News of the World

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MIDDLE EAST WAR

Iran’s regime executes two more of its people as bloody reign of terror lives on

Iran’s reign of terror lives on.

The Islamic Republic executed two more people Saturday, as the regime unleashed a new wave of killings over fears of another citizen uprising in the streets of Tehran.

Political prisoners Abolhassan Montazer, a 66-year-old architect, and Vahid Baniamerian, a 33-year-old with a master’s in management, were hanged.

They were convicted of being members of the banned opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran — and came just days after four other members of the group were executed.

“Driven by profound weakness and reeling from its weakening grasp on power following recent nationwide uprisings, the clerical establishment is desperately using the gallows to physically eliminate its organized opposition and terrorize a restless society,” the group said in a statement Saturday.

The executions were the “culmination of a grossly flawed judicial process devoid of any legal legitimacy” the group urged, adding that the tactics included forced confessions and the regime’s state-run media unleashing a barrage of fabricated allegations against the two men in an attempt to justify the political executions.

Montazer and Baniamerian were ⁠arrested in January 2024 and sentenced to death after being charged with “armed rebellion” and labeled by the state media as a “terrorist team of the enemy.”

The opposition group remains defiant in the face of the regime.

“These brutal executions will not silence the opposition. Instead, they will only intensify the resolve of Iran’s rebellious youth to overthrow the regime,” it said.

In addition, 18-year-old musician Amirhossein Hatami, who was arrested in January in Tehran during the nationwide protests, was also hanged Thursday.

State media has confirmed 12 executions in Iran so far this year, though Iranian human rights group Hengaw reported evidence of 160 hangings since January.

The executions come on the back of tens of thousands of deaths at the hands of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps after it tried to silence dissent when anti-regime protesters took to the streets of Tehran in January over the country’s faltering economy.

More than 7,000 killings of protestors have been confirmed by the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, though thousands more are still under investigation.

Iran used new missile defense system to shoot down F-15 fighter jet: report

Iran boasted Saturday that a new air defense system — credited with shooting down two US planes — will allow it to “definitely achieve full control” over its airspace as American and Israel forces continued to hammer the country.

Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya joint military command made the bold claim on state media, Reuters reported.

The besieged Islamic Republic could have used a Third Khordad missile system, a mobile medium-range surface-to-air defense system, to shoot down the F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet, The New York Times reported.

Other experts suspect that Iran used passive infrared detection systems to track and target the US aircraft – meaning it tracked the F-15E without emitting radar signals that US jets are equipped to detect and evade, according to ABC News.

That $31 million plane is believed to have gone down in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province in the southwestern part of Iran, near the Iraqi border. The pilots were forced to bail, and while one was rescued after the Friday incident, the second has yet to be found.

An A-10 Thunderbolt II “Warthog” attack aircraft was hit during a subsequent rescue mission for the missing pilot, but crashed after reaching Kuwaiti airspace, with the pilot safely ejecting.

These were the first confirmed losses of US aircraft in Iran since the start of the war on Feb. 28. The US military hit more than 12,300 targets in the conflict so far.

US officials have claimed the sustained bombing campaign has degraded Tehran’s missile and drone capabilities by more than 90%.

With the F-15E’s weapons systems officer missing, armed Iranian nomads have joined the hunt as officials are offering reportedly a $60,000 bounty while calling on civilians to join in the manhunt.

Military deploys rescue choppers in urgent search for vanished F-15 co-pilot behind enemy lines in Iran

The search for an American crew member missing behind enemy lines in a rural stretch of Iran continued Saturday — as the US raced to find them before armed Bakhtiari tribesman tribesmen eager to collect a bounty offered by the regime.

The status of the missing co-pilot remained unknown late Saturday.

The White House has not publicly commented on the incident since White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump had been briefed.
US Central Command did not return a request for comment.

The pilot and co-pilot were forced to bail out of the F-15E Strike Eagle, a two-seater plane, after it was shot down Friday over Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, near Iraq.

The search for the missing American unfolded as Trump — who stayed in Washington for the Easter weekend — warned Iran it would face “hell” if it didn’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping by the president’s deadline.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed it shot down the high performance fighter, and the Iranian government dangled a $60,000 reward for the crew member’s capture – while urging local villagers to find them first.

“If you capture the enemy pilot or pilots alive and hand them over to the police, you will receive a precious prize,” said an announcer on a local TV station. The directive came after an earlier instruction to shoot the pilot if they were found, according to Turkiye Today.

Villagers and Bakhtiari tribesman were seen in footage posted to social media fanning out across the region’s dry, mountainous terrain hunting for the missing crew member.

“The people of the province, especially tribesmen and villagers, have taken up personal weapons to patrol and search across the province’s mountains and plains, ready to fight enemy forces if encountered,” according to the Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the Iranian regime.

“Don’t worry, we will find them, God willing,” says one armed tribesman in a video from Iranian social media.

The tribesmen also reportedly shot at at two US Black Hawk helicopters, who had joined the search for the missing crew member, with hunting rifles, according to the Telegraph.

The downed F-15E Strike Eagle was taking part in the US-Israel air campaign against Iran which began Feb. 28.

US Forces have rescued missing crew member of F-15E jet downed by Iran in daring mission, intense fighting

US forces have successfully rescued and extracted the missing crew member of an American fighter jet that was shot down over Iran following “one of the most daring search-and-rescue operations” in the country’s history, President Trump announced early Sunday.

“WE GOT HIM! My fellow Americans, over the past several hours, the United States Military pulled off one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History, for one of our incredible Crew Member Officers, who also happens to be a highly respected Colonel, and who I am thrilled to let you know is now SAFE and SOUND!” Trump posted on Truth Social just after midnight.

The Air Force officer — a weapons specialist who has not yet been publicly identified — was one of two aboard an F-15E Strike Eagle shot down on Friday. Both had ejected over southwestern Iran, triggering a massive high-risk rescue mission.

The weapons officer was injured during the ejection, but was still able to walk, a US official told Axios.

“He sustained injuries, but he will be just fine,” Trump said.

The crew member was recovered in a dangerous Saturday night operation following intense fighting near the crash site, as US forces carried out a complex operation deep inside Iranian territory.

No rescuers were injured during the massive, multi-domain operation involving hundreds of special operations troops, dozens of warplanes and helicopters and advanced intelligence capabilities spanning cyber and space, officials briefed on the operation told the New York Times.

“The fact that we were able to pull off both of these operations, without a SINGLE American killed, or even wounded, just proves once again, that we have achieved overwhelming Air Dominance and Superiority over the Iranian skies,” Trump added in his post.

A senior military official told the outlet that the mission was one of the most challenging and complex in the history of US special operations.

The airman evaded capture for up to a day in mountainous terrain, using survival training to move away from the wreckage and hide on elevated ground while signaling for rescue. He had little more than a pistol as Iranian forces scoured the area and mobilized civilians to hunt him down, the Times reported.

“This brave Warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour, but was never truly alone because his Commander in Chief, Secretary of War, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and fellow Warfighters were monitoring his location 24 hours a day, and diligently planning for his rescue,” Trump added.

The airman and the rescue team safely evacuated Iran and flew to Kuwait, where the injured airman could be treated, according to the Times.

The operation unfolded amid reported airstrikes and clashes in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, where local officials said multiple people were killed or wounded, as US special operations forces and Air Force pararescue teams engaged in a fierce firefight with Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Basij fighters searching for the downed crew member.

Trump warns Iran has two days to open Strait of Hormuz — or face ‘hell’

President Trump warned Iran Saturday it had two days left to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping or face “Hell.”

“Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT. Time is running out – 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them,” Trump posted.

“Glory be to GOD!” he concluded in his message.

Trump’s reiteration of his Easter Monday deadline comes as the US continues its frantic search to locate a pilot whose F-15 was downed over Iran, following the successful rescue of a co-pilot.

Iran has continued to fire missile attacks against Israel and US Gulf allies.

He had previously announced the extension and 10-day deadline on March 26. Commercial traffic through the Strait, which handles 20% of the world’s shipped oil supply, has dramatically slowed after oil tankers have been hit multiple times and Iran has threatened US and Israeli carriers.

Trump’s demand that Iran open the Strait came after a second Turkish ship made it through the Strait, the country’s transportation minister Saturday.

“This was possible due to our initiatives and also because these ships were using Iranian ports or were carrying cargo to or from Iran,” Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu told CNN Türk. The first Turkish vessel made it through March 13th after receiving permission from Iran.

Iran has been claiming sovereignty over the Strait and demanding tolls – worrying US policymakers who fear the regime could exploit the situation to get new revenue to cling to power.

Traffic through the Strait has dropped 90%, CNBC reported.

A container ship owned by a French company made it through, the Financial Times reported Friday, as have three Oman-linked tankers and a Japanese-owned tanker carrying liquified natural gas.

A senior leader of the Houthis, an Iran-backed proxy group, has threatened to shut another vital waterway – the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea, if any US Gulf allies join the campaign against Iran.

“The option of closing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is a Yemeni option that can be implemented should the aggression against Iran and Lebanon escalate savagely, or if any Gulf state becomes directly involved in military operations in support of the [Zionist] entity or the United States,” Houthi Deputy Information Minister Mohammed Mansour told AL-Monitor.

Notorious Gen. Soleimani’s sultry grandniece led lavish lifestyle touring US hotspots, as her mom promoted Iranian regime

She’s a bombshell.

The glam grandniece of slain Iranian terror mastermind Gen. Qasem Soleimani frequented several US hotspots and lived a lavish life in LA before being scooped up by ICE Friday.

Sarinasadat Hosseiny, 25, and her mother, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, were arrested after the State Department terminated their permanent resident status and had their green cards revoked due to her ties the terrorist Iranian regime, the agency announced Saturday.

The 25-year-old terror scion’s social media showed she’s enjoyed a luxurious, vacation-centric lifestyle while living in the country her mother referred to as the “Great Satan.”

Hosseiny shared photos of her jetsetting on private planes, sunbathing on yachts, and dancing at music festivals while showing no signs of gainful employment.

Instagram posts show that Hosseiny has recently traveled to Miami where she posed with drinks; to Alaska, where she still managed to take snaps in a bikini; and Las Vegas, where she attended an F-1 race.

Other posts show Hosseiny donning skin tight dresses, barely-there bikinis, and skirts well north of the knee.

In one photo taken from the floor, she wears fishnets and a skirt that does not cover butt — an outfit that would certainly not fly in Iran.

Hosseiny was first admitted to the US on a student visa in 2015 and was given a green card by the Biden administration in 2023.

Both Afshar and Hosseiny were arrested in Los Angeles, with the State Department citing the mother’s “unflinching support for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps,” which is a designated terror organization.

Daughter of top Iranian official ousted from Emery University after outcry has visa cancelled

The daughter of a powerful Iranian regime insider who was forced out of Emory University after a firestorm of backlash is set to be booted from the United States completely.

Dr. Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, whose father is a top official in Tehran, was removed from her post at the prestigious Atlanta school following mounting outrage over her family’s ties to the regime, as first reported by the Post.

She worked as an assistant professor at Emory University’s prestigious Winship Cancer Institute in Atlanta.

The controversy surrounding Ardeshir-Larijani sparked backlash from critics who questioned how someone so closely linked to Iran’s ruling elite had secured a position at a leading American research institution.

The controversy quickly drew the attention of lawmakers, including Rep. Buddy Carter, who in a formal letter demanded her removal and argued US institutions must not serve as a “safe harbor” for individuals tied to hostile regimes, according to his office.

Carter also warned that her continued presence posed a national security risk.

The pressure campaign ultimately succeeded, but the fallout didn’t stop there.

Ardeshir-Larijani’s legal status in the US was terminated earlier this month, part of a broader effort targeting foreign nationals with ties to Iran’s leadership and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which the US designates as a terrorist organization, the US State Department confirmed.

She and her husband, Seyed Kalantar Motamedi, are no longer in the country and have been barred from reentry.

Officials said both were removed as part of a hardline crackdown on individuals linked to anti-American regimes.

The case underscores a widening crackdown on foreign nationals with ties to Iran’s ruling elite, even those embedded in elite American institutions, with officials emphasizing that the US will not allow individuals who support or are connected to anti-American terrorist regimes to remain in the country.

The Winship Cancer Institute is one of the university’s flagship medical research centers, known for cutting-edge cancer treatment and academic prestige.

Her exit highlights the increasing sensitivity around foreign ties in American academia, particularly when linked to governments viewed as adversarial to the U.S. It also underscores the reputational risks universities face when employing individuals connected to controversial regimes — even when those individuals are accomplished professionals in their own right.

Separately, on Saturday, authorities arrested Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter, Sarinasadat Hosseiny, relatives of slain Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, in Los Angeles.

French, South Korean leaders say they’ll work together on the Strait of Hormuz

French President Emmanuel Macron and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung agreed Friday to work together to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz and ease global economic uncertainties caused by the war in the Middle East.

Their summit in Seoul came as US President Donald Trump slammed allies for not supporting the US and Israeli war against Iran.

Macron was making his first visit to South Korea since taking office in 2017, as part of an Asian tour that already has taken him to Japan.

Macron told Lee at the start of the meeting that the two countries can play a role in helping to stabilize the situation in the Middle East, including Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, which has unleashed shock on global energy markets.

At a joint televised briefing afterward, Macron underscored the need for France and South Korea to cooperate to help reopen the strait and deescalate Middle East animosities, while Lee said the two affirmed “their resolves to cooperate to secure the safe shipping route in the Strait of Hormuz.”

The two leaders did not take questions and did not elaborate on how they would help reopen the strait — the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil usually passes.

“We need to clearly define, at the international level, the conditions for a process to ease the crisis and conflict in the Middle East,” Macron said. “We need to ensure that the Strait of Hormuz is reopened.”

Lee said he and Macron agreed to expand cooperation in technology, energy and other areas. South Korean and French officials also signed agreements to cooperate on nuclear fuel supply chains, jointly invest in an offshore wind project in southern South Korea and to collaborate on critical minerals.

South Korea has moved to increase output at its nuclear reactors to mitigate the energy crunch and Lee has also called for a faster transition to renewable energy, saying the war has exposed the country’s heavy reliance on fossil fuel imports.

Macron’s Asia trip comes as Trump has ramped up his frustration with allies.

In a speech Wednesday, Trump said Americans “don’t need” the strait but the countries who do “must grab it and cherish it.”

In an earlier Easter event at the White House, Trump called for his allies in Asia and China to get involved in reopening the waterway.

“Let South Korea, you know, we only have 45,000 soldiers in harm’s way over there, right next to a nuclear force — let South Korea do it,” Trump said. “Let Japan do it. They get 90% of their oil from the strait. Let China do it.”

The United States stations about 28,000 troops in South Korea, not the 45,000 stated by Trump.

UKRAINE WAR

Ukraine used record 7K robot operations to fight off Russians in single month — as frontline now resembles scene from ‘Terminator’

Hasta la vista, baby.

Ukraine reportedly pulled off a record 7,000 missions in a month using land robots to fend against Russian forces, as the war-torn country continues to beef up its use of cyborgs on the battlefield.

“The frontline is more like Terminator,” a drone operator with Ukraine’s 25th airborne brigade, named Bambi, told The Guardian. “A land robot arrives at your position and there is nothing you can do about it.

“You can shoot a person in the chest and they stop firing. If you shoot a ground robot it doesn’t feel pain.”

When Kyiv first deployed robots to the frontlines in 2024, they came in limited shapes and sizes. Now a variety of killer droids can fire shots, lay mines and launch grenades at the enemy — among other tasks that led to the record-breaking mission count in January.

More than a hundred Russian troops even surrendered to the tin men that same month, according to Ukrainian Minister of Defense Mykhailo Fedorov.

“This winter, more than 100 occupiers laid down their arms thanks to the work of unmanned units,” he proudly wrote on X.

In the past two years, the use of robots shot up exponentially — with production increasing nearly sixfold in 2025, the fastest growing sector in Ukraine’s defense technology sector.

The bots had an estimated market size of $252 million last year, according to a study by Kyiv School of Economics published this week.

They don’t just fight. Since December, they’ve been bringing provisions to Ukrainian soldiers in the critical region of Donetsk, which has seen some of the most intense fighting since Russia’s invasion.

“One rolled up to the entrance of our dugout. I felt like a caveman gazing at alien technology,” marveled Bambi. “It looked so futuristic.”

Russian military plane crash in Crimea kills 29 people

A Russian military plane crash in annexed Crimea has killed six crew and 23 passengers, Russian news agencies reported in the early hours of Wednesday, citing the Defense Ministry.

The An-26 military transport plane was carrying out a scheduled flight over the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, the reports said.

The military lost contact with the plane around 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

The Soviet-designed military transport turboprop aircraft crashed into a cliff, sources at the scene told state news agencies Tass and RIA Novosti.

Russia’s Investigative Committee said a total of seven crew members and 23 passengers were on board. It wasn’t immediately clear from official statements if one crew member has survived.

The Investigative Committee said it has launched a criminal probe in connection with flight regulations and a search is underway in a mountainous forested area in the Bakhchisarai district.

The Interfax news agency cited the Defense Ministry as saying a suspected technical malfunction may have caused the crash and that there was no “damaging interference” with the aircraft.

Accidents involving Russian military planes have been frequent since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine.

In December, an An-22 military transport plane crashed in Russia’s Ivanovo region, killing seven crew. In October, a MiG-31 fighter jet crashed in the Lipetsk region, while a Tu-22M3 bomber crashed in the Siberian region of Irkutsk in April 2025.

In October 2022, a Su-34 bomber crashed into a residential area of Yeysk, a Russian city on the Azov sea, sparking a massive fire and killing 15 people.

Russia unleashes relentless wave of drone strikes on Ukraine, Kyiv says

Russia is conducting a rolling aerial attack on Ukraine since Thursday evening, Ukraine’s air force said on Friday, adding that a large number of enemy drones were in Ukrainian airspace.

The bombardment is the second time this week Russia has followed a overnight drone barrage ⁠with heavy daytime attacks, a new tactic as Moscow probes ways to penetrate Ukraine’s air defenses.

“We can see that the enemy is using new routes, new drones which they are constantly modernising, and new tactics,” air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said on state television.

He added that Russia had launched more than 400 long-range drones in the past 24 hours, as well as ten ballistic missiles that primarily targeted areas near the frontline.

Ihnat said the bombardment was similar to an attack on Tuesday, ‌which ⁠killed at least four people, when an overnight barrage of over 300 drones was followed by another of similar size in the middle of the day.

Large-scale Russian bombardments cause disruption across Ukraine, as many government institutions, public transport services and businesses close ⁠during the attack, which can last many hours.

“The enemy is exerting (pressure) on our population, paralysing the work of certain public institutions, as well as learning institutions,” Ihnat said.

⁠In the eastern region of Kharkiv, one person was killed and 25 others injured by missile, bomb and drone attacks over the past 24 hours, ⁠governor Oleh Synehubov said on social media.

That included four ballistic missiles that struck the regional capital, also called Kharkiv, overnight. Authorities only reported one injury from that strike.

Russian onslaught kills 16 Ukrainians, injures 94 in drone, missile attacks despite Easter ceasefire pleas

Russia escalated its attacks on Ukrainian civilians overnight — killing at least 16 people and injuring 94 more with drones and missiles, despite pleas from Kyiv for an Easter ceasefire.

In one of the most brutal blitzes of the overnight campaign, a Russian drone struck a market in the city of Nikopol in the Dnipro region Saturday morning, killing at least five people and injuring 27 others.

A 14-year-old girl was among those critically wounded, while victims were hospitalized with shrapnel wounds, mine-explosive injuries and burns, according to Oleksandr Hanzha, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast governor.

Criminal proceedings for war crimes were initiated for the attack, Ukraine’s Office of the Prosecutor General said. Since Russian strongman Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion more than four years ago, the office has documented more than 210,000 such cases.

Images of the wreckage show market stalls ripped to pieces and the roof collapsed, as fires tore through the shops, with meat and other produce spread on the floor among the charred structure.

“Shops were mutilated,” Hanzha slammed on Telegram.

In separate attacks in the Dnipro region, a five-month-old baby was among three people injured as flames from drones and aerial bomb strikes ripped through residential neighborhoods.

In Russia, two key Baltic oil export hubs were damaged after a series of Ukrainian drone attacks, forcing refineries to find ‌more expensive rail transport routes to other export terminals.

A Ukrainian drone and missile attack on southern Russia also killed at least one ‌person and injured four others.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced greater security co-operation with Turkey after meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul Saturday, — as Kyiv seeks ‌to leverage its wartime defense capabilities against Iranian drones.

USA

Ron Wyden’s son had business meeting with Epstein and called himself, pedo ‘like minded individuals’

Democrat Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon has bashed the Trump administration over its handling of Epstein files, but documents released last month reveal his own son arranged a business meeting with the convicted pedo.

Seven years after Epstein was released from a Florida prison after pleading guilty to solicitation of prostitution from a minor, Adam Wyden, who founded his own private investment fund, ADW Capital, in 2010, was introduced to the disgraced financier through mutual friend Jonathan Farkas.

“Adam my friend jeffery Epstein who manages 5 billion said to call his office he wants to see your record and would consider investing with you,” Farkas wrote on April 27, 2016.

A message from a redacted email address also helped arrange the meeting, according to a trove of emails released by the Justice Department.

The men decided to huddle the following day at Epstein’s Upper East Side townhouse at 10 a.m., according to the documents.

Wyden gushed in a follow-up message to Epstein after the meeting about his “passion and dedication for my business” while seeking to reel him in as a client.

“I live and breathe this business and take my returns, integrity and reputation quite seriously,” he wrote in the April 2016 message.

He also called them “like minded individuals” and said he ‘would very much look forward to having you join us at the fund.” There are no indications Wyden knew about any illegal Epstein activity or that Epstein became a client.

When contacted by The Post, Adam Wyden, 41, said, “No comment — I’m not interested,” and hung up.

Jonathan Farkas turns up separately in an embarrassing 2017 email exchange asking Epstein to tell him whether a woman he was seeing was “a hooker.”

Farkas’ wife Somers is serving currently as the US ambassador to Malta.

Sen. Wyden has made Epstein an issue for the past four years. The top Democrat on the Finance Committee, Wyden in a July floor speech called to “follow the money” to track the “ultra rich well-connected sex trafficker serial rapist.” He wants Treasury to hand over “a big Epstein file that’s full of actionable information” on Epstein’s financial transactions that the agency is holding back.

“I don’t speak to my kids about their business activities,” Sen. Wyden told The Post. “My investigation began four years ago and continues unchanged. I want transparency and accountability across the board.”

“For months Ron Wyden has been telling lies about President Trump, and now we know it’s because he is desperate to cover up that following Epstein’s money leads right back to his family,” said Republican National Committee Spokesperson Nick Poche. He called on Wyden to “come clean right now about how much his family gained financially from Jeffrey Epstein and his connections.”

Epstein and billionaire shrink pal emailed about disguises, plastic surgery for escaping the law, docs show

An email between Jeffrey Epstein and a billionaire shrink pal runs through options for avoiding trouble with the law — including steps such as wearing disguises or undergoing plastic surgery, documents released by the Department of Justice show.

A May 1, 2009, email from his longtime friend and confidante, Gramercy Park psychiatrist Dr. Henry Jarecki, titled “What If I Get Caught,” contains a long list of items essential to escape law enforcement.

The email, fired off by an assistant, purportedly was sent because the doctor — who made his money trading commodities — was interested in writing a book on the topic.

“Dr. Jarecki asked me to send you the following notes, along with the statement, ‘I’m thinking of writing a new book, and I need a co-author,'” it reads.

At that time, Epstein was nearing the end of his 13-month Florida prison sentence for solicitation of prostitution as part of his 2008 non-prosecution “sweetheart deal.”

The note lays out a 7-point plan to live on the lam, starting with items like “don’t use credit cards” and “computer security” for “trouble avoidance” — and ends with mentions of going “in hiding” or “overseas.”

One of the more eyebrow-raising sections in the email is titled “post-trouble,” and lists “disguises,” “plastic surgeon” and “documents generation: birth certificate, driver’s license.”

It also states, “gather evidence on veracity and character of victim(s) and prosecution witnesses (private detectives and internet).”

Another point lists the importance of “multiple passports.”

Epstein is known to have used a fake Austrian passport to travel to the United Kingdom, France and Saudi Arabia between 1982 and 1983, according to the FBI. The passport, featuring Epstein’s photo and the name “Marius Robert Fortelni,” was found in a locked safe when the feds raided his Upper East Side mansion in 2019, alongside “piles of cash” and “dozens of diamonds.”

That was another point listed in the 2009 email from Jarecki – “have a stash of cash ready: how much is enough?”

The last section in the two-page email, titled “flight,” mentions extradition laws in Germany, Israel and Brazil, suggesting the sex predator may have considered escaping to one of these far-flung countries.

Trump calls out ‘failing New York Times’ for embarrassing NATO error in paper

President Donald Trump has launched another attack on the New York Times – after the paper had to run an embarrassing correction after misidentifying NATO in its print edition headline.

“The Failing New York Times, whose lack of credibility, and their constant Fake News attacks on your favorite President, ME, has caused its circulation to absolutely PLUMMET, referred to our severely weakened and extremely unreliable “partner,”NATO, as the North American Treaty Organization,” Trump posted on Truth Social Saturday morning.

“The correct name is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization – A very interesting mistake! The hiring and educational standards have gone way down at the NYT. Bring back, “ALL THE NEWS THAT’S FIT TO PRINT” and, Make America Great Again! President DJT,” he concluded.

The Times addressed the error Friday when it wrote that it had “misstated the full name of the body. It is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, not the North American Treaty Organization.”

The goof comes at a difficult time for NATO. Trump has hammered the mutual defense treaty organization after multiple member nations declined to join the US-Israel attack on Iran and refused his requests to use their own militaries to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

NATO chief Mark Rutte heads to Washington next week to meet with Trump to discuss the standoff.

Trump orders DHS to pay ‘each and every employee’ as shutdown drags on

President Trump directed Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Friday to pay “each and every employee” impacted by the “Democrat-led DHS shutdown.”

Trump instructed Mullin, in coordination with Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, to use “funds that have a reasonable and logical nexus to the functions of DHS” to provide compensation to department workers that have gone without pay since Feb. 14.

The president issued the order in a memo titled “Liberating the Department of Homeland Security From the Democrat-Caused Shutdown.”

“More than 35,000 employees, including Coast Guard civilians, Federal Emergency Management Agency employees helping to prepare the Nation for disaster response, and cybersecurity professionals at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, have gone without a paycheck for nearly 2 months because of congressional Democrats,” the memo states.

“As a result, thousands of DHS employees who are performing their critical public safety responsibilities are struggling to make ends meet and provide for their families,” it continues. “This callous treatment of DHS employees must end in order to ensure that America is not susceptible to security threats and maintains readiness to respond to emergencies.”

Trump argued the circumstances of the shutdown now “constitute an emergency situation compromising the Nation’s security,” necessitating Friday’s order.

Mullin, who just completed his second week as DHS chief, said he was “grateful for the leadership” of Trump and accused Democratic lawmakers of holding “every employee here at DHS hostage” for “political theater,” in a video posted on X.

“You’re literally putting the homeland at risk,” the DHS secretary fumed on Day 49 of the shutdown. “You’re putting my yard, your yard, your loved ones’ yard at risk.”

The president previously flexed his executive power to pay TSA agents and relieve congestion at airports across the country.

Trump’s latest order comes the same week he announced a breakthrough in negotiations to reopen DHS that will see House Republicans back a Senate plan to fund the entire department except for parts of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.

Trump blasts LA homeless agency’s ‘abysmal record’ in plan to slash nearly $400M in federal funds

The Trump administration plans to slash nearly $400 million in federal funding for homeless programs while taking aim at Los Angeles’ under-fire homeless-services agency for its “abysmal record.”

The White House’s budget proposal, released Friday, said that the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority has failed in its job to house homeless people.

“LAHSA has an abysmal record of reducing what is the highest number of street homeless individuals in the United States, and an independent audit issued in March 2025 found that the authority failed to accurately track billions of Federal and local dollars,” the proposal stated.

The administration plans to cut $393 million in federal homeless assistance while eliminating Continuum of Care, a program funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“Nonprofits serving the homeless should focus on the poorest and most vulnerable individuals,” the budget proposal said. “However, investigations across the Nation have uncovered fraud and corruption among the existing network of homeless service providers.”
LAHSA has been a target of criticism from local lawmakers in recent years. LA Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez argued for the city to break away from the agency last month, describing the city’s relationship with LAHSA as a “merry-go-round from hell.”

Socialist LA Mayoral candidate Nithya Raman, who chairs the LA Council committee overseeing LAHSA, doesn’t agree that the city should break away from the agency entirely. She has [suggested] that there should be an audit of the city’s homeless spending.

“We need to be able to say who is responsible,” Raman said previously.

LASHA believes any lost funding will only damage its mission.

“Cutting this funding or destabilizing the Continuum of Care program would directly result in more tents on our streets, not fewer,” Gita O’Neill, the agency’s interim chief executive, told the Los Angeles Times.

“If anything, we need additional funding to cover rising costs, not fewer, to maintain our current momentum,” the agency added.

LA pours more than $1 billion a year into homelessness programs, though the city remains one of the most maligned over the crisis. Many have accused the city of misspending the funds, and its a constant target of criticism for its failures to quiet the concerns.

[b]‘Breakfast Club’ host confused by ‘extra nice’ ICE agents at airports acting ‘like Chick-fil-A workers’[/b]

“Breakfast Club” host Charlamagne tha God said Tuesday he saw ICE agents picking up the slack of TSA agents so efficiently and friendly that he suspected there was a government “psy-op” at play.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order over the weekend to pay Transportation Security Administration officers who had been impacted by the recent government shutdown.

Though complications from hundreds of TSA agents quitting or calling out of work are likely to continue, the effects of the resumed paychecks could be seen almost immediately.

While some TSA agents have begun to receive pay, ICE agents are still filling the gap, as Charlamagne and his co-hosts discussed.

“When I flew out of LaGuardia Friday, I ain’t see no TSA agents. ICE was doing everything,” Charlamagne recalled.

“And how was it? How was your experience?” co-host DJ Envy asked.

“I mean, they were great to be honest with you,” Charlamagne said.

“Like to be honest, I’m just like, they were, and for that particular terminal I was flying out of LaGuardia, I forgot what terminal it was, but yeah, they were being extra nice like Chick-fil-A workers.”

Chick-fil-A, founded and operated by Christians, is broadly known for having friendly and professional staff to the point it has become something of a meme for being the gold standard of good customer service.

Charlamagne, has not been shy about condemning ICE agents and the DHS in recent months, to the point where he said there will be de-MAGA-ification like the government crackdown against Nazi collaborators and ideology after World War II.

He struggled to believe that this same agency he had condemned in the past turned out to be professional in-person.

Gavin Newsom to spend $19M in taxpayer funds on New York PR firm to polish California’s image

Gov. Gavin Newsom is hoping to to boost California’s tarnished image on the national stage — so he’s throwing millions in taxpayer money at a high-powered New York public relations firm to do it for him.

The governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development awarded PR powerhouse Edelman a contract worth up to $19 million to burnish the Golden State’s reputation, KCRA reported.
Edelman — which also does work on behalf of mega-companies like Dove, Starbucks, eBay and Heineken — will be tasked with combating “negative narratives amplified online and in partisan media” about California while promoting the state’s economy and tourism.

The company, considered one of the largest PR firms in the nation, also has offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The contract begins on April 6 and will run through then end of the year, which nearly coincides with end of the governor’s term in early 2027.

The Office of Business and Economic Development, known as GO-Biz, posted the request for proposals last month, stipulating that small businesses be considered first for the contract.

A spokesman for GO-Biz told KCRA that Edelman included several small businesses in its proposal.

The state agency previously told the outlet that the campaign wouldn’t be about Newsom himself, but California.

“The campaign will tell the California story, not the Gavin Newsom story,” the agency said. “The effort is about California’s success, not about politics.”

A Newsom spokesperson previously told the Los Angeles Times that California’s business climate has been “falsely and maliciously maligned for years,” and that the “state has a right to tell the true story.”

“California is a great place to live, work, invest and visit,” the rep said. “Setting the record straight will benefit every business, worker and resident of this state.”

News of the contract drew ample criticism.

“Gavin Newsom is giving 19 million California taxpayer dollars to a New York PR firm to promote California in a better light to the nation. Which does not at all sound like Gavin Newsom is making a presidential campaign ad for himself,” Kevin Dalton, who ran for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, wrote on X.

Artist fumes after tribute honoring slain Iryna Zarutska gets scrubbed amid woke blowback

The Providence, Rhode Island artist commissioned to paint a mural of slain Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska said he feels his freedom of expression has been curtailed after left-wing backlash to the project caused it to be shut down.

“So, we installed the mural, and, as it started to evolve, the gay community spoke loudly about their displeasure that Elon Musk donated to the project, and that has reached a fever pitch, and the result is that the business owners have decided to remove the mural,” Ian Gaudreau, who was working on the project before its abrupt cancellation, told Fox News Digital

“I’m saddened by the fact that the mayor has called for the work to be removed before I was allowed to finish speaking,” he said. “I think that it is stifling my freedom of expression, my freedom of speech, and it’s unfortunate.”

On Aug. 22, Zarutska was stabbed to death in a random and unprovoked attack on a light rail train in Charlotte, North Carolina. Shocking surveillance video of the incident showed suspect Decarlos Brown Jr. allegedly stab Zarutska in the neck before calmly walking away as she bled out.

The incident sparked a fierce political debate about criminal justice, as Brown had cycled through the criminal justice system for more than a decade, racking up 14 arrests and previously spending five years in prison.

Musk contributed $1 million to help fund a nationwide campaign of public murals depicting Zarutska.

Gaudreau explained that he wasn’t taking sides politically when he took the job painting the mural.

“I think that some people are not able to view the work for what it is — for the work that I have done — because they’re allowing their disdain for Elon to cloud their judgment of the work as itself, because the work as itself is a response to the entire conversation,” he said.

He said he was incorporating symbolism into his work that was itself a critique of the political flashpoint caused by Zarutska’s death that he thinks overshadowed her memory.

“And in the painting, she sort of shines through that, despite this strangling effort. And that’s what I want to symbolize here, is that Iryna was a human being with a mother and father who are still with us and are still grieving.”

Twice-rejected Oakland commissioner who wants to defund police gets elevated after improper vote

An anti-cop member of the independent commission overseeing Oakland’s police is back at the center of a growing political firestorm after being elevated in a vote critics are calling a violation of the law.

Oakland’s Police Commission voted on March 26 to advance Omar Farmer from an alternate to a full member without listing the action on a public agenda, triggering a formal legal challenge alleging a violation of California’s open-meeting law.

The commission is expected to retake the vote on Thursday, according to Rajni Mandal, an Oakland physician who filed a formal demand to “cure and correct” what appears to be a violation of the Brown Act, the law governing California’s public meeting laws.
Oakland Report was the first to document the improper vote.

Farmer has been rejected twice by the Oakland City Council for inclusion in the commission, whose volunteers members are appointed.

“The Police Commission needs people who, number one, put public safety and all of Oakland first,” Mandal said. “Number two, we need people who actually can lead without bias and political influence.”

Farmer has aligned with the Anti Police-Terror Project, which has called for defunding the police and investing in community-based alternatives. That stance has made him a target of critics who argue the commission is out of step with residents demanding more police presence.

A recent survey found that 92.1% of Oakland’s black respondents identified crime and public safety as a concern — the highest level recorded for any issue among any demographic group surveyed.

Councilmember Ken Houston called the third attempt to keep Farmer on the commission “disrespectful” and akin to an abusive relationship, where city officials and woke public safety advocates keep butting heads despite Farmer twice being rejected.

DC giving birth control to rats in an effort to curb its rodent population

They’re in a rat race to clean up their city — and have resorted to pill pushing.

Washington, DC is trying to crack down on its overpopulation of vermin by giving them birth control.

DC Health plans to place edible fertility control bait in problem areas, starting with the hot-spot neighborhood of Adams Morgan.

It will also employ the use of lethal bait.

“We’re gonna get the rat population down and then we’re gonna come back in three weeks to see if any of those babies survived and get them too,” DC Health Director Ayanna Bennett told News4.

Bennett also warned their program will not be effective if residents continue to litter, a habit Mayor Muriel Bowser hopes her constituents will kick to the curb.

“But, they cannot stay down if they find anything to eat. So that means everybody cannot be throwing food on the ground. The mayor doesn’t like it and it’s helping the rats. We don’t want your trash to be outside of the bin, if at all possible,” Bennett continued.

Residents seem to be content with the birth control initiative.

“Yes, fantastic! If it’s good enough for humans, then then it’s good enough for rats, I think. Like, why not? Get rid of them,” one told the outlet.

“Anything that they can do to help limit the rats I would probably be in favor of,” another added.

“I’ve never heard of it. I trust that the science is real. But if it is, the less rats in D.C. is a good thing.”

TSA agents stopped Nancy Guthrie sheriff with loaded gun at checkpoint, records show

Embattled Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has been called out by a local resident over an incident at the local airport, where TSA agents allegedly stopped him at the security checkpoint with a loaded, undeclared firearm in his carry-on bag.

And the hits keep coming, with a recent independent investigation into bullying and retaliation allegations against the sheriff finding that the “preponderance of the evidence” shows he abused his office for political gain during a close race in 2024 against former PCSD Lt. Heather Lappin.

Amid that contentious race, a woman named Cory Stephens complained to the county board of supervisors at a public meeting on Nov. 12, 2024 that the sheriff did not face the same consequences a regular citizen would have.

“If a private citizen had encountered that at the airport, the consequences would have been greater,” Stephens, a longtime Tucson resident and president of the Conservative Coalition of America, told Fox News Digital over the phone Friday.

Nanos’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the incident, which did not result in any charges.

Stephens said she found the incident alarming after hearing about it in local circles and was disappointed it received little attention in the media, so she brought it up during public comment at a board of supervisors hearing.

Nanos is facing heightened scrutiny amid the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie. While the complicated case remains unsolved, the sheriff’s critics have seized on other issues — including lawsuits against him from his own current and former deputies and an allegation that he lied about past disciplinary problems under oath.

“We as citizens want answers,” Stephens said. “The safety of our community is at stake.”

An incident report obtained by Fox News Digital from Nov. 6, 2024, shows a TSA X-ray technician saw the weapon in the sheriff’s bag and flagged an officer.

“As a law enforcement officer, he should know the TSA rules, how to declare a weapon, secure it and follow the same rules as everyone else,” Stephens said.

Airport police found five rounds in the magazine and another in the chamber.

The sheriff missed his flight, stowed the firearm in his vehicle and flew out later.

James Gagliano, a retired FBI agent and Fox News contributor, said he found the whole incident surprising because as a law enforcement officer, the sheriff could’ve taken measures to fly with it legally.

“You declare yourself as a law enforcement officer ahead of time,” he said.

The protocol requires confirmation between the TSA and the individual’s agency, but typically allows active-duty personnel to fly with their weapons, he said.

Parents of MacDill bomb suspects are illegal immigrants, DHS warns of birthright citizenship dangers

The parents of the suspects connected to the foiled explosive attack outside MacDill Air Force Base in Florida last month are illegal immigrants, the Department of Homeland Security announced, adding that the case underscores the dangers of birthright citizenship.

ICE agents took the parents, identified as Qiu Qin Zou and Jia Zhang Zheng, into custody on March 18, days after their son, Alen Zheng, allegedly planted an explosive device outside the base.

Officials said the parents illegally entered the United States and applied for asylum in 1993, but an immigration judge denied those claims and ordered both Zheng and Zou removed from the US in 1998.

The Board of Immigration Appeals denied multiple attempts by the pair to reopen their case, but they remained in the US for decades despite the removal order.

The arrests add a new dimension to the case, as the Trump administration argues it underscores national security risks tied to birthright citizenship, an issue now before the Supreme Court.

Their children — Alen Zheng and his sister, Ann Mary Zheng — were both born in the US and are citizens.

Federal authorities allege Alen Zheng planted an improvised explosive device outside the MacDill Air Force Base visitor center in Tampa on March 10, while his sister later helped cover up the crime.

Prosecutors said Ann Mary Zheng “assisted after the fact” and tampered with evidence to hinder her brother’s arrest.

Federal investigators believe Alen Zheng fled to China and remains there. His sister was arrested after returning to the US through Detroit.

The explosive device, described by officials as potentially “very deadly,” failed to detonate and was discovered six days later by an Air Force airman.

Investigators later linked the device to materials recovered from Zheng’s home and a burner phone used to place a cryptic 911 call warning about the bomb.

DHS officials said the case highlights broader concerns about immigration enforcement and citizenship laws, as the Supreme Court weighs the scope of birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment.

“Automatically granting citizenship to children of illegal aliens born in the US … poses a major national security risk,” DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement. “This incident underscores the severe national security threat that illegal immigration and birthright citizenship pose to the United States.”

‘Depraved’ illegal immigrant accused of murdering wife in Texas just weeks after marriage

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently lodged a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer pleading with Texas authorities not to release an illegal immigrant accused of fatally slitting his wife’s throat with a pocketknife in Dallas.

Francisco Mendez-Marin, a 24-year-old illegal immigrant from Mexico, was arrested March 18 by the Carrolton Police Department and is charged with felony homicide after he allegedly killed his wife, 20-year-old Karla Rangel, during a domestic dispute.

The couple had been married for less than a month, FOX 4 Dallas reported.

When police arrived at the scene, Mendez-Marin had blood on his clothes and a bloody pocketknife on him, officials said.

Body camera footage shows Mendez-Marin telling officers, “I didn’t do anything bad” and “I was obligated to do it” in Spanish, according to the arrest affidavit.

“This depraved animal murdered his own wife just one month after they were married by brutally slitting her throat with a pocketknife,” DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis wrote in a statement.

“This illegal alien should have never been allowed into our country to commit this heinous murder.”

“ICE requested authorities in Dallas to not release this cold-blooded killer onto the streets,” she continued.

“Thankfully, Dallas politicians cooperate with ICE, so together we can ensure this murderer is NEVER loose in American communities.”

Mendez-Marin is currently in Dallas County Sheriff’s Office custody and being held in the Dallas County Jail, according to DHS.

Illegal migrant who posed as Uber driver to kidnap, rape women faces life in prison

An illegal migrant convicted of kidnapping and raping four women in San Francisco after pretending to be their ride-share driver will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Orlando Vilchez Lazo is facing 100 years to life behind bars for a string of felonies including kidnapping, kidnapping with intent to commit rape, rape by force or fear, and sexual penetration with a foreign object from the sickening attacks between 2013 and 2018, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced Friday.

“Justice has finally been served,” Jenkins said. “Mr. Vilchez Lazo is now being held accountable for these heinous crimes.”

The 44-year-old Peruvian national, who was arrested in July 2018, preyed on his victims by placing Uber and Lyft stickers on his car and waiting outside bars and nightclubs — targeting young women who mistook him for their actual ride.

Vilchez Lazo committed the first reported sexual assault in 2013, when he picked up a 21-year-old college student from a bar, drove her to an isolated area and raped her, according to the DA’s office.

The second victim, 22, was leaving a nightclub with her friend in February 2018 when their ride-share driver canceled on them, prosecutors said. Vilchez Lazo then pulled up and offered to drive them instead.

Both women got into the car, but about a block away from the club, Vilchez Lazo told the victim’s friend to get out and buy water — and then he sped off to “violently rape” the woman, prosecutors said.

In May 2018, another 22-year-old was attacked after Vilchez Lazo falsely claimed to be her driver. Prosecutors said he stole her phone and threatened her with a metal object when she screamed for help.

The final reported incident occurred in June 2018, when a 21-year-old woman got in his car as he shouted “Uber, Uber,” leading her to believe he was her ride.

He placed a sharp object to her neck and slashed her on different places around her body during the rape, according to prosecutors.

Vilchez Lazo was finally arrested about a month later by an undercover surveillance team that matched his car to the victims’ descriptions.

Vilchez Lazo never worked for Uber, the company said. He did work for Lyft, but lied about his immigration status to get the job, according to the company.

Walmart employee fatally stabbed in random attack by thug who believed victim was a ‘demon’: cops

A Walmart employee was fatally stabbed during a late-night shift in a seemingly random attack, and the man told police he believed he was killing a “demon” that had been stalking him.

Officers were dispatched at about 10:58 p.m. Tuesday to reports of a man stabbing a female employee inside the Walmart Supercenter on U.S. 65, the Conway Police Department said.

Officers arrived within roughly a minute and encountered the suspect, later identified as 37-year-old Zeddrick Ross, still armed with a knife.

Police said officers issued multiple commands for the man to drop the weapon, but he refused and advanced toward an officer. One officer fired a single shot that missed the suspect, and a second officer deployed a Taser.

The victim, identified by police as 32-year-old Jordanne Drinkwater, was given emergency aid by officers and medical personnel but died at the scene.

Ross was then taken into custody and was booked into the Faulkner County Detention Center. Police said that no one else was injured.

Investigators said Ross was not employed by Walmart, did not know Drinkwater and had no known interaction with her prior to the attack, in what police described as an apparently random act of violence. The investigation remains ongoing.

According to the police affidavit, reviewed by Fox News Digital, Ross told a detective he had been pursued by what he described as a “demon” and armed himself with a knife for protection.

Ross said he believed he was confronting that figure when he stabbed Drinkwater multiple times, later telling investigators he realized she did not resemble the person he thought had been following him.

The affidavit revealed that Ross told police he had stolen the knife earlier and had gone to the store intending to obtain another weapon. An officer who discharged a firearm during the encounter has been placed on administrative leave, a routine step following an officer-involved shooting, the department said.

According to records from the Independence County District Court, reviewed by Fox News Digital, Ross’ criminal history includes a 2020 theft misdemeanor charge and conviction and a 2022 obstructing governmental operations in Faulkner County District Court conviction. In 2022, he was sentenced to one year of probation.

Tow-truck scammers’ devious scheme to talk fearful SoCal drivers’ out of their cars

Tow-truck drivers are taking advantage of shaken drivers involved in car crashes by convincing them to hand over their cars before charging them thousands of dollars to retrieve their vehicles.

A Southern California woman fell victim to the scheme, forking over $3,000 to get her car out of a tow yard after police said she was scammed by a driver, ABC7 reported.

Brittany Williams said she got into a wreck, but before she was able to contact the police or her car insurance provide, a tow-truck driver arrived at the scene.

The driver claimed he was contacted by cops and then talked her into giving up her car.

“He was like, ‘Listen, let me help you, let him help you,'” she told ABC7. “He started giving me this story about how he can give me an estimate — there’s going to be no charge, accidents like this happen. This is why he’s here. The police contacted him.”
After Williams signed a receipt and let him take her car away, she discovered the driver was not sent by police. When she called the driver, the line was disconnected.

She managed to track the car down at a tow yard, heading there with cops to recover it. Because she signed the receipt, she was responsible for the $3,000 bill to get it back.

An investigation is underway to find the driver.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office has warned Southern California drivers of “tow truck bandits” as recently as last summer.

“If you’re in an accident, some tow truck drivers may try to take advantage of your situation. These ‘tow truck bandits’ monitor radio traffic and rush to crash scenes, posing as helpful tow truck operators,” the DA said.

“But once they tow your car, they demand outrageous fees or refuse to return your vehicle until you pay inflated charges. This is fraud — and it’s illegal.”

Driver smashes into crowd at Louisiana festival, sends more than a dozen victims to hospital

More than a dozen people were injured when a car plowed through a crowd gathered for a cultural parade and festival in New Iberia, Louisiana Saturday, according to cops and local reports.

At least 15 people were wounded, including some in critical condition, after a drunk driver barreled through parade-goers at the Lao New Year Festival at around 2:30 p.m., according to the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office and News15.

Several pedestrians were directly struck by the car and two of the victims were airlifted to the hospital, Acadian Ambulance said on X.

Officers took the driver, 57-year-old Todd Landry, into custody following the terrifying crash, which happened near the corner of Savannakhet Street and Melancon Road, Louisiana State Police said.

Landry, of Jeanerette, showed signs of impairment and blew a blood-alcohol level of 0.137% — well above the legal limit of 0.08%, according to state police.

He was arrested and booked into the Iberia Parish jail on charges of driving while impaired, careless operation, open container and 18 counts of first-degree negligent injuring, cops said.

The crash is not believed to have been an intentional act, the sheriff’s office added.

The parade was part of an annual three-day festival held in Lanexang Village each Easter weekend to celebrate the Lao New Year. The event — the largest of its kind in the US — has been held since the 1980s when it began as a small block party catering to the area’s growing Lao community, according to NOLA.

CANADA

Outraged airline passengers left stranded on freezing island for 2 days without luggage

It was complete chaos in sub-zero misery after a man and his family were left stranded in freezing, minus 10-degree conditions for two full days after their flight turned into a logistical disaster, reported the BBC.

Jon Shipman, along with his clan from Liverpool, England, had boarded a flight from London to Houston, Texas, to visit friends, when the routine trip spiraled into a nightmare.

Three hours into the March 31 flight, passengers were hit with a chilling announcement: the plane would make an emergency landing in St. John’s Newfoundland, Canada, due to a “grave medical emergency.”

After landing, they were trapped on the plane for three hours.

Then came the next blow: a “technical issue” meant the plane couldn’t continue.

Peeved passengers were dumped into local hotels — with no luggage and only the clothes on their backs. Temperatures in St. John’s on March 31 were freezing, reaching a high of 24 degrees Fahrenheit and a low of 12 degrees, according to WeatherUnderground.

“Furious is an understatement,” Shipman told BBC Radio Merseyside, and said “we just sat around waiting for news, and had to speak to the local airport staff for updates.”

When they were told to return to the airport, they traipsed back, only to be told that they would be flown back to London.

But, unbelievably, as they boarded, the flight was canceled — again.

“It’s ridiculous,” Shipman fumed. “It’s just so poor from British Airways … everyone was frustrated.

“Most of the frustration was due to lack of information. Just be open and explain what’s happening, you know, we’re not soft, we understand there was a medical emergency, we understand there was a technical issue.

“But then to keep fobbing us off.”

After two days, they got back on the plane and flew to their US destination.

In the end, British Airways apologized and offered each passenger a $669 voucher, adding that all expenses for lodging and meals would be covered.

EUROPE

KitKat launches stolen chocolate tracker after thieves made off with 12 tons

KitKat is asking for the public’s help after thieves made off with 12 tons of the company’s chocolate — prompting the launch of a new tracking tool to help locate the missing shipment.

The brand, owned by Nestlé, announced the theft in a March 28 statement.

The company said 413,793 bars vanished after leaving a factory in central Italy en route to Poland, where they were set for distribution across Europe.

“We’ve always encouraged people to have a break with KitKat, but it seems thieves have taken the message too literally and made a break with more than 12 tons of our chocolate,” a KitKat spokesperson said at the time.

The spokesperson added that while the company does “appreciate the criminals’ exceptional taste,” the cargo theft highlights a growing issue affecting businesses of all sizes.

“With more sophisticated schemes being deployed on a regular basis, we have chosen to go public with our own experience in the hope that it raises awareness of an increasingly common criminal trend,” the statement added.

On Wednesday — which also happened to be April Fools’ Day — the company launched a tool for customers to check if their KitKat bars are linked to the theft.

“Someone really stole 12 tons of KitKats. And we really want to know where they’ve gone,” the company said in an X post.

“So, we’ve created a Stolen KitKat Tracker that lets you check if your KitKat is from the missing batch.”

Some social media users questioned whether the announcement was a marketing stunt tied to April Fools’ Day.

“Is this all for marketing?” one person asked.

KitKat acknowledged the skepticism while reiterating the theft is real and under investigation.

“Sadly, it’s true!” KitKat responded. “An actual truckload of KitKats from a new range went missing during transit last week. We’re on the case with the authorities for this.”

“I really, really hope the stolen KitKat tracker is a real thing and not an April Fools’ joke,” another X user said.

Priceless ancient golden helmet stolen from Dutch museum is recovered

A priceless ancient golden helmet from Romania stolen last year from a museum in the Netherlands has been recovered, Dutch authorities announced Thursday.

Under the guard of heavily armed, balaclava-clad police, prosecutors unveiled the 2,500-year-old Cotofenesti helmet, one of Romania’s most revered national treasures from the Dacia civilization, during a news conference in the eastern Dutch city of Assen.

“We are incredibly pleased,” Corien Fahner of the prosecution service told reporters. “It has been a roller-coaster. Especially for Romania, but also for employees of the Drents Museum.”

Two of three missing armbands were also recovered as part of a deal prosecutors reached with three men arrested for the heist shortly after it occurred.

Their trial will begin later in April.

Fahner said the search for the remaining armband would continue.

The helmet did not return unscathed.

“The helmet is slightly dented, but there will be no permanent damage,” Drents Museum director Robert van Langh said during the news conference. “The armbands are in perfect condition.”

Thieves used a homemade firework bomb and sledgehammer to break into the museum.

Grainy security video distributed by police after the raid appeared to show three people opening a museum door with a large crowbar, followed by an explosion.

The theft put a strain on relations between the Netherlands and Romania.

Romanian Justice Minister Radu Marinescu last year called the incident a “crime against our state” and said recovering the artifacts “is an absolute priority.”

Danish warship sunk by Nelson’s British fleet discovered after 225 years

More than 200 years after being sunk by Adm. Horatio Nelson and the British fleet, a Danish warship has been discovered on the seabed of Copenhagen Harbor by marine archaeologists.

Working in thick sediment and almost zero visibility 49 feet beneath the waves, divers are working against the clock to unearth the 19th-century wreck of the Dannebroge before it becomes a construction site in a new housing district being built off the Danish coast.

Denmark’s Viking Ship Museum, which is leading the monthslong underwater excavations, announced its findings on Thursday, 225 years to the day since the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801.

“It’s a big part of the Danish national feeling,” said Morten Johansen, the museum’s head of maritime archaeology.

A great deal has been written about the battle “by very enthusiastic spectators, but we actually don’t know how it was to be onboard a ship being shot to pieces by English warships and some of that story we can probably learn from seeing the wreck,” Johansen said.

In the Battle of Copenhagen, Nelson and the British fleet attacked and defeated Denmark’s navy as it formed a protective blockade outside the harbor.

Thousands were killed and wounded during the brutal hourslong naval clash, considered one of Nelson’s “great battles.” The intention was to force Denmark out of an alliance of Northern European powers, including Russia, Prussia and Sweden.

At the center of the fighting was the Danish flagship, the Dannebroge, commanded by Commodore Olfert Fischer.

The 157-foot Dannebroge was Nelson’s main target. Cannon fire tore through its upper deck before incendiary shells sparked a fire aboard.

“(It was) a nightmare to be on board one of these ships,” Johansen said. “When a cannonball hits a ship, it’s not the cannonball that does the most damage to the crew, it’s wooden splinters flying everywhere, very much like grenade debris.”

The battle also is believed to have inspired the phrase “to turn a blind eye.” After deciding to ignore a superior’s signal, Nelson, who had lost sight in his right eye, reportedly remarked: “I have only one eye, I have a right to be blind sometimes.”

LATIN AMERICA

American CEO, mom of 3 killed in Nicaragua horrific crash on dream vacation, 11-year-old son critically injured

A high-powered American CEO was killed in a horrific tourist transport crash in Nicaragua while vacationing with her husband and their three young children — one of whom suffered critical injuries.

Kasey Grelle, 41, who co-founded the St. Louis-based marketing consulting firm Aux Insights, was killed March 23 when an open-air tourist transport truck carrying her family and other passengers crashed inside the Rancho Santana resort in Tola, Nicaragua, heartbroken relatives said.

Her 11-year-old son Julian was critically injured and airlifted to a St. Louis hospital, according to a family fundraiser that was posted on GoFundMe.

He suffered head trauma, skull fractures and spine fractures as well as a collapsed lung, according to the GoFundMe page.

Grelle is survived by her husband, Dave, and their three young children — Julian, 11; Kit, 9; and Des, 6.

“We are devastated to announce the tragic passing of my sister, Kasey Grelle,” Grelle’s brother, Andy Joyce, wrote on Facebook in an April 1 post.

“Kasey was on a family vacation in Nicaragua and on a tour put on by the resort she was staying at with her kids, Kit and Julian, when the driver lost control and rolled the vehicle, killing Kasey and severely injuring Julian.”

Joyce remembered his sister as “one of the most brilliant, driven and selfless people I have ever met and she was relentless in everything she did, especially when it came to helping her people.”

Venezuelans still fighting corruption and crippling 700% inflation — but remain optimistic as US lifts sanctions

As the US lifts sanctions, Venezuelans are remaining optimistic for the future, but are still fighting corruption, repression of free speech and hyperinflation.

A bag of flour in Caracas, the capital, now costs approximately six months salary, while arrests of those who celebrate the removal of ex-president Nicolas Maduro are still common, residents told The Post.

The US removed sanctions on current leader Delcy Rodriguez — the former Vice President who assumed power after the US seized Maduro in January on drug charges — on Wednesday, the first step in paving the way for aid and investment in the country.
On Monday, US diplomats also reopened the US embassy in Caracas, which had been closed since 2019.

“What it means is that Delcy is preparing to travel to the US, and they needed to lift personal sanctions against her,” said Daniel DiMartino, a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, noting Rodriguez is the only member of the Maduro cabinet whose sanctions were removed.

“It’s a first step towards normalization, and a move to a transition to democracy because if there is no transition, foreign investment is just going to go down the drain.”

Venezuelans interviewed by The Post said they were cautious about hoping any real change would happen quickly.

“Lifting the sanctions is a positive move,” said a 49-year-old high school chemistry teacher in Caracas. He did not want to be identified because he had been jailed for 18 months for opposing the Maduro regime and says he is currently under surveillance by authorities.

“We are all very grateful to Donald Trump for getting rid of Maduro, but it’s the same Maduro organism that’s still in charge,” said the teacher. “They are an organism of corruption, and they are responsible for the suffering of the people. They are all like Judas for the Venezuelan people,” he said, referencing the biblical traitor.

Still, the teacher sees the positives from this week.

Meet Bill de Bogotá: Ex-NYC Mayor de Blasio visits Colombia with alleged China-linked far-left group

He’s Bill de Bogotá.

Aging hipster former Mayor Bill de Blasio recently gallivanted down to Colombia with his terminally online new girlfriend and an alleged Chinese Community Party-linked lefty group to denounce American imperialism, The Post has learned.

The under-the-radar trip in January saw de Blasio join an “emergency” conference — Nuestra América — to defend democracy and peace in the Americas after the controversial US capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro that month.

The ex-Hizzoner’s far-left trek drew disbelief and derision from many New York City political insiders, particularly because de Blasio jetted off along with Code Pink — an anti-war group bedeviled by accusations of ties to Beijing, sources said.

“It’s not that Bill de Blasio does not know Code Pink is a CCP front group, it’s that he is so desperate for relevance and validation that he does not care,” a Democratic operative scoffed.

“It’s really bottom-barrel stuff that he has to pal around with a bunch of anti-American nuts no one actually takes seriously.”

The leftist summit was organized by Progressive International, an umbrella group that aspires to “eradicate capitalism everywhere” and includes Code Pink as one of its member organizations.

Code Pink, founded as an anti-war group in 2002 ahead of the eventual US invasion of Iraq, is infamous for its colorful, disruptive protest stunts — such as members showing up clad in KKK costumes to antagonize President Trump’s first-term Attorney General Jeff Sessions in 2017.

But the group has increasingly been under fire as socialist billionaire Neville Roy Singham, who married its co-founder Jodie Evans, became its benefactor.

The China-loving Singham’s cash helps fund what a 2023 New York Times exposé cast as a extensive pro-Beijing propaganda apparatus stretching into American nonprofits.

One killed, dozens hurt as Peru soccer stadium event goes awry

At least one person was killed and several injured on Friday ahead of a soccer derby match at the Alejandro Villanueva Stadium in the Peruvian capital, said club Alianza Lima, a day before it faces off against Universitario.

The club offered condolences and solidarity for the casualties, which media said included 60 injured during a “flag‑waving event” at the stadium, popularly known as Matute.

“We are fully and transparently collaborating with the competent authorities,” the club added in its statement, vowing “total transparency” in helping to clarify the facts of an incident whose cause was not immediately clear.

Alianza Lima ruled out any structural failures at the stadium, as did a fire official.

“Based on what has been assessed, no structure has been affected,” fire official Marco Pajuelo told news channel Canal N, saying an initial inspection showed no one had fallen into a pit. “There hasn’t been any debris.”

Saturday’s match would proceed as planned, the Peruvian Professional Soccer League said.

“We will continue to work closely with the clubs and authorities to promote safe environments both inside and outside the stadiums,” it added in a statement.