US updates

New York City police officials criticized the recent catch-and-release of a group of migrants allegedly captured on video attacking two police officers near Times Square over the weekend as four more suspects remain on the loose.  John Chell, the NYPD Chief of Patrol, called Saturday's attack "reprehensible" while calling the suspects who punched and kicked the officers "cowards," during a Wednesday news conference.  "You saw the video," Chell said. "You have eight people attacking a lieutenant and a cop. Running up to them and trying to kick them in the face." The officers were attempting to disperse a disorderly group on West 42nd Street at around 8:30 p.m. Saturday, the NYPD said. When they tried to place one person in custody, they were repeatedly kicked and punched in the head and body, authorities said.  Surveillance video captured the attack. The officers sustained minor injuries and were treated on scene. NYPD DEFENDS 'LEGA...

The NYPD will be required to record the race, gender and age of most people they stop for questioning under a law passed by the New York City Council , which Mayor Eric Adams tried and failed to veto. The new law, known as the How Many Stops Act , will require officers to document basic information in low-level encounters in which police ask for information from people who aren’t necessarily suspected of a crime.  Officers also will have to report the circumstances that led to stopping a particular person. The NYPD will also have to record whether an officer used force against a person they questioned. The data will be made public on the police department’s website. ILLEGAL MIGRANT ASKED TO 'FINISH THE JOB' IN SLAYING FELLOW MIGRANT AT NYC SHELTER: PROSECUTOR Adams has veto power over bills that cross his desk, but a two-thirds majority can override such actions. The 51-member council, 45 of whom are Democrats, overrode the mayor’s veto with 42 votes in favor and nine ag...

A massive fire engulfed a chicken farm in Texas, demolishing the chicken coop, with firefighters still working to extinguish the blaze on Tuesday. The Bryan Fire Department shared images of the fire, which showed huge flames and a giant plume of smoke at Feather Crest Chicken Farm, which is owned by MPS Egg Farms. The sheriff's office said it received a call about the fire on Monday evening around 5 p.m., adding that multiple fire departments remained at the scene Tuesday. According to authorities, on Tuesday afternoon over 100 firefighters were still working to put out the blaze.  TEXAS DRIVER RESCUED FROM FLOODWATERS AFTER STANDING ON ROOF OF VEHICLE, VIDEO SHOWS Officials said multiple factors worked against the firefighters, who worked throughout the night to put out the massive blaze that had erupted throughout the metal buildings. Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire. FLORIDA MURDER SUSPECT KIDNAPPED DAUGHTER, USED BRASS KNUCKLES TO KILL EX...

A New Hampshire woman is in critical condition after she fell into a dumpster and was loaded onto a trash truck on Monday. In a press release , the Manchester Fire Department said that they were called to the scene at approximately 1 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 29. Authorities said that the woman fell into a dumpster in Manchester, New Hampshire and the truck picked up the bin without knowing someone was trapped inside. The department said that the dumpster had compacted the garbage four times when the woman was stuck inside. NEW HAMPSHIRE WEDDING SHOOTER GETS 40 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON The observant driver glanced at the camera that was located inside the truck, and noticed the woman desperately calling for help. After the sanitation worker called the fire department, crews began an emergency rescue operation to remove the woman from the dumpster. According to the press release, firefighters rescued the entrapped woman by entering the garbage truck through the roof and using a baske...

A Florida man faces murder, kidnapping and other charges after he allegedly beat up his parents, killed his girlfriend and kidnapped his 8-year-old daughter on Monday, according to authorities. The Largo Police Department said officers responded to a call from the Clearwater Police Department at about 3:15 a.m. on Monday to assist with locating 34-year-old Renato Muhaj after reports he was involved in a felony battery case. When officers arrived at the scene on Clearwater Largo Road North, they discovered Suela Saliaj was dead, and her 8-year-old daughter was missing. According to an arrest affidavit obtained by FOX 13 in Tampa, police found blood outside of Saliaj’s apartment, along with a knife and blood-covered brass knuckles. MISSING FLORIDA WOMAN'S SEARCH PARTY VOLUNTEER RAIDED BY POLICE Saliaj was found covered in blood with her throat cut, police said. An Amber Alert was immediately issued for the 8-year-old girl, and both police departments, along with the Pinellas...

Nineteen people have been federally charged in connection with an international organized crime syndicate that imported and exported a variety of drugs , including fentanyl, across the southern border into the United States and Canada using "handlers" who coordinated drug shipments, the Justice Department said Tuesday.  Earlier this month, two federal grand juries in Los Angeles returned indictments on the 19 suspects for their alleged roles in the drug trafficking ring that included an Italian organized crime figure, Mexican-based drug suppliers, U.S. distributors, and Canadian truck drivers operating in the U.S., the FBI said.  "This organized group worked as a conspiracy with impunity throughout North America," Don Alway, the assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles field office, said during a Tuesday news conference. "Today is an example of society pushing back and delivering a blow to groups like this who are unconcerned about the healt...

A Florida man told authorities that his wife of more than 50 years became enraged with jealously when she tried to kill him after he received a postcard from an ex-girlfriend from six decades ago.  The man said his wife, Bertha Yalter, 71, tried to smother him with a pillow in their North Miami Beach home, WTVT-TV reported. DISNEY SILENT ON ONGOING DRAMA SURROUNDING ESPN HOST PAT MCAFEE, NFL STAR AARON RODGERS AND ABC'S JIMMY KIMMEL When authorities arrived, they found the unidentified victim in an "extremely fragile" state, according to a police report obtained by the news outlet. He also had several bruises, open lacerations on both of his arms and stomach area, as well as open bite marks that were bleeding, the news report said. Yalter allegedly confessed to attacking her husband.  She is charged with second-degree attempted murder , aggravated battery on a person age 65 or older as well as tampering with a witness.  Yalter is being held in the Miami-Dade Count...

A South Carolina judge on Monday denied Alex Murdaugh's request for a new murder trial. Justice Jean Toal ruled Monday that she did not believe a new trial was needed for Murdaugh, who was convicted in the June 2021 murders of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, on his family hunting estate. Murdaugh was back in court Monday for a hearing on jury tampering allegations surrounding Colleton County Court Clerk Becky Hill, accusations which Murdaugh's defense team had argued warranted a new trial. Toal said before her ruling Monday that while Hill was "attracted by the siren call of celebrity" and had made "fleeting and foolish comments," the jurors took their assignments seriously in convicting Murdaugh. AELX MURDAUGH'S PUSH FOR NEW TRIAL COULD DEPEND ON ONE JUROR, ATTORNEY SAYS Dick Harpootlian, Murdaugh's defense attorney, said Hill is "not credible" outside the courtroom after Toal's decision on Monday evening and said his team is ...

A California woman was captured on video clutching onto the hood of a car as it sped around downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, after the occupants allegedly stole her French Bulldog, according to reports. KTLA in Los Angeles reported that Ali Zacharias was at Whole Foods on Grand Avenue and 8th Street at about 2:30 p.m. on Thursday when the theft happened. Zacharias was eating lunch at the popular market with her dog Onyx sitting under her chair. But then a woman reportedly started walking toward Zacharias’ table while calling to the dog. FOUR PEOPLE KILLED IN LOS ANGELES MURDER-SUICIDE SHOOTING: POLICE Zacharias told the news station the woman grabbed her dog’s leash and started to walk away with him. "I didn’t think that somebody was stealing my dog," Zacharias told KTLA. "I thought it was a misunderstanding, so I said, ‘That’s my dog. Excuse me,’ and she wasn’t listening." Rather than sit and watch, Zacharias said she followed the woman to a getaway vehic...

After a two-alarm structure fire at a northwest Austin, Texas, apartment complex displaced 16 residents, one family was saved thanks to an air purifier.  The Aleman family tells Fox 7 Austin that they are thankful to have survived and are now trying to recover after losing their home and everything in it. The fire happened in the early morning hours on January 18.  "I woke up to a loud, it sounded like an explosion, like phew, I didn't know what it was, I really thought someone was breaking into my apartment at that point," Jayd Aleman told Fox 7 Austin. 5 FIREFIGHTERS INJURED WHILE RESPONDING TO MULTI-BUILDING PITTSBURGH BLAZE Aleman said that no smoke alarms went off but what did go off was their air purifier. "It was like this moment of quiet, and we're in this dark living room and all I can hear is my air purifier beeping, and it's red, it's reading 900, clean air, it reads around 10 to 15, so that's extremely dirty, it was like beep beep b...

A hungry thief reportedly stole seven king cakes from a New Orleans bakery during a break-in last week ahead of Mardi Gras celebrations, the bakery posted on social media. Bittersweet Confections, a New Orleans-based bakery , posted that a thief not only stole seven of their prized Mardi Gras-themed king cakes, but also stole cash and a case of vodka. "Our king cakes are just that good," the bakery wrote on social media. "But please come and purchase one during our regular store hours." Epiphany, January 6, is the official end of the Christmas season, but it also kicks off the Carnival season in New Orleans, until Mardi Gras, which is French for "Fat Tuesday", which marks the final day of feasting, drinking and celebrations before Ash Wednesday and the rigorous fasting and sacrifice associated with Lent. NJ MAN USED DEVICE TO STEAL $1,700 WORTH OF FUEL FROM WAWA IN DELAWARE, AUTHORITIES SAY King cakes are one of the treats most commonly tied to Carn...

Large groups of concerned Americans are traveling toward the southern border to demand action from the Biden administration to fix the "wide open" flood of illegal migrants. "Fellow citizens and compatriots ... I call on you in the name of liberty, of patriotism and everything dear to the American character to come to our aid with all dispatch," Pete Chambers, one of the coalition’s commanders, wrote on the "Take Our Border Back" website.  "If this call is neglected, we are determined to sustain ourselves as long as possible and act like soldiers who never forget what is due to our own honor and that of our country," Chambers wrote. TRUMP BLASTS BIDEN-BACKED BORDER BILL: ‘RATHER HAVE NO BILL THAN A BAD BILL’ The multi-state convoy is set to begin on Feb. 3, Take Our Border Back wrote in a press release. The convoy will span cities from Virginia Beach, VA to Eagle Pass, Texas. The truck gathering will branch off and hold rallies in Arizon...

A 31-year-old woman was found dead on a beach in Los Angeles County on Friday, hours after her boyfriend reported her missing, Manhattan Beach police said.  The woman, identified by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office as Jennifer Hanie, was reported missing before 7 a.m. local time, and her body was discovered by lifeguards just after 10 a.m., just as the U.S. Coast Guard was also searching the water.  Her boyfriend said he had last seen Hanie near the waterline at Manhattan Beach, and he reported her missing after he and his friends couldn’t locate her.  5-YEAR-OLD GIRL DIES, SEARCH SUSPENDED FOR GRANDFATHER AFTER WAVE SWEEPS THEM OUT TO SEA AT CALIFORNIA BEACH Her cause and manner of death have not yet been reported by the medical examiner.  CALIFORNIA POLICE MAKE ARREST AFTER YOUNG WOMAN FOUND DEAD IN ALLEYWAY ON POPULAR BEACH TOWN STRIP Anyone with information on the investigation is asked to call Manhattan Beach Detective Sergeant Klosowski...

WARNING: This story contains graphic images. A new bill would impose curfews on some businesses in Kensington's open-air drug market as addiction and crime run rampant in the Philadelphia neighborhood. City Councilmember Quetcy Lozada introduced a bill on Thursday requiring some commercial establishments and restaurants to close between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. if they are within a specific area of the  Kensington neighborhood , including the infamous Kensington Avenue. The proposal is one of the latest to address issues in Kensington, an area that has become the  epicenter of the city's drug crisis .  "In order to address the crisis in Kensington, we need a better understanding of who is there and what is happening," Lozada, whose district includes Kensington , said in a press release. Kensington, known internationally for its excessive public drug use , is among the Philadelphia areas most impacted by overdose fatalities, according to city health department data. Over...

Squatters have staked their claim on land in Arkansas, claiming that they are part of a sovereign citizen group known to have engaged in violent confrontations with law enforcement. In a press release, Sharp County Sheriff Shane Russell said that the investigation into the squatters began in August 2023.  Authorities said that they were alerted to a couple who moved into an RV and an "enclosed property" owned by someone else. The pair allegedly built a permanent structure, dug a septic line, installed solar panels and began storing large amounts of water . CALIFORNIA SQUATTERS TAKE OVER BEVERLY HILLS MANSION, THROW WILD PARTIES WITH COCAINE AND ORGIES: REPORT Sheriff Russell said that law enforcement confronted the couple about their squatting and served a number of notice of evictions. Despite threatening the pair with eviction notices , the pair refused to leave their RV setup.  The two individuals said they were members of a sovereign citizen group known as the Moo...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois has awarded a more than $4 billion prison medical care contract to the same company it's used for three decades, despite multimillion-dollar lawsuits against the firm and statewide complaints alleging substandard care. Pittsburgh-based Wexford Health Sources was one of two companies responding to a request for proposals from the Illinois Department of Corrections, but it was not the low bidder. Wexford’s offer came in $673 million higher than one from VitalCore Health Strategies of Topeka, Kansas, according to a procurement announcement reviewed Friday by The Associated Press. ILLINOIS GOVERNOR CRITICIZED FOR PROMOTING RECORD-BREAKING CANNABIS SALES The initial term of Wexford’s contract is five years for $1.956 billion, with a five-year renewal worth $2.201 billion. State officials’ decisions on contract awards are not based on cost alone. But Wexford has also been roundly criticized for its performance, facing numerous multimillion-dollar la...

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators set an American flag on fire during a protest Friday in New York City . During rallies outside the pro-Israel organization, American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIRPAC), the demonstrators gathered around the inflamed Stars and Stripes. "Genocide Joe! Has got to go!" protesters were heard chanting in the video. "Free, free Palestine," others were heard yelling. PRO-PALESTINIAN CARAVAN SNARLS NEW YORK TRAFFIC AROUND JFK, LAGUARDIA AIRPORT In the following clip, New York Police Department (NYPD) officers are seen arresting the protesters who were stationed in front of AIPAC's headquarters. "What the f---," one woman is heard shouting as she is being arrested.  "This is what your tax dollars are funding!" the woman continued yelling as police officers arrest her. "They're funding genocide in Gaza ." As the woman was restrained by officers , she continued her rant, likening the NYPD and the ...

The city of Seattle has agreed to pay $10 million to 50 Black Lives Matter protesters who sued the police department for claiming they used excessive force during the riots in 2020, in a settlement announced by attorneys from both sides on Wednesday. "This decision was the best financial decision for the City considering risk, cost, and insurance," said City Attorney Davison. "The case has been a significant drain on the time and resources of the City and would have continued to be so through an estimated three-month trial that was scheduled to begin in May." According to the city, the complaint involved hundreds of interactions between the protesters and local law enforcement officials, over a million pages of records, over 10,000 videos, hundreds of witness interviews, and extensive court filings. However, the city admitted no wrongdoing in this case.  "This settlement resolves the majority of the remaining claims arising out of the 2020 demonstration per...

A former auto shop employee has been arrested for two arsons after he destroyed an auto shop in Pennsylvania and set fire to a private shed in one night, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office. Sean Gahagan, 56, was arrested on several felon arson charges after authorities stated he admitted to setting both fires, one at his former workplace, JG Transmissions, and the other at the property of a man he owed money to.  According to the DA's office, the incident happened on December 29, 2023, just before 9 p.m., after officers responded to a fire at an auto shop that was fully engulfed in flames.  Just 15 minutes prior, at approximately 8:30 p.m., police were called to a residence for a shed fire at the back of the property.  IOWA TEEN FIRE CADET FACING TERRORISM CHARGES AFTER ALLEGEDLY PLANNING ARSON 'HIT LIST': AUTHORITIES An investigation into the cause of the fire, which completely destroyed JG Transmissions and caused limited damage to...

A 23-year-old man is dead after stealing a plane from a Dallas-area flight school and crashing it in a rural area of Northeast Texas. Authorities identified the pilot as Logan Timothy James from Stokesdale, North Carolina. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The crash happened around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday about nine miles northeast of Telephone, Texas, near the Red River in Fannin County, according to a news release from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) obtained by Fox 4 Dallas.  DPS stated that a preliminary investigation shows a Cessna 172 was stolen from ATP Flight School in Addison on Wednesday night. From there, the plane was flown more than 80 miles northeast toward Paris. ARKANSAS PILOT KILLED IN SMALL PLANE CRASH AT LITTLE ROCK AIRPORT, OFFICIALS CONFIRM James was the only person in the aircraft and no other injuries were reported, according to investigators. SMALL PLANE CRASH IN RURAL MASSACHUSETTS LEAVES MULTIPLE FATALITIES, AUTHORITIES SAY DPS told Fox...

A good Samaritan drove miles out of his way on New Year's Eve to deliver a lost wallet to a stranger. Doylestown resident Richard Murray-Dey works as a Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) conductor, according to FOX 29 Philadelphia . On Dec. 31, Murray-Dey was on the clock when he noticed a lost wallet. The conductor opened it up and noticed it belonged to a Radnor Township resident named Greg Basile.  GOOD SAMARITAN PULLS FLORIDA MAN FROM BURNING CAR Murray-Dey – whose birthday is coincidentally on New Year's Eve – then drove nearly an hour away to the Philadelphia-area town to deliver the lost item. "I called my wife and we decided immediately that I would drive and take that wallet back to him, but try to do it anonymously, so I’m not infringing on his privacy," Murray-Dey told FOX 29. "What he had in there, I knew he would really need it and I wasn’t looking for anything in return," he added. "This is just how I am and ...

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts is planning to shutter MCI-Concord, the state's oldest prison for men, as it continues to see a drop in the prison population statewide. Closing the medium security facility, which opened in 1878, will save the state about $16 million a year according to a $58 billion budget plan Gov. Maura Healey unveiled Wednesday. TRUMP OPPONENTS IN MASSACHUSETTS LOSE ATTEMPT TO REMOVE FORMER PRESIDENT FROM BALLOT "It also reflects the fact that our prison population has declined. It's at the lowest point it has been in 35 years," Healey said. "It's a matter of justice too." The prison is only at about half-capacity and would need extensive repairs if it were kept open, said state Sen. Jamie Eldridge, Democratic co-chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary. The approximately 400 prisoners still at the facility will be sent to other prisons. The prison could be closed as early as June, said Eldridge, who credited the declining numb...

A Virginia man who served as a senior attorney with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has pleaded guilty to convincing young girls to perform sexually explicit acts on a live internet stream, and secretly recording them. The U.S. Department of Justice said 50-year-old Mark Black of Arlington, Virginia, was a member of two internet groups dedicated to exploiting children.  The goal of both groups was to find prepubescent girls online and convince them to livestream themselves engaging in conduct considered sexually explicit, the DOJ said, referring to court documents. LGBTQ PRIDE LEADER ARRESTED IN CANADA FOR CHILD SEX CRIMES As the girls engaged in the acts, Black and other members of the groups secretly recorded them and shared the videos among each other. Court documents show the behavior took place between January 2018 and October 2021. Specifically, in July 2019, Black recorded his screen as a prepubescent minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct on a str...

An Edenton, North Carolina, man faces the charge of murder after he allegedly killed a woman, whose body was found inside the trunk of a vehicle that was towed off a private lot. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NCSBI) said the body of a woman was found in the trunk of a vehicle owned by Jordan Isaiah Thomas in Beaufort County on Jan. 17. The victim, the NCSBI said in a release, is believed to be a 19-year-old Elizabeth City State University student. A positive identification is pending from the medical examiner’s office, the NCSBI said, which will also determine the cause of death. Investigators said the vehicle had been parked in the lot of a private company on U.S. Highway 264 in Washington, North Carolina. FLORIDA ANGER MANAGEMENT THERAPIST ARRESTED AFTER ALLEGEDLY SHOOTING, KILLING HOMELESS MAN The vehicle was towed to a local facility, where a body was ultimately found in the trunk by a tow truck company employee. After an investigation, detectives determi...

A Georgia man was arrested over the weekend after allegedly punching and slapping his daughter over her loss during a wrestling match at a middle school.  Steven Mathue Slaton, 38, a resident of Commerce, located 70 miles northeast of Atlanta, was taken into custody by the Hall County Sheriff's Office on Saturday, FOX Atlanta reported.  GEORGIA BEAUTY QUEEN ACCUSED OF MURDER IN DEATH OF BOYFRIEND'S TODDLER SON Deputies were called to Cherokee Bluff Middle School just after 2 p.m. amid reports of a man punching and slapping a girl.  Slaton apparently became angry when his daughter lost her match, investigators said. He allegedly punched the girl in the back, slapped her in the face, and then picked her up by her ears and lifted her over his head, the report said. The child was not injured. She was not a student in Hall County, authorities said. She traveled to ther area with her family to participate in a youth wrestling event. Slaton was charged with first-degree...

Houston Police announced on Tuesday that charges were filed against a suspect accused of shooting and killing a man while he was cooking for the homeless in 2022. In a statement, police said Raishard Jamal Potts, 23, was charged with murder in the death of 20-year-old Terrance Lewis. Authorities say Lewis had been at a co-worker’s apartment on June 15, 2022. They both worked for a non-profit organization that prepares food for homeless people in the city, police stated.  According to police, Lewis had been cooking and then went outside to throw away trash. While he was walking back to the apartment, authorities said someone fired shots at Lewis from the parking lot. PARENTS OF TEXAS TEEN KILLED IN ROAD-RAGE SHOOTING SHARE MESSAGE WITH WANTED GUNMAN When officers arrived, Lewis was pronounced dead at the scene.  HOUSTON GRAND JURY DECLINES TO CHARGE MAN WHO SHOT AND KILLED ROBBER INSIDE TAQUERIA At the time, police said there was no known motive for the shooting. ...

The Kentucky gun shop that sold an AR-15 to a man who used it to kill five co-workers and wrote in his journal the gun was "so easy" to buy is facing a lawsuit filed Monday from survivors and families of the victims. The civil suit filed in Louisville alleges River City Firearms should have been more suspicious of the sale and noticed red flags when Connor Sturgeon bought the gun six days before the April 10 shooting. Sturgeon walked into Old National Bank and opened fire on co-workers who were having a morning meeting, killing five and injuring several others. A responding police officer was also shot. Sturgeon, 25, struggled with mental illness and wrote in a journal he was "very sick," according to an extensive Louisville police report on the shootings released in November. LOUISVILLE BANK SHOOTER WANTED TO MASSACRE 'UPPER-CLASS WHITE PEOPLE' TO HIGHLIGHT LAX GUN LAWS: JOURNAL River City Firearms is a federally licensed dealer, which means sellers t...

Two Houston-area teenagers allegedly involved in the shooting death of a convenience store clerk after they stole a bag of chips have turned themselves in to authorities, police said.  One of teens, 17-year-old Mario Young Furgeson, was identified as the shooter and is charged with murder. The other was questioned and released, Fox Houston reported. The shooting occurred Friday at a Sunoco in Humble. TEXAS TEENS SHOOTS, KILLS NEIGHBOR OVER DOG DISPUTE: POLICE Police officers arrived at the scene and found a 42-year-old man dead inside a car in the median, authorities said.  "No one ever anticipates just going to work that day and not coming home," Humble Police Department Assistant Chief Dan Zientek told reporters at the scene.  Surveillance footage released by police shows two Black males entering the store around 11:30 a.m. They wandered around before one appears to put a bag of chips in his pants.  The clerk followed the pair outside and then followed th...