By Christie D’Zurilla, Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — Actor Kelley Mack, who played Addy in Season 9 of “The Walking Dead” in addition to doing national commercials and voice-over work, has died at age 33, her family said on social media.

“It is with indelible sadness that we are announcing the passing of our dear Kelley. Such a bright, fervent light has transitioned to the beyond, where we all eventually must go,” the family wrote Tuesday on her Instagram account. She died in Cincinnati after battling glioma of the central nervous system, according to a notice posted on her CaringBridge page.

“Kelley passed peacefully on Saturday evening with her loving mother Kristen and steadfast aunt Karen present. Kelley has already come to many of her loved ones in the form of various butterflies … She will be missed by so many to depths that words cannot express.”

Mack, born Kelley Lynne Klebenow in Cincinnati on July 10, 1992, was raised in towns around Ohio and also in Missouri, Connecticut, North Carolina and Illinois. She moved to Los Angeles after earning a cinematography degree from Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film in Orange in 2014.

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Her commercial work included playing Becky in “Fansville” ads for Dr Pepper and her voice-overs could be heard in spots for the Hyundai Ioniq, Budweiser, Credit Karma and more. Her “Walking Dead” character, Addy, was one of the young residents of Hilltop who had a crush on Henry while he had feelings for Lydia. Addy’s reanimated head wound up on a pike at the border of the Whisperers’ territory along with those of Henry and a handful of others who fought bravely but unsuccessfully after being kidnapped by Alpha.

After experiencing pain last fall in her lower back and legs, Mack was diagnosed in late November with a diffuse midline glioma, a rare type of astrocytoma, a cancer that starts in the central nervous system. “Due to the biopsy surgery on my spinal cord,” she said on Instagram in January, “I have lost the use of my right leg and most of my left leg, so I now get around with a walker and a wheelchair.”

She started proton radiation treatments in Cincinnati in mid-January — “It felt like I was filming an episode of my new TV show, set on a space ship floating somewhere in our infinite galaxy,” she wrote on Instagram — and by March had regained some ability to walk despite continuing pain in her lower body.

“Some days are challenging,” she said in April on CaringBridge, listing all the “healthy” things she was trying to do with aid from caregivers — her family members. “We have our emotional hiccups,” she said, “but we remind each other of our positivity and strength. We continue to feel confident in our path forward, God, and in our love for each other all leading up to overcome.”

By July, however, Mack was receiving respite care, which was described as “the toughest part of her journey.”

She is survived by her mother and father, Kristen and Lindsay Klebenow, sister Katherine, brother Parker, grandparents Lois and Larry Klebenow and her boyfriend, Logan Lanier. A celebration of life will be held Aug. 16 in Glendale, Ohio, and at a future date in Los Angeles.

©2025 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Could Be Worse

“What I Should Have Said” follows a man who goes to marriage counseling, alone, and — as enacted across the stage — replays arguments with his wife, then re-replays them in healthier ways he wishes he’d communicated. Great concept. Muddled execution. Occasionally stiff acting aside, the show barely escapes trite self-help dialogue and can’t sell the marital relationship as believably precarious, which would be necessary for the “should’ve” scenes to feel incisive. A final-act twist unexpectedly cuts against part of the show’s premise, but those last minutes turn out to be the only ones that live up to the show’s powerful potential.

Presented by Peake Productions at Phoenix Theater; 8:30 p.m. Aug. 1, 8:30 p.m. Aug. 2, 2:30 p.m. Aug. 3, 8:30 p.m. Aug. 7, 7 p.m. Aug. 8, 7 p.m. Aug. 9

Still trying to decide what to see? Check out all the Pioneer Press 2025 Fringe reviews, with each show rated on a scale of Must See, Worth Considering, Could Be Worse or You Can Skip It.

The Minnesota Fringe Festival is presenting nearly 100 hourlong stage acts from July 31 through Aug. 10 around Minneapolis. Visit MinnesotaFringe.org for ticket and show information.

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SANTA MARIA, Calif. (AP) — Rising temperatures on Wednesday posed new challenges for firefighters who have made incremental progress against a massive wildfire in central California that has injured four people as it has become the biggest blaze in the state so far this year.

More than 870 remote homes and other structures at the northern edge of Los Padres National Forest are threatened by the Gifford Fire, which grew only slightly overnight after burning out of control for days.

The fire has scorched at least 131 square miles of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, with just 9% containment. It surpassed the 126-square mile Madre Fire, which erupted last month in southeastern San Luis Obispo County, as the state’s largest fire of 2025.

Crews working in steep, inaccessible terrain will be dealing with temperatures in the mid-90s on Wednesday and above 100 on Thursday, said Capt. Scott Safechuck with the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.

“We have hot weather, and we have low relative humidity,” Safechuck said Wednesday. “So we expect extreme fire behavior.” Luckily, winds are expected to remain relatively calm, he said.

Wildfire risk will be elevated through the weekend across much of inland California as the heat wave intensifies. The southern part of the state has seen very little rain, drying out vegetation and making it “ripe to burn,” the National Weather Service for Los Angeles warned in a statement. Triple-digit temperatures are forecast for the Sacramento Valley.

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More than 2,200 personnel are battling the Gifford Fire, which grew out of at least four smaller fires that erupted Friday along State Route 166, forcing closures in both directions east of Santa Maria, a city of about 110,000 people. The causes of the fires are under investigation.

Flames are racing through a vast, mostly unpopulated region that includes forestland, ranches, large canyon properties and agricultural parcels growing wine grapes and strawberries.

The weather service warned of health risks from spreading smoke that could affect much of southwest California.

Officials reported four injuries, including a firefighter who was treated for dehydration. Over the weekend, a motorist was hospitalized with burn injuries after getting out of his vehicle and being overrun by flames. And two contract employees assisting firefighters were also hurt when their all-terrain vehicle overturned.

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Mall-based teen accessories retailer Claire’s, known for helping to usher in millions of teens into an important rite of passage — ear piercing — but now struggling with a big debt load and changing consumer tastes, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Claire’s Holdings LLC and certain of its U.S. and Gibraltar-based subsidiaries — collectively Claire’s U.S., the operator of Claire’s and Icing stores across the United States, made the filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware on Wednesday. That marked the second time since 2018 and for a similar reason: high debt load and the shift among teens heading online away from physical stores.

Claire’s Chapter 11 filing follows the bankruptcies of other teen retailers including Forever 21, which filed in March for bankruptcy protection for a second time and eventually closed down its U.S. business as traffic in U.S. shopping malls fades and competition from online retailers like Amazon, Temu and Shein intensifies.

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Claire’s, based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois and founded in 1974, said that its stores in North America will remain open and will continue to serve customers, while it explores all strategic alternatives. Claire’s operates more than 2,750 Claire’s stores in 17 countries throughout North America and Europe and 190 Icing stores in North America.

In a court filing, Claire’s said its assets and liabilities range between $1 billion and $10 billion.

“This decision is difficult, but a necessary one,” Chris Cramer, CEO of Claire’s, said in a press release issued Wednesday. “Increased competition, consumer spending trends and the ongoing shift away from brick-and-mortar retail, in combination with our current debt obligations and macroeconomic factors, necessitate this course of action for Claire’s and its stakeholders.”

Like many retailers, Claire’s was also struggling with higher costs tied to President Donald Trump’s tariff plans, analysts said.

Cramer said that the company remains in “active discussions” with potential strategic and financial partners. He noted that the company remains committed to serving its customers and partnering with its suppliers and landlords in other regions. Claire’s also intends to continue paying employees’ wages and benefits, and it will seek approval to use cash collateral to support its operations.

Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, a research firm, noted in a note published Wednesday Claire’s bankruptcy filing comes as “no real surprise.”

“The chain has been swamped by a cocktail of problems, both internal and external, that made it impossible to stay afloat,” he wrote.

Saunders noted that internally, Claire’s struggled with high debt levels that made its operations unstable and said the cash crunch left it with little choice but to reorganize through bankruptcy.

He also noted that tariffs have pushed costs higher, and he believed that Claire’s is not in a position to manage this latest challenge effectively.

Competition has also become sharper and more intense over recent years, with retailers like jewelry chain Lovisa offering younger shoppers a more sophisticated assortment at low prices. He also cited the growing competition with online players like Amazon.

“Reinventing will be a tall order in the present environment,” he added.