News of the World
11-28-2025, 02:33 AM
DC Shooting Special Edition
DC
Quote:The terror suspect accused of shooting two National Guard troops just blocks from the White House was taken down with a simple pocket knife by a heroic guardsman who rushed to the scene, according to reports.
Suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan evacuee, allegedly drove across the country from his US home in Bellingham, Washington — a nearly 3,000-mile, 40-hour haul — to arrive in D.C. by Wednesday afternoon, officials confirmed after the attack.
It remains unclear when Lakanwal left home — where he reportedly has a wife and five children — and when he arrived in the nation’s capital.
However, he was laying in wait on a corner the Farragut West Metro entrance, just two blocks from the White House by about 2 p.m. — where two armed National Guard troops were standing patrol.
The attack happened at 17th and I streets NW — next to Farragut Square Park.
Lakanwal then allegedly pulled out a .357 Magnum-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver, trained its sights on the Guardsmen, and started firing, according to authorities.
Specialist Sarah Beckstrom — a 20-year-old with the West Virginia National Guard who had volunteered for the day’s service so others could be home for Thanksgiving — was quickly struck in the head and chest.
Her father told the New York Times that she is not expected to survive her wounds.
But Lakanwal reportedly only had four bullets in his gun, and allegedly picked up Beckstrom’s weapon and continued shooting at 24-year-old Guard Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, CBS News reported.
Wolfe is still in critical condition.
Nearby, a National Guard major was doing rounds to check in with troops posted nearby and heard the gunfire down the block.
Despite not having a weapon himself, he looked towards the chaos and saw that Lakanwal had spotted him.
The major ducked behind a car and pulled out the only defense he had: a pocket knife, according to sources who spoke to CBS.
When Lakanwal paused to reload, the major leapt from cover and turned the ambush back on the attacker — stabbing the alleged terrorist in the head multiple times and bringing him to the ground, conservative lawyer and strategist Mike Davis reported from law enforcement sources.
During the initial attack, the major allegedly heard Lakanwal yelling “Allahu akbar” — “God is great” — the Muslim phrase commonly yelled by Islamic extremists carrying out terror attacks.
Meanwhile, a fourth National Guardsman was nearby and had ran towards the fray with a pistol drawn, and shot Lakanwal in the buttocks and leg.
Both guardsmen held Lakanwal down until he was arrested.
Lakanwal survived the shooting and has been charged with possession of a firearm during a crime of violence and intent to kill while armed — and U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro vowed to bring the full weight of the law down if the guardsmen didn’t recover.
It remains unclear exactly what motivated Lakanwal to carry out the alleged attack, but the seeds may have been planted years ago in his Afghanistan home when he was part of local paramilitary operations installed by the US government to combat the Taliban.
Quote:Prosecutors will pursue the death penalty against the cowardly suspect who ambushed and critically wounded two West Virginia National Guard troops in Washington, DC Wednesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi revealed.
“I will tell you early, we will do everything in our power to seek the death penalty against that monster who should not have been in our country,” Bondi told Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.”
Suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, whom the CIA confirmed worked with one of its elite counterterrorism units in Afghanistan, is facing at least three counts of assault with intent to kill and criminal possession of a weapon.
Those charges can result in up to 15 years behind bars.
US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro noted that the charges against him could be elevated to murder if one of the two critically wounded troops succumbs to their injuries.
“If one of them is to pass, and God forbid that happens, this is a murder-one. Period, end of the story,” Pirro explained.
An enraged Bondi further blasted “progressive left idiots” for fueling hatred towards National Guard troops — as she vowed to probe whether they encouraged the Thanksgiving eve shooting ambush.
Bondi tore into the scores of liberal lawmakers and media commentators who have criticized President Trump’s decision to deploy federal troops to Washington, DC, suggesting the “disgusting” and “despicable” rhetoric is to blame for any ensuing violence.
“It’s actually sad what our country has come to with these progressive left idiots who are doing this and saying this about our heroes who are keeping them safe,” Bondi contended.
She added, too, that some liberals who have led the outrage against Trump’s push to protect the nation’s capital — including lawmakers — have security details to protect themselves.
“What these lawmakers are doing, what some of these news anchors on other networks are doing, what their guests are saying is disgusting, it’s despicable,” she said.
Quote:BELLINGHAM, Washington — The Afghan terrorist accused of shooting two National Guard troops had been living a seemingly quiet family life in a $2,000-a-month apartment in this idyllic Washington state town – where neighbors said the FBI busted into his home during a Wednesday raid.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, was often seen playing Call of Duty and FIFA inside the bare apartment, which he shared with his hijab-wearing wife and his five kids, stunned neighbors in Bellingham told The Post on Thursday.
Neighbors said the refugees — who arrived in 2021 after the chaotic US pullout from Afghanistan — had no beds, and there were only “some couch cushions they would sleep on” inside the sparse apartment.
They “never made a peep,” one neighbor said, adding that Lakanwal didn’t speak much English and his oldest child is 14.
“Bellingham is very liberal,” the neighbor said, noting the area, which housed Afghan evacuees following the botched withdrawal, was “Very welcoming. Very diverse. Very open.”
Lakanwal, who fought in Afghanistan and came into the US under the Biden-era Operation Allies Welcome program, allegedly opened fire and struck two National Guard troops just blocks away from the White House around 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday.
National Guard members Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24, who had been patrolling at the time, were critically wounded in the attack.
A third guardsman rushed to the scene and took Lakanwal down. Lakanwal was also left with gunshot wounds in the melee.
Beckstrom’s father told the New York Times she has a “mortal wound,” after being shot in the head and chest with the .357 Magnum-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver.
Quote:The suspected Afghan terrorist accused of gunning down National Guard troops just blocks from the White House struggled for years with the violence he saw as a part of a notorious CIA-backed paramilitary group in his home country, according to a longtime friend.
“When he saw blood, bodies, and the wounded, he could not tolerate it,” said a childhood friend of 29-year-old terror suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
“It put a lot of pressure on his mind,” the friend told the New York Times.
Lakanwal was part of an elite group of Afghan fighters known as the “Zero Units” — or alternatively, “death squads” — which battled the Taliban alongside US forces for over a decade.
The father of five settled in Bellingham, Washington, after he fled the Afghistan following the Biden Administration’s disastrous 2021 pullout.
Lakanwal’s role within the Zero Units remains unclear, but he reportedly joined as a security guard in 2012 when he would have been about 16 years old, one of his cousins told the Associated Press.
He remained in the group for nearly 10 years and was reportedly promoted to a team leader and a GPS specialist along the way, and only left the group in 2021 as US forces haphazardly pulled out of the country.
But whatever he did in that time reportedly exacted a heavy toll.
“He would tell me and our friends that their military operations were very tough, their job was very difficult, and they were under a lot of pressure,” Lakanwal’s childhood friend told the Times.
Those pressures led to spiraling mental health, the friend said, with Lakanwal apparently trying to cope by abusing substances like marijuana.
Lakanwal was in such a state towards the end of his time with his Zero Unit in 2021 that he got married to his second wife and divorced her within days, the friend said.
Though Zero Units were part of the Afghan government’s intelligence agency, they were trained, recruited, equipped – and even paid – by the CIA and US special operations forces, Rolling Stone magazine reported.
That meant they were fighting among the best of the best — and were trained to be deadly-effective in covert operations and high-stakes nighttime raids across Afghanistan’s remote countryside.
Quote:Sarah Beckstrom, one of the two National Guard members shot near the White House on Wednesday, has just died, President Donald Trump announced on Thursday evening.
“She’s just passed away. She’s no longer with us. She’s looking down at us right now,” Trump said, during his Thanksgiving address.
Why It Matters
West Virginia National Guard members Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, were in Washington, D.C., since August as part of the federal surge in the nation's capital to tackle crime and immigration operations.
A suspect, identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, of Washington state, allegedly drove across the country before shooting Beckstrom and Wolfe in an "ambush-style" attack using a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver before he was wounded and apprehended by responding troops, according to U.S. Attorney General of the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro.
Pirro identified the victims on Thursday, when she confirmed both had surgery but remained in critical condition.
Lakanwal was in the U.S. since 2021 as part of Operation Allies Welcome, but only applied for asylum in 2024, which was granted by the Trump administration earlier this year.
What To Know
Beckstrom, 20, had been listed as being in critical condition after being shot in the chest and the head during the attack in Washington D.C.
Her father earlier in the day had said he was by his daughter's side and regretfully told The New York Times that she was not expected to survive, saying: "She has a mortal wound. It's not going to be a recovery."
Trump revealed that Beckstrom had passed away just moments before he started his Thanksgiving address, calling her a "magnificent person" who was "outstanding in every way."
"She's no longer with us," Trump said, adding that her parents were with her, and that she had died after being "savagely attacked."
The president then revealed that Wolfe was fighting for his life but "in bad shape."
Quote:The Department of Homeland Security has ordered a full review of all green cards issued to immigrants from high-risk countries following a shooting near the White House that left two National Guard members critically injured.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Joseph B. Edlow announced the move Thursday, citing national security concerns. “At the direction of @POTUS, I have directed a full scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern,” Edlow posted on X on Thursday.
“The protection of this country and of the American people remains paramount, and the American people will not bear the cost of the prior administration’s reckless resettlement policies,” Edlow said. “American safety is non negotiable.”
Why It Matters
The announcement follows Wednesday’s shooting of two members of the West Virginia National Guard, Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Air Force Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, 24, while they were on patrol near a metro station in Washington, D.C.
The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, is an Afghan national who entered the U.S. in 2021 under humanitarian parole and was granted asylum in 2025 during the Trump administration. His green card application was still pending.
What To Know
The Trump administration argues that the Biden White House misused refugee and asylum pathways during a period of record migration, particularly along the southern border.
The refugee program is now under full review, and those found to have been admitted improperly may have their status revoked. The man accused of shooting two National Guard members in Washington is among roughly 76,000 Afghans brought to the United States in 2021 after the chaotic U.S. withdrawal as the Taliban seized control, authorities said.
When asked why Lakanwal was allowed to remain in the country, a senior DHS official pointed to the policies in place at the time. “This Afghan national was paroled in by the Biden administration,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek on Thursday. “After that, Biden signed into law that parole program, and then entered into the 2023 Ahmed Court Settlement, which bound USCIS to adjudicate his asylum claim on an expedited basis.”
Following the attack, USCIS said it would indefinitely halt processing “relating to Afghan nationals” until further notice.
Quote:WASHINGTON — Alleged National Guard attack terrorist Rahmanullah Lakanwal betrayed the Americans who worked hard to save him and countless other Afghans from the Taliban and give them a new life in the US, the head of a group that has rescued numerous Afghans told The Post.
Shawn VanDiver, founder and president of #AfghanEvac, a US nonprofit run by American veterans helping to evacuate and resettle Afghan allies in the US said one man’s monstrous actions are now hurting all Afghans who risked their lives for the US in its 20-year war — and the shockwaves are hitting the Americans who helped them find safety.
“He betrayed everybody who helped him,” VanDiver said Thursday. “He betrayed his family. He betrayed every American that helped him get here. He betrayed the United States government. And he deserves to be held fully accountable.”
“But Afghan families did not do this,” he added, pushing back against attacks on other Afghans who have been resettled in the US.
Americans across the country stepped up beginning in August 2021, when Afghans fled the Taliban takeover. Volunteers provided rides to driving classes, helped navigate paperwork, found jobs, and in many cases opened their homes to families with nowhere to go, Van Diver said.
Now, Americans who helped settle Afghan allies in the US are the subject of some online rage for their efforts helping thousands of innocents resettle in America, VanDiver said.
“One deranged man taking insane action does not make a community,” he said.
He added that some political voices are rushing to use the tragedy to vilify Afghan evacuees broadly — an outcome he says plays directly into the attacker’s hands.
“People pushing this narrative are doing the shooter’s job for him,” he said. “If he had been born in Missouri, nobody would be punishing all of Missouri.”
The Afghan community and the volunteers who supported them are now terrified they’ll be blamed for something they had no part in, he said.
“They feel like they’re being targeted. They’re being marked for something they didn’t do,” the advocate said. “They gave so much out of their hearts to help wartime allies. Now they’re scared and grieving.”
Many volunteers fear the years they spent helping Afghan interpreters, drivers, and other wartime partners — people the US promised to protect — will now be erased by a single attacker’s actions.
“It’s like in the military, where one person screws up and the whole platoon gets punished,” the advocate said. “There’s no good reason to do this other than to go after people they didn’t want here in the first place.”
He argued that the existing vetting system worked — and that genuine security comes from law enforcement and intelligence work, not blanket suspicion.
Quote:A total of 407 U.S. lawmakers voted to provide more visas for Afghan nationals after the U.S. withdrew from the country in 2021 and the Taliban took control.
The measure, which was introduced by Democratic Representative Jason Crow of Colorado and passed on July 22, 2021, has attracted renewed scrutiny after it emerged that the suspect in the shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday arrived in the U.S. from Afghanistan under a similar program.
The attack took place around 2:15 p.m. near the Farragut Square Metro Station. Officials said the 29-year-old suspect, identified by multiple media outlets as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was shot during the incident and taken into custody.
Lakanwal, who lived in Washington state and had no criminal history, came to the U.S. in 2021 as part of Operation Allies Welcome, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said. In 2024, he applied for asylum, which the government granted in 2025, CNN reported, citing anonymous sources.
Why It Matters
The shooting of two West Virginia National Guard members deployed in Washington, D.C., has sparked concerns about security and the vetting of Afghan refugees. While the Trump administration has said the U.S. should now reexamine Afghans who entered the U.S. in recent years, some have raised concerns about stigmatizing Afghan nationals.
What To Know
In August 2021, then-President Joe Biden launched Operation Allies Welcome, which granted Afghans the right to remain in the U.S. for two years. More than 75,000 Afghan refugees were admitted to the United States.
Meanwhile, a congressional resolution created 8,000 new visas for Afghans who helped U.S. forces and other nongovernmental organizations as well as Afghans who may have faced persecution.
The 407 lawmakers who voted for the congressional measure included 215 Democrats and 192 Republicans. Three Republicans and four Democrats did not vote for the measure, while 16 Republicans voted against it.
A July 2021 statement from the Office of Management and Budget said the administration "must be able to do more" to get Afghans to safety, adding that it would "assist in our efforts to streamline the application process by removing or revising some statutory requirements" described as "unnecessary and burdensome." The statement said there would still be "appropriate security vetting."
The full list of members of the House of Representatives who voted for the measure can be found here.
A spokesperson for Representative Scott DesJarlais, a Tennessee Republican who voted against the measure, told Newsweek at the time: "Congressman DesJarlais supports bringing in interpreters and allies that assisted us in the war effort.
"However, there is concern about the broad net being cast by the Biden administration that will surely let potential terrorists slip through the cracks. Rep. DesJarlais would like to see a better vetting plan in place before the United States starts bringing 40,000 to 60,000 Afghans and their families to our country."
Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, told Newsweek in July 2021: "The program to extend visas to those who helped our military already exists and I support that program. The vote on the new measure was to greatly expand the number of visas and to include categories of people who did not help us in the war, while simultaneously reducing the vetting of these immigrants."
Scrutiny about previous legislation comes as the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on Wednesday that had stopped processing all immigration requests from Afghan nationals.
USA
Quote:Among my growing list of improper uses of the English language is the response I get when telling a restaurant server or anyone else “thank you.”
The usual response has been for as long as I remember, “you’re welcome.”
For the young, especially, it has become “no problem.”
Why would thanking someone for a service or kindness performed be considered a problem? What does that even mean?
Thanksgiving, which mythically began when the Pilgrims and early settlers thanked God for His “many blessings,” despite their difficult circumstances, is now a small bump in the road on the way to the annual conspicuous consumption called Christmas.
The airlines are thankful because of heavy travel that leads to large profits.
Thanksgiving, as well as approaching Christmas, have lost their unique status — at least among secularist marketers — and have now been blended into “the holidays.”
That’s a problem.
There once was a time — and I still remember it — when most of the Christmas rush began after Thanksgiving. Now we have Black Friday beginning in some TV ads before Halloween.
Thanksgiving has taken a back seat to Christmas commercialism. It is now a one-day stuffing, not just of the turkey, but of ourselves, plus a couple of football games.
While the early settlers and Pilgrims were known for thanking God for His blessings, it wasn’t until 1863 that President Abraham Lincoln established Thanksgiving as a national holiday.
In his proclamation declaring the last Thursday in November a day of thanksgiving, Lincoln said this about the blessings Americans had received:
“To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and even soften the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.”
Quote:President Donald Trump’s 2025 Thanksgiving proclamation called for national unity, gratitude to God and reflection on American history, a formal message that differed in tone from the politically charged holiday post he shared in 2024.
“As we prepare to celebrate 250 glorious years of American independence, this Thanksgiving, we summon the faith, resolve, and unflinching fortitude of the giants of American history who came before us,” Trump wrote in the proclamation dated November 25 but released by the White House on Thursday. “Above all, we offer our endless gratitude to Almighty God for His love, grace, and infinite blessings."
Why It Matters
Thanksgiving proclamations are an enduring presidential tradition dating to 1789, when George Washington, America's first president, designated a national day for public thanksgiving and prayer. The practice was made an annual observance by Abraham Lincoln in 1863, amid the Civil War, as he called on Americans to unite and give thanks. Nearly every U.S. president since has issued a Thanksgiving proclamation each year.
What To Know
The proclamation cast Thanksgiving as a time to recognize recent national gains and to prepare for the future. Trump cited “strong leadership and commonsense policy” as driving forces behind what he called “a new era of peace” and “the American spirit … coming back greater and more powerful than ever before.”
He tied these developments to divine favor, writing, “God has bestowed abundant blessings all across our land and indeed the entire world.” The message urged Americans to see their current moment as a continuation of a long national story rooted in determination and belief. “We vow to build a future that echoes their sacrifice,” Trump said, referring to historical figures he credited with shaping the nation’s character.
Thanksgiving, he wrote, should be a day for Americans to “gather, in homes and places of worship, to offer a prayer of thanks to God for our many blessings.”
The tone of the 2025 Thanksgiving proclamation marked a departure from Trump’s fiery message the previous year. In his 2024 post on Truth Social, Trump addressed his political opponents directly and framed the holiday in terms of electoral victory. “Happy Thanksgiving to all,” he wrote, “including to the Radical Left Lunatics who have worked so hard to destroy our Country, but who have miserably failed.”
That post, shared just weeks after the 2024 election, continued: “The great people of our Nation just gave a landslide victory to those who want to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Don’t worry, our Country will soon be respected, productive, fair, and strong.”
Quote:President Donald Trump announced a new Washington, D.C., National Mall project on Wednesday, saying the Department of the Interior is working to "fix" the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
The video shows workers working around the pool, set to the backdrop of Andrea Bocelli’s “Time to Say Goodbye.”
In a post to Truth Social accompanied by a video, the president posted, "This is the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool before Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and I fix it. Study it hard because you won’t be seeing this Biden filth and incompetence much longer!"
When reached for comment, the Interior Department declined to provide any details about the project, while saying it is "committed to this effort."
Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool: What to Know
The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, one of the most recognizable landmarks on the National Mall, was completed in 1923 as part of architect Henry Bacon’s design for the memorial complex honoring President Abraham Lincoln. Stretching nearly 2,000 feet between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, the long, shallow pool was intended to create a dramatic visual corridor that mirrored two of the capital’s most significant monuments. Over the decades, it has become a gathering place for major national events, including the 1963 March on Washington, where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.
The pool has undergone multiple renovations, including a major reconstruction completed in 2012 to modernize its aging infrastructure. The project added a new filtration system and replaced the pool’s original dirt-and-concrete basin, which frequently leaked and had long struggled with water quality problems. Despite periodic closures for maintenance, the Reflecting Pool remains one of Washington’s most visited and photographed sites, symbolizing national reflection and serving as a backdrop for demonstrations, celebrations and public life on the Mall.
Trump's DC Cleanup Efforts
President Trump has made cleanup and restoration of the District a central focus since returning to office in January. In March, he signed an executive order directing Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to instruct the National Park Service to clear homeless encampments, remove graffiti and address deteriorating conditions on federal land across Washington.
The administration has paired those directives with expanded on-the-ground efforts, including National Guard units carrying out “beautification” work after Trump deployed them to the capital in August. Federal agencies say the operations are part of a broader push to restore key public spaces, though critics argue the moves raise questions about federal authority over the District.
Quote:Seven people in the Big Apple were shot in a bloody four-hour Thanksgiving Eve span across three boroughs, cops said.
The burst of violence began around 7:20 p.m. Wednesday, when two teens were shot at Fulton and Jay streets in downtown Brooklyn, police said.
An 18-year-old man was blasted in the left leg and grazed in the left elbow, while an 18-year-old woman took a bullet to the right leg, authorities said.
Both were taken to Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, where they were listed in stable condition, cops said.
The mayhem continued around 9:40 p.m., when two men, 22 and 23, were shot on Ryer Avenue near the Grand Concourse in the Fordham Heights section of the Bronx, police said.
The older man was hit in the left foot, while the younger victim was struck in the right thigh, authorities said.
Both were taken to St. Barnabas Hospital, where they were considered stable, cops said.
Then, around 11:15 p.m., a 24-year-old man was grazed in the head by two masked suspects in Queens, police said.
The victim was injured when at least one of the perps opened fire on 30th Drive near Vernon Boulevard in Astoria, police said.
He was taken by private means to Mount Sinai Queens, where he was listed in stable condition, cops said.
The disguised suspects took off in a black Jeep, authorities said.
A few minutes later, two more people were shot when gunfire erupted inside a Bronx deli, cops said.
A 22-year-old man was shot in the shoulder and a 25-year-old woman struck in the torso inside the Yaya Deli Grocery on Melrose Avenue near East 160th Street in Melrose around 11:20 p.m., police said.
Both victims were taken to Lincoln Medical Center, also in stable condition, cops said.
No arrests have been made in any of the shootings, and the motives remain under investigation.
Quote:A former World Trade Center worker who “narrowly escaped” the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks has been beaten to death by three teens — one of whom was just 12 at the time of the attack, according to officials.
Long Island native Roger Borkum, 64, was found “severely beaten” just before midnight on Oct. 19 in Downtown Jacksonville, FL., after three teens were seen “kicking and stomping” him, according to an arrest report from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
He was found with blood “pooled” around his head — and a “blood trail extending down the sidewalk,” the arrest report said.
The attackers were seen “rummaging” through Borkum’s backpack — and then returned around 20 minutes later, kicking him “multiple” times, the report said. In total, the same suspects were seen “battering the victim three separate times,” the police docs said.
Borkum, a widower who was homeless at the time, died four days later of his injuries.
Three suspects — Justin Curry, 13, Marcavion Lacey, 19, and Robert Pope, 17 — were arrested within hours of the attack.
They were all indicted for murder on Nov. 20, according to a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office press release.
Curry was just 12 at the time of the attack.
One of the suspects blamed the attack on Borkum — a stranger — having “dissed” their “dead homies,” the reports said, without elaborating.
“This case is a heartbreaking reminder of how young some offenders have become and how devastating the consequences are for victims, families, and the surrounding community,” the sheriff’s office said.
“Parents and guardians, get involved in your children’s lives….Take action before it’s too late.”
Quote:Thieves stole 20 phones during a single Brooklyn concert, The Post has learned — as one expert warns it’s part of a growing trend targeting crowded music venues tied to an international black market.
Cops were called to punk band Hot Mulligan’s performance at the Brooklyn Paramount on Nov. 7 when a slew of unsuspecting concertgoers were seemingly pickpocketed– with the thieves turning off the phones so they couldn’t be tracked, officials confirmed.
No arrests have been made to date, but the investigation is still ongoing, an NYPD rep said.
Attendee James Crowley, 31, said he saw multiple people scanning the floor at the Downtown Brooklyn venue, looking for phones that they thought they might have dropped.
“I’ve been going to shows since I was 14…I’ve never seen anything like that,” Crowley said.
One bystander finally said, “I think people are having their phones taken,” according to Crowley.
The incident is the latest in a growing series of mass phone thefts, with the stolen goods oftentimes winding up in China as part of a wildly-lucrative resale market, cybersecurity expert Robert Siciliano told The Post.
The surge in demand for secondhand phones in China began in 2022 as the world emerged from pandemic lockdowns, Siciliano said. Now, the average iPhone is worth between $300 to $500 to thieves — and Chinese resellers can generate up to $5,000 in profit for a single phone stolen from the US.
“The problem is that the devices themselves are getting much more expensive” with iPhone prices nearly doubling over the last decade, he said.
“US-based devices that are stolen can easily be used in countries like China, because their networks aren’t following the same blacklist protocols as we do,” he said.
Lackadaisical prosecution of petty thefts in “mostly blue states,” paired with limited police resources, has led to thieves “realizing that they were literally getting away with crime,” Siciliano said.
Ultimately, only about 5 to 10% of US phone theft cases are solved, Siciliano said, as lengthy investigations require cops to crack password-protected devices and go after the middlemen shipping devices overseas.
“They often don’t have the budgets for that,” he said.
Quote:Democratic attorneys general from 21 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration on Wednesday to stop the federal government from cutting off Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food benefits for certain lawful immigrants, including refugees and people granted asylum.
The states say the administration, including Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, is attempting to impose restrictions never approved by Congress and is putting vulnerable families at risk.
“It’s wild that we’re here the day before Thanksgiving,” Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, who filed the suit, said in a press release. “We’re the wealthiest country in the world, and no one should go hungry. When this memo came out, we thought it must be a mistake. The law is clear, and this is not how you treat people.”
The USDA declines to comment when reached by Newsweek, deferring to the Department of Justice, which has yet to comment.
Why It Matters
The challenge is the latest in a series of disputes between states and the federal government over the administration’s handling of SNAP. Earlier this year, the administration sought to pause the program during the government shutdown, prompting concern from anti-hunger advocates and state agencies that depend on federal funding to distribute monthly food allowances.
What To Know
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Oregon, challenges guidance the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued to states on October 31 outlining how to implement provisions of the recent tax and spending law.
State officials contend the USDA’s instructions misrepresent what the law actually changed and go far beyond what Congress authorized. According to the complaint, the department’s guidance wrongly classifies “several groups of legal immigrants as ineligible for food assistance,” including lawful permanent residents who were admitted as refugees or granted asylum.
Attorneys general said they asked the USDA last week to revise or withdraw the guidance, but the agency did not respond. In the meantime, they said, state administrators were left scrambling to interpret instructions they believe are illegal, and that could strip food aid from thousands of eligible households.
The states also argue that the USDA failed to give them adequate time to adjust their systems. Under federal rules, states typically receive 120 days to implement new eligibility requirements without facing significant financial penalties. But according to the lawsuit, the USDA gave states only one day to comply, leaving agencies unable to update computer systems, notify recipients, or evaluate the consequences of the changes.
When the new policy was announced in July, Rollins said she was ensuring that illegal immigrants would not receive public benefits, despite instances of this being extremely rare, as most non-permanent residents are not eligible for SNAP benefits. She argued that tightening restrictions was a way the USDA was implementing Trump's "Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders" executive order.
State officials warn that the new penalties for providing benefits to groups the USDA now considers ineligible are so steep that states could be forced to halt their SNAP programs entirely if they fail to comply. That threat, they argue, underscores the urgency of blocking the guidance until a court can review it.
In addition to Oregon, the lawsuit was joined by California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.
Quote:The prosecutor who recently assumed responsibility for the Georgia election interference case involving President Donald Trump and others said in a court filing Wednesday that he will not pursue the case further.
Peter Skandalakis, executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, took over the case earlier this month after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was removed over an “appearance of impropriety” stemming from her romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she had appointed.
After Skandalakis' filing, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee issued a one-paragraph order dismissing the case in its entirety.
Trump later reacted to the news, posting on Truth Social that law and justice had prevailed in Georgia.
"This Illegal, Unconstitutional, and unAmerican Hoax was perpetrated against our Nation by Fani and her Low I.Q. Lover, Nathan Wade, at the direction of Crooked Joe Biden and his ''Handlers,'" Trump said, in part. "This case should have never been brought in the first place.
"The Deranged Democrats did all they could to viciously attack me, my supporters, and our MAGA Movement, for telling the TRUTH — THE 2020 ELECTION WAS RIGGED AND STOLEN, and they committed Crime after Crime as they weaponized our Law Enforcement and Justice System against HONEST AND LOVING Americans but, we have fought back and won both in the Courts and Politically with our Historic, Country saving, Landslide Victory of November 5, 2024."
Why It Matters
Legal action against Trump was unlikely to proceed while he is president, but charges were still pending against 14 other defendants, including former New York Mayor and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
What To Know
In his filing Wednesday, Skandalakis said the indictment against Trump and the others charged "alleges a compelling set of acts which, if proven beyond a reasonable doubt, as required by our Constitution, would establish a conspiracy undertaken by multiple individuals working toward a common objective: to overturn the results of the November 2020 Presidential Election in Georgia, and in other states across the country."
However, the prosecutor said that many of the reasons originally given in the indictment as evidence of such a plot, including arranging phone calls, posting social media messages, and other acts outside the state of Georgia, were not necessarily enough to sustain a RICO case.
Where there could have been a chance of successful prosecution, Skandalakis said, was in the federal case brought by special counsel Jack Smith, as much of the alleged offenses took place in Washington, D.C. The case was ultimately dropped by Smith after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Trump in another case before the 2024 election.
"The federal government is the appropriate venue for this prosecution, not the State of Georgia," he wrote. "Indeed, if Special Counsel Jack Smith, with all the resources of the federal government at his disposal, after reviewing the evidence in this case and considering the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. United States, along with the years of litigation such a case would inevitably entail, concluded that prosecution would be fruitless, then I too find that, despite the available evidence, pursuing the prosecution of all those involved in State of Georgia v. Donald Trump, et al. on essentially federal grounds would be equally unproductive."
Quote:UPS’ fleet of MD-11 cargo aircraft will remain grounded for months, not weeks, according to an internal statement issued by UPS Airlines President Bill Moore and obtained by Newsweek and Clifford Law Offices.
The memo, circulated to employees following the fatal November 4 crash of Flight 2976 in Louisville, signals a prolonged operational disruption extending through the holiday shipping season.
Newsweek contacted UPS, FedEx and the Federal Aviation Administration via email on Thursday.
Why It Matters
The leaked internal memo from UPS Airlines President Bill Moore reveals that the company’s entire MD-11 cargo fleet will remain grounded for “several months instead of weeks” after the fatal November 4 Louisville crash, a significantly longer disruption than previously signaled.
Boeing has informed UPS that inspections and structural repairs are more extensive than initially expected, prompting what amounts to a fleet-wide teardown of aging aircraft components.
The disclosure has intensified scrutiny from Clifford Law Offices, whose aviation attorneys say the inspections should have occurred years earlier. “Absent those inspections and that maintenance… these planes will not be in the air,” partner Bradley Cosgrove said, warning that the situation echoes the 1979 American Airlines engine-separation disaster and now amounts to “graveyard engineering.”
The memo underscores that the issue is not a short-term operational setback but a deeper structural and safety problem with broad implications for UPS, FedEx, Boeing and federal regulators.
What To Know
The grounding affects both UPS and FedEx, which also operates MD-11s, although the memo pertains specifically to UPS.
The crash, which killed 14 people—including all three crew members—and injured at least 23 others, prompted a fleet-wide inspection after investigators found fatigue cracks in a structural component of the left wing of the downed aircraft.
In the memo, Moore told employees that Boeing’s ongoing assessments have revealed the required inspections and potential repairs will be far more extensive than earlier projections suggested.
“Boeing’s ongoing evaluation shows that inspections and potential repairs will be more extensive than initially expected,” Moore wrote, adding that the return to service “will take several months instead of weeks as originally anticipated.”
Moore emphasized that UPS’s approach would be methodical. “We will not rush, we will not speculate and most importantly – we will not compromise safety,” he said.
He also stated that UPS remained “fully committed to transparency and safety as the NTSB investigation moves forward,” and committed to sharing new information “promptly and transparently.”
Moore described the aftermath of the crash as “challenging” and thanked employees for their “professionalism and resilience during this difficult time.”
He added that affected flight crews would remain in a “pay protected status” during the grounding.
Quote:A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck near Susitna, Alaska, on Thursday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
Its epicenter was about 7 miles west-northwest of Susitna, roughly 67 miles northwest of Anchorage, officials said. There were no immediate reports of significant damage.
Thursday’s quake was the strongest to strike south-central Alaska since 2021, KTUU-TV reported.
Two smaller earthquakes also struck the region Thursday, according to preliminary USGS data. A magnitude 3.2 quake was recorded about 4 miles north of Susitna, while a magnitude 2.9 temblor hit roughly 12 miles northwest of the community. Both quakes were minor and there were no reports of damage, though they added to a day of heightened seismic activity in the area.
A tsunami was not expected, according to the U.S. Tsunami Warning System.
Alaska is the most earthquake-prone state in the country and one of the most seismically active regions in the world, the U.S. Geological Survey says. The state averages about one magnitude 7 earthquake every year.
...
Anchorage is home to roughly 300,000 residents, making it the largest city in Alaska and by far the most densely populated region near the quake’s epicenter. Because the magnitude-6.0 tremor struck nearby, a large portion of those residents likely felt the ground shake — increasing both the potential risk of structural damage and the need for public alerts and emergency assessments.
Even though no severe damage has been reported so far after Thursday's quake, the size and density of Anchorage’s population means authorities are treating the event with caution, closely monitoring aftershocks and possible impacts across the region.
LATIN AMERICA
Quote:Police in Trinidad and Tobago have arrested a suspect in the killing of an American man who may have been slain over a drug deal gone bad, authorities said.
Local Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro confirmed the arrest to the Associated Press (AP) on Thursday, saying that “a suspect is currently in custody.” Police did not immediately confirm if the victim, 43-year-old Christopher Brown, was a tourist or not.
The suspect is a 26-year-old from Scarborough on the island of Tobago, according to Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.
Why It Matters
Violence against tourists remains a chief concern in popular destinations around the world, with a particular focus on those closest to home, including Mexico and much of the Caribbean.
Trinidad and Tobago currently has a Level 3 travel advisory from the State Department, which was issued on April 13 and updated around a month later, on May 7.
The twin-island country remains a concern over violent crime, including murder, robbery, assault, sexual assault, home invasion and kidnapping.
Gang activity, such as narcotics trafficking, is common, and a significant portion of violent crime is gang-related, according to the advisory.
What To Know
Brown was out with friends in Castara on Wednesday night when he said he was going to buy marijuana, according to a police report. Brown is a builder originally from Silverthorne, Colorado.
Shortly after 10:30 p.m., Trinidad and Tobago police responded to a report of a man found unresponsive in the area, and they pronounced Brown dead at the scene.
Police believe he had been stabbed, citing several wounds on his body and a metal object found protruding from his back. A motive for the killing remains unknown.
Authorities did not say whether Brown was merely visiting the island or when he arrived, but Trinidad and Tobago Newsday reported that Brown was taking a one-week holiday with his girlfriend and was due to return home on November 27.
The killing is the first of its kind in the small fishing village of Castara, according to Tobago’s Division of Tourism, which stressed that the village is known for being safe and welcoming, but the nation has recorded over 330 homicides this year.
Authorities implemented a state of emergency in July and accused a criminal network in prisons across the country of plotting to kill key government officials and attack public institutions, according to the AP.
Quote:Raúl Rocha, president and part-owner of the Miss Universe Organization, is said to be facing serious criminal accusations in Mexico.
Prosecutors reportedly claimed that Rocha is suspected of participating in a criminal network involved in trafficking drugs, weapons and stolen fuel along the Guatemala–Mexico border, per a report from the Mexican newspaper Reforma published Wednesday.
The allegations are said to have stemmed from an investigation by Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office, which claimed Rocha held a leadership role in a group that smuggled fuel across the Usumacinta River and then transported it by truck into central Mexico, including the state of Querétaro.
Officials also alleged that the same network handled narcotics and firearms, as well.
Reforma reported that authorities carried out raids on several properties connected to Rocha and that, during those searches, investigators allegedly found financial records indicating he contributed money to the criminal organization.
One document reportedly showed Rocha had made a payment of roughly 2.1 million pesos. Based on those findings, prosecutors moved forward with a request for an arrest warrant back in August.
Prosecutors went on to claim the criminal group had purported ties to officials at various levels of government, giving it access, protection and influence that allowed illegal fuel and other contraband to move more freely throughout the region.
The case suggested the network stretched far beyond trafficking and into political connections.
Reforma additionally reported that Rocha approached prosecutors in October to seek a plea deal.
As part of that reported proposal, the Miss Universe owner would allegedly provide info in exchange for immunity from prosecution.
It is currently unclear if that plea offer was accepted or whether negotiations are ongoing, per the Mexican newspaper.
Rocha, meanwhile, has denied any wrongdoing.
“It is completely false that I have an arrest warrant,” he told the Spanish outlet El País when asked about the case this week.
The Post has reached out to the Miss Universe Organization for comment.
AUSTRALIA
Quote:Key Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre died without a will, sparking a legal battle between her relatives over her mammoth settlements, including at least $12 million from disgraced then-Prince Andrew.
When Giuffre, 41, took her own life at her family’s Western Australia farm in April, she left behind a multi-million-dollar estate, including four properties and the separate settlements she received from Andrew as well as Epstein and his madam, Ghislaine Maxwell.
However, she died intestate, meaning without a formal will, according to the Telegraph.
That has left her relatives preparing to fight for it, with an interim administrator overseeing the estate ahead of a case management hearing scheduled Friday at the Supreme Court of Western Australia.
Under Australian law, her estranged husband, Robert Giuffre, could be entitled to up to a third of her estate — even though Virginia Giuffre emailed her lawyer to say she didn’t want her ex to get any of it, according to the report.
The pair were getting divorced at the time of her death.
Giuffre’s younger brother, Sky Roberts, and her half-brother, Danny Wilson, are challenging Robert’s right to her estate, while also battling for control of the charity she was launching, Speak Out, Act, Reclaim, according to the report.
Other relatives are fighting their claim.
“We don’t believe they have a right to it. The estate should go to her children only,” Giuffre’s aunt, Kimberly Roberts, told the Telegraph.
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
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My Original Stories (available in English and Spanish)
List of Compiled Binary Executables I have published...
HiddenChest & Roole
Give me a free copy of your completed game if you include at least 3 of my scripts!
Just some scripts I've already published on the board...
KyoGemBoost XP VX & ACE, RandomEnkounters XP, KSkillShop XP, Kolloseum States XP, KEvents XP, KScenario XP & Gosu, KyoPrizeShop XP Mangostan, Kuests XP, KyoDiscounts XP VX, ACE & MV, KChest XP VX & ACE 2016, KTelePort XP, KSkillMax XP & VX & ACE, Gem Roulette XP VX & VX Ace, KRespawnPoint XP, VX & VX Ace, GiveAway XP VX & ACE, Klearance XP VX & ACE, KUnits XP VX, ACE & Gosu 2017, KLevel XP, KRumors XP & ACE, KMonsterPals XP VX & ACE, KStatsRefill XP VX & ACE, KLotto XP VX & ACE, KItemDesc XP & VX, KPocket XP & VX, OpenChest XP VX & ACE
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
My Original Stories (available in English and Spanish)
List of Compiled Binary Executables I have published...
HiddenChest & Roole
Give me a free copy of your completed game if you include at least 3 of my scripts!
Just some scripts I've already published on the board...
KyoGemBoost XP VX & ACE, RandomEnkounters XP, KSkillShop XP, Kolloseum States XP, KEvents XP, KScenario XP & Gosu, KyoPrizeShop XP Mangostan, Kuests XP, KyoDiscounts XP VX, ACE & MV, KChest XP VX & ACE 2016, KTelePort XP, KSkillMax XP & VX & ACE, Gem Roulette XP VX & VX Ace, KRespawnPoint XP, VX & VX Ace, GiveAway XP VX & ACE, Klearance XP VX & ACE, KUnits XP VX, ACE & Gosu 2017, KLevel XP, KRumors XP & ACE, KMonsterPals XP VX & ACE, KStatsRefill XP VX & ACE, KLotto XP VX & ACE, KItemDesc XP & VX, KPocket XP & VX, OpenChest XP VX & ACE
