John Kerry’s ritzy neighborhood rocked as drug addicts ‘overrun’ cobblestone streets
Residents in a ritzy Boston, Massachusetts, neighborhood are complaining that city leadership isn’t doing enough to control open drug use, with locals saying the situation has gotten “very scary.”
During a Boston City Council meeting in October 2024, Beacon Hill resident Katherine Kennedy said she hasn’t seen this level of illegal drug use in Beacon Hill, according to Boston 25. According to Realtor.com, the average home price in Beacon Hill is $2.3 million.
“Prior to this year, I’ve never seen the Boston Common, Cambridge Street or the Esplanade get this overrun with drug paraphernalia or folks in crisis,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy added, “As a mother of two small children, this is very scary.”
DEM REP CALLS OUT NYC’S ONGOING FAILURE TO TACKLE BRONX ‘OPEN AIR DRUG MARKET’ CRISIS
The mother of two now carries a sharps container, meant for needles, in her diaper bag.
A 2024 report compiled by the Boston Public Health Commission reported that there was a 47.1% increase in drug usage mortality rates between 2020-2022 compared to 2017-2019 in the Beacon Hill, Back Bay, North end and West End communities, which are near each other. Similarly, data compiled by the Boston Police Department indicates that there was an 8% increase in overall theft incidents in 2025 compared to the five-year average in the area, including Beacon Hill.
In 2022, Democratic Boston Mayor Michelle Wu helped launch a needle exchange program, including the distribution of free pipes that can be used to smoke crack or methamphetamine in a “harm reduction” strategy.
“Every step that we take has to also be about immediately saving lives,” Wu said at the time. “We have seen a big drop and data proven success with the parts of this program, the goals of this program, which are to ensure there is a stop to communicable diseases that are preventable.”
PASTOR COREY BROOKS: I’M BUILDING HOPE ON CHICAGO’S NOTORIOUS SOUTH SIDE
For Kennedy, who’s a resident of Beacon Hill, the program has led to a dramatic increase in needles seen on her kids’ walk to school.
“I pass discarded needles as I walk my 5-year-old to her public school every day,” Kennedy said, according to the Boston Herald. “Having to keep needles away from my kids as I walk them to preschool is unacceptable.”
“Boston and the surrounding region is not doing enough to actually disrupt the cycle of addiction that has led to this crisis,” she added.
Robert Charles, former assistant secretary at the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, who’s running for governor in Maine, told Fox News Digital that Americans don’t fully understand the downstream impact of illegal drugs.
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“It’s a sequence of events. You get dramatic increases in the drug presence, which is a testing of law enforcement and political leadership. If the political leadership and law enforcement either don’t have the resources or don’t have the political will, you gradually see an increase in the drug trafficking itself and, of course, in overdoses,” Charles said. “The burglaries go up, the robberies go up, the assaults go up. The domestic abuse goes up. Something like 80% of all domestic abuse is tied to polydrug use.”
Trump threatens fed DC takeover after former DOGE worker beaten
President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to federalize Washington, D.C., calling for local minors and gang members over the age of 14 to be prosecuted as adults, after a famed former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employee was allegedly beaten in the nation’s capital.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said local youth and gang members are “randomly attacking, mugging, maiming, and shooting innocent citizens, at the same time knowing that they will be almost immediately released.”
Along with the post, Trump shared a photo of a bloodied man on the street.
Multiple sources told Fox News Digital the person in the photo shared by the president is Edward Coristine, the teenager known as “Big Balls,” who previously worked for DOGE.
Sources told Fox News Digital Coristine was violently attacked late Sunday or early Monday.
DEMOCRATIC LEADERS ACCUSE TRUMP OF LEGITIMIZING POLITICAL VIOLENCE THAT LED TO MINNESOTA SHOOTINGS
“The most recent victim was beaten mercilessly by local thugs,” Trump wrote. “… Perhaps it should have been done a long time ago, then this incredible young man, and so many others, would not have had to go through the horrors of Violent Crime. If this continues, I am going to exert my powers, and FEDERALIZE this City. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Former DOGE head Elon Musk weighed in on X, sharing more of the story.
“A few days ago, a gang of about a dozen young men tried to assault a woman in her car at night in DC,” Musk wrote. “A @Doge team member saw what was happening, ran to defend her and was severely beaten to the point of concussion, but he saved her. It is time to federalize DC.”
When speaking with reporters Tuesday night, Trump said, “Either they’re going to straighten their act out in terms of government and in terms of protection, or we’re going to have to federalize and run it the way it’s supposed to be run.”
The president said it appears criminals are “not afraid” of the police, because “nothing ever happens to them.”
“Washington, D.C. must be safe, clean, and beautiful for all Americans and, importantly, for the World to see,” he wrote in the post. “If D.C. doesn’t get its act together, and quickly, we will have no choice but to take Federal control of the City, and run this City how it should be run, and put criminals on notice that they’re not going to get away with it anymore.”
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The most recent attack came after a House staffer in May was the victim of an armed carjacking in Navy Yard.
The same month, affiliate FOX 5 D.C. reported that a large group of teens took over a Navy Yard park, leading to several arrests and one hospitalization.
In July, congressional intern Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, 21, a 16-year-old boy and a woman were shot in what appeared to be a drive-by shooting. Tarpinian-Jachym later died.
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In April, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was walking to the Navy Yard Metro Station when his staff member told him a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority police officer had been stabbed in the face.
The Metropolitan Police Department, U.S. Capitol Police and White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.
Key events that turned Cincinnati’s viral attack into a national scandal
CINCINNATI – Stomach-turning footage of the viral brawl that broke out in downtown Cincinnati in late July has ignited public outrage as community leaders and members demand answers about the event that left six civilians injured.
The brutal beatdown gained traction online as the video of several victims being thrown to the ground and assaulted shocked the nation, forcing local leaders to answer for the unnecessary violence in a series of events that continue to play out on the national stage.
Saturday, July 26
Bystander footage captures the moment a large group turns on several individuals at around 3 a.m. on the corner of Fourth and Elm streets in downtown Cincinnati’s business district. In a video obtained by Fox News Digital, an unidentified man can be heard yelling racial slurs while being beaten in the street, with some claiming the male victim slapped the perpetrator prior to the fight breaking out.
CINCINNATI RESIDENTS ON EDGE AFTER VIRAL BEATDOWN SPARKS CRIME CONCERNS: ‘WHAT’S GONNA HAPPEN NEXT?’
Another angle shows a woman, later identified as “Holly,” attempting to break up the fight before she is also slammed to the ground and knocked unconscious.
Minutes after the fight ended, a lone 911 caller rang authorities to report the brawl.
“At this point, everybody’s running out, so it was before, about 20, 30 people, but everybody’s out,” the caller said.
Throughout the three-minute, 15-second phone call, the 911 operator can be heard asking several times how many people were involved in the fight and whether police were needed at the scene.
“So you keep saying they left, do you need police to respond out?” the dispatcher asked toward the end of the call.
VIDEO OF RACIAL SLUR YELLED DURING THE BRUTAL CINCINNATI BEATDOWN EMERGES
“I would prefer, yes,” the man said. “I would prefer, yes. Absolutely.”
Sunday, July 27
Cincinnati Chief of Police Teresa Theetge announced in a press conference that the department is investigating the incident.
“The behavior displayed is nothing short of cruel and absolutely unacceptable,” Theetge said in a statement. “Our investigative team is working diligently to identify every individual involved in causing harm. It’s also important to clarify: this was a sudden dispute between individuals following a verbal altercation.”
CINCINNATI BUSINESS OWNERS SLAM VIRAL ‘OUT OF CONTROL’ BEATING AMID FIGHT TO CLEAN UP DOWNTOWN
As the video began to gain traction online, government leaders spoke out to voice their concerns regarding the actions in the footage.
“I was born and raised in Cincinnati, and it’s sad to see this kind of heinous violence on the streets,” Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy told Fox News Digital. “It’s a shame that Democrats in our state remain silent when so many of their constituents are suffering from their lax-on-crime policies. We’re going to bring law and order back to cities across Ohio on my watch. It’s time for a new generation to lead with a spine.”
Monday, July 28
Theetge revealed during a press conference that, of the approximately 100 individuals present on the street corner at the time of the fight, only one person called 911.
POLICE IDENTIFY MULTIPLE SUSPECTS IN BRUTAL CINCINNATI STREET FIGHT: ‘CRUEL AND ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE’
“That is unacceptable to not call the police,” Theetge said. “Traffic was horrendous. People saw this. They were fighting in front of traffic. Why didn’t people call us?”
The police chief also revealed that authorities would be charging five individuals for their involvement in the brawl, with police sources telling Fox News Digital that four of the suspects had already been identified.
Vice President JD Vance also voiced his feelings about the attack, adding that while he doesn’t have all the context, he saw “a mob of lawless thugs beating up an innocent person.”
CINCINNATI MAYOR VOWS CHARGES FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED AFTER PASTOR SAYS IT’S ‘STILL A RACIAL ISSUE’
“It’s disgusting. I hope every single one of those people who engaged in violence is prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” Vance said. “You had a grown man who sucker punched a middle-aged woman and where I come from, at least, when you have a grown man sucker punching a middle-aged woman that person ought to go to jail for a very long time. And frankly, he is lucky there weren’t some better people around because they would handle it themselves.”
WATCH: Cincinnati residents say viral brutal beatdown doesn’t define city
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine weighed in on the fight, calling the footage “shocking.”
“The footage of the weekend incident in Cincinnati is shocking,” he said. “I support local authorities bringing the violent offenders to justice and taking measures so that their cities are safe for all to live, work, and enjoy.”
FIFTH SUSPECT ARRESTED IN VIRAL CINCINNATI BEATDOWN AS VICTIM DETAILS HER ‘ONGOING BATTLE’
Tuesday, July 29
Authorities announced the arrests of Montianez Merriweather, 34, and DeKyra Vernon, 24, for their alleged roles in the brutal beating.
Both Vernon and Merriweather face felonious assault, aggravated riot and assault charges.
Wednesday, July 30
Jermaine Matthews, 39, is taken into custody in connection with the attack, and is initially charged with aggravated riot and assault.
CINCINNATI BEATDOWN VICTIM REVEALS ‘VERY BAD BRAIN TRAUMA’ IN FIRST REMARKS SINCE VIRAL ASSAULT
All three defendants appeared in a Hamilton County courtroom for bond hearings, with a judge ordering Matthews to be held on a $500,000 bond, Matthews on a $100,000 bond; and Vernon on a $200,000 bond.
During the hearing, detectives alleged Matthews and Merriweather were seen chasing victims as they attempted to flee, before forcing the victims to the ground and assaulting them in what authorities called an “ambush” attack.
“Mr. Merriweather goes after another gentleman behind another car and then he walks off to the side and goes to the sidewalk,” the detective said. “So as to Mr. Merriweather’s involvement in this, we believe that he coordinated this with Mr. Matthews. He walked up to him on a video, whispered something to him, and then strategically placed himself behind the victim.”
5TH CINCINNATI BRAWL SUSPECT’S MUGSHOT RELEASED AFTER FBI ARREST
The FBI also confirmed to Fox News Digital that it was involved in the investigation into the attack.
“The FBI has been and will continue closely coordinating with the Cincinnati Police Department on this matter,” the FBI told Fox News Digital.
That same day, Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, shared a photo of one of the victims in the attack, showing a woman with several injuries to her face – including a black eye and busted lip.
“Holly gave me permission to release the photos so that others will never suffer what she did,” he wrote on social media.
CINCINNATI ASSAULT: HEAR 911 CALL AFTER VIRAL MOB ATTACK
Thursday, July 31
Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval reportedly responded to criticism surrounding his choice to leave for a family vacation with his 5-year-old son the same day news broke about the brutal brawl.
“This was a long-planned family trip and celebration for my son,” the mayor told The Enquirer. “I take my role as mayor very seriously, but I also take my role as a husband and father seriously as well.”
LISTEN: 911 call: Emergency dispatch audio captures aftermath of brutal Cincinnati street attack
Pureval reportedly pointed to his son starting kindergarten soon and city council sessions resuming the following week as his rationale for taking the trip. However, the mayor planned to cut his vacation short by four days by flying back to Cincinnati on Thursday, The Enquirer reported.
CINCINNATI MAYORAL CANDIDATE, VP VANCE’S HALF-BROTHER, SLAMS CITY LEADERSHIP AFTER BRUTAL BEATDOWN
Moreno also appeared on “Fox and Friends” to blast the mayor and city leaders for their handling of the events, calling the attack a “heinous situation.”
“Cincinnati is an amazing city, made by great people over decades, centuries actually. It’s one of the shiny jewels of Ohio, and these idiotic political leaders that the citizens allow to have office need to go,” Moreno said.
Moreno announced he is planning to request an audit of Cincinnati’s funding from the federal government.
Fox News Digital also obtained the lone 911 call that was placed after the brawl had ended, with a man calling authorities shortly after 3 a.m. to report the fight.
EXCLUSIVE: RAMASWAMY DECRIES ‘ANTI-LAW ENFORCEMENT CULTURE’ IN WAKE OF BRUTAL CINCINNATI BEATING
“At this point, everybody’s running out, so it was before, about 20, 30 people, but everybody’s out,” the caller said on the three-minute phone call.
Matthews later returned to court to face two new counts of felonious assault and one count of misdemeanor assault. He was then released after a judge set his bond at $270,000, FOX 19 reported.
Friday, August 1
Authorities arrested a fourth suspect, 37-year-old Dominique Kittle, for his alleged involvement in the attack. Kittle is charged with felony assault, aggravated riot and two counts of assault, according to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.
WHY DIDN’T ANYONE BREAK UP CINCINNATI BEATING? BYSTANDER BEHAVIOR EXPERT EXPLAINS
In a fiery press conference Friday afternoon, Theetge scolded the community over the fact that out of the approximately 100 witnesses, only one person called the police.
“That is unacceptable to not call the police,” Theetge said. “Traffic was horrendous. People saw this. They were fighting in front of traffic. Why didn’t people call us?”
Pureval also weighed in on the developments.
“Let me be clear, there is no place for violent crime in Cincinnati, whether it’s fight or gun violence, we will pursue those responsible and we will hold them accountable no matter who they are, period,” Pureval said the press conference.
RAMASWAMY PLEDGES ‘RULE OF LAW’ REVIVAL AFTER VIRAL CINCINNATI MOB ATTACK
The FBI and Justice Department also confirmed a federal investigation had been launched in response to the beatdown.
Saturday, August 2
Fox News Digital obtained new footage showing the moments leading up to the brawl. The video, shot by bystander Jay Black, depicts a man using racial slurs toward the group before being knocked to the ground.
“I saw a little ruckus going on, saw people kind of scuffling, so kind of zoomed in, and once my phone kind of focused in, I saw the so-called victims being pretty aggressive toward the group of people that were already standing out there,” Black told Fox News Digital.
Black added that he watched someone get knocked to the ground, before getting up and start fighting again.
THREE MAJOR BROADCAST NETWORKS DIDN’T REPORT ON HEINOUS CINCINNATI BRAWL, REVIEW FINDS
“Once he got up, you know people were kind of backing off of him, but he was kind of still going at people, you know, and using racial slurs,” Black said.
He told Fox News Digital that “contrary to what people think,” there were actually “a lot of people” trying to break up the fight.
Monday, August 3
A fifth suspect, Patrick Rosemond, 38, was taken into custody Monday afternoon by the FBI and Atlanta Metropolitan Major Offender’s Task Force in Fulton County, Georgia. He is charged with two counts of felonious assault and aggravated riot, according to the Cincinnati Police Department.
He is also charged with one count of fugitive from justice for a fingerprintable charge, according to the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office.
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He is currently being held in the Fulton County Jail while awaiting extradition to Ohio, police said. Rosemond is a Cincinnati resident and does not have any registered addresses in Georgia, according to records obtained by Fox News Digital.
A grand jury is scheduled to convene on July 8 for the charges filed against Kittle, Vernon, Matthews and Merriweather.
Trump’s intel chief says ‘yes’ to aliens possibly existing in eye-opening interview
Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard told a New York Post podcaster that she believes aliens could possibly be real.
Speaking on the New York Post’s “Pod Force One,” Gabbard answered “yes” when pressed about whether she believes in the possibility of extraterrestrial life, according to the outlet.
A former Democratic presidential candidate turned Republican, Gabbard leads President Donald Trump’s intelligence community and serves as his principal advisor on intelligence.
Asked on Miranda Devine’s Pod Force One podcast whether “there could be aliens,” Gabbard started answering by saying, “I have my own views and opinions” and “in this role, I have to be careful with what I share.”
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Pressed further on whether she believes in the possibility of extraterrestrials and UFOs, she answered “yes.”
The outlet reported that Gabbard noted she was not prepared to talk further on the issue, she said her team will be transparent with the public when the time comes, saying, “We’re continuing to look for the truth and share that truth with the American people.”
Gabbard also mentioned that she still has “a lot of questions” about the mysterious flurry of drone sightings over New Jersey late last year.
At the time U.S. national security officials in the Biden administration sought to dispel concerns about the sightings, with one FBI official describing the nationwide uneasiness as “a slight overreaction.”
OVER 60 UFO SIGHTINGS REPORTED WHIZZING ACROSS STATE IN FIRST HALF OF 2025, NATIONAL TRACKING GROUP SAYS
“I still have a lot of questions around that,” Gabbard said, adding, “I’ve heard what the public official line is.”
“I just personally still have a lot of questions that are unanswered, because it wasn’t just New Jersey. It was happening in different parts of the country,” she told the podcast host.
The DNI did, however, say “there’s a lot of classified information” in the U.S. intelligence community about the suspected Chinese spy balloon that was spotted flying over several states in 2023.
PENTAGON SAYS THERE’S ‘NO VERIFIABLE EVIDENCE’ OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL TECHNOLOGY, BEINGS OR ACTIVITY
After allowing the balloon to fly over much of the U.S. for about a week, former President Joe Biden eventually ordered it shot down over South Carolina.
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Gabbard declined to tell the host more about the intelligence community’s information on the balloon.
Texas Democrat apologizes after invoking the Holocaust in defending her state walkout
Texas state Rep. Jolanda Jones apologized on Tuesday for comparing Democrats fleeing the state over redistricting to the Holocaust.
Jones was one of several Texas House Democrats who left the state on Monday to avoid a vote on Republicans’ new proposed congressional district map, which would potentially secure five new GOP U.S. House seats in next year’s midterm elections. They claim the redistricting will disenfranchise minority voters.
Speaking to former CNN host Don Lemon from an “undisclosed location” in New York, Jones emphasized the importance of standing up against such “racist” actions to avoid the same mistakes that led to the Holocaust.
BETO ENCOURAGES DEMOCRATS TO FIGHT ‘FIRE WITH FIRE’ IN TEXAS REDISTRICTING BATTLE
“We better have the courage to stand up, otherwise we will fall for anything,” she said. “And in this country, we will be defeated, deported. I mean, we will lose all of our rights. And if you think it can’t happen, it can.”
“And I will liken this to the Holocaust,” Jones continued, “People are like, ‘Well, how did the Holocaust happen? How was somebody in a position to kill all them people?’ Well, good people remain silent or good people didn’t realize that what happens to them can very soon happen to me or somebody I love.
“And so, even if you made it, man, you have an obligation to help people who can’t because, God forbid, they end up targeting you and your family.”
In a statement to Fox News Digital on Tuesday, Jones apologized for her comments and retracted her comparisons to the Holocaust.
“I made a statement on ‘The Don Lemon Show’ comparing Trump’s attempt to disenfranchise Black and Brown people to the Holocaust. That was a mistake, and I apologize for it. Trump is coming for my community, and I get emotional about it and make strong statements. But that was going too far, and I retract that comparison,” the statement read.
TEXAS DEMS RIPPED FOR ‘CARTOONISHLY DUMB’ STRATEGY TO FLEE TO BLUE STATE NOTORIOUS FOR GERRYMANDERING
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s press secretary, Andrew Mahaleris, criticized Jones’ original comments.
“Fleeing Texas House Democrats continue to beclown themselves through this desperate, anti-democratic stunt. Unlike these radicals, Governor Abbott refuses to abandon Texans. If the House Democrats who deserted Texans were serious about delivering results, they would come back to the Texas Capitol and do the job voters elected them to do,” Mahaleris told Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital also reached out to the Texas Democratic Party for comment.
In the interview with Lemon, Jones also dismissed the argument made by Texas Republicans that she and other Democrats will need to return to the state eventually, remarking she “ain’t got to do nothing but die.”
“[T]he point is, I will stay gone as long as I need to stay gone. And I hope that my colleagues feel as convicted as I do. That right now, you know, I always wondered what I would have done would I’ve been walking on…the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Would I have been willing to walk for over a year with the Montgomery bus boycott. And you know what? Now is our civil rights moment, people,” Jones said.
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After several Democrats failed to return to the Texas State Capitol on Monday afternoon, Texas Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows announced he would sign arrest warrants against any absent Democrat lawmakers if authorized by a vote of the chamber. Abbott then swiftly called on the Texas Department of Public Safety to arrest the “delinquent Texas House Democrats.”
Abbott has also threatened to expel the Texas House Democrats for leaving the state.
Fever’s Sophie Cunningham appears to be hit by adult toy after lamenting possibility of it happening
Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham appeared to be hit by a projectile sex toy during Tuesday night’s game vs. the Los Angeles Sparks. The incident came in the final minutes of the second quarter as the Fever prepared to inbound the ball.
It is the third instance of a green sex toy being hurled onto a WNBA court in the past few weeks, in what has become a growing trend. The first came in a game in Atlanta on July 29, and it happened again in Chicago on Aug. 1.
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Now, the latest incident has also made Cunningham the victim on the same day that she publicly lamented the idea of a player being hit by said object.
During Tuesday’s episode of her podcast, Cunningham addressed the issue of the objects being hurled onto courts, and speculated what the fallout would look like if a player were hit by one.
“I just know how things go viral now, and I just know if that thing like even came from like the rafters or bows and just slap me right in the face, I could never, I could, that would be what I’d be known for life,” Cunningham said. “And yeah, it could break a f—in nose.”
Cunningham said her mom even told her to beware of the possibility of being hit by such an object.
“My mom, she goes, instead of like my good luck text, she goes ‘watch out for flying d-ldos tonight,’” Cunningham said.
SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM OPENS UP ON EX-TEAM’S TREATMENT OF CAITLIN CLARK, AND INFAMOUS FIGHT THAT CHIPPED HER TOOTH
To make matters worse for Cunningham and her team, the Fever lost to the Sparks 100-91.
Cunningham previously sent a post on X Friday telling fans to end the charade.
“Stop throwing dildos on the court… you’re going to hurt one of us,” she wrote.
Cunningham made light of the situation by resharing that post after Tuesday’s game with the message, “This did not age well.”
The stunts have even resulted in an arrest. The WNBA announced on Saturday that one of the culprits had been arrested, and there would be further punishments for whoever threw an object onto the playing surface.
A 23-year-old is facing charges of disorderly conduct, public indecency/indecent exposure, and criminal trespass for hurling one of the items onto a court last week.
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Delbert Carver was booked into Clayton County jail in Georgia on Saturday for the stunt last Tuesday. Carver’s case, according to information online, is currently “pending.” He was released from jail late Sunday on bond.
“The safety and well-being of everyone in our arenas is a top priority for our league. Objects of any kind thrown onto the court or in the seating area can pose a safety risk for players, game officials, and fans,” the WNBA said in a statement.
“In line with WNBA Arena Security Standards, any fan who intentionally throws an object onto the court will be immediately ejected and face a minimum one-year ban in addition to being subject to arrest and prosecution by local authorities.”
CEO issues warning over workforce crisis as millions reach retirement
A 24-year-old CEO is rethinking and reshaping the hiring landscape – and America’s career pipeline – by taking an outspoken stance on college degrees and an aging workforce.
“Gen Z right now, you have a lot of power. All the corporations in America are trying to cater to you,” Sotira co-founder and CEO Amrita Bhasin told Fox News Digital.
“They’re thinking about: how do we cater towards the next generation? So use that power in ways that are valuable for us and for society.”
Bhasin, who leads an award-winning logistics and artificial intelligence (AI) startup company, warns that the U.S. is “not going to look the same way it will in a decade” if more young people don’t bypass traditional college degrees and pivot to reliable skilled trades.
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U.S. Census Bureau data indicates that the U.S. population is older today than it’s ever been, and the number of Americans aged 65 and older is projected to increase from 58 million in 2022 to 82 million by 2050.
Additionally, an estimated 4.18 million Americans will reach retirement age this year, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) expects about 192 million job openings over the next decade as total employment is predicted to grow just 0.4% annually.
“I’ve started a company in an industry that… is very old-school. [The] supply chain is also extremely ripe for automation. It needs young people,” Bhasin said. “As the older generation ages out, a lot of them express these fears to me. They’re saying, ‘My kids don’t wanna go into this industry,’ or, ‘I don’t want my kids to go into supply chain [careers]. I want my kids to go to college in a big city and get a job in finance.’ And they don’t have anyone to pass their businesses down to. And this is a huge problem, right? It’s a generational problem.”
“College has become so expensive and it’s not even just tuition, it’s the rents in all of these cities,” she added, “your room and board… it was more than the cost of the tuition. We see that because of a variety of reasons: recessions, nearshoring, offshoring, layoffs due to AI, efficiencies now, a lot of people are graduating, and they just don’t have jobs.”
That’s why Sotira has taken initiative in hiring candidates without college degrees, to “train and prepare that workforce for industries where their perspective is needed and where they’re able to make an honest living,” according to its Gen Z CEO.
“We do have folks working [for] us who don’t have degrees or who are dropouts. We’re in the process of hiring more people, and for me, having a college degree is not a requisite to work at a startup,” Bhasin noted.
BLS data also indicates that the majority of trade workers do not have Bachelor’s degrees, and annual wages in 2024 sat at a median of $61,000.
As of June 2025, more than 1 million trade jobs remain unfilled in the U.S., driven by an aging and retiring workforce as well as a societal bias toward college degrees, according to Forbes.
When it comes to the prestige gap between white-collar and blue-collar work, Bhasin argues it’s finally starting to close, driven by skepticism around the long-term value of traditional, four-year degrees.
“I think that there’s a lot more awareness now,” she said. “There’s a lot of layoffs in the white-collar space. In the so-called blue-collar space, we see that a lot of these jobs will still exist. They will still be important. Like, AI cannot do your HVAC job.”
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“A lot of these are important practices that we need to, as consumers, pay for recurrently and need within our society… blue-collar industries have a really strong stickiness… And so I think everyone of every kind of economic strata now is kind of seeing the value of these jobs,” Bhasin continued.
“You can get any job that you want with any degree… People message me with this question on LinkedIn, they email me, they ask me in person… ‘What degree do I need to get? What major should I major in in order to get x, y, z job?’ And it just doesn’t matter… What your passion is should always be what you pursue.”
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Massive spider swarm poised to hit multiple states as expert shares advice
Tarantula mating season is here — and if you’re in the Southwest, you might see hordes of these fist-sized spiders marching across the landscape.
From late summer through fall, male tarantulas emerge from their burrows on a singular mission: to find a female and mate before they die, experts say.
“These males … they’ve been alive for five to eight years,” Cara Shillington, a biology professor who studies tarantulas at Eastern Michigan University, told Fox News Digital. (See the video at the top of this article.)
AMERICA’S SECOND-LARGEST CICADA SWARM IS ABOUT TO EMERGE ACROSS THE EAST COAST
“They have one mating season. At the end of the season, they will die.”
This means that if you see a tarantula out and about between August and October, you’re witnessing its grand finale — the final act in a long, hidden life underground.
“Tarantulas are less active during the cooler months, spending this time dormant in their burrows,” Paul Biggs, a board-certified entomologist and technical services manager at Orkin, told Fox News Digital.
“Because of the harsh environmental conditions, they take shelter and conserve energy during this time,” added Biggs, who is based in Riverside, California.
Where to spot them
Tarantulas are commonly found across the Southern and Southwestern U.S., including in these states and areas:
- Texas
- Arizona
- California
- Oklahoma
- New Mexico
- Nevada
- Utah
- Southeastern Colorado
In some areas, their movements are so noticeable that the Colorado Parks and Wildlife website refers to it as “a migration.”
“They’re more scared of you than you are of them.”
Southeastern Colorado even hosts an annual Tarantula Festival in the town of La Junta, Shillington noted.
Tarantulas don’t just live on forest floors. The Colorado species also thrives in trees and prairie grasslands, said Shillington.
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“In Colorado, they are in very distinct burrows. In Missouri, you find them more frequently under rocks,” she said.
The spiders’ ability to burrow depends on the soil, the expert noted. For example, hard clay makes digging tough, so some may opt for hiding under natural cover.
What to do if you see them
First, don’t panic. Tarantulas are not aggressive and prefer to avoid confrontation.
“Tarantulas don’t pose any threat at all,” Shillington told Fox News Digital.
She noted that “they’re more scared of you than you are of them.”
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The arachnids rarely bite, and if they do, it’s a defensive move, which is why it’s best not to try to pick one up or mess with it.
“Any time you try to grab it, the first thing it’ll do is try and run,” said Shillington. “They respond to anything trying to grab them as a threat.”
If you find one in your home, trap it in a large container and take it outside, said Shillington.
Biggs cautioned against using pest products, which may “make the situation worse.”
He advised, “If you can contain it to one area in the meantime, do so without physically handling it.”
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Even though tarantulas are well-known in popular culture, and even as pets, scientists still have many unanswered questions.
“We actually know very little,” Shillington admitted. “I don’t know when exactly they first come out or what prompts them. I have no idea how far they are walking to find females.”
She and her team are working to track activity across tarantula territory to better understand how the spider’s behavior changes over time.