‘Batman’ and ‘Top Gun’ star Val Kilmer dead at 65 after long health battle
Actor Val Kilmer, who starred in many high-profile films, including “Top Gun,” “Batman Forever” and “Tombstone,” died Tuesday. He was 65.
The New York Times reported that Kilmer died of pneumonia.
Kilmer, who played Tom “Iceman” Kazansky in the original “Top Gun” in 1986, died in Los Angeles, according to his daughter, Mercedes Kilmer.
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The actor was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2015, but recovered, she said.
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Josh Brolin paid tribute on Instagram to the Mark Twain fanatic, who played the writer twice on screen and also in the “Citizen Twain” theater production.
“See ya, pal. I’m going to miss you,” Brolin wrote. “You were a smart, challenging, brave, uber-creative firecracker. There’s not a lot left of those. I hope to see you up there in the heavens when I eventually get there. Until then, amazing memories, lovely thoughts. #valkilmer #marktwain.”
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Kilmer most recently appeared in “Top Gun: Maverick” in 2022 to reprise his infamous role as Iceman.
Although he could portray his character, he still had difficulty due to damage from a tracheostomy. Kilmer required the use of a breathing tube.
“I can’t speak without plugging this hole [in his throat]. You have to make the choice to breathe or to eat,” he told People Magazine in 2021. “It’s an obstacle that is very present with whoever sees me.”
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When Kilmer and Cruise reunited for “Maverick,” nearly 30 years after the original “Top Gun” was released, it was like the pilots had never left each other’s sides.
“It was like no time had passed at all,” Kilmer shared with Entertainment Weekly. “We blew a lot of takes laughing so much. It was really fun … special.”
In recent years, Kilmer spent time painting and was described as “a talented and prolific artist in a variety of mediums” on his website.
Kilmer was born and raised in Los Angeles, and attended Julliard School in New York City. He made his film debut in the 1984 comedy, “Top Secret!”
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His breakthrough role, though, was playing Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone’s 1991 rock docudrama, “The Doors.”
He then portrayed Doc Holliday in “Tombstone,” and Elvis Presley’s spirit in “True Romance,” before taking on the role of a caped crusader in “Batman Forever.”
Kilmer was known for roles in “Heat,” “The Saint,” “The Salton Sea,” “Alexander,” “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” and “Conspiracy.”
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He showed off comedic chops in the “Macgruber” comedy, and voiced K.I.T.T. in a number of “Knight Rider” episodes.
The “Thunderheart” actor married fellow “Willow” star Joanne Whalley in 1988 after meeting on the set of the film. They divorced in 1996.
Kilmer is survived by his two children, Mercedes and Jack.
Florida’s special election results hint at what’s next for Congress’ power balance
Trump-endorsed Republican state Sen. Randy Fine emerged victorious in one-of-two special elections in the Sunshine State on Tuesday night.
Fine will be taking over former Congressman Mike Waltz’s seat in Florida’s 6th Congressional District, after Waltz vacated the seat to become President Donald Trump’s National Security Advisor. Fine outlasted Democrat Josh Weil, a public school employee and political newcomer who raised nearly 10 times more than Fine.
Florida’s sixth district, located on the Sunshine State’s Atlantic coast from Daytona Beach to just south of Saint Augustine and inland to the outskirts of Ocala, was carried overwhelmingly by former GOP congressman Waltz in 2024. President Trump also won the 6th Congressional District in 2024 by a significant margin – 30 points.
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The Republican’s victory came in the closest election for Florida’s sixth district since 2018, when former Congressman Waltz beat out his Democrat opponent by13 points. Each subsequent election, Waltz won at least 60% of the vote.
Tuesday’s unusually close race, widely seen as a referendum on President Trump’s first few months in office, carries implications for the broader battle for power in Congress.
There were fears that a loss in both, or either, of Florida’s Tuesday special elections would deal a significant blow to the Republican majority in the House of Representatives, which has dwindled since Trump plucked numerous Republican House members, such as Waltz, to join his cabinet.
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Amid these concerns, GOP New York Rep. Elise Stefanik’s nomination to be Trump’s Ambassador to the United Nations was pulled.
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Weil’s ability to drum up a campaign war chest worth nearly $10 million, dwarfed Fine’s which held a little under $1 million. However, in the final week before Tuesday’s election, outside Republican-aligned groups doled out around $1 million for advertising in an attempt to help boost Fine.
Tuesday’s victory notches one more seat in the House for Republicans, expanding their slim five-vote majority by one more.
Following Tuesday’s victory President Trump took to social media to congratulate Fine and Fine thanked the President for his support.
Trump cheers major voter ID win — says Dems can’t ‘cheat’ anymore
Wisconsin will enshrine the state’s voter ID law in the state constitution after voters approved the proposal on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press’ vote call at 9:48 p.m. EST.
The Badger State already requires that voters have photo ID in order to participate at the polls, but that law has now been elevated to a constitutional amendment.
The measure was placed on the ballot by the Republican-controlled legislature in an effort to strengthen election security.
It also protects the law from potentially being overturned in court when Democrats are in control, as constitutional amendments have to be approved in two legislative sessions and by a statewide popular vote.
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The proposal’s passing was celebrated by GOP lawmakers, President Donald Trump and DOGE leader Elon Musk.
State Sen. Van Wanggaard, a Republican who co-authored the amendment, said “this will help maintain integrity in the electoral process, no matter who controls the Legislature.”
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Trump celebrated the law being added to the state constitution on Truth Social after the vote was called Tuesday night.
“VOTER I.D. JUST APPROVED IN WISCONSIN ELECTION. Democrats fought hard against this, presumably so they can CHEAT. This is a BIG WIN FOR REPUBLICANS, MAYBE THE BIGGEST WIN OF THE NIGHT. IT SHOULD ALLOW US TO WIN WISCONSIN, LIKE I JUST DID IN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, FOR MANY YEARS TO COME!” the president wrote.
Musk celebrated with a simple “Yeah!” while sharing The AP’s call on X.
Opponents of the proposal, who typically oppose photo ID requirements in general, argued that voting will be more difficult for people of color, disabled people and poor people because they claim the law isn’t enforced fairly.
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Nine states, including Wisconsin, require that voters present photo ID, though Wisconsin’s requirements are the strictest, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
There are laws in 36 states requiring or requesting that voters show some sort of identification, the NCSL said.
Trump unloads on 4 Republican senators ahead of tariff vote: ‘What is wrong with them?’
President Donald Trump called out GOP Sens. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, in an effort to apply public pressure before the Senate votes on a measure to scuttle his Canadian tariff policy.
The joint resolution would terminate the national emergency Trump declared regarding illicit drugs and Canada — in his executive order, Trump called for slapping tariffs on America’s northern neighbor.
In a lengthy Truth Social post shortly before 1 a.m. on Wednesday, the president suggested that the four GOP senators have “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
“Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Rand Paul, also of Kentucky, will hopefully get on the Republican bandwagon, for a change, and fight the Democrats wild and flagrant push to not penalize Canada for the sale, into our Country, of large amounts of Fentanyl, by Tariffing the value of this horrible and deadly drug in order to make it more costly to distribute and buy,” Trump declared.
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“They are playing with the lives of the American people, and right into the hands of the Radical Left Democrats and Drug Cartels. The Senate Bill is just a ploy of the Dems to show and expose the weakness of certain Republicans, namely these four, in that it is not going anywhere because the House will never approve it and I, as your President, will never sign it. Why are they allowing Fentanyl to pour into our Country unchecked, and without penalty,” he continued.
Trump blasted the four lawmakers as “disloyal” to the GOP.
“What is wrong with them, other than suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome, commonly known as TDS? Who can want this to happen to our beautiful families, and why? To the people of the Great States of Kentucky, Alaska, and Maine, please contact these Senators and get them to FINALLY adhere to Republican Values and Ideals. They have been extremely difficult to deal with and, unbelievably disloyal to hardworking Majority Leader John Thune, and the Republican Party itself. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
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Paul is a cosponsor of the joint resolution.
Murkowski reportedly informed Politico’s Lisa Kashinsky that she will vote for the resolution, while Collins has said she is “very likely” to back it, according to the outlet.
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McConnell declared in an op-ed earlier this year that “tariffs are bad policy.”
Dem governor pressed as reparations bill nears make-or-break moment
A Maryland bill to establish a commission to study reparations – including financial restitution – is moving forward, as it is expected to clear its final hurdle in the House of Delegates, while the governor attempts to dodge questions about whether he supports the proposal.
The bill, a priority for the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland, passed the Senate in the middle of last month before Crossover Day, which marks the unofficial deadline for legislative leaders in the General Assembly to move bills to the other legislative chamber that they plan to send to the governor for final approval.
The bill received a favorable vote in its assigned House committee on Friday, WBFF reported. It is expected to be voted on in the full House before the legislative session adjourns next week.
Senate Minority Whip Justin Ready, a Republican, told WBFF he does not understand why the reparations bill is being advanced as the state faces a $3.3 billion deficit, which is expected to increase even more to $6.7 billion by fiscal year 2028.
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“We don’t have the money right now to be exploring these options, period,” Ready told the outlet. “[T]he issue of reparations, I’m sure elicits strong opinions, but the fact is, it’s just something that’s not financially feasible, whether you think it’s a good idea or not.”
“I question whether using taxpayer money would ever be appropriate in this context,” he added. “Even going back to when reparations were paid to survivors of the Holocaust, they went after companies that were involved. Not after taxpayers.”
The proposed commission is expected to initially cost Maryland taxpayers $54,500 annually, according to the nonpartisan Maryland Department of Legislative Services.
Similar reparations commissions have been created by state governments in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, New York and Illinois.
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Last year, the California Reparations Task Force released a report following a two-year study in which the state was called on to issue a formal apology for slavery and other racial injustices and to offer financial payouts. The report recommended a financial restitution formula that would provide eligible recipients with up to $1.2 million each, although state lawmakers have not yet held a vote to authorize the first payments.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, has dodged questions about his state’s bill since it was introduced in January. He was asked at the time if he supported the measure, but turned his focus to economic priorities.
“Nah, we are going to work with the Maryland General Assembly on a whole collection of different issues,” Moore told WBFF at the time. “Our focus is economic advancement; our focus is economic growth. It’s making sure we can really meet people where they are, make life more affordable. That we are modernizing of state government.”
The governor was asked again about the issue during his visit to celebrate the Baltimore Orioles’ home opener on Monday afternoon at Pickles Pub. WBFF attempted to speak with him, but the requests were denied. The outlet reached out to the governor’s office after his appearance at the pub, but his spokesperson’s response did not address the questions about the reparations bill.
Ready told WBFF that the bill could harm the national attention Moore has received over the past year.
“I don’t think Gov. Moore would want this on his desk because I think it is a distraction to trying to get real problems solved,” Ready said. “[T]here may be some people it motivates, in some way, but a lot of those are kind of on the fringes.”
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If the law is enacted in its current form, the commission must provide its preliminary report by January 1, 2027, and a final report by November 1, 2027.
Labor Department secures eye-popping sum to return to American taxpayers
U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer announced on Monday that her department will return over $1 billion in unused COVID-era funding back to the taxpayer amid the Trump administration’s push for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to slash waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government.
In a press release, the Labor Department said $1.4 billion of unspent COVID funding will be “returned to taxpayers through the U.S. Department of Treasury’s General Fund” and added that “action” is “being taken to recover the remaining $2.9 billion.”
“The roughly $4.3 billion was intended for states to use for temporary unemployment insurance during the pandemic,” the press release states. “Instead, several states continued spending millions of dollars despite no longer meeting necessary requirements, which was uncovered in a 2023 audit conducted by the department’s Office of Inspector General.”
The department explained in the press release that the funding originated from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act in March 2020 and that the program was meant to provide expanded unemployment insurance for Americans who were not able to work during the pandemic.
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The program was closed in 2021, the department said, but the 2023 audit “found four states were allowed to access the funding ‘despite not meeting program requirements,’ totaling over $100 million in spending.”
“There’s no reason leftover COVID unemployment funds should still be collecting dust,” DeRemer told Fox News Digital in a statement. “I promised to look out for Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars, and we are delivering at the Department of Labor.”
“Any money still sitting around for pandemic-era unemployment funds is a clear misuse of Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars,” Chavez-DeRemer said in the press release, adding that she is “rooting out waste to ensure American Workers always come First.”
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Deputy Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling said in a statement, “It’s unacceptable that billions of dollars went unchecked in a program that ended several years ago.
“In a huge win for the American taxpayer, we’ve clawed back these unused funds and will keep working to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse.”
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The announcement comes after DeRemer said in her first memo to the department after taking over last month that she plans to comply with Trump’s executive orders and work with DOGE to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse.
“Under the leadership of President Trump, our focus remains on promoting job creation, enhancing workforce development, and ensuring safe working conditions, wages, and pensions so that every American has the opportunity to succeed,” DeRemer said to employees in the memo. “I challenge each of you to actively engage with your teams to identify innovative solutions that can help us achieve our goals.”
Chavez-DeRemer said that the Labor Department must align with the priorities of the Trump administration and “must focus on practicing fiscal responsibility, reducing unnecessary spending, and optimizing our resources to ensure that taxpayer dollars are utilized effectively.”
Elon Musk says Tesla terror ‘generals’ have been identified: ‘We’re coming for them’
Amid a wave of violence against Tesla vehicles, showrooms and charging stations, Department of Government Efficiency chief Elon Musk labeled the attacks as “wide-scale domestic terrorism” and demanded authorities “go after the generals” behind the violence.
Reports of Tesla-related incidents have been increasing nationwide, ranging from minor vandalism, such as keying or graffiti, to more extreme cases like arson and drive-by shootings allegedly targeting Tesla vehicles.
Over the weekend, anti-Musk protesters saw one of their biggest shows of force as the decentralized movement known as Tesla Takedown planned a “Global Day of Action” targeting more than 500 Tesla locations worldwide.
“This is fundamentally a case of terrorism. It’s wide-scale domestic terrorism with the purpose of intimidation, and it’s harming innocent people. It’s really terrible,” Musk said Tuesday on “The Five.”
“What we actually have to get to are the people who are organizing and paying for these attacks and protests. That’s who we really need to go after, because the people that were actually throwing the Molotov cocktails — they’re the foot soldiers, but we need to go after the generals.”
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“The president has made it very clear that we’re going to go after those that are paying and organizing these violent attacks, and Attorney General Bondi has said the same thing. I believe that that is exactly what will happen,” Musk said, adding the administration knows who these “generals” are.
In response to the nationwide violence, the FBI launched a task force to investigate attacks on Tesla owners. FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X, formerly Twitter, that the incidents are being treated as “domestic terrorism.”
The Tesla chief executive rebuked the “incredible hypocrites” within the legacy media and Democratic Party, arguing that the rhetoric of DOGE critics has fueled anger against Tesla and its supporters.
“I find it ironic and incredibly hypocritical that the same Democrat politicians who would want to throw someone in prison for 20 years simply for watching things at January 6, but not actually doing any violence, you don’t hear a single word from them about the actual violence happening against Tesla,” he said.
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Musk also discussed his concerns about the Democratic agenda at the state level as voters head to the ballot to determine the fate of the key battleground state’s Supreme Court.
Wisconsin voters marched to the polls on Tuesday to decide if conservatives or liberals will control the majority on the state’s Supreme Court, which is likely to rule on crucial issues including congressional redistricting, voting and labor rights, and abortion.
With a massive infusion of money from Democrat and Republican-aligned groups from outside Wisconsin — which turned the race into the most expensive judicial election in the nation’s history — the contest has turned into a referendum on Trump’s sweeping moves in his first 100 days.
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Musk, who has found himself front-and-center in the electoral showdown, warned the outcome could threaten the Republican Party’s razor-thin majority in the House and in turn wreak havoc on the Trump agenda.
“All the president is trying to do is implement the will of the people, and they are trying to stop the will of the people through judicial trickery,” Musk said, outlining the potential ripple effect of Wisconsin’s Supreme Court election.
The judiciary has been hard at work within the checks-and-balances system, with many district judges and state courts blocking moves from the Trump administration. Some critics, like Musk, have labeled these judicators as “activist” judges.
“There is a huge problem with activists that are actually politicians in judges’ robes, and that needs to stop,” Musk said. “These fake judges should be ashamed of themselves. They are just pretending to be judges, but they are not. They’re making the law instead of implementing the law.”
Karen Read case faces major obstacle before a single word is said in court
Jury selection kicked off Tuesday for the second trial of Karen Read, who is accused of murder and other charges for an alleged hit-and-run that left her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, dead in a blizzard in January 2022.
The 45-year-old’s first trial ended with a hung jury, and the judge later rejected multiple requests to dismiss the case.
This time around, nearly half of the first group of potential jurors told the judge they already have an opinion on the case.
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Read arrived at court around 8:55 a.m. Tuesday, wearing a gray pantsuit and carrying a water bottle. She gave a thumbs-up sign to supporters who greeted her on the courthouse steps.
Inside, her high-powered legal team is squaring off with a special prosecutor who previously defended the mobster Whitey Bulger.
Judge Beverly Cannone read the charges to more than 90 people in the first group of potential jurors and then kicked off questioning in a hearing that was largely closed to the public.
In the open portion, 76 members of the jury pool raised their hands to acknowledge they had heard of the case. Forty had already formed opinions. Sixteen said they had already had bias or prejudice for or against either the defense or the prosecution.
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Two admitted they would have “difficulty” following the judge’s instructions on the burden of proof, reasonable doubt, and the presumption of innocence for the defendant.
Another 36 told the court that sitting on the jury for weeks would cause them “substantial hardship.”
Juror selection is expected to take days, and the trial itself could run for six to eight weeks, Cannone said.
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Read is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene of a deadly accident in connection with O’Keefe’s death on Jan. 29, 2022. He was 46 and found in the snow outside another police officer’s house hours after a group of people went there for an after-party to cap off a night out drinking.
A nor’easter tore through the region that night, and an autopsy found he had died from trauma to the head and hypothermia. However, the medical examiner left the manner of death “undetermined.”
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Supporters both for and against Read frequently gathered outside the courthouse at her first trial and at other hearings.
Cannone told jurors Tuesday that they would see the full evidence in the case, not the protesters outside, and the fate of the prosecution’s case rests solely in their hands.
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“John Adams said that we are a government of laws, not of men, and that the law must be deaf to the clamoring of the public,” she said, referring to the Founding Father with deep Boston roots. “He meant that while the public opinion about a given subject may ebb and flow, the law must be steady, reliable, and even-handed.”
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Read has denied the charges, pleaded not guilty and claimed that she is being framed as part of a police cover-up.
Investigators’ behavior in her first trial may have influenced the jury’s inability to reach a consensus.
Read and O’Keefe had been fighting on the morning of Jan. 28, 2022, according to text messages revealed in her first trial.
They went out drinking in Canton, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston, and then met a group of friends and acquaintances at another bar, minutes before last call.
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Brian Albert, a Boston cop like O’Keefe, invited the group over to his house for an after-party. O’Keefe was found dead on his lawn the next day.
Witnesses in the first trial testified that Read and O’Keefe never came inside, and prosecutors allege they got into another fight before she fatally hit him in reverse at 24 mph.
Read has countered that someone else killed him and left him on Albert’s lawn amid the snowstorm.
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Cannone on Monday ruled that Read’s defense cannot try and blame Albert’s nephew, Colin Albert, for the crime.
Other potential third-party culprits floated by the defense include Brian Albert himself and ATF Agent Brian Higgins, both of whom were present at the bar and the after-party.
The judge said that Read’s defense cannot name them during opening statements – but they can introduce evidence during the trial that they believe points to them and not her.
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Cannone also sided with prosecutors and blocked testimony from a former FBI agent named Michael Easter, who was expected to scrutinize alleged missteps from police in the investigation.
The lead investigator, former Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor, was fired last month after an investigation into lewd text messages he sent about Read while probing O’Keefe’s death, which were read in court during her first trial.
Although he is no longer a trooper, his name is on the witness list the second time around – along with 149 other people.