Matthew McConaughey grieves for Texas hometown after shooting: 'Action must be taken'

Actor Matthew McConaughey, who was born in Uvalde, Texas, spoke out Tuesday on an elementary school shooting in his hometown that killed two teachers and 19 children.

In a statement, McConaughey offered his condolences to the families affected by the tragedy and urged Americans to take action "so that no parent has to experience what parents in Uvalde and the others before them have endured." On Tuesday, a gunman barricaded himself inside and opened fire on a fourth-grade classroom at Robb Elementary School.

"As you are all aware there was another mass shooting today, this time in my hometown of Uvalde, Texas," McConaughey wrote in a message posted on social media.

"Once again, we have tragically proven that we are failing to be responsible for the rights our freedoms grant us. The true call to action now is for every American to take a longer and deeper look in the mirror, and ask ourselves, 'What is it that we truly value? How do we repair the problem? What small sacrifices can we individually take today, to preserve a healthier and safer nation, state, and neighborhood tomorrow?'"

The massacre that occurred this week in the city of about 16,000 people, located roughly 50 miles from the Mexico border, marks the deadliest school shooting in the United States since a gunman killed 20 first-grade students, four teachers, a principal and a school psychologist at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut nearly 10 years ago.

"We cannot exhale once again, make excuses, and accept these tragic realities as the status quo," McConaughey continued in his statement.

"As Americans, Texans, mothers and fathers, it's time we re-evaluate, and negotiate our wants from our needs. We have to rearrange our values and find a common ground above this devastating American reality that has tragically become our children's issue."

This isn't the first time McConaughey has weighed in on gun violence or referred to the frequent shootings in the U.S. as an epidemic. Following the high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, in 2018, the Oscar winner expressed concerns that the March for Our Lives movement would be "hijacked" by people who wanted "no guns at all."

Noting that he had "a lot of friends who are gun owners" and "a lot of friends who are NRA," McConaughey stated in 2018 that he was for "rightful, just responsible gun ownership — but against assault rifles, against unlimited magazines and for following up on the regulations."

McConaughey is one of many public figures who lamented the tragedy in Uvalde, as well as other massacres — including the recent shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Laguna Woods, Calif. — that preceded it.

Among the other entertainment luminaries who reacted are Taylor Swift, Simu Liu, Quinta Brunson, Rachel Zegler, Amanda Gorman, Mario Lopez and Olivia Rodrigo, who advocated for "stricter gun control" Tuesday at a concert in Los Angeles.

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BUDAPEST, Hungary — Britain's Prince Charles traveled to Romania's capital Wednesday to visit refugees, mostly women and children, from Russia’s war in Ukraine who have found safety in the neighboring Eastern European country.

The Prince of Wales visited the Romexpo Donation Centre for Ukrainian refugees in Bucharest. There, he met some of the nearly 1 million Ukrainians who have reached Romania since the war began on Feb. 24, and observed the relief effort being mounted by the government and volunteers.

Speaking to a group of Ukrainians through an interpreter, Charles apologized for his lack of language skills, saying, “I wish my Ukrainian was better.”

“We feel for you greatly, it’s a nightmare situation,” he said. “I’m full of admiration for the Ukrainian people. Total, extraordinary courage and resilience.”

During his visit, Charles received a gift from some of the Ukrainian children at the center: wooden spoons painted in traditional Ukrainian patterns.

“Marvelous, thank you, thank you,” Charles told one of the children. “I love the way you painted that.”

Joining Charles were representatives of the Red Cross, the Salvation Army and the U.N. refugee agency, as well as the mayor of Bucharest and members of other state relief agencies.

Over 1,000 Ukrainians visit the donation center daily to get free supplies like food, hygiene products, clothing and shoes, according to the managers of the facility. Refugees also have access to social services and counsel while they remain in Romania.

The visit was the latest of a number of engagements Charles has had with Ukrainian refugees in recent weeks. According to the British Embassy in Bucharest, he visited a Ukrainian community in Ottawa, Canada last week, where he met with a family displaced by the war.

More than 972,000 Ukrainians have fled into Romania since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, according to the U.N. refugee agency.

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Former reality TV star Josh Duggar was sentenced Wednesday to about 12 1/2 years in prison after he was convicted of receiving and possessing child pornography.

Prosecutors had asked U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks to give the maximum term of 20 years to Duggar, whose large family was the focus of TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting.” They argued in a pre-sentencing court filing that Duggar has a “deep-seated, pervasive and violent sexual interest in children.”

TV station KNWA reported that the judge sentenced Duggar to 151 months in prison.

Duggar, whose lawyers sought a five-year sentence, maintains his innocence and has said he will appeal.

Duggar was arrested in April 2021 after a Little Rock police detective found child porn files were being shared by a computer traced to Duggar. Investigators testified that images depicting the sexual abuse of children, including toddlers, were downloaded in 2019 onto a computer at a car dealership Duggar owned.

TLC canceled “19 Kids and Counting” in 2015 following allegations that Duggar had molested four of his sisters and a babysitter years earlier. Authorities began investigating the abuse in 2006 after receiving a tip from a family friend but concluded that the statute of limitations on any possible charges had expired.

Duggar’s parents said he had confessed to the fondling and apologized. After the allegations resurfaced in 2015, Duggar apologized publicly for unspecified behavior and resigned as a lobbyist for the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian group.

Months later, he publicly apologized for cheating on his wife and a pornography addiction, for which he then sought treatment.

From combined wire services