Veteran accused of trying to kill wife added to Tennessee’s Most Wanted list
Craig Berry is seen in an undated photo released by the Stewart County Sheriff’s Office. (Stewart County Sheriff’s Office)
(STEWART COUNTY, Tenn.) — An Army Special Forces veteran accused of trying to kill his wife then fleeing into the woods has been added to the Tennessee Most Wanted list, authorities said Wednesday, as a manhunt involving state and federal agencies continues.
Craig Berry, 53, went into the woods near his home in Dover on May 1 after allegedly shooting his wife, according to the Stewart County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies responded to a domestic altercation at his residence around 1:30 a.m. on May 1, and Berry was gone before deputies arrived, authorities said. His wife was transported to a medical facility, according to the sheriff’s office, which did not provide details on her condition.
He is wanted for attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault with a weapon, domestic assault, and leaving the scene of an accident, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Berry is an Army Special Forces veteran with “extensive military training,” according to the U.S. Marshals Service, which on Tuesday also issued a wanted bulletin for the suspect.
He has “extensive training in survival tactics,” the Stewart County Sheriff’s Office said, warning that it could be a “lengthy process” to capture him.
The U.S. Marshals Service, Tennessee Highway Patrol and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation are assisting in the search, the sheriff’s office said. State troopers have employed helicopters in the manhunt.
Berry was last seen in the wooded area near Old Paris Landing in Dover on May 2, according to the U.S. Marshals.
He is armed with “at least one handgun” and may have taken extra ammunition, Stewart County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Paulette Redman said in a statement on Monday.
The U.S. Marshals Service is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information on Berry, while the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is offering $2,500.
Authorities said he is 5’11” and 185 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes. He was captured by a trail camera wearing camouflage clothing, the sheriff’s office said.
Anyone with information is urged to contact 1-800-TBI-FIND or the Stewart County Sheriff’s Office at 931-232-6863.
(BRANTLEY COUNTY, Ga.) — Dry conditions from a persistent drought and gusty winds were fueling wildfires on Wednesday in the Southeast, including a blaze in Southeast Georgia that has destroyed dozens of homes and prompted evacuations.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency for 91 counties in South Georgia.
The wildfire in Brantley County, Georgia, grew from about 700 acres at 10 a.m. local time on Tuesday to 5,000 acres at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, County Manager Joey Carson said at a news conference on Wednesday.
“Obviously, this fire became a lot larger than we thought it would be on Monday. We’ve got resources that have come in from all over South Georgia and now from the state,” said Carson, adding that he expects more resources from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to arrive later Wednesday.
The fire, burning northwest of Brunswick, Georgia, was 10% contained on Wednesday morning, Chuck White, director of Emergency Management in neighboring Camden County, said at the news conference.
At least 47 homes have been destroyed by the blaze, which started on Monday off of U.S. Highway 82 near the Brantley County-Glynn County line, authorities noted.
Schools in Brantley County canceled classes on Wednesday due to the fire threat and smoke, officials said.
“This decision has been made to ensure the safety of our students, families, and employees, and to allow our Brantley County families time and space to navigate the impacts of the fire,” the local school system said in a statement.
On Tuesday, students and staff at two schools in the Brantley County town of Waynesville were forced to evacuate during the school day, officials said.
The Georgia Forestry Commission also issued its first mandatory burn ban in state history on Wednesday. The ban on outdoor burning, which will remain in effect for at least 30 days, is for 91 counties in the lower half of the state due to worsening drought conditions and rising wildfire activity, the agency said.
Carson noted that firefighters nearly had the Brantley County fire under control on Tuesday until afternoon wind gusts escalated the fire danger.
“Within 30 minutes, the winds picked up pretty significantly, and it went from being almost in control to a major wildfire,” Cason said. “Yesterday morning, we had 700 acres burned. It burned over 4,000 acres in a matter of hours as soon as the wind picked up.”
Persistent dry conditions have led to one of the worst droughts on record for parts of Georgia, fueling wildfires in the state.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, more than 48% of Brantley County is under an “Exceptional Drought” — the highest level of drought it has experienced in more than 25 years.
Across Georgia, more than 69% of the state is under an “Extreme Drought.” At the start of the year, only 1% of the state was under an “Extreme Drought” or higher.
Georgia needs between 12 and 18 inches of rainfall to end its current drought, according to data from the National Centers for Environmental Information.
Another major wildfire, the Pinelands Road Fire in nearby Clinch County, Georgia, started on Monday on mostly private forest land, officials said. It grew to 9,000 acres by Wednesday and was spreading toward Echols County, they noted.
In Florida, near the Georgia-Florida line, the Railroad Fire was burning in Clay and Putnam Counties, which are also under drought conditions. As of Wednesday morning, the Railroad Fire had grown to more than 4,000 acres and was more than 50% contained on Wednesday morning, according to the Florida Forest Service.
Across the Southeast — including Florida, Alabama, Georgia, South and North Carolina and Virginia — more than 97% of the region is under a “moderate drought” or higher.
Florida is experiencing its worst drought in 25 years. At least 71% of the state is under an “extreme” or “exceptional drought,” the two highest levels.
Fire alerts issued from Texas to Montana and Minnesota
Meanwhile, pockets of fire weather continue to linger in parts of the Rockies and Great Plains on Wednesday.
More than a dozen states across the Rockies and Plains from Texas to Montana and Minnesota are under fire weather alerts on Wednesday due to hot, dry and windy conditions.
Relative humidity in parts of the Rockies and Plains on Wednesday is expected to fall to as low as 5%, and wind gusts up to 30 to 45 mph are also forecast, allowing any wildfires to rapidly start and spread.
The wildfire threat is expected to continue Thursday in the Rockies and Plains as wind gusts are forecast to reach 60 mph and relative humidity is expected to be down to the single digits.
The shotgun and gas canister that were allegedly carried by 21-year-old man who was fatally shot, February 22, 2026, at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. (Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office)
(NEW YORK) — A man authorities alleged was carrying a shotgun and a gas canister was fatally shot by U.S. Secret Service agents and a deputy sheriff early Sunday outside of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, according to the Secret Service.
The shooting unfolded around 1:30 a.m. local time near the north main gate of the estate, Rafael Barros, special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Miami field office, said at a news conference later Sunday.
“We want to be clear: the president of the United States was not in the state of Florida,” Barros said.
No “Secret Service protectees” were at the property at the time of the shooting, according to a statement from a Secret Service spokesperson earlier Sunday.
The FBI identified the man killed as Austin Tucker Martin, 21, of Moore County, North Carolina.
According to North Carolina state records, an individual named Austin Tucker Martin is listed as the founder of the business Fresh Sky Illustrations LLC. The business features various drawings of golf courses in North Carolina and is described on its website as “an artwork company that mainly focuses on bringing to life the hopeful feeling of being on a golf course.”
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said at Sunday’s news conference outside of Mar-a-Lago that the individual was shot after he allegedly pointed the shotgun at the law enforcement officers.
Bradshaw said the man had made his way into the inner perimeter of Mar-a-Lago and that he was confronted by two Secret Service Agents and a deputy sheriff.
“They confronted a white male that was carrying a gas can and a shotgun,” Bradshaw said.
He later held up a printed copy of photo he said showed the weapon and canister.
“He was ordered to drop those two pieces of equipment that he had with him, at which time he put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position,” Bradshaw said of the alleged intruder.
“At that point in time, the deputy and the two Secret Service agents fired their weapons and neutralized the threat,” Bradshaw said, adding that the individual was pronounced dead at the scene.
“Fortunately, nobody was injured inside because of the quick action that was taken by the deputy and the Secret Service,” Bradshaw said.
Investigators are determining how many shots were fired in the incident and whether the alleged intruder fired a shot at the law enforcement officers, who were part of the security detail at Mar-a-Lago, Bradshaw said. He added that it wasn’t yet known whether the shotgun was loaded.
The FBI is spearheading the investigation, said Brett Skiles, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Miami field office, adding that FBI personnel was on the scene collecting evidence.
A motive for the incident is unknown at this time, officials said.
Skiles asked residents living near Mar-a-Lago to check their exterior security cameras for footage from Saturday night into early Sunday morning for “anything that looks suspicious or out of place,” and to contact the FBI or the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office if they do.
TikTok logo is displayed on a mobile phone screen for illustration photo. Krakow, Poland. On April, 20th, 2026. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The Trump administration is nearing an agreement with TikTok to resolve an ongoing lawsuit over alleged child privacy violations in exchange for the social media company paying $400 million that the administration plans to use to fund President Donald Trump’s Washington, D.C., “beautification” projects, sources familiar with the discussions told ABC News.
The proposed settlement would end a 2024 lawsuit brought during the Biden administration that alleged that the then-Chinese-owned social media company engaged in “massive-scale invasions of children’s privacy” by collecting extensive data from children without notifying or obtaining consent from parents.
While sources say the administration and TikTok are finalizing the terms of the settlement, it must still be approved by a vote of the TikTok board, which is expected to take place as soon as Friday.
As part of the proposed settlement terms, which are not expected to include an admission of wrongdoing, TikTok would agree to pay the U.S. government $400 million, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News — money the administration intends to use for some of the ongoing “beautification” projects in the nation’s capital, the sources said.
While the proposed settlement is not expected to detail specific projects the money would support, the funds are expected to be directed to either the Department of Interior, the Department of Commerce, or both, sources familiar with the discussions said. Officials in the White House have had weekslong discussions about whether they could legally use the money to pay for Trump’s proposed massive 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery, the sources said.
On Thursday evening, President Trump personally traveled down to the National Mall to tout his administration’s “beautification” projects around the nation’s capital, telling reporters his administration is “working on some other jobs” and saying he was most excited about the triumphal arch, which he said would break ground “very soon.”
While the Department of Justice regularly reaches settlements with private companies accused of wrongdoing, the proposed TikTok settlement marks a departure from the practice of using the settlement funds to resolve the alleged wrongdoing or compensate victims.
The Department of Justice alleged that millions of children under the age of 13 were subjected to extensive data collection and excessive content meant for adults, but the proposed settlement funds are set to directly support Trump’s efforts to improve the appearance of the nation’s capital.
The White House referred questions on the matter to the Justice Department, which declined to comment. TikTok did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
The $400 million agreement would come as the Trump administration attempts to cut funding from the National Park Service while surging more than $10 billion in their proposed 2027 budget to form a “Presidential Capital Stewardship Program.” According to the Trump administration’s proposed budget, the president hopes to “coordinate, plan, and execute targeted, priority construction and beautification projects” throughout the capital to make “Washington, D.C. — a once-great city –safe, clean, and beautiful again.”
Further complicating the matter is President Trump’s direct role in helping to create the business venture that will pay out hundreds of millions for his D.C. projects, raising possible ethical concerns about his personal interest in the use of the settlement funds.
‘I am so happy to have helped in saving TikTok!’
Since taking office last year, Trump has fashioned an unprecedented relationship with TikTok after the company was banned from operating unless it was sold to a U.S. owner. When the social media app briefly went dark in January 2025, Trump, on his first day in office, signed an executive order that allowed the company to continue operating in the United States, essentially vowing not to enforce the ban while negotiations over a potential sale continued.
Following months of negotiations, TikTok earlier this year finalized a $14 billion deal creating an American venture — partially owned by Trump ally Larry Ellison’s database software company Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake, Emirati investment firm MGX, and others — to address national security concerns stemming from TikTok’s ties to Beijing. TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, still retains a minority stake in the American version of TikTok, which licenses its algorithm from ByteDance.
“I am so happy to have helped in saving TikTok! It will now be owned by a group of Great American Patriots and Investors, the Biggest in the World, and will be an important Voice,” Trump said in a social media post in January before thanking Chinese President Xi Jinping “for working with us and, ultimately, approving the Deal.”
‘Massive-scale invasions of children’s privacy’
The 2024 lawsuit that the Biden administration’s Department of Justice brought against TikTok and ByteDance, which followed a referral from the Federal Trade Commission, alleged that the social media company violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by allowing children under the age of 13 to create and use TikTok accounts without their parents’ consent, and collected “extensive data from those children.”
“By adhering to these deficient policies, Defendants actively avoid deleting the accounts of users they know to be children,” the complaint alleged. “Instead, Defendants continue collecting these children’s personal information, showing them videos not intended for children, serving them ads and generating revenue from such ads, and allowing adults to directly communicate with them through TikTok.”
TikTok pushed back against the claims, arguing they were “going above and beyond” federal law requirements, while pointing the finger at children for figuring out how to “sign up for TikTok in contravention of the company’s policies.” The complaint appears to have been stalled in pre-trial litigation — with TikTok yet to file a motion to dismiss the case — and the judge overseeing the matter recently set a trial for May 2027.
In the past, the Trump administration has been critical of settlements that do not directly compensate victims of wrongdoing. During Trump’s first term, former Attorney General Jeff Sessions banned settlements that resulted in payments to non-governmental, third parties that were not directly harmed by the conduct. Former Attorney General Pam Bondi reinstated a similar policy in 2025 banning improper third party settlements.
“Settlements, including civil settlement agreements, deferred prosecution agreements, non-prosecution agreements, and plea agreements, are a useful tool for Department attorneys, and should be used, first and foremost, to compensate victims, redress harm, or punish and deter unlawful conduct,” Bondi wrote in a Justice Department memo.
Making Washington ‘safe, clean, and beautiful again’
Over the last year, the Trump administration has prioritized carrying out “beautification” projects such as the extensive renovation of the White House East Wing, the planned arch near Arlington, the resurfacing of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, and other projects to upgrade local infrastructure and parks.
Beyond the $400 million from the TikTok settlement, the Trump administration’s proposed 2027 budget includes $10 billion for a “Presidential Capital Stewardship Program” to create a fund within the National Park Service to improve buildings and parks in and around D.C.
“As the capital of the greatest Nation in the history of the world, Washington, D.C. should showcase beautiful, clean, and safe public spaces. However, many historic park features and public-facing infrastructure throughout the city show signs of decay, years of heavy public use, and inadequate maintenance,” the administration said in its proposed 2027 budget.
While details about the massive $10 billion fund are sparse, the Department of the Interior’s 2027 budget says the money would be used to “rehabilitate historic buildings and landscapes, and enhance architectural grandeur so that Americans can once again be proud of their capital.”
The size of Trump’s D.C. fund would dwarf the operating budget of the National Park Service, which the Trump administration seeks to cut by more than a billion dollars to a total to $2.2 billion. The Trump administration’s 2027 budget also would reduce staffing in the National Park Service — which manages more than 400 sites including 63 national parks — by approximately 3,000 employees.
When pressed about the $10 billion beautification fund, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told lawmakers in April that the money would be used for “deferred maintenance” on existing facilities.
“D.C. is like a state. I mean it’s not like [the fund is only for] the National Mall — it’s for the greater capital region,” Burgum said. “I believe that if we got together, we could come back and go. ‘That number is not high enough.'”
