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American F1 team makes shocking midseason change in bid to right the ship amid difficult season
It's the Formula 1 summer break, which typically means news reduces to a trickle, but we've got a stunner coming out of the Cadillac camp.
F1's newest team has not had the easiest of seasons and is currently dead last in the standings.
Now, they've announced that they are parting ways with team boss Graeme Lowden and bringing in F1 vet and former Alpine executive director Marcin Budkowski.
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"Marcin's appointment marks another important step in the continued evolution of the Cadillac Formula 1 Team," Cadillac Formula 1 Team CEO Dan Towriss said in a statement. "From the beginning, our goal has not been simply to participate in Formula 1, but to build a next-generation team capable of competing at the very front."
No reason was given for Lowdon's departure or whether it was his decision or the Indianapolis and Silverstone-based team's.
Nonetheless, Towriss had kind words for the man tasked with building the upstart team.
"We’re grateful to Graeme Lowdon for his leadership and the role he played in forming the Cadillac Formula 1 Team from the ground up," he said. "His contributions helped establish a strong foundation in our build-up phase, and we thank him for his commitment and wish him well."
Wow... I didn't see this one coming.
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Sure, Cadillac is struggling hard. That was always to be expected, but it looks at this time that these aren't just growing pains but full-on issues.
While outright pace has been an issue, reliability is an issue too. Sergio Perez has had four DNFs through eleven Grand Prix this season, while Valtteri Bottas has had four. That includes two races, the Austrian Grand Prix and the most recent Hungarian Grand Prix, in which both cars failed to finish the race.
This change is what the team needs, as a P10 finish in the Constructors' standings is still very much within reach.
While the also-struggling Aston Martin managed to take a point in Monaco to take a 1-0 lead over Cadillac, gaining two points from a strong weekend or simply by staying on track in a race of attrition is not outlandish.
The only problem is that Aston Martin is looking better thanks to recent upgrades introduced before the summer break.
So, we'll have to see if a different Cadillac hits the track when F1 returns for the Dutch Grand Prix (the last one for the time being) on August 23.
Tim Scott goes scorched earth on El-Sayed: 'He's for Hamas, but he's against America'
FIRST ON FOX: The Senate GOP’s elections chief said Michigan voters have a clear-cut choice: pick a Trump-backed Republican or support an insurgent progressive who is "for Hamas."
"By going with [Dr. Abdul] El-Sayed, you're talking about socialism, Marxism, communism, and someone who seems to just not like America," Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital. "The only thing he's not against, Hamas. He's for Hamas, but he's against America."
Scott, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), and Republicans are ramping up their rhetoric against El-Sayed, who eked out a win to secure the Democratic nomination for Senate in Michigan last week against the more moderate Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich.
PEGGY FLANAGAN WAS MINNESOTA'S NO 2 OFFICIAL AS MASSIVE FRAUD SCANDAL EXPLODED UNDER STATE'S WATCH
They're pouncing on unearthed hot takes he's made in the past and his proximity to Twitch streamer Hasan Piker in their quest to paint El-Sayed as a far-left candidate with extremist ties.
Republicans believe that they have a real shot at flipping Michigan’s open seat after Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., opted to retire. Scott and company view former Rep. Mike Rogers, who was the GOP nominee in 2024, as the man to secure the seat.
"I always believe that the wind's at my back, and I always believed that momentum's on our side," Scott said. "And there's no doubt about it when you look at the underlying conditions that you'd much, much, much rather be Mike Rogers than El-Sayed."
REPUBLICANS GET THE DEMOCRAT THEY WANTED AS SOCIALIST ABDUL EL-SAYED WINS MICHIGAN SENATE PRIMARY
For starters, Rogers has President Donald Trump’s backing in a state that he won by just over 1 point in 2024, a roughly 4-point swing from 2020, when former President Joe Biden nabbed the state.
Rogers also hasn’t had to deal with a messy primary like his previous run against Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., who eked out a victory over the former House Intelligence Committee chair by just over 20,000 votes.
"Two years ago, it was a slog for Mike Rogers. He had a very expensive primary in August, and then essentially a 60-day sprint to the finish line," Scott said. "This time he has more cash than ever, a better ground game than ever."
"He is a strong, powerful, positive candidate. He is well known in Michigan. And so what we're going to see as we head towards the finish line is Michiganders will make the right decision for their future, for America's future, and it will be Mike Rogers," he continued. "I will say on the other side, it is not going to the past, it's going to a different, an alternate universe."
WATCH: SCHUMER'S ANTI-CORRUPTION SPEECH DERAILED AFTER HECKLER BRANDS HIM 'GENOCIDAL MANIAC'
El-Sayed, meanwhile, has dealt with the inverse.
He’s just over a week out from a bitter primary fight against Stevens and Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who eventually dropped out roughly a month before the primary election.
He emerged victorious despite being vastly outspent in one of the most expensive primaries ever, and after running a campaign that pushed further left than the Democratic establishment and against Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Shortly after his victory, Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., who leads Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, went about stitching together the wounds from the primary bloodbath.
"Democrats are united by a common purpose: putting a check on Donald Trump by defeating his Republican enablers and taking back the Senate," they said in a joint statement. "We look forward to working with Abdul and Democrats across Michigan to win this seat in November."
Though Schumer and the Democratic establishment didn’t back El-Sayed, Scott contended that his rise was emblematic of the Democratic Party’s lurch to the left, particularly as moderate Democrats have been felled by progressive challengers throughout this midterm election cycle across the country.
"There's no doubt Abdul El-Sayed represents the worst part of the Democrat Party, which is becoming, unfortunately, the most consistent voice coming out of the Democratic Party," Scott said.
El-Sayed's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bystander shot dead after intervening in man, woman's roadside fight; murder suspect was out on bond
A Florida man was shot dead after intervening in a roadside fight between a man and woman following a car crash — allegedly at the hands of a suspect who was already out on bond in a separate aggravated assault case involving a deadly weapon.
Raul Lionel Vazquez, 26, has been charged with the second-degree murder of 56-year-old Daryl Alexander Hill, the Orange County Sheriff's Office said on social media.
At 8:27 a.m. on Tuesday, sheriff's deputies responded to an intersection in Apopka, a town northwest of Orlando, and found Hill lying face down with a gunshot wound, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by Fox News Digital.
Hill, who leaves behind a wife and a 10-year-old daughter, was rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead at 9:20 a.m., the affidavit said.
VIDEO SHOWS MOMENTS BEFORE ARMY VETERAN WAS FATALLY SHOT IN WALMART PARKING LOT DISPUTE
Hill was described as someone with a "a contagious personality, an incredible sense of humor, and a way of bringing laughter and joy to the people around him," according to a GoFundMe set up by a friend of Hill's wife, Suzy Hill.
Before Hill was shot, Vazquez and a woman, Kaidy Honaker, were seen by multiple witnesses fighting inside their white Chevy Silverado pickup truck when it crashed into a black Lexus, according to the affidavit. The two continued their heated altercation on the sidewalk.
Vazquez, who was seen shirtless and wearing no shoes, got in Honaker's face and appeared to be yelling and pointing at her, the affidavit said.
Two witnesses said they saw Hill riding a bicycle nearby and told authorities that he got involved in the argument, which led to Vazquez and Hill tackling each other into the bushes, per the affidavit.
BOY, 12, KILLED AFTER SUSPECT OPENED FIRE DURING BRAWL NEAR THEATER DISTRICT, POLICE SAY
According to the affidavit, Honaker joined the fight as well, later saying she did so to pull Hill off Vazquez.
After the fight in the bushes, Hill began running away from Vazquez and Honaker, yelling "help" with his hands in the air, the affidavit said.
Vazquez retrieved what was later determined to be a shotgun from his pickup truck and fired one round, hitting Hill and causing him to fall to the ground, according to the affidavit.
In an interview with investigators, Vazquez offered "many different accounts" of what happened but said that Hill "was fighting him and getting the better of him," according to the affidavit.
Vazquez did not have an attorney on record. Fox News Digital reached out to the public defender's office for the Ninth Judicial Circuit, which serves Orange and Osceola Counties.
At the time of the shooting, Vazquez was out on bond for an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The Apopka Police Department investigated that case, which involved Vazquez and an accomplice allegedly threatening someone with a gun on Nov. 13, 2025, according to court records obtained by Fox News Digital.
In February, Vazquez pleaded not guilty to the charges and was granted a surety bond of $5,000.
The Apopka Police Department declined to comment on Vazquez being granted bond, stating that is a decision made by the state attorney. The State Attorney's Office for the Ninth Judicial Circuit did not immediately return a request for comment.
Vazquez was also arrested in March 2025 for a domestic violence incident that allegedly involved strangling someone, per court records. He pleaded not guilty and his bond was later discharged.
Trump's Air Force One shell game: How years of decoy tactics led to a catering-truck switch
President Donald Trump's cloak-and-dagger departure from Ankara, Turkey, last month — secretly slipping off the plane he was seen boarding — was an extraordinary security maneuver, but the playbook for disguising his movements aboard Air Force One dates back years.
Trump himself has long talked about the brilliance of the bait-and-switching during his first term.
Trump's Dec. 26, 2018, surprise Christmas trip to U.S. troops in Iraq featured a darkened Air Force One, closed window shades and an unusual military call sign intended to obscure the presidential jet's movement. That operation was ultimately pierced by a British plane spotter, however, prompting the White House to go considerably further the following year by leaving one presidential 747 parked conspicuously in Florida while Trump secretly flew another to Afghanistan.
The history gives fresh context to reports this week detailing an even more elaborate deception July 8, when Trump left a NATO summit in Ankara amid what U.S. officials described as a credible Iranian threat against the president or his aircraft.
TRUMP USED CATERING TRUCK, AIR FORCE ONE DECOY TO EVADE IRAN THREAT: REPORT
Trump publicly boarded the legacy blue-and-white Air Force One before secretly exiting through another door into an airport catering truck and transferring to an Air Force C-32A, a modified Boeing 757, according to reports.
The larger presidential jet then departed with journalists and some White House staff aboard, with the assumption that Trump was traveling with them.
"Well, it's only up to the Secret Service; I just follow what they'd like to do," Trump told reporters Tuesday night after traveling to Geneva, Ohio, for the Freedom 250 Patriot Games. "So I go by the Secret Service and the military.
"They wanted me to go on a different flight, a different plane, equal safety – but they wanted me to do it, so I do it. I do what they say."
While the call sign Air Force One (AF1) changes to wherever the president is purportedly traveling, the decoy operations are a shell game to keep U.S. enemies in the dark.
The July 8 legacy 747 used the "AF1" call sign in flight despite Trump actually traveling aboard the C-32A under the comparatively nondescript "RCH18" designation, according to reported flight-tracking data.
Reporters were instructed to keep their window shades closed – a detail that harkens back to Trump's regaling campaign rally crowds about the Christmas night 2018 Iraq trip and another November 2019 surprise trek to have Thanksgiving dinner with troops in Afghanistan.
Those trips have a common destination: travel through foreign and potentially hostile airspace.
Trump himself helped set the cover story last month.
NEW AIR FORCE ONE TAKES FLIGHT AS TRUMP UNVEILS REVAMPED PRESIDENTIAL AIRCRAFT
Before leaving Ankara, he announced that he would use the "former Air Force One" for part of the trip home "for old time’s sake," while the newer Boeing 747-8 provided by Qatar would fly ahead to RAF Mildenhall in Britain so U.S. service members could see it.
Television cameras then captured Trump climbing the stairs of the older jet and waving before disappearing inside.
Minutes later, according to reports, a hydraulically raised catering truck pulled up to a door on the opposite side of the aircraft. Trump and several aides entered the truck out of sight of most of the traveling party and were driven across the tarmac to the C-32A. War Secretary Pete Hegseth boarded the smaller plane separately, helping make its presence appear routine.
"I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk," Trump told reporters on the tarmac Tuesday night after the news of the switch was leaked. "I think it was at greater risk because that would be the plane I think that they would be more likely to go for."
Trump flew aboard the C-32A to RAF Mildenhall. The smaller plane arrived shortly before the legacy Air Force One, and Trump apparently transferred back to the larger aircraft out of view before descending its stairs in front of cameras — preserving the appearance that he had been on it all along.
TRUMP SAYS HE'S IRAN'S 'NO. 1' TARGET AS RENEWED CONFLICT RAISES ASSASSINATION FEARS
He later boarded the newer, Qatari-provided 747 for the final leg back to Washington.
The White House has not directly confirmed the details of the shell game maneuvers, but communications director Steven Cheung said the administration uses all available means to confront threats against the president, while the Secret Service declined to discuss the operation to multiple outlets.
The elaborate ruse was set in motion after intelligence pointed to a specific danger involving Iran, which Trump acknowledged in the subsequent Air Force One press gaggle, hinting at the danger after reaching Britain.
Asked aboard the flight home about the threat, he told reporters, "I have a threat all the time. I’m No. 1 on their list."
TRUMP SAYS HE LEFT INSTRUCTIONS TO 'BOMB' IRAN 'AT LEVELS' NEVER SEEN IF HE IS ASSASSINATED
"But if I go, you go," Trump added in homage to the dangers of all their jobs amid the ongoing war in the Middle East.
The tactic was unusually elaborate. But keeping a presidential war-zone flight hidden — right down to manipulating what observers can see, hear and track — was familiar territory for Trump and his security team.
On Christmas night in 2018, Trump and first lady Melania Trump quietly left Washington aboard one of the two Boeing VC-25 aircraft normally used as Air Force One for an unannounced visit to Al Asad Air Base in Iraq. The flight was conducted under tight secrecy as Trump made his first trip as president to troops in a combat zone.
The aircraft did not advertise itself in the usual way, according to reports. Aviation enthusiasts identified the blue-and-white VC-25 flying over Britain under the call sign RCH358 rather than the familiar Air Force One designation. British aviation enthusiast Alan Meloy photographed the aircraft over South Yorkshire, and online aircraft trackers began piecing together its route from Joint Base Andrews toward the Middle East.
The attempt at secrecy began to unravel hours before the White House publicly disclosed Trump's whereabouts.
Meloy's photograph showed the unmistakable presidential 747, while aviation trackers followed the aircraft into Europe. One tracking account noted periods when the plane could no longer be readily followed and speculated that its identifying code had been changed or its transponder switched off.
The aircraft nevertheless had become conspicuous enough to fuel public speculation that Trump was making a previously undisclosed overseas trip.
Inside the plane, the precautions became even more stark as it approached Iraq. Shades were pulled down and the lights were shut off for much of the flight, according to a reporter traveling aboard the aircraft. Trump later said the security measures were unlike anything he had experienced.
The president returned to the episode repeatedly.
At the Conservative Political Action Conference, on March 2, 2019, Trump dramatically recreated the approach into Iraq, telling the crowd that crew members informed him about an hour before landing that the aircraft’s lights had to be extinguished. He described the shades being lowered and recalled going toward the cockpit as Air Force One descended toward a runway he said he could barely make out.
Trump said the experience struck him as a symbol of the costs and dangers of America's long involvement in the region.
"Think of this: We spent $7 trillion in the Middle East and we can’t land with the lights on — 20 years later," Trump told the CPAC crowd. "How bad is it? No, seriously, how bad is it?"
"Seven trillion dollars and we have to fly in with no lights."
The detail describing the aircraft as darkened with its window shades closed on a trip conducted in near-total darkness were strikingly similar.
But the 2018 flight also exposed a weakness in that kind of secrecy. A highly recognizable Boeing 747 painted in presidential colors is difficult to hide in broad daylight from aviation enthusiasts holding personal cameras and handy with public flight-tracking tools.
Eleven months later on Thanksgiving Day 2019, when Trump made another secret war-zone trip — this time to Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan — the White House built its operation around avoiding a repeat.
Officials took reporters’ cellphones and other transmitting devices, arranged for Thanksgiving messages from Trump’s social-media account to appear while he was in transit and directed the small press pool to meet on the top floor of a Maryland parking garage before black vans carried them to Joint Base Andrews.
The biggest piece of misdirection was sitting in "plane" sight in Florida.
Trump had traveled to Palm Beach aboard one of the familiar blue-and-white VC-25s, and that aircraft remained parked at Palm Beach International Airport, creating the impression that the president was still spending Thanksgiving at Mar-a-Lago. Trump instead secretly left Florida aboard a smaller aircraft and returned to Joint Base Andrews.
There, a second nearly identical presidential 747 was concealed inside a hangar.
Trump boarded it at about 9:45 p.m. ET, according to contemporaneous reporting, before the aircraft departed for Afghanistan under darkness with its cabin lights dimmed and shades drawn. Reporters aboard did not initially know their destination.
That operation amounted to a true aircraft decoy: Anyone watching the presidential 747 in Palm Beach could reasonably conclude Trump was still nearby while another VC-25 was already carrying him halfway around the world.
The White House's precautions can be linked at the time to what had happened in 2018. Contemporary reports said officials were determined not to repeat the Iraq trip, when the supposedly secret Air Force One flight had been spotted over Britain and dissected in real time by aviation watchers.
The newly disclosed Ankara operation appears to have taken that concept to another level.
Instead of merely leaving one presidential aircraft behind while Trump departed secretly on another, officials reportedly had Trump climb aboard the apparent presidential flight in public, slip away unseen and send the conspicuous jet onward with reporters and staff still believing he was aboard. The C-32A carrying Trump was made harder to follow electronically.
There is precedent beyond Trump as well. The Washington Post reported that President Bill Clinton used a decoy during a high-risk 2000 trip to Pakistan, sending a recognizable presidential aircraft ahead while Clinton arrived on an unmarked jet.
Unlike the Ankara operation, however, at least one representative of the traveling press corps had been briefed privately in advance about the deception and the risks surrounding the flight.
The distinction has become part of the controversy surrounding Trump’s July flight. Journalists aboard the legacy Air Force One did not know it was serving as the decoy or that the president had already moved to another aircraft. A senior administration official stressed to Fox News' Peter Doocy that U.S. fighter jets escorted the "decoy" plane, and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent remained on that aircraft.
The White House’s own public messaging continued to indicate Trump had traveled to Britain aboard the older presidential jet.
What looked at the time like a simple Air Force One swap was a swap inside a swap — the latest version of a presidential sleight of hand that Trump’s team had been refining since plane spotters spoiled the secret over England nearly eight years earlier.
Meet the Democrat who narrowly defeated socialist rival in key swing-state battle over the party’s future
Wisconsin Democrats narrowly chose Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley over state Rep. Francesca Hong in the crucial swing state, handing the gubernatorial nomination to a more moderate candidate in a key test of socialism’s growing influence within the Democratic Party.
Despite holding double-digit leads in most polls ahead of Election Day, Hong, a Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member with a history of controversial statements, ultimately fell short after retiring Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and other party heavyweights rallied behind Crowley, calling him "the future of the party."
Crowley will face Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany, a House Freedom Caucus member who is backed by President Donald Trump, in a November showdown expected to draw national attention.
But as Crowley pivots to the general election after emerging as the Democratic establishment’s choice over Hong and the party’s progressive wing, questions remain over just how moderate Crowley is.
DEMOCRAT ESTABLISHMENT STRIKES BACK AS SOCIALIST CANDIDATE DOWNED IN BATTLEGROUND PRIMARY
Crowley appeared alongside Hong at a Wisconsin Democrats unity breakfast in Middleton on Wednesday before kicking off a five-day, 17-stop statewide tour with lieutenant governor nominee Sarah Godlewski. Speaking to reporters after the breakfast, Crowley thanked Hong for her "work" and "leadership" while vowing to win over her supporters and unite the party.
"We may not agree on everything, but it doesn't mean that we can't come to the negotiating table and figure out how we bring everybody under this big tent," he said. "The Democrats, we are a big tent. We should not be focusing on kicking people from under, saying that they don't belong within this tent."
Crowley credited Evers, who joined him on the campaign trail, as the "secret weapon" for his primary victory. In an early Wednesday morning post on X, Evers wrote, "Tonight's all about @DavidCCrowley. He's earned this win and the accolades. I am so proud of David — he's the future of our Party, and I can't wait for him to be our next governor."
Turning his attention to Tiffany, Crowley added the general election will offer a "stark contrast."
"This isn't insider versus outsider," he said. "This is Democrats defeating the MAGA extremists and Congressman Tom Tiffany."
The Milwaukee native worked as a community organizer before winning election to the Wisconsin State Assembly and becoming the first Black person elected Milwaukee County executive in 2020. He has leaned heavily on his working-class upbringing, with his campaign website saying he "wasn’t fed by a silver spoon" and grew up amid his parents’ struggles with addiction and mental health issues and repeated family evictions.
Crowley’s path to the nomination took an unexpected turn when he dropped out of the race in early July over a lack of a clear path forward and endorsed Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez. Just 10 days later, Crowley, who admitted to The Guardian that he and his wife went back and forth about re-entering the race, jumped back in after his wife said her prayers were answered.
Crowley’s wife, in his telling, asked God in prayer to send her a clear sign — a red bird — to indicate if her husband should revive his gubernatorial campaign. Just before receiving a call informing her that Rodriguez had dropped out, she says she saw a red cardinal, a common bird in Wisconsin.
Crowley’s platform also includes affordable housing, universal early childhood education, expanded healthcare, clean energy investments, stronger voting rights and requiring "mega-users like data centers to pay the full cost of grid upgrades they drive," his campaign website said.
He has been a vocal critic of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), telling WISN 12’s "UPFRONT" in February that he doesn’t see "any scenario where we would want to partner with ICE."
Crowley and his allies warned that a Hong primary victory could threaten Democratic control of the governor’s office and give Republicans a key flip opportunity. Evers’ decision not to seek a third term gave Democrats their first chance in 16 years to choose a nominee without an incumbent governor on the ballot.
"People don't like socialists," Crowley told an Axios reporter days before the election. "Socialists didn't poll very good. … And so it's leading me to believe that she can't win."
Ahead of the primary, Evers told WISN 12 on Monday that while he would support Hong if she won, "that’s not going to happen," a prediction that ultimately proved correct.
NEW MIDTERM BATTLEGROUND TAKES SHAPE AS PARTIES BUILD ELECTION ARMIES
Democratic leaders quickly threw their support behind Crowley.
Democratic Governors Association (DGA) Chair and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear congratulated Crowley Wednesday, saying he would continue to "build on this record of fighting for working families and work with both parties to grow the state’s economy, strengthen the middle class, bring down costs, and invest in Wisconsin’s kids."
"The DGA looks forward to working with him to keep this seat in Democratic hands," Beshear said.
Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Devin Remiker said the party was "proud to endorse and throw its full support behind" Crowley, arguing that the tough primary battle proved he was ready to take on Tiffany in the general election.
"Unlike Donald Trump’s hand-picked nominee, MAGA extremist Congressman Tom Tiffany, David Crowley has proven through a competitive primary that he is battle-tested and ready to win in November. Wisconsin Democrats across the state are united and fired up to join David Crowley in his fight to lower costs for Wisconsinites and take on Congressman Tom Tiffany and his extreme MAGA policies," Remiker said in a Wednesday statement.
He added that Crowley’s nomination would unite the party and mark another step in defeating Republican-backed efforts in Wisconsin.
In another swipe at President Trump and Tiffany, Crowley's campaign manager Garren Randolph accused the pair of "division and extremism" in a victory statement posted to Crowley’s X account Wednesday morning.
"Now, David is focused on bringing people together, earning the support of Democrats, Republicans, independents, and anyone who believes Wisconsin is at its best when we work together and deliver results," Randolph said.
"The choice in November has always been clear. We can move Wisconsin forward with leadership focused on solving problems, or we can bring the division and extremism of Tom Tiffany and Donald Trump to Wisconsin. David is ready to get back to work, build a broad coalition, and win in November."
Fox News Digital reached out to Crowley’s campaign for comment.
Denny Hamlin chases monster largemouth bass in Texas with Bassmaster pro Chris Zaldain
Denny Hamlin spends most weekends trying to go faster than everyone else.
But apparently, when he's not behind the wheel of a race car, he'd rather slow things down. Way, way down.
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The NASCAR star has become increasingly obsessed with bass fishing over the past year, and his latest trip with Bassmaster Elite Series pro Chris Zaldain suggests we can probably stop calling this a casual hobby.
Hamlin recently joined Zaldain at Camelot Bell Ranch in Texas, where the two spent the day chasing monster largemouth bass. They found them, too.
Zaldain documented the trip for his "Zaldaingerous" YouTube channel, with Hamlin and their fishing buddy Charlie Wend moving between lakes on the private ranch in search of trophy fish.
Hamlin started his day with bass weighing 5.15 and 5.13 pounds before later hauling in a 6.12-pounder. He eventually topped himself with a 7.3-pound largemouth before having to wrap up his day and catch a flight back to North Carolina.
Not bad for a guy whose day job doesn't involve a fishing rod.
Hamlin and Zaldain worked the shallow grass early with ChatterBaits and swimming worms before moving offshore to scope for bigger fish in deeper water. Zaldain coached Hamlin on tracking his lure on the sonar screen and playing a game of keep-away with the bass — snapping the bait away just as a fish tracked it to mimic fleeing prey and trigger a bite.
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Hamlin apparently caught on pretty quickly.
The afternoon bite became more difficult, with several big fish simply mouthing the baits. Hamlin lost one estimated at more than 7 pounds, while Charlie lost another believed to be over 8.
Then, with Hamlin already gone and just a couple minutes remaining in the trip, Charlie hooked the fish everyone had been looking for: an 11-pound, 6-ounce largemouth.
Fishing started as something of an offseason escape for Hamlin before escalating in a hurry.
Last September, Hamlin talked with former NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick about his newfound love of fishing and why spending hours on the water had become so appealing.
"I mean, it's teaching me patience," Hamlin said. "You can go out there for hours and hours and just keep casting and not even get a bite. But it teaches me patience."
LARGEMOUTH BASS EXPLODES FROM WATER TO EAT CHARL SCHWARTZEL'S GOLF BALL AT LIV GOLF NEW YORK
For someone who has spent more than two decades making split-second decisions at roughly 200 mph, waiting around for a largemouth to cooperate is probably about as dramatic a change of pace as you can get.
And Hamlin didn't exactly ease into his new hobby.
By December, he had purchased a Nitro Z20 XL bass boat from Bass Pro Shops, a model with a base price of $67,995.
"As you guys have seen over the last few months, I've gotten into fishing quite a bit," Hamlin said while showing off his new ride on Instagram. "Of course, I had to go to Bass Pro for my brand new fishing boat. Ended up getting a Nitro Z20 XL here. It's got pretty much everything on it that you could want."
Naturally, the NASCAR driver also made sure his boat had a Hot Foot throttle.
"I've got a gas pedal," Hamlin said.
Of course he does.
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Chiefs legend not ready to say dynasty is over despite Patrick Mahomes' injury, Travis Kelce's final days
After winning back-to-back Super Bowls, reality has set in for the Kansas City Chiefs.
They got shellacked in Super Bowl LIX by the Philadelphia Eagles and then missed the playoffs this past season — to add insult to injury (or, perhaps, injury to insult), Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL the day the Chiefs were eliminated from playoff contention.
Travis Kelce seemed to insinuate that Super Bowl LIX left a bad taste in his mouth, causing his return for what seemed like one more season. Well, he did the same after missing the playoffs and is returning for a 14th year.
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Fellow legendary Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez is fired up to see Kelce back on the gridiron.
"I did a sit-down with him...and I did honestly — I was like, he's done. He's got to be done. I mean, he was playing some good football, but clearly it's not what it was. Just like with me at the end of my career, it wasn't what it was when I was 27, 28, 29 years old. But he's got that drive. He wants to play," Gonzalez recently told Fox News Digital.
"Everybody knows, it's no secret, he's winding down an incredible career. But he is one of the best to ever do it, if not the best. And it's been fun to watch him play and see all the success he's had on and off the field. I love that guy. He's such a good dude off the field as well. He's easy to root for."
With perhaps a rejuvenated Kelce for what might be his final season, a revamped running game and a fully healthy wide receiver room, Gonzalez believes there is a chance the Chiefs could revert to their old form.
JETS PLAYER TAKEN OFF FIELD IN AMBULANCE DURING TRAINING CAMP JOINT PRACTICE WITH BUCCANEERS
"I mean, I've been more excited about them in the past, not going to lie," he admitted. "But I really do think Patrick Mahomes is going to have a great year. For some reason, I mean one of those old-school-type years. They still got really good receivers: [Xavier] Worthy, [Rashee] Rice, [Tyquan] Thornton, don't sleep on him. And then obviously Travis is still there. They got the running back now with Kenneth Walker. Offensively, they're going to be fine. They'll be a top-10 offense, Eric Bieniemy's back. So, offensively, I'm not worried about them...
"If they can creep into that top-10-type defense, then I see no reason. I mean, in the AFC, I think they got a good shot. I think they got a really good shot to win their division and to make some — hey, come playoff time, Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs? Come on. I'm not picking against them."
The Chiefs are personal for Gonzalez, as the organization drafted him 13th overall in 1997 out of California. Now in retirement, Gonzalez has partnered with Novartis to spread the word for men to get their prostate checked, another aspect "close and personal to me" after losing two family members to prostate cancer with another currently battling it.
"It's something that runs in my family, something that I'm at risk for. The word that we're trying to spread together is: take the blood test. It's just a simple blood test, and early detection can save lives," Gonzalez said.
"It's the most common cancer amongst men — one in eight chance of getting prostate cancer. So, it's important, and early screening can save lives. So, that's what has to be understood about it, is that you can jump out in front of it. And there's stuff you can do about it. It's something that can be treatable if early detected. So, that's kind of what it is for me. It's like, why wouldn't I want to get on board with something like this?"
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Dan Dakich torches Fever coach Stephanie White for her pre-game remarks: "Dumbest coach I've ever seen"
Reactions are pouring in after Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White's pregame remarks on Tuesday night ahead of her team's 106-92 win over the New York Liberty.
Now, OutKick's Dan Dakich — who knows a thing or two about a thing or two when it comes to coaching — is giving his take on it in the latest edition of "Don't @ Me with Dan Dakich."
White has been criticized multiple times this season for not sticking up for her players, especially after hard fouls on Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham.
"Somebody knocks your player on their ass with a flagrant foul, and if you are in a situation where the media will ask you about it, you always lead with defending your players," Dakich said. "That is not what Stephanie White did. That is not what Stephanie White does, but she claims that she does."
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White's "impassioned" plea included her saying that she did not see the foul DiJonai Carrington of the Chicago Sky committed against Cunningham, which, as Dakich noted, misses the point.
"Again, this is why you are a minor league coach," he said of White. "This is why you don't need to see it, honey, you don't. You don't need to see it. You simply need to know that your player got clotheslined, and you come in, and you defend your player.
"It's the same thing with the Alyssa Thomas throat punch."
Of course, the part of the speech getting the most attention is the intended "mic drop" moment, which sounded more like a tired saying on a sign someone would buy at HomeGoods.
"Love will win, grace will win, humility will win, and kindness will win. I stand by them; I will always stand by them," she said. "Everybody else can go to hell."
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Because there's nothing more loving, humble, and kind than telling those you disagree with to go to hell.
"Oh man, she is the dumbest coach I've ever seen," Dakich said after sitting through the big finish of White's speech. "Love, grace, humility, integrity... and you can go to hell if you don't love grace and integrity? She is the dumbest human being to ever coach a professional sport."
Dakich had some examples to back up that claim.
"She says, 'Love wins, I will always have their back,' except you didn't with Alyssa Thomas, except you didn't with DiJonai Carrington... except you never have," he said. "Hell, you're so stupid you can't even tell us what a woman is. You can't even tell us the difference between a man and a woman."
Nick Reiner indicted in murders of parents Rob Reiner, Michele Singer Reiner at Brentwood home
Nick Reiner pleaded not guilty Wednesday after a grand jury indicted him on murder charges in the stabbing deaths of his parents, actor-director Rob Reiner and photographer-producer Michele Singer Reiner.
The indictment, returned July 20 and unsealed Wednesday, charged Nick, 32, with two counts of murder and included special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and lying in wait. Prosecutors also alleged he personally used a knife.
"This was a profound betrayal by someone who was loved and trusted by the very people he is accused of killing," Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said.
ROB REINER'S FINAL ROLE DRAWS FIERCE CRITICISM 6 MONTHS AFTER LEGENDARY DIRECTOR'S TRAGIC DEATH
"The indictment unsealed today also adds a special circumstance allegation that the defendant committed the murders by means of lying in wait. We hope that by having a grand jury return an indictment in this case it will bring us one step closer to a trial and achieving justice."
Prosecutors claimed Nick fatally stabbed his father, 78, and mother, 70, on Dec. 14, 2025, at their Brentwood home.
Multiple agencies worked to find and arrest Nick, who was apprehended near the University of Southern California at approximately 9:15 p.m., hours after his parents' bodies were discovered.
The 32-year-old initially pleaded not guilty to the double murder charges in February, one month after his powerhouse attorney, Alan Jackson, stepped down from the case.
Alan Jackson told reporters during a press conference that he had "no choice" but to withdraw from the case, and cited circumstances beyond his and Nick's control as to why he abruptly resigned from the case.
NICK REINER LOSING POWERHOUSE DEFENSE ATTORNEY MAY COME DOWN TO MONEY, EXPERTS SAY
"Circumstances beyond our control, but more importantly, circumstances beyond Nick's control have dictated that," Jackson said during a press conference outside the courthouse. "Sadly, it's made it impossible for us to continue our representation of Nick. I'm legally and I'm ethically prohibited from explaining all the reasons why."
Jackson remained adamant that Nick was "not guilty" of murdering his parents.
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"We've investigated this matter top to bottom, back to front," Jackson said. "What we've learned — and you can take this to the bank — is that pursuant to the laws of this state, pursuant to the law in California, Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder."
Jackson arrived at the Reiner home less than 24 hours after the couple's bodies were discovered. Soon after, he signed on to represent Nick.
Kimberly Greene, the deputy public defender assigned to the case, spoke briefly with Nick after Jackson resigned and said Nick "was understanding that there was going to be a change in counsel."
Nick is being held without bail and remains in custody at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles after formally being charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the stabbing deaths of his parents.
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He is scheduled to return to court Sept. 15. If convicted as charged, he could face life in prison without parole or the death penalty. Prosecutors have not decided whether to seek the death penalty.
Travis Kelce calls marrying Taylor Swift at Madison Square Garden 'the best night of my life'
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce had the offseason of his dreams as, just before training camp got underway, he and Taylor Swift had the wedding of their dreams.
The 36-year-old spoke to reporters at Chiefs training camp on Wednesday, where he was asked about his star-studded wedding at Madison Square Garden in early July.
"Wedding was the best night of my life, and I appreciate everybody who came out and celebrated and had fun with us," he said.
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Kelce added that it was a "crazy night," filled with "a lot of celebration."
But, as he looks ahead to yet another season with the Chiefs, Kelce tried to steer the conversation back to football.
The ceremony at Madison Square Garden took place on July 3, where Swift and Kelce tied the knot with around 1,000 guests in attendance. And those guests were many A-listers, including Adam Sandler, Brad Pitt, Reese Witherspoon, Emma Stone, George Clooney, Bradley Cooper and many more.
FANS STUNNED AT TRAVIS KELCE'S TRAINING CAMP PHYSIQUE AFTER NUPTIALS TO TAYLOR SWIFT
From the sports world, Chiefs quarterback and close friend of Kelce’s, Patrick Mahomes, was there of course alongside his wife Brittany, whom Swift has frequented Chiefs games with. Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Caitlin Clark and more were also present.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was also there, and he recently joked there was "a lot of dancing" at the wedding that kept him in shape for the season ahead.
Swift and Kelce did not have bridesmaids or groomsmen during the ceremony, according to a statement shared with People. Instead, Austin Swift, Taylor’s brother, was her "Man of Honor," while Kelce’s older brother, Jason, was his "Best Man."
It’s been quite the love story for the "Love Story" singer and one of the most recognizable NFL players in the world. Swift admitted that Kelce "very adorably" put her on blast during his "New Heights" podcast led to them eventually meeting up for a date.
"We started hanging out right after that," Swift told Time magazine, adding that they started talking well before she was spotted at her first Chiefs game. "So, we actually had a significant amount of time that no one knew, which I’m grateful for, because we got to get to know each other.
"By the time I went to that first game, we were a couple."
In July 2023, Kelce joked on his "New Heights" podcast that he missed the opportunity to give Swift a friendship bracelet in person when The Eras Tour rolled through Kansas City.
NFL LEGEND ROB GRONKOWSKI DETAILS TRAVIS KELCE AND TAYLOR SWIFT'S 'MAGNIFICENT' WEDDING
"If you’re up on Taylor Swift concerts, there are friendship bracelets, and I received a bunch of them being there, but I wanted to give Taylor Swift one with my (phone) number on it," Kelce told his brother, Jason.
The Kelce brothers also had Swift on their podcast in August 2025. And almost two weeks after that appearance, they announced their engagement on Instagram.
"Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married," Swift wrote, sharing photos of Kelce down on one knee during the intimate moment.
Now, it’s back to reality for Kelce, the 11-time Pro Bowl player who will be playing in his 14th NFL season this year. Talk of retirement has swirled around Kelce for the past few seasons, but he announced he has at least one more season left in him before the 2026 campaign got underway.
In 2025, Kelce secured 76 passes for 851 yards and five touchdowns across a full 17-game season, where the Chiefs missed the playoffs.
Fox News' Lauryn Overhultz contributed to this report.
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