Tag: crime

Federal Funds For Local Obedience: Immigration Clause Puts Dems In Bind

A little-noticed provision in the “Big Beautiful Bill” forces blue states and cities to make a tough choice: Comply with federal immigration law or lose federal money for criminal justice aid.

President Trump’s signature piece of legislation allocated $3.3 billion to the DOJ, some of which will go toward the Byrne-JAG Grant Program, a federal initiative created in 2005 which provides support for local law enforcement and criminal justice efforts. To access the new funds, which supplement the $499 million already appropriated for the Byrne-JAG program in 2025, localities must comply with a section of federal immigration law that forbids them from restricting communication between their law enforcement entities and the Department of Homeland Security regarding an individual’s immigration status. This provides an incentive for localities to share their information with federal immigration authorities, helping the Trump administration implement its immigration enforcement agenda, but it also runs the risk of misallocating federal support.

This condition poses a dilemma for Democrats: Do they accept the demands of the Trump administration in return for money they need to run their cities and localities? Or do they maintain their longstanding opposition to deportation and turn it down?

Across the country, Democratic Party leaders are competing to be the face of opposition to the Trump administration. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has tried to position himself as one of the leaders of the opposition to President Trump. New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani has called himself “Donald Trump’s worst nightmare” and has stated that “I will not be working with the [Trump] administration on harming the people that I look to represent.”

But sticking with this position means their constituents won’t benefit from the additional funding that other localities will be able to use to lower their local fiscal burden and make their communities safer.

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Police search for suspect in killing of couple hiking with daughters at Arkansas park

Police are searching for a suspect in the deaths of a couple who were attacked on a trail in Arkansas on Saturday while walking with their two daughters, according to investigators.

Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, were found dead at Devil’s Den State Park in Washington County in a suspected double homicide, Arkansas State Police (ASP) said. Their daughters, ages 7 and 9, were not injured and are now safely with family members.

Police added that the couple had recently moved to Prairie Grove from out of state.

Investigators asked that anyone who visited the park on Saturday check their cellphone photos and videos or GoPro footage for any images of the suspect.

They also want any individuals who live in the vicinity of the park to notify ASP if they have access to security and game camera footage.

Officials described the suspect as a white man wearing dark shorts, a dark ballcap, sunglasses and fingerless gloves. He was seen driving towards the park exit in a black four-door sedan, believed to be a Mazda, with a license plate that may be covered by electrical or duct tape.

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Money, sex and a Buddhist monk: Head of China’s famed Shaolin Temple under investigation

China’s famed Shaolin Temple announced on Sunday that its abbot is under investigation for suspected embezzlement and “improper relationships” with women, reviving decade-old allegations against the controversial, high-profile monk.

Shi Yongxin, known as “CEO monk” for his entrepreneurial endeavors that transformed the Buddhist monastery into a commercial empire, is suspected of criminal offenses including embezzlement and misappropriation of project funds and temple assets, the temple’s authority said in a statement.

The 59-year-old monk was also accused of seriously violating Buddhist precepts by maintaining “improper relationships” with multiple women over an extended period and fathering at least one child, according to the statement.

Buddhist monks in China have traditionally been expected to take a vow of celibacy.

“(Shi) is currently under joint investigation by multiple departments. Further information will be released to the public in due course,” the statement added.

CNN has not been able to contact Shi.

Established more than 1,500 years ago in the forested mountains of central China, the Shaolin Temple is both a religious and cultural icon, renowned for its age-old tradition of Zen Buddhism and Shaolin kung fu – a distinct form of Chinese martial arts.

Shi, who became the abbot of the Shaolin Temple in 1999 and was a member of China’s rubber-stamp parliament for two decades, has frequently appeared in the media spotlight.

Known as the first Chinese abbot to hold a Master of Business Administration degree, he was often seen globetrotting with an iPhone in hand, meeting world leaders and industry titans – from the late Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, late South African president Nelson Mandela, and Henry Kissinger to Apple CEO Tim Cook.

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Drones, cameras, AI: University of Illinois real time crime center raises privacy concerns

Thousands of cameras. A fleet of drones. Gun shot detection devices. Stationary and vehicle-mounted automatic license plate readers.

A major metropolitan city? No, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Real-Time Information Center furnishes the institution’s Division of Public Safety with a number of technologically sophisticated tools that have some privacy experts alarmed.

The drones, gunshot detection devices, automatic license plate readers, and campus-wide system of roughly 3,000 security cameras are among the tools currently utilized at the campus, which enrolls about 59,000 students.

Social media monitoring programs and “AI-driven video analytics software” are also among the technologies being evaluated for possible future implementation, according to a document sent by Urbana Police Chief Larry Boone.

He sent it to city officials as they deliberate a proposed city ordinance to establish stricter approval, oversight, and transparency requirements for Urbana’s own acquisition and use of the kinds of surveillance tools being used by the university’s Real-Time Information Center.

According to the document, the Real-Time Information Center provides a wide array of services designed to enhance public safety, streamline operations, and support law enforcement agencies.

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How a three-star migrant hotel in Barbican became a living nightmare for locals: Blazing mattresses and a TV hurled from windows… and no fewer than 41 ‘guests’ charged with 90 offences ranging from rape to sexual assault, robbery and bag snatching

Woken by police to be told that his car had been damaged, Ufuoma Odoh wasn’t prepared for the scene that confronted him.

The Volvo XC40, parked on the street around the corner from his London flat, was missing its rear windscreen – smashed by a television hurled out of the window of a nearby hotel room.

In the past, such loutish antics were the preserve of rich, drug-addled rock stars. Today, it’s just part of the day-to-day reality of living alongside one of the many hotels now given over to asylum seekers.

Because, as 49-year-old Mr Odoh discovered, the free board and lodging laid on courtesy of the British taxpayer is absolutely no guarantee of good behaviour.

‘At first, police searched the first two floors of the hotel, discovered no TVs were missing, and closed the case,’ the council worker explained of the incident last month.

‘Then the manager found a TV missing on the fourth floor and called the police, who arrested the person who did it. They took him to the police station and questioned him, but they claimed there was not enough proof as nobody had seen him throw the TV out of the window. I said, “But the manager told you he did it. Is that not enough?” They insisted it wasn’t.’

When Mr Odoh complained to the Home Office about what had happened, he was told that he should take the matter up with his insurers. Rather than make a claim and push up his premiums, he has now shelled out £750 of his own money to make good the damage.

And Mr Odoh is far from alone in counting the cost – financial, emotional and more – of living next to migrant lodgings.

Last weekend, The Mail on Sunday revealed the shocking scale of serious crime committed by asylum seekers living in hotels in communities across Britain.

An audit of court records found that of occupants at 70 hotels – just a third of those used – a remarkable 312 had been charged with 708 criminal offences.

Most shocking of all was the finding that one hotel alone – the three-star Thistle City Barbican in London – had seen 41 migrants listed at the address charged with more than 90 offences in the past year alone. Today, a closer analysis of those crimes paints a worrying picture of the real-life impact of placing asylum seekers – including those who have crossed the Channel in small boats – in the heart of towns and cities.

Charges brought include rape, arson, sexual assault, affray, actual bodily harm, strangulation, robbery, theft and shoplifting. Knife crime and drink and drug offences are commonplace, as are attacks on police officers going about their duties. Those accused of the crimes are all men, with the vast majority aged in their 20s and 30s. Many of those convicted are dealt with by means of suspended or community sentences. In a number of cases warrants have been issued for arrest after defendants failed to attend court hearings.

Financial penalties and costs were also often waived because the defendants were found to have ‘no means’. Given that the London hotel has recently also been identified as a hub for illegal working, some will regard that as a particular irony.

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Feds allowed thousands of juvenile gang members, criminals to become citizens

Congress has created several programs to allow illegal border crossers claiming to be minors to remain in the U.S. Despite years of documented abuse of the programs, Congress continues to fund them to the tune of billions of dollars.

One is the failed unaccompanied minor program, with decades of documented reports of abuse and neglect of children, The Center Square has reported. Another is the Special Immigrant Juvenile Petition (SIJP) program that allows illegal foreign national minors already involved in the juvenile court system to remain in the U.S. and obtain a pathway to citizenship.

For decades, the SIJP has been exploited by criminal actors to enable thousands of violent gang members and suspected terrorists to obtain lawful permanent resident (LPR) status and become U.S. citizens, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) says in a new report, “Criminality, Gangs, and Program Integrity Concerns in Special Immigrant Juvenile Petitions.”

Instead of requiring that illegal foreign national minors be vetted, including conducting criminal background checks, locating and verifying family members, and implementing a repatriation process, Congress in 1990 established the SIJP process without any prohibitions. The primary requirement for a SIJP is for a state juvenile court to determine that the minor could not reunify with one or both parents due to abuse, neglect or abandonment.

Congress never included a prohibition for juveniles with criminal records or a moral character standard requirement.

Under current law, nearly all SIJP applicants are approved, allowing them to obtain lawful permanent resident (LPR) status and eventually U.S. citizenship.

The USCIS evaluated more than 300,000 SIJP applications filed between fiscal year 2013 through February 2025 and found that nearly 19,000 applicants had criminal arrests, including 120 for murder.

More than 500 were identified as known or suspected MS-13 gang members whose applications were approved; at least 70 had been charged with gang-related federal racketeering offenses.

At least 200 had been convicted of sex crimes and were registered in the National Sex Offender Registry.

From fiscal 2020 through 2024, 198,414 SIJP applications were approved. Among them, 52% weren’t even eligible because they were over age 18 and legally adults.

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Retailers Accused Of “Racism” As They Flee Black Neighborhoods In Milwaukee

Milwaukee is the latest in a long list of US cities facing a rapid retail exodus in minority neighborhoods and once again the blame is being placed on the companies in question rather than the behavior of the residents as they protests the rising tide of “food deserts”.

At the beginning of July, city officials mounted a public outcry after Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. announced the decision to close at least five Pick ‘n Save supermarket locations, including one in Milwaukee’s Metcalfe Park neighborhood. 

The city was also notified by Walgreens that they will be closing at least seven locations over the next two years and CVS will be closing some locations as well.  Activists argue that the closures center around “black and brown neighborhoods” and that these areas “deserve access” to nearby grocery outlets.  

Kroger’s decision was discussed at a July 2 meeting of the Common Council’s Community and Economic Development Committee.  Many people walk or take the bus to buy food, said Alderwoman Sharlen P. Moore. If the store is gone, they may have nowhere close to shop.  “This impacts our city,” Moore said. “They’re closing quite a bit of grocery stores that are in neighborhoods that absolutely have no access to groceries.”

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Son of Would-Be Trump Assassin Ryan Routh Sentenced to 7 Years For Child P*rn

Oran Routh, son of would-be assassin Ryan Routh who was arrested last year for child pornography, was sentenced to 7 years in prison.

“On Friday morning, Oran Routh appeared in federal court for sentencing for a count of possessing child pornography of a child under the age of 12. He pleaded guilty to this charge in exchange for his other charges, which included multiple counts of possessing and transporting child pornography, being dismissed,” WGHP reported.

“The judge sentenced him to 7 years in prison with 5 years of supervised probation,” the outlet reported.

Oran Routh was taken into custody after investigators found hundreds of child porn files on his Galaxy Note during a search of his North Carolina residence last year.

“A review of the SD card located in Device-1 revealed that it contained hundreds of child pornography files,” prosecutors wrote in the criminal complaint, according to ABC News. “These files include videos from a known child pornography series created outside the state of North Carolina.”

Oran previously spoke with the Daily Mail about his father.

Ryan Routh is currently in federal custody on charges of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate and other firearms violations.

“My dad hates Trump like every reasonable person does.” He even went so far as to say, “I don’t like Trump either,” but in the next breath tried to downplay his father’s actions, claiming, “He’s not a violent person.”

“He’s my dad and all he’s had is couple traffic tickets, as far as I know… That’s crazy. I know my dad and love my dad, but that’s nothing like him.”

“He said he was at the beach, but I thought that meant the outer banks in Hawaii,” Oran said.

The father and son had reportedly had a “falling out,” though Oran declined to elaborate on the reasons.

“I didn’t ask him for more information because we’ve had a falling out. We’ve grown apart.”

Despite their distance, Oran insisted, “He’s not a violent person. He’s a hard worker and a great dad. He’s a great dude, a nice guy and has worked his whole f***king life.”

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Suspected Minnesota assassin claims he was part of a 2-year undercover investigation

Suspected assassin Vance Luther Boelter said that before the gruesome June 14 killings in suburban Minneapolis, he was part of an undercover investigation of what he called the “sudden and unexpected deaths of 400 Minnesota citizens and ties between Minnesota politicians and the Chinese government.”

In his latest bizarre exchange with the media, the jailed Boelter continued to spin wild tales that allegedly explain the shooting rampage that killed state Rep. Melissa Hortman (DFL-Brooklyn Park) and her husband, Mark, and seriously wounded state Sen. John Hoffman (DFL-Champlin) and his wife, Yvette.

Boelter was indicted on six federal charges for murder, stalking, and firearms violations that could bring the death penalty upon conviction. He will be arraigned on Sept. 12 in Minneapolis. His court-appointed attorney says he will plead not guilty to all charges.

In a message sent from the Sherburne County Jail to Alpha News, Boelter referred to himself in the third person.

“Prior to June 14. Unknown to his wife, family, friends, and coworkers, Dr. Vance Boelter EdD had conducted a two-year-long undercover investigation into the sudden and unexpected deaths of 400 Minnesota citizens, and ties between Minnesota politicians and the Chinese government,” Boelter wrote. “Evidence will be forthcoming.”

Boelter did not offer more details on the alleged deaths. The statement about politicians and China could be a reference to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), who made dozens of trips to China since his youth in Nebraska.

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Authorities: 7 arrested after at least 10 kids, some as young as 2, sexually tortured with shock collars in Alabama sex-trafficking ring

Seven people have been arrested after at least 10 children, as young as 2 years old, were held captive in an Alabama storm bunker for three years and sexually tortured through the use of tools like animal shock collars as part of a sex-trafficking ring.

According to Bibb County Sheriff Jody Wade, seven suspects have been arrested as part of the roundup of the ring, including three family members and two mothers whose children were also trapped and abused in the basement.

“I know God’s forgiveness is boundless, but if there is a limit, we’ve reached it,” Wade said. 

The suspects have been identified as Rebecca Brewer, 29, Sara Louise Terrell, 41, Ricky Terrell, 44, Dalton Terrell, 21, William Chase McElroy, 21, Andres Velazquez-Trejo, 29, and Timothy St. John, 23. 

All of the suspects are currently facing a list of charges ranging from sodomy and rape to sexual torture and human trafficking.

According to investigators, all the suspects played a specific role in the ring. 

Bibb County Assistant District Attorney Bryan Jones said Velazquez-Trejo would allegedly drug the victims by putting a white powder in their drinks before bringing in clients who would pay up to $1,000 to have sex with them. 

He continued stating that the children would be tied up during the act, often to the limited furniture in the room, including a grimy mattress, a chair, and a support pole.

Jones said that two of the victims were forced to perform sexual acts on each other and told authorities that McElroy was the one who had both taught them the process and performed it on them himself. 

According to public court documents, Sara Louise Terrell allegedly placed animal shock collars on the children, which the suspects would use on the victim’s genitals as a form of punishment and self-serving sexual gratification.

Wade stated that the victims included both her children and Velazquez-Trejo and Brewer’s three children. Brewer also has a fourth child from a separate relationship.

Authorities stated that it is unclear how many children belonging to Sara Louise Terrell were involved, or who their fathers were.

Court records stated that other suspects arrested were allegedly responsible for selling and purchasing the children, and Velazquez-Trejo would additionally sell nude pictures of the victims.

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