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EXCLUSIVE: Michael McDonald’s long-lost son reveals stunning moment he discovered famous father after 58 years
EXCLUSIVE: Michael Goessling always knew he was adopted. But what he did not know for nearly 58 years was that his biological father had one of the most recognizable and beloved voices in American music.
The St. Louis man learned recently that his father was five-time Grammy winner and Doobie Brothers singer Michael McDonald, a musician Goessling had admired since childhood and had unknowingly paid to see perform twice as a young man.
But even after receiving the letter that began it all, meeting his biological mother and learning his biological father was a mysterious musician named "Mike," Goessling still had no idea who was waiting on the other end of the phone.
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The answer finally came during their first conversation, when "Mike" mentioned he was touring and would be stopping in St. Louis on Sept. 4 at a venue he believed was called "Hollywood."
Goessling thought of the Hollywood Casino Amphitheater and, puzzled that his biological father was apparently still a touring musician at his age, began searching the venue's concert schedule as the two men spoke.
The Doobie Brothers were playing in concert Sept. 4.
Suddenly, the pieces began falling into place: "Mike." Musician. That unmistakable voice.
"Are you Michael McDonald?" Goessling finally asked.
McDonald chuckled. "Yep, afraid so."
"Oh my gosh, this is getting crazier by the second," Goessling recalled saying. "I can't even, I can't get my head around this. This is too much."
"I know," McDonald replied. "Take a minute."
"I thought I was being punked for a second," Goessling told Fox News Digital. "It's like, no, this can't be real. This is impossible. What is going on here?"
More than a year later, he said the discovery can still feel unreal.
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"I still wake up sometimes and my first thought is, ‘Oh my gosh, that was a crazy dream,’ only to realize that here we are."
The extraordinary phone call came just days after a letter ended a mystery stretching back to Goessling's birth. On May 6, 2025, an attorney representing his biological mother contacted Goessling to explain that she believed he was the son she had placed for adoption through Catholic Charities nearly 58 years earlier.
Goessling had always known he was adopted, but the adoption was closed. He knew nothing about his biological parents, and they knew virtually nothing about the life he had gone on to live.
His biological mother, he learned, had spent roughly 30 to 35 years searching for him. Both biological parents hoped he might be willing to communicate, Goessling recalled, but above all, they wanted to know that he was well.
"It was a wonderful surprise, but quite a shock," he said. "It felt like a tsunami hit me."
Goessling called his biological mother that evening. Although he had never actively searched for his biological parents, he had long hoped he might someday have the opportunity to thank them.
"I just want you to hear from me that I got nothing but love for you," he recalled telling her. "This is such an amazing gift, that I get to thank you personally … They were always heroes in my story," he said.
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Their first conversation lasted about 90 minutes. Goessling eventually proposed meeting for lunch that Friday, prompting his biological mother to remind him that Friday was his birthday.
"Yeah, yeah. You've waited long enough. I think I've waited enough," he recalled replying. "Let's meet on my birthday, 58 years to the day."
After a three-hour lunch and nearly six decades apart, Goessling learned there was someone else anxious to speak with him. His biological father had deliberately remained in the background so mother and son could have their reunion first.
"He really wanted the mother-son thing to happen first, which is just true to his character," Goessling said. "He thought that was very important, and he wanted to take a back seat so that could happen."
Before father and son connected, McDonald left Goessling a voicemail. That unmistakable voice immediately struck him.
"Whoa, what a voice," Goessling recalled telling his biological mother.
"Yeah, he gets that a lot," she replied with a chuckle.
The voice seemed strangely familiar, but Goessling still didn't make the connection. When the two men finally spoke, he began by telling McDonald what he had already told his biological mother.
"Thank you for giving me a shot in this world," Goessling recalled saying. "I've had a charmed life. And it all started with you guys."
Then he asked what his biological father did for a living.
"I'm a musician," McDonald told him.
Goessling, a lifelong music obsessive who once worked in the music business, thought that was terrific. It wasn't until the conversation turned to McDonald's upcoming tour stop that he finally put it together.
The revelation contained another coincidence almost too remarkable to invent; Goessling was already a huge fan.
The Doobie Brothers had been among his favorite bands since childhood, alongside The Who and Journey. He vividly remembers first hearing "Takin' It to the Streets" after McDonald joined the group and insisting to the person playing it that there had been some mistake.
"I know the Doobie Brothers and that is not the Doobie Brothers," Goessling remembered declaring as a child.
He soon learned about the band's new singer and became a McDonald fan, too. He stayed one.
In fact, Goessling had already watched his biological father perform in concert twice, once in the 1980s, and again in the early 1990s, without ever imagining that the man onstage was the father whose identity he did not know.
When Fox News Digital pointed out that meant he had actually paid twice to see his own father perform, Goessling laughed.
"I should get reimbursed for that."
There were other clues hiding in plain sight. After Goessling grew out his hair and white beard during the COVID-19 pandemic, people began telling him they liked the "Michael McDonald thing" he had going on.
"Little did I know five years later that that would resonate even so true," he said.
After the families met, the similarities became even harder to miss. During a visit with McDonald, Goessling said McDonald's wife, Amy, and his newfound half-sister would watch him do or say something and suddenly burst out laughing.
"Your dad does the exact same thing," they would tell him. "They couldn't take their eyes off me," Goessling said. "They're waiting to see what I would do or say next because there was so many just natural similarities."
Yet for Goessling, the remarkable celebrity connection is not the part of his story that matters most.
Learning where he came from also meant finally understanding what his biological parents had faced nearly six decades earlier, when they were just two 14-year-old eighth-graders confronting a pregnancy that would change all three of their lives.
According to Goessling, the teenagers' initial reaction was that they would marry, raise their baby and rely on their families to help them. Their parents concluded they were simply too young at the time.
"They were just far too young to be married and to have a child," Goessling said.
Their families ultimately determined that adoption would be best, he said, although relinquishing their son had not been his biological parents' first choice.
Nearly six decades later, Goessling sees what happened through the lens of both gratitude and faith.
"Mike, I mean, he wasn't Michael McDonald [then]. He was Mike from the neighborhood," he said, imagining how differently life could have been had two 14-year-olds attempted to raise a child together.
"I have to believe that it all worked out as it was supposed to because certainly when I see us all now together, it's just the greatest joy," Goessling said. "I think this was the plan. And I think it was a beautiful plan."
That plan, as Goessling sees it, led him to Paul and Kay Goessling. He grew up in a family of four children. Three were adopted before, against the odds, Kay became pregnant with their youngest daughter, Linda.
Goessling describes his childhood as "charmed" and said he could not have chosen better parents himself.
"If I could go back and pick two folks, I would pick them and do it all over again," he said. "They were just the most wonderful blessing in my life."
His father, Paul, died shortly before Christmas 2024 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease and Goessling said the two were extremely close. Six months later, another father entered his life.
"After losing my father, I get a letter and Mike pops up," Goessling said. "Another father enters my life, my world."
Kay's reaction to the discovery was immediate. When Goessling showed her the letter, he said his mother began crying and declared what had happened "a miracle."
She asked whether he had met his biological mother, and he had.
"Oh my God, go get her," Goessling recalled Kay saying. "I have to meet her. I've got a million questions. What's she like? I gotta give her a big hug."
Goessling said his mother has embraced his biological family from the beginning, and the once-separate branches of his family came together with surprising ease.
"Everybody's in love with everybody," he said.
Father and son now speak frequently and text "all the time," according to Goessling.
And while the identity of his biological father is what thrust his story into the spotlight, Goessling hopes the attention gives him an opportunity to talk about adoption as a blessing.
A practicing Catholic who was raised in the faith and adopted through Catholic Charities, Goessling said his parents taught him from childhood to understand his adoption not as evidence that he had been unwanted, but as evidence that he was deeply loved.
Even before he was old enough to fully understand what adoption meant, he knew how his parents viewed it.
"It was a miracle," he said. "It was the greatest thing. It was a gift from God."
Only when Goessling grew old enough to understand where babies came from, he said, did he fully appreciate the significance of the decisions that had been made before his birth.
"Obviously, we all know there are choices in this world, and I am so grateful and fortunate for the choices they made on my behalf," he said. "Adoption has been absolutely nothing but a blessing for me … I celebrate adoption and I always have. It's always been a big part of my life story."
Now, nearly six decades later, Goessling has been able to thank the biological parents he once could only imagine, and discovered that they had spent those same decades wondering about him.
He hopes the unlikely circumstances that brought attention to his family can help "elevate" the conversation surrounding adoption.
"I want this to elevate the narrative, the adoption narrative," he said. "I want that adoption gets celebrated more in this country. If my crazy story can be true, Lord knows anything is possible."
And if Michael McDonald is watching? Goessling doesn't need an interview to deliver the message. He said father and son already talk regularly.
"I just tell him that I love him and I tell him thank you for everything," he said.
After 58 years, the man who says he never felt deprived of a family has somehow ended up with an even larger one.
"My cup overflows," Goessling said.
WNBA playoffs preview: Golden State Valkyries look to close out Dallas Wings in Game 3
If you haven't been paying attention to the WNBA Playoffs, you are missing out. Honestly, if you like basketball at all, this is the only thing going on, and the series, although short, has been awesome. We've already seen the Las Vegas Aces beat the Indiana Fever last night in Game 3, and we saw the Dream and Liberty sweep their series. The Liberty knocked out the top team from the regular season. Chaos at its finest. Tonight we have the other top team on the ropes as the Wings look to upset the Valkyries.
The Dallas Wings are built on star power. They have two of the brightest young stars in the league, with Paige Bueckers in her first playoff games. They also have Azzi Fudd, but she has been out with an injury for the majority of the season. When the Wings received the #1 overall pick for the past two years, this is what they envisioned and what they were looking to build. However, it really isn't Bueckers, and certainly not Fudd, who is making the impact in this one.
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Instead, this series was extended by Arike Ogunbowale. If you haven't watched her play, I compare her to Jamal Crawford, Lou Williams or Jordan Clarkson. She is a starter, and most of those guys were role players or sixth-man candidates. Ogunbowale has been a starter, but can't really carry a team on both ends. She certainly put the team on her back in Game 2, dropping 45 points in 42 minutes of action. She was incredibly efficient as well, shooting 52% overall, 63% from deep, and almost 90% from the free-throw line.
The Golden State Valkyries are built on being a deep, well-rounded squad. That can't always work in the postseason. If you haven't noticed in basketball, you need stars to win. It isn't like the best player always wins, but just because you are a deep team doesn't mean you're the best team in the postseason. We've seen it over and over — you need a deep team to keep from getting too tired, and you need role players that can contribute, but you also need a guy (or in this case, a woman) to take over a team when you need a bucket.
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To her credit, Gabby Williams is having a fantastic series for the Valkyries. In Game 1, she dropped 20 points in 27 minutes while the team blew out Dallas. In Game 2, they lost on the road to the Wings, who put up a historic performance. Williams was equally impressive in that game with 36 points in 37 minutes. She continues to facilitate and be involved in rebounding as well. She has four other teammates averaging over 10 points per game, so she is getting help. The question is whether Williams can be the go-to scorer they need tonight when Dallas has both Bueckers and Ogunbowale.
Being at home should certainly help the Valkyries, who have gone 17-5 at home this season. Dallas was just 11-11 away from their home floor. I do expect Bueckers to be more involved in the scoring tonight, but she might not be enough. This Golden State team knows they need to avoid a collapse. They also know that their defense can win them games. I lean to the under on this one, but will play Valkyrie -4.5 in the first half as I think the home crowd will give them the boost needed to get going early.
For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024
Inside explosive Cornell rape allegations: 7 men accused, conflicting accounts and a political firestorm
A sexually charged case that roiled Cornell University two years ago has exploded onto the national stage, fueling a fierce debate over sex, consent and criminality in college hookup culture.
Seven former Chi Phi fraternity brothers are accused in a lawsuit of drugging and raping a female Cornell student during a night of drinking, drugs and group sex at their fraternity house in October 2024.
The accuser, identified in court papers by the pseudonym Jane Doe, alleges the men sexually assaulted her after she arrived intoxicated and was pressured into taking ketamine and other substances. The men have denied wrongdoing, with some maintaining the sexual activity was consensual and others denying they participated in it. No criminal charges have been filed against the seven men.
The case has now erupted into a political and legal firestorm, with New York Attorney General Letitia James announcing Friday that her office is conducting an "active criminal investigation" after Gov. Kathy Hochul appointed the Office of the Attorney General as special prosecutor. Cornell has separately agreed to retain outside counsel to conduct an independent review of the university's handling of the allegations.
At the center of the controversy are sharply conflicting accounts of what happened that night, including differences between what Doe said in the weeks afterward, what prosecutors say they received from Cornell police and the explosive allegations contained in a lawsuit filed nearly two years later.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten, who initially declined to pursue charges, has said Doe's November 2024 sworn statement did not allege that she was drugged against her will or gang raped and instead described her participation in drug use and sexual conduct as "voluntary, conscious, and consensual."
Doe was 20 years old and a Cornell undergraduate when the events at the center of the case unfolded on the night of Oct. 19, 2024.
According to her lawsuit, Doe began the evening drinking vodka at her Tri Delta sorority house before attending a sorority social event at a downtown Ithaca bar. She later went to a second bar before leaving alone around 11 p.m. and walking to the Chi Phi fraternity house to meet a friend who was a member.
By the time she arrived at Chi Phi, Doe was visibly intoxicated and had consumed roughly 10 standard drinks over three hours, according to her own complaint.
Once inside, Doe alleges, a fraternity member gave her another beer before proposing a threesome with another fraternity brother. The lawsuit maintains that Doe was already too intoxicated to consent.
Doe alleges she was then taken upstairs, where two fraternity members pressured her into snorting what they said was ketamine, a drug she says she had never previously taken. She alleges they also gave her marijuana and high-proof liquor before engaging in sexual acts with her without her consent.
The lawsuit alleges other fraternity members entered the room as the night progressed. At 1:42 a.m., according to a screenshot reproduced in the complaint, one member posted "free p----" in a Snapchat group for active Chi Phi members. The complaint alleges the message encouraged other members to go upstairs.
CBS News reported Friday that it had obtained additional Snapchat messages from the fraternity group, including a photograph of Doe with another man that was shared with dozens of Chi Phi members that night. Just before the photo was posted, one participant wrote, "Like you can walk in and whip it out," while another subsequently asked, "Shop still open?" and received the reply, "Yeah."
Attorneys for several of the accused men have denied criminal wrongdoing by their clients. An attorney for one of the men told NBC News the lawsuit was "intentionally dishonest" and maintained his client had engaged in immature and inappropriate Snapchat messages but committed no crime. An attorney for another said the public narrative was "incomplete" and inconsistent with evidence developed during Cornell's investigation, including Doe's own statements.
Doe alleges she became increasingly impaired and eventually "completely incapacitated" as the encounters continued. The complaint says the final alleged assault ended around 5:45 a.m., when Doe lost consciousness.
Contemporaneous texts, interviews and university records show Doe described different portions of the encounter differently in the days and weeks that followed, while also expressing distress about what had happened.
When she returned to her sorority house around 11:15 a.m. on Oct. 20, Doe told her roommates she had taken ketamine and had sex with multiple men, according to records from Cornell's Title IX proceedings obtained by The New York Times. One roommate said Doe did not initially describe what happened as rape or sexual assault, while another recalled that she appeared to be "in shock" and did not seem to understand the gravity of what she was recounting.
The following day, one of the men Doe would later accuse apologized to her for how the night unfolded, saying he felt terrible that he and another fraternity member had been too intoxicated to stop things before they got "way out of hand," according to text messages reviewed by the Times.
Doe responded that "none of the sexual stuff was illegal" and said she had enjoyed being with the two men.
Other contemporaneous evidence suggests Doe was already struggling with the encounter. On Oct. 22, she visited Cornell Health seeking treatment for a urinary tract infection and testing for sexually transmitted diseases, telling a doctor she had contracted the infection "in a traumatic way," according to university records.
Doe also became increasingly distressed as word of the encounter spread around campus. A roommate told Cornell investigators that Doe initially described it as a "crazy thing that she had done," but that her understanding shifted over the following days. The roommate said she discussed portions of the encounter with Doe and told her that some of what she described could constitute rape.
About a week after the encounter, Doe discovered an anonymous online post claiming Chi Phi members had been "gang banging" and that a sophomore had been gang raped. Doe later told Cornell investigators that seeing the post marked a turning point in how she viewed the night.
"That's the first time I had ever heard the narrative change that I wasn't a whore and that I was assaulted," she said, according to the university records obtained by the Times.
Doe nevertheless remained in contact with fraternity members and planned to attend Chi Phi's Halloween party, according to the records. After initially being told she was welcome, the fraternity's president uninvited her, prompting Doe to accuse the men of "covering your asses."
By Nov. 3, however, Doe was explicitly describing most of the encounter as nonconsensual. In a text reviewed by the Times, she wrote that "90% of what happened that night was not consensual," adding that she had been given more ketamine than she could remember and had felt uncomfortable around people she did not know. Four days later, she went to an Ithaca emergency room and requested a rape kit.
Doe was interviewed by Cornell University Police on Nov. 14 and Nov. 15. A transcript obtained by CBS New York shows that she distinguished the initial sexual encounter, which she said she had been "pretty OK with," from what she said happened later in the night.
"I can say with 100% confidence I was raped," Doe told investigators, according to the transcript. She also described later sexual activity as coercive and said she had been "completely and totally incapacitated."
During those interviews, the campus police investigator prepared a six-page written statement that Doe reviewed and signed. That document — rather than the complete interview transcript — was what Van Houten says his office received before deciding not to pursue charges.
According to Van Houten's account of the signed statement, Doe said she agreed to the initial threesome out of attraction and "drunken curiousness," was "pretty ok" with it and voluntarily took ketamine later in the night.
The district attorney said multiple prosecutors and investigators reviewed the statement, assumed Doe's account was true and concluded that the facts contained in it did not establish a crime under New York law. Van Houten said her credibility was "never in question."
When CBS presented the full transcript to Van Houten this week, he said it had never been provided to him.
"That wasn't information that I had," he said, later adding that its existence "changes the landscape for me."
For nearly two years after the alleged encounter, no criminal charges were filed against any of the men.
The case burst into the national spotlight Sept. 16, when Doe filed a sweeping 101-page lawsuit in New York Supreme Court laying out in graphic detail her allegations about what happened inside the Chi Phi house.
The lawsuit accuses the seven former fraternity members of sexual assault and rape and seeks compensatory and punitive damages. But it casts a far wider net than the seven men.
Doe also sued Cornell University, Chi Phi and affiliated entities, her own Tri Delta sorority and Moonies Bar & Nightclub, among others, alleging that institutions around her failed to protect her before, during and after the events of that night.
The complaint alleges Doe had already become intoxicated while drinking at the Tri Delta house before a sorority housemother accompanied her to Moonies. There, according to the lawsuit, a bouncer marked both of the then-20-year-old's hands with an "X" signifying she was under 21, but she was nevertheless served alcohol.
The graphic allegations prompted immediate questions about why no one had been prosecuted in 2024. Van Houten said he first learned of the lawsuit on Sept. 18, two days after it was filed, and that his office was subsequently inundated with calls and emails, including threats, demanding answers.
Van Houten publicly defended his original decision. He also reopened the investigation, met with Doe and her attorneys and announced plans to put the matter before a Tompkins County grand jury so it could consider her testimony and any new evidence raised by the lawsuit.
The controversy intensified after CBS reported that Van Houten had never received the full transcript of Doe's November 2024 interview with Cornell University Police. Van Houten said that if relevant information had been omitted from the signed statement provided to prosecutors, the circumstances should be investigated by someone outside Cornell.
Cornell has separately agreed to retain outside counsel to conduct an independent investigation into the university's handling of the allegations, according to Hochul. That review is distinct from the criminal investigation now being led by James' office.
Cornell, meanwhile, reached its own conclusions through the university's disciplinary process. University President Michael Kotlikoff said two of the accused students were expelled, two were suspended for at least two semesters, one had graduated before discipline could be imposed and two were found not responsible for sexual misconduct.
Those university findings were reached through Cornell's disciplinary process, which is separate from the criminal justice system and applies different standards and procedures.
Cornell has rejected allegations that it imposed only minor consequences, saying its Title IX process resulted in expulsions and suspensions. The university said no student was offered the opportunity to write essays as the sole consequence for their involvement and called suggestions that it failed to impose consequential punishment "false."
Cornell said in a statement to Fox News it "fully support[s] the appointment of a special prosecutor" and is committed to "an independent external review of all aspects of how Cornell has handled this case."
The case has also drawn renewed attention to Cornell's campus climate after more than 35% of female undergraduates responding to a 2025 university survey reported experiencing nonconsensual sexual contact involving force, threats or incapacitation, up from 23% in 2023. Although Cornell said 926 of 6,000 students invited to take the survey responded, a participation rate of about 15%.
Gov. Kathy Hochul intervened Thursday, signing an executive order appointing the Office of the Attorney General as special prosecutor in the case.
James said her office would lead an investigation guided by "the facts and the law."
Jared Kushner scolds CNN over 'deeply misleading’ report, says key info buried behind paywall
Senior Trump advisor Jared Kushner accused CNN of publishing a "deeply misleading story and headline" suggesting his "diplomatic work in the Middle East somehow benefited investments in Israeli defense companies" in a fiery social media post on Friday.
President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, who rarely criticizes the media publicly, took to X to scold a paywall-protected CNN report headlined, "How Jared Kushner’s firm’s investment in an Israeli company could be a major conflict of interest," that was published on Thursday.
The report noted that Kushner acted as a key negotiator regarding the war in Gaza while his company, Affinity Partners, "held the largest stake in an Israeli firm backing businesses involved in Israel’s military campaigns."
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Kushner argued that CNN’s own reporting contradicts the headline, but said readers without a paid subscription to the website were left in the dark.
"Buried behind a paywall, it acknowledges: ‘CNN found no indication that Kushner’s actions as a diplomat directly affected the investments reviewed,’" Kushner wrote.
Indeed, CNN said it found no indication that Kushner’s actions as a diplomat directly impacted the investments, but that point was buried 10 paragraphs deep and only visible to paid CNN subscribers.
The lengthy report said, "CNN used Israeli financial transparency laws to trace some of the military-linked investments of Phoenix Financial, a Tel Aviv-based firm that Kushner’s investment group doubled its stake in last year, shortly before Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office."
"Those records, which include only a fraction of Phoenix’s holdings, show Phoenix has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into Israel’s largest arms manufacturer, Elbit Systems. Phoenix also holds stakes in at least eight other companies providing equipment for the Israeli military ranging from drones to warships to demolition machinery, CNN found," according to the report.
"All nine companies identified by CNN saw their stock value climb last year, with many stating the war in Gaza had driven demand for their businesses," the CNN report continued. "Affinity doesn’t directly hold a stake in the nine companies CNN identified — but it does stand to reap rewards when Phoenix makes a profit."
CNN also noted that Kushner described Phoenix as a strong investment for Affinity.
In his response, Kushner said that Phoenix is not a defense company, despite CNN’s framing, and defended his company’s investments.
"It is one of Israel’s largest publicly traded financial institutions, highly regulated and managing approximately $220 billion across thousands of investments," Kushner wrote.
"Think of Phoenix as the Israeli equivalent of Vanguard or Fidelity. It manages the retirement savings of millions of Israelis. The savers don’t choose the individual investments, and neither do I," Kushner continued. "I have no role in deciding what Phoenix buys or sells. It has performed very well for Affinity and our investors, up more than five times since our initial investment."
Kushner added that Affinity is an SEC-registered investment firm.
"Our investment in Phoenix is public and dates to before President Trump was re-elected, and before I returned to public service. Affinity does not own the defense companies highlighted in CNN’s story," Kushner wrote.
"Those facts make for a less provocative headline, but a much more accurate story," he continued. "Misleading stories will not distract me from the work President Trump asked me to do: help end wars, bring people together and pursue peace. That work is too important."
A CNN spokesperson told Fox News Digital that "we stand by our reporting."
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In a separate post, Kushner said he has ignored "false and misleading stories" for the past decade, but "the cycle has gotten out of control where old lies get repeated as fact, new ones get added, and the record becomes increasingly distorted," so he felt a need to respond.
CNN published a statement from Kushner's attorney, which was also hidden behind the paywall.
"Any suggestion that Jared’s diplomatic work influenced Phoenix’s investments in the companies you identify, or vice versa, is incorrect," the attorney told CNN.
A White House spokesperson also told CNN the suggestion Kushner’s personal business activities have anything to do with his diplomatic engagements is a "tired narrative that Democrats have pushed against President Trump, his family, and his administration for a decade."
Miami Heat tease release of new 'Vice City' jerseys on the night before 'Grand Theft Auto VI' release
November will see the launch of what is easily the biggest video game release of all time, and maybe the biggest entertainment release full stop, when "Grand Theft Auto VI" hits shelves.
Or hits the PlayStations of those of us who pre-ordered it (*raises hand*).
The game takes place largely in "Vice City," a fictionalized version of Miami, and it looks like the Miami Heat are getting in on the promotion.
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The team announced on Friday that they will debut their new "Vice City" jerseys on November 18 against the Milwaukee Bucks (which is a notable matchup for another reason), the night before GTA VI's big November 19 release.
According to the team's website, the Heat's new duds will be "new, completely reimagined" getups for the occasion.
The video also shows the roof of the Kaseya Center, which has a big "Welcome to Vice City" sign with the game's Roman numeral "VI" logo next to it.
That night, the team will use a special "Vice City" court, and, as is the case for any good promotional endeavor, there's plenty of merch to be had.
As far as I can remember, there has never been a sports/video game tie-in like this, at least for a non-sports game.
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This isn't going to just be a video game release. It's going to transcend a whole bunch of different pop-cultural avenues, and here's one of them.
Good luck escaping the "Grand Theft Auto VI" barrage that we're going to face for the next couple of months.
Personally, I'm all about it. Like a lot of folks, I've been waiting for this thing to come out for well over a decade. It's going to be wild to finally dig into it.
Now, if they could just get to work on a sequel to "LA Noire," that would be greatly appreciated.
'Piano Man' Billy Joel's prized motorcycle collection hits the auction block
Billy Joel may be right, or he may be crazy as his prized motorcycle collection hits the auction block in the Big Apple.
More than 70 lots from the Piano Man's personal collection will be offered without reserve during Gooding Christie's inaugural auction at Retromobile New York next month.
Joel, 77, "is a genuine enthusiast who loves all sorts of motorcycles," Gooding Christie's founder, David Gooding, exclusively told Fox News Digital of the array of two-wheelers going up for sale, which includes "older bikes, bikes with side cars ... a mixture of everything."
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"The exciting thing is all the motorcycles are being sold without reserve," Gooding said, meaning the auction will be sold to the highest bidder regardless of the final price.
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"And, a portion of the proceeds are going to benefit the Joel Foundation, which is a wonderful charity. It's a great charity that supports non-profit music education, public women's health ... there's some great initiatives that it supports."
The collection includes a number of his most cherished motorcycles, including Ducati, BMW, Moto Guzzi, Harley-Davidson, Yamaha, Triumph, Honda, Kawasaki, and more.
"One of the stars of the sale is a 1978 Triumph T140 Bonneville that was gifted to Billy Joel by Madison Square Garden to commemorate 150 sold out shows," Gooding said of the bike, which is expected to retrieve anywhere from $10,000 - $15,000.
"He still holds the record for the most sold out show of anyone ever at Madison Square Garden. And this bike is painted with a keyboard on the tank. It's really, really a special, special item."
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The custom-painted motorcycle was commissioned especially for Joel, and is accompanied by a matching helmet listing every single show and year he played at Madison Square Garden, according to Gooding.
The collection also includes an iconic 1982 Ducati 900 Mike Hailwood Replica, which is estimated between $15,000-$25,000, marketed by Ducati to commemorate the motorcycle that Mike Hailwood rode to his legendary comeback victory at the 1978 Isle of Man.
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A restored 1975 Ducati 750 Sport is estimated at $25,000 - $35,000 without reserve, and is "one of the most beautiful motorcycles ever conceived," according to the auction house.
Motorcycles from the auction – which is slated for Nov. 20-21 – will be on display at the Javits Center in New York.
"The great thing about this collection is it's certainly going to appeal to Billy Joel's fan base, but I also believe there are many people that are going to just be very passionate about motorcycles themselves," Gooding said.
"So we've got this sort of dual pool of interested buyers because the bikes in and of themselves are really important and valuable and exciting, and then you've got the Billy Joel component."
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"I’ve always been drawn to bikes built by people who cared about getting every detail right," Joel said in a statement shared through Gooding Christie's. "I’ve loved building this collection. Now it’s someone else’s turn to hit the road."
The "Uptown Girl" singer underwent brain surgery after revealing his normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) diagnosis in May 2025. NPH affects his vision, hearing and balance, according to a statement Joel released on social media at the time.
During a recent appearance on his self-titled SiriusXM show, "The Billy Joel Channel," the legendary singer said doctors told him that his rock 'n' roll lifestyle caused damage to his brain nerves.
At the time of the announcement, Joel was forced to cancel a number of shows and said his condition had been "exacerbated by recent concert performances, leading to problems with hearing, vision and balance."
NPH is a condition that happens when cerebrospinal fluid builds up inside the skull and presses on the brain. This condition is most likely to occur in people over age 65. Treating this condition involves surgery to implant a shunt to drain excess fluid from the inside of the skull, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
With Tony Romo out at CBS, Troy Aikman and Greg Olsen suddenly become logical replacements
CBS Sports officially announced Friday that Tony Romo will not return to the network. In July, CBS placed Romo on indefinite leave after he was arrested on charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
"CBS Sports and Tony Romo have mutually agreed to part ways," the network said in a statement. "We thank Tony for his contributions over the past nine years and wish him the best moving forward."
As OutKick reported at the time, industry sources did not expect Romo to return. In short, the DWI accelerated a decision CBS had already made: it wanted out of the Tony Romo business.
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CBS will broadcast its next Super Bowl in 2028, the first under David Ellison-backed Skydance ownership. The company had no interest in entering another Super Bowl cycle with Romo as Jim Nantz's lead analyst. Over the past several seasons, Romo's performance became a frequent target of criticism from fans and media alike.
The low point came during Super Bowl LVIII, when Romo botched the call of Patrick Mahomes' game-winning touchdown pass in overtime, a moment many viewed as symbolic of his decline in the booth.
The question now is who replaces Romo long term. With the NFL reportedly acquiring an equity stake in CBS, the network should remain one of the league's most valuable broadcast partners well into the next decade.
For now, CBS says future Hall of Famer J.J. Watt will remain Jim Nantz's color analyst. The network elevated Watt from its No. 2 team to the lead broadcast following Romo's suspension. Reviews of Watt have been mixed, though we generally agree with those who have praised his performance.
BREAKING UP TROY AIKMAN AND JOE BUCK WOULD BE A BIG MISTAKE FOR ESPN | BOBBY BURACK
Still, whether Watt holds the job through next season — and into the Super Bowl — may depend less on his performance than on who becomes available.
The contracts of both ESPN's Troy Aikman and Fox's Greg Olsen expire after the Super Bowl in February, which Aikman will call alongside Joe Buck for ESPN/ABC.
In one of the more puzzling developments of this broadcast cycle, ESPN and Aikman have yet to reach a contract extension even after the network finalized a new deal with Buck.
Aikman is still widely regarded as the NFL's premier game analyst. With deep-pocketed ownership and a Super Bowl on the horizon, CBS could make a serious run at him. Signing Aikman would likely require a contract worth more than $25 million annually.
Olsen would also be an attractive option. At just 41, he already has Super Bowl experience, having called Super Bowl LVII for Fox alongside Kevin Burkhardt before Tom Brady replaced him as the network's lead analyst.
Watt does have one meaningful advantage: a full season of chemistry with Nantz.
The biggest question surrounding Aikman is how quickly he would develop that same rapport with a play-by-play partner other than Buck after more than two decades together. He'd likely adapt without much trouble, but the uncertainty could work in Watt's favor.
Olsen, by contrast, has worked successfully with multiple play-by-play partners throughout his broadcasting career. He has built chemistry quickly with each. ESPN could also emerge as a logical landing spot if it ultimately fails to re-sign Aikman.
If neither Aikman nor Olsen lands with ESPN or CBS, Netflix would become an obvious contender as it continues expanding its NFL portfolio.
Elsewhere, Amazon has reportedly re-signed Kirk Herbstreit to remain its lead NFL color analyst.
Death row inmate unconscious on ventilator after botched execution for teen’s killing: attorneys
A Tennessee death row inmate remained unconscious on a ventilator Friday after surviving the state's failed attempt to execute her this week, and her attorneys accused prison officials of ignoring months of warnings that the lethal injection could go catastrophically wrong.
Christa Pike was scheduled to be executed for the 1995 torture killing of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. She would have become the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years before Wednesday night's execution attempt failed.
Pike's attorneys filed an emergency motion in Davidson County Chancery Court seeking an order requiring the Tennessee Department of Correction to preserve evidence related to what they described as the state's "botched attempted execution."
They argue the records are critical to determining what happened, protecting Pike's legal rights and ensuring accountability.
"Christa remains critically ill and is receiving medical care for the devastating effects of Wednesday night's events," attorneys Stephen Ferrell and Luke Ihnen said in a statement Friday. "As detailed in today's filing, Christa remains hospitalized following Wednesday night's failed execution attempt.
"She is critically ill, unconscious, intubated and receiving breathing assistance through a ventilator," they added. "She is being treated for the serious effects of the pentobarbital administered during the execution attempt, including significant injuries to both arms."
The emergency motion paints a far more detailed picture of what Pike's attorneys say unfolded inside the execution chamber.
Pike’s team contends the execution team struggled to establish IV access, using at least seven needles before administering two lethal doses of pentobarbital.
THREE DEATH ROW INMATES EXECUTED BY LETHAL INJECTION IN RARE SAME-DAY STRING ACROSS US
The filing also alleges Pike suggested where staff should try inserting the IV, one needle was bent at a 90-degree angle when it was removed, and she could be heard crying, whimpering and breathing loudly throughout the procedure.
Pike also allegedly told those carrying out the execution, "My arm feels like it's about to burst open," before later asking, "Does this happen like that?"
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES IT'S READOPTING THE FIRING SQUAD AS A MEANS OF EXECUTION
The motion says Pike arrived at the hospital with both arms "swollen, burned, and blistered." It also says medical experts have compared pentobarbital to "bleach" or "Drano," describing it as a highly caustic substance capable of burning skin, tissue and veins.
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Pike's attorneys contend none of those complications should have come as a surprise.
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Months before the execution, they warned the state that Pike's thrombocytosis, post-traumatic stress disorder, small veins and history of difficult needle insertion made it significantly more likely prison officials would struggle to establish and maintain IV access. They also warned improper delivery of pentobarbital could result in "serious illness, needless suffering, and/or prolonged or lingering death."
"Her concerns were called 'speculation'; they were laughed off, scoffed at, and dismissed," the motion states. "In the words of one media witness: we have a lot of questions and the Department of Correction has a lot of answers that it needs to provide to the public about what happened here. We agree."
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The attorneys further contend the execution team failed to recognize that Pike's IV lines had failed before administering another dose of pentobarbital.
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"Apparently at no point did any member of the execution team realize that the IV lines were not correctly placed or that the veins had blown and that the pentobarbital was, in whole or in part, entering Ms. Pike's body," the motion states.
"Instead of remedying this failure, TDOC elected to prepare a backup set of syringes (if they were not also prepared earlier that day) and then administered another lethal dose of pentobarbital."
The attorneys argue preserving evidence from the execution attempt is now critical as the case moves forward.
"In light of the manifest violation of Ms. Pike's constitutional rights, the actionable nature of that violation, and the reasonable foreseeability of litigation, the Defendants have an affirmative duty to preserve all relevant physical, written, and electronic evidence," the motion states.
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Fox News Digital reached out to the Tennessee Department of Correction and the Tennessee Attorney General's Office for comment.
"The governor has appropriately called for an investigation. We need to know what happened," a spokesperson for the attorney general's office said.
FlyDubai co-pilot accused of cockpit attack was grounded by Oman Air before joining airline: report
The FlyDubai co-pilot accused of stabbing the captain of a passenger jet mid-flight and nearly causing a catastrophic crash was grounded by Oman Air in 2024 after the airline discovered he had been visiting radical Islamic websites, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Authorities believe the co-pilot moved to Dubai later that same year, according to the source, who also told Fox News the co-pilot spent a significant part of his life outside Oman, including with his mother, who is from Syria.
According to the source, FlyDubai did not check with Oman Air about the co-pilot before hiring him.
FLYDUBAI PILOT SHOWED WORLD 'THE HIGHEST FORM OF COURAGE,' INDIA'S PM SAYS
The new details come as The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter, that the Omani national had previously been banned from flying over concerns he had adopted radical ideological views before later being hired by FlyDubai. The newspaper reported it was unclear whether Omani officials shared those concerns with other countries or airlines.
Fox News has not independently verified the reason the co-pilot was grounded by Oman Air.
The alleged attack unfolded Wednesday aboard FlyDubai Flight 1073 as the aircraft traveled from Dubai to Tel Aviv.
According to passengers and officials, the co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain inside the cockpit, sending the aircraft into a steep dive that nearly tore it apart before two reserve pilots aboard the flight regained control and safely diverted the aircraft to Saudi Arabia. Passengers and crew members then helped overpower the suspect, according to accounts of the incident.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday described the incident as terrorism, saying the attacker had undergone "Islamic radicalization."
"He came to crash the passengers on board," Netanyahu said, according to the Wall Street Journal.
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Netanyahu also said Israeli authorities are investigating whether the suspect acted alone or had assistance from others.
The United Arab Emirates is leading the investigation into the incident. A UAE spokesperson declined to comment to the Journal on the suspect's background, saying officials did not want to prejudice the outcome of the investigation or interfere with its course.
The incident has prompted renewed scrutiny of airline pilot vetting procedures and aviation security on flights serving Israel. Aviation security analysts told the Journal the episode represented a significant security failure and raised questions about how warning signs may have gone undetected before the co-pilot entered the cockpit.
FlyDubai has suspended flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv following the attack.
FlyDubai did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Hall of Famer says Chargers lack confidence as dreadful start threatens playoff hopes
For the Los Angeles Chargers, it’s getting late early.
While there are 14 games left in the season, the Chargers are already 0-3, and another loss could torpedo whatever chance they have left of making the playoffs. Pro Football Hall of Famer and Chargers legend Dan Fouts said the offense, which has struggled mightily to begin the season, does not look confident.
"As far as the offense is concerned, there just seems to be a lack of confidence in what they're doing. And you can't run a play without feeling it's gonna be successful. It just looks right now that they're having trouble with their confidence," Fouts told OutKick in a recent interview.
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"They're not able to string together enough positive plays to build momentum, build something that they can hang their hat on."
The Chargers hired former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel as their offensive coordinator, and many around the league thought the coaching change would take the Chargers' offense to new heights. However, through three games, the Chargers rank 29th in the NFL, scoring just 14.7 points per game.
The 75-year-old Fouts said the team needs to start fast and sustain that success.
"It goes back to confidence, and you get that by having successful plays in a row, a couple of first downs, a good drive to start the game, to get in the end zone. All those things that will carry throughout the, throughout the ballgame. They need something good to happen early in this next game against Seattle," Fouts said.
Fouts noted that the Chargers did start fast in their 24-16 loss to the Buffalo Bills last Sunday, but they weren’t able to sustain it, blowing a fourth-quarter lead. The six-time Pro Bowler said the defense has improved significantly and remained competitive despite losing last season’s defensive coordinator, Jesse Minter, to the Baltimore Ravens in the offseason, where he became head coach.
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The two-time first-team All-Pro selection also pointed out the Chargers' brutal upcoming schedule. In the team’s next five games, the Chargers will play the Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams and Houston Texans.
Fouts said there are 14 games left, and the team has the talent to get it done; the Chargers just need to build some momentum.
Fouts was part of the infamous "Monday Night Football" broadcast booth with comedian Dennis Miller and Al Michaels during the 2000 and 2001 seasons.
However, when Fouts signed on to join Michaels for the 2000 season, he had no idea Miller would be the third person in the booth and was surprised by the unconventional move.
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"I think I said, ‘What?’" Fouts told OutKick when talking about "Miller Night Football," an HBO Sports documentary that premiered this week.
"Now, I was a big fan, still am, of Dennis. I loved his Saturday Night Live updates. I thought they were awesome. About his humor, I like the fact that it's not a pie in the face. It's very subtle at times. It's good and snarky at other times, and sarcasm, so I liked the way he handled his craft and was intrigued about the possibilities, and it was kind of fun."
After two seasons of Michaels, Fouts and Miller in the booth, ABC let Fouts and Miller go as the network brought in John Madden. Fouts said he was treated very fairly by the network and still keeps in touch with Michaels and Miller.
The Chargers legend looks back fondly on the two seasons he shared with Michaels and Miller in the booth.
"It was amazing, the attention, the whirlwind, the limos. We didn’t get that very often prior to that as a broadcaster, but the chance to be on Monday night was a great opportunity. I was treated very fairly by ABC, and that’s why I like this documentary so much," Fouts said. "It brings back some very positive memories, and it gives me another chance to appreciate the humor of Dennis Miller."