Here's a look at trending topics for today, Aug. 7:
Bryan Randall
Bryan Randall, the longtime partner of Sandra Bullock, has died. He was 57.
Randall died Saturday from ALS, his family told People magazine. He had battled the degenerative disease privately for three years.
“Bryan chose early to keep his journey with ALS private and those of us who cared for him did our best to honor his request,” his family told People. “We are immensely grateful to the tireless doctors who navigated the landscape of this illness with us and to the astounding nurses who became our roommates, often sacrificing their own families to be with ours.”
Randall, a professional photographer, met Bullock in 2015 while working at her son Louis’ birthday. He and Bullock made few public appearances together and kept their relationship largely out of the spotlight.
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Montgomery Riverfront brawl
Video has emerged of a fight between a man and a group of people who appear to be boaters on a riverfront dock in Montgomery, Alabama.
In one video posted to social media, a Black man, who a witness described as a cruise boat crew member, engages with a group of White men on the dock. Both sides appear to become increasingly agitated before punches are thrown.
Police were called to the area on Saturday around 7 p.m., the Montgomery Police Department said. It’s unclear what led to the confrontation.
When officers arrived, “they located a large group of subjects engaged in a physical altercation. Several subjects have been detained and charges are pending,” according to a news release from the police department.
Officers “acted swiftly to detain several reckless individuals for attacking a man who was doing his job,” Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed said in a tweet.
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William Friedkin
William Friedkin, the Oscar winning director who became a top filmmaker in his 30s with the gripping "The French Connection" and the horrifying "The Exorcist" and struggled in the following decades to match his early success has died. He was 87.
Friedkin, who won the best director Oscar for "The French Connection," died Monday in Los Angeles, his wife, producer and former studio head Sherry Lansing told The Hollywood Reporter.
The movie, based on a true story, deals with the efforts of maverick New York City police Detective James "Popeye" Doyle to track down Frenchman Fernando Rey, mastermind of a large drug pipeline funneling heroin into the United States. It contains one of the most thrilling chase scenes ever filmed.
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