Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland dies at 24 days after first touchdown

Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland died early Thursday morning, just days after recording his first NFL touchdown on Monday night, the team confirmed in a statement. He was 24.

Details surrounding Kneeland’s death were not immediately known. The team said in a statement that the former second-round pick “tragically passed away,” according to the NFL Network.

“It is with extreme sadness that the Dallas Cowboys share that Marshawn Kneeland tragically passed away this morning. Marshawn was a beloved teammate and member of our organization. Our thoughts and prayers regarding Marshawn are with his girlfriend Catalina and his family.”

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The NFL also released a statement, “​​We are deeply saddened by the tragic news of the passing of Cowboys’ Marshawn Kneeland. Our thoughts and prayers are with his girlfriend Catalina, family, friends and his teammates. We have been in contact with the Cowboys and have offered support and counseling resources.”

Kneeland’s agent Jonathan Prezley paid tribute to the young NFL player in a lengthy statement, remembering him for his “spirit” and “goodness.”

“I watched him fight his way from a hopeful kid at Western Michigan with a dream to being a respected professional for the Dallas Cowboys. Marshawn poured his heart into every snap, every practice, and every moment on the field. To lose someone with his talent, spirit, and goodness is a pain I can hardly put into words.”

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“My heart aches for his family, his teammates, and everyone who loved him, and I hope they feel the support of the entire football community during this unimaginable time,” Prezley continued. “I ask that you please give his loved ones the privacy and compassion they need as they grieve this tremendous loss.

Kneeland was drafted 56th overall in the 2024 NFL draft out of Western Michigan. He registered 149 total tackles and 12.5 sacks across three seasons, with 2023 being his best with 57 tackles, 4.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.

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In his rookie year with the Cowboys, Kneeland appeared in 11 games and registered 14 tackles. This season, through seven games, he registered 12 tackles and one sack. He scored his first NFL touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals after recovering Sam Williams’ blocked punt in the end zone.

Mamdani transition official’s dark money ties come back into spotlight

Just hours after railing against the Democratic Party establishment in his victory speech, New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani hired an all-female transition team full of veterans from the former administrations of Michael Bloomberg, Eric Adams, Bill de Blasio and Joe Biden. 

Among those transition team members is Lina Khan, the former Federal Trade Commission chairperson under Joe Biden. When Lina Khan was chair, the FTC faced accusations from Republicans of eroding agency independence and bipartisanship, collaborating with foreign regulators to undermine U.S. companies, politicizing antitrust enforcement, and unlawful rulemaking. 

Among those accusations were claims that Khan was sidelining career staff in favor of fresh blood from a cadre of dark money nonprofits funded by liberal billionaires like George Soros and Pierre Omidyar, while simultaneously pushing a strong antitrust enforcement agenda supported by such groups.

Mamdani’s decision to tap Khan as one of four co-chairs of his transition team came just hours after he slammed unaccountable elected officials for being more concerned about enriching themselves than fostering the public’s trust. “For years, those in City Hall have only helped those who can help them,” he told supporters Tuesday night. “But on January 1st, we will usher in a city government that helps everyone.”

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However, Mamdani’s appointment of Khan puts that pledge under the spotlight, considering she has been accused of using her position to benefit allies, including those she used to work for. 

During Khan’s FTC chairmanship, she tapped Sarah Miller as a “special adviser” before elevating Miller to her chief of staff soon thereafter. Miller previously led the antitrust advocacy group American Economic Liberties Project (AELP), which, according to tax documents and grant databases, has been given at least between $200,000 and $500,000 by Soros’ Open Society Foundations, the Omidyar Network and the Ford Foundation.

Miller is married to former Bernie Sanders aide Faiz Shakir, the founder of another antitrust advocacy organization called More Perfect Union (MPU). MPU and its affiliated advocacy arm, More Perfect Union Action, have also received hundreds of thousands in backing from the Soros, Omidyar and Ford Foundation networks. When Miller moved to the FTC, her former group, AELP, made her husband Shakir its interim leader. Meanwhile, at the time, AELP also elevated former Omidyar Network consultant Nidhi Hedge to its managing director position, a press release on its website stated, underscoring the intimacy of the network.

Under Khan, the FTC quietly enlisted several employees from another Soros, Omidyar and Ford Foundation-funded nonprofit called the AI Now Institute. The FTC appointed AI Now founder Meredith Whittaker as a “senior adviser on artificial intelligence” in 2021, and at least four other AI Now staffers to advisory roles. At a certain point, AI Now’s entire organization had been called up at some time or another in recent years to advise the commission.

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Over time, the AI Now advisors on the trade commission were credited on multiple occasions with helping craft policy and messaging, according to the FTC’s website during Khan’s tenure. The FTC also appeared to adopt policy statements that coincided with opinions from AI Now analyses.

Another adviser brought on to assist the trade commission under Khan, who previously worked at the Omidyar-backed Democracy Fund, had his job description amended shortly after joining to include language about helping the commission on “enforcement efforts.” Law professor John Kwoka, also tapped as an advisor to the commission under Khan, previously advised the Open Markets Institute, where Khan herself was the director of legal policy. The Soros, Omidyar and Ford networks have all passed grants to the Open Markets Institute.

Among the critics of Khan at the time of her chairmanship was Christie Wilson, the lone Republican commissioner at the FTC who eventually resigned due to Khan’s leadership. Wilson accused Khan of flouting due process and the rule of law, while also confirming she sidelined career professionals at the FTC.      

“Former FTC Chair Lina Khan became synonymous with her hostility toward businesses large and small during the Biden Administration and one of the ringleaders of Bidenomics,” said GOP strategist Colin Reed when asked about Mamdani’s transition team appointments. “Already the incoming mayor is breaking one of his core promises to shake up the status quo and usher in a new day.”

When Fox News Digital reached out to Khan about her tenure at FTC, she replied, “No comment.”

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Matt Gorman, a conservative political strategist in D.C., also slammed Mamdani for claiming to usher in a new era of politics in New York City, but then turning around and “picking from the same old political class of a failed Democratic administration.”

In addition to Khan, Mamdani’s all-female transition team also includes Democratic Party veterans tied to the former administrations of Bill de Blasio, Eric Adams, and Michael Bloomberg. 

The other co-chairs include Maria Torres-Springer, a former top aide under former mayors de Blasio and Bloomberg, and soon-to-be former mayor Adams; Melanie Hartzog, a former New York City budget director who served as the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services under de Blasio; and Grace Bonilla, a former Bloomberg and de Blasio aide appointed to lead the former’s Task Force on Racial equity and Inclusion. 

Elana Leopold, a former senior aide for de Blasio, was tapped to be the transition team’s executive director.

Chinese astronauts stranded in orbit after damage to their return capsule

A Chinese space crew is stranded at the country’s Tiangong space station after tiny pieces of space debris were believed to have struck their return capsule, China’s spaceflight agency said Wednesday.

The three-member Shenzhou-20 team had been scheduled to return to Earth on Wednesday, but their mission has been temporarily extended as engineers conduct impact analysis and risk assessments on the damaged spacecraft, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said in a statement.

Their return date has been postponed indefinitely, according to state broadcaster CCTV, which offered no further details.

The crew’s return capsule is believed to have been hit by tiny fragments of space junk – an increasing hazard in low Earth orbit. CMSA has not specified the extent of the damage or what repairs, if any, will be required. If the spacecraft cannot be repaired, protocol states the Shenzhou-20 crew will use the Shenzhou-21 team’s capsule to return to Earth.

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The Shenzhou program regularly sends crews of three Chinese astronauts to and from the Tiangong space station for six-month missions, where they carry out tasks ranging from scientific experiments to repairing debris damage.

The Shenzhou-20 astronauts – mission commander Chen Dong, fighter pilot Chen Zhongrui and engineer Wang Jie – arrived at Tiangong in April for a six-month rotation. They were nearing the end of their mission when the issue occurred.

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Their replacements, part of the Shenzhou-21 mission, successfully docked with the station on Saturday. That crew consists of astronauts Zhang Hongzhang, Wu Fei and Zhang Lu.

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Since launching its crewed spaceflight program in 2003, China has steadily expanded its capabilities – building its own space station and setting its sights on landing astronauts on the moon by 2030.

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Judge slams prosecutors over handling of documents in former FBI director’s case

A federal judge criticized the Justice Department for allegedly being too quick to indict in high-profile cases on Wednesday.

Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick of the Eastern District of Virginia made the comments during a brief hearing regarding the case against former FBI Director James Comey.

“Right now, we are in a bit of a feeling of indict first, investigate later,” Fitzpatrick said in the hearing, which lasted less than an hour.

Fitzpatrick questioned prosecutors about their handling of data acquired from a number of search warrants between 2019 and 2020, information which is now being used in Comey’s case. The judge pressed prosecutors on whether they may have viewed information that may be protected by attorney-client privilege.

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Fitzpatrick also noted the size of the trove of documents, saying Comey’s defense team has been placed at a disadvantage with a limited time to view the set.

“The government has had this for five and a half years … this is an unfair burden the government is placing on the defense, but I don’t see another path forward,” the judge said.

Comey’s team has sought to have his case dismissed, arguing he is the victim of selective prosecution by President Donald Trump.

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The DOJ denied in a 48-page filing that Trump’s September Truth Social post calling on U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute prominent political adversaries, including Comey, Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and New York Attorney General Letitia James, had any influence on the decision to bring charges.

“These posts reflect the President’s view that the defendant has committed crimes that should be met with prosecution. They may even suggest that the President disfavors the defendant. But they are not direct evidence of a vindictive motive,” prosecutors argued.

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“The defendant spins a tale that requires leaps of logic and a big dose of cynicism, then he calls the President’s post a direct admission,” they continued. “There is no direct admission of discriminatory purpose. To the contrary, the only direct admission from the President is that DOJ officials decided whether to prosecute, not him.”

Heat coach arrives to find multimillion-dollar mansion ablaze after team flight

A massive fire broke out at the home of Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra early Thursday morning.

The home in Southwest Miami-Dade, Florida, was heavily damaged. Spoelstra was not home when the fire broke out as the team was returning from a game in Denver. The team arrived back in Miami around 5:11 a.m. ET.

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There were no immediate reports of any injuries.

Miami-Dade County fire officials said the blaze was reported around 4:36 a.m. Spoelstra arrived at the scene shortly after the plane landed. Cameras showed Spoelstra pulling up to the house and looking distraught, according to WSVN-TV in Miami.

Firefighters were initially focusing on the garage of the multimillion-dollar home before the flames started to spread across the property.

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Neighbors told WSVN-TV the home was undergoing renovations before it caught on fire.

Officials have yet to say what may have caused the inferno. Firefighters were battling the blaze well into the mid-morning but officials said the blaze was contained.

Property records show that Spoelstra bought the five-bedroom, six-bathroom home in December 2023. He agreed to a $120 million contract extension with the Heat in January 2024.

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Fox News Digital reached out to fire officials and the Heat for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Mexico’s Sheinbaum files charges after video of groping incident goes viral

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum decided to press charges against a man who was seen groping and trying to kiss her while she was on a short walk in Mexico City on Tuesday.

In a post on X, Sheinbaum said she would “review the legislation so that this crime is punishable in all 32 [Mexican] states.” 

In a video accompanying the post, she remarked that “if this can happen to the president, what can we expect for all the young women in our country?”

Sheinbaum, 62, was seen in a video that has since gone viral speaking with locals when a man approaches the president from behind and puts his hands on her body before leaning toward her face. The Mexican president later described the man as being “totally drunk.”

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In the video, Sheinbaum, who is immediately and visibly startled, turns toward the man and gently pushes his hands away, while managing to maintain a stiff smile.

A government official is seen in the video quickly stepping in to separate the two as the president backs away. The man was then led off as onlookers watched in disbelief.

The incident reportedly took place as Sheinbaum was walking between Mexico’s National Palace and the Education Ministry. 

Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada announced Tuesday night that the man had been arrested, The Associated Press reported.

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While speaking at her daily news conference on Wednesday, Sheinbaum framed the moment as symbolic of a broader issue facing Mexican women.

“This is something I experienced as a woman, but it is something that all women in our country experience,” she said.

When addressing the video of the incident, Sheinbaum said posting it was “completely unethical and immoral.”

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In the wake of the incident, Sheinbaum announced a plan to launch a campaign to educate men on respecting women’s rights.

“This is an issue of dignity for women and of recognizing our rights,” she said. “We have published a women’s rights booklet, and this is connected to that. It’s a matter of defending all Mexican women.”

Sheinbaum, who took office in October 2024 as Mexico’s first female president, emphasized that the incident would not deter her from engaging directly with citizens.

“We cannot distance ourselves from the people,” she said. “That would be to deny where we come from and who we are.”

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Before becoming president, Sheinbaum was head of government of Mexico City until 2023.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Sheinbaum’s office for comment.

Study reveals how pancreatic cancer hides in plain sight — and how to stop it

Scientists have created a new antibody treatment that helps the immune system recognize and attack pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic cancer cells use a sugary “disguise” to trick the immune system into ignoring them.

Most current cancer immunotherapies target proteins or genes, but this new therapy focuses on the sugars on the cell surface, blocking them so that immune cells can find and attack the cancer, according to researchers from Northwestern University in Chicago.

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“Pancreatic cancer is notoriously good at hiding from the immune system, but we were struck that a single sugar, called sialic acid, can so powerfully fool immune cells,” senior author Mohamed Abdel-Mohsen, associate professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, told Fox News Digital. 

“When tumors sugar-coat themselves with this molecule, it flips an immune ‘off switch’ on certain immune cells, essentially signaling, ‘I’m a normal, healthy cell; don’t attack.’”

In mice studies, the therapy was shown to be successful in blocking this sugar signal, “waking up” immune cells and slowing cancer’s growth.

In two mouse models, tumors treated with the antibody grew significantly slower than groups that did not receive the treatment, the study showed.

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These findings could pave the way toward testing in human groups, and could potentially be combined with chemotherapy and existing immunotherapies, according to the researchers.

The findings were published in the journal Cancer Research on Nov. 3.

“This is early-stage, preclinical research, not a treatment today, but it opens a new immune target in pancreatic cancer,” said Abdel-Mohson.

Heloisa P. Soares, M.D., Ph.D., medical director of theranostics at Huntsman Cancer Institute and associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Utah, said this research is “encouraging” because it points to a new way of helping the immune system recognize and fight pancreatic cancer.

“Pancreatic cancer is notoriously good at hiding from the immune system.”

“It was surprising to learn that a protein usually responsible for helping cells stick together is also being used by pancreatic cancer as a hidden ‘do-not-attack’ signal,” Soares, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.

“The striking part was that when this signal was blocked, the immune cells woke back up and started attacking the tumor much more effectively — which suggests a promising new direction for treatment.”

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Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal forms of the disease. It’s usually detected at an advanced stage, leaving patients with limited treatment choices and a five-year survival rate of only about 13%, the researchers noted.

Unlike many other cancers, it often doesn’t respond to immunotherapy.

“Pancreatic cancer is often diagnosed late, in part because it remains asymptomatic and is deep in the body,” Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, told Fox News Digital.

“It is also difficult to treat because it doesn’t have many good immune targets and doesn’t mutate that much.”

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The study did have some limitations, the researchers acknowledged — primarily that the tests have only been conducted on animals thus far and there is not yet any human data.

“Animal models cannot capture all the complexity of human pancreatic cancer,” the lead researcher noted. “Tumors also use multiple escape routes, so this strategy will likely be part of a combination approach.”

The long-term safety and dosing parameters of the therapy are also unknown.

“We need clinical trials to see how effective this is in humans and whether it has a role in cancer treatments for this difficult and deadly cancer — but it is quite promising,” Siegel added.

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The research team is now working with clinicians at Northwestern’s Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center on next steps toward potential human studies, likely in combination with current chemotherapy and immunotherapies, according to Abdel-Mohsen.

“It’s a promising step forward, but not something that will change care overnight.”

“If future studies support it, this approach could be added to the toolbox against pancreatic cancer, likely alongside existing chemo-immunotherapy, not replacing what’s working today,” he told Fox News Digital.

After human trials, the researchers estimate that it could take about five years before the therapy would be available to patients.

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Soares added, “It’s a promising step forward, but not something that will change care overnight. Continued funding and participation in clinical trials are essential to keep this progress moving.”

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The study was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health.

The cheapest property tax bills in the country are found in these 10 states

Property taxes are rising across much of America, but where you live makes all the difference.

The median U.S. property tax bill in 2024 rose to $3,500, up 2.8% from the previous year, largely driven by surging home values and shifting local tax rates. 

However, some homeowners are paying a significantly different amount due to the states they live in, according to Realtor.com. 

“Tax growth varies widely state to state, including some states where tax burdens are outpacing home price growth and others where property taxes are falling even as homes appreciate in value,” Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com, said in a statement.

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West Virginia homeowners pay a median of just $728 per year, the lowest in the nation. Meanwhile, New Jersey residents face the highest median property tax bill, averaging $9,413 annually, according to Realtor.com.

The states with the lowest property taxes include:

West Virginia — $728

Alabama — $804

Arkansas — $871

Mississippi — $1,034

South Carolina — $1,328

Tennessee — $1,333

Louisiana — $1,415

Oklahoma —$1,481

Kentucky — $1,551

Michigan — $1,670

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Property taxes generally loosely mirror the market value of a home, according to Berner.

States with the greatest property tax burdens are typically located in the Northeast, where household incomes and home prices are higher. By contrast, the states with the lowest property tax bills all have median home prices below the national median of $425,000 for September 2025, according to Realtor.com.

Although low property taxes can ease the financial burden for homeowners, they often mean fewer local services, according to Realtor.com.

“Property taxes support important municipal services, police, firefighters, schools, courts, libraries, parks and recreation, emergency response, the pound, roads, and maybe many more services people might not realize are funded, like senior services, municipal airports, public health, possibly water, sewer, and trash collection,” Bruce Ailion, an agent with Re/Max Town and County in Atlanta, told Realtor.com.

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As property taxes climb, lawmakers in Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas are exploring ways to reduce the burden on homeowners. 

Montana has already implemented property tax relief measures, FOX 10 reported.