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Fans attending the Zac Brown Band’s concert at Boston’s Fenway Park on Sunday took home more than just memories. The band’s frontman surprised more than 37,000 concertgoers with a free cruise trip for two aboard the Margaritaville at Sea. The giveaway is valued at more than $40 million, the band said in a news release. And it comes personally from Brown. He said it was a thank you to the fans as they celebrated the band’s 15th consecutive sold out show at Fenway. Zac Brown Band holds the record for the most consecutive sold out performances at the venue and the most tickets sold in its history. Brown made the on-stage announcement just before the band’s performance of “Same Boat.” “Tonight we’re going to do something that even Jimmy (Buffet) would say is crazy. I’m buying every single person here a cruise for two people on the boat. This is the biggest giveaway in history ladies and gentlemen, right here tonight at Fenway Park!” The cruises can be redeemed on select Margaritaville at Sea sailings over the next year. “We were honored to work alongside Zac to help bring this incredible surprise to life for his fans,” said Christopher Ivy, CEO of Margaritaville at Sea. “This was an extraordinary way to thank the fans who have supported him throughout his career, and we’re proud to have helped make that incredible vision a once-in-a-lifetime reality.” The band kicked off their 2026 Love and Fear Tour in Boston and has stops throughout the U.S. over the next few months. Fans attending their shows in other cities will also have a chance to win a cruise trip. The Zac Brown Band said it is giving away four cruises per show. However, those fans will receive a cruise aboard the Beachcomber, a new ship debuting in January 2027 that includes a live music venue called “Same Boat” that was co-designed by Zac Brown. This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

Two years after the McKinney Islamic Association halted plans for a larger mosque in response to opposition from neighbors and city officials, the organization is once again seeking approval for an expansion in Collin County. But again, the group is facing opposition, this time over new plans for a sanctuary, classroom building and gym at a site near its current mosque. The McKinney City Council is scheduled to decide whether to approve the plans Aug. 4. The congregation has grown since it began meeting at its current mosque in 2014 and since the association was established in 1997, according to past leadership. The new space is intended to accommodate hundreds of worshippers. McKinney resident Mousa Abu Daabes spoke in support of the mosque’s expansion at a 2024 planning and zoning meeting.He said he remembers when there were just five Muslim families in McKinney in the 1990s. He helped start the foundation for the McKinney Islamic Association. Click here to read more on this report from our partners at The Dallas Morning News.

After months of discussion, the Dallas Wings confirmed Monday that they will move to the American Airlines Center in Dallas for the 2027 season. The announcement comes as their tenure at the College Park Center on the campus of the University of Texas at Arlington concludes at the end of the 2026 season. Dallas rapper BigXThaPlug was part of the team’s announcement video, which can be seen below. “Today’s announcement marks a pivotal step in the team’s relocation to Dallas as well as our continued growth as a professional sports enterprise,” said Dallas Wings CEO & Managing Partner Greg Bibb. “American Airlines Center is a world-class venue in the heart of Dallas providing the spaces and amenities our athletes deserve while delivering an incredible environment for our growing and passionate fan base. We would like to thank Dave Brown and his talented team at American Airlines Center for all of their work in making AAC the new home of the Dallas Wings. Our players, coaches, staff, and front office are excited for the 2027 season.” 2027 will also mark the scheduled opening of their new 70,000-square-foot, $81 million practice facility at Joey Georgusis Park in Far West Oak Cliff. Plans are for it to open in April of 2027 in time for training camp. The facility will feature two professional courts, advanced recovery suites, and dedicated community spaces. Wings CEO Greg Bibb said in terms of the 2028 season and beyond, the team is hoping to be in the renovated Dallas Memorial Auditorium and play the next 15 years in that building as their home venue. In 2024, the Wings signed a 15-year agreement with the city of Dallas to play Memorial Auditorium downtown starting in 2027. Due to delays in construction the Wings will spend at least 2027 at the AAC. “We would also like to thank John Hall, Chris Fulton and the staff at College Park Center for their decade-plus partnership. When the team moved to North Texas in 2016, the city of Arlington and University of Texas-Arlington welcomed us and provided an incredible venue for our athletes, coaches, staff, partners and fans. College Park Center has always felt like home, and that is a credit to the people and the partnership along with the building itself,” Bibb said. The Wings moved to North Texas from Tulsa in 2016. “American Airlines Center is proud to serve as the home of the Dallas Wings, and we look forward to being part of the continued growth and excitement surrounding women’s sports,” said Dave Brown, General Manager of American Airlines Center. “We have tremendous respect for the organization’s leadership, the talent and dedication of its players, and the bright future of the franchise in Dallas. We’re honored to be part of the Wings’ journey and remain committed to supporting the team and its continued success.” The American Airlines Center is currently home to the Dallas Mavericks and Stars; both teams plan to move north when their leases expire after the 2030 season. The Wings played two regular season games at AAC in 2025, including a record-setting showing against the Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark. It was the largest game in franchise history, the largest WNBA crowd in Texas, and one of the 10 largest WNBA games ever at the time. The Wings are playing three AAC games in 2026 in total; one has already passed. There are two more in August, including a rematch against the Fever and Clark on Aug. 20. Current Wings Season Ticket Members will get renewal offers starting Monday, Aug. 10. People interested in becoming season ticket members will have the opportunity starting on Aug. 20, coinciding with the Wings-Fever matchup that night at the AAC. This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

A federal judge is allowing the Department of Homeland Security to go ahead for now with plans to build a border wall through a levee system protecting a small Texas town on the border with Mexico, rejecting arguments by the town that the wall could lead to flooding. The decision late Sunday marks a victory for the Trump administration as it races ahead with efforts to build a $46 billion wall along the U.S.-Mexico border from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. The town of Presidio, with a population of about 3,200 people, argued the wall could cause flooding and that the administration isn’t following the law as it rushes forward with its plans. The town’s development district sued earlier this year to stop the department from going forward with construction. But the judge said in his ruling Sunday that they were unlikely to succeed on the merits of the case. “For the foregoing reasons, despite the understandable concerns expressed by the plaintiff regarding the harms it and the plaintiff’s residents might sustain by the potential construction of the Smart Wall, the Court is compelled to deny the plaintiff’s motion for a stay,” wrote Judge Reggie B. Walton. DHS has been charging forward with its wall-building plan with senior administration officials saying a first layer of the structure will be done by next year. In its push, the Secretary of Homeland Security has waived numerous regulations designed to protect the environment, wildlife, archaeological and Native American sites. Presidio is protected by a series of berms and levees built in the 1970s and 1980s along the Rio Grande and tributaries to combat flooding. In court documents, Presidio’s development district said Customs and Border Protection plans to “replace the earthen slope of the existing levee with a concrete wall, with 30-foot steel bollard panels installed on top.” The district said it asked the agency for more details but was told they can’t be shared due to “national security.” The government has argued that there is no final plan for where the border wall will go or how it will be built. And the administration has maintained that it has the authority given to it by Congress to waive a vast swath of regulations to build the wall as it seeks to get the number of people crossing the border every day to zero. In his ruling, the judge bolstered that argument, saying that it was clear “that Congress did not intend to limit the Secretary of DHS’s waiver authority.” The government is also facing another lawsuit in Texas where an environmental group and a church preservation group have teamed up to oppose DHS’s plans.

Two Republican senators who threatened to block acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s bid to lead the Justice Department said Monday that they will vote to advance his nomination, ending an impasse over plans to create a fund to compensate allies of President Donald Trump. The statement from Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis came after Blanche issued an order late Sunday formally rescinding the $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” to compensate people who believe they were unfairly prosecuted by the Justice Department. Cornyn and Tillis, whose votes Blanche needs to advance through the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, had said they would not endorse his nomination without written confirmation that the fund is dead. “We want to express our gratitude to Mr. Blanche and his staff for working with us on this, and we look forward to voting to advance his nomination out of the Senate Judiciary Committee soon,” Cornyn and Tillis, who are not returning to the Senate next year, said in a statement. DOJ order says ‘beyond any doubt’ that fund is dead Blanche said at a June hearing that the Justice Department would not move forward with the fund to compensate those who believe they were unfairly prosecuted, as he faced bipartisan outrage over the possibility that violent rioters who attacked police at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, could be considered for payments. But Cornyn and Tillis, both members of the Judiciary panel, said they wanted to see the promise in writing before they endorsed Blanche’s nomination because they were concerned it could later be revived — especially as Trump continued to express support for the idea. In a statement, Blanche said the order came after “good faith discussions.” “My team and I have met with committee members and Senators over the past several weeks and addressed any concerns or outstanding questions,” Blanche said. Donald Trump Jul 31 Trump appeals ruling that found his $10B IRS suit aimed to ‘manipulate' legal proceedings Department of Justice Jul 29 Senate committee postpones vote on Todd Blanche's nomination over disagreements with GOP senators In a statement accompanying the order, the Justice Department said that “although the Acting Attorney General has repeatedly advised Congress through testimony, including under oath, as well as in written responses, that the Fund is not moving forward, and the Department has repeatedly represented to district courts that the Fund is not moving forward, today’s Order officially rescinds the May 18, 2026 Order.” Since the settlement of the president’s lawsuit against the IRS was announced, “No Members were appointed; no funds were transferred; no process for receiving claims was established; no claims were paid,” the order says. “This order establishes, beyond any doubt, that there is no Fund.” The document released by Blanche on Sunday night also limits the scope of another provision of the settlement that provided broad immunity for Trump and members of his family from tax audits. The deal clarifies that the tax audit immunity agreement “applies by its terms only retroactively” to claims open at the time of the settlement and does not protect the president from examination of future tax filings. Cornyn, Tillis echo GOP colleagues’ concerns as they block Blanche nomination Cornyn, who lost reelection this year after Trump endorsed his primary opponent, and Tillis, who is retiring when his term ends in January, have blocked Blanche’s nomination as many of their GOP colleagues have criticized the fund. The Judiciary Committee postponed a vote on Blanche’s nomination that had been scheduled for Thursday morning after Tillis and Cornyn said they needed more from the administration before they could provide the necessary votes. The two senators have repeatedly said the Justice Department seemed interested in reaching an agreement, but the White House wouldn’t budge even to aid the confirmation…

American actor best known for his role as Salvatore ‘Big Pussy’ Bonpensiero in the US TV crime drama series The SopranosThe character actor Vincent Pastore, who has died aged 80, made Italian mobster roles his speciality, most notably playing Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero, one of the capos in The Sopranos. Although the character’s nickname came from his early career as a cat burglar, in a recent interview Pastore said the Soprano’s creator, David Chase, had written the part “for an actor who could play a tough guy but also could be sensitive. I saw Big Pussy as a man with a big heart.”In the show, Pastore’s Pussy balanced the violent intensity of Tony Sirico’s Paulie Walnuts. “It was like sharing the camera with an elephant,” Pastore joked about the much smaller but intense actor. Continue reading...

At least 72 people have died attempting to reach the Spanish enclave of Ceuta after an estimated 50,000 migrants crossed from Morocco last week. The incident has triggered a political crisis in Spain and criticism from EU countries. Lucy Hough speaks to European community affairs correspondent Ashifa Kassam Continue reading...

Ariana Grande plans to step away from the public eye following scrutiny, a representative told People, as discussion swirls around her health. The representative told People that Grande will take “a step back from visibility after she completes the “Eternal Sunshine Tour,” which will wrap next month. Following the announcement, Empire Street Productions confirmed that Grande has “decided to step back” from the revival of Stephen Sondheim’s “Sunday in the Park With George,” which will open at the Barbican Center in London next summer. Grande was set to star as both Dot and Marie in the musical, opposite her “Wicked” co-star Jonathan Bailey. “We know this cannot have been an easy decision, and she makes it with our complete understanding and support,” the production company said. “We wish her nothing but the best.” The company said that the production will continue as planned and that new casting will be announced “in due course.” NBC News has reached out to Grande’s representatives for comment. Grande’s Eternal Sunshine Tour, promoting the 2024 album of the same name, will conclude in London on Sept. 1. “She looks forward to finishing the tour and ending it on a high note, both healthily and happily, and then taking a much-deserved break from public-facing work and appearances, which has led to endless, ongoing public scrutiny,” a representative told People. “This tour has been a beautiful experience for her. She loves her fans and has loved every minute of this tour so much.” Grande’s health has been a topic of public discussion for several years. Last year, she addressed criticism of her appearance that amassed around the release of “Wicked: For Good.” At the time, she shared a 2024 interview in which she said that in society, “there’s a comfortability that we shouldn’t have, at all,” including commenting on how other people look, calling it “dangerous for all parties involved.” Grande released her eighth album, “Petal,” on Friday. In an interview with Apple Music, she said it feels “very experimental and different,” adding that she tapped into the “unfiltered rage that I think we all feel sometimes.” Public discourse around Grande’s body increased after the release of the music video for the title track. Grande portrays an actor named Pepper, who is repeatedly declared “not good enough” by casting executives in auditions before she kills them with a chain saw. As the video ends, a director yells “cut,” and Grande walks off the set, where she is praised for her talent. Grande is next scheduled to appear in the film “Focker-in-Law” alongside Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro. The “Meet the Parents” franchise movie has a Nov. 25 release date and will be distributed by Universal Pictures — which shares Comcast as a parent company with NBC News.

An oil truck rollover caused a spill in Monroe on Monday morning and the road it happened on is expected to be closed for an extended period. Firefighters said a fuel oil delivery truck rolled over and is actively leaking at the intersection of Guinea Road and Hattertown Road. An environmental emergency crew is on scene mitigating the spill. The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has also been called. The road is expected to be closed for an extended period of time. No injuries were reported.