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Trump blasts Sen Bill Cassidy as ‘disloyal disaster,’ pushes challenger Julia Letlow in Louisiana GOP primary
President Donald Trump bashed Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who is running for reelection, in a Saturday morning Truth Social Post, calling him a "sleazebag" and "a terrible guy."
Trump on Friday endorsed Cassidy's primary challenger, Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La.
On the morning of the primary, Trump on Saturday further urged Lousiana voters to back Letlow.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
State championship high school baseball game ends in chaos as player does something rare, but beautiful
I'm a sucker for a good high school baseball game. I'm really a sucker for a well-executed suicide squeeze, mainly because you don't see it anymore. Do MLB players even know how to bunt nowadays? I have no clue. Probably not.
Anyway, when you combine those two things — high school baseball and a squeeze — you're going to grab my interest. Now, mix in the fact that this happened down in A) beautiful Florida, and B) in the state championship game, and this story is right in my wheelhouse.
It's not often you see a bunt anymore. It's really not often you see one with the bases loaded. And, it's really really not often you see one with the bases loaded in a tie game to win the state championship.
Let's head on over to Fort Myers and check in with South Walton High School:
Absolute cinema. Perfection. 10/10. No notes. Hang it in the rafters. This is why high school baseball is the best. It's like a throwback to when baseball used to be a gentleman's game.
Now, it's all just dingers and strikeouts. Launch angle and exit velo. Spin rates and RPMs. The art of base stealing and bunting is just in the toilet at this point. They're relics. But not in high school.
YANKEES RELIEVER FERNANDO CRUZ MAKES DAZZLING SLIDING PLAY ON BUNT IN WIN VS RANGERS
Down here, it's the Wild Wild West. You never know what you're gonna see out of these kids. You never know what you're gonna get. A suicide squeeze with the season on the line? It took some nuts, and the kid did it.
And how about the first base coach making sure this hero touched first before celebrating? Savvy move by him. Veteran move. Was he out of the base line just a tad? Maybe. Is that against the rules? No clue. I assume not, but I admittedly have no idea.
But I'm not going to harp on it. This is about a team pulling off a perfectly executed suicide squeeze to win a state championship in 2026.
Has there even been ONE squeeze bunt in Major League Baseball this season? Just one? Maybe the Rays. They seem to bunt a lot.
But everyone else? Crickets.
It's still alive in high school baseball, and it's beautiful.
Beloved theme park’s summer opening thrown into doubt as workers threaten strike
Hersheypark could face disruptions ahead of its busy summer season as union maintenance workers weigh whether to authorize a strike.
The Pennsylvania theme park is scheduled to begin daily operations on May 21, transitioning from its current weekends-only schedule as families prepare for their long-awaited summer vacations.
Uncertainty has emerged, however, just days before the expanded opening schedule after more than 200 unionized maintenance employees rejected what Hershey Entertainment & Resorts described as its "last, best and final" contract offer following months of negotiations, according to NJ.com.
VIRAL MASK BAN AT AMUSEMENT PARK ABRUPTLY REVERSED AFTER FIERCE BACKLASH ONLINE
The workers include ride mechanics, electricians, plumbers, welders, HVAC technicians and other employees responsible for maintaining rides and facilities throughout Hersheypark’s resort properties, the outlet noted.
The possible labor action has raised concerns about how the park could operate during one of the busiest travel periods of the year, particularly as schools begin letting out for summer break.
Fox News Digital reached out to the park for comment.
Despite the ongoing negotiations, Hersheypark said it still plans to open on time.
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"Hersheypark is preparing to open for the 2026 summer season as scheduled on May 21," a representative for the park told NJ.com.
The company added that it remains engaged in negotiations while continuing preparations for the summer opening.
Hershey’s Boardwalk water park, which is set to open May 23, could also be impacted if a strike moves forward.
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The maintenance employees involved play a major role in daily park operations, particularly when it comes to ride safety, repairs and facility upkeep ahead of peak summer crowds, according to multiple outlets.
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Hersheypark is one of Pennsylvania’s largest tourist attractions, drawing millions of visitors each year from across the Northeast.
The theme park is known for its roller coasters, family rides, live entertainment and water attractions — making summer one of its most important operating periods.
It remains unclear at this time whether union workers will authorize a strike or whether both sides will reach an agreement before the season officially begins.
Gina Carano shares an emotional social media post ahead of Rousey fight, Cowboys eliminated & graduation fight
Let's get the weekend started with a Saturday edition of Screencaps with Gina Carano's emotional Twitter post where she shared her emotions on the verge of tonight's fight against Ronda Rousey (9 p.m. ET, Netflix).
"Since Sept 2024 to today, May 15, 2026, I have lost 100lbs. It hurts to say that and share but I am going to share it because I worked so damn hard every week for over a year and a half to shed this weight. It did not happen overnight," Carano, 44, wrote on Twitter.
Hold up, she was 241 pounds in 2024? Where was I at? When I read that news, I couldn't believe the math. At Friday night's weigh-in, Gina made weight at 141.4 pounds for tonight's brawl.
"Thank you to Ronda, who waited patiently while I lost this weight and giving me something to aim for," Carano added.
• Did you guys catch the eighth inning of last night's Reds-Indians game where the Reds pitcher walked the bases loaded and then his replacement WALKED IN TWO RUNS? I damn near threw the remote through the bedroom TV. Mrs. Screencaps hates having a bedroom TV anyway, so she probably wouldn't have minded the destruction.
Look at this ball four.
• Let's quickly pivot to the NASCAR Truck Series and Natalie Decker having a complete meltdown in the truck DURING THE RACE. After the race, Decker took to Instagram where she announced she wasn't quitting on the truck series. MAKE UP YOUR MIND!
• And, finally, we have to address this trend I noticed where high schools are holding graduations on random weeknights. In Memphis, they tried to hold a Thursday night graduation, but, because it's Memphis, it couldn't just be a casual night. Instead, guests got into multiple fights and the local sheriff had to be called in to restore order.
To be fair, this could've happened on a Saturday.
I'm just trying to figure out why so many schools have gone to random days for graduation. What happened to kids graduating on Saturday and then hitting a kegger to celebrate? Does that even happen these days?
I get that there are only so many arenas and massive spaces to hold graduations, but this Memphis school used its gym on a Thursday. Let's get back to holding Saturday ceremonies where there might be brawls, but at least we can make a weekend out of it.
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– Eric P. writes: Joe, I have loved the content for the past year and a half, but I think it’s time to say Screen caps has Jumped the Shark.. It makes me sad, but it’s right there with The Fonz; As the content now has gotten stagnant with the same Only Fans girls holding up fish; the TML pictures and comments; and photos of burgers that I would love to try, but live to far from where I could purchase one. You have always been great at posting my inane comments, pictures and diatribe, but there’s a limit on what holds my interest. Will I check in from time to time? Of course. But will I truly look forward to Screen caps over NightCaps with Amber or Zach?? They are the closers that just nipped you at the wire. Thanks and perhaps this can generate some revitalization..
Kinsey: Eight minutes later, I received a follow-up email from Eric.
– Eric added: I digress, I tried to un do the send of this after I paged down a bit on the screen caps today.. I thought, ya know, Joe deserves another chance.. he has done a lot for me in the mornings; and gave me some great content to send my kid, so what the hell.. i’m sticking to it and re instating my allegiance.. At least I am someone that can admit a mistake..
– Mike is 62 and has had it with modern women: I am 62 (get off my lawn!) and think I hit middle age at 42. Much has been said over the last few months about the IG models. Kudos to you for mixing things up and bringing the Women of Real Estate into the mix! I have simply had it with the IG models, and today’s photo of ‘tiffanyleah_’ made me laugh and scream at the same time. That woman does NOT sit down and eat a Dodger Dog and garlic fries, not at the game, not ever. You wanna stand in that area and force big crowds to go around you while your boyfriend snaps photos? Great, do it with a Gucci bag in your hand. At least that would be genuine.
I cannot even visit my local single-A stadium without seeing some pretty woman all coiffed and made-up getting her picture taken with the field in the background or some such. Me screaming about it won’t make it stop, I know. But I hate it, and view the trend as another sign of the apocalypse.
– Caleb in Pennsylvania shares: As always, I have been loving AMERICA’S BEST DAILY COLUMN. Our local Hobby Lobby (not sponsored) already has fall decor out. Can we at least make it to Memorial Day before I start seeing pumpkins everywhere??!!
– Bobby C. will make you think with this opinion piece: When I was a college student writing a senior thesis on the pro-life movement, a fellow student wrote about Title IX and the war on men as his senior thesis in college, having been thrown out of a college because he was a wrestler and that school abolished the sport to appease Title IX.
Fast forward to 2014, when Ollier v. Sweetwater Union High School District created a new quota system for high schools regarding male sport in California that could quickly be enforced to high schools. We have seen participation in Olympic sport decline, and now even football is being cut in high schools to meet the quota system for Title IX where schools are required to meet gender quotas. In New York City's PSAL, there was a time boys couldn't play if they were assigned to newly created schools.
Now there is the idea that schools can cut football (+50 male), baseball (+2 male), marching band (+30 male) for the all-female dance teams (+20 female) because it adds to the proportionality of the Ollier mandates. Beauty pageants are added because +40 female adds to their mandates.
This is where travel ball comes in play. Travel ball is not governed by high schools and their enforcement of Ollier. A local high school baseball team is governed by high school league practice and play rules, along with being a third-tier sport in attendance and governed by Ollier.
For example, the last-place SEC baseball team did not even get 8,000 fans in attendance for the entire final series of three games which they jobbed (and should be relegated to the Sun Belt). But the girls' dance teams of a major dance studio ("travel dance") can get 10,000 attendance in four shows (about 2,500 in a major auditorium) they do at the end of the year, and at public festival appearances they have crowds that boys who play baseball can only wish they have, since they may not even get for the whole season what the travel dancers get in one weekend of attendance of travel dance conventions, festivals, or the end of season recitals. Schools are cracking down on dance team members, banning them from "travel dance" (studios and competitions). School dance team members, being female exclusively, are not restricted by Title IX restrictions the way boys in baseball and basketball are restricted by Title IX rulings.
My question is: Is travel ball for boys taking advantage of Title IX attacking male sport, and schools' social justice activism favouring girls where boys cannot do anything, so they play on unrestricted teams on travel squads? Soon the local high school may have no boys' teams and only activities for girls. And they will blame court rulings on Title IX and mandates by feds that could happen with the Left.
Effectively, a boy must pay $25,000 to play sports while a girl on the local school dance team or playing girls' sport at the local high school are not paying any of the massive expenses because she has options at the local school that the boy is not offered because of Title IX restrictions. This cost is not discussed but I have a sense Title IX activism against boys that Christina Hoff Sommers wrote in her books are coming home to roost, and travel ball is Exhibit A in what happens when you punish boys in schools and reward girls.
– Mark in Tacoma stepped up and tells me: Just got back from the cardiologist (AFIB…and the hits just keep comin! Now on with the countdown lol) and sitting down with a cup and my morning dose of Screencaps. So yeah, there is a lady celeb that Mrs. Mark reacts to…and that would be the Queen herself, Christina Hendricks.
And not, funningly enough, over those epic endowments ! You see, Mrs. Mark has been similarly blessed and that’s the last thing she gets jealous over. But that hair….gorgeous radiant red hair….my ruin and her rage lol!
– Mike T. says this is Elk Falls and the Elk Falls suspension bridge.
– Ryan shows us: My daughter’s team is headed to the girls soccer semifinals here in Colorado. Couple pics below from the first-round game in the snow vs. the third-round game at 75 degrees less than a week later. #skoridge
– Ryan also wanted to take a shot at Costco: I’m going there… Costco is overrated. Every time I go in there, I leave with a cart full of stuff we absolutely did not need. Don’t get me wrong, they’ve got plenty of great products, but the whole experience has become a total PITA.
And the gas lines? I’ll never understand it. Waiting 20 minutes to save $2.40 on a fill-up is wild behavior. Back in my Pro BBQ circuit days (nice flex, right?), I always carried both a Costco and Sam’s membership. Another flex, really living the high life over here in the Rocky Mtns. But lowkey, Sam’s has taken the top spot for me. My wife swears they carry more of the stuff we actually need versus the "keep up with the Joneses" widget showcase Costco has become.
And Sam’s pickup is legit, but honestly, I still like going in because they’ve got scan & go on the app. That thing is amazing. Scan everything on your phone, walk through some probably-radiation-spewing portal, and head straight out the door. No line checks. No receipt interrogation. No balloon smiley faces drawn on my receipt like I just completed kindergarten.
Sam’s has officially moved to #1 in my book.
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That's a massive Saturday Screencaps. This one is over 2,000 words, which is ridiculous for the Internet these days. You guys will normally read like 300-500 words before bolting. We know the stats. Thanks to Eric for contributing like 500 of those words.
The sun is sorta coming out. There are rec baseball games today. There are plants that need planting. Mrs. Screencaps got her Mother's Day gift, a new outside faucet on the side of the house where we used to drag a hose. Now she gets to test it out.
Let's get out there, put some steps in and breathe in another day of life.
Exiled Muslim scholar warns far-left–Islamist alliance behind anti-Israel protests echoes Iran’s rise
A Muslim scholar who was forced to flee Egypt after criticizing Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks is warning America’s far left that its alliance with Islamist extremism could end the same way Iran’s did in 1979 — with an Islamic regime seizing power after partnering with leftist factions.
Dalia Ziada, a Middle East scholar and Washington, D.C.-based coordinator at the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy, later relocated to the United States and said she is now seeing similar and troubling dynamics take shape here.
Her warning comes as a global network of anti-Israel activist groups is mobilizing coordinated "Nakba 78" protests across the United States and around the world this weekend, with organizers using the anniversary of Israel’s founding to stage demonstrations that critics say challenge the Jewish state’s legitimacy, and, in some cases, call for its dismantling
"For five or seven years now, we have been seeing some kind of a ‘sinful marriage’ between the radical left and the radical Islamism, the groups that hate Western liberal democracies and desire to destroy them," she told Fox News Digital.
Ziada said Islamist movements, including groups tied to the Muslim Brotherhood, have for years sought to use the Palestinian cause as a way to mobilize support and build alliances with other activist movements in the West, a phenomenon some analysts have described as a "red–green alliance.
She also argued that Islamist movements have increasingly targeted Jewish communities in the West, which she described as a "pillar" supporting liberal democratic systems.
"They agree on one thing, that they need to destroy the West as we know it today and replace it with something else. For the radicalists, they want to replace it with the Marxist system. For the Islamists, they want to replace it with an Islamist system, which they think is the ideal system," she said.
Global protest network
A Fox News Digital investigation found that approximately 425 organizations — including communist groups, Muslim advocacy organizations and anti-Israel activist coalitions — are operating within a coordinated transnational protest network with a combined funding footprint of roughly $1 billion in annual revenues.
The groups have organized an estimated 736 events across 39 countries this weekend.
Ziada said the alliance reflects what she described as a shared hostility toward Western liberal democracies and has intensified in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.
She argued the war in Gaza has provided what she described as a "moral umbrella" for the movement.
"They used that to give themselves some moral legitimacy to go on and accelerate the process of destroying the West," she said.
Lessons from Iran
Ziada pointed to the 1979 Iranian Revolution as a cautionary example.
"We saw this exactly happening in Iran in the 1970s. The Islamists used the left because the legitimacy of the left is stronger, because they don't come from a religious background," she said. "They allied the communists there, made them believe that we all are going to change Iran and make it a better place. And how it ended in 1979, the Islamic Revolution happened. The Islamists took over the country and the first group they sacrificed … was the communists, the leftists in Iran."
Ziada warned that similar dynamics could emerge in the United States if ideological alliances continue to deepen, arguing that movements built around shared opposition can fracture once power shifts.
She said that while the groups involved may appear aligned in the short term, their long-term goals are fundamentally incompatible — a pattern she said has played out repeatedly in the Middle East.
She said such alliances are often temporary, warning that once power is secured, more extreme factions tend to dominate.
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She said the protests themselves are expected to follow a familiar pattern of anti-Israel demonstrations that she described as "very well organized worldwide."
"I don’t think this time it would be any different in the general sense of demonizing Israel, trying to blame Israel for everything," she said.
Ziada said protesters are likely to frame Israel using terms such as "apartheid" and "genocide," language she argued points to a broader, coordinated alignment of groups operating with similar messaging and goals.
Ziada said the term "Nakba," meaning "catastrophe," has been reframed over time, arguing it was originally used in part to criticize Arab leaders for rejecting a proposed Palestinian state — a context she said is largely absent from modern protests.
"I wouldn't say it's kind of a bureau… but they all agree on one thing, which is destroying the United States or weakening the Western world," she said.
Ziada said she has already seen the consequences of such alliances firsthand in the Middle East.
"I have seen my native Egypt being destroyed by these groups, by these people, and I’ve seen the entire Middle East actually falling under this. And I don’t want to see the United States, the country that has given me my education, has given my career, has given me a refuge when these radicals tried to kill me — I don’t want to see being destroyed by the same bad guys."
'Obsession' Review: An innocent wish turns into a nightmare in a horror flick from talented up-and-comers
Have you ever had a mad crush on someone who didn't have feelings for you in return? Did you ever wish they loved you back?
Well, if "Obsession" teaches you anything, it's to be careful what you wish for.
The latest outing from the prolific horror production company BlumHouse follows Bear (Michael Johnston), who is absolutely smitten by longtime childhood friend Nikki (Inde Navarrette), both of whom work at a music store with their two friends Ian (Cooper Tomlinson) and Sarah (Megan Lawless). Despite his best efforts, Bear is too timid to tell her how he feels.
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Stopping in a mystic shop to buy Nikki a replacement crystal necklace she lost, Bear stumbles upon a novelty toy called the "One Wish Willow." For just $6.99, one wish will be granted by breaking a piece of a painted willow in half.
Initially buying it for her, Bear ultimately uses it himself.
"I wish Nikki Freeman loved me more than anyone in the entire world," Bear said before snapping the willow in two.
Bear gets immediate results — and perhaps gets more than what he bargained for.
Nikki's newfound affection for Bear is welcomed like luring him into bed and making breakfast in the morning, but Bear can't help but notice her strange behavior ranging from staring at him while he's sleeping to sudden freak-outs. Don't even get Bear started on what she does to his poor cat Sandy...
"Obsession" doesn't have the luxury of relying on A-listers to catch the attention of moviegoers (unless you count Andy Richter, who plays the music store manager), so it must rely on raw talent, which it has plenty. Johnston does a commendable job as the emotionally distraught Bear, but Navarrette is the real breakout star, delivering a beautifully deranged performance that rivals Kathy Bates in "Misery." The way she can swing from absolute glee to pure agony, from nurturing to sociopathic on a whim is remarkable. Navarrette is certainly someone to keep an eye on.
Writer/director Curry Barker, making his feature debut, does an effective job at setting an eerie tone that gives a welcoming 80s/90s throwback vibe. His visual strength ironically shines with the low-key lighting that obscures the face of the seemingly-possessed Nikki, with only her big eyes being discernible in the shadows, which brilliantly adds to the creepiness. Barker also is able to balance sheer dread with a twisted sense of humor.
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Resembling a fairy tale from hell, "Obsession" is a solid kickoff to summer movies for horror fans. But more importantly, it's a great launching pad for Barker as a filmmaker as well as for up-and-coming actors Navarrette and Johnston.
"Obsession" is rated R for strong bloody violence, grisly images, sexual content, pervasive language, and brief graphic nudity. Running time: 1 hour, 48 minutes. In theaters now.
Harris labeled 'institutional arsonist' for plan to fundamentally transform SCOTUS and Electoral College
Former Vice President Kamala Harris faced swift Republican backlash after calling on Democrats to consider expanding the Supreme Court and gutting the Electoral College the next time they are in power.
"Let’s invite ideas, for example, that are about Supreme Court reform, including the notion of expanding the court," Harris said on a call with the left-wing nonprofit Emerge. "Let’s invite a discussion about how do we push for statehood for Puerto Rico and D.C.; how are we thinking about the Electoral College."
"We've got to neutralize this red state cheating," she continued. "There's a brutality at play on the other side, and a ruthlessness. And we need to play to win."
Harris’ plea for "bold" reforms came after Democrats suffered two major setbacks in the redistricting wars, as both parties scramble to draw new congressional seats ahead of November's midterm elections.
HARRIS' 'NO BAD IDEA BRAINSTORM' FOR DEMS INCLUDES PACKING SCOTUS, ELIMINATING ELECTORAL COLLEGE
In late April, the Supreme Court moved to curb the use of race in the drawing of electoral districts, effectively gutting Black-majority districts held by Democrats across the South. Democrats were dealt another blow at the Virginia Supreme Court earlier in May when a Democratic-friendly gerrymander was struck down over a procedural concern.
"What they have done with this decision, by saying that the politics of redistricting is okay, is they are back-dooring racism through politics," Harris also said on the call. "What they are doing is intentionally about trying to suppress the voice of the people."
The 2024 presidential candidate’s ideas drew a sharp rebuke from House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who accused Democrats of being "institutional arsonists."
"It's a dangerous thing, a dangerous gambit," the speaker said. "You don't just blow up the system when you lose."
"For the former vice president of the United States and a candidate for president to suggest that you should pack the Supreme Court or destroy these institutions because they lost is I just think outrageous," he added.
LIZ PEEK: WHAT KAMALA HARRIS BUZZ IS TELLING US. READ BETWEEN THE LINES, AMERICA
Conservative Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., also criticized Harris’ comments, calling them "totally insane" in an interview with Fox News.
"That's why we can't let her become president," he said. "People … rejected her before; they'll reject her again."
Not all Democrats are in agreement with Harris.
"I think that's putting the cart before the horse," Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., told Fox News. "Right now I'm focusing on lowering costs, health care, ending a runaway war that's costing Americans tens of billions of dollars. Those are the things that my constituents are talking to me about."
Harris’ calls for Democratic retaliation come as Republicans are emerging as the clear winners in the redistricting battle ahead of the midterms. The GOP could pick up more than a dozen seats after a bevy of GOP-led states have drawn new congressional maps while Democratic gains have so far been limited to California and Utah.
Earlier in May, Tennessee carved up its lone Black-majority district, represented for decades by a white Democrat, allowing Republicans to pick up a seat that had long eluded them.
Louisiana and South Carolina are conducting similar efforts to erase several Democratic-held seats following the Supreme Court’s ruling.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has vowed to respond with his own gerrymander push in a swath of blue and purple states, including New York, New Jersey, Colorado and Oregon. But those states are not likely to move forward with new maps until 2028, making it a moot point ahead of November.
Inside the teen takeovers threatening to explode this summer as cities remain on edge: 'Very worried'
A wave of social media-fueled teen takeovers in cities from Chicago to Washington, D.C., is putting officials on alert for a potentially volatile summer as experts warn the large youth gatherings could strain police, fuel violence and threaten recent public-safety gains.
"It usually increases during the summer," Zack Smith, a senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., told Fox News Digital of crime trends. "I think anyone who has looked at crime data and some kind of criminological studies recognized that that will increase and I think that is something that the city should be very worried about."
The warning comes after a wave of spring incidents across the country, where large teen crowds organized or amplified online have led to arrests, fights, weapons charges and emergency curfew debates.
"So many of these incidents are fueled by two things: social media and boredom. That’s it," Amy Swearer, a senior legal fellow at Advancing American Freedom, told Fox News Digital.
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"There is potential for this to escalate, and to really damage some really good progress that we’ve made in cutting back on that post-COVID violent crime spike," Swearer added. Violent crime surged nationally during the pandemic, with homicides rising sharply in 2020 as cities were also rocked by protests and riots following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Social media has contributed to "under-the-radar" meetups, Swearer said, explaining that many teens are working to boost their "clout" online with outrageous videos.
"There are massive accounts that are just dedicated to showing the chaos and the carnage and the street takeover events, where it’s almost like a social media clout thing," she said.
A Chicago teen takeover erupted Wednesday night when a car rammed a police cruiser as teen mobs cheered and filmed. In a similar incident last week, 22 people were arrested, ages 12 to 21, in Tampa, Florida, after a "teen takeover" at Curtis Hixon Park erupted into fights and disruptions, resulting in charges of affray, drug possession, resisting arrest and unlawful weapon possession.
In March, about 200 teens swarmed D.C.’s Navy Yard, where fights broke out and a 15-year-old was arrested after allegedly firing a gun, days after a temporary curfew was imposed. Nearly a dozen more juveniles were arrested a month later after street brawls in Southwest D.C., prompting a push to extend emergency powers. A large crowd returned to Navy Yard a week later, where police reported no major incidents or arrests.
The D.C. Council approved a long-term youth curfew earlier in May in an 8-5 vote after weeks of debate. The legislation still needs the mayor’s signature and congressional review before taking effect.
PROGRESSIVE PROSECUTORS LIT THE FUSE, AND TEEN MOBS ARE THE EXPLOSION
Chicago was also hit with more chaos in March and April. Hundreds of teens flooded streets, filled intersections and broke out into fights, resulting in multiple arrests and curfew violations.
Mayor Brandon Johnson warned parents about the "teen trends" following the incidents, saying they "are dangerous and can often turn violent." Johnson avoided using the term "takeover."
Struggles among teens, like poverty and mental health, could be fueling the "chaos," Swearer said.
"There’s a huge overlap between juvenile delinquency and poverty and mental health issues, and even delinquencies from school, truancy," she said.
Despite those broader challenges, she said the takeovers are not justified.
"None of that is an excuse for allowing this type of large-scale chaotic disruption in this planned way," she said.
Authorities have made multiple arrests nationwide this year tied to the meetups, with several in the nation’s capital. President Trump, who campaigned on lowering crime and has warned criminals will face prosecution, has carried that message into efforts such as the Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force.
The incidents have also created a political and public-safety test in Trump’s backyard, where the president has made D.C. crime a signature issue and deployed federal muscle to back it up.
Trump’s Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force has made more than 10,000 arrests and recovered more than 1,000 illegal firearms since its launch, but the continued teen takeovers show how juvenile disorder remains a stubborn challenge even amid the broader crackdown.
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However, the concern over an escalation in teen takeovers persists.
The White House told Fox News Digital that the administration is ready to tackle potential rising crime "head on" when asked about concerns the teen takeover trends could spike in the warm summer months.
"President Trump’s Safe and Beautiful Task Force has yielded tremendous results in a very short period of time – driving down crime rates in all categories and making the city safer for residents and visitors alike," White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital. "As new law enforcement challenges arise, the Task Force remains committed to addressing them head on."
CHICAGO TEEN TAKEOVER MOB RAMS POLICE CRUISER BACKWARD, SWARMS CAR AS ONLOOKERS CHEER: VIDEO
The D.C. incidents have revived a broader fight over juvenile accountability in the capital.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced Friday that parents who let kids take part in violent D.C. teen takeovers could now face fines and up to six months in jail under the city’s curfew law.
"As we grapple with this problem, there is one area that hasn’t been discussed," Pirro said. "Parent involvement has been a noted gap in any discussion, and I am here to say, as the United States attorney in the District of Columbia, that ends today."
"If the evidence shows the parent knew or should have known, permitted or failed to prevent participation, we’re gonna charge them," she added.
She criticized the city’s response to teen takeovers in April, saying the disorder falls largely outside her office’s jurisdiction because most juvenile cases in D.C. are handled by the local attorney general.
"These alleged social gatherings turn into criminal chaos," Pirro told Fox & Friends. "Families are affected by it, businesses end up being shuttered, there’s violence that occurs."
The U.S. Attorney’s Office generally handles adult felonies and only a narrower set of serious juvenile cases charged as adult matters, including certain violent crimes involving 16- and 17-year-olds.
"Since I have been here, my mission has been to change the law to make some of the young punks criminally responsible for what they're doing," Pirro told Navy Yard residents at an Advisory Neighborhood Commission meeting in March.
Smith said the D.C. attorney general’s office, led by Brian Schwalb, has repeatedly mishandled juvenile prosecutions.
"This narrow slice of crime that’s committed by juvenile offenders, primary responsibility lies to prosecute those offenders with the D.C. attorney general’s office, and frankly, he’s just not doing his job right now," he said.
DC CURFEW ENDS AS TEEN TAKEOVER FEARS CLOCK IN – CITY BRACES FOR CHAOS AMID SPRING BREAK MAYHEM
The Department of Justice, Pirro's office, and D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
"You can put more officers on the street, you can put more National Guard members on the streets, and they can arrest individuals who break the law, but if those juvenile offenders are not being held accountable at the end of the day, they recognize that there are no real consequences," Smith said.
He said teens who don’t fear punishment are more likely to commit crimes.
"Too many juveniles, particularly juvenile offenders in the District, recognize that there is a lack of consequences for their violent actions," he said.
A small group of repeat offenders may actually be driving the crime, and authorities already know who many of them are, Swearer said.
"Juvenile crime tracks the same way as adult crime," she said. "It’s driven predominantly by a small number of repeat, almost incorrigible offenders who are well known to the criminal justice system."
She said leaders can address these problems, but whether they’re willing to act is unclear.
"In many respects, we saw that this was a willpower issue," she said. "Did we have the power to actually do something about this?"
Rudy Giuliani reveals he had 'spiritual experience' while in pneumonia-related coma
Rudy Giuliani, 81, is recovering from a severe case of viral pneumonia that led him into a coma in early May.
The former New York City mayor returned to his online talk show "America’s Mayor Live!" on May 13 and opened up about his health status.
"I feel like I’ve recovered 100%," he said. "I’ve been home a few days and doing really, really well."
RUDY GIULIANI OUT OF ICU, CONTINUING TO RECOVER IN HOSPITAL: 'HE'S WINNING THIS FIGHT'
Giuliani reflected on his time in the hospital, revealing that he had a "very significant spiritual experience" while he was in a "state of out of it."
"I would equate it to a dream of being on line headed for — I can't say headed for heaven — headed for a trial with St. Peter," he described.
"And there was a very, very significant intervention by my Peter. I have my own Peter, Peter Powers. Peter J. Powers, my friend of my lifetime."
During this dream state, Peter said some "very significant words," which Giuliani made sure to repeat and have others record when he woke up, he shared.
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"As soon as I could, I wrote it out so that I wouldn't forget it, and it's meant a lot to me, and I've been reflecting on it quite a bit," he added.
Giuliani was able to discuss his experience with a priest — and plans to share more at a different time.
"I don't want to embellish it," he said. "I don't want to deny what was there."
Powers and Giuliani reportedly became friends in high school. Powers later served as Giuliani’s campaign manager and his first deputy mayor. He died in 2016 at 72 years old from complications with lung cancer, according to multiple news outlets.
Giuliani was hospitalized in critical but stable condition on Sunday, May 3, due to severe breathing issues.
Giuliani's doctor, Maria Ryan, told Fox News correspondent Danamarie McNicholl that the former mayor began feeling ill after returning from a trip to Paris, with his breathing deteriorating to the point that he was placed on a ventilator.
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Ryan said his condition turned critical, prompting a priest to be called to his bedside to perform last rites. But by Tuesday, Giuliani's condition had improved enough for doctors to remove him from the ventilator.
According to political strategist Ted Goodman, Giuliani's response and exposure to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks later led to a diagnosis of restrictive airway disease.
Although Giuliani and his doctors have not confirmed that he had a "near-death experience," similar encounters are often reported by people emerging from critical medical situations.
In a 2023 review published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, researchers analyzed more than four decades of reports of near-death experiences, involving more than 2,000 studies and nearly 500 individuals.
Near-death events were categorized into four types of experiences: emotional, cognitive, spiritual/religious and supernatural.
The research identified common traits in these reports – especially having out-of-body experiences, passing through a tunnel, having heightened senses, seeing deceased people or religious figures, encountering a bright light and reviewing life events.
Although these experiences can differ by interpretation, the researchers concluded that the heightened senses and improved consciousness indicate that "these experiences are neither dreams nor sleep, nor the disorders caused."
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"This phenomenon is medically inexplicable," they wrote, adding that the research points to a consistent pattern that "supports the clarity and authenticity of near-death experiences."
Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed reporting.
Can’t sleep, Japanese bear-fighting robo-wolves will eat me and a gorilla trade captivates the nation
It’s Saturday, which means it’s time to procrastinate on that weekend to-do list a little bit longer and catch up on the news you may have missed from this week with a little help from The Punch-Up!
And what a week it was…
Japan unleashed the awesome fury of robotic wolves on some killer bears, Magic Johnson made an awful political endorsement, and a gorilla trade between two zoos captivated the nation.
There’s plenty more where that came from, so let’s dig right on in!
JAPANESE BEAR-FIGHTIN' ROBO-WOLVES ARE PURE UNLEADED NIGHTMARE FUEL BUT THEY'RE WORKING
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Got all of that?
Good. See you back here next week!