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Missing mom found alive in forest as officials investigate ‘suspicious’ house fire

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Missing mom found alive in forest as officials investigate ‘suspicious’ house fire

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An Indiana mother who vanished more than a week ago has been found alive in a nearby forest, just days after flames broke out in her home in what authorities are calling a “suspicious” fire.

According to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, around 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 8, dispatchers received a 911 call from 46-year-old Britney Gard, who said she was lost in the Hall Woods Nature Preserve, east of Bainbridge, Indiana. The location was about 2½ miles from her residence, officials said.

“Britney was quickly found by Putnam County Sheriff’s deputies with the assistance of Indiana Conservation Officers, an Indiana State Police detective, Bainbridge Fire Department personnel and excellent directions from our 911 dispatchers,” Sheriff Jerrod E. Baugh said in a statement.

Gard was evaluated by medical personnel before being taken to a hospital for further treatment. Authorities have not disclosed her current condition.

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MOUNTAIN BIKERS FIND MISSING HIKER WANDERING WILDERNESS IN UNDERWEAR

Search crews found a missing mother alive in Hall Woods Nature Preserve days after a fire at her home. (Putnamparks.org; Find Britney Gard/Facebook)

“The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office is not currently looking for any individuals of interest in this missing person investigation of Britney Gard,” the statement continued. “There is no current threat to the general public in this case.”

Baugh expressed gratitude for the coordinated search effort.

“It is with great relief that we were able to find Ms. Gard last evening and bring this missing person case to a close,” Baugh said. “We would like to thank her family and all of the organizations that worked with us around the clock.”

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YOUTUBE SURVIVAL SHOW CONTESTANT RESCUED IN DENSELY WOODED MICHIGAN AREA

Authorities say Britney Gard was located in the wooded preserve more than a week after a “suspicious” house fire. (Find Britney Gard/Facebook)

Baugh added that detectives and staff “continued to work tirelessly with Ms. Gard’s family to bring her home” and emphasized that the case remains under investigation.

“We will not be releasing any further details in this case at this time,” he said.

Gard was reported missing after a fire broke out at her Putnam County home Oct. 1. Fire crews extinguished the blaze, which was contained to one portion of the residence, but could not locate Gard inside, according to the sheriff’s office.

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CALIFORNIA WOMAN FOUND DEAD IN NATIONAL FOREST, HUSBAND SEEN DRAGGING SOMETHING IN LARGE TARP

Authorities are investigating a “suspicious” fire after rescuers found the missing mother alive nearby. (Putnam County Sheriff’s Office Indiana)

Investigators said the fire appeared “suspicious in nature.” Family members and authorities were unable to reach Gard after the fire, prompting days of searches through fields, wooded areas and ponds near her home.

Gard’s daughter, who had been at a volleyball game that evening, returned home to find emergency crews and was told her mother was missing, according to WRTV.

The outlet also reported that Gard’s purse and ID were left behind. 

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Family members — including Gard’s four sisters — traveled from across the country to help with search efforts during the week she was missing, WRTV reported. 

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Authorities have not released further details about how Gard ended up in the wooded preserve or the cause of the fire.

“Please continue to keep Ms. Gard’s family, our investigators and emergency personnel in your prayers,” Baugh said.

Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.

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South Dakota

SD Lottery Powerball, Lucky For Life winning numbers for Feb. 14, 2026

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The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at Feb. 14, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from Feb. 14 drawing

23-43-58-60-64, Powerball: 24, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

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Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Feb. 14 drawing

14-17-30-43-48, Lucky Ball: 10

Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from Feb. 14 drawing

02-04-07-49-51, Star Ball: 09, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Dakota Cash numbers from Feb. 14 drawing

04-14-15-17-23

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Check Dakota Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize

  • Prizes of $100 or less: Can be claimed at any South Dakota Lottery retailer.
  • Prizes of $101 or more: Must be claimed from the Lottery. By mail, send a claim form and a signed winning ticket to the Lottery at 711 E. Wells Avenue, Pierre, SD 57501.
  • Any jackpot-winning ticket for Dakota Cash or Lotto America, top prize-winning ticket for Lucky for Life, or for the second prizes for Powerball and Mega Millions must be presented in person at a Lottery office. A jackpot-winning Powerball or Mega Millions ticket must be presented in person at the Lottery office in Pierre.

When are the South Dakota Lottery drawings held?

  • Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
  • Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
  • Lucky for Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
  • Lotto America: 9:15 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
  • Dakota Cash: 9 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a South Dakota editor. You can send feedback using this form.



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Wisconsin

WI voters want a say on issue of online sports betting | Opinion

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WI voters want a say on issue of online sports betting | Opinion



Wisconsin cannot gamble with sports betting. As former attorney general, I join the people of Wisconsin who have real concerns about the constitutionality of this plan.

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As the Assembly and Senate get ready to adjourn session in Madison for 2026, state legislative leaders are working behind closed doors on a deal to legalize online sports betting and give the Indigenous tribes exclusive control. 

New polling shows Wisconsinites are skeptical of the Legislature’s current plan, and for good reason. While voters aren’t uniformly opposed to online sports wagering, they strongly oppose a framework that grants exclusive control to tribal nations, limits competition, and bypasses direct voter approval. Sixty percent of likely voters oppose giving tribes a monopoly, and 86 percent believe a decision of this magnitude should be decided by the people through a constitutional amendment or referendum. (Note: Polling figures cited are from The Tarrance Group.)

The legislation under consideration would create an unfair monopoly on online sports betting in Wisconsin. Rather than allowing well-known operators like FanDuel or DraftKings to compete in an open marketplace, the state would grant Native American tribes exclusive control as a way to try to circumvent the constitution. This approach stifles competition, limits consumer choice, and allows the monopoly holder to operate without meaningful oversight,  a setup that is neither fair nor economically responsible.

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Wisconsin stands to lose money on this

Beyond the monopoly problem, the current bills bypass the benefits free-market online sports betting can bring to states. In other states, competitive frameworks have strengthened local economies and generated tens of millions in revenue. Instead, Wisconsin could lose an estimated $400 million over the next five years because the legislation attempts to skirt our constitutional limits rather than address them directly.

Most importantly, as the former Attorney General of Wisconsin, I join the people of Wisconsin who have real concerns about the constitutionality of this plan. Legislators should never endorse or attempt to undermine Wisconsin’s Constitution, the foundation of our state. Article IV, Section 24 of the Wisconsin Constitution broadly prohibits the Legislature from authorizing gambling outside specific, voter-approved exceptions. The people of Wisconsin have repeatedly reaffirmed this principle through amendments over decades, making clear decisions of this magnitude rest with the voters, not the Legislature or the governor.

Wisconsin has seen the consequences of concentrated authority before. In the 1990s and 2000s, the state granted Democratic governor Jim Doyle broad authority to reopen and amend tribal gaming compacts. These decisions ultimately created perpetual privileges for tribes and limited the state’s ability to regulate gaming in line with constitutional and public interests. Later court rulings upheld some expansions despite weak legal grounds, leaving Wisconsin with a system that prioritizes a single party’s contractual interests over the people’s sovereign will.

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Legislators seem ready to repeat mistakes

Today, legislators appear ready to repeat that mistake by relying on unsettled legal comparisons, such as Florida’s compact litigation, to justify extending tribal betting privileges statewide. But Florida’s situation is not Wisconsin’s. Using it as cover to bypass our own constitutional limits is legislative overreach, plain and simple.

The push to legalize online sports betting nationally has grown, but the stakes in Wisconsin are too high to get this wrong. The numbers don’t lie, the voters want a say in this matter. This backroom deal being dealt in Madison is bad news. The first rule of gambling is remembering the house always wins. In this case, the “house” should be the people of Wisconsin, and the state must ensure it remains in control of its own policy.

JB Van Hollen is the former Attorney General of Wisconsin.



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Midwest

Don Lemon to appear in federal court over charges stemming from Minnesota church storming

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Don Lemon to appear in federal court over charges stemming from Minnesota church storming

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Former CNN anchor and independent journalist Don Lemon is scheduled to appear in federal court on Friday to face charges related to the viral takeover of a Minnesota church by anti-ICE agitators. 

Lemon, who last month livestreamed aggressive agitators storming St. Paul’s Cities Church under the suspicion that its pastor had collaborated with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), is charged with conspiracy to deprive religious freedom rights and a violation of the FACE Act. He is scheduled to appear at 1 p.m. for an arraignment before Minnesota Magistrate Judge Douglas L. Micko. 

Lemon has insisted he was working as a journalist and was not part of the group that harassed churchgoers. He is represented by Abbe Lowell, who previously represented Hunter Biden, and Joe Thompson, who was the lead prosecutor who helped uncover the massive $250 million Feeding Our Future food fraud case tied to the state’s Somali community. Thompson resigned from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in January. 

DON LEMON TAKEN INTO CUSTODY FOR HIS INVOLVEMENT IN LIVESTREAMING PROTEST AT MINNESOTA CHURCH

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Former CNN anchor and journalist Don Lemon speaks to the media after a hearing at the Edward R. Roybal Federal Courthouse in Los Angeles on January 30, 2026. (AFP via Getty)

While documenting the hostile invasion of the church, Lemon called it a “clandestine mission.”

“You have to be willing to go into places and disrupt and make people uncomfortable. That’s what this country is about,” Lemon said.

Agitators disrupted the religious service and “intimidated, harassed, oppressed, and terrorized the parishioners, including young children, and caused the service to be cut short,” according to a federal affidavit. 

Churchgoers told law enforcement that members of their parish attempted to retrieve their children from a childcare area located downstairs, but the agitators were blocking the stairs, and the parents were unable to get to their children. One churchgoer later expressed fear that the agitators may have guns underneath their jackets and noted that aisles were blocked, making it difficult to leave. 

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Lemon has seen a spike in social media subscribers, appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and been feted at the Grammy Awards since his arrest.

DON LEMON RESPONDS TO TRUMP DOJ’S THREAT, STANDS BY COVERAGE OF ANTI-ICE PROTEST AT MINNESOTA CHURCH

Ex-CNN host Don Lemon recalled his arrest in Los Angeles during his appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. (Screenshot/ABC)

The FACE Act makes it a federal crime, with potentially steep fines and jail time, to use or threaten to use force to “injure, intimidate, or interfere” with a person seeking reproductive health services, or with a person lawfully trying to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship. It also prohibits intentional property damage to a facility providing reproductive health services or a place of religious worship.

Lemon previously told Fox News Digital that he stands by his reporting and has faced online threats as a result. 

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“It’s notable that I’ve been cast as the face of a protest I was covering as a journalist — especially since I wasn’t the only reporter there. That framing is telling. What’s even more telling is the barrage of violent threats, along with homophobic and racist slurs, directed at me online by MAGA supporters and amplified by parts of the right-wing press,” Lemon said in a statement.

DON LEMON’S LENGTHY HISTORY OF ANTI-ICE RHETORIC

Don Lemon has told Fox News Digital that he stands by his reporting. (Don Lemon/YouTube)

“If this much time and energy is going to be spent manufacturing outrage, it would be far better used investigating the tragic death of Renee Nicole Good — the very issue that brought people into the streets in the first place,” Lemon continued. “I stand by my reporting.”

Far-left agitator Nekima Levy Armstrong, who was one of the organizers of the church protest, is also expected in court on Friday in connection with the incident. She appeared in Lemon’s footage. 

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