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TV exec fugitive accused of faking fortune before vanishing with millions – leaving her former star floored
Mary Carole McDonnell once led Bellum Entertainment, a television production company whose programming included true-crime shows and an uplifting home makeover series. The company's former chief executive is now the subject of an FBI manhunt tied to a federal fraud case involving millions of dollars.
Prosecutors allege McDonnell fled to Dubai after using false claims about an $80 million trust and fabricating trust-company documents to obtain a $15 million loan, receiving roughly $14.7 million from Banc of California. The former host of Bellum’s makeover show says he was left speechless when a reporter told him about the case this week.
Antonio Sabato Jr., who hosted the syndicated series "Fix It & Finish It," said he was stunned to learn of the case against McDonnell, the former Bellum executive he remembered as the business force behind the show.
"I didn’t know anything at all until you guys called," Sabato told Fox News Digital.
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McDonnell was indicted in federal court in 2018 on five counts of bank fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft.
Investigators say that McDonnell is wanted on charges of bank fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with the alleged scheme carried out in Los Angeles and Orange counties between July 2017 and May 2018, the FBI said.
"Beginning in approximately July 2017 and continuing to May of 2018, McDonnell is alleged to have knowingly, and with intent to defraud, devised and participated in a scheme to obtain money, funds, assets, and property owned by Banc of California," the FBI said.
Federal investigators say McDonnell posed as an heir to the McDonnell Aircraft family and falsely claimed she would eventually gain access to an $80 million secret trust.
She was allegedly able to obtain approximately $14.7 million from Banc of California, although she knew she was not authorized and did not repay it. She used similar methods to defraud other financial institutions of more than $15 million, according to the FBI.
The bureau’s active wanted notice says the agency believes she is currently in Dubai. A federal arrest warrant for McDonnell was issued on Dec. 12, 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
Sabato told Fox News Digital he was hired as the host, creator and producer of "Fix It & Finish It" and was not involved in Bellum’s finances. The series sent him and a small crew from city to city to renovate homes for families in need, he said.
He described the show as physically demanding but deeply meaningful work, with the team completing a different home project each weekday.
"It was called ‘Fix It & Finish It,’ but it was really fixing their souls," Sabato said. "I’ve seen grown men, grown women, just [in] tears."
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Sabato said he had no firsthand knowledge of the allegations against McDonnell and did not see warning signs at the time. He also said he was never contacted by the FBI or other federal investigators after the indictment against McDonnell was filed.
Instead, he said, he remembered McDonnell as a polished executive who spoke about Bellum’s shows and the potential of the renovation series during meetings at the company’s Burbank office.
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Sabato said the show’s sudden end had long puzzled him and now he was left "speechless" after learning the extent of McDonnell's alleged fraud.
"It felt weird," Sabato said when Bellum canceled the hit renovation series. "And I said, something's going on. I just felt something was up. And then my producer called me and said that they pulled the plug."
He said the criminal case has now given him a new context for the company’s financial troubles.
"I would want to ask her someday, 'Why did you do that? Why would you go and create this hell?'"
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Fox News Digital has reached out to U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Banc of California and the FBI's Los Angeles field office for comment. An attorney for McDonnell was not immediately available.
Investigators say they believe that McDonnell is currently in Dubai and describe her as a White female, 5 feet, 7 inches tall, weighing 145 pounds, with blonde hair, blue eyes and a scar on her right knee.
Anyone with information on McDonnell’s whereabouts is urged to contact their local FBI office or the nearest American embassy or consulate.
9/11 taught us deadly lessons. 25 years later, we need a new model to prevent attacks
One of the central findings of the 9/11 Commission was that the intelligence and law enforcement communities had gathered enough signals to potentially detect and disrupt the plot but failed to "connect the dots" due to poor information-sharing, the siloing of information and other barriers to collaboration.
The failure to connect those dots came at the immediate cost of 3,000 American lives – and the death or injury of over 60,000 U.S. servicemembers in the wars that followed the attacks. The efforts to address the failures that led to 9/11 built the Department of Homeland Security, expanded Joint Terrorism Task Forces, established fusion centers where agencies share information and created new systems for federal, state and local agencies to better work together and prevent attacks.
Twenty-five years after the attacks, those systems need to be re-examined and reimagined.
Built for a different, slower, pre-social-media era, not only has our threat environment become more complex, but it has also become more dynamic. For organizations, this means the ability to act across borders and virtually. For individuals, it means the collapse of the timeline between radicalization and violence.
Today, a troubled individual can consume extremist content online in the morning, causing them to immediately embrace a violent ideology, post online an intention to harm others and launch an attack that same day.
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What once might have taken months, is now occurring in weeks or days.
The challenge is no longer to simply connect dots. It is identifying which dots matter in a sea of dots, getting them swiftly to the right people and acting before a threat becomes an attack.
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Few communities have experienced this shift more directly than the American Jewish community.
As the head of the Secure Community Network (SCN), the official safety and security organization for the Jewish community in North America, I have watched threats evolve from slow-moving, carefully planned conspiracies into a constant stream of online threats, suspicious activity reports and individuals moving rapidly from rhetoric to action.
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These modern-day terrorists move fast. We – community members and law enforcement – need to move faster.
Last year alone, SCN proactively identified over 850 threats to life – each of which we analyzed and then referred to the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center, state and local fusion centers and other law enforcement partners. The goal was to disrupt those who would undertake violence – and then bring them to justice. In many cases, we were successful, with our referrals resulting in investigations, interventions, arrests and convictions before anyone was harmed.
In Pittsburgh, SCN and the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh worked closely with law enforcement tracking a months-long campaign of harassment and threats by a White supremacist targeting participants in the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial. Information shared with the FBI helped lead to the arrest of Hardy Lloyd, who admitted intentionally targeting jurors and government witnesses because of their actual or perceived Jewish religion. In December 2023, Lloyd was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in federal prison.
Starting a few months later, in Philadelphia, an individual began a 15-month campaign of mailing more than 40 violent letters to more than 25 Jewish institutions across multiple states, as tracked by SCN. One threatened: "Your lovely museum has so many big open windows, among other things inside. Kristallnacht, anyone? Get ready, this is going to be great fun."
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SCN tracked the campaign with partner federations, providing coordinated data to federal authorities that enabled the suspect’s arrest. The Department of Justice credited SCN’s information-sharing in the successful prosecution, which in March 2026 resulted in a 37-month federal prison sentence.
These incidents were different in geography, circumstance and method. The common thread was the need to identify actionable information, get it into the right hands and act on it before threats became violence and lives were lost.
Attacks these days are less likely to be coordinated by multiple people meeting clandestinely in person or on the phone. They’re more likely to involve single individuals who live online.
Each threat requires a sharp, well-trained analyst to assess its credibility, understand the local context and immediately move actionable information to local security professionals who are working to protect the community and its institutions, as well as law enforcement. In today's environment, minutes and hours can matter as much as days once did.
This is not simply a security challenge for the Jewish community.
Churches, mosques, schools, hospitals, public officials and other frequently targeted institutions face similar challenges. Violent extremists no longer fit neatly into ideological categories.
White supremacists borrow from jihadist propaganda. Anti-government extremists amplify antisemitic conspiracy theories. Foreign terrorist organizations inspire domestic actors they have never met. And homegrown hatred of Jews is on the rise.
The boundaries separating these threats continue to erode even as the speed of mobilization accelerates.
Fusion centers remain an essential part of our national security architecture. But today's threat environment requires another layer in the form of trusted public-private partnerships with direct connections to law enforcement.
For the Jewish community, that means stepping up and taking a much more proactive approach to protection.
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That is the principle behind SCN's Regional Threat Capability Initiative, which monitors the internet day and night to find threats, assess them and get them into the right law enforcement hands. The model combines local awareness with national coordination so communities and law enforcement can move fast to stop attacks. Collaboration – within the community and beyond – is key.
Twenty-five years after 9/11 there are still lessons to be learned. We’re moving fast to implement them.
American Culture Quiz: Test yourself on football futures and dessert drama
The American Culture Quiz is a weekly test of our unique national traits, trends, history and people — including current events and the sights and sounds of the United States.
This week's quiz highlights football futures, dessert drama — and more.
Can you get all 8 questions right?
Give it a try and see how well you do!
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Also, to take our latest News Quiz — published every Friday — click here.
North Carolina mountain town ‘whitewashing’ violence amid crime concerns, says pastor with former gang ties
An Asheville pastor who says he had gang ties as a young man told Fox News Digital that city leaders ignored his decade-long push for a youth gang-prevention program before recent violence rattled the North Carolina tourist city.
Dr. Ronald Gates first brought the proposal to Asheville officials in 2016, urging them to invest in early intervention for children he believes could otherwise be pulled into dangerous groups and retaliatory violence.
The issue has taken on new urgency after a string of retaliatory shootings left two people dead and seven others wounded. City officials have stopped short of calling the violence gang-related, instead describing it as retaliation between groups of friends.
Gates believes that distinction misses the larger problem.
"They did not want to actually acknowledge that it was gang activity," Gates told Fox News Digital. "They wanted to make sure that they tried to whitewash the narrative as they’re saying that these are just retaliations between individuals."
Gates is the senior pastor of Greater Works Church of God in Christ. He also serves as a Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office chaplain and describes himself as a community liaison who works with local law enforcement. His work in those roles has heightened his concern about young people drawn to violence by money, territory or a need for belonging.
His proposal centers on Gang Free, a Los Angeles-based program intended to help students in grades four through six understand how gangs recruit children and the consequences of becoming involved.
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Gates learned about the program during a 2016 trip to California and returned determined to bring a similar effort to Asheville before youth violence became more entrenched.
"I said, ‘Man, I’ve got to bring this back to Asheville, North Carolina,’" he recalled.
Over the past decade, Gates said, he has presented the proposal to mayors, city and county managers, police chiefs and sheriff’s officials, urging them to give it a one-year trial.
He questioned why the city had not invested in the program, even temporarily, to see whether it could work locally.
The program, Gates explained, would teach children how gangs operate, including their signs and colors, and explain how older members can use younger people to move drugs, carry weapons or carry out other crimes.
But education alone is not enough, he argued. A prevention model must also provide young people an alternative to the money and status that can make gangs attractive.
"These young men want to help provide for their single mom or their family," Gates said. "Any money that they can hustle up, they feel like they’re doing something or doing their part."
Under his proposal, law enforcement officers, mentors and local business owners would work directly with children in their neighborhoods. Along with gang-prevention lessons, the program would provide educational help, mentorship and exposure to entrepreneurship.
Local businesses could show students how they operate and offer a path to earning money legally, Gates said, while the city could help fund stipends or similar opportunities.
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"Now they’re learning how to make honest money, business money, capital, instead of putting their life on the line," he said.
Gates also has personal reason to believe early intervention can matter.
Growing up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Gates had gang ties and was loosely associated with the Vice Lords. He credited his father, older brother and sports with keeping him from becoming more deeply involved.
"I thank God that someone intervened," Gates said.
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That experience shaped his belief that prevention has to begin before children become immersed in street life. Young people without steady father figures or mentors can look to older gang members for guidance and protection, he said, creating an opening for those figures to pressure them into dangerous acts while avoiding the harshest consequences themselves.
"If they would have had the opportunity, a different path, a different choice … could they still be here today?" Gates said, referring to young people caught up in the recent violence.
Gates recalled being told in 2016 that Asheville did not have the kind of gang activity that would warrant the program. He warned at the time that city leaders needed to get ahead of the problem rather than wait for violence to escalate.
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"I said, ‘Give it two years,’" Gates said. "Two years to the year."
State data shows Asheville reported 42% more violent crimes in 2024 than in 2016, even as its overall crime index fell 8%. The increase was driven largely by aggravated assaults, which rose from 335 to 558, while reported robberies declined. Violent crime peaked in 2022 and fell for two consecutive years, though the 2024 total remained above the city’s 2016 level.
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Fox News Digital has contacted Asheville officials for comment on Gates’ claim that he repeatedly presented the prevention program to city leaders beginning in 2016, whether the city reviewed it and why it was not adopted.
Gates stressed that he was not arguing every violent dispute in Asheville is gang-related. But he said the city should not wait for a formal gang label before acting when young people are caught in cycles of retaliation.
"You have personal disputes," Gates said. "But then the thrust behind it, the motivation behind it is because, ‘Look here, you spilled some blood. I’m going to spill some blood also.’ And that’s what it has come to."
For city leaders, the question is not just how a crime is labeled, Gates argued, but whether young people have enough opportunities to avoid the path that can lead to prison or death.
That means practical support long before a shooting, arrest or funeral.
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"The prevention, it works if you put it out there," he said.
His message to anyone considering retaliation is simple: Speak with an older relative, a business owner or another trusted adult before making a choice that could change or end a life.
"Is it even worth retaliating?" Gates said. "Is it worth losing my life or going to prison for the rest of my life?"
"Let’s use common sense," he added. "Count up the real costs."
Newsom hit with lawsuit threat as whistleblower begs Trump for help with ‘monumental’ fraud scandal
California’s "monumental problem" with rampant fraud is about to get significantly worse, according to Republican state Assemblyman Carl DeMaio, after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that he warns will crack down on people investigating scammers.
Officially titled "Privacy for immigration support services providers," the new law creates privacy protections for immigration support service providers, employees and volunteers, including shielding their addresses and imposing penalties on those who publish their images on social media. DeMaio told Fox News Digital the bill amounts to criminalizing investigative journalism and works to "silence citizen journalists and shield taxpayer-funded organizations from public scrutiny."
"What does the Stop Nick Shirley Act do? It basically makes it illegal for a citizen journalist to document fraud of taxpayer money and post that on the internet in the form of an internet video," he said.
Newsom signed the bill into law last week, and it is set to take effect Oct. 1. DeMaio told Fox News Digital that he and a "coalition of civil liberty protectors" are prepared to file a lawsuit challenging the law.
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"We have a plaintiff and are putting together the legal briefs," he said, adding, "It is a matter of time before we're going to get before a judge to stop this act."
"It is our hope," he continued, "that the U.S. Department of Justice will file to intervene in that case, because this is an open-and-shut infringement on our First Amendment rights."
DeMaio said California’s fraud scandal makes the Minnesota fraud look like "garden variety government mismanagement."
"If you were worried about Somali daycare centers in Minnesota not having children in the daycare, take a look at California government NGOs receiving taxpayer funds and not having any sort of public services that they're delivering," he said. "They say they provide public services to immigrants when, in fact, they organize rallies, they harvest ballots, they endorse candidates and ballot measures during campaigns, and they are an extension of the Democrat Party."
DeMaio said the planned lawsuit follows discussions with the Justice Department’s Office for Civil Rights.
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"I have asked the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Civil Rights to look at the Stop Nick Shirley Act … to see if they can do anything to intervene to prevent the implementation of this law. We have been dialoguing with the Department of Justice, and now we have a game plan as to how we will proceed forward in the courts to overturn this unconstitutional law," he said.
Addressing Newsom directly, DeMaio said, "Gavin Newsom, once again, you're a bully trying to silence citizen watchdogs into not exercising their First Amendment rights and exposing your fraud, the billions of dollars that you've allowed to be wasted of precious taxpayer funds, all because you want the benefit of these left-wing NGOs to help you politically."
DeMaio said Newsom and California’s Democratic supermajority "created such a monumental problem with fraud of taxpayer money being abused that it's clear that it is intentional."
"You're going to be exposed as a bully," he told Newsom. "You're going to be exposed as the fraud ringleader."
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In response, Newsom spokesperson Diana Crofts-Pelayo told Fox News Digital that "this law has nothing to do with Nick Shirley" and that "the real controversy here is that MAGA Republicans are either lying to create up fake conspiracy theories, or none of them know how to read."
Crofts-Pelayo said the law does not affect Shirley's journalism, which Newsom's office previously referred to as "grifting" and "lying," and does not hide fraud.
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She said the bill does not impact Shirley's journalism, which Newsom's office previously referred to as "grifting" and "lying," and said the measure does not hide fraud.
Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and Senate President pro Tempore Monique Limón, both Democrats, for comment.
649 years ago, a prominent Muslim scholar warned us about Mayor Mamdani's ideas
Ibn Khaldun warned us about Mayor Zohan Mamdani’s ideas. I first encountered Ibn Khaldun while studying Islamic political thought at the American University in Cairo. His 1377 masterwork, the Muqaddimah (The introduction to his universal history), pioneered systematic approaches to historiography, sociology, economics, demography, and the philosophy of history.
Khaldun’s book features a clear description of what became known six centuries later as the Laffer Curve — the economic theory that, as tax rates rise there will be a peak in revenue, beyond which as rates continue to go up, revenue starts to decline as economic activity collapses.
Per Khaldun, early in a dynasty, low taxes encourage enterprise; revenue rises and civilization flourishes. Later, rulers demand more luxury and larger armies. Taxes climb. Businessmen compare their shrinking profits to the growing burden and lose incentive. Production falls, and with it tax yields. At that point, governments often turn to subsidies and then enter commerce themselves — buying and selling, establishing monopolies, competing directly with private traders. Independent merchants are further discouraged. Many leave or quit. The tax base collapses. The empire weakens and falls.
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is now testing a modern version of the later stages of that cycle. The mayor is advancing a plan for city-owned grocery stores — one in each borough — with the first expected to open in the Bronx in 2027 and others by the end of his term. The city will own the land, cover construction (tens of millions of dollars already allocated), waive rent and taxes, and subsidize a core basket of staples so they sell roughly 30 percent below typical retail prices. A private operator will handle day-to-day management under city-set rules on pricing and labor.
Supporters frame this as relief for high food costs. History and Khaldun suggest a different trajectory. When government subsidizes and then operates in a competitive sector, private operators face distorted competition. Capital and effort shift away from the independent businesses that generate the tax revenue governments need. Inefficiencies multiply. Shortages and declines in quality follow. The temporary political win of cheaper eggs and bread is purchased with long-term damage to the commercial vitality that sustains cities.
Mamdani’s background makes the irony sharper. As the son of a prominent scholar of postcolonial societies, it is conceivable that he would be familiar with Islamic Golden Age thinkers who analyzed why states thrive and why they decay. Ibn Khaldun stands among the most famous. His warning was empirical, drawn from observing North African and Near Eastern dynasties: When the state moves from light taxation and order to heavy extraction and direct commercial intervention, the productive classes withdraw. Civilization contracts and then collapses.
Quoting Khaldun: "It should be known that the finances of a ruler can be increased, and his financial resources improved, only through the revenue from taxes. (The revenue from taxes) can be improved only through the equitable treatment of people with property and regard for them. … Other (measures) taken by the ruler, such as engaging in commerce or agriculture, soon turn out to be harmful to the subjects, to be ruinous to the revenues, and to decrease cultural activity."
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Khaldun would have strongly advised against government-run grocery stores.
New York already struggles with high costs of living, regulatory burdens, and businesses that have fled or scaled back. Layering municipal grocery stores on top of that environment does not reverse the incentives Khaldun identified. It accelerates them. Private grocers who cannot match subsidized prices will struggle. The city’s fiscal commitments grow. Taxpayers fund the difference. The cycle continues.
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Khaldun’s remedy was straightforward: Keep taxes low enough that people retain the energy and desire to produce. Lower the burden, and cultural and commercial enterprises expand; revenue follows. Modern supply-side insights rest on the same foundation. Government-run stores move in the opposite direction.
America’s great cities succeeded because independent enterprise created abundance, not because mayors decided to stock the shelves. New York should remember that lesson — and the 14th-century scholar who explained it long before Art Laffer sketched a curve on a napkin. Ignoring it will not make groceries cheaper for long. It risks making the city poorer.
Shark sightings surge along southern Maine coast as experts explain what's driving the spike
Shark sightings are on the rise this summer in southern Maine, with local law enforcement urging beachgoers to be cautious in the water as several white sharks have been caught on camera.
Researchers say reported white shark sightings are up this year, though the increase may partly reflect favorable beach weather and more people actively looking for the predators.
"I would say there’s no question that there’s been a lot more sightings this year. Does that translate into a higher number of sharks is a little bit of a nuanced question. There’s a lot of things to consider in there," said Dr. Walt Golet, assistant professor of marine sciences at the University of Maine.
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"While sighting reports are very helpful, the number of sightings reported to us is often influenced by nice weather and the number of people at the beach," said Matt Davis, marine resource scientist at the Maine Department of Marine Resources. "We've had great weather this year for beach tourism, and we also have a number of people with drones actively looking for sharks, so sightings are high."
Daryen Granata, harbor master and marine resource officer for the town of Scarborough, said the police department began receiving numerous shark sighting reports in early July. Several were captured on video.
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"They were off of Pine Point Beach for a substantial amount of time," said Granata. "They've kind of migrated now. They're more off the Scarborough Beach State Park and Higgins Beach area at this point. We're still seeing them on a daily basis. Still to this day, and it's been, you know, three weeks at this point."
Granata, who has lived in Scarborough for more than 30 years, said shark sightings have become much more common in recent years, especially sightings of juvenile sharks. But whether that means there are actually more sharks in the Gulf of Maine is less clear.
"We have all this drone technology. We have all the cell phone videos. We've got a lot of higher-grade technology than we did, you know, 10 or 15, 20 years ago. So we're seeing them," said Granata.
Granata said the police department captures its own drone footage of sharks, as do independent photographers and beachgoers. Social media has added another stream of reported sightings, all of which can contribute to the perception that there are more sharks in the area.
"Previously, people weren't looking for sharks with the same intensity or aerial equipment," said Davis.
Researchers say white shark populations have been slowly recovering for decades after the federal government put protections in place in the 1990s. Maine's seal population has also grown, providing a key food source for white sharks.
"It's very possible that the number of white sharks we see now is more reflective of their natural population size, or at least the closest it's been to the natural population size in several decades," explained Davis. "Think of this as a population success story in that the ocean is regaining one of its apex predators to help balance the food chain."
"If you protect the food and protect the predator, it makes sense that you see this rebound especially since the generation time for white sharks is about 25 to 30 years," said Golet. "I also think that there’s a lot of bait around along the Maine coast in the form of striped bass and Atlantic menhaden, both of which are eaten by juvenile white sharks, which is what we have in high numbers."
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Researchers say warming ocean temperatures could eventually lead sharks to remain in the Gulf of Maine for longer periods. That could make frequent shark sightings a more regular occurrence along the coast.
"There are definitely more sharks in Maine than I've ever seen in my entire life," said Kelsey Donohue, who's lived in Scarborough her whole life. "Like growing up here, we used to joke around about sharks, but we would be like, 'oh, we live in Maine, so we never see sharks!'"
"This really is the first time that I've heard for Pine Point that we had a shark sighting," said Betty MacLeod, longtime Scarborough resident.
The Scarborough Police Department is urging people to stay vigilant while in the water.
Officials recommend that people swimming in areas where sharks have been spotted avoid dawn and dusk, when sharks can be more active, and never swim alone. They also recommend avoiding murky water and remaining in waist-deep water or shallower.
Beachgoers with open wounds should stay out of the water. Officials also advise swimmers to remove jewelry before entering the water.
"Just be cognizant of what you're doing and where you are," said Granata. "Just have good situational awareness, that's all."
Iceland votes on resuming EU membership talks as Trump's push for neighboring Greenland looms over debate
Icelanders voted Saturday on whether to reopen negotiations to join the European Union, with President Donald Trump's push for U.S. control of neighboring Greenland adding a new security dimension to a debate that has divided the NATO ally for years.
Iceland, strategically positioned in the North Atlantic and roughly 180 miles from Greenland, has no military of its own and relies on NATO and a longstanding defense agreement with the United States for its security, according to RTE and The Associated Press.
Trump's repeated interest in acquiring Greenland has unsettled some Icelanders and raised questions about whether closer ties with the EU could provide another layer of security for the island nation, the AP reported.
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Roughly 275,000 eligible voters were asked whether Iceland should resume membership negotiations with the EU. As of Saturday evening, the result had not been officially called.
If the referendum passes, Iceland would resume negotiations with the EU, followed by another referendum on actual membership, RTE reported.
Iceland's government, led by Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir, has vowed to respect the result, although the referendum is technically nonbinding.
"This has been a tight race, extremely exciting," Frostadóttir said after voting Saturday.
She said the campaign had "lifted discussions about the EU, about Iceland's place in the world, about our general geopolitical situation and status, to a higher level."
While domestic and economic issues have played a central role in the referendum campaign, Trump's ambitions for neighboring Greenland have also cast a shadow over Iceland's debate about its place in Europe and the broader geopolitical landscape.
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Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in acquiring Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory, previously saying the U.S. would obtain the strategically important Arctic island "one way or the other."
The Trump administration has also previously weighed options for acquiring Greenland, including the potential use of military force. Such a move against territory belonging to Denmark, a fellow NATO member, would pose an extraordinary challenge to the alliance and its collective-defense commitments.
Trump has also mistakenly referred to Iceland while discussing Greenland on multiple occasions, according to the AP.
Iceland itself was drawn into the discussion earlier this year after former Rep. Billy Long, who is now Trump's ambassador to Iceland, apologized for privately joking to House lawmakers that the country could become the "52nd state" with him as its governor.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
North Carolina warns mobile petting zoo visitors of rabies exposure after baby goats test positive
North Carolina health officials are urging people who touched baby goats at a mobile petting zoo to contact their local health department after several goats tested positive for rabies.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) said the infected goats were from Farm Adventures, a mobile petting zoo based in Harmony, North Carolina, that attended off-site events across multiple counties.
Anyone who had contact with baby goats from Farm Adventures, either at its Harmony location or at an off-site event between July 28 and Aug. 27, should contact their local health department to determine whether medication is needed to prevent infection, according to NCDHHS.
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During that period, NCDHHS said Farm Adventures held off-site events involving children and elderly individuals across multiple counties. Organizers of those events are being notified, the agency said, adding that the investigation remains ongoing and additional information about potential exposure locations will be released when available.
In a Facebook statement, Farm Adventures said four of its baby goats had contracted rabies and that the animals had been euthanized to prevent further spread.
MARYLAND ROCKED BY THIRD BEAVER ATTACK IN WEEKS AFTER 2 ANIMALS TEST POSITIVE FOR RABIES
The petting zoo identified the goats as Molly, Maggie, Cow and Uno.
"We are working closely with public health officials, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, and animal control to address this issue and ensure the safety of our animals and clients," Farm Adventures said.
According to Farm Adventures, the baby goats were housed in a separate pen away from the other animals at the petting zoo.
The four goats were too young to receive their vaccinations when a skunk entered their pen, according to Farm Adventures. While the skunk was removed, the petting zoo was not aware that the goats had been bitten.
"They showed no sign or symptoms of rabies," Farm Adventures said.
DEADLIEST ANIMAL IN EVERY US STATE REVEALED, FROM MOOSE AND BEARS TO DOGS
Farm Adventures said one of the animals was ultimately sent for a necropsy after its veterinarian investigated what was happening. State health officials said several goats tested positive for rabies at the North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health.
"These past few days have been incredibly difficult for us," Farm Adventures said.
Rabies is a viral disease that is deadly if people do not receive medical care before symptoms begin, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The virus primarily spreads through bites or scratches from an infected animal. Bats, skunks, raccoons and foxes are the animals most frequently found with rabies in the U.S., according to the CDC.
The CDC said roughly 100,000 Americans receive rabies vaccinations following a potential exposure each year.
Human rabies infections are extremely rare in the U.S., and no human cases have been reported in North Carolina since 2011, according to NCDHHS.
South Carolina police officer killed, another wounded in gunfight with suspect who had extensive record
A gunfight between a man with an extensive arrest record and two police officers in Columbia, South Carolina, left one officer dead and another wounded on Saturday morning.
The two officers responded to a domestic dispute call just after 9:30 a.m. at a residence where a woman said a man she had a restraining order against was in her home destroying property.
By the time the officers arrived, he had left the scene, but they found him about an hour later and a "gunfight" ensued.
MARINE VETERAN LAS VEGAS POLICE OFFICER KILLED IN SHOOTING; ARMED SUSPECT ALSO DEAD
"Our hearts are broken this evening," Columbia police Chief W.H. "Skip" Holbrook said at a news conference later Saturday. "We gather under the worst of circumstances you could possibly imagine. We’re deeply hurt."
Holbrook added, "It’s with heartbreak and sadness that I inform you that one of our officers has succumbed to his injuries."
Officer Christopher DeLong, 29, had been with the police department for two years and leaves behind a wife and two young children, Holbrook said.
"Our thoughts and prayers are first and foremost with Officer DeLong’s family, his loved ones and friends and coworkers," he said.
CONNECTICUT POLICE OFFICERS SHOT, SUSPECT KILLED AFTER ATTEMPTED ARREST SPARKS HECTIC CHASE
The second officer, David Dymock, is in stable condition, Holbrook said, adding, "our prayers are with him as he continues to recover from wounds sustained during the gunfight."
The suspect, identified as Adam Tyler Dowdy, was also killed in the gunfight.
Dowdy had a series of arrests for disorderly conduct, operating a motor vehicle under the influence, contempt of court, public intoxication, possession of a controlled substance and probation violations, Holbrook said.
Holbrook added that Dowdy may have been out on bond for battery in Georgia.
"We’re still trying to verify that preliminary information," he said. "He has a history of several arrests that span through the following states: South Carolina, Kentucky, Wisconsin, and Georgia."
He asked for people to pray for the DeLong family "to have strength as they navigate this unimaginably difficult time."
Holbrook said he had already gotten condolences from every law enforcement agency in the region as well as South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster.
"I’m saddened by the tragic loss of Officer Chris DeLong of the Columbia Police Department," U.S. Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., wrote on X. "Officer DeLong answered the call to serve and protect us all, and he lost his life in the line of duty this morning. My prayers are with his family, friends, and the Columbia Police Department. I’m also praying for Officer David Dymok, who was injured while serving and protecting our community. We’re hoping for his quick and full recovery. Law enforcement officers are heroes who protect us every day. We owe them a debt of gratitude for their service and sacrifice."
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is investigating the shooting.