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Season's over: Caitlin Clark leaves it all on court with bloody mouth as Fever fall in Game 3
It was win-or-go-home for Caitlin Clark, and she went down swinging.
The season came to an end for Clark and the Indiana Fever with a 94-83 loss to A'ja Wilson and the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces in Thursday's decisive Game 3.
Wilson led the charge with 36 points in the winning effort, dropping 21 by halftime.
The Fever kept it within single digits until the final two minutes, but the shots just didn't fall down the stretch. Clark — the AP Comeback Player of the Year — finished with 18 points on 6-of-18 shooting.
Still, Indiana fought hard to save their season against the reigning champs, headlined by Clark's raw grit.
Down 82-77 in the fourth quarter with 3:16 remaining, Clark took a sharp elbow to the face from Jewell Loyd.
With her mouth bleeding profusely, she quickly ran back onto the court, fiercely fighting back against head coach Stephanie White and game officials just to stay on the floor.
Drama was at a fever pitch coming into Thursday's decisive game in Vegas.
A'ja Wilson's technical foul in Game 2 was the talk of the town, largely overshadowing Caitlin Clark's historic postseason milestones.
CAITLIN CLARK'S TECHNICAL FOUL SPARKS FURIOUS RALLY AS FEVER AVOID ELIMINATION AGAINST ACES
Aces coach Becky Hammon was asked about the Wilson aftermath, which saw her step over and beyond the sideline to confront a fan in the stands. Though clear arguments were made for a suspension, the WNBA made a business decision, looking the other way to leave Wilson untouched by the incident.
Speaking on Thursday, Hammon doubled down on her support for her superstar:
WNBA REVEALS WHY A'JA WILSON WAS NOT EJECTED FOR APPROACHING FEVER FAN DURING PLAYOFF GAME
"I think you saw A'ja get pushed and shoved and there was no response. So there just comes a certain point where a lot of variables come into the exchange that happened the other night.
"I stand 10 toes down with the character of A'ja Wilson. And it's like if someone said, 'hey, your brother went and did something.' Like, no, I know the person in the situation, so I trust that person in any situation. And she'll be great tonight. I have no doubt."
The biggest loser in all of this? Fever head coach Stephanie White.
In her second season back in Indiana, White proved she's just a corporate stooge when things get ugly. While opponents treated Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham like punching bags, White hid behind spineless PR fluff instead of defending her stars.
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In a league that constantly ignores dirty play against its top draw, White refused to go to bat for her team, showing a complete lack of backbone when her players needed a fighter on the bench.
FEVER COACH STEPHANIE WHITE LAUNCHES FIERY DEFENSE OF HERSELF AFTER SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM HIT
Despite the coaching headaches, the Fever roster still had enough talent to finish 28-16 as the sixth seed.
In what could be her final game for Indiana, guard Sophie Cunningham played 24 minutes, scoring just five points (2-of-4 FG). Her biggest impact this season went far beyond the score, gaining widespread notoriety for standing firm for her values off the court.
The Fever played out their final minutes in frustration, knowing a hard-fought year was coming to an end.
Across the three-game series, Clark averaged 20.0 points, 9.7 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game.
That came on the heels of a dominant Year 3 regular season where she averaged 22.3 points, 8.3 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game. Still searching for her first career playoff series win, Clark has already set the stage for a full-on revenge tour in Year 4.
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Braves dominate Phillies with big home runs to set up huge NLDS against Los Angeles Dodgers
While the three other wild card series ended in two-game sweeps, the matchup between the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies has delivered exceptional postseason drama.
In game one, the Braves trailed late while trying to mount a comeback against typically dominant closer Jhoan Duran. With two outs in the bottom of the 8th down 3-2, third baseman Austin Riley delivered, launching a game-changing homer to give Atlanta a 5-3 lead. Raisel Iglesias closed it out to give them a 1-0 series lead.
Philadelphia turned the tables in game two, just when it seemed like the Braves would close out the sweep. With the score tied at one, Bryce Harper misplayed a routine fly ball to right field in the bottom of the 7th, allowing a run to score and setting up another to come in on a sacrifice fly. In the 8th, he made up for it. After Kyle Schwarber demolished a ball to make it 3-2, Harper followed it up with one of his own to tie it at 3. Alec Bohm broke the tie in the 10th, and Andrew Painter finished out the save for Philly.
PHILLIES AND BRAVES REACH WILD CARD GAME 3 AFTER TWO MASTERPIECE CONTESTS NO OTHER SERIES MATCHED
The late-inning heroics set up a winner-take-all game three back at Truist Park on Thursday night. Division rivals. Primetime. Win or go home. Packed house. That's what playoff baseball is all about. And the Braves stars made sure the home fans would go home happy.
Philadelphia started the game at a bit of a disadvantage thanks to their late-season pitching plans. Because the Arizona Diamondbacks refused to exit the wild card race, the Phillies were forced to start Zack Wheeler on Sunday afternoon and punch their ticket to the postseason. While it worked to send them to Atlanta, that put Wheeler on short rest for Thursday's must-win game three.
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Instead, the Phillies turned to veteran starter Aaron Nola, coming off the worst season of his career but on more rest than Wheeler. In the first inning, it backfired. After back-to-back walks to Ronald Acuna Jr. and Matt Olson, Michael Harris II hit a three-run homer to right center field to put Atlanta up 3-0 in the blink of an eye.
Backing themselves into a corner with their pitching options, Atlanta turned to Ray Kerr, a reliever with just 18 regular season innings this year, to open the game against the powerful Phillies lineup. And because baseball remains baseball and thus unpredictable, Kerr went 3.1 innings with just one hit, one walk, two strikeouts, and no runs allowed.
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Grant Holmes and a parade of relievers helped keep the Phillies mostly at bay heading into the middle innings, when Ozzie Albies gave Atlanta some breathing room with a two-run homer off Wheeler, pitching in relief.
The Phillies put two runners in scoring position with one out in the 6th, but could only bring in a single run on an Alec Bohm ground out. Matt Olson got it right back with a solo homer in the 7th, to extend the lead to 6-1. Philly clawed back a run on a Trea Turner sac fly in the 8th, and Braves manager Walt Weiss, instead of turning to closer Raisel Iglesias, brought in superstar starter Chris Sale to close it out.
Atlanta's win sets up a clash of the titans against the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS, with star-studded lineups and pitching staffs on both sides. LA, at first glance, has the advantage thanks to the rest a first-round bye provides.
The Dodgers will be able to set up the rotation the way they'd prefer, enjoy a fully rested bullpen, while the extra time off allowed injured players like Shohei Ohtani to heal ahead of the series. On the other hand, Atlanta has played three straight competitive games in intense, playoff environments. Going from 0–100 has proven challenging for some teams coming off bye weeks, which might negate some of LA's advantage.
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Still, Atlanta will have to piece together a pitching plan for the first game of the series. Sale started game one of the wild card series, but coming in to close out game three negates any chance of pitching on short rest on Saturday. Tyler Mahle pitched on Wednesday, which would seem to knock him out until game three at the earliest. Grant Holmes pitched two innings on Thursday, putting his availability in doubt.
But the Braves' offense remains dangerous thanks to star-level performance and depth with Olson, Riley, Albies, Acuna, Harris, and Drake Baldwin. Iglesias had a very good season at the back of the bullpen, and Sale is a force of nature.
LA's offense has surprisingly struggled this year, but their rotation is outstanding, to say the least. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell, and Tyler Glasnow are as good as anyone.
Should be must-see TV.
Lawyers, experts urge Tennessee governor to commute Christa Pike’s sentence after botched execution
Christa Pike's lawyers are calling on Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to commute her death sentence to life in prison after she remained alive following two doses of lethal injection drugs in what one death penalty expert described as an unprecedented event.
Pike, who was sentenced to death for a 1995 murder of a classmate, was rushed to a hospital Wednesday night after surviving her planned execution. Her lawyers said on Thursday that she remains in critical condition and is receiving "lifesaving medical care."
"We don’t have a sense of her prognosis or much update on her health at the moment," attorney Randy Spivey said during a news conference. "But we know she is alive right now."
The botched execution prompted Lee to halt any further efforts to carry out Pike's execution and the state’s other execution scheduled this year. He also ordered a third-party review into Pike's execution, which he called "deeply disturbing."
CHRISTA PIKE'S ATTORNEYS SAY SHE'S IN CRITICAL CONDITION AFTER BOTCHED LETHAL INJECTIONS
Pike's lawyers are now calling for her death sentence to be commuted.
Her lawyers filed an emergency motion with the Tennessee Supreme Court seeking to immediately halt and stay the execution, noting that she was in "unnecessary agony" and arguing that putting her through another attempted execution violated her right to be put to death without cruel and unusual punishment.
Death Penalty Information Center Executive Director Robin Maher, who called the failed execution "completely unprecedented," also urged the governor to commute Pike's sentence.
"Given the experience that Christa Pike went through last night, after a childhood and young adulthood that was full of gender based violence and abuse, it would be irresponsible for state officials to put her through another attempt at execution. I really hope that in light of what she's experienced, that the governor will decide to commute her sentence to a life in prison and not put her through another torturous experience in the execution chamber," Maher told Fox News Digital.
Before the planned execution, about 25,000 people had signed a petition to Lee asking him to commute Pike's death sentence to life in prison.
An appeals court had halted her execution early on Wednesday, but the U.S. Supreme Court overturned that stay hours later to clear the way for her to be put to death.
Pike, 50, would have been the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years. She would have been the 30th person executed in the U.S. this year, driven largely by Florida's record increase in inmates put to death since 2025.
Since the Supreme Court resumed the death penalty in 1976, only 18 women have been executed in the U.S., making up about 1% of all executions in the country.
This was the second time this year that Tennessee had a failed execution. In May, Tony Carruthers, who was convicted of kidnapping and murdering three people in 1994, was not executed because officials could not find a suitable vein for an IV line, so the drugs were not administered. Multiple states have previously paused executions after cases of officials being unable to find a suitable vein for an IV line.
In 2024, Tennessee switched from a three-drug series to a single drug, pentobarbital, for lethal injections. About two years earlier, the state abruptly halted the execution of Oscar Smith, who was convicted of first-degree murder, and acknowledged it had failed to ensure its lethal injection drugs had been tested properly. He was eventually put to death by lethal injection last year.
Several others have survived medical problems linked to a failure to access a vein to administer lethal injection drugs, but no one had stayed alive after receiving the drugs until Pike on Wednesday.
"This, unfortunately, is not the first time that Tennessee officials have botched an execution. There is really a quite shameful history in Tennessee of executions going wrong, although Christa Pikes really stands out. There's never been someone who has received lethal doses of execution drugs and survived until last night. This is a completely unprecedented event, even in the context of Tennessee's other botched executions," Maher said.
The Death Penalty Information Center lists 65 botched executions across the U.S. in the modern era.
In the execution chamber, Pike said she was at peace and "ready to be free."
"This is a happy day," she said.
But she remained awake, and even complained about a feeling in her arm. Witnesses reported that Pike complained of pain in her arm and remained conscious after the first dose.
An hour after officials first raised the curtains, witnesses said that a second dose of pentobarbital was administered. Pike could still be heard snoring behind a closed curtain until the microphone was cut off nearly 30 minutes later.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT PENTOBARBITAL AFTER DEATH ROW INMATE SURVIVES 2 LETHAL INJECTION DOSES
Pike, who was 18 at the time of the crime, and her then-17-year-old boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp, were convicted of the fatal stabbing of a classmate, 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. Shipp was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole, as he was a minor and not eligible for the death penalty.
The third defendant, then-18-year-old Shadolla Peterson, who acted as a lookout while her two friends carried out the attack, testified for the state and avoided the death penalty.
Pike did not dispute that she helped kill Slemmer, but supporters argued that her mental illness and allegations of severe sexual abuse when she was young should be considered. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder after the killing.
"I was a mentally ill 18-year-old kid. It took me numerous years to even realize the gravity of what I’d done," she previously said. "It sickens me now to think I had the ability to commit such a crime."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
AOC's dramatic retelling of Cornell rape allegations collides with complaint details
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., painted a far more sweeping picture of a Cornell University sexual assault case than what's alleged in the underlying civil complaint, while also making claims the university disputes.
Speaking during a town hall hosted by More Perfect University on Sunday in Ithaca, New York, Ocasio-Cortez addressed allegations outlined in a civil complaint filed last month by a former Cornell student identified as Jane Doe, who alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted by multiple fraternity members in October 2024.
"Seven men drugged and gang raped a 20-year-old woman," Ocasio-Cortez said.
"They lured her in to a fraternity house," she continued. "They drugged her with ketamine. They then posted to a group chat that she was incapacitated, and seven men took turns gang raping her for seven hours."
"Their fraternity knew. This was reported to Cornell University. And after looking into this matter, they expelled two of them and made the rest write essays as their form of punishment," Ocasio-Cortez said. "I want to be clear that the culture of rape, sexual assault, and pedophilia is protected in elite institutions across the United States and including Cornell University in this instance. It has got to stop."
Cornell has disputed Ocasio-Cortez's characterization of the disciplinary action, saying expulsions and suspensions were issued and that no respondent was required to write an essay as the sole consequence. The civil complaint alleges that several students who received temporary suspensions were given an opportunity to mitigate their conduct by submitting essays to the university.
Ocasio-Cortez's comments come as a civil lawsuit filed by Doe contains graphic allegations about what happened inside the Chi Phi fraternity house nearly two years ago.
The 101-page civil complaint names Cornell, fraternity-related entities, seven individual defendants and other defendants. It alleges that Doe was sexually assaulted by multiple fraternity members after being plied with alcohol and drugs.
According to the complaint, Doe arrived at the fraternity house intoxicated, was pressured into taking ketamine and was subjected to sexual acts without her consent.
It further alleges that one fraternity member posted a sexually explicit message about her in a fraternity Snapchat group.
The incident ended at around 5:45 a.m., according to the complaint.
EX-MAYOR FOUND LIABLE FOR ALLEGED SEXUAL ASSAULTS OF 7 WOMEN, ORDERED TO PAY $13M
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said his office reviewed Doe's sworn statement in November 2024 and initially determined that the facts contained in that statement did not support criminal charges under New York law.
Van Houten said Doe's November 2024 sworn statement "did not allege that she was drugged against her will or gang raped." He also said the statement described her participation in drug use and sexual conduct as "voluntary, conscious, and consensual."
Van Houten said his office has reopened an investigation into the allegations and will revisit the decision about whether to pursue criminal charges against the seven fraternity members. He said a senior prosecutor experienced in sex-crime cases is preparing the matter for presentation to a Tompkins County grand jury, which could consider Doe's testimony and new evidence raised by the civil complaint.
LSU FRAT PLEDGES ALLEGEDLY WATERBOARDED, FORCED TO CHUG MILK IN HAZING RITUALS: REPORT
Scott Kretzschmar, an attorney for one of the accused students, said his client welcomes the renewed investigation. He strongly denied the allegations against his client, who he said had no sexual contact with Doe.
Attorneys representing several other accused fraternity members have also denied wrongdoing. No criminal charges have been announced in connection with the allegations.
Cornell said it supports the reopened investigation and said its own months-long investigation resulted in a range of sanctions, including expulsions and suspensions. The Chi Phi chapter was also closed and barred from campus.
"Any suggestion that the university did not impose consequential punishments for those involved is false," the university said. "A continuation of the false narrative that there were minimal consequences in this case is irresponsible, will make survivors feel less safe and supported, and will perpetuate the underreporting of sexual assault."
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Thursday that she has appointed Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor in the case.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Ocasio-Cortez's office and Cornell University for additional comment.
'What the f--k, call it!': Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy curse at each other during hot mic moment
When Aaron Rodgers returned to the Pittsburgh Steelers to play for Mike McCarthy this season, everyone recalled the roller-coaster relationship between the quarterback and coach years ago. And Thursday night we got a full-color snapshot of those times.
During the first quarter of the game against the Cleveland Browns, the Steelers pieced together a 17-play drive.
During that drive full of fits and starts, Rodgers had moments of frustration. And one of those was when he expected the play-call from his coach so he could get about the business of relaying it to the rest of the players in the huddle.
AARON RODGERS CONFIRMS HE'S RETIRING AFTER UPCOMING SEASON WITH THE PITTSBURGH STEELERS
"What the f——k, call it," Rodgers demanded of his coach while churning his arms.
McCarthy heard him.
Everyone watching the Amazon Prime streaming broadcast heard it.
And when cameras immediately focused on McCarthy, everyone understood his response by reading his lips.
"F—ing a–hole," McCarthy said.
Lovely.
Viral moment incoming.
We should remember the relationship between the coach and quarterback produced some of the most successful years in Green Bay Packers history, including a Super Bowl XLV championship, multiple division titles, and eight playoff appearances with Rodgers as the starter and McCarthy calling the plays.
But the partnership eventually deteriorated.
Rodgers and McCarthy reportedly clashed over offensive philosophy, play-calling and communication, while injuries — including Rodgers’ broken collarbone in 2017 — contributed to Green Bay’s decline.
The tension reached its breaking point during the Packers’ disappointing 4-7-1 start in 2018, when McCarthy was fired after a loss to Arizona.
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Despite that difficult ending, Rodgers this season has emphasized that the duo accomplished a great deal together and that their relationship included both "amazing times" and periods when they "butted heads."
The heat of games is certain to offer more of both this season.
And perhaps it'll be caught on game broadcasts.
Halle Berry's attorney fires back after ex Olivier Martinez accuses actress of abusing their son
Halle Berry’s attorney fired back Thursday, calling claims made by her ex that she abused their son "meritless."
Olivier Martinez was granted a temporary restraining order from the actress Thursday, according to TMZ.
Martinez is also seeking sole custody of their 12-year-old son, alleging that she physically and emotionally abused the boy, according to documents obtained by People magazine and TMZ.
Martinez claims Berry caused him "emotional and mental distress due to physical abuse of our minor child, Maceo," adding that she "physically abused our son, Maceo, by jumping on him, putting her hands around his neck, and choking him," according to People.
"While the September 26, 2026, incident in which Petitioner choked our son is the latest incident of abuse, I contend that there have been other instances of abuse over the course of the last few years.
"These other incidents involve additional physical attacks against our son, as well as verbal and emotional abuse from Petitioner to me."
In response, Berry's attorney, Marina Beck, told Fox News Digital, "To say this filing is entirely meritless and deliberately misleading would be an understatement. There is voluminous evidence, including numerous judicial rulings, that Olivier Martinez repeatedly violated court orders and interfered with necessary therapeutic and educational interventions to the detriment of his and Halle Berry's minor son Maceo — misconduct for which Mr. Martinez has already been legally sanctioned.
"In a way, today’s filing is not entirely unexpected from an individual with a well-documented history of erratic, possessive and violent behavior. Fortunately, Halle is used to this kind of outrageous conduct from Mr. Martinez and, while she is deeply saddened, she will not allow it to deter her from fighting for Maceo’s best interests and providing him with the love and support he needs."
Berry is required to stay 100 yards from Martinez under the terms of the restraining order, and she can only see Maceo during court-ordered visitations two days a week and every other weekend until an Oct. 16 hearing, TMZ reported.
The former couple have also been ordered to attend confidential mediation about custody.
Martinez claimed Berry angrily walked into their son’s room, saw him wearing virtual reality goggles while playing a game and told him he looked "so stupid."
He said she then allegedly jumped on him, attacked him and choked him and shouted, "Who is dominant now?!"
Martinez claims Maceo called him after the incident and claimed she had attacked him. He also said Berry’s fiancé, Van Hunt, was at home at the time.
The petition also calls for Berry to not be under the influence and to undergo sobriety testing before, during and after any visits with their son.
Representatives for Martinez did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
The former couple finalized their divorce in 2023, eight years after they split.
In the settlement, the actress agreed to pay nearly $8,000 in monthly child support for their son, according to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital. She also pays Martinez 4.3% on any income she makes that exceeds $2 million.
Berry is responsible for their son's private school tuition, 100% of his extracurricular activities and his health care.
RELATIONSHIP EXPERT CHALLENGES ONE OF AMERICA'S BIGGEST ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT DIVORCE
According to the divorce judgment, Martinez is required to take "reasonable action" to find employment and contribute for Maceo.
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The couple first filed for divorce in 2015 after two years of marriage.
KATE GOSSELIN DEFENDS HERSELF AGAINST SON COLLIN AS HE PREPARES TO RELEASE SHOCKING NEW MEMOIR
Under the current agreement, Maceo splits his time between both parents during the week and alternates weekends with exceptions for certain holidays. He's allowed one phone or video call with the other parent before bed, but it has to be less than 15 minutes, according to the 33-page judgment.
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Berry and Martinez must also refrain from talking badly about one another in front of Maceo.
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The restraining order petition comes two years after Berry filed for sole custody of Maceo because of Martinez’s "turbulent and detrimental behavior" toward interventions for educational and therapeutic needs for their son that allegedly impacted Maceo’s relationship with Berry.
Berry also has an 18-year-old daughter, Nahla Ariela Aubry, whom she shares with ex-Gabriel Aubry.
Chinese AI model investigated after researcher says it provided instructions for bioweapons, assassinations
Chinese AI company Moonshot AI has launched an internal investigation after a researcher found that one of its models could be manipulated into providing instructions for developing biological weapons and carrying out assassinations, Fox News senior foreign policy correspondent Gillian Turner reported Thursday.
Researcher Peter Garrigan told Fox News Moonshot AI's Kimi model could also be manipulated to provide information on planning terrorist attacks using real-time data, creating sarin gas, developing malware and taking down aircraft.
"What we found is quite damaging and worrying," Garrigan said.
BIOWEAPON THREAT EXPOSED AS ANTHROPIC SOUNDS ALARM ON FOREIGN ACTORS PLOTTING VIRUS EXPERIMENTS
The findings are raising broader concerns about advanced AI models concealing capabilities or behaving in ways their developers did not intend.
"We've also seen these problems within the U.S. models as well. It's a fundamental flaw in the technology," Garrigan said.
Moonshot AI is now investigating the findings and communicating directly with Garrigan, Turner reported on "Special Report."
Sydney Sweeney shares cheeky boat trip photos with boyfriend Scooter Braun
Sydney Sweeney is sharing a cheeky snapshot of her man "taking her to the moon."
Earlier this week, Sweeney shared a carousel of images to Instagram during a recent boating trip to Lake Powell, Arizona.
"when your man takes you to the moon🌒," Sweeney captioned her post. The post started with a Polaroid image of Sweeney in a one-piece red bathing suit.
The next slide shows Sweeney water-skiing with just one ski off the back of a boat. She also wakeboarded with a friend on her back and included a solo shot of herself wakeboarding.
There was a second Polaroid image of Sweeney and her boyfriend, Scooter Braun, on the boat. In the image, Sweeney is wearing a one-piece bathing suit, and the image is taken from behind. Sweeney was standing above Braun as he wrapped her arms around her waist and smiled up at her.
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It appeared to be a friend trip since Sweeney included several snaps with friends dancing, hiking and enjoying time together.
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Sweeney and music executive Braun were first linked after meeting at Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez’s wedding in Venice in June 2025.
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They reportedly began dating later that year after Sweeney ended her engagement to Jonathan Davino, and Braun’s divorce from Yael Cohen was finalized. The couple made their relationship Instagram official in spring 2026, and they have continued to appear together publicly, including trips and outings with Braun’s children.
Hasan Piker vows he will pressure James Talarico to govern as a leftist, not a moderate
Left-wing streamer Hasan Piker vowed Wednesday that he would push Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico to govern as a leftist rather than a moderate Democrat if Talarico was elected.
"Hopefully, after James Talarico wins, we’ve got to hold him to account," Piker said during a campus event at the University of Texas at Austin. "We've got to make sure that he doesn’t become another, ‘do nothing Democrat’ ‘business as usual,’ and we've got to keep up that pressure.
"We have to remind him that we are the force that backed him both early on," he continued. "We are the force that allowed him to win this seat of power and if he wants to maintain it, he’s got to play ball. Right?
"And that’s good to build a resilient movement anyway, so job’s not done even after he wins," Piker added. "So, just remember that, and, you know, remember that we do hold a lot of power in mass organizing."
UNIVERSITY EVENT WITH HASAN PIKER IN TEXAS DRAWS BACKLASH FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE
Fox News Digital reached out to Talarico's campaign for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Talarico has moderated his rhetoric during his run for Senate, disavowing some of his past statements.
Piker, an internet personality popular on the Twitch platform, has become a major player in left-wing politics in recent years and has a long history of controversial comments, ranging from saying "America deserved 9/11" to praising an official in New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration after a clip showed her saying she wanted to "impoverish the White middle class."
Proximity to Piker has been a lightning rod for Democrats. Since the left-wing streamer appeared with Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed on the campaign trail, the candidate repeatedly tried to shrug off Piker’s controversial remarks.
TALARICO’S ‘PROUD CAPITALIST’ ABOUT-FACE COLLIDES WITH RESURFACED CALL TO ‘DISMANTLE’ CAPITALISM
Jesse Arm, a Manhattan Institute vice president and pollster from Michigan, wondered whether Talarico’s avowed moderation will stick.
"Talarico is wise to acknowledge, in effect, that many of his past comments on key policy questions were absurd, but Texans have reason to wonder whether his convictions have changed or merely his political incentives," he told Fox News Digital.
"If he is as wise a lawmaker as he is a crafty politician, he will govern as the more moderate liberal he currently purports to be.
"Hasan Piker’s faction can certainly exert pressure," he added. "And I would expect it to push Talarico back toward his earlier, more radical positions on policing, gender, race, immigration and energy."
A better indicator, he argued, was the fact that genuinely moderate Democrats have been driven out of office.
"We cannot know how Talarico would govern, but the broader Democratic Party gives us plenty of reason for skepticism: Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema were driven out, and John Fetterman faces endless hostility for breaking with its activist orthodoxy," he said.
"Governing as a genuine moderate would give Talarico a better chance of keeping a Texas Senate seat beyond an unusually favorable Democratic election cycle, but Piker is already openly demanding that he ‘play ball’ with the far left."
Arm suggested Piker might actually be making a tactical mistake by suggesting Democrats are only campaigning as moderates but will govern like leftists.
"Above perhaps all else, this episode exposes Piker’s political stupidity: publicly suggesting that a candidate’s moderation is temporary and that radicals will call the shots threatens the very victory he claims to want," Arm said.
"In truth, I suspect Piker would prefer an election cycle in which Talarico comes up short, but El-Sayed gets across the finish line. That would help advance Piker’s position that radicalism is the only viable path forward for the Democratic Party."
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Former Democratic advisor Dan Turrentine suggested Piker has vastly overestimated his importance both now and after the election.
"Hasan Piker is living in fantasy world," he said. "He did not elect Talarico in the primary. Progressives were split, with many going for Jasmine Crockett.
"If Talarico wins the general, it will be because he appealed to a significant number of R’s in a state Trump won by 14% in ’24," Turrentine continued. "If Talarico wins, it will be in spite of Piker, not because of him.
"Same, if they win, for Roy Cooper in North Carolina, Josh Turek in Iowa, Mary Peltola in Arkansas, and Sherrod Brown in Ohio," he added. "The Senate majority runs through the middle of the electorate, not Twitch."
College professor accused of sending explicit Snapchat messages in child solicitation case: sheriff's office
Texas officials last week arrested a Dallas-area community college professor accused of sending sexually explicit photos and messages online to an individual he believed was a 14-year-old boy.
Aaron Wood, 34, who taught drama for two years at North Central Texas College (NCTC), allegedly sent the messages on Snapchat to an undercover agent in Florida May 22.
The Denton County Sheriff’s Office arrested Wood Friday and charged him with solicitation of a minor via computer, according to county records.
The school confirmed his arrest in a statement, saying he was no longer employed as of Monday.
FORMER TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER ARRESTED AFTER PROBE INTO INAPPROPRIATE STUDENT RELATIONSHIP
NCTC added the alleged offense did not involve any school staff or students.
"To our knowledge, the alleged offense does not involve NCTC, its students or staff," the college said. "We can verify that he has had no contact with NCTC students, faculty or staff since his arrest on September 25, 2026."
According to an arrest affidavit, Wood allegedly engaged in an online conversation on Snapchat with an undercover officer from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, FOX 4 Dallas reported.
During their interaction, Wood reportedly told the undercover officer he teaches students around the same age as the person he believed he was speaking with.
When asked about his students, Wood allegedly told the officer he had "been into a few over the years" and that he was nervous but still interested in chatting with the undercover officer.
The affidavit says Wood sent a picture of male genitals, along with other sexually explicit messages, to the officer and asked to see theirs, FOX 4 reported.
Authorities tracked Wood through the IP address used during the interaction, which led them to an apartment in Denton.
The affidavit noted that the Orange County Sheriff’s Office had probable cause to charge Wood with transmission of harmful material to minors and unlawful use of a two-way communication device, FOX 4 reported.
While the allegations reportedly did not involve any NCTC students, the school emphasized that "the safety of our students and staff are of the utmost importance and concern."
Fox News Digital reached out to NCTC for additional information.