South
Kentucky police resume manhunt for gunman in I-75 shooting
A manhunt resumed in southeastern Kentucky early Sunday as law enforcement searched for the suspected gunman who authorities say opened fire near Interstate 75, injuring seven people in the shooting and a car accident.
Law enforcement agencies are combing the area along the highway on foot and with a drone after the shooting unfolded Saturday around 6 p.m. near exit 49, the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office said.
Authorities have named Joseph A. Couch, 32, a person of interest in the shooting, and warned the public he is considered armed and dangerous.
Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, told reporters that authorities “have not determined that this is the individual that fired the weapon.”
KENTUCKY POLICE IDENTIFY SUBJECT OF MANHUNT AFTER ‘NUMEROUS’ PEOPLE SHOT ON HIGHWAY
Joseph A. Couch was named a person of interest in the Saturday shootings on Interstate 75 near London, Kentucky. (London Police Department)
The initial search on Saturday was suspended due to darkness, though officials kept the scene “contained” overnight, the sheriff’s office said.
“We do have the area contained right now. It’s a very fluid investigation. Our people are still on the scene. Our special response team is there. We are trying to find a shooter there,” Acciardo said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the sheriff’s office for more details about the multi-day search.
Investigators believe there was only one shooter, according to Acciardo, and they do not believe that road rage was a factor leading up to the shooting.
Law enforcement agencies resumed the search for Couch on Sunday morning. (Laurel County Sheriff’s Office)
Police initially responded to reports that a suspect was shooting at drivers from an overpass or a wooded area, multiple media accounts have said.
London Mayor Randall Weddle previously said that no deaths have been reported.
Traffic was stopped during an active shooting on Interstate 75 north of London, Ky., on Saturday. (Camden Mink/Mount Vernon Fire Department via AP)
Acciardo said five people were shot and were all in stable condition early Sunday, although some of the victims had “very serious” injuries, including one person who was shot in the face.
Two other people were hurt in the vehicle accident, he said.
GEORGIA TEEN SCHOOL SHOOTING SUSPECT LIVED IN A SERIES OF RENTAL HOMES AS EMERGING DETAILS SHED LIGHT ON FAMILY
Weddle noted in an address to the public on social media that the search area includes “some rugged terrain and a lot of treeline.”
Authorities were searching for Couch in a rugged area with dense tree lines, London Mayor Randall Weddle previously said. (Laurel County Sheriff’s Office)
“I’m not asking anybody to panic, there is no immediate danger here in the city, but again… we are asking everybody to be safe,” the mayor said, adding that residents should be “vigilant” as police search for Couch.
Couch is described as a White man about 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing around 154 pounds.
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London, around 80 miles south of Lexington, Kentucky, has a population of about 7,600.
Fox News Digital’s Brie Stimson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Kentucky
Kentucky Wildcats News: Tyler Herro helped UK get Milan Momcilovic
Over the last several recruiting classes, the University of Kentucky Basketball program has come up short in terms of landing the “big fish” in either recruiting or the transfer portal.
But recently, head coach Mark Pope and his staff landed Milan Momcilovic — the top target in the entire transfer portal — from Iowa State to join their team for the upcoming season.
While many people clearly played a role in getting Momcilovic to Kentucky, former Wildcat Tyler Herro clearly had his fingerprints on the move.
Tyler’s dad — Chris — was Momcilovic’s coach back in AAU and (of course) was heavily connected to UK through Tyler back around the COVID years when Momcilovic was being recruited out of high school.
“Tyler reached out to me. Chris (Herro) and my dad are pretty good friends because they used to coach together on the EYB,” Momcilovic said during Thursday’s media scrum. “So, he was calling me, and he was obviously telling me, ‘Go to Kentucky. Go to Kentucky.’ I really like the Herro family. Obviously, I listen to them, but it was my decision at the end of the day.”
Though Kentucky never reached out originally back during his high school recruiting, they did come knocking most recently during this past summer, and with the help of Herro’s encouragement, Momcilovic will represent the Big Blue Nation this fall in Lexington for a chance to try and bring banner No. 9 home to UK.
Can’t love this enough.
No return to college bball for Billy D.
Louisiana
Supreme Court rules in indictment against Louisiana attorney general
Is Louisiana home to the smallest church in the world? Apparently so
Madonna Chapel in Louisiana was featured in “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” as the world’s smallest Chapel. Built in 1903, it measures only 81 square feet.
The Louisiana Supreme Court granted a stay early Friday morning to keep Republican Attorney General Liz Murrill from being arrested on felony charges handed down by a New Orleans grand jury July 2.
Though the Supreme Court didn’t dismiss the case against Murrill, it did pause the process and signaled in its ruling that the attorney general “is likely to succeed on the merits of a motion to quash this indictment on either a legal basis or due to apparent procedural irregularities.”
Murrill responded with a statement at 6:53 a.m. July 3.
“I’m grateful to the Louisiana Supreme Court for swiftly issuing a stay in this matter,” she said. “I hope this political witch hunt is not a harbinger of things to come, but I fear that it is. Neither the grand jury investigation law nor the public intimidation law was intended to be used as a political weapon by a rogue, biased, vindictive special prosecutor, judge and grand jury. I hope the Legislature in the future will ensure this cannot happen again.”
The grand jury returned a 16-count indictment charging Murrill with malfeasance and intimidation in the latest chapter of an ongoing feud between Murrill and Democratic city leaders.
The charges stem from letters Murrill sent to city officials, among them Mayor Helena Moreno, in May saying they risked losing their elected positions if they tried to overturn legislative action that eliminated a New Orleans criminal clerk’s elected office.
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry, who also has a fractious relationship with New Orleans city leaders, called the grand jury a “kangaroo court” and promised to pardon Murrill.
Special prosecutor Laurie White responded to Landry during a news conference after the grand jury returned its indictment, saying, “Good; let’s get her convicted and then he can pardon her.”
“We’re very interested in elected officials in New Orleans not being intimidated or threatened,” White told reporters. “It’s going to be very simple; very open and shut.”
Orleans Criminal District Judge Leon Roche had issued a warrant for Murrill’s arrest, setting bond at $400,000, but the Supreme Court stay halted that warrant.
Ironically, Murrill secured an indictment for former Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson earlier this year in the same courthouse.
Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1.
Maryland
Baltimore Gas and Electric seeks $8 monthly rate increase for Maryland customers
On Thursday, Baltimore Gas and Electric filed a rate hike request with the Maryland Public Service Commission affecting over 1 million customers.
The filing states that Maryland electric bills would increase by an average of $100 a year, which would equal about $8 a month if approved in full.
“Today’s announcement may be the boiling point for Baltimore residents bracing for dangerously high temperatures this holiday weekend, worried about paying to keep their homes cool after a decade of rising BGE bills,” said Emily Scarr, Maryland PIRG Foundation Senior Advisor.
A press release from BGE states that the rate case filed “aligns with a significantly reduced investment strategy focused almost entirely on the most immediate risks to the electric system.”
“Nothing matters more to our customers right now than affordability,” said Tamla Olivier, president and CEO of BGE. “We heard clearly that customers are feeling pressure from rising costs across every aspect of their lives. That’s why we delayed this filing, took a hard look at our plans, and reduced investments to only the bare-bones maintenance the system needs.”
BGE says the filing focuses on maintaining the electric system, which includes maintaining its reliability and substations, and introducing a new customer assistance program.
The utility company said that while it has reduced and delayed investments to help limit customer impacts, there is a clear tradeoff to continued reductions.
“There is no scenario where we can stop maintaining the electric system altogether. We made deliberate decisions to postpone large bodies of work, future-focused projects, and replacement of aging equipment,” Olivier said. “As the region’s power needs grow, and weather-related impacts become more frequent and severe, delaying essential maintenance for too long ultimately leads to more outages, longer restoration times, more emergency repairs, and higher costs for customers in the future.”
BGE says the filing includes a FlexPay program that would allow eligible customers to prepay their anticipated energy use.
According to consumer advocates at the Office of the People’s Counsel, BGE electric delivery rates nearly doubled in 2010, increasing at about twice the rate of inflation.
BGE profits have increased from $147 million in 2010 to $578 million in 2025, driven by a combination of increased gas and electric capital spending and a high profit rate, according to the PIRG Foundation.
Gas delivery rates have tripled since 2010.
“We plan to review this latest rate hike request in detail, but have serious concerns that as BGE rates and profits skyrocket, customers are facing systematic failures of customer service and safety. We call on the Commission to take a serious look at BGE’s spending and reject its request for an excessive profit rate,” Scarr said.
The filing will be reviewed by the Maryland Public Service Commission during a proceeding over the next several months, which will include public input, according to BGE.
For the new rates to take effect, the commission would have to enter an order, which would be expected in early 2027.
For more information, click here.
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