Loved ones mourn victims in terror attack: ‘No one should ever have to die like that’
Heartbroken family and friends moved to identify the growing number of victims after a terrorism suspect plowed a car into a large crowd in New Orleans on New Year’s.
The suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was “hell-bent on creating the carnage and damage that he did,” New Orleans police chief Anne Kirkpatrick said.
“It was very intentional behavior,” the superintendent of police added. “This man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could.”
At least 14 people were killed in the Wednesday morning suspected terrorist attack, and dozens others were injured, the FBI said.
Two Israeli citizens were among the injured, the U.S. ally has indicated.
New Orleans Coroner Dr. Dwight McKenna said in a statement late Wednesday that they will release the names of the dead once autopsies are complete, and they have talked with the next of kin.
SUSPECT IDENTIFIED AS FBI INVESTIGATES ACT OF TERRORISM AFTER BOURBON STREET ATTACK
Deaths:
Martin ‘Tiger’ Bech, 27
Former Princeton football player Tiger Bech, 27, was killed in the Bourbon Street attack.
In a heartfelt post, his brother, Jack Bech, remembered the All-Ivy League kick returner who played for Princeton from 2016-18.
“Love you always brother! You inspired me everyday now you get to be with me in every moment,” he wrote in a social media post. “I got this family T, don’t worry. This is for us.”
Princeton Athletics and the Princeton football program also mourned the former player’s death.
“There was no more appropriate nickname of a Princeton player I coached,” Bob Surace, Princeton’s head football coach, said. “He was a ‘Tiger’ in every way – a ferocious competitor with endless energy, a beloved teammate and a caring friend. Our last conversation was about how proud I was of the growth he showed during his time at Princeton and the success he was having after graduation. My love goes to the entire Bech family.”
He graduated from St. Thomas More Catholic High School in Lafayette, Louisiana in 2015, the school said in a release.
“The St. Thomas More Catholic High School community mourns the loss of one of our own, Tiger Bech, who passed away early this morning as a result of the New Year attack in New Orleans,” they wrote. “Tiger was a 2015 graduate and standout in football, lacrosse, and track and field.”
“Please keep the Bech family in your prayers during this time,” they said.
Drew Dauphin, 26
Drew Dauphin, who reportedly graduated from Auburn University in 2023 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering, was among those killed in the attack.
He worked as a supplier process engineer for Honda Motor Company in Birmingham, Alabama, since graduation, according to his LinkedIn profile. His death was confirmed in a statement released by Auburn University President Christopher B. Roberts.
“On behalf of Auburn University, I send my sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of 2023 graduate Drew Dauphin who was taken from us in the New Orleans terror attack,” Roberts said. “Words cannot convey the sorrow the Auburn Family feels for Drew’s family and friends during this unimaginably difficult time. Our thoughts are with the Dauphin family and the families of all the victims of this senseless tragedy.”
Nikyra Dedeaux, 18
Dedeaux was an aspiring nurse when she was hit by the high-speed truck during her New Year’s Eve celebration.
Her friend, Zion Parsons, told The Associated Press that she was struck by the truck, saying that he was “lucky to be alive.”
“A truck hit the corner and comes barreling through throwing people like in a movie scene, throwing people into the air,” Parsons, 18, recalled. “It hit her and flung her like at least 30 feet and I was just lucky to be alive.”
WHO IS SHAMSUD DIN JABBAR? WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE NEW ORLEANS NEW YEARS’ TERRORIST SUSPECT
Parsons said that the 18-year-old had a job at a hospital and was set to start college.
“She had her mindset — she didn’t have everything figured out, but she had the plan laid down,” he said.
Nicole Perez, 28
Nicole Perez was a single mother to a 4-year-old son when she was killed in the New Orleans truck attack, her employer confirmed to The Associated Press.
Perez was recently promoted to manager at Kimmy’s Deli in Metarie, Louisiana, and “was really excited about it,” deli owner Kimberly Usher said in a phone interview. Usher confirmed Perez’s death through her sister, who also works for her.
OFFICIALS POSTPONE SUGAR BOWL IN THE WAKE OF APPARENT TERROR ATTACK ON BOURBON STREET
“She was a really good mom,” said Usher, who started a GoFundMe account to cover Perez’s burial costs and to help with expenses for her son, who “will need to transition into a new living situation.”
Reggie Hunter, 37
Reggie Hunter, 37, had gotten off work and headed to Bourbon Street on a whim to ring in 2025, his cousin, Shirell Jackson, told Nola.com.
“They decided to go out there because he came in from work and said, ‘Hey, the Sugar Bowl is tomorrow. It’s New Year’s Eve. Let’s go to the city,'” Jackson told the outlet. “Just something so simple. ‘Hey cuz, wanna ride me to the city?'”
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Hunter died from his injuries, Jackson said. Jackson was one of the dozens injured in the attack.
Hubert Gauthreaux, 21
Archbishop Shaw High School noted in a Facebook post that alum Hubert Gauthreaux, 21, “was tragically killed in the senseless act of violence that occurred early this morning in the French Quarter.”
Kareem Bilal Badawi
University of Alabama President Stuart Bell noted in a statement that Kareem Badawi, a student at the institution, was killed in the terror attack.
In a Facebook post written in Arabic, Belal Badawi noted the horrific news of his son’s death.
“It is with great sadness and grief, and with hearts satisfied with Allah’s decision and destiny, I announce the death of my son, Karim Bilal Badawi, who died early today in the morning as a result of a tragic accident in New Orleans,” he noted, according to a translation.
The Advocate reported that a letter to the Episcopal School of Baton Rouge community from head of school Carrie Steakley and head chaplain Patrick Edwards indicated that Kareem Badawi and Parker Vidrine, who were injured in the attack, are alumni.
Matthew Tenedorio, 25
Matthew Tenedorio was 25, “just starting life, had the job of his dreams” his mother Cathy Tenedorio said during an appearance “NBC News Now.”
Tenedorio was “an audiovisual technician for the Superdome,” according to a GoFundMe fundraiser which has already surpassed $20,000.
Billy DiMaio, 25
Billy DiMaio “was a good, humble kid,” who “loved life,” his father Bill DiMaio noted, according to NOLA.com.
He called Billy “a special child,” and noted, “He had a gift that everyone saw right away.”
“He was a pure, gentle-hearted soul. He will be truly missed,” DiMaio’s mother Tracie said, according to the outlet. “He put his family first, and his friends meant the whole world to him,” she noted.
The 25-year-old was “a true asset to the Audacy team,” Audacy CEO David Field noted in a statement, according to audacy.com/wwl, which noted that DiMaio worked as an account manager and was promoted recently to account executive.
Terrence Kennedy, 63
Terrence Kennedy, 63, was among the people killed in Wednesday’s attack, his sister and family said.
In a Facebook post, his sister, Jacqueline Kennedy, shared the news that her brother, “Terry,” had died.
“I’m sorry to have to tell you all that he didn’t make it,” she said. The Facebook post was titled “My brother Terry Is Gone.”
Brandon Taylor, 43
Brandon Taylor, 43, was enjoying a night out with his fiancée, Heather Genusa, 38, and standing near a boom lift parked on Bourbon Street when the pickup truck crashed into him, Genusa told NOLA.com.
“No one should ever have to die like that. He didn’t deserve it,” she said.
Taylor was a cook from Terrytown. His mother, 75-year-old Mary Guerrera, called her son a Christian man and said he loved music.
“It’s been very difficult,” she told the outlet on Friday. “I’m pretty devastated and I’m just trying to get through this.”
Elliot Wilkinson, 40
Elliot Wilkinson, a 40-year-old from Slidell, was one of the people killed in the Bourbon Street terror attack, the New Orleans Coroner’s Office confirmed Friday.
Wilkinson was living on the street at the time of his death, NOLA.com reported.
His older brother, Cecil, said Elliot was “loved” and will “truly be missed” in a statement on Facebook.
“I know life was hard for you at times. But I wasn’t expecting to get the phone call this morning you was one of them that got hit in New Orleans in the French Quarter,” Cecil Wilkinson wrote.
Elliot Wilkinson struggled with mental illness and had recently been released from prison before he died, Cecil told CNN. He added that his brother could have stayed with family, but Elliot didn’t want to be a burden.
Edward Pettifer, 31
British national Edward Pettifer, 31, was named as one of the 14 victims killed by Shamsud-Din Jabbar on New Year’s Day in New Orleans, London police said.
“The entire family are devastated at the tragic news of Ed‘s death in New Orleans. He was a wonderful son, brother, grandson, nephew and a friend to so many,” Pettifer’s family said in a statement.
“We will all miss him terribly. Our thoughts are with the other families who have lost their family members due to this terrible attack. We request that we can grieve the loss of Ed as a family in private. Thank you.”
Pettifer’s stepmother was a nanny to Prince William and Prince Harry. The Prince and Princess of Whales shared a statement on Instagram expressing shock at his tragic death.
“Our thoughts and prayers remain with the Pettifer family and all those innocent people who have been tragically impacted by this horrific attack,” Prince William said.
GOP rep calls for Fort Liberty whistleblowers to come forward after terror attack
A Florida congresswoman and Air Force veteran is urging anyone who encountered New Orleans terrorist Shamsud-Din Jabbar or Las Vegas bomber Matthew Livelsberger at Fort Liberty, formerly Fort Bragg, to contact her office.
She also asked for information on failed assassin Ryan Routh, a former North Carolina man who was arrested at President-elect Donald Trump’s Florida golf course while allegedly aiming a rifle through the fence while the soon-to-be commander in chief was playing a round.
“If you are at Fort Bragg (Liberty) and have any information regarding these three men but are afraid to come forward to your chain of command, I can provide whistleblower protection and intake information,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna wrote in a post on X Thursday night.
NEW ORLEANS TERRORIST, MAN IN LAS VEGAS CYBERTRUCK EXPLOSION SHARED MORE LINKS IN ATTACKS JUST HOURS APART
Routh, 58, had roots in North Carolina but was most recently living in Hawaii. Luna appeared to reference a recent report that Routh, a civilian with a lengthy criminal history, had visited Fort Bragg dozens of times.
Luna is a member of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee. Her office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Army said Thursday that while both Jabbar and Livelsberger served at the North Carolina base, there was no overlap in the time they were stationed there.
BOMBMAKING MATERIALS FOUND AT NEW ORLEANS AIRBNB POTENTIALLY TIED TO BOURBON STREET TERRORIST: REPORT
In Las Vegas, Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said that while both men went to Afghanistan in 2009, any potential ties there were still under investigation.
“We don’t have any evidence that they were in the same province in Afghanistan, the same location or the same unit,” McMahill said. “Again, something else that remains under investigation.”
Both men used the Turo app to rent electric pickup trucks used in the incidents, he said.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT VICTIMS OF NEW ORLEANS TERRORIST ATTACK
Between 2007 and 2015, Jabbar was a human resources specialist and an IT specialist. From 2015 to 2020, he remained an IT specialist in the Army Reserve. Livelsberger was an active-duty Army Green Beret in the 10th Special Forces group.
Livelsberger, 37, has been identified as the man who exploded inside a Cybertruck loaded with explosive and flammable material just steps from the front door at Trump International Hotel Las Vegas on New Year’s Day.
Speaking about a potential motive, authorities on Friday released sections of a “manifesto” left by Livelsberger, who wrote that “This was not a terrorist attack, it was a wake up call.”
PTSD and ongoing family problems were likely factors as well, sheriff’s officials said.
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Hours earlier, Jabbar, 42, plowed a rented Ford EV pickup into pedestrians on New Orleans’ famous Bourbon Street, killing at least 14 and injuring more than 30. After crashing, he opened fire on police and died in a shootout. The FBI said Thursday that the Texas native had vowed allegiance to ISIS and was a domestic terrorist.
FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raia told reporters in New Orleans Thursday that there was “no definitive link” uncovered between the attack and the explosion, but authorities on both cases said they were still investigating.
New York Judge Juan Merchan’s dogmatic refusal on Friday to dismiss the misbegotten case against President-elect Donald Trump and, instead, proceed to sentencing on Jan. 10 is yet another middle finger extended to the law. And to Trump.
At the same time, Merchan unwittingly concedes the folly of the entire prosecution by notifying the defendant that neither the court nor District Attorney Alvin Bragg will seek any meaningful punishment. Trump, the judge disingenuously advises, would receive an “unconditional discharge” with no incarceration, fine, or probation following the guilty verdicts by a Manhattan jury last May.
TRUMP SLAMS MERCHAN, DEMOCRATS, WHO JUST WANT ‘A POUND OF FLESH’ AMID FAILED CASES
Never mind that state law does not support a jail sentence under these circumstances. Forget that the district attorney deliberately contorted statutes and mangled evidence to pursue a meritless prosecution that was motivated purely by political vengeance. And ignore the fact that there is little chance that the biased jury’s guilty verdict, compounded by Merchan’s chronic reversible errors, will withstand judicial scrutiny on appeal. Eventually.
It seems obvious that Merchan is desperate to stain Trump with the formal stricture of “convicted felon.” To do it, he must sentence the incoming president. A jury’s verdict alone is insufficient under the law. Hence, the offer of what amounts to a non-sentence if only Trump will, at the very least, appear virtually during a hearing 10 days before he is sworn in.
It is another charade meant to bookend —and cover-up— a sham trial. Show up to be verbally tarred and feathered, but no stocks or pillory will be deployed.
In some sense, it may be tempting to accept Merchan’s contingent surrender. Why? Under law, Trump is foreclosed from challenging the myriad of mistakes the judge made at trial, as well as the prosecution’s specious legal theory, until sentencing occurs. Only then is he officially “convicted.” A successful appeal erases the conviction, albeit belatedly.
And there’s the rub.
Your average defendant would accept the Faustian bargain that guarantees no jail time and starts the clock immediately on the appellate process. But Trump is different. He is an inveterate fighter who refuses to capitulate, even when his opponents are facing reproach. It’s one of the many reasons why voters rewarded him with a second term in office. He does not give up or give in. Nor should he.
A competent or objective judge would have long ago tossed the Trump indictment in the garbage where it belonged. On its face, it was patently deficient, if not ludicrous, and a transparently politicized prosecution.
Trump is determined to clear his name. So, you can expect that his legal team will challenge Merchan’s ruling on both the dismissal and sentencing. There are various legal options available, such as filing for an emergency “stay” from the appellate courts that, if granted, may push any further proceedings beyond inauguration on Jan. 20.
Since it is well established that presidents are immune from while in office —a principle that even Merchan accepts— a court-ordered pause would effectively delay sentencing until 2029. Of course, that assumes the case still has a pulse four years from now.
Trump has a credible argument that the verdicts against him should be vacated now. As president-elect, his lawyers contend that “immediate dismissal is mandated by the federal Constitution, the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, and the interest of justice.” Sentencing would disrupt the orderly transfer of executive power.
In essence, a state has no right or power to transgress federal laws passed by Congress, including the Transition Act. Interference by a local prosecutor and/or judge constitutes a violation of the Supremacy Clause in the Constitution.
But there are other compelling reasons to end this case sooner, rather than later.
In an earlier ruling, Merchan readily acknowledged his authority to set aside the verdicts if mistakes were made at trial which would merit reversal. Yet, he stubbornly refuses to recognize the plethora of errors that demand dismissal.
Chief among them is that prosecutors relied on tainted evidence prohibited in the presidential immunity standard enunciated by the Supreme Court on July 1. Testimony from White House officials and numerous presidential records should never have been introduced. Merchan disregards all this by insisting that such evidence was trifling, even though prosecutors emphasized it during closing arguments to the jury.
He also turned a blind eye to Bragg’s convoluted and incoherent legal theory that it must somehow be a crime to conceal a perfectly legal non-disclosure agreement. It is not. He then allowed the district attorney to shred the law by resurrecting expired business record misdemeanors and transmuting them into phantom election felonies that were falsely portrayed as unduly influencing the 2016 presidential contest.
It was a pretty neat trick inasmuch as Trump’s transactions were recorded and reimbursed the election. Moreover, Bragg, as a local prosecutor, had no jurisdiction to enforce federal campaign laws. The payments to former adult film star Stormy Daniels did not even qualify as contributions under any statute or regulation.
As I have noted before, a competent or objective judge would have long ago tossed the Trump indictment in the garbage where it belonged. On its face, it was patently deficient, if not ludicrous, and a transparently politicized prosecution.
But Bragg’s disgraceful legerdemain did not bother Merchan in the least. Just the opposite. His honor merrily went along with the hocus-pocus. At trial, he shed his black robe to join the jurisprudential circus as co-prosecutor.
When the preordained verdicts were announced, no one knew exactly what Trump was convicted of. Theoretically, bookkeeping errors were allegedly committed to further another crime in an unlawful attempt to influence the election.
But what crime? No one can say. Was it federal campaign law violations? Taxation laws? False business records? Select from the aforementioned menu of imaginary possibilities. Trump doesn’t know because prosecutors never said. And neither did the jurors.
In an appalling instruction to the panel, Merchan declared that they did not have to identify which crimes were supposedly perpetrated and need not agree unanimously. He abandoned with impunity the bedrock principle of unanimity in criminal convictions which the Supreme Court has reinforced repeatedly.
Merchan’s courtroom devolved into a cesspool of incomprehensible rulings by a conflicted and hostile judge that deprived Trump of a fair trial. Merchan and prosecutors worked in concert to engineer the guilty verdicts. Political bias smothered the defendant’s due process rights. It was a harebrained case driven by a district attorney who enthusiastically embraced the Democrats’ corrupt lawfare campaign against their Republican opponent.
None of it fooled American voters. Indeed, it appears to have backfired spectacularly. Many deeply resented how Trump’s adversaries disfigured the law to bring a series of criminal indictments designed to destroy his chances of returning to the White House. Outrage was voiced at the ballot box on Nov. 5. Decisively.
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Despite their best efforts to sabotage the outcome of the election, the unscrupulous duo of Merchan and Bragg can do nothing now to stop Trump. Even if his anticipated bid to halt the sentencing next Friday fails, the newly elected president still benefits. He can commence appealing the shameless perversion of the law that was waged against him and the miscarriage of justice that ensued.
It wasn’t a fair trial. It was a farce.
In the meantime, it is incumbent on the incoming Department of Justice to open a comprehensive investigation into the lawfare campaign that Special Counsel Jack Smith, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg brought almost simultaneously and only after Trump announced his bid for election.
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Coincidence? Hardly. There is reason to believe that there was coordination among them with President Joe Biden’s White House or with Attorney General Merrick Garland’s DOJ. Maybe both. If laws were broken, prosecutors should be exposed and held accountable for weaponizing the justice system.
Democrats have spent the last four years lecturing us that no one is above the law. Inconveniently now, that same standard applies to them.
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Dramatic video shows Israel’s raid on Iran’s underground missile factory in Syria
JERUSALEM — Elite Israeli forces conducted a dramatic raid in Syria, destroying a secret underground long-range missile factory that also contained information about Syria’s chemical weapons program in September, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The IDF first revealed the mission Thursday in a call with reporters.
“This is one of our most significant and complex special operations in recent years, even in this complex year and a half,” IDF spokesperson Nadav Shoshani said.
The IDF provided spectacular footage of the Israeli commandos during the daring mission as well as the massive explosion of the subterranean complex after the troops had cleared it.
ISRAELI OFFICIAL REVEALS HOW ‘TO TRULY DEFEAT HEZBOLLAH’
“The precision-guided missile factory or facility was dug into the side of a mountain underground,” the IDF spokesperson said.
Information about Syria’s chemical weapons program was uncovered during the mission.
“I have seen some of them — notebooks and documents — and a lot of them contain very specific chemicals,” Shoshani said. “One of them that I saw was a chemical handbook that describes how to manufacture a missile at the end of the raid. The troops dismantled the facility, including the machines and the manufacturing, to ensure the safety of Israel.”
Assad’s regime repeatedly used chemical weapons on his population during the nearly 14-year civil war that ripped apart the country. The U.S.-designated terrorist movement Hezbollah played a key role in aiding Assad’s regime during the civil war.
IDF FINDS HEZBOLLAH WEAPONS CACHE IN UNDERGROUND TUNNEL: VIDEO
The factory was designed to manufacture between 150-350 missiles a year, including precision-guided missiles (PGM), according to the IDF. Commandoes from the IDF’s elite air force unit Shaldag participated in the mission. The IDF said 30 Syrian soldiers were killed during the operation.
The IDF spokesperson told reporters the operation “was aimed at an Iranian-funded precision-guided missile factory inside Syrian territory near the border with Lebanon. This facility was designed to manufacture hundreds of strategic missiles per year from start to finish for Hezbollah to use in their aerial attacks on Israel and for its Iranian axis in Syria.
“Because of the specific terrain and this facility being underground, we could not operate from the air area. Also, on Sept. 8 last year, 2024, special forces conducted a nighttime targeted raid on the facility. This raid involved over 100 soldiers. There were also dozens of aircraft, including helicopters and other types of aircraft. The forces were flown in by helicopters.”
“I salute our heroic fighters for the daring and successful operation deep in Syria,” Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. “This was one of the most important preventive operations that we have taken against the efforts of the Iranian axis to arm itself in order to attack us; it attests to our boldness and determination to take action everywhere to defend ourselves.”
After the devastating Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas invasion of Israel, which resulted in the murder of more than 1,200 people, including 40 Americans, Israel has faced multi-prong attacks from Iran’s regime — the main sponsor of Hamas, Hezbollah; the Houthis; and the toppled Bashar Assad regime in Syria.
Amit Segal, chief political analyst of Israel’s Channel 12, told Fox News Digital, “The Israeli perspective for years was that Iran operates as an octopus in the Middle East, with the head being the nuclear program in Tehran and the arms being the conventional terrorist organizations surrounding Israel. Netanyahu’s view was that the arms were meant to harass and occupy Israel while the head raced toward nuclear capability, and therefore it was preferable to contain them and focus on the main threat.
“This perception shattered on Oct. 7 when it became clear that the arms were not just a nuisance but an existential threat.”
The complex commando raid on the underground Syrian factory could also be a shot across the bow for the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear weapons facilities embedded in mountains.
“After a year and a quarter dedicated to severing the octopus’s arms, Israel stands in 2025 at a historic crossroads for the confrontation Netanyahu has long sought and for which history will judge him: eliminating the nuclear threat once and for all,” Segal noted.
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The IDF spokesperson said construction on the Syrian missile factory “began at the end of 2017 and ended in 2021 when manufacturing machinery was sent from Iran to the site. Most of the components in the factory were sourced from Iran.”
From October 2023 to November 2024, Hezbollah launched over 17,000 projectiles toward Israel, killing dozens of Israelis, the IDF spokesperson said.
Elon Musk demands officials look into ‘worst mass crime’ against British people ‘ever’
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is throwing his weight behind growing calls in the United Kingdom for a new investigation into the scandal of child abuse by grooming gangs, going so far as to back calls for King Charles III to intervene.
“National inquiry now!” Musk stated on X on Friday, declaring the scandal “the worst mass crime against the people of Britain ever.”
The U.K. has for years been dealing with the revelation that a number of grooming gangs, often consisting of men of South Asian or British Pakistani heritage, exploited children for decades across the north of England in cities and towns including Rochdale, Telford, Manchester and Rotherham.
BRITAIN HIT BY ANOTHER ASIAN GROOMING GANG SCANDAL AS REPORT EXPOSES CHILD SEX ABUSE IN MANCHESTER
A 2014 independent review of grooming in Rotherham found that the majority of perpetrators were of Pakistani heritage and said that it was “hard to describe the appalling nature of the abuse that child victims suffered.”
“They were raped by multiple perpetrators, trafficked to other towns and cities in the north of England, abducted, beaten, and intimidated. There were examples of children who had been doused in petrol and threatened with being set alight, threatened with guns, made to witness brutally violent rapes and threatened they would be next if they told anyone,” the report said. “Girls as young as 11 were raped by large numbers of male perpetrators.”
That report found that around 1,400 children were abused between 1997 and 2013. It also stressed that abuse “is not confined to the past but continues to this day.”
The report found that police gave no priority to the abuse cases and failed to act. It also found that at least one report “was effectively suppressed” and others were ignored by local authorities. It found that while some did not believe the information, others were spooked by political correctness.
“Several staff described their nervousness about identifying the ethnic origins of perpetrators for fear of being thought racist; others remembered clear direction from their managers not to do so,” it said.
1,510 CHILDREN ABUSED IN ROTHERHAM SEX SCANDAL, NEW REPORT SAYS
A review in Telford found that a high proportion of the cases involved men described as “Asian” or “Pakistani” and that authorities in Telford were concerned that allegations “had the potential to start a ‘race riot.’” A broader Home Office report in 2020 said that while high-profile cases have “mainly involved men of Pakistani ethnicity,” it also cited research showing that group-based child sex exploitation offenders are most commonly White.
The scandal was seen by many as a prioritizing of multiculturalism and political correctness over the welfare of British children and the prosecution of criminals.
The issue recently reignited when local politicians in the town of Oldham asked the Home Office in July for a government inquiry into child abuse. A 2022 report into Oldham’s actions between 2011 and 2014 found that children were failed by local agencies, but it also found that there was no cover-up despite “legitimate concerns” that the far-right would capitalize on “the high-profile convictions of predominantly Pakistani offenders across the country.”
The Manchester Evening News reported Home Office Minister Jess Phillips responded to the request in October, saying that any such inquiry should be organized locally.
“Survivors sit at the heart of our work to end child sexual exploitation. Whatever happens in terms of future inquiries, we have promised them that their wishes will be paramount, and we will not renege on that pledge,’ a Home Office spokesperson told the outlet.
20 MEN FOUND GUILTY OF RAPING MORE THAN A DOZEN TEENAGE GIRLS IN NORTHERN ENGLAND
“We all recognize that terrible mistakes were made in the past, with children ignored or dismissed,” they said.
That response was slammed by Conservative Party Leader Kemi Badenoch, who called for a full national inquiry into what she called the “rape gangs scandal.”
“The time is long overdue for a full national inquiry into the rape gangs scandal,” she said on X. “Trials have taken place all over the country in recent years but no one in authority has joined the dots.”
“2025 must be the year that the victims start to get justice,” she said.
Musk, who has been tapped by President-elect Trump to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, also backed calls for King Charles III to intervene-noting that current Prime Minister Keir Starmer was head of the Crown Prosecution Service at the time of the scandals, although the scandals generally involved local authorities.
“Yes,” Musk said in response to a post saying the King “must step in.”
He continued, “They oppose an inquiry, because it will show that those in power were complicit in the cover-up,” he said of the government.
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Health Secretary Wes Streeting responded to Musk’s comments, telling ITV News that the government takes child abuse “incredibly seriously” and repeating that an inquiry in Oldham should be led locally.
“Some of the criticisms that Elon Musk has made, I think are misjudged and certainly misinformed, but we’re willing to work with Elon Musk, who I think has got a big role to play with his social media platform to help us and other countries to tackle this serious issue,” he said. “So if he wants to work with us and roll his sleeves up, we’d welcome that.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the British government’s Home Office for comment.
State sued over law forcing companies to pay for damages caused by climate change
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a top oil and gas industry trade group have filed a lawsuit against Vermont over its new law requiring that fossil fuel companies pay for damage the state attributes to climate change.
The federal lawsuit, which was filed Monday, urges a state court to block the state from enforcing the law, which was passed by lawmakers last year, according to The Associated Press. The state said it is working to estimate the cost of climate change dating back to 1995.
Vermont became the first state in the country to enact a law of its kind after it suffered catastrophic summer flooding and damage from other extreme weather, the outlet noted.
The Chamber and the American Petroleum Institute argue in the lawsuit that the U.S. Constitution precludes the act and that the state law is preempted by the federal Clean Air Act, The Associated Press reported. The lawsuit also says that the law violates domestic and foreign commerce clauses by discriminating against the “important interest of other states by targeting large energy companies located outside of Vermont.”
APPLE TO PAY $95 MILLION IN SIRI SPYING LAWSUIT
The plaintiffs say that the federal government is already addressing climate change, according to the report. The plaintiffs add that since greenhouse gases come from billions of individual sources, it is impossible to measure “accurately and fairly” the impact of emissions from a particular entity in a particular location over multiple decades.
“Vermont wants to impose massive retroactive penalties going back 30 years for lawful, out-of-state conduct that was regulated by Congress under the Clean Air Act,” Tara Morrissey, senior vice president and deputy chief counsel of the Chamber’s litigation center, said, according to the report. “That is unlawful and violates the structure of the U.S. Constitution — one state can’t try to regulate a global issue best left to the federal government. Vermont’s penalties will ultimately raise costs for consumers in Vermont and across the country.”
The law requires the Vermont state treasurer, in consultation with the Agency of Natural Resources, to issue a report by Jan. 15, 2026, on the total cost to the state and its residents from the emission of greenhouse gases from Jan. 1, 1995, to Dec. 31, 2024. The review would examine the effects of greenhouse gasses on various areas, including public health, natural resources, agriculture, economic development and housing.
The state would use federal data to determine whether the amount of covered greenhouse gas emissions can be traced to a fossil fuel company.
The share of funds collected from the companies could be used by the state for things like improving stormwater drainage systems, upgrading roads and bridges, elevating or retrofitting sewage treatment plants and making energy-efficient weatherization upgrades to public and private buildings.
SUPREME COURT TO TAKE UP CHALLENGE TO TIKTOK BAN
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The law in Vermont captured interest from other states, including New York, where a similar bill was signed into law last month.
The New York law requires companies responsible for substantial greenhouse gas emissions to pay into a state fund for infrastructure projects to repair or prevent future damage from climate change, and the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases between 2000 and 2018 would face fines.
Son of Hollywood sex symbol shines light on mom’s standoff with Playboy founder
Stella Stevens was in dire need of a paycheck when Playboy came calling.
The actress, who was groomed to be the next Marilyn Monroe before she made her own mark during the final years of Hollywood’s golden era, died in 2023 at age 84.
She’s now the subject of a new documentary by her son Andrew Stevens, “Stella Stevens: The Last Starlet.” It features commentary by Quentin Tarantino and Vivica A. Fox, among others.
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In the film, viewers learn how Stevens, who had a young son to feed, took an offer to pose nude for the magazine. It cemented her role as a sought-after screen siren, but it came at a price.
“She was alone in Hollywood, barely 18 years [and] broke with no source of income,” Andrew told Fox News Digital.
“A photographer and his wife came to her, and they said, ‘We shoot for this magazine called Playboy, and we’ll pay you $5,000 if you do a layout.’ Stella said, ‘It was a job, and I needed a job. I had a child to support. I was a single person living in LA and I didn’t know anyone. So I took the work.’”
Before stripping down, Stevens was discovered at a department store in Memphis. She was flown to Hollywood for a screen test and then signed a three-year contract with 20th Century Fox. While Stevens filmed three movies in six months, she was dropped by the studio over a work card technicality.
Despite the $5,000 offer, Stevens said Playboy founder Hugh Hefner told her after the racy shoot that he would only pay her half. To earn the rest, she had to work as a hostess at one of his clubs.
“She’s quoted as saying, ‘I told him to shove it, I will not,’” said Andrew.
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Stevens signed a new contract with Paramount. She scored a co-starring role in “Li’l Abner” as Appassionata Von Climax. She was determined to get her photos back before they went to print.
“She called Hugh Hefner and said, ‘I have this big Hollywood movie now… please don’t publish the photos. I’ll buy them back from you,’” said Andrew. “He said, ‘Oh no, you have a contract. We’re using them.’ So, [Playboy] exploited ‘Li’l Abner,’ which takes place in a mythical place called Dogpatch. They titled her photos ‘Dogpatch Playmate.’”
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“The irony is, after being dropped from 20th Century Fox, she won a Golden Globe as Best Newcomer of the Year in 1960 when Marilyn also won a Golden Globe for Best Actress,” Andrew shared. “And [Marilyn won] for the studio that had just dropped [my mother’s] contract.”
Stevens felt that being a sex symbol was a “double edge sword,” said Andrew.
“On one hand, she appreciated that she got more attention in the Hollywood community,” he explained. “Everyone wanted to meet her… [But] the old Hollywood studio system at that time was a very male-dominated, misogynistic community. And the casting couch was very real. And as [film critic] Leonard Maltin is quoted as saying [in the film], ‘There was a whole town run by early day Harvey Weinsteins.’”
“In some ways, [being a sex symbol] gave her a career boost,” said Andrew. “But on the flip side, she’s quoted as saying it killed doing anything decent or legitimate after that. People wouldn’t take her seriously because of this sexpot moniker that she was given. So, the more weighty and meaty dramatic roles were not as forthcoming as the more frivolous post-Marilyn Monroe-type roles.”
“She called Hugh Hefner and said, ‘I have this big Hollywood movie now… please don’t publish the photos. I’ll buy them back from you,.’ He said, ‘Oh no, you have a contract. We’re using them.’”
Stevens was determined to be taken seriously as an actress. According to the documentary, Stevens had zero desire to appear alongside Elvis Presley in 1962’s “Girls! Girls! Girls!”.
“The studio was pushing her to do it,” Andrew explained. “At the time, very few actors had any say over what the studio assigned them to do… Stella, quite outspokenly, said, ‘I don’t want to be the girl that Elvis Presley leaves for another girl. That’s not what I have in mind for my career.’”
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“She had just finished a film called ‘Too Late Blues,’ directed by John Cassavetes, starring Bobby Darin,” Andrew pointed out. “It was this… dramatic piece. That’s the kind of work she was interested in doing. Not some frivolous fluff piece, although Elvis movies were very popular at the time. [But] nobody took him seriously as an actor, and nobody took them seriously.”
“She was having her own struggles with trying to be taken seriously after having posed in Playboy.”
While Stevens had “great respect” for Presley, she urged the studio not to cast her in the film. Stevens only agreed to do it after she was promised to play opposite Montgomery Clift in her next movie. It never happened.
Stevens detested the Presley flick and could never bring herself to watch it.
There was one person who believed in Stevens’ talent – Jerry Lewis. The comic chose her to play his love interest in 1963’s “The Nutty Professor.”
“Stella and Jerry Lewis loved each other,” said Andrew. “They had such a great collaborative working relationship. When Jerry got the green light to shoot ‘The Nutty Professor’ at Paramount, he said, ‘I want the most beautiful girl you have under contract.’ And I think he named the role Stella Purdy after Stella. They just had a lovely relationship.”
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“I have fond memories of knowing Jerry Lewis and being on the set, watching him direct,” Andrew recalled. “… I think he was a great mentor for Stella.”
Growing up, Andrew admitted that his relationship with Stevens was complicated.
She dropped out of high school at 15 to marry Andrew’s father, Herman Stephens. The couple divorced in 1956, and she took Andrew to California, where she could pursue an acting career. His father and grandfather later showed up at her home to take him back to Memphis, resulting in an ugly custody battle.
“The unfortunate thing about both of them is that they were babies having babies,” Andrew reflected about his parents. “My mother was 16 and my father was 18 when I was born.
“My father barely graduated from high school. My mother had to quit high school to stay home and take care of me. She went to school at night to get a GED to be able to then go to Memphis State University… But neither one, quite honestly, was really equipped to take care of a child.”
“… My preference would always have been to be in Memphis with my friends and the rest of my family,” Andrew admitted. “I certainly don’t begrudge my mother from wanting her child. But quite frankly, neither of my parents had the goods to be able to raise a kid.”
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While mother and son had “multiple periods of estrangement,” they bonded on set. She directed the 1989 film “The Ranch,” which starred Andrew. He later directed her in 1991’s “The Terror Within II.”
Stevens worked steadily in television in the 1970s and ’80s, appearing in “Wonder Woman,” “Hart to Hart,” “The Love Boat” and “Night Court,” just to name a few. She stayed busy until she could no longer work due to Alzheimer’s disease.
To Stevens’ dismay, his mother wasn’t included in the Academy Awards’ annual “In Memoriam” segment, and she never received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
“My mother deserved better,” said Andrew. “Even though my life with her was tumultuous and complex and not always warm and fuzzy, time and distance have given me a new perspective on the impact she had.”
Popular drink people swear by to help combat winter sniffles, soothe sore throats
With cold and flu season in full swing, many people are turning to teas for a bit of respiratory relief.
One drink that people swear by at Starbucks has been dubbed the “medicine ball” for its supposed curative properties.
The drink was created in Oct. 2016 as a mixture of tea, steamed lemonade and honey, a Starbucks spokesperson told Fox News Digital. The once “secret-menu” drink became very popular and was added to the official menu as “honey citrus mint tea” in 2017, the spokesperson added.
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The beverage consists of “green tea with soothing herbal notes of chamomile and hints of spearmint and fruit flavor, served with steamed lemonade and a touch of honey for a tea that comforts from the inside out,” the Starbucks website notes.
Along with that, however, is a lot of sweetness. There are 30 grams of sugar in a “grande” size, says the Starbucks website.
A registered dietitian shared how she makes her own version of the drink – with her own twist.
“This is one of my favorite recipes to help fight the winter sniffles and soothe sore throats, thanks to the combination of honey and teapigs green and peppermint teas,” registered dietitian and nutritionist Kelsey Kunik told Fox News Digital. Teapigs is a brand of teas.
Kunik, based in Michigan, writes for the website “Graciously Nourished.”
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Green tea, she said, “is packed with natural antioxidants to support a healthy immune system” — and the addition of peppermint tea could help sooth sinuses.
Also, “honey acts as a natural cough suppressant and throat soother,” she said.
By making the drink at home, you have “more control over the ingredients in this recipe” than you would from ordering it at a store, said Kunik.
A way to “significantly reduce” the amount of sugar in the beverage is to “use a light lemonade or squeeze a lemon into hot water in place of lemonade.”
‘Medicine ball’-inspired tea
Ingredients
6 ounces lemonade
6 ounces water
1 tablespoon honey
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1 green tea with peach (Kunik likes the teapigs brand)
1 peppermint tea (optional) (Kunik also likes the teapigs brand for this)
Directions
Add lemonade to a large mug and microwave for 30 to 60 seconds until just warmed.
Add 6 ounces of hot water (just off the boil) to the mug and steep one teapigs green tea with peach for 5 minutes.
After 3 minutes, add one teapigs peppermint tea sachet and let that steep for the last 2 minutes.
Stir in one tablespoon of honey (or more if you like it sweeter) and enjoy.
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