FBI forces out former acting director and two other officials in latest agency shake-up
The FBI on Thursday is ousting at least three officials, including the former acting director and an officer involved in the January 6 investigations, Fox News has learned.
Former FBI acting director, Brian Driscoll, is among those being forced out of the bureau, sources familiar with the matter told Fox News, along with Walter Giardina, a special agent at the bureau who played a role in the investigation of Trump trade advisor, Peter Navarro, and Steven Jensen, the acting director in charge of the Washington Field Office.
Driscoll, for his part, served as acting director of the FBI prior to the confirmation of FBI Director Kash Patel, and Jensen played a key role in the January 6 investigations.
Senior FBI officials told the agents in question that they needed to leave by Friday, with no specific reason given to them individually.
One individual with knowledge of the removals described it as “retribution.”
DOJ DIRECTS FBI TO FIRE 8 TOP OFFICIALS, IDENTIFY EMPLOYEES INVOLVED IN JAN. 6, HAMAS CASES FOR REVIEW
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The FBI did not respond to Fox News’s request for comment.
DOJ considers seeking death penalty against DC shooting suspect charged with hate crime
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced that the Justice Department was considering the death penalty for Elias Rodriguez, who was indicted on several counts related to the deaths of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim.
“This office will leave no stone unturned in its effort to bring justice to the innocent victims of Elias Rodriguez,” Pirro said in a DOJ release.
During a news conference on Thursday, Pirro said that Rodriguez’s actions against Milgrim were particularly cruel, but declined to give details, saying it would be revealed during the trial.
Milgrim and Lischinsky were killed on May 21 outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.
Cosmetics mogul blames Jews for 9/11 and World Wars in deleted video
FIRST ON FOX– Activist group StopAntisemitism is demanding Sephora stop carrying products from Huda Beauty after its founder posted a TikTok rant in which she blamed Israel for causing every World War, 9/11 and even the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack.
“All of the conspiracy theories coming out and a lot of evidence behind them — that Israel has been behind World War I, World War II, September 11, October 7 — they allowed all of this stuff to happen. Is this crazy? Like, I had a feeling — I was like, ‘Are they behind every World War?’ Yes. Behind September 11? Absolutely,” Huda Beauty founder Huda Kattan said in the post to her 1.7 million followers, which has since been deleted by TikTok.
Both World War I (ended in 1918) and World War II (ended in 1945) occurred prior to the establishment of the modern State of Israel in 1948.
In a letter obtained by Fox News Digital, StopAntisemitism founder Liora Rez said Sephora would stand against its own values by continuing to offer Huda Beauty products.
“If Sephora is serious about creating a safe and inclusive space for all communities, it must drop Huda Beauty immediately,” the letter states.
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“From spreading the antisemitic lie that Jews harvest the organs of Palestinians to victim-blaming Israelis after Hamas’ terrorist atrocities, Kattan has consistently used her massive platform to incite against Jews,” the letter adds. “I am requesting Sephora immediately sever ties with Huda Beauty and stop carrying its products online and in stores. Until you do so, I will not be shopping in your stores and will be making my friends, family, and community aware of this troubling issue.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Rez said Kattan was an “unhinged hater” who spreads “bigotry.”
A representative for TikTok told Fox News Digital the video was removed for violating their community guidelines. TikTok’s guidelines stipulate that the social media app does not allow “misinformation that may cause significant harm to individuals or society, regardless of intent.”
Tamar Major, the USA National Director for Yad Vashem, told Fox News Digital that Kattan’s remarks weren’t just factually wrong, they were darkly reminiscent of the Nazi rhetoric used to incite the German people against the Jews.
“Hearing that same rhetoric resurface today is not just offensive — it’s historically illiterate and profoundly dangerous,” Major told Fox News Digital.
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The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas also blamed the Jews for World War I in its 1988 charter. Hamas perpetrated the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that killed nearly 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 251.
Kattan, a former finance professional, started Huda Beauty in 2013. The company generates $200 million in profit yearly and was valued at $1.2 billion in 2017, per Forbes. Huda Beauty has been carried in Sephora stores since it launched and began being sold in the U.S. and worldwide in 2015.
Kattan has also accused the Jewish State of sheltering pedophiles and engaging in organ harvesting from Palestinians. Other Jewish groups condemned Kattan’s remarks and demanded that retailers stop working with her.
“Huda Kattan built a brand around beauty—but these antisemitic conspiracy theories are nothing short of ugly hate. Spreading vile myths about Jews to millions of followers isn’t just reckless—it’s dangerous.” Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt told Fox News Digital in a statement.
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Ari Hoffnung of JLens, a Jewish values-based investor network, said retailers had to make a decision when it came to opposing antisemitism.
“They can continue to platform a brand whose founder promotes hate-fueled conspiracy theories, or they can take a stand against antisemitism,” Hoffnung told Fox News Digital.
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A Sephora spokesperson told Fox News Digital it was reviewing the situation.
“Sephora is driven by its mission to create a welcoming and inclusive shopping experience for all. We recognize that comments from one of our brand partners have raised concerns and want to be clear: promoting hate, harassment, or misinformation does not align with our values or code of conduct. We take this matter very seriously and can confirm we are actively reviewing this issue internally, including working with the brand,” the spokesperson said.
Kattan did not return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Carville urges Democrats to pursue major institutional changes once they regain full control
Democratic strategist James Carville urged on Wednesday that Democrats open “Pandora’s Box” and execute multiple controversial power grabs to “save democracy,” including establishing a permanent electoral majority the next time they gain power.
“The Democrats talk about democracy – the importance of democracy and preserving democracy and saving democracy,” Carville said. “Well, the truth of the matter is, people are right when they say this democracy is really imperfect.”
Carville listed several perceived imbalances in the current system, including Texas attempting to redraw its congressional districts. He argued that if Democrats can pull off a resounding victory in 2028 – winning the presidency, the Senate, and the House – they should use it to enshrine their power in unprecedented ways.
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“They are just going to have to unilaterally add Puerto Rico and District of Columbia states,” Carville said.
“They’re going to have to do it. They’re just going to have to do it. And they may have to expand the [Supreme Court] to 13 members,” he said.
While he once would have viewed such actions as politically risky, Carville argued that the Democrats have no other choice in this era of President Donald Trump.
“Any of those things in isolation I would be skeptical about. I would be cautious about. I would say, ‘Well, I don’t know if that’s the greatest idea in the world, you’re opening Pandora’s Box,’” he said. “If you want to save democracy, I think you got to do all of those things because we just are moving further and further away from being anything close to democracy.”
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Carville said he was unsure if “it’s something that they should talk about during the campaign,” but argued it should be a day one priority once Democrats are elected.
Cincinnati violent crime survivor blasts city after vicious assault goes viral
CINCINNATI – After a viral public beatdown in downtown Cincinnati, another resident and victim of a heinous violent crime is speaking out about his experience with roving mobs in the city.
On Sept. 23, 2023, Chris Lewis, then 39, was walking home late at night from a Cincinnati Reds game when he was randomly jumped by three juveniles.
“They just immediately sucker-punched me in the eye,” Lewis told Fox News Digital in an interview Monday. “And then, right as soon as that happened, I knew that I was in trouble.”
CINCINNATI RESIDENTS ON EDGE AFTER VIRAL BEATDOWN SPARKS CRIME CONCERNS: ‘WHAT’S GONNA HAPPEN NEXT?’
Over a year-and-half period, Lewis underwent six surgeries to try to correct his vision. None of them fixed the issue, and he ultimately lost his eye. He now wears a prosthetic.
“So, after they hit me, I knew immediately my eye was kind of exposed,” he said. “I sort of covered my face and sat down on the ground, and I was trying to explain to them that they had just caused a serious injury. And they were kicking me the whole time and sort of like ignoring sort of what I was trying to describe to them.”
The teens robbed Lewis of his earbuds and phone and ran away into the night.
“It’s significantly reduced my quality of life,” he told Fox News Digital. “Like, I have trouble driving, confidence is kind of, you know, taking a hit. It’s really, like, I view my life as the before and after of this event because it’s so dramatically impacted just my quality of life, my relationships, just all aspects of it have kind of been hampered by that evening.”
WE NEED THE MORAL COURAGE TO TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT CINCINNATI RACIAL ATTACK
None of the juveniles involved in the attack have been arrested, and Lewis said the city’s resources are stretched to the limit.
“We’ve been having a lot of issues with juveniles, and I think they’re kind of like overexerted trying to keep them in line, and so they did not … spend a lot of resources investigating my crime,” he said. “And their attitude was sort of like, ‘This is happening all the time.’ They can’t really get it under control.”
He said the July 26 brawl in Cincinnati brought back difficult memories, though, in his case, the attack was unprovoked. He is disappointed and frustrated with the city’s inability to find solutions to violent crime issues, calling the efforts “ineffective” and adding that he resents the political polarization of the crime issue.
“I think that everyone deserves to feel safe and secure in their community, and so we should be trying to work together to identify and implement solutions,” he said. “So, I got a little frustrated by some of the, like, ingrained, entrenched kind of arguments that were occurring just because I want to find solutions and just sort of prevent this from happening to anyone else.
“I wish that our city leaders would take this seriously and work together and identify the root of the problems and then work together to address them,” said Lewis. “I think that we ignored some of the uptick in crime that was happening in this neighborhood until it got out of control.”
Lewis’ mother, Karen Lewis, concurs with his view that not enough resources were spent trying to solve the violent crime.
She told Fox News Digital detectives had the identities of suspects but never brought anyone in for questioning.
“We put up reward signs, and a girl at the school where one of these kids attended heard of the attack and provided my son with the names,” she said. “The detective also spoke with her. The detective, in our opinion, did not try hard enough to get the kids who did this to my son.
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“The detective pretty much told us to move on and not worry about apprehending these kids,” Karen Lewis said. “He said even if they did find them, they would basically be let out almost immediately. He said at least one of these kids was a really bad kid and had been in trouble before. He said that he would do something someday and karma would catch up with him.”
She blames a “soft-on-crime attitude of the juvenile court system” in Cincinnati.
“The juvenile court system fails the citizens of Cincinnati. Crime is kept quiet. My son thought he was safe and later found out that a lot of crime is not made public,” she said.
Cincinnati Police Public Information Officer Lt. Jonathan Cunningham said suspects were difficult to identify because Lewis’ beating happened in the early morning hours.
“I have not had the opportunity to review this case in detail, but if my memory serves me correctly, extensive investigatory hours were put into this case with all leads being exhausted,” he said. “At the onset of this case, many local media covered the story. Again, our investigative teams work tirelessly on all reports of violence in an effort to hold those accountable for their violent behavior.”
He said a suspect was eventually found, but had a provable alibi.
During the brutal July 26 beatdown, which has reverberated across the country, one woman, identified only as Holly, was left with serious brain trauma.
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“It’s been very, very hard, and I’m still recovering,” Holly said in a video posted online. “I still have very bad brain trauma.”
“I just want to say thank you so much to everyone for all of the love and support. It is very humbling that you have sent your prayers, your blessings. It’s definitely what’s keeping me going, and you have just brought back faith and humanity.”
According to the latest update from police, four suspects have been arrested, and two more are still at large. Though the viral video shows only two primary victims, police say there are four other victims of the attack.
Further investigations, arrests and charges are expected, according to Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval.
Southern grandmother from Tennessee becomes sitcom star after rejection
Leanne Morgan is reflecting on her journey from small-town southern grandmother to sitcom star.
The 59-year-old, who was raised in rural Tennessee, always dreamed of becoming a comedian. However, she put her career aspirations on the backburner to prioritize her family life with her husband Chuck Morgan and their three children while occasionally performing at local corporate functions and charity events.
In 2019, Morgan was about to accept that she had no real future in comedy when she unexpectedly became a viral sensation and found mainstream Hollywood success in her 50s. Morgan’s first Netflix comedy special, “I’m Every Woman,” was released in 2023, and her mix of relatable humor and southern charm made her a hit with viewers.
Since then, she made her acting debut in the 2025 romantic comedy “You’re Cordially Invited,” starring Reese Witherspoon and Will Farrell, embarked on a sold-out comedy tour and published a book, “What in the World?! A Southern Woman’s Guide to Laughing at Life’s Unexpected Curveballs and Beautiful Blessings.”
The actress, who lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, is now starring in her new self-titled Netflix sitcom “Leanne,” which she co-created with Chuck Lorre and Susan McMartin.
During an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Morgan, who describes herself as a “Grandmama from Tennessee,” opened up about how she is still learning to stand her ground while staying true to her southern roots and refusing to let Hollywood change her.
Morgan recalled how she had previously been approached about creating sitcoms, but the deals ultimately fell through as those involved didn’t have a strong understanding of her brand.
“With all those deals, I worked with precious people but I’d know in my heart, like, this is not how we are in the south,” Morgan told the outlet. “This is not how church people are. This is not how my family is. But when you want something so bad… And they’ll tell you, ‘We love you,’ but then they want to change you. Hollywood people can’t help it.”
“And I don’t blame ’em, they don’t know my world,” she continued. “With this sitcom, at first, they were trying to find their footing, and I was freaked out, but then I thought, ‘I’ve got to give them grace. They’re trying to learn me just like I am them.’”
“And I was finally able to get to a place where at the beginning of every week, I could [read through a script and] go, ‘We wouldn’t say that,’ or ‘This isn’t what would happen.’ So, I’m finally getting the guts, honey.”
While speaking with the Hollywood Reporter, Morgan explained that she previously hadn’t received much feedback on how to hone her material since she was focused on her family and couldn’t spend much time on the comedy circuit.
“I was raising these children first,” she said. “I wasn’t out here grinding. I was doing corporate [gigs] for men that make carpet fiber. They probably spent more on the shrimp than they did on me.”
Though she was grateful to have an outlet for her comedy, Morgan said that her corporate gigs were “horrible.”
“They suck the life out of you,” she recalled. “These men have been playing golf all day, they’re tired, they’ve probably had alcohol, and I’m up there talking about going on Weight Watchers and how I don’t like low-cut panties.”
Morgan recalled that she was repeatedly rejected by the mainstream comedy world because the industry was seeking “edgy” comedians, and she was perceived as “mom centric.”
“When I was trying to audition for Aspen or Montreal [comedy festivals] or when Comedy Central would come through, they wanted edgy, and I was in a kitten heel and a pant with a bird on it, talking about how somebody doodied on a T-ball field. They’d say, ‘Oh, she’s not edgy. She’s a mom comic.'” Morgan remembered.
“But people in clubs always booked me,” she added. “They’d go, ‘Keep going. You’re unique.’”
“Now, Hollywood? Hollywood loves that mom in the kitten heel. They’d see my new 45 minutes and say, ‘You’ve written a sitcom!’ Then I’d get there and they’d go, ‘Let’s make your husband a Hispanic man.’ And don’t get me wrong, I love Hispanic men. God forbid something happens to [husband] Chuck Morgan, I’m dating a Latino man,” Morgan said.
“But they’d switch everything up — ‘Let’s make your daughter on dope, or she wants to make it in a country music and she’s on ecstasy’ — and I’d be like, ‘Have y’all watched my act?!’”
Though circumstances prevented Morgan from pursuing her dreams until later in life, she told the Hollywood Reporter that she had no regrets about her choices.
“I was meant to raise my children and I think it’s the best thing that ever happened,” she said. “So many more people can relate to me because I did raise these children and I have gone to Weight Watchers and I don’t like my stomach and my husband gets on my nerves.”
Morgan recalled that her chance at success in the industry finally arrived during the pandemic when people who were craving authenticity resonated with her material.
“COVID-19 happened and people wanted to connect with people who were real, and there I was on the back porch talking about fixing my mama something that she could eat after her stroke,” Morgan recalled. “And that’s me. I talk about taking care of elderly parents, launching children, menopause, and it was a niche that nobody was filling.”
During her interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Morgan explained that while she candidly tackles many aspects of everyday life in her comedy, she prefers to steer clear of politics.
“Honey, if you want to talk about fingernail polish or a spray tan, I’m good at that,” she said. “I wouldn’t know how to talk about politics.”
In addition, Morgan noted that her approach was inspired by another southern icon.
“I’ve also had my Dolly Parton to look up to, and, like her, I just don’t want anybody to feel uncomfortable,” Morgan said.
Morgan told the Hollywood Reporter that it took some time for Netflix to recognize her potential, but the streaming platform eventually went all in. Along with “Leanne,” Morgan confirmed that she also has two additional comedy specials in the works at Netflix following the success of “I’m Every Woman.”
“It took ’em a while, but then I got some big guns in my camp who could say, ‘Y’all don’t have anybody like her,'” she recalled. ” I ended up leasing my first [hour] to them, and they’ve been so precious to me.
“I just shot my second one for them, and I’ve got a deal for a third in 2027,” she continued. “And then they gave me this show — me and Chuck Lorre walked in there and I said something about having a weak pelvic floor. I was nervous, and they were basically like, ‘What do you want to do? We’ll do it.’”
The 16-episode Netflix series stars Morgan as Leanne, whose “life takes an unexpected turn when her husband of 33 years leaves her for another woman,” according to a logline for the show.
“Starting over when you’re a grandmother and in menopause isn’t exactly what she had in mind, but with the help of her family she will navigate this new chapter with grace, dignity and jello salad.”
Morgan told the Hollywood Reporter that she and Lorre, the creator behind the mega-hit sitcoms “Two and a Half Men” and “The Big Bang Theory,” initially envisioned “Leanne” as a single-camera comedy.
“But Netflix said, ‘Would y’all please consider doing a multicam and bringing that [format] back?’ I thought, ‘Don’t put that burden on me.’ Then they said, ‘We’ll greenlight it right now if you do.'” Morgan recalled.
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In an interview with the Netflix outlet Tudum, Morgan weighed in on the challenges of adapting her stand-up routine to a sitcom format with a live studio audience.
“This is something I’ve dreamed of since I was a little girl, and it was just as exciting as I imagined,” she said. “Learning a new medium was definitely a challenge — memorizing new scripts every week was totally new for me — but I loved it. As a stand-up, the comedic timing felt natural, and filming in front of a live audience was especially comfortable. By the end of the season, it really felt like home.”
While “Leanne” is loosely based on Morgan’s life, the show is not autobiographical. Unlike her character, who is a recent divorcee, Morgan is happily married to her husband Chuck, whom she wed in 1993. The couple share three children: Charlie, Maggie and Tess.
Morgan told the Hollywood Reporter that it was Lorre’s idea to make the show a fictionalized version of her life.
“He didn’t want to base it on my real family, and he liked the idea of starting over because it’s a theme that people can relate to,” Morgan said. “I balked at first, but I think it’s the smartest thing we did because I really would’ve felt protective over my children, my grandchildren and Chuck Morgan.”
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“And years ago, I met a showrunner on ‘Reba,’ and that was based on [Reba McEntire’s] real life, and she got very protective,” she added. “It wasn’t a good thing.”
Morgan recalled that her husband has only taken issue with one of her jokes in all of her years performing stand-up.
“There was only one time that he said to me, ‘Do not say that,’” she shared. “When I first got started, I’d breast fed a bunch of kids and I wanted to get my breast done, and I said [on stage], ‘I want my breasts done, but it’s been a bad year in the mobile home industry.’”
She continued, “Chuck Morgan was in the mobile home industry, and he said to me, ‘I will always take care of you. I could write a check for your breasts right now. I don’t want anybody to think I cannot provide for you.’”
“That is his purpose, and I never said anything like that again.”
During a July 2025 interview on “Today,” Morgan shared that Jerry Seinfeld boosted her confidence when she was having doubts about her ability to headline a sitcom.
“He said, ‘Leanne, you go in front of thousands of people every night, you can make them laugh for over an hour. You know what you’re doing, you know what’s funny, you can do this,'” Morgan recalled Seinfeld telling her.
“I know that sounds simple, but it gave me the confidence to think, ‘Okay, I can do a sitcom,’” she added.
While speaking with the Hollywood Reporter, Morgan shared another piece of advice that she received from Seinfeld.
“I’ve texted everybody I know that’s had a TV show, like, ‘What if people don’t like it?’ But Jerry Seinfeld said to me, “Honey, get ready to worry the rest of your life. That’s just part of it,'” she said.
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Death of bikini brand founder on boat shakes up high-end summer scene
In the usually serene New York seascape of the Hamptons and Montauk, a series of brutal crimes has occasionally shattered tranquility.
From the wealth‑entangled murder of financier Ted Ammon in 2001 to grim violence in Montauk parks in 2019, and now a mysterious death aboard a boat at the renowned Montauk Yacht Club, the region has seen a scattering of violent crimes in recent decades.
While Martha Nolan’s mysterious death is the most recent to rattle the region’s sun-soaked serenity, it’s far from the only unsettling incident in recent decades to disrupt life in the Hamptons.
IRISH BEAUTY WHO SOLD BIKINIS FOUND DEAD ON BOAT AT LUXURY YACHT CLUB, HOMICIDE COPS PROBE
Bikini brand founder – August 2025
On Tuesday, the picturesque peninsula’s guests were rocked by the discovery of 33-year-old Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra. According to Suffolk County police, East Hampton Town officers responded to a 911 call just after midnight from a man who reported a woman unconscious on a vessel docked at the luxury marina, located on Star Island Road.
Nearby good Samaritans attempted CPR before first responders arrived, but the woman was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
On Wednesday, police identified the deceased as Nolan, an industrious entrepreneur. They said that her death “did not show evidence of violence.” Authorities said the preliminary investigation and medical exam were “inconclusive” as to the cause of death.
An official ruling will be made following an autopsy by the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s Office.
EXCLUSIVE WATERFRONT ENCLAVE ROCKED AFTER BODY FOUND NEAR YACHT CLUB
Originally from Carlow, Ireland, Nolan was the founder of East x East, a boutique resort wear label she frequently promoted on TikTok through stylish behind-the-scenes glimpses of her photo shoots and design process.
Love triangle murder – June 2019
In the early hours of June 6, 2019, Montauk’s sleepy calm was pierced by the death of 38-year-old Robert Casado.
According to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, Casado, a seasonal worker, had expected to meet someone for a job. Instead, authorities said, he was ambushed by Joseph Grippo, a 47-year-old Montauk local carrying a 36-inch pickaxe handle on Kirk Park Trail in Montauk.
Grippo bludgeoned Casado to death, delivering multiple blows with the makeshift weapon and fleeing before police arrived. A love triangle motive emerged as the leading theory after prosecutors revealed that both Casado and Grippo were involved with the same woman.
According to prosecutors, Grippo had harbored resentment for months. Prosecutors found that Grippo had planned the fatal attack for months, purchasing the makeshift murder weapon months beforehand.
Following an intense local investigation and nearly three years of legal back-and-forth, Grippo pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in July 2022. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with five additional years of post-release supervision.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney called the act “a cold, calculated plan to murder a man he lured into a secluded area under false pretenses.”
Bodies in the dunes: The Gilgo Beach murders – 2010
What began as a missing person case in the spring of 2010 would spiral into one of the most disturbing serial murder investigations. When 24-year-old Shannan Gilbert vanished after fleeing a client’s home in Oak Beach, Suffolk County police initially suspected she had drowned in the nearby marshland. However, as investigators searched the brush along Ocean Parkway, they unearthed four bodies wrapped in burlap.
The women were later identified as Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Amber Costello and Maureen Brainard‑Barnes. They had all advertised escort services online. The press dubbed them the “Gilgo Four.”
WATCH ‘ARCHITECT OF DEATH: THE LONG ISLAND SERIAL KILLER’ ON FOX NATION
Over the following months, additional sets of remains were uncovered, including Valerie Mack, Jessica Taylor, Tanya Jackson and her toddler daughter Tatiana, and a person referred to for years only as “Asian Doe.”
The discoveries fueled speculation of a possible serial killer. The investigation stalled until, in July 2023, police arrested 59-year-old Rex Heuermann.
Heuermann, a 59-year-old architect from Massapequa Park, was charged with the murders of Barthelemy, Waterman and Costello, and later named the prime suspect in Brainard-Barnes’s killing. Investigators used cellphone records, burner phone activity, DNA forensics and surveillance footage to charge him.
By 2024, prosecutors added more charges, and accused Heuermann of luring victims to his home and killing them in his soundproofed basement. Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He remains in custody while prosecutors push for a trial.
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Wall Street financier murder – Oct. 2001
In October 2021, the crisp autumn air of East Hampton was pierced by the blugeoning death of Ted Ammon, a Wall Street financier. Ammon was found naked in his master bedroom at 59 Middle Lane, his estate in East Hampton.
His chauffeur, arriving after Ammon missed a business meeting, discovered the scene: a high‑tech alarm system had been deactivated, there were no signs of forced entry or theft, and his body bore 30–35 wounds to the head.
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At the center of the murder investigation was Ammon’s divorce from Generosa Ammon, with whom he had adopted twins from Ukraine in 1992. Generosa, amid contentious divorce proceedings, had hired Daniel Pelosi, an electrician and contractor, to work on her Manhattan townhome.
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Their friendship blossomed into an affair. Following Ammon’s murder, eyebrows were raised by Generosa and Pelosi’s rapid marriage.
It took nearly three years for the case to culminate in a conviction. In March 2004, Pelosi was arrested and later convicted of second-degree murder, receiving a 25‑to‑life sentence.
Generosa, in August 2003, died of breast cancer and the adopted twins inherited the bulk of their father’s estate, estimated in the tens of millions, while Pelosi remained incarcerated.
Pelosi later claimed that he was the fall guy in the murder investigation.
“I did not do it,” Pelosi told Piers Morgan on FOX Nation’s “The Killer Interview.” “I did not do this murder. I did not kill Ted Ammon.”
Rock icon ‘nervous’ about finishing tour as health struggles take a toll
Months after Roger Daltrey revealed he is going blind and deaf, The Who frontman – who’s currently on tour with his band – said he’s “nervous about making it to the end of the tour.”
In an interview with The Times Daltrey, 81, opened up about his health concerns and gave insight as to what’s next for him after The Who’s tour wraps.
“This is certainly the last time you will see us on tour,” Daltrey said. “It’s grueling.”
THE WHO FRONTMAN ROGER DALTREY IS GOING BLIND AND DEAF
“In the days when I was singing Who songs for three hours a night, six nights a week, I was working harder than most footballers. As to whether we’ll play [one-off] concerts again, I don’t know. The Who to me is very perplexing.”
However, said Daltrey, his “voice is still as good as ever.”
“I’m still singing in the same keys and it’s still bloody loud, but I can’t tell you if it will still be there in October. There’s a big part of me that’s going: I just hope I make it through.”
In 2015, Daltrey got sick with viral meningitis, a diagnosis that did “a lot of damage.”
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“It’s buggered up my internal thermometer, so every time I start singing in any climate over 75 degrees I’m wringing with sweat, which drains my body salts. The potential to get really ill is there and, I have to be honest, I’m nervous about making it to the end of the tour.”
Earlier this year, the rock legend opened up about the other physical changes that are out of his control.
PAUL SIMON REVEALS HEARING LOSS, REFLECTS ON MORTALITY: ‘MY GENERATION’S TIME IS UP’
While performing alongside bandmate Pete Townshend for the Teenage Cancer Trust charity event in March, Daltrey gave the crowd an unexpected health update.
“The joys of getting old mean you go deaf. I also now have got the joy of going blind,” he revealed mid-set, per Sky News.
“Fortunately, I still have my voice, because then I’ll have a full Tommy,” he said, referencing the title character of The Who’s 1969 album. “Deaf, dumb and blind kid.”
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While speaking to The Times last year, Daltrey said he’s content with his life and is “ready to go.”
“My dreams came true so, listen, I’m ready to go at any time. My family are all great and all taken care of,” he said. “You’ve got to be realistic. You can’t live your life forever. Like I said, people my age, we’re in the way. There are no guitar strings to be changed on this old instrument.”
Tax changes could pose major risk to the further of Social Security
The top actuary for Social Security’s trust funds on Tuesday confirmed that the insolvency date of those funds has moved up due to the recently-enacted tax and spending package, leaving policymakers with a little less time to stabilize the program’s finances.
The Office of the Chief Actuary for Social Security sent a letter in response to an inquiry by Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., about the effect of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) on the safety net program’s trust funds.
Chief Actuary Karen Glenn explained in the letter that the permanent lower income tax rates, as well as temporary changes to the amounts of certain standard and itemized deductions – such as the temporarily enhanced standard deduction for seniors – will have “material effects on the financial status of the Social Security trust funds.”
Glenn wrote that over the next decade, OBBBA will increase the net costs to Social Security’s OASDI trust funds by about $168.6 billion, and the “timing of combined OASI and DI Trust Fund depletion is accelerated from the third quarter of 2034 under the 2025 Trustees Report baseline to the first quarter of 2034 following implementation of the law.”
SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS FACE 24% CUT IN LESS THAN A DECADE AS TRUST FUND DRIES UP, NEW ANALYSIS REVEALS
The two main trust funds are known as the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and the Disability Insurance (DI) trust funds – though they’re often combined as OASDI for the purpose of analyzing the trust funds’ financial status.
She also noted that over the long-range projections, OASDI’s actuarial balance will worsen by 0.16 percentage points from a negative 3.82% as estimated in the trustees’ report released earlier this year to -3.98% due to the implementation of OBBBA.
Social Security’s trustees will use those findings as an updated baseline when assessing proposals affecting the OASI and DI trust funds, such as those aimed at extending the solvency of the programs, as well as next year’s annual report.
SOCIAL SECURITY INSOLVENCY COULD SPEED UP WITH ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN
Under current federal law, benefits paid under Social Security are limited to incoming payroll tax receipts and distributions from the trust funds, and their looming insolvency in less than a decade puts beneficiaries in jeopardy of facing automatic benefit cuts if Congress and the White House fail to shore up the program’s finances.
An analysis by the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) found that Social Security benefits would face an automatic 24% cut at the time of insolvency in late 2032, affecting 62 million Americans.
CRFB’s analysis found that for a dual-income couple with a medium household income who retires at the start of 2033, that 24% cut would amount to an $18,100 annual reduction in benefits, or a monthly cut of about $1,509. By contrast, a single-income couple at that income tier would see a $13,600 annual benefit cut.
SOCIAL SECURITY CONFIDENCE HITS 15-YEAR LOW AS YOUNGER AMERICANS INCREASINGLY LOSE FAITH IN SYSTEM
A dual- and low-income couple would see an $11,000 annual benefit cut, while a single-income couple would see benefits decline by $8,200 over the year, CRFB found.
For high-income households, a dual-income couple would face benefit cuts of $24,000 a year, while a single-income couple would have benefits fall by $18,000 for the year, according to the analysis.
Over time, benefit cuts will deepen as the growth in Social Security’s expenses continues to outpace incoming revenues, as CRFB projected the benefit cut would rise to well over 30% by 2099.
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“Policymakers pledging not to touch Social Security are implicitly endorsing these deep benefit cuts for 62 million retirees in 2032 and beyond,” CRFB said. “It is time for policymakers to tell the truth about the program’s finances and to pursue trust fund solutions to head off insolvency and improve the program for current and future generations.”