Sykes — who was born blind and with cerebral palsy — died at his family’s estate in Malibu on Wednesday, his mother, Shelley Sykes, revealed in an emotional social media post. He was 32 years old.

“It is with great sadness that I have to announce the death of my beautiful son @RorySykes to the Malibu fires yesterday. I’m totally heartbroken,” she wrote, remembering him as a “wonderful son” and “a gift” who boasted an impressive list of achievements.

Sykes “overcame so much with surgeries and therapies to regain his sight and to be able to learn to walk” and eagerly traveled the world “despite the pain” he endured, Shelley continued. “He will be incredibly missed.”

British-born Sykes, who was previously living in Australia, recently relocated to Malibu, where he lived in cottage on his family’s 17-acre property, 9 News reported.

“I couldn’t put out the cinders on his roof with a hose because the water was switched off,” Shelley explained on social media. “Even the 50 brave firefighters had no water all day.”

Days after the wildfires began cropping up in the L.A. area, fire officials only first learned that the Santa Ynez Reservoir, capable of holding 117 gallons of water, had been out of commission since February. The tank had been completely emptied for repairs, leaving hydrants dry while firefighters worked to battle back fast-moving flames. Officials have also said there was a temporary drop in water pressure, causing some tanks to run dry due to the “tremendous demand.”

“He said, ‘Mom, leave me’ and no mom can leave their kid,” Shelley recalled in an interview with 10 News First. “I’ve got a broken arm, I couldn’t lift him, I couldn’t move him.”

She said fire officials confirmed her son died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Sykes is at least one of 11 deaths linked to the wildfires.

In addition to appearing in the ’90s UK show “Kiddy Kapers,” Sykes was also a “sought after motivational speaker” at just 8 years old.

More recently, he and his mom had founded Happy Charity. He was also a self-proclaimed lover of Tim Cook, all things Apple and the online game RuneScape.

Bonaccorso confessed in court to using township property and employees to benefit his private landscaping and oil storage tank removal company, according to a statement from the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office.

He pleaded guilty on Friday to conspiring to commit official misconduct and forgery, and in exchange, prosecutors will recommend he be sentenced to three years probation and fined $15,000.

The deal also bars 64-year-old Bonaccorso from holding public office or employment, triggering his immediate resignation just more than a week into his seventh term. He easily reclaimed the mayor’s office back in November, despite the misconduct allegations and a racism scandal.

His company, Bonaccorso & Son LLC, has also been banned from bidding for any public contracts, entering into any public contracts or conducting any business with the state or any government body. In addition, the company will not be permitted to conduct, or contract to conduct, any storage tank removals for the next three years.

An investigation into Bonaccorso revealed that he used township equipment, including computers and fax machines, and relied on staff to carry out tasks for his company while they were being paid by the township. He also stored records for his business at the mayor’s office.

Authorities also found he filed a series of forged permit applications across nearly two dozen municipalities, enabling his landscaping company to improperly and unlawfully obtain permits to remove hundreds of underground tanks.

Bonaccorso’s attorney, Robert Stahl, told NJ Advanced Media his client illegally utilized services amounting to less than $200.

“Mayor Bonaccorso decided that the best course forward for his health, his family and the town he so dearly loves and has devoted more than two decades to, was to resolve this matter by way of plea,” Stahl said.

Bonaccorso previously faced calls for his resignation back in 2022 after he was recorded making racist comments about minorities and sexist comments about female police officers. He apologized at the time but he refused to step down.

Clark is located roughly 13 miles southwest of Newark.

Bridget Berg watched in real time as the devastating Eaton Fire slowly consumed her Altadena home, just one of more than 7,000 structures burned in the blaze. It initially broke out on Tuesday, just north of Pasadena, and after four longs days of effort, firefighters have only just begun to make progress battling back the flames.

With the Eaton Fire now 15% contained, officials on Friday lifted mandatory evacuation orders for much of the area, giving some residents their first opportunity to contend with the reality of what they have lost.

Berg said she and her family decided to return to their neighborhood “just to make it real.” Together, they sifted through the charred remnants of what had been their home for 16 years.

“It’s not like we just lost our house — everybody lost their house,” she reflected.

Ana Yaeger said she and her husband were initially hesitant to return to their home near Pasadena.

“It was just dust,” she said, adding that fires “are still going everywhere.”

The devastation wrought by the Eaton Fire — which has so far burned through more than 14,000 acres — is second only to the massive Palisades Fire, the largest of four blazes still actively burning in the Los Angeles region. Its flames pushed east late Friday night, triggering a new evacuation order spanning much of the Brentwood neighborhood as well as parts of Encino.

The Palisades and Eaton fires — which together have killed at least 11 people — are now considered among the most destructive and costliest in L.A. history.

Days later and it’s still unclear what sparked the flames, all of them breaking out within a densely populated, 25-mile swath of land north of downtown Los Angeles. Some have placed much of the blame on local leaders and politicians.

Los Angeles Chief Kristin Crowley on Friday blasted the city over a recent budget cut that has hampered the department’s ongoing firefighting efforts.

“My message is the fire department needs to be properly funded. It’s not,” Crowley fold Fox LA. She also pointed to the shut down of Santa Ynez Reservoir, which can hold up to 117 gallons of water. It was undergoing repairs and was empty when the fires started, a fact the department was not alerted to in advance. As a result, some fire hydrants ran dry during efforts to fight the flames.

Crowley has since sat down with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who has faced severe backlash over her handling of the blazes.

An investigation into the reservoir shutdown has since been ordered, with Gov. Gavin Newsom calling the matter “deeply troubling.”

As of Saturday, more than 100,000 residents remain under mandatory evacuation orders.

With News Wire Services

Despite exhaustive efforts from thousands of firefighters and first responders, at least five fires, fueled by dry conditions and intense winds, continued to burn on Friday. The flames have so far ripped across more than 56 square miles of land, which is equivalent in size to the city of Miami.

“To all Angelenos, we’re fighting hard for each of you,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said. “I don’t believe there is anything Angelenos can’t do if we stand together.”

The Palisades Fire has proven especially destructive, particularly for the celebrity-packed Pacific Palisades neighborhood, tucked between Santa Monica and Malibu in northern Los Angeles. It has so far consumed over 20,000 acres, destroying approximately 5,300 structures, including homes, apartment buildings and businesses.

It has also rendered the region unrecognizable for resident Augie Sylik, whose home was among thousands of others destroyed in the Palisades Fire.

“You think of all the memories and hangouts with friends as a kid,” he told CBS News. “It’s absolutely devastating. I’m heartbroken.”

At least two people were killed in the Palisades blaze, which was only about 8% contained as of late Friday morning, according to Cal Fire’s most recent update. Officials said another five people were found dead in the Eaton Fire, which has ripped through approximately 13,690 acres, destroying some 5,000 structures, among them, the home of Florence Kerns-Wilson and her wife.

The couple told CNN they had only just moved to the Altadena community right before Christmas.

“We lost absolutely everything,” Kerns-Wilson said. “We got out just in time with our baby and our two cats and my parents, who had actually evacuated to our house from their house.”

The Palisades and Eaton fires — now among the most destructive in Los Angeles history — are the largest of the blazes still burning across the county, all of them initially sparked in a roughly 25-mile band north of downtown L.A.

The newest blaze, dubbed the Kenneth Fire, broke out late Thursday afternoon in the San Fernando Valley and has already consumed roughly 1,000 acres. The Lidia and Hurst fires have meanwhile burned through a combined 1,100 acres.

The office of the Los Angeles County medical examiner confirmed late Thursday that it’s investigating 10 fire-related deaths, but provided few other details. It also warned it could take weeks to identify some of the victims, as “traditional means of identification such as fingerprinting and visual identification may not be available and will add more time for naming these decedents.”

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna has warned that the death toll will likely rise as firefighting efforts continue. He added that while the full scope of the destruction wrought by the fast-moving flames remains unclear, it is undoubtedly widespread.

It “looks like a bomb, an atomic bomb dropped in these areas,” he told reporters. “I don’t expect good news, and we’re not looking forward to those numbers.”

Approximately 8,000 fire personnel have been deployed to battle back the flames, Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a press release. They’ve faced no shortage of obstacles in their efforts, key among them dry and windy conditions in the area. First responders were granted a brief reprieve from the Santa Ana winds on Thursday, but they were set to return and persist through the weekend.

The fast-spreading fires have triggered evacuation orders for nearly 180,000 residents across Southern California, though the figure has since dipped to about 150,000. Another 200,000 are under evacuation warnings.

A curfew is also in place for the Palisades and Eaton Fire areas across all mandatory evacuation zones from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.

With News Wire Services

Despite their political differences, Trump and Obama seemed more like old pals as they waited for Carter’s service to begin late Thursday morning.

Seated side-by-side in the second row, the unlikely duo were caught chuckling and chatting while the rest of the attendees filed into the Woodley Park church, among them former President George W. Bush, former President Bill Clinton and President Biden. They were also joined by their wives: former First Lady Laura Bush and former first lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as well current First Lady Jill Biden.

Notably absent, however, was former First Lady Michelle Obama, who reportedly missed the event due to scheduling conflicts. Had she attended, Michelle would’ve been been in the spot next to the President-elect instead of her husband.

The interaction sparked a wave of varied reactions online, leaving many shocked and others amused while some just wanted in on the joke.

“I would pay a lot of money to hear this conversation,” said one social media user.

“Trump and Obama sitting next to each other was not on the 2025 bingo card,” reads another post shared to X.

Politico congressional reporter Anthony Adragna echoed the sentiment, sharing an especially joyful photo of the former presidents on X.

“What an image,” he commented.

Another wrote: “Obama and Trump are acting like they’re at happy hour.”

Outkick founder Clay Travis similarly joked about the exchange while highlighting Trump’s sweeping victory over Vice President Kamala Harris back in November.

“Did Obama vote for Trump too?” he quipped.

Carter died at his home in Georgia on December 29 at 100 years old. Following his D.C. funeral, Carter will return to his hometown of Plains, where he will be buried next to his beloved wife of 77 years, Rosalynn Carter.

Authorities discovered the body on Dec. 22 in Belleplain State Forest, a wooded area spanning 21,320 acres across northern Cape May and eastern Cumberland counties. She was identified on Thursday for the first time as Laura Hughes, a 50-year-old mother of two who had only just moved to the area, according to an affidavit cited by NJ Advance Media.

Her boyfriend, Christopher Blevins, is accused of transporting a refrigerator containing her body, and then dumping it in the forest in Dennis Township. While the remains were only discovered last month, police believe they were left in the state park over the summer, sometime around July 24.

A unique yoga mat and necklace were also recovered at the scene. Authorities shared photos of these items alongside a composite sketch of her back tattoos — a koi fish and rose — during efforts to learn her identity.

On Aug. 2, Blevins fled to Mexico, crossing the border at Brownsville, Texas, according to the affidavit. He ultimately surrendered to law enforcement a few weeks later on Aug. 22.

Blevins subsequently told authorities he been involved in a “violent incident” in Runnemede, admitting that he may have killed someone, and then “panicked,” according to the affidavit.

Blevins is facing one count of desecrating human remains and another for hindering apprehension in connection with the case. It is not clear if he has been returned to New Jersey.

A second suspect, identified only as a 46-year-old man from Cape May, was previously arrested on obstruction charges. He told police he stumbled across the refrigerator while out on hike on Dec. 21, then returned the next day and discovered the body inside.

No one has yet been charged with Hughes’ death, and an investigation into the matter is ongoing.

Officials said the number of fatalities would likely rise as a series of major fires reduced hundreds of homes and businesses to ash, setting an apocalyptic backdrop for first responders and firefighters still working to contain the flames.

President Biden said Thursday he had told local officials to “spare no expense” in getting the situation under control, adding, “We’re doing everything we can at the federal level” and said officials were discussing what more was possible.

Five victims’ bodies were discovered inside three different buildings in Altadena, where the Eaton Fire continued to rage on Thursday. The remains of a sixth person were found Wednesday night in a Malibu home that had been destroyed in the Palisades Fire, KNBC reported Thursday.

Dangerous conditions were hampering search efforts, said Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department communications director Nicole Nishida. She confirmed to the L.A. Times that there have been “multiple deaths in the fire areas,” but that information “is still very preliminary.”

The Eaton Fire’s flames have consumed some 10,600 acres, ripping through thousands of structures since they first sparked on Tuesday, according to the L.A. County Fire Department. While the conflagration was officially 0% contained on Thursday, its growth had been “significantly stopped,” Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said at a morning news conference.

Winds that had been fueling the fires and lofting embers died down on Thursday, giving firefighters a bit of a break. But the National Weather Service was predicting the winds would pick up Thursday night, bringing “damaging wind gusts across the mountains into the foothill areas again tonight and into Friday.”

With no rain expected through at least the middle of next week, the NWS expressed “great concern that fire weather conditions could become exacerbated” again next Tuesday and Wednesday.

At least another 1,000 homes and businesses have been either damaged or destroyed by the Palisades Fire, including Palisades Charter High School, which has been featured in many Hollywood productions, including the 1976 horror movie “Carrie” and the MTV series “Teen Wolf.”

The fire has also claimed the homes of several celebrities, including those of Paris Hilton, “Scary Movie” star Anna Faris and Oscar winners Anthony Hopkins and Jeff Bridges.

The blaze initially broke out around 10:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday, just southeast of Palisades Drive, per the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Fueled by dry conditions and fierce Santa Ana winds, the fast-moving Palisades Fire has since scorched more than 17,000 acres, making it the most destructive fire in Los Angeles’ history.

Crews on Thursday were also working to contain the Sunset Fire, which erupted Wednesday night in the Hollywood Hills, not far from the Hollywood Bowl and the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In total, more than 7,500 firefighters have been deployed to battle the blazes, according to California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The response has also grown to include 300 firefighters from Oregon and another 146 personnel Washington State personnel. Utah, New Mexico and Arizona said they too would be dispatching teams.

“Southern California residents — please remain vigilant,” Newsom said in a post on X. “Listen to local officials and be ready to evacuate if you’re near impacted areas.”

So far, some 130,000 people are under evacuation orders, including Hollywood stars like Mark Hamill, Mandy Moore and James Woods.

With News Wire Services

Despite the title, Boll’s film has no ties to Christopher Nolan’s 2008 movie with the same name, which famously starred Christian Bale as Batman and Heath Ledger as the Joker. That means Hammer — who was once slated to play the caped crusader in the canceled “Justice League: Mortal” movie — won’t be suiting up as the D.C. superhero anytime soon.

Instead, he’ll star as Sanders, a “crime-fighting” vigilante, Variety reported. The character’s crusade for justice makes him a social media sensation, but also earns the ire of law enforcement.

“The story of ‘The Dark Knight’ couldn’t be a more current topic, and I’m excited to bring it to life with this excellent cast,” said Boll, who has directed nearly 36 movies — of varying quality — over the course of his career.

The German filmmaker is perhaps best known for his flops, including “Alone in the Dark,” “BloodRayne,” and “The Final Storm.” In 2009, he was given a Golden Raspberry Award, also known a Razzie, for “worst director” in addition to a special award for Worst Career Achievement.

Hammer, meanwhile, saw his career stall in 2021, after he was accused of sending graphic and violent texts about rape fantasies, cannibalism and drinking blood. The anonymous recipient shared alleged screenshots of their conversations online, which prompted additional allegations of sexual misconduct, including from his ex-girlfriend Paige Lorenz.

Following a two-year investigation, the Los Angeles County district attorney declined to charge Hammer with sexual assault in 2023.

Dale Kirkland, 31, is facing counts including murder, murder with special circumstances and risk of injury to a minor in connection with the death of his 3-month-old daughter, Leilani. She was found fully submerged in bathwater by a maid cleaning a vacant room at the Mayflower Motel in Milford on the morning of Aug. 21.

The baby girl was quickly rushed to Yale New Haven Hospital, but died a short time later.

According to a warrant for his arrest, Kirkland checked into the motel with his daughter and was likely the last person to see her alive. He was quickly identified as a person of interest in the case and arrested shortly thereafter.

On Tuesday, Judge Kevin Russo concluded Kirkland is currently incompetent to stand trial, the Connecticut Post reported. His decision followed testimony from Mark Simoniello, a forensic evaluator who works for the state.

Simoniello performed a two-hour remote evaluation of Kirkland alongside a psychiatrist and psychologist. They unanimously concluded he’s not capable of understanding the legal proceedings nor the charges against him.

Simoniello also told the judge that Kirkland suffers from catatonia. According to the Cleveland Clinic, the disorder “disrupts a person’s awareness of the world around them,” and can cause them to “behave in ways that are unusual, unexpected or unsafe to themselves or others.” It’s not uncommon for the condition to come with psychotic or depressive disorders, Simoniello noted.

As a result, Kirkland was ordered to spend 60 days at Whiting Forensic Hospital, a high-security psychiatric facility in Middletown. Russo noted that he hoped Kirkland’s competency could be “restored” there, and that the court would reevaluate at a later date.

“So, I’m about to be a newly single mom, and I am in the middle of divorce,” Jennifer said in a clip shared on Dec. 10.

“My husband has been incredible though, really and truly,” she continued. “We’re working together, everything’s great, we’re splitting everything down the middle.”

@jsheff13

Any advice is appreciated #advice #singlemom #divorce #help #fyp #moneysaving #moneysavingtips #savemoney

♬ original sound – Jennifer Sheffield

And the praise didn’t stop there.

Jennifer — whose account on the platform boasts some 15,000 followers — noted that she and Brandon have strived to be “very civil” during the divorce proceedings and that they hoped to remain that way for the sake of their daughter. She added that she was also grateful her husband would be able to help support their child while she worked to figure out her finances in the meantime.

“I’m going to be on my own, single income right now,” Sheffield said. “And he’ll be helping with her, supporting her and I’m really thankful for that and that I’ll not have to worry so much about supporting her. However, I will be on a very limited income with buying a new house and paying a mortgage and all that stuff.”

Both Jennifer and Brandon Sheffield were found dead inside a home in Brandon just days after Christmas, on Dec. 28, the Dark Horse Press reported. Officers were called to the residence that morning by concerned relatives, who requested a welfare check, citing obvious signs of foul play.

Brandon Police Department chief Joseph French told the outlet it “appears that Brandon Sheffield shot Jennifer Sheffield and then shot himself,” but did not offer any other details.

They were both pronounced dead on the scene. No information was provided regarding the couple’s daughter, who was reportedly home at the time of the grisly incident.

An investigation into the matter is ongoing.