The grieving family of a young real estate worker killed in last year’s horrific Midtown mass shooting plans to sue the city for $65 million — claiming police “utterly and completely” failed to stop the crazed gunman before he stormed 345 Park Ave.

The parents and sister of 27-year-old Cornell University graduate Julia Hyman said they were able to view never-before-seen security camera footage showing that NYPD Det. Didarul Islam — who was also slaughtered by the shooter — “bears liability” for her death, according to new court documents.

The video, “which captured the horrific events as they unfolded” on July 28, 2025, allegedly shows the officer, who was working a paid security detail shift at the skyscraper, “standing at the window in the lobby with a clear line of sight of the plaza and the gunman.”

But Islam, a 36-year-old Bangladeshi immigrant, husband and father, allegedly “utterly and completely failed to identify an obvious impending security threat and took no actions whatsoever to thwart or mitigate said threat,” states the petition filed in Manhattan Supreme Court on Thursday.

Gunman Shane Tamura, who had left his home in Las Vegas, Nevada two days earlier and drove to New York City in an apparent bid to target the NFL, exited his double-parked car and crossed an outdoor plaza outside the building while openly brandishing an M4-style rifle.

The Justice Department is asking a federal court to block two Virginia laws, set to take effect July 1, that would bar federal officers from wearing face coverings on duty, require them to display individual identifiers, and sharply curtail local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

The complaint, filed Thursday in federal court, names the Commonwealth of Virginia, Democrat Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones, and Fairfax County Commonwealth’s attorney Steve Descano as defendants, and casts the measures as an unconstitutional state effort to dictate how federal agents do their jobs.

At issue are Virginia Code Sections 19.2-83.6:1 and 15.2-1726.1, enacted this year by the Democratic-led legislature and signed by Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, also a Democrat.

The mask provision exposes federal officers who cover their faces during enforcement operations to a Class 1 misdemeanor under state law.

The second law unwinds the 287(g) partnerships that let Virginia sheriffs and police help ICE identify and detain immigrants in local jails, and blocks new ones from being signed.

The Justice Department argues both provisions run headlong into the Supremacy Clause, and that the contract restrictions also violate the Contracts Clause by voiding existing agreements.

The United Arab Emirates released billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets as an olive branch to ward off further attacks, according to a report.

Four sources told Reuters that the UAE agreed to release $10 to $20 billion in frozen Iranian assets, $3 billion of which has been released, in exchange for Iran halting attacks against the Gulf country. After the article was published, the UAE’s Foreign Ministry came out with a strong denial, calling the report “entirely false and unfounded.”

When asked by Reuters, a UAE official did not deny that the transfer had taken place, saying it was committed to peace efforts.

“The UAE’s foreign policy is guided by promoting de-escalation ​and reducing tensions across the region, while advancing lasting peace and stability,” they said. “The UAE supports efforts, including those undertaken by the United States, to protect the peoples of the region from the repercussions ​of conflict.”

Circumstantial evidence suggested a shift occurred in early May — the UAE was the most attacked nation by Iran during the entire war, being targeted with more missiles and drones than any other, including Israel. After a final attack on May 4, Iran’s assaults abruptly stopped. Since then, Iran has focused its wrath on Kuwait and Bahrain, completely avoiding the UAE.

One source told Reuters that Iran had approached two other Gulf countries with the same arrangement.

A former staffer for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is among eight people facing federal charges for alleged threats and vandalism against the University of Michigan and other pro-Israel organizations.

Campaign disclosures show 24-year-old Mariam Odeh received two payments in March from El-Sayed’s campaign as “salary disbursements.”

The indictment against Odeh and the seven others reads: “Their criminal activity included spray-painting threats, breaking windows and throwing glass jars filled with noxious chemicals into family homes. They marked their victims with threatening symbols used by Hamas, including red inverted triangles and red handprints. They used the internet and social media to broadcast their message to ensure their threats and commitment to continuing criminal activity were heard by their victims and others who support Israel.”

The Times of Israel reported that investigators allege the defendants “discussed using poison, bombs and ‘psychological torture’ against the targets and their families. In one message, in May 2024, two of the defendants agreed to ‘kill,’ ‘torment,’ and ‘terrorize’ their opponents and their families.”

Pretrial services officer Brian Harmon reportedly told the judge on Wednesday that Odeh attended the University of Michigan from 2020 to 2025 and held “full-time employment for approximately four months” through April 2026 “for a local Senate candidate.” In addition, Harmon said Odeh resides in Dearborn with her family and teaches Arabic.

El-Sayed’s campaign said Odeh was hired in February as an hourly employee and left the campaign on April 15. According to El-Sayed campaign spokesperson Roxie Richner, the campaign issued one missed hourly back payment in May that will appear on the next FEC filing.

In response to the indictment, Michigan GOP Senior Communications Advisor Greg Manz said this marks another example of El-Sayed’s “willingness to pander to radical extremists.”

Manz said El-Sayed “struggled to condemn the attack on Jewish children at a Pennsylvania synagogue, publicly mourned the death of Iran’s Ayatollah, campaigned alongside known antisemite Hasan Piker, and now a member of his own campaign staff has been indicted for allegedly participating in a conspiracy to threaten University of Michigan leaders over their ties to Israel.” He added, “Michiganders deserve to know why the same radical and antisemitic influences seem to follow Abdul El-Sayed wherever he goes.”

The news of the former staffer’s indictment comes amid several noteworthy endorsements of El-Sayed’s campaign. Seventeen pastors threw their support behind El-Sayed in May, and Jews for Abdul came out in support of the progressive Democrat later that same month.

The Jewish Federation of Detroit, which was also alleged to be vandalized by the group, issued a statement applauding law enforcement for taking action.

“The indictment details a deliberate campaign of intimidation and terror: attacks on private homes, threats to ‘get’ the ‘kids’ of victims, witness intimidation, and the targeting of Jewish institutions, including our own,” the federation said.

The California Democratic Party made a post on social media that said, “You’re not allowed to watch the World Cup if you’ve ever voted against immigration,” on Thursday.

The post has come under immense scrutiny, as Americans across the political spectrum prepare to cheer together for Team USA in its World Cup opener against Paraguay.

“Every one of those other Countries has its own immigration policy, where you can’t just cross the border. The hypocrisy is crazy,” one X user wrote.

Another user wrote, “Why? I don’t even understand the logic to this post.”

Other harsh and sarcastic responses to the post went viral across X.

The California Republican Party issued a statement in response to the controversial post.

A senior administration official on Friday laid out elements of a potential short-term agreement between the U.S. and Iran, which could usher in formal negotiations to end the war between the two countries.

The senior administration official, in a call with reporters Friday afternoon, said the deal: reopens the Strait of Hormuz and lifts the U.S. blockade on it; “leads to the dismantling of the Iranian nuclear program;” “leads to the United States getting the enriched [nuclear] material” and that material being destroyed and removed from the country and has “an inspection regime that makes sure that this is a long-term commitment and that it’s long-term enforceable.”

As part of the prospective deal, Iran would be rewarded economically if they meet their obligations, according to the senior administration officials.

“If they comply, they’re going to be relieved of a lot of the economic pressures that they’ve been under for many, many years, so they do get reintegrated into the world economy,” the senior administration official said.

The official denied that Iran would get any sanctions relief or financial relief upfront, but confirmed that if Iran holds up its end of the deal, they will be “rewarded economically.” This official would not comment on that scale.

“The Iranians don’t get anything upon the signing of the MOU or upon the negotiation itself, what they get is that they get rewarded economically for complying with their obligations under the deal,” the officials said.

An Ohio police chief is facing the possibility of spending the rest of his life behind bars after being slapped with a 70-count indictment for alleged sex crimes involving a child.

Bethel Police Chief Chad Essert, 44, was taken into custody without incident Tuesday night in Seminole, Florida, by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.

A Clermont County grand jury indicted the Blanchester, Ohio, resident on 56 counts of sexual battery and 14 counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor — all third-degree felonies.

If convicted of all charges, Essert faces a maximum penalty of 280 years in prison.

The allegations stem from offenses that authorities claim occurred between 2005 and 2010, while Essert was an instructor at the “Young Marines” and a teacher at Scarlet Oaks Career Campus in Sharonville, Ohio.

Officials said the alleged victim was a student of Essert’s and that the crimes took place across multiple locations in Clermont and Hamilton counties.

California is suing U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies to stop construction of what plaintiffs say is an ICE holding facility near an agricultural city.

Blueprints show plans for some kind of federal facility, but the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it isn’t building a new detention center.

Santa Clara County, the rural Central California county that would be home to the alleged administrative and short-term detainment facility, joined California Attorney General Rob Bonta in the lawsuit, which also names DHS, the U.S. General Services Administration, three federal officials and the Beverly Hills-based company ECG 6 LLC as defendants. GSA is the agency that builds federal facilities.

“The action taking place in [the] county is unlawful, and spreads fear throughout our county,” Otto Lee, the chair of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, told The Center Square.

“This project was being developed secretly, and violates the National Environmental Policy Act, the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act, the Administrative Procedure Act and California’s Williamson Act, to name a few,” Lee said.

In the lawsuit, the county and the California Department of Justice challenged the development of what appears to be a facility for holding illegal immigrants in the 7200 block of Holsclaw Road in unincorporated Santa Clara County. According to the complaint, the federal agencies involved with the development violated numerous laws, including California’s Williamson Act, which has limited the site on Holsclaw Road to strictly agricultural uses since 1967.

The suspected holding facility is expected to be around 18,700 square feet, according to the lawsuit, and will hold up to 150 detainees. The complaint also alleges that the facility site is in an area that is home to endangered species and has limited and inadequate waste disposal capabilities. There is also hazardous waste present on site, notably a toxic fungicide called thiram, ethidium bromide, calcium hypochlorite and acid-based chemical wash water, the complaint states.

Construction started on May 4, the complaint further alleges. The lawsuit contends federal officials with knowledge of the project concealed its true nature.

“We have no new detention centers planned at this location,” a spokesperson from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security told The Center Square via email on Thursday. The department declined to identify the spokesperson by name.

“Every day, DHS is conducting law enforcement activities across the country to keep Americans safe,” said the DHS spokesperson. “It should not come as news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the U.S. and is actively working to expand detention space.”

Public records from the General Services Administration show that a facility is indeed planned at the site, with blueprints showing that there are parts of building construction with labels like “man trap” and “ammunition/weapons suite.” There are also rooms in the blueprints labeled “visitor room” and “interview room.”

Big type on the blueprints say “Construction Documents. GSA. General Services Administration. Gilroy, California.”

“What I understand this would be is a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center outside of Gilroy,” said Greg Bozzo, mayor of Gilroy.

“I understand it to be a facility that, in my opinion, and in the opinion of our city council, is located in the wrong place,” Bozzo told The Center Square on Thursday. “The majority of our community is in alignment with our city council, which voted unanimously to pass a resolution opposing this facility in this location.”

Bozzo said Gilroy’s residents, many of whom are immigrants, have shared concerns with him about construction moving ahead on this facility.

“Gilroy is a community that is known for caring for one another,” Bozzo said. “We are a strong-knit community where people know each other, and we are concerned for everyone for the type of anxiety that this is bringing to our community.”

Santa Clara County officials have jurisdiction over the facility because it is being built on county land and in an unincorporated area. They said they share the same concerns as Gilroy officials. The federal government is leasing the land from the county.

“Our office has a long history of litigation around immigrant rights issues,” Tony Lopresti, county counsel for Santa Clara County, told The Center Square. “Our county has pretty much the largest ratio of foreign-born residents in the nation at 42%. Our board is a board that very much understands that immigrant community is at the core of our county’s identity.”

The Santa Clara County Counsel’s Office previously sued the Trump administration for its actions against immigrant communities, which affects many residents, Lopresti said. He and other county officials also said there was no communication or outreach from the federal government to the county in the plans to build a potential Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Gilroy.

“At the very least, we would expect they would comply with the applicable laws,” Lopresti said. “It requires they seek out and consider the perspectives of local and state government, that they evaluate alternative locations, whether they could use existing locations.

“They did none of that,” Lopresti said. “They just proceeded under full secrecy to ram through a project.”

The California Department of Justice, which is overseen by Bonta, and ICE did not respond to The Center Square’s requests for comment.

The GSA responded via email on Thursday afternoon that it does not comment on active litigation.

Lawyers from the San Francisco-based law firm Shute, Mihaley and Weinberger, a law firm representing the plaintiffs in the case, did not respond to The Center Square.

Elon Musk has become the first person to cross the trillionaire threshold, at least on paper, after SpaceX priced its blockbuster initial public offering at $135 a share and its stock soared in its stock market debut.

Before the IPO, Musk was worth an estimated $813 billion, a fortune more than twice as large as the planet’s second-richest person, Google co-founder Larry Page, who is worth an estimated $288 billion, according to Forbes.

“SpaceX wants to be able to take you to the Moon, take you to Mars and ultimately beyond,” Musk said at a launch event with staffers on Friday at the company’s headquarters in Starbase, Texas.

SpaceX formally setting its stock price at $135 boosted Musk’s fortune to just over $1 trillion. The shares, which trade under the ticker symbol SPCX, jumped after they began trading shortly before noon ET. At its closing price of $160.95 on Friday, Musk’s net worth reached roughly $1.14 trillion, although future declines could push him back below the trillionaire mark.

Golf legend Phil Mickelson is pushing back against allegations he inappropriately touched a female employee at an exclusive Southern California golf club earlier this year — with his attorney saying video evidence refutes the allegations.

The six-time major champion allegedly approached a worker at Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe and made “nonconsensual and inappropriate physical contact” with her.

After rejecting him, the employee reported the alleged misconduct to supervisors.

Mickelson, 55, has retained prominent defamation attorney Tom Clare, who says video evidence contradicts the claims.

“There is a great deal of misinformation circulating and, while Phil’s full attention is devoted to a private family health matter, he has retained defamation counsel and is determined to hold accountable any publication or individual trafficking in speculation or false rumors,” Clare said in a statement to Golf Digest.

While the Justice Department has said it has abandoned plans for ‌President Donald Trump’s proposed $1.8 billion “weaponization” fund, some of his allies are shifting focus to a different way to make payouts to his supporters, including those who took part in the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol.

The most viable path, according to Trump allies and legal experts, may involve compensating these supporters under a 1946 law called the Federal Tort Claims Act.

That measure lets people file administrative claims – and subsequent lawsuits – against the U.S. government for alleged wrongdoing, which can then be settled out of court.

“At my level, the fund is dead,” Stanley Woodward, the third-ranking official at the Justice Department, said in an interview with Reuters. “If somebody wants to submit a claim against the government and sue us, they can still do that.”

The Republican president repeatedly has expressed support for federal payouts to supporters whom he has portrayed as being targeted by a “weaponized” U.S. government under his Democrat predecessor Joe Biden.

President Donald Trump and congressional allies are discussing a push to formally expunge his two impeachments from the House record, a move supporters say would help correct what they see as partisan attacks against the president.

The effort has gained traction among some Republicans after the Trump administration declassified material related to the investigation behind Trump’s first impeachment.

Supporters argue the documents undermine the credibility of key witnesses and bolster claims that the proceedings were politically motivated.

“It should be done because I did nothing wrong,” Trump told The Wall Street Journal in a phone interview. “It was a rigged deal — it was a whole rigged situation.”

People familiar with the matter told the outlet that lawmakers are not expected to take up the measure until after the November midterm elections.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development under President Donald Trump announced an “immediate suspension” on all funding to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, citing a “clear pattern of fraud.”

“Year after year, hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars were funneled to LAHSA with little accountability,” HUD Secretary Scott Turner said in statement Thursday. “Meanwhile, homelessness skyrocketed. Taxpayers will no longer bankroll an organization that puts its own self-interests ahead of the Americans it was created to serve.”

The New York Post reported in March that taxpayers are paying up to $1.5 million per homeless person in Los Angeles. This amount is nearly eight times larger than the average 50-year-old’s retirement fund and more than 20 times larger than the average 35–39-year-old’s retirement fund, per Fidelity Investments reporting.

While much of these funds are sourced from the city and county of LA, nearly $1 billion in federal taxpayer dollars have gone toward LAHSA since 2021.

Despite this, homelessness in LA has doubled since 2013.

The HUD press release cites multiple instances that the agency claims “establish a clear pattern of fraud,” including poor financial management and internal controls, conflicts of interest, and false certifications and statements.

“During a 2025 assessment, LAHSA failed to provide documentation to verify the existence of nearly 2,300 housing sites for which it was responsible,” the press release said. “The agency’s former CEO resigned after she and LAHSA violated federal conflict-of-interest rules by committing more than $2 million in federal funds under LAHSA’s control to her husband’s employer.”

Despite the increase in homelessness, some of the LAHSA shelters remain merely half-full, the letter states.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass criticized the Trump administration’s move to defund LAHSA. While she admitted she had concerns about the agency, she stated that these federal cuts do “nothing to house people.”

“Ultimately, people will lose their lives,” Bass claimed.

The letter, however, states that the agency “cannot ignore” the blatant fraud.

“Turning over billions of dollars from American taxpayers to an organization under investigation and suspected of gross misuse of federal funding and ‘obvious fraud’ does nothing to reduce homelessness,” the letter states. “Indeed, diverting dollars from worthy programs to LAHSA merely makes the homeless crisis worse.”

Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn takes parting shots at fellow Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee over SAVE America Act votes.

The latest exchange unfolded Thursday night and into Friday morning, when Cornyn fired back at criticism by labeling conservative election integrity activist Scott Presler a “grifter” in a post on X. Notably, Scott Presler campaigned for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who defeated Cornyn in the state’s Republican U.S. Senate primary last month.

Cornyn also urged Lee in a separate post on X to stop publicly blaming fellow Republicans — including Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota — for the GOP elections bill’s failure to gain enough support within the conference.

“Mike, I am a co-sponsor and have repeatedly voted for this, but you don’t have the votes. Leader John Thune can’t change that. It is math. Try focusing on Democrats instead of Republicans. Republican on Republican attacks are hurting our chances to win the majority in November,” wrote in a 1 AM post.

Lee fired back at Cornyn and rejected the criticism, writing, “On what planet is this an attack on Republicans? We have majority support for the bill. In this rare circumstance, we should put it on the floor and keep debating it until it passes.”

Lee added that his push for the legislation was “not an attack on Republicans” but rather “a plan of attack against voter fraud.”

Lee in a speech on the Senate floor on Friday and stated that Senate Republicans should force the SAVE America Act on the floor, in response to Cornyn’s claims that the Utah Senator was “attacking Republicans.”

“We have majority support for the bill. In this rare circumstance, we should put it on the floor and keep debating it until it passes,” Lee went on to say, “That’s not an attack on Republicans. That’s a plan of attack against voter fraud.”

In a Thursday interview, Cornyn rejected the notion that he is a “wounded bear” and cautioned that President Trump’s insistence on “slavish adherence” could backfire politically, according to a The New York Times report.

Cornyn predicted that if Democrats take control of the House or Senate in the midterms, Trump would face “the most miserable two years of his life.” He added, “I think it is going to be a pretty bumpy ride for the next seven months.”

The California Chamber of Commerce has endorsed Xavier Becerra’s bid for governor —the first Democrat the powerful business group has ever supported in a gubernatorial race.

CalChamber’s board of directors voted Thursday to endorse Becerra over Republican Steve Hilton, calling the Dem political veteran “best positioned” to deliver “stability and certainty” to California businesses.

“California needs collaboration, not conflict. Secretary Becerra represents the best candidate to embrace that style of leadership,” CalChamber President & CEO Jennifer Barrera said in a statement.

Both Becerra and Hilton had pitched the group on their plans at CalChamber’s quarterly meeting.

Becerra is the first Democrat CalChamber has endorsed in a California governor’s race.