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Knicks crush Cavaliers in Game 2, take commanding 2-0 lead in series behind Josh Hart's career night
The New York Knicks didn’t need a historic comeback to take Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals from the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday.
Instead, it was a dominant victory in regulation, 109-93, as the Knicks take a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series to Cleveland this weekend.
There was no hangover for the Cavaliers to begin the game, as they owned a 27-24 lead at the end of the first quarter. But the Knicks found their way into the lead by halftime.
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It was the third quarter where New York started to pull away, getting the lead up to 18 points as the Madison Square Garden crowd went ballistic. The Knicks went on an 18-0 run at one point as well, which was reminiscent of Game 1’s fourth-quarter comeback.
However, Cleveland wasn’t letting off the gas despite the deficit. The Cavaliers cut the 18-point lead in half with around 8:30 left in the fourth quarter, as New York struggled to buy a basket.
KNICKS STORM BACK TO SHOCK CAVS IN GAME 1 AS JAMES HARDEN'S DEFENSIVE PLAY COMES UNDER SCRUTINY
But once OG Anunoby knocked down a three-pointer from the left wing, things were back to normal for the Knicks crowd.
Mikal Bridges, who had a stellar night on both ends of the floor, hit a wide-open three with 6:12 remaining in the fourth that got the lead back up to 13 for the Knicks, and they would coast from there.
Jalen Brunson, the team’s All-Star point guard, was phenomenal in the comeback on Tuesday night, dropping 38 points. But Cleveland made their game plan known right away in this matchup, putting pressure on him to the point where he’d be giving up the rock in double-teams.
As a result, the Cavaliers were fine with Josh Hart taking shots instead. While the plan seemed to work in the first half a bit, Hart found his groove in the second and set a new career high with a team-high 26 points on 10-of-21 shooting, including 5-of-11 from three-point range. He also got on the board with seven assists, four rebounds and two steals.
Meanwhile, Brunson tallied 19 points and dished out a playoff career-high 14 assists for New York. And once again, Karl-Anthony Towns recorded a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds, playing efficiently for Mike Brown’s Knicks.
With the lead back up to 18 for the Knicks, all starters were pulled with under two minutes to play, as the crowd gave their squad a standing ovation for a job well done.
The Knicks shot 52% from the field and only saw 14 foul shots all game long, but they held the Cavaliers to just 39% shooting as a team. Cleveland also failed to capitalize on key free throws late in the game, as they were in the bonus with over nine minutes to play. As a team, they shot just 69% (22-of-32) from the charity stripe.
Evan Mobley also had 14 points in the first half, but he curiously didn't take a single shot in the second half for Cleveland. Donovan Mitchell matched Hart's 26 points, though he shot 8-of-18. James Harden also went 6-of-15 for 18 points.
With the win, the Knicks have now won nine straight playoff games.
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Fox News True Crime Newsletter: Alex Murdaugh's new defense, Luigi Mangione's decision, Tyler Robinson's fight
HARD-BOILED DRAMA: Murdaugh ‘egg juror’ fights to crack open jury tampering investigation with records in court clerk scandal
STAKES RAISED: Murdaugh defense plans alternate suspect push as DNA questions loom over retrial
DEFENSE BLITZ: Murdaugh sues court clerk after murder conviction overturned over jury tampering accusations
SCALES TIPPED: Becky Hill’s 'disgraceful' comments and book ambitions unraveled Murdaugh's murder conviction: Docs
BLIND SPOT: New York's 'wrong-headed' defendant-friendly laws helped toss Mangione evidence: retired cop
DECISION DAY: Mangione evidence ruling could determine what jurors see at his September murder trial
COURTROOM CLASH: Robinson's defense team fights to seal evidence and punish prosecutors in Charlie Kirk's assassination
SEALED LIPS: Robinson asks for more secret hearings after losing fight over cameras in court
HACKER'S TOOLBOX: 'Wrench attack' theory ratchets up fears of organized criminals in Guthrie case
LONG OVERDUE: DNA cracks 40-year cold case mystery with arrest in library worker’s savage slaying: police
CAUGHT CHEWING: Cold case killer who chewed cops’ undercover DNA bait faces survivor, families in courtroom showdown
DECADES LATER: Teen vanished from home decades ago – now feds hope new image and shifting loyalties reveal truth
‘MOST SINISTER WAY’: Influencer mom, lawyer dad accused of dark-web murder plot against boy-band baby daddy
DYNASTY DRAMA: Mango clothing tycoon’s son arrested in death of billionaire whose brand stretches across US
DOUBLE LIFE EXPOSED: Oklahoma woman discovers husband was a Canadian man who faked his death 37 years earlier in a barn fire
Texas Tech booster claps back at Steve Sarkisian after Texas coach takes a shot at Red Raiders
What a week for SEC coaches.
First, new LSU head coach Lane Kiffin went off about the supposed difficulty of the SEC's schedules, then bragged about his easy non-conference schedules giving him 20 free wins over five years. Incredibly, Kiffin then said that the SEC plays tougher games late in the season, when he gave Ole Miss a free bye week in November by playing The Citadel.
Then Steve Sarkisian, who said undefeated teams were a thing of the past just a few months before the Indiana Hoosiers went 16-0, took his turn at SEC superiority.
According to Anwar Richardson, the Texas Longhorns head coach was speaking at The Touchdown Club of Houston this week and took the opportunity to seemingly criticize his in-state rival Texas Texas Red Raiders. "There's a team in our state that plays in another conference that has a schedule that I would argue if I played with our twos and our threes," he said, "We could go undefeated, and they'll probably make the College Football Playoff this year."
ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON'T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!
Wonder who that could be, other than Texas Tech!
Someone else found it exceedingly obvious who Sarkisian was referring to, and took the opportunity to fire right back at the Longhorn coach and his athletic director. In a post on X, billionaire Texas Tech donor Cody Campbell went right to the point.
"Schedule us then!" Campbell replied to a post about Sark's comments. "We’ve been talking about it for years and we are more than willing!!"
Seems a bit unlikely, especially considering Sark's comments about scheduling after losing to Ohio State in 2025 and missing out on the playoff. When the Longhorns, at 9-3, didn't get into the tournament field, he explained that all future scheduling non-conference decisions are now under review.
"Yeah, you know, I think there's a couple things, there's layers to this. Bear with my answer," he explained to the media at the time. "First of all, we're gonna honor Ohio State and Michigan. You know, that we went there, we went to Ann Arbor, we went to Columbus, and we're gonna honor those return trips. So for the next two years, we know what our non-conference schedule is gonna look like, and that's the right thing to do. We made the commitment to play them. Now we'll honor that commitment for them to come play us here. I think anything beyond that is up for discussion.
"We need to take a good hard look at what our non-conference schedule looks like beyond the next two years."
To be fair to Sark, no one would seriously argue that Texas Tech has a tougher schedule than Texas. Or even remotely close to Texas. Particularly in 2026. In fact, one ranking system has the Longhorns with the hardest schedule in the country. Obviously, that matters, and it puts him and Texas at a severe disadvantage.
The Texas Tech schedule is weak to say the least:
That said, a lowly Big 12 team, Arizona State, arguably outplayed Texas in the College Football Playoff just a few years ago. Texas Tech is clearly trying to schedule tougher teams, and finding it hard to do. Scheduling is a two-way street, after all, and many other big programs likely don't want to risk the non-conference loss.
And the Longhorns played in the Big 12, until very recently. As one user on X noted, they went 60-61 in conference play from 2010-2022. They're a better program now than they were then, but the "we would go undefeated in every other conference" act is getting very tiresome. Particularly when the SEC has struggled so much against other conferences in recent years. Specifically, given how Texas actually played last year.
They lost to 4-8 Florida, one of the worst Power 4 teams in the country. They beat Kentucky, another underwhelming SEC opponent, 16-13 in overtime. They needed a miraculous fourth-quarter comeback to get to overtime with woeful Mississippi State. They scored 27 points against UTEP in a 27-10 win.
By the end of the 2025 season, advanced metric system SP+ had Texas with the 13th toughest strength of schedule, and 16th best strength of record. Texas Tech had the 45th toughest schedule and third-best strength of record, because they didn't just win games, they won them handily. Like beating a very good Utah team 34-10 on the road. And handling a top-15 caliber BYU team by a combined score of 63-14.
Regardless, Texas likely has the most expensive roster in college football. They're arguably the richest individual program in the sport. Nobody's going to feel sorry for them. And with how hard their schedule is, they don't need to go anywhere near undefeated to reach the playoff anyway.
US arrests sister of powerful Cuban official over alleged ties to communist regime
The United States has arrested the sister of the executive president of GAESA, a sprawling conglomerate of military-run businesses in Cuba, due to her alleged ties to the communist regime.
GAESA has been cited for reportedly diverting millions in aid meant for the Cuban people "at the behest of the regime," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on X Thursday.
Adys Lastres Morera was taken into ICE custody after the State Department revoked her lawful permanent resident (LPR) status, according to Rubio.
Morera, who was managing real estate assets while living in Florida, reportedly aided Havana’s communist government, officials said.
ALLEGED MEMBER OF CUBA'S MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR ARRESTED BY ICE AGENTS IN MIAMI
Her status termination was carried out at Rubio’s discretion. Morera entered the United States as a lawful permanent resident in 2023, Reuters reported.
"Today, Adys Lastres Morera, a Cuban national with ties to the communist regime in Havana, was arrested following the Department of State’s termination of her lawful permanent resident (LPR) status, at my direction," Rubio said.
RUBIO SAYS CUBA NEEDS ‘NEW PEOPLE IN CHARGE’ AS BLACKOUTS, UNREST GRIP ISLAND
Morera is the older sister of Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera, who was sanctioned earlier this month for her role as executive president of GAESA.
GAESA has been described by officials as an exploitative communist entity that siphons resources from the Cuban population.
"While the Cuban people suffer from the collapse of Cuba’s non-functioning communist economy, GAESA functions to allow a small circle of regime elites to plunder all the remaining resources of the island, squirreling away as much as $20 billion in illicit funds away in hidden overseas bank accounts," Rubio said.
He added that Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera, as a senior executive, is responsible for managing international assets allegedly used to fund the "lavish lifestyles" of the Castro-era elite, as well as supporting efforts tied to broader ideological influence abroad.
Rubio also pointed to worsening conditions inside Cuba, including widespread blackouts and severe shortages of food, fuel, and medicine, arguing that GAESA is diverting resources away from basic needs under the communist system.
"GAESA’s ill-gotten riches are not spent on repairing the collapsing power grid, stocking empty pharmacies, feeding hungry families, or providing for the most basic and essential needs of the Cuban people. Instead, they are used to enrich Havana’s elites and underwrite their ongoing campaign of espionage, subversion, and revolutionary militancy against the free peoples of this hemisphere," he said.
Rep. Tom Kean Jr. says he expects to return to Congress 'in the next couple of weeks' after missing 100 votes
Rep. Tom Kean Jr., R-N.J., said Thursday that he expects to return to Congress "in the next couple of weeks" after missing 100 consecutive House votes during an extended absence tied to what his office has described only as a "personal health matter."
"My doctors are confident that I’m on the road to a full recovery," Kean, 57, told the New Jersey Globe in his first public comments since stepping away from Capitol Hill in March.
"I understand the need for public transparency, and I appreciate the support of my constituents," he added. "I anticipate that in the next couple of weeks, I’ll return to voting and to the campaign trail."
Kean last voted on March 5 and has missed every House roll call vote since then, according to GovTrack. His absence has drawn heightened attention because Republicans hold a slim majority in the House and because Kean represents one of the country’s most competitive congressional districts ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
TOM KEAN JR'S PROLONGED ABSENCE PUTS PRESSURE ON HOUSE REPUBLICANS' RAZOR-THIN MAJORITY
His office has repeatedly declined to disclose details about the illness, saying only that the congressman is focused on recovery and expected to return "soon." Fox News Digital reached out to a representative for Kean for additional comment.
Last week, Kean’s father, former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean Sr., told NJ.com that his son was recovering from a "serious illness."
"You can’t say definitely, but their best guess is now he’ll be out in two or three weeks," Kean Sr. said, referring to doctors treating his son. "Any time you’ve been through a serious illness, you can’t be 100% the day you get back. You’re gonna be able to do things, but gradually ramping up."
Kean Sr. also said doctors expect his son to make a full recovery but declined to discuss the diagnosis.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters this week that he had spoken with Kean recently but was unaware of details surrounding the congressman’s condition.
"We’re expecting him back here soon. He’s had a medical issue," Johnson said Wednesday. "I don’t even know the details."
JOHNSON WARNS HOUSE REPUBLICANS TO ‘STAY HEALTHY’ AS GOP MAJORITY SHRINKS TO THE EDGE
The absence has become a growing political issue in New Jersey as Democrats target Kean’s swing district. Kean is running unopposed in the Republican primary on June 2, while several Democrats are competing for their party’s nomination.
Earlier this month, a top Kean aide told The New York Times, "There’s no cameras where Tom is."
Kean consultant Harrison Neely said this week the congressman remains committed to seeking reelection.
"What I can tell you is that the congressman is dealing with a personal health matter. He is focused on his recovery," Neely told the New York Post.
Fox News Digital's Adam Pack contributed to this report.
Teen suspect tied to 12 attacks in chaotic Austin shooting spree identified as illegal alien
The 17-year-old suspect accused of launching a random shooting spree across Austin has been identified as an illegal immigrant, prosecutors revealed Tuesday.
Cristian Mondragon-Fajardo is one of three suspects who allegedly carried out 12 separate shootings across the city over the weekend, leaving three people injured and another victim in critical condition. The two other suspects, ages 15 and 16, have not been publicly identified due to their age.
During Mondragon-Fajardo’s court appearance Tuesday, prosecutors disclosed that an ICE detainer had been issued following his arrest Sunday, according to Fox 7 Austin.
"The ICE detainer does add an extra component to his process," Criminal Defense & Immigration Attorney Robert Jimenez said.
The development comes after a retired Austin police officer blasted the city’s left-leaning leadership, accusing the city council of embracing policies that weakened law enforcement before the violent rampage, including the stripping of key tools used by police.
Last weekend’s violent crime spree targeted the city’s first responders, with gunfire striking two Austin Fire Department stations and three fire trucks. Authorities said additional incidents included gunfire damage to five vehicles and four homes, as well as the theft of a firearm and five cars.
Mondragon-Fajardo was reportedly charged with six felonies, including two counts of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, two counts of aggravated assault with a motor vehicle, theft of firearms and evading arrest in a motor vehicle.
Prosecutors said Mondragon-Fajardo is being held without bond, arguing he poses a danger to the community and could face deportation if released, the outlet said.
With the ICE detainer in place, immigration agents have requested that local law enforcement notify ICE before releasing the suspect and hold him for up to 48 business hours, allowing federal authorities to assume custody for potential deportation proceedings.
However, the detainer does not indicate that ICE can immediately take over the criminal case.
"That would only kick in once he is no longer authorized to be held by state custody," Jimenez said, according to Fox 7.
ICE could become involved later, either after a prison sentence or parole is completed, at which point Mondragon-Fajardo could face removal proceedings.
Jimenez reportedly added that the immigration hold may also affect defense strategy, potentially shaping how attorneys approach any plea negotiations given the possible immigration consequences.
"You might be able to get a beneficial plea agreement, but that plea agreement might still result in severe negative immigration consequences," Jimenez said.
Mondragon-Fajardo also has an active warrant for allegedly previously stealing a firearm from a local store, where the 15-year-old suspect is accused of stealing another weapon on Saturday.
It is unclear whether Mondragon-Fajardo’s co-defendants are being processed through a separate juvenile justice system due to their ages.
Fox News Digital's Peter D'Abrosca contributed to this report.
Caitlin Clark passes LeBron James in jersey sales, further exposing WNBA's marketing problem
Just in case you were wondering whether the WNBA had finally figured out how to profit off its own Michael Jordan, a quick reminder: the league’s marketing department recently refused to even put Caitlin Clark on a promotional graphic for a primetime Indiana Fever game.
The joke is officially on them.
Newly released Fanatics retail data proves that while WNBA executives keep downplaying Caitlin Clark in their marketing, fans are overwhelmingly spending their money on her anyway.
CAITLIN CLARK'S INDIANA FEVER SOLD 90 TIMES MORE TICKETS ON STUBHUB THIS YEAR THAN IN 2023
Clark has officially locked down the No. 2 spot for the most basketball jerseys sold in the United States — ahead of global icons like LeBron James, Luka Dončić and Victor Wembanyama.
The only player selling more jerseys than Clark right now? Golden State's Stephen Curry.
Let that sink in for a second. A third-year WNBA guard is outselling LeBron James.
Yet if you followed the WNBA’s official marketing, you’d barely know she exists.
WNBA FINALLY EMBRACES CAITLIN CLARK'S STARDOM WITH UNPRECEDENTED NATIONAL TV SCHEDULE
The retail numbers surfaced just days after the league’s social media department sparked backlash with one of the most bizarre promotional decisions imaginable.
Ahead of a highly anticipated Fever-Storm matchup, the WNBA posted a hype graphic featuring Seattle’s Zia Cooke and Indiana rookie backup guard Raven Johnson.
Noticeably absent? Caitlin Clark ... the player driving record ratings, ticket demand and merchandise sales across the league.
Fans roasted the league for somehow managing to sideline the most popular player in women’s basketball while trying to promote women’s basketball.
As OutKick founder Clay Travis pointed out, the logic makes absolutely no sense in the context of sports history.
"Was Michael Jordan ever not the lead graphic on any Bulls game when he was a member of the team?" Travis asked. "You can say this is a small thing, but I would guarantee you Bill Cartwright, Luc Longley & Bill Wennington never got the promo graphic over Jordan."
BASKETBALL LEGEND SAYS CAITLIN CLARK'S 3-POINT ONSLAUGHT LEFT HER SPEECHLESS
Then Clark did what superstars do.
Hours after being left off the graphic, she torched Seattle with a 21-point, 10-assist double-double in an 89-78 Fever win.
Meanwhile, Johnson finished scoreless in 17 minutes off the bench.
Caitlin Clark, 24, is rapidly becoming one of the biggest draws in all of American sports. She helped fuel a reported 1,000% surge in WNBA merchandise sales, turned Fever games into national events, and now sits behind only Curry in national jersey sales.
And somehow, the league still treats her like an afterthought whenever it’s time to market its own product.
The WNBA can keep trying to force-feed fans alternative stars if it wants.
But until somebody else starts moving more jerseys than LeBron James, maybe it’s time for the league to stop overthinking this, log back into Canva and put No. 22 back on the d--- graphic.
Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela
More than 300 arrested in sprawling California crackdown on child exploitation crimes
More than 300 suspects have been arrested in a sweeping multi-agency crackdown on child exploitation crimes across Southern California, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) announced Thursday.
The large-scale enforcement effort, dubbed "Operation Firewall," targeted a wide range of internet-facilitated offenses, including child pornography, human trafficking, grooming, and attempts to lure minors into illicit encounters.
Authorities said the two-week operation — which ran from April 19 through May 3 — spanned five counties and brought together 112 law enforcement partners. The effort was led by the LAPD Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program.
In total, the operation resulted in 341 arrests and the rescue of 40 children, officials said.
FLORIDA’S OPERATION DRAGON EYE RESCUES DOZENS OF ‘CRITICALLY MISSING’ CHILDREN IN MASSIVE STING
"Operation Firewall was designed to identify and apprehend predators who use the internet to facilitate the sexual exploitation and abuse of children, while also identifying and rescuing those children from their abusers," LAPD said.
Investigators conducted undercover operations across multiple social media platforms, followed by the execution of numerous search and arrest warrants, police said.
MEXICAN ILLEGAL ALIEN ALLEGEDLY USED ROBLOX CURRENCY TO SOLICIT EXPLICIT CONTENT FROM KIDS UNDER 10
One arrest resulted in a 45-year prison sentence for 42-year-old Daniel Navarro, who allegedly groomed two girls on Instagram and trafficked one to Mexico. He allegedly posed as a teenage boy and football player to entice his victims.
Over 150,000 illicit images were also uncovered, following an investigation into a Long Beach resident suspected of producing child sexual abuse material, Fox 11 Los Angeles said.
Authorities said charges span a broad range of offenses, including production, possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material; lewd acts with a child; contacting a minor for sexual purposes; human trafficking; failure to register as a convicted sex offender; and violations of parole and probation conditions.
Many of the victims have reportedly been reunited with their families or placed under the care of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).
Law enforcement leaders used the operation to deliver a blunt warning to parents about the dangers of online grooming, saying predators often target children through digital platforms rather than in person.
"Get your kids off the internet. Nothing good comes from it. Most of the exploitation we're seeing today, they are not meeting these people out in the park or on the street. They are meeting your kids and they are grooming them online," U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli said, according to Fox 11.
"If you were a parent, you would never walk your child physically into a room and leave them alone with a predator or a pedophile. Yet every day, parents hand their kids electronic device that gives them digital access into online gaming platforms or digital chat rooms... My message to parents, that the Fourth Amendment does not apply to you. Get in your kids' stuff," Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes added, according to the outlet.
Officials also highlighted the notorious "764" group, described as an online nihilistic violent extremist network that targets vulnerable minors online and coerces them into self-harm and explicit content, Fox 11 said.
Jon Stewart rages over Trump 'slush fund' for allies' legal battles as another 'F--- you troll'
Talk show host Jon Stewart fumed on Wednesday over President Donald Trump’s "anti-weaponization" fund, arguing it is latest move to "troll" the American people and take their money.
Democrats and even Republican allies have balked at Trump’s nearly $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund as concerns over where the money comes from and who gets it ripple through the Capitol. The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the $1.78 billion fund earlier this week in a deal struck between Trump and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to drop his $10 billion lawsuit.
Stewart took questions on Wednesday’s episode of his podcast, and was asked whether he would prefer to vote for former President Richard Nixon or Trump.
The talk show host said he would undoubtedly prefer Nixon "if only to get the EPA" and joked he would be seen as a communist by modern Republicans.
APOLOGIES AND CASH HEADED TO ALLEGED ‘WEAPONIZATION’ VICTIMS IN BILLION-DOLLAR TRUMP SETTLEMENT
"Yeah Watergate is cute now," a co-host said, suggesting Nixon’s scandal looks tame compared to Trump’s controversies.
Stewart said he had a murky memory of a purported slush fund scandal amid Nixon’s presidency, but said it was petty in comparison to the one Trump is pushing.
"But think about that in comparison to $1.8 billion of taxpayer money, at least I think Nixon's slush fund was donors!" he said. "This is f---ing OUR money. I mean, it's-- do we even have a Congress or a court?"
After a co-host noted the $1.776 billion appears to be a tongue-in-cheek reference the nation’s founding in 1776, Stewart argues the whole situation is Orwellian.
"It's all Orwell. It's all a ‘f--- you’ troll. Everything they're doing is a ‘f--- you’ troll to us. ‘This is against the weaponization of it and it's patriotic.’ They're trolling us. His entire career is a troll," he said. Stewart went on to lament, "They're going to give it to people that sprayed MACE at police officers and pretend that they're rewarding patriotism."
He went on to argue that the Trump administration is like a viral form of theft that has been commonly seen on social media.
"You know what it reminds me of? You ever see those videos where like, a horde of teens flies into, like, a CVS and just starts taking s---?" he asked, "and everybody's just standing around, like, ‘Is anybody going to call somebody or are we just going to-‘ like, that's what we are."
"The Trump administration is a smash and grab on the American public, on the taxpayer," he concluded. "It is the most corrupt, just utterly unsheathed, unleashed on us, and they are just grabbing whatever they can and pretending that it's remuneration for some victimhood that they faced that's all fictitious. It’s nonsense. Wild. Smash and grab."
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and did not receive immediate reply.
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Fox News' Alex miller contributed to this report.
Generational divide overshadows policy push in NYC Mayor Mamdani’s inaugural Twitch stream
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s attempt to connect with Gen Z voters during his first-ever Twitch stream Thursday exposed a generational divide, as the progressive leader admitted he’d never played Minecraft, struggled with internet slang and appeared unfamiliar with modern rap culture.
During the broadcast, which was also available on other social media platforms, Fox News Digital observed numerous Twitch viewers questioning why there were no moderators in the chatroom, as spam and explicit messages filled the message board.
When a commenter asked if the mayor plays the popular video game Minecraft, Mamdani admitted he had never played it and confessed, "I sound so old because, to me, Minecraft is a movie that I knew was based on a video game."
GEN Z LOVES BOTH TRUMP AND MAMDANI FOR THE SAME REASON
The disconnect continued when he was asked to name his favorite "underground" rapper.
The mayor admitted he felt a "little bit washed" and cited early-2000s Canadian artists like k-os and K'naan, leaving his younger co-host, popular pro-Palestinian TikTok creator "Moose," unfamiliar with the references.
Twitch has more than 240 million monthly active users, with 72% under the age of 34, according to a report from data solution company Demand Sage.
Throughout the stream, Mamdani was heavily coached on internet culture, with Moose teaching him to address the audience as "chat" instead of "ladies and gentlemen," explaining the slang term "bussin" [good or impressive], and prompting him to ask viewers for "W's in the chat."
Despite the cultural disconnect, Mamdani leaned into his core democratic socialist political agenda, touting his administration's success in closing the $12 billion budget deficit by raising revenue through his controversial "pied-à-terre" tax on non-residents who own secondary homes worth more than $5 million.
He proposed further taxing the "hyper-wealthy" through a 2% income tax hike on New Yorkers making more than $1 million a year to help fund a $1.2 billion universal childcare initiative.
NEW YORK CITY IS ABOUT TO TEST MAMDANI’S PROGRESSIVE ECONOMIC VISION
The mayor also pushed several city initiatives, announcing a lottery that will allow New York City residents to purchase 1,000 World Cup tickets for just $50 each. He noted the discounted tickets come with free bus transit directly to the stadium, which he tied to his long-term goal of eventually making all public buses in New York City free and faster.
Mamdani went on to address recent severe flooding in the city, pointing to the "climate crisis" and highlighting a near-$300 million investment in "Cloudburst technology" to help the city's infrastructure absorb sudden, heavy rainfall.
The livestream was marketed as a "shameless homage" to former New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, who spoke to New Yorkers on a radio show called "Talk to the People."
The Mayor's Office later shared the recorded stream on X, with his office writing, "Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani becomes the first elected official to launch a regularly occurring, multi-platform interactive streaming series."
Mamdani's press office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment on the success of the livestream or future moderating details.