White House speaks out after shooting that killed 4, injured 17 in alleged paid ‘hit’
The White House issued a statement Sunday, condemning gun violence after four people were killed and at least 17 others were wounded following a mass shooting in a popular Birmingham, Alabama, nightlife district Saturday night.
“Last night, several people were killed and many more wounded in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. And once again, our entire nation is watching in horror as another community is devastated by the national epidemic of gun violence,” Stef Feldman, Gun Violence Prevention Director said in a statement.
“President Biden and Vice President Harris join Americans across the nation in praying for the families affected by this senseless violence,” Feldman continued.
At the direction of President Biden, Feldman said the White House is coordinating with federal, state, and local officials as investigations are underway into the shooting.
MASS SHOOTING IN ALABAMA LEAVES 4 DEAD, AT LEAST 18 OTHERS WOUNDED, NO ARRESTS MADE: POLICE
“Americans should not have to live like this. And we can’t let it become normal. This year alone there have been more than 400 mass shootings which have traumatized Americans and torn communities apart. As President Biden often says: Enough is enough,” Feldman said.
Two men and a woman were killed at the scene in the 2000 block of Magnolia Avenue in the Five Points South area near the University of Alabama at Birmingham, while a fourth victim died at the university’s hospital, the Birmingham Police Department told Fox News Digital via email Sunday morning.
Police responded to reports of gunfire shortly after 11 p.m., police said.
Authorities identified three out of four of the victims killed by the gunfire. Police said all three died at the scene and identified the victims as Anitra Holloman, 21, of Bessemer, Alabama, Tahj Booker, 27, of Birmingham, Alabama, and Carlos McCain, 27, of Birmingham, Alabama.
The fourth victim is an adult male, who died at the hospital, pending identification, officials said.
“Detectives believe the shooting was not random and stemmed from an isolated incident where multiple victims were caught in the crossfire,” police said in the emailed statement.
KENTUCKY POLICE BELIEVE BODY FOUND BY LIVESTREAMING COUPLE IS MAN WHO OPENED FIRE ON MOTORISTS
In a press conference Sunday morning, Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond said he believes the shooting was “a hit,” and that someone was paid to kill the targeted victim, while he added that the victim is among those who were killed.
Police confirmed the weapons used were fully automatic and that more than 100 shell casings were found at the scene along with numerous other pieces of evidence, according to Thurmond. They also believe there were several shooters based on evidence.
Authorities added that they are also working to determine who was the target of the shooting and will be reviewing video surveillance.
KENTUCKY SHERIFF CHARGED WITH FATALLY SHOOTING JUDGE DEPOSED IN RAPE-RELATED CASE DAYS EARLIER
“I will say this, we, all of us as a community, owe it to the victims to do everything we can to take these shooters, killers, off our streets,” Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said.
At this time, authorities say no suspects are in custody.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“To the victims and the victims’ families, our heartfelt condolences go out to them. That’s 21 people whose lives were forever changed, that’s 21 families, that some are destroyed and some are just altered. Our hearts go out to them as we work through this,” Thurmond said.
Authorities are strongly urging the public to come forward with any information that could help lead to an arrest.
Cuomo slams Democrats who embraced the ‘dumbest words ever uttered’ in politics
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo slammed progressive policies and defended law enforcement in an ardent speech against far-left politics on Sunday.
Speaking at Bedford Central Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn, New York, Cuomo began by endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for the upcoming presidential election, calling her “smart and qualified.”
“She is going to unite the Democrats,” the former politician said. “She’s going to bring a new energy. And because the opponent is Donald Trump and we’ve seen that and we’re not going back there again.”
But the Democrat noted that Harris getting into office wouldn’t “solve all our problems” because government “isn’t working for people on a very basic level,” and launched into a six-minute rant against progressive politics.
HOUSE COMMITTEE SUBPOENAS ANDREW CUOMO OVER COVID-19 NURSING HOME POLICIES
“Things are getting worse, not better,” Cuomo continued. “And I think it’s time that we take a fresh look and take a new perspective when we look at what’s going on.”
“Today, we have a great political argument on the Democratic side: Who is more progressive?” he added. “I don’t even think they know what the word means, progressive. You cannot be a progressive if you don’t make progress.”
Cuomo, who served as NYC governor from 2011 to 2021, said that the U.S. was “going backwards” thanks to progressive policies.
“Some people think it’s progressive to say, ‘Defund the police,’” he noted. “Yes, in theory, if everybody had an education and everybody had a job, nobody would need to commit a crime. I get the theory, but it’s not that simple.”
HOCHUL AIDE ACCUSED OF WORKING FOR CCP USED POSITION TO PROMOTE ‘EQUITY’ POLICIES IN RESURFACED VIDEO
“‘Defund the police’ are the three dumbest words ever uttered in politics,” Cuomo added.
Cuomo also called out the migrant issue in New York City, saying that the government “can’t just have 100,000 migrants coming into New York City and only New York City.”
“Nowhere else in the state of New York, only New York City,” the Democrat stated. “And leave it all up to New York City to pay for hotels, pay for health care, over $10 billion. No plan by the federal government, no real help from the state.”
Cuomo then encouraged the audience to “forget the labels” and remember to vote in November.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“Remember the only questions that matter: Who is going to help you and your family and who is going to get the job done?” he concluded.
Taylor Swift skips Chiefs game as expert slams Travis Kelce: ‘Honeymoon is over’
Taylor Swift didn’t appear to make the trip to Atlanta to watch Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Falcons in their Week 3 matchup on Sunday night.
Swift had been at the Chiefs’ first two games of the season. Both of the games were victories and were played at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. Swift was in a suite for both games in which the Chiefs hung on by a thread to win.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
On Sunday night, the Chiefs were on the road. Swift was at the Chiefs’ road game last season against the New York Jets, but the circumstances were much different then. Swift also followed the Chiefs in their Super Bowl run and made Super Bowl 58 despite being on tour overseas.
Swift was noticeably missing as the pomp and circumstance of her entering Mercedes-Benz Stadium didn’t occur before kickoff.
Kelce has struggled to get going in the offense. Through two games, he had four catches for 39 yards.
RAVENS HOLD OFF COWBOYS’ 4TH-QUARTER SURGE TO COLLECT 1ST WIN OF 2024 SEASON
He faced criticism from ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith to start the week.
“I love my brother from another in Travis Kelce, but we saw more of Taylor Swift than we saw of Travis Kelce yesterday, on a Sunday afternoon,” Smith said last week after the Chiefs’ win over the Cincinnati Bengals. “That wasn’t supposed to happen. We were supposed to see more of Travis Kelce yesterday than we saw of her.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“That’s not happening though. You’ve got to get going, you’ve got 39 receiving yards in the first two games. Come on now. Football season is here. Honeymoon’s over. Let’s handle our business, OK.”
Actress blasts critics after slurred speech interview stirs controversy
Hayden Panettiere attempted to set the record straight after a recent interview where fans questioned her speech patterns and subsequent mental health and sobriety.
Panettiere, 35, was criticized for her slurred speech while discussing myriad topics, including her late brother’s death in 2023, in a video that’s since gone viral online.
“I would like to take a moment to address the controversy surrounding an interview I recently completed with PEOPLE Magazine,” she shared on Instagram Sunday. “It’s unfathomable that I’m even in this position, but I feel forced to address it in a space where I won’t be criticized for how fast or slow I speak.”
HAYDEN PANETTIERE BECAME AGORAPHOBIC, EXPERIENCED RAPID WEIGHT GAIN AFTER BROTHER’S SUDDEN DEATH
The “Heroes” actress admitted exhaustion and lack of sleep factored into her slurred speech during the filmed sit-down with the outlet.
“I hadn’t slept for two days prior to the shoot due to one of my dogs who was recovering from an emergency surgical procedure,” she wrote. “It was an 8-hour shoot followed by an on-camera interview that was supposed to last for 1 hour. The interview started well, and for the record, its beginning is not included in the version PEOPLE Magazine posted.
HAYDEN PANETTIERE OPENS UP ABOUT PAST SECRET ADDICTION TO OPIOIDS, ALCOHOL: ‘I HIT ROCK BOTTOM’
“I was exhausted. My rep stopped the interview early as it became obvious that I was fading—especially as the subject matter became heavier. We asked the interviewer if we could re-do it another day or do a follow up interview on zoom.”
View this post on Instagram
APP USERS CLICK HERE TO VIEW POST
Panettiere was “assured” that another interview wasn’t necessary and was told that she gave “an emotional and heartfelt interview.”
“I hadn’t slept for two days prior to the shoot due to one of my dogs who was recovering from an emergency surgical procedure.”
“We were also told they would edit it and that it would be a beautiful piece,” she said. Per industry standards, she noted that “the magazine does not grant approval for images or video interviews before they run. We see the interview when it goes live.”
Panettiere acknowledged how “grief looks different on everyone” before noting that her decision whether to be on medication is “none of anyone’s business and is between me and my doctor.”
“I am doing interviews to promote my new film because I am proud of it,” she said. “The real issue here is the toxicity of social media, and a news cycle that is driven by click bait. Mental health is so important, and I hope those reading this now understand that what you say hiding behind a computer screen can have a detrimental impact on someone.
LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
“For those of you who have come to my defense amidst this chaos I am so grateful. Like I’ve said before, I am a work in progress. We all are.”
The “Remember the Titans” actress discussed the loss of her younger brother, Jansen, for the first time. She revealed how his death in February 2023 not only mentally impacted her but also physically affected her health.
“When my little brother passed away, my body did something I’ve never really seen it do before, which was within days, I basically just like ballooned. Ballooned out,” she said. “Stress and cortisol running through your body can do that. I tried everything — everything unhealthy, everything healthy — didn’t matter what I ate, didn’t matter what I did. My body … it was like protecting itself, shielding itself from the world.”
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
Panettiere struggled with agoraphobia following his funeral, and said she “lived in sweatpants and T-shirts” while struggling with leaving the house to meet friends.
“I became desperate. Because I wanted to keep working, but I didn’t want to go and be miserable on set. And I didn’t want to go to fittings and look at myself in the mirror and hate everything that I saw on myself,” she said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
A personal trainer and her own mental strength helped Panettiere confront her demons head on, and she’s since been able to “release the stress, the high expectations” she placed on herself.
Blue city overrun by influx of migrants has resident warning it is ‘going to go up in flames’
Venezuelan migrants moving into Chicago’s South Side have caught the attention of the city’s gangs, with some fearing an impending turf war between local gangs and their Venezuelan counterparts.
“When the black gangs here get fed up with the illegalities and criminal activities of these migrants or non-citizens, the city of Chicago is going to go up in flames and there will be nothing the National Guard or the government can do about it when the bloodshed hits the streets. It’ll be blacks against migrants,” Tyrone Muhammad, a former Chicago gangster who did 20 years in prison and now runs a violence prevention program, said in a report for the New York Post.
The comments come as Chicago has seen an influx of Venezuelan migrants, according to the report, including members of the notorious Tren de Aragua gang.
CAUGHT ON CAMERA: FENCE-CUTTING MIGRANTS BUSTED BY FEDS
With the arrival has come a rise in crime, locals told the New York Post, while some Venezuelan gangsters have started to encroach on the territory of the city’s local gangs.
“There’s been a lot going on with (the migrant gangs) that nobody’s even hearing about,” Zacc Massie, a local Chicago gang member, told the New York Post. “They be moving in our own territory and robbing people but they don’t get arrested like we do. I actually talked to one on the translator app. He told me all the things he got going on; how they helped him get a car, an apartment, (EBT) card, all this stuff. They giving them thousands, we get maybe $400 a month. And they don’t even have Social Security numbers!”
Sources from local Chicago gangs told the New York Post that members of the Venezuelan gang are often heavily armed and have begun spilling into areas traditionally controlled by local gangs.
EX-BORDER PATROL CHIEF RIPS BIDEN ADMIN FOR ALLEGEDLY SUPPRESSING INFO ON MIGRANTS WITH POTENTIAL TERROR TIES
Local gang member Corey Rogers told the New York Post that Venezuelan gangsters will often be seen “showing the flag,” a slang term for brandishing their firearms. He also showed the outlet text threads that featured local gang members threatening turf wars with the newcomer gangsters.
“What bothers me is that the Venezuelans are united,” Rogers said. “The black gangs are too divided and they take each other down.”
Others shared concerns about the possibility of increased violence, telling the New York Post that things had actually improved in the city before the influx of migrants.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“It’s still violent down here but it’s calmed down a lot,” one gang member told the outlet. “Back in the day we’d get shot if we went over there. It’s calmed down a lot. The last thing we need are the Venezuelans.”
The Chicago Police Department did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
Rapper makes it clear he hates America at a benefit event linked to promoting terrorism
The rapper Macklemore told a crowd of Seattle concertgoers “F— America,” according to video of his recent “Palestine Will Live Forever” performance shared on X.
“Straight up, say it. I’m not gonna stop you. I’m not gonna stop you,” Macklemore said, appearing to reference chants from the crowd.
“Yeah, F— America,” the Grammy-winning performer said, sending the crowd into cheers. The video was shared on X by journalist Cam Higby.
Macklemore, a 41-year-old rapper born Benjamin Hammond Haggerty in Kent, Washington, had advertised a “Palestine Will Live Forever Festival” on his Facebook page.
RAPPER MACKLEMORE CALLS OUT BIDEN, POLICE AND MUSIC INDUSTRY IN NEW PRO-PALESTINIAN SONG
He said the proceeds of the event held at Seward Park Amphitheater would go to various groups, including the controversial agency known as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
Israeli officials have declared that UNRWA is strongly tied to Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The U.N. itself announced in August that nine UNRWA staffers would be fired due to possible involvement in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack on Israel.
Fox News Digital reached out to representatives for Macklemore for comment, but they did not immediately respond.
Macklemore dropped an anti-Israel song in May titled “Hind’s Hall,” referring to the Columbia University building that students occupied and renamed in honor of a 6-year-old Palestinian girl killed in the Israel-Gaza war. The song praised the anti-Israel encampments and protests on college campuses across the country and called out President Biden, the police and the music industry.
The rapper this month dropped a second version of the song that now calls out Vice President Kamala Harris, who became the Democratic presidential nominee when Biden backed out of the race in July.
ISRAEL’S UN AMBASSADOR SLAMS WORLD BODY, SAYS UNRWA TAKEN OVER BY HAMAS TERRORISTS IN GAZA
Macklemore seems to threaten that Harris will lose support in the battleground state of Michigan, which has a large Arab and Muslim community in Dearborn, for supporting Israel.
“Hey Kamala, I don’t know if you listening but stop sending the money and weapons or you ain’t winning Michigan. We uncommitted and hell no we ain’t switching positions because the whole world turn Palestinian,” the song says.
The music video shared on X shows a clip of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Mich., when those lyrics play. The song also includes the antisemitic chant, “From the river to the sea,” which calls for the elimination of Israel.
Macklemore, who has an estimated net worth of $25 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth, also declares in the second version of the song, “Capitalism killing us, that’s something we can’t afford” and sings, “There will never be freedom by pleading with Zionists.”
Macklemore has increasingly weighed in on conflicts in the Middle East. Last month, he canceled an upcoming October concert in Dubai over the United Arab Emirates’ role “in the ongoing genocide and humanitarian crisis” in Sudan through its reported support of the paramilitary force that’s been fighting government troops there, according to The Associated Press.
CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
In an Instagram post at the time, Macklemore said he had a series of people “asking me to cancel the show in solidarity with the people of Sudan and to boycott doing business in the UAE for the role they are playing in the ongoing genocide and humanitarian crisis.”
Americans could soon get a break after years of seeing their wallets shrink
Investors celebrated what could be the return of an easy money era after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the first time since March 2020 and projected rates may decline even further over the next two years.
Chairman Jerome Powell was asked by FOX Business’ Edward Lawrence whether the U.S. could be headed back to a time when rates hovered near zero, or so-called cheap money.
It’s just a great question that we can only speculate about intuitively,” Powell said. “My own sense is that, that we’re not going back to that. But, you know, honestly, we’re going to find out. But, you know, it feels to me that the neutral rate is probably significantly higher than it was back then.
“How high is it? I just don’t think we know.”
THE FED CUTS RATE BY 50 BASIS POINTS: WHAT TO KNOW
The Federal Funds target rate now sits between 4.75%-5.00%, and projections from the central bank show rates could fall below 4%.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 42063.36 | +38.17 | +0.09% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5702.55 | -11.09 | -0.19% |
Investors celebrated the move, pushing stocks, which were already at record levels, even higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed 42,000 for the first time ever, while the S&P 500 hovers at its all-time high.
HOW THE FED’S HISTORIC RATE CUT MAY IMPACT YOUR DAILY FINANCES
Dow Jones Industrial Average
The last time policymakers cut rates, the COVID-19 pandemic was raging as a public health and financial crisis, prompting an emergency rate cut in March 2020 when the Fed took rates to a range of 1%-1.25%, the largest cut since the 2008 financial crisis.
“The spread of the coronavirus has brought new challenges and risks,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said at the time during a news conference. “The virus has afflicted many communities around the world, and the outbreak has also disrupted economic activity in many countries. The virus and the measures being taken to contain it will surely weigh on economic activity, both here and abroad, for some time.”
Americans enjoyed the lowest borrowing costs of a generation. For example, a 30-year fixed rate mortgage fell to a record low of 2.65% in January 2021, as tracked by Freddie Mac.
HOW LOW MAY MORTGAGE RATES GO?
While the start of the current easing cycle is underway, the current conditions are far from the pandemic upheaval. Still, borrowing costs will begin to fall, but its unlikely rates will return to the lows of four years ago.
FED GOVERNOR EXPLAINS HER NO VOTE
Additionally, inflation remains a risk. That’s why Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman was the sole dissent, voting against a rate cut.
“While core inflation remains around or above 2.5%, I see the risk that the committee’s larger policy action could be interpreted as a premature declaration of victory on our price stability mandate. We have not yet achieved our inflation goal” she explained Friday.