ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – An Albuquerque man is in custody for his role in a shooting that left his friend dead. Police said that on March 4, Sean Martin and Jeremy Muñoz fired 14 shots at a Hummer along Aztec Road, north of Candelaria Road. Martin’s ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend were inside. No one was […]
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New Idea Society – the ever-evolving project anchored by Mike Law (Wild Arrows, Eulcid) and Stephen Brodsky (Cave In, Mutoid Man, etc.) – have announced their fourth full-length album, Fire on the Hill, arriving May 15, 2026, via Relapse Records.
To mark the announcement, the duo have unveiled the album’s first single, “Dancing Horse,” alongside an official video. Law reflected on the song’s unusual journey: “Part of ‘Dancing Horse’ first appeared all the way back in 2007 and it took a lot of forms over the years that never quite worked.
“Then out of nowhere it arrived somehow fully re-formed and totally realized into one of my favorite songs I’ve ever been a part of. The original idea started on an August night in Budapest and was tied together one August morning in 2024 back in Massachusetts. It was one of those moments where Steve reached deep and found something that had been floating around in another universe and brought it to ours.”
Brodsky added his own perspective on the track’s transformation: “I remember listening to Mike‘s original demo for ‘Dancing Horse’ – it was a shoegaze thing with one lyric that shone brightly through the sonic haze: ‘There’s a dancing horse on my roof.’
“My fiancé had just hung a horseshoe above the front door of our home. A native Texan, she explained that a horseshoe points up to catch luck and then flips over to rain it down… suddenly, that one line from the demo spawned a whole other thing in my head. I’m grateful that Mike was receptive to me taking a brilliant seed of his imagination and going off to the races with it.”
While New Idea Society has shifted forms over the years, the core chemistry between Law and Brodsky remains the project’s driving force. On Fire on the Hill, that bond is pushed further than ever, with the pair embracing an intensely detailed, almost “microscopic” approach to songwriting.
Built through months of back-and-forth demos – with Brodsky working early mornings and Law taking evening shifts – the album reflects a deeply collaborative process. Songs were reshaped, refined, and, in some cases, completely rewritten, all in service of a cohesive, emotionally resonant whole.
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The transaction represents a premium of around 55% over Olaplex’s closing price on Wednesday, the U.S. company said.
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The WNBA announced Wednesday that the double expansion draft for the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo — the two new franchises joining the league this season and bringing the total number of teams to 15 — will be held on Friday, April 3, just hours before the 2026 NCAA Women’s Final Four.
The league also announced the official rules and regulations for the process, which will be slightly different from the Golden State Valkyries‘ expansion draft ahead of the 2025 season. This is the first multi-team expansion draft since 2000, when the Indiana Fever, Miami Sol, Portland Fire (2000-02) and Seattle Storm all joined at the same time.
Here’s everything you need to know about how this unique event will work and the implications for not only the Fire and Tempo, but the existing 13 teams.
The WNBA will conduct a coin toss on Friday, March 27, to determine the order of the expansion draft and where the Fire and Tempo will pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft.
Expansion teams are always slotted into the annual draft order immediately after the lottery, which includes five picks this year. Thus, the Fire and Tempo will have picks Nos. 6 and 7 overall in the first round, Nos. 21 and 22 in the second round and Nos. 36 and 37 in the third round.
The winner of the coin toss will get to choose between having the first pick in the expansion draft or the No. 6 pick in the annual college draft.
What’s next for WNBA after new CBA? Key dates for 2026 season include expansion draft, condensed free agency
Jack Maloney
The expansion draft will be two rounds, with up to 12 picks per round — six for each team. The teams will alternate picks within each round and there will be a snake format between rounds to reverse the order. Additionally, the teams will snake picks in the annual draft, so the team that picks No. 6 overall will select No. 22 overall and No. 36 overall, while the team that picks No. 7 overall will then have the Nos. 21 and 37 selections.
It will be fascinating to see the result of the coin toss and which decision the winning franchise makes. Will they want the first pick in the expansion draft or a better pick in the WNBA Draft?
The No. 6 pick in the annual draft and the second and fourth picks in the expansion draft seem to be more valuable than the No. 7 pick in the annual draft and the first and third picks in the expansion draft. However, that may depend on which players are available in the expansion draft.
As of now, it’s unclear if the team that wins the coin toss will have to decide immediately or if it can wait and see which players are available.
Here are the two paths:
Ahead of the expansion draft, each of the 13 existing teams will be required to submit a list to the league of every player to whom it has rights — players on the team’s active, suspended, draft list/reserved, core, or retired lists — as of the final day of the 2025 regular season.
The 13 existing teams will then be allowed to designate five “protected players” who will not be available for selection in the expansion draft.
All other players will be deemed “unprotected players” and will be eligible for selection by the Fire and Tempo.
Two, but only one in each round.
In the interest of fairness, both the Fire and Tempo will be allowed to select a maximum of two players from each of the 13 existing teams. That prevents a situation where one team (or teams) has its roster decimated, while others are left intact.
Additionally, the Fire and Tempo are not required to make the maximum 12 selections. The Valkyries, for example, only made 11 selections in their draft.
Most players lined up their contracts so that they would be free agents this winter in anticipation of a major pay raise under the new collective bargaining agreement. As a result, there are well over 100 free agents this winter, including dozens of unrestricted free agents.
2026 WNBA free agency rankings: The top 30 stars on the market after landmark CBA deal, including A’ja Wilson
Jack Maloney
If the Fire or Tempo select a player who is an upcoming free agent, they will receive whatever contract rights the previous team had with said player. Thus, if a player was set to become a restricted free agent, for example, the Fire or Tempo would have the right of first refusal on a contract offer from another team.
It is important to note that the Fire and Tempo can only select one player in the expansion draft who will be an unrestricted free agent. Also, unlike the Valkyries’ expansion draft, an unrestricted free agent may be selected even if they can no longer be designated as a Core Player.
Yes. Here’s what the league has to say on that matter:
“Between the time that the roster lists are submitted and a designated time on the day before the expansion draft, Portland and Toronto will be permitted to make the following trades with existing teams: (i) an agreement to select a particular player from an unprotected list and trade that player to a team other than her existing team; and (ii) an agreement to select (or not select) a particular player from such trading team’s unprotected list.”
WASHINGTON — Tensions flared behind closed doors Wednesday as defense and intelligence officials briefed some lawmakers about the war in Iran, with Republicans and Democrats expressing frustration about a lack of clarity and information about President Donald Trump’s strategy, according to four congressional officials who attended the briefing and a lawmaker who was briefed on it later.
Much of the frustration during the briefing for the House Armed Services Committee centered on the prospect of the United States’ sending ground troops into Iran, the officials and lawmaker said, including what the troops could be used for and whether the U.S. can adequately protect them once they were deployed.
“There was no plan, no strategy, no end game shared, and they didn’t give any answers. It’s unclear if there isn’t a plan or if there is a plan and they wouldn’t share it with members,” one of the congressional officials said.
The briefing took place as the war nears the one-month mark and the Trump administration is both engaging in a diplomatic effort to try to end it and sending more troops to the Middle East while Trump weighs whether to deploy American forces on the ground inside Iran.
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The chairman of the Armed Services Committee, Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., acknowledged in a text message to NBC News after the briefing that there has been some frustration with “ALL the briefings that we have been receiving for the last several months.”
He said that “criticism has NOTHING to do with Operation Epic Fury.”
“I fully support what the administration is doing in Iran,” he wrote. “But, when briefing members they need to be prepared to deliver substantive information and more fully answer questions.”
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., criticized the briefing afterward, writing on X: “Just walked out of a House Armed Services Briefing on Iran. Let me repeat: I will not support troops on the ground in Iran, even more so after this briefing.”
The Defense Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday night.
In a statement, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said the Trump administration has conducted 20 bipartisan briefings to members of Congress and that, “The President’s team will continue to work closely with the Hill while completely demolishing the Iranian regime’s ballistic missile capabilities, navy, ability to arm proxies, and dreams of possessing a nuclear weapon.”
The congressional officials said the briefers could not provide details about the possibility of deploying U.S. troops to Iran but would not rule it out. And some lawmakers who attended the briefing made it clear in the closed-door meeting that they would not support boots on the ground, the officials said.
The lawmaker who was briefed on the contents of the briefing said a “red line” for some lawmakers who currently support the war would be U.S. ground troops in Iran.
“That’s the time that they’re going to abandon the effort. There was concern that that is not being ruled out,” the lawmaker said.
The four congressional officials in the briefing also said there was frustration with the defense and intelligence officials over what they view as a lack of a cohesive strategy for the war, specifically where it is heading. They also said tensions flared over conflicting explanations from the administration about the justification for starting the war.
The briefers said the additional U.S. troops headed to the region are intended to give Trump options, the congressional officials said.
Mangled plane in LaGuardia crash is towed from runway as most injured passengers leave hospital
All but four of the passengers injured in Sunday’s deadly collision between an Air Canada plane and a fire truck have been released from the hospital, the airline said Wednesday, as crews began moving the mangled aircraft off the runaway at New York’s LaGuardia Airport.The crash, which remains under investigation, killed two pilots. Roughly 40 people were treated at area hospitals for a range of injuries, some serious. Further details on the four people who remained hospitalized were not immediately available.In the player above: See video of the plane being movedThe plane, which originated in Montreal, was carrying 76 people, including the crew, when it slammed into the fire truck that had driven out onto the runway. Seconds before the collision, an air traffic controller had cleared the truck to cross the runway.Since Monday, much of the wreckage had remained on the tarmac, blocking access to one of two runways at one of the country’s busiest airports.Just before 5 p.m. on Wednesday, airport workers began towing the remnants away. Two big tow trucks working in tandem also righted the badly damaged fire truck, which had been laying on its side since the crash.The jet’s tail end was lifted onto a large dolly, which was then towed via long tethers by two vehicles driving side by side. Earlier in the day, much of the wreckage of the nose, which was obliterated in the collision, was cut away by work crews. As it was towed, the middle of the plane was supported by its own landing gear, which appeared to be intact.In the player below: Video shows the fire truck being righted In a statement, Air Canada said the plane would be taken to a hangar. The airline said it would soon begin the process of reuniting people with baggage and personal belongings.After the collision, many onboard managed to escape the damaged aircraft, including a flight attendant who survived after being thrown onto the tarmac while still strapped in her seat.The two pilots have been identified as Mackenzie Gunther and Antoine Forest. At least one passenger, Clément Lelièvre, credited their “incredible reflexes” in saving his life and those of others, noting they braked extremely hard just as the plane touched down.The two Port Authority Police Department firefighters in the truck survived.
All but four of the passengers injured in Sunday’s deadly collision between an Air Canada plane and a fire truck have been released from the hospital, the airline said Wednesday, as crews began moving the mangled aircraft off the runaway at New York’s LaGuardia Airport.
The crash, which remains under investigation, killed two pilots. Roughly 40 people were treated at area hospitals for a range of injuries, some serious. Further details on the four people who remained hospitalized were not immediately available.
In the player above: See video of the plane being moved
The plane, which originated in Montreal, was carrying 76 people, including the crew, when it slammed into the fire truck that had driven out onto the runway. Seconds before the collision, an air traffic controller had cleared the truck to cross the runway.
Since Monday, much of the wreckage had remained on the tarmac, blocking access to one of two runways at one of the country’s busiest airports.
Just before 5 p.m. on Wednesday, airport workers began towing the remnants away. Two big tow trucks working in tandem also righted the badly damaged fire truck, which had been laying on its side since the crash.
The jet’s tail end was lifted onto a large dolly, which was then towed via long tethers by two vehicles driving side by side. Earlier in the day, much of the wreckage of the nose, which was obliterated in the collision, was cut away by work crews. As it was towed, the middle of the plane was supported by its own landing gear, which appeared to be intact.
In the player below: Video shows the fire truck being righted
In a statement, Air Canada said the plane would be taken to a hangar. The airline said it would soon begin the process of reuniting people with baggage and personal belongings.
After the collision, many onboard managed to escape the damaged aircraft, including a flight attendant who survived after being thrown onto the tarmac while still strapped in her seat.
The two pilots have been identified as Mackenzie Gunther and Antoine Forest. At least one passenger, Clément Lelièvre, credited their “incredible reflexes” in saving his life and those of others, noting they braked extremely hard just as the plane touched down.
The two Port Authority Police Department firefighters in the truck survived.
Alan Jackson may be playing his final show this summer but that doesn’t mean he’s retiring. The country legend just helped announce the first ever 5 O’Clock Somewhere Fest.
In statement, Jackson said that even though he’ll quit performing live this summer, he still wanted to bring fans the experience. Thus the creation of a new festival named after one of his biggest hits.
Jackson and Jimmy Buffett made “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” a huge hit in 2003. Jim “Moose” Brown and Don Rollins wrote the song and it’s become a staple on country radio for the last two decades. In fact the song is so popular that Slay — the festival’s lone stand-up comedian — does a bit on it.
Watch: Dusty Slay Is Right About “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere”
Beyond Langley and Old Dominion, the rest of the festival’s lineup is heavy on country legends.
5OClockSomewhereFest.com
Beyond the headliners, Dylan Scott is the only artist with radio hits over the last few years. Clint Black, Shenandoah, John Anderson and Rodney Atkins make up the meat of the bill. Also performing is Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band.
Langley will headline the Friday night show with OD on Saturday. Single-day and full festival ticket packages are being sold.
Last fall, Jackson announced that his final show would take place at Nissan Stadium in Nashville on June 27. A superstar lineup including Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, Riley Green, Cody Johnson, Jon Pardi, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and Lee Ann Womack will join him.
Last Call: One More for the Road — the Finale is sold out.
Over his three-decade-plus career, Alan Jackson has released some of the most essential country music songs ever. His catalog includes classic barnburners like “Chattahoochee,” tender ballads like “Remember When” and everything in between.
No matter which songs are your favorite, it’s hard to dispute that Jackson’s music changed the country music genre forever.
Gallery Credit: Carena Liptak
The company expects earnings to grow over 2026 as it continues to invest in its Asian and Middle East and North Africa markets.
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SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green said he both “hated” and “absolutely loved” the MVP self-promotion from San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama on Monday night.
Green made clear after Wednesday night’s 109-106 win over the Brooklyn Nets that he enjoyed Wembanyama’s willingness to publicly advocate for himself, but didn’t like what the national response to it revealed about the consumption and coverage of basketball.
“Wemby said, ‘Defense is 50% of the game,’ and it was like, oh, no one realized that?” Green said. “No one realized that 50% of the game we play is on that end of the floor?”
Wembanyama presented a three-pronged argument after the Spurs’ win over the Miami Heat, noting his team’s 4-1 head-to-head record against MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder, his offensive impact beyond scoring, and the accepted fact that he is clearly the most dominant defensive force in the league.
“Everybody says he has a great point,” Green said of Wembanyama’s reminder that defense is half the game. “Hello? You think? I hated that he had to do that for it to be said. All of a sudden you turn on the TV and everybody is like, ‘Actually, maybe Wemby is the MVP.'”
Green wasn’t ready to declare Wembanyama his choice for MVP, saying “maybe he is” but there remains work to be done. He then rerouted his answer back to the understanding of the defensive end.
“It’s an indictment on the game of basketball,” Green said. “Everybody want to crush Luka Doncic when Luka doesn’t live up to the standard of defense. But we got this guy defending entire teams and nobody took it into account until he said defense is 50% of the game. I want to give him so much credit for such a profound statement, but was it really that profound? But it’s so true. Yet it took for him to say that.”
Green is well-known for his self-promotion during award season in past years. He jolted himself into the Defensive Player of the Year conversation last March after a similarly lively news conference on the same podium. Green finished third in voting.
“With these awards, if you don’t talk, people can’t see,” Green said. “With the game of basketball, let’s not act like everyone can just open their eyes and know what’s going on. … Until Evan Mobley finally said something last year, no one was going to give him Defensive Player of the Year. If you don’t come out and speak for yourself, it don’t work.”
As of Wednesday night, Wembanyama had played in 57 regular-season games, plus the bonus game for the NBA Cup championship, meaning he must appear in seven of the Spurs’ final 10 games to qualify for postseason awards.
Assuming he does, Wembanyama is considered the runaway favorite for Defensive Player of the Year but still a longshot to challenge Gilgeous-Alexander for MVP. He faces Green’s Warriors next Wednesday night on ESPN.
“I tip my cap to Wemby for being willing to sit up there on that platform and say, ‘This is why,'” Green said. “Not hide from the question. Not just assume they’ll figure it out. No, they won’t. I’m happy he’s smart enough to know they won’t figure it out. You don’t help them see it, damn it they can’t see.”
Former Iran detainee Siamak Namazi says he’s worried about the handful of Americans known to be held inside Iranian prisons as the U.S. war in Iran continues.
“They are the easiest-to-grab punching bag right now in the hands of that rogue regime,” he said during a panel discussion with “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”
“I think this is a dangerous time,” said Namazi. He added, “For a hostage or wrongfully detained citizen abroad, their biggest fear is to be forgotten, and this is a very dangerous time for them, with all that’s going on in Washington’s mind.”
Namazi was detained in Iran’s notorious Evin prison in 2015 after almost eight years of captivity, the longest-held American prisoner to be released from Iran. The State Department determined that he had been wrongfully detained.
Emad Shargi, who was held in Iran for five years, recalled being in the Evin prison in October 2022, as massive anti-government protests seized the country. Mahsa Amini, 22, had been arrested for allegedly wearing a hijab incorrectly and died in police custody. Authorities said she had a heart attack, but her family said police beat her to death.
Shargi said it’s a “very uncomfortable situation” inside the prison when there’s unrest outside.
“Whenever there is an issue taking place in Iran, the walls of Evin are like an amplifier,” Shargi said. “So, when there’s a ripple outside in the society, there’s a tidal wave inside.” He recalled a fire inside the prison, and an influx of new prisoners related to the protests.
Shargi and Namazi were among five U.S. citizens who were freed in 2023 in a high-stakes, complex diplomatic deal brokered between Iran and the Biden administration that included the transfer of $6 billion in unfrozen Iranian oil assets and the release of five Iranians facing charges in the U.S.
At the time, a senior administration official said the deal “does not change our relationship with Iran in any way. Iran is an adversary and a state sponsor of terrorism.”
Shargi said he was “confident” if President Trump and his administration knew “there are Americans sitting in Evin prison,” they would “put that on the agenda” amid the ongoing war.
“I think it’s important that he hears that there are innocent Americans being held like we were — as political pawns,” said Shargi.
Namazi agreed, saying that he couldn’t “imagine if President Trump knew their names and knew these cases, they wouldn’t be one of the priorities.”
“I personally think that there will be a time soon because all wars end with some form of diplomacy,” Namazi said. “So, I would implore President Trump to make sure that part of those negotiations that will be coming up is bringing our people home.”
There are at least four Americans currently detained in Iran. Two of them — Reza Valizadeh and Kamran Hekmati — have been designated by the U.S. government as “wrongfully detained.” Both are believed to be held in Evin prison.
Namazi and Shargi spoke on a panel with Shargi’s sister, Neda Sharghi, American hostage negotiator Roger Carstens and Margaret Brennan Thursday, as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the “largest strike package yet” was coming in Iran.
“Our American hostages, whether they’re in Iran or in Venezuela, is that they always become a hostage to other bigger, broader political issues,” Neda Sharghi said. She said Americans “need to convince our government to separate them from what’s going on and find a creative solution, like we did to get Emad and Siamak home.”
Carstens, who served as the U.S. special envoy for hostage affairs in both the first Trump and the Biden administrations, told Brennan he doesn’t know whether the detained Americans were raised during the negotiations with Iran led by special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
He said that when he was negotiating to bring Shargi and Namazi home, “we were very cognizant of the connection between the nuclear talks and that of the prisoner talks, because if the nuclear talks suddenly fail very horribly, the prisoner talks could be pulled down with it.”
Carstens said the U.S. tried to keep the ties between the detainees and the nuclear talks less intertwined, “to maybe just have a dotted line between the two issues, but not link them too tightly together.”
“We were very practical about how close those issues got together, and we wanted the flexibility to separate them if we wanted to,” Carstens said.
He acknowledged that for the regime, the nuclear issue and detainees are “much more married close together.” But Carstens said that might not be the case for the Americans: “If Witkoff and Kushner were trying to articulate an end to a nuclear issue, how close will they push it together? Practically, it may not be that close, depending on where they feel they are with the Iranians.”
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to correct two quotes by Shargi and Namazi that were misattributed.
