Major city uncovers 9 illegal drug, gambling dens posing as stores in homeless area
San Francisco officials announced last Thursday that the city has uncovered numerous secret drug and gambling dens masquerading as convenience stores, all located in a notorious downtown neighborhood long associated with illicit activity and homelessness.
At least nine such dens have been shut down or sued over the past 18 months in the Tenderloin, City Attorney David Chiu said.
He added that the stores engaged in a range of illegal activities, including gambling operations, selling illegal drugs, possessing firearms, trafficking in stolen goods, and violating the city’s nighttime safety ordinance, which prohibits shops from operating during late hours to deter nighttime criminal activity.
“These convenience stores were magnets for drug activity, and, in some cases, the stores were selling illegal drugs themselves,” City Attorney Chiu said.
BLUE CITIES U-TURN ON DISTRIBUTING DRUG SUPPLIES TO ADDICTS AFTER PROGRESSIVE POLICIES FAIL TO STEM EPIDEMIC
According to the announcement, the stores allegedly housed illegal gambling operations, with police seizing numerous slot machines, up to 11 from a single location, along with money-counting machines. Law enforcement reportedly seized significant amounts of cash, including more than $17,000 from one store.
In one search, officers found methamphetamine hidden beneath a display shelf. Chiu said other seizures uncovered cannabis, vape cartridges, and hundreds of glass pipes and Brillo pads, items commonly used to smoke methamphetamine and crack cocaine.
Significant weaponry was also found on the premises, including a firearm with a loaded magazine, a high-capacity Glock magazine, two additional pistol magazines, and other ammunition.
DEM GOVERNORS SUDDENLY CRACK DOWN ON CRIME AS TRUMP’S NATIONAL GUARD THREATS LOOM
Authorities said the convenience stores were used to fence stolen goods. Officers reportedly seized merchandise still bearing original price tags from major retailers such as Walgreens, Sephora, CVS and Target. Specific contraband included out-of-state cigarettes and 17 stolen iPhones displayed for sale.
Chiu touted the Nighttime Safety Ordinance, a legislative measure passed in 2024 as a two-year pilot program aimed at disrupting illegal activity. He said he is now seeking to expand the curfews to further combat crime in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood, a densely populated area known for its nightlife, tech offices and a history of crime and homelessness.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“Most businesses contribute positively to our neighborhoods, but a handful of late-night retail establishments, like the ones we have shut down, attract significant criminal activity,” he said. “The nighttime safety ordinance has been helpful in putting these stores on our radar and giving us additional tools to shut down problematic businesses. “
Supervisor Matt Dorsey said he hopes the neighborhoods will eventually become “a less welcoming environment for public drug use, drug dealing, and all the drug-driven lawlessness, including illegal fencing operations that fuel rampant drug use.”
Trump quells GOP rebellion threats as House advances bill to end shutdown
The Senate’s compromise to end the ongoing partial government shutdown survived an important hurdle on Monday night, teeing up the legislation for a vote in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
The House Rules Committee, the final gatekeeper before most bills get a chamberwide vote, advanced the upper chamber’s deal with the White House with little internal discord among Republicans on the panel.
But the measure could face issues on the House floor during a second procedural hurdle called a “rule vote,” which needs a simple majority of lawmakers to unlock debate and a vote on final passage. House votes normally fall along partisan lines, and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., will need virtually all GOP lawmakers to vote in lockstep to succeed.
The current partial shutdown, affecting roughly 78% of the federal government, is in its third day after Congress failed to send its remaining spending bills to President Donald Trump’s desk by Jan. 30.
REPUBLICANS, DEMS BREAK THROUGH RESISTANCE, MOVE FORWARD WITH TRUMP-BACKED FUNDING PACKAGE
House lawmakers passed an initial set of bipartisan bills to finish funding the government through the end of fiscal year (FY) 2026, Sept. 30, but Democrats rebelled against the plan en masse in protest of Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.
Senate Democrats walked away from the deal in protest of its funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), after federal law enforcement shot and killed a second U.S. citizen during anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) demonstrations in Minneapolis.
Trump has responded by removing Customs and Border Protection (CBP), whose agents shot the second person, from the Midwest city, and replacing senior officials leading the crackdown there.
HOUSE CONSERVATIVES SKEPTICAL AS SENATE DEAL SACRIFICING DHS SPENDING REACHED: ‘NON-STARTER’
But Democrats are demanding further guardrails, like judicial warrants, to restrict agents in Minneapolis even further.
The resulting compromise would fund areas of government that were caught up in the political standoff — the departments of War, Health and Human Services, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, and Education — while simply extending the current federal spending levels for DHS for two weeks.
That two-week span is aimed at giving lawmakers time for more bipartisan negotiations on a longer-term deal.
TENSIONS BOIL IN HOUSE OVER EMERGING SENATE DEAL TO AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
The Senate passed the new deal on Friday, but House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., is sharply divided from his counterpart, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in his position.
Despite Schumer and Senate Democrats negotiating the plan with Trump’s White House, Jeffries told Johnson not to rely on House Democrats’ support to pass the bill.
It’s a stunning division between the top two Democrats in Congress, and one that will leave House Republicans largely on their own for much of the process of ending the shutdown.
But Trump managed to quell another rebellion on the conservative side earlier on Monday, easing at least one headache for House GOP leaders.
At least four House Republicans signaled they could vote against their own party during the rule vote on Tuesday over its exclusion of an unrelated measure requiring proof of citizenship in the voter registration process.
The president posted on Truth Social earlier Monday demanding “NO CHANGES” to the current deal, effectively undercutting conservatives’ push for the legislation.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., had been leading a group of conservatives threatening to tank the rule vote if the SAVE America Act was not attached.
But Luna told reporters on Monday night that she and Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., both changed their minds after getting assurances from the White House that Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., would force a vote on the bill — called the SAVE America Act.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“As of right now, with the current agreement that we have, as well as discussions, we will both be a yes on the rule,” Luna said. “There is something called a standing filibuster that would effectively allow Senator Thune to put voter ID on the floor of the Senate. We are hearing that that is going well and he is considering that…so we are very happy about that.”
It’s not clear if it’s enough for other House Republicans, however, some of whom are upset over the new deal opening up the need for bipartisan discussions on reining in Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Johnson can only lose one House GOP vote for the funding deal to survive a chamber-wide rule vote.
In the meantime, nearly 14,000 air traffic controllers are expected to work without pay. Members of the military could also miss paychecks if the shutdown goes on long enough, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will be limited in its ability to communicate public health updates to Americans.
Catholic priests threaten Vatican split after Pope Leo rejects bishop request
A traditionalist group of Catholic priests that has been at odds with the Vatican for decades threatened a full schism with Rome this weekend, saying it plans to consecrate bishops without approval from the Holy See.
The Priestly Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) says it plans to move forward with the consecrations on July 1. The SSPX exclusively celebrates the Traditional Latin Mass and has taken issue with certain reforms in the Second Vatican Council.
SSPX superior general Father Davide Pagliarani says he requested an audience with Pope Leo XIV in August to request new bishops for the society. Instead, the group received a letter from the Vatican that iy says “does not in any way respond to our requests.”
SSPX currently has two serving bishops: Bishop Bernard Fellay, a former superior general of the society, and Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta, according to EWTN.
POPE LEO XIV CALLS OUT JIHADIST VIOLENCE, WARNS ‘ORWELLIAN-STYLE’ IDEOLOGY IS ERODING FREE SPEECH IN THE WEST
SSPX founder Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre was excommunicated in 1988 by Pope John Paul II after he ordained four bishops without the Vatican’s approval.
The four bishops were also excommunicated, but Pope Benedict XIV and Pope Francis sought to gradually return the group into the folds of the Church.
Francis allowed SSPX members to hear confessions and conduct marriages, but said they would not have an official ministry until they accepted the reforms laid out in Vatican II.
GEN Z’ERS IDENTIFYING AS LIBERAL DROPS 12 POINTS SINCE 2016, ACCORDING TO MORNING CONSULT JUNE REPORT
Pagliarani has insisted that the society does not seek schism with the Vatican. He stated in November 2024, the 50th anniversary of Lefebvre’s founding of SSPX, that “the Society of Saint Pius X does not seek first and foremost its own survival: it seeks primarily the good of the universal Church.”
Pagliarani then quoted Lefebvre, saying, “This sole aim remains ours today, just as it was 50 years ago: ‘That is why, without any rebellion, bitterness, or resentment, we continue our work of priestly formation under the guiding star of the ever-present Magisterium, convinced that we cannot render a greater service to the Holy Catholic Church, to the Sovereign Pontiff, and to future generations.’”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The Catholic Herald reported Monday that the SSPX had been in talks with the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith throughout last year, indicating that Monday’s announcement may reveal a breakdown in conversation.
AG Bondi takes aim at Don Lemon as she explains new arrests in church storming
Attorney General Pam Bondi criticized former CNN anchor Don Lemon on “Hannity” Monday for defending his “illegal” actions at a Minnesota church anti-ICE protest as an “act of journalism.”
“So, anyone with a camera then would be allowed, under his [Lemon’s] theory, to come in and attack a church like that and riot a church on a Sunday morning,” she said.
“You can’t do that in this country. It’s illegal, we’re going to prosecute you, and you will be held accountable. Doesn’t matter if you’re a failed journalist with a camera in your hand. You can’t do it.”
Bondi’s remarks followed the arrest of two more individuals in connection with the invasion of a Minnesota church by anti-ICE protesters on Monday.
EX-CNN COLLEAGUE OF DON LEMON QUESTIONS WHETHER HE SHOULD BE CONSIDERED A JOURNALIST
“These people committed a crime under the FACE Act, and they will be held accountable,” she explained. “Nine of them have been charged, and you will not do this in our country. We’re coming after you if you do.”
On Jan. 18, hundreds of anti-ICE demonstrators disrupted a church service in St. Paul, Minn., protesting a pastor who they accused of assisting the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts in Minnesota.
Bondi characterized it as an “attack-style” bombardment on a house of worship, detailing how one woman was injured in the incident.
DON LEMON TAPS HUNTER BIDEN’S ATTORNEY TO FIGHT TRUMP DOJ CHARGES
“There were children crying, there were parents blocked from getting upstairs to take their children out of Sunday school,” she said. “A group of women ran out a side door. Multiple people fell on the ice. One woman severely damaged her arm, had to go to the hospital.”
“These parishioners thought they were gonna get shot,” Bondi added.
The attorney general alleged the incident was led by a “resistance operation,” involving Lemon.
DON LEMON TAKEN INTO CUSTODY FOR HIS INVOLVEMENT IN LIVESTREAMING PROTEST AT MINNESOTA CHURCH
“They met in a parking lot about two miles away while people were filing into this church service,” Bondi told host Sean Hannity. “They were caravanning to this church to perform an attack-style infiltration of a church service on a Sunday morning.”
She also accused Lemon of physically blocking a parishioner from exiting the church.
According to the indictment, all nine individuals are charged with interfering with others’ freedom to worship under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which protects the right to worship freely at places of worship.
WASHINGTON POST CALLS MN CHURCH PROTEST AN ‘ASSAULT ON RELIGIOUS LIBERTY,’ DON LEMON AN ‘INTERNET PROVOCATEUR’
Lemon has strongly pushed back on the indictment, saying his presence at the protest was an “act of journalism,” explaining that he was merely covering the event rather than participating.
“F off, whoever you think is going to stop me from reporting. I’ll say it f— off if you think you’re going to stop me from reporting,” Lemon said on Instagram Monday.
“I am a journalist through and through and through,” he continued.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
All nine individuals charged in the case have been arrested, and Bondi said the Justice Department will continue prioritizing the protection of houses of worship.
“We live in the United States of America, and you will have the right to worship safely and freely in a house of worship,” she asserted. “Whether it’s a church, a synagogue, a temple, a mosque, any house of worship in this country, you will be safe.”
Billie Eilish faces backlash for remarks on ‘stolen land’ at the Grammy Awards
Singer Billie Eilish was mocked as a hypocrite for declaring “no one is illegal on stolen land” and “f— ICE” while owning a massive Hollywood property on Monday.
Eilish made these comments attacking border enforcement and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while accepting the Grammy for Song of the Year at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards Sunday night.
“No one is illegal on stolen land,” the 24-year-old “Wildflower” singer said while wearing an “ICE OUT” pin. “I feel really hopeful in this room, and I feel like we need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting. Our voices really do matter, and the people matter.”
CELEBS DECRY ICE AGENTS, TRUMP GOVERNMENT AS ‘MONSTERS’ AND THE ‘WORST OF THE WORST’ IN SCATHING CRITIQUES
“And f— ICE, that’s all I’m gonna say, sorry,” she added.
The following day, several critics, including federal lawmakers, called out the pop singer and suggested that she donate her million-dollar Los Angeles property back to Native Americans to return “stolen land.”
“Any White person who does a public ‘stolen land’ acknowledgment should immediately give his or her land to Native Americans. Otherwise, they don’t mean it. Also, I’m pretty sure they don’t mean it,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wrote.
“No one ever expounds on this ridicuous [sic] talking point. ‘No one is illegal on stolen land.’ Okay. So… the states and the union they created, along with every deed to property on the continent, is illegitimate. Why aren’t you acting accordingly? Donate everything and leave,” Minnesota state Rep. Walter Hudson wrote.
BILLIE EILISH BROTHER FINNEAS ACCUSES CONSERVATIVES OF SECOND AMENDMENT HYPOCRISY FOLLOWING PRETTI KILLING
“Wow! I really care about what people who live in multi-million dollar mansions, with gates and walls, and security guards to keep out intruders — living a life completely detached from normal Americans — think about illegal aliens being deported,” conservative commentator Greg Price joked.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., remarked, “Oh, gee, this ‘stolen land’ nonsense again? Maybe she should step up and forfeit her southern California mansion since it is supposedly on ‘stolen land.'”
“Exactly,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk replied to DeSantis’ comment.
“‘No one is illegal on stolen land… F— ICE’ This is Billie Eilish accepting Song of the Year at the #GRAMMYs. The woman is a blithering idiot. Of course, if she really means it, then she’ll happily hand over her multi-million pound Malibu beachfront home to illegal migrants… Which she won’t, because it’s all just silly celeb posturing,” The Sun columnist Julia Hartley-Brewer commented.
Conservative commentator Stephen L. Miller remarked, “Hollywood celebrity millionaire accepts award on stolen land. Agrees to keep award and keep living on stolen land. The Democratic Party’s problem summed up.”
RICKY GERVAIS MOCKS GRAMMY WINNERS MAKING POLITICAL SPEECHES, SAYS THEY’RE ‘STILL NOT LISTENING’
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin dismissed Eilish and other celebrities’ anti-ICE comments.
“While Hollywood celebrities embarrassed themselves trying to drum up hatred of ICE officers from the Grammys, DHS law enforcement was hard at work arresting sex offenders, child abusers, and criminals convicted of assault in Minnesota,” McLaughlin said.
Fox News Digital also reached out to Eilish’s representatives for comment.
Eilish has been a frequent critic of immigration enforcement. While accepting an award last month, she claimed that people were being “kidnapped” and “assaulted and murdered” by ICE officers.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Eilish has also called out her fellow celebrities for refusing to speak out on political issues.
Man accused of killing teen cheerleader walks free as family fears for safety
The man accused of gunning down an Alabama high school cheerleader at a bonfire party and shooting three others while one victim tried to shield her has been released from jail on bond.
Steven Tyler Whitehead, charged with murder in the death of 18-year-old Kimber Mills and attempted murder for wounding three others, bonded out of the Jefferson County Jail Thursday after a judge set bond at $330,000. As a condition of his release, Whitehead must wear an electronic monitoring device, WBRC reported.
Mills, a senior at Cleveland High School, was shot in October 2025 during a late-night bonfire in a heavily wooded area known locally as “The Pit,” near Highway 75 North and Clay-Palmerdale Road in Pinson, Alabama.
Authorities said the gathering turned violent after Whitehead arrived shortly after midnight and became involved in a verbal and physical confrontation before pulling out a gun and opening fire.
MAN ACCUSED IN DEATH OF HIGH SCHOOL CHEERLEADER AT BONFIRE SHOOTING NOW FACES MURDER CHARGE: OFFICIALS
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office previously said Whitehead fired multiple rounds during the chaos, striking Mills and three others.
One of the victims, 21-year-old Silas McCay, later told WBRC he was shot 10 times — in the leg, hip, rib cage, stomach, finger, pelvis and thigh — while trying to protect his friends, including Mills.
“I look at her like a little sister to me,” McCay said from his hospital bed. “I tried everything I could. I wish there was more I could’ve done.”
McCay said the violence erupted after he and another man confronted Whitehead, who he claimed was attempting to talk to Mills before a fight broke out.
“My ex-girlfriend came up to me at the party and said he was trying to do stuff to this girl named Kimber,” McCay said. “My buddy and I found him, and we started fighting him. I grabbed him and put him over my shoulder and had him on the ground. My buddy pulled me off him, and that’s when he pulled his gun out and started shooting.”
MAN SHOT 10 TIMES PROTECTING HIGH SCHOOL CHEERLEADER WHO DIED AFTER SHOOTING AT BONFIRE: REPORT
According to WBRC, McCay and another man, Hunter McCullouch, 19, were later charged with third-degree assault in connection with the altercation that broke out before the shooting. Authorities have not alleged that either man fired a weapon. McCay was among those shot during the gunfire.
Mills was rushed to UAB Hospital in Birmingham after being shot in the head and leg, according to Trussville Police Chief Eric Rush. Despite doctors’ efforts, her injuries proved too severe.
Her sister, Ashley Mills, announced Kimber’s death in a Facebook post following an emotional honor walk at the hospital that drew hundreds.
“Our sweet baby sister went to be with the Lord at 7:08 p.m. last night,” Ashley Mills wrote at the time. “She had the biggest gathering for an honor walk the doctor had ever seen. She was and is so loved by so many. We will miss you, Kimber.”
Ashley Mills previously said the family made the difficult decision to place Kimber on a do-not-resuscitate order due to the extent of her brain injuries and honor her wish to be an organ donor.
MISSISSIPPI HOMECOMING FOOTBALL GAME SHOOTING: 4 SUSPECTS ARRESTED AFTER 6 DEAD, 20 INJURED
“She has too much trauma to her brain,” Ashley Mills said. “We don’t want to hurt her anymore trying to bring her back.”
Friends and loved ones remembered Mills as a bright presence with a contagious smile. She was a cheerleader and track athlete at Cleveland High School and had planned to attend the University of Alabama in 2026, where she hoped to become a nurse.
“She had a little spunk to her step,” her sister said.
Despite being gravely wounded himself, McCay said he visited Mills in the hospital before her death.
“She was telling me she loved me by squeezing my hand,” he said.
Following news of Whitehead’s release on bond, Ashley Mills shared her reaction on Facebook, expressing fear and frustration.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“Justice for Kimber! That’s all we want,” she wrote. “That’s just more anxiety for me knowing he’s out. I’ll stay home.”
The Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office declined to elaborate on the bond decision, telling Fox News Digital it had no additional information to share.
Fergie’s crude email about Princess Eugenie revealed in Epstein document release
Sarah Ferguson is in the hot seat once again over her ties to the late Jeffrey Epstein.
An email where Ferguson made a crude comment about her then-19-year-old daughter surfaced in the latest batch of documents released by the Department of Justice (DOJ). The DOJ released more than 3 million Epstein records, including his personal emails, Friday.
In an email from March 2010, Epstein asked Ferguson about a trip to New York. Ferguson responded, “Not sure yet. Just waiting for Eugenie to come back from a shagging weekend!!”
Princess Eugenie, who Ferguson shares with former Prince Andrew, was 19 years old at the time. Ferguson and Andrew also share a second daughter, Princess Beatrice. Fox News Digital reached out to a representative for Ferguson.
SARAH FERGUSON DROPPED MY MULTIPLE CHARITIES AFTER CALLING JEFFREY EPSTEIN ‘GENEROUS AND SUPREME FRIEND’
This isn’t the first email scandal involving Ferguson and Epstein. Back in September, an email between the two was leaked.
According to the Daily Mail, the Duchess of York – who divorced ex-Prince Andrew in 1996 – reached out to Epstein in 2011 after publicly denouncing their friendship during an interview with the Evening Standard.
During the interview, Ferguson expressed her “deep regret” and promised to “have nothing ever to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again,” three years after he was imprisoned for soliciting prostitution from a minor.
LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
In an alleged email to Epstein following the interview, Ferguson referred to the disgraced financier as a “steadfast, generous and supreme friend.”
“I know you feel hellaciously let down by me from what you were either told or read, and I must humbly apologise to you and your heart for that,” Ferguson allegedly wrote.
“I was advised, in no uncertain terms, to have nothing to do with you and to not speak or email you and if I did I would cause more problems to you, [Prince Andrew] and myself,” she continued. “I was instructed to act with the utmost speed if I would have any chance of holding on to my career as a children’s book author and a children’s philanthropist.”
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
A representative for Ferguson claimed she had sent the email after Epstein had threatened to sue for defamation, according to the BBC. “This email was sent in the context of advice the duchess was given to try to assuage Epstein and his threats,” the statement read.
Ferguson was dropped as a patron from multiple charities after the 2011 email became public in September.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Ancient berry linked to improved blood vessel function and stronger heart health
An ancient berry linked to improved blood vessel function and circulation may offer meaningful benefits for heart health, according to a new scientific review — but most Americans aren’t eating it regularly.
The findings, released Jan. 27 by the Wild Blueberry Association of North America, are based on a review of 12 human clinical trials conducted over 24 years examining wild blueberries, conventional blueberries and a range of cardiometabolic outcomes.
“Overall, the authors report that evidence is strongest and most consistent for improvements in vascular function,” a news release said.
SITTING ALL DAY? NEW STUDY SAYS CERTAIN FOODS MAY PROTECT YOUR HEART FROM DAMAGE
“Findings related to blood pressure, blood lipids and blood sugar regulation are described as encouraging, though the authors emphasize the need for larger and more carefully controlled clinical trials to confirm these effects.”
Many of the compounds in wild blueberries aren’t absorbed right away, according to the authors.
Instead, they reach the gut, where microbes help turn them into substances that enter the bloodstream — which may help explain the positive effects on heart and metabolic health.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER
People can see these benefits by regularly eating about one cup of wild blueberries per day, the review found.
“[Wild blueberries] have been valued by people for thousands of years.”
Packed with flavor, the tiny berries grow on small shrubs that are connected underground through stems called rhizomes.
The hearty plants are designed to survive the harsh winters in Maine and Canada, and researchers believe those stressors “may prompt the plants to produce a wide variety of protective compounds, particularly polyphenols such as anthocyanins.”
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
Even though the berries are hard to find fresh, most of them are frozen right after harvesting — and chances are they’re hiding in your local supermarket’s freezer section.
Dorothy Klimis-Zacas, a professor at the University of Maine and co-lead author on the study, said wild blueberries “have been valued by people for thousands of years.”
“Traditional knowledge recognized their value, and today’s research continues to explore how the unique composition of wild blueberries may support health when eaten as part of an overall balanced diet,” she said.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE STORIES
The specific benefits of wild blueberries are not widely recognized, said Nicolette Pace, a New York-based nutritionist who was not involved in the study — though the health community broadly understands that blueberries are healthy.
“The key takeaway is to prioritize wild, heirloom and seasonal fruits whenever possible.”
“What really impressed me about this study was that it didn’t just look at outcomes, it looked at mechanisms and what is actually happening in the body,” she said.
“Most people do not distinguish between cultivated fruits and wild or heirloom varieties.”
Pace suggested using frozen wild blueberries in smoothies, yogurt and oatmeal, or even baking with them.
She also cited black chokeberries, black currants, wild cranberries and mulberries as other berries that are rich in polyphenols and antioxidants.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“The key takeaway is to prioritize wild, heirloom and seasonal fruits whenever possible,” she said.
“They are often far more nutritionally dense than cultivated varieties and can have powerful cardiometabolic and gut health benefits.”
Swiss court makes ruling on American athlete’s Olympic dreams ahead of Winter Games
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Monday made a ruling in the case of American skeleton athlete Katie Uhlaender and her bid to receive a spot in the Milan Cortina Olympics.
The CAS Ad hoc Division ruled that it had no jurisdiction to consider Uhlaender’s case against Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton (BCS) coach Joe Cecchini and the International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation over the results of the IBSF North American Cup Race and Skeleton qualification for a spot in the Winter Olympics.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Uhlaender sought qualification after she missed out on the chance to qualify when Team Canada withdrew athletes from the North American Cup race in early January, reducing the amount of points that the event could award. The point reduction made it impossible for Uhlaender to earn enough to qualify.
An investigation by the IBSF found that Team Canada intentionally manipulated the points at the competition in Lake Placid, New York. However, the IBSF also did not revise any of the results or deliver any penalties as a result. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) sent a letter to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) petitioning to have Uhlaender granted a spot. Fifteen other countries have joined in on that petition.
TEAM CANADA COACH SPEAKS OUT AFTER BEING FOUND TO HAVE MANIPULATED COMPETITION, US OLYMPIAN FIRES BACK
The CAS said its panel “carefully considered” the arguments made by both sides.
Uhlaender argued that Canada’s decision to pull the athletes from the race was in violation of the Olympic Code and requested that the full points be given to her for the race. The defendants argued that even if Uhlaender was given the points, it didn’t necessarily mean she would qualify for Team USA and that the U.S. might need to pull a racer who is already in Italy.
“In its Award, the CAS Panel noted that the CAS Ad hoc Division for the 2026 (Olympic Winter Games) has been established to resolve disputes only insofar as they arise during the 2026 OWG or during a period of 10 days preceding the Opening Ceremony (on 6 February 2026). As a result, the dispute must have arisen by 27 January 2026 at the earliest in order to fall within its jurisdiction,” the ruling read.
“Considering the chronology of the events between Ms. Uhlaender and the Respondents, the CAS Panel concluded that the latest date on which the dispute arose was 23 January 2026, on which date the IBSF Appeals Tribunal issued its decision. Consequently, the application fell outside the jurisdiction of the CAS Ad hoc Division Milano Cortina 2026.”
Uhlaender reacted to the ruling in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“I’m disappointed that nothing is being done again. I am currently exploring what options are available. But I’m fighting for the right thing as this action hurt a whole field of athletes. I can’t quit now,” she said.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The Winter Olympics officially begin on Feb. 6.