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An illegal migrant caught in Texas near the Mexico border earlier this month claimed he’s a member of the terror network Hezbollah, was bound for New York and intended to make a bomb, sources confirmed to Fox News.
Basel Bassel Ebbadi, a 22-year-old Lebanese migrant, was caught in the El Paso sector on March 9, the Department of Homeland Security/Customs and Border Protection sources said, confirming the authenticity of a memo reported in the New York Post. Fox News is told further investigation will determine if he truly had terror ties and planned to launch an attack in the U.S.; the sources warned that volunteering terror connections would be highly unusual.
Ebbadi has remained in U.S. custody and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force has been investigating the authenticity of his claims, the sources added.
The migrant claimed his training with the terror network was focused on “jihad” and “killing people that was not Muslim,” he reportedly told investigators.
WATCH: DOZENS OF MIGRANTS BREACH BORDER WALL, TAKE SELFIES ON US SIDE AS MASS ILLEGAL CROSSINGS CONTINUE
A U.S. Border Patrol agent stands on a cliff looking for migrants who crossed the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico near Sasabe, Arizona. (Salwan Georges/Washington Post via Getty Images)
Hezbollah is an Iran-backed terrorist group that has launched attacks in Israel, including recent strikes on the country in the aftermath of October’s Hamas terrorist attack and subsequent invasion of Gaza by Israel.
But, Ebbadi apparently told investigators he had interest in leaving the group because he “didn’t want to kill people,” though he added that “once you’re in, you can never get out.”
Nevertheless, Ebbadi was placed into isolation and referred to the Tactical Terrorism Response Team (TTRT) after allegedly making “terroristic threats to personnel.”
“If an individual poses a potential threat to national security or public safety, we deny admission, detain, remove, or refer them to other federal agencies for further vetting, investigation and/or prosecution as appropriate,” a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
Documents obtained by the New York Post showed that he was marked for deportation from the U.S., though it was unknown what country he would be returned to.
A cloned U.S. Border Patrol vehicle was seized south of the border by Mexican authorities after agents saw suspicious activity nearby. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection)
BORDER OFFICIALS SEE MASSIVE NEW SURGE AT SOUTHERN BORDER
According to the report, border agents encountered 98 individuals who were on a terror watchlist in fiscal 2022, a number that jumped to 172 in 2023. In the first four months of fiscal 2024, border agents have encountered 59 such individuals.
The security situation at the border has been the subject of an ongoing battle between lawmakers in Washington, with House Republicans laying the blame on the Biden administration and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for the chaos. Meanwhile, the White House has pointed to its failed attempt to support bipartisan border legislation that it argued would have helped alleviate the crisis.
A view of the border in El Paso, Texas (Kelly Laco/Fox News Digital)
Meanwhile, U.S. Customs and Border Projection data shows fiscal 2024 border encounters continue to top recent highs, peaking at almost 302,000 in December. That number was nearly 70,000 greater than the previous year’s mark, which was already higher than the roughly 180,000 encounters in 2022 and 74,000 that were seen during December 2021.
U.S. Customs and Border protection did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
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Sports
When reminiscing about sports moments and personalities of days gone by, the familiar anecdotes are often a joy to hear again and again.
Even better, though, is when there are fresh new stories to be told by those who were there.
The new YouTube channel Front Row to Boston Sports offers both familiar tales and ones you may not have heard before, as told by four of the most connected journalists and best storytellers in the modern annals of sports in this region.
Legendary former sports anchors Mike Lynch (Channel 5) and Bob Lobel (Channel 4), along with Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy and former Globe columnist Bob Ryan, have teamed up to share the funniest, most heartfelt, and illuminating tales from their storied careers, from press row and the locker room.
The project is the brainchild of Peter Brown, a former news director at Channel 4, where he spent 22 years before moving on to an accomplished career in public affairs and communications.
“You come from a news background, you’re always thinking about what’s the best way to tell a story,” he said. “What better story is there to tell than those about Boston sports? Everyone who is from here or has lived here is in some degree a fan. I thought a look back at some great moments and some behind-the-scenes details that only the most plugged-in reporters would know would be a fun thing to do.”
So Brown reached out to Alan Miller, a former sports producer at Channel 4 who worked with Brown during the local news heyday in the 1980-90s. Miller, who later worked at the Globe and in the Channel 7 newsroom before retiring in May 2024, has long been one of the most well-liked figures in the Boston sports media landscape, someone who knows everyone and whose word is as good as a signature on the dotted line.
Miller thought it was a super idea, and reached out to his close friend Lobel, along with Lynch, Shaughnessy, and Ryan. They all said yes immediately.
“We basically said, just tell us your best stories,” said Miller. “We wanted the stories that maybe you couldn’t tell on TV or in the newspaper, but the ones you might have told your buddies at the bar. The ones about what people are really like and what gets said behind the scenes. The ones about relationships. These were the four perfect guys to tell those.”
Currently, there are eight clips posted on the channel, ranging in length from just longer than three minutes (Ryan talking about his top five all-time Celtics) to 13 minutes (Shaughnessy sharing an assortment of Terry Francona stories). One of Lobel’s clips includes an emotional discussion of Ted Williams, while Lynch is especially insightful talking about Bill Belichick’s candor off camera during their old Bellistrator segments.
Brown and Miller plan to sprinkle out a few new clips each week. Since the project has been in the works for approximately a year, they were able to build up a catalogue of 30 clips before launch.
Miller said there’s another reason that everyone involved wanted to be part of the project — the fear that institutional knowledge about Boston sports isn’t what it used to be because of the changing media landscape.
“When I was at Channel 7, John Havlicek died, and I think there were about three people in the newsroom who knew how John Havlicek was,” he said. “It’s not their fault, a lot of them are 20-something kids and half of them are from out of town.
“But there can be a real lack of knowledge about the past. And Boston sports, as you know, has an amazing past. You’d like the legacy and the memories to stay alive.”
It’s no surprise that Patriots television ratings have risen this season corresponding with the team’s return to prominence.
But even if the rise in ratings is logical, some of the heights that they are reaching — or returning to, a half-dozen years after Tom Brady’s final season in New England — are remarkable.
Take last Sunday’s 35-31 loss to the Bills, which aired at 1 p.m. on CBS as a regional broadcast. The game had a 31.4 household rating and 78 share in Boston.
That household rating — the percentage of households in a defined area tuned in to a program at a given time — is the highest for any Patriots game on any network since the regular season finale against the Dolphins in 2021. That also happens to be the last season the Patriots made the playoffs.
The 78 share — the percentage of households with television in use — is reminiscent of the viewership the Patriots enjoyed during the dynasty. As noted here previously, the Patriots averaged a 35.3 household rating and 66 share in 2018, their most recent Super Bowl-winning season.
Nine of the Patriots’ 14 games have aired on CBS this season. Those broadcasts have averaged a 25.7 household rating and 73 share, up 35 percent from last year (19.0/59) through the same span.
Overall last Sunday, the 1 p.m. slot — which also included the Chargers-Chiefs matchup — was a massive success for CBS, averaging 18.9 million viewers across the games. That made it the most-watched regional window on any network in 37 years.
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A woman was rushed to the hospital after being seriously hurt in a fire Saturday in Rocky Hill.
This all unfolded during the late morning hours at a home on Main Street.
Fire officials say they had to rescue the woman from the home and her injuries are considered life threatening.
Hoarding conditions did a play a factor in the fire, according to the fire department.
No other injuries were reported. Further details pertaining to the fire weren’t immediately available.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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