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Missing University of Alabama student Jimmy Gracey found dead in Barcelona
The body of missing University of Alabama student James "Jimmy" Gracey was recovered Thursday in Barcelona, Spain, after a days-long search, authorities confirmed.
Police recovered the body at Port Olimpic, a marina just steps from the waterfront nightclub where Gracey was last seen.
A spokesperson for Mossos d’Esquadra said the remains recovered at Port Olimpic have been identified as belonging to the 20-year-old junior, who was last seen early Tuesday morning at the waterfront Shoko nightclub.
Gracey, of Elmhurst, Illinois, disappeared around 3 a.m. after visiting the Shoko restaurant and nightclub.
"He was with friends, but they got separated at the end of the night," his mother, Therese Gracey, said. Gracey never made it back to the Airbnb he had rented with friends, his family said.
Divers were seen entering the water with a stretcher at around 7:05 p.m. local time and returned to the dock with a body bag 10 minutes later.
LONG ISLAND TEEN WHO VANISHED AFTER TRIP TO NYC FOUND DEAD IN BROOKLYN WATERS
The discovery came after a search that included helicopters, boats, dive teams and motorcycle units, as authorities pursued multiple lines of investigation, including the possibility that Gracey may have drowned.
Divers said visibility in the water was extremely limited, at times only about 40 centimeters or roughly 16 inches.
Police had also recovered Gracey’s phone during the arrest of another individual, according to a family spokesperson, and were reviewing location data as part of the investigation.
"Our family is heartbroken as we confirm that Jimmy’s body has been recovered in Barcelona," the Gracey family said. "Jimmy was a deeply loved son, grandson, brother, nephew, cousin, and friend, and our family is struggling to come to terms with this unimaginable loss."
Authorities have not yet provided information on Jimmy Gracey's cause of death.
Fox News Digital's Michael Ruiz contributed to this reporting.
Ukraine peace talks on ‘situational pause’ as Middle East conflict intensifies: Kremlin
Ukraine peace talks are on a "situational pause" as the Middle East conflict intensifies, the Kremlin said Thursday, even as Kyiv signaled negotiations could resume as soon as this weekend.
Following reports in Russian media that the Kremlin had paused talks on Ukraine and that the Middle East conflict could push Kyiv toward compromise, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed the pause.
"This is a situational pause, for obvious reasons," Peskov told reporters when asked about the report, according to Reuters.
Peskov added that as soon as "our American partners" could refocus on the Ukraine conflict, Moscow hopes the pause will end and new talks can begin, the outlet reported.
UKRAINE TO MEET TRUMP ENVOYS AHEAD OF HIGH-STAKES GENEVA TALKS WITH RUSSIA AS WAR ENTERS FIFTH YEAR
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video posted on X that Kyiv has received signals from the U.S. that it is ready to resume talks aimed at ending the war.
"There has been a pause in the talks, and it is time to resume them," he said. "We are doing everything to ensure that the negotiations are genuinely substantive."
Zelenskyy added that a Ukrainian negotiating team is already on its way to the U.S. and is expected to hold meetings Saturday.
RUSSIA, UKRAINE TO DISCUSS TERRITORY AS TRUMP SAYS BOTH SIDES 'WANT TO MAKE A DEAL'
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump said the "hatred" between Russia and Ukraine was getting in the way of reaching a peace deal.
Speaking at the Shield of the Americas Summit in Doral, Florida, Trump said the "hatred between Putin and his counterpart is so great."
"It's so great that, you know, Ukraine, Russia, you'd think there would be a little bit of camaraderie, [but] there’s not. And the hatred is so great. It's very hard for them to get there. It's very, very hard to get there. So we'll see what happens," Trump said. "But we've been close a lot of times and one or the other would back out."
UKRAINE'S ZELENSKYY: RUSSIA TRYING 'TO PLAY' GAME WITH TRUMP, STALL PEACE TALKS
Trump’s comments came after NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in January that Russia was losing between 20,000 and 25,000 troops each month in its war against Ukraine.
The pause in talks comes as Ukraine is increasingly being drawn into the wider Middle East conflict.
With the conflict in Iran now in its third week, Ukraine is providing technology and battlefield-tested tactics to counter Iranian drone attacks.
U.S. and Gulf partners have requested Ukrainian assistance, with Kyiv signaling it is prepared to share both systems and personnel to help defend against Iranian aerial threats.
Fox News Digital's Greg Norman-Diamond and Morgan Phillips contributed to this report, along with Reuters.
Indiana University philanthropy group allegedly led fundraising training with Hamas-linked 'sham charity'
A Muslim philanthropy group at Indiana University reportedly organized fundraising training programs with a Turkish nonprofit that the U.S. government recently sanctioned as a "sham charity" accused of secretly funding Hamas as well as Islamic revivalist Muslim Brotherhood.
The Muslim Philanthropy Initiative, part of the School of Philanthropy, allegedly co-organized training programs alongside Hayat Yolu, according to a LinkedIn post and a local outlet report dating back as far as seven months ago.
The Department of the Treasury last Thursday designated Hayat Yolu as a key player in a covert global network that uses the guise of humanitarian aid to raise money overseas. Officials say the group funnels funds to Gaza that directly support Hamas and its military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, and serves as a financial hub and headquarters for the Muslim Brotherhood.
"Hamas continues to finance its military wing by exploiting sham charities to support terrorist operations," Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in a statement on March 12. "The Treasury Department will not allow Hamas to misuse the charitable sector for its violent aims, and we will continue to target these networks wherever they operate."
ISRAEL UNMASKS IRAN-DIRECTED HAMAS CASH NETWORK IN TURKEY AS ANKARA PUSHES FOR GAZA ROLE
The events, which focused on fundraising strategies, were primarily led and presented by Indiana University Assistant Professor Dr. Shariq A. Siddiqui, who said the long-term objective of the instruction was to create a "domino effect," according to media outlet RRI.
The goal was to train attendees with "scientific knowledge" so they could return to their home countries and pass along the advanced fundraising and management techniques to others, the outlet added.
The organizations appeared to gain traction over the months after hosting at least two multi-day training events in Istanbul, Turkey, in July 2025 and in Jakarta, Indonesia, last January.
NEW STUDY SAYS AID THEFT BY TERROR GROUPS AND REGIMES IS PROLONGING GLOBAL CONFLICTS
Their three-day Southeast Asia event notably drew 86 participants from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei and Singapore, RRI reported. The first two days were reportedly devoted entirely to fundraising, focusing on how to raise money "systematically, professionally and scientifically."
"The first two days concentrate on fundraising, particularly on how to raise money systematically, professionally, and scientifically," Siddiqui said. "On the third day, we shift to leadership, project management, and volunteer management."
Separately, the Istanbul event last summer brought together global nonprofit leaders to focus on scaling impact and sustainability, according to a LinkedIn post from an attendee. The training, allegedly led by Siddiqui and Cambridge lecturer Dr. Abed Ayoub, reportedly attracted prominent international philanthropic figures.
Participants said the university’s training helped them better understand how to organize their fundraising efforts and expand their operational networks on a global scale.
Fox News Digital reached out to Indiana University for more information.
DHS touts 10 straight months of zero illegal aliens released at border as crossings plunge
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Thursday that Border Patrol agents have not released a single migrant into the U.S. interior for 10 consecutive months, pointing to what officials described as historically low levels of illegal crossings.
The DHS said in a press release that data from February shows U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded its tenth straight month with zero migrant releases at the border, and the agency credited an "enforcement-first" approach for the sustained drop.
"Ten straight months of ZERO illegal aliens released at the border. President Donald Trump promised to secure the Border, and that is a promise we delivered," former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.
"We have the most secure border in American history. Our borders are CLOSED to lawbreakers."
CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said the trend reflects a broader decline in crossings, adding that Border Patrol has not released any migrants into the country during that period.
"February marks the tenth straight month that U.S. Border Patrol has not released a single illegal alien into the interior of the United States, a clear reflection of the enforcement-first posture restoring integrity to our nation’s borders," Scott said.
According to CBP data, agents recorded 26,963 encounters nationwide in February, down 22% from the previous month and 88% below the monthly average during former President Joe Biden’s administration.
At the southwest border, agents made 6,603 apprehensions in February, a figure the agency said is 92% lower than the monthly average over the past three decades and 97% below the peak of the Biden administration in December 2023.
Officials also pointed to a sharp decline in daily crossings, with Border Patrol averaging 236 apprehensions per day in February, a 95% drop compared to the previous administration.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TOUTS ‘MOST SECURE BORDER IN HISTORY’ AS 2.5 MILLION MIGRANTS EXIT US
At the same time, CBP reported a surge in drug seizures after agents confiscating more than 79,000 pounds of narcotics nationwide last month, the highest monthly total since October 2021.
The agency said fentanyl seizures increased 67% from January, while marijuana, methamphetamine and cocaine seizures also rose significantly.
Scott said the agency remains focused on enforcement and national security.
"While threats to our national and economic security continue to evolve, so does our resolve to meet them as we carry out our mission of protecting the homeland while facilitating lawful travel and trade," he said.
UC Berkeley to pay $1M, overhaul policies after antisemitism lawsuit settlement
The University of California, Berkeley, will pay $1 million and make changes to its policies on antisemitism after settling a lawsuit with the Brandeis Center. The $1 million penalty will act as a reimbursement to the Brandeis Center for outside attorneys' fees.
Under the settlement, UC Berkeley is to prohibit discrimination and harassment based on an individual's actual or perceived religion, shared ancestry, shared ethnicity and/or national or ethnic origin, specifically Jewish or Israeli. The university has also agreed to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. However, in a statement released by UC Berkeley after the settlement, the university said it had an "existing practice" of considering the IHRA definition of antisemitism in its reviews of allegations of antisemitism.
The university will also clarify on its Office for Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination (OPHD) website that "bans on Zionists have historically been used by some individuals and institutions as a pretext for excluding Jews," according to the settlement. This includes reviewing whether Zionism or the term "Zionists" is used as a "proxy" for Jews or Israelis.
"This settlement reflects UC Berkeley’s long-standing values and objectives when it comes to combating abhorrent antisemitic expression, harassment, and discrimination when it occurs on the Berkeley campus," UC Berkeley said in a statement.
SCHOOLS BOOST ANTISEMITISM GRADES IN NEW REPORT BUT STUDENTS SAY HOSTILITY PERSISTS
The university also noted that the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) recently described Jewish life at UC Berkeley as "excellent" in its Campus Antisemitism Report Card. The ADL gave UC Berkeley a "B" grade on its 2026 report card, showing improvement from the "C" it received in 2025 and the "D" grade it got in 2024.
"What happened at Berkeley is a cautionary tale. Universities, unions, corporations, and political parties cannot create an anti-Zionist exception to their conduct codes. They cannot silence Jewish Americans on the pretext of advancing their own political agendas. As we have now seen time and again, if left unaddressed antisemitic bigotry, whether or not masked as anti-Zionism, only continues to expand," Hon. Kenneth L. Marcus, chairman of the Brandeis Center and the former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education who ran the Office for Civil Rights said in a statement.
Paul Eckles, senior litigation counsel at the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, told Fox News Digital that the settlement marked a "major milestone" in combating antisemitism, but that it "is not the finish line."
The lawsuit, which was initially filed in 2023, alleged widespread antisemitic harassment of Jewish students at UC Berkeley in the wake of Hamas' Oct. 7 terrorist attack in Israel. The suit described several stories of students' experiences with antisemitic harassment at UC Berkeley.
A UC Berkeley student, who was draped in an Israeli flag, was attacked by two protesters who hit him in the head with a metal water bottle, according to the lawsuit. In another instance, a Jewish graduate student was the victim of a break-in and was left a note that said "F--k the Jews, Free Palestine from the River to the Sea." The lawsuit also noted that "many Jewish students are afraid to go to class."
HIGH-END SHOPPING DISTRICT ROCKED BY ALLEGED ANTISEMITIC ATTACK AS 3 CHARGED
There were also instances in which protesters blocked Jewish students, spat at them and used ethnic slurs, including "dirty Zionist," the lawsuit states. It noted that students were often targeted if rioters knew they were Jewish or if they were wearing Stars of David or yarmulkes.
Eckles praised the Jewish students who came forward to tell their stories of experiencing antisemitic harassment only for their complaints to be ignored.
"I think it was the power of their stories and just the clear impact that real tangible antisemitism had on them and their experience at the school that ultimately paved the way for the settlement and convinced UC Berkeley to adopt the reforms in the agreement," Eckles said.
Two Jewish professors' experiences were also included in the suit. In one case, a Jewish professor received an email "calling for his gassing and murder," according to the lawsuit. The other Jewish professor was a vandalism victim with graffiti messages calling him a terrorist.
The lawsuit also mentioned an instance on Feb. 26, 2024, in which a student group known as Bears for Palestine succeeded in a plan to shut down a speaking engagement organized by Jewish students. The speaker was Ran Bar Yoshafat, an Israel Defense Forces reservist and lawyer. As the "violent mob" shut down the event, a rioter spat on a Jewish student and called him a "dirty Jew," according to the lawsuit.
Shortly after entering office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at combating antisemitism. Additionally, in February 2025, the Justice Department formed a task force specifically focused on fighting antisemitism. Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Leo Terrell was tapped to head the task force.
Five Mexican nationals indicted after massive meth lab bust uncovers enormous quantities of drugs
Five Mexican nationals were indicted on federal drug trafficking and weapons charges this week after authorities discovered a clandestine methamphetamine lab in Northern California, leading to the seizure of nearly 3,000 pounds of the drug, officials said.
The Department of Justice said a federal grand jury returned a 10-count indictment Thursday against Luis Reyna Carrillo, 33, Mariana Vanessa Mendoza Camacho, 33, Juan Jesus Manriquez Diaz, 31, Alvaro Rosales, 44, and Manuel Juan Madrid Perez, 38, charging them with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine and multiple drug trafficking and gun offenses.
"These illegal aliens allegedly operated a secret lab on American soil producing thousands of pounds of deadly drugs to poison our communities," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said. "This clandestine and illegal operation has now been dismantled. We will continue protecting Americans from the dangerous results of the prior administration’s open-border policies."
Carrillo and his wife, Camacho, came to the U.S. in March 2021 and were given a notice to appear in court at a later date. Diaz was removed from the U.S. in 2018, while Rosales was removed in 2024.
FEDERAL AGENTS ARREST 12 ALLEGED MEMBERS OF LA'S MASSIVE 18TH STREET GANG DRUG TRAFFICKING OPERATION
Court documents allege that, in October 2025, law enforcement officials launched an investigation into an organization suspected of manufacturing and trafficking methamphetamine in a remote section of Calaveras County.
Investigators identified Carrillo and his associates as part of a drug trafficking operation responsible for manufacturing and distributing methamphetamine in Calaveras County.
The investigation culminated on Feb. 27, 2026, when multiple agencies executed search warrants at three locations — Valley Springs, Turlock and Modesto — all allegedly connected to Carrillo and his associates.
During the searches, investigators discovered a clandestine methamphetamine lab in Calaveras County, where they seized nearly 1,430 pounds of methamphetamine and 1,270 pounds of suspected methamphetamine in a partially processed state.
Authorities also searched two additional homes in Stanislaus County linked to Carrillo and his associates. At a home in Turlock, agents seized an additional 300 pounds of methamphetamine packaged for distribution, nine guns and multiple magazines and rounds of ammunition.
In Modesto, agents seized two pounds of methamphetamine, 107 pounds of processed marijuana, 1,900 marijuana plants and three guns.
CBP FINDS ENORMOUS METH HAUL STASHED IN MEXICAN LETTUCE IN TRUCK AT TEXAS CROSSING
The DOJ said Carrillo and Diaz are both prohibited from possessing guns and ammunition because they are illegal aliens, while Perez is also prohibited from having guns and ammunition due to prior felony convictions.
All five defendants — Carrillo, Camacho, Diaz, Rosales and Perez — were charged with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.
Carrillo, Diaz and Perez also face additional charges related to possessing guns in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes.
SINALOA CARTEL LEADER FACES LIFE IN PRISON FOR MASSIVE FENTANYL TRAFFICKING OPERATION
Carrillo was also charged with illegally possessing a gun as a noncitizen, while Diaz is accused of unlawfully possessing ammunition.
Perez also faces a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm due to prior convictions.
If convicted on the drug trafficking charges, Carrillo, Camacho, Diaz, Rosales and Perez each face a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and up to life behind bars, along with fines of up to $10 million, according to federal prosecutors.
Carrillo, Diaz and Perez could face additional penalties if convicted on the gun-related charges.
Perez also faces enhanced penalties due to prior felony convictions.
Any final sentence would be determined by a judge based on federal sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
Viral video appears to show blind plane passenger caught in tense service dog dispute
A blind passenger traveling with his guide dog found himself at the center of a tense in-flight dispute after other travelers claimed their own service animal couldn’t sit nearby, a viral video of the incident appeared to show.
The onboard disagreement escalated as other passengers also sought to use the underseat space reserved for the guide dog, raising questions about enforcing service animal rules on commercial flights.
The video has since gone viral, drawing nearly 500,000 likes and widespread reaction online.
A nurse who witnessed the exchange, Jen Hamilton, a social media creator with 4.7 million TikTok followers, filmed the interaction and shared it online, where it quickly gained traction.
CHAOTIC VIDEO SHOWS PASSENGERS TRADING BLOWS MIDAIR AS PLANE FORCED TO DIVERT: REPORTS
"Sometimes being a crusty, musty dingleberry blocks your own blessings," she wrote in the caption beneath the video.
In text overlaid on the video, she said some passengers who claimed to have a service animal objected to sitting near the blind man and his "Seeing Eye dog."
In the video, Hamilton steps in to defuse the situation, offering to switch seats so the blind passenger could remain in place with his dog.
WOMAN CHARGED WITH ANIMAL ABANDONMENT AFTER LEAVING DOG TIED AT JETBLUE COUNTER AT LAS VEGAS AIRPORT
Hamilton also wrote on the video, "If you have a trained service animal, seeing another dog should not be an issue."
"Hi, my name is Jen. Can I sit with you?" Hamilton asks the man with his service dog.
The passenger, identified as Ed Summers, a blind software engineer and head of accessibility at GitHub, later addressed the incident in a video posted to social media.
Summers was traveling home from the CSUN Assistive Technology Conference, where he was representing GitHub. He said his guide dog, Loki, is essential to his work, with protections under both the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Air Carrier Access Act.
DOG ABANDONED AT LAS VEGAS AIRPORT ADOPTED BY THE SAME OFFICER WHO HELPED RESCUE HIM
"So allyship for people with disabilities … Jen interjected herself into this situation yesterday," Summers said in a follow-up video shared to TikTok.
He praised Hamilton for offering help without taking control of the situation.
"She offered a solution … and then checked in with the participants and asked if the solution would be acceptable to them," he said.
Summers added that the interaction gave him "agency instead of being pushed around by people who think they know what’s best."
GitHub also weighed in on the incident.
"At GitHub, accessibility is a fundamental value," a company spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Our mission is to accelerate human progress through developer collaboration, and we're committed to ensuring that 1.3 billion people with disabilities worldwide can contribute to and benefit from that progress. We're proud of Ed's leadership and the work our team does every day to make GitHub the home for all developers."
The incident reflects the challenges when multiple passengers travel with animals in tight cabin spaces.
Delta’s policies distinguish between pets and trained service animals, requiring pets to remain inside a kennel under the seat, while service animals may sit at a passenger’s feet but cannot intrude into another traveler’s space.
The airline also requires that service animals remain under control at all times and may deny transport to animals that display aggressive behavior. Emotional support animals are not recognized as service animals under current rules.
Delta said it could not investigate the incident without specific flight details when contacted by Fox News Digital.
Etiquette expert and author of "Was It Something I Said?" Alison Cheperdak told Fox News Digital situations like this should be handled with care.
ACTOR AND FORMER 'SNL' STAR SLAMS MAJOR AIRLINE FOR HIS SEAT DOWNGRADE: ‘I PAID FOR FIRST CLASS’
"If you feel compelled to step in, do so calmly and supportively, not confrontationally," she said. "A quiet word to a flight attendant is often the most effective approach.
"More broadly, this is a reminder that etiquette is not about being passive. It’s about balancing consideration for others with respect for boundaries," Cheperdak added. "And in situations involving accessibility, that balance should always lean toward protecting those with genuine needs."
Airlines have tightened policies in recent years after a surge in onboard animal incidents and confusion over service animal classifications.
Federal regulators in 2020 narrowed the definition of service animals to trained dogs, no longer requiring airlines to recognize emotional support animals, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Prior to the rule change, airlines faced a wave of unusual onboard animal requests, prompting broader crackdowns a among major carriers, including Delta, American and United.
One widely cited example involved an emotional support peacock that was denied boarding by United Airlines in 2018, according to NBC News.
California building with dozens of health care, hospice providers raises eyebrows amid fraud speculation
A single building in Van Nuys, California, is raising eyebrows amid questions about the dozens of hospice providers and health care agencies registered at the address. The Merabi Professional Medical Plaza has been dubbed "ground zero" for Medicare fraud in the hospice industry.
The building is three stories and 32,000 square feet, according to CBS News, which recently visited to investigate the hospice companies registered at the Friar Street address.
The outlet reported 89 hospice companies were registered in the building. Fox News Digital reviewed state records showing 50 hospice companies and 97 home health agencies registered to the address.
CBS News said it found more than 700 of the nearly 1,800 hospice centers in Los Angeles County exhibited three or more flags that the state has cited as indicators of fraud. In a graph, it claimed that 130 showed zero flags, 353 had one flag, 548 had two flags, 462 had 3 flags, 224 had four flags, 49 had five flags and seven exhibited six flags.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY FACES SCRUTINY AFTER ALLEGED WIDESPREAD HOSPICE FRAUD EXPOSED
State records reviewed by Fox News Digital show 147 hospice and home health care agencies registered to the Van Nuys address for the Merabi Professional Medical Plaza. However, a March 2022 report from the California State Auditor noted there were over 150 agencies registered to the building, which "exceeds the structure’s apparent physical capacity."
The 2022 report sounded the alarm over a 1,500% increase in the number of hospice agencies in Los Angeles County since 2010. The auditor noted that Los Angeles had "six-and-a-half times the nationwide average number of hospice agencies relative to its aged population in 2019."
The building was also the subject of a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom by California State Assemblywoman Alexandra Macedo, R-Tulare, who said it was "dilapidated" and "lacked basic necessities, such as a wheelchair ramp and accessible parking."
Several other assembly members signed onto Macedo's letter.
Federal records also show regulators visited the Van Nuys building multiple times between 2021 and 2025 and found nearly 400 violations at 75 companies, according to CBS News. Fox News Digital verified federal records showed numerous visits to the building in Van Nuys.
CBS News noted that several of the hospice companies registered to Merabi Professional Medical Plaza had been billing Medicare for years.
Kambiz Merabi, the owner of the plaza, told CBS News that Medicare officials visited his building two years ago to look at hospice agencies. He told the outlet that, in his view, the businesses appear to be legitimate.
While government records show dozens of providers at the building, Merabi told CBS News that his records show just 12 hospice companies operating at the Van Nuys address.
If the facilities moved without notifying the government, they could have their licenses revoked under California law.
Merabi claims in several Instagram videos to specialize in virtual offices, meaning businesses can pay to use his building as their address. However, hospices are required by federal law to have a physical office.
The revelations about the Merabi Professional Medical Plaza come amid the Trump administration's renewed focus on fraud. President Donald Trump on March 16 authorized a task force to eliminate fraud, which will be led by Vice President JD Vance.
Fox News Digital reached out to Merabi, Macedo, CDPH and CMS for comment.
World Baseball Classic final attracted historic viewership with over 10M watching on FOX
Venezuela defeated Team USA, 3-2, in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) final Tuesday, and the game was historic in more ways than one.
Venezuela won its first-ever WBC title, and players flooded the field with emotion and pride as they celebrated the thrilling victory.
History was also made during the telecast when 10,784,000 viewers watched the final on FOX and FOX Deportes.
It became the most-watched WBC telecast of all time.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
The telecast averaged 10,228,000 viewers, while hitting its peak at 12,148,000 from 10:30-10:45 p.m. ET on FOX.
This number was up 128% from the Team USA-Japan WBC final on FS1 during the 2023 tournament, when Shohei Ohtani struck out Mike Trout to seal a third WBC win for his country.
While this game had all the thrills, the WBC turned out to be an exciting tournament from the very start with pool play.
Whether it was feel-good stories like Ondřej Satoria's standing ovation from Japanese fans at the Tokyo Dome during his final outing for Czechia or Italy’s espresso machine home run celebration, viewers from all over were tuning in to watch magic happen on the diamond.
The tournament averaged 1,294,000 viewers across FOX, FS1 and FS2, making it the most-watched WBC in its 20-year history on English language networks.
It looked like Venezuela was going to shut out Team USA, which had just two hits and four base runners in the bottom of the eighth inning when Bryce Harper walked to the plate.
The game turned on its head when Harper belted a two-run homer to tie the game during the peak viewing window.
Venezuela, though, never blinked. Eugenio Suarez hit a rope to left-center field, scoring the game-winning run with a double.
Daniel Palencia closed things out for Venezuela, sealing the win with a strikeout of Roman Anthony. The party ensued for Venezuela at loanDepot Park.
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Browns' NFL rule proposal on future draft picks in trades draws scrutiny
While a potential ban on the tush push was debated last offseason, this year the Cleveland Browns have floated the most notable rule change.
The proposal seeks to allow NFL teams to agree to deals that would involve draft picks as far as five years in advance. Current league policy only permits teams to trade picks as far as three years into the future.
The NFL owners will consider the Browns’ proposal and a separate proposal from the Pittsburgh Steelers when they gather for league meetings before the end of the month.
The Steelers’ suggestion centers on how players are contacted once the free agent negotiating period opens.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations, said at last month’s scouting combine that no submitted proposals this year were about the tush push. However, the NFL’s competition committee will unveil its proposed rule changes next week.
ROBERT KRAFT SAYS NFL OWNERS WILL 'PUSH LIKE THE DICKENS' TO MAKE SWEEPING SCHEDULE CHANGES
At least 24 teams must vote in favor of any rule change for it to be approved.
The NFL limits trades involving future draft picks to three years, while the NBA allows deals up to seven years in advance.
The proposal sparked some criticism, with one fan pointing to the 2022 blockbuster trade to acquire quarterback Deshaun Watson.
"Browns out here trying to trade 2030 picks before they even finish regretting 2022 one," the fan wrote on X.
The Browns suggested the change would promote an environment for a more active trade market and greater roster flexibility.
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