‘Horrific Scene’: At Least 117 Dead Dogs Found at California Shelter

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‘Horrific Scene’: At Least 117 Dead Dogs Found at California Shelter

(Headline USA) The remains of at least 117 dogs were found on the grounds of a California “no-kill“ animal shelter, many of them with gunshot wounds, authorities said.

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office said Friday that it also discovered 21 canine skulls, hundreds of bones and other remains during searches at Miranda’s Rescue Animal Sanctuary, a 50-acre facility in Fortuna, California.

Investigators combing the site on Thursday located an area in a barn where they believe dogs were likely killed, the sheriff’s office said. More than 600 dog collars were found nearby, the office said.

Sheriff William Honsal called it a “horrific scene.” No charges have been filed.

A message seeking comment was left for the shelter’s founder, Shannon Miranda.

In a statement posted to the shelter’s website on June 18, Miranda said that recent media coverage and online commentary “have presented an incomplete and, in some cases, inaccurate picture of our work.”

“At Miranda’s Rescue, our mission is to save as many animals as we safely can—always balancing compassion for animals with our responsibility to protect families, children, other pets, and the public,” Miranda wrote.

The sheriff’s office said it started investigating the shelter after receiving “credible information” in April “regarding allegations of felony animal abuse, animal cruelty, fraud, and conspiracy.”

Miranda’s Rescue collects fees from shelter transfers, as well as donations that it says helps cover the costs of food, housing, veterinary care, medications, facility expenses and staffing.

An affidavit from an earlier search of the property said that the sheriff’s office was tipped off by a pair of animal advocates, one of whom owns property adjoining the shelter and used trail cameras to monitor activity near an alleged burial site.

The advocates later went onto shelter property and dug up dog remains, the affidavit said.

“This investigation is just getting started,” Honsal said in a statement. “There is a tremendous amount of data to process, witnesses to interview, and evidence to examine.”

Investigators using ground-penetrating radar found 117 intact remains in various stages of decomposition buried in an open field, the sheriff’s office said.

They X-rayed 70 of the remains on site and found evidence of bullet fragments in many of them. The cause of death for many of those animals appeared to be gunshot wounds, the sheriff’s office said.

Investigators also found additional remains in advanced stages of decomposition, the sheriff’s office said.

The sheriff’s office said hundreds of dogs were transferred or turned over to Miranda’s Rescue by private citizens and animal shelters.

In his statement, Miranda said, “Miranda’s Rescue is a no-kill rescue. We do not euthanize animals simply to make space.”

However, Miranda wrote, ”there are rare circumstances in which euthanasia may be necessary — when an animal is suffering from a terminal condition or when it poses a serious, ongoing danger to people or other animals.”

“In those situations, we make the most humane and responsible decision we can, always with public safety and animal welfare in mind.”

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Hillary Clinton Delivers Surprisingly Positive Remark About Trump

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Hillary Clinton Delivers Surprisingly Positive Remark About Trump

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) President Donald Trump may have ended Hillary Clinton’s higher office aspirations, but last week, she drew rare praise for him during a public appearance in New York City.

The twice-failed presidential candidate offered positive remarks about Trump’s Gaza peace proposal, also known as the 20-point plan, at a June 19 event at the 92nd Street Y.

She specifically called Trump’s plan “the only game in town” and said it provides a pathway for the self-determination of the Palestinians in Gaza.

“I’m going to say something positive about Trump. So hold on,” Clinton began. “Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza is actually a pathway to security for Israel, reconstruction for Gaza and the possibility of self-determination, however defined, for the Palestinians.”

Clinton said some individuals reject the plan “because Trump did it,” but she warned that “it’s the only game in town.”

Later at the event, Clinton said that if the plan’s overall approach is implemented, “there is a glimmer of a possible path forward.”

The 20-point peace plan was designed to end the war between Israel and Hamas and secure the release of hostages taken on Oct. 7, 2023.

The 20-point peace framework includes proposals to eradicate terrorism in Gaza, encourage redevelopment of the region and disarm Hamas. The plan also has provisions to allow Hamas terrorists to leave for receiving countries.

4 Dead in Kentucky Amid Flooding Caused by Heavy Rains

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4 Dead in Kentucky Amid Flooding Caused by Heavy Rains

(Headline USA) Four people have died due to flooding from thunderstorms in Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear said Saturday, and he declared a state of emergency with additional rainfall expected.

Flash flood warnings were in effect Saturday for parts of Kentucky and Indiana amid heavy rainfall, according to the National Weather Service.

The agency late Saturday afternoon said between 4 and 10 inches of rain had already fallen in some parts of southwestern Indiana, with more possible. Beshear’s office said up to 7 inches of rain were expected in parts of his state through the late evening.

He said on social media that three people had died in Madison County and one in Jackson County due to flooding.

Two of the flood victims, a man and a woman, were found dead inside their house after floodwaters inundated a section of the city of Richmond, Kentucky, and trapped residents inside their homes, according to the Madison County coroner’s office.

Another victim was extracted from a vehicle trapped in floodwaters on Tates Creek Road near Lexington, the coroner’s office said.

Carlos Coyle, the deputy Madison County coroner, said search and rescue teams were going door to door searching for victims in hard-hit areas. Some areas still were not accessible, he said.

Beshear said on social media there were “significant roads underwater” in Madison County. He also said at least 12 state roads were “out of commission” because they were flooded.

“This is a serious flooding event, where teams have already had to conduct multiple water rescues from vehicles and homes across the commonwealth,” he said in a separate statement. “As more heavy rain continues through late tonight, we need folks to remain alert and to avoid driving, especially after dark when there is limited visibility.”

In northwest Kentucky, just outside Louisville, Bullitt County emergency management officials asked residents of a rural road to evacuate as a precaution after a landslide at a dam embankment. The dam was holding, and there was no indication of imminent failure, they said.

The area saw about 3 inches of rain in the past two days, according to the National Weather Service.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Trump-Backed Letlow Wins Louisiana Republican Senate Runoff

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Trump-Backed Letlow Wins Louisiana Republican Senate Runoff

(, The Center Square) U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow won Louisiana’s Republican nomination for U.S. Senate on Saturday, defeating state Treasurer John Fleming in a runoff that became a test of President Donald Trump’s influence over the state GOP.

Letlow will face Democrat Jamie Davis, a northeast Louisiana farmer, in the November general election for the seat now held by U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy. Cassidy, a two-term Republican, was eliminated in the May primary after finishing third behind Letlow and Fleming.

Fleming called Letlow shortly after her win to congratulate her, a conversation Letlow called “wonderful”. She also spoke with President Donald Trump, and said she looks forward to working with him.

In his concession speech, Fleming did not endorse Letlow in the general election. “We want to continue to make America strong by sending the best of the best there and fighting for the freedoms, the things that our founding fathers prepared us for, and it’s up to us to carry that on for the future,” Fleming said.

Trump’s endorsement defined the race from the start. The president backed Letlow before she formally entered the contest, seeking to replace Cassidy after his vote to convict Trump during the 2021 impeachment trial following the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

The runoff also exposed a split inside the pro-Trump wing of the Louisiana Republican Party. Letlow campaigned as Trump’s endorsed candidate and drew support from Gov. Jeff Landry and U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise. Fleming, a former congressman and Trump administration official, argued he had the more conservative record and deeper ties to the MAGA movement.

The two campaigns were built quite differently. Letlow’s Senate committee reported about $5.4 million in receipts through June 7, including roughly $3.8 million transferred from other authorized committees. Fleming reported about $12.2 million in receipts, but nearly all of that came from $11.5 million in loans from the candidate.

The race turned increasingly negative in its final stretch. Fleming attacked Letlow over past comments about diversity, equity and inclusion from her time in higher education. Letlow, a former university administrator, said this year she opposes DEI policies. Fleming also shared an AI-generated video that depicted Letlow discussing DEI and referenced her late husband, Luke Letlow, drawing condemnation from Letlow’s campaign.

Her Senate win also leaves her House seat open, creating a separate race for the sprawling 5th District, which stretches from northeast Louisiana into parts of the Baton Rouge region.

Saturday’s runoff was part of Louisiana’s new closed-primary system for certain federal and statewide offices, a major shift from the state’s longtime “jungle primary” model.

Under the system, Republicans and Democrats choose party nominees before the general election, while unaffiliated voters may participate in one party’s primary but must remain with that party through any runoff.

In the Democratic runoff, Davis defeated businessman and Navy veteran Gary Crockett. Davis enters the general election as a longshot in a state Trump carried by 22 percentage points in 2024.

If elected, Letlow would become Louisiana’s first female Republican U.S. senator.

3 Firefighters Killed Battling Wildfires on the Colorado-Utah Border

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3 Firefighters Killed Battling Wildfires on the Colorado-Utah Border

(Headline USA) Three firefighters died and two were injured while tackling fires on the Colorado-Utah border, the U.S. Wildland Fire Service reported Sunday.

The agency — created earlier this year to streamline firefighting and fire reduction across public lands — said the firefighters had been part of an interagency response to the Knowles and Gore fires on Saturday.

“The U.S. Wildland Fire Service stands united with the USDA Forest Service in grief and in our unwavering support for the loved ones left behind. Their bravery, dedication, and sacrifice will never be forgotten,” it said in a statement on Facebook.

Wildfire activity has intensified across the western United States, as consecutive days of hot, dry and windy weather have fueled flames in Utah, Arizona and elsewhere as new fires popped up across the region.

The largest blaze, the Cottonwood Fire, was burning in rugged terrain in southwest Utah. It ballooned Saturday to more than 144 square miles after marching through canyons and mountainsides, destroying part of a ski resort and other summer cabins along the way.

Authorities in Beaver County began working with fire teams on Saturday to assess the extent of the damage, but no estimates were immediately available. Gov. Spencer Cox in a post on social media called it bleak, but he thanked crews for what he called “several miraculous stops and saves.”

The cliffs and steep slopes have made the job even harder, said Alyssa Mason, a spokesperson assigned to the fire.

“It’s hard to get dozers and other heavy equipment into that. It’s hard to get engines into that,” she said. “It doesn’t make it impossible to firefight, but it does just kind of slow things down.”

Hundreds of firefighters have been arriving in the arid state to battle new starts as well as those that have been growing because of what forecasters called critical fire weather — dangerously low humidity levels, warm temperatures and gusty winds.

The danger is even higher this year because of Utah’s record-low snowpack and its warmest winter on record. Much of the West is grappling with similar conditions, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

From Alaska to Florida, crews worked Saturday to corral dozens of fires, including three dozen that were classified as large and uncontained.

Nationally, nearly 3 million acres have burned since the start of the year. That is more than the 10-year average.

The conditions in Utah were critical enough for Gov. Spencer Cox to declare an emergency earlier this week and clear the way for the state to ban fireworks ahead of the July Fourth holiday. The order comes as Utah is experiencing one of the most severe wildfire seasons in recent history, fueled by historic drought conditions.

State officials said that over the past week, Utah has seen an increase in wildfire starts, with each fire showing unprecedented behavior. These starts have stretched the state’s wildland firefighting capabilities, State Forester Jamie Barnes said.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis also declared an emergency on Saturday, and authorized the use of the National Guard to tackle the fires.

Forecasters with the National Weather Service over recent days have been issuing red flag warnings for a wide swath of the West, from California to Arizona and New Mexico.

South of Grand Canyon National Park, authorities said the flames of a new wildfire were moving away from Grand Canyon Village and the nearby community of Tusayan on Saturday. But about 50 miles away, another fire prompted Coconino County officials to issue evacuation orders for those near Kendrick Mountain.

Parts of northern Arizona were without power Saturday as the utility serving the area initiated a safety shut-off in hopes of lessening the wildfire risk.

Power shutoffs have become more common in the West as wildfire risk has expanded. It is usually a last resort after utility forecasters weigh factors like sustained wind and gust speeds, available fuels and topography.

With extreme fire conditions persisting in Utah, Rocky Mountain Power also shut off power lines serving Beaver County and other areas.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Trump Trolls Dems: ‘I’d be the greatest Communist in HISTORY’

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Trump Trolls Dems: ‘I’d be the greatest Communist in HISTORY’

(Ben Sellers, Headline USA) Left-wing heads were spinning after President Donald Trump laid out the entire communist platform and declared, “I think I’d be the greatest Communist in HISTORY.”

Speaking at the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s annual ‘Road to Majority’ Policy Conference at the Washington (D.C.) Hilton — where an unhinged leftist tried to assassinate him in March — Trump did not let up on the trolling following the victory of several communist radicals in New York City’s primary elections.

“Everybody gets free food! Everything is FREE!” Trump suggested as part of his communist platform.

But the promise came with a caveat.

“That first year, boy, you’re the most popular — it’s happening right now in New York and California,” Trump said. “But you’ll start living in squalor.”

Trump’s comments appeared to have landed, with some roiled progressives lashing out in response via social media.

“Ok magats, even though he hasn’t read a single word of the Communist Manifesto, your cult leader is putting himself next to Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels,” wrote X user Robert D. Ponce. “Are you guys going to idolize them as well?”

A user going only by the name Kev declared that Trump “definitely doesn’t even know what communism is.”

Trump himself said otherwise, though, in a Thursday post via Truth Social, warning the ultra-radical Left, “I’ve been waiting and preparing for this for a long time … The game is on.”

Some reactions noted that one of Trump’s early mentors was Roy Cohn, who presided over the Cold War-era treason trial for Soviet spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, as well as leading the effort to assist now vindicated anti-communist Sen. Joseph McCarthy, R-Wisc.

With support from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, communists have become brazenly confident in their ability to co-opt the Democratic Party nationwide.

Last week’s election’s even saw the ouster of otherwise extreme leftists such as Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., a lawyer who made his name by leading the original impeachment effort during Trump’s first term.

“The once great party of FDR and JFK is now anti-Israel, anti-Semitic, and pro-communist, pro-socialism — and that is frightening,” noted Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, in a Fox News interview.

Ironically, one of the losing candidates was John F. Kennedy’s only grandson, Jack Schlossberg, who placed a distant third in the race for New York’s 12th district to succeed the retiring Jerrold Nadler.

Many prognosticators on both the Right and Left said the routing likely would spell the end for the political careers of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

But Jeffries himself — whose famous uncle Leonard was, like several of the new communist electees, a raging anti-Semite —  extended a hearty welcome for the new blood.

“From public servants to union organizers to community activists, the path is different but the work is the same,” Jeffries wrote on his personal X account. “We must decisively address the affordability crisis and crush far-right extremism!”

Ben Sellers is a freelance writer and former editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/realbensellers.

Calif. Gov. Newsom Pushes Tax to Punish Billionaires for Fleeing His State

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Calif. Gov. Newsom Pushes Tax to Punish Billionaires for Fleeing His State

(Ben Sellers, Headline USA) California Gov. Gavin Newsom, licking his wounds after failing to get a state billionaire tax off the November ballot, sought to punish wealthy individuals who flee his state by proposing a federal billionaire’s tax.

“The system is fundamentally broken,” Newsom wrote in a post on social media that linked to a longer Substack article.

“The federal tax code, a corporate code, and an inheritance code were written for a different set of Americans,” he added. “It’s time for an economic reset.”

 

Newsom — likely eyeing his presidential prospects in 2028, despite years of failed leadership at the state level — desperately scrambled to protect his longtime friends and donors.

The proposed one-time tax would take 5% from all billionaires in the state, likely leading to a significant exodus of wealthy residents if successful.

Although Newsom tried to thwart the referendum, interest in cutting a deal “was basically nonexistent,” said Dave Regan, head of the SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West union, which led the charge to get it on the ballot.

“What the governor has made clear from the beginning is that he would not entertain any proposal or compromise that would tax billionaires,” Regan told the New York Post.

In order to placate his donors and French Laundry dining partners — or, at the very least, to discourage them from leaving California — Newsom proposed forcing the wealth tax on all U.S. billionaires.

“I will continue to oppose the November measure because I believe California’s budget belongs to all Californians, not to any one stakeholder, no matter how worthy the cause,” Newsom claimed in his blog post. “And I will keep making the case, here and everywhere I can, that the fight against concentrated wealth is a national fight that we have to win soon.”

Newsom seemed particularly bitter over trillionaire Elon Musk’s success since leaving California in 2020 in response to Democrats’ political persecution.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be taxing trillionaires even more,” Newsom wrote in response to a tweet from Musk that compared him to the animated character Butthead. “Time to cough up after all that California corporate welfare!”

But experts proceeded to dismantle the Democrat governor’s motives and reasoning.

Constitutional law expert Jonathan Turley compared the tax to the Eagles’ song “Hotel California,” in which residents can check out any time they like but can never leave.

Manhattan Institute scholar Christopher Rufo noted that Newsom’s instincts for wanting to avoid a bad policy at the state level were no less true at the national level.

“The billionaire tax is going to destroy Gavin Newsom’s state — the majority of the state’s ultra-wealthy are already making exit plans — so he wants to pawn it off on the entire nation,” Rufo wrote. “This is a bad idea, proposed by a bad man, that will produce bad results. Must be stopped.”

Rufo also has been busy exposing Newsom’s corrupt circle of friends, with recent articles in the City Journal exposing the many associates who are under investigation or accused of criminal activity.

Newsom revealed last week that he, himself, may be under a federal investigation.

“In recent days, federal agents have knocked on the doors of family friends and former employees, not because they found a crime, because they’re simply trying to find one,” he alleged in a video statement. “They’re demanding records. They’re abusing the grand jury process, digging through years and years of random documents.”

Ben Sellers is a freelance writer and former editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/realbensellers.

Pro-Pedo Lawmaker Turned Away from ‘Pride’ Event Due to Support of Israel

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Pro-Pedo Lawmaker Turned Away from ‘Pride’ Event Due to Support of Israel

(Ben Sellers, Headline USA) One of the only lawmakers known to openly advocate on behalf of pedophile rights was turned away from a “Pride” celebration in San Francisco … due to his support for Israel.

State Sen. Scott Wiener was sent packing from a Trans March in Mission Dolores Park on Friday, during which he was booed off the stage and then filmed as he was escorted out.

“It’s sad because while he’s written some good legislation for queers, hes [sic] ultimately a genocidal-supporting center right shill,” claimed activist Dimitry Yakoushkin. “Trigger warning: broken man walking away defeated.”

Wiener, currently vying to replace retiring Rep. Nancy Pelosi in the U.S. House, has been known for supporting outlandishly controversial bills — including 2020’s SB 145, which rolled back mandatory sex-offender registration for perpetrators up to age 27, provided they were not more than 10 years older than the victim. The law took effect in 2021.

Wiener claimed at the time that it was a win for gay rights.

“Currently, these youth are forced onto the registry for consensual sex — even if a judge doesn’t think it’s appropriate — in situations where straight youth are not,” he claimed.

However, giving grown adults carte blanche to groom and sodomize children as young as 8 was not the cause for outrage within the transgender community.

Rather, it was that Wiener, who is Jewish, condemned Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel as a “genocidal pogrom.”

To be clear, Wiener has been openly critical of current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as the ongoing military operations being waged by Israel. However, he also acknowledges his support for a two-state solution.

San Francisco leftists have previously complained that Wiener is too “moderate” due to his support for development projects that have displaced lower-income and homeless members of the LGBT community.

“The trans community is under enormous pressure and is disproportionately impacted by housing, homelessness and violence,” he told the Bay Area Register on Friday.

Yet, “to attack elected officials who have worked many years to help the trans community is unwarranted,” he added.

Several other elected officials were booed at the march, which featured members of Antifa in full black bloc spray-painting security cameras.

Amid festive “Pride” chants of “Free Palestine” and “Blue Lives Murder,” Gov. Gavin Newsom and San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, both Democrats, were jeered by name.

The  comes as Democrats’ reckless pivot toward extremism and pro-communist rhetoric have begun to backfire stupendously.

Just days before being defeated in his New York reelection primary, Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., the lawyer who led impeachment hearings against President Donald Trump, was put on social-media blast by a Muslim coffeeshop.

Poetica Coffee publicly shamed Goldman for his support of Israel and refunded him the $9.82 for an earlier purchase he made while with his 7-year-old daughter.

“We don’t serve racists, fascists, homophobes, genocide enablers, or anyone in between,” it wrote on its Instagram account.

Like Goldman, several other incumbent lawmakers in New York who were by no means moderate got replaced by pro-Palestinian extremist in last week’s primary.

Spencer Pratt — the former Los Angeles mayoral candidate who recently lost his race, under dubious circumstances, to two averred communists — noted the slippery slope that leftists were teetering over in their effort to go farther and farther to the fringes.

“See the look on the Wiener guy’s face? That’s the realization that his Frankenstein ain’t going back in the grave,” Pratt wrote. “Every communist revolutionary thinks they’ll have a seat at the table of power…in reality, they’re always the first against the wall.”

Ben Sellers is a freelance writer and former editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/realbensellers.

Buttigieg Accused of ‘Unspeakable’ Acts w/ 4-Yr.-Old Adopted Kids

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Buttigieg Accused of ‘Unspeakable’ Acts w/ 4-Yr.-Old Adopted Kids

(Ben Sellers, Headline USA) Former Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg said he was accused of “unspeakable violent crimes” against his adopted 4-year-old children in an apparent swatting incident at his home last week.

Buttigieg wrote in a Substack post that a police officer and a representative from Child Protective Services showed up at his home with husband Chasten, and twins Penelope and Gus.

“They explained that there had been an allegation against me, that it concerned our four-year-old twins, and that a forensic interview had been arranged for the children the following day,” Buttigieg wrote. “I could not be present at the children’s interview, nor could any family member sit in.”

While the incident remained under investigation, the former South Bend, Ind., mayor said CPS policy prevented him from remaining at home with the kids.

“I was not to be alone around the children, at least until the interview took place the next day,” he wrote. “They asked if I had relatives nearby or could perhaps stay at a hotel for the night.”

They arranged for the two children to stay at their grandparents’ house for the night, giving Buttigieg plenty of time to stew over the allegations.

“The twenty-four hours until they returned are among the darkest hours of my life,” he wrote. “I tried to get my head around the idea that I had been accused of something so serious that I couldn’t be alone around my own children, and had consented to have them interviewed by strangers, without my knowing where the accusation had come from or even what it contained.”

Buttigieg later discovered that the complaint had been filed by an anonymous caller to CPS who identified herself as “a woman who claimed to have met me at a conference several years ago in Alabama,” he said.

According to the woman’s account, Buttigieg had confessed his prior crimes to her, leading her to feel the children were in an unsafe environment.

After Buttigieg denied ever having been to the town, the officer concluded that the call may have been “politically motivated” and it was not referred for prosecution.

The remainder of the blog post went on to rant about the growing epidemic of political violence (the vast majority of it against Republicans) and to invoke Father’s Day and Pride Month as mitigating factors that made the allegations even more painful.

“And at the most basic level, I worry about how anyone, even in today’s world, could fail to respect the absolutely fundamental principle that whatever you think about someone in politics, you leave people’s kids out of it,” Buttigieg wrote.

Some Republican-identifying individuals such as Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, expressed their sympathies.

“No parent should ever have to go through this, period,” Ramaswamy wrote.

However, some Democrats in response failed to heed the call for civil dialogue that Ramaswamy hoped to model with his classy reply.

“Hmm, Vivek. How do you feel about children molested by your master trump?” wrote user @messi73613. “You seemed to be ok supporting pedophiles. P.S. my support to Buttigieg. I hope his family will be ok.”

BlueAnon’s fringe attempt to link President Donald Trump to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein has been largely discredited, although stronger evidence supports Epstein’s chummy relationship with former President Bill Clinton and other powerful Democrats.

In 2023, former College Park (Md.) Mayor Patrick Wojahn, a protégée of Buttigieg’s, was sentenced to 30 years in prison on multiple child pornography charges amid allegations that his phone contained images of more than 500 exploited children.

Several top conservative figures have been swatted in recent years, including Headline USA contributor Becca Spinks, who recounted that the perpetrator in her case sounded like a “high-pitched and juvenile with a peculiar accent that was difficult to place.”

Two Eastern European men were arrested following a rash of 2024 incidents, including several at the home of former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.

While responding to a fake bomb threat at Greene’s home in December 2024, police in Rome, Ga., were involved in a vehicle collision, killing 66-year-old Tammie Pickelsimer.

Buttigieg’s tenure as transportation secretary was largely marked by his apparent disregard for his job duties, with the slogan “Where’s Pete” becoming a popular refrain during a supply-chain logjam, train derailment and multiple airline emergencies.

Immediately following the adoption of the two twins in 2021, he took an extended paternity leave, which may have exacerbated the skyrocketing inflation that plagued the early years of the Biden administration.

Although passed over for a VP nod by Kamala Harris, who deemed him too gay and conniving to be her 2024 running mate, Buttigieg’s name has been floated as a top 2028 presidential contender.

But critics noted that, despite his call for civility when he was personally impacted, Buttigieg made no such public statements following recent assassination attempts on Trump.

Ben Sellers is a freelance writer and former editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/realbensellers.

New Mexico Investigating DEA for Allowing Fentanyl Deals

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New Mexico Investigating DEA for Allowing Fentanyl Deals

(Headline USA) New Mexico’s attorney general on Friday opened a criminal investigation to determine whether U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents broke state law by allowing hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills to reach the streets of Albuquerque.

The extraordinary inquiry comes less than a week after The Associated Press reported that DEA agents repeatedly monitored — but did not seize — shipments of the synthetic opioid in a bid to build bigger criminal cases between 2023 and 2025.

Current and former DEA agents, including whistleblower David Howell, told AP the strategy amounted to a gamble with public safety and may have violated U.S. Justice Department rules intended to safeguard the public.

The fentanyl went unseized amid the deadliest drug epidemic in U.S. history and as the DEA led a public awareness campaign — “One Pill Can Kill” — emphasizing that even a few milligrams of the substance can be lethal.

The criminal investigation turns a debate over enforcement tactics into a question of whether federal agents crossed legal lines while pursuing larger trafficking organizations.

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, a Democrat, said federal agents “are not above the law,” but they enjoy substantial legal protections when carrying out official duties.

Still, Torrez said he would start “demanding documents and information about the DEA’s conduct, in New Mexico and nationally, to determine whether what occurred here reflects a broader pattern of reckless or unlawful behavior.”

“If those allegations are accurate, the consequences for New Mexicans were not abstract. They were fatal,” Torrez wrote in a letter to Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who earlier this week called for the inquiry.

“New Mexico already ranks among the states hardest hit by fentanyl overdose deaths,” he added, “and the families who have lost children, siblings and parents to this crisis deserve a full accounting of what the federal government knew, what it did and what it failed to do.”

The DEA initially denied Howell’s allegations in a statement to AP. But the agency later called upon the Justice Department’s independent watchdog to conduct its own investigation.

“Should that review identify areas of improvement, the DEA will of course implement changes to better their practices,” the Justice Department said in a statement. “We welcome a partnership with Governor Lujan Grisham, as well as New Mexico state and local leaders, to fight the scourge of fentanyl and keep her constituents safe.”

A growing number of local and state leaders in New Mexico have expressed outrage in the wake of Howell’s allegations. But those sentiments are not widely held by family members of overdose victims, said Paul E. Martin, founder of United Against Fentanyl, a nonprofit organization fighting the epidemic that represents 5,000 family members of victims.

“Law enforcement makes mistakes,” Martin said. “But the DEA are the men and women putting their lives on the line. Their entire business is the removal of illegal and toxic drugs from our streets.”

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

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