By Kyle Feldscher, Jill Martin, CNN

(CNN) — The New England Patriots are backing head coach Mike Vrabel after a second report in the New York Post raised questions about the reigning coach of the year’s relationship with a former reporter from The Athletic.

Vrabel has been under the microscope in recent weeks after the Post published photos of him and Dianna Russini at a resort in Arizona earlier this year. On Thursday, just hours before the NFL Draft gets underway, the Post published another story showing photos of Vrabel and Russini at a New York City bar in March 2020. The outlet described the two as sitting closely to each other and “at one point appearing to share a kiss.”

When asked for comment on this latest story, the Patriots said they support Vrabel’s decision to seek counseling, as first reported by ESPN on Wednesday.

“The New England Patriots fully support Mike Vrabel’s decision to prioritize his family first, as well as his own well-being. Mike has been open with us about his commitment to being the best version of himself for his family, this team and our fans, and we respect the steps he is taking to follow through on that commitment,” the statement read.

“We are confident in the leadership and communication Mike has established with our personnel staff throughout this pre-draft process. While he will not be present at the facility on Saturday, we know the draft evaluations are complete and Eliot Wolf and his personnel staff are prepared to execute our draft as planned this weekend.”

On April 7, the Post shared photos showing Russini and Vrabel holding hands, embracing and spending time in a pool together at a boutique resort in Sedona, Arizona. The photos were taken on March 28, according to the publication, which noted that both adults are married.

Russini resigned from The Athletic last week, a week after the star NFL reporter was sidelined amid an internal investigation into her relationship with Vrabel.

In her resignation letter from The Athletic, Russini blamed “commentators in various media” for engaging in “self-feeding speculation that is simply unmoored from the facts.”

“I have no interest in submitting to a public inquiry that has already caused far more damage than I am willing to accept,” she added, asserting that her journalistic record “speaks for itself.”

Vrabel told the Post that the photos showed “a completely innocent interaction” and said “any suggestion otherwise is laughable.”

However, Vrabel this week said he has had “difficult conversations with people I care about” after the release of the photos and told ESPN that he would be seeking counseling starting this weekend, causing him to miss the third day of the NFL Draft.

Amid the fallout from the report, the Times opened an investigation into the matter, including a review of Russini’s past coverage, and benched her from reporting for the time being, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Russini was at ESPN at the time of the March 2020 photos of her and Vrabel in New York, and that network declined to comment when asked by CNN Sports.

CNN has reached out to Russini’s agent for comment on the latest photos.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & ©

WAFB, CNN

By Cindy Von Quednow, Ashley Killough, Isabel Rosales, CNN

(CNN) — One person was killed and at least five others were injured after an apparent argument led to a shooting at the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge on Thursday, police said. Five people are in custody.

“Two groups of people got into an argument inside the food court and started shooting at each other,” said Baton Rouge Police Chief Thomas Morse Jr, citing surveillance footage. “Unfortunately, there were some innocent people that were in the area that might have also caught some rounds.”

The gunfire sent frightened shoppers running and ducking for cover in stores and dressing rooms at Louisiana’s largest mall as people warned others to “take cover” and “get down,” witnesses say.

Police initially said there were 10 people inured in the shooting and later revised the number.

It is unclear how many people opened fire. The chief said investigators are reviewing surveillance video and collecting evidence to determine how many weapons were involved.

“This is still an ongoing investigation, and we’re still looking for more people that may be involved,” the chief said.

The shooting does not appear to be a random act of violence, “but a very targeted kind of disagreement between two groups of people,” Morse said, adding there is no known threat to the public.

After the shooting, teams searched for suspects, including by drone and helicopters.

“As we start developing suspects, we’re going to run down every single lead that we can to get these people in custody,” the chief said.

The FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said they’re also responding to the scene.

The shootout happened just days after another mass shooting in Shreveport, Louisiana.

“Sometimes the devil lives everywhere,” Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sid Edwards said.“This is one of those situations – no matter how many law enforcement you’ve got or social programs or whatever, if someone gets in their mind that they’re going to do something like this, they’re going to do it and sometimes all we can do is respond.”

Shoppers run as ‘extremely rapid firing’ is heard

Raleigh Robertson, 22, was on the phone with her mom while shopping at Dick’s Sporting Goods when she heard gunshots, she told CNN.

“I’m not a runner, but I’m about to be a runner today,” she recalled thinking. “And I took off running.”

Robertson’s mother begged her to stay on the phone with her as she ran toward a staircase in the store and up to the second floor.

She said the “extremely rapid firing” from inside the mall continued for 20 to 30 seconds.

Shoppers were rushing toward the dressing rooms at Dick’s and grabbing at door handles to hide inside, she recalled.

Once on the second floor, Robertson was able to quickly exit the building and reach her car in the parking lot. By the time she drove away, she saw a line of police vehicles entering the parking lot, she said.

Meanwhile at the Hot Topic inside the mall, several people who were in the store when shots rang out started running, a store associate told CNN.

People were waiting to be evacuated by law enforcement, the associate said.

Police were going through the mall looking for people who are locked down and evacuating the area, Morse said.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & ©

By Daniel Wine, Toni Odejimi, CNN

Welcome to 5 Things PM! What could go wrong when trying to touch the genitals of a 16th‑century statue during a bachelorette trip? A lot, apparently.

Here’s what else you might have missed during your busy day.

5 things

1⃣ Dire conditions

The worst spring drought on record is gripping the continental US, and it’s fueling wildfire and water shortage concerns as the summer heat approaches. Sign up for the new CNN Weather newsletter.

2⃣ ‘They loved life’

Sisters who enjoyed dancing, an outgoing spirit with a thirst for learning and a burgeoning young reader. Meet the eight children — from 3 to 11 years old — whose lives were cut short in the Shreveport mass shooting.

3⃣ Hope for the future

María de Jesús Estrada Juárez was living in the US under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program for immigrants. Then she was deported. Now she has accomplished what seemed impossible.

4⃣ Psychedelics

Once relegated to the fringes of medicine, these drugs are drawing new interest from the Trump administration as a potential treatment for people with certain mental health conditions. Could FDA approval be next?

5⃣ Highs and lows

From piracy and downloads to playlists and global hits, Spotify has reshaped the music industry. Watch as CNN’s Clare Sebastian breaks down how the streaming giant racked up hundreds of millions of users.

Watch this

Freezy Drake: Fans chipped away at a 25-foot ice sculpture in Toronto, some of them wielding pickaxes and hammers, to uncover a hidden surprise tied to the popular Canadian rapper.

Top headlines

• Trump threatens to shoot boats laying mines as tension escalates in Strait of Hormuz
• At least 10 injured, including ‘some innocent people,’ after shootout at Louisiana mall, police say
• Meta to cut 10% of staff as it pours billions into AI

Check this out

‘Art world Olympics’: Every two years, the US taps an artist to transform its pavilion at the Venice Biennale. But what is typically a career‑defining moment looks Read more

By Harmeet Kaur, CNN

(CNN) — The image was instantly iconic: Donald Trump, moments after an attempt on his life, is surrounded by Secret Service agents attempting to rush him to a car. Face bloodied, he takes a defiant turn toward his supporters and pumps a fist into the air. An American flag waves in the background.

Was it too iconic? In the hours after a man tried to assassinate Trump at a 2024 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, baseless conspiracy theories about the shooting — and that photo in particular — flooded the internet. Some anti-Trumpers declared it too good to be true, arguing that the incident must have been “staged” to boost his campaign.

More than a year into Trump’s second term, the claim has acquired new life, now among prominent people in the MAGAverse, disillusioned with the man they once supported.

“Just admit you staged it in Butler,” comedian Tim Dillon, who helped drive support for Trump in 2024, said in an April 11 episode of his podcast. “It was the heat of the campaign. People do crazy things in campaigns.” As WIRED’s David Gilbert wrote last week, recent comments from Dillon, as well as right-wing personalities including Tucker Carlson and Marjorie Taylor Greene, seemed to open the door to further conspiracy theories from the MAGA coalition.

Before “staged” entered English as a verb around the 14th century, the noun “stage” was in use a century earlier to mean a horizontal portion of a structure, floor or story of a building or a raised platform constructed to exhibit something for public viewing. In its earliest verb sense, to “stage” meant to set up a platform or scaffolding for construction. Later, it also became a term for the process of putting on a theatrical production and eventually, any event requiring planning and preparation. Both forms come from the Old French “estage,” meaning “dwelling,” and its verb form “estager,” meaning “to stay somewhere.” “Estage” is also related to the Latin “stagium.”

Around the 1930s, “staged” additionally came to refer to a particular kind of planned event: a situation deliberately faked to mislead people about what happened. The Oxford English Dictionary cites an early use in a 1935 story published in “The American Magazine,” in which a man reportedly “staged” an argument to gain the trust of a lumber company superintendent and secure an offer of employment from him. Other citations from the era refer to faked crime scenes.

Assassinations and attempted assassinations, combining both politics and crime, have proved especially ripe for claims that they were “staged.” The implication appears to be older than the word itself. After an assassination attempt on President Andrew Jackson in 1835, the opposition party accused him of faking it for public sympathy. A February 16, 1835 article in the “Republican Banner” reported the “Richmond Whig

The post 9th Circuit Blocks California Limits on Anonymous Immigration Agents appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.