Northeast
Ex-banker challenging Ocasio-Cortez in Democratic primary
The election of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., to Congress in 2018 created massive political upheaval after she unseated veteran congressman Joe Crowley, who had at one point been tapped to replace Nancy Pelosi as Democratic leader of the House.
This summer, a former Wall Street banker is looking to do to Ocasio-Cortez what she did to Crowley,
Marty Dolan, 66, who spent 30 years working for Jefferies Financial Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and other financial firms, is challenging Ocasio-Cortez for her 14th Congressional District seat in New York, a position she has safely held for the last six years, representing a district Dolan says she has done little to help improve.
Should he be successful, it would be an earth-shattering blow to the Democratic Socialists of America, who have a large foothold in the city, including in the Bronx and northern Queens, which the District 14 seat covers.
Ex-banker Marty Dolan is challenging Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. (Marty Dolan website | Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)
FLASHBACK: AOC CALLS ON ACTIVISTS TO MAKE POLITICIANS ‘UNCOMFORTABLE’
But Dolan says Ocasio-Cortez and her fellow socialists have gone too far, blasting their approach to the economy, crime and the illegal migrant crisis.
“We are all for the ‘progress’ implied by the word progressive, however, within the progressive movement, there are radicals whose influence on the Democratic Party is overweight,” Dolan wrote on his campaign website.
“The impact in NYC is obvious: bail reform a disaster, the National Guard in the subway, toothpaste locked up in drugstores but criminals running free, scarce resources directed to (non-sanctuary) immigrants coming from all over the world.”
He said these challenges must be addressed in the context of a runaway $34 trillion federal debt and the city’s 14% marginal tax rate.
“Losing 500,000 taxpayers is unsustainable: fixing this must be our overwhelming priority,” Dolan wrote.
“The radicals can’t deliver more than breadcrumbs when they ignore that the primary breadwinners are leaving and brush off taxpayer concerns in favor of abstract populist ideologies. Enough is enough.”
Single migrant men, mostly from West Africa, congregate in Tompkins Square Park in New York. Dolan has blasted Ocasio-Cortez’s position on the issue. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
Dolan is the first person to challenge the influential “Squad” member in four years and is looking to gather the necessary signatures to land a spot on the ballot for this year’s Democratic primary.
It will be a Herculean effort to dethrone Ocasio-Cortez, who became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress at age 29. She has instant name recognition and pop culture fame among young voters. She remains popular among her constituents, although Dolan says that popularity may no longer be as strong.
AOC HECKLED IN FIERY TOWN HALL: ‘ALL YOU CARE ABOUT IS ILLEGAL ALIENS’
“There’s a lot of people who, even in Queens and the Bronx, think, ‘What has she done for us?’” Dolan told Bloomberg.
According to Bloomberg, Ocasio-Cortez had $5.7 million in cash on hand as of Jan. 1, while Dolan’s campaign has raised just $58,000 so far, $55,000 of which is from loans Dolan made to his own campaign.
Dolan earned an MBA at Harvard Business School and has worked extensively in the global risk insurance sector, helping firms recover from the global liability crisis, the World Trade Center attacks, Hurricane Katrina and the global financial crisis, according to his website.
Ocasio-Cortez created massive political upheaval when she unseated veteran congressman Joseph Crowley in 2018. (Tom Williams/Getty Images)
He grew up in Westchester County, like Ocasio-Cortez.
Dolan called out Ocasio-Cortez’s efforts to help successfully stop Amazon from locating a new sprawling headquarters in Long Island City, Queens, and her support for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, according to Bloomberg.
He also accused Ocasio-Cortez of “importing immigrants and exporting decent contributing taxpayers,” referring to residents who have fled to Florida and other states. The city has cared for more than 170,000 migrants, and the mayor estimates the bill will easily exceed $10 billion.
“There’s been nobody who’s more in favor of immigration than AOC, and there’s been no worse thing that’s happened in New York in the last year,” Dolan told Bloomberg.
According to Bloomberg, Dolan’s platform includes plans to advocate for a new federal value-added tax and an additional luxury goods sales tax. The money would be used to reduce the national debt and state pension liabilities and would allow states like New York to lower income taxes.
Fox News Digital reached out to Ocasio-Cortez’s office for comment but did not receive a reply.
Read the full article from Here
Maine
Hearts of Pine halt 4-game skid with emphatic win
PORTLAND — Perhaps the June Swoon is over for the Portland Hearts of Pine.
A flurry of second-half activity Wednesday night resulted in four goals and a much-needed 5-1 USL League One victory against the Richmond Kickers that had fans buzzing with feel-good frenzy at Fitzpatrick Stadium.
Ollie Wright scored the go-ahead goal on a header off a great cross from Jaden Jones-Reilly in the 57th minute. In short order, Konstantinos Georgallides and Aboubacar Camara each added a goal, and then Camara got a second late in extra time.
Diego Gonzalez, playing his third game with Portland, added friskiness to the midfield and opened the scoring with a header in the first half. He also assisted on Camara’s first goal with a slick through pass.
Portland had lost four straight games, including three in a row in USL1. The Hearts are now 4-5-5 in league play and moved from 13th to 10th in the 17-team league, just three points out of the eight-team playoff picture.
It was a dramatic reversal from Portland’s most recent game, a 5-1 loss at Westchester SC on Friday that was shown live back in Portland at an open-air setting in Monument Square.
PREVIOUSLY IN JUNE
When the month of May ended with a gritty home win against Spokane, Portland was 3-2-4 in league play and overcoming injuries.
June has not been as kind. Portland entered Wednesday’s game on a four-game losing streak. Digging into the numbers, the skid looked even worse.
It was the first time the Hearts had lost four straight games in their brief year-and-a-half history. They were outscored 15-5 in that stretch, and 15-3 starting with the two extra-time goals they allowed in a 3-2 loss at Corpus Christi.
Portland had also lost three straight against USL League One games for the first time.
Two of the four losses were ugly 5-1 affairs. Portland didn’t lose by more than three goals and had just four losses by two or more goals in 2025.
RETURNS AND NOTES
Portland was glad to have Mikey Lopez back on the game-day roster. Lopez, who had bene out more than month because of an injury, entered as a 75th-minute sub with Portland leading 4-1. … Sean Vinberg, one of Portland’s primary starting center backs in 2025, became the second former Hearts player to return to Fitzpatrick, wearing the captain’s band for Richmond. Vinberg was released at the end of the 2025 season. He made 33 starts for Portland, second most on the team. … Maine Gatorade High School Soccer Players of the Year Finn Coburn (Scarborough) and Noelle Mallory (Cape Elizabeth) handled the honorary coin toss before the match.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts man accused of wanting sex with girl busted in World Cup trafficking operation
A Massachusetts man who allegedly looked to have sex with a 15-year-old girl and bring drugs and alcohol to the meet-up has been arrested during a crackdown on human trafficking amid the World Cup.
Richard Lallier, 34, of Rehoboth, is one of 13 individuals who face exploitation and trafficking charges stemming from an operation that the FBI Boston has partnered on with the Massachusetts State Police and Rhode Island State Police during the global soccer tournament, dubbed “Operation Red Card.”
“Participating agencies emphasized that while major international sporting events bring significant economic and cultural benefits to host communities,” the Rhode Island State Police said in a statement on Tuesday, “they may also create opportunities for traffickers and those who exploit vulnerable populations.”
“Law enforcement agencies throughout the region remain committed to proactive enforcement efforts designed to deter human trafficking, identify victims, and hold offenders accountable,” the State Police added.
The Rhode Island State Police arrested six individuals, including Lallier, while the Massachusetts State Police apprehended seven suspects during a five-day operation between June 12 and 16.
The suspects arrested in Massachusetts range in age between 21 and 71, all of whom have been arraigned on state charges of sex for a fee with a child under 18, enticement of a child under 16, and attempted rape of a child.
In Rhode Island, Lallier, with a last known address in Rehoboth, is being held without bail on charges of attempted enticement, attempted interstate travel for sexual contact with a minor under 16 years old, and attempted transmission of obscene material to a minor.
Lindsay Laurie, a Rhode Island state trooper who went undercover to operate a Facebook profile that featured “age-regressed images” of herself, said in an affidavit that she informed Lallier via Messenger that he was speaking to a 15-year-old.
In response, Lallier, who went by the name of “Frank Land” on Facebook, allegedly said he was 34 years old before he asked for a “naughty video.”
Lallier also allegedly “sent multiple videos of his penis” to the undercover profile.
Two days later, last Wednesday, Lallier messaged the undercover profile again, explaining that he wanted to find “snow,” a “code word for cocaine,” Laurie stated. Lallier said he would “bring weed and fireball” to a meetup.
Last Friday, after Lallier confirmed to the undercover profile that he arrived in Rhode Island’s Lincoln Woods State Park, authorities arrested him, according to Laurie’s affidavit.
Major international events, such as the World Cup, lead to “large-scale travel” and “increased demand for lodging,” creating “opportunities for criminal exploitation,” according to Michael Soper, the program director of Boston Hotel Watch, an intelligence network connecting hotels and law enforcement.
Soper pointed to the “rapid expansion of short-term rental platforms” in creating a “significant and evolving challenge” to prevent human trafficking since the accommodations often have “less oversight, fewer standardized security protocols, and limited participation in established reporting networks.”
“As a result,” Soper said in a statement shared with the Herald, “illicit activity may occur outside the visibility of hospitality professionals and law enforcement partnerships, making the full scope of the problem difficult to measure.”
New Hampshire
Charlevoix County farm arson suspect arrested in New Hampshire after January blaze
CHARLEVOIX COUNTY, Mich., (WPBN/WGTU) — A Northern Michigan man accused of torching a Charlevoix County farm is now behind bars in New Hampshire.
Investigators said 23-year-old Daniel Fournier is linked to a January fire that caused an estimated $500,000 in damage.
Authorities tracked him to Merrimack, where he was arrested during a traffic stop while allegedly carrying a loaded pistol.
A search of his apartment turned up more firearms, suspected incendiary devices and evidence investigators say ties him to the Michigan arson.
Fournier is fighting extradition and remains jailed pending another court hearing.
-
Illinois21 seconds agoIllinois could face new costs because of high error rate in SNAP food aid
-
Indiana5 minutes ago
Braden Smith to play for hometown Indiana Pacers after NBA draft selection, trade
-
Iowa12 minutes agoIowa one of nine states that won’t have to match portion of federal SNAP benefits
-
Kansas15 minutes agoBody believed to be Kansas City highway shooting suspect found in burned home’s basement by family: police
-
Kentucky20 minutes agoKentucky’s Otega Oweh headed to Thunder in 2026 NBA Draft trade
-
Louisiana27 minutes agoGOP candidates trade attacks, differ on carbon capture in Louisiana Senate race
-
Maine30 minutes agoHearts of Pine halt 4-game skid with emphatic win
-
Maryland35 minutes agoRepublican candidates ask judge to block Maryland primary certification