Black Woman Charged w/ Stabbing White Paramedic During Ambulance Ride to Hospital

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Black Woman Charged w/ Stabbing White Paramedic During Ambulance Ride to Hospital

(Headline USA) A woman pleaded not guilty Monday to fatally stabbing a Kansas City, Missouri, paramedic as she was being taken to a hospital in an ambulance.

Shanetta Bossell, 39, was arrested Sunday after trying to drive off in the ambulance as others were tending to paramedic Graham Hoffman’s chest wound, according to court records. She has been jailed on $1 million bond on charges of first-degree murder, armed criminal action, assault and resisting arrest. No attorney is listed for her in online court records.

The 29-year-old paramedic had worked for the Kansas City Fire Department for three years and was remembered for his commitment to the job.

“Our community grieves his loss at such a young age with his entire life ahead of him,” Clay County prosecuting attorney Zachary Thompson said at a news conference Sunday night.

Police spotted Bossell walking along the shoulder of a highway early Sunday, her finger cut and bleeding, according to the probable cause affidavit. She had been freed on bond just two days earlier in a resisting arrest case that Thompson said involved an assault on a law enforcement officer.

While en route to the hospital, the driver heard Hoffman frantically call for help, saying Bossell had a knife. The driver stopped and then rushed to the back. As he flung open the door, he heard Hoffman say, “She stabbed me in the heart,” the affidavit said.

An officer who was following the ambulance then witnessed Bossell get into the vehicle’s cab and attempt to put it into drive, according to the affidavit. The officer ultimately was able to wrestle her to the ground. But during the fray, she bit his arm, and he hit her in the head with his firearm to get her to let go, the affidavit said.

A second ambulance arrived and the crew rushed Hoffman to the hospital, where he died later that afternoon.

Thompson said any conviction on the murder charge could draw a life sentence without possibility of parole — or even a death sentence. But he did not elaborate on prosecution plans and said police continue to investigate what he described as a “horrific” crime.”

“Let me be perfectly clear,” he said. “Our office will use all legal, moral, and ethical tools at our disposal to ensure justice for Graham, his family and the entire community.”

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Oops! $60 Million Fighter Jet Falls off Aircraft Carrier, Sinks to Bottom of Red Sea

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Oops! $60 Million Fighter Jet Falls off Aircraft Carrier, Sinks to Bottom of Red Sea

(Headline USA) An F/A-18 fighter jet slipped off the hanger deck of an aircraft carrier deployed to the Middle East, as sailors were towing the aircraft into place in the hangar bay of the USS Harry S. Truman on Monday, the U.S. Navy said on Monday.

The crew members who were in the pilot seat of the Super Hornet and on the small towing tractor both jumped out before the jet and the tug went into the Red Sea. According to a defense official, the sailor who jumped from the aircraft sustained a minor injury. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel details.

“The F/A-18E was actively under tow in the hangar bay when the move crew lost control of the aircraft. The aircraft and tow tractor were lost overboard,” the Navy said in a statement. “Sailors towing the aircraft took immediate action to move clear of the aircraft before it fell overboard. An investigation is underway.”

The jet was part of Strike Fighter Squadron 136.

Fighter jets are routinely towed around the hangar deck to park them where they are needed for any flight operations or other work. It is unclear whether there will be an effort to recover the jet, which costs about $60 million. The incident is under investigation.

The Truman has been deployed to the Middle East for months and recently has been involved in stepped-up military operations against the Yemen-based Houthi rebels. U.S. Central Command has said that the military has conducted daily strikes, which have been done by fighter jets, bombers, ships and drones.

The Truman’s deployment has already been extended once by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth by about a month.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

 

Wall Street Journal Urges Trump to Open the Gates for Legal Migrants

Jose Nino
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Wall Street Journal Urges Trump to Open the Gates for Legal Migrants

(José Niño, Headline USA) With the border under control, the question remains: Should America open its doors to more legal immigrants for economic reasons?

According to Customs and Border protection data, February 2025 saw only 8,347 illegal alien border crossings along the southwest border, representing a 71% decrease from January 2025 (29,101) and a 94% decrease from February 2024 (140,641). 

March 2025 recorded 7,181 apprehensions, an additional 14% decrease from February and a 95% decrease from March 2024 (137,473). 

In March 2025, CBP reported “the lowest southwest border crossings in history,” with U.S. Border Patrol averaging approximately 264 apprehensions per day nationwide.

This low number of border crossings has prompted The Wall Street Journal to suggest that Donald Trump should now welcome more economic migrants through legal channels. The WSJ’s editorial board, which supports increasing immigration, posed the political questioned: “The question is whether Mr. Trump can use the political capital from his border victory to achieve a more lasting immigration success.” 

According to the WSJ’s editors, Trump’s “opportunity” for “immigration success” should “include more pathways for legal immigration to address the labor needs of a growing economy.”

Half of small businesses claim one of their largest problems is finding workers. The editors pose the question: “If Mr. Trump wants more fruits and vegetables grown at home, who’s going to pick them?” They also ask, “If Mr. Trump wants Silicon Valley to win the AI race, why are H-1B skilled visas capped at a low number and handed out by lottery?”

The WSJ’s argument for increasing legal immigration comes at a time when the consensus on the support for mass migration is breaking down.  For example, Vice President JD Vance likened the allure of cheap labor as “a drug that too many American firms got addicted to … [and] cheap labor is a problem precisely because it’s been bad for innovation.” He continued, “Real innovation makes us more productive, but it also, I think, dignifies our workers. It boosts our standard of living. It strengthens our workforce and the relative value of its labor.”

Harvard economist George Borjas has produced influential work suggesting that immigration places significant downward pressure on wages. His research indicates a wage elasticity of immigration between -0.3 and -0.4. In other words, if immigration increases by 10%, wages fall by 3-4% for workers with similar characteristics. 

Applying this approach to data from the timeframe of 1980 to 2000, Borjas found that immigrants reduced the average wage of native workers with similar education and work experience by 3-4%, with effects reaching 9% for the least skilled workers.

Borjas’ long work questioning immigration has shaped populist critiques of the purported benefits of mass migration, which has been a bipartisan policy prescription since the 1960s. 

Whether Trump’s immigration policies will pave the way for a new era of legal immigration remains to be seen, but the stakes for American workers and businesses are higher than ever.

José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino

‘60 Minutes’ Reporter Accuses Parent Company of Corruption on Air

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‘60 Minutes’ Reporter Accuses Parent Company of Corruption on Air

(Headline USA) “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley paid tribute Sunday to Bill Owens, the show’s executive producer who resigned last week, saying on the air that “none of us is happy” about the extra supervision that corporate leaders are imposing.

Pelley made his comments at the end of the evening’s CBS News telecast, saying that in quitting, Owens proved he was the right person for the job.

“It was hard on him and it was hard on us,” Pelley said. “But he did it for us — and you.”

His on-air statement was an unusual peek behind the scenes at the sort of inner turmoil that viewers seldom get the opportunity to see.

Owens, only the third top executive in the 57-year history of television’s most influential newscast, resigned last week, saying he no longer felt he had the independence to run the program as he had in the past, and felt necessary.

CBS News’ parent company, Paramount Global, is in the midst of a merger with Skydance Media that needs the approval of the Trump administration. Trump has sued “60 Minutes” for $20 billion, saying it unfairly edited a Kamala Harris interview last fall to her advantage. Owens and others at “60 Minutes” believe they did nothing wrong and have opposed a settlement.

An extra look at “60 Minutes” stories before they air

As a result of the Harris interview debacle, Pelley explained to viewers on Sunday, Paramount has begun to supervise “60 Minutes” stories in new ways. Former CBS News President Susan Zirinsky, a longtime news producer, has reportedly been asked to look at the show’s stories before they air.

“None of our stories has been blocked,” Pelley said. “But Bill felt he lost the independence that honest journalism requires. No one here is happy about it. But in resigning, Bill proved he was the right person to lead ‘60 Minutes’ all along.”

Despite this, “60 Minutes” has done tough stories about the Trump administration almost every week since the inauguration in January, many of them reported by Pelley. On Sunday, “60 Minutes” correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi had the latest, interviewing scientists about cutbacks at the National Institutes for Health.

Trump was particularly angered by the show’s telecast two weeks ago, saying on social media that CBS News should “pay a big price” for going after him. Trump has said 60 Minutes doctoring of its Harris interview was election interference.

“CBS should lose its license, and the cheaters at 60 Minutes should all be thrown out, and this disreputable “NEWS” show should be immediately terminated,” the president said in February.

Aside from the dishonest Harris reporting, 60 Minutes also infamously gave a softball interview to Jan. 6 provocateur Ray Epps in 2023.

Epps is the controversial figure seen on camera on Jan. 5 and 6, 2021, urging protestors to enter the Capitol. He initially appeared on the FBI’s wanted list in relation to the Capitol rioting, only to be removed in the summer of 2021 with no explanation.

Many suspect that Epps was a government asset on Jan. 6, but in 2023 60 Minutes called such a notion a “convoluted conspiracy theory.” The April 2023 60 Minutes segment, which portrayed Epps as a victim–even though he was encouraging protestors to storm the Capitol–only served to heighten suspicions about him.

“Ray Epps is the only person I’ve seen on video January 5th and January 6th urging and directing people to go into the Capitol,” Rep. Thomas Massie said after the 60 Minutes interview aired. “In a text message on January 6th he bragged that he orchestrated it. Why do democrats and the media portray him as the victim? So bizarre.”

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Trump Says US Will Be ‘Leading the Pack’ in Any Attack on Iran

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Trump Says US Will Be ‘Leading the Pack’ in Any Attack on Iran

(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com) President Donald Trump has said that the United States would be “leading the pack” in an attack on Iran if a deal isn’t reached on Tehran’s nuclear program.

Trump made the comment in an interview with Time Magazine that was published on Friday, when asked about the possibility of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dragging the US into a war with Iran.

“You asked if he’d drag me in, like I’d go in unwillingly. No, I may go in very willingly if we can’t get a deal. If we don’t make a deal, I’ll be leading the pack,” Trump said.

The president has been threatening to bomb Iran if a nuclear deal isn’t reached, even though there’s no evidence Tehran is working to build a nuclear weapon, a fact recently confirmed by US intelligence agencies.

Trump said in the interview that he believes he can reach a deal with Iran. Since starting the talks earlier this month, the US and Iran have held three rounds of negotiations, and both sides continue to say there’s been progress.

Netanyahu has been working against the possibility of a deal, saying any agreement must completely dismantle Iran’s civilian nuclear program, an unacceptable condition for Tehran.

Netanyahu said on Sunday that any agreement must eliminate “all the infrastructure of Iran’s nuclear program” and that Israel “cannot live with anything short of that—anything short of that could bring you the opposite result.”

The Israeli leader has repeatedly invoked the “Libya model,” referring to when former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi agreed to dismantle his nuclear infrastructure in 2003. Only eight years later, in 2011, Gaddafi was brutally killed by US-backed militants after a NATO airstrike hit his convoy amid a US-NATO bombing campaign.

This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com.

Report: Jeffrey Epstein Victim’s Lawyer Has ‘Big Question Marks’ about Her Purported Suicide

Ken Silva
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Report: Jeffrey Epstein Victim’s Lawyer Has ‘Big Question Marks’ about Her Purported Suicide

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Virginia Giuffre, who was one of the most vocal survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking ring, reportedly committed suicide last Thursday—but her lawyer is raising questions about what really happened.

“When I got the phone call, I was like, are you joking? Because there was no sign that that was something she was considering,” Giuffre’s attorney, Karrie Louden, told The Sun in an article published Monday. “We’ve got big question marks over it.”

The Sun also reported that Giuffre may have overdosed on pills, but that Louden questioned whether the OD was intentional.

“There’s suicide and then there’s misadventure,” she said, according to the Sun. “I didn’t see her in the room. I wasn’t in there. The family said what the family has said but I’m not going to speculate whether it was suicide or accidental.”

The Sun reported that it could take two years before a coroner’s report is filed.

Giuffre’s reported suicide came just weeks after she claimed that she had four days to live. Giuffre, 41, who was living in Australia,  said on March 30 that she was recently hit by a bus.

“They’ve given me four days to live, transferring me to a specialist hospital in urology,’ she said Sunday on Instagram, explaining that she’s gone into kidney failure, and that she wants to see her babies one more time before she dies.

However, Giuffre was released from the hospital days later, and was presumed to be on the upswing. Police reportedly described the bus crash as “minor,” even though Giuffre said the vehicle was driving faster than 50 mph when it hit her.

Giuffre, formerly Virginia Roberts, alleged that Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell groomed her, starting at 16 years old, for Epstein’s “pleasure, including lessons in Epstein’s preferences during oral sex.” Giuffre said she was trafficked to prominent figures such as Prince Andrew, attorney Alan Dershowitz, politician Bill Richardson, and others.

She settled a lawsuit with Maxwell in 2017 and Prince Andrew in 2022, while dropping her lawsuit against Dershowitz.

Meanwhile, Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence after being found guilty of conspiring with Epstein in 2021. Epstein was reportedly found dead in his prison cell in August 2019—allegedly of suicide, though Maxwell recently said she doubts that.

Epstein’s lawyers have also contested the claim that he killed himself. Skeptics point to malfunctioning surveillance cameras, sleeping guards, and broken bones in Epstein’s neck as indications that his death was something other than suicide.

Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Attends Pope Francis’s Funeral

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WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Attends Pope Francis’s Funeral

(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com) Julian Assange and his family traveled to Rome over the weekend and were among hundreds of thousands of people at the Vatican attending the funeral of Pope Francis, who was a supporter of the WikiLeaks founder.

“Now Julian is free, we have all come to Rome to express our family’s gratitude for the Pope’s support during Julian’s persecution,” Assange’s wife, Stella, said in a statement released by WikiLeaks on X that included a photo of the couple with their two young children.

“Our children and I had the honor of meeting Pope Francis in June 2023 to discuss how to free Julian from Belmarsh prison. Francis wrote to Julian in prison and even proposed to grant him asylum at the Vatican,” Stella added.

On the day Pope Francis died at 88, WikiLeaks paid tribute to the late Pontiff, calling him a “true ally in the fight for Julian Assange’s freedom.”

When Stella visited Pope Francis at the Vatican in 2023, Julian was still being held in London’s Belmarsh Prison and was fighting extradition to the US for exposing US war crimes by publishing documents he obtained from former US Army Private Chelsea Manning, a standard journalistic practice.

At the time of the visit, Stella said Francis had “provided great solace and comfort, and we are extremely appreciative for his reaching out to our family in this way. He understands that Julian is suffering and is concerned.”

The Assange family’s appearance at the Vatican was the second known time Julian traveled outside of Australia since he returned home after reaching a plea deal with the US government last year.

A few months after his release, Julian addressed the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). “I want to be totally clear. I am not free today because the system worked. I am free today after years of incarceration because I pled guilty to journalism,” he said in the address.

“I pled guilty to seeking information from a source. I pled guilty to obtaining information from a source. And I pled guilty to informing the public what that information was. I did not plead guilty to anything else,” the WikiLeaks founder added.

This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com.

Rep. Gerry Connolly Steps Down as Top Oversight Democrat, Announces Retirement

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Rep. Gerry Connolly Steps Down as Top Oversight Democrat, Announces Retirement

(Headline USA) Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia announced on Monday he is stepping down as the top Democrat on the powerful House Oversight Committee and will not be seeking reelection next year due to his cancer returning, ending his long career in public life.

Connolly, 75, has served in Congress since 2009 and represents northern Virginia, including Fairfax County. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in a statement that Connolly has been a “relentless advocate for the incredible civil servants” in his district during the Trump administration’s “unprecedented attacks on federal employees.”

Connolly announced late last year that he had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer and would undergo chemotherapy and immunotherapy. He said that after “grueling treatments,” he learned that the cancer has returned.

Concerns about Connolly’s health were a factor late last year as he ran for the top ranking position on Oversight, one of the most prominent committees in Congress.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., ran against Connolly for the job but was defeated as the majority of Democrats opted to stick with the seniority system. Connolly has served on the Oversight Committee for more than 16 years.

His retirement announcement follows numerous high-profile Democrats dying in office.

Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, D-Ariz., passed away last month—making him the second Democrat to die in office in as many weeks. Grijalva died of complications from cancer treatment, his office said in a statement. The treatments had sidelined him from Congress in recent months.

He stepped down as the top Democrat on the Natural Resources committee earlier this year, after announcing that he planned to retire rather than run for reelection in 2026.

Another Democratic House member, Rep. Sylvester Turner of Texas, died a week before Grijalva from health issues.

Turner, in turn, had replaced U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who died last July after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Birthrates Hit Historic Lows: What’s Next for the U.S. Family?

Jose Nino
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Birthrates Hit Historic Lows: What’s Next for the U.S. Family?

(José Niño, Headline USA) As birthrates languish near all-time lows, some warn that the very fabric of American society could be at stake.

In 2024, just over 3.6 million babies were born-a rise of less than 1% from 2023, according to new federal data that the Wall Street Journal presented last Wednesday. The total fertility rate stood at about 1.63 births per woman, slightly above the record low set in 2023 but still well under the threshold required for generational replacement. 

This ongoing pattern in U.S. births and fertility rates highlights how Americans are facing a mix of economic and social pressures, causing many women and families to postpone or opt out of having children altogether. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highlights that a rate of 2.1 births per woman is needed for a generation to replace itself, but the 2024 figure was just 1.63. 

The CDC’s provisional report also shows the fertility rate increased by less than 1% between 2023 and 2024. American women are having children later in life, with teen birth rates declining and rates rising for women in their 30s and early 40s. 

The total fertility rate is an estimate of how many children a woman would have over her lifetime and is considered a snapshot of current trends, not a prediction of future choices. 

The rate reached its peak during the post-WWII baby boom and has generally stayed below the replacement level since the 1970s, briefly approaching 2.1 in the mid-2000s prior to the global financial crisis. Since 2007, rates have steadily plummeted, with 2023’s 1.62 births per woman marking the lowest since tracking began in the 1930s. 

The number of U.S. births has stabilized around 3.6 million since 2020, with 2024’s figure 16 percent below the 2007 peak of 4.3 million. Karen Benjamin Guzzo, director of the Carolina Population Center at UNC Chapel Hill, observed, “The U.S. births and fertility rates reported in 2024 appear to show general stability amid years of decline.”

In 2024, there were 3,622,673 births, a provisional count expected to rise slightly as more data is collected. 

Birth rates for women in the 25–44 age cohort increased, while those for teens and women 15–24 fell. Younger Americans face more uncertainty, higher childcare costs, and student debt, making them more reticent about starting families. 

Notably, the birth rate for women ages 40–44 rose by 2 percent, surpassing the rate for teenagers for the first time. “It signals a huge shift in Americans’ patterns of childbearing across age,” stated Leslie Root, assistant research professor at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Institute of Behavioral Science.

Hispanic and Asian women were the only groups to see a rise in fertility rates in 2024, with births to Hispanic mothers making up 27% of all U.S. births — a record figure. The share of children born to White mothers fell to 49%, the lowest on record.

The persistent drop in birth rates has drawn attention from the Trump administration. President Donald Trump recently indicated he is open to providing “baby bonuses” for families who have children. 

For his part, Elon Musk, a top Trump adviser, has repeatedly warned that “civilization would suffer if birthrates continue to remain low.”  

As the nation faces a future with fewer children, the debate over how to encourage family growth is only just beginning.

José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.c/JoseAlNino 

Harvard House of Horrors: Morgue Manager Sold Donated Bodies for Profit

Jose Nino
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Harvard House of Horrors: Morgue Manager Sold Donated Bodies for Profit

(José Niño, Headline USA) The sacred tradition of donating one’s body to science was shattered at Harvard University, where a trusted employee turned the morgue into a grisly meat market.

According to a report by the New York Times, Cedric Lodge, formerly the morgue manager at Harvard Medical School, stole organs from cadavers that had been donated for medical research, according to prosecutors. The university terminated his employment in 2023.

Lodge was responsible for managing cadavers in the school’s Anatomical Gift Program, with the expectation that these bodies would be cremated after research concluded, prosecutors said.

However, a sweeping federal investigation found that Lodge had transformed the morgue into a “shopping emporium for brains, skin and other body parts,” supplying collectors in multiple states through a criminal network that included his wife. Investigators reported that he transported stolen remains to his home in New Hampshire.

This breach went unnoticed from roughly 2018 until March 2023, tarnishing the reputation of one of America’s most prestigious medical schools.

Nearly two weeks ago, federal court filings in Pennsylvania showed that Lodge agreed to plead guilty to one count of interstate transportation of stolen goods, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. 

As part of the plea deal, he will not face a conspiracy charge. Prosecutors recommended a sentence below the maximum, but the final decision rests with the judge.

In a statement, Dr. George Q. Daley, dean of Harvard Medical School, denounced Lodge’s actions.

“Cedric Lodge’s criminal actions were morally reprehensible and a disgraceful betrayal of the individuals who altruistically chose to will their bodies to Harvard Medical School’s Anatomical Gift Program to advance medical education and research,” Dr. Daley declared. “While Lodge has agreed to plead guilty and taken responsibility for his crimes, this likely provides little consolation to the families impacted. We continue to express our deep compassion to all those affected.”

Of the seven people charged in connection with the trafficking of stolen body parts, all but one have pleaded guilty or agreed to do so, including Lodge’s wife, Denise, who is also awaiting sentencing. 

One case remains pending, while another defendant — a former employee of a mortuary services provider in Arkansas — is seeking to withdraw her guilty plea after receiving a 15-year sentence.

Prosecutors said Lodge stole dissected portions from donated cadavers, including heads, brains, skin, and bones, and shipped them to buyers. One buyer, Katrina Maclean, owns a store called Kat’s Creepy Creations in Peabody, Massachusetts, which advertises “Creations that shock the mind & shake the soul.” 

In a recent motion, Maclean’s lawyer argued that human remains “are not, and have never been, deemed to constitute property or ‘goods, wares or merchandise.’”

On several occasions, Lodge allowed Maclean and other buyers into the morgue to select which body parts they wanted. Authorities said Maclean chose two dissected faces, agreeing to pay Lodge $600 for them in October 2020. 

Over nearly three years, Lodge’s wife received $37,000 in electronic payments from another buyer, Joshua Taylor of West Lawn, Pennsylvania, for body parts stolen by Lodge. In one instance, Taylor sent $1,000 to Denise Lodge with the memo “head number 7,” and in another, $200 with the note “braiiiiiins.” 

Taylor has agreed to plead guilty to one count of interstate transportation of stolen goods. 

The nation now looks to Harvard and the courts to restore faith in a system shaken by this unprecedented violation of trust.

José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino 

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