THE WEST BANK IS A TERRORIST POWDER KEG

Ramping up security in Judea and Samaria

As part of the effort, the IDF is closely coordinating with individual communities and their security personnel to prevent terrorist attacks.

 

By Josh Hasten

 

Israel Today

Mar 11, 2026

 

 

Israeli security forces operate in the West Bank city of Hebron,

 

The Israel Defense Forces has ramped up operations in Judea and Samaria since the start of Operation Roaring Lion on Feb. 28, to ensure that would-be terrorists living under the Palestinian Authority don’t take advantage of the situation to launch a new front.

As part of the effort, the IDF is closely coordinating with individual communities and their security personnel to prevent terrorist attacks.

During an exclusive briefing with JNS, Cpt. Adi Stoler, head of the International Department of the IDF’s media branch, said that since “Operation Rising Lion” in June 2025, the military has put emphasis on keeping the situation in Judea and Samaria quiet, so it can focus on other arenas.

Stoler said that the IDF has been working offensively, conducting mass operations and pushing farther into terrorist hubs in PA villages and population centers. And on March 6, it announced that it had apprehended more than 200 Palestinian terrorists over the course of the previous week.

Among those arrested were bomb makers, weapons dealers, Hamas affiliates, terrorism inciters and suspects planning to carry out attacks, according to the IDF.

At the same time, the army has been taking defensive measures, such as ensuring that roads, bus stops and commercial centers are protected, while working to make sure that individual communities have functioning observation systems and appropriate fencing to prevent infiltrations.

Furthermore, Stoler claimed, since the Hamas invasion and massacre on Oct. 7, 2023, the Islamic Republic has been trying to ignite Palestinian terrorism in Judea and Samaria.

“Iran saw the area as Israel’s soft underbelly, and transferred millions of dollars to its proxies there, for the purpose of recruiting terrorists and purchasing weapons,” she said. “This forced us to work differently. We know that we must take out the terrorist hubs entirely.”

Binyamin Regional Council governor and Yesha Council chairman Ysrael Ganz conveyed to JNS that Judea-Samaria is working in close and full cooperation with above security forces to reinforce the protection of the communities, especially at this time.

He explained that the IDF has increased its deployment along the country’s eastern border and the seam line, with additional battalions stationed in the communities and along the roads.

“The guiding principle is clear: increasing deterrence and delivering an unequivocal message that alongside the campaign on the various fronts, the IDF is fully prepared and ready here in Judea and Samaria as well,” Ganz said.

In addition, he stressed, “It is important to note that residents are demonstrating extraordinary resilience. The council is operating around the clock to ensure the most stable emergency routine possible, while strictly adhering to all security guidelines.”

Requesting anonymity, the director of regional security for a municipality in Judea and Samaria told JNS that upon the start of the current war, the IDF deployed two additional battalions of reservist combat soldiers—roughly 1,000-2,000 troops—to each region in the area.

He stated that this is particularly necessary during the ongoing Muslim month of Ramadan, which he said has been a period, historically, when terrorists have targeted Jews in Israel.

“One of my main concerns is the possible threat of attempted terrorist infiltrations from nearby Palestinian villages into Jewish communities, by those seeking to show solidarity with Iran during the war,” he added.

Natalie Sopinsky, spokesperson and director of development for Hatzalah Judea and Samaria, which provides volunteer-based emergency medical services, told JNS that she is aware of at least four new encampments or observation points established by residents over the past week in strategic locations across Binyamin, Samaria and the Jordan Valley to enhance security.

She also pointed to several new agriculture farms that have been established recently along the Jordanian border, to boost security and safeguard Israel’s state lands. However, she bemoaned the fact that none of these farms has a bomb shelter or protected space for taking cover during missile attacks.

She went on to highlight another aspect of the situation: the role of women. Since many men have been called up for reserve duty, she said, it is the women who are protecting the home front and taking on first-responder shifts.

“Our women medics, paramedics and ambulance drivers are bearing a heavy burden now with resolve,” she said. “While also protecting their families, they are doing a ‘man’s job’ by taking on all the medical emergencies—during wartime. They are Wonder Women.”

IGNORING THE DANGER POSED BY IRAN WOULD HAVE BEEN AN INVITATION TO CATASTROPHE

Stopping Iran is not a violation of international law

The Iranian regime’s decades-long campaign of terror, nuclear ambition and proxy warfare posed a clear and present danger—one that critics of Israel and the United States often choose to ignore. 

 

By Fiamma Nirenstein 

 

JNS

Mar 10, 2026

 

 

Women from the "Non Una Di Meno" feminist movement demonstrate in Rome, Italy, on March 9, 2026. The group expelled Iranian women from their marches because those women supported confronting the regime in Tehran. 

 

The Iran of the ayatollahs has long been dangerous—and ready for war. If the world wished to prevent it from attacking its enemies with lethal weapons, including potentially nuclear ones, then action to stop it was not only justified but necessary.

International law does not forbid self-defense. Yet in practice, it often condemns the act of preventing an enemy’s aggression, even when the threat is clear and events are already in motion.

When actors such as the United States and Israel take steps to stop such a threat, the institutions that claim to safeguard international law—first and foremost the United Nations—frequently declare them outside the bounds of that very law.

This approach is not only dishonest. It is self-defeating.

The danger posed by Iran has been clear and present for decades. Ignoring it would have been an invitation to catastrophe—potentially even nuclear aggression. Tehran’s ambitions were not hidden. They were developed methodically over the years and accompanied by constant acts of war carried out directly and through proxies.

Yet in much of the international conversation, anti-Americanism, pacifist reflexes and hostility toward Israel dominate the narrative. Iran is no longer described as the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism, governed by a dictatorship that brutally violates human rights. Instead, it is often portrayed as the victim.

The result can be grotesque.

In recent demonstrations in Europe, activists from the feminist movement “Non Una Di Meno” expelled Iranian women from their marches because those women supported confronting the regime in Tehran. The reason offered was that war “violates international law.”

Apparently, the rights of Iranian women oppressed by that regime matter less than ideological slogans.

Critics of Israel and the United States insist that confronting Iran undermines the global code of justice and morality. But such arguments reveal how compromised that framework has become. If international law cannot recognize the need to defend oneself against a war already being waged against you, then it has lost its relevance.

The attempt to equate the campaign against Iran with Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is one of the more absurd claims in this legalistic narrative. Iran has not been a peaceful country suddenly attacked without provocation.

Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, Tehran’s hostility toward the United States and Israel has been explicit and constant. It began with the seizure of the American Embassy in Tehran and the 444-day hostage crisis involving 66 Americans. The slogans “Death to Israel” and “Death to America” soon became permanent features of the regime’s rhetoric.

The consequences are visible everywhere.

Iran has developed ballistic missiles and advanced its nuclear program while building a network of proxy forces across the Middle East. Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen have all received Iranian support, weapons and training.

Missiles built or supplied by Tehran have been aimed deliberately at civilians in Israel. Terrorist attacks supported by Iran have struck Jewish and Western targets around the world—from Buenos Aires to Burgas.

American soldiers were killed in the 1983 bombings in Beirut. Hijackings of international flights, suicide bombings and attacks on buses, cafes and shopping centers in Israel followed. Thousands have died in operations carried out by Iranian-backed groups.

Yet the institutions tasked with determining “international legitimacy” often focus only on the narrow rule that a state may respond only after suffering a direct attack.

The problem is that the modern world no longer fits that formula.

Today’s conflicts involve terrorism, proxy militias and covert cooperation among authoritarian powers—including Russia, China and North Korea. Billions of dollars flow through these networks to finance violence while maintaining a thin layer of deniability.

International law, designed for a different era, struggles to address these realities.

Meanwhile, a vast campaign of accusations against Israel has flourished. Even after the massacre of Oct. 7, 2023, Israel was dragged before the International Court of Justice and accused of violating international law.

Such claims reveal how urgently the international legal system needs reform.

The world is already confronting a war that ignores borders and targets civilians. Pretending otherwise does not protect justice—it weakens it.

And the victims of that blindness may include everyone—even the activists who believe they are defending moral purity while turning away the Iranian women who know the regime’s brutality best. 

THE GRACIE MANSION BOMBERS

Mysterious calls placed from NYC terror suspect family's home hours after alleged ISIS-inspired attack

Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, allegedly drove from Pennsylvania to throw explosives near Gracie Mansion

 

By Adam Sabes and Greg Wehner  

 

Fox News

Mar 11, 2026 

 

 

 

BUCKS COUNTY, Pa. — Dispatch logs obtained by Fox News Digital show that three calls to law enforcement were made from the home of one of the New York City terror suspects in suburban Philadelphia after the foiled attack.

The first call to law enforcement came in at 4:15 p.m. Saturday from Ibrahim Kayumi's family home, the logs showed. The second came in at 9:19 p.m. A third call to law enforcement was placed on Sunday at 8:54 p.m. The calls were made to 911 or non-emergency lines, according to the log. It's unclear what was said on the calls or why they were made.

The calls surfaced as details emerged about the suspects’ families. The two men lived just 10 miles apart but came from very different worlds, leaving neighboring communities stunned.

Emir Balat, 18, of Langhorne, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, of Newtown, are accused of throwing live explosive devices into a protest outside Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s residence, Gracie Mansion, on Saturday after making the almost two-hour drive into New York City, federal officials said. 

In a complaint, prosecutors said a series of pictures showed the two men handling the alleged bomb, which authorities later determined to have contained triacetone triperoxide, or TATP, and had nuts and bolts attached with duct tape.

According to The Associated Press, a license plate reader captured the two men entering New York City from New Jersey less than an hour before the foiled attack, which took place at around 12:15 p.m. Kayumi's mother said she last saw him at around 10:30 a.m. on Saturday when she filed a missing person report.

Ibrahim Kayumi

Kayumi's parents came to the U.S. from Afghanistan and became naturalized citizens in 2004 and 2009, according to CBS News.

A LinkedIn belonging to Shaysta, Kayumi's mother, states she's a manager at Popeyes.

The father, Khayer Kayumi, attempted to buy a Popeyes location in Brooklyn, New York, in 2010, but wasn't able to open it because of a previous tax balance on the property, which was at least $200,000, according to court documents. The restaurant location was taken over by Bank of America in 2013.

According to Zillow, the Kayumis' home in Newtown is worth over $2.2 million.

 

Emir Balat, left, and Ibrahim Kayumi, right, were arrested in New York City March 7, 2026, after an explosive was thrown at a protest outside of Mayor Zohran Mamdani's home Saturday, March 7, 2026.

  

Khayer told The New York Times they became worried after their son didn't come home Saturday.

"Maybe he had killed himself," he said. "We didn’t know what was going on. … If he’s going to be five minutes late, he calls."

 

Ibrahim Kayumi family's home in Pennsylvania Monday, March 9.

 

Emir Balat

Balat’s parents, who were born in Turkey, became naturalized U.S. citizens in 2017, according to the report.

Prior to getting citizenship, Balat's father, Selahattin, sued Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly in 2017 over delays regarding their citizenship application. They initially applied for citizenship in 2015.

Emir Balat flees after allegedly throwing a homemade explosive device toward police as NYPD Chief Aaron Edwards and Sgt. Luis Navarro take action during a protest in front of Gracie Mansion, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani's official residence, in New York March 7, 2026.  

 

Violeta Sadauskiene, one of Balat's neighbors, told Phillyburbs.com the Balat's are "absolutely lovely people."

"There was zero suspicious stuff going on at their house," she said. "Everybody was just in shock. Everyone. I could not believe it when I heard it. We thought it must be a mistake."

Emir Balat family's home in Pennsylvania. Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, were being held without bail after a court appearance Monday on charges that include attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass destruction.

 

Balat's lawyer, Mehdi Essmidi, claimed to reporters that the two men didn't know each other prior to the attempted attack.

"They're strangers as far as I know," Essmidi said. "I'm saying they're from different parts of Pennsylvania. They're in different age groups. They are not known to each other. They do not live together. They do not have family or school ties."

 

The suspect, identified as Emir Balat, was seen holding the alleged bomb in front of Gracie's Mansion in New York City. 

 

Though Balat is in high school, his attorney told reporters he was finishing classes remotely.

"He's 18. He's finishing school remotely because he has only, like, three classes left to do. He's in his senior year," Essmidi said.

A district spokesperson told Fox News Digital that Balat is in 12th grade in the Neshaminy School District. Kayumi graduated in 2024 from Council Rock High School North, school officials confirmed.

The spokesperson told Fox News that Balat attended Neshaminy High School until September 2025 before going remote.

Fox News Digital reached out to the families for comment.

𝗕𝗘𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗦𝗔𝗬 𝗜𝗦𝗥𝗔𝗘𝗟 𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗨𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗔'𝗦 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦, 𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗞 𝗔𝗧 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗟 𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗘𝗦 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗨𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗬 𝗗𝗜𝗗

By M. A. Rothman

Facebook

Mar 10, 2026

 

 

 

Israel has 300 combat-ready fighter jets.

 

While Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, and their allies were busy floating puppet-master memes about Israel running American foreign policy, Victor Davis Hanson decided to take a look at what America's actual formal allies did when the shooting started.

Spain refused to allow use of the NATO base near Gibraltar for operations against Iran. The same base. The same country that in 1986 told Ronald Reagan he couldn't fly over their territory to hit Libya — forcing a 2,500-mile detour. Same answer, different decade.

France declared the war dangerous from day one and wanted no part of it. They also couldn't fly over the Iberian Peninsula in 1986. Pattern established.

The United Kingdom — the most surprising betrayal according to VDH — told the United States it could not use Diego Garcia, the critical Indian Ocean base, for long-range bomber operations. Only defensive operations, they said. Then when their own base in Cyprus was targeted by Iran, they suddenly found one destroyer they could spare — but couldn't keep it for the weekend because they didn't want to pay overtime.

VDH asks whether Prime Minister Starmer remembers the Falklands War. In 1982 Britain needed to fight halfway around the world and didn't have the fuel, the missiles, or the reconnaissance to do it. Reagan said yes to everything — 2 million gallons of gas, satellite intelligence, 200 Sidewinder missiles, a blank check to Margaret Thatcher. Did they forget that? VDH says they're going to remember it, because America won't be doing that again.

Germany sent Chancellor Merz to the White House looking hangdog — because two weeks earlier he had been trashing Trump in front of massive crowds in Germany.

Now let's talk about Israel. The country everyone is accusing of running American foreign policy.

Israel has 300 combat-ready jet fighters. Britain has fewer. France has fewer. Germany has fewer. The so-called great powers of NATO — with populations of 55, 60, 80 million people — cannot match the air capability of a nation of 11 million. Those 300 planes are flying every single day alongside American forces, destroying the Iranian infrastructure that has funded H-z-b, H-m-s, and the Houthis for decades — the same groups that have k!lled Americans from Beirut to Baghdad to Kabul.

VDH's accounting of 47 years of Iranian aggression is worth absorbing. The embassy takeover in 1979. The Marine barracks bombing — 241 d*ad. Khobar Towers. Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. Assassination teams sent worldwide. Attacks on Bolton, Pompeo, and Trump. Shaped charges — IEDs — sent through Islamic militants that k!lled not 600 Americans as commonly cited but closer to 1,500, with thousands more maimed, across both Iraq and Afghanistan. Forty-one American citizens among the 1,200 butchered on October 7th.

That is who Israel has been fighting on America's behalf for 47 years while NATO allies were calculating overtime pay.

𝗪𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝗻𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀. 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗽𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀.

DEATH ENDS CLAIM OF WRONGFUL CONVICTION

Former suspect in FBI agent’s murder among 2 dead in Nye County crash

 

By Katelyn Newberg 

 

Las Vegas Review-Journal

Mar 8, 2026 

 

 

Carlos Gurri visits the grave of FBI Special Agent John Bailey at Palm Eastern Mortuary on July 25, 2024, in Las Vegas. Gurri had recently been released after spending more than 30 years in custody for being convicted as the getaway driver in a robbery that led to Bailey’s death in 1990. 

 

Carlos Gurri, who claimed he was wrongfully imprisoned for decades in connection with the murder of an FBI agent, died Saturday evening in a head-on collision just south of Pahrump.

The crash happened when Gurri, 62, tried passing a vehicle while driving north on state Route 160, south of Manse Road in Pahrump, the Nevada Highway Patrol said in a news release on Tuesday.

Gurri struck a southbound vehicle that was being driven by 21-year-old Rhiannon Folsom of Pahrump. Both Gurri and Folsom died at the scene.

Officials have identified Gurri as Carlos Gurry-Rubio, but he was named Carlos Gurri Rubio on his birth certificate, according to previous reporting by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Gurri was imprisoned in connection with the 1990 killing of FBI Special Agent John Bailey. He was accused of being the getaway driver in the robbery, during which his roommate, Jose Echavarria, shot and killed Bailey.

Attorneys have claimed prosecutors had insufficient evidence to place Gurri at the scene of the crime, and Gurri had repeatedly denied his involvement.

His conviction was overturned in 2018 because of alleged judicial misconduct in the case, and prosecutors dropped the charges against him in 2023, shortly before he was set to stand trial again. He was released from custody in June 2024, after spending nearly 33 years behind bars.

Gurri filed a lawsuit in May that alleged prosecutors intentionally withheld information about the judge in his trial and continued the “malicious prosecution” after his conviction was overturned. He also was pursuing a lawsuit that asked a judge to grant him a certificate of innocence.

Attorney Alanna Bondy, one of the lawyers representing Gurri, confirmed Tuesday that he was involved in the Nye County crash.

“We’re looking into next steps with his cases, but otherwise the information we have is what NHP has reported,” Bondy said.

The Highway Patrol said troopers responded to the crash at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Investigators determined that Gurri was driving a 2006 Nissan Xterra when he tried passing a 2023 Chevrolet Camaro Coupe at a “high rate of speed” by veering into the southbound lane. The Nissan then struck the 2021 Chevrolet Spark Hatchback that Folsom was driving.

The crash caused the Nissan to turn, also hitting the front of the Camaro. The driver of the Camaro had minor injuries, the Highway Patrol said.

‘Absolutely Unfathomable’

Folsom had left home shortly before the crash and was driving to meet up with friends for the night, her mother, Danielle Smith, told the Review-Journal on Tuesday. She had turned 21 four days earlier.

“There’s nothing that I can think of that’s more devastating than this,” Smith said in a phone interview. “This is a loss that’s absolutely unfathomable.”

Folsom had lived with Smith in Pahrump for nearly 12 years. She spent the majority of that time in Nevada, but she also grew up in Florida with her father, Smith said. She had recently graduated from the College of Southern Nevada with a certificate in audio engineering and dreamed of moving out of the small town to become a music producer.

Smith said Folsom was a good driver, so she never worried about the lengthy drive to Las Vegas. State Route 160, which turns into a rural, two-lane road in sections, was a familiar drive for Folsom, who frequently traveled into the valley for school or to visit friends.

Her mother said Folsom had big dreams that varied between “going everywhere” to moving to the Pacific Northwest to renting a place alone in Las Vegas.

Smith said she shared a deep love of music with Folsom, and the two bonded over artists like Fleetwood Mac, the Beatles and Mitski. Folsom was a self-taught guitar player who was deeply focused on learning music but “barely had a chance to go that far with it,” Smith said.

Above all, Folsom was “enthusiastic about life,” her mother said.

“She was one of the most vibrant people I had ever known,” Smith said.

Wrongful conviction lawsuit

Gurri previously told the Review-Journal that he fled to the United States as a political refugee from Cuba in 1987. He grew up with 11 siblings in Havana, where he worked as a fisherman and mechanic. He reached Florida by paddling with swim flippers on an inner tube before immigration officials sent him to Las Vegas.

He found work at a Hilton hotel, got a studio apartment with help from Catholic Charities and allowed Echavarria to room with him. Echavarria was another Cuban immigrant and worked as a dealer at the El Cortez. Gurri previously said he had no idea his roommate was planning a robbery.

Echavarria, who is awaiting a new trial set for January, had never implicated Gurri in the crime. Several witnesses reported seeing someone outside the bank but could not positively identify Gurri during the trial, the Review-Journal previously reported. One woman only identified Gurri to the police after she saw a photo of him on the news, according to court transcripts.

Prosecutors previously have pointed to evidence that tied Gurri to the gun and stolen motorcycle Echavarria used in the robbery.

Gurri was pursuing a certificate of innocence, which could have allowed him to receive up to $100,000 for each year he spent imprisoned on a wrongful conviction. The certificate would have only required acknowledgment that he was wrongfully convicted, not that there was misconduct by officials.

He had filed a lawsuit against several government agencies and police officers involved in his initial conviction. He accused the Clark County district attorney’s office of prosecutorial misconduct, but a federal judge recently dismissed the agency from the lawsuit, ruling that Gurri had to sue the agency in control of the office, which is the Clark County government.

“The Clark County District Attorney’s Office has long maintained an institutional policy and practice of prioritizing convictions over truth and justice, even in the face of compelling evidence casting doubt on a defendant’s guilt,” attorneys wrote in the lawsuit.

District Attorney Steve Wolfson did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

Gurri was released from custody in 2024 and moved in with a friend in North Las Vegas. His immigration case was in flux after he was granted “withholding of removal status,” meaning he could have been deported to Cuba if the political climate or relations between the country and the U.S. improved.

In past interviews with the Review-Journal, Gurri focused on the years that he spent in prison for a crime he said he didn’t commit. He said officials “need to answer” for those decades.

“They took all those years from me,” Gurri told the Review-Journal in May. “There’s no way I can get all that back.”

HOUSTON GANG MEMBERS CONVICTED OF BEAUMONT ATM JUGGINGS

Four alleged Houston gang members convicted in Beaumont ATM robbery conspiracy

Four alleged Houston gang members have been convicted or pleaded guilty to orchestrating ATM robberies and "juggings" targeting bank customers in Beaumont.

 

By Gabby Gaspard  

 

12NEWS

Mar 10, 2026

 

 

  

BEAUMONT, Texas — Four Houston men, who authorities have described as gang members have been convicted or pleaded guilty in connection with a string of ATM robberies and “juggings” targeting bank technicians and customers in Beaumont during 2024, according to U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.

Charles Bernard Byrd, also known as “Doughboy,” 34, of Houston, was found guilty by a jury of conspiracy to commit bank robbery and aiding and abetting bank robbery following a four-day trial before U.S. District Judge Michael J. Truncale. The verdict was reached March 5, 2026. Byrd faces up to 25 years in federal prison at sentencing.

Byrd’s co-defendants, Kendrick Douglas Warren, also known as “Bullet,” 38; Derrick Deshaun Brooks, also known as “D-Brooks,” 36; and Derramy Deonita Foster, 42, all of Houston, pleaded guilty prior to trial.

According to evidence presented in court, the Beaumont Police Department and FBI were investigating a series of robberies targeting ATM repair technicians in 2024.

On Oct. 8, 2024, at about 4:45 p.m., two masked men wearing gloves, later identified as Brooks and Foster, robbed an ATM repair technician in the drive-through of a PNC Bank on Phelan Boulevard in Beaumont. The men pushed the technician aside and removed $153,000 from the machine before fleeing in a black sedan toward Interstate 10. Investigators said the robbery took less than 20 seconds and was captured on security cameras, though no immediate suspects or leads were identified at the time.

A second robbery occurred Dec. 31, 2024, at about 1:15 p.m., when two masked men, later identified as Brooks and Warren, rushed an ATM technician working in the drive-through of Education First Federal Credit Union on Laurel Avenue in Beaumont. The suspects ordered the technician to move, then took $146,000 from the machine before fleeing in a stolen red SUV in less than 20 seconds.

About 15 minutes later, a Beaumont police officer located the abandoned SUV in a nearby parking lot. Although the license plate had been removed, investigators used license plate reader images from earlier in the day to identify the vehicle and discovered it had traveled from Houston to Beaumont with a black 2018 truck registered to Brooks.

Investigators later determined that the same black truck left Beaumont minutes after the robbery, traveling west on Interstate 10 toward Houston. Beaumont police requested assistance from the Houston Police Department’s Criminal Apprehension Team, which located and stopped the truck as it exited I-10 in Houston — about 84 minutes after the Beaumont robbery.

Authorities said Byrd was driving the truck at the time, with Warren and Brooks as passengers. Officers also recovered a bag containing exactly $146,000 in cash,  the same amount stolen from the credit union, along with gloves similar to those used in the robbery and a Texas paper license plate matching the one displayed on the stolen SUV earlier that day.

Further investigation revealed the four defendants were members of the “100% Third Ward” gang, also known as the “103 gang,” which operates out of Houston’s Third Ward. Officials described “juggings” as burglaries or robberies that target people leaving banks or financial institutions with cash or valuables.

Prosecutors said evidence showed the group engaged in a broader conspiracy between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, 2024, orchestrating multiple juggings, burglaries, auto thefts and two ATM robberies.

In one incident on New Year’s Eve, the men conducted surveillance at a Chase Bank on Dowlen Road in Beaumont using a black truck to watch the drive-through line. After seeing a customer receive a cash pouch from a teller, the suspects followed her to an H-E-B store, where they waited for her to enter the store before smashing the window of her truck and burglarizing it.

Warren pleaded guilty on Sept. 15, 2025, to conspiracy and bank robbery and faces up to 25 years in federal prison. Brooks pleaded guilty Sept. 16, 2025, to conspiracy and two counts of bank robbery and faces up to 45 years in prison. Foster pleaded guilty Sept. 15, 2025, to bank robbery and faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

The case was investigated by the Beaumont Police Department, Houston Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety, Memorial Villages Police Department, West University Police Department, Shiner Police Department and the FBI. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John B. Ross and Jonathan Lee.

CORPUS CHRISTI'S WATER CRISIS

'Lack of ability to make a decision.' Governor Abbott critical of Corpus Christi leadership in city's water crisis

Gov. Greg Abbott hosed Corpus Christi city leaders on Tuesday, warning the state could step in as curtailment looms amid the area's ongoing water crisis. 

 

By Bill Eaves  

 

3NEWS

Mar 10, 2026

 

 

Texas Governor Greg Abbott.

 

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Governor Greg Abbott was critical of the city of Corpus Christi’s handling of its water supply Tuesday and warned the state could intervene if local leaders fail to make decisions.

Speaking Tuesday at an event hosted by Americans for Prosperity during the Texas legislative session, Abbott said the state has already provided hundreds of millions of dollars to help the city address its water challenges.

“We provided them with $750 million --three-quarters of a billion dollars -- in funding for them to address their water problem,” Abbott said. “You know what they did? They squandered it and then they changed their plan and then they were indecisive about what to do.”

Abbott argued the issue facing Corpus Christi is not a lack of water but a failure to act.

“Corpus Christi is a victim -- not because of lack of water,” he said. “They’re a victim because of a lack of ability to make a decision.”

The governor warned the state could eventually step in if the situation is not resolved.

“We can only give them a little time more before the state of Texas has to take over and micromanage that city and run that city to make sure that every resident who goes to the water tap and turns it on, they’re going to be getting water out of their faucet,” Abbott said. “We're fully committed to making sure the Corpus Christi residents are going to have the water they need to live their lives like the rest of the people in the state of Texas.”

Corpus Christi officials say they are continuing to work with state leaders on multiple water supply projects aimed at strengthening the region’s long-term water security.

City Manager Peter Zanoni told 3NEWS that the city appreciates the governor’s support and emphasized that several major water projects have recently been approved.

“We are deeply grateful for the prior and continued support from Governor Abbott and his office in helping Corpus Christi advance water security for the Coastal Bend,” Zanoni said in a statement. “This includes assistance in developing roughly $1 billion in recently approved City Council water supply projects.”

Zanoni added that continued cooperation with state leaders and agencies will be critical moving forward.

“Continued support from the governor and his team, as well as from our state delegation and state agencies like the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the Texas Water Development Board, for our Inner Harbor desalination project will only continue to ensure greater water security for our region,” he said.

The governor’s comments came just hours after Corpus Christi leaders met with Sen. Adam Hinojosa to discuss the disputed Evangeline Aquifer project -- a meeting Sinton officials chose not to attend.

Corpus Christi leaders are pursuing several major water initiatives, including the controversial Inner Harbor desalination plant and a reverse osmosis facility designed to treat high-salinity groundwater.

Meanwhile, Lake Corpus Christi has fallen to 9.9% of its capacity, a mark not met since its creation in 1958, Zanoni said last Thursday.
Zanoni said the drop does not trigger any emergency or drought contingency measures, but the city is acknowledging the milestone as the community monitors the ongoing drought.

3NEWS reached out to Mayor Paulette Guajardo for comment Tuesday evening. We will provide updates as more information becomes available.

MAMDANI SHOWS HIS TRUE ANTISEMITIC COLORS

White House, Jewish advocates slam Mamdani for hosting accused Hamas sympathizer Mahmoud Khalil at Gracie Mansion

By Carl Campanile, Emily Goodin and Ryan King

 

New York Post

Mar 10, 2026

 

 

Mayor Zohran Mamdani hosts Mahmoud Khalil and his wife and son for iftar (the evening meal to break the fast during Ramadan) at Gracie Mansion, March 8, 2026.

 

President Trump and Jewish advocates slammed Mayor Zohran Mamdani Tuesday for hosting anti-Israel activist and accused Hamas sympathizer Mahmoud Khalil at Gracie Mansion for Ramadan.

“No one should be feting the anti-American, pro-terrorist activities of Mahmoud Khalil, who made his name as a ringleader of violent anti-American and anti-Semitic university protests that harmed American foreign policy interests,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told The Post in a statement.

At a their White House meeting last month, Mamdani gave Trump and his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, a list of four students detained by ICE in New York — including Khalil — asking for his help dismissing those cases.

But the White House salvo Tuesday indicates Trump won’t support the former Columbia University grad student, who dined with Mamdani and his wife, Rama Duwaji, at the mayoral residence on the Upper East Side Monday night — sparking outrage from pro-Israel advocates and conservatives.

“The mayor of New York City openly promoting someone who went out of his way to harass Jewish students at Columbia on a government social media account is a clear sign of disrespect to the Jewish community, said Moshe Spern, president of the United Jewish Teachers.

“This is beginning to feel purposeful and an unfortunate signal that Jewish safety in this city isn’t a priority at all,” Spern, a city public high school teacher, said.

 

Khalil, a Syrian-born activist and former Columbia University grad student, was arrested by ICE early last year, and faced deportation after the Trump administration accused him of committing fraud on his green card application.

 

Menachem Rosensaft, author of the post-Holocaust poetry book “Burning Psalms: Confronting Adonai after Auschwitz,” lamented that Gracie Mansion was “being used to promote exclusively a radical anti-Israel, anti Zionist agenda” — and urged Mamdani to invite survivors of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack. 

Mamdani “has to recognize that by effectively honoring Khalil, he is giving fuel to Khalil’s supporters and followers who have at times been violent and explicitly antisemitic and engaged in some of the more extreme demonstrations at Columbia in the past,” Rosensaft said.

Lishi Baker, a Jewish Columbia University senior who previously headed the pro-Israel group Aryeh on campus, said it was beyond the pale for Mamdani to host Khalil.

“[Mamdani] is glorifying and lifting up this pro-Hamas, anti-American protester for a meal at Gracie Mansion,” Baker said.

Baker, whose major is Middle East studies, said Mamdani has not made any attempt to speak to pro-Israel Jewish students.

“He claims to be the mayor for everyone. He’s certainly not the mayor for everyone.”    

Others said the get-together should come as no surprise since Mamdani made his own Israel-bashing positions known during last year’s campaign.

 

President Trump and Jewish advocates slammed Mayor Zohran Mamdani for hosting Khalil at Gracie Mansion for Ramadan.

 

Mamdani is a true believer … He supports terrorism through his actions and who he invites over for dinner,” charged former Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind, founder of Americans Against Antisemitism.

“It gets worse and worse,” Hikind said. “We’re stuck with this guy for the next four years.

Khalil, a Syrian-born activist who participated in anti-Israel campus protests, made disturbing comments about the Oct. 7, 2023, slaughter of Israelis by Hamas, calling it an unavoidable moment justified by the terror group’s “struggle.”

He was arrested by ICE early last year, and faces deportation after the Trump administration accused him of committing fraud on his green card application. The White House, which claims Khalil is a Hamas supporter, is attempting to use a rarely deployed statute that allows for non-citizens to be deported if their beliefs could pose a threat to US foreign policy interests.

But Khalil has become a darling of the political left, which claims Trump is seeking to deport him for exercising his First Amendment right to speak his mind.

“Last night, as we marked the one year anniversary of his detention, Rama and I were honored to welcome Mahmoud, Noor [his wife], and their son Deen to Gracie Mansion to break our fast together,” Mamdani wrote in a Monday social media post.

The mayor included a photo of the celebration, showing Duwaji holding a plate of food while standing next to a seated Khalil, who was enjoying his meal with a giant smile.

Last week, it was revealed that Duwaji liked a celebratory Instagram post on the day of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that shared images from the murderous assault on Israel.

The Jewish civil rights group  StopAntisemitism wrote Monday night:  “NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani breaking bread with one of the city’s most vile antisemites, Mahmoud Khalil.

“By the way, he should already have been deported back to Syria.”

The Anti-Defamation League also ripped Mamdani for welcoming Khalil as an “honored guest” at the mayor’s official residence.

“Welcoming someone known for justifying the October 7 Hamas terror attacks as an honored guest at Gracie Mansion — while some in the Mayor’s inner circle have amplified antisemitic content and posts dismissing the atrocities of that day — sends a deeply troubling message,” an ADL spokesperson said.

“Gracie Mansion belongs to all New Yorkers. Public office must never be used to legitimize hate, and New York’s Jewish community deserves a mayor who makes that clear in both words and actions.”

Trump did agree to release another Columbia University student detained by ICE, Elaina Aghayeva, following Mamdani’s appeal.

PROBABLY A LEGIT ASYLUM CLAIM

By Bob Walsh

 

Five members of the Iranian women's football (soccer) team have applied for asylum in Australia.  Seems like they will have no trouble getting it.  

It is being speculated that the only reason ALL of them didn't ask for asylum is the others don't want their families tortured and murdered by their government.  

SO, WHOSE IS BIGGER ?

By Bob Walsh

 

Right now Gavin Newsom and the SEIU are having a "who has the biggest dick" contest.  Gavin is still trying to force state civil service workers back into the office at least four days per week via executive order.  He has thus far been stymied by the courts.

SEIU is now DEMANDING that ALL state workers whose work can be performed remotely must have the RIGHT to work remotely 100% of the time.  Any workers who must show up once in a while must have state paid parking.  (This is a big deal in Sacramento.)

The legislature is actively working on a bill that would by law permit the vast majority of state workers to work remotely.

Personally I am not sure why Gavin is pushing this.  I am GUESSING that he wants to appear to be a bold and decisive leader for some personal reason that has nothing whatsoever to do with his alleged/rumored run for president in 2028. 

IS THE KAMALA DRAGON HIDDING ?

By Bob Walsh

 

Kamala Harris has just cancelled several of her book tour appearances in the formerly great state of California.  She is citing unspecified scheduling conflicts.

It seems the ACTUAL reason is she is getting some very uncomfortable questions about her massively expensive protective detail she is traveling with, CHP officers paid for by the taxpayers, on what is essentially a private money making expedition.

Neither she nor the state are willing to comment about how many officers are provided to her (it is reputed to be "dozens") nor the cost involved.

EDDIE BAUER BITES THE DUST

By Bob Walsh

 

 

Eddie Bauer was a pretty nice outdoor clothing and other outdoor goodies store.  Not Abercrombie and Fitch at their height, but still very well thought of.  They are now dead and stinking and are closing everything down.

Brick and mortar retailing is a bitch these days.

YAMAHA FLEEING CALIFORNIA

By Bob Walsh

 

Yamaha is moving its corporate presence out of sunny California and moving to corporate friendly Georgia.  They have been in CA for about 50 years.

Not surprising.

INTERESTING ANTI-DRONE RIFLE CARTRIDGE

By Bob Walsh

 

 

A new Drone Killer Cartridge (DKC) has been developed by the United States Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division.  The cartridge is designed to greatly increase the probability of a hit against airborne targets by rifles and machine guns.  The rounds are available in both pelletized (shot shells) and segmented desigms.  The rounds function normally thru unaltered current weapons.  The development was funded by the DHS and the Marine Corps.

Could turn out to be very useful and low-bucks tools against drones.  They have been tested at Camp Atterbury in Indiana and are said to have a 92% effective rate.  I doubt that is a 92% HIT rate, but an effective rate if a hit is achieved.  Shooting a rifle at moving airborne targets is not so easy.  I know.  I have done it, and missed more than I hit.

 

EDITOR'S NOTE: They may be able to shoot down the backyard variety of drones.

 

 

But there's no way they can possibly shoot down a drone like the Iranian Kamikaze drones (pictured above).

56% OF AMERICANS OPPOSE THE WAR ON IRAN, 44% FAVOR IT

By Howie Katz

 

 

An NPR-Marist poll reveals that the war on Iran is a partisan issue.

 

84% of Republicans are in favor of the war.

 

86% of Democrats oppose the war.

 

61% of independents oppose the war.

 

70% of Republicans consider Iran to be a major threat to the United States. 

 

27% of Democrats do not consider Iran to be a threat.

 

That overall result found that 56% of Americans oppose the war and 44% are in favor of it. 

 

I seriously doubt that 84% of Republicans actually favor the war. This is Trump's war, and what the Republicans really support is President Trump, not necessarily the war. 

THE PENTAGON SPENT $2 MILLION FOR ALASKAN KING CRAB, $15.1 MILLION FOR RIBEYE STEAKS, 6.9 MILLION FOR LOBSTER TAIL, $1 MILION FOR SALMON, $26,000 FOR SUSHI PREPARATION TABLES, $124,000 FOR ICE CREAM MACHINES AND $139,224 FOR DONUTS OUT OF LAST YEAR'S BUDGET

Pete Hegseth blew millions in Pentagon cash on lobsters, steak, grand piano, and handmade Japanese flute

 

By Stephen M. Lepore 

 

Daily Mail

Mar 10, 2025

 

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth spent over $93billion of taxpayer money this past September on expensive foods, musical instruments and technology

 

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth spent over $93billion of taxpayer money this past September, including huge expenses on expensive foods, musical instruments and technology. 

The cash splashing came ahead of what's referred to as 'Amazon Prime Day' for government agencies, as they must spend the remainder of their yearly budgets or lose the funds by September 30. 

Hegseth's 'use it or lose it' outlay amounted to $93.4 billion in September of 2025 on grants and contracts, the most any agency has spent in a single month, according to government watchdog Open the Books. 

Over half of that amount - $50.1 billion - was doled out in the final five working days of the month alone.

The goal was to spend up the remainder of the Pentagon's fiscal year budget of $849.8 billion as set by the Biden administration.  

Much of the money was spent on food, as in September alone, the Pentagon bought over $2 million in Alaskan king crab.

They also spent $15.1 million on ribeye steaks, $6.9million in lobster tail, $1million in salmon and $26,000 for sushi preparation tables.

The 'surf and turf' meal is considered a significant predictor of battle for troops, with Military.com claiming the foods are often a 'precursor to deployments, combat operations, or extended missions.' 

The Pentagon also didn't skimp on desert spending, with $124,000 for ice cream machines and $139,224 on donuts. 

A huge chunk of the cash was spent on information technology and telecommunications, amounting to $5.9 billion. 

At least $5.3 million was spent at the Apple Store alone, including 400 brand new iPads at $315,200.

Some of the stranger buys include $98,329 on a Steinway grand piano for the chief of staff of the Air Force's residence and $21,750 on a custom flute from Muramatsu.   

For whatever reason, the Pentagon grabbed $3,160 worth of stickers of children's television characters like Paw Patrol and Dora the Explorer.  

Another big expense was on furniture for various Defense Department facilities, which totaled $225.6 million during last September, less than the Obama administration regularly spent but more than Joe Biden. 

Among the largest purchases was $60,719 in chairs from Herman Miller, with another $12,540 spent on fruit basket stands. 

Notably, while Trump has stressed buying American products, at least $6.6 billion in spending was done with foreign governments and companies. 

 

Some of the stranger buys include $98,329 on a Steinway grand piano

The Pentagon spent $21,750 on a custom flute from Muramatsu

 

The total spend was an increase of 18 percent from 2024, when the Pentagon spent $79.1 billion in September.

The money tracked does not include salaries for Pentagon staffers and only tracks money given to outside entities and governments. 

Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer confirmed the expenditures and called Hegseth 'a true grifter.'

'Hegseth spent $93 billion in one month – roughly the cost of extending the ACA tax credits for THREE YEARS,' Schumer said on social media.

'But instead of lowering American’s healthcare costs, Hegseth used millions of taxpayer dollars on fruit baskets, Herman Miller recliners, ice cream machines, Alaskan King Crabs, and a Steinway & Sons grand piano.'

Many liberals were angry about the spending, with Gavin Newsom even suggesting there had been fraud.

'Hey Nick Shirley … any insight here?' he asked, referencing the conservative influencer who investigated fraud perpetrated by Minnesota daycare owners. 

Mike Weily of Govly, which works with federal contractors on AI purchasing, coined the idea that September 30 of every year is Washington's 'Amazon Prime Day.'

 

Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer confirmed the expenditures and called Hegseth 'a true grifter'

 

'If a government agency doesn't spend its allocated budget funds over the course of the fiscal year, they no longer have access to those funds in the next year,' he said. 

'The loss of their surplus funds, combined with the threat of a decline in future funding, is a recipe for serious fear amongst government agencies. Hence why they hit the panic button in August and September to spend.' 

The Daily Mail has reached out to both the Pentagon and the White House for comment. 

This year, the Pentagon has a budget passed by Congress of $839 billion. 

Pentagon spending has come into focus of late after Donald Trump and Hegseth carried out strikes on Iran.

The Trump administration has frequently been pressed over how much these operations have cost. 

The Department of War provided a breakdown of assets and targets from the first 72 hours of Operation Epic Fury; however, government officials have not disclosed the exact cost of the military activity. 

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a bipartisan research institution in Washington, analyzed DOW fact sheets, Congressional Budget Office estimates, and statements from government officials to provide an estimate of wartime costs for the operation thus far. 

 

The Pentagon grabbed $3,160 worth of stickers of children's television characters like Paw Patrol and Dora the Explorer

At least $5.3million was spent at the Apple Store alone, including 400 brand new iPads at $315,200

 

The study concluded that the US has spent around $3.7 billion, or $891.4 million a day, on wartime efforts in the first 100 hours of Operation Epic Fury. 

The most significant expense comes from munitions. CSIS estimated that the US spent $3.1 billion on munitions alone, none of which were budgeted for. 

Combat losses and infrastructure damage totaled $359 million, which was not previously budgeted for by the DOW. 

Lastly, operations and support costs totaled $196.3 million, including $18.3 million that was already included in the DOW's budget. 

These estimates indicate that the DOW spent approximately $3.54 billion in unbudgeted funds during the first 100 hours of the war in Iran. Congress passed a $900 billion defense budget last year.