Actress Hayden Panettiere&#8217;s death was ruled to be an accidental overdose on Tuesday.
The Greenville County, South Carolina, Coroner’s office ruled her death as toxic effects of fentanyl, 4-ANPP, Alprazolam, Methocarbamol and Quetiapine, per <a href="https://people.com/hayden-panettieres-cause-of-death-revealed-12061080">People</a>. The actress’s death was ruled to be an accident.
Panettiere, best known for starring roles in “Nashville” and “Heroes,” was discovered dead in her apartment on August 16 at the age of 36.
“On August 16, 2026, at approximately 1:51 PM, a 911 call was received regarding a reported cardiac arrest at 701 Easley Bridge Road in Greenville. First responders and Emergency Medical Services arrived on scene and located a female in cardiac arrest. EMS personnel initiated advanced cardiac life support measures; however, resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful, and the individual was pronounced deceased at 2:32 PM,” the coroner’s office statement said.
“The Greenville County Coroner’s Office responded to the scene and initiated a parallel investigation with the Greenville City Police Department. The decedent has been identified as Hayden Leslie Panettiere, 36, of California. Panettiere was found unresponsive inside the residence, where she had been temporarily staying. An autopsy was completed by a board-certified forensic pathologist. At autopsy, no signs of trauma were discovered that would have contributed to the death.”
The publicist for Panettiere&#8217;s family responded to the coroner&#8217;s report, telling the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/hayden-panettiere-cause-of-death-drugs-fentanyl-229349e2bb6e19d985372d8524b09fc8?taid=6ab291874ff7f5000152195a&amp;utm_campaign=TrueAnthem&amp;utm_medium=AP&amp;utm_source=Twitter">Associated Press</a> that “the investigation is still ongoing and the case is complex.”
The coroner&#8217;s report comes after multiple law enforcement sources told TMZ that Panettiere had a longtime drug dealer in Los Angeles who allegedly supplied her with black-market prescription drugs, including oxycodone. Investigators believe Panettiere took several drugs obtained from the dealer during her flight from Los Angeles to South Carolina the day before her death. They suggested at the time that one pill she took the following morning was an oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-pill-investigators-believe-may-have-killed-hayden-panettiere">reported</a>.
Panettiere was discovered unconscious by her boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach Hickerson. Zach said he was returning from a church service to meet up with Panettiere and Brian for lunch. When he knocked on the door, his brother woke up, and they found Panettiere unconscious. Brian immediately administered Narcan, a medication used to reverse opioid overdoses, while Zach called 911, he said. The brothers then performed CPR together while remaining on the phone with 911 dispatchers, but Panettiere could not be revived.
Brian, the actress’ on-again-off-again boyfriend, reportedly met with DEA investigators as part of the ongoing probe. Police documents previously indicated that Panettiere had a “bag of medication” containing nine different substances, though the specific medications were redacted.
The DEA has been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/incriminating-texts-with-drug-dealer-focus-of-probe-into-hayden-panettieres-death">involved in the case</a> since the early days of the investigation in the hopes of bringing down her dealer in the same way that the dealers who provided deadly doses to “Friends” actor Matthew Perry and rapper Mac Miller were brought to justice.

Hayden Panettiere

Hayden Panettiere’s Official Cause Of Death Revealed

celebrity death

drug overdose

fentanyl

greenville county south carolina

hayden panettiere

The Drug Enforcement Administration is looking closely at a lengthy series of text messages that it believes were sent between the late actress Hayden Panettiere and her alleged drug dealer.
Entertainment news site TMZ <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2026/09/15/hayden-panettiere-drug-dealers-incriminating-texts-focus-drug-enforcement-administration-probe/#continued">reported</a> on Tuesday that the texts in question — which included &#8220;a slew of messages about drugs&#8221; — are &#8220;incriminating&#8221; and have become the focal point of the investigation into the &#8220;Nashville&#8221; star&#8217;s recent death.
According to the report, the conversations went back years and continued up until the week that Panettiere was found dead in a South Carolina Airbnb rental — and included numerous messages that made specific references to obtaining black-market pills.
In a separate <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2026/09/15/hayden-panettiere-home-searched-by-dea/#continued">report</a> also published Tuesday, TMZ revealed that DEA agents searched Panettiere&#8217;s West Hollywood home in the days after her death. They arrived at her condo on August 25, just over one week after she died on August 16, armed with a search warrant. Their target, according to the report, was any evidence of black-market drugs or anything that might link those drugs to a specific dealer. The search included any and all drug paraphernalia, and any drugs — whether prescription or recreational.
Neighbors told TMZ that they had seen three &#8220;shady&#8221; people — two women and one man — coming and going over the years that Panettiere lived there, delivering small bags the neighbors believed contained drugs. The man had made a visit to her home the week prior to her death.
The results of a full toxicology report are still pending, but early reports suggest that Panettiere died after taking an oxycodone pill that was laced with fentanyl. She was 36 years old.
Panettiere&#8217;s on-again, off-again boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, and his brother, Zach Hickerson, found the &#8220;Heroes&#8221; actress unresponsive on the afternoon of August 16 in a Greenville, South Carolina, Airbnb rental she and Brian were sharing. Zach said in a statement that he called 911 while his brother administered naloxone, the opioid overdose-reversal drug sold as Narcan, and that the two performed CPR until first responders arrived. They were unable to revive her.
Brian Hickerson reportedly turned over a bag of medication that had belonged to Panettiere.
The DEA has been involved in the case since the early days of the investigation in the hopes of bringing down her dealer in the same way that the dealers who provided deadly doses to &#8220;Friends&#8221; actor <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/north-hollywood-drug-dealer-who-sold-ketamine-killed-actor-matthew-perry-sentenced-15">Matthew Perry</a> and rapper <a href="https://www.dea.gov/es/node/203936">Mac Miller</a> were brought to justice.

‘Incriminating’ Texts With Drug Dealer Focus Of Probe Into Hayden Panettiere’s Death

Incriminating Texts Are The Focus Of DEA Investigation Into Hayden Panettiere's Drug Dealer

drug enforcement administration

Dante Paul Lacourte was just 16 years old when his mother found him dead in his bed from an overdose. His body had turned blue, and black fluid was coming from his nose and mouth. 
She initially assumed that fentanyl had killed her son. His toxicology results revealed that he had instead consumed cychlorphine, an emerging synthetic opioid <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/14/us/san-francisco-autopsy-cychlorphine.html">estimated</a> to be up to 10 times more potent than fentanyl. 
The drug traces back to compounds developed in a Belgian lab during the 1960s as researchers searched for painkillers capable of easing discomfort in severe conditions such as bone cancer. 
The drugs, however, were never approved for medical use because they were considered “too strong and dangerous.” Their formulas, however, did not disappear. 
Keith Humphreys, a Stanford University psychiatry professor, said the research was published in scientific journals and is “now available in the dark corners of the internet.”
“The worst possible way to find out a new drug is in the city is by an autopsy,” Humphreys said. 
Lacourte’s death marked the first time cychlorphine appeared in a San Francisco medical examiner’s report.
Leo Wingate, Lacourte’s friend, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/14/us/san-francisco-autopsy-cychlorphine.html">told</a> The New York Times that the teenager used drugs while struggling with depression and anxiety. Wingate was with Lacourte before he died and said he dropped him off at his apartment late that night after the two smoked marijuana.
 Wingate said Lacourte often obtained drugs from San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood and would take pills despite knowing they could contain fentanyl. 
Lacourte’s mother repeatedly warned her son about the danger. 
“It just takes one pill,” she told him. 
Her warning became reality in April.
Police later used evidence from Lacourte&#8217;s phone and pills found in his bedroom to conduct undercover drug purchases and obtain arrest warrants.
Police arrested four people on numerous felony charges: Leander Pitts, 46; Starr Lamare, 39; Sharonnee Hyson, 44; and Nicholas Wallace, 46. The Tenderloin location where Wallace was arrested was about a 10-minute walk from where Lacourte died.
Authorities seized approximately 20,000 pills during the investigation. Police have also recovered pills testing positive for cychlorphine in unrelated arrests, suggesting that the drug is circulating through San Francisco’s illicit drug market. 
Shortly after Lacourte’s death, the Trump administration <a href="https://x.com/ONDCP/status/2049936430441378100">warned</a> that cychlorphine could spread across the country. 
Federal officials said the drug had been detected in at least 10 states, including California, Texas, Louisiana, Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, Tennessee, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire. At least 55 deaths have been linked to cychlorphine since 2025.
Cychlorphine is particularly difficult to combat because it can go undetected. The drug is not detected by standard fentanyl test strips or routine opioid urine screens.

Pills

Teen Overdose Serves As Warning For Drug 10x Stronger Than Fentanyl

health

opioid crisis

san francisco

synthetic drug

New details are emerging about the death of actress Hayden Panettiere, with law enforcement sources reportedly telling TMZ that she took a single pill that may have been laced with fentanyl before she died.
Panettiere, 36, was found unresponsive at a residence in Greenville, South Carolina, on August 16, just days before her 37th birthday. Authorities have been investigating her death as a suspected overdose, though her official cause of death has not yet been released.
According to multiple law enforcement sources cited by <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2026/09/14/hayden-panettiere-died-from-oxycodone-laced-with-fentanyl/">TMZ</a>, Panettiere had a longtime drug dealer in Los Angeles who allegedly supplied her with black-market prescription drugs, including oxycodone. Investigators believe Panettiere took several drugs obtained from the dealer during her flight from Los Angeles to South Carolina the day before her death. They believe one pill she took the following morning was an oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl, and the pill may have caused her death.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is now reportedly investigating the source of the pill, Panettiere’s relationship with the drug dealer, as well as other circumstances surrounding her death.
Panettiere was discovered unconscious by her boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach Hickerson. Zach said he was returning from a church service to meet up with Panettiere and Brian for lunch. When he knocked on the door, his brother woke up, and they found Panettiere unconscious. Brian immediately administered Narcan, a medication used to reverse opioid overdoses, while Zach called 911, he said. The brothers then performed CPR together while remaining on the phone with 911 dispatchers, but Panettiere could not be revived.
Brian, the actress&#8217; on-again-off-again boyfriend, reportedly met with DEA investigators as part of the ongoing probe. Police documents previously indicated that Panettiere had a “bag of medication” containing nine different substances, though the specific medications were redacted.
An autopsy found no signs of trauma, and authorities have said there were no apparent signs of foul play. Toxicology results are still pending and are expected to determine Panettiere’s official cause of death.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hayden-panettieres-boyfriends-brother-reveals-what-he-did-to-try-to-save-her">Hayden Panettiere’s Boyfriend’s Brother Reveals What He Did To Try To Save Her</a>

The Pill Investigators Believe May Have Killed Hayden Panettiere

New Details Emerge About ‘Single Pill’ In Hayden Panettiere Death Investigation

During my time in the Trump administration, I saw firsthand the devastating consequences of porous borders and unchecked international cartels. The criminals who exploit our vulnerabilities have no right to walk across borders and bring preventable violence into our communities.
I stood alongside President Trump because he is a leader willing to look the American people in the eye and promise to fight the lawlessness that threatens our communities. As an advisor who worked on immigration reform and international security, I know he understands that border security is a matter of life and death for families across the nation. He has mourned with grieving parents; he has prayed with them, and he promised action.
However, the danger we face is not solely from the southern border, contrary to what most Americans believe.
Mothers across America are burying their teenage sons and daughters because of a poisoning <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/imposing-duties-to-address-the-flow-of-illicit-drugs-across-our-national-border/">epidemic</a> fueled by open borders in the north. The Canadian border has become a massive thoroughfare for fentanyl, human smuggling, and illicit tobacco trade. Criminal cartels and drug runners are smart. They look for the path of least resistance, and right now, the vast and frozen northern border provides exactly that.
The cartels are exploiting thousands of miles of unguarded territory. They specifically abuse “tribal non-enforcement zones” that straddle the international line. Recent federal drug and gun <a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/u-s-prosecutors-charge-three-from-akwesasne-in-drugs-for-guns-probe">trafficking</a> cases show exactly how criminals use these unmonitored access points to flood American streets with poison and weapons. Canadian authorities have ignored these smuggling corridors for far too long, prioritizing political correctness over the lives of innocent people.
Politicians in Canada sit in secure offices and worry about profit margins and international trade standing. They are not thinking of the people — countless American families — who are forced to live with the consequences of their inaction. They do not see the families in New Hampshire and across the country who are forced to empty their bank accounts for funerals because a lethal dose of fentanyl slipped right through an unpatrolled stretch of woods.
Right now, President Trump is locked in a fierce trade dispute with Ottawa. Politicians in Washington and media pundits are wringing their hands, wondering how this standoff will end. There is no easy economic exit to a trade war of this magnitude. But a victory awaits that transcends tariffs and trade deficits.
President Trump should demand a total Canadian crackdown on border smuggling as the nonnegotiable price of a trade agreement.
This is the perfect opportunity for the president to do what he does best and force Canada to step up. Canada must deploy its law enforcement to lock down the northern border. They must end the free pass given to tribal smuggling corridors. They must crack down on the illicit fentanyl trade operating on their soil before it reaches our communities.
If Canada commits to real, verifiable enforcement, President Trump can declare another massive victory for the safety of the American people. He can ease the economic pressure while bringing home a historic win for national security. This deal benefits both nations. Canada gets a way out of a trade war they cannot win, and the United States gets a secured northern frontier.
As a former diplomat who has engaged world leaders on behalf of the United States, I know that leveraging international agreements for national security is exactly how we protect our citizens. No more children should be stolen from their families by criminals who cross our borders. No more mothers should have to stand at a podium, tears in their eyes, and plead for the government to protect its citizens.
President Trump has the leverage to force Canada to take this crisis seriously. Let the trade war end with a sealed border. Let it end with a crippling blow to the smugglers and the cartels poisoning our youth.
***
Matt Mowers is former senior White House Advisor at the U.S. Department of State.

Gordie Howe International Bridge Opens To Traffic

How Canada’s Open Border Fuels A Deadly American Epidemic

border security

canada

canada trade war

donald trump

opinion

An illegal immigrant from El Salvador allegedly sold fentanyl to students near a high school in Virginia who later overdosed from the narcotic.
Isaac Melendez-Carranza, 31, allegedly sold the pills to Park View High School students who overdosed in May, authorities said. At the time, he already had a deportation order, which an immigration judge issued on July 18, 2024, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told The Daily Wire.
The two students survived the overdoses after receiving doses of the opioid antidote Narcan.
Border agents caught Melendez-Carranza when he crossed the Rio Grande near Hebbronville, Texas, in May 2016, DHS said. He bonded out of federal custody in July 2016 before going on to allegedly commit his latest crimes.
On Thursday, local authorities arrested Melendez-Carranza following the execution of search warrants where they seized suspected narcotics and cash, the Loudoun County Sheriff&#8217;s Office <a href="https://sheriff.loudoun.gov/m/newsflash/home/detail/10821" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement.
“We found that the subject in question, Isaac Melendez-Carranza, actually had over 100 fentanyl pills with him at the time, in addition to several thousand dollars,” Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman <a href="https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/northern-virginia/suspected-drug-dealer-arrested-in-connection-to-loudoun-county-student-overdoses/4145731/">told</a> News4. “So, looked to me like he was getting ready to do another delivery to somebody.”
“He came in the country illegally 10 years ago, and so you know, had that not happened, maybe this would have never happened. So, just so you know, DHS – there&#8217;s a detainer on him,” Chapman said.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged a detainer with the Loudoun County Jail on Thursday, asking local authorities to hand the Salvadoran national over to the feds if he is to be released. The Trump administration has faced challenges in working with local authorities in Virginia to arrest illegal immigrants accused of crimes and has blamed the commonwealth&#8217;s Democratic governor, Abigail Spanberger, for enacting sanctuary policies.
&#8220;ICE will work to ensure this criminal is REMOVED from our nation,&#8221; DHS <a href="https://x.com/DHSgov/status/2092042816390070392" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in an X post on Monday.
Following Melendez-Carranza&#8217;s arrest, the Loudoun County Sheriff&#8217;s Office warned the public that &#8220;one pill can be deadly&#8221; and that &#8220;fentanyl is an extremely potent synthetic opioid, and even a small amount can cause a fatal overdose.&#8221;
&#8220;Illicit pills and powders may contain fentanyl without the user’s knowledge, making experimentation or taking a pill obtained from an unknown source especially dangerous,&#8221; the sheriff&#8217;s office said.
&#8220;Parents, caregivers, and students are encouraged to talk openly about the dangers of illicit drugs and counterfeit pills. If you suspect someone is experiencing an overdose, call 911 immediately,&#8221; the office added.
Melendez-Carranza is charged with two counts of distribution of a controlled substance and one count of sale of drugs near certain properties. He is being held without bond.

Untitled design – 2026-08-25T101504.876

Illegal Immigrant With Deportation Order Sold Fentanyl To Students Who Later Overdosed

abigail spanberger

illegal immigration

virginia

A drug dealer let off the hook by President Joe Biden was arrested with a large stash of cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl.
Walter Lee Muhammad, granted clemency in the final months of the Biden presidency, faces drug trafficking charges after police say he was arrested with 25 kilograms of cocaine, seven kilograms of heroin, and four kilograms of fentanyl. Biden cut the Atlanta-based Muhammad’s 10-year prison sentence six years short in December 2024 when he issued clemency to over a thousand drug offenders. 
“Muhammad is a serial drug trafficker who — despite receiving the extraordinary gift of presidential clemency — continued to deal lethal fentanyl and other dangerous drugs,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg. “Thanks to our law enforcement partners, the community is safer with this repeat offender off the street and back behind bars.” 
Muhammad now faces federal and state drug trafficking charges after a lengthy investigation.
DEA agent Michael DeWald said in the complaint against Muhammad that he and other suspected drug traffickers had been under investigation since July 2025. Officials suspect that Muhammad had several Atlanta properties that he used to store and distribute the drugs. 
On August 5, 2026, DEA agents observed multiple bags being shuffled out of a property used by Muhammad. Those bags were transferred to a BMW which left late that evening for North Carolina. The BMW was stopped by the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office, which deployed dogs that detected drugs, according to investigators. 
“The Adidas bag contained MUHAMMAD’s clothing that was wrapped around four kilograms of fentanyl. Deputies found 25 kilograms of cocaine in the cardboard box. Guilford County Sheriff deputies field-tested the seized substances, and both tested positive for cocaine and fentanyl, respectively,” DeWald wrote in the complaint. 
&nbsp;
<div id="attachment_1159009" style="width: 1026px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1159009" class="size-full wp-image-1159009" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-17-at-7.23.17-AM.png" alt="" width="1016" height="787" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-17-at-7.23.17-AM.png 1016w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-17-at-7.23.17-AM-300x232.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-17-at-7.23.17-AM-744x576.png 744w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-17-at-7.23.17-AM-768x595.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1016px) 100vw, 1016px" />Seized drugs: DOJ.</div>
The next day, agents searched Muhammad’s property and found more heroin and fentanyl, along with three firearms, including a stolen Glock handgun. 
&nbsp;
<div id="attachment_1159007" style="width: 2570px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1159007" class="size-full wp-image-1159007" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/MixCollage-17-Aug-2026-07-24-AM-7008.jpg" alt="" width="2560" height="1440" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/MixCollage-17-Aug-2026-07-24-AM-7008.jpg 2560w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/MixCollage-17-Aug-2026-07-24-AM-7008-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/MixCollage-17-Aug-2026-07-24-AM-7008-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/MixCollage-17-Aug-2026-07-24-AM-7008-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/MixCollage-17-Aug-2026-07-24-AM-7008-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/MixCollage-17-Aug-2026-07-24-AM-7008-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" />Muhammed: Guilford County Sheriff; Guns: DOJ.</div>
“Despite receiving a second chance, this defendant returned to trafficking fentanyl and putting lives at risk,” said DEA special agent Jae Chung. “The seizure of this significant amount of fentanyl is a reminder that we will continue to hold those who profit from this deadly poison accountable.”
Prior to Biden’s clemency, Muhammad had been convicted for drug trafficking three other times. In August 1999, he was convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Just over ten years later, in November 2010, he was convicted of conspiring to distribute marijuana, and in February 2020 he was sentenced for intending to traffic fentanyl. 
Biden issued a wave of pardons to drug dealers in his final months in office, claiming he was taking steps to give mercy to people given &#8220;disproportionately long sentences.&#8221; On January 17, 2025, he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-commutes-sentences-of-another-2500-drug-offenders">commuted</a> the sentences of 2,500 drug offenders, in addition to the nearly 1,500 he granted clemency to in December 2024.
“With this action, I have now issued more individual pardons and commutations than any president in U.S. history,&#8221; Biden boasted at the time.

Former Presidents Gather For The Obama Presidential Center Dedication Ceremony

‘Back Behind Bars’: Career Drug Dealer Freed By Joe Biden Arrested Again

atlanta

clemency

drug trafficking

joe biden

politics

Kouri Richins, the Utah woman who wrote a children&#8217;s book on processing grief after her husband&#8217;s death, went on a 40-minute rant as she was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing him with fentanyl. 
In March, a jury found the 35-year-old guilty of aggravated murder for lacing her husband Eric Richins’ drink with five times the lethal dose of fentanyl, poisoning him with what&#8217;s known as a Moscow Mule cocktail,<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kouri-richins-murder-trial-sentencing-fa8c4b159827eef080cfa104a316454c"> according to the Associated Press.</a> Jurors also convicted the mother of three on four additional felonies, including insurance fraud, forgery, and attempted murder for giving her husband a fentanyl-laced sandwich on Valentine&#8217;s Day. 
Judge Richard Mrazik imposed the maximum sentence, rejecting the possibility of parole.
“A person convicted of those things is simply too dangerous to ever be free,” Mrazik said. 
Eric Richins, 39, was found dead in bed on March 4, 2022, at the couple&#8217;s Park City home. An <a href="https://abcnews.com/US/utah-mom-kouri-richins-set-sentenced-fatally-poisoning/story?id=132889104&amp;cid=social_twitter_abcn">autopsy report</a> determined he died from fentanyl intoxication. The sentencing coincided with what would have been his 44th birthday.
According to the Associated Press, Kouri Richins, a real estate agent who operated a house-flipping business, was millions of dollars in debt and romantically involved with another man. She had taken out multiple life insurance policies on her husband without his knowledge, believing she would inherit more than $4 million after his death.
The victim&#8217;s father, Eugene Richins, urged the court to impose the maximum penalty to protect his grandchildren from their mother. 
“This sentence is important so Eric’s three sons never have to live with the fear that the person responsible for taking their father could ever harm them again,” he said during the sentencing hearing,<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kouri-richins-murder-trial-sentencing-fa8c4b159827eef080cfa104a316454c"> according to the Associated Press. </a>
Speaking to her young children at the sentencing, Richins broke into a 40-minute rant where she insisted she was innocent while admitting that she is &#8220;not perfect.&#8221; 
&#8220;I know that today you don&#8217;t want to speak to me, have a relationship with me,&#8221;<a href="https://abcnews.com/US/utah-mom-kouri-richins-set-sentenced-fatally-poisoning/story?id=132889104&amp;cid=social_twitter_abcn"> she said, according to ABC.</a> &#8220;You may think you hate me, and that&#8217;s okay. I will never be angry at you for your feelings. When the day comes that you&#8217;re ready, I will be here for you, waiting for you, and loving you.&#8221;
&#8220;I have succeeded and I have failed as a person, as a wife, as a parent &#8212; we all do,&#8221; she added.
Richins&#8217; arrest drew national attention, in part due to the children&#8217;s book she published. Released a year after her husband’s death, “Are You With Me?” aimed to help her boys process the loss of their father. The book, which has fewer than two stars in reviews, drew a wave of outraged responses.
&#8220;This is horrifying, writing a book about grief to then be the one who murdered your husband? How can you do that to someone?&#8221; one social media user said.
&#8220;What an absolute psychopath!&#8221; another person said.

Husband Killer And Children’s Grief Author Breaks Into 40-Minute Monologue

courts

murder

U.S.

utah

President Donald Trump on Monday announced the classification of illicit fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction, opening the door for the federal government to go even harder against the drug cartels.
Trump signed the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/12/designating-fentanyl-as-a-weapon-of-mass-destruction/">executive order</a>, enhancing penalties for fentanyl traffickers and tasking the Department of War with countering the cartels producing the lethal narcotic.
&#8220;No bomb does what this is doing. 200,000 to 300,000 people die every year that we know of, so we&#8217;re formally classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction,&#8221; Trump said while awarding troops with medals for securing the southern border on Monday.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨 President Trump announces a groundbreaking Executive Order classifying fentanyl as a Weapon of Mass Destruction:
&#8220;No bomb does what this is doing. 200 to 300 THOUSAND people die every year — that we know of.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/OwuA2KQXfX">pic.twitter.com/OwuA2KQXfX</a>
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/2000666914654163022?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
Trump&#8217;s former acting Drug Enforcement Administrator, Derek Maltz, told The Daily Wire that the designation has been a long time coming and that it will shut down the cartels&#8217; financing &#8220;at a new level.&#8221;
He said that it will allow the Department of War to &#8220;use all capabilities, authorities and expertise to up the game at a new level.&#8221;
The designation will also open the door for the federal government to take further actions when it comes to other and even more deadly drugs that have emerged in the illicit market.
&#8220;With this new designation, they will also be able to add the additional deadly chemical substances like nitazenes class of poison being made in adversarial labs to kill our citizens,&#8221; Maltz said in reference to a newly emerging synthetic narcotic up to 40 times deadlier than fentanyl.
Two milligrams of fentanyl, which is equivalent to 10 to 15 grains of salt, is enough to kill the average adult.
The Trump administration has already taken steps to stop the flow of illicit drugs by designating certain drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and carrying out nearly 20 strikes against alleged trafficking vessels off the coast of Venezuela.

President Trump Presents The Mexican Border Defense Medal At The White House

‘No Bomb Does What This Is Doing’: Trump To Classify Fentanyl As WMD

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Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton suggested Sunday that the Trump administration might soon begin to “murder” Americans.
Moulton, who is running for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts, made the radical claim during an appearance on CNN in which he suggested that the administration’s actions against narcoterrorists in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean may be replicated against Americans.
“The President of the United States and his secretary of Defense are conducting murder on the high seas. They&#8217;re committing murder and Americans should care,” <a href="https://x.com/RNCResearch/status/1997768199379505464">said</a> Moulton. “None of us like drug traffickers, but we have laws that say that drug traffickers don&#8217;t get summarily executed, and if it&#8217;s happening off the coast of America with people that we don&#8217;t know, just give it time before Donald Trump starts doing the same kind of thing to people we do know right here at home.”
The administration has declared major drug cartels in South America as terror groups, and positioned roughly 15,000 troops in the Caribbean Sea to combat narcoterrorists trafficking fentanyl and other deadly drugs into the United States. The U.S. military has destroyed roughly two dozen boats and submarines in international waters that the administration said were trafficking illicit drugs.
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Democrats ramped up criticisms of the Trump administration’s war on drugs after a report from The Washington Post last month claimed that War Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a “kill them all” order carried out against survivors of a destroyed drug-running vessel.
Top military officials have contested the report. Adm. Mitch Bradley said in a closed-door hearing in Congress last week that Hegseth never gave such an order. In one September incident that has become the basis for Democratic claims of war crimes, Bradley made the call to send a follow-up strike against a vessel that he deemed was still a threat.
Democrats have pushed to have the classified video of the follow-up strike made public. Sen. Tom Cotton, who has seen the video, appeared on NBC News on Sunday and said he had “no problem” with releasing it as long as doing so does not risk national security.
“I will say that the [Department of War] may have valid concerns about revealing what we know about tactics and techniques that these cartels are using or about our sources or methods,” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tom-cotton-has-no-problem-with-releasing-video-of-drug-boat-double-tap">said</a> Cotton. “I would trust Secretary Hegseth and his team to make the decision about whether they can declassify and release the video. But again, there’s nothing remarkable on that video in my opinion.”

Seth Moulton

Dem Congressman Suggests Trump Will ‘Murder’ Americans Like Narcoterrorists

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Advocates and angel families who lost children to the opioid epidemic applauded news Monday that President Donald Trump had signed the SUPPORT Act, legislation that strengthens resources for Americans facing substance use disorders.
Trump signed the legislation into law on Monday afternoon, reauthorizing and revising programs within the Department of Health and Human Services addressing substance use disorders, overdoses, and mental health.
Sandy Snodgrass, the mother of a victim named Bruce, and co-founder of Fentanyl Fathers and Angel Army, said simply: “The SUPPORT Act and Bruce’s Law will simply save the lives of young Americans.”
Another bereaved father, Greg Swan, thanked the president for listening to the story of his grieving family, noting that Trump created the original SUPPORT Act back in 2018. Monday&#8217;s action renewed the law with the addition of &#8220;Bruce&#8217;s Law,&#8221; written by Snodgrass, he said.
&#8220;Now we are empowered and backed by the Support Act to go into all 26,727 reluctant USA High Schools and preach the dangers of fentanyl as a bereaved army, the Angel Army,&#8221; said Swan, who is co-founder of Fentanyl Fathers and Angel Army. &#8220;110,000 lives will be saved by youth alone &#8211; and you can double that by the number of bereaved parents who WILL NOT have to have an empty chair for their &#8216;Tiny Tim.&#8217;”
Drew Siegel, co-founder of Victoria&#8217;s Voice, said that his organization is &#8220;forever grateful&#8221; to Trump and his administration for &#8220;answering the prayers of millions of bereaved parents, siblings, friends, and families across our country.&#8221; Drew&#8217;s sister, Victoria, is also a victim of a drug overdose.
&#8220;This is for you, Victoria,&#8221; he said simply. &#8220;We love you, and we miss you every day.”
<div id="attachment_1008249" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/angel-families-praise-trump-for-signing-law-to-combat-substance-abuse/president-trump-speaks-on-progress-made-combatting-opiod-crisis-in-east-room-of-white-house" rel="attachment wp-att-1008249"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1008249" class="wp-image-1008249 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1052957848-864x576.jpg" alt="U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an East Room event at the White House October 24, 2018 in Washington, DC. President Trump hosted an event to mark the one-year anniversary of the administration's declaration of combating the opioid crisis. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1052957848-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1052957848-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1052957848-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1052957848.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an East Room event at the White House October 24, 2018 in Washington, DC. President Trump hosted an event to mark the one-year anniversary of the administration&#8217;s declaration of combating the opioid crisis. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)</div>
Robert Branner, co-founder of Fentanyl Fathers, described the legislation as &#8220;a lifeline for American families.&#8221;
&#8220;It is an Act designed to save lives, strengthen communities, and protect our children from a crisis that is touching every corner of this nation,&#8221; he argued. &#8220;I stand here as a Father who lost a daughter because she did not know the dangers of taking a pill that was not prescribed to her. She didn’t know it could be laced with fentanyl. She didn’t know one single pill could stop her heart. She didn’t know because she was never taught.&#8221;
Branner says the new law matters for all Americans, recognizing that &#8220;prevention is protection.&#8221;
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&#8220;It invests in education, awareness, treatment, and support,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It brings resources to schools, families, and communities so our children do not grow up uninformed, unprotected, and unaware. If my daughter had received the education that the SUPPORT Act encourages, if she had been taught early about the dangers of unprescribed opioids she might still be here today. And I know I am not alone. Families across this country have the same story, the same pain, the same loss.&#8221;
&#8220;The SUPPORT Act is an equalizer,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It doesn’t pick and choose which families to help. It reaches across race, class, background, and zip code because addiction and fentanyl do not discriminate. Education, prevention, and support should not either. &#8230; It saves lives. It strengthens families. And it gives our children the knowledge they need to survive in a world where one pill can take everything.”

Donald Trump

Angel Families Praise Trump For Signing Law To Combat Substance Abuse

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Mexican cartels amassed fortunes on par with major corporations, but that has all changed since President Donald Trump closed the border.
Under the Biden administration, the Mexican cartels&#8217; profits jumped from $500 million in 2018 to an estimated $13 billion in 2022, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/25/us/migrant-smuggling-evolution.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to The New York Times. The massive flow of cash was largely due to their migrant smuggling enterprise, which grew even more profitable than their vast drug empire.
Border Patrol agents were instructed to release illegal crossers into the United States as swiftly as possible under then-President Joe Biden, and many likened what the job had become to aiding in the smugglers&#8217; enterprise.
But now that&#8217;s all changed since Trump&#8217;s return to office. For the last six months, the Trump administration hasn&#8217;t released a single illegal border crosser into the country, putting an end to the major catch and release pipeline and driving migrant encounters to record lows.
Smugglers, however, have grown desperate to maintain their profits, shifting operations to the high seas to move people illegally into the U.S.
Along the California coast, the pace of interdictions of boats packed with illegal immigrants has remained constant.
Last fiscal year, the Coast Guard encountered &#8220;well over&#8221; 2,000 illegal immigrants. And traffic has remained &#8220;fairly steady&#8221; with the Coast Guard seeing an increase in interdictions, Coast Guard Capt. Jason Hagen, who is the southwest district chief of enforcement, told The Daily Wire in a recent interview.
&#8220;As you lock down the land border, the cartels will need to make their money, so they push to the maritime, to the water side. And, unfortunately, there is no border wall in the ocean; we&#8217;re challenged with the tyranny of distance,&#8221; Hagen said.
Earlier this month, Coast Guardsmen in San Diego&#8217;s Mission Bay were forced to fire several rounds to disable the engine of a 20-foot smuggling boat carrying 12 <a href="https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/4330965/coast-guard-interdicts-12-aliens-offshore-mission-bay/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">illegal immigrants</a> from Mexico and El Salvador as they tried to escape.
<div id="attachment_1004923" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1004923" class="wp-image-1004923 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/11-19-25_panga_subjects.jpg.webp" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/11-19-25_panga_subjects.jpg.webp 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/11-19-25_panga_subjects.jpg-150x150.webp 150w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Credit: Customs and Border Protection</div>
Days later, Navy sailors came across a small boat packed with <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/cbp-apprehends-17-illegal-aliens-coastal-waters-near-san-clemente" target="_blank" rel="noopener">17 illegal migrants</a> traversing the sea near San Clemente Island. Border Patrol took them into custody, as is standard procedure.
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At least four illegal migrants died after their boat recently capsized off Imperial Beach in a separate incident. The Justice Department has since hit a Mexican man believed to be the captain with charges of &#8220;Bringing in Aliens Resulting in Death and Bringing in Aliens for Financial Gain&#8221; that could result in life in prison, <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/pr/two-charged-human-smuggling-event-led-least-four-deaths">according</a> to the Justice Department.
&#8220;It&#8217;s a dangerous game, and I can tell you the cartels are not in the business of safety, they&#8217;re in the business of money,&#8221; Hagen said.
The cartels have also increased their maritime smuggling fees.
Under the Biden administration, they were charging illegal immigrants between $10,000 &#8211; $15,000 in smuggling fees to take to the seas. Now, they&#8217;re forcing migrants to pay between $20,000 &#8211; $40,000, Manny Bayon, the President of the Border Patrol union’s San Diego chapter, told The Daily Wire.
Bayon echoed that maritime smuggling in the Pacific Ocean has picked up &#8220;due to the increased enforcement on the southern border.&#8221;
In response, federal authorities are now preparing to bolster security along the coastal border by installing new thermal imaging cameras to spot smuggling activity before it reaches America&#8217;s shores, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/entertainment/story/2025-11-19/san-clemente-cbp-maritime-surveillance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the Los Angeles Times.

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How Cartels Are Shifting Tactics After Trump Crushed Their Human Smuggling Empire

How Cartels Have Changed Tactics After Trump Destroyed Their Multi-Billion Dollar Human Smuggling Bu

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