Game-changer could end terrorizing SUV-sized drones — but one major problem remains
As drone sightings over New Jersey continue to raise questions, a new tool could bring answers about the source of these flying vehicles — if the government could get it off the ground.
Earlier this year, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) began requiring all unmanned aircraft systems to be equipped with Remote ID technology, which makes every equipped drone uniquely identifiable to authorities, like a license plate on a car.
The FAA announced that it would provide a database that could be accessed by local law enforcement, but nearly one year later, local authorities still can’t get into it themselves.
“The FAA is working on developing Remote ID data sharing capabilities for law enforcement so they can have access to FAA registration information,” the agency said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
DRONES SPOTTED ACROSS NORTHEAST LIKELY COMING FROM ‘INSIDE THE US,’ MILITARY EXPERT SAYS
According to a report published in June by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the FAA has not yet provided a way for law enforcement agencies to use Remote ID technology to respond to a potential threat or investigate suspicious drone activity.
A representative from New Jersey’s Belleville Police Department confirmed to Fox News Digital that its officers do not have access to the FAA’s Remote ID database as the state is dealing with dozens of reported drone sightings and growing public concern about the government’s inability to provide answers.
The East Brunswick Police Department also confirmed to Fox News Digital that it was “unaware of any of the FAA databases available for Remote ID.”
The FAA did not respond to questions about whether the Remote ID database is being shared with local authorities for the ongoing investigations in New Jersey.
DRONE MYSTERY: NEW JERSEY HOMEOWNERS THREATEN TO TAKE MATTERS INTO THEIR OWN HANDS IF GOVERNMENT DOESN’T ACT
The GAO’s report reveals that both the FAA and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) do not have a concrete timeline for the rollout of Remote ID access for law enforcement, resulting in potential delays when authorities are trying to access real-time data regarding drone activity.
Remote ID acts as a “digital license plate” by using a broadcast signal — similar to those used by manned aircraft — to relay a drone’s registration details, coordinates and altitude. Remote ID is typically built into the software of mainstream consumer drones or physically attached to the craft.
“As long as it has a GPS and Remote ID built into the software and into the system, it can be tracked just like any other aircraft,” James McDanolds, program chair at Sonoran Desert Institute’s School of Uncrewed Technology, told Fox News Digital.
Broadcasting the signal over radio waves, instead of the internet, would allow the signal to be accessed in areas with low internet connectivity.
MANY NEW JERSEY ‘DRONE’ SIGHTINGS ARE LAWFULLY OPERATED MANNED AIRCRAFT, WHITE HOUSE SAYS
Currently, local authorities must go through an FAA Law Enforcement Assistance Program (LEAP) agent to request information regarding an incident, which would then be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. But the FAA has acknowledged an inability to effectively handle local law enforcement’s requests to the program for Remote ID data and is requesting funding from the federal government to cover the cost of expanding.
The FAA requested $21.8 billion in funding from the federal government for the upcoming year, according to the administration’s 2025 President’s Budget Submission. Additionally, the FAA has allotted $15.6 million of the budget for drone-related research and growth.
The FAA wants more money to hire more LEAP special agents whose jobs will focus on investigating drone activity.
The GAO’s report expressed concerns regarding the timeliness of these requests, citing the need for real-time data in potential emergency situations.
FAA TEMPORARILY RESTRICT DRONE FLIGHTS IN NEW YORK AMID CONCERNS OVER RECENTLY REPORTED SIGHTINGS
The DHS, FBI, FAA and Department of Defense on Monday issued a joint statement addressing the origins of the drones, citing the use of technology to identify the owners.
“Having closely examined the technical data and tips from concerned citizens, we assess that the sightings to date include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones,” the statement explains. “We have not identified anything anomalous and do not assess the activity to date to present a national security or public safety risk over the civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the Northeast.”
The FAA began receiving reports of drone activity in mid-November as unidentified aircraft were spotted throughout the Garden State, including Picatinny Arsenal Military Base and Trump National Golf Course Bedminster, resulting in temporary flight restrictions, known as TFRs, being placed over sensitive areas.
FAA ANNOUNCES TEMPORARY RESTRICTIONS ON DRONE FLIGHTS IN NEW JERSEY FOLLOWING INFLUX OF SIGHTINGS
Civilians have reported drones of unusual size or build. Some with diameters of 6 feet have been spotted, according to New Jersey state Rep. Dawn Fantasia, who was briefed on the matter last week. However, the federal government has maintained that the drones are accounted for and continue to be used lawfully.
The FAA’s Part 107 rule states that drones are permitted to fly at night and must remain within 400 feet of ground level. Operating a drone without Remote ID can carry criminal penalties of up to $250,000 and a maximum of three years in jail, with civil penalties of up to $27,500.
Within the last few weeks, the FBI has received tips of more than 5,000 drone sightings, with fewer than 100 warranting additional investigation, according to an FBI official.
GOVERNMENT AGENCIES SAY JOINT INVESTIGATION INTO DRONE SIGHTINGS REVEALS NO THREAT: ‘WE RECOGNIZE THE CONCERN’
“To be clear, [authorities] have uncovered no such malicious activity or intent at this stage,” the DHS and FBI said in a joint statement on Thursday. “While there is no known malicious activity occurring in New Jersey, the reported sightings there do, however, highlight the insufficiency of current authorities.”
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Trump to return the favor to voters who handed him his biggest swing-state victory
President-elect Trump is set to take the stage in Phoenix, Arizona, on Sunday to deliver his first rally-styled speech since his decisive win over Vice President Kamala Harris last month.
“We are incredibly honored that President Trump will deliver his first rally-style speech since the election at AmFest 2024 in Phoenix,” Turning Point USA and Turning Point Action chief Charlie Kirk said in a press release. “This was already the largest multi-day event in the movement, and this year will be the biggest we’ve ever hosted, by far.”
“When I spoke to the president, he said he’d only do it if we called it a ‘Tribute to Arizona,’ so that’s exactly what we’re doing. President Trump knows the people of Arizona have always been with him, they’re loyal to him and they just delivered the largest win for him of all of the swing states, giving him a 5.5% margin of victory.”
Trump is expected to take the stage of the Phoenix Convention Center at 10:30 a.m. local time Sunday, as part of Turning Point’s annual AmericaFest – a four-day event billed as part of the “biggest conservative movement in the country.”
LAWMAKERS REACT TO STOPGAP FUNDING AND AVERTING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
Trump’s address at the event comes just a day after Congress avoided a prolonged government shutdown.
The Senate passed a stopgap spending bill early Saturday morning – after the midnight deadline had passed and the government briefly shut down – and sent the legislation to President Biden for his signature.
PRESIDENT BIDEN SIGNS STOPGAP FUNDING BILL INTO LAW, NARROWLY AVERTING SHUTDOWN
Last week, lawmakers had reached an agreement on a short-term spending bill that included more than 1,500 pages of text. Conservatives and Trump allies, spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk, slammed the original and lengthy legislation, as negotiations came down to the wire last week, taking issue with provisions such as increasing lawmakers’ cost of living.
Trump called on Republicans to suspend the debt limit as part of their talks to avert a government shutdown, which has exceeded $36 trillion. The House crafted a new, 116-page bill that included suspending the debt limit for two years until January 2027, roughly $110 billion in disaster relief aid for Americans affected by storms Milton and Helene, as well as a measure to fund rebuilding Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge.
WHITE HOUSE PRESSED ON BIDEN REFUSING TO SPEAK PUBLICLY AHEAD OF SHUTDOWN
That bill failed 174 to 235, before House lawmakers negotiated and passed another version.
TRUMP-BACKED SPENDING BILL GOES DOWN IN FLAMES AS SHUTDOWN LOOMS
The final bill sent to Biden included economic relief for farmers and disaster aid for those affected by recent storms, but it did not include a suspension of the debt ceiling, which Trump had requested.
Trump has not spoken publicly since the bill’s passage, although sources told Fox News that the incoming president is not that happy with the bill.
Ahead of Trump’s speech on Sunday, conservative lawmakers and allies, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, upcoming Trump administration “border czar” Tom Homan, comedian Rob Schenider, and Kirk will also take the stage.
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AmericaFest kicked off on Dec. 19 in Phoenix and will conclude on Sunday following Trump’s speech. The annual event is billed as one that reenergizes conservative students and voters “all while celebrating the greatest country in the world.”
US fighter jet shot down in ‘friendly fire’ strike during secret mission
Two U.S. Navy pilots were shot down Sunday over the Red Sea in what appeared to be “friendly fire”, the U.S. military said.
The pilots were found alive after they ejected from their aircraft, with one suffering minor injuries.
The incident demonstrates the pervasive dangers in the Red Sea corridor amid ongoing attacks on shipping by the Iranian-backed Houthis, even as U.S. and European military coalitions patrol the area.
The U.S. military had conducted airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels at the time, but U.S. Central Command did not elaborate on what their mission was.
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The military said the aircraft shot down was a two-seat F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet assigned to the “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 out of Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia.
The F/A-18 shot down had just flown off the deck of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, according to Central Command. On Dec. 15, Central Command said the Truman had entered the Mideast, but did not specify that the carrier and its battle group were in the Red Sea.
“The guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, which is part of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, mistakenly fired on and hit the F/A-18,” Central Command said in a statement.
It is unclear how the Gettysburg had mistaked an F/A-18 for an enemy aircraft or missile, particularly since ships in a battle group are linked by radar and radio communication.
US MILITARY CONDUCTS SUCCESSFUL AIRSTRIKES ON HOUTHI REBEL FORCES IN YEMEN
Central Command said that warships and aircraft earlier shot down multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile launched by the rebels. Fire from the Houthis has previously forced sailors to make decisions in seconds.
The U.S., since the Truman arrived, has ramped up its airstrikes targeting the Houthis and their missile fire into the Red Sea and the surrounding area. But an American warship group in the region may lead to additional attacks from the rebels.
On Saturday night and into Sunday, U.S. warplanes conducted airstrikes that shook Yemen’s capital of Sanaa, which the Houthis have held for a decade. Central Command said the strikes targeted a “missile storage facility” and a “command-and-control facility.”
Houthi-controlled media reported strikes in both Sanaa and around the port city of Hodeida, but did not disclose details on any casualties or damage.
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The Houthis later acknowledged the aircraft being shot down in the Red Sea.
Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October of last year, the Houthis have targeted about 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones.
The rebels say that they target ships linked to Israel, the U.S. or the U.K. to force an end to Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, which began after Hamas’ surprise attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, although many of the ships the rebels have attacked have little or no connection to the ongoing war, including some headed for Iran.
The Houthis also have increasingly targeted Israel with drones and missiles, leading to retaliatory airstrikes from Israeli forces.
How Marine mom found herself falsely imprisoned due to a name mix-up
Jennifer Heath Box shivered on a mat on the floor, her back pressed against another inmate’s back, as they desperately tried to stay warm. The air conditioning blew a frigid breeze through the Broward County Jail in south Florida. Guards walked by wearing coats and beanies.
It was Christmas Eve. Her son, a Marine, was leaving on Dec. 27 to spend three years stationed in Okanawa, Japan.
And the police had arrested the wrong “Jennifer.”
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“The fact that it was just so easy to have arrested me just makes you question how many more people [are] out there like this,” Box told Fox News Digital, sitting in her Texas home two years after she was arrested and jailed for three nights on someone else’s warrant.
Box is now suing the Broward Sheriff’s Office, alleging deputies violated her Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure when they failed to do “basic due diligence to confirm whether the person they planned to arrest was actually subject to the arrest warrant.”
‘I think y’all have the wrong person.’
Box and her husband rushed to the front of the line, eager to get off the cruise ship on Christmas Eve 2022. They had just spent six days at sea with Box’s brother, celebrating his second recovery from cancer. Now, Box wanted to get home to celebrate Christmas with her kids, the last time for at least three years the family would all be together before her son left for Okinawa.
But when she scanned her badge to disembark, staff said security needed to meet with Box. Soon, police and Customs and Border Protection surrounded Box and her husband.
“They asked if I was Jennifer Heath,” she recalled. Box kept Heath as her middle name after marrying her husband.
She repeatedly asked the law enforcement officers standing around her what was going on. Eventually, they said they had a warrant for her from Harris County, Texas.
“It’s for endangering a child,” a deputy said.
Box’s eyes went wide. Her husband said, “I think y’all have the wrong person.”
Police had a warrant for “Jennifer Delcarmen Heath,” who was 23 years younger and nearly half a foot shorter than the “Jennifer” who had just gotten off a cruise ship.
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According to court filings from July 2022, Jennifer Delcarmen Heath was accused of endangering her children, ages 1 and 3.
Jennifer Heath Box, who was 48 years old at the time, had no minor children. The suspect on the warrant was younger than one of her daughters.
“Endangering a child? What child would I endanger?” Box asked, stunned.
Officers handcuffed her and put her in a sheriff’s office SUV, where interior video shows Box continuing to insist there must be some mistake as she was transported to the Broward County Jail.
The booking officer said she didn’t see any warrants in the system for Box when she scanned her driver’s license, but Deputy Peter Peraza insisted that they book her anyway, according to the lawsuit filed against the sheriff’s office, Peraza and other deputies and corrections staff.
Box’s attorneys at the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit civil liberties law firm, said Broward County deputies overlooked at least 10 significant discrepancies between Box and the subject of the warrant, including the vast age and height disparities, different Social Security and FBI numbers and contrasting eye, hair and skin colors. The only information that implicated Box was a copy of her DMV photo that had been attached to the warrant.
Box felt humiliated and terrified as she was strip searched, given a prison uniform and placed in a cold, dirty cell, where she said she witnessed continuous screaming and violence in the adjoining men’s area.
She woke up Christmas morning after a restless night shivering on the floor next to a stranger and was denied bond because the other “Jennifer” had an extradition warrant, according to the lawsuit. Harris County had up to 30 days to come get her, an officer allegedly told Box.
At home, both Box’s brother and her husband were fighting layers of bureaucracy. Officials with Harris County said they needed BSO to send over the warrant and Box’s fingerprints for comparison, but BSO refused, according to the suit.
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Finally, the evening of Dec. 26, Box was able to file a complaint, asking BSO to compare her fingerprints to those of the suspect.
Box walked out of jail around 10 a.m. on Dec. 27. Her son was boarding his flight.
“They took from me things that I will never get back,” Box said. “I’ll never get that time back with my kids. I’ll never get to have that opportunity to have those memories.”
She recalled talking to the officer who escorted her out of the detention center about all the things she had missed out on over the holidays. His demeanor started “completely arrogant,” she said, but softened when she told him she didn’t get to see her son before he left for the Marine Corps.
“‘Things happen,'” Box remembered the officer saying.
That was the closest she ever got to an apology.
‘No employee misconduct found’
The Broward Sheriff’s Office told Fox News Digital in a statement that it “sympathizes with the difficult situation Ms. Jennifer Heath Box was in,” but blamed Harris County for the mishap.
“Had it not been for the arrest warrant filed by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, Customs and Border Patrol would not have flagged Ms. Box, BSO would not have been notified, and she would not have been arrested,” a spokesperson wrote.
The statement added that the “actions of the BSO deputy involved in arresting Ms. Box were reviewed by the Broward Sheriff’s Office Internal Affairs Division, and no employee misconduct was found.”
Institute for Justice attorney Jared McClain said that while Harris County and CBP also made mistakes in the case, it “does not excuse the behavior of Officer Peraza and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.”
“They had a duty to ensure that the person they were arresting was actually the subject of the warrant–especially in the face of Jennifer’s repeated and credible insistence that they had the wrong person.”
CBP flagged Box’s name to BSO before she left for the cruise, according to her lawyers, giving deputies ample time to confirm her identity “before they decided to arrest the wrong Jennifer.”
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BSO made similar errors in at least two other mistaken identity arrests, including one in which a man spent five days in jail before police ran his fingerprints and confirmed he was the wrong person, according to the suit.
“Despite this history of jailing innocent people who share a name with someone with an outstanding warrant, Broward County failed to adequately train its officers or implement new policies, practices, or customs ensuring that BSO staff verify the identities of arrestees,” the suit alleges.
BSO did not answer Fox’s question about whether the department had made any policy changes after Box’s arrest.
The suit seeks an admission that the defendants violated Box’s constitutional rights, as well as damages.
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As Box prepared to decorate her Christmas tree this year, she told Fox News Digital she wants to see more checks and balances put in place so no one else endures what she went through.
“I want to hold those people accountable,” she said. “You’re messing with people’s lives. It’s not just [fun and games] or whatever and, ‘I’m gonna put someone behind bars, I’m gonna check off the box, and I’m gonna go home to my family.’ You hurt so many people in this situation besides just myself.”
Judge’s taken-aback reaction to error at teacher’s controversial ‘suicide’ scene
The parents of 27-year-old Ellen Greenberg, a Philadelphia teacher whose 2011 death was ruled a suicide after she was found with nearly two dozen stab wounds and covered in bruises, appeared in court last week, where a judge told them the city’s suicide declaration was “puzzling.”
Greenberg was found in her kitchen with 20 stab wounds and a knife in her chest with a half-made fruit salad on the countertop during a blizzard Jan. 6, 2011. Her parents, Dr. Josh and Sandee Greenberg, have been entangled in legal battles with the government since their daughter’s death, fighting the determination that it was a suicide.
Oral arguments were heard Dec. 11 in a Philadelphia courtroom as part of a 2022 lawsuit the Greenbergs filed that accuses local officials and the medical examiner’s office of covering up their daughter’s death and participating in a “concealed conspiracy for the purpose of disguising Ellen’s homicide as a suicide,” according to legal documents. This was the first time the Greenbergs sat in a courtroom and listened to arguments in their daughter’s case.
“I feel like we’re advocating for her,” Sandee said in a statement to Fox News Digital after the hearing. “We are getting closer to justice for Ellen. We are very determined and not giving up.”
FIANCÉ OF TEACHER FOUND WITH 20 STAB WOUNDS SUGGESTS WHAT LED TO HER ‘SUICIDE’
At the time of her death, Greenberg had sent out save-the-date notices for her wedding with Sam Goldberg, who said he returned home from a gym, broke down the door and found his fiancée’s body in their shared apartment in Manayunk, a quiet neighborhood in Philadelphia.
In the hour before Goldberg called 911, he sent Greenberg a series of calls, emails and eerie text messages, according to court records.
Between 5:32 p.m. and 5:54 pm, Goldberg’s last nine texts to Greenberg included the following: “Hello,” “open the door,” “what r u doin,” “im getting pissed,” “hello,” “you better have an excuse,” “what the f***,” “ahhh,” and “u have no idea.”
Goldberg called 911 at 6:33 p.m., and Greenberg was pronounced dead by medics shortly thereafter.
ELLEN GREENBERG PROSECUTORS SAY THEY CAN’T PROVE CRIME IN ‘SUICIDE’ BY 20 STAB WOUNDS
A forensic pathologist with the city medical examiner’s office at the time, Dr. Marlon Osbourne, initially ruled Greenberg’s death a homicide, according to court documents. Then he reversed course after meeting with police behind closed doors and officially ruled it a suicide.
The Greenbergs have argued that officials involved in their daughter’s case “grossly botched” the investigation and conspired to cover it up as a result. The Greenbergs also accused them of intentionally causing the couple emotional distress.
“I don’t think anyone disagrees the crime scene should have been handled differently,” Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Erdos said during the Dec. 11 hearing, Greenberg family attorney Joe Podraza confirmed with Fox News Digital. “The fact the death certificate still lists the cause of death as suicide is puzzling.”
JUDGE TIED TO ELLEN GREENBERG’S FIANCÉ TOOK ITEMS FROM HER ‘SUICIDE’ SCENE BEFORE POLICE SEARCH
The Greenbergs and outside investigators have questioned why authorities allowed the crime scene to be professionally cleaned and sanitized before detectives arrived with a search warrant, according to court records.
“Just as Dr. Osbourne was conducting his autopsy … ultimately concluding Ellen’s death was a homicide, the premises where Ellen was murdered were thoroughly cleaned,” documents state.
The Greenbergs have also questioned why Goldberg’s uncle, James Schwartzman, a prominent Pennsylvania judge, was allowed to enter the apartment and remove a number of Ellen’s belongings, including her computer and cellphone.
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During last week’s hearing, Erdos dismissed one of the defendants in the lawsuit against city officials involved but withheld judgment on the other four defendants. Erdos asked Podraza to file briefs outlining how he intends to show a jury that the remaining defendants directly and intentionally, not just recklessly, inflicted emotional distress upon the Greenbergs.
“It’s a steep climb but not an impossible climb. … You have a fighting chance,” Erdos said during the hearing in reference to the Greenbergs’ lawsuit.
The defendant dismissed was Lyndsey Emery, a former pathologist with the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office who was asked in 2019 to examine a section of Greenberg’s preserved spinal column. The other four defendants named in the lawsuit include Osbourne, the former city pathologist who conducted Greenberg’s autopsy; former Chief Medical Examiner Sam Gulino; retired Homicide Sgt. Tim Cooney; and Homicide Det. John McNamee.
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Over the years, forensic pathologists, crime scene experts, former law enforcement officials and attorneys have expressed doubts about Greenberg’s suicide ruling. And Goldberg recently broke his silence on the death of his bride-to-be, seemingly believing otherwise.
“When Ellen took her own life, it left me bewildered. She was a wonderful and a kind person who had everything to live for. When she died, a part of me died with her,” Goldberg told CNN in his first public statement about Greenberg’s death.
“Unimaginably, in the years that have passed, I have had to endure the unimaginable passing of my future wife and the pathetic and despicable attempts to desecrate my reputation and her privacy by creating a narrative that embraces lies, distortions and falsehoods in order to avoid the truth. Mental illness is very real and has many victims.”
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Greenberg’s 20 stab wounds included 10 from behind, at least one of which could have been inflicted after she was already dead, according to court documents. She was also found covered in bruises in different stages of healing, implying she had received them over the course of some time, according to the autopsy report.
“My daughter was being abused,” her father previously told Fox News Digital. “She had injuries on her body consistent with abuse.”
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Dr. Cyril Wecht, a famed forensic pathologist who conducted an independent review of the autopsy, found the evidence “strongly suspicious of homicide.”
Wecht, who died in May, previously told Fox News Digital that after looking at the forensic evidence, he believed the idea that Greenberg could have died by suicide was “highly, highly unlikely.”
Greenberg’s parents previously said that while a psychiatrist, Dr. Ellen Berman, had diagnosed the 27-year-old with anxiety before her death, the psychiatrist also noted that Greenberg did not have suicidal thoughts or feelings.
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In addition to their latest lawsuit, the Greenbergs previously filed another active lawsuit in 2019, aiming to have the designation of “suicide” on her death certificate replaced with “homicide” or “undetermined.” That case is pending before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Philadelphia Police did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. They have previously declined to discuss the case. Goldberg did not immediately respond for comment.
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A representative for Schwartzman previously responded to the claims that he removed items from the scene on his behalf, telling Fox News Digital that police gave Schwartzman permission to go in and take Greenberg’s belongings, confirming he had removed her computers and cellphones.
How homeowner ended up in jail after trying to move back in own house
A Georgia homeowner was arrested and charged with criminal trespass after she attempted to move back into her own house, which was reportedly inhabited by a squatter, according to WSB-TV.
“To see that woman walk into my mom’s house while I was in the police car, something is wrong with this picture. Something is inherently wrong with this picture,” the homeowner, Loletha Hale, told WSB-TV.
The incident occurred on December 9, after Hale reportedly returned to her house to clean up, after a judge ruled in her favor in a months-long battle with Sakemeyia Johnson, the alleged squatter.
The police said, according to WSB-TV, that Hale “executed an illegal eviction and forcibly removed Ms. Johnson’s belongings.”
SQUATTERS TAKE OVER SECOND ABANDONED HOLLYWOOD HILLS MANSION OWNED BY SON OF PHILLIES OWNER
“I spent the night on a mat on a concrete floor in deplorable conditions. While this woman, this squatter slept in my home,” Hale told the outlet.
The police confirmed with the judge that Hale did not have a “signed writ of possession,” which would allow Hale to legally evict Johnson.
“She just caught up out of nowhere. She had this guy with him, and I locked the door. I locked the screen door, and he forced himself in telling us to get out,” Johnson told the police of the incident.
Hale told the outlet that she thought Johnson had moved out of the home after she was handed the victory in court in November.
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“I returned on Monday to start painting and she had broken the locks at my property,” Hale said.
Johnson has not been charged with any crimes, according to WSB-TV.
Georgia has seen an uptick in squatter cases being brought to court in recent years.
A report by the Pacific Legal Foundation found an upward trend in squatter cases being brought to court beginning in 2019. The number of these cases in Georgia rose from three in 2017 to 50 in 2021.
In 2023, there were 198 civil court cases involving squatting in the Peach State, according to the report.
The Clayton County Police Department did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Why Disney is turning some visitors away when they make specific request
Disneyland Resort guests looking to stock up on a favorite holiday treat will have to settle for just a few per customer this year, or get creative as some have.
Mickey Mouse-shaped gingerbread cookies are currently selling for $7.49 each, but are limited to “five per person, per transaction,” according to the online menus for park eateries, including the Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe and Market House.
“It’s literally Christmas in a cookie,” parkgoer Tiffany Calderon said to SFGATE. She said her family visits Disneyland three times a year, making it their mission to collect 20 Mickey gingerbreads during the holidays in over to freeze at home and eat year-round. “It feels like home,” she added. “Just cuddling up on a couch, watching some Christmas movies, getting a gingerbread cookie out and just — small bites, make it last. Make it linger.”
This year, however, Disneyland is trying to prevent hoarding – not only by capping the amount people can buy at one time, but also by occasionally suspending mobile sales to keep the items from selling out.
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Some guests, however, are going around the park to place orders for the mouse-shaped cookies at multiple storefronts – and even heading over to the Grand Californian Hotel, where they sell for $10 a pop.
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Many say they don’t just love the taste of the snack, noting that it has sentimental value too.
“This is how Christmas started,” Jennifer Walker told SFGATE, remembering how she and her parents “would do the Holiday Time at Disneyland Tour, and they would serve that specific cookie.”
Walker said she collected 24 cookies during her last visit to the “Happiest Place on Earth,” with a total of 35 this year. But they’re not all for her.
“One of them went to my parents’ graveside,” she told SFGATE. “So my mom still gets her Mickey gingerbread.”
She passed out others as work gifts.
“It turned out my coworker had the same tradition with her mom,” Walker said. “Christmas would start when they would have their Mickey gingerbread. So when I had it on her desk, she literally cried because she wasn’t going to make it this year. She’s like, ‘Oh my God, you’re going to help us keep a Christmas tradition.’”
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| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIS | THE WALT DISNEY CO. | 117.47 | -0.13 | -0.11% |
Gingerbread is big business at Disney parks, and not just in edible form. There is a lot of merchandise featuring the festive treat, such as clothing and gingerbread house popcorn buckets, which can also be found all the way across the country at Walt Disney World in Orlando, for those who are lucky.
Disneyland did not immediately respond to a Fox Business inquiry.
The religious item that has seen sales skyrocket: ‘People are hungry for truth’
Briana Fitzpatrick grew up in a Christian family and felt a strong connection to a higher power. But it wasn’t until this time last year that the young, New York-based artist finally decided to buy her first Bible.
The inspiration came to Fitzpatrick as she was sitting with her father, watching a documentary about “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson.
“He pulled out his Bible and … you could tell he’d had it for decades and decades. It was just held together with duct tape,” Fitzpatrick told Fox News Digital. She began to imagine having her own Bible that she could pass down for generations, filled with highlights and notes that her children could read and “see how the Lord spoke to me through it.”
Fitzpatrick is among the young, first-time Bible buyers publishers say are fueling a new surge in sales.
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Bible sales rose 22% through October compared to the same period last year, according to data released this month by Circana Bookscan. Total U.S. print book sales were only up 1%, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the trend.
“The religion book market has been a bright spot of growth within the total book market since the pandemic,” Brenna Connor, an industry analyst with Circana, told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Bibles are leading that growth, but other subjects like Christian Life and Biblical Studies are also up, reflecting increased interest for Christian subjects in the U.S.”
Print Bible sales hit a five-year low of just under 8.9 million in 2020, according to Circana’s data, before beginning to tick upward again. Sales surpassed 13.7 million in the first 10 months of this year, Circana reported.
The increase in Bible sales comes even as polling shows a decline in religiosity across the country.
The share of Americans identifying with a Christian religion hit a low of 68% last year, according to Gallup polling. Half a century ago, 87% of adults in the U.S. identified as Christian, Gallup found. About 28% of American adults are now religiously unaffiliated, according to Pew Research.
“Some people, sure they’re not going back to church, but they are reaching out to the Bible,” Minnesota-based Bishop Robert Barron told Fox News Digital.
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“Let’s face it, the Bible has been — certainly for Western civilization, but even all over the world — the main source of meaning, purpose, value,” Barron said. “I think people are turning back to the Bible in greater numbers because they’re looking for that, and they realize instinctively they’re going to find it.”
He also speculated that Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson could be adding to the trend, since he has been “talking about the biblical text in a way that people find very compelling.” Barron added that he’s seeing a notable shift away from the New Atheism of the early 2000s.
“I think in the beginning some people thought, ‘Oh, great. Stick it to the man, and I’m against religion.’ But when you take that message in, what are you left with? It’s a complete nihilism,” Barron said, adding that he hasn’t been surprised by rising rates of depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation, particularly among young people. “That’s what happens when you say there’s no meaning or purpose.”
Publishers similarly suggested the Bible boom could be a natural consequence of a general feeling of anxiety in the world.
“I do think people are hungry for truth, and hungry for purpose and meaning and a sense of direction, especially for the past few years,” Fitzpatrick said. “I think a lot of us are like, what is going on? Who do we trust? What do we turn to?'”
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Fitzpatrick said having a physical Bible revolutionized her spiritual journey. She has read the Bible every day since making the purchase, and even started attending Bible study groups.
She shared her purchase on social media, and said her followers have been supportive and even inspired to buy their own Bibles — or dust off a long-neglected copy.
“It’s so neat to see how God uses social media and stuff, which can sometimes have a really bad rap,” she said, adding, “But [He] can use it to shine his love and his light through people.”