Southeast
Blue city invests in police — and loses 'murder capital' moniker
New Orleans, which was dubbed America’s murder capital just two years ago during a post-COVID crime spike, has recorded a decrease in homicides by about 50% since 2022, including a 71% drop in juvenile homicides since 2023.
Anne Kirkpatrick, who was named superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department — the equivalent of a police chief — just last year, attributes the recent success in preventing violent crime to collaboration between local, federal and state officials.
“There has definitely been a turnaround in this city,” Kirkpatrick told Fox News Digital. “We are, by far, outpacing the national trend. … There is a national trend of a drop in these rates. Ours are twice what the national trend is. It is not by accident, and it is intentional. We actually are very strategic, and we can point to a couple of strategies that we know are making a difference.”
The police superintendent noted that the police department speaks weekly with community organizations, state police, federal authorities and district attorneys.
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A graph shows this year’s drastic drop in New Orleans homicides. (New Orleans City Council)
“We literally get together once a week in discussion, and then we use a policing strategy that has been around for a while,” Kirkpatrick explained.
That strategy is called Operation Ceasefire, which originated in Boston and which New Orleans has adopted with its own unique take on the model specific to New Orleans crime.
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“We have named it GRIP, which stands for Gun Reduction Intervention Plan. So, in a big-picture way, we know that we have certain repeat offenders who use guns. We call them trigger-pullers,” the superintendent explained. “These are people that are identified, and therefore, we focus on the offenders. So, when you have a small group of people who are responsible for most of the violent crime, it’s really a strategy that goes: identify them … try to intervene and disrupt that cycle. … We will arrest and incarcerate you if we have to, but we also are taking a holistic, public health approach.”
New Orleans has recorded a 50% decrease in homicides since 2022. (Fox News Digital)
Michael Hecht, CEO of the Greater New Orleans Inc. nonprofit that aims to better the city’s businesses and overall quality of life, similarly said that while major cities across the United States have generally seen a decrease in homicides between 2020 and now, The Big Easy saw a particularly drastic drop in violent crime.
“Two years ago, New Orleans was really on the precipice. In 2019, we had enjoyed a 19-year low in homicides. So, it was shocking and really quite tragic, then, in 2022, we were suddenly on a trajectory to become the homicide capital of the country,” Hecht explained. “And that was deemed to be, first and foremost, morally unacceptable but also economically potentially devastating.”
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Hecht noted that on top of the murder surge, there was also an increase in carjackings and a general “sense of terror across all neighborhoods” during and in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Since those dark days of 2022, our murder rate is down 50%,” Hecht said. “And most importantly, over the last year, the juvenile homicide rate is down over 70%. Shootings have declined by a similar amount. Carjackings have declined by almost 70%. And armed robberies have declined by 55%.”
Michael Hecht, CEO of the Greater New Orleans Inc. nonprofit that aims to better the city’s businesses and overall quality of life, says that while major cities across the United States have generally seen a decrease in homicides between 2020 and now, The Big Easy saw a particularly drastic drop in violent crime. (NOLA Coalition)
In response to arguments that other cities are seeing the same trend, Hecht noted that New Orleans “is actually enjoying the fourth-steepest average decline across all major categories of crime of any major city in the United States,” and the city is also doing “about three to four times better than the national trend,” citing an analysis from the Major Cities Chiefs Association.
How were city leaders able to accomplish such a feat? Hecht pointed to several different actions and organizations that stepped up to help curb crime, including Louisiana Gov. Jeffrey Landry’s efforts to sign legislation aimed at preventing violence and increasing punishments for fentanyl dealing and carjacking, as well as creating a specialized law enforcement unit called Troop NOLA.
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Sgt. Ariel Mercadal of the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office keeps a watchful eye over parade crowds. (Fox News)
Hecht also noted three specific initiatives that Greater New Orleans believes helped lower homicide numbers: first, “more proactive policing, particularly targeting the worst of the worst to get them off the streets”; second, enhanced use of modern technology that helps improve the New Orleans Police Department’s “solve rate”; and third, more cooperation between federal, state and local authorities.
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“There have been ideologies or communities that have been just focus on policing or just focus on systemic issues. And we’ve said, ‘No, you need to focus on both of them simultaneously because, of course, there’s a feedback loop. If you don’t have safety today, then you’re not going to have resources to invest in tomorrow.”
As far as the significant drop in juvenile crime, Hecht pointed to the fact that public schools in New Orleans struggled during the pandemic, which led more juveniles to turn to crime and violence, but they have since “posted some of the strongest gains in the state.”
A woman reaches for beads on Bourbon Street while celebrating Mardi Gras in New Orleans. (Hannah Ray Lambert/Fox News Digital)
The New Orleans Career Center has put a heavy emphasis on helping local youth get jobs to keep them away from violence.
“There’s no question, as many say, that nothing stops a bullet like a job.”
Leaders have also made improvements to recreational sports, and faith-based communities have helped provide counseling services to “kids that are having trouble at home.” The CEO mentioned the NOLA Coalition, an organization made up of members of all walks of New Orleans life, including Greater New Orleans, that aims to “create a safer and more prosperous New Orleans for all residents.”
Increased investment in the city allowed New Orleans to hire New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick, who could not be reached for comment. Hecht said Kirkpatrick has “undoubtedly been part of the success story.” (Handout)
“What the NOLA Coalition did by representing a constituency that was so diverse — black and white, Republican, Democrat, rich and poor, that really represented the fabric of the city … is it created what I call ‘positive pressure’ on our leadership to do the right thing, whether that was investing more money in conditions for our police officers or investing more money in our schools, and we also put our money where our mouth is by raising this money from the local corporate community,” Hecht said. “We demonstrated that we weren’t just all talk.”
“We demonstrated that we weren’t just all talk.”
That increased investment in the city allowed New Orleans to hire Kirkpatrick, who Hecht said has “undoubtedly been part of the success story.”
New Orleans has seen a recent decrease in nearly all categories of violent crime. (Fox News Digital)
The NOLA Coalition has also raised $8 million of its $15 million to support local youth programs like mentoring and mental health services, as well as recreational improvements.
“The closure of the schools, combined with the national pullback on proactive policing, combined to create this toxic environment that was very dangerous. And so the fact that we’ve reversed it so dramatically is encouraging, but it’s also pretty startling,” Hecht said. “I mean, when we started the NOLA Coalition two years ago, our intention, our hope, was to abate the violence. If you had said success is going to look like in two years, you’re going to be number four in the country for the most rapid decrease, I would have said … that’s a nice North Star. But we’re dealing with a lot of complexities here. So, it’s been pretty head-snapping.”
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Compared to national numbers from the Major Cities Chiefs Association, New Orleans has seen an approximate 45% decrease in homicides since last year (about 50% compared to 2022), whereas there was an average 18% drop in homicides nationally across major cities. New Orleans also recorded a 44% decrease in robberies and a 21% decrease in aggravated assaults this year compared to last, whereas nationally, cities recorded an average 8% decrease in homicides and a 5% drop in aggravated assault.
FBI Director Christopher Wray praised the city’s work during a visit to The Big Easy this month, describing their results in combating violent crime as “extraordinary.” (FBI)
The positive change is welcome news for The Big Easy, which is hosting Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9. Hecht said New Orleans leaders, including himself, are making infrastructure improvements leading up to America’s most-watched event, but they plan on maintaining and continuing those improvements after the game.
FBI Director Christopher Wray praised the city’s work during a visit this month, describing their results in combating violent crime as “extraordinary.”
“It’s something we want to replicate going forward,” Wray said, according to Nola.com.
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Southeast
Trump, BBC agree on mediator for $10 billion lawsuit over Jan 6 documentary editing controversy
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President Donald Trump and The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) agreed on a mediator on Tuesday to help resolve the president’s $10 billion lawsuit.
The BBC has come under intense scrutiny over a 2024 Panorama documentary about Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021, speech delivered before the riot at the U.S. Capitol. Critics called the documentary misleading because it omitted Trump’s call for supporters to protest peacefully. Trump sued the BBC in December for both defamation and for a violation of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act for $5 billion apiece, seeking $10 billion total.
While ABC and CBS have both settled lawsuits with Trump in the past year, the BBC has vowed to fight the case. The two sides agreed on John W. Thornton, Esq., to serve as a pretrial mediator, who will seek a resolution.
President Donald Trump and The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) agreed on a mediator on Tuesday to help resolve the president’s $10 billion lawsuit. (Patrick van Katwijk/Getty Images)
“The BBC defamed President Trump by intentionally and deceitfully editing its documentary in order to try and interfere in the Presidential election. President Trump will continue to hold accountable those who traffic in lies, deception, and fake news,” a spokesperson for Trump’s legal team told Fox News Digital.
The BBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump’s suit, filed in the Southern District of Florida Federal Court, was filed in a personal capacity and named the BBC and BBC Studios Productions as defendants. The parties have proposed a mediation session the week of Oct. 26. Mediation, a standard case management step required by the court, is contingent on the outcome of a jurisdictional challenge the BBC is expected to submit later this month.
“As we have made clear previously, we will be defending this case. We are not going to make further comment on ongoing legal proceedings,” a BBC spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
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President Donald Trump has tangled in the courts with several media organizations. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
The BBC previously issued an apology for the erroneous edit and said it had pulled the program from its platforms, but a spokesperson for the broadcaster added, “While the BBC sincerely regrets the manner in which the video clip was edited, we strongly disagree there is a basis for a defamation claim.”
The controversy began with a bombshell report from The Telegraph that featured excerpts from a whistleblower dossier compiled by Michael Prescott, a communications advisor hired by the BBC to review its editorial standards.
The whistleblower revealed that the BBC “Panorama” documentary released in 2024 had a misleading edit of comments Trump made at the rally that preceded the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
The documentary omitted Trump urging his supporters to protest “peacefully” and instead spliced two separate comments made nearly an hour apart, making it appear he was calling for violence.
“We’re going to walk down to the Capitol. And I’ll be there with you. And we fight — we fight like hell,” the documentary showed Trump saying, with no indication the statements came far apart.
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In reality, Trump said, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol. And we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women, and we’re probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong.” It was 54 minutes later that Trump called on his supporters to “fight like hell” for election integrity.
The New York Times referred to the ordeal as “one of the worst crises in its 103-year history” of the BBC. The blunder led to the resignations of BBC News CEO Deborah Turness and BBC director-general Tim Davie.
Turness insisted in an interview last week that the BBC does not have any institutional bias against Trump.
Trump’s legal team suggested the defendants “timed the publication of the Panorama Documentary to be close in time to the 2024 Presidential Election” and the value of the president’s “personal brand alone is reasonably estimated to be worth tens of billions of dollars.”
Fox News Digital’s Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
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Southeast
Police warned prosecutors 3 times about violent illegal immigrant before he allegedly killed Virginia mother
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Newly uncovered emails show the Fairfax County Police Department warned the county’s commonwealth attorney about a criminal illegal migrant with more than 30 previous arrests at least three times before he allegedly stabbed a mother to death in the Washington, D.C., area.
Abdul Jalloh, 32, was charged with murder after allegedly stabbing 41-year-old Stephanie Minter to death at a bus stop in Fairfax County, Virginia, in late February.
Jalloh, an illegal immigrant from Sierra Leone in West Africa who had lived in Virginia since the age of 9, was arrested at a liquor store one day after the stabbing when an employee called 911 to report Jalloh was shoplifting.
Abdul Jalloh, 32, is accused of killing Stephanie Minter, 41, at a Virginia bus stop. (Fox 5 DC)
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Jalloh entered the country in 2012 and has more than a dozen arrests in northern Virginia.
His criminal history includes more than 30 arrests for charges of rape, malicious wounding, assault, drug possession, identity theft, trespassing, larceny, firing a weapon, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and pick-pocketing, yet his charges were dropped by local prosecutors almost every time, according to DHS.
Emails obtained by WJLA showed the Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) warned Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano’s office about Jalloh on at least three occasions, but no action was taken to remove him from the country.
In an email to Fairfax County Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Jenna Sands, a Fairfax County police major said he wanted to bring Jalloh’s release to her attention because he “is one of the repeat (and violent) offenders” they had previously discussed.
Abdul Jalloh on a bus in Virginia (Fairfax County Police Department)
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“I wanted to get your background on why he is out so soon and ask if his prior suspended sentence (of I believe 5 years) was pursued by your office? Unfortunately, based on MTV Station’s numerous dealings with him, it is not a question of if, but rather when he will maliciously wound (or worse) again. My role of keeping the public safe, prompts me to follow up on his status,” the major wrote.
In another email discussing a bond alert from August 2025, a FCPD employee told Assistant Police Chief Brooke Wright that Jalloh had more than 100 incidents with FCPD resulting in multiple charges spanning from theft to violent crimes, according to the outlet.
“JALLOH’s offenses began with domestic violence incidents and escalated to assaulting other victims and threats with weapons (knives),” the employee wrote in the email. “He has been involved in multiple stabbing incidents with victims identifying him as the offender in these cases. This year JALLOH has been the offender in a malicious wounding where he stabbed a man in May 2025, in which he received a bond on July 31, 2025 — three weeks later, this incident occurred where he assaulted an older male and stomped his head into the ground.”
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The employee added a list of Jalloh’s criminal history to the email, which included:
2014: Assault on family member (nolle prossed)
2015: Assault on family member (nolle prossed)
2017: ID theft to avoid arrest (guilty)
2017: Assault (guilty)
2018: Possession of marijuana (guilty)
2018: Destruction of property (guilty) — Original charge: malicious shoot/throw occupied building
2018: Contributing to the delinquency of a minor (nolle prossed)
2018: Rape (nolle prossed)
2018: Grand larceny (nolle prossed)
2022: Trespassing (nolle prossed)
2023: Trespassing (guilty)
2023: Disorderly conduct (guilty)
2023: Possession of a schedule three substance (guilty) — Original charge: possession of a schedule one or two substance
2023: Malicious wounding (nolle prossed)
2023: Malicious wounding (guilty) — Sentenced to seven years, with five years suspended to probation
2023: Stealing property from a person (nolle prossed)
2024: Petit larceny (nolle prossed)
2024: Trespassing (nolle prossed)
2024: Petit larceny (nolle prossed)
2024: Disorderly conduct (nolle prossed)
2024: Malicious wounding (nolle prossed)
2024: Failure to appear in court (dismissed)
2025: Malicious wounding
*Nolle pressed refers to a prosecutor’s formal decision to drop criminal charges.
In response to the email, Wright said Sands “had a specific conversation regarding them prosecuting without a victim in court for the stabbing given the circumstances, and she was on board with a victimless prosecution.”
In a May 2025 email obtained by WJLA, police emailed Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano’s office — including Sands and other prosecutors — warning that Jalloh “has a history of stabbing community members and was on probation during the most recent assault.”
“For those reasons and the reasons outlined in the document, we ask that you argue he continues to be held at the ADC,” an officer wrote.
The email also explained a May 4, 2025, incident in which Jalloh allegedly stabbed a man in the leg while he was sleeping with his girlfriend.
“Without hesitation, the Victim stated that Jallow was the person who stabbed him. Jalloh has been charged with numerous Malicious woundings and been convicted of one in 2023 and [is] currently out on probation for the aforementioned crime and living in an OAR provided motel room,” the officer wrote.
OAR is a nonprofit in Fairfax County that provides “alternatives to incarceration” for criminals.
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Similar to the other email, the officer included a list of prior police involvement, including an incident from April 14, 2024, during which Jalloh allegedly stabbed a homeless man in the head and upper body while he was sleeping at a bus stop, telling him, “get up, you can’t sleep here.”
Later that same day, Jalloh allegedly stabbed a woman in the head after attacking her and stealing her money, according to the email.
Other incidents included Jalloh allegedly choking a woman, stomping on her, burning her chest and raping her in October 2018, stabbing a person inside a McDonald’s in January 2023 and stabbing an elderly man in February 2023.
The email also said police had a record of 178 incidents, citing Jalloh as a known shoplifter and noting he “is often intoxicated/high and located w/narcotics on his person.”
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger has said DHS would need to provide a signed judicial warrant from a local judge to ensure that Jalloh is deported. (Department of Homeland Security/Getty Images)
“DANGER This individual has a long history of stabbing community members and is currently on probation for doing that very thing,” the officer wrote. “He has shown a blatant disregard for human life and is a danger to the community.”
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said his department “respect[s] the criminal justice system and the distinct roles and responsibilities of each entity within it.”
“In previous cases involving this defendant, our officers and detectives conducted thorough investigations, made lawful arrests, and presented evidence for prosecution,” Davis wrote. “The court outcomes are in no way related to any shortcomings associated with the FCPD. This defendant must be held accountable for his actions. We remain committed to our role to ensure that happens.”
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Despite Jalloh’s criminal history and the recent killing of Minter, Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger said she would not honor a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer, which is a written request for law enforcement to maintain custody of a person for up to 48 hours after their scheduled release to allow for transfer to ICE custody.
A governor’s spokesperson told WJLA that DHS would need to provide a signed judicial warrant from a local judge to ensure that Jalloh is deported.
“Sanctuary [Gov. Abigail Spanberger] is fighting to protect a MURDERER over American citizens,” DHS wrote in an X post. “This monster is responsible for fatally stabbing Stephanie Minter. ICE does NOT need judicial warrants to make arrests.
“The heroes of ICE will continue to arrest and remove criminal illegal aliens across the Commonwealth while Governor Spanberger RELEASES them from jails into Virginia communities to commit more crimes and create more victims.”
In early February, Spanberger ended cooperation with state agencies and federal immigration authorities through an executive directive, claiming she had “serious concerns that chaotic federal law enforcement actions across the country are eroding years of trust,” adding immigration enforcement “contributes to a culture of fear and distrust.”
A Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office spokesperson told Fox News Digital the office “was aware of Jalloh’s criminal history and shared police concerns about potential future dangerousness. That is why our Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney personally handled these cases.”
The spokesperson said prosecutors “will often explore many different pathways to successful prosecution, but, at the end of the day, our decisions are constrained by what testimony is available and what is legally permissible and practicable in Fairfax courts.”
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Spanberger’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Preston Mizell contributed to this report.
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Southeast
Family member of American killed by Cuban forces in boat shootout says he was on ‘diabolical’ mission
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The brother of an American citizen killed in a brazen boat clash with Cuban forces says his sibling was consumed by an “obsessive and diabolical” push to free the island and that “no one knew” what he was planning.
American citizen Michel Ortega Casanova, who worked as a truck driver, was one of 10 passengers on a Florida-registered boat that allegedly opened fire on Cuban soldiers in an attempt to infiltrate the island.
A Monroe County Sheriff’s Office incident report obtained by Fox News noted the boat’s owner reported it stolen Wednesday after hearing about the Cuba shootout on the news.
The owner, who did not speak English, told deputies his 24-foot vessel went missing, and he suspected an employee named Hector — who had two young daughters in Cuba — may have taken it.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed an incident involving Cuban forces and a speedboat Wednesday before returning to Washington, D.C., after meetings with Caribbean Community leaders at Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport in Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool/Reuters)
Ortega Casanova, who lived in the U.S. for more than two decades, was one of four killed in the attempt. He is survived by his wife, mother, brother, two sisters, daughter and unborn grandchild.
Six other passengers, all Cubans living in the U.S., were injured. It is unclear if Hector was on board.
Ortega Casanova’s brother, Misael, told The Associated Press Wednesday that his brother had an “obsessive and diabolical” pursuit for Cuba’s freedom.
“Only us Cubans who have lived over there understand [the great suffering],” Misael said.
He said “no one knew” about his brother’s plans to infiltrate the island, noting their mother is “devastated.”
“They became so obsessed that they didn’t think about the consequences nor their own lives,” Misael said.
While Ortega Casanova’s family did not recognize any of the other passengers, Misael said, “maybe [the attempt] will justify that some day Cuba will be free.”
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Cuban Coast Guard forces reported an exchange of gunfire with a U.S.-registered speedboat Wednesday. (Yamil Lage/AFP via Getty Images)
He refrained from labeling the group heroes, describing the idea as “ignorance.”
Cuban officials said many of the boat passengers, who were intercepted roughly a mile northeast of Cayo Falcones, off Cuba’s north coast, had a known history of criminal and violent activity.
Passengers Amijail Sánchez González and Leordan Enrique Cruz Gómez were wanted by Cuban authorities for their involvement in the “promotion, planning, organization, financing, support or commission of actions carried out in the national territory or in other countries, in connection with acts of terrorism,” according to the government.
Cuban politician Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla posted to X after the incident, claiming a “rigorous investigation” is being conducted to clarify the facts.
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“Cuba has had to face numerous terrorist and aggressive infiltrations originating from #EEUU since 1959, at a high cost in lives, injuries, and material damage,” Rodriguez Parrilla wrote in a post. “The defense of Cuba’s coasts, of the national territory, and of national security is an ineludible duty.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. is working to determine whether the passengers were American citizens or permanent residents.
U.S. officials said at least two of the people on the bat were U.S. citizens, and another was on a U.S. K-1 visa — which is granted to fiancées of U.S. citizens for 90 days.
“We have various different elements of the U.S. government that are trying to identify elements of the story that may not be provided to us now,” Rubio told reporters in Basseterre, St. Kitts.
“Suffice it to say, it is highly unusual to see shootouts in open sea like that. It’s not something that happens every day. It’s something, frankly, that hasn’t happened with Cuba in a very long time.”
Cuban officials said the vessel’s passengers were intercepted off the country’s northern coast. (Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto)
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Rubio said the U.S. will verify the facts independently, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Coast Guard are investigating.
Vice President JD Vance said he was briefed on the incident, and the White House is monitoring the situation.
“Hopefully it’s not as bad as we fear it could be,” Vance said.
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Florida’s Attorney General James Uthmeier said prosecutors will work with federal, state and law enforcement partners to start an investigation.
“The Cuban government cannot be trusted, and we will do everything in our power to hold these communists accountable,” Uthmeier wrote in a social media post.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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