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Afghan suspect in DC shooting ‘radicalized in US’ says Homeland Security’s Noem

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Afghan suspect in DC shooting ‘radicalized in US’ says Homeland Security’s Noem


Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that the Afghan suspect behind the shooting of two National Guard soldiers — one dead — in Washington D.C. last week was likely “radicalized since he’s been here in this country.”

Noem shared this conclusion made by law enforcement on Sunday on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” and on ABC News’ “This Week.”

“We do believe it was through connections in his home community and state, and we’re going to continue to talk to those who interacted with him,” Noem said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national, came to the U.S. in August 2021 as part of Operation Allies Welcome, which coincided with the U.S. military forces’ withdrawal from Afghanistan under the Biden administration. Lakanwal was a member of a CIA-trained strike force, which required stringent vetting for him to be a part of. He was granted asylum under the Trump administration in April this year.

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Noem, echoing other accusations made by Trump officials, blamed the Biden administration of not properly vetting Lakanwal as well as tens of thousands of other Afghans airlifted out of Afghanistan.

However, “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker stated that Lakanwal was granted asylum by the Trump administration and explicitly asked Noem if the Trump administration vetted him before giving him the seal of approval. Noem then shared that was supposed to be done prior to Lakanwal being brought to the United States.

“The vetting process happens when the person comes into the country, and Joe Biden completely did not vet any of these individuals,” Noem said.

“This individual waited until he got into the United States and then that application for asylum was opened under the Joe Biden administration, when he was the president in the White House and allowed that to go forward with the information that they provided. That’s the Biden administration’s responsibility.”

Noem also shared that President Donald Trump has created a new screening process to vet asylum seekers.

“The individuals who are here in this country on that program need to be vetted under our standards that we’re implementing under President Trump to ensure that they even should be in our country and, if they’re not, removed immediately,” Noem said.

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Last week, the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shared on X that “USCIS has halted all asylum decisions until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.”

Noem said that the asylum process will resume once the backlog of asylum cases requiring vetting is cleared.



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Man in critical condition after water rescue in Southwest DC

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Man in critical condition after water rescue in Southwest DC


A man is in critical condition after falling into the Anacostia River in Southwestern Washington, D.C., Friday night.

What we know:

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D.C. Fire and EMS reported the rescue effort shortly after 10 p.m. at James Creek Marina in Buzzard Point.

Crews believe a man fell from the dock into the water. 

By 10:30 p.m., crews were able to pull the man out of the water. 

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Paramedics took him to the hospital in critical condition.

What we don’t know:

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Officials did not identify the man who was rescued. No other information was immediately available.

The Source: Information in this story is from the D.C. Fire and EMS Department.

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DC’s baseball team faces potential DOJ probe after exec allegedly admitted to religious discrimination

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DC’s baseball team faces potential DOJ probe after exec allegedly admitted to religious discrimination


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FIRST ON FOX — Washington, D.C.’s professional baseball franchise could come under Justice Department scrutiny after a viral video showed a team executive appearing to admit to his religious discrimination against a Christian player.

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., is urging Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon to investigate alleged religious discrimination against players for the Washington Nationals, according to a letter sent Thursday to and first obtained by Fox News Digital.

The letter comes after Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe published a secretly recorded video of Washington Nationals Director of Community Relations Sean Hudson saying the team does not include pitcher Trevor Williams in certain social media promotion.

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He cited the player’s public criticism of another Major League Baseball franchise for hosting a drag group mocking Catholics.

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., is urging the Department of Justice to investigate alleged religious discrimination within the Washington Nationals organization and across Major League Baseball. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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“According to the reporting by James O’Keefe, it appears the Washington Nationals are engaged in unlawful religious discrimination,” Boebert told Fox News Digital in a written statement. “I urge the DOJ to take immediate and decisive action.”

A spokesperson for the Justice Department said they received Boebert’s letter. 

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“The Department is reviewing the matter and will evaluate all appropriate next steps. As always, we remain committed to enforcing federal law and protecting civil rights,” they told Fox News Digital. 

A spokesperson for the Washington Nationals did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Hudson, in the clandestine recording, pointed to Williams’ public objections to the Los Angeles Dodgers honoring the Sisterhood of Perpetual Indulgence — a drag group that dresses as nuns — during the team’s 2023 “Pride Night.

The event also drew condemnation from multiple Catholic bishops, who described it as “blasphemous.”

Trevor Williams of the Washington Nationals sits in the dugout before a game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Wash., on May 28, 2025. (Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)

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Williams said he found the group’s anti-Catholic demonstration featuring vulgar caricatures of the crucifixion and sacred rituals to be “deeply offensive,” in an interview with Bishop Robert Barron last year. The professional baseball player said he made the decision with his wife to speak out even though it would put “a target on our back.”

“Baseball stadiums should be a place where everyone feels welcomed, like 100%,” Williams said in the interview. “We should all feel welcomed there. But that was clearly against one certain religion. If you don’t draw the line in the sand, who’s gonna do it?”  

According to Hudson, that public criticism of the drag group’s performance later affected Williams’ opportunities at the Nationals franchise. 

“Because of that we don’t use him on social [media],” Hudson told an undercover journalist in the video. “When they’re like ‘is a hot dog a sandwich’ and the players come up, we don’t ask him.”

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Boebert said she is concerned that Hudson’s admission could mean the franchise violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on religion and other protected classes. 

“Americans of faith should not face professional repercussions for objecting to the mockery of their sacred traditions,” the Colorado Republican said in the letter. “MLB’s privileged legal position should not become a license for exclusionary practices.”

“Sister Unity” and “Sister Dominia” of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were honored on Pride Night before the MLB game between the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on June 16, 2023. (Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire)

Hudson, in the video, described himself as “far-left leaning” and nonreligious. Meanwhile, he called Williams “super Catholic.”

The Washington Nationals executive also boasted about a Communist Party poster in his office and mused about pushing redistribution of wealth and other leftist agendas during baseball games at Nationals Park in Southeast Washington, D.C.

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“What a cool opportunity for us [Nationals] to also, be a little bit of like, the voice of reason,” Hudson said. “And a lot of people will tell you when I come to a baseball game, I don’t want to think about that s–t.”

“If you’re a sports fan and we piss you off, where else are you gonna go,” he went on. “I don’t give a sh–t.”



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‘Gateway to our city’: $465M grant to renovate Union Station

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‘Gateway to our city’: 5M grant to renovate Union Station


U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Thursday hundreds of millions of dollars to help with what he says are critical structural repairs and upgrades for D.C.’s Union Station.

“It was built in 1908, over a hundred years ago, and it was the largest train station in the world when it was built,” Duffy said. “And over the course of decades, it’s become run-down,” Duffy said.

A $465 million grant aims to ensure the overall experience for those coming and going remains up to par and on track at the transit hub. It will help fast-track repairs like roof upgrades and passenger concourses, Duffy said.

The project includes the Amtrak lounge and the ticket experience.

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For some travelers, alternatives to fast food are a must.

Retail, parking and office spaces will be priorities of the project to maximize the station’s revenue, as will public safety.

Already, Columbus Fountain is flowing again after being broken and dry for almost two decades.

“Now when you come out of Union Station, the gateway to our city, you’ll be met with a fountain that is beautiful and a fountain that actually works,” Duffy said.

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