Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg finds himself under scrutiny following reports that his $300 million superyacht did not aid stranded passengers in Alaskan waters.

The 387-foot vessel, named Launchpad, reportedly ignored appeals for assistance when a 21-foot skiff ran out of fuel during a journey between Petersburg and Juneau, Alaska, on Monday night, as covered by the Alaska Beacon.

Ultimately, it was the Wilderness Legacy, a smaller cruise ship, that responded to the skiff in distress.

During the rescue operation, the captain of the Wilderness Legacy informed passengers aboard that Zuckerberg’s superyacht, although closer to the troubled craft than his own ship, had declined to assist, according to a passenger’s account.

The announcement was met with what vacationer Michael Love described in a Bluesky post as “near-unanimous booing” from those on board.

The tiny skiff had sent out a call for assistance around 9:30 p.m. on Monday, the Coast Guard said.

The Coast Guard determined that the vessel wasn’t in distress but issued a marine assistance request broadcast about 30 minutes later.

Vessel-tracking services show that the Wilderness Legacy, operated by UnCruise Adventures, was farther away from the stranded vessel than Zuckerberg’s superyacht at the time, according to the Beacon. 

It also shows the cruise ship sailing past Launchpad on its way to help the stranded ship — as the social media tycoon’s mega-yacht stays floating in the middle of the water, the outlet reported. 

The stranded skiff was towed back to safety in protected Farragut Bay by the Wilderness Legacy.

Zuckerberg’s spokesperson insisted in a statement that the tech billionaire and his family were not aboard the ship — and that his yacht crew had been operating on a different radio channel.

“Mark and his family were not on board at the time of the incident,” the statement provided to the Beacon said.

“As the Coast Guard noted, the boat was not in distress, and by the time the crew reviewed the Coast Guard contact on a different radio channel from the one they were operating on, the assist was already underway. We’re grateful all parties are safe.”

Donald Trump has acknowledged that a hastily executed renovation project on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool led to a ‘contractor error.’ However, he maintains that the damage inflicted on this historic monument was ultimately caused by a vandal.

On Sunday evening, Trump used his Truth Social platform to emphasize witness statements from an employee of the National Park Service (NPS). The worker alleged witnessing former Olympian canoeist David Hearn tampering with the pool.

Hearn found himself entangled in legal troubles, facing felony property destruction charges. He was accused of reaching into the water and removing parts of the pool’s lining back in June.

However, these charges were dismissed last Thursday by Jeanine Pirro, a long-standing ally of Trump, after the Department of Justice concluded the damage was actually caused by contractors.

In his post, Trump conceded that he had expedited the $16 million renovation process.

‘As with many jobs, there was also some contractor error done by rushing the job for a July 4th opening, but it was a very small area of this massive Pool, and was relatively inconsequential,’ Trump said.

He insisted the ‘highly credible’ career employee with the NPS, ‘saw David Hearn (ActBlue) in broad daylight vandalize the Reflecting Pool by “violently” ripping and tugging at the Pool’s somewhat delicate coating.”

He claimed an ‘acid like material’ was used on the grass near the pool where the phrase ’86 47′ was spotted emblazoned on the lawn. The Trump administration has claimed the term calls for violence against the president.

‘There was substantial other damage to the Reflecting Pool, also but, unfortunately, there is no video or proof, other than the damage, itself,’ the president continued. ‘We are working on the Pool, and it will reopen shortly.’

The president added that security cameras are being installed at the pool, which will reopen soon.

The DOJ moved July 31 to dismiss a criminal case against Hearn, saying evidence prosecutors had recently received refuted the idea that vandals were to blame.

Its 20-page filing from US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said that additional documents provided by the Interior Department since Hearn’s indictment show that the damage was the result of a botched installation by a contractor as well as ‘the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the American 250 celebration in the weeks surrounding Independence Day 2026.’

Judge Todd Edelman in Washington dismissed the case Thursday.

Charges have also been dropped against three other people, Justin Carreno, Cameron Thiers and Sophie Dennison-Gibby, charged in the same DC court with misdemeanors for allegedly removing pieces of paint from the pool, according to online court records.

Trump has rebuked Pirro’s move and maintained that vandals are responsible, saying that she ‘choked’ and ‘folded like an umbrella.’

The White House previously said that Trump was not aware ahead of time that Pirro’s office would drop the charges against Hearn.

Lawyers for Hearn, in their 28-page motion to dismiss the charges, argued that the poor condition of the pool was ‘plainly visible’ for weeks and was publicly documented through photographs, video and news reports. 

The contractor, Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings, ‘publicly acknowledged, before Mr Hearn was indicted, that portions of the project required repair,’ the lawyers said. 

The firm was awarded a $14.7 million no-bid contract to repaint and waterproof the pool’s concrete floor but the cost has exceeded this initial budget.

Regardless, Trump has continued to insist that the pool was vandalized and has defended the contractors.

‘They did a beautiful job,’ Trump said of the contractors last week. ‘There were a couple of little things, but that was not a big deal. And everybody saw the vandalism. All you have to do is look at the tape.’

The president said that Pirro was ‘totally wrong.’ Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has backed Trump’s claims that vandals damaged the pool.

Hearn has said he was on a bike ride June 19 when he reached in to examine the pool’s newly peeled coating and briefly touched a chunk attached to the side of the pool. But he said he obeyed a park worker who told him to let go of it.

He faced up to ten years in prison if convicted on the property damage charges which were later dropped. 

The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has been a thorn in the president’s side ever since he took personal oversight of the renovation, which included adding an ‘American flag blue’ liner.

It was one of several ‘beautification’ projects around the capital that Trump had ordered ahead of the July 4 celebration.

But problems soon arose, with the coating peeling off and algae turning the pool’s water a mucky green.

The Daily Mail has approached Hearn’s lawyer, Norman Eisen, for comment. The White House referred the Mail to Trump’s post on Truth Social.

In Kentucky, a middle school educator is under severe scrutiny as criminal charges unfurl against her following claims of misconduct with a student that reportedly blurred serious ethical boundaries, authorities revealed.

The accused, 25-year-old Sadie M. Flores of Mayfield, found herself in handcuffs on Friday afternoon, charged with grooming a minor. This charge emerges as a Class D felony, newly enforced under Kentucky law just since July 15.

The investigation led by the Graves County Sheriff’s Office points fingers at Flores, who is employed at Graves County Middle School, for allegedly engaging in an illicit relationship with a student enrolled within the district.

The disturbing allegations came to light after reports reached the administration of Graves County Schools. In an immediate response, school officials alerted the Graves County Sheriff’s Office, catalyzing a thorough criminal investigation.

Detectives said the investigation included the seizure of electronic records, interviews and other investigative measures. Flores was interviewed Friday afternoon before being taken into custody around 3:30 p.m.

She was booked into the Graves County Restricted Custody Center before later being transferred to an out-of-county detention facility.

Sheriff Jon Hayden said the investigation remains ongoing.

Graves County Schools Superintendent Matt Madding said district leaders immediately contacted law enforcement after learning of the allegations.

“District administration was made aware of an allegation involving a teacher at Graves County Middle School. School officials immediately reported this information to the Graves County Sheriff’s Department for investigation,” Madding said in a statement.

“We have since been informed that, as a result of that investigation, charges have been filed against this teacher.”

Because the investigation and personnel matter remain ongoing, Madding said the district is limited in what it can publicly discuss but emphasized that student safety remains its top priority.

“We take any allegation involving the safety of a child or the professional conduct of an employee extremely seriously and will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement and the appropriate authorities,” he said.

The grooming charge stems from a Kentucky law that took effect July 15, creating a new felony offense aimed at adults accused of cultivating inappropriate relationships with minors before sexual abuse occurs.

Authorities have not released additional details about the alleged relationship, the student’s age, or whether additional charges could be filed as the investigation continues.

The New York Yankees faced yet another setback as they fell to the Atlanta Braves in a tight 2-1 defeat that stretched into extra innings on Sunday. This loss only highlighted the team’s ongoing struggles, which began after star player Aaron Judge was benched due to a fractured rib at the end of May.

Since Judge’s absence, the team’s performance at the plate has been concerning. The Yankees have managed the fourth-fewest runs in the league, coupled with the lowest batting average and on-base percentage. Their strikeout rate has unfortunately soared to the highest in Major League Baseball.

Ahead of Sunday’s matchup, hitting coach James Rowson opened up to The Post about the team’s difficulties at bat. Despite the lackluster statistics, Rowson maintained that the situation was not as dire as it might appear.

“When you consider our direction, it’s all about focusing on securing wins,” Rowson stated. “Our ultimate goal isn’t to amass hits, but to outscore our opponents, however that might look—be it a 3-2 victory or a 9-3 triumph. Staying concentrated on winning games and not allowing offensive slumps to become a hindrance will ultimately serve us well.”

Morgan Freeman, celebrated for his Oscar-winning performances, has surprised fans by branching into the music scene with a fresh venture.

At 89, the iconic actor, who viewers may currently watch in Taylor Sheridan’s “Lioness,” has both narrated and produced a blues album. This new offering is called “Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience.”

The album became accessible for purchase on Decca Records’ site starting Friday, August 7, and will be available for streaming and digital consumption on August 14.

Featuring a rich 12-song lineup that journeys through a century of blues history, the release includes celebrated musicians like Taj Mahal, Keb’ Mo’, and Lawrence “Boo” Mitchell, alongside the renowned Chineke! Orchestra.

Freeman shared with the Daily Mail that his connection to the blues music dates back to his childhood, recalling, “The blues has been part of my life since I first heard it on my grandmother’s porch in Mississippi.”

‘This album is my way of honoring that music and the stories it carries.’

‘I heard the blues for the first time on my grandmother’s porch in the Mississippi Delta, and it has never left me,’ Freeman also said in a press release, per Rolling Stone. 

‘Having Taj Mahal kick off this album with a cover of Son House’s classic Death Letter Blues strikes the perfect tone for the introduction of this album.’

The cover Death Letter Blues from the new album was released on Juneteenth, and the actor expressed it ‘is not just symbolic – it is the truth of where this music comes from and who made it. I hope people listen and remember.’ 

The song was first released in 1965 and recorded by Delta blues musician Son House.

Other tracks on the LP include Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground and Cadillac Assembly Line.

A three-date tour in support of the album also kicked off on August 7 with a show in Houston. 

Additional stops include a performance in Memphis on September 26 as well as a concert in Gulfport, Mississippi on October 17. 

Daily Mail has reached out to reps for Freeman for comment. 

‘The blues. It’s come from the most basic, visceral expression of humanity,’ Freeman said during an interview with CBS Mornings. ‘It comes from a field holler.

‘African Americans, those people whose closer connected to the origins in Africa, they have their own way of working and it’s a rhythm thing.’ 

Freeman also pursues his passion for blues music as a co-owner of the blues club Ground Zero in Mississippi. 

‘I was raised primarily in Mississippi with a few excursions outside, but the best of my growing up was spent in Mississippi in the Delta – Greenwood, Mississippi, to be exact,’ he said last year at his Chautauqua Lecture Series, per the Chautauqua Daily.

‘My association with the blues is really not an association at all,’ the Million Dollar Baby star explained at the time. 

‘It’s just there in the air. You start hearing it at a very young age, because there are a lot of guys going around plucking on guitars and singing sad songs.’

He added, ‘The blues has this beginning with African Americans because working in the fields, they had a work holler, as it were.’

Along with the new album release, Freeman has been featured on other songs in the past. 

The actor previously appeared on the song Bombs Away by B.o.B. in 2012, and was a narrator on Metro Boomin and 21 Savage’s 2020 album titled Savage Mode II. 

Freeman has been keeping busy on the screen as well. 

He recently reprised his role of Edwin Mullins in the Paramount+ series Lioness. The third season recently premiered on August 2. 

The spy thriller was created by Taylor Sheridan and the cast also includes Nicole Kidman, Zoe Saldana as well as Michael Kelly. 

Freeman recently opened about starring on the show and applauded Sheridan’s writing.

The actor expressed to The New York Times earlier this month that his writing ‘has to do more with the human experience, what people are actually going through, emotionally, in a lot of cases.’ 

Elsewhere during his conversation with the outlet, the star opened up about choosing which projects he takes on. 

‘If somebody offers you a job, it’s very nice if they’re offering you also an exciting script, but in reality, two or three things come into play.’ 

He continued, ‘What are they going to pay you? If they’re going to pay you enough, then you overlook some of the glitches in the script that happen to be there.

‘Sometimes you can mention things that are in the script that don’t quite work out for you and by and large, that gets worked out.’ 

Freeman is also known for his roles in The Shawshank Redemption, Driving Miss Daisy and Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy.