Category: Security

  • DeRon Horton of ‘Dear White People’ reveals he was shot in the arm before Christmas

    “Dear White People” star DeRon Horton is recovering from a gunshot wound to his arm after being shot last month.

    The 32-year-old actor, who played geeky Lionel Higgins in Netflix’s college-set series adaptation of Justin Simien’s 2014 film, revealed Thursday that he had been shot a few days before Christmas and has been on the mend ever since.

    “First off. I wanna give an honor to God for covering me and protecting me to make it out this situation and countless other ones,” he wrote on Instagram, geo-tagging the post to Los Angeles. “Everybody that checked on me n holla’d at me specially my family n friends I love yall, Thank you. Gettin shot a few days before Xmas def wasn’t on my wish list … but it happened,”

    Horton said the assailant shot him through a car and the bullet broke his left arm and shattered “all type o s—.” He added that he’s blessed “to not be in a casket or paralyzed,” confirming that he has since left the hospital and is healing with a plate and screws in his arm. Although he lamented not being able to work out, he recognized his situation could have been much worse.

    “I don’t need no sympathy I’m finna bounce right back I feel amazing … I just wanted to remind yall and myself to Keep God first! Stay Alert n Grateful for Everything. the devil can’t stop s— when you walk w God,” he wrote.

    The actor accompanied his post with images of himself in a hospital bed with a cast on his left arm. He included grisly photos of the wound, his X-ray, multiple stitches that went up his forearm and photos of the damaged car window he alleged he was shot through.

    Horton did not specify whether authorities got involved in the incident and did not immediately respond Friday to The Times’ request for comment.

    In “Dear White People,” Horton replaced “Abbot Elementary” star Tyler James Williams, who originated the Lionel role in the 2014 Sundance hit movie “Dear White People.” The Netflix adaptation premiered in 2017 and resumed the story from the film, using largely the same cast. Horton and Logan Browning stepping in for Williams and lead Tessa Thompson, respectively, and the TV series ran for four seasons through 2021.

    Horton has also starred in 2017’s “Roman J. Israel, Esq.” opposite Denzel Washington and appeared on “American Vandal,” “American Horror Story,” “Drunk History” and “Bad Hair.” He most recently starred in the Apple TV+ series “The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey” with Samuel L. Jackson.

    Jackson, along with many of Horton’s “Dear White People” co-stars, were quick to send well wishes to the actor.

    “Glad you’re still with us, Tuff Stuff!!!” Jackson commented. “Good thing you’re covered by the All mighty Hoping you heal quickly & painlessly as possible … Stay Blessed”

    “Dear God, thank you for protecting my special Deron,” wrote Browning.

    Ashley Blaine Featherson-Jenkins, who appeared in both iterations of “Dear White People,” added: “Thank GOD for your life. I’m so so SO happy you’re ok!”

    “So glad you’re okay,” added “Insecure” star and creator Issa Rae.

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    © 2025 Los Angeles Times

    Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.


    Source: American Military News

  • Suspect in plot to kill Trump says MDC Brooklyn jail denying him warm clothes, food seasoning

    An alleged would-be Donald Trump assassin with ties to Iran says he’s been held in a cold solitary confinement cell at the notorious Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn without warm clothing, and denied basic amenities like salt and pepper to season his food.

    Asif Merchant has been locked up in the Special Administrative Measures, or SAMS, unit, on the eighth floor of the Sunset Park federal jail, since his arrest in July because federal officials fear he may pass information to his Iranian handlers or other potential killers on the outside.

    Security is extremely tight — his food gets passed through a slot, correction officers aren’t allowed to open his cell door without a supervisor present, and lawyer meetings take place across a wall of thick glass.

    But his lawyer, Avraham Moskowitz, says the conditions he’s held in go far beyond precaution and “are arbitrary and capricious and designed solely to make Mr. Merchant’s life at the MDC more miserable.”

    Merchant has been barred from buying a sweatshirt or sweatpants from the jail commissary, and his lawyer and family members haven’t been allowed to send him one, even through Amazon or another retailer recognized by the jail, his lawyer said in a letter to Judge Eric Komitee.

    “Mr. Merchant’s cell … is very cold and he often comes to attorney-client meetings shivering from cold,” Moskowitz said. “On the one occasion when Mr. Merchant was brought to the courthouse to meet with me and review discovery, he was so cold that he wore my winter coat throughout the meeting so he could warm up.”

    At a Brooklyn Federal Court hearing Monday, Bureau of Prisons lawyer Sophia Papapetru said that a check on Friday showed his cell’s temperature was 69 degrees, and that he had thermals to wear.

    Papapetru attended the hearing virtually, because of “pre-existing conflicts and the risk of inclement weather,” according to a filing by prosecutors.

    “I can only describe what I’m experiencing, which is he comes in and he’s chattering, and obviously that’s a real problem,” Moskowitz said.

    Papapetru said she was “digging a little deeper” into why sweats aren’t on the commissary list for SAMS inmates.

    As for his food, Merchant was getting halal meals, but they made him ill, so he was allowed to switch to a vegetarian menu, the lawyer writes. But MDC staff won’t let him have salt and pepper, or any other spices to make his food bearable.

    “These restrictions make no sense and certainly are not based on any security needs,” Moskowitz said.

    When Papapetru said Merchant bought salt and pepper from the commissary on Dec. 19, the defense lawyer said, “It was brought to him and then immediately taken back, and he was told he’s not entitled to have it.”

    Papapetru said she would “look into that.”

    Outside the courtroom, Merchant’s lawyer said the correction officers offered no hint as to why they’d bring him the seasoning, only to tell him he couldn’t have it.

    “There’s no real interaction,” he told the Daily News. “He doesn’t speak to anybody all day. They open the slot, they give it to him, or they don’t.”

    The jail, which currently houses rap star Sean “Diddy” Combs as he awaits trial for sex trafficking and alleged CEO killer Luigi Mangione, has long been decried for its hellish conditions by judges, defense attorneys and inmates. Earlier this year, two inmates were stabbed to death just six weeks apart.

    Merchant, a 46-year-old Pakinstani national, admitted he was recruited and trained by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp., or the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, according to a memo by Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco included in Moskowitz’s filing.

    That training included “countersurveillance and other espionage tactics,” and he contacted his Iranian handler communicated through messages hidden in gift bags taken by others to Pakistan, and through encrypted phone app messages to a family member who served as a go-between, according to the memo.

    Merchant is accused of trying to hire a hit man as part of a multiphase plot culminating in August or September. Though the criminal complaint against Merchant does not name the politician he wanted to kill, he floated Trump’s name as a potential target, a law enforcement source confirmed in August.

    Iranian government officials have long wanted revenge for the death of one of the regime’s generals, Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad on Jan. 3, 2020 during Trump’s first term in office.

    All Merchant’s training and tradecraft couldn’t stop him from making some dire errors, though — the person he reached out to for help with the plot when he came to the U.S. in April turned out to be a federal informant, and the two “hit men” he tried to hire in June were actually feds, according to court documents.

    Merchant, who’s charged with attempted terrorism and murder-for-hire, could face life in prison if convicted.

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    © 2025 New York Daily News

    Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.


    Source: American Military News

  • 2 dead, 1 on the run after shooting at Denver 7-Eleven, police say

    DENVER — Two people are dead, one is in custody and a fourth is on the run after an early morning shooting at a Denver 7-Eleven, police said.

    Just after midnight on Monday morning, two groups arrived at a 7-Eleven gas station on the corner of East 35th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard, Denver police chief Ron Thomas said in a briefing.

    What started as an argument and “verbal altercation” on the edge of the city’s Clayton and Park Hill neighborhoods quickly escalated into a gunfight between the two groups, he said.

    A Denver police officer in the area heard the shots, responded to the gas station and saw at least one suspect with a gun, Thomas said. That man shot at the officer, who returned fire and chased him.

    The suspect escaped and Thomas said police don’t know if the officer injured him. Officers are searching for a 5-foot-6-inch to 6-foot Hispanic man wearing a black hoodie and red pants, he said.

    A second unidentified suspect was taken into custody in connection to the two shooting deaths, Thomas said.

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    ©2025 MediaNews Group, Inc. Visit at denverpost.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.


    Source: American Military News

  • 1 in 2 Americans affected by UnitedHealth cyberattack, new disclosure shows

    UnitedHealth Group says the impact from the cyberattack last year at its Change Healthcare subsidiary is much wider than previously understood, affecting roughly 190 million patients — up from previous estimates of about 100 million people.

    The updated tally extends the scope beyond what was previously described by company Chief Executive Andrew Witty, who suggested during congressional testimony in May that data for 1 in 3 Americans could be affected by the hack.

    With the US population standing at about 341 million people, the breach is now thought to affect about 1 in 2 Americans.

    Even before Friday, the incident was by far the largest breach currently showing on the federal website, which doesn’t show a 2015 breach at health insurer Anthem Inc. that affected data for about 79 million patients.

    “Change Healthcare has determined the estimated total number of individuals impacted by the Change Healthcare cyberattack is approximately 190 million,“ UnitedHealth Group said in a statement issued Friday afternoon. ”The vast majority of those people have already been provided individual or substitute notice.”

    The company added that it “is not aware of any misuse of individuals’ information as a result of this incident and has not seen electronic medical record databases appear in the data during the analysis.”

    Eden Prairie-based UnitedHealth Group owns UnitedHealthcare, the nation’s largest health insurer, and a fast-growing division for health services called Optum, which acquired Change Healthcare for $13 billion in 2022.

    Change Healthcare was involved in processing a large share of all health care claims and payments in the U.S. — roughly 15 billion health care transactions annually before the hack, affecting 1 in 3 patient records, according to federal officials.

    To contain the threat from the cyberattack, UnitedHealth Group shut down Change Healthcare’s system for processing medical claims, which created financial problems for hospitals and clinics across the country. For a time, the outage also snarled pharmacy counters, with some patients saying they struggled to fill prescriptions.

    Earlier this year, the federal government opened an investigation to determine if a breach of protected health information occurred and whether UnitedHealth Group and Change Healthcare were in compliance with federal privacy, security and breach notification rules.

    In July, the company started sending letters to patients about the hack, saying information ranging from health conditions to Social Security numbers may have been accessed.

    UnitedHealth Group says it has repaired the affected systems at Change Healthcare.

    The Federal Trade Commission offers a range of advice for people affected by a data breach at IdentityTheft.gov/databreach. Credit bureaus such as Experian also offer detailed advice on how to respond.

    UnitedHealth Group is offering complimentary credit monitoring and identity protection services through IDX. To enroll, people can use the link at changecybersupport.com or call toll-free 888-846-4705. For additional support from Change Healthcare, consumers can call toll-free 866-262-5342.

    ©2025 The Minnesota Star Tribune. Visit at startribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.


    Source: American Military News

  • Philippines says China’s ‘monster’ ship on a mission to intimidate

    This article was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission.

    The Philippines has deployed vessels and aircraft to closely monitor a gigantic Chinese coast guard ship – the world’s largest – in waters off Luzon island, Filipino officials said, describing the ship as a menacing presence in its exclusive economic zone.

    The 12,000-ton China Coast Guard vessel 5901, known as “The Monster” for its sheer size, was last seen on Saturday about 54 nautical miles from Capones, a Philippine island in the South China Sea close to the coast of western Zambales province.

    The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has been shadowing CCG 5901 and transmitting radio messages asking it to leave Philippine waters, said Jonathan Malaya, assistant director general of the National Security Council.

    “Obviously, this is an act of intimidation, coercion and aggression against the Philippines,” Malaya told a press briefing on Monday.

    “We have all our assets pointed at this monster ship. At the moment it does something bad in the sense that it would provoke actions, there will be appropriate action from the government,” Malaya said, without elaborating.

    The Chinese ship arrived last week at Scarborough Shoal, a disputed South China Sea feature within the Philippines’ EEZ, an analyst told Radio Free Asia, a news service affiliated with BenarNews.

    Malaya dismissed a Chinese government statement saying that its vessel was merely conducting a patrol within its jurisdiction.

    China’s embassy in Manila has not responded to media requests for comment, but has repeatedly asserted Beijing’s jurisdiction over Scarborough Shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc in the Philippines.

    The shoal, located 125 nautical miles (232 kilometers) from the main Philippine island of Luzon, has been under Beijing’s de facto control since 2012. It is claimed by China, the Philippines and Taiwan. The shoal is a traditional fishing ground for Filipino fishermen but Chinese vessels have restricted their access in recent years.

    While CCG 5901 has not carried out any dangerous maneuvers so far, Malaya said its activities within Manila’s waters were not backed by any international law.

    “And given that we do not want to be the precursor of any provocative action, we’re just monitoring and shadowing it as of now,” he said.

    On Sunday, the Philippine Coast Guard said that one of its ships, the BRP Cabra, and its aircraft were tailing the huge Chinese ship and issuing radio challenges.

    As of 7 p.m. Monday, the BRP Cabra had kept on the heels of the foreign ship for a third straight day, said Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesman for the West Philippine Sea – Manila’s name for South China Sea waters within its exclusive economic zone.

    CCG 5901’s “erratic movements” indicated that it was not engaged in “innocent passage” in Philippine waters but was actually conducting “a law enforcement operation” in Manila’s territorial waters, Tarriela said.

    In November, Beijing announced baselines of its territorial sea around the Scarborough Shoal to strengthen its claim over the South China Sea feature, a move that Manila rejected.

    Last month, confrontations heated up between Beijing and Manila around the area, with both claimants accusing each other of instigating trouble.

    Beijing said Manila was encroaching in what it claimed as its jurisdiction, forcing it to take measures. The PCG accused its Chinese counterpart of firing a water cannon and of sideswiping a government fisheries ship patrolling the area.

    In 2012, China took possession of the shoal, forcing the Philippines to file a lawsuit before a world court. Four years later, an international arbitral tribunal ruled in Manila’s favor.

    Beijing has refused to acknowledge the ruling.


    Source: American Military News

  • Hegseth: Removal of Tuskegee Airmen video after DEI order ‘will not stand’

    Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Sunday said the removal of Tuskegee Airmen videos and curriculum about the Tuskegee Airmen from its military instruction curriculum “has been immediately reversed.”

    Hegesth posted the comment in response to concerns from U.S. Sen. Katie Britt about “malicious compliance we’ve seen in recent days.”

    “We’re all over it Senator. This will not stand,” Hegseth posted in response to Britt’s social media comments. “This will not stand.”

    “I have no doubt Secretary Hegseth will correct and get to the bottom of the malicious compliance we’ve seen in recent days. President Trump celebrated and honored the Tuskegee Airmen,” Britt posted.

    “These role models will continue to inspire the next generation of courageous, selfless American servicemembers,” Britt posted.

    U.S. Air Force reportedly reversed course Sunday on its decision to remove the videos following President Donald Trump’s executive orders banning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) across the federal government.

    The videos “would be restored to the basic training curriculum for new recruits beginning Monday,” the San Antonio Express-News reported.

    “The documented historic legacy and decorated valor with which these units and Airmen fought for our nation in World War II and beyond will continue on 27 January,” Lt. Gen. Brian S. Robinson, head of the San Antonio-based Air Education and Training Command, said in a statement.

    ”Their personal examples of service, sacrifice and combat effectiveness are illustrative of the core values, character and warrior ethos necessary to be an Airman and Guardian,” Robinson added. “No Airmen or Guardians will miss this block of instruction due to the revision.”

    The removal was first reported by the Express-News.

    All of the nearly 1,000 Black military pilots who trained in the U.S. during World War II did so in Tuskegee, a city of about 8,700 residents today that is 87% Black.

    “Some walls are inside your head. Some are inside the minds of others,” the narrator of one of the removed videos, entitled “Breaking Barriers,” says. “Intolerance. Ignorance. Oppression.”

    The decision sparked outrage from officials.

    U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Mobile, called the removal of the video as “pathetic, disgraceful and disrespectful.”

    “To strip them from the Air Force curriculum is an outrageous betrayal of our values as Americans. Their heroism is not ‘DEI.’ It is American history. I’m calling on the Air Force to immediately reverse this decision,” said U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham.

    The Tuskegee Airmen story wasn’t the only video to be removed by the Air Force. Also removed was a video about the Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs – the female World War II pilots who were vital in ferrying warplanes for the military. Both videos could be restored as soon as Monday, according to an official.

    AL.com reporter John Sharp contributed to this report.

    ©2025 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit al.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.


    Source: American Military News

  • Pete Hegseth confirmed as Defense Secretary

    Pete Hegseth was confirmed as secretary of defense late Friday after a narrow 50-50 split in the Senate that required a tie-breaking vote from Vice President J.D. Vance. Hegseth was sworn in by the new vice president Saturday morning.

    Hegseth released a “Message to the Force” shortly after being sworn in that outlined his plans for “restoring the warrior ethos, rebuilding our military, and reestablishing deterrence.”

    “We will revive the warrior ethos and restore trust in our military. We are American warriors. We will defend our country,” Hegseth’s statement read. “Our standards will be high, uncompromising, and clear. The strength of our military is our unity and our shared purpose.”

    “We will rebuild our military by matching threats to capabilities. This means reviving our defense industrial base, reforming our acquisition process, passing a financial audit, and rapidly fielding emerging technologies. We will remain the strongest and most lethal force in the world,” he continued. “We will reestablish deterrence by defending our homeland — on the ground and in the sky. We will work with allies and partners to deter aggression in the Indo-Pacific by Communist China, as well as supporting the President’s priority to end wars responsibly and reorient to key threats. We will stand by our allies — and our enemies are on notice.”

    “Like each of you, I love my country and swore an oath to defend the Constitution. We will do that each and every day, as one team,” he later concluded. “Together we will accomplish the President’s mission to deter war, and if necessary, defeat and destroy our enemies. Godspeed!”

    Vance joked about returning to the Senate so soon after swearing in as vice president early last week, writing on X, “I thought I was done voting in the senate.”


    Source: American Military News

  • UK warns Putin: ‘We see you’ after ship sails through British waters

    This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.

    Britain has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that “We know what you’re doing” after the Royal Navy tracked what it called a “Russian spy ship” traveling through U.K. waters amid rising concerns of potential sabotage by Russia-linked vessels.

    Defense Secretary John Healey on January 22 told British parliament that the vessel, the Yantar, was being “used for gathering intelligence and mapping the U.K.’s critical underwater infrastructure.”

    “I also wanted President Putin to hear this message: We see you, we know what you’re doing, and we will not shy away from robust action to protect this country,” Healey said.

    “We will continue to call out the malign activity that Putin directs, cracking down on the Russian shadow fleet to prevent funding for his illegal invasion of Ukraine,” he added.

    The incident comes as NATO is bolstering its presence in the Baltic Sea after undersea power lines and Internet cables were damaged by suspected sabotage believed to be carried out by vessels belonging to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet.

    The “shadow fleet” is a reference to old, uninsured oil vessels typically used to bypass Western sanctions on Russia and maintain a source of revenue.

    The British government said it forces “will also contribute maritime patrol and surveillance aircraft to bolster a NATO response after damage to undersea cables in the Baltic Sea.”

    “The U.K. is playing a leading role in countering the growing Russian threat to offshore infrastructure in European seas,” it added in a statement.

    European governments and the United States have accused Russia of intensifying “hybrid attacks” following the reports of damage to Baltic Sea communications cables, although they have not yet directly tied Moscow to the damage.

    The British defense chief said the Russian craft entered U.K. waters on January 20, prompting the Royal Navy to send two ships vessels to monitor it.

    “It was detected loitering over U.K. critical undersea infrastructure,” he said, adding that the Russian ship later left British waters and was now in the North Sea.

    AFP quoted an official in Paris as saying French military assets had also been dispatched to observe the Yantar but that it did not indicate any “hostile intent.”

    The monitoring of Russian ships has become more frequent in recent months.

    In December, a British frigate tracked a Russian naval group as it convoyed toward the English Channel, but it eventually remained in international waters. The Yantar also had been tracked near British waters in November.


    Source: American Military News

  • US moves to redesignate Iran-backed Huthis as foreign terrorist organization

    This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.

    The United States has begun the process to again declare the Iran-backed Huthi rebel group of Yemen as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO), restoring the designation President Donald Trump set out during his first term.

    “Supported by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, which arms and trains terrorist organizations worldwide, the Huthis have fired at U.S. Navy warships dozens of times since 2023, endangering American men and women in uniform,” a White House statement said on January 22.

    The statement also referred to the Huthis as Ansar Allah, the name used by the extremist group that has since the 1990s battled the internationally recognized Yemeni government, which is supported by a Saudi-led military coalition.

    Trump’s declaration sets in motion a process that will likely conclude within 45 days to officially designate the Huthis as a foreign terrorist organization under U.S. legislation.

    During his first term, Trump had designated the Huthis as an FTO, but the action was reversed by the Biden administration over concerns such a listing could prevent desperately needed aid from reaching Yemen.

    President Joe Biden did later label the group as a specially designated global terrorist entity, a slightly lower level of sanctioning.

    The latest move, one of Trump’s first in his second term in the field of foreign relations, could be an initial step in the “maximum pressure” campaign his team has vowed to renew against Iran, which it blames for supporting extremist activity in the Middle East.

    Huthi rebels in 2014 seized much of Yemen’s northwest and its capital, Sanaa, leading to a war that has killed tens of thousands of people and created a humanitarian nightmare in the Arab world’s poorest country.

    Many observers described the hostilities as a “proxy war” between Saudi- and Iranian-led groups.

    “Since seizing most Yemeni population centers by force from the legitimate Yemeni government in 2014-2015, the Huthis have launched numerous attacks on civilian infrastructure, including multiple attacks on civilian airports in Saudi Arabia, the deadly January 2022 attacks on the United Arab Emirates, and more than 300 projectiles fired at Israel since October 2023,” the White House statement said.

    “The Huthis have also attacked commercial vessels transiting Bab al-Mandeb more than 100 times, killing at least four civilian sailors and forcing some Red Sea maritime commercial traffic to reroute, which has contributed to global inflation.”

    The statement added that the rebel group’s activities “threaten the security of American civilians and personnel in the Middle East, the safety of our closest regional partners, and the stability of global maritime trade.”

    The Huthis stepped up attacks on shipping in the Gulf region and fired missiles toward Israel, claiming it was in support of Gaza’s Hamas movement, which has also been declared a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union.

    The actions brought air strikes by the U.S. and Israeli militaries, but the rebels recently have appeared to pull back on their attacks since the cease-fire in Gaza was reached.


    Source: American Military News

  • ‘You’re not healthy’: Billy Ray Cyrus’ son Trace pens public plea urging singer to get help

    Trace Cyrus, as a child, wanted to be just like dad Billy Ray Cyrus growing up. Nowadays, he says, he can “barely recognize” his father as someone he once thought was “the coolest person ever.”

    The younger Cyrus, whose sisters are pop stars Miley Cyrus and Noah Cyrus, expressed his complex emotions about the “Achy Breaky Heart” singer Wednesday on Instagram. The emotional open letter said he and his sisters “have been genuinely worried about” their father for years and claimed “you’ve pushed all of us away.”

    Billy Ray Cyrus shares five children with ex-wife Tish Cyrus-Purcell: adoptive kids Trace and Brandi (whom Tish welcomed with her first husband, Baxter Neal Helson), plus Miley, Braison and Noah. He is also the father of Christopher Cody Cyrus, whom he welcomed with ex-girlfriend Kristin Luckey in 1992. Billy Ray and Tish were married from 1993 to 2022.

    Trace Cyrus, 35, claimed Wednesday that his 63-year-old dad has not been present for Noah (“She deserves better”) and that his loved ones have been “hanging onto memories” and holding out hope that “the man we once knew” would return.

    “You’re not healthy Dad & everyone is noticing it,” Trace Cyrus continued.

    He added: “I hope you realize this message only comes from a place of love and also fear that the world may lose you far too soon.”

    Beyond airing out his and his family’s grievances, Trace Cyrus seemingly offered a helping hand to his estranged father who he suspects is going through his own personal issues.

    “I’d love to help you if you would open up and receive the help,” wrote Trace, who said he has been alcohol-free for more than a year.

    Representatives for Billy Ray Cyrus, Miley Cyrus and Noah Cyrus did not respond immediately to The Times’ request for comment.

    Trace Cyrus shared his statement days after his father performed at President Donald Trump’s Liberty Ball on Monday. The elder Cyrus kicked off his Inauguration Day set shakily singing along to both his verse and rapper Lil Nas X’s part on their 2019 hit “Old Town Road,” though his vocals were noticeably drowned out by the music video that played in its entirety in the background. At one point he had paused — then restarted — his singing to sync with the video.

    “I think y’all was just getting warmed up, to be honest,” he told attendees, before performing the “Old Town Road” chorus on repeat for just short of 30 seconds.

    He admitted: “They told me to kill as much time as possible.”

    Billy Ray Cyrus, after addressing several technical difficulties, concluded his set by singing a minute-long portion of “Achy Breaky Heart,” a nearly three-and-a-half-minute song, a Capella. On Instagram, he dubbed the final part of his performance “the most fun part” of the Monday ball.

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    © 2025 Los Angeles Times

    Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.


    Source: American Military News