Edwin Díaz, the $69 million closer for the Los Angeles Dodgers, has been linked to an alleged illegal cockfighting operation in his native Puerto Rico, according to a report by <a href="https://ftw.usatoday.com/story/sports/horseracing/2026/05/14/jose-ortiz-irad-ortiz-jr-edwin-diaz-illegal-cockfighting/90046603007/">USA Today</a>.
The report, published Friday, tied Díaz to the federally banned blood sport through social media advertisements and promotional materials posted by cockfighting organizations on the island, including graphics showing the three-time All-Star in his Dodgers uniform promoting tournament events. One post reportedly advertised a “tribute” to Díaz, describing him as both a Puerto Rican sports hero and an active cockfighter.
The controversy deepened after a March interview with Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Día resurfaced in which Díaz openly discussed his family’s participation in cockfighting events. According to the outlet, Díaz said his family entered four roosters into a recent tournament and described cockfighting as a hobby he had followed since childhood. 
“It’s a pastime I’ve followed since I was a child,” Díaz reportedly said. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<a href="https://t.co/8yHIUOYXfE">https://t.co/8yHIUOYXfE</a> <a href="https://t.co/OOUCaIo3Lg">pic.twitter.com/OOUCaIo3Lg</a>
— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/UnderdogMLB/status/2055319645972803714?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
Cockfighting has deep historical roots in Puerto Rico, where some residents continue to defend it as a cultural tradition dating back centuries. But that defense has not carried legal weight for years. The practice has been illegal in all U.S. states and territories since 2019, when a federal ban took effect. The Supreme Court later declined to hear a challenge that would have carved out an exception for Puerto Rico.
Federal law makes participation in a cockfight punishable by up to five years in prison and fines, while knowingly attending as a spectator can carry criminal penalties. No charges have been announced against Díaz, and neither the Dodgers nor his representatives responded publicly to the report as of Friday.
The report also mentioned several other prominent Puerto Rican athletes, including champion jockey brothers José Ortiz and Irad Ortiz Jr., who were allegedly photographed at cockfighting venues and appeared in videos tied to betting activity. Díaz’s younger brother, Alexis Díaz, was also named in social media posts promoting the same events.
For Major League Baseball, the allegations could present an off-field distraction involving a high-profile reliever. MLB’s personal conduct policy gives it broad discretion to investigate players for conduct deemed damaging to the sport, even absent criminal charges. 
The timing is also awkward for Díaz personally. The veteran reliever, who signed a lucrative offseason deal with Los Angeles, is currently sidelined with an elbow injury after a rough start to the season, adding another layer of scrutiny to what was expected to be a routine rehabilitation.

Roosters

Three-Time MLB All-Star Promoted Illegal Cockfighting Events

animal rights

Crime

Los Angeles Dodgers

World

A growing wave of juvenile crime and “teen takeovers” in major Democrat-run cities is prompting renewed scrutiny of leftist policing policies, with critics warning that years of anti-law enforcement rhetoric have created an atmosphere of escalating disorder.
The phenomenon has erupted in cities including Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and elsewhere in recent months, with incidents often coordinated through TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and other social media platforms.
Col. Frank Carpenter, chief of police in Chesterfield County, Virginia, told <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/03/30/us-news/teen-takeovers-turn-city-centers-into-scenes-from-the-purge-cops/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Post</a> these scenes resemble “The Purge,” a dystopian horror film franchise depicting cities descending into lawlessness. Police sources say that massive groups of teenagers have increasingly overwhelmed officers, shut down public spaces, and engaged in assaults, robberies, vandalism, and shootings.
As with Virginia, these incidents are especially concentrated in Democrat-led cities. Chicago, in particular, has emerged as one of the most visible examples.
Last week, a silver sedan <a href="https://x.com/ChicagoContrar1/status/2053107479580479701?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rammed</a> a Chicago Police Department squad car during a downtown street takeover near Grant Park while crowds of teens surrounded the vehicle, cheering, filming officers on their phones, and pounding on the patrol car’s hood. Just two days later, on Friday, a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWl_IufDx1X/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">second takeover erupted</a> on the city’s South Side. In another incident earlier this spring, teens allegedly set vehicles ablaze by igniting fireworks inside them.
Similar incidents have recently unfolded in Los Angeles beach communities and <a href="https://x.com/WellsJorda89710/status/2043154989682511888?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Washington, D.C</a>., where viral videos show large crowds overwhelming police presence and turning public areas into chaotic scenes. Though no one was killed, in one Los Angeles-area takeover, gunfire broke out and struck four victims ranging from 17 to 22 years old.
In New York City, police arrested a 17-year-old suspect in the fatal stabbing of 39-year-old Leonides Baez near Times Square. According to investigators, the teen allegedly said he was inspired by a TikTok trend known as “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/08/nyregion/teenager-stabbing-times-square-nyc-tiktok.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">messing with crackheads</a>,” in which vulnerable or homeless individuals are harassed for entertainment and online attention.
Authorities say several teens approached Baez before he was stabbed to death outside of a restaurant.
Critics say the social media component is central to understanding this crime trend. The Wall Street Journal recently characterized many of the incidents as “performative crime,” that is, criminal acts committed for viral attention and social status online.
But some analysts argue the deeper causes run far beyond TikTok.
Heather Mac Donald, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute and author of &#8220;The War on Cops,&#8221; said authorities are failing to confront the fact that these crimes are overwhelmingly being carried out by young African Americans and reflect long-term breakdowns in the black family structure.
“This is a long-standing problem, and nobody wants to talk about what the causes are,” Mac Donald said during an interview with <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/hosts/morning-wire?elementPosition=7&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Browse+by+Hosts&amp;rowType=Hosts+Carousel">Morning Wire</a>. “The criminal justice system is terrified, really, to do anything about it.”
The extreme nature of the takeovers is prompting Republican leaders to act though. On Friday, U.S. Attorney <a href="https://x.com/foxnews/status/2055326776549605474?s=43" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jeanine Pirro announced</a> a significant offensive against the parents of minors participating in these crimes. Pirro pledged to pursue criminal charges against parents who neglect their supervisory duties, warning that such failures could result in substantial financial penalties or incarceration.
“If the evidence shows the parent knew or should have known or permitted or failed to prevent participation, we are going to charge them,” Pirro stated, adding, “If you drop your kid off and you fail to supervise them, or you let them skip school to join the chaos, you are going to face fines, court ordered classes, and possible jail time.&#8221;
Another contributing factor Mac Donald pointed to is schools, which she said have historically been reluctant to discipline black students after years of pressure from leftist activists and federal officials who claimed disciplinary disparities were evidence of systemic racism.
“Teachers now have been told they can’t do that,” she said, referring to enforcing discipline and behavioral standards in classrooms. She also blamed the lingering effects of the anti-police movement that exploded after the 2014 Ferguson, Missouri, riots and intensified following the death of George Floyd in 2020.
“Policing obviously has been under one prolonged assault since the Ferguson riots,” Mac Donald said. “The pressure is on them not to intervene at all because they don’t want another George Floyd riot or Ferguson riot in their city.”
The debate has intensified as some blue-city leaders continue pushing policies that restrict law enforcement.
Last week, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to curtail “pretextual” traffic stops by the LAPD. The stops are initiated for low-level violations such as broken taillights or expired tags that sometimes lead officers to uncover illegal weapons or narcotics. The city council&#8217;s vote is now set to be debated by the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners, which has the final say.
Meanwhile, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has previously described aggressive law enforcement approaches as a “sickness” in Chicago that he wanted to “eradicate.”
Mac Donald argued that years of political hostility toward proactive policing have worsened violent crime. “There’s nothing more important that the police can do to lower gun crime than these types of investigative stops,” she said.
Although officials in cities such as New York and Chicago often point to declining overall crime statistics, Mac Donald said those numbers can obscure broader public disorder. “Murders don’t lie. You can’t hide the bodies,” she said, noting homicide rates remain elevated compared to pre-2020 levels despite recent declines from their peak.
Police recruitment has also become increasingly difficult in major urban departments. Mac Donald said cities including Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago remain severely understaffed as officers retire early, leave for red states, or avoid entering the profession altogether.
“If current policies continue,” she warned, “people who can leave are going to leave.”

US-NEWS-CHICAGO-SHOOTINGS-TB

Teen Takeovers Turn Blue Cities Into ‘Scenes From The Purge’

Chicago

New York City

Police

Teenagers

Washington D.C.

A British university student collapsed and died after police initially handcuffed him instead of the man accused of stabbing him, according to reports and court testimony.
Finance student Henry Nowak, 18, was stabbed with an eight-inch ceremonial Sikh &#8220;shastar&#8221; blade in London after an encounter with Vikrum Digwa, 23, who is on trial for murder. Digwa told police that Nowak was a “drunken man” who “racially abused and attacked” him, <a href="https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15818111/Sikh-man-stabbed-18-year-old-university-student-death-eight-inch-ceremonial-knife-claiming-hed-racially-abused-court-hears.html?ns_mchannel=rss&amp;ns_campaign=1490&amp;ito=social-twitter_mailonline">according</a> to the Daily Mail.
Police initially handcuffed Nowak after the December 2023 incident. Shortly after, he collapsed, prompting officers to begin emergency first aid. Despite efforts to save him, including a doctor flown in by helicopter, Nowak succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at 12:37 am. 
Digwa is now on trial alongside his mother, who is accused of assisting her son after Nowak’s stabbing. 
Prosecutor Nicholas Lobbenberg rejected Digwa&#8217;s self-defense claim, telling jurors that “Henry drowned in his own blood&#8221; after the knife pierced his lung. He added that Digwa claimed he could not “recall exactly how the fatal wound came to be inflicted.”
Much of the incident was captured on video by Nowak before he died and is now being used as evidence in court. 
Nowak, who had been completing his first term studying accountancy and finance at Southampton University, had been out with friends before he was attacked. On his way home, he recorded Snapchat videos shortly before crossing paths with Digwa.
In one video shown in court, Digwa can allegedly be heard saying, “I am a bad man.” The footage abruptly cuts off when Nowak responds, “Are you a b….” 
Nowak sustained four stab wounds, including the one that punctured his lung. 
Police said after the fatal stabbing, Digwa’s mother, brother, and father arrived on the scene. Officers placed Digwa and his brother inside a police vehicle, where they said they overheard Digwa admit to the stabbing. 
Luddenberg told jurors that Digwa “told his brother he stabbed Henry three times. He didn’t mention racism or self-defense.” 
Digwa’s defense argued that he carried the knife for religious reasons. The trial is still underway.

Crime Scene at Night: Crime Scene Investigation Team Working on a Murder. Female Police Officer Briefing Detective on the Victim’s Body. Forensics and Paramedics Working. Cinematic Shot

UK Teen Dies After Police Handcuff Victim Instead Of Sikh Stabbing Suspect

England

London

Stabbing

United Kingdom

A disturbing police video released this week shows a transgender-identifying man admitting to the murder of his parents because his mom wanted to stop him from having gender surgery. 
Video <a href="https://kutv.com/news/local/mia-bailey-details-how-she-killed-her-parents-in-interrogation-video">obtained</a> by KUTV shows a 28-year-old Collin Troy Bailey confessing to murdering his parents, Joseph and Gail, in Washington County, Utah, after police arrested him back in June 2024. Bailey, who claims to be a woman and goes by “Mia,” was convicted in November 2025 and sentenced to two 25-year life sentences for the murders. 
&#8220;I told them I was going to kill myself so many times,&#8221; Bailey told police. &#8220;Mental health declining, that’s why I needed that surgery.&#8221;
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Mia Bailey details how she killed her parents in interrogation video" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MMFUfRsMirE?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
He told investigators his mom attempted to stop him from having transgender surgery. 
“She was trying to sabotage it. She always had boundary issues,&#8221; Bailey said. &#8220;I had one thing going on, and she took that away from me. [&#8230;] She can&#8217;t say sorry to save her life, apparently. And I gave her so many chances throughout my life.&#8221;
The footage shows Bailey flippantly referring to blindly shooting through a door, not caring if he injured his brother, saying, “If I did, so what?” 
Bailey said he had no regrets about murdering his parents. 
&#8220;So much for family,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I spent years trying to fix that broken ass family. Eventually, I had to get out, either going to kill myself or kill.&#8221;
Bailey told police that the public should be more supportive of people who want to become transgender. 
Police <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/police-catch-transgender-suspect-accused-of-double-murder-hiding-in-weeds">tracked</a> Bailey down and found him in the woods after he carried out the murders with a gun he bought from a pawn shop. Bailey had planned to kill himself, but was detained by police without incident after a manhunt. 
&#8220;I went to my parents to do the deed. Kill them,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It was spur-of-the-moment. I don’t regret it. I hate them. That was the last straw.&#8221;
Bailey <a href="https://corrections.utah.gov/inmate-services/offender-search/">appears</a> to currently be <a href="https://corrections.utah.gov/about-us/correctional-facilties/utah-state-correctional-facility">housed</a> in Utah State Correctional Facility’s Antelope unit, a maximum security male facility. 
There have been growing concerns about violence motivated by transgender ideology after the last several years have seen multiple deadly school shootings targeting Christian schools carried out by gender-confused assailants. 
The White House released a new Counter Terrorism Strategy earlier this month, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-counterterrorism-plan-vows-to-identify-and-neutralize-trans-terrorists?author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=6&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=White+House+Vows+To+Identify+And+Neutralize+Trans+Terrorists">promising</a> “rapid identification and neutralization of violent secular political groups,” including those subscribing to transgender ideology.

MixCollage-14-May-2026-09-29-AM-4267

WATCH: Trans-Identifying Man Confesses Gender Surgery Drove Him To Execute Parents

WATCH: Trans-Identifying Man Shrugs Off Murder Of Parents

Murder

Transgender

transgender surgery

Utah

A man accused of randomly shooting at cars in Massachusetts has been identified as a career criminal with a previous conviction for attempting to murder a Boston police officer. The suspect was out on the streets thanks to a soft sentence back in 2021. 
Police arrested 46-year-old career criminal Tyler Brown on Monday after they say he walked down a street in Cambridge waving a rifle and shooting at random. Video captured by witnesses show a man, identified by police as Brown, dressed in black walking down the road while brandishing his weapon. 
Two people were seriously injured in the shooting, and officials say Brown&#8217;s shooting spree was stopped by a former Marine legally carrying a handgun and a Massachusetts State Police who both opened fire on him. Brown was hit multiple times and taken to the hospital, <a href="https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/what-we-know-about-accused-memorial-drive-gunman-tyler-brown/3948328/">according</a> to Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Shocking new video shows a gunman opening fire indiscriminately on Memorial Drive in Cambridge. Police say there is no current threat to the public but the incident has shut down the usually busy road for hours on Monday afternoon. <a href="https://t.co/kPkRgUdsSf">pic.twitter.com/kPkRgUdsSf</a>
— Boston 25 News (@boston25) <a href="https://twitter.com/boston25/status/2053947248124289462?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Brown is accused of firing between 50 to 60 shots at more than a dozen cars on the busy Cambridge street. He is expected to be charged with two counts of intent to murder and multiple gun charges. The shooting took place about an hour after police <a href="https://www.kwtx.com/2026/05/11/gunman-memorial-drive-cambridge-was-shooting-passing-cars-random-witnesses-say-i-was-running-my-life/">attempted</a> to conduct a welfare check on Brown after his parole officer reported he made suicidal statements. 
Back in 2021, a judge gave Brown a much lighter sentence than requested by prosecutors after he was <a href="https://www.suffolkdistrictattorney.com/press-releases/items/man-shot-at-police-sentenced">convicted</a> of armed assault with intent to murder and attempted assault and battery by means of discharging a firearm after he opened fire on several Boston police officers back in 2020. 
During that incident, Brown fired 13 shots at police officers who were called to check in on him after he was seen with a weapon.
He was additionally convicted over the incident of three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon for pointing a firearm at Boston Police officers, unlawful possession of a firearm as a subsequent offense, and carrying a loaded firearm and possession of a large capacity feeding device.
Suffolk Superior Court Judge Janet Sanders sentenced Brown to just five to six years in prison, about half the 10-12 years requested by prosecutors. 
At the time, even leftist Suffolk District Attorney Rachel Rollins said she was “disappointed” with the sentence. 
&#8220;Violence will not be condoned in Suffolk County,&#8221; she said. “Whether that violence is committed ​by or against a domestic partner, a stranger, a loved one, ​a family member, a spouse, an acquaintance, a police officer, a suspect, anyone, we will hold the perpetrator ​of the violence accountable​ and advocate on behalf of the victim. ​​This sentence doesn&#8217;t do that, and I want to ​personally apologize to ​each of the​se officers and their families.&#8221;
Brown also has convictions from 2014 for assault and battery with a knife and witness intimidation.

MixCollage-12-May-2026-08-40-AM-4268

WATCH: Deranged Felon Opens Fire On Drivers In Broad Daylight

Boston

Massachusetts

Shooting

A 23-year-old woman in New York City said she did not want to cooperate with prosecutors after a man attacked her on the subway because she did not want to “put another black man in jail.” The same suspect is now accused of pushing a 76-year-old man to his death at a Chelsea station.
<a href="https://nypost.com/2026/05/08/us-news/stranger-assaulted-by-maniac-weeks-before-he-pushed-retired-nyc-teacher-to-death-recounts-frightening-attack/">The New York Post</a> interviewed the unidentified woman, who recounted a harrowing experience with a friend on a Manhattan subway. On April 2, the suspect, Rhamell Burke, a former Broadway dancer who fell off during the pandemic, approached the woman and her friend and tried to strike up a conversation. The two shut him down and tried to move to another subway car, according to The Post.
The alleged attacker didn&#8217;t take no for an answer. Burke, according to the woman, yanked the back of her head and kicked her friend. 
“He comes up, and he kicks my friend in the back, and basically pushes him through the transition of the cars,” the woman said in an interview with The Post.
“My friend freaks out, runs away, and then he grabs me by the head and pushes my head down, trying to, like, maybe throw me on the ground or something. But I didn’t, I resisted as much as I could. I didn’t fall, and then I immediately opened up the car and then ran towards my friend,&#8221; she said to The Post. 
The woman and her friend got off the train at the West 4th Street–Washington Square station in Greenwich Village, but Burke followed them, she said.
“We started running a little bit, but then thank God the cops were right there because, I mean, we kept thinking about, imagine that there were no cops, we would have had to literally run for our lives. They immediately arrested him. It was shut down really fast by the cops, and we respected that,&#8221; the woman said. 
Cooperation with law enforcement appeared to stop there. The alleged female victim declined to cooperate with prosecutors, and the same suspect is now accused of fatally shoving 76-year-old Ross Falzone down a flight of stairs at Manhattan’s 18th Street subway station.
Falzone, a retired high school teacher who lived alone, landed on his head at the bottom of the stairs and sustained a traumatic brain injury, a fractured spine, and a fractured rib, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/08/nyregion/mamdani-bellevue-subway-attack-investigation.html">according to the New York Times.</a> He later died from his injuries. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
NEW: Repeat offender and Broadway dancer shoves a 76-year-old retired teacher down New York City subway stairs, killing him.
32-year-old Rhamell Burke was seen grinning in court after allegedly carrying out the horrific murder.
The victim, Ross Falzone, was a social worker for… <a href="https://t.co/cBlbscyOOW">pic.twitter.com/cBlbscyOOW</a>
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) <a href="https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/2053867272704561250?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2026</a></blockquote>
Three months before the deadly attack, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/08/nyregion/mamdani-bellevue-subway-attack-investigation.html">Burke had been arrested four times</a>, including for assault on a police officer.
New York Democratic Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he was &#8220;horrified&#8221; by the killing and called for an investigation into whether the tragedy could have been prevented.
“New Yorkers deserve answers,&#8221; Mamdani said in a statement. &#8220;That is why I’ve directed NYC Health + Hospitals to conduct both an immediate investigation on what steps should have been taken to prevent this tragedy and a comprehensive review of their psychiatric evaluation and discharge protocols.”  
Police had previously taken Burke to a hospital after he was observed “acting erratically.” About an hour later, he was released and allegedly carried out the deadly attack later that night, <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/05/08/us-news/stranger-assaulted-by-maniac-weeks-before-he-pushed-retired-nyc-teacher-to-death-recounts-frightening-attack/">according to the New York Post.</a>
“I regret it 100%, and I actually feel really bad that a man lost his life,” the <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/05/08/us-news/stranger-assaulted-by-maniac-weeks-before-he-pushed-retired-nyc-teacher-to-death-recounts-frightening-attack/">woman said of her decision not to cooperate with prosectors.</a> “Maybe a part of me was just like, I don’t want to put another black man in jail, but, you know, at some point, if you are a criminal, you’re a criminal, and he was scary, he was a scary guy.”

NYC Subway

Woman Refused To Rat On Murder Suspect Because She Didn’t ‘Want To Put Another Black Man In Jail’

News

Subway

New NYPD data showing increases in subway murders and robberies comes amid a string of high-profile violent incidents underground that have fueled growing public concern over safety in New York City’s transit system.
The Daily Wire has extensively reported on the recent wave of subway violence, including multiple attacks involving repeat offenders, illegal immigrants, and mentally disturbed suspects.
Earlier this year, authorities arrested Honduran national Bairon Posada-Hernandez after he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/illegal-immigrant-accused-of-shoving-air-force-veteran-onto-subway-tracks-was-deported-four-times">allegedly shoved</a> two men — including 83-year-old Air Force veteran Richard Williams — onto Manhattan subway tracks in an unprovoked attack. Federal officials said Posada-Hernandez had previously been deported four times and had accumulated at least 15 prior criminal charges before allegedly attacking the two commuters.
Williams later died from his injuries, prompting prosecutors to upgrade the charges against Hernandez to second-degree murder. The veteran’s death became a flashpoint in broader debates over immigration enforcement, sanctuary city policies, and violent crime in the city.
In <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/warmth-of-collectivism-repeat-offender-pushes-woman-onto-nyc-subway-tracks">another recent incident</a>, a repeat offender allegedly pushed a woman onto subway tracks in Brooklyn before punching another woman in the face. The suspect, Curtis Signal, had a lengthy criminal history and was already on probation at the time of the attack.
Those cases have helped intensify scrutiny of subway safety as riders report increasing anxiety over random acts of violence, aggressive behavior, and disorder underground.
According to the <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/05/09/us-news/murders-robberies-surge-in-nyc-subway-nypd-data-shows/?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_campaign=nypost">latest NYPD statistics</a>, robberies in the transit system are up 18% this year compared to the same period in 2025, while misdemeanor assaults have climbed 15%. Murders connected to the subway system have also increased sharply, with four killings reported in or around the transit system this year compared to just one during the same period last year.
The latest deadly incident occurred Thursday when police say a mentally disturbed repeat offender allegedly shoved a 76-year-old retired teacher down subway stairs in Manhattan, killing him just hours after being released from Bellevue Hospital’s psychiatric ward.
Despite the rise in transit violence, city officials continue to point to broader declines in overall crime citywide. NYPD officials say major crimes in the subway system overall remain essentially flat year over year and note that robbery and assault arrests have increased alongside expanded police patrols underground.
Police recently added more than 175 officers per day to subway patrols as part of an effort to reassure riders and crack down on violent offenders.
Still, many commuters say the statistics do little to calm fears generated by repeated violent attacks. “Every time I hear something like this, I get more fearful,” one subway rider previously told reporters after a separate track-shoving incident earlier this year. “It’s happening too often.”

NY Subway Station

New York City Subway Riders ‘More Fearful’ As Murder Rate Underground Spikes

Politics

Zohran Mamdani

An illegal immigrant hid in the ceiling of a women&#8217;s bathroom in a Florida church while recording video on his phone, according to authorities.
The Fort Walton Beach Police Department arrested Panamanian illegal immigrant Aquilino Sanjur Ortega on Sunday after receiving a call about a possible armed person at Grace Church during a religious service. One woman said that while she was inside the women&#8217;s restroom, &#8220;she observed a mobile phone positioned above the ceiling with its camera pointed downward in her direction,&#8221; police <a href="https://www.facebook.com/fwbpd/posts/pfbid02BeudRCiPUCdk3ycUCELR71UDLdc3pPm2gD3TxEgviCoxoXhmPNGUGVznTBJq7iPMl?rdid=GIAivwzSYIKbGnwu#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
The woman &#8220;immediately&#8221; left the restroom and informed church staff.
Parishioners evacuated from the building before officers arrived at the scene, according to authorities. Witnesses told the officers that a man was hiding in the women&#8217;s restroom ceiling, which they confirmed after entering the church.
Ortega, who was unarmed, was swiftly arrested.
Ortega is charged with video voyeurism and disturbing a religious assembly.
Ortega came to the United States in March 2007 with a tourism visa that expired that September, federal law enforcement sources told The Daily Wire. Because Ortega overstayed his visa by nearly two decades, he&#8217;s considered an illegal immigrant.
As a result, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lodged a detainer with the Okaloosa County Jail. Local authorities are likely to honor the request and hand Ortega over to federal authorities for eventual deportation.
He is being held on a $250,000 bond.
&#8220;Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S.,&#8221; the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told The Daily Wire in response to the case.
Upon his return to the White House, President Donald Trump stripped churches, schools, and hospitals of protections that prevented ICE from entering. They were previously considered &#8220;sensitive&#8221; locations that ICE could not enter or go near.
“This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP [Customs and Border Protection] and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens — including murderers and rapists — who have illegally come into our country. Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” DHS <a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-enforcement-sensitive-locations-trump-ab0d2d2652e9df696f14410ebb52a1fc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> at the time of the policy change.
Trump&#8217;s border czar, Tom Homan, has said that ICE attempts to avoid those institutions. But if an illegal immigrant criminal tries to hide inside a church, ICE may go in to arrest them, Homan <a href="https://www.facebook.com/reel/2609704789400477" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> while leading immigration operations in Minneapolis in February.
&#8220;Those locations are not off the table. I&#8217;ve said from day one, there&#8217;s no sanctuary for a significant public safety threat or a national security threat,&#8221; he said at the time.

Untitled design – 2026-05-08T095623.726

EXCLUSIVE: The Creepy Church Bathroom Discovery Now Fueling A Bigger Immigration Debate

Christianity

Church

Florida

Immigration

Families embarking on cruise ship vacations may have more to worry about than infectious diseases. U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently raided five cruise ships, including one Disney cruise ship, as they identified predators viewing and distributing child sexual exploitation material. 
The operation took place in San Diego between April 23 and 25, leading to 28 individuals being arrested, <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/05/06/us-news/disney-cruise-ship-staffers-among-28-arrested-in-child-porn-sting/">The California Post reported</a>.
“After boarding the vessels and interviewing 26 suspected crew members from the Philippines, one suspected crew member from Portugal, and one from Indonesia, officers confirmed all subjects were involved in either the receipt, possession, transportation, distribution, or viewing of CSEM or child pornography,” a CBP spokesperson told the outlet.
“CBP cancelled their visas and these criminals are being removed from our country,” the statement went on. 
“We have a zero-tolerance policy for this type of behavior and fully cooperated with law enforcement. While the majority of these individuals were not from our cruise line, those who were are no longer with the company,” a Disney rep said in response to the news.
Some passengers reportedly witnessed the arrests on board the ship last month, but the reason for the raids were unknown at the time. Some Left-leaning online commenters incorrectly deduced that the employees were being targeted for their immigration status, which led to them criticizing ICE operations. 
The news comes during a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hantavirus-scare-triggers-evacuations-on-cruise-ship-as-it-heads-to-next-port">bad PR week</a> for cruise ships. A luxury cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak and marooned since Sunday off the coast of Cape Verde has been making headlines after three people, two of them seriously ill, were evacuated.
Three people – a Dutch couple and a German national – have died in the outbreak.
A total of eight people are suspected to have contracted the virus, with three of them confirmed by laboratory testing, the World Health Organization said.
Disney employees have been accused in engaging in heinous sex crimes in the past. A Florida sheriff said that his department regularly caught Disney employees during undercover operations while revealing the results of a week-long investigation into human trafficking in 2022. 
Guillermo Perez, a bellhop for Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, was arrested during the sting, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/we-always-have-disney-employees-florida-sheriff-reveals-results-of-human-trafficking-investigation">reported</a>.

Disney Magic cruise ship

Feds Raid Disney Cruise Ship In Major Child Porn Sting

Child pornography

Customs and Border Protection (CPB)

Disney

Feds swarmed MacArthur Park near downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday, executing a massive drug bust and taking an alleged narco queen into custody.
Bill Essayli, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, announced Operation Free MacArthur Park in a post shared via X, explaining that agents were targeting what amounted to an &#8220;open-air drug marketplace.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Operation Free MacArthur Park
Federal agents have taken control of MacArthur Park to execute federal arrest and search warrants targeting the notorious open-air drug market there.
We are going after street dealers and suppliers of massive amounts of fentanyl and… <a href="https://t.co/sozcSCGo5u">pic.twitter.com/sozcSCGo5u</a>
— F.A. United States Attorney Bill Essayli (@USAttyEssayli) <a href="https://twitter.com/USAttyEssayli/status/2052134629772300726?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;We are going after street dealers and suppliers of massive amounts of fentanyl and methamphetamine. Over the last 24 hours, federal and local law enforcement have started arresting 25 defendants charged in a federal criminal complaint with possessing and distributing dangerous narcotics, including fentanyl and methamphetamine,&#8221; Essayli added. &#8220;The park’s #1 drug trafficker, a Calabasas resident, is in federal custody and faces possible life imprisonment. The other defendants arrested today also face decades in federal prison.&#8221;
The New York Post gave additional details on the bust, reporting that Drug Enforcement Agency officers had also conducted a raid on the home shared by Mallaly Moreno-Lopez, a known &#8220;narco queen,&#8221; and her boyfriend Jackson Tarfur. After surrounding the suspected stash house, they called the occupants to come outside. When no one did so, officers crashed through the door  — and DEA officers reported finding occupants attempting to flush narcotics down the toilet at the time of the raid. Both Moreno-Lopezand Darfur were taken into custody.
Video taken at the scene showed just how massive the operation was.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
BREAKING: Major drug bust taking place right now across from LA’s MacArthur Park. <a href="https://t.co/tsCNh9UxmK">pic.twitter.com/tsCNh9UxmK</a>
— Matthew Seedorff (@MattSeedorff) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattSeedorff/status/2052136212878839977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Dr. Mehmet Oz, serving in President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration as the 17th administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, commented on the amount of fentanyl that was seized: &#8220;MacArthur Park has become a cemetery. The thought that 190,000 doses of Fentanyl was seized should scare you. Fentanyl is used in the operating room, before you know it you can&#8217;t breathe but fortunately we&#8217;re there with a tube.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Dr. OZ: MaCarthur Park has become a cemetery. The thought that 190,000 doses of Fentanyl was seized should scare you. Fentanyl is used in the operating room, before you know it you can&#8217;t breathe but fortunately we&#8217;re there with a tube &#8230;. <a href="https://twitter.com/DrOz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DrOz</a> <a href="https://t.co/OMIb9CjSae">pic.twitter.com/OMIb9CjSae</a>
— Matt Finn (@MattFinnFNC) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattFinnFNC/status/2052154282108141909?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche praised the joint operation, including both DEA officers and members of the Los Angeles Police Department, saying that they&#8217;d succeeded in wresting control of MacArthur Park from the drug dealers.
&#8220;To the drug dealers poisoning the streets of Los Angeles: your safe haven is gone,&#8221; he said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Agents from <a href="https://twitter.com/DEAHQ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DEAHQ</a> and officers from the <a href="https://twitter.com/LAPDHQ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LAPDHQ</a> have taken back MacArthur Park.
To the drug dealers poisoning the streets of Los Angeles: your safe haven is gone. <a href="https://t.co/dNaVDitSTM">pic.twitter.com/dNaVDitSTM</a>
— Acting AG Todd Blanche (@DAGToddBlanche) <a href="https://twitter.com/DAGToddBlanche/status/2052137806894375273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2026</a></blockquote>
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DEA/LAPD serve warrants in MacAthur Park

Feds Target Street Dealers In Massive Drug Bust

Donald Trump

Drugs

Los Angeles

An illegal immigrant who was allowed into the country by the Biden administration went on to land a job at a Wisconsin nursing home, where he allegedly sexually assaulted elderly residents, including one who has severe dementia, The Daily Wire has learned.
The Fitchburg Police Department <a href="https://www.fitchburgwi.gov/m/newsflash/home/detail/2585" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> last month that it received a report that an employee of Dimensions Living &#8220;may have assaulted vulnerable residents.&#8221; Following an investigation, authorities charged 23-year-old Julio Morales-Jarquin, of Nicaragua, with two counts of second-degree sexual assault of an elderly victim on April 29.
In one instance, a worker at the facility said they found Morales-Jarquin one night with a dementia patient who was completely naked, <a href="https://www.wmtv15news.com/2026/05/06/complaint-fitchburg-caretaker-accused-sexually-assaulting-patients-including-woman-with-dementia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to WMTV. The report said the patient is also in hospice care.
A staffer reported encountering the illegal immigrant exiting the bathroom with his pants down, and Morales-Jarquin seemed to be &#8220;caught off guard,&#8221; according to WMTV. When the colleague asked what he was doing, he claimed that he was helping the patient get dressed.
Morales-Jarquin admitted that he touched the patient inappropriately and that he engaged in sex acts with her around February or March, according to the report. He also allegedly took pictures and videos of another patient&#8217;s intimate area, and later deleted those images from his phone.
A patient who was over 60 years old told a detective that she had sex with Morales-Jarquin, and that she didn&#8217;t really give consent but gave in after he kept asking, WMTV reported. Morales-Jarquin later claimed that the patient consented to his actions. Another resident said that Morales-Jarquin had tried kissing and touching her inappropriately before she told him to stop and leave, according to WMTV.
Since Morales-Jarquin&#8217;s arrest, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lodged a detainer requesting that he be transferred into federal custody. The Department of Homeland Security has criticized Dane County policies in the past regarding cooperation with federal immigration authorities, arguing that such policies can complicate efforts to take custody of inmates who are illegal immigrants.
In some cases, the county gives ICE officers just 30 minutes&#8217; notice before releasing an illegal immigrant inmate, according to DHS. In a previous email to ICE, Dane County stated that &#8220;if you want the subject held, you must provide a court document signed by a judge,&#8221; adding that if federal authorities didn&#8217;t show up within 30 minutes of a phone call, &#8220;the subject will be released without delay.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_1090451" style="width: 946px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1090451" class="wp-image-1090451 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/Untitled-design-2026-05-06T132830.967.jpg" alt="" width="936" height="139" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/Untitled-design-2026-05-06T132830.967.jpg 936w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/Untitled-design-2026-05-06T132830.967-300x45.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/Untitled-design-2026-05-06T132830.967-768x114.jpg 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 936px) 100vw, 936px" />(DHS)</div>
The Biden administration released Morales-Jarquin into the country in 2023 through its signature humanitarian parole program. The Trump administration ended the parole scheme in April 2025.
The program allowed more than 500,000 &#8220;poorly vetted aliens&#8221; from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to fly into the country and stay and work for a two-year period, <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/06/12/dhs-issues-notices-termination-chnv-parole-program-encourages-parolees-self-deport" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to DHS.
In Morales-Jarquin&#8217;s case, he overstayed his welcome.
“This dirtbag was released into the country by the Biden Administration,&#8221; Acting Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement shared with The Daily Wire. &#8220;DHS is calling on sanctuary politicians in Dane County, Wisconsin to NOT release this criminal from jail back onto the streets to commit more crimes.&#8221;
&#8220;We need Wisconsin sanctuary politicians to cooperate with us to remove criminals from our country,&#8221; Bis added.

Untitled design – 2026-05-06T131959.242

EXCLUSIVE: Biden-Freed Illegal Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Elderly Women At Nursing Home

deportation

Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Joe Biden

An 18-year-old man is accused of fatally shooting two U.S. Bank employees in Berea, Kentucky, before rifling through the teller drawers for cash and speeding off in his car.
Brailen Weaver of Covington, Kentucky, entered the bank at around 2:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, wearing a black mask and gloves, according to the <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/1033646042/BrailenWeaverAffidavit-Redacted?secret_password=6Pd48N8xJJIAk7EFw5t7#download&amp;from_embed">arrest affidavit</a>. Weaver shot and killed a male U.S. Bank employee right after walking into the branch and then gunned down a female teller before he searched through multiple drawers, the affidavit states.
The suspect fled the bank in a silver BMW sedan, which authorities tracked down after finding the same car listed for sale on Facebook by Weaver. Investigators then reviewed Weaver&#8217;s social media and found photos of him that matched the description of the suspect seen on the bank&#8217;s security cameras.
Weaver also posted a meme on Instagram just hours after he allegedly robbed the bank and killed two employees, according to the FBI. The meme depicts an alien holding a stash of $100 bills with the caption, &#8220;I pledge allegiance to da bag.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_1088381" style="width: 483px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1088381" class="wp-image-1088381 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/Untitled-design-2026-05-01T152737.527-473x576.jpg" alt="" width="473" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/Untitled-design-2026-05-01T152737.527-473x576.jpg 473w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/Untitled-design-2026-05-01T152737.527-246x300.jpg 246w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/Untitled-design-2026-05-01T152737.527.jpg 657w" sizes=" (max-width: 473px) 100vw, 473px" />FBI</div>
On Thursday evening, authorities tracked Weaver to Somerset, Kentucky, which is about 40 miles southwest of Berea. A short time later, the FBI spotted Weaver&#8217;s vehicle on Interstate 75, and federal, state, and local law enforcement pursued the suspect in a high-speed chase.
The affidavit states that Weaver reached speeds of nearly 130 mph and dodged spike strips laid out in the road by law enforcement. The suspect eventually crashed as he was driving toward downtown Lexington, but escaped on foot. Authorities found a firearm in the suspect&#8217;s abandoned BMW. Weaver was finally arrested in downtown Lexington and faces federal charges of armed bank robbery and using/discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
&#8220;The perpetrator&#8217;s heinous actions were not only indefensible but cowardly,&#8221; <a href="https://www.wlwt.com/article/2-employees-killed-bank-robbery-berea-kentucky-suspect/71180865">said</a> Olivia Olson, the special agent in charge at the FBI&#8217;s Louisville field office. &#8220;While there is no longer imminent danger, we understand that the tragedy is far from over for the community. The only solace that we can offer is that this individual who valued a stolen dollar more than two human lives will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.&#8221;
The killings appear to be the first deadly shooting in a bank robbery in the United States since 2021, when a man <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndin/pr/gary-man-sentenced-2-consecutive-terms-life-prison">fatally shot</a> a security guard at a bank in Gary, Indiana, during an attempted robbery. In 2019, a 21-year-old man <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/former-prison-guard-trainee-is-sentenced-to-death-for-killing-5-women-at-a-florida-bank/">executed</a> five women at a SunTrust bank in Sebring, Florida. In that shooting, there was no indication that the gunman intended to rob the bank.
Bank robberies in the United States are becoming increasingly uncommon as banks improve security and hold less cash at any given time, reflecting society&#8217;s shift to digital payments.

Bank robbery

FBI Reveals Robber Posted Chilling Instagram Meme After Killing Two Bank Employees

Banks

Kentucky

Robbery

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