TRAVIS LOLLER Associated Press

After a split with their label locked them from using "The Turtles" name, Volman and Howard Kaylan rebranded as the duo Flo & Eddie. NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Mark Volman, a founding member of the 1960’s pop group The Turtles, whose hits include “Happy Together” and “Elenore,” died in Nashville, Tennessee, on Friday after a brief, unexpected illness, according to his publicist, Ame Van Iden. He was 78. Volman was known for his exuberant stage presence and distinctive vocals. In a 1967 performance of “Happy Together" posted to YouTube, Volman wears bright orange and dances around with a French horn that he doesn't appear to play, but does place on bandmate Howard Kaylan's head. His significant other, Emily Volman, posted to his official Instagram account that Volman had joked he wanted news of his death to read, ”‘Teen Idol Dead, Drugs Suspected’.” “I messed up!” she posted. “Sorry, honey.” She called him a “magical man” who was “goofy and happy and funny and smart and generous and kind and talented and gentle and creative and thoughtful and hardworking and tough and unique.” The Turtles broke up in 1970 during an acrimonious split with their label, and a contract clause would not allow the members to perform under their own names. So Volman and Kaylan reinvented themselves as the duo Flo & Eddie, earning a reputation for their humor and versatility. They toured with Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention, created background vocals for Bruce Springsteen, and wrote music for television shows like Strawberry Shortcake. “Always funny, always upbeat, and a spirited and inventive performer, we will miss him greatly," Evan Cohen, Volman’s attorney and longtime friend, posted to Facebook. He wrote that Volman and Kaylan set an example by advocating for the rights of musicians in owning their recordings and band names. They eventually regained control of The Turtles' music and name and began touring again. During a “Happy Together” tour in 2011, Volman told The Daily Republic that he constantly heard stories from people about what the hit song meant to them, including many people who played the tune at their weddings. “That one song changed our entire future forever,” Volman said. “We were very fortunate to be part of a song that has such staying power. That song has really become part of the American life of so many people.” A “borderline C” student in high school who figured he would do sheet-metal work like his father if his band didn’t take off, Volman enrolled in college at age 45 after visiting a school with his older daughter. He eventually earned a master's degree and started teaching music business, landing at Belmont University in Nashville in 2005. He would even take students on tour with him as part of his classes, giving them firsthand experience in tour management, stage management, audio engineering and tour accounting. Speaking about the decision to teach, Volman told the Nashville Scene at the time, "Successful artists are few and far between, and I wanted to attach an element of reality to things. Failure is an option, a good option because it teaches you to pick yourself up. Just because you put out a record that doesn’t succeed, that doesn’t make it a bad record.” In 2023, he published his memoir, “Happy Forever: My Musical Adventures With The Turtles, Frank Zappa, T. Rex, Flo & Eddie, and More.” Volman was diagnosed in 2020 with Lewy body dementia, but he continued to perform on annual “Happy Together” tours in the years that followed. He publicly revealed his diagnosis in 2023. He is survived by Emily Volman; his ex-wife, Pat Volman; and their daughters, Hallie Volman and Sarina Miller; and his brother, Phil Volman. Sejal Govindarao contributed from Phoenix. Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.     

The Salvadoran man lived in Maryland for more than a decade before he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador earlier this year. WASHINGTON — Attorneys for Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a Friday letter that they intend to send Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the African nation of Eswatini after he expressed a fear of deportation to Uganda. The letter from ICE to Abrego Garcia's attorneys was earlier reported by Fox News. It states that his fear of persecution or torture in Uganda is “hard to take seriously, especially given that you have claimed (through your attorneys) that you fear persecution or torture in at least 22 different countries. ...Nonetheless, we hereby notify you that your new country of removal is Eswatini.” Eswatini’s government spokesperson told The Associated Press on Saturday that it had no received no communication regarding Abrego Garcia’s transfer there. The Salvadoran man lived in Maryland for more than a decade before he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador earlier this year. That set off a series of contentious court battles that have turned his case into a test of the limits of President Donald Trump's hardline immigration policies. Although Abrego Garcia immigrated to the U.S. illegally around the year 2011, when he was a teenager, he has an American wife and child. A 2019 immigration court order barred his deportation to his native El Salvador, finding he had a credible fear of threats from gangs there. He was deported anyway in March — in what a government attorney said was an administrative error — and held in the country's notorious Terrorism Confinement Center. Facing a court order, the Trump administration returned him to the U.S. in June only to charge him with human smuggling based on a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee. While that court case is ongoing, ICE now seeks to deport him again. For his part, Abrego Garcia is requesting asylum in the United States. He was denied asylum in 2019 because his request came more than a year after he arrived in the U.S., his attorney Simon Sandoval-Mosenberg has said. Since he was deported and has now re-entered the U.S., the attorney said he is now eligible for asylum. “If Mr. Abrego Garcia is allowed a fair trial in immigration court, there’s no way he’s not going to prevail on his claim,” he said in an emailed statement. As part of his asylum claim, Abrego Garcia expressed a fear of deportation to Uganda and “nearly two dozen” other countries, according an ICE court filing in opposition to reopening his asylum case. That Thursday filing also states that if the case is reopened, the 2019 order barring his deportation to El Salvador would become void and the government would pursue his removal to that country. Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.