BREAKING NEWS Olympic legend Mary Lou Retton, 57, arrested on DUI charge in West Virginia, court records reveal
American gymnastics legend and Olympic gold medalist Mary Lou Retton was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of impaired driving and charged with DUI, according to court records reviewed by Daily Mail.
The 57-year-old West Virginia native arrested on May 17 in Marion County for 'driving under influence of alcohol, controlled substances, or drugs,' according to the West Virginia Magistrate Court system. She was released after personally posting a $1,500 bond, according to court records.
An attorney for Retton was not listed in court records and Retton's spokespeople have yet to address the arrest.
Best known for receiving two perfect-10 scores weeks at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics after a knee operation, Retton has battled health issues in recent years.
Most notably, she struggled with pneumonia in 2023, which led her daughter to create a crowdfunding page to help pay mounting hospital bills. The fund ultimately raised $200,000 in a day, according to WBOY.com.
However, the family soon drew criticism after refusing to clarify where the donations would be going, while Retton's claim to not have insurance was also doubted by some.
'They didn't deserve that,' Retton said in May when asked about the backlash her daughters received.
'They were just trying to take care of me. I don't care about the naysayers. There are trolls everywhere. It's what makes us America. Everybody's got an opinion, but it is what it is.'
While there was a happy ending for Retton in 2023, doctors briefly feared for her life as her daughters delivered what they thought would be their final farewell to their mother.
Even now, Retton fears she will never properly recover from the damage to her lungs.
'It's been really hard,' she said in an emotional interview with People in 2024. 'My lungs are so scarred. It will be a lifetime of recovery.
'My physicality was the only thing I had and it was taken away from me. It's embarrassing.'
Retton believes she recovered from the terrifying ordeal as 'God wasn't ready' for her yet, despite admitting that she is extremely fortunate to still be alive.
'Girl, I should be dead,' she added. 'The doctors told them [daughters] to come to say their goodbyes.
'They prayed over me, and McKenna said, 'Mommy, it's OK, you can go.'
'I didn't have much of a relationship with my mother, but I can't imagine what that was like, to watch their mom on her deathbed.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
35 minutes ago
- Reuters
Hunter Goodman, Rockies eye first series win of season
June 3 - Hunter Goodman has been a shining light in a dark season for the Colorado Rockies. After the catcher socked two homers in Colorado's 6-4 road victory over the Miami Marlins on Monday, the Rockies will shoot for their first series win of the season on Tuesday. On Sunday, the Rockies became the first team in modern major league history (since 1901) to lose 50 times before earning 10 wins. Defeat No. 50, against the New York Mets, was Colorado's eighth setback in a row. The Rockies ended the skid while finally getting win No. 10 in the opener of a three-game series at Miami. If the Rockies win Tuesday or Wednesday to take the three-game set, they would end their season-opening run of losing 19 straight series -- a modern major league record. A victory on Tuesday would give Colorado its second two-game winning streak of the season, matching the results of April 30-May 1. Despite the team's results, Goodman is having an impressive campaign. After going 3-for-5 with three RBIs on Monday, the 25-year-old is leading the team with a .273 batting average, nine home runs, 34 RBIs and 59 hits in 58 games. His 11 doubles are second on the team, and he has a .780 OPS, much better than his career .642 OPS entering 2025. Goodman has taken over the catching job for Colorado after being used mostly as an outfielder and first baseman since being drafted in 2021. However, he has always wanted to be a catcher, so he pushed to get back behind the plate this spring. He has started 32 games as a catcher this season and 23 as a designated hitter. Goodman has been the Rockies' cleanup hitter for 32 games. "Catching is something you have to embrace because it is so tough, especially at this level, but that is what I want," Goodman said this spring, according to the Denver Post. "I think catching helps me at the plate, for sure. I think just the consistent at-bats and being able to relax a little more this year and feel more comfortable in the box has been big." Unfortunately for Colorado, Goodman's breakout season has not added up to many wins. Even with the win on Monday, the Rockies are on pace for 135 losses this year. The Chicago White Sox set the modern day record with 121 losses last season after a 17-50 start -- significantly better than Colorado's current 10-50 start. The Rockies had not officially named a starter for the Tuesday game as of late Tuesday night, but it might be right-hander Tanner Gordon (1-2, 4.24 ERA). The rookie has yet to oppose the Marlins. Miami is scheduled to counter with right-hander Sandy Alcantara (2-7, 8.47 ERA). His last time out, Alcantara received a no-decision, a positive result considering he lost each of the prior seven starts. During the eight-game winless run, he has a 10.09 ERA, having walked 21 and struck out 28 in 35 2/3 innings. Alcantara won the National League Cy Young Award in 2022 when he went 14-9 with a 2.28 ERA. However, he has struggled since, going 7-12 with a 4.14 ERA in 2023 and sitting out all of 2024 after Tommy John surgery. The slow start to 2025 has not helped. "It's tough. You've got to be strong," he said last week, according to The Athletic. "Watching people's comments, hearing people talk very bad about you. It's something that you have to not pay attention to. But I'm strong, man. I believe in myself." Alcantara has started four games against the Rockies in his career, going 2-2 with a 5.11 ERA. --Field Level Media
Daily Mail
40 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Trump administration gives California ultimatum over banning transgender athletes from high school sports
Donald Trump 's Department of Justice has fired a massive broadside against school districts in ' woke ' Democratic California amid escalating fury over trans athletes born boys competing against girls. The firestorm has flared after AB Hernandez, 16, a biological male who identifies as a girl, crushed female teen rivals in a competition over the weekend. The high school junior took gold medals in the high jump and triple jump at the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) state finals held on May 30 and 31 at Buchanan High School in Clovis, 13 miles north of Fresno. Hernandez, of Jurupa Valley in Riverside County, 60 miles east of Los Angeles, regularly - and unsurprisingly - trounces their female rivals. The latest victories follow Trump's fuming online attacks against Hernandez, trans athletes in girls' sports and California Governor Gavin Newsom, a favorite target of his ire. In February, he signed the 'Keep Men Out of Women's Sports' executive order. Now the Civil Rights Division of the DoJ is gunning for the California Interscholastic Federation - the state's governing body for high school sports - and the use of 'unconstitutional' Bylaw 300.D in state schools that permits trans boys to compete against girls. It has come out swinging, demanding that school districts in the Golden State ignore the controversial statute. The districts have been given a seven-day deadline of June 9 to inform DoJ officials of their response - and the clock is ticking towards a showdown. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhilon wrote to state school districts in a Monday, June 2 letter: 'As a member of the California Interscholastic Federation ('CIF'), and a political subdivision of the State of California, you are exposed to legal liability due to a policy CIF has enacted that violates federal law. 'CIF Bylaw 300.D requires California public high schools to allow male participation in girls' interscholastic athletics: 'All students should have the opportunity to participate in CIF activities in a manner that is consistent with their gender identify, irrespective of the gender listed on the student's records.' (emphasis added). Section 300.D, however, is facially unconstitutional. 'The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. 'Knowingly depriving female students of athletic opportunities and benefits on the basis of their sex would constitute unconstitutional sex discrimination under the Equal Protection Clause. 'Scientific evidence shows that upsetting the historical status quo and forcing girls to compete against males would deprive them of athletic opportunities and benefits because of their sex. 'Therefore, you cannot implement a policy allowing males to compete alongside girls, because such a policy would deprive girls of athletic opportunities and benefits bases solely on their biological sex, in violation of the Equal Protection Clause.' The letter continues, 'As a political subdivision, you have the obligation to comply with the Equal Protection Clause. 'To ensure compliance and avoid legal liability, you must certify in writing by 5:00p.m. ET on June 9, 2025, that you will not implement CIF Bylaw 300.D.' Sonja Shaw, Board President of the Chino Valley Unified School District, which is adjacent to the Jurupa Valley School District, told Daily Mail in a statement in response to the DoJ's letter: 'Newsom and the political cartel, the majority of legislators, the California Dept of Education, and CIF…you're going to lose. 'We told you we'd win this for our daughters and we will. That's a promise - it's only a matter of time! 'You sold out their privacy in locker rooms to push your sick agenda. Boys are boys. Girls are girls. 'The DoJ just called your CIF bylaw what it is - unconstitutional. 'We're not playing games. We won't back down. We won't forget. You're on the wrong side of history. Lawsuits are coming. Investigation. It's all coming down.' In an exclusive interview with Daily Mail over the weekend, conservative women's advocate Riley Gaines branded Hernandez's mother 'evil' for enabling her child. And she condemned 'progressives' in 'woke' Democratic California and Newsom - who she dubbed a 'slimy car salesman' and 'spineless coward' - for enabling biologically born boys to participate in sports alongside girls. She also called out 'crazy unhinged trans activists' for creating chaos. Gaines hit headlines in 2022 as a competitive swimmer for University of Kentucky in the 200-yard NCAA freestyle championship against University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, a biological male who lives as a woman. She said of Hernandez's mother, Nereyda Hernandez, 43, 'His mom is a pretty evil person,' Gaines declared. 'I believe she is using her son to live out some fantasy or dream that maybe she had. 'She has lied to AB in affirming his identity - the total façade - and in the process has harmed real women. 'I have empathy for AB. He's a victim as well. But that doesn't give him the right to trample on women in the process to fulfill his happiness. 'AB Hernandez is of course not the first boy to compete in the state of California - whether it's track and field, whatever sport it may be,' commented Gaines. 'He is following the rules. So I don't have any animosity or hatred or wish any sort of ill will on the boy. Ultimately, it's the rules that are the problem. The mother posted social media following Trump's breathless take down last week. 'My child is not a threat; SHE IS LIGHT!!! As AB's mother, I will continue to stand by her, proudly fiercely, and unconditionally,' she wrote. In a post on X, Shaw wrote: 'We Told You We'd Win This Fight for Our Girls And It's Going to Happen sooner than later!! 'Today, the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division issued a letter declaring CIF Bylaw 300D unconstitutional. 'This dangerous bylaw forced schools to allow biological males to compete in girls' sports and access private spaces. 'But the DOJ made it clear: 'This policy would deprive girls of athletic opportunities and benefits based solely on their biological sex.' 'Districts are now legally liable if they implement this insanity. They have until June 9 to certify that they will not enforce CIF Bylaw 300D — or face consequences. 'This is a historic win. A win for truth. A win for parents. A win for our daughters. A win for our nation. 'Common sense is finally making a comeback. And thank God we finally have a federal agency that isn't weaponized against parents and our daughters, but is standing with us to protect basic rights. 'We told you we are not playing games. We will not comply with insanity. We will not forget that Newsom sued our district and signed a law that took parents' constitutional rights away. 'We will not bend. We will not compromise. We will protect our daughters at all costs. The tide is turning. The silence is broken. And we are just getting started.' Greg Burt, Vice President of the California Family Council, said in a statement: 'We welcome this bold step by the U.S. Department of Justice. For too long, California's education system has prioritized gender ideology over the physical safety and competitive fairness of young women. 'It's time our schools return to truth, biology, and the equal protection of all students under the law.'
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Attack at demonstration calling for Israeli hostages' release was first where group faced violence
Demonstrators with Run for Their Lives have staged global events since 2023 calling for Hamas to release Israeli hostages, but organizers say Sunday's walk in Boulder, Colorado, where 12 people were injured in a fiery attack, was the first in which they have faced violence. The group was wrapping their weekly demonstration at a bustling pedestrian mall when a man with a makeshift flamethrower yelled 'Free Palestine' and threw Molotov cocktails into the crowd, authorities said. Little was known immediately about the 12 victims injured in the attack, and none were ready to talk as of Monday, according to police liaisons assigned to them. They range in age from 52 to 88, and their injuries spanned from serious to minor, Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn said. The violence in downtown Boulder unfolded against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war that continues to inflame global tensions and has contributed to a spike in antisemitism in the United States. A week earlier, a man who also yelled 'Free Palestine' was charged with fatally shooting two Israeli embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington. U.S. supporters of the Israeli hostages say they're scared but have vowed to keep demonstrating. Attacker wanted to 'kill all Zionist people' The man charged in the Boulder attack told police he planned it for a year and was driven by a desire 'to kill all Zionist people,' a reference to the movement to establish and sustain a Jewish state in Israel. Mohamed Sabry Soliman, whose first name also was spelled Mohammed in some court documents, confessed to trying to kill members of the local Run for Their Lives chapter with Molotov cocktails and told police he would do it again, according to an FBI affidavit. He had posed as a gardener to get close to the group as they waved U.S. and Israeli flags and read out the names of the 58 people believed to still be in captivity in the Gaza Strip. Run for Their Lives is a global grassroots initiative that started in October 2023 after Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip stormed into Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage. The group's 230 chapters seek to raise awareness of the hostages' plight, with many of the chapters still walking weekly, said Shira Weiss, the global coordinator for Run for Their Lives. 'We're really about humanity and nothing else,' Weiss said. Demonstrators marched for 'life' The Boulder group walks every weekend for 18 minutes, the numerical value of the Hebrew word 'chai,' which means 'life.' Participants include retirees, families with children, Jewish and non-Jewish community members. Rachel Amaru, leader of the Boulder chapter, had spoken to local police the night before the demonstration but was out of town the day of, said fellow organizer Miri Kornfeld in Denver. Amaru had requested extra security following the attack in Washington and, moving forward, will ask for a police escort for the group. Federal and state prosecutors filed separate criminal cases against Soliman, charging him with a hate crime and attempted murder, respectively. He faces additional state charges related to the incendiary devices, and more charges are possible in federal court, where the Justice Department will seek a grand jury indictment. Photos and video from the scene in Boulder, 30 miles (48 kilometers) from Denver, showed a burning woman lying on the ground in a fetal position and a man helping to put out the flames using a jug of water. Witness Alex Osante said he was across the pedestrian mall when he heard the crash of a bottle breaking and a 'boom' followed by people yelling and screaming. Six of the injured people were taken to hospitals, and four have since been released, Kornfeld said. Others may have been treated at the scene, she said. Jewish community grapples with fear during holiday The attack also came at the start of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, which commemorates God giving the Torah to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai in Egypt. Rabbi Yisroel and Leah Wilhelm, directors of the Rohr Chabad House at the University of Colorado, have asked people to keep victims in their prayers and not let the attack take the joy out of their Shavuot celebrations. 'Run for Their Lives is an organization built on love, and if you ever have the chance to walk with them, you will feel that love to the utmost," said Caleb Loewengart, a student at the University of Colorado Boulder who grew up in the community. Loewengart and his parents have marched with the group in the past but were not in attendance for Sunday's attack. Many of the people who show up weekly to walk along Pearl Street have been present in Loewengart's life since his early childhood. The college student said he's heartbroken for the Jewish community that raised him and grappling with newfound fear as a vocal Israel supporter on the nearby university campus. But that fear, he said, will not stop him from speaking out. Jewish people who are not outspoken about Israel are afraid, too, Kornfeld said. 'This issue isn't something that's just contained to the Middle East. It's not something that is just contained in Israel,' Kornfeld said. 'We're seeing the effects of unchecked antisemitism all around the world. And we must stand up in the strongest way possible. Elected officials and everybody who has a heart needs to stand up against it in all of its forms all around the world.'
