Sam Rubin, a beloved entertainment anchor and reporter for KTLA in Los Angeles who was on a first-name basis with Hollywood's top stars, has died. He was 64. The station announced that he died unexpectedly on Friday. No cause was released. Rubin joined the station's morning news team in 1991. He conducted upbeat live interviews with actors and musicians from behind the anchor desk and was a mainstay at premiere red carpets and movie junkets. His final interview was with Jane Seymour on Thursday. Seymour joined Tom Hanks, Viola Davis, Ben Stiller, Guillermo del Toro, Kiefer Sutherland, Octavia ..read more

May 10 is a day etched in history for a group of now-grown students from a third-grade class at Decatur Intermediate School. On this day in 1989, the third graders and their teacher from a school northwest of Fort Worth successfully lobbied for lawmakers to adopt the Guadalupe Bass as the official state fish of Texas. The title was fitting since the fish is only found in Texas, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPWD). The species does not typically grow to large sizes as it is often found in small streams and rivers. The Guadalupe Bass calls the small streams and rivers of the Brazos, Co ..read more

A statue of the late Rev. Billy Graham set to stand inside the U.S. Capitol to represent North Carolina will be unveiled next week in a ceremony. House Speaker Mike Johnson, other congressional members and the family of the Charlotte-born evangelist are expected to attend unveiling of the 7-foot (2.1-meter) tall bronze statue on Thursday in the National Statuary Hall, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association said in a news release. The North Carolina General Assembly approved legislation in 2015 asking a congressional committee to eventually approve a likeness of Graham for display in the hal ..read more

Sean “Diddy” Combs on Friday asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that he and two co-defendants raped a 17-year-old girl in a New York recording studio in 2003, saying it was a “false and hideous claim" that was filed too late under the law. The legal move is the latest piece of pushback from the 54-year-old hip-hop mogul and his legal team after he was subjected to several similar lawsuits and a subsequent criminal sex-trafficking investigation. “Mr. Combs and his companies categorically deny Plaintiff’s decades-old tale against them, which has caused incalculable damage to the ..read more

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas told attendees at a judicial conference Friday that he and his wife have faced “nastiness" and "lies” over the last several years and decried Washington, D.C., as a “hideous place.” Thomas spoke at a conference attended by judges, attorneys and other court personnel in the 11th Circuit Judicial Conference, which hears federal cases from Alabama, Florida and Georgia. He made the comments pushing back on his critics in response to a question about working in a world that seems meanspirited. “I think there’s challenges to that. We’re in a world and we — certa ..read more

Proposed restrictions in Kansas on the foreign ownership of land died Friday when the state's Democratic governor vetoed a bill that top Republican lawmakers argued would protect military bases from Chinese spying. The Kansas House's top GOP leader accused Gov. Laura Kelly of “apathy” toward serious national security threats from China and other nations declared by the U.S. government to be adversaries “of concern,” including Cuba, Iraq, North Korea and Venezuela. The bill would have prohibited more than 10% ownership by foreign nationals from those countries of any non-residential property wi ..read more

It was the barking that saved Rippy, a mutt that fell deep into a working rock quarry. After passersby and even a drone failed to locate the lost dog, rescue workers drawn to his barks rappelled down the pit's walls and lifted him out three days after he went missing, according to a local animal control officer. The 30-pound terrier mix's owner reported Rippy went missing during a hike in North Canaan on May 4. A local animal shelter got first word of the barking days later. Shelter workers asked a volunteer to fly a drone over the Specialty Minerals quarry, but they couldn't find him. “We bel ..read more

As Maui continues to recover from the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century, Hawaii officials are looking at preventing another similar disaster ahead of what is expected to be a dry, fire-prone season, Gov. Josh Green said Friday in proclaiming Wildfire Mitigation and Risk Reduction Preparedness Month. The Aug. 8, 2023, wildfire destroyed much of the town of Lahaina and killed 101 people. Of about 3,000 households displaced, about 600 still need to get into long-term housing, Green said. More than 60 people have applied for One Ohana, a $175 million fund, named after the Hawaiian wor ..read more

The Biden administration is expected to try to partially end a 27-year-old agreement that provides court oversight of how the federal government cares for migrant children in its custody, according to an attorney with Children's Rights, which represents children in the case. The anticipated move comes weeks after the Health and Human Services Department published its own rule on safeguards, effective July 1, that Secretary Xavier Becerra said will set “clear standards for the care and treatment of unaccompanied (migrant) children.” Children’s advocates say what is known as the Flores agreement ..read more

Rudy Giuliani was suspended Friday from WABC Radio and his daily show canceled over what the station called his repeated violation of a ban on discussing discredited 2020 election claims. Giuliani said the station's ban is overly broad and “a clear violation of free speech.” Giuliani issued a statement saying he had heard of WABC Radio owner John Catsimatidis' decision through “a leak” to The New York Times. Catsimatidis confirmed his decision in a text message to The Associated Press. Giuliani “left me no option,” Catsimatidis told the Times, saying that the former New York City mayor had bee ..read more