Years before the music producer shot and killed Lana Clarkson at his home in 2003 — for which he was sentenced to 19 years to life in prison, where he died — Spector pulled a gun on the “If I Could Turn Back Time” singer when she confronted him for releasing music she recorded without her permission.

He knew “he couldn’t pull that shit with me,” Cher told Yahoo Entertainment of the 1974 incident.

Cher had known Spector for years, having first met him in 1962 when she was 16. She detailed in her new book — Cher: The Memoir, Part One — that after leaving Sonny Bono, she was hoping to take her solo music to a new level and she reconnected with the “Wall of Sound” creator. At the time, Spector was producing John Lennon’s Rock ‘N’ Roll — a cover album with songs from the late ’50s and early ’60s — and asked Cher and Harry Nilsson to sing background on it.

When they got to the studio, the former Beatle was storming out after a disagreement with Spector. Not wanting to waste thei time, Spector asked Cher and Nilsson to lay down vocals for a Martha and the Vandellas song called “A Love Like Yours” that Lennon could listen to later and learn from. It wasn’t supposed to be released because Cher and Nilsson were under contract with different record companies.

Fast forward a few weeks when Cher got a call from her label saying Spector illegally released the recording in Europe, which was a violation of her contract. Her friend drove her to Spector’s L.A. home to confront him. She said she greeted him with a hug but asked what he was thinking because it was clearly in violation of her contract. She said Spector became agitated and told her that he could do whatever he wanted.

Cher claimed Spector then picked up a revolver she hadn’t noticed on a pool table and twirled it on his fingers. Furious, she said she unleashed a verbal tirade on him, warning him not to mess with her or her music again. She said Spector apologized and she got the heck out of there. In the car, she recalled the troubling scene to her friend but felt he did it for show, not to hurt her.

Asked if she had ever told that story before putting it in her book, Cher said, “Well, to friends, but not to people. What would I do — just go around telling that story?”

The reason he stood down, in her mind, was “because I knew him when he was young and when he was kind of crazy,” she said. “I think he was 21 or 22 and I was close to him in the strangest kind of way because I didn’t take shit from him. I just didn’t.”

Cher met Spector, who was a self-made millionaire by age 21, for the first time through an early boyfriend, Nino Tempo, a singer and musician who worked for Spector at Gold Star Studios. From day one, when they were first introduced in 1962, she didn’t take his crap.

“I met him with his best friend [Tempo] and the first thing he said to me [in French] was: ‘Would you go to bed with me?’” she recalled.

Cher said Spector didn’t think she’d understand his uncouth proposition or have an answer, but she shot back — also in French — “Yes, for money.’ And from then on, we had this really strange relationship.”

Their lives intersected again soon after when Cher started dating Bono that same year. He worked on Spector’s production team and would bring Cher to the studio with him and she never put up with Spector’s nonsense.

“Sonny used to get so upset because he’d say, ‘Please, please, don’t do this. He’s my boss,’” Cher said. “But it didn’t stop me.”

Spector ultimately gave Cher her first musical break. When singer Darlene Love missed a recording session in 1963 when her car broke down, Spector asked Cher to fill in as a background singer. It was her first time stepping up to a mic, and while she almost fainted, she became a regular backup singer for him after that. She went on to become a Grammy, Emmy and Oscar winner.

In February 2003, Clarkson — a model and actress with bit parts in Scarface and Fast Times at Ridgemont High — was fatally shot at Spector’s home.

A nightclub hostess at the House of Blues in L.A., she met the producer and agreed to go to his mansion in the L.A. suburb of Alhambra for a drink. An hour later, at 5 a.m., Spector’s limo driver said he heard a gunshot and saw Spector exit the house holding a gun. Spector allegedly told the driver: “I think I just shot her.” Clarkson’s body was found in the foyer of Spector’s home.

Spector later told authorities it was accidental suicide, but he was charged with second-degree murder. He went on trial twice — there was a hung jury in 2007 — and was found guilty in 2009. Both trials included testimony from other women who claimed he threatened them with guns, including veteran music talent coordinator Dianne Ogden, who said he chased her around his house with an Uzi. She ran for her life, to her car, and never saw him again.

Spector maintained his innocence in Clarkson’s death until he died in 2021.

Spector was also accused of abuse by his second wife, singer Ronnie Spector of the Ronettes. She wrote in her 1990 memoir that Spector kept a gold coffin in their basement and told her he would kill her if she tried to leave him. She claimed he kept her locked away in their mansion, subjecting her to psychological abuse, but she escaped barefoot in 1972 with the help of her mother.

“I knew that if I didn’t leave at that time, I was going to die there,” she wrote.

A Goodreads user who appears to be Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old who was arrested and charged with murder and other felonies in connection with the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City. gave a 4-star rating to the manifesto of Theodore Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber.

The review from January 2024 was written by a user with the profile name “Luigi (lnmangione)” and the same photo that Mangione used in other social media profiles.

Kaczynski, convicted of a series of mail bombings between 1978 and 1995 that killed 3 and injured 23, was a “mathematics prodigy” begins the 8-paragraph review of the manifesto, “Industrial Society and Its Future.”

The review concludes with a 4-paragraph quote the reviewer said he’d found online that ends: “’Violence never solved anything’ is a statement uttered by cowards and predators.”

The review said Kaczynski’s manifesto examined “the question of 21st century quality of life.”

“It’s easy to quickly and thoughtless write this off as the manifesto of a lunatic, in order to avoid facing some of the uncomfortable problems it identifies. But it’s simply impossible to ignore how prescient many of his predictions about modern society turned out,” the reviewer says.

“He was a violent individual − rightfully imprisoned − who maimed innocent people,” Mangione wrote. “While these actions tend to be characterized as those of a crazy luddite, however, they are more accurately seen as those of an extreme political revolutionary.”

The four-paragraph passage the reviewer says he found “online” includes the following: “When all other forms of communication fail, violence is necessary to survive. You may not like his methods, but to see things from his perspective, it’s not terrorism, it’s war and revolution.”

New York Police Department Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said Monday that Mangione had been detained by police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, carrying a 3D-printed gun, a silencer, and documents indicating “some ill will toward corporate America.”

According to a Reddit post, a person with the username “Bosspotatoness” wrote the quotes in a post on Jan. 22, 2023, in response to a question from a now-deleted user. The user — whose name has now been deleted from the original post — shared a YouTube video and asked if anyone in the Reddit group r/climate had read anything on Kaczynski and what their thoughts were. The video has also now been deleted.

On Monday, “Bosspotatoness” edited the January 2023 post to add that the quotes had come up Monday in news stories about Mangione: “Guess if I wasn’t on a watchlist before I sure am now. Last thing I expected to see on my lunch break but I’m flattered!”

USA TODAY has reached out to the user for comment.

The unnamed writer quoted in Mangione’s review of The Unabomber Manifesto had antipathy to spare.

“Peaceful protest is outright ignored, economic protest isn’t possible in the current system, so how long until we recognize that violence against those who lead us to such destruction is justified as self-defense,” the passage reads.

“These companies don’t care about you, or your kids, or your grandkids,” the quote continued. “They have zero qualms about burning down the planet for a buck, so why should we have any qualms about burning them down to survive?”

A man suspected in the brazen Manhattan killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO was arrested and charged with murder Monday after a quick-thinking McDonald’s customer in Pennsylvania recognized him from a surveillance photo and police officers found a gun, mask and writings linking him to the ambush.

The chance sighting at the restaurant in Altoona led to a dramatic break in a challenging but fast-moving investigation that captivated the public in the five days since the shooting that shook the business world.

Luigi Nicholas Mangione, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family, had a gun believed to be the one used in last Wednesday’s shooting of Brian Thompson, as well as writings suggesting anger with corporate America, police said.

Late Monday, Manhattan prosecutors filed murder and other charges against Mangione, according to an online court docket. He remained jailed in Pennsylvania, where he was charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police.

Mangione was sitting in the rear of the McDonald’s wearing a blue medical mask and looking at a laptop computer, court documents said. A customer saw him and an employee called 911, said Kaz Daughtry, an NYPD deputy commissioner.

Altoona Police Officer Tyler Frye said he and his partner recognized the suspect immediately when he pulled down his mask. “We just didn’t think twice about it. We knew that was our guy,” he said.

When one of the officers asked if he’d been to New York recently, he “became quiet and started to shake,” according to a criminal complaint based on their accounts of the arrest.

In his backpack, police found a black, 3D-printed pistol and a 3D-printed black silencer, the complaint said. Such ghost guns can be assembled at home from parts without a serial number, making them difficult to trace. The pistol had a metal slide and plastic handle with a metal threaded barrel.

He was taken into custody at about 9:15 a.m., police said.

Mangione had clothing and a mask similar to those worn by the shooter and a fraudulent New Jersey ID matching one the suspect used to check into a New York City hostel before the shooting, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said Mangione was born and raised in Maryland, has ties to San Francisco and a last known address in Honolulu.

“Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest,” Mangione’s family said in a statement posted on social media late Monday by his cousin, Maryland lawmaker Nino Mangione. “We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved.”

Mangione was arraigned and ordered held without bail during a brief court hearing. Asked if he needed a public defender, he asked if he could “answer that at a future date.” He eventually will be extradited to New York to face charges in connection with Thompson’s death, Kenny said.

Police found a three-page document with writings suggesting that Mangione had “ill will toward corporate America,” Kenny said.

The handwritten document “speaks to both his motivation and mindset,” Tisch said.

A law enforcement official who wasn’t authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity said the document included a line in which Mangione claimed to have acted alone.

“To the Feds, I’ll keep this short, because I do respect what you do for our country. To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone,” the document said, according to the official.

It also had a line that said, “I do apologize for any strife or traumas but it had to be done. Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming.”

Mangione also had a passport and $10,000 in cash — $2,000 of it in foreign currency, authorities said. Mangione, who said Hawaii was his most recent address, disputed the amount.

Thompson, 50, was killed last Wednesday as he walked alone to a hotel, where UnitedHealthcare’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group, was holding its annual investor conference, police said.

UnitedHealth Group thanked law enforcement in a statement. “Our hope is that today’s apprehension brings some relief to Brian’s family, friends, colleagues and the many others affected by this unspeakable tragedy,” a company spokesperson said.

The shooting shook U.S. businesses and the health insurance industry in particular, causing companies to rethink security plans and delete photos of executives from their websites.

Mangione attended an elite Baltimore prep school, graduating as valedictorian in 2016, according to the school’s website. He went on to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer science in 2020 from the University of Pennsylvania, a school spokesperson said.

One of his cousins is a Maryland state legislator and his family bought a country club north of Baltimore in the 1980s. On Monday, police blocked off an entrance to the property, which public records link to the suspect’s parents. A swarm of reporters and photographers gathered outside.

Mangione went from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh after the shooting, and likely “was in a variety of locations across the state,” said Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police said.

“Based on everything we have seen, he was very careful with trying to stay low profile, avoid cameras — not all that successfully in some cases, but that was certainly the effort he was making,” Bivens said.

In the days since the shooting, police turned to the public for help by releasing a collection of nine photos and video — including footage of the attack, as well as images of the suspect at a Starbucks beforehand.

Photos taken in the lobby of a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side showed the suspect grinning after removing his mask, police said.

On Monday, police credited news outlets for disseminating the images and the tipster for recognizing the suspect and calling authorities.

Investigators earlier suggested the gunman may have been a disgruntled employee or client of the insurer. Ammunition found near Thompson’s body bore the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose,” mimicking a phrase used by insurance industry critics.

The gunman concealed his identity with a mask during the shooting yet left a trail of evidence, including a backpack he ditched in Central Park, a cellphone found in a pedestrian plaza and a water bottle and protein bar wrapper that police say he bought at Starbucks minutes before the attack.

On Friday, police said the killer had left the city soon after the shooting. Retracing the gunman’s steps using surveillance video, investigators say the shooter rode into Central Park on a bicycle and emerged from the park without his backpack. He made his way to a bus station that offers commuter service to New Jersey and routes to the East Coast, police said.

Sisak and Attanasio reported from New York. Associated Press writers Michael Rubinkam and Maryclaire Dale in Pennsylvania; Lea Skene, in Baltimore; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed to this report.

Kane Brown was brought to tears during an emotional performance with his wife, Katelyn Brown. The touching moment occurred when they sang their hit duet together, and the overwhelming connection they shared on stage moved Kane deeply. Fans were also moved by the raw, heartfelt display of emotion between the couple.

‘This just makes me tear up, the way he looks at her,’ one fan commented

The love between Kane Brown and his wife, Katelyn, is apparent to fans of the country singer. However, Kane was brought to tears while singing on stage with her in an emotional video—and viewers can’t get over how perfect they are together.

On Friday, April 12, the Kane Brown family’s official Instagram account shared a video of Kane and Katelyn performing “Thank God.” The couple sang together on stage during the Kansas City, Mo., stop on his In the Air tour on April 11.

“I’m tearing up just watching Kane tear up ,” the text overlaid on the video reads.

In the comments, fans couldn’t agree more. One person wrote, “I adore watching these 2. You can feel their love shine through.”

Another Instagram user commented, “This just makes me tear up, the way he looks at her,” while someone else declared, “They are seriously adorable! The cutest little family. Power couple!”

Yet another person pointed out, “The way they never take their eyes off each other the whole time they perform is the most beautiful thing to see in person  so happy I got to experience that in NJ  .”

Kane and Katelyn previously opened up about “Thank God” during a sit-down with CMT.

“When he brought ‘Thank God’ home, it was kind of undeniable,” Katelyn said of hearing the song for the first time. “I felt, ‘Oh my gosh, we have to do this one.’ I felt like it was made for us.”

To that, Kane sweetly replied, “You were made for me.”

 At glittering ballrooms in the Mideast this weekend, discussions of the wars and chaos gripping the region gave way to one central question: What’s going to happen when U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month?

Summits in both Bahrain and Qatar, neighboring Persian Gulf autocracies with a long history of a brothers’ rivalry, saw Trump discussed in open sessions, hushed chatter and pull-aside meetings among politicians, diplomats and uniformed military officers.

The reasons for the conversations are many. Chief among them is the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, with over 44,000 Palestinians killed, and the tenuous ceasefire holding in Lebanon. Israel’s conduct in the wars, sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage, enraged the wider Arab world.

President Joe Biden’s tight embrace of Israel in the time since has alienated many. Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal, a prominent royal who led the kingdom’s intelligence service for more than two decades and served as ambassador to the U.S. and Britain, referred directly to Trump’s own online messages about the wars.

“Friendly countries in the region are hoping that Mr. Trump pursues what he started before — to bring PEACE with capital letters to the Middle East,” the prince told the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Manama Dialogue in Bahrain.

“The Gulf countries, including my country, Saudi Arabia, are willing to walk with you, Mr. President, to achieve this noble order. It is time for America under your presidency to change the course of this troubled region.”

Prince Turki underlined the standard Saudi call for a peace that requires a two-state solution for the decadeslong Israeli-Palestinian crisis to end, with a Palestinian capital in east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip and the West Bank based on 1967 borders fully under Palestinian control. But Trump in 2020 in his first term unveiled a peace plan that sided heavily with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-line nationalist vision for the region and pushed aside many of the Palestinians’ core demands.

Biden’s administration, meanwhile, made no headway on the conflict prior to the Hamas attack. Barbara A. Leaf, the top Mideast official at the U.S. State Department, described the Hamas assault as having “plunged the region into renewed conflict” in brief remarks at a side event in Bahrain.

At the Doha Forum in Qatar, Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide referred to the Mideast before the Oct. 7 attack as “not a stable, lasting situation — it was like a minefield.” Despite that, Trump’s experience reaching diplomatic recognition deals for Israel with both Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates might make a larger Mideast peace deal possible, Barth Eide said.

“I think the message now from this region is that that is perfectly doable. There might actually be a major deal, but it has to happen with Palestine,” he said. “It’s not one conflict, but there is a root conflict that connects to all of them, which is the absence of a solution to the Palestinian question.”

That extends all the way to Yemen, where the Houthi rebels who have held the country’s capital for over a decade now have gained acclaim in the Arab world for their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden over the wars. Trump listed the Houthis as a foreign terrorist group, something rescinded by the Biden administration over their assessment it halted needed aid from getting into Yemen.

“I think in Yemen the upcoming Trump administration is most likely going to implement heavy sanctions,” said analyst Mohammed al-Basha, a Yemen expert. “That may push the Houthis to retaliate. … The idea that (sanctions) alone will pressure the Houthis to commit to peace and cease fire in the Red Sea — I don’t think that will happen.”

Then there’s Iran’s nuclear program, which the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency warned Friday in Bahrain was poised to “quite dramatically” increase its stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium.

Yet Iranian officials and the public have been openly musing whether Trump might strike a deal with Iran — even as he was the one who unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers that saw it get sanctions relief in exchange for greatly limiting its program.

And finally, there’s the Gulf states themselves. Some attendees at the two summits discussed their flight plans for trying to attend both. That would have been impossible during the yearslong Qatar crisis, which saw Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE cut ties and boycott Qatar from 2017 until January 2021.

The crisis began after Trump’s first foreign trip as president to Saudi Arabia.

The debut 12-team College Football Playoff field is set, but not without a late dose of controversy.

SMU earned an at-large bid ahead of Alabama after losing 34-31 to Clemson in the ACC championship game. Trailing 31-14 entering the fourth quarter, the Mustangs went on a 17-0 run to tie the game with 16 seconds left. The Tigers drilled a 56-yard field goal as time expired to earn an automatic playoff bid.

That was the lone source of debate in what is otherwise a predictable bracket. The top four seeds, as expected, were No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Boise State and No. 4 Arizona State. Those teams will host the winning teams from the opening round in the quarterfinals.

The at-large teams are No. 5 seed Texas, No. 6 Penn State, No. 7 Notre Dame, No. 8 Ohio State, No. 9 Tennessee, No. 10 Indiana and No. 11 SMU. Clemson comes in at No. 12 as the fifth conference champion.

SMU and Alabama lead the winners and losers from the final playoff rankings:

Winners

SMU

There’s reason to think SMU would’ve been left out in favor of Alabama had Clemson maintained the 17-point lead it held at halftime and again in the third quarter of the ACC title game. A convincing loss to the Tigers would’ve forced the committee to look closer at the Mustangs’ résumé of wins compared to Alabama. But the late comeback and competitive defeat were enough to bolster SMU’s case. And it’s not like the Mustangs are backdooring into the 12-team field; they beat six bowl teams in the regular season and lost by a field goal to a pair of ranked opponents. But SMU will be in the crosshairs as the final at-large team in the playoff.

The ACC

Clemson’s win will give the ACC two teams in the playoff, a fairly remarkable development given where the league stood in the postseason picture as recently as last weekend. While Miami lost twice in November to fall out of the race, that SMU and Clemson made the field gives the ACC a solid argument for being seen as the third-best league in the Power Four, behind the SEC and Big Ten and ahead of the Big 12.

Arizona State

Another team that came out of nowhere to reach the playoff, Arizona State will benefit enormously from Clemson’s win by earning a bye into the quarterfinals as one of the top four conference champions. As the No. 4 seed, the Sun Devils will meet the winner of Clemson and Texas. They have won six in a row and eight of nine to end the regular season, including ranked wins against Iowa State, Kansas State and Brigham Young.

Texas

Despite losing the SEC championship to Georgia, the Longhorns were able to land in the coveted No. 5 spot as the top-ranked at-large team. That gives Texas manageable matchups against Clemson in the opening round and then, with a win, against Arizona State in the quarterfinals. Penn State also benefits from earning the No. 6 seed, since that pits the Nittany Lions against SMU and potentially Boise State.

Losers

Alabama

The Crimson Tide were the first team left out of the field after slumping to three losses in coach Kalen DeBoer. Those losses, including an ugly 21-point defeat to Oklahoma last month, overshadowed Alabama’s high-quality wins against Georgia, South Carolina, LSU and Missouri. In the end, the Tide’s week-to-week unpredictability and inability to seal the deal in November cost them dearly in the comparison with SMU.

South Carolina and Mississippi

Both three-loss contenders had strong cases for the playoff: South Carolina was the hottest team in the SEC in the second half of the regular season and Ole Miss often looked like one of the best teams in the entire FBS. For the Gamecocks, losses to the Crimson Tide and Rebels were impossible to overcome even as they ended the year on a six-game winning streak. For the Rebels, an unforgivable loss to Florida cost them a chance at making the playoff and likely hosting an opening-round matchup.

Miami

That SMU made the playoff despite losing to Clemson makes will be hard for Miami to swallow because the Hurricanes were set to meet the Mustangs before losing to Syracuse in the season finale. Given how the committee came down in the comparison between SMU and Alabama, the Hurricanes would’ve had a very strong case for an at-large bid had they reached the ACC title game with one loss and then lost to the Mustangs. Miami ended up as the second team out of the field after the Tide.

Authorities are closing in on the man suspected of killing UnitedHealth executive Brian Thompson, New York City Mayor Eric Adams was quoted as saying on Saturday by the New York Post.

“The net is tightening,” Adams told reporters at a Police Athletic League holiday party in Harlem, according to the Post. He declined to name the suspect.

Thompson, 50, who became CEO of UnitedHealth’s insurance unit in April 2021, was shot in the back around 6:45 a.m. ET (1145 GMT) on Wednesday in what police described as a targeted attack by a masked assailant lying in wait.

The murder occurred just before the company’s annual investor conference at the Hilton hotel on Sixth Avenue.

The shooting sparked a massive manhunt for the gunman, who fled on foot wearing a hooded jacket, balaclava and gray backpack before mounting an electric bike and riding into Central Park, police said.

Adams declined to say whether investigators had the suspect’s name, according to the NY Post.

“We don’t want to release that now,” the mayor said. “If you do, you are basically giving a tip to the person we are seeking and we do not want to give him an upper hand at all. Let him continue to believe he can hide behind the mask.”

“We revealed his face,” he continued, referring to security camera photos and video released after the murder. “We’re going to reveal who he is and we’re going to bring him to justice.”

A backpack resembling the one worn by the suspect has been recovered near a playground in Central Park, according to media reports. MSNBC said on Saturday that police examining the bag and its contents found a jacket and Monopoly money, but no firearm.

Police divers were searching for the weapon used in the killing in a pond in Central Park on Saturday, CNN reported, citing police sources. Reuters has not independently verified the account.

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told CNN on Friday that police have gathered “a huge amount of evidence,” including fingerprints, DNA evidence and a camera footage of the suspect’s movements throughout the city.

New York police said on Friday they believe the suspect had left New York City, after video emerged showing him climbing into a taxi that took him to a bus station.

“We have video of him entering the Port Authority Bus Terminal. We don’t have any video of him exiting so we believe he may have gotten on a bus,” New York Police Department Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told CNN. “Those buses are interstate buses. That’s why we believe he may have left New York City.”

The New York police have offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the shooter and the FBI has added $50,000 to that reward.

The circumstances of the attack suggested it was premeditated and planned, police said, with video showing the gunman ignoring other pedestrians while appearing to wait for Thompson. The shooter’s motive is not yet known.

Security video showed the shooter behind Thompson, raising his handgun and firing at his back. Thompson, a married father of two, suffered gunshot wounds to his back and leg and was pronounced dead at a hospital shortly after the attack.

UnitedHealth is the largest U.S. health insurer, providing benefits to tens of millions of Americans, who pay more for healthcare than people in any other country.

The slippers sold for a staggering $28 million on Saturday, becoming — by far — the most valuable movie memorabilia ever sold at auction, Heritage Auctions said. With the buyers’ premium, the total price was $32.5 million.

“There is simply no comparison between Judy Garland’s Ruby Slippers and any other piece of Hollywood memorabilia,” said Joe Maddalena, executive vice president of Heritage Auctions. “The breathtaking result reflects just how important movies and movie memorabilia are to our culture and to collectors. It’s been a privilege for all of us at Heritage to be a part of the slippers’ epic journey over the rainbow and off to a new home.”

No other pair of the slippers worn by Galrand had come close to Saturday’s sale. In 2000, another pair sold for 666,000, and 12 years later, Steven Spielberg and Leonardo DiCaprio shelled out $2 million for another pair donated tot he Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles.

What We Originally Reported:

A pair of the iconic ruby slippers from the 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz” is now up for auction at Heritage Auctions through Dec. 7, with the current bid at $812,500. With the buyer’s premium included, the price is $1,015,625.

The story of Victor Fleming’s Golden Age classic is so deeply ingrained in our collective memory that even those who haven’t seen the film are familiar with Dorothy’s ruby slippers and the pivotal role they play in the movie. In the “The Wizard of Oz,” Glinda, the Good Witch of the North (Billie Burke), gifts Dorothy (Judy Garland) a pair of ruby slippers to keep her safe from the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton) and help her return home to Kansas after a tornado transported Dorothy to the magical Land of Oz.

“Then close your eyes and tap your heels together three times. And think to yourself, ‘There’s no place like home,” says Glinda.

While the shoes are instantly recognizable, not everyone knows the ruby slippers have a complex and fascinating history attached to them. Just four pairs of the shoes are known to have survived to this day, and one pair made a triumphant recovery after being stolen in 2005.

That very pair is currently up for auction and said to be “the cross-matched sister shoes to the pair at The Smithsonian Institution, most likely separated in the early spring of 1970.” Belonging to Michael Shaw, the shoes were stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Minnesota, but were eventually found by the FBI in 2018 through a sting operation after a tip was received about the case.

Randy Struthers, described as a Ruby Slipper forensic expert and Smithsonian consultant, examined the film frame-by-frame and came to the conclusion that Judy Garland wears Michael Shaw’s shoes throughout the majority of the film, including some of its most famous scenes.

A description of the shoes found on Heritage Auctions reads, “The Ruby Slippers are a vintage pair of Innes Shoe Co. red silk faille heels with uppers and heels covered with hand-sequined silk georgette, lined in white leather, and the leather soles are painted red with orange felt adhered to the front foundation of each shoe. The bows are made of hand-cut buckram cloth and are slightly different in size. Rhinestones rim the bows, which are filled with bugle beads surrounding three center jewels.”

The shoes are also compared to each other: “The left shoe has a slightly thicker, shorter heel with a Cat’s Paw rubber top lift cap. The right shoe has a slightly taller, thinner heel with a leather top lift cap. Both lift caps are painted red. This Michael Shaw pair of slippers are darker in color than any other known pair-a rich burgundy-likely the result of careful storage out of direct light.”

Heritage Auctions also included this video in their page dedicated to the slippers.

Designed by Gilbert Adrian, MGM Studios’ former chief costume designer, the red slippers are known as one of the most iconic shoes in cinematic history. The footwear was reportedly covered in 2,300 red sequins — originally, the shoe was supposed to be covered in red jewels, but the prototype turned out to be too heavy — and featured a short block heel.

Originally silver in L. Frank Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of OZ” book, which inspired the movie, the slippers were changed to ruby to take advantage of color photography. “The Wizard of Oz” was one of the first films to use Technicolor, a process using dye-transfer techniques to produce a color print.

Although it wasn’t confirmed how many pairs of ruby slippers were made for the movie, it’s believed that production worked with seven to ten different pairs throughout filming.

From the 1930s to the 1960s, movie studios failed to recognize the value of film memorabilia, often turning props and costumes into trash or donations. This changed in 1970 when MGM organized its first auction, selling thousands of dollars. Only then were the ruby slippers brought back to the spotlight.

National Museum of American History

Costume designer Kent Warner, who was hired by MGM to help catalog and prepare for the studios’ auction in 1970, is known for finding and acquiring two pairs of ruby slippers from “The Wizard of Oz.”

One of the pairs was sold for $15,000 by an unidentified client during the auction. This pair is believed to be the one at the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The museum received the pair from an anonymous donation in 1979.

“These size-five shoes are well-worn, suggesting they were Garland’s primary pair for dance sequences,” says the museum.

In 2016, the Smithsonian Institution raised more than $300,000 to renovate the shoes with help from the Museum Conservation Institute, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

The other pair found by Kent Warner was sold to collector Michael Shaw, who loaned them to the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Mich. In 2005, the shoes were stolen by Terry Jon Martin.

The FBI recovered the shoes in 2018 after a 13-year search. In 2023, Martin was indicted by a federal grand jury for the theft. According to his lawyer, Martin has never seen “The Wizard of Oz” and “got rid of the slippers less than two days after he took them” once he realized the shoes weren’t made of real jewels. Martin, 76, was sentenced in January 2024 while in hospice and was not ordered to serve time in prison for the theft.

The stolen shoes were sent to the Smithsonian Institution in 2018. The museum announced that the slippers donated in 1979, which were always slightly mismatched, corresponded with the recovered shoes.

A Tennessee woman named Roberta Jeffries Bauman won a pair of the ruby slippers in 1940, after placing second in a National Four Star Club “Name the Best Movies of 1939” contest. According to an article from the Los Angeles Times in 1988, Bauman used to keep her shoes inside her closet. After the other pair was sold for $15,000 at the MGM auction in 1970, Bauman transferred them to a bank security box.

In 1988, Bauman signed a contract with Christie’s East auction house, which sold them for $165,000 to Anthony Landini.

Landini partnered with The Walt Disney Company to exhibit the shoes at Disney’s and MGM Studios’ Florida Theme Park in 1989. In 2000, Landini sold the shoes for $666,000 to David Elkouby, who owns Starworld, a film memorabilia store in Los Angeles.

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

In 1988, two weeks after Landini acquired a pair from Bauman, an unknown collector offered a pair to Philip Samuels, who was the under-bidder of Bauman shoes. Samuels bought the pair for $165,000 and used the shoes to fundraise for children’s charities.

In 2011, house Profiles in History announced Samuels’ ruby slippers, which are considered to be one of the best conserved of them all, as the centerpiece of its “Icons of Hollywood” auction. The shoes were estimated at $3 million dollars.

A syndicate organized by Leonardo DiCaprio, Steven Spielberg and others bought the pair by an undisclosed amount and donated to the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

The first version of the iconic shoes designed by Gilbert Adrian featured a curled-toe silhouette. These “Arabian” shoes were given to Debbie Reynolds by Kent Warner.

In 2011, Reynolds, who was a known collector of Hollywood memorabilia, sold the ruby shoes for $510,000 at an auction. She also sold Judy Garland’s blue Dorothy dress for $690,000.

The first fatal victim of Storm Darragh has been named as local football coach Paul Fiddler, as tributes poured in for the man in his 40s.

Mr Fiddler, who also worked at a local TV shop, was killed after a tree fell on his Citroen van while he was driving on the A59 at Longton, near Preston, at about 9am on Saturday. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

His death was the first of two linked to the storm, which has caused chaos on Britain’s roads and rail services, as well as severe flooding.

Lytham Town FC, which lists Mr Fiddler as first team assistant manager, described him as a club “legend”.

“A well loved coach, football player, gaffer but most of all a true friend,” a statement read.

“Paul, thank you for everything mate. Our thoughts are with the Lytham Town lads, his friends and family at this time.

“Rest in Peace Paul. We will miss you.”

Mr Fiddler’s niece, Katie Elliot, described him as “the best uncle”.

“I love you so much uncle Paul,” she wrote on Facebook. “I wish I could have known or even said goodbye to you. I am missing you more than ever, and you will always be in my heart.

“All I could ask for is for you to message me back and make fun of me like you always would and speak to you for one last time.

“Thank you for everything you have ever done for me and being the best uncle I could ask for, and I hope wherever you are you know how many people are here for you.”

One of Mr Fiddler’s friends wrote on social media: “My heart goes out to Paul’s family during this sad time for everyone who had the privilege of knowing him.

“Paul was a massive support for countless families in their moments of need, and his kindness will always be remembered.”

Detective Sergeant Matt Davidson, from Lancashire Police’s serious collision investigation unit, said: “Very sadly, this incident has resulted in the death of a man and our thoughts are with his loved ones at this time.

“An investigation is ongoing, and I would appeal to anyone who saw what happened or has any dashcam or mobile phone footage to please get in touch.”

An increase in the number of earthquakes under a volcano near Alaska’s largest city this year has geologists paying attention.

Mount Spurr, about 80 miles (129 kilometers) northwest of Anchorage, last erupted in 1992, spewing an ash cloud nearly 12 miles (19 kilometers) into the air, prompting flights to be canceled and people to don masks. Another eruption at the 11,100-foot (3,383-meter) stratovolcano could be severely disruptive to the city, according to the Alaska Volcano Observatory.

The observatory raised its alert status for Mount Spurr in October — from green to yellow — when the increase in seismic activity became pronounced and a ground deformation was spotted in satellite data. Observatory scientist David Fee said Friday there have been about 1,500 small earthquake below the volcano this year, compared to about 100 in a normal year.

While that might seem like a lot, it’s “not an enormous amount,” Fee said. It could be a precursor to an eruption — or not. Similar seismic unrest occurred from 2004 to 2006 before subsiding without an eruption.

“We don’t see any significant change in our data that would tell us that an eruption is imminent,” Fee said. “Things have been kind of this low-level unrest for a while now and we’re, of course, watching it very closely to detect any changes and what that might mean.”

Scientists are monitoring seismic stations, global satellite data and a webcam for additional changes that would signal an impending eruption. If magma is moving closer to the surface, there would be an increase in earthquakes, ground deformations, the creation of a summit lake or fumaroles, which are vents that open in the surface to vent gas and vapors.

The volcano last erupted in 1992 from the Crater Peak flank vent, located about 2 miles (3 kilometers) south of the summit. The eruption dropped about a quarter-inch of ash in Anchorage that year, prompting residents to stay inside or to go out donning masks, and the cloud drifted as far as Greenland.

A similar eruption from the same vent happened in 1953. The last known eruption from the summit was more than 5,000 years ago.

Volcanic ash is angular and sharp and has been used as an industrial abrasive. The powdered rock can cause a jet engine to shut down, which prompted Anchorage and other nearby airports to close during the 1992 eruption.

Closing airports is always an inconvenience in a state with few roads, but can be more than just inconvenient. Business would also be impacted since the Anchorage airport today is among the world’s busiest cargo hubs with Memphis, Hong Kong and Shanghai, mainly because of Alaska’s proximity to Asia.

Mount Spurr, located on the Volcanic Ring of Fire, is one of 53 volcanoes in Alaska that have been active within the last 250 years.

Beach-side restaurant announces indefinite closure after growing threat causes permanent damage: ‘It’s a kick in the gut’
A beloved waterfront restaurant in Bradenton, Florida, has permanently closed its doors after sustaining severe damage from back-to-back hurricanes, according to the Herald-Tribune.

What happened?
Caddy’s Bradenton Riverwalk, known for its white-sand beach and stunning views of the Manatee River, suffered catastrophic damage during Hurricane Milton, including a collapsed tiki hut that covered one of its two bars.

“It’s a kick in the gut having two storms back-to-back,” Caddy’s CEO Randy Esponda told Fox Weather. “We’re resilient and happy as can be that the building is intact.”

While other Tampa Bay area Caddy’s locations are temporarily closed for repairs, the Bradenton location’s closure is permanent, according to the restaurant’s website.

Why are restaurant closures concerning?
The permanent shutdown of this popular gathering spot reflects a troubling pattern of how stronger storms are affecting our coastal communities and local economies.

While extreme weather events have always happened, scientists have found that warming temperatures are making hurricanes more intense and destructive. These storms pose increasing challenges for waterfront businesses, which often serve as economic anchors for their communities.

Watch now: How easy is it really to charge an EV?
Caddy’s wasn’t just a restaurant. It was a beloved local destination that employed dozens of people and created cherished memories for countless families since opening on St. Patrick’s Day in 2017.

What’s being done to protect coastal businesses?
Many coastal communities are taking proactive steps to help waterfront businesses become more resilient.

Some cities are updating building codes to require stronger construction materials and better storm protection, while others are offering grants to help businesses install flood barriers and hurricane-resistant windows. Business owners can also work with local climate resilience experts to develop action plans.