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Dog accidentally turns on toaster, sparking Maryland house fire that killed 3 family pets
A dog accidentally turned on a toaster inside a home in Maryland, igniting a fire and killing three other pets in the home, according to officials.
Fire crews responded to a house on 4319 Foxglove Court in Belcamp for a single-family dwelling fire shortly after 5:30 p.m. on Friday, according to the Abingdon Fire Company.
The crews were able to control the blaze in about 20 minutes.
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The owners were not home at the time of the fire, and no people were harmed, fire officials said, according to Fox 45.
Neighbors rescued two dogs from the home, but a third dog and two cats died in the fire, the outlet reported.
The family's bearded dragon was later found alive and survived after 24 hours in critical care.
Fire officials said the fire started in the kitchen before spreading to other parts of the home.
It was determined that one of the family's dogs jumped onto the kitchen counter and accidentally turned on the toaster, igniting nearby combustibles. The dog that switched on the toaster was one of the two that were rescued by neighbors.
The fire was recorded on a Ring home security camera, which showed the dog jumping on the counter and pawing at items and assisted deputy state fire marshals in determining the fire's point of origin, Fox 45 reported.
Deputy state fire marshals officially ruled the cause of the fire as accidental, according to the outlet.
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The house sustained extensive damage from fire, soot, smoke and water.
Officials estimated that about $150,000 worth of structural damage and $50,000 worth of damage to the contents of the home were caused by the blaze.
FBI, Atlanta police target unauthorized drones flying near World Cup venues
ATLANTA — The FBI and Atlanta Police Department are getting ready for a massive security operation ahead of the World Cup semifinals between England and Argentina at Atlanta Stadium.
Both agencies have used drones to search for potential threats on the ground and in the sky. The FBI is enforcing the Federal Aviation Administration's Temporary Flight Restrictions around the venue.
The FBI has confiscated more than 600 drones nationwide since the World Cup began. Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Atlanta Field Office Marlo Graham said 86 of those drones were seized in Atlanta.
Graham said the FBI uses a "mechanism" that allows agents to see unauthorized drones in restricted airspace. Agents then work to mitigate the threat posed by unknown drones.
"We've been able to safely land drones that have been unauthorized in the flight restricted area," Graham said.
While the FBI treats every drone as a potential threat, Graham said the threat level can increase depending on the size of the drone and how close it gets to the stadium.
"Obviously, the closer to the venue, the larger the crowd. We are fortunate here in Atlanta that we have a closed dome stadium," Graham said. "We don't want the game to be impacted because a hobbyist couldn't control their drone, and it lands right when one of our star players was getting ready to score a goal."
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The Atlanta Police Department's Drone Unit has helped the FBI track down people suspected of flying in restricted zones.
Sgt. Kindu Franklin said most of the people caught flying drones around World Cup venues are hobbyists with no intent to harm the crowd of soccer fans below.
"In some cases, they just recently bought a drone just for FIFA to get some of the cool footage that they want to put up on their social media," Franklin said. "There are different ways that you can weaponize these drones. So, we're operating in a proactive manner."
The Atlanta Police Department's drone mission is focused on surveillance. Officers are looking for potential threats, traffic issues and people the FBI suspects are flying drones illegally.
"So, what we want to do is give our command staff a view that they can't get from the ground," Sgt. James Cunningham with APD's Drone Unit said.
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Cunningham's unit can launch drones remotely from handheld controllers. Other drones are launched from docking stations strategically placed across the city, and officers control them from the back of an SUV using a computer and a PlayStation controller.
The drone docks are used year-round to help the police get an aerial view of emergency situations before officers arrive. The computer shows the drone pilot where all the police body cameras and vehicles are in the area, allowing them to communicate better with officers on the ground.
For the World Cup, the drone docks let the department have more eyes in the sky and respond to emergencies faster.
"It's going to cut down time. We're going to get there quick. And then you're going to get an aerial perspective of what you can't see on the ground," Cunningham said.
Cunningham said the drone unit has completed more than 1,400 flights and logged more than 550 flight hours since the beginning of June.
"Some people haven't even done that in years or haven't even reached those numbers in the life of their drone unit," Cunningham said.
"We train for the environment. We live here, so we know what to expect," Anais Paredes, an APD drone pilot, said.
The FBI is asking that hobbyist drone pilots know the Temporary Flight Restrictions in their area before taking off.
There is a one-mile restriction around World Cup stadiums on non-match days, and a three-mile restriction on game day.
Cardinals' Jordan Walker stuns Philadelphia crowd with Home Run Derby walk-off over Phillies' Kyle Schwarber
St. Louis Cardinals budding star Jordan Walker broke the hearts of the Philadelphia Phillies faithful on Monday night, defeating Kyle Schwarber on a walk-off blast to win the 2026 Home Run Derby.
Walker hit 12 home runs in his final round, edging out Schwarber’s 11 in a new format from MLB. With his parents watching, Walker’s final home run hit the left field seats and he celebrated in the only way you do when you win the Home Run Derby to be crowned the league’s best slugger during All-Star weekend.
Once again, MLB introduced a new format to the Home Run Derby, this time giving all eight contestants 20 swings to hit as many home runs as possible. The one caveat: if your final swing results in a home run, you continue swinging until it doesn’t leave the yard.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
In this format, players didn’t have to battle a clock or focus on how far they hit balls to enter a bonus round. They could lock in and take their time if need be.
Boston Red Sox star Willson Contreras, who has been paramount in the team’s turnaround this season prior to hitting the All-Star break, set the tone with 13 homers in his 20 swings. But Walker matched him, as they both were the bar to reach to make it to the semifinals.
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Kansas City Royals’ Jac Caglianone hit the third deck in right field, but his eight homers weren’t enough to propel him to the next round. And Chicago White Sox new fan favorite Munetaka Murakami hit nine to at least give himself a chance.
But Tampa Bay Rays’ Junior Caminero belted 12 home runs following New York Yankees’ Ben Rice seven-homer showing. With three hitters in double digits, the hometown favorites, Schwarber and Bryce Harper, knew they could punch their own tickets to the next round.
Schwarber was first, hitting 10 home runs, which put some pressure on Harper. His Phillies teammate could either hit more than 10 to move on, or fall out himself.
Harper was only able to crush eight homers, leaving Schwarber as the final semifinalist. But he didn’t disappoint.
In the semifinals, 15 swings was now the cutoff, and Schwarber started to find his groove. The left-handed slugger was mashing balls into the stratosphere, bashing nine to set the tone against Contreras. The Red Sox star came close with eight homers, but it wasn’t enough as the Phillies star entered the finals to the delight of the Citizens Bank Park crowd.
In the other matchup, Walker continued his run, edging out Caminero 6-5 to put him in contention for the Home Run Derby trophy.
But once again, Schwarber, using the cheers from his crowd in Philly, was unstoppable. He bashed 11 of his 15 swings over the fence, putting immense pressure on Walker, who took swings second.
Walker was up to the challenge when it was his time to hit, hitting four homers to start things off. But with only seven left, Walker knew he needed to be perfect to reach Schwarber.
With just one swing left and seven homers, Walker had to make a run. The suspense was killer for all watching, as Walker managed to get to 10 home runs.
As he took a couple pitches, Walker found every stitch of the blast that tied him with Schwarber, as the Phillies-heavy crowd murmured. Then, Walker, patient again, hit a moonshot to left field to ice his victory.
Walker is tied 10th in MLB this season with 22 home runs, while hitting .294 for the Cardinals with 74 RBI.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
WWE's Paul Heyman takes swipe at Conor McGregor injury on 'Monday Night Raw'
WWE legend Paul Heyman took a parting shot at UFC star Conor McGregor during a segment on "Monday Night Raw" as he welcomed The Vision back to the locker room.
Austin Theory, Maxxine Dupri, Bron Breakker and Logan Paul walked to the back glowing as the group embarrassed Otis and Akira Tozawa in the ring a few moments before. Heyman, who appears to be on the outs with the group, praised them for what they did.
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In Heyman’s speech, he praised Paul’s recovery time.
"Now that’s what I call a vision for the future," Heyman told the group. "Happy? Ecstatic. I’m more than proud, especially, of all of you. Bron Breakker showed everyone tonight you don’t mess around with Bron Breakker. Logan Paul is healing faster than Conor McGregor.
"You (Theory) stand by your woman, which makes me very proud of you young man. And Maxxine, wow."
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Paul has been recovering from a tricep injury he suffered earlier this year.
McGregor suffered a leg injury on Saturday night at UFC 329 when he tried to hit his opponent, Max Holloway, with a roundhouse kick. The fight was called in the first round. It was McGregor’s first fight in the Octagon in five years.
"My head gasket is gone. Destroyed," McGregor wrote on X after the fight. "I had no injury / injuries going into the fight. I was throwing kicks, planted and jumping, all throughout camp as well as backstage before the fight. This came out of nowhere. I am beyond dark here. I can only describe it as hell."
He added, "I was so sharp and so ready for this fight I cannot believe what has happened. The talk of me being off while walking in to the fight is nonsense. I was calm, ready, and confident. I am in shock what has taken place. The devil is literally staring at me right in front of my face here. I am not engaging. I will be at church tomorrow. I will overcome this. I will not be deterred. I will return."
Hegseth announces joint task force with DOJ to prosecute leaks to journalists 'with the full force of the law'
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth on Monday announced the creation of a joint task force with the Department of Justice to identify and prosecute officials who leak "sensitive information" to the media.
Hegseth said the Pentagon's Office of General Counsel (OGC) may request and receive all information, support and records across the department regarding news media leak investigations.
"To combat the dangers that leaks pose, effectively immediately, I have delegated tasking authority to the war department’s office of general counsel, empowering OGC to request and receive all information, records and support across the department concerning media leak investigations," he said in a video shared on X.
"Leaked information risks lives, these new tools and processes will greatly assist us in protecting our joint force," Hegseth continued. "The security of our nation cannot be a bargaining chip for those who seek momentary headlines, access to confidential and secret information is a sacred trust, and those who betray that trust will be met with the full force of the law."
The secretary also thanked Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche for his support, adding that he was "proud that our departments are working together closer than we have ever before."
Hegseth's announcement comes just days after the DOJ issued subpoenas to four reporters at The New York Times, attempting to force them to testify before a federal grand jury after the newspaper reported on the security concerns involving the plane gifted to President Donald Trump by Qatar that he flew on to Turkey for a recent NATO summit.
The subpoenas were widely criticized by The New York Times, journalists at various news outlets and press freedom groups, arguing that the Trump administration is attempting to intimidate reporters conducting legitimate news-gathering about the government.
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"The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects," an attorney for the newspaper, David McCraw, said in a statement.
"Our journalists report the facts and advance the American public’s right to know how their government is operating and their taxpayer dollars are being used," McCraw added. "This brazen act should be seen as nothing more than an attempt to prevent the public from knowing what is happening in their country by intimidating journalists from doing their jobs."
Since taking over as head of the Pentagon last year, Hegseth has sought to crack down on leaks to the media.
Last year, the department opened investigations into those accused of leaking classified information to the press and threatened to conduct polygraphs to identify leakers.
Hegseth has also attempted to impose restrictions on reporters covering the Pentagon. He had forced them to sign a pledge stating that they would not solicit any unauthorized material, even if the information was unclassified. Most Pentagon reporters turned in their press badges rather than accept the department's restrictions on news-gathering.
That policy is facing lawsuits, and a judge last month granted a preliminary injunction, ruling that the department's requirement that journalists be accompanied by an official chaperone at all times violated the First Amendment in response to a case brought by The New York Times.
CNBC survey mocked after ranking all red states as top 10 'worst places to live'
CNBC faced a wave of online mockery Monday after releasing its annual quality-of-life rankings, which exclusively placed conservative red states in all 10 spots of the "worst places to live" — even as official U.S. Census data shows some of those states are leading the nation in population growth.
Critics quickly took to social media to call out the outlet for what they alleged as blatant liberal bias embedded in its ranking criteria.
Counting down from the tenth-worst place to the first, CNBC ranked the bottom ten states as Arkansas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Missouri, Utah, Georgia, Louisiana, Indiana, Texas, and Tennessee. All 10 states are Republican-led and voted for President Donald Trump in 2024.
"CNBC is placing increasing emphasis on Quality of Life, one of the 10 categories of competitiveness in our annual America’s Top States for Business study," CNBC's report states. "It is our annual ranking of every state’s business climate, now in its 20th year. Under this year’s methodology, the category makes up 11.6% of a state’s overall score, up from about ten percent last year. To score the states for quality of life, we use hard data on factors like crime rates, air quality and healthcare. We also consider the cost and availability of childcare, inclusiveness of state laws, and reproductive rights."
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The list is a subset of CNBC’s annual "America’s Top States for Business" study. To determine its "Life, Health and Inclusion" category, the outlet utilizes criteria such as crime rates, air quality, healthcare, and childcare availability. The metric also factors heavily in ideological policies, explicitly penalizing states for lack of protections against discrimination and restrictive abortion laws.
"Some states offer exemplary quality of life. But these ten states do not make the grade," the CNBC report stated.
"CNBC just dropped their 2026 ‘10 Worst States to Live In’ list … and it’s pure comedy," conservative commentator Reverend Jordan Wells wrote on X. "Shocking. All deep red, conservative states. But somehow California and New York — with the highest taxes in the country, insane cost of living, and endless progressive policies — didn’t crack the top 10?"
"This is correct. Please believe this. Tennessee is HORRIBLE. You definitely shouldn’t move here…," conservative Newsmax contributor Chrissy Clark wrote with sarcasm.
The corporate media outlet took direct shots at local conservative legislation across the board.
Tennessee was dinged for the state's "bathroom law" — which requires transgender individuals to use facilities corresponding with their biological sex at birth — as well as a law barring localities from passing their own local antidiscrimination ordinances. The outlet also took aim at a joint resolution signed by Gov. Bill Lee this past April designating June as "Nuclear Family Month," while also noting it had low rankings for crime and drug deaths.
Utah, ranked sixth-worst, was hit for its $7.25 minimum wage, low availability of childcare providers and air quality. Georgia, the fifth-worst in the survey, was explicitly called out for offering "few protections for LGBTQ+ people, making it one of America's least inclusive states."
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Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom immediately seized on the study, taking to X to point out that every single state on the list leaned red.
"Notice something in common?" Newsom posted. "All led by Republicans — many suffering from California Derangement Syndrome."
However, conservatives and independent commentators noted that everyday Americans are "voting with their feet" against progressive governance.
"If you hate not paying income taxes, law and order, parental rights, smaller government, school choice, the Second Amendment, and criminal illegal aliens being arrested ... Here's another garbage list from the mainstream media!" Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, posted.
"Actually I noticed something else: The list is a bulls••t list that has nothing to do with quality of life for sane people," countered conservative activist Robby Starbuck, a Tennessee resident. Starbuck, known for successfully leading major corporate boycotts against over-the-top DEI policies, added, "It’s all predicated on far left BS... Our states all gained population while YOUR state lost a record amount."
Media personality Patrick Bet-David cited the net migration gains of the states CNBC criticized, noting that Texas added over 67,000 residents and Tennessee added over 42,000. Georgia and Alabama also saw population influxes.
"'10 worst states' based on what? CNBC had ‘inclusivity’ as one of its criteria," Bet-David noted. "The numbers tell a different story."
The demographic shift highlights a broader post-pandemic exodus from historically blue strongholds. While regions across the South and Sun Belt experience economic and population booms, major progressive cities like Boston, Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles continue to bleed residents due to high taxes, rising crime, and astronomical costs of living.
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U.S. Census Bureau data reveals that Los Angeles County alone has watched its population shrink from roughly 10 million in 2020 down to about 9.7 million today, losing over 56,000 residents in just a single one-year stretch. Similarly, a recent study by the Citizens Budget Commission confirmed that New York City continues to suffer net negative migration, losing far more domestic residents than it gains.
Fox News Digital reached out to CNBC for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Singer Dave Matthews pauses concert to condemn ICE 'a--holes' for Houston death
Dave Matthews, lead singer of the Dave Matthews Band, condemned Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as "a--holes" during a Friday concert.
"I don’t know why we let people make excuses for why we should kill each other, you know?" Matthews said. "There’s always reasons that we should kill each other. They tell our children and use their words when they — when they grow up. I wonder what’s wrong with us. I don’t know why we lost our way. So it feels — but maybe we’ve always been like this, we just got better at making things that can kill each other," he said in a viral video clip of the concert.
"Anyway, I wanted to say his name. I wrote it down so I didn’t forget it, this young man who was — well, old man, but we’re all young — this father and grandfather who was murdered by ICE in Houston, Texas. And then they say he’s not even the guy — he’s not even the guy they were looking for. Well, then don’t pull the trigger, you a--holes."
"So I just wanted to say, I’m sorry if that language offends his family or his friends or his community, but it’s just making me mad anyway, so I want to send this to the memory of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was killed a few days ago in Houston by ICE," he added.
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Illegal immigrant Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican citizen, was shot and killed in Houston after he allegedly tried to ram U.S. ICE officers during an operation, the agency said Tuesday. ICE officers were attempting to conduct a traffic stop at around 6:50 a.m., an ICE spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
Araujo tried evading the ICE officers when he "weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer, resulting in our officer firing his weapon in self-defense."
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Matthews has condemned ICE agents before. After the killing of activist Renee Good in Minneapolis amid an altercation with ICE agents in February, he spoke out in a video on his Instagram.
"I don’t want my taxes to pay for ICE, to masked thugs to roam our streets and terrorize our communities and rip families apart. We should be taking care of each other. We should be minding each other. We should be housing the homeless. We shouldn’t be, you know, throwing people to the ground," he said.
"Which brings me to Renee Nicole Good," he continued. "Murdered in front of her fellow citizens in Minneapolis, murdered in the streets, and no matter what narrative this administration is trying to sell us, we can see the videos."
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Fox News Digital contacted ICE for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
Fox News Digital's Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
Mamdani offers few answers as massive homeless encampment sprouts in west Manhattan
Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Monday offered few specifics about a sprawling homeless encampment that has grown near the Intrepid Museum despite repeated complaints from New York City residents.
The encampment stretches roughly 12 blocks along Manhattan's West Side, from 34th Street to 46th Street on 11th Avenue, according to the New York Post. The area is reportedly lined with tents, furniture, used needles and suspected stolen goods, while residents have also complained of open drug use and prostitution.
Asked about the encampment, which sits near a major tourist destination as the city welcomes visitors for the FIFA World Cup, Mamdani said the city was "going to look into the details of that."
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He said that under city rules, homeless encampments can be cleared only after the city's Department of Homeless Services (DHS) conducts daily outreach for seven days following an initial notice.
"The goal of that outreach is to ensure that we're building trust that we're actually able to connect those New Yorkers with services and that we can connect them with any other things that they need, whether it be medical care or whether it be housing support. And then by the 7th day, following the notice, the encampment will be cleared," Mamdani said.
"We are focused on connecting New Yorkers to shelters and on establishing a pipeline to stable housing, not just moving New Yorkers from one place to another place," he added.
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According to The Post, the encampment has been growing for weeks, with nearby workers saying the population has steadily increased.
"These people have been here forever," one employee at the Intrepid Museum told the outlet.
A maintenance supervisor at the nearby Jacob K. Javits Convention Center told the outlet that despite repeated efforts to clear sections of the encampment, the camp continues to spread.
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"This is crazy," the worker said. "The cops and the sanitation guys and the outreach guys, they clean up one spot and after that day, the next day they’re over here. Then they’re over there. They’re kind of just spreading around."
"We kicked them out, now they’re over here," the worker added. "One thing is for sure though, there are more today than there were last month, that’s for sure."
City records show there were 48 complaints related to homelessness along the affected stretch of the West Side through the city's 311 system this year, including 30 filed last month alone, the Post reported.
Caitlin Clark helps WNBA hit historic late-night cable number despite limited return in LA
The WNBA has another Caitlin Clark television number to celebrate.
And this one might be even more impressive than some of the bigger ones.
Clark and the Indiana Fever helped deliver an average audience of 1.04 million viewers for Wednesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Sparks, according to USA Sports PR.
The Fever lost, 106-92, and Clark played just 16 minutes in her return from a back injury that had kept her out for the previous two weeks. But that feels secondary to the bigger story here.
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One million viewers is a monster number for the WNBA under almost any circumstance.
But these weren't exactly favorable circumstances.
The game aired across USA Network and CNBC. Clark has drawn much bigger numbers on broadcast television, but this was cable-only.
Additionally, this was not a weekend showcase game. It didn't even air in a friendly weeknight window. The game, played in Los Angeles, started on a Wednesday night at 10 p.m. ET.
And it still averaged more than one million viewers.
According to USA Sports PR, citing Nielsen Big Data + Panel data, Fever-Sparks was the network’s most-watched WNBA game on record, up 149% compared to the 2025 cable average. The network also said it marked the first time in WNBA history that a game with a 10 p.m. ET start averaged at least one million viewers.
That’s a pretty big deal.
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Indiana’s opening-weekend game against the Dallas Wings averaged 2.49 million viewers on ABC, making it the league’s fourth-largest audience, including playoffs and All-Star Games, since 2000. Clark and the Fever later averaged 2.56 million viewers for a CBS game against the New York Liberty, the third-largest WNBA audience of any kind since 2000.
Those were massive numbers, obviously, and they speak to Clark's immense popularity.
While the Fever-Sparks number says something different, it shouldn't be considered any less important. In a way, it's more impressive than those previous highs.
This data shows that Clark can drag the WNBA to a seven-figure TV audience even in a brutal East Coast television window, on cable, in the middle of the week.
Before Clark arrived, the WNBA went nearly 16 years without a single game averaging a million viewers. The previous seven-figure game came in 2008, when Candace Parker’s professional debut averaged 1.07 million viewers on ABC.
That was the old ceiling, and it took a highly-anticipated rookie debut airing at 3:30 p.m. ET on a Saturday afternoon on a major broadcast network.
Now, when Clark is involved, one million viewers on cable at 10 p.m. ET is apparently in play.
The game itself wasn't even great for Clark or the Fever. The star guard returned from a back injury aggravated during the June 24 game against the Phoenix Mercury and scored just nine points in 16 minutes. Indiana trailed the entire second half and never got closer than a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
The WNBA and its media supporters continue trying to sell the league’s boom as a broader women’s basketball story. There's some truth to that. The league is clearly in a better position now than it was a few years ago. The product has more visibility than ever.
But the biggest television numbers continue to point to Clark.
Sports Media Watch noted that the five most-watched WNBA games this season have all featured Indiana.
There is an interesting wrinkle there, too. The Fever have started to draw strong numbers even when Clark is not playing.
Indiana’s July 5 game against the Las Vegas Aces, without Clark, averaged 1.55 million viewers on ESPN’s "Women’s Sports Sundays," making it the biggest cable or streaming WNBA audience of the season at the time.
But that isn't the anti-Clark argument some people seem to think it is.
It’s actually the opposite.
Clark has turned the Fever into the WNBA’s most important television brand. The team now carries national interest in a way it never did before she arrived. If anything, it's more of a pro-Clark argument. She generated so much interest in the Fever that people are willing to watch even when she's not playing.
Fever games without Clark are drawing bigger numbers than non-Fever games, too. So this isn't simply a case of the entire WNBA drawing bigger audiences.
The 1.55 million viewers on July 5 was more viewers than the previous two "Women’s Sports Sundays" on ESPN drew combined. Neither of those games, Liberty-Valkyries (743,000 viewers) and Liberty-Sparks (778,000), included the Fever.
The WNBA is growing. Even drawing over 700,000 viewers for non-Fever games is a massive increase over the pre-Clark era.
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But every time the league gets another historic TV rating, there's a common denominator.
Her name is Caitlin Clark.
Ivy League professor rips university for lackluster response to alleged mass AI cheating
Brown University economics professor Roberto Serrano criticized his school on Sunday for its slow response to a massive artificial intelligence (AI) cheating scandal among his students earlier this year.
In an op-ed for The Free Press, Serrano recounted that he announced that after a deadly shooting took place on campus in December, he opted to move his in-class midterm and final exam to an online, take-home format for the upcoming semester. As a result, he saw his course enrollment jump to 86 students, beating the course's previous record of 30 students enrolled at one time.
Serrano reported that the average grade of the online midterm was 96, significantly higher than the previous years' average of between 65 and 80. He also found that 40 students achieved a perfect score and detected answers that resembled responses provided by ChatGPT.
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As a result, he announced that the final exam would return to an in-person format and that the midterm scores would be declared void if they did not resemble the average final scores. After this decision, Serrano found that only 59 students took the final exam, leading to an average grade of 48.6 with a maximum score of 95 and minimum of zero.
Of the 27 students who dropped the course and the final exam, Serrano noted, 22 had received a perfect score on the midterm exam.
Despite providing his findings to Brown University's Committee on the Academic Code and the campus paper, The Brown Daily Herald, which previously reported on campus-wide cheating in April, Serrano wrote that he did not receive any acknowledgment from the school regarding his evidence until the story went viral last month.
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"Academia is supposed to be one of our great beacons of truth," Serrano wrote. "We cannot afford to tolerate or reinforce such appallingly low moral values among many of our best young minds. What happened in my class should be a lesson to all: In our new AI era, if you do not expose and punish cheating, you will encourage it. We must all have the strength to choose otherwise."
In a comment to Fox News Digital, Brown University maintained that it has been "consistently responsive" to Serrano's concerns regarding AI cheating.
"Multiple academic leaders from Brown were in touch in May 2026 with the professor to provide details about how the allegations raised could be formally adjudicated. On July 8, the professor provided the necessary details to the Standing Committee on the Academic Code to pursue this path toward resolution. With the required information now in hand, the committee is now moving forward according to its procedures," the statement read.
AI-DRIVEN SCHOOL EXPANDING TO MAJOR US CITIES DESPITE UNION PUSHBACK
Serrano originally shared his story and evidence with El Pais on June 28. Three days after the story was published, he said he received contact from the Brown University committee on his claims, asking for more evidence. Serrano wrote that after his story was shared by Inside Higher Ed last week, the school committed to investigating his claims and the students involved.
"I am very grateful that they finally took this step. But there is no doubt in my mind that nothing would have happened if I had not decided to go public. Brown, like other schools, is struggling with how to integrate AI so that it advances rather than compromises the university’s mission," Serrano wrote.
When reached for a comment by Fox News Digital, Serrano referred to his op-ed.
In his piece, Serrano addressed concerns of students using AI to cheat in classes, dismissing suggestions that they were using it to relieve pressure.
"A competitive environment has existed in society since the dawn of civilization," Serrano wrote. "There is no plausible reason to use it as a cheap excuse for cheating. Moreover, my midterm exam gave students virtually unlimited time. They were not using AI as a last resort to handle immense pressure; they were engaging in a deliberate act of cheating — in some cases, to take their grade all the way to 100 percent."
He added, "Of course, we cannot be so naive as to think that people are never going to cheat when given the opportunity. Particularly these days, AI has dramatically reduced the difficulty of cheating, making it much easier to succumb to the temptation to do so. The only solution, then, is to impose the right incentives to influence behavior in a better direction."