US country music star Jake Flint has died unexpectedly at the age of 37, just hours after getting married.
The Oklahoma-based singer/songwriter died in his sleep after he tied the knot with wife Brenda on Saturday.
His heartbroken bride posted on Facebook: “We should be going through wedding photos but instead, I have to pick out clothes to bury my husband in.
“People aren’t meant to feel this much pain.
“My heart is gone and I just really need him to come back.
“I can’t take much more. I need him here.”
She also shared a picture of the couple dancing after their nuptials on Facebook, writing “I don’t understand.”
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Mr Flint’s publicist, Clif Doyal, said the musician died in his sleep in the early hours of the morning on Sunday, 27 November.
“Flint had exchanged wedding vows with Brenda Wilson on Saturday. He was 37.
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“No official cause of death has been determined.”
In a statement shared by Mr Doyal, Mr Flint’s family said they were “broken” over the “tragic loss” of their beloved son, brother, uncle and partner, known to them as Jacob.
“He valued his family, friendships and living life to the fullest, which was evident in his songwriting.
“Every person who knew him has a story of his wit, charm, talent and compassion.
“We are so grateful for the outpouring of support and the many beautiful tributes that have been shared about the impact Jacob had on many lives.
“While we grieve what we know could have been, we are grateful that his talent and love live on in his songs.”
A service for Mr Flint will take place on Monday at Cedar Point Church in Claremore, Oklahoma.
Instead of flowers, the family have requested donations to the Red Dirt Relief Fund, an organisation which provides emergency assistance funding grants to musicians in need.
A fundraising campaign has also been launched to raise money for the family of Mr Flint, described as a “great man in our music community.”
The musician was in the middle of a multi-state tour and had been scheduled to perform in Claremore on Friday.
His former manager, Brenda Cline, said she “loved him much like a son”, hailing him as the “funniest, most hilarious, hardest working, dedicated artist I have ever worked with in my career.”
“Jake has a million friends and I’m not sure how everyone will cope with this tragic loss,” she wrote on Facebook.
“This is going to be incredibly difficult for so many. We love you Jake and in our hearts forever.”
The brother of a woman killed alongside her family in a helicopter crash in the Hudson River has said they died “without suffering”, and thrown flowers into the water in their memory.
The helicopter’s pilot, Sean Johnson, was also killed.
Image: New York Mayor Eric Adams accompanied Joan Camprubi to speak to reporters next to the Hudson River. Pic: AP
Image: New York Police scuba teams have been searching for debris from the crash. Pic: AP
Mr Camprubi said the family, from Barcelona, Spain, “left together” and “without suffering” following the sightseeing flight over the city. “As a family, we want to [remember] and honour their happiness and their smile forever,” he added.
One of their children, Mercedes, was due to celebrate her ninth birthday on Friday, the day after the crash. The other children were Victor, who was four, and 10-year-old Agustin.
Mr Camprubi told reporters on Saturday: “We will never forget you. And we will keep your smile alive every day of our lives. And that, I think, is the greatest legacy that we can give.”
Image: Agustin Escobar and Merce Camprubi Montal. Pic: Facebook
New York Mayor Eric Adams joined Mr Camprubi to throw flowers and lamented that “what should have been a joyful vacation turned into an unimaginable tragedy”.
He also paid tribute to Mr Johnson, a former US Navy Seal, but said “no words can fill the void, the loss” that bereaved relatives are enduring.
Image: Pic: AP
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators have not yet determined the cause of the crash.
There were reports of a loud boom when the aircraft, a Bell 206, broke apart, and officials previously said they were looking into reports of a large flock of birds being seen beforehand.
As divers continued to pull pieces of the wreckage from the Hudson on Saturday, NTSB officials said they were checking the flight control system. The helicopter was not equipped with any black box flight recorders.
Its main rotor, main gear box, tail rotor, and a large portion of the tail boom are still missing, the NTSB said.
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0:55
Witness saw ‘parts flying off’ helicopter
Witnesses, including Aleesha Alam, described seeing the main rotor blade flying off moments before it dropped out of the sky.
The main fuselage, including the cockpit and cabin, the forward portion of the tail boom, the horizontal stabiliser finlets, and the vertical fin have been recovered.
Iran says “indirect talks” over the country’s rapidly advancing nuclear programme have taken place with US officials, with more to come next week.
The discussions on Saturday took place in Muscat, Oman, with the host nation’s officials mediating between representatives of Iran and the US, who were seated in separate rooms, according to Esmail Baghaei, a spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry.
After the talks concluded, Oman and Iranian officials reported that Iran and the US had had agreed to hold more negotiations next week.
Oman’s foreign minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi tweeted after the meeting, thanking Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff for joining the negotiations aimed at “global peace, security and stability”.
“We will continue to work together and put further efforts to assist in arriving at this goal,” he added.
Image: (L-R) Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi meets his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr Albusaidi. Pic: Iranian foreign ministry/AP
Iranian state media claimed the US and Iranian officials “briefly spoke in the presence of the Omani foreign minister” at the end of the talks – a claim Mr Araghchi echoed in a statement on Telegram.
He added the talks took place in a “constructive atmosphere based on mutual respect” and that they would continue next week.
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American officials did not immediately acknowledge the reports from Iran.
Mr Araghchi said before the meeting on Saturday there was a “chance for initial understanding on further negotiations if the other party [US] enters the talks with an equal stance”.
He told Iran’s state TV: “Our intention is to reach a fair and honourable agreement – from an equal footing.
“And if the other side has also entered from the same position, God willing, there will be a chance for an initial agreement that can lead to a path of negotiations.”
Reuters news agency said an Omani source told it the talks were focused on de-escalating regional tensions, prisoner exchanges and limited agreements to ease sanctions in exchange for controlling Iran’s nuclear programme.
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0:42
Trump on Monday: ‘We’re in direct talks with Iran’
President Donald Trump has insisted Tehran cannot get nuclear weapons.
He said on Monday that the talks would be direct, but Tehran officials insisted it would be conducted through an intermediary.
Saturday’s meeting marked the first between the countries since Mr Trump’s second term in the White House began.
During his first term, he withdrew the US from a deal between Iran and world powers designed to curb Iran’s nuclear work in exchange for sanctions relief.
He also reimposed US sanctions.
Iran has since far surpassed that deal’s limits on uranium enrichment.
Tehran insists its nuclear programme is wholly for civilian energy purposes but Western powers accuse it of having a clandestine agenda.
Mr Witkoff came from talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin on Friday, as the US tries to broker an end to the war in Ukraine.