2 children among three killed in Nebraska biofuels plant explosion

Officials confirmed on Wednesday that three people, a man and two children, were killed in after a catastrophic explosion at a Nebraska biofuels plant.

Fremont fire crews responded to calls of the explosion, which occurred midday Tuesday at Horizon Biofuels, a manufacturer of fuel pellets and animal bedding located in Fremont, Neb. at 950 S. Union St., about 50 miles northwest of Omaha, at 11:56 a.m. CDT.

Fremont Fire Chief Todd Bernt said at a news conference that in the immediate aftermath, three people remained missing as initial rescue efforts were stymied by the fire and structure concerns. “We are unable to gain access early on,” Bernt said. “We tried to get access, but just due to the collapse with the mangled steel, we’re unable to get inside.”

Pictures of the building posted online by Nebraska State Trooper Tom Hicken show the building sustained significant damage, with the top floors appearing to have been completely destroyed.

It was later confirmed that the missing individuals, identified as two girls under the age of 12 as well as an adult man, were dead, per The Associated Press. The man was an employee, who was in building with two girls both believed to be under the age of 12 when the explosion occurred. Their names are not being released at this time.

Fremont Mayor Joey Spellerberg said during a press conference: “The two children were there just waiting for him to get off to go to a doctor’s appointment .. My heart hurts. It hurts for this situation, which is a tragedy. We pray for all the families involved.”

Nebraska Task Force One program manager Ashley Engler said during Wednesday’s briefing that crews continued to battle an active fire on Wednesday, as well as assess how to safely access the building to recover the victims. The steel warehouse is becoming more unstable as the fire continues to burn, she added, stating: “We are using all search and rescue resources and capabilities we have, including structural engineers, to obtain access in a safe manner to get to these to these victims.”

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen said in a statement: “We will continue to closely monitor the explosion in Fremont in coordination with local responders, law enforcement, and state partners. Our thoughts and prayers are with all involved — and we’re ready to help any way we can.”

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Federal Reserve to hold benchmark interest rates steady despite pressure from White House

The Federal Reserve said on Wednesday that it’s keeping its benchmark interest rate steady, citing elevated uncertainty over the nation’s economic outlook.  The announcement comes just days after President Trump made a visit to the central bank, calling for a rate cut. The decision keeps the Fed’s benchmark short-term rate at a range of 4.25% to 4.5% for a fifth straight meeting.

The Federal Open Market Committee, the 12-person central bank’s rate-setting panel, said in its statement: “Although swings in net exports continue to affect the data, recent indicators suggest that growth of economic activity moderated in the first half of the year. The unemployment rate remains low, and labor market conditions remain solid. Inflation remains somewhat elevated.”

The 9-2 vote saw two FOMC members, Fed Governors Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller, voted in favor of lowering the central bank’s short-term rate; marking the first time since 1993 that two member of the Fed’s Board of Governors have voted against the chair.

Speaking at a press conference in Washington, D.C., Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that. he advocated for the independence of the Federal Reserve. Powell said that “political independence gives central bankers the ability to make these very challenging decisions in ways that are focused on the data, the evolving outlook, the balance of risks – and not on political factors. If you were not to have that, there’d be a great temptation of course to use interest rates to affect elections, for example. I think it’s very important.”

Powell added that tariffs had begun to contribute to price increases for some goods but the ultimate impact of the policy remains uncertain: “Higher tariffs have begun to show through more clearly into prices of some goods but their overall effects on inflation and the economy remain to be seen. Their effects on inflation could prove to be short-lived, but it is possible the inflation effects could be more persistent. We’ll do what we need to do to keep inflation under control.”

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Miami Dolphins’ CB Kader Kohou to miss entire season with knee injury

Miami Dolphins starting cornerback Kader Kohou will miss the entire 2025 season with a knee injury he sustained during training camp on Saturday in Miami Gardens, Fla.

Kohou suffered the injury during one-on-one drills against Tyreek Hill early in Saturday’s practice. He immediately grabbed his knee when he went to the ground, and limped to the locker room with a member of the team’s medical staff.

Head coach Mike McDaniel said in his press conference before practice on Wednesday that the Dolphins will place Kohou on injured reserve:  “I saw him ascend to a different level [this offseason]. The timing of it — I was crushed until I talked to Kader, and honestly Kader made me feel a little bit better, simply by his mindset. You don’t know the whys all the time when things happen, and I get concerned for guys who get stuck in that world of a fixation for ‘opportunities lost.’ Kader’s mindset triggered like that, to where he said, ‘This is tough but I guarantee I’m going to come back better.’ That is the way to approach both the game of football and life.”

Kohou joined the Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2022, and missed four games over his first three seasons. He is to hit free agency next off-season. Over 15 appearances last season, Kohou totaled 45 combined tackles, eight passes defensed, three tackles for a loss, a career-high two interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

The 5-foot-10, 197-pound defender is the second Dolphins cornerback to suffer a season-ending injury during this year’s training camp; free agent signee Artie Burns tore his ACL during Miami’s first day of camp last week. McDaniel did not rule out the possibility of signing another cornerback, though Jack Jones, Storm Duck, Mike Hilton, Cam Smith, Jason Marshall Jr., Ethan Bonner, Kendall Sheffield, B.J. Adams and Cornell Armstrong are all the other cornerbacks on the Dolphins’ roster.

The Dolphins will face the Bears in their preseason opener Aug. 10 in Chicago.

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Cincinnati Bengals release running back Zack Moss from roster after one season

The Cincinnati Bengals announced Wednesday that they have released veteran running back Zack Moss. Moss is currently recovering from a neck injury he sustained in November of last year, and started training camp on the non-football injury list.

Moss, 27, signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the Bengals last off-season. The Bengals restructured that pact in April, saving about $1.7 million in salary cap space. Wednesday’s release will cost the Bengals $1.88 million in dead money against the salary cap and net Cincinnati $1.2 million in cap savings.

Moss totaled a career-high 986 yards from scrimmage and seven scores on 210 touches over 14 appearances for the Indianapolis Colts in 2023. Last season over eight appearances, he totaled 429 yards from scrimmage and three scores. Just before the Bengals were scheduled to play the Raiders in Week 9, Moss learned he had broken his neck in three places—and had been playing through it for weeks. He missed the final nine games of the 2024 campaign.

The Bengals preseason opener against the Philadelphia Eagles will take place on Aug. 7 in Philadelphia.

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Jake Worthington shares the track ‘Not Like I Used To’

Jake Worthington has shared his latest single, ‘Not Like I Used To,’ co-written with Monty Criswell and Derek George.

Not Like I Used To‘ marks the fourth release from Worthington’s upcoming project and follows the success of his recent single ‘It Ain’t The Whiskey,’ which has amassed over 40 million streams. Worthington also teamed up with collaborator Marty Stuart  earlier this year for ‘I’m The One’ and with Miranda Lambert for last fall’s duet ‘Hello Shitty Day.’

Worthington is also set to join Zach Top as direct support on the Cold Beer & Country Music Tour this fall, with performances at major venues including Red Rocks Amphitheatre. He will also be on the road with Jon Pardi, as well as his headlining Texas Two Step tour.

For full tour details, visit jakeworthington.com.

See the visualizer for Not Like I Used To HERE.

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HARDY and wife Caleigh launch The HARDY Fund charity organization

HARDY (real name is Michael Hardy) and his wife, Caleigh Ryan Hardy have launched their newly-minted charity organization called The Hardy Fund, which partners with the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee to created to help support community programs throughout their home state of Mississippi and their residential state of Tennessee.

HARDY and Caleigh shared in a video on social media: “We just feel like we’ve been so blessed. The last 10 years of our lives have just been nothing, but blessings, and blessings, and blessings, and it’s just time for us to give back .. This is long overdue, but this fund is very, very special to us because it gives us the ability to support whatever causes are super close to our hearts, such as the United States military, wildlife, children, education, music — whatever it may be, this gives us the opportunity to support.”

HARDY and Caleigh, who began dating in 2018 and tied the knot in 2022, welcomed their first baby, a girl named Rosie Ryan, on March 7, 2025.

Thanks to The Hardy Fund, which has teamed with Propeller, HARDY has set up a sweepstakes’ opportunity, giving his fans and listeners a chance to win two VIP tickets to HARDY’s September 24th show on the JIM BOB WORLD TOUR concert in Madison Square Garden, including paid hotel and travel expenses, plus rideshare credit, a meet & greet with HARDY, access to the HARDY VIP Lounge, a specially-designed HARDY gift & laminate and a VIP-exclusive tour poster.

In a separate post on his Instagram page, he says, “I’ve teamed up with @propeller.la to support the new @hardyfund. With your support, you’ll be entered to win a VIP trip to meet me at the show at Madison Square Garden in NYC.   [The Hardy Fund] is a charity fund where we can donate money to whoever we want, whatever organization we want, whenever we want. It’s a really cool thing. If you support this, I’m giving you a chance to win tickets to my Madison Square Garden show in New York City, and a chance to meet me. I just wanted you all to know that The Hardy Fund is up and going. Get out and support. Thank y’all.”

For more information on how to enter the competition, visit HERE.

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‘The Office’ spinoff series ‘The Paper’ set to debut in September on Peacock

Peacock announced that ‘The Office’ spinoff series The Paper will premiere on the streaming service Sept. 4.

The premise sees the documentary crew that followed the Dunder Mifflin paper company for nine seasons on The Office make a new feature — this time they are following a small-town newspaper office. Teaser art for ‘The Paper’ features the name of the show’s newspaper, The Toledo Truth Teller.

The official logline for “The Paper” states, “The documentary crew that immortalized Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch is in search of a new subject when they discover a historic Midwestern newspaper and the publisher trying to revive it.”

The Paper stars Domhnall Gleeson, Sabrina Impacciatore, Chelsea Frei, Melvin Gregg, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Alex Edelman, Ramona Young and Tim Key. Oscar Nuñez also reprises his role from The Office, Oscar Martinez.

Guest stars on the series also include: Eric Rahill, Tracy Letts. Molly Ephraim, Mo Welch, Allan Harvey, Duane Shepard Sr., Nate Jackson and Nancy Lenehan.

The show will debut its first four episodes on Sept. 4, followed by two new episodes every Thursday through Sept. 25.

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‘Scrubs’ revival to feature original cast members Zach Braff, Donald Faison and Sarah Chalke

The revival of the 2000s comedy series ‘Scrubs’ has landed a series order from ABC, with original series stars Donald Faison and Sarah Chalke officially signing on to join series lead Zach Braff in the revival. All three will also be executive producers on the show, which is set to premiere in the 2025-26 season.

Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence is also returning, with Tim Hobert and Aseem Batra set as showrunners. Lawrence said: “Scrubs means so very much to me. So excited for the chance to get the band back together.”

Scrubs ran for nine seasons from 2001-10 — the first seven seasons on NBC, and the final two on ABC. The show followed intern John “JD” Dorian (Braff) as he progressed through his medical career at Sacred Heart Hospital alongside best friend Chris Turk (Faison) and his on/off girlfriend and eventual wife Elliot Reid (Chalke). By the final season, the trio were established doctors mentoring a new crop of interns. The original series also starred John C. McGinley, Judy Reyes, Ken Jenkins and Neil Flynn with recurring characters played by Robert Maschio, Christa Miller and the late Sam Lloyd.

The revival’s logline reads: “JD and Turk scrub in together for the first time in a long time. Medicine has changed, interns have changed, but their bromance has stood the test of time. Characters new and old navigate the waters of Sacred Heart with laughter, heart and some surprises along the way.”

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Gunman in NYC office shooting was targeting NFL headquarters, referenced having CTE

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday that the gunman behind the deadly shooting inside an office building in Midtown Manhattan on Monday evening was apparently targeting NFL offices there. Adams has told the press it appears the shooter took the wrong elevator bank and instead reached the offices of Rudin Management, where he again opened fire after spraying bullets across the building’s lobby.

A New York City police officer and three civilians were killed after the gunman, Shane Devon Tamura, opened fire inside the high-rise corporate building in midtown Manhattan. The shooting was first reported at 6:30 p.m. at 345 Park Ave., which houses several major businesses, including Blackstone, KPMG and the NFL. The suspect died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, per authorities.

The four victims were identified as: NYPD officer Didarul Islam, Blackstone real estate executive Wesley LePatner, Rudin employee Julia Hyman, and security officer Aland Etienne.

Mayor Adams said that Officer Islam joined the NYPD four years ago. He was a Bangladeshi immigrant assigned to a Bronx precinct, and was off-duty working a private security detail assignment at the time of the shooting. Islam is survived by his wife, who is eight months pregnant, and two young sons.  The NYPD said in a statement: “Police Officer Didarul Islam represented the very best of our department. He was protecting New Yorkers from danger when his life was tragically cut short today.”

32BJ SEIU President Manny Pastreich said of dedicated security officer Aland Etienne: “this tragedy speaks to the sacrifice of security officers who risk their lives every day to keep New Yorkers and our buildings safe. Every time a security officer puts on their uniform, they put their lives on the line. Their contributions to our city are essential, though often unappreciated. Aland Etienne is a New York hero. We will remember him as such.” Etienne’s partner of eight years, Rachel Paoli, is the mother of their son, who will turn 7 on Saturday.

Blackstone also shared in a statement about their employee LePatner: “Words cannot express the devastation we feel. Wesley was a beloved member of the Blackstone family and will be sorely missed.  She was brilliant, passionate, warm, generous, and deeply respected within our firm and beyond. She embodied the best of Blackstone. Our prayers are with her husband, children and family. We are also saddened by the loss of the other innocent victims as well, including brave security personnel and NYPD.” 

Officials say that Tamura, a 27-year-old from Las Vegas, acted alone and “has a documented mental health history.” According to law enforcement, investigators recovered a three-page rambling note from the gunman’s wallet in which he referenced the brain disease CTE, which is caused by head trauma, as the possible cause of his mental illness. According to the sources, the note said he wanted to have his brain donated to science so it could studied for the disease. Tamura played high school football but did not play professionally, and police have not found any evidence that he suffered from CTE and has no known connection to the NFL. Police sources told ABC News that a page of the note alleged the National Football League had concealed the dangers football contact could cause to players’ brains to maximize earnings. Tamura had two Mental Health Crisis Holds on his record, and a prior arrest for trespassing in Nevada, where he also received his concealed carry license.

ESPN’s Jeff Darlington posted to X  that “NFL commissioner Roger Goodell informed league employees that ‘one of our employees was seriously injured in this attack. He is currently in the hospital and in stable condition” (which was also confirmed by CNN.)

Editorial credit: John Hanson Pye / Shutterstock.com

Gunman in NYC office shooting was targeting NFL headquarters, referenced having CTE

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday that the gunman behind the deadly shooting inside an office building in Midtown Manhattan on Monday evening was apparently targeting NFL offices there. Adams has told the press it appears the shooter took the wrong elevator bank and instead reached the offices of Rudin Management, where he again opened fire after spraying bullets across the building’s lobby.

A New York City police officer and three civilians were killed after the gunman, Shane Devon Tamura, opened fire inside the high-rise corporate building in midtown Manhattan. The shooting was first reported at 6:30 p.m. at 345 Park Ave., which houses several major businesses, including Blackstone, KPMG and the NFL. The suspect died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, per authorities.

The four victims were identified as: NYPD officer Didarul Islam, Blackstone real estate executive Wesley LePatner, Rudin employee Julia Hyman, and security officer Aland Etienne.

Mayor Adams said that Officer Islam joined the NYPD four years ago. He was a Bangladeshi immigrant assigned to a Bronx precinct, and was off-duty working a private security detail assignment at the time of the shooting. Islam is survived by his wife, who is eight months pregnant, and two young sons.  The NYPD said in a statement: “Police Officer Didarul Islam represented the very best of our department. He was protecting New Yorkers from danger when his life was tragically cut short today.”

32BJ SEIU President Manny Pastreich said of dedicated security officer Aland Etienne: “this tragedy speaks to the sacrifice of security officers who risk their lives every day to keep New Yorkers and our buildings safe. Every time a security officer puts on their uniform, they put their lives on the line. Their contributions to our city are essential, though often unappreciated. Aland Etienne is a New York hero. We will remember him as such.” Etienne’s partner of eight years, Rachel Paoli, is the mother of their son, who will turn 7 on Saturday.

Blackstone also shared in a statement about their employee LePatner: “Words cannot express the devastation we feel. Wesley was a beloved member of the Blackstone family and will be sorely missed.  She was brilliant, passionate, warm, generous, and deeply respected within our firm and beyond. She embodied the best of Blackstone. Our prayers are with her husband, children and family. We are also saddened by the loss of the other innocent victims as well, including brave security personnel and NYPD.” 

Officials say that Tamura, a 27-year-old from Las Vegas, acted alone and “has a documented mental health history.” According to law enforcement, investigators recovered a three-page rambling note from the gunman’s wallet in which he referenced the brain disease CTE, which is caused by head trauma, as the possible cause of his mental illness. According to the sources, the note said he wanted to have his brain donated to science so it could studied for the disease. Tamura played high school football but did not play professionally, and police have not found any evidence that he suffered from CTE and has no known connection to the NFL. Police sources told ABC News that a page of the note alleged the National Football League had concealed the dangers football contact could cause to players’ brains to maximize earnings. Tamura had two Mental Health Crisis Holds on his record, and a prior arrest for trespassing in Nevada, where he also received his concealed carry license.

ESPN’s Jeff Darlington posted to X  that “NFL commissioner Roger Goodell informed league employees that ‘one of our employees was seriously injured in this attack. He is currently in the hospital and in stable condition” (which was also confirmed by CNN.)

Editorial credit: John Hanson Pye / Shutterstock.com