Critics warn of ‘Daniel Penny effect’ after woman burns as bystanders appear to watch
Critics are lambasting the so-called “Daniel Penny effect” after several bystanders and even police officers appeared to stand by without helping as an innocent woman burned to death on a subway car in New York City.
The heinous crime was allegedly carried out by an illegal immigrant who targeted the woman as she slept. Sources tell Fox News the woman has not yet been identified days after the horror because she was so severely burned.
Investigators also believe that she was homeless and are working to track down any possible family members.
SANCTUARY CITY NEW YORK PRESSURED TO MAKE DRASTIC CHANGE AFTER ILLEGAL MIGRANT ALLEGEDLY BURNS WOMAN ALIVE
Sources previously identified the person of interest to Fox News Digital as Sebastian Zapeta, 33, who has been charged with first and second-degree murder, as well as first-degree arson.
Surveillance video of Sunday’s attack showed the suspect approaching the woman, who was sitting motionless and may have been sleeping, while aboard a stationary F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue subway station and then setting her on fire.
It is also noted that the address Zapeta gave police matches that of a NYC substance abuse support center.
A man who lived at the same shelter Zapeta reportedly lived at said Zapeta smoked K2, a synthetic marijuana which can contain lots of different chemicals and drugs, “every day,” according to reporting by The New York Post.
The man also claimed Zapeta would often smoke, drink, and then “lose it”.
SUSPECT ACCUSED OF BURNING WOMAN TO DEATH ON NYC SUBWAY IS PREVIOUSLY DEPORTED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT
Zapeta is a previously deported migrant from Guatemala who was apprehended by Border Patrol and subsequently deported by the Trump administration in June 2018 after he crossed illegally into Sonoita, Arizona, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson Marie Ferguson previously told Fox News, adding that Zapeta later re-entered the U.S. illegally.
Guardian Angels founder and local activist Curtis Sliwa told Fox News Digital that this most recent act of violence on a New York-based subway is due to the “Daniel Penny effect.”
Sliwa described the chaotic scene, according to witnesses, saying that no one was helping the woman, but that people were filming the whole ordeal, but not cooperating with law enforcement.
NYPD ARRESTS MIGRANT WHO ALLEGEDLY SET WOMAN ON FIRE ON SUBWAY TRAIN, WATCHED HER BURN TO DEATH
“And I think that’s because of the chilling effect that the Daniel Penny situation had on this entire city. It was not a racially divisive case… but what I have detected is that people just don’t want to get involved,” Sliwa said.
“They don’t want to be penetrated, as I call it, which means, God forbid, dragged into court, prosecuted, and then have your life turned upside down.”
Daniel Penny, a Marine veteran, was found not guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely.
Penny was arrested in May 2023, nearly two weeks after he was questioned and released following a deadly encounter with Neely, who was high on drugs and threatening to kill people on a Manhattan F train when the 26-year-old architecture student grabbed him in a headlock from behind.
Neely also had an active arrest warrant and lengthy criminal history at the time of his death. He had schizophrenia and a drug abuse problem.
Sliwa said this was similar to Neely’s case and that sources say Zapeta had smoked up to $30 a day worth of K2, plus drinking cheap vodka heavily, which he said is a “recipe for mayhem.”
“Nobody got involved, no police on that train. When the police did respond. They didn’t do it expeditiously. And I think increasingly, you are going to see citizens just retreat,” Sliwa explained.
Retired NYPD inspector and Fox News contributor Paul Mauro also weighed in on the incident and explained that a source told him that an officer was looking for a fire extinguisher and police were responding as fast they could under the circumstances.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“Look, you can never fully cover the subway, no matter what anybody says. And with the size of the New York City subway system, the transit cops do a great job,” Mauro said.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul was slammed on social media Sunday after touting how safe the New York City subway system has become thanks to her efforts, claiming that crime has decreased on Big Apple trains since she deployed the National Guard in March.
The woman was burned alive on the subway the very same day. Fox News Digital reached out to Hochul’s office but did not hear back.
Biden signs legislation officially designating America’s ‘national bird’
The White House announced on Christmas Eve President Joe Biden signed a bill officially designating the bald eagle as the national bird.
The bill, signed Monday after being passed unanimously by Congress, amends Title 36 of the United States Code, officially appointing the predator one of the country’s national symbols.
Congress passed the bill unanimously.
SENATE PASSES BILL TO STOP SHUTDOWN, SENDING IT TO PRESIDENT BIDEN’S DESK
The bald eagle, which has been featured on the Great Seal of the United States since 1782 and has its own holiday and protection act, was never technically assigned the title of “national bird.”
BIDEN ADMIN OFFICIALS NOTICED STAMINA ISSUES IN PRESIDENT’S FIRST FEW MONTHS IN OFFICE: REPORT
It was, however, designated as the national emblem by the U.S. Congress in 1782, according to USA.gov. In addition to its appearance on the Great Seal, it is featured on official documents, the presidential flag, military insignia, and currency.
A document previously published by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to VA.gov improperly noted the bird as the national bird.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“Thank you to Senators Klobuchar, Lummis, Mullin and Smith, and Representatives Finstad, Craig and Emmer for their leadership,” the White House wrote in a statement Tuesday announcing the signing of the bill.
Exec says rampant crime forced beloved burger chain to close popular location
The heiress who runs California’s beloved In-N-Out burger chain cited crime in Oakland as the reason she shuttered a profitable location in the city.
The company closed the location in January because of crime issues that impacted customers and employees, the company said at the time.
“I mean, there was a lot,” Lynsi Snyder told the PragerU video network on Monday, SFGate reported. “There was actually — gunshots went through the store, there was a stabbing, there was a lot.”
BURGER CHAIN NAMED AS AMERICA’S MOST EXPENSIVE FAST-FOOD RESTAURANT: ‘OVERPRICED’
“For the safety of our associates, we just felt like, this is not OK,” she added.
At the time of the closing, In-N-Out’s chief operating officer Denny Warnick told SFGate that the area around the location had ongoing crime issues.
“Despite taking repeated steps to create safer conditions, our Customers and Associates are regularly victimized by car break-ins, property damage, theft, and armed robberies,” he said.
Snyder also said police response times were “alarming.”
DELTA BRINGS SHAKE SHACK TO FLIGHT PASSENGERS, BUT WILL THE MEAL HAVE A SMOOTH TAKEOFF?
Oakland has been grappling with a surge in crime. In July, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the deployment of 120 California Highway Patrol officers to the city to address the problem and to assist local authorities.
“As crime rates across California decrease — including right across the Bay in San Francisco — Oakland is seeing the opposite trend,” Newsom said at the time. “What’s happening in this beautiful city and surrounding area is alarming and unacceptable. I’m sending the California Highway Patrol to assist local efforts to restore a sense of safety that the hardworking people of Oakland and the East Bay demand and deserve.”
At the time, crime in Oakland had risen at a disproportionate levels compared to other urban centers in California, officials said. They noted increases in violent crime, robbery and vehicle theft by 21%, 38% and 45%, respectively, in 2023.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS
The Denny’s restaurant chain also closed its only location in Oakland in January because of high crime.
“The safety and well-being of Denny’s team members and value guests is our top priority,” the company said at the time. “Weighing those factors, the decision has been made to close this location.”
Co-stars break silence after Blake Lively levels explosive allegations from movie set
Blake Lively is continuing to receive support after filing a lawsuit against Justin Baldoni for sexual harassment, retaliation and infliction of emotional distress.
Lively’s “It Ends With Us” costars, Brandon Sklenar and Jenny Slate, have publicly expressed their support for the actress.
On Dec. 23, Sklenar took to his Instagram story to urge his followers to educate themselves on the lawsuit that has been filed.
The “1923” star shared a screenshot of New York Times’ archive of legal documents and wrote, “FOR THE LOVE OF GOD READ THIS.” Sklenar tagged Lively’s Instagram account and added a red heart emoji.
BLAKE LIVELY SUES JUSTIN BALDONI FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT, RETALIATION AND INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS
Slate shared a statement with Today about her “loyal friend” and noted that she admires “her bravery” as Lively enters a messy legal battle with Baldoni.
“As Blake Lively’s castmate and friend, I voice my support as she takes action against those reported to have planned and carried out an attack on her reputation,” Slate said in a statement to the outlet. “Blake is a leader, loyal friend and a trusted source of emotional support for me and so many who know and love her.”
“I commend my friend, I admire her bravery, and I stand by her side.”
Slate continued: “What has been revealed about the attack on Blake is terribly dark, disturbing, and wholly threatening. I commend my friend, I admire her bravery, and I stand by her side.”
In “It Ends with Us,” Slate portrays Allysa, the sister of Baldoni’s character and the sister-in-law of Lively’s. Skelnar portrays an older version of Atlas Corrigan, a former love interest of Lively’s character.
Months after rumors of an on-set feud between “It Ends with Us” costars Lively and Baldoni first surfaced, the “Gossip Girl” alum filed a complaint against the actor for sexual harassment.
According to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital, the complaint — which was filed with the California Civil Rights department — details allegations of sexual harassment, retaliation, intentional affliction of emotional distress, negligence and more.
On Jan. 4, an “all hands” meeting was convened to address the” hostile work environment that had nearly derailed production,” the documents state. Attendees included Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, Baldoni, who is the co-chairman and co-founder of Wayfarer Studios, director and actor Jamey Heath, and more.
LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
“Ms. Lively was forced to address concerns about Mr. Baldoni and Mr. Heath’s misconduct with them directly, and began doing so months before filming began. The concerns she raised were not only for herself, but for the other female cast and crew, some of whom had also spoken up.”
According to the documents, some of the demands addressed included no more showing nude videos or images of women to Blake, no more mention of Baldoni’s or Heath’s previous ‘pornography addiction,’ no more discussions about personal experiences with sex, no more descriptions of their own genitalia, no more adding sex scenes outside what was in the original script, no more discussions about Blake’s weight or deceased father, and more.
At the time, all parties agreed that the outlined conduct would cease. Despite the agreement, Lively claims in the complaint that Baldoni executed and participated in a “social manipulation” campaign to “destroy” her career and reputation.
In a statement given to The New York Times, Lively said, “I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted.”
Additionally, Lively denied that she or any of her representatives planted or spread negative information about Mr. Baldoni or Wayfarer, according to The Times.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
Bryan Freedman, an attorney for Baldoni and Wayfarer, told The Times, “These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media.”
Freedman added that Wayfarer, and its executives and PR team “did nothing proactive nor retaliated” against Lively. Freedman claims Lively’s complaint is “another desperate attempt to ‘fix’ her negative reputation.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Representatives for Baldoni, including Freedman, did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. A representative for Lively referred to the New York Times article for additional information.
Trump pledges to reverse Obama’s ‘insulting’ decision to rename famous mountain
President-elect Trump pledged this week to undo former President Obama’s 2015 decision to change the name of North America’s tallest peak to its Koyukon Athabascan name “Denali,” meaning “High One” or “Great One.”
Speaking to conservatives at a Phoenix conference, Trump made the pledge and noted President William McKinley was also a Republican who believed in tariffs. He first promised to undo Obama’s action in August 2015 and called it an “insult to Ohio,” where McKinley was born and raised.
During his Phoenix remarks, he also pledged to undo Democrats’ rebranding of southern military bases named for Confederates – like Fort Liberty in Fayetteville, North Carolina, which was formerly named after Gen. Braxton Bragg.
The 20,320-foot mountain was first dubbed Mount McKinley in 1896 by gold prospector William Dickey, after learning the Ohioan had won the GOP presidential nomination – and as a swipe at silver prospectors he met who preferred Democrat William Jennings Bryan and his plan for a silver standard for the dollar.
ALASKA OUTRAGED AT BIDEN’S FEDERAL OIL LEASE SALE SETUP AS ‘FITTING FINALE’ TO FOSSIL FUEL-AVERSE PRESIDENCY
Six months into his second term, McKinley was visiting Buffalo, New York, when anarchist laborer Leon Czolgosz assassinated him in a gladhanding line. Czolgosz believed the root of economic inequality stood with the government and was reportedly inspired by the 1900 assassination of Italian King Umberto I.
However, many Alaskans have appeared to prefer the historic name Denali:
GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski told KTUU that Trump’s plan to bring back “Mt. McKinley” is an “awful idea.”
“We already went through this with President Trump back and at the very, very beginning of his first term,” she said Monday.
Murkowski said both she and Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, – who originally hails from McKinley’s Ohio – support the name Denali.
“[Denali] is a name that has been around for thousands of years… North America’s tallest mountain – shouldn’t it have a name like ‘The Great One’?” Murkowski added.
MURKOWSKI SAYS SHE’S NOT ‘ATTACHED’ TO GOP LABEL
In 2015, Sullivan told the Anchorage Daily News that “Denali belongs to Alaska and its citizens” and that the naming rights are held by Alaskan Natives.
In a statement to KTUU this week, a spokesperson for Sullivan said he, “like many Alaskans prefers the name that the very tough, very strong, very patriotic Athabascan people gave” the peak.
Meanwhile, then-Rep. Ralph Regula, R-Ohio, spent decades in Congress preventing any name change from McKinley to Denali – as the namesake president hailed from his Canton district.
Regula, who died in 2017, lambasted Obama over the name change, saying he “thinks he is a dictator.”
Appearing to cite his own work presenting procedural roadblocks and language added to Interior-related bills, Regula said Obama could not change such a law “by a flick of his pen.”
“You want to change the Ohio River?” he quipped.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
However, some Ohio officials have also been deferential to the will of Alaskans.
Current Lt. Gov. Jon Husted told the Dayton Daily News in 2015 that if Denali is what Alaskans want, then he in turn understood, as he wouldn’t want Alaskans dictating Ohio name changes.
“So, I guess we shouldn’t tell people in Alaska should do in their own state. But I’m a big fan of Canton and McKinley and I’m glad that he’s getting talked about some more,” he said at the time.
Former NFL star says Christmas football schedule is ‘not fair’ to players
The Pittsburgh Steelers have gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to the funky NFL schedule.
At one time, the NFL avoided Christmas games — and now, they can’t get enough of them, scheduling two this year despite the day falling on a Wednesday.
That is prompting some oddities in the NFL schedule, with the Steelers one of four teams who played last Saturday and are now playing on Wednesday. What ever happened to “any given Sunday?”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Anyway, the rest is equivalent to that of teams who play on Thursday following a Sunday game, but with the Saturday contest, it all comes out to three games in 11 days for the Steelers, and former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger isn’t happy about it.
“It’s miserable. It’s a shame that the league does this. It just shows that it’s all about money and this is a way that they can, you know, make more money and figure this thing out, because it’s not fair for the players,” Roethlisberger said recently. “You wanna talk about injuries and making the game safer, changing the kickoff rule and preventing guys on hip-drop tackles, and concussions, and this that and the other, and you’re going to make guys play the most violent game in the world, arguably, three games in 11 days. I mean, there’s no time for your body to get healthy and rest.”
LIONS LINEMAN BACKS DAN CAMPBELL’S AGGRESSIVE COACHING STYLE: ‘WE ALL LOVE IT’
The comments echo Patrick Mahomes‘ sentiment on the grueling schedule.
“It’s not a good feeling,” Mahomes told reporters a couple weeks ago. “You never want to play this amount of games in this short of time. It’s not great for your body. But, at the end of the day, it’s your job, your profession. You have to come to work and do it.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
It will be the Chiefs and Steelers in a 1:00 p.m. showdown on Christmas.
Groundbreaking treatment for heart failure could ‘transform’ lives of desperately ill children
Renowned visionary English physician William Harvey wrote in 1651 about how our blood contains all the secrets of life.
“And so I conclude that blood lives and is nourished of itself and in no way depends on any other part of the body as being prior to it or more excellent,” he wrote. “So that from this we may perceive the causes not only of life in general … but also of longer or shorter life, of sleeping and waking, of skill, of strength and so forth.”
Dr. Kevin Watt, team leader of the Heart Regeneration and Disease Laboratory at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) in Melbourne, Australia, understands this concept deeply.
STEM CELL RESEARCH SHOWING NEW POSSIBILITIES FOR TREATING INFANT HEART DISEASE
He lives it every day, as he and his fellow researchers study and reprogram the potential of the blood to treat disease, specifically heart failure in children.
Building on the work of Dr. Shinya Yamanaka of Japan, who discovered that specialized cells could be reprogrammed back to immature stem cells, Watt and his collaborators have taken this work several steps further.
They have used small molecules to turn these new stem cells from the blood into heart cells.
Small heart organoids are developed in the lab — which can then be injected into the failing hearts of children.
BOY FACING BLINDNESS GETS LIFE-CHANGING EYE SURGERY: ‘SUCH A BLESSING’
Relying on the philanthropic support of the Murdoch Institute, the work is progressing rapidly and has been shown to be effective already in mice, pigs and sheep.
“The vision of our research is to develop new therapies that can transform the lives of children with heart failure.”
Clinical trials in humans will be starting soon, and as Dr. Watt told me in an interview from Australia, “Large sheets of heart tissue will be stitched into the failing heart.”
Congenital heart failure as well as side effects of chemotherapy in children will be targets for this miracle therapy. Millions of children around the world suffer daily from these conditions.
Watt said that certain chemotherapy (anthracyclines) have a higher risk of heart failure – up to 15% of the time – and this treatment may be useful to protect the heart.
Watt said, “Heart failure remains an urgent, unmet clinical challenge across the world. While we have made significant advances over several decades in managing the disease, we lack targeted therapies to treat these devastating conditions.”
FAMILY OF CHILD WITH DOWN SYNDROME WENT FROM SHOCK TO GRATITUDE: ‘LOST THE AIR IN MY CHEST’
He added, “More than 500,000 children around the world live with advanced heart failure that requires transplantation. The vision of our research is to develop new therapies that can transform the lives of children with heart failure.”
To achieve this, he said, “we use a technology called induced pluripotent stem cells, where we can convert blood or skin cells of patients with heart failure into stem cells that we then turn into heart cells … or even make engineered heart tissues that can be stitched onto the patient’s heart to help it pump.”
The cells that are targeted in the blood are known as peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs).
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
They are “pushed back in time to an earlier time before they became differentiated into heart or kidney cells,” he said.
Then they can be pushed forward to become healthy heart cells or mutations — or other abnormalities can be corrected.
While the team at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute is making heart cells from stem cells in the blood for clinical use, it’s also using these stem cells to figure out new drugs to treat heart failure directly.
Said Watt, “Using stem cells from patients with heart failure caused by chemo, we are actively developing new drugs and cell-based treatments that we believe will transform the lives of patients with these conditions … Our research group has pioneered methods to turn these stem cells into miniature heart tissues that can be used to model disease-in-a-dish, to identify new drug targets for the development of new therapies.”
These treatments are personalized and highly expensive, but they’re also highly effective.
Correcting heart failure in young children is only a few years away from becoming a reality.
It’s a Christmas miracle that relies on the kind of philanthropic support that MCRI is famous for arranging.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“Philanthropic support plays a critical role in accelerating the development of these new, transformative treatments,” said Watt, “and this support will be essential as we work toward bringing stem cell-based precision therapies for heart failure to every child who needs it.”
Visit go.fox/MCRI to donate or to learn more about MCRI’s important research.