The irreverent country star Zach Bryan has tied the knot. The 29-year-old singer confirmed his marriage to Samantha Leonard, 28, with a low-key Instagram post that stayed true to his stripped-down public persona.Bryan shared the news on Thursday, posting a photo of himself holding Leonard close. The caption read simply, “tougher than the rest,” a nod to Bruce Springsteen’s song of the same name. In the second slide of the carousel, Bryan shared a short clip of himself covering the track, letting the music do the talking.A representative for Bryan later confirmed the marriage, without offering further details.

A relationship that stayed mostly off the grid

The couple has largely kept their relationship private. It remains unclear when they began dating or got engaged. Speculation first surfaced in August, when Leonard shared a picture of the two embracing on a boat on her Instagram account, prompting fans to connect the dots.In October, Bryan publicly acknowledged Leonard with a birthday tribute that offered a rare glimpse into their bond. “Today is your birthday and I love you, Samantha Marie,” he wrote. “To the only woman who can hike six miles in Chanel flats, skydive over the alps and catch a bigger fish than me all in the same day. Hope your day was as graceful as you are.”

Career highs continue for the singer-songwriter

Bryan’s personal milestone comes amid a strong professional run. His self-titled album Zach Bryan debuted at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 in 2023, moving over 200,000 units in its first week. The album’s duet with Kacey Musgraves, I Remember Everything, became his first and only No. 1 single, and was named one of the year’s best songs. His 2024 release, The Great American Bar Scene, peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard charts.Bryan is set to release his sixth studio album, With Heaven On Top, next Friday.

NEW DELHI: Govt on Friday directed Elon Musk-owned social media platform X to remove, without delay, all obscene, indecent, sexually explicit and unlawful content, especially that generated by its AI app Grok, failing which it might have to face legal consequences. The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) issued a notice to the chief compliance officer of ‘X Corp’ (India operations) for failure to observe statutory due diligence obligations under the IT Act, 2000, and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, and sought within 72 hours a detailed action taken report, to prevent generation and transmission of explicit content through the misuse of Al-based services like ‘Grok’ and xAlts. “Non-compliance with the above requirements shall be viewed seriously and may result in strict legal consequences against your platform, without any further notice, under the IT Act, the IT Rules, BNSS, BNS and other applicable laws,” MeitY said in its communication to X. The ministry highlighted that it has been reported from time to time, including through representations from Members of Parliament, that certain categories of content circulating on X platform may not be in compliance with laws relating to decency and obscenity. It has been especially observed that “Grok AI” service is being misused by users to create fake accounts that host, generate, publish or share images or videos of women that depict them in a derogatory or vulgar manner. Against this backdrop, the ministry has directed that X must immediately undertake a comprehensive technical, procedural and governance-level review of the Al-based application “Grok”. X has also been directed to “enforce its user terms of service, acceptable use policies and AI usage restrictions, including strong deterrent measures such as suspension, termination and other enforcement actions against violating users and accounts”. Copies of the notice have been sent to the ministries of home affairs, women and child development, information and broadcasting, and NCW, NCPCR and chief secretaries of all states and UTs.

Mumbai: The city police’s 1930 cyber helpline has managed to save or block around Rs 202 crore of online fraud funds in 2025.Soon after the cyber call centre receives a complaint about a fraud, it tries and blocks the bank accounts of the accused persons to stop or freeze the transfer. As a process, the amount is returned to the victim after a court’s order. The call centre, located in Bandra West where over three dozen trained police personnel work round the clock, received 8.7 lakh calls from Mumbaikars last year. The police, with the help of nodal officers of banks and payment gateways, managed to block or save around Rs 202 crore, including around Rs 21 crore in the month of Dec alone.Since 2022, the call centre has helped Mumbaikars save over Rs 390 crore. Between 2022 and 2025, the call centre got a total of 15.6 lakh calls. Lakhmi Gautam, joint commissioner of police (crime branch), said 1930 is a 24-hour facility and it has been established as a part of I4C (Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre) of the govt of India.“On receiving a call, a complaint is registered in the NCCRP (National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal) and immediately a request is sent to the bank to freeze the money. As a result of prompt action, we were able to save Rs 202 crore last year. I appeal to people that in case anyone is subjected to any financial digital fraud, they should immediately call 1930 as your complaint within the golden hour greatly increases the chance to save a maximum amount of cheated money,” said Gautam.Last year, fraudsters using the phishing technique siphoned off Rs 11.3 crore from a south Mumbai businessman’s company. Timely reporting to 1930 resulted in saving Rs 11.19 crore. In another case, a Bandra doctor who was put under digital arrest and lost Rs 1.29 crore, got back 100% of his money.The NCCRP, set up on Aug 30, 2019, operates across the country through the 1930 helpline. In Mumbai, a team led by sub-inspector Mangesh Bhor looks after the 1930 helpline activities. It now has a staff of around 50 people.

Federal authorities say an 18-year-old man from Mint Hill, North Carolina, was stopped just days before New Year’s Eve after allegedly planning a mass-casualty terrorist attack inspired by ISIS. Christian Sturdivant is accused of preparing to attack a grocery store and a fast food restaurant, with the intention of killing civilians and dying as a so-called martyr.Sturdivant was arrested on December 31, 2025, and charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organisation.

Extremist social media posts

The FBI said Sturdivant’s digital footprint showed a lot of extremist ideology linked to ISIS. In early December 2025, he allegedly posted an image of two miniature figurines of Jesus alongside the words, “May Allah curse the cross worshipers.”Authorities said the post was consistent with ISIS rhetoric calling for violence against non-believers, including Christians, Jews and Muslims who reject the group’s ideology.

Undercover op by the FBI

The FBI first became aware of Sturdivant on December 18, 2025, after receiving information that he was posting pro-ISIS content online. Investigators say he later began communicating with an undercover FBI employee posing as an ISIS supporter.During those conversations, Sturdivant allegedly said, “I will do jihad soon,” and described himself as “a soldier of the state,” referring to ISIS. Authorities say the undercover operation allowed law enforcement to track his intentions, targets and preparations in real time in order to capture him.

Hammers, knives and the place of attack

The criminal complaint alleges that on December 14, 2025, Sturdivant sent the undercover agent an image showing two hammers and a knife. Prosecutors said that ISIS propaganda has previously encouraged attacks using knives in Western countries.Sturdivant later told the undercover employee that he intended to attack a specific grocery store in North Carolina. He also discussed plans to purchase a firearm to use alongside knives during the attack, according to the arrest affidavit.FBI said they found two butcher knives and two hammers hidden under Sturdivant’s bed. The items appeared to match those shown in the image he sent to the undercover contact.Law enforcement also seized tactical gloves, a vest and a list of targets from his bedroom, all allegedly collected for the planned attack.

‘Martyrdom op’ and intent to die

On December 19, 2025, Sturdivant allegedly sent a voice recording pledging “Bayat”, a loyalty oath to ISIS.A search of his home on 29 December revealed handwritten notes, including one titled “New Years Attack 2026”. Prosecutors say the document was about a plan to stab as many civilians as possible, with a defined goal of killing up to 20 or 21 people.The note also included a section titled “martyrdom op”, which described plans to attack police responding to the scene so Sturdivant would be killed in the action. “As alleged, Sturdivant aspired to become a ‘martyr’ for ISIS and was in the final stages of planning a mass-casualty attack on New Year’s Eve,” said Assistant Attorney General John A. Eisenberg.