Published by an old curmudgeon who came to America in 1936 as a refugee from Nazi Germany and proudly served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He is a former law enforcement officer and a retired professor of criminal justice who, in 1970, founded the Texas Narcotic Officers Association. BarkGrowlBite refuses to be politically correct.
(Copyrighted articles are reproduced in accordance with the copyright laws of the U.S. Code, Title 17, Section 107.)
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Only
ABC13 was there when Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo arrived at NRG
Stadium for the first time since being booted from the Houston Livestock
Show and Rodeo Tuesday night.
Hidalgo
went to the stadium to review surveillance footage that she hoped would
support her claim that she was manhandled by rodeo staff, which rodeo
officials strongly deny.
An
hour after arriving for the closed-door session, Hidalgo emerged from
the stadium, but without the vindication she was seeking.
Just
one camera showed the chute Hidalgo said she was standing in when the
alleged altercation took place, and it was positioned at a distance.
"I
mean, you can't really make things out because it's very dark and it's
from a distance, so when you zoom in, it's just really grainy," said
Hidalgo.
Other footage
Eyewitness News reviewed but wasn't provided shows Hidalgo entering the
chute, leaving with her guests, and then talking with multiple rodeo
staffers and officials.
Hidalgo
and her five guests were initially seated in the county suite on
Tuesday, which the rodeo confirmed they were allowed to.
The
rodeo said Hidalgo had previously requested and been granted almost
$9,000 in floor access tickets for use over three nights, but that she
was told she wouldn't be granted floor access on Tuesday.
Hidalgo confirmed a staffer had relayed the message, but said she
decided to try her luck in case there were extra floor seats available
when she got there.
However, when she
tried to access the floor, which the rodeo said was reserved for $425
ticketholders, the rodeo said she was denied and told to return to the
county suite before being asked to leave the rodeo altogether.
Hidalgo
initially requested surveillance footage on Wednesday. She said it was
delivered to her office on Thursday afternoon, but when she couldn't see
the altercation she claims took place, she requested to view additional
footage at NRG Stadium.
After
reviewing the footage, Hidalgo expressed dismay that there were no
cameras inside the chute and suggested the stadium install some.
"I hope they do that so we can make sure a situation like this doesn't happen again," she said.
It's
unlikely to happen again -- at least not with Hidalgo. Earlier in the
day, the rodeo's executive committee voted to strip her of her
ex-officio director title, and Hidalgo said Wednesday she has no plans
to attend future rodeo shows.
"I think at this point we've done all we can do, and I hope that we can
move forward from this or I sure - I sure plan to," said Hidalgo.
Islamist terrorists Emir
Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi are naturalized citizens.
Our Fearless Leader is
apparently moving to get a new law that will allow the US to throw out
naturalized citizens who participate in acts of terrorism. If my memory
serves right now it is possible to revoke the citizenship of
naturalized citizens only if they engaged in fraud in order to get their
citizenship.
Another good idea from Trump. Hard to say how much traction it will get but it SHOULD get a ton.
Kindred Motorworks Makes EV VW Bus, Bronco, Camaro Classics
There is an interesting business in the foothills here in CA. Kindred Motorworks is converting classic Ford Bronco, VW Micro
Bus and 49-53 Chevy and GMC pickup trucks to competently designed and
executed electric vehicles. This is NOT a one-man shop but rather a
small production shop. The vehicles are put thru a full appearance,
suspension, etc. rebuild and have a modern battery pack and electric
drive system installed. Cost is about $175,000. They are not selling a
TON of them, but they are selling.
Migrant who shoved Air Force vet onto subway tracks in NYC was previously deported FOUR times
By Jensen Bird
Daily Mail
Mar 12, 2026
Richard Williams (left) is seen on the
train platform just moments before the alleged assailant, Bairon Hernandez
(right), pushed him onto the train tracks and fled the scene
An undocumented migrant who allegedly shoved an Air Force veteran onto subway tracks in New York City was deported four times before the near-fatal attack.
Bairon
Hernandez was arrested on Tuesday after he allegedly forced Richard
Williams, 83, and John Rodriguez onto the tracks on Manhattan's Upper
East Side.
Williams was pulled from
the tracks unresponsive and is 'not expected to wake up', his
heartbroken daughter, Debbie Williams, told the New York Post.
DHS reports obtained by the Daily Mail
alleged that the Honduran native initially entered the US in 2008 and
continued to return each time he was deported.
His most recent deportation was reportedly in 2020, though officials have not pinpointed when he returned to the country.
The
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has implored New York authorities
not to release Hernandez from their custody amid his questionable
immigration status.
'Bairon Posada-Hernandez is a serial criminal, and four-time deported illegal alien
from Honduras who should never have been able to walk our streets and
harm innocent Americans,' DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said
in a statementissued Thursday.
Williams' daughter told the Post that she was 'pissed' after finding out about the perpetrator's immigration status.
Suspected attacker Bairon Hernandez was arrested Tuesday after he fled the scene on Sunday
Victim and veteran Richard Williams is reportedly unresponsive and is not expected to wake up
'How the f*** did he get back here?'
Debbie Williams said. 'I want him to go to the Venezuela prison, the
worst place he could go to.'
'I want him to suffer for the rest of his life. Prison justice would be appropriate.'
In his time in and out of the country, Hernandez has racked up at least 15 criminal charges.
His alleged offenses included aggravated assault, drug possession, domestic violence and possession of a weapon.
Hernandez has also been accused of assault and obstruction of police.
This time around, he was charged with attempted murder, attempted assault, assault and reckless endangerment, police said.
The
scene unfolded on Sunday around 11.30am when Hernandez allegedly sent
Rodriguez flying onto the tracks, per the New York Police Department
(NYPD).
Rodriguez (pictured), 30, was pushed onto the tracks just before Williams
Williams was also toppled onto the tracks and had to be helped off by Rodriguez.
Bystanders guided them back onto the platform just before a train came speeding into the station.
Hernandez
fled the scene but was arrested early Tuesday morning at a shelter in
Brooklyn after police received a tip, authorities said.
Rodriguez suffered minor injuries as a result of the vicious and random attack.
But Williams' family said he might not make it.
'We're wishing for a miracle right now,' Debbie told the Daily Mail on Wednesday as her father remains on life support at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell.
Williams was shoved onto a subway track in New York City on Sunday morning at the Lexington Avenue-63rd St. station
Hernandez was arrested on Tuesday morning, several days after the alleged attack
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has been criticized for maintaining the city's status as a 'sanctuary city.'
The
jurisdiction limits local authorities' cooperation with immigration
agents and protects undocumented immigrants from deportation.
'We are praying for the victims and their families,' said DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis.
'DHS
is calling upon New York sanctuary politicians to commit to this ICE
detainer and not release this heinous criminal back into New York communities.'
Hernandez was arraigned on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty, reported PIX11. He is being held on a bail of $100,000 cash or $300,000 bond.
The Daily Mail contacted the NYPD for more information.
Lebanese-born restaurant
worker drove truck filled with explosives into synagogue and opened fire
after his 'family were killed in airstrike'
By Melissa Koenig and Stephen M. Lepore
Daily Mail
Mar 12, 2026
Smoke pours out of synagogue as truck burns after crashing into it
The man accused of plowing into a Michigan synagogue on Thursday morning recently lost relatives in an Israeli strike on Lebanon, according to CBS News.
Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, 41, allegedly drove his truck filled with explosives and mortar shells into the Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, which also serves as a preschool, igniting a blaze.
Ghazali,
a naturalized US citizen from Lebanon who worked at a restaurant in
nearby Dearborn Heights, lost two of his brothers and two of their
children in the strike 10 days ago, a source told CBS.One of his sisters-in-law was also hospitalized.
The attacks were part of a series of air strikes Israel has carried out against Lebanon during their joint operation against Iran, following Hezbollah strikes against Israel after the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khomenei.
Mo
Baydoun, the mayor of Dearborn Heights, said that Ghazali 'lost several
members of his own family, including his niece and nephew, in an
Israeli attack on their home in Lebanon.'
The
source said that Ghazali had been devastated by the loss of his
brothers and their children and withdrew, stopping working and staying
alone at home.
His ex-wife was alarmed when, shortly before the attack, he allegedly phoned her and asked her to take care of their children.
The
assailant then opened fire, and was killed by a security guard, with
authorities saying they later found him inside the vehicle armed with a
rifle.
Ayman Mohamad Ghazali is accused of smashing his vehicle into Temple Israel in Michigan
Police responded to the scene within five minutes of receiving a call about an active shooter
The suspect was neutralized by a security guard at the scene
'He
breached the building, drove down the hall, and he was engaged by
security,' Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said of the armed
attacker. 'We can't say what killed him at this point, but security did
engage the suspect with gunfire.'
Ghazali was born in Lebanon in 1985 and entered the United States through Detroit Metropolitan International
Airport on May 10, 2011, after alien relative and fiancé petitions
filed in December 2009 were approved in April 2010, according to the New York Post
He
then applied for naturalization on October 20, 2015 and became a
citizen on February 5, 2016, under the Obama administration, the outlet
said.
Federal
authorities said at a news conference that they are probing it as a
'targeted act of violence' against the Jewish community.
No
students or staff were injured in the attack, but a security guard was
taken to the hospital after being struck by the vehicle. He is expected to recover.
Thirty
law enforcement officers were also rushed to a local hospital for smoke
inhalation, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said at the news
conference.
'When all of our people
collectively went in that building to search out the threat, to remove
innocent, a lot of them took in significant amount of smoke inhalation,
and they’re at the hospital being treated,' Bouchard said.
The synagogue 'became engulfed' in flames.
Parents
carried their children away from the Temple Israel synagogue in West
Bloomfield, Michigan, on Thursday after a gunman drove a truck into the
building
Families with children are escorted from the scene earlier today
Authorities said they then received a call
about an active shooter at the synagogue at 12.19pm, and West
Bloomfield police were at the scene within five minutes.
Photos shared online showed a large police presence on the scene with smoke coming out of windows and a vent on the roof.
Scores
of police vehicles from neighboring departments, a SWAT team, bomb
technicians and bomb-sniffing dogs also responded to the scene.
The
synagogue is a reform Jewish place of worship that was open at the time
of the attack. It has one of the largest congregations in the country.
One woman who spoke to WDIV, named Lisa, said that the preschool was in use at the time.
She told the outlet: 'I'm scared to death for my friends, I've never seen anything like this. My first thought was the children.
'Parents and grandparents are coming and they're scared to death for their children. This is senseless, this is not okay.'
As she spoke, several adults could be seen embracing one another in tears.
Members of the FBI at the site of the attack in West Bloomfield, Michigan
Law enforcement respond near Temple Israel following reports of an active shooter
First responders work the scene after a shooter drove a truck into Temple Israel synagogue
Soon after the attack, a spokesman for
Michigan State Police said: 'We are asking for community members to stay
away from the area to allow for police response. Troopers are also
increasing patrols at other places of worship in the district.'
Sheriff Bouchard said law enforcement had been on high alert since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran nearly two weeks ago.
'We've been talking for two weeks about the potential, sadly, of this happening,' he said. 'So there was no lack of preparation.
The
sheriff added: 'All Jewish facilities in the area are going to have a
lot of extra presence around it until we figure this out.'
The
Jewish Federation of Detroit has advised all Jewish organizations in
the area 'to go into lockout protocol - nobody in or out of your
building.'
FBI Detroit led an Active
Shooter Attack Prevention and Preparedness (ASAPP) training for the
clergy and staff of Temple Israel in West Bloomfield in late January, nearly two months before Thursday's attack.
'The
FBI course combines lessons learned from years of research and employs
scenario-based exercises to help participants practice the
decision-making process of the Run, Hide, Fight principles and take
necessary actions for survival,' the agency wrote in a post on X.
'We
appreciate them for having us. Our Division has partnered with many
organizations in Michigan and is committed to protecting schools,
workplaces, houses of worship, medical facilities, transportation
centers, government facilities, other public gathering sites, and
communities.'
Sheriff Bouchard has praised Temple Israel security for their response to the active shooter.
'I'm
deeply proud of the response not only from the security that was on
site but also of all the police officers and the firefighters that are
here now,' she said.
'Training certainly helped to mitigate what happened here today.
'Everything that was supposed to happen, happened. Security did their job, and then the responders did theirs.'
A senior regional political
source told Israel Hayom that Iran's regime is unlikely to change and
that the US has given Israel only a week to conclude the campaign. The
source said regime change would require a ground invasion or renewed
protests in Iran, which is not expected in the near term.
A senior political source from the Middle East tells Israel Hayom
that the US wants the military campaign against Iran to end, and has
given Israel just one week to conclude it. The source also assessed that
the regime in Tehran is unlikely to be replaced, because such a change
would require either a ground invasion by troops or the renewal of
large-scale protests inside Iran, something the source does not believe
will happen in the near future.
According to the senior source,
there is a major gap between how the war is viewed in the US and how it
is seen in Israel. In Washington, the source said, officials are worried
about the impact on oil prices, whereas Israel sees the war as an
achievement and is celebrating it.
The source also addressed the issue
of Lebanon and Hezbollah, saying that despite Israel's killing of
Hezbollah's previous secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, the
organization is still standing, as is Hamas.
According to the source, Israel is
making a mistake by not fully pursuing diplomatic channels after the
military achievements it has secured, adding that countries in the
region could help advance such efforts, saying that the matter is
sensitive.
Regarding Qatar, the source said
Arab states now view it as a sister country. This marks a significant
shift in the region's attitude toward Qatar, which had previously been
seen as playing a "double game," not only in Israel's eyes but also
among Arab countries. Now, after Qatar mediated the hostage deal
together with Egypt, and after President Donald Trump gave it a central
role in developments in the Gaza Strip, attitudes toward Doha have
changed.
However,
the source did not spare criticism of the Israeli government over
developments in Judea and Samaria, also known as the West Bank.
According to him, some elements within the government have extremist
tendencies and are exploiting the confrontation with Iran to create
facts on the ground and push Palestinians out of their homes. The source
said the government is missing an opportunity to calm the situation,
including in the Gaza Strip, and to pursue diplomatic steps.
Escalation in the North: Hezbollah fires over 100 rockets at Israel
The barrage from Lebanon was part of an apparently coordinated attack with Iranian missiles on Israel.
Israel Today
Mar 12, 2026
A
man surveys a damaged house in Moshav Hani'el in the Sharon area after
rockets were fired at Israel overnight. March 12, 2026.
On Wednesday evening, a significant escalation occurred on Israel’s
northern front. According to Israeli media reports, Hezbollah fired more
than 100 rockets from Lebanon into northern Israel. Residents in
numerous locations in Galilee, Haifa, and other cities in northern
Israel had to seek shelter in protected areas.
The wave of attacks lasted several hours. In total, up to 150 rockets
and drones are said to have been launched from Lebanon. Israel’s air
defense intercepted a large portion of the projectiles, but debris from
intercepted rockets fell in several locations, causing property damage.
Emergency services reported several people with minor injuries,
mainly those who were on their way to shelters during the alerts. In
some places, buildings were damaged.
Parallel to the massive barrage from Lebanon, rockets were also fired
from Iran toward Israel. These triggered air raid sirens in various
regions of the country, including central Israel and the Jerusalem area.
Israeli security circles assume this was a coordinated wave of attacks
aimed at putting Israel under pressure from multiple directions
simultaneously.
According to the military, the Israeli Air Force responded that same
evening with strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. Among other
things, launch sites, weapons depots, and other military infrastructure
of the terrorist organization were attacked. The southern Beirut suburb
of Dahieh, a Hezbollah stronghold, was once again targeted by Israeli
airstrikes.
The Israeli Defense Forces stated that they would continue to act
decisively against any threat to Israeli civilians. At the same time,
interception operations by air defense systems are ongoing, while the
army works to eliminate additional launch positions in Lebanon.
In Israeli security circles, the coordinated attack is seen as
another attempt by Iran and its regional allies to pressure Israel from
multiple fronts simultaneously. Observers warn that this could lead to
further regional expansion of the conflict.
Israeli media also report that the army has deployed additional
forces to the northern border. Military observers view this as a
possible sign that Israel is preparing for further escalation on the
Lebanese front.
The Mamdani victimhood narrative and the American future
The embrace of terror supporters by the mayor and his wife,
coupled with the media’s efforts to confuse the public about an Islamist
terror attack, is a tipping point in American society.
Emir
Balat is seen attempting to light an explosive device while Ibrahim Kayumi stands by. Mamdani refused to condemn the two Islamist terrorists.
Last week was a tumultuous one for New
York City, its mayor and its Jewish population. Over the course of
several days, the city was confronted with events that in any other era
might have been considered not only deeply shocking but would have
resulted in immediate and serious consequences.
Reporting about the fact that Rama Duwaji, the wife of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, had liked social-media posts celebrating
the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and denying
the rape of Israeli women, was followed by the news that the city’s
first couple had hosted
two well-known terror supporters at their Gracie Mansion official
residence. But before the public had a chance to absorb any of that, the
mayor and most of his liberal-media cheering section sought to downplay
and then confuse the public about the fact that Islamist terrorists,
apparently inspired by ISIS, had attempted to bomb an anti-Mamdani
demonstration.
Taken as a whole, it painted a dismal
picture of how the mayor and his supporters were not only doubling down
on support for terrorism against Israelis and Jews, but also seeking to
treat domestic Islamist terror as a minor issue. The fact that these
events, like so much else about Mamdani, were generally treated as not
that big of a deal says volumes about where Americans are as a society.
And that, as much as anything else, is something that ought to be
sounding alarm bells for Jews and everyone who cares about the
consequences of cultural decline, as well as tolerance for antisemitism
and violence.
The mayor’s popularity
Mamdani’s ability to shrug off these incidents while being proclaimed by The New York Times
as “one of America’s most popular politicians” is an indication not
only of how left-wing media and the Democratic Party have his back. Like
his election victory in November, it’s also a sign that American
society may be at a tipping point when it comes to tolerance for
antisemitism. And anyone who thinks that won’t have an impact on Jewish
life and the country as a whole hasn’t been paying attention to what has
been happening in recent years.
At such a time, it’s essential to remember
that when Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City last year,
optimists told everyone not to be too upset about it.
It’s true, they conceded, that the
34-year-old was a longtime opponent of the right of Israel to exist as a
Jewish state and a supporter of the discriminatory BDS movement. It’s
true that he was a founding member of the Students for Justice in
Palestine chapter at Bowdoin College in Maine, a campus group that
routinely traffics in Jew-hatred. And it’s true that his brief political
career was rooted in activism targeting Israel and its Jewish
supporters. He’s also backed left-wing economic and cultural doctrines
associated with some of the worst horrors of the 20th century and the
collapse of liberalism in the 21st.
But as everyone was told, having a mayor
with such repugnant views wouldn’t really affect Jewish life in New
York, let alone impact what goes on in the rest of the United States or
its foreign policy. The mayor would be too busy trying to run the
country’s largest city to do any real harm to the Jews or anyone else.
In fact, it was predicted, he would soon sink under the weight of the
costly and misguided boondoggles that his long-discredited socialist
policies would create.
Some of that is true.
The most hysterical predictions on social
media of what his arrival at Gracie Mansion would entail were
overwrought and inaccurate. New York in 2026 is not Berlin in 1939. Jews
are not being rounded up; anything even remotely like that is not
possible. Jewish life in all its complexity and vibrancy continues, and
there’s no reason to believe that’s about to come to an end. It’s also
true that—as has been the case throughout most of its 400 years of
existence—New York is, in many ways, both good and bad, a very different
place from the rest of America. What happens there doesn’t necessarily
impact the nation as a whole.
Still, as the Times asserts and polls confirm,
Mamdani is viewed favorably by most New Yorkers. And if his conduct
doesn’t change that—and there’s little reason to believe that it
will—then that illustrates the shift in public opinion about Jews in the
city with the largest demographics outside of Israel.
Spinning terror support
Let’s acknowledge that there is nothing really new concerning the revelations of Duwaji or the couple’s decision to host Mahmoud Khalil, the organizer of the pro-Hamas demonstrations at Columbia University, or Abdullah Akhil,
another cheerleader for the genocidal group, at their home for Ramadan.
Mamdani has tried (with help from sympathetic left-wing journalists) to
spin his opinions about the Middle East as support for the “Palestinian
cause.” Their backing for the ideology behind Oct. 7 goes beyond his
tolerance for the genocidal chants of “Globalize the intifada” and “From
the river to the sea” heard on college campuses. Even a cursory look at
his conduct and his statements demonstrates that his views are no
different from those of his wife, both of whom cheered for and also
denied the victimization of Jewish women and even the kidnapping of children. Whether his media fans admit or not, they are Hamas supporters.
His unwillingness to condemn the
social-media posts endorsed by his wife, even as he tried to say her
opinions were not necessarily his own, spoke loudly about his stance.
And by inviting in those who also cheered for the largest mass slaughter
of Jews since the Holocaust, they also demonstrated that in Mamdani’s
New York, such sentiments are not only considered within the bounds of
acceptable opinion but are actually laudable. He’s now made it clear
that the house that mayors of New York have lived in for the past 80
years is a place where such persons are not merely welcome but honored.
Just as with his qualified encouragement of a siege
of a Manhattan synagogue last fall, in which he sought to argue that
Jewish support for Zionism “violates international law,” the new mayor
has laid down a marker that has normalized Jew-hatred.
Perhaps even more ominous, however, was
the way the mayor and much of the media reacted to the terror attack
that took place on March 7 outside of Gracie Mansion. On that day, two
Muslim Americans from Pennsylvania threw bombs (fortunately, they didn’t
explode) at demonstrators who had come to protest Mamdani.
Two groups had gathered outside the Upper
East Side landmark—one composed of right-wing demonstrators protesting
an alleged “Muslim takeover” of New York, and another supporting Mamdani
and the influx of Muslim immigrants. In a scene that can only be
described as surreal, one of the terrorists came up behind a Mamdani
supporter speaking through a bullhorn about the need to welcome everyone
to the city and shouted Allahu Akbar” (“God is great”). He then hurled
the explosive device with anti-personnel shrapnel over his shoulder.
After another failed attempt to explode a device in the midst of the
anti-Mamdani group and a brief scuffle with police, the assailant and
his accomplice were arrested.
Muslim victimhood
narrative
What is key about this incident is the way
that most media in New York and nationally, as well as the Mamdani
administration, sought to blame the violence on the peaceful
demonstrators, who were the terrorists’ intended victims. It’s true that
the initial scene was confusing, but for days, leading media outlets
and leading left-wing commentators, like CNN’s Ana Navarro and Abby Phillip, have continued to obfuscate the truth about which side the terrorists were on.
The same was true of most New York City politicians, including Mamdani, who, as the Times diplomatically put it, “chose his words carefully”
when speaking about what happened in an effort to deflect the blame for
the crime on his critics, rather than those who shared his enthusiasm
for the “cause” of attacking Jews and other opponents of political
Islam.
This was disgraceful in and of itself. But
it also showed the commitment of the mayor and much of the liberal
media to a narrative of Muslim victimhood in which the real problem is
“Islamophobia,” rather than the troubling support for Islamist hate and
terror. Had the violent culprits been those extremists who had turned
out to oppose Mamdani, no one can doubt that the condemnation of their
conduct and their ideas from both the mayor and the liberal media would
have been unqualified and vehement. Instead, the crime was depicted as
mainly the result of the allegedly bad opinions and behavior of the
victims.
So successful was this media campaign to spin the incident as an attack on Mamdani that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro
actually called him to sympathize and ask if he was alright. Shapiro
was the intended victim of a firebombing at his official Harrisburg
residence last year during Passover. He has sought
to push back against growing tolerance for antisemitism within the
Democratic Party that he hopes to lead in 2028 and has criticized
Mamdani for his stands. But even he is vulnerable to being influenced by
a narrative in which Islamophobia is the real threat, rather than the
Jew-hatred and rhetorical support for Islamist violence that Mamdani and
others have promoted.
That there is a direct connection between
this and Mamdani’s attempts to depict the unspeakable orgy of murder,
rape, torture, kidnapping and wanton destruction of Oct. 7 as primarily
the fault of the Jewish victims. The mayor would, no doubt, prefer it if
Muslims did not toss bombs, whether they explode or not, in the
vicinity of his residence. Still, the effort to portray him as a victim
of anti-Muslim intolerance, rather than as someone who gives his
official seal of approval to those who applaud such actions when Jews
are the victims, isn’t merely outrageous. It essentially normalizes and
distorts the debate about anti-Jewish hate.
A dystopian scenario
The main takeaway from this story must be a
realization that the dystopian fantasies about the consequences of a
Mamdani mayoralty are already starting to come true. Had his opponents
in the 2025 election said that if he were elected, Islamist thugs would
be tossing bombs aimed at their critics on the streets of New York, they
would have been denounced as hysterics trying to foment anti-Muslim
hate. Yet that is what has happened, and the response from much of the
media has been to do everything they can to twist the discussion about
it to one about the awfulness of the mayor’s political opponents.
At the moment, there is little that New
York’s Jews or anyone else can do about the mayor, who continues to
enjoy the enthusiastic backing of his party and its leading media
outlets like the Times. But they can draw conclusions from these incidents and act accordingly.
At the very least, no self-respecting
member of the Jewish community or anyone else with claims to a moral
compass should accept an invitation from Mamdani as long as he hosts
those who cheer for Jew-killers and condones his wife’s pro-Hamas
stands.
Jews—or at least those who are willing to
be dubbed as “bad Jews” by leftist media because they oppose terrorist
murderers either in the Middle East or the United States—should not
serve in a Mamdani administration. And it should also be said that his
political opponents, like President Donald Trump, should stop cozying up
to Mamdani or treating him as if he were a normal politician on the
other side of the aisle with whom one can agree to disagree.
The normalization of Mamdani’s conduct may
be inevitable in a political culture where antisemitism has become
fashionable orthodoxy on the political left. The costs of that attitude
will become increasingly apparent in a city and a national culture where
tolerance of hate for Jews is regarded as either nothing out of the
ordinary or an acceptable opinion. A city where people like Zohran
Mamdani and Rama Duwaji are not held accountable for supporting the
atrocities of Oct. 7 and Jew-hatred in general is one in which, sooner
or later, Islamist violence will not only occur but be tolerated,
rationalized and excused in the same manner as Hamas’s crimes.
Russia is counting on Iran distracting the United States from Ukraine.
By Jeanne Shaheen
The Washington Post
Mar 10, 2026
For the last week, the United States and its partners have been fighting
in the Middle East. President Donald Trump says the conflict will be
over within a few weeks. But wars rarely end on Washington’s timetable.
Ukraine’s resilience shows how wrong those predictions can be.
Ukraine was predicted to fall in a matter of weeks. Instead, four years
on, Ukrainian forces have retaken territory in places such as
Zaporizhzhia and along the southern front. Troops under Russia’s
command, including many drawn from Russia’s poorest communities,
alongside North Korean units and coerced African fighters, have suffered staggering losses in a campaign that has bogged down.
When Russia’s invasion of Ukraine first stalled, the Kremlin turned to
Tehran for help. Iran began supplying Shahed drones in 2022 and helped
establish a production facility in the Russian town of Yelabuga that now
manufactures thousands of these weapons each month. In 2025, Russia
launched more than 53,000 drones against Ukraine — up from about 11,000 in 2024.
That
Russia-Iran partnership is now shaping the war in the Middle East as
well. According to The Washington Post, U.S. officials believe Russia is sharing intelligence with
Iran as Tehran targets American and allied interests in the region.
Russia is not a bystander in this crisis. It is helping Iran challenge
the United States.
Moscow
has a history of doing exactly that. In 2020, U.S. intelligence reports
indicated Russia may have offered Taliban fighters bounties for killing American and coalition troops in Afghanistan. More recently, Russia provided satellite imagery to Iran-backed Houthi militants to help them target Western ships in the Red Sea.
Already in the first week of the Iran war, Iranian Shahed drones killed American troops in
Kuwait. Hotels frequented by Americans in Dubai, along with U.S.
military, intelligence and diplomatic facilities throughout the Middle
East, have also come under attack. Given Moscow’s growing role in
supporting Tehran, it is hard to escape the conclusion that Russian
President Vladimir Putin’s intelligence agencies had a hand in planning
these strikes.
This
reality echoes what I saw in Odesa, Ukraine, last month, where I met
with executives of American businesses that had come under Russian
attack. As I left Ukraine, two more facilities were hit, including an American facility producing Oreo cookies. This was no accident. Russia is deliberately targeting American businesses.
Just
as Ukraine’s defenders and first responders were there when Russia
attacked American factories and facilities in Ukraine, it is Ukraine now
helping the United States protect our citizens and interests in the
Middle East. After four years of defending its cities from
Iranian-designed drones used by Russia, Kyiv has developed advanced
counter-drone systems. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
highlighted this expertise when the war with Iran began and offered his
government’s battle-tested experience immediately. Ukrainian military
experts are now discussing with the United States and Gulf partners how
to leverage Ukrainian expertise and technology to counter Iranian
attacks across the Middle East.
The United States could have entered this conflict already drawing fully
on Ukraine’s hard-earned experience. But Trump’s insistence on
cooperating with Putin instead of strengthening Ukraine militarily and
diplomatically has become a self-inflicted setback. It also reflects the
administration’s broader lack of strategy as the Iran conflict unfolds.
Our military is now having to learn in real time what Ukraine spent
years mastering in combat.
Beyond
the battlefield, a widening war gives Putin a financial lifeline at a
moment when his economy was teetering. Oil and gas generated about 30 to 50 percent of
Russia’s federal budget over the past decade, and rising energy prices
from the war with Iran are already boosting the Kremlin’s revenue. The
conflict will also strain Western military resources that might
otherwise support Ukraine and consume air defenses and interceptor
missiles needed elsewhere. The deeper the war becomes, the greater the
risk of American boots on the ground. That is precisely the kind of
prolonged entanglement the Kremlin wants.
The
Trump administration should be doing all it can to disabuse Russia’s
leader of such hopes. Stopping Iran’s attacks on Americans must go hand
in hand with tightening pressure on the Kremlin. Enforcing sanctions on
Russia’s oil exports, cracking down on the shadow fleet that funds
Putin’s war and deepening cooperation with Ukraine’s battle-tested
military are not favors to Kyiv. They are steps that protect American
troops and interests.
Yet
instead of tightening pressure on Moscow, this administration is moving
in the opposite direction, with the U.S. Treasury Department offering
Putin a green light to export previously sanctioned oil to India.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has even said more sanctions relief beyond that may
be under consideration. The administration is loosening sanctions and
continuing negotiations with Russia as though Putin does not already
have American blood on his hands.
When
Americans are targeted abroad, the United States must respond with
clarity and resolve. Vladimir Putin has chosen to stand with and aid
those attacking Americans. Recognizing that reality and responding to
Putin is now the test facing this administration.
Texas executes man for 2013 stabbing deaths of woman, 8-year-old boy
Cedric Ricks addressed the surviving child he stabbed 25 times before receiving a lethal injection at the Huntsville Unit
By Juan A. Lozano and Michael Graczyk
Associated Press
Mar 12, 2026
Cedric Ricks
HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A Texas man was put to death
Wednesday evening for fatally stabbing his girlfriend and her
8-year-old son in 2013, apologizing profusely to her older son who
survived with multiple stab wounds and witnessed the execution.
Cedric Ricks,
51, was pronounced dead at 6:55 p.m. CDT following a lethal dose of the
sedative pentobarbital at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.
He
was condemned for the May 2013 killings of 30-year-old Roxann Sanchez
and her son Anthony Figueroa at their apartment in the greater
Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Bedford. Sanchez’s 12-year-old son, Marcus
Figueroa, was stabbed 25 times and feigned death in order to survive.
Ricks
apologized repeatedly to seven relatives of his victims who looked on,
particularly Marcus Figueroa. The attack survivor showed no emotion,
watching through a glass window just steps from where Ricks was strapped
to a gurney. On the back of Marcus Figueroa’s neck, visible above his
shirt collar and below his hair, were several scars apparently from the
attack.
“I want to say that I’m sorry for taking Roxann and Anthony from
y’all,” Ricks said when asked by the warden if he had a final statement.
“I’m glad to be able to speak to tell y’all that face to face.”
He
said he hoped one day that his victims’ relatives would be able to find
it in their hearts to forgive him. He also addressed Marcus Figueroa,
saying he hated that he took his mother and brother away.
“I
always thought about you and I’m sorry that I took your mom and your
brother away. I hate that you had to experience that, I just can’t
imagine, but I’m truly sorry for what I’ve done, and I wish y’all peace
and joy as much as you can but I’m sorry, that’s all I can say,” Ricks
said. His voice cracking and tear forming in his eye, he added that he
hoped to find the woman and her son in heaven and “tell them I’m sorry
face to face.”
“I hope y’all go in peace. I really do. I’m sorry,” he concluded before the injection began.
As the drug took effect, he took 19 quick breaths, then made 10
snoring sounds, followed seconds later by some intermittent gurgles.
Then all movement and sounds stopped, and he was pronounced dead 30
minutes after the injection had begun.
Among the other witnesses
were Roxann Sanchez’s stepfather and brother, and Anthony Figueroa’s
father, brother and grandmother. None of them showed any emotion in the
death chamber witness area and declined to speak with reporters
afterward.
The night of the killings, prosecutors said, Ricks and
Sanchez had been arguing in their apartment when the woman’s two sons
from a previous marriage tried to break up the fight. Ricks grabbed a
knife from the kitchen and began to stab Sanchez multiple times, court
records showed.
Marcus Figueroa ran to his bedroom closet and
tried to call police. After killing Anthony Figueroa, Ricks began
stabbing Marcus Figueroa, who played dead until his attacker left the
apartment, authorities said. Ricks did not harm his own then-9-month-old
son Isaiah, according to court records. Ricks fled and was later
arrested in Oklahoma.
At his ensuing capital murder trial, Ricks testified that he had
anger issues and had been defending himself against the two boys after
they had come to their mother’s defense.
“Explaining my rage, I
was upset. Things happen. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. I
wish I could bring them back, like, right now,” said Ricks, who also
apologized at the time for the killings.
A day before the
stabbings, Ricks had appeared in court after having been charged with
assaulting Sanchez during a previous incident.
On Wednesday, the
U.S. Supreme Court rejected Ricks’ final appeal without comment. His
attorneys had argued that prosecutors violated Ricks’ constitutional
rights by eliminating potential jurors on the basis of race while
selecting the trial panel.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office said court records show the
prosecution’s jury selection decisions were “race neutral” and lower
courts have already concluded that prosecutors’ actions were not
discriminatory.
And earlier this week, the Texas Board of Pardons
and Paroles denied Ricks’ request to commute his death sentence or grant
a 90-day reprieve.
Ricks was the second person put to death this
year in Texas and the sixth in the country. Texas has historically held
more executions than any other state.
Charles “Sonny” Burton, a 75-year-old inmate in Alabama, had been scheduled for execution Thursday. But Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Monday commuted his death sentence
to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Burton had been
condemned for a fatal shooting during a 1991 robbery at an auto parts
store even though he didn’t pull the trigger.
A
jar of THCA flower at locally owned hemp shop ATX Organics. Such
products would no longer be permitted for sale or manufacture under
state rules taking effect March 31.
Smokable cannabis products must be removed from Texas stores by the end of the month under new rules adopted by the state's health department.
Virtually
all edible hemp products will still be allowed with stricter packaging
and testing requirements. But sharply higher fees on retailers and
manufacturers, while lower than initially proposed, could lead to more
expensive products or force some companies out of business.
The sweeping regulations for the state's hemp industry were first recommended in December. They were created based on an executive order issued by Gov. Greg Abbott after the Texas Legislature couldn't agree whether to regulate THC products more strictly or ban them entirely.
Last
week, the Texas Department of State Health Services adopted its final
version of the rules and said they would take effect March 31.
The
new regulations effectively ban the sale of smokable hemp and extracts
by changing how DSHS measures Delta-9 THC, the primary psychoactive
ingredient in cannabis.
Live
resins and rosins extracted from cannabis, such as these sold at
Austin's ATX Organics, have become popular in part because they're
faster acting and easier to dose than edible hemp products.
Under the state's 2019 hemp law, cannabis with no more than 0.3% Delta-9 by dry weight is considered legal hemp.
The adopted DSHS regulation includes a new "total THC" rule,
which counts a cannabis compound known as THCA in the Delta-9
calculation. THCA converts to Delta-9 when heated or smoked, which is
why a product known as THCA flower has become widely popular in Texas.
During
the public comment period, hundreds of people told DSHS they oppose
counting THCA as Delta-9. THCA is not explicitly banned by state or
federal law.
In its response,
DSHS said the "total THC" policy follows existing state and federal
regulations, which are the rules written by government employees tasked
with interpreting law.
The Texas Agriculture Commission adopted regulations in 2020 requiring that tests account for the potential conversion of THCA to Delta-9. The U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed a similar rule on the last day of President Trump's first term. The rule was adopted two months later by the Biden administration.
The
state's new hemp regulations slash a proposed 10,000% increase in the
annual fees charged to retailers and manufacturers of what Texas calls
"consumable hemp products." But the adopted fees — $5,000 per year for
each retail location and $10,000 per year for each manufacturing
facility — are still 33 and 40 times higher, respectively, than existing
levies.
More than 9,100 retail locations in Texas are registered to sell consumable hemp products, according to state health records.
Smoke
ATX off of West Slaughter Lane is among 9,100 locations registered with
the state to sell hemp products. The annual fee for hemp retailers will
increase from $150 per location to $5,000 under the new rules adopted
by DSHS.
Some retailers say the fees are still crippling, especially coupled with the new prohibition on smokable products.
"It's
a high rate, but it would still be feasible, but then we come into the
[THCA] regulations," said Estella Castro, owner of the hemp store Austin
Cannabis Co. "If you don't have the flower, and the flower is going off
completely, I don't think you're going to have the $5,000."
Castro said smokable products account for about 40% of her sales.
Cannabis
advocates say they are glad to see new product recall standards and a
process to track consumer complaints, but they believe high licensing
fees and a ban on flowers and extracts will power up the unregulated
market.
"We know that consumers will be able to still acquire
these products either from out of state operators who are not restricted
by DSHS regulations or from the illicit market, which causes the most
concern for us," said Heather Fazio, who leads the Texas Cannabis Policy
Center. "The illicit market doesn't have age restrictions. It doesn't
have safety mechanisms and consumer protection."
The new DSHS
rules only affect the manufacture, distribution and sale of hemp
products. They don't affect state law allowing for possession of them.
Mark
Bordas, head of the Texas Hemp Business Council, compared the $10,000
fee annual on hemp manufacturing facilities to the Texas Alcoholic
Beverage Commission's fee on distillers: $3,000 every two years.
"Our
concern is some of these measures are so draconian that you are going
to drive people out of the business and then folks' access to the
products," Bordas said. "Invariably, we're going to have to bring forth a
[lawsuit], and the state has to defend what it's done, and that's
taxpayer money, and it's a waste."
