Bongino unleashes scathing takedown on Comey over controversial social media post
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino issued a sharp and public condemnation of the bureau’s former director, James Comey, Saturday, accusing Comey of disgracing the agency as authorities investigate Comey’s controversial “86 47” Instagram post.
In a statement posted to X, Bongino said Comey’s actions are another example of failed leadership that continues to haunt the agency.
“Former FBI Director James Comey brought shame to the FBI badge, yet again, this past week,” Bongino wrote. “The Director and I spend an inordinate amount of time cleaning up messes left behind by former Director Comey. And his latest actions are no exception.”
TRUMP SAYS COMEY KNEW ‘ASSASSINATION’ MEANING BEHIND DELETED SOCIAL MEDIA POST
Comey, dismissed by President Donald Trump in 2017, sparked outrage after posting a photo to social media Thursday showing seashells arranged to say “86 47,” a phrase widely understood to mean to “get rid of” the 47th president. Though Comey later deleted the post and claimed it was misunderstood, many, including Trump, say the meaning was clear.
“He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant,” Trump said Friday on Fox News. “If you’re the FBI director, and you don’t know what that meant, that meant ‘assassination,’ and it says it loud and clear.”
Comey offered a follow-up statement online, saying he “didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence” and that it “never occurred to me.”
Bongino strongly rejected that explanation, describing it as part of a larger pattern of misconduct. In his post, Bongino wrote:
FORMER FBI DIRECTOR JAMES COMEY MEETS WITH SECRET SERVICE AFTER CONTROVERSIAL ’86 47′ POST
“As the Deputy Director of the FBI, I am charged, standing with Director Patel, with managing the most powerful law enforcement agency in the world. The Director and I are also responsible for looking at grave mistakes made by people within the FBI in the past, and ensuring they never happen again.”
He stressed the FBI’s continuing commitment to supporting federal law enforcement partners investigating any threats involving public officials, past or present.
“While the FBI does not have primary investigative responsibility for investigating threats against the POTUS, and we do not make prosecutorial decisions, we do have the ability and authority to support other federal agencies for violations of federal law,” Bongino said.
“And we certainly have a responsibility to comment on matters involving former FBI officials, and allegations of law-breaking.”
The U.S. Secret Service has already interviewed Comey about the incident. FBI Director Kash Patel said in a separate statement that the bureau is “in communication with the Secret Service and Director Curran.”
Bongino noted that this latest controversy is part of a general legacy of dysfunction inherited from Comey’s leadership, which he and Patel are working to fix from the inside out.
“As I’ve stated in the past, I cannot post openly about all the things the Director and I are doing to reform the enterprise, but I assure you, they are happening,” Bongino wrote. “Sadly, many of those agenda items are the result of former Director Comey’s poor decision-making and atrocious leadership.
“And to those who doubt me, I assure you, when you see what the Director and I see from the inside, it’s even worse.”
Bongino said he chose to post his statement now because his scheduled interview with FOX Business anchor Maria Bartiromo, which will air Sunday on Sunday Morning Futures was recorded earlier in the week, before the Comey post was made public.
“I’m addressing this now, rather than on our interview with Maria Bartiromo [Sunday], because we recorded that interview earlier in the week prior to the incident with Comey,” he explained.
He closed with a message to the country that echoed his support for the law enforcement community and the reforms underway at the FBI.
“God bless America, and all those who defend Her,” he said.
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Bongino, a former NYPD officer and longtime Secret Service agent, was appointed deputy director of the FBI earlier this year.
His leadership under Director Kash Patel reflects a broader effort by the Trump administration to restore accountability and integrity to the FBI after years of what many see as politically motivated misconduct.
The FBI did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for further comment.
American-Israeli soldier’s emotional response to Trump after Hamas release goes viral
In an emotional and widely shared moment, President Donald J. Trump spoke directly with Edan Alexander, the 21-year-old American-Israeli soldier who was recently freed from Hamas captivity, during a phone call captured on camera and released by the White House.
“Mr. President,” Alexander greeted Trump at the start of the call, visibly moved. “You’re the only reason I’m here. You saved my life.”
The phone conversation, which took place while Alexander was recovering at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, came just days after his dramatic release from Gaza, where he was held hostage for over 580 days following his abduction by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.
HAMAS CAPTIVITY SURVIVORS APPEAL TO NETANYAHU, TRUMP AFTER EDAN ALEXANDER’S RELEASE
President Trump greeted Edan with a bit of humor and humility, saying “I’m very nervous talking to you, Edan, because you’re a much bigger celebrity than I am.”
Trump also expressed American solidarity and the administration’s commitment to bringing all hostages home while on the call.
“You’re an American, and we love you,” Trump told Alexander. “We’re going to take good care of you. And your parents are incredible. I saw your mother. She was pushing me around a little bit—putting a lot of pressure on me.”
“Like a good mom!” exclaimed Edan’s mother in the background.
AMERICAN HOSTAGE EDAN ALEXANDER RELEASED BY HAMAS AFTER MORE THAN 580 DAYS IN CAPTIVITY
The heartfelt exchange was posted online by the official White House account and has quickly gone viral, drawing praise from across the political spectrum for its display of humanity and international unity.
Alexander’s release came amid intensified U.S. diplomatic pressure and quiet negotiations, coordinated in part by senior envoys Steve Witkoff and Adam Boehler.
Trump had previously signaled his determination to secure the freedom of American citizens held abroad and made Alexander’s case a top priority.
The Alexander family issued a statement thanking President Trump directly, along with the negotiation team and the Israeli Defense Forces, calling the outcome “a miracle rooted in strength, diplomacy, and prayer.”
Edan Alexander’s homecoming has reignited calls to bring home the remaining hostages still held in Gaza.
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A coalition of 65 former hostages recently signed a letter urging both President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “build on this breakthrough” and intensify efforts for a comprehensive agreement to ensure every hostage’s safe return.
Prime Minister Netanyahu acknowledged the success of this combined effort, stating, “This was achieved thanks to our military pressure and the diplomatic pressure applied by President Trump. This is a winning combination.”
The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese get into altercation during game after flagrant foul
Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese had a heated exchange after the Indiana Fever sharpshooter fouled the Chicago Sky forward in the third quarter of their matchup Saturday.
Reese pushed Fever forward Natasha Howard in the back as she grabbed an offensive rebound off a miss by teammate Rebecca Allen.
Reese brought the ball low, and Clark fouled her before she went up for a shot. Reese fell to the ground.
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Reese got up from the floor and got into the face of Clark.
Referees looked at the play and determined Clark used her left hand to shove Reese to the floor. They upgraded the personal foul on Clark to a flagrant foul. And Reese and Aliyah Boston of the Fever were issued technical fouls.
“Nothing malicious about it, just a good take foul,” Clark told ESPN’s Holly Rowe.
It seemed to be another chapter in the rivalry between Clark and Reese.
The two had an intense rivalry during their time in women’s college basketball. Clark spoke on the importance of defeating rivals on the floor before the game against Chicago.
CAITLIN CLARK IS THE ‘MOST POPULAR ATHLETE IN AMERICA,’ WNBA COMMISSIONER DECLARES
“Rivalries are real, and that’s what makes sports so amazing,” Clark told ESPN. “There’s certain teams that those games just mean a little bit more. [We] come out here and play the same way every night, but [a rivalry] gets the fans involved, and they love it.”
Clark’s history with the Sky began last season.
Clark took a series of questionable fouls from Reese’s Sky throughout the 2024 season, including one from Reese June 16.
Clark also took an infamous illegal hip check from Chicago Sky forward Chennedy Carter June 1. Then, in late August, Chicago’s Diamond DeShields committed a hard foul on Clark, who went flying across the floor. The foul was later upgraded to a flagrant violation, and DeShields later posted screenshots of hate messages she had received from the foul.
But Clark’s team prevailed, taking three of the four meetings between the teams last year, which were among the most-watched WNBA contests all season.
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The Sky and Fever meet five times in 2025.
Pope Leo XIV celebrates inaugural debut with televised mass before world leaders
Pope Leo XIV’s
inaugural mass will take place on Sunday May 18 at 4AM ET (10AM Rome time) in St. Peter’s Basilica and is a solemn ceremony steeped in ritual and symbolism in a direct tribute to the first Pope of Rome, the Apostle Peter.
The Petrine Ministry will begin in the Basilica with the new pontiff descending to the chapel of the Tomb of Saint Peter, where Pope Leo will first pause for prayer and then incense the site – signifying the direct link of the pope to the apostle.
While Pope Leo joins the procession, a litany hymn known as “Laudes Regiae” will be sung to invoke the “intercession” of the holy Pontiffs, martyrs, and saints of the Roman Church, according to Vatican News.
Following the procession the pope is expected to be presented with “ancient episcopal insignia” associated with Saint Peter, including the Pallium, which is a liturgical vestment made of lamb wool and is a nod to the Good Shepard, and the Ring of the Fisherman, which signifies Peter’s faith in Jesus.
Both items serve as a symbol of Pope Leo XIV having assumed the role of the papacy.
World leaders are again expected to be among the 250,000 people expected to attend the Mass.
At least 1 dead after bomb rocks Palm Springs reproductive center: ‘Intentional act of terrorism’
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) bomb technicians are investigating an apparent car bombing near a Palm Springs, California, fertility clinic on Saturday, which left one person dead and at least four people injured.
The blast, which FBI Los Angeles assistant director Akil Davis called an “intentional act of terrorism,” happened just before 11 a.m. local time near an American Reproductive Centers facility.
Acknowledging the attack was “targeted,” officials said they are still investigating if the isolated incident was an act of international or domestic terrorism.
However, they did note it is “probably one of the largest bombing investigations that we’ve had in Southern California … on the scale of the Aliso Viejo bombing in Orange County,” which killed one person and injured two others in 2018.
MINIVAN PLOWS THROUGH CROWD INJURING AT LEAST 9 IN BUSY LOS ANGELES SHOPPING DISTRICT
Davis did not immediately identify the person who died in the explosion or confirm if it was the person of interest, but noted authorities are “not actively out searching for a suspect.”
Palm Springs Police Chief Andy Miles said debris extended across multiple blocks, describing it as a “massive” crime scene.
Jason Pack, a retired FBI agent and hostage negotiator, told Fox News Digital it could take days for authorities to search for evidence of explosives through several blocks of rubble.
FIREFIGHTERS BATTLE INFERNO AFTER REPORTED EXPLOSION NEAR TEXAS AIRPORT, AT LEAST 4 INJURED
To determine the type and quantity of devices used, investigators will need to examine blast radius and structural impact to assess the power and direction of the explosion, and search for chemical residues of known explosive materials — such as ammonium nitrate, TATP, RDX, or PETN, according to Pack.
Key finds will also include fragments, shrapnel and device components, to help reconstruct the method of detonation.
“Whether this was a single large device or multiple smaller ones, those answers will come from detailed lab testing and scene reconstruction—not just visual assessment,” Pack said.
Posts on social media showed nearby businesses with glass and debris blown out of windows.
“Terrorism came knocking on the door of Palm Springs,” Miles said during a news conference Saturday night. “We survived, and I can tell you that this city will rise and be more and be more effective as a beacon of hope than before.”
LAS VEGAS POLICE SAY CYBERTRUCK THAT EXPLODED AT TRUMP HOTEL HAD FUEL CONTAINERS, LARGE FIREWORK MORTARS
The American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic said no staff members were harmed, and while the building was damaged, the IVF lab—including eggs, embryos and reproductive materials—were spared.
“This morning, an unexpected and tragic incident occurred outside our Palm Springs facility when a vehicle exploded in the parking lot near our building,” the company wrote in a Facebook post. “In the face of this tragedy, we remain committed to creating hope—because we believe that healing begins with community, compassion and care. … This moment has shaken us—but it has not stopped us. We will continue to serve with strength, love and the hope that brings new life into the world.”
The Palm Springs Police Department‘s active call log listed multiple responses for medical service on the 1100 block of N Palm Canyon Drive, beginning just before 11 a.m. local time.
There were also various calls for burglaries in the area, according to police records.
In a statement on X, Attorney General Pam Bondi called the attack “unforgiveable.”
“We are working to learn more, but let me be clear: the Trump administration understands that women and mothers are the heartbeat of America,” Bondi wrote in the post. “Violence against a fertility clinic is unforgivable.”
In separate posts to X, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli and Gov. Gavin Newsom expressed their condolences and support for federal investigators working on the case.
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The Palm Springs Fire Department, California Highway Patrol and Desert Regional Medical Center did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office told Fox News Digital it is not responding to the incident.
A-list actor’s daughter says he cut her off financially after high school
Dakota Johnson recalled how her father, Don Johnson, had cut her off financially after she didn’t get into college.
While being interviewed by her “Materialists” co-star Pedro Pascal for Elle UK, the 35-year-old actress revealed that she had only applied to one college, the Julliard School, but she had been rejected by the prestigious conservatory.
Johnson opted not to apply to other colleges and initially wasn’t able to support herself with the acting gigs that she could land at the time.
“I didn’t get in and my dad cut me off because I didn’t go to college,” Johnson told Pascal. “So, I started auditioning. I think I was 19 when I did “The Social Network,” and then little jobs and stuff after that.”
“For a couple of years it was hard to make money,” she admitted. “There were a few times when I’d go to the market and not have money in my bank account or not be able to pay rent, and I’d have to ask my parents for help – I’m very grateful that I had parents that could help me and did help me. But it certainly was not fun. The auditioning process, as you know, is the f—— worst.”
DON JOHNSON CUT OFF DAUGHTER FROM ‘FAMILY PAYROLL’ WHEN SHE REFUSED TO GO TO COLLEGE
Dakota told Pascal that applying to Juilliard was also really challenging. One of the most elite performing arts schools in the world, The Juilliard School in New York City only accepts about 10% of applicants.
“That f—— process was so awful and terrifying,” Johnson recalled. “When you get accepted for an audition, it’s a two-day long chorus-line thing. You’re supposed to get called back for a second audition, and I didn’t.”
“It was fine, I really didn’t want to go to college,” she continued. “And because Juilliard felt so small – the idea of being in a classroom with the same group of people, and figuring out how to be a human in that environment, after growing up surrounded by so many different kinds of people and immersed in different cultures through traveling all over. . . . It just felt really wrong to lock myself in one place.”
Don, 75, shares Johnson with his ex-wife Melanie Griffith, 67. Don and Griffith first married in 1976 but divorced six months later. The “Miami Vice” star and the “Working Girl” actress tied the knot again in 1989 and welcomed Dakota that year, but they split again in 1996.
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Johnson told Pascal that she had not had the typical school experience, since she had spent most of her childhood traveling with Don and Griffith while they filmed acting projects.
“I traveled with my parents and with a tutor until I was 10 years old,” she said. “I went to a bunch of different schools all over, and we lived in Spain for quite a while, because my mom and Antonio [Banderas] were married. At one point, I went to an all-girls Catholic boarding school. That was an interesting experience.”
She went on to say that she moved back to Los Angeles and attended the private New Roads School for the last three years of high school. However, the “Madame Webs” actress admitted that she hadn’t been the best student.
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“I was bad at basic school stuff because I never learnt time management or did my homework,” Johnson said. “I enjoyed English. I was good at Spanish, I was not at math. I did visual arts, and then at one point they had a pseudo-theatre program that I was a part of, and then I got kicked out of it, because I abandoned my schoolwork and started failing classes.”
Johnson played a minor role in Aaron Sorkin’s hit 2010 biographical drama “The Social Network.” The actress made her career breakthrough in 2015 when she starred as Anastasia Steele in “50 Shades of Grey” and reprized her role in the movie’s two sequels.
During an appearance on “Good Morning America,” Don, who is also father to sons Jesse, Jasper and Deacon and daughter Grace, shared his thoughts on some of his kids following in his footsteps and pursuing acting.
“I warned them against it. I said, ‘This is not for you,'” Johnson said.
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“When Dakota was graduating from high school . . . we have a rule in the family,” he continued. “The rule is that if you don’t go on to college and get a job, you’re off the family payroll.
“Out of high school, I went to Dakota and said, ‘Do you want to go visit some colleges?’ And she said, ‘I’m not going to college.’ I said, ‘Oh, that’s interesting. How are you going to look after yourself?’ She said, ‘Don’t you worry about it. I’m going to be an actress.’
“Three months later, she had that part in ‘The Social Network’ and hasn’t looked back,” he added.
Luxury car dealership co-owner steps down following antisemitic message scandal
A co-owner of a luxury car dealership in Florida is reportedly resigning after he allegedly made an antisemitic remark in a text to a customer.
“I had my Porsche rep contact the factory to secure a spot at the paint to sample line for a special color before I had someone contact you,” Pompano Beach Champion Motorsports/Champion Porsche co-owner Naveen Maraj allegedly wrote to a potential customer recently.
Maraj allegedly sent the text after a customer said he was going to a different dealer, according to a screenshot from BocaNewsNow.com.
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“But as usual you behave like a spoiled Jew c— who thinks you’re special but you’re not. You not buying a car from me is like a gift from god.”
“This shocking display of antisemitism has no place in business and we urge clients to shop elsewhere,” StopAntiSemitism wrote on X Saturday morning.
FOX Business has reached out to the Anti-Defamation League for comment.
Champion General Manager Mike Peters told BocaNewsNow.com, which first reported on the incident, “At Champion, we are firmly committed to fostering an environment rooted in respect, professionalism and integrity. Incidents like this remind us of the importance of these values, and we will use this moment as an opportunity to reinforce them — both internally and in our broader relationships.
“In furtherance of those standards, Naveen Maraj has advised that he will resign from his employment with Champion and will step down from his managerial and leadership roles with the company effective immediately.”
FOX Business has reached out to Champion for comment.
Elsewhere in the lengthy statement, Peters called Maraj’s comments “offensive and inexcusable” but said Maraj and the customer, John Wolff, have a personal friendship, and the “comment was not made with the intent to harm.”
“Notwithstanding, we recognize that intent does not negate impact,” he added. “The language used was inappropriate and does not reflect the standards of conduct or mutual respect that has been a part of the Champion culture for over 38 years.”
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“By way of background, Mr. Wolff and Mr. Naveen Maraj have maintained a close personal friendship for more than 14 years,” Peters elaborated. “Over that time, they became avid fishing partners and became what Naveen believed to be a close friend. That friendship included a degree of casual banter and familiarity that, while understood privately, can easily be misinterpreted — or become wholly inappropriate — when viewed outside of that context.
“The remark in question was made in a personal capacity and was entirely unrelated to Mr. Maraj’s role or responsibilities at Champion. It was a moment of misplaced informality between friends, not a deliberate attempt to offend or cause harm.”
Wolff told BocaNewsNow.com he and Maraj hadn’t spoken in six years and called it absurd that it would be acceptable within their friendship to call him a “Jew c—.”
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Peters in the statement acknowledged that “words carry weight, regardless of context or intent. We deeply regret any discomfort, concern or confusion this incident may have caused. Mr. Maraj has personally expressed his remorse and apology to Mr. Wolff.”
Tornado outbreak kills dozens across Kentucky, Missouri, spawns devastating damage
LONDON, Ky. – A tornado outbreak swept across the Ohio Valley on Friday night, leaving at least two dozen dead and rescue crews frantically searching neighborhoods left in ruins for any other survivors.
Officials in Kentucky are still surveying damage and provided varying estimates as to the number of people impacted.
Governor Andy Beshear said he was aware of 18 fatalities, while Kentucky Rep. Hal Rogers believed the number was closer to two dozen.
Some of the hardest hit towns by large tornadoes Friday night in Kentucky were Somerset and London, where local government officials reported at least 17 people died amid significant damage.
The Laurel County Sheriff’s Office said a tornado touched down in London just before midnight and tore through two neighborhoods and the London Corbin Airport area, “causing mass casualties in its path.”
One of the fatalities was a longtime firefighter, according to the Laurel County Fire Department.
The 39-year firefighting veteran was reported to have been killed while responding to damage.
“As we continue search and recovery efforts in the affected areas, we ask that everyone stays clear to allow our teams to do their work safely and effectively,” first responders stated.
Tornado damage in London, Kentucky as seen on May 17, 2025.
(London Mayor Randall Weddle / FOX Weather)
Video from London showed extensive damage with multiple homes destroyed and vehicles barely recognizable as debris littered the neighborhood and lightning still flashed in the background.
“(My daughter) got scared, so we went to the hallway,” a woman named Leslie, who survived the storm with her family, told emergency officials in the video. “And we were in there about two minutes and then my husband came running in and pretty much jumped on top of her because you could feel the air sucking in, and it sounded like a train. And then we saw stuff falling, and next thing you knew, most of the house was gone.”
MORE THAN A DOZEN DEAD IN KENTUCKY AS TORNADOES SWEEP ACROSS STATE FRIDAY NIGHT
London mayor Randall Weddle posted several photos from an aerial tour of the damage given by Air Evac Life Team, which itself lost its hanger and one of its helicopters to the tornado.
Tornado damage in London, Kentucky as seen on May 17, 2025.
(London Mayor Randall Weddle / FOX Weather)
Photos show wide swaths of damaged buildings across the London Corbin airport and into surrounding neighborhoods.
The tornado’s size became even more evident as it tore a path through wooded areas on the outskirts of town, leaving a stripe of bare, wind-blasted trees in its wake.
Tornado damage in London, Kentucky as seen on May 17, 2025.
(London Mayor Randall Weddle / FOX Weather)
State of emergency in Somerset
Rescue crews were also combing through tornado damage in Somerset, where at least one person died.
Somerset mayor Alan Keck declared a state of emergency in his city as “damage is extensive and loss of life occurred, the extent of which is not fully reported as of this (declaration).”
“It was a really scary night,” Keck told FOX Weather Saturday morning. “This really hit our business community, (the tornado) went right through our commercial corridor. It was a tough night.”
While at least one person died in the storms in his city, Keck said the tornado spared hundreds of homes.
Tornado damage in Pulaski County, Kentucky on May 17, 2025.
(Somerset Pulaski County Special Response / FOX Weather)
“I want to start with some gratitude that it could have been so much worse,” he said. “If you look at the path through Somerset, candidly, it’s remarkable that it didn’t do more damage to residential homes… There were close to 200 apartments right behind (the tornado path) that didn’t get hit. It was almost as if the storm lifted up before it got to the next neighborhood… It really could have been monumentally worse.”
Beshar warned his state’s death toll was expected to rise as the state remains in an active rescue phase. Over 100,000 people in Kentucky remain without power and five counties are in a state of emergency. He plans to visit London to survey the damage later Saturday.
“Please pray for all of our affected families,” he said.
Tornadoes leave 5 dead around St. Louis
The severe weather outbreak began earlier Friday in Missouri as supercell thunderstorms spawned deadly tornadoes.
St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer said at least five storm-related fatalities have been confirmed in her city. She implemented a city-wide curfew because over 5,000 homes were affected by the storms.
AT LEAST 7 DEAD AS TORNADOES PUMMEL MISSOURI
In Scott County, located about 2 hours south of St. Louis, the sheriff reported at least two storm-related deaths and multiple injuries.
“Today, our county was struck by a devastating tornado in the southern region, causing significant damage to several rural areas,” Scott County Sheriff Derick Wheetley said. The tornado moved from the eastern part of the county, leaving behind a trail of destruction, with multiple homes completely lost and areas left unrecognizable.”
Much of the damage in the St. Louis area seems to have happened in the University City area. FOX News Multimedia Reporter Olivianna Calmes found damage in Clayton, just south of University City. She said she has seen several trees damaged, and some trees have fallen on cars in the area.
“The skies turned green,” Rachel, a resident of Clayton, told Calmes. “The winds started whipping. Then, it fell silent, and then you heard what sounded like a train, and everything started falling.
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According to a Facebook post, the St. Louis Zoo sustained damage during the storm and will be closed through Saturday.
“All animals are safe and accounted for, and there have been no reports of significant injuries to staff, guests or animals,” zoo staff wrote in the post.
The NWS described the storm as a “Particularly Dangerous Situation” when it issued a Tornado Warning that affected more than a million people across the St. Louis metro area.
Indiana postal facility destroyed
Tornadic thunderstorms also impacted southern Indiana and Illinois, where several counties south of Interstate 70 were placed under Tornado Warnings.
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Sheriff’s deputies in Indiana’s Monroe County, home to Bloomington, reported six injuries in the storm. At least 75 homes suffered damage, as well as a 30-room motel, a multi-unit duplex property and the Clear Creek post office.
Clear Creek, Indiana post office suffers major damage during severe storms on May 16, 2025.
(Monroe County Sheriff’s Office)
The SPC received more than half a dozen reports of tornado touchdowns in Indiana, but there were no reports of any fatalities connected to the severe weather.
Overall, more than 800,000 customers were reported without power across at least a dozen states, with outages likely to last days in hard-hit communities.
Severe weather remains a threat into next week
The hard-hit Ohio Valley will get a break from severe storms Saturday as the threat shifts into inland New England, where damaging wind gusts look to be the largest threat from any severe thunderstorms, the FOX Forecast Center said.
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This graphic shows a severe weather threat starting on Sunday, May 18.
(FOX Weather)
Another threat of severe weather energizes in the Southern Plains on Saturday, kicking off another multiday threat across the region.
The Storm Prediction Center has highlighted the potential for severe weather in several areas of the country through early next week.
“This is a classic severe weather setup for the Central Plains,” Merwin said. “You have all of that moisture streaming in from the Gulf, the cooler, drier air off the Rockies, and then you get that classic clash zone.”
Bill Maher urges Americans to ‘get over the fantasy’ of deeply held beliefs, core convictions
HBO host Bill Maher urged Americans to “get over the fantasy” that they are people of “core convictions and deeply held beliefs” on an episode of “Real Time” Friday night.
Maher criticized Americans for flip-flopping on their beliefs, saying they base their values on what’s popular with their political party.
“They only care which side is saying something,” he said, citing electric vehicles (EVs) as an example.
“This car used to be ‘fire.’ Now it’s on fire,” Maher said while showing footage of Teslas being burned at a dealership.
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“Back when Elon Musk was presumed liberal, liberals loved electric cars and conservatives hated them,” he continued. “Then Elon went MAGA, and while the car market grew by 10% last month, sales of electric vehicles were down 5%, and not just Teslas, all EVs.”
“Conversely, MAGA Nation used to hate EVs two years ago,” he added. “Seventy-one percent of Republicans said they would not consider buying an electric car. Trump said they were for, quote, ‘radical left fascists, Marxists and communists.’ Now he’s selling them on the White House lawn.”
The “Real Time” host then turned his focus to an issue on which he felt Democrats had changed their stance on due to politics: keeping kids in school.
He referenced “An Abundance of Caution,” a book by David Zweig, which detailed the detrimental effects closing schools had on children during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Here’s the author’s takeaway line: ‘The Academy of Pediatrics were very strongly in favor of getting kids into schools, but as soon as Trump came out in favor of reopening, they completely reversed their position,” he quoted.
Maher followed up with a tongue-in-cheek remark: “Hey, if you find yourself suddenly hating something you loved five minutes ago or vice versa, ask your doctor if ivermectin is right for you.”
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He brought up the controversy surrounding the drug during the pandemic, noting how public opinion shifted largely along party lines.
“It [Ivermectin] won the Nobel Prize in 2015 for what it did for humans, but whatever the point is, it’s a drug, it’s not a politician,” Maher noted. “Drugs don’t have political parties, although I do suspect Xanax is a Democrat.”
Staying on the topic of health, Maher criticized conservatives for supposedly switching their stance on public health over the last few years because of politics.
“Do people really want to put politics ahead of their very health?” he asked. “Let me answer that — Yes. I know they do, because when Michelle Obama adopted as her first lady project to get America healthy again, Republicans went buck wild apes— real housewives throw drinks in your face crazy against it because it was Michelle Obama who said it.”
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He recalled conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh mocking the initiative by asking if Americans were “supposed to eat roots and berries and tree bark.”
But according to Maher, conservatives’ views on public health completely shifted once U.S. Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was appointed to his new cabinet position.
“But now that Robert Kennedy, leader of the Make America Healthy Again movement, is in the Trump administration, tree bark good, f— yeah make America healthy,” he quipped. “Finally, somebody said it. And when I say somebody, I mean not a Black, liberal lady.”
Maher closed the segment by urging Americans to stop reflexively supporting or opposing positions based solely on who supports them.
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“But until we get to where we can do that,” he joked, “I just hope the Democrats come out strongly next week for dictatorship, coal mining, and making pot illegal.”