What changed in this update
A grand jury found Wells' cause of death "consistent with drowning," and decided not to bring indictments. The teenager was found dead on Horn Island, after he boated there with friends to celebrate Independence Day.
Nolan Wells, 18, was found dead after going missing following an outing with friends on Mississippi's Horn Island on the Fourth of July.
NYTimes – US A grand jury found Wells' cause of death "consistent with drowning," and decided not to bring indictments. The teenager was found dead on Horn Island, after he boated there with friends to celebrate Independence Day.
NPR – US A grand jury found Wells' cause of death "consistent with drowning," and decided not to bring indictments. The teenager was found dead on Horn Island, after he boated there with friends to celebrate Independence Day.
NPR – US The Black Mississippi teen's family questions whether his race contributed to his July 4th death on an island off the Mississippi coast.
Jury report says ‘no credible evidence’ points to criminal conduct related to death of Mississippi teen after boat outing with friends on 4 July A grand jury made a unanimous decision on late Monday night to not bring criminal charges against anyone in the mysterious death of Nolan Wells , a Mississippi teen who died after a boat outing with friends on 4 July. The Jackson county, Mississippi grand jury, which met fr…
A grand jury in Mississippi unanimously found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing in the death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells, but his family is calling for further investigation. Skyler Henry reports.
NYTimes – US The 18-year-old was found dead days after taking a boat to a Mississippi island with friends on July 4. His case set off nationwide speculation about what happened.
BBC News – Science & Environment Hurricane Isaias, the first Atlantic hurricane of 2026, has made landfall near Destin, Florida, on the northern Gulf Coast.
BBC News – World President Trump has appointed Katie Zacharia, a conservative commentator and communications adviser at Trump Media & Technology Group, as the new White House press secretary, succeeding Karoline Leavitt. CBS News reported that she was offered the role by a White House official on Friday, while earlier reports noted it was unclear whether she had accepted. The position had been vacant since Leavitt left in August.
NYTimes – US The Trump administration announced new sanctions on the International Criminal Court, accusing it of unfairly targeting Americans with war-crime charges and seeking to stem resources to the tribunal. The move came hours after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to a former ICC judge. The European Union said it was ready to take measures to enable the court to continue its work.
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