Object ignited at NYC protest was bomb capable of ‘serious injury or death,’ NYPD confirms

New York City officials have confirmed that a device ignited and thrown during protests near Gracie Mansion on Saturday was an improvised explosive device (IED) capable of causing “serious injury or death.”

In a statement posted to X on Sunday, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the department’s Bomb Squad determined the device was neither a hoax nor a smoke bomb.

“The NYPD Bomb Squad has conducted a preliminary analysis of a device that was ignited and deployed at a protest yesterday and has determined that it is not a hoax device or a smoke bomb,” Tisch wrote. “It is, in fact, an improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death.”

Authorities are continuing to analyze a second device recovered at the scene, Tisch said.

As of Sunday evening, a third device has been found at the scene, a federal source told Fox News.

Police arrested Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi on Saturday. Both remain in custody.

Three federal law enforcement sources told Fox News that the two suspects are believed to be U.S. citizens and that one suspect allegedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” before igniting and throwing the IED into a crowd.

The NYPD is working alongside the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the FBI through the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

“I want to again thank the brave members of the NYPD who ran towards the danger without hesitation and quickly apprehended the suspects,” Tisch added.

The incident unfolded during dueling demonstrations Saturday morning near East End Avenue and East 87th Street, just steps from Gracie Mansion, the official residence of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

One rally was organized by right-wing activist Jake Lang to oppose public Muslim prayer. Counter-protesters also gathered at the scene. 

Though police initially kept the groups separated, tensions escalated after pepper spray was deployed during a confrontation.

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Approximately 30 minutes later, authorities say an 18-year-old counter-protester ignited and threw a device toward the protest area. Witnesses reported seeing flames and smoke before it extinguished itself near responding officers.

Police say the 18-year-old then retrieved a second device from a 19-year-old, lit it, and attempted to flee. 

Both suspects – identified as Balat and Kayumi – were taken into custody.

Three additional arrests were made on charges including disorderly conduct and obstructing traffic.

Bomb squad technicians on Saturday described the devices as jars wrapped in black tape, slightly smaller than a football. 

X-rays revealed nuts, bolts and screws inside – materials commonly used as improvised shrapnel – along with a hobby fuse that could be lit. 

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Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned both the protest and the violence in a statement posted Sunday.

“Such hate has no place in New York City. It is an affront to our city’s values and the unity that defines who we are,” Mamdani wrote. “What followed was even more disturbing. Violence at a protest is never acceptable. The attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are.”

He thanked NYPD officers for their response and said his administration is “closely monitoring the situation.”

The NYPD could not be immediately reached by Fox News Digital for comment.

Trump ally in Europe dissolves parliament amid growing constitutional crisis

The Balkan nation of Kosovo is facing a constitutional crisis after a deadline passed for electing a new head of state. Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, an ally of President Donald Trump, dissolved parliament and called for snap elections.

With conflicts raging around the globe and pressure on the NATO contingent based in the West Balkan nation to keep the peace, Osmani told reporters that “precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up. It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next,” she said, according to Kiro7.

Trump recently praised Kosovo’s president for the “great job” she is doing in her country in a February speech. Osmani accepted an invitation from Trump to join the Board of Peace in January and has pledged resources to the International Stabilization Force for Gaza.

Kosovo faces another possible domestic change that could impact Osmani’s standing. There is chatter of an impending reduction or reorganization of the international NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, KFOR, which has been in place since 1999 to stabilize the country following war in the Balkans.

The commander of the peacekeeping force, Maj. Gen. Özkan Ulutaş, said in February that the U.S. does not plan to reduce its troop numbers in Kosovo, according to Reporteri. About 600 American troops are currently deployed in the country.

Following Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008, tensions between the countries have remained high.

Former Albanian Prime Minister Pandeli Majko told Fox News Digital, “Kosovo needs governance and then a compromise for the election of the president.” He said he “hopes that the Constitutional Court will provide a solution.”

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The Kosovo Parliament has been besieged by stalemate for more than a year. Balkan Insight reported that a February 2025 poll failed to result in the formation of a government. Snap elections in December resulted in a win for the Vetevendosje party of Prime Minister Albin Kurti, but the party could not garner enough support from the opposition to elect a president.

Friday’s vote failed because the session fell 14 members short of a quorum. Opposition members boycotted the vote because they did not support Kurti’s nominee, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora of Kosovo Glauk Konjufca.

Osmani met with opposition party leaders Friday, a meeting Kurti chose not to attend. The prime minister said that “there should be a failure to elect a president in the third round before dissolving parliament and going to new elections.”

Kurti’s party has appealed to the Constitutional Court for a review of the constitutionality of the election process, according to the European Western Balkans site.

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New elections may be held as early as April 5, opposition leader Ramush Haradinaj suggested.

Majko told Fox News Digital that he does not see the debate between the parties as a problem, explaining that their ranking in the elections would not change even if they were held again. He said the idea of early elections is an exhausting political crisis that does not produce solutions.

Chaos erupts after SWAT swarms Southwest jet: ‘Heads down, hands up!’

Passengers endured a terrifying ordeal last Friday when SWAT teams reportedly swarmed their plane and forcibly removed a passenger at gunpoint following an emergency landing prompted by a potential security threat.

The removal occurred after 9 p.m. in Atlanta on Southwest Airlines Flight 2094, which had departed from Nashville and was bound for Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport near Miami, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). 

“Southwest Airlines Flight 2094 landed safely at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) Friday evening after diverting to respond to a possible security matter,” a Southwest spokesperson told Fox 5 Atlanta.  

According to witness reports on social media, passengers had been sitting on the plane for over an hour confused when authorities suddenly swarmed the jet and ordered everyone to put their “heads down, hands up.”

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Multiple videos that went viral showed frightened passengers raising their hands above their heads as tactical units wearing “Atlanta Police” vests swarmed the plane to arrest an individual.  

The officers were then heard yelling at the passenger, “Stand up, let’s go, stand up,” before they cuffed and dragged him away.

Authorities said multiple local and federal agencies responded to what the FAA described as a “passenger disturbance.”

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The FBI’s Atlanta office said their agency, along with the Atlanta Police Department, investigated and interviewed the individual, but found no credible threat and confirmed that no charges will be filed.

Authorities did not explain why the passenger in question triggered a security response, but witnesses on social media said he appeared agitated when flight crews stowed his large bag in the overhead bins rather than under the seat. During the flight, fellow passengers reportedly saw him texting something that appeared to resemble a threat.

Sarah Porter, who was seated three rows behind the passenger in question, described the incident as “one of the scariest moments of my life” in a video that went viral over the weekend.

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After the passenger was removed, the remaining travelers sat on the plane on the runway for another 90 minutes before deboarding and allowing police canines to check their bags, according to Porter. 

Passengers were eventually able to board a new aircraft and arrive in Florida around 4 a.m, Porter said, adding that the short two-hour flight turned into a nine-hour nightmare. 

FOX Business reached out to Southwest Airlines for more information.

Deion Sanders breaks down at funeral saying, ‘I wanted to send you back a man’

Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders gave an emotional eulogy at the funeral of his sophomore quarterback Dominiq Ponder, who died in a tragic car crash this past week. Ponder was 23. 

Sanders went up to the microphone after Ponder’s family, saying it “didn’t feel right” to do so, but he couldn’t help feeling “inspired” by their words.

Then, Sanders, a spiritual man in his own right, began to speak. 

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“We always ask questions about why this happened … ’God, why this and why that?’” Sanders said. 

“When we’re successful, we’re excelling, and overcoming adversity, we never ask God, ‘Why?’ then. Only in our demise and sadness of life, we challenge and ask God,’ Why?’ I think I’ve got the solution.”

Sanders, then, started to speak about his former signal caller. 

“As I look right there, and look at a young man so full of life – so full of respect, bustle, hard work, and integrity. I ask God, ‘For real?’ And he whispered: ‘Dom was chosen.’

“Dom was chosen to unite y’all, to bring you all together. Dom was chosen.”

“Coach Prime” directed part of his eulogy to Ponder’s parents, which led to him getting understandably choked up at the podium. 

“The only darn thing I have regret for is that when you sent us a boy. I wanted to send you back a man,” Sanders said, taking a pause to try and control his emotions. 

Ponder had been a walk-on quarterback with the Buffaloes in Sanders’ first season, as he tried to configure his team. He already had his son, Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders, set to start for Colorado after their success at Jackson State. But Ponder and others in the quarterback room were looking to work and develop under the elder Sanders’ tutelage. 

Ponder saw appearances in two of the Buffaloes’ games last season. 

But while Sanders has a regret about Ponder, his parents gave him praise, issuing a statement thanking “Coach Prime” for his “unwavering generosity, support, and love shown to our family.” They also thanked everyone for their “heartfelt gratitude” in a separate statement.

Sanders called an emergency meeting with his Buffaloes roster after learning of Ponder’s death, and a raw scene shared on social media showed him comforting emotional players. Sanders himself was emotional while delivering a speech to his team. 

“His character, humor, work ethic, and tenacity. It’s something that I want us to remember,” he said in the clip. 

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Sanders also confirmed Ponder’s death last Sunday with a social media post. 

“God please comfort the Ponder family, friends and loved ones,” Sanders wrote on social media. “Dom was one of my favorites! He was Loved, Respected & a Born Leader. Let’s pray for all that knew him & had the opportunity to be in his presence. Lord you’re receiving a good 1. Comfort us Lord Comfort us.”

Valerie Jarrett says President Trump not invited to Obama Presidential Center opening

Former Obama White House adviser Valerie Jarrett said on Saturday that President Trump has not been invited to participate in the opening ceremony of the Obama Presidential Center.

According to a press release, the Obama Presidential Center’s grand opening celebrations will begin on June 18 and last through June 21, including “a series of events that bring together the changemakers, community members, volunteers, and supporters who made the Obama presidency a reality and that welcomes visitors to celebrate the power of hope and change.”

Jarrett spoke about the upcoming opening ceremonies for the center on MS Now’s “The Weekend” with Jonathan Capehart, who asked, “So when things like this presidential centers or presidential libraries — I was there for President Clinton’s presidential library opening — there are all sorts of dignitaries who are there who are invited. And so I’m just wondering, Valerie, is President Trump invited?”

She gave a response clarifying that only those who played a part in former President Barack Obama’s political journey would be a part of the opening ceremony.

“As I said, this is really a chance for us to celebrate with the people who joined President Obama on this journey, the ordinary people who did the extraordinary things. So, no, but I will say, I hasten to add, that after we open to the public, should President Trump want to come and tour the center, President Obama would be delighted for him to do so.”

“That was a very heavy ‘No,’ Valerie,” co-host Eugene Daniels chuckled. 

“And I’m curious what you think about a country feeling beleaguered, President Obama being the person who represented hope. What does it mean that this center will open under the backdrop of all of that that’s going on in this country right now?” Daniels asked. 

Jarrett responded by arguing that at times like this, people need to remind themselves of the value of hope in hard circumstances.

“That’s why it’s more important than ever to have a center like this where people can come together. Not everyone will agree,” she said. “In fact, we welcome people who have differences of opinions. We welcome people who didn’t vote for President Obama to realize that we can find common ground, even in these challenging times.”

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Daniels went on to ask whether former President George W. Bush would be invited. 

“Sure,” Jarrett said. “You know, we work really closely with President Bush. And I often say that during the transition, and I was one of the co-chairs of President Obama’s transition, President Bush and his team could not have been more supportive to us when we had the weeks the country or the world experienced the Haitian earthquake, President Bush and President Clinton worked together on the Haitian relief fund. President Obama and President Bush were closely to try to encourage people to take COVID vaccines.”

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Disneyland may scrap long-standing park rule that frustrated visitors

Disneyland Resort may be ending its 11 a.m. park-hopping rule, allowing guests to move between its two theme parks at any time of day.

The change applies to visitors with Park Hopper tickets and Magic Key passes, who previously had to wait until late morning before crossing between Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure, theme park website, WDWNT reported.

If implemented, guests would still need to make a reservation and enter their starting park first. After that, visitors would be able to switch parks at any time of day, subject to capacity and operating hours.

Disneyland’s official website still lists the 11 a.m. hopping window, and the company has not publicly announced an implementation date.

The 11 a.m. crossover window has been in place since Disneyland introduced its park reservation system after reopening.

On Reddit, many Disneyland fans welcomed the reported change.

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“Finally! I never liked having to wait until 11 to park hop,” one user wrote.

Another added, “That’s great news! Now we won’t have the usual influx of park goers trying to cross over right at 11am.”

Visitors often structured mornings around a single park, waiting until late morning to access the second. The policy influenced ride strategies, Lightning Lane reservations and dining plans, particularly for frequent visitors who relied on flexibility, a user explained.

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For now, guests planning upcoming trips are encouraged to check Disneyland’s website and app for the latest updates before making park reservations.

Fox News Digital reached out to Disney for comment.

The park-hopping shift comes as Disney continues making updates to attractions and guest policies.

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At Walt Disney World in Florida, the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith closed earlier this month after nearly three decades in operation, WDWNT reported.

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The attraction is being reimagined with a new theme featuring The Muppets, with the updated version expected to reopen later this year.

Jessica Alba flaunts romance with ‘Top Gun’ star in steamy Mexico getaway

Jessica Alba shared a peek at her loved-up getaway to Mexico City with boyfriend Danny Ramirez.

The actress posted a carousel of images from their fun-filled trip, which included exploring the city and going to restaurants together.

Alba shared sweet moments in the photo dump, including an image of herself kissing Ramirez on the cheek and another photo of Ramirez kissing her cheek.

The mother of three captioned the carousel: “The best week in one of my favorite cities – belly full, heart fuller #CDMX.”

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Alba stunned in a casual white top, cream cardigan, jeans and baseball cap as she enjoyed tacos.

They also walked around the city, and the star shared a sweet snap of them together – with Alba gazing lovingly at Ramirez.

Alba also posted artwork she saw, and historical pieces that featured Frida Kahlo.

She also sported an all-black ensemble for another day out exploring the city.

Alba and Ramirez were first seen together in May 2025, and were seen arriving back to Los Angeles from Cancún, Mexico in July.

According to an Us Weekly source, “they were friends before it turned romantic and have a lot of mutual friends.”

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They made their red carpet debut on Oct. 3, 2025, at the “Valentina” premiere at the Mill Valley Film Festival.

Soon after, while the star was in Australia filming her new movie “The Mark,” Alba debuted her relationship with the Top Gun star.

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She shared a photo of her holding hands with Ramirez while walking down a wooden staircase leading to the beach.

Her Instagram post marked the first time they appeared together on social media.

Alba filed for divorce from her husband of 16 years, Cash Warren, in February 2025.

WATCH: UN Ambassador Waltz quickly shuts down anchor’s ‘war’ question

United States Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz argued to Kristen Welker on Sunday that President Donald Trump has not started a war with Iran, but that he is merely finishing it.

Waltz was asked during NBC’s “Meet the Press” whether the US is indeed at war with Iran, suggesting the conflict actually began in 1979 under then-President Jimmy Carter.

Waltz had formerly been a national security advisor to the Trump administration, but was removed from the role on May 1, 2025, after reportedly coordinating with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu behind the president’s back on possible military options for Iran while Trump was still pursuing peaceful negotiation, followed by the SignalGate controversy.

Welker shared clips of Trump referring to his current military actions in Iran as a “war” and reiterated her question, noting, “As you know, words matter. Does that front administration, do you, describe this as a war against Iran?”

“Well, I describe it as Iran has been at war with us, as I just said,” Waltz replied.

He continued, arguing Trump is not starting a war, but “ending it.”

“President Trump is ending it,” he replied. “I will leave it to the lawyers and those who deal with Congress in terms of the War Powers act, which every administration has viewed as unconstitutional. That said, Secretary Rubio has been there day after day and week after week in the recent months, to appropriately brief congressional leaders.”

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He went on to pivot the conversation, saying, “I’ll tell you, you know, who does believe that they are being attacked. It is the soldiers that have been buried for many, many years as a result of Iranian attacks and the proxy attacks, Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and others in Beirut in 1983 and Iraq, through those years, over 600 American soldiers, so, I mean, we need to take a step back and look at how many billions, how much time, how much treasure that administration after administration has spent dealing with this.”

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“President Trump put diplomacy first, both last year and this year. It was clear the Iranians were not negotiating in good faith, had no intention of backing away from its nuclear intentions,” he claimed. “We are trying to protect it with a massive phalanx and shield of ballistic missiles that they were quadrupling their production of on a month-by-month basis, and finally President Trump said enough is enough.”

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