The murder trial of Lindsay Clancy took an unexpected turn Tuesday, sparked by a disagreement involving a viral TikTok video. At the heart of this controversy was a request from Clancy’s defense lawyers to include a former employee of a psychiatric institution on their list of witnesses. This individual had publicly criticized other witnesses for allegedly perpetuating “lies and misrepresentations” about the mental health facility where Clancy had received treatment just weeks before the tragic incident involving her children.

Kevin Reddington, Clancy’s defense attorney, made an appeal to Judge William Sullivan. He proposed adding Emily Thorndike, a former clinical social worker at McLean Hospital, to the witness lineup. Reddington argued that Thorndike’s extensive experience working in the hospital’s short-term unit could counteract what he characterized as an inaccurate portrayal of the facility as a “five-star” establishment brimming with treatment opportunities that Clancy allegedly declined.

Reddington expressed his concerns, stating, “One of the prosecutors suggested during direct examination that McLean is almost like a luxury institution, with a surplus of doctors, psychiatrists, and therapists, supposedly clambering over each other to assist Miss Clancy, who was apparently refusing their help. This narrative is simply inaccurate.”

He further explained, “This has left jurors with the misleading impression that McLean, due to its ties with Harvard, operates as a five-star hospital, which is not representative of the reality.”

Reddington explained that he tracked down the TikToker, later identified as Thorndike, after she took to the social media platform to expose the level of treatment at the mental health facility.

“I saw her video saying that she could not stand for, and I quote, ‘the lies and the misrepresentations from that witness stand about McLean Hospital’.”

Prosecutors, meanwhile, fired back that Thorndike had left McLean roughly a year before Clancy’s stay, had no firsthand knowledge of her treatment and had been following the trial online before posting her opinions online.

Sullivan appeared hesitant to let Thorndike to grade the quality of Clancy’s hospital care.

“This is not Tripadvisor,” the judge quipped, saying he would not permit a battle over whether McLean deserved five stars or two.

This is not Tripadvisor…

But Sullivan called the narrower question of staffing and available programs a “closer call” and took the defense motion under advisement. He has not ruled about whether or not to allow Thorndike to take the witness stand.

The witness list dispute came before jurors heard a series of desperate messages Clancy sent to her psychiatric nurse practitioner, Rebecca Jollotta, in late 2022 as she struggled with insomnia, medication changes and intrusive thoughts.

• After saying her depression had worsened, Clancy told Jollotta she was “not at the point of being suicidal” but added, “I’m really feeling as if I can’t go on like this.”
• Later that day, on , she described the worsening depression as “feeling completely hopeless and unmotivated to do anything at all.”
• She said she had started having “very intrusive thoughts that I never had before” and wanted to change her medication plan.

• In another message, she apologized for repeatedly contacting the clinic: “It’s just a scary, very scary, stressful time for me. And starting new meds with side effects is very scary to me.”
• She said she woke with “horribly intrusive thoughts of wanting it to be all over.”
• “I’m willing to try anything,” she later said, adding, “I feel like we are throwing all these different meds at my insomnia” and “I feel completely numb.”
• Clancy reported that after going without Ativan, “all day I had horrible intrusive thoughts and felt deeply depressed.” She said that after taking 0.5 mg of Ativan, “now the thoughts are gone and I feel good.”

Jollotta testified Tuesday that she interpreted the message as symptoms of depression and anhedonia, the inability to experience pleasure, rather than suicidal ideation, and did not direct Clancy to immediately go to an emergency room.

News Media reached out to McLean Hospital for comment.

Former New Jersey mayor Gina LaPlaca, previously caught driving under the influence with her young child in the car, is enveloped in further controversy as she and her husband allegedly falsified signatures to secure her spot on the Democratic primary ballot, which subsequently ended in a massive defeat.

Charges were filed against LaPlaca, currently serving as a Lumberton Township Committeewoman, and her husband, Jason Carty, for allegedly engaging in fraudulent activities to include the 47-year-old’s name in the ballot during her bid for reelection in south-central New Jersey, as announced by the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday.

The pair reportedly engaged in collecting signatures, yet are accused of adding individuals’ names to a nomination petition without their consent to bolster LaPlaca’s support for the upcoming June 3 primary.

Numerous purported supporters of the contentious political figure informed investigators they neither signed the petition nor authorized anyone to advocate for LaPlaca on their behalf, according to officials.

In a sworn statement, LaPlaca claimed she “personally circulated the petition [and] that such petition was signed by each of the signers thereof in his/her own handwriting.”

Carty then submitted the falsified petition to the Lumberton Township clerk.

Officials did not reveal how many signatures the couple forged, but specified LaPlaca wouldn’t have made the ballot without them.

“Without the fraudulent signatures, the investigation revealed, LaPlaca’s petition would have lacked the requisite number of signatures required to be a candidate for the primary,” the county prosecutor’s office said.

LaPlaca, who was one of three candidates vying for two spots in the Democratic primary, garnered a measly 323 votes, finishing dead last.

She was effortlessly defeated by current Mayor Terrance Benson and former committeewoman Kendra Hatfield, who received 1,100 and 1,052 votes, respectively.

LaPlaca was charged by summons with Making a False Statement Under Oath, Knowingly Filing a False Petition, two counts of Tampering with Public Records or Information and Falsifying or Tampering with Records.

Carty was charged with Knowingly Filing a False Petition, two counts of Tampering with Public Records or Information and Falsifying or Tampering with Records.

Their first court appearance is scheduled at Superior Court in Mount Holly on Sept. 21.

LaPlaca alleged voter intimidation five days before the election when she claimed people in dark suits had visited at least 10 of her supporters demanding to know if they signed her petition.

“I can’t believe these kind of tactics have come to Lumberton, but I guess if someone is that scared of me winning, I must be doing something right,” she wrote on Facebook.

LaPlaca is currently serving a three-year supervision sentence for the March 17, 2025, arrest where she had a Blood Alcohol Concentration of .30%, nearly four times the legal limit in the Garden State.

She pleaded guilty in March to DUI and child endangerment over her dangerous St. Patrick’s Day stunt while she was mayor.

Her light sentence was a “second chance” for her because she was a first-time offender and was accepted into an intervention program.

Days before the June 3 primary, LaPlaca accused Carty of aggravated assault, claiming he “literally tried to kill me,” according to the New Jersey Globe.

Carty allegedly strangled his wife inside their home during an early morning incident.

He was told to leave the home and later charged with aggravated assault by strangulation and harassment with the intent to cause alarm, the outlet reported.

One of the responding officers reported LaPlaca being inebriated and smelling like alcohol, but she denied the allegations, saying she wasn’t the one drinking and had been

“My husband was the one drinking, not me,” she wrote on social media, according to the outlet. “I am on antidepressants and anti-anxiety meds, and this incident happened at 6:45 AM when, frankly, I’m not at my best. Never been a morning person.”

A pre-indictment conference is scheduled for Aug. 19, according to court records.

Former President Donald Trump has recently downplayed the incident where he discreetly switched planes on his return from last month’s NATO summit.

In a stealthy maneuver, Trump was moved from his iconic Air Force One to a less conspicuous C-32A aircraft, facilitated by a catering truck. This strategic shift followed intelligence warnings about a potential assassination plot by Iran.

On Tuesday, Trump acknowledged he agreed to this precautionary measure after it was suggested by the Secret Service.

“I just follow what they’d like me to do,” Trump remarked when questioned about the incident during his trip back from the 2026 Patriot Games in Ohio. “They wanted me to fly on a different aircraft, which offered the same level of safety, so that’s what I did. I follow their lead.”

Additionally, he played down the importance of the intelligence that had triggered the need for such a covert operation.

‘I guess there was a threat out there. I didn’t really ask too much about it. I get a lot of threats,’ Trump added.

The president also said he felt the C-32A he was aboard was more dangerous than the Air Force One jet which took off with unsuspecting journalists and White House staffers on board as a decoy.

‘I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk! I think it was at greater risk because that would be the plane, I think that they would be more likely to go for it,’ he said.

The president initially flew to the summit in Turkey aboard a new Qatari-gifted 747-8 jet before announcing he would return via the UK on an older Air Force One model ‘for old times’ sake.’

He was seen boarding the legacy Air Force One jet in Ankara before he covertly entered a food container that had been fitted to the belly of the plane, The New York Times reported.

From there, a catering truck drove the container to the waiting C-32A and it was lifted to the plane, according to the Washington Post.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made a prominent show of boarding the C-32A, helping to sell the illusion that it was a routine flight to anyone watching. 

The elaborate ruse fooled those on board the old Air Force One, leaving unsuspecting journalists and even some senior White House staffers none the wiser as they flew aboard the ‘decoy’ Air Force One. 

Journalists, believing Trump was aboard, were instructed to close their window shades.

After the two planes landed in the UK, Trump was apparently smuggled from the C-32A back to the legacy Air Force One jet and was seen descending on external stairs.  

From there, he embarked on the Qatari-donated plane to travel back to Washington with the White House press pool.

Onboard that aircraft, the President spoke to journalists for about 15 minutes, highlighting the threat that Iran poses.

When asked why reporters were ordered to lower their window shades on the plane in Turkey, Trump said it was ‘because you’re probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleaze bags that we have to deal with.’

He then added that he has a ‘threat all the time’ on his life and that he is ‘number one’ on Iran’s ‘list.’

Tehran has been vocal in its threats and last week a massive, custom-made banner featuring a caricature of Trump under a large, blood-red painted ‘bullseye’ scope was seen dominating Tajrish Square in the capital, according to photos exclusively obtained by the Daily Mail.

Below the image of the targeted President, in large crimson English capital letters, is the chilling phrase: ‘There will be blood.’

Iranian media has also threatened to go after First Lady Melania Trump and Barron Trump, with a recent AI-generated video highlighting the locations the First Lady likes to shop and how would-be assassins could target her. 

The report on Trump’s escape comes weeks after White House communications director Steven Cheung first suggested administration officials engaged in subterfuge as Trump was departing the summit.

‘As the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him and we use every tool at our disposal – including distraction and misdirection – to address those threats,’ Cheung previously told the NY Times. 

The statement suggested that administration officials viewed the Iranian threat as credible, taking extreme precautions to ensure the president’s safety amid renewed military strikes on Iran.

But the threats were not directed at the Qatari-donated jet itself, Cheung noted, as he denied that the plane posed a security risk. 

‘The new Air Force One is a state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the President and his staff,’ he said in a statement to the Washington Post.

The White House also released a statement insisting that the Qatari-donated aircraft is ‘secure and equipped with the most advanced technologies necessary to meet requirements of the presidential mission.’

‘Those requirements were carefully created to prioritize mission over aesthetics, leaving much of the previous head of state interior layout minimally changed,’ a spokesman for the Air Force told the Washington Post.

‘No risk was taken in security, safety or mission communications, but the collective team made trades on some of the less-commonly used mission sets that Boeing must deliver to support the next 40 years,’ it added.

In a heartening yet somber moment, Florida’s brave K-9 Ace made a triumphant return to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, marking just days since a gunshot led to the amputation of his front leg. The dedicated German Shepherd, despite his injuries, was warmly welcomed back by the department on Tuesday.

At seven years old, Ace has been with the Polk County team since March 2020, forging a reputation for unwavering loyalty and bravery. His recent brush with danger occurred during an operation to apprehend 27-year-old Angel Bowers, which turned volatile.

According to authorities, Bowers had evaded a court appearance and, in resisting arrest, allegedly discharged multiple shots at the deputies. The situation concluded with deputies ending Bowers’ life during the confrontation.

Speaking on the incident, Sheriff Grady Judd praised Ace’s actions during the critical moment. The shots from Bowers not only shattered Ace’s leg bone but also tore through an artery, resulting in significant blood loss. Ace’s sacrifices underscore the dangerous reality officers, both human and canine, face every day.

Ace’s partner and handler, Deputy Natalie Oestreich, treated his wounds and carried him to safety, according to the sheriff’s office.

Ace was rushed to Parkway Veterinary Emergency Clinic in Lakeland, where he was stabilized before a Tampa General Hospital Aeromed helicopter transported him to the Veterinary Medical Center at Lakewood Ranch. Veterinarians there performed a several-hour surgery to amputate his left front leg.

On Sunday, the sheriff’s office posted video showing deputies arriving at the veterinary medical center to greet an energetic Ace as he prepared to return home.

“Upon waking from the anesthesia, Ace attempted to walk out of there,” the sheriff’s office wrote. “He has not been deterred since. In fact he outran the camera attempting to film his release this afternoon!”

Video shows Ace interacting with deputies before walking out of the medical center under his own power to thunderous applause while wearing a shirt that read “ride or die.”

Two days later, Ace made his first trip back to the sheriff’s office since being shot in the line of duty.

“Look at Ace. He’s happy; he’s eating; he bit my finger,” Judd said. “We are so proud of Natalie and Ace. They stood in the gap between good and evil and they saved three deputies’ lives. That’s why we’re so proud of him. He did so good.”

Judd said Oestreich will spend time with Ace as he continues to recover before she returns to work. Ace, however, will retire from law enforcement.

“Chill out and enjoy your retirement Ace,” Judd said.

The sheriff’s office also honored Ace in a social media post, writing, “His days of chasing bad guys may be over, but Ace will always be one of our heroes!”

Polk Sheriff’s Charities Inc. has established a K-9 fund to help support Ace’s care. The sheriff’s office said those interested in helping can donate directly to the fund through the organization’s website.

Remarkably, a courageous young goose named Goosey jolted his owners awake in the dead of night when he discovered their barn was burning. Thanks to his quick thinking, both the barn and its animal inhabitants were saved from disaster.

Goosey, just four months old, joined the Gerber family on Mother’s Day. Despite his typically solitary nature, an extraordinary event last Tuesday spurred him into heroic action, as reported by KHOU 11.

Bert Gerber, Goosey’s owner, was napping on the couch when the usually quiet goose erupted into a series of unusual honks, rousing the entire household with sounds they had never encountered before.

To Bert’s astonishment, Goosey’s urgent calls were not in vain—they were warnings. Just outside, a barn teeming with the family’s animals on their Fort Bend County property was ablaze.

Dramatic footage from surveillance cameras captured Goosey, the honking hero, stationed bravely in front of the fiery barn, underscoring his pivotal role in averting a tragedy.

“I just casually came outside and I saw a fire billowing out of there,” Bert recalled. “I grabbed a water hose and ran over there.” 

Bert extinguished the blaze and all the animals inside of the barn were accounted for and safe.

“If I hadn’t been woken up, I think in a couple more minutes, it would have been … out of control,” Bert said.

Bert’s wife Chelsea never wanted a webbed-foot friend but the couple’s daughter Elaine fell in love with Goosey when they went to a “hug a goose” event four months ago.

“When we got him, he was so small and he was just so fluffy,” young Elaine said. “When I got to pet his head, he would just rest his head on my arm and it just made me tear up.”

The family said they are even considering a fellow webbed-foot companion — a Lucy for Goosey, the outlet reported.

“And then we’re going to get babies. I can start my own business,” Elaine said.  

In a groundbreaking legal decision on Tuesday, a surrogate who resisted the biological parents’ request to abort an unborn baby due to a correctable heart defect achieved an initial courtroom success.

McKenna West, an Alaska-based nurse and mother of two, is advocating for the unborn child’s life, whom she has named Gabriel, following the diagnosis of hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

West has approached a family district court in Dallas County, Texas, seeking to allow the unborn baby to stay in the state and receive crucial medical intervention that could save his life.

Her cause has found a powerful ally in Texas Attorney General and Senate hopeful Ken Paxton, who filed a supportive brief asserting that the state mandates physicians to administer necessary medical care.

Within less than a day, an associate judge issued a temporary restraining order ensuring that all essential treatments for the baby, expected to be born early next month, cannot be withheld or obstructed by any parties involved.

The judge also appointed a legal guardian to ensure the child receives all of the necessary treatments for hypoplastic left heart syndrome. 

‘The court has made the right decision in immediately acting to protect baby Gabriel’s life and ensure he receives the care he deserves,’ Paxton said in a statement announcing the order.

‘My office utilized every tool at our disposal to protect life, and we will not back down in continuing to support baby Gabriel’s wellbeing,’ he continued, arguing: ‘Every child in our state deserves to be cared for and protected, and that’s exactly what I’ll fight for.’

Lila Rose, the founder of Live Action, which helped West connect with lawyers, also praised the outcome.

But she noted that the judge also ordered West be prevented from having any contact with the baby after birth. 

‘This is deeply unjust as Baby Gabriel will be separated from the only mother he’s known, left to go through surgery without her comfort or support,’ Rose posted on X, noting that West ‘has been the one fighting for his protection.’

‘Baby Gabriel is not a product,’ she argued. ‘He is a human being. His needs should be the top priority. The fight must continue for Baby Gabriel.’

Her message comes as the child’s biological parents, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, continue their lawsuit seeking to establish parental rights through a California court.

They have previously demanded in their own lawsuit that West travel to their home state of California to give birth.

They left it open as to whether they would allow doctors to perform life-saving surgery on the child or if they would only provide him with ‘comfort care’ so he dies shortly after his birth. 

West then filed a counter-suit in the Superior Court of Alaska seeking sole custody of the baby so she can allow doctors in Texas to treat him.

But in Paxton’s legal filing on Monday, he argued the active legal disputes only seek to determine who speaks for the child – and do not determine whether life-saving treatment must be provided. 

The issue about the child’s care and who has parental rights over him began after a 20-week ultrasound revealed that he would have hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

Devastated by the news, West did some research and found a hospital in Dallas that has had a 100 percent success rate in recent years with the first of three surgeries a baby would need right after birth.

Babies who undergo that first surgery have a 75 percent chance of making it to the age of five, and those who make it to their first birthday have a 90 percent chance of making it to the age of 18, according to New York Presbyterian Hospital.  

West then told her contacts at Connecticut-based Worldwide Surrogacy Specialist LLC that she could live with a friend in Texas to mitigate costs to Gilkar and Ahmed.

But a liaison at the agency told her the couple was still concerned about the baby’s future quality of life living with the heart condition.

West then received a call from the liaison telling her the parents officially requested she undergo an abortion – something she was morally against.

As she would be 24 weeks pregnant at the time of the abortion, West said in court documents she was appalled at the idea that doctors would inject the baby with ‘a solution that will stop his heart and then he’ll be literally ripped apart and dismembered as he’s taken from [her] uterus.’ 

As West continued to struggle with the biological parents’ request, her brother reached out to her and offered to adopt the child.

West then flew down to Texas to deliver the child and seek legal protections, as Texas state law recognizes anyone who gives birth in the state as the legal mother of that child.

However, Tuesday’s ruling forbids her from making any medical decisions for or on behalf of the child and states the child’s biological parents can make medical decisions on behalf of their son.

However, neither West nor the child’s biological parents are allowed to intervene if a doctor at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center or Children’s Medical Center of Dallas determines that a certain treatment is necessary to save the infant’s life.

If anyone does try to refuse the child’s medical treatment, the court will hold an emergency hearing to determine whether the treatment is necessary and whether any statutory exception applies, according to the order.

West and the child’s biological parents are also forbidden from taking the child out of state after he is born.

The two parties are now due back in court on August 25. The Daily Mail has reached out to Gilkar and Ahmed’s lawyer.

Tragedy struck a Colorado community as five teenage friends, all aged 17, lost their lives in a devastating cliff plunge. Their vehicle careened off a steep hill, leaving grieving families and shocked residents to face the sorrowful reality just as the new school year commences.

The heart-wrenching accident occurred as these teenagers from Grand Junction traveled along Lookout Lane late on Saturday. Investigators revealed that their vehicle abruptly veered off course, sending them tumbling down a steep slope.

According to the Mesa County Coroner’s Office, three of the victims—including the driver and a front-seat passenger—were wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash. However, two were not buckled in, resulting in their tragic ejection from the vehicle.

All five died from injuries sustained in the crash.

Authorities were not alerted to the wreck until approximately 7:45 a.m. Sunday, when 911 dispatchers received a report that a vehicle may have gone over the edge of a cliff, according to the Grand Junction Police Department.

Police and firefighters responding to the area discovered the wrecked vehicle along the hillside.

Speed is being investigated as a possible factor, police said. Authorities have not publicly identified the driver or said what caused the vehicle to leave the roadway.

The coroner’s office said it would not release the teenagers’ names because of its policy against publicly identifying minors.

Though the teens have been identified by families and loved ones as those in the Grand Junction community share memories and rally around those left behind.

One of the victims was Braden Taylor, 17, whose grandfather, Calvin Wilken, confirmed his death in an emotional Facebook post obtained by News Media.

“Very sad news our youngest grandson Braden 17 died in a car rollover down 5 ledges of a very steep drop off over looking the railroad tracks and the Gunnison River,” Wilken wrote.

“He was a passenger with 4 of his buddies, all deceased,” he added.

Wilken said the crash occurred just blocks from the family’s former home in a ridge-top development above the area.

A GoFundMe established for Braden’s parents said the teenager was their youngest son and that the family is now confronting unexpected funeral expenses while trying to process his death.

“Wade and Michelle are now facing the unimaginable pain of losing their youngest son while also carrying the weight of sudden funeral expenses,” the fundraiser said.

The scale of the loss has rippled across Grand Junction.

Modern Classic Motors, a local business, shared verified donation links for all five families and said the tragedy was weighing particularly heavily on the community as students returned to school.

“Our hearts are broken for the five young lives tragically lost over the weekend and for their family and friends who are left with this unimaginable loss,” the business wrote on Facebook.

“As the new school year kicks off today, we can only imagine the heaviness and sadness that is being felt throughout our schools today,” the post continued.

The four other teenagers were identified by loved ones as Tristan Tucker, Titus Gould, William Simms and Tyler Martinez, according to the Daily Mail.

Tucker had been preparing to begin his senior year of high school, get his driver’s license and experience the milestones that come with being 17, according to a fundraiser for his family cited by the outlet.

He was remembered as being “full of life, potential, and a free spirit.”

A Meal Train was also established to support Gould’s family following his death, according to the Daily Mail.

Martinez’s grandmother, Debbie Gallegos Martinez, publicly mourned her grandson after the crash.

“With a heavy heart and tears rolling down my cheek my grandson was one of this [sic] boys,” she wrote, according to the outlet.

Another family member asked people to keep all five families in their prayers, calling the tragedy “devastating and heartbreaking.”

The Grand Junction Police Department also issued an emotional message.

“Our hearts are heavy following the tragic losses this weekend,” the department wrote. “You’re our neighbors, our friends, and our family.”

“We grieve alongside our community and stand together to support one another.”