safe.” He said GRACE is designed for people to stay 30 days at a time, “so that we can get you onto Social Security, we can get you on disability, we can help you find a job so you can get back on your feet.” He said the Point-in-Time count was at 1,516 on the street in 2014, and now it’s 536.
Eastman continued, “I heard someone say that [the number of homeless people] keeps going up every year, and it feels that way at times, [when] you’re walking around, but that’s not the reality. The reality is that homelessness was cut by 28%, just this past year.” He said there “are no silver bullets” or easy answers, but “in this community, we figure out ways to solve problems. We come together.” He encouraged parents of UF students to “come meet with us and talk with us and figure out ways that we can solve the problem.”
Commissioner Ed Book: “Money is really not the issue. The question is, are we doing the right initiatives?”
Commissioner Ed Book said, “I, personally, am never satisfied with the level of crime… For the callers that think we’re not funding — we are funding all of our public safety, and we’re doing it well… Money is really not the issue. The question is, are we doing the right initiatives?… We’ve had a little setback recently, in my opinion, related to some surveillance mechanisms… We’ve had a three-year decrease in crime overall,… and it’s still too high. The last few months… have not been good, and that’s why we’ve just initiated some additional efforts with Gainesville Police and UF.”
Willits said, “We see a lot of data, so it’s always good… to hear [your concerns]… The recent uptick in some of the crime statistics is concerning… I want all your students to keep on coming to a world-class institution. We are trying and are committed to having a world-class city to go along with it, but… it’s going to take some cooperation between UF and the City to make that happen, as it always has.”
Ward said there were a few more things he needed to address: “We have never passed any sanctuary city policy… I want to be very, very clear: you will not find, in any of our records, that we have ever claimed to be a sanctuary city. That said, if you want to live in this community, if you want to be a part of Gainesville, I want you to be a part of Gainesville… If you are a student at the University of Florida who lives in the city limits of Gainesville,… we’re glad you’re here… You are our neighbor, as we say in Gainesville.”
Ward: “This isn’t the issue [students] bring up… The people who live here are the ones I really want to talk to the most.”
Ward continued, “When I say ‘you,’ I mean students — you’re the ones we’re really talking about in this. I would love to meet you. I’m on campus, probably at least once a week, talking to classes and in a variety of groups. This isn’t the issue they bring up.” He said he knows that parents are frustrated by his focus on residents of Gainesville, “but the people who live here are the ones I really want to talk to the most.” He advised students against responding to “folks asking for money on the street corner… It’s dangerous to be out there.”
Ward said again that he would “be in touch with all of the owners of the Campus Walk condo apartments” and adjourned the meeting.
A father who thought his wife had taken their three young children on a picnic was hit by devastating news at work: his five-year-old son had died, while the rest of his family was critically injured.
Police allege the 42-year-old mother attacked all three children, aged five and under, with a knife on a quiet Blue Mountains street on Sunday afternoon before injuring herself.
The five-year-old boy died in the incident, while his two younger siblings suffered critical injuries.
The children were still secured in their car seats when the alleged attack occurred in Valley Heights.
Two cyclists and a passing driver came across the family on Waratah Road and stopped to provide urgent assistance.
The mother and her two surviving children were taken for surgery at Westmead Hospital and The Children’s Hospital at Westmead. All three remained in critical condition on Monday.
Investigators intend to question the mother if she survives her injuries, and police are expected to consider a homicide charge.
The children’s father went straight to hospital on Sunday after learning what had happened, seeking to be with his surviving children.
NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Peter McKenna described the scene officers encountered as “barbaric”.
“When you’re using knives, or edged weapons … it’s actually quite barbaric,” McKenna said.
“People cut people, it’s actually very confronting.”
He added: “Whenever there are children, it doesn’t get worse than that.”
Members of Sydney’s Kenyan community are supporting the father, and the Kenyan consulate has confirmed it is assisting the family.
Julie Sukkar, who lives nearby, initially assumed the commotion outside her home was linked to a traffic crash.
When she stepped outside, however, she saw a white four-wheel drive parked on a vacant block with its doors open. The three children were inside, while their mother was lying injured in nearby bushes.
Ms Sukkar told Daily Mail Australia that one of the children, a baby girl, was wearing a distinctive pink-and-white floral dress as rescuers lifted her from the car seat.
She said she initially saw only two children, then realised there were three inside the vehicle.
The injured woman, Ms Sukkar recalled, was shouting and thrashing on the ground, although it was unclear what she was saying or whether she was attempting to communicate.
“She was covered in blood and had some really bad injuries,” Ms Sukkar said.
Amid the rush of neighbours and emergency responders around the vehicle, Ms Sukkar said the children’s silence was the part she found hardest to witness.
‘The children were quiet. They were not screaming or crying. They were not moving.
‘That was hard to see. The police and the ambulance were here fast, and they did such a good job.’
Ms Sukkar said police initially handcuffed the mother before later removing the restraints as she was stretchered into an ambulance.
‘They took them off pretty quickly, once they realised she was no danger to anybody,’ she said.
Police said the family has no links to the Blue Mountains and were not previously known to officers.
Police will allege the wounds sustained by the mother were self-inflicted.
Ms Sukkar also praised the quick actions of the three strangers who stopped and raised the alarm, saying their decision to help may have saved the lives of the two surviving children.
‘There were two cyclists and one woman who I think was driving past and stopped,’ she said.
‘She was very distraught and got in the back to help the baby.
‘I think those kids probably wouldn’t have survived if they hadn’t stopped.’
Despite witnessing the bloody aftermath and later learning that police suspect the mother was responsible, Ms Sukkar said she could not bring herself to condemn her.
‘I felt really sad for her and for the kids as well,’ she said.
‘To be in that state of mind, I couldn’t even imagine it.
‘I have read Facebook posts with people calling her a monster. I think people can point the finger a little too early before they know what’s happened.
‘If you haven’t been through mental illness, you wouldn’t understand it.’
NEW YORK – President Donald Trump made an unexpected stop at Gracie Mansion on Monday before delivering a speech at the United Nations, spending about an hour with Mayor Zohran Mamdani in a conversation that also revisited New York’s political history.
Standing alongside Mamdani after the meeting, Trump reflected on his past visits to the official residence of New York’s mayors. He recalled the city leaders he considered “great ones and some not so great ones.”
“Hopefully you’re going to be a great one,” Trump told Mamdani, patting him on the back. “And you’re off to a start.”
The visit marked the latest friendly interaction between the Republican president and the democratic socialist mayor. Despite their stark political differences, Trump and Mamdani have developed an unexpectedly cordial relationship while seeking areas where they can work together for the city they both call home.
As leaders from around the world arrived in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, Trump and Mamdani appeared together on the lawn of the custard-yellow mansion in Manhattan.
“I have a lot of meetings right now, very important meetings with heads of different countries, but this is like a little bit of old home week for me,” Trump said. He added that “we’ve done so many things from the beautiful home or house or building standing right behind me.”
The two leaders said they discussed a possible housing development in Queens and explored ways to make New York more affordable for working-class residents.
Trump and Mamdani have met at least two times before and appear to remain in contact, although Mamdani has offered few details about his continuing conversations with the president.
The politically polarizing pair first met in the Oval Office shortly after Mamdani won the election last year. Their unexpectedly amicable discussion focused on ways to assist their shared hometown, following months of public criticism and verbal sparring.
In February, Mamdani made another brief trip to Washington, where he gave Trump a mock New York Daily News front page bearing the headline, “Trump to City: Let’s Build.” The presentation accompanied his appeal for new housing investment in New York.
As they had following their first Oval Office meeting, Trump and Mamdani stood together while acknowledging their differences on politics and policy.
Mamdani was also questioned about Trump’s decision to exclude certain news organizations from the White House. The mayor said those networks, along with other outlets, should have been allowed to attend the Gracie Mansion event. Trump defended the restrictions, arguing that the organizations’ coverage was biased.
“It’s interesting because they said they were gonna boycott me. But they never boycott me,” Trump said. He added, “I think that these outlets have an obligation to be fair.”
Trump’s earlier visits to Gracie Mansion included attending former Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s wedding in 2003 and a 2007 book party for former Democratic U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel.
After Trump departed, Mamdani returned to the lawn to take additional questions. He acknowledged that he and the president remain sharply divided on many issues but said their working relationship has continued.
“I will continue to have conversations with the president, and frankly, anyone who can deliver relief to the people of this city,” Mamdani said.
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Associated Press writer Kimberlee Kruesi contributed to this report from Providence, Rhode Island.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
CHICAGO (WLS) — With the midterm elections approaching, concerns are growing that eligible voters could face significant obstacles when they try to cast their ballots.
For decades, the U.S. Department of Justice has sent election monitors to communities nationwide on Election Day.
The goal, according to Jason Mazzone, a University of Illinois College of Law professor, has been to protect access to the ballot and prevent violations of voting rights.
Mazzone told the I-Team that the Trump administration’s plans to deploy monitors during this year’s midterm election could carry serious consequences.
“I think the suggestion is that the monitors are there to make sure that people who are not supposed to be voting are not voting,” Mazzone said. He warned that the situation could escalate if federal officers conclude that misconduct is taking place. “You can imagine some really drastic scenarios in which, for example, federal officers think that there’s some funny business going on, and they decide to seize ballots or make arrests. That would be tremendously disruptive of the midterm elections.”
President Donald Trump has repeatedly questioned the integrity of U.S. elections, despite a lack of evidence showing widespread voter fraud.
ABC7 chief legal analyst Gil Soffer has firsthand experience with the process. He previously served as an election monitor while working as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Justice Department.
Federal monitors may investigate potential violations of election law, Soffer said, but they cannot disrupt the voting process. “They could try to see if there’s a problem from any federal law perspective. What they certainly can’t do is interfere with the administration of the election,” he said. “The question is: What does that mean? Can they go up to people, interrogate them? Can they stand in the way of people? Almost certainly not. But there’s some gray there.”
This month, the Department of Justice sent letters to at least 30 states, including Illinois, directing officials to preserve materials connected to the 2024 election. The department has also requested voter rolls from several states. Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security has joined investigations into alleged voter fraud. A DHS whistleblower told Senate Democrats that investigators are accessing sensitive personal data as part of what the whistleblower described as a baseless pursuit.
“There’s no evidence to support that we are having large numbers of migrants, undocumented migrants, voting in our nation’s elections,” said John Cohen, a former DHS undersecretary for intelligence and an ABC News contributor. “If the evidence isn’t there, why are we spending our limited law enforcement resources looking for it?”
Election experts told the I-Team that the president could be amplifying concerns in a way that discourages people from voting in the midterms. They pointed to reports of federal election monitors interviewing voters during Wyoming’s primary.
DHS said it will investigate election fraud wherever it finds evidence of it.
Taylor Sheridan celebrated his 13th wedding anniversary with an extravagant party at Four Sixes Ranch, the legendary Texas property featured prominently in his hit Western series Yellowstone.
On Saturday, the 56-year-old creator surprised his wife, 43-year-old model Nicole Muirbrook, with the lavish gathering at their $330 million, 266,000-acre ranch in Guthrie, Texas.
Muirbrook offered her Instagram followers a glimpse of the celebration, posting photos of herself and Sheridan sharing affectionate moments during the soirée.
“Our love story has a pretty damn good supporting cast,” she wrote in the caption.
Her post showcased the elegant surprise party at the ranch, where a planned Yellowstone spinoff was recently set to film before the project was canceled.
The couple married in 2013, four years after meeting. Their relationship began during a difficult chapter for Sheridan, who was once homeless and living in his car as he pursued a career in Hollywood.
Taylor Sheridan hosted an anniversary celebration for his wife, Nicole Muirbrook, at the famed Four Sixes Ranch featured in Yellowstone; the couple is pictured together in June 2018
Muirbrook shared photos from the anniversary celebration on Saturday, including a loved-up image of herself with 56-year-old Sheridan
The anniversary post opened with a group photo taken inside the Four Sixes Ranch’s luxurious main cabin.
Sheridan and Muirbrook leaned toward one another for a kiss as friends and family members gathered around them, smiling and cheering.
Another candid image showed Muirbrook curled up on her husband’s lap while the couple closed their eyes in a tender moment.
She also shared a view of the lengthy dining table, which had been dressed with an elaborate arrangement of flowers and candles.
A separate snapshot revealed part of the multi-course menu served during the celebration.
Last month, Sheridan discussed how he acquired the sprawling 6666 Ranch, which provided the setting for several episodes of the fourth season of Yellowstone.
Before purchasing the ranch, the writer and director owned a 600-acre property in Weatherford, Texas, where he had planned to spend his later years.
The Four Sixes Ranch—nearly twice the size of Chicago—had remained in the same family for more than 150 years before Sheridan bought it.
Sheridan had intended to retire after creating the television phenomenon Yellowstone. Instead, he signed an exclusive agreement with Paramount that helped finance the ranch purchase.
Because he could not cover the full cost himself, Sheridan assembled a group of investors to share the expense. The sale officially closed in January 2022.
“Our love story has a pretty damn good supporting cast,” Muirbrook wrote alongside photos from the lavish surprise party at the ranch where Sheridan had planned to film a Yellowstone spinoff before it was canceled
The celebration featured a long dining table adorned with an elegant display of flowers and candlelight
Muirbrook included a snapshot of their menu, showing part of their multi-course meal
She also shared an Instagram Story post revealing how Sheridan surprised her, writing: ‘Turns out he still knows how to surprise me’
Sheridan met his future wife in LA in 2009 after Muirbrook hired him as an acting coach; pictured in September 2024
Since signing his deal with Paramount, the company has been getting serious bang for its buck. Sheridan has gone on to create numerous popular shows, including Mayor of Kingstown, Lioness, Landman, Tulsa King and The Madison.
He has also created the Yellowstone spinoffs 1883 and 1923. The now-wealthy writer and director revealed earlier this week that he had previously been cash-strapped and homeless while trying to make it in Hollywood.
‘I was homeless twice,’ he told Town & Country. ‘I lived in my car. Sometimes I’d go to Ojai, just somewhere where I could safely sleep. I did that for six months.’
He continued: ‘I could have decided at any point, “I’m going to go get a full-time job, and I’m going to give up this dream.” And I chose to sleep in my car over that.’
He later met Muirbrook after being cast in Sons of Anarchy, in which he starred in the first two seasons before deciding to step away from acting.
He and his future wife met in Los Angeles in 2009 when Muirbrook hired him as an acting coach.
They met and started dating after Sheridan was cast in Sons of Anarchy, in which he starred in the first two seasons before he decided to stop acting
In 2010, they welcomed their son Gus, and they went on to tie the knot in 2013
Sheridan previously opened up about their decision to leave LA behind and move to a more rural area to raise their young son
He also spoke about his decision to pivot from acting to screenwriting, crediting his wife and their son for his success; pictured in May 2017
At the time, he was starring on Sons of Anarchy and was coaching on the side to make a living.
In 2010, they welcomed their son Gus, and they went on to tie the knot in 2013.
Sheridan previously opened up about their decision to leave Los Angeles behind and move to a more rural area to raise their young son.
‘I didn’t want to raise my son in LA, and I didn’t want to have to look him in the eye and tell him I couldn’t take him to a baseball game because I had an audition for a Windex commercial,’ he told the Austin American-Statesman in August 2017.
He also spoke about his decision to pivot from acting to screenwriting, crediting his wife and their son for his success.
‘I think the thing that really changed my perspective on my career was getting married and having a child,’ he told Cowboys & Indians in 2020. ‘And then, really thinking about how I am going to raise that child.’
He added: ‘And if that child is going to look up to me, what is he looking up to me for? It made me reflect on my career very deeply.’
