8 victims killed in B-52 crash identified by Edwards Air Force Base
An Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bomber crashed shortly after takeoff at Edwards Air Force Base in California, June 15, 2026. (KABC)
(LOS ANGELES) — The eight people killed in an Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bomber crash in California have been identified.
The B-52 was on a “routine test mission” Monday morning when it crashed shortly after takeoff at Edwards Air Force Base and burst into flames, officials said.
Everyone on board was killed: four crew members, one civilian and three contractors, officials said.
The victims were identified by the base as: Col. Gregory Watson, 53, weapon systems officer, Boeing; Lt. Col. Gabriel Estrella, 40, weapon systems officer, Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center; retired Lt. Col. Miles Middleton, 50, pilot, Boeing; Maj. Alexander Davis, 34, weapon systems officer, 419th Flight Test Squadron; Maj. Robert Dee, 40, pilot, 419th Flight Test Squadron; Maj. Brad Hovey, 35, pilot, 419th Flight Test Squadron; Jeromy Smith, 32, flight test engineer, 419th Flight Test Squadron; and Christopher Rischar, 41, flight test engineer, JT4 contractor.
“They were dedicated professionals, beloved family members and irreplaceable teammates,” Col. Thomas Tauer, 412th Test Wing Commander, said in a statement on Wednesday. “Our thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathies are with their families, loved ones and fellow Airmen, Air Force civilians and mission partners affected by this tragedy.”
Two Boeing employees were among the victims. Boeing said in a statement, “The loss of Miles and Greg is deeply felt across our teams, and our hearts remain with their families, loved ones and those who worked with them.”
The cause of the crash is under investigation, a process that will likely take several months, Col. James Hayes, deputy commander for the 412th Test Wing at the base, said Monday.
Test missions take place multiple times a day at Edwards Air Force Base, Hayes said.
President Donald Trump speaks at an event with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin on May 21, 2026 in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Al Drago for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — President Donald Trump said he will “try” and make his son Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding this weekend, which is reportedly taking place in the Bahamas — though he said the event is “not good timing” for him given his responsibilities surrounding the war in Iran.
During an event in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump said his son wants him to come his wedding with fiancée Bettina Anderson but that the president has “a thing called Iran — and other things.”
“He’d like me to go, but it’s going to be just a small, little private affair, and I’m going to try and make it,” Trump said. “This is not good timing for me. I have a thing called Iran and other things. That’s one I can’t win on.”
“If I do attend, I get killed. If I don’t attend, I get killed by the fake news,” Trump said. “Hopefully they’re going to have a great marriage.”
Donald Trump Jr. is the eldest son of the president who has five children with his ex-wife, Vanessa Trump.
Vanessa Trump announced on Instagram Thursday that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk, sits beside defense lawyer Kathryn Nester during a preliminary court hearing before District Court Judge Tony Graf in Provo, Utah, U.S. July 7, 2026. (Utah Courts)
(PROVO, Utah) — A video compilation that prosecutors say shows conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer’s movements on the campus of Utah Valley University before and after the shooting played in court on Tuesday over the vigorous objections of defense attorneys.
Attorneys for the defendant, Tyler James Robinson, 23, argued that the video footage Judge Tony Graf allowed prosecutors to play publicly at Robinson’s preliminary hearing will likely taint a potential jury pool.
“We think this video is going to play a big role in the trial,” Robinson’s lead attorney, Kathryn Nester, told Graf during the second day of the multi-day hearing.
Defense attorney Michael Burt argued that making the video compilation public will likely prevent Robinson from getting a fair trial.
But prosecutors prevailed in their argument that the public had the right to see the video to get a clear understanding of the evidence Graf had reviewed in private.
The video compilation not only appears to put Robinson at the scene of the crime, but it also appears to track nearly every movement he allegedly made on campus, including climbing on and jumping off the roof where the fatal shot was fired, according to prosecutors.
Graf will decide if prosecutors have established probable cause to warrant a trial for Robinson. Prosecutors have said they plan to seek the death penalty if Robinson goes to trial and is convicted in the September 2025 killing of Kirk during an open-air rally on the Orem, Utah, campus.
The compilation of raw video footage was taken from security cameras on the university campus, Sgt. David Hull of the Utah Department of Public Safety testified on Tuesday.
Graf also ruled that an enhanced version of the same video compilation featuring zoomed-in portions allegedly showing Robinson lying in a prone position on the roof of the UVU Losee Center, where the shot was fired, would not be made public at the preliminary hearing.
Utah prosecutors said the video is part of a mountain of evidence against Robinson
Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of the conservative youth movement Turning Point USA and a strong ally of President Donald Trump, was fatally shot on Sept. 10, 2025, while holding the first stop of his “The American Comeback Tour.”
Kirk was at an amphitheater on the UVU campus taking a question about gun violence in America when a single shot rang out from a distance away, hitting him in the left side of his neck.
For the second day in a row, Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, and his parents, Robert and Kathryn Kirk, attended the hearing, along with President Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., who was friends with Kirk.
During his testimony on Tuesday, Sgt. Hull said that on the day of the shooting, Robinson was seen on video making at least three visits to the campus in a car and on foot.
Hull testified that the campus officer, using what he described as “cop intuition,” took down the license plate number of Robinson’s car, which he said later helped investigators identify Robinson as the suspect in the shooting.
Hull testified that the campus officer, using what he described as “cop intuition,” took down the license plate number of Robinson’s car, which later helped investigators identify Robinson as the suspect in the shooting.
One of the videos in the compilation allegedly showed Robinson walking into a wooded area near the campus and reemerging on campus, apparently after changing his clothes, Hull testified. Police later said they discovered the rifle used in the shooting, a Mauser .30-06, in the same wooded area where Robinson was seen going to and from.
Another video apparently captured Robinson walking with a limp up a staircase leading to the roof of the Losee Center. Investigators have previously alleged that Robinson had concealed the weapon in his pant leg as he headed to where he allegedly shot Kirk.
Robinson surrendered to authorities on the night of Sept. 11, 2025, after his father contacted law enforcement officials and told them he recognized his son in photographs of the suspect released by authorities, officials said.
The defendant has been charged with aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, obstruction of justice, two counts of witness tampering and commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child.
Robinson has yet to enter a plea to the charges, and his attorneys have not issued any statements on his guilt or innocence.
Stock image of car air conditioning ventilation grille. (aire images/Getty Images)
(RIVERVIEW, Fla.) — A 3-year-old boy died after being left in a hot car in Florida, according to authorities.
Deputies responded to a home in Riverview, just outside of Tampa, at about 10:40 p.m. Saturday after the boy’s father found him unresponsive in a parked car, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said.
The boy was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, the sheriff’s office said.
The temperature hit a scorching 95 degrees in Riverview on Saturday, and with humidity, it felt hotter than 100 degrees.
It’s not clear how long the boy was in the car.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister called the death a “tragedy” and warned, “A vehicle can reach lethal temperatures within minutes.”
“We urge every parent and caregiver in our community to make hot vehicle safety a priority,” the sheriff said in a statement. “Never leave a child unattended in a vehicle, even for a moment.”
No charges have been filed at this time and the investigation is ongoing, according to the sheriff’s office.
At least eight children have died in hot cars so far this year in the U.S., according to national nonprofit KidsAndCars.org. Last year, at least 37 children died in hot cars across the country, KidsAndCars.org said.
Click here for what to know to keep your children safe.
ABC News’ Kenton Gewecke contributed to this report.
