Texas Weekly Online

Texas-trans-white
Menu
Menu

Year: 2025

Mikie Sherrill stays silent as New Jersey politicians react to convicted cop killer’s death

Mikie Sherrill stays silent as New Jersey politicians react to convicted cop killer’s death

As political figures across New Jersey react to the death of Joanne Chesimard, Democratic candidate for governor Mikie Sherrill has remained silent — a notable contrast to her Republican rival Jack Ciattarelli and other Democrats who have spoken out. Chesimard, also known as Assata Shakur, has long been a polarizing figure in New Jersey politics after her conviction in the 1973 killing of a state trooper and subsequent escape to Cuba. CONVICTED COP KILLER ASSATA SHAKUR, AN FBI MOST WANTED TERRORIST, DEAD IN CUBA, COMMUNIST REGIME SAYS “Joanne Chesimard’s death is a reminder of the lasting tragedy that justice was never served for the murder of Trooper Werner Foerster,” Ciattarelli’s campaign wrote in a statement to Fox News Digital on Sunday. “Though she will never be held accountable, we honor Trooper Foerster’s sacrifice and stand with all who carry his memory forward,” Ciattarelli added. Sherrill’s campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Sherrill’s silence follows the response of political leaders from both parties, many of whom emphasized the case’s deep ties to law enforcement and its lasting impact on New Jersey’s political landscape. Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said on Friday that he spoke to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said the Cuban government confirmed Chesimard’s death.  “For years, we have worked with the State Department to bring Chesimard back to New Jersey, so she could face justice for the cold-blooded murder of an American hero. Sadly, it appears she has passed without being held fully accountable for her heinous crimes,” Murphy wrote in a statement on X.  “Unlike his killer, Trooper Foerster never had a chance to live out his days in peace. But we remain fully committed to honoring his memory and sacrifice,” he added. Murphy said that he will “vigorously oppose any attempt to repatriate Chesimard’s remains to the United States.” In a separate post, Murphy slammed the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) post on X honoring the “life and legacy of a revolutionary fighter, a fierce writer, a revered elder of Black liberation, and a leader of freedom whose spirit continues to live in our struggle.” Murphy called the post “shameful and depraved.” New Jersey Republican Assemblyman Mike Inganamort said the CTU post “celebrates a cop killer.” CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION HONORS BLACK MILITANT CONVICTED COP-KILLER AFTER DEATH IN CUBA, DRAWING BACKLASH “I’ve long stood with the NJ State Troopers in fighting for the return of this fugitive cop killer who brutally murdered Trooper Werner Foerster more than fifty years ago,” wrote New Jersey Democrat Rep. Josh Gottheimer on X. “While Joanne Chesimard found safe harbor in Cuba and escaped accountability during her lifetime, nothing can erase the pain her crimes inflicted on Trooper Foerster’s family, his fellow troopers, and our state,” he added. Meanwhile, New Jersey Rep. Tom Kean said Foerster “will forever be remembered for his honorable service and ultimate sacrifice.”  “With news of her death, we honor the life Trooper Foerster lived, the courage he showed, and the legacy of heroism he leaves behind,” he wrote on X. Chesimard was riding on the New Jersey Turnpike with fellow members of the Black Liberation Army when they were pulled over. Foerster was killed in an ensuing shootout. In 1977, Chesimard was convicted of first-degree murder along with multiple related charges, including assault and battery of a police officer, assault with a dangerous weapon, assault with intent to kill, illegal possession of a firearm, and armed robbery. She was sentenced to life in prison for the 1973 murder of Foerster. In 1979, she escaped a New Jersey prison and went into hiding before resurfacing in Havana in 1984, where she is believed to have remained ever since. The FBI and the New Jersey attorney general each offered a $1 million reward for her capture.

Ex Michelle Obama aide leads Des Moines school board’s defense of superintendent arrested by ICE

Ex Michelle Obama aide leads Des Moines school board’s defense of superintendent arrested by ICE

Iowa Democrats are rallying behind a school superintendent who was arrested by ICE on allegations that he is in the country illegally this week, and they are led by a school board chair who once held a key role in the Obama White House. After ICE arrested Ian Roberts, the superintendent for Des Moines Public Schools (DMPS) last week, school board chair Jackie Norris called for people to have “radical empathy” as Roberts’ case plays out. Norris previously served as White House chief of staff for then-first lady Michelle Obama. Meanwhile, Republicans in the state legislature are also launching a probe into how the board chose Roberts in the first place. Norris supported Roberts in a statement on Friday in which she said that officials “do not have all the facts.” “There is much we do not know,” Norris said. “However, what we do know is that Dr. Roberts has been an integral part of our school community since he joined over two years ago.” IOWA SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT ARRESTED BY ICE, FACING PRIOR WEAPONS CHARGES, ALLEGEDLY FOUND WITH LOADED HANDGUN “During his time with our district, he has shown up in ways big and small and has advocated for students and staff, and has begun introducing concepts that will help us reimagine education for future generations,” she continued. Norris said Roberts joined the school district in July 2023 after having served in various school districts across the U.S. for “over 20 years.” Norris was not the chair of the school board at the time Roberts started, but she has been a member since 2021. Meanwhile, Republicans in the Iowa legislature are calling for a wider probe to ensure proper hiring practices are being followed across the state. Iowa’s House Government Oversight Committee also sent a letter to the DMPS directing it to preserve documents related to Roberts’ hiring. “I will not hesitate to introduce and pass legislation to mandate enhanced hiring protocols, increase transparency in district operations, and protect the resources allocated to our schools through the appropriations process,” State Rep. Austin Harris said. “Iowa’s families deserve nothing less than a safe, lawful, and effective education system for their children.” DMPS did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. ICE alleges that Roberts is in the country illegally from Guyana. They say he is not legally permitted to work in the United States and had a final order of removal from a judge issued in May 2024. Roberts was arrested after allegedly driving away from law enforcement. He later abandoned his car in the woods, and Iowa State Patrol ended up finding him, according to a press release. “This suspect was arrested in possession of a loaded weapon in a vehicle provided by Des Moines Public Schools after fleeing federal law enforcement,” ICE ERO St. Paul Field Office Director Sam Olson said in a statement.   “This should be a wake-up call for our communities to the great work that our officers are doing every day to remove public safety threats,” Olson continued. “How this illegal alien was hired without work authorization, a final order of removal and a prior weapons charge is beyond comprehension and should alarm the parents of that school district.” The district said Roberts had previously done an I-9 to prove legal status, but that it was conducted by a third-party group and that it did not know about an order of removal, according to The Associated Press. Roberts came to the United States with a student visa in 1999 and had charges for weapon possession in 2020, according to ICE.

Baltimore residents reveal what changes they want to see to combat crime amid National Guard threat

Baltimore residents reveal what changes they want to see to combat crime amid National Guard threat

BALTIMORE – While politicians debate how to combat crime in Baltimore, Maryland, local residents who spoke to Fox News Digital advocated for more affordable housing, recreational centers and accessible community resources. Earlier this month, Gov. Wes Moore and Mayor Brandon Scott deployed the Maryland State Police and the Transportation Authority Police to partner with the Baltimore Police Department after President Donald Trump floated deploying the U.S. National Guard to crackdown on crime.  “We got so many kids getting into stuff and killing and on drugs, especially down here in this neighborhood on the Penn North,” Tasha, a young mother who spoke to Fox News Digital earlier this month while pushing her baby’s stroller through Baltimore’s Penn-North neighborhood, said.  Tasha said more kids need access to rec centers because “so many of them are getting hooked on drugs and caught up in things that they don’t got no business getting caught up in, all because they don’t have nothing else out here to do.” BALTIMORE RESIDENTS REJECT NARRATIVE FROM CITY LEADERS ABOUT VIOLENT CRIME DROPPING: ‘NOT GOING LOW’ Fox News Digital spoke to more than a dozen Baltimore residents about how crime is impacting their community. While locals were split on whether Trump deploying the National Guard would curb crime, residents said safety concerns were top of mind.  ‘BALTIMORE IS ON FIRE’: RESIDENTS REVEAL WHETHER TRUMP SHOULD SEND NATIONAL GUARD TO COMBAT VIOLENT CRIME More than two dozen people were hospitalized in a mass drug overdose event in Penn-North in July. Meanwhile, three out of the seven homicides in Baltimore during August were in the nearby Park Heights, according to local reporting.  Between people selling and using drugs on the corner as one police car was parked just down the street, Tasha said that in Penn-North, “everything is back out here running like it didn’t even happen a month ago.” Joseph, a Penn-North resident who spoke to Fox News Digital while a homeless woman slept on his front stoop, said there are abandoned houses and buildings on his street and “all over the place.” But Trayvon, another Baltimore local, asked, “How can you fix a place and not fix the people?” “If you fix that, all you’re going to do is make a prettier place to sell drugs,” he said.  Scott Graham, a Republican who campaigned in 2022 for Maryland’s House of Delegates to represent the Baltimore suburbs, said high property taxes “discourage people from coming in and buying” property.  “We have vacant housing all over the place, and people are reluctant to come in. That vacant housing is in areas where there’s high crime,” Graham said.  Moore and Scott have touted “historic reductions in violent crime” in Baltimore, pointing to 91 homicides and 218 nonfatal shootings in 2025, which Scott said are 29.5% and 21% drops.  But statistics compiled by the nonprofit research institute Just Facts show that Baltimore’s 2024 murder rate is still 6.8 times the average for all metropolitan areas in the nation and that if the murder rate stays the same as it was in 2024, roughly 1 in every 38 people in the city will have their lives cut short by murder at some point during the course of their lives.  The 17 Baltimore locals who spoke to Fox News Digital earlier this month were divided over whether deploying the National Guard is the solution to their crime concerns. While many worried it would raise tensions and inspire riots, others said the troops could serve as a crime deterrent.  “We just need to get back to where we used to be when we were coming up as kids, where everybody got together and everybody worked together, and they moved people off the blocks, and they made the clean blocks, and they did all of those things,” Ronette, a Baltimore resident, said. “Our city just got to a point where we just, it’s everybody for their self. Nobody works together.” Trump signed a memorandum this month establishing a task force to address crime in Memphis, Tennessee, similar to his ongoing crime crackdown in Washington, D.C. He said the effort includes deployment of the National Guard, the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  Last month, Trump mobilized 800 D.C. National Guard troops to reduce crime in the nation’s capital. More National Guard troops from Ohio, West Virginia, South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee were dispatched to support the crime crackdown. In addition to Baltimore, Trump has also floated deploying troops to Chicago and Oakland, but the plans have been met with resistance by Democrats.  Fox News Digital’s Diana Stacy contributed to this report. 

Iraqi president calls nation ‘100% safe’ even as ISIS, Iranian militia threats persist

Iraqi president calls nation ‘100% safe’ even as ISIS, Iranian militia threats persist

Iraq is entering “a new phase” of stability and growth, President Abdullatif Jamal Rashid said in an interview, declaring the country “100% safe” as U.S. troops prepare to draw down after more than two decades on the ground. While praising the U.S. for helping to defeat ISIS, Rashid stressed that Iraq now intends to stand on its own — maintaining ties with both the United States and neighboring Iran. “Americans have helped us in defeating terrorism… and I think Iraq is 100% safe and secure,” Rashid told Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. “It’s a new phase in Iraq, really concentrating on improving the infrastructure.” Those who served in Iraq in the early 2000s — through the War on Terror and a civil war — may not recognize it as the same place, according to Rashid. SENIOR ISLAMIC STATE LEADER KILLED IN IRAQ, TRUMP SAYS HIS ‘MISERABLE LIFE WAS TERMINATED’ “We have started development in every field of life, and there are good opportunities for number of American companies, American businessmen, to be our partner in improving the situation in Iraq.” Under this “new phase,” Rashid said he wants Iraq to be defined less by conflict and more by commerce. “Our relationship with the United States is a long relationship. We want to make a stronger relationship… on trade, on investment, on energy and water.” The timing is significant. The U.S.-led coalition that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003 and later fought ISIS was scheduled under an agreement last year to begin its final withdrawal this September. That exact timeline is unclear, and the Pentagon has disclosed few details. The issue is sure to dominate next month’s parliamentary elections, where a swath of Iraqis want the U.S. to adhere to its agreement and leave. “This is a hot button political issue,” said Behnam Taleblu, fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), “with a timetable that was technically — or at least allegedly — already supposed to have started by then, is going to be something that we should be keeping our eyes on.” American commanders have warned that ISIS cells remain active in rural areas, while Iran-aligned militias have targeted U.S. and Iraqi government facilities with rockets and drones. US CHAMPIONS LEBANON’S RESPONSE TO HEZBOLLAH DISARMAMENT, HINTS AT ABRAHAM ACCORDS OPPORTUNITY Some argue the counter-ISIS mission is not over, and U.S. troops should remain. Others say the U.S. footprint lacks a clear purpose at this point. “The deterrent effect of U.S. forces there, I think, could be significant,” said Taleblu. Pressed on these concerns, Rashid dismissed talk of Iraq being “overrun with Iranian proxies” as exaggerated and said Baghdad is determined to prevent outside powers from dictating its politics. “We want to keep our independence, our decision-making in Iraq as the Iraqis, not to be influenced by outsiders,” he said. On reports of militia attacks, Rashid claimed ignorance but insisted such actions would not be tolerated. “I’m not really aware of any groups [carrying out attacks]. We will not allow it. And these are against the Iraqi security and Iraqi independence,” he said. Still, the perception of Iranian influence remains a flashpoint in Washington. ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN LEADERS SEEK TO EASE RUSSIAN AND IRANIAN CONCERNS AFTER US-BROKERED PEACE DEAL “Iranian influence has already taken over Iraq,” Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital. Tehran has close ties to Shiite parties that shape government coalitions in Baghdad, and it supports militias within the Popular Mobilization Forces that remain powerful players in the country’s security environment. Iraq also relies on Iranian electricity and natural gas imports, while Iranian goods fill local markets, making Iraq one of Tehran’s most important trading partners despite international sanctions. UN GIVES LONG ROUND OF APPLAUSE AFTER PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY PRESIDENT ACCUSES ISRAEL OF ‘GENOCIDE’ That reach, however, is not uncontested. Iraqi nationalist movements — including many Shiites — have resisted Tehran’s sway, and mass protests in recent years have condemned Iran’s role, sometimes targeting its consulates. Baghdad today remains a space of competing influence. “The Islamic Republic benefits from Iraq looking like Swiss cheese,” said Taleblu, referring to Iranian pockets of influence across the country and its institutions. “Iran and Iraq are two neighbors,” Rashid said, emphasizing that they had friendly relations. “We will not allow politicians from either [U.S. or Iraq] to be imposed on Iraqi people.” Still others say Iran could take note of the Iraqi success story. In less than 20 years, the nation rose from decades of conflict and dictatorial leadership under Saddam Hussein to relative stability and democratic elections. Rashid confirmed that Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government have resolved their dispute over oil exports, paving the way for flows to resume after months of disruption. “It’s a big deal,” said Rashid, who himself is Kurdish by background. The Iraqi presidency is reserved for a Kurd under an informal power-sharing agreement, while the prime minister is Shi’a Arab and the speaker of the parliament is Sunni Arab. Rashid also pointed to November’s parliamentary elections as proof of democratic stability. “We are going to have elections in two months’ time in November. That’s really an indication of how stable the country is… We want the process to be fully democratic,” he said. But the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) — a state-sanctioned umbrella of mostly Shiite militias, some with close ties to Tehran — are seen by critics as a parallel power structure undermining Iraq’s sovereignty. Rashid, however, argued that integrating all armed groups under the constitution strengthens, rather than weakens, the state. And on foreign policy, Rashid tried to position Iraq as a bridge. He welcomed growing recognition of a Palestinian state, cautiously praised Donald Trump’s push for peace in Gaza, and reiterated that war — whether in the Middle East or in Ukraine — “doesn’t solve any problem. It makes the problem more complicated.”