Greg Biffle’s wife sent distressing text before fatal plane crash killed family members
Greg Biffle’s wife sent a distressing message to her mother moments before their plane crashed at a North Carolina regional airport on Thursday, killing everyone onboard.
Cristina Grossu Biffle told her mother, Cathy Grossu, “We’re in trouble,” according to People.
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“She texted me from the plane and she said, ‘We’re in trouble.’ And that was it,” Cathy Grossu told the magazine. “So we’re devastated. We’re brokenhearted.”
The unimaginable tragedy took the lives of seven people, including the former NASCAR star, his wife, their son Ryder, his daughter Emma, Dennis Dutton, Dennis’ son Jack and Craig Wadsworth.
Cathy Grossu told People that the crew was headed to the Bahamas for a birthday trip. The plane was set to fly to Sarasota, Florida, before heading to the island nation.
“To think that they would be killed on a birthday trip, that was just such a fun time for the family,” Grossu added. “And to see the horrific way that it ended, it’s just, it is so hard to bear. I cannot believe they’re gone.”
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Grossu remembered her grandchild and step-grandchild as two kids who had their whole lives ahead of them.
The Cessna C550 erupted into a large fire when it hit the ground at Statesville Regional Airport, authorities said. The plane initially took off and turned back toward the airport trying to land. The cause of the crash wasn’t immediately known, nor was the reason why the plane tried to return to the airport.
The families of the victims released a joint statement.
“We are devastated by the loss of our loved ones. This tragedy has left all of our families heartbroken beyond words,” the joint statement read.
“Each of them meant everything to us, and their absence leaves an immeasurable void in our lives.
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“We ask for privacy, compassion and understanding as we grieve and begin to process this unimaginable loss. We are grateful for the kindness and support that has been extended to our families during this incredibly difficult time. At this moment, our focus is on honoring their lives and supporting one another.”
Sports reporter, husband found dead after toddler opened door for grandfather: report
The 3-year-old son of a beloved Alabama sports reporter and her husband, who were found dead earlier this week, reportedly led his grandfather into the family’s home to discover the tragic scene.
The bodies of Christina Chambers, a former WBRC 6 sports reporter, and her husband, Johnny Rimes, were discovered inside the family’s Hoover home on Tuesday morning in what authorities believe to be a murder-suicide, according to the Hoover Police Department.
The 3-year-old was also at the home at the time of the incident but was unharmed, police said.
Rimes’ father visited the couple’s home shortly after 9 a.m., after the pair did not show up at a pre-scheduled church event, neighbor Charles Maple told People.
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When he arrived at Chambers and Rimes’ front door, he was reportedly greeted by the boy who subsequently let him into the home.
“The child answered the door,” Maple told the outlet, citing investigators. “And then they went back [into the home], and they found the bodies.”
“It is heartbreaking,” Maple added.
The Hoover Police Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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The couple moved to the Hoover-area neighborhood seven years ago, according to the neighbor, who also reportedly added that they seemed happy in their relationship.
However, after their child was born, Maple said that “something wasn’t right” between the couple, according to People.
“I was so shocked, but for some reason, I don’t know why, I wasn’t totally surprised,” Maple reportedly said.
On Tuesday night, Chambers’ former WBRC 6 colleagues aired an emotional tribute to their colleague, highlighting both her life and legacy as a journalist and educator.
“Christina Chambers had a beautiful ability to naturally feel like a friend immediately,” reporter Gillian Brooks said, according to the New York Post.
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“Many at WBRC are in shock that they are talking about Christina, this bright light, in the past tense,” Brooks added. “However, the WBRC family is reflecting on the impact she will have on their lives forever.”
Chambers reportedly joined the news station in 2015 and became a central figure on its “Sideline” program, which provides primetime coverage of local sports in the area. Throughout her tenure, she provided live coverage of various sporting events from the field. That included anchoring the very marathons she was running, WBRC 6 reported.
After leaving her full-time role at the station to pursue a teaching career in July 2021, she continued to freelance for the station’s coverage of the 2025 football season.
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Chambers later went on to work as a broadcast journalism teacher at Thompson High School, where she was honored as the 2024 Advisor of the Year by the Alabama Scholastic Press Association, according to WBRC 6.
“She was one of the sweetest, most loving people that I know,” WBRC 6 News Anchor, Jeh Jeh Pruitt reportedly said. “She was relentless with running, loving her son, and loving life. I am glad I got a chance to hug and tell her I love her a week ago at the Super 7. I am so sorry for her family, the Chambers and Thompson Families, and her WBRC Family.”
Foreign national suspected in Brown shooting, MIT murder, found dead in storage unit, officials say
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Authorities have identified the suspect in Saturday’s mass shooting at Brown University, which left two students dead and nine injured during a finals week review session, as the same man believed to have carried out the murder of a renowned nuclear scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology days later.
His name is Claudio Manuel Neves-Valente, according to Providence police.
He was found dead Thursday evening, authorities announced at a press briefing Thursday evening, after law enforcement officers in tactical gear were seen outside a storage unit linked to him in Salem, New Hampshire, for hours.
Neves-Valente, 48, was a Portuguese national and studied at Brown from the fall of 2000 to the spring of 2001 to study physics, according to Brown President Christina Paxson. But he went on a leave of absence and ultimately withdrew in 2003.
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A man with the same name was also terminated from a monitor position at the Instituto Superior Tecnico in Portugal in 2000, school records show. Authorities said they believe he is the same person as the killer.
That’s also the same university attended by the renowned MIT nuclear physics professor Nuno Loureiro, who suffered fatal gunshot wounds Monday at his home in Massachusetts, about 50 miles away from Brown.
Rhode Island authorities said that the investigation was being handled by Massachusetts authorities, who would speak for themselves. Leah B. Foley, the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, later confirmed that Neves-Valente was suspected in Loureiro’s murder too.
This evening at approximately 9 p.m., federal agents breached a storage locker in Salem, New Hampshire, in search of Claudio Neves-Valente, a Portuguese national we believed shot and killed two Brown University students and an MIT professor in Brookline, Massachusetts,” she told reporters in a separate news briefing. “Federal agents found Neves-Valente dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”
The Brown shooting happened around 4 p.m. Saturday at a finals week study session at the Barus and Holley Building on the eastern edge of campus. A motive remains unclear, and the investigation is ongoing, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley told reporters.
The building has long hosted physics and engineering classes, according to Paxson.
“I think it’s safe to assume that this man, when he was a student, spent a great deal of time in that building for classes and other activities as a Ph.D. student in physics,” Paxson said. “He has no current active affiliation with the university or campus presence.”
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Detectives initially questioned a person of interest at a hotel outside town but ruled him out as a suspect, according to authorities.
Police spent days canvassing the neighborhood for surveillance video, which turned up images of a person of interest — a masked, stocky figure who stood around 5 feet, 8 inches tall and walked with an odd gait.
Susan Constantine, a body language expert, said one key marker is how the person of interest’s right leg bows inward while his toe points outward as he walks.
Then they shared images of a second person who they said may have information about the person they were seeking and asked for the public’s help identifying both of them.
Six of the surviving victims remained hospitalized as of Thursday afternoon in stable condition.
The two killed were identified as Ella Cook of Alabama and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov of Virginia.
The surrounding community spent days waiting for answers, with residents on edge after the school sent students home early in the wake of the shooting.
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Tearful Kimmel slams ‘psychotic episode’ in America during emotional monologue
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel grew emotional during an end-of-year thank-you message to viewers, expressing gratitude for helping him get through what he called an especially “hard year.”
During the year’s final episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Thursday, the host thanked his fans for their support during what he described as an “extended psychotic episode that we’re in the middle of.” Kimmel’s year was defined in part by his false suggestion that Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer was a MAGA supporter, which led to a brief suspension from the airwaves and a wrenching on-air explanation when he returned.
“It has been a hard year. We’ve had some lows. We’ve had some highs — for me, maybe more than any year of my life, but all of us — I’m crying already, sorry. But on behalf of all of us here at our show, I just want to say that we appreciate your support, your enthusiasm, and not just for watching,” Kimmel told viewers. “This year you literally pulled us out of a hole, and we cannot thank you enough personally, professionally…”
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Kimmel acknowledged there are “a lot harder jobs” than being a late-night host but admitted that “this isn’t an easy job to do” and that at times “it feels like we’re spinning our wheels.”
“You see so many awful and destructive acts, all this damage we inflict on ourselves on purpose, and it can make you feel crazy trying to wrap your head around these things that are so clearly wrong,” he said. “You know, you grow up reading ‘Superman,’ and you learn the value of truth, justice, and the American way, and then you start to realize, especially over the last year, you don’t know where that all went.”
“You don’t know what the American way even is anymore,” Kimmel added.
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Despite the feeling that America is losing its way, Kimmel said that when he hears from people who say his show — and those of his “friends and colleagues” on other networks — “makes them feel less crazy, it makes me feel less crazy, too.”
Wrapping up his end-of-the-year message, Kimmel appeared to take a dig at President Donald Trump with his comment about the country’s “extended psychotic episode.” The host added that he knows a lot of his fans are “not okay with what is happening” in the country right now.
“There is still much more good in this country than bad, and we hope that you will bear with us during this extended psychotic episode that we’re in the middle of. And we wish you a happy whatever holiday you celebrate, even if it’s none of the above,” he told his audience.
The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Kimmel and Trump have been locked in a months-long feud after ABC and its parent company, Disney, temporarily pulled “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off the air in September. The host faced backlash after suggesting the suspected murderer of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Tyler Robinson, was a Trump supporter.
Kimmel returned to the air the following week and said he never meant to make light of anyone’s death or give a false impression.
On his show last month, Kimmel claimed that Trump “tried to get me fired in September.” He joked that he admired the president’s “tenacity” in trying to get him removed.
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College football star enters transfer portal ahead of school’s big bowl game
TCU Horned Frogs quarterback Josh Hoover announced on Thursday he will enter the transfer portal and will skip the team’s Alamo Bowl game against the USC Trojans.
Hoover made the announcement in a statement on his Instagram.
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“First, I want to thank God for the opportunities that he has blessed me with to play this game,” the statement read. “I’m so thankful to have had the opportunity to represent TCU for an incredible 4 years. It has been a dream to be able to play and graduate from this university and I will forever be grateful for that.
“I want to thank Coach (Sonny) Dykes for giving me the opportunity to play at TCU. I want to thank Coach Briles and the rest of the coaching staff for pushing me to be my best on and off the field.
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“Lastly, I want to thank my teammates for all of the memories that we’ve shared together. This place has allowed me to meet some of my best friends, and I will always be grateful for that. I’ve prayed about this and decided that I will be entering the transfer portal…“
Hoover has been the team’s starting quarterback since the 2023 season. He’s played in 36 games for the Horned Frogs and racked up 9,629 yards and 71 touchdown passes.
This season, Hoover had 3,472 passing yards and 29 touchdown passes as TCU finished the regular season 8-4.
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He is expected to draw major interest once the transfer portal opens in January.
Seven men released amid fears of violent plot in wake of Bondi Beach attack
Australian authorities have released seven men who were detained over concerns that they were planning an act of violence. The men are not currently facing any charges.
On Thursday, New South Wales (NSW) Police said Tactical Operations officers carried out an operation in Sydney over information indicating “that a violent act was possibly being planned.” Officers intercepted two cars and detained seven men.
“Police acted quickly to prevent the advancement of any plan. There is no immediate safety risk to the community,” NSW Police said, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. “Investigations will continue to review all available evidence and an investigation into the matter remains ongoing.”
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NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Dave Hudson, who alleged on Friday that the men were inspired by the same ideology as the suspected Bondi Beach gunmen, defended officers’ tactics, saying they were “the most appropriate for the circumstances,” according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
“It’s a balance when you investigate, for investigators and for the counter-terrorism police, as to interdicting at a point in time where you mitigate all risk and threat, which we did yesterday, or waiting until you can get a brief of evidence against individuals with a bow on it that you can present to court,” Hudson said.
Some reports indicated that the men were traveling from Melbourne to Bondi Beach, the site of a deadly mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration. However, when speaking to reporters after the group’s release, one of the men refuted the claims, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
“No, why would we go there? Too much headache… it was too far from where we were anyway,” he said.
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NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said that the men, whose ages range from 19 to 24 and are from Victoria, will continue to be monitored while in New South Wales. Lanyon also said that NSW Police would be working with their law enforcement counterparts in Victoria.
One of the men in the group was under investigation by the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO), intelligence sources confirmed to the ABC.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said it was too early to speculate on why the group was traveling in the area.
“We’ve all seen the footage and the images of what has occurred and thank [NSW police] for their swift action,” she said, according to The Guardian. “But at this stage, there was just not enough information to speculate on why these people were traveling in this vehicle in this vicinity.”
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Australian outlets reported that one of the men chalked the incident up to a “misunderstanding.” He also said the group told police that they were “here for a holiday.”
“They have their job to do, I don’t blame them for nothing, it was a misunderstanding,” the man said. He also rejected the idea that the group held extremist beliefs.
Chinese researcher on US visa charged with smuggling E. coli into the country, FBI Director Kash Patel says
FBI Director Kash Patel announced on Friday that a post-doctoral researcher in the U.S. on a visa was charged with allegedly smuggling Escherichia coli (E. coli) into the country and making false statements about it.
Patel identified the post-doctoral researcher as Youhuang Xiang, but did not name the university involved in the case.
“This is yet another example of a researcher from China, given the privilege to work at a U.S. university, who then allegedly chose to take part in a scheme to circumvent U.S. laws and receive biological materials hidden in a package originating from China,” Patel wrote on X.
“If not properly controlled, E. coli and other biological materials could inflict devastating disease to U.S. crops and cause significant financial loss to the U.S. economy,” he added.
Patel applauded the FBI Indianapolis and Chicago field offices for their work on the case and thanked U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The FBI director also sent a warning to universities, urging them to be “vigilant of this trend.”
“Ensure your researchers know that there is a correct and legal way to obtain a license to import/export approved biological materials, and it must be followed without exception,” Patel said.
This is not the first time visa holders have been busted for allegedly smuggling materials for research since the Trump administration began its immigration crackdown in January 2025.
Sports commentator challenges congressman over Harris election loss explanation
Commentator Stephen A. Smith locked horns with Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., on Thursday, arguing that then-Vice President Kamala Harris’ gender is not the reason why she lost to President Donald Trump.
Clyburn condemned Trump during his appearance on Smith’s “Straight Shooter” podcast, describing him as a man who “looks for opportunities to insult Black women” day in and day out.
“That’s one of the categories,” Smith replied. “Because, to me, he insults everybody.”
“Well, nobody should be voting for him,” Clyburn argued. When Smith highlighted that, nonetheless, millions of people did, Clyburn responded by arguing that the American people are confusing boisterous behavior with leadership.
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“Is it possible that that’s not what they did?” Smith asked. “That instead, what they did was look at the Democratic side, and say they didn’t like what they were getting, because the Democratic side didn’t represent what James Clyburn stands for. It didn’t represent what others have stood for that are traditional members of the Democratic Party. They saw a change shifting within the Democratic Party that leaned a bit further left that were deemed to be just as unreasonable as folks on the far right and as a result they chose what they deem to be the best of two evils per se.”
“Well, the question is why they didn’t see it,” Clyburn said. “Maybe they couldn’t get beyond gender and our nominee happened to have been a Black or an African American, Asian American woman.”
In the clip flagged by The Daily Caller, Smith locked horns with Clyburn on this, warning, “Well, let me say this, because I’m not going to say this behind your back and not say it to your face.”
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“I’m sitting right here in front of you,” Smith continued. “I emphatically disagree with what you just alluded to in terms of ‘it might be gender-driven.’ I think about Hillary Rodham Clinton getting 2.9 million votes more than Trump in 2016. I think about Kamala Harris getting nearly 75 million votes… I think about governors in New York, governors-elects in Jersey and recently Virginia. I think about former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi who was considered one of the most influential figures in our nation’s history.”
He went on to argue that if it were so obvious that there is a clear bias against having a female president, Harris would not have been chosen as Biden’s successor with only 107 days to campaign.
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“That’s my opinion,” Smith said. “And I certainly disagree with Michelle Obama when she said she doesn’t think we’re ready. I think we’re very ready as a country to elect a woman, because I think women by and large are smarter, more composed, more disciplined than the men have proven to be.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and did not receive immediate reply.
Kevin Hassett predicts ‘biggest refund cycle ever,’ massive checks ahead
A leading contender to become President Trump’s next Federal Reserve chair said the administration expects larger tax refunds and higher take-home pay next year, as many Americans continue to express concerns about affordability.
“We are going to see the biggest refund cycle ever in the history of America, and people are going to get massive refund checks,” National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said in an interview on FOX Business’ “Varney & Co.” on Thursday.
“We’re expecting just that part of it alone to be worth a couple-thousand-dollar refund … the numbers are striking.”
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During his Wednesday evening address, President Trump said the administration expects “the largest tax refund season of all time” next spring and claimed many families would save between $11,000 and $20,000 annually.
Hassett backed up this claim and pushed back against sentiment from a recent Fox News Poll, which found that 44% of those surveyed say they are falling behind financially, and 74% view the economy as “not so good” or “bad.”
“You saw in the jobs report that … wages for the typical worker were up 3.7%. So if you’re running 3.7% wage increases at 1.6% core inflation, then real wages are growing at a rate of about 2 [to] 2.5%. By our estimates right now, blue-collar workers have already seen an almost $2,000 raise this year after inflation, because wages are growing so much faster than prices,” Hassett explained.
“I think that what happens in the end — and this is what happened in the first [Trump] term — is that people will see it in their wallets,” he continued. “We didn’t pass the ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ until the middle of the summer. And so a lot of the tax changes, which affect last year, weren’t in any tax forms that people filled out at the beginning of the year.”
Overall, Hassett struck a bullish tone on the economy and pointed to what he described as a “blockbuster” November inflation report, with figures coming in cooler than economists expected.
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“What’s happened is, as we predicted throughout this term, that if you really put the pedal to the metal on aggregate supply, then that’s gonna put downward pressure on prices,” he said.
“And don’t forget, that’s where we were last time in President Trump’s first term. We were growing in the 3% range, and we had inflation in the 1% range. And it looks like that’s where we are again.”
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