Author: Fox News

BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana State University president’s comments after sophomore Madison Brooks was allegedly raped and later died were blasted as “victim blaming” and “disgusting” by student groups and a student’s family member. 

LSU President William Tate IV’s email to students focused on curtailing underage drinking in Baton Rouge bars near the campus, like Reggie’s, which is a popular watering hole for students that was shut down by the state earlier this week.

He did not mention Reggie’s by name, but that is where Brooks, 19, had been earlier in the night before she died.

Brooks and the four men she was with — three of whom are underage — were served alcohol the night of Jan. 15, according to court documents, before she was allegedly raped by two of them and dropped off on the side of a nearby highway where she was fatally struck by a car.

MADISON BROOKS DIED FROM ‘TRAUMATIC INJURIES’ AFTER GOOD SAMARITANS TRIED TO SAVE HER

LSU sorority student Madison Brooks was hit and killed by a car.
(@madibrookss/Instagram)

Kris Perret, the attorney who represents Reggie’s Bar, said business owners contacted Tate directly on Wednesday “and look forward to meeting with him and his team soon to work together to address the issues raised in his recent press release.

“When asked what their plan was and how LSU proposed to partner with local businesses and stakeholders, and what assistance and suggestions they might provide, LSU’s response to us was to thank us for reaching out and that they would get back to us in the coming weeks.,” Perret said in a statement Thursday. “We look forward to hearing back from President Tate and his team soon.”

The College Democrats of LSU and Feminists in Action sent a letter to Tate, which was obtained by Fox News Digital, that said his action plan “falls short” of consoling a grieving and “fearful” student body.

“The student body finds itself sickened by this attempt to victim blame and further ignore the overwhelming violence, particularly sexual violence, we face as students,” the student groups wrote. “Instead, you chose to reinforce rape culture on our campus and in the greater East Baton Rouge community.

“While students are grieving the loss of our peer and fearing for our safety and well-being, your administration directs its attention to the underage consumption of alcohol. This response is inexcusable.”

MADISON BROOKS CASE PUSHES LSU PRESIDENT TO SLAM BATON ROUGE BAR AFTER ALLEGED RAPE, STUDENT DEATH

General view of Reggie’s bar in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Tuesday. The bar is reportedly one of the last places where LSU student Madison Brooks was seen before her death on Jan. 15.
(KR/Mega for Fox News Digital)

Tate’s message was “directed at perpetrators and establishments that enable them to weaponize alcohol against our students,” said Cody Worsham, the interim vice president of LSU’s Office of Communications and University Relations. 

“The subsequent actions of the ATC on Tuesday have already helped us enact real change, and the justice system will handle the accused,” said Worsham, referring to the Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control’s emergency suspension of Reggie’s. 

“Honoring Madison’s life requires us to take every possible step to protect students,” he told Fox News Digital. “Coming down hard on bars that are serving minors in our community is one of many strategies the President is proposing. We invite the entire Baton Rouge community to join us as we unite against all forms of violence and develop further strategies toward its prevention.”

General views of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Wednesday. Madison Brooks attended LSU when she was hit and killed by a car on Jan. 15.
(Kat Ramirez for Fox New Digital)

LSU bills itself as an elite university with a reputation for excellence, where the cost of attendance can top $50,000 a year. 

The student-run organizations were not the only ones who were perturbed by Tate’s original email. 

Amy Glenn, who said her goddaughter is an LSU student who was beaten and tased by a random attacker near Reggie’s in 2021, told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that the university’s response to Brooks’ death—– and other crimes around the bars — has been “disgusting.”

MADISON BROOKS INVESTIGATION SHUTS DOWN BAR, ‘PENALTIES TO BE DISCUSSED’

LSU sorority student Madison Brooks was hit and killed by a car on Jan. 15.
(@madibrookss/Instagram)

“There’s a total lack of acknowledging that LSU has a responsibility here,” Glenn said. “Reggie’s, a dive bar, is to blame? Maybe at some level they are, but where (in Tate’s email) is there anything that LSU is doing to help?

“While I agree that this is going to take a group of people, why is LSU not the head of this? They are calling on Baton Rouge businesses and citizens? How about campus police and BR police? What are they doing? Calling a meeting and passing blame?”

A memorial for LSU sorority student Madison Brooks on the 8800 block on Burbank Drive in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Tuesday.
(KG/Mega for Fox News Digital)

Glenn said it’s not all on LSU and its administration. The bar hotspot for students called Tigerland is about a mile from campus and a five- to 15-minute walk back to students’ housing. 

The area is populated by several bars, a couple of mini-marts, a liquor store and smoke shop, but it’s technically municipal property and not an official extension of LSU, although Glenn wants to see it treated as such. 

The main campus is outfitted with several emergency blue call buttons, but there are not any in Tigerland, which has virtually no streetlights, no sidewalks and has become populated by outside agitators. 

General view of Tigerland in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Tuesday. Reggie’s Bar, located in Tigerland, is reportedly one of the last places where LSU student Madison Brooks was seen before her death on Jan. 15.
(KR/Mega for Fox News Digital)

Brooks died in the early morning hours on Jan. 15, when it was pouring rain. 

That night, the area was packed like it was during the heart of LSU football season, which reigns king in town, Kurt Mikesell told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. 

Mikesell, who owns a private driving service, moonlights as an Uber driver and navigated through the chaos the night Brooks died. He’s been using Uber as a side hustle for years and has seen the “wild, spring break-like atmosphere” firsthand. 

MADISON BROOKS CASE: BATON ROUGE SAYS SUSPECTS ‘CALLOUSLY’ LAUGHED AT LSU STUDENT SHORTLY BEFORE DEATH

General view of Reggie’s bar in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Tuesday. The bar is reportedly one of the last places where LSU student Madison Brooks was seen before her death on Jan. 15.
(KR/Mega for Fox News Digital)

To protect students who are walking home during bedlam, Glenn wants to see better lighting and emergency boxes installed along the walking route and sidewalks. 

“The blame isn’t all on LSU, but sadly this has happened before and will happen again and again until there are large widespread safety precautions taken,” Glenn said. “There is no possible way the university can claim that they don’t know where students go to hang out and drink or where the majority of them live.”

Investigators are seen outside of Reggie’s bar in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Tuesday.
(KR/Mega for Fox News Digital)

The LSU administration referenced a plan in the works in an email to Fox News Digital, but as of Thursday afternoon did not have details that can be released.

Going back to the student organizations’ message to Tate, they asked that he and his administration prioritize sexual violence rather than underage drinking. 

“While we agree that local bars and businesses, specifically in Tigerland, need to do more to protect their patrons, we call on you to provide a succinct analysis of how the age of the victim and perpetrators are relevant to this goal,” the student organizations wrote in their letter. 

SLAIN LSU STUDENT MADISON BROOKS DIED ‘A HERO,’ DONATED KIDNEYS, HEART, SORORITY SAYS

LSU sorority student Madison Brooks, 19, was fatally hit by a car on Jan. 15, shortly after she was allegedly raped.
(@madibrookss/Instagram)

“We are glad you are outraged, but insist that you direct this energy to fix the sexual violence our community faces instead of using alcohol as a scapegoat,” the groups said.

The three adult suspects arrested in Brooks’ case have been released from the Baton Rouge jail, records show. 

Kaivon Washington, the 18-year-old suspect charged with third-degree rape, posted $150,000 bond and was released from Louisiana’s East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office lockup on Thursday, records show.

From left: Kaivon Deondre Washington, Casen Carver and Everett Deonte Lee. The fourth suspect, a minor, has not been identified. 
(East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office)

Casen Carver, 18, and Everett Lee, 28, both of whom were charged with being principles to third-degree rape, posted a combined $125,000 bond and were released on Tuesday. Lee is Washington’s uncle, records show. 

The second third-degree rape suspect, a 17-year-old whose identity has not been released, is not due in court until February.

In Louisiana, third-degree rape involves sexual intercourse that “is deemed to be without the lawful consent of a victim,” according to state law.

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Visitation and funeral services for Brooks will be held in Covington, Louisiana, on Feb. 3.

Apple users with certain older generations of iPhones, iPads and an iPod are being urged to install a new security update. 

In a Jan. 23 notice, Apple highlighted the impact of a recently discovered vulnerability picked up by Google’s Threat Analysis Group.

The tech giant said that processing “maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary code execution.”

“Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited against versions of iOS released before iOS 15.1,” it said. 

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The back of an iPhone 6 is seen on October 25, 2017. 
((Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images))

Now, the iOS 12.5.7 update is available for affected devices. 

Those devices include the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air, iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3, and the sixth-generation iPod touch.

A member of the media displays an Apple Inc. iPad Mini 3 for a photograph after a product announcement in Cupertino, California, U.S., on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2014. 
(Photographer: Noah Berger/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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Two updates were announced in December: iOS 15.7.2 and iPadOS 15.7.2. 

The newly renovated Apple Store at Fifth Avenue is pictured on September 19, 2019, in New York City. 
((Photo by JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images))

Apple previously said that those updates to address the issue were available for all iPhone 6 models, all iPhone 7 models, the first generation iPhone SE, all models of the iPad Pro, the iPad Air 2 and later, iPad 5th generation and later and the seventh generation iPod Touch. 

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To install the update on an iPhone, go to Settings, click General and then select Software Update.

A passenger aboard a flight from New York City to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is being credited with saving a fellow passenger’s life after she experienced a medical emergency.

The routine JetBlue flight from LaGuardia Airport to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport took a terrifying turn when a woman suddenly fainted in the aisle as the crew was handing out drinks.

A passenger on the plane said the woman collapsed about an hour into the flight and the pilot was preparing to make an emergency landing when a man stepped up to help the ailing woman. 

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A man is seen helping a woman after she passed out during a JetBlue flight from New York to Florida on Thursday, January 26, 2023.
(E.S./Simon Gifter (@nycphotog))

Photos obtained by Simon Gifter and shared with Fox News Digital show a man wearing blue gloves assisting a woman lying on the floor of the plane. The woman can be seen with an oxygen mask on her face.

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The man can be seen rendering aid as other concerned passengers gather around.

A passenger said the man wearing gloves was a trained EMT. He helped stabilize a woman who fainted mid-flight.  
(E.S./Simon Gifter (@nycphotog))

The passenger who took the photos said the man was a trained Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and was able to get the woman stabilized, so the flight could continue to its destination.

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The woman was said to be conscious and talking when the plane landed. An ambulance reportedly met the plane after it landed, and emergency personnel boarded the flight to take the woman off first.

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According to FlightAware, the plane landed one hour and 35 minutes late. 

Fox News Digital reached out to JetBlue for more information on the incident but has not yet heard back.

Authorities in California have provided an update on the weapons used in the Monterey Park mass shooting, where a shooter fired into a crowd of people at a dance studio during Lunar New Year celebrations Saturday night, leaving 12 dead and several others wounded.

During a press conference on Wednesday evening, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said two weapons that were recovered near the Star Dance Ballroom Studio in Monterey Park, California included a Cobray Company semi-automatic 9mm MAC-10 and a Norinco 7.62 x 25mm pistol.

The MAC-10 weapon was the primary weapon used to carry out the shooting, as 72-year-old suspect Huu Can Tran is believed to have stood at the door and fired off 42 rounds, killing 11 people.

The weapon also had a modification to its trigger, although it is not clear if the weapon was modified to be fully automatic. It is being tested by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Luna said.

11 MONTEREY PARK, CALIFORNIA, SHOOTING VICTIMS IDENTIFIED BY LA CORONER

FBI agents walk near a scene where a shooting took place in Monterey Park, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023.
(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A photo of the weapon shown during the press conference appeared to show a silencer or suppressor attached to its barrel. The attachment seemed to have a cloth or another material wrapped around the barrel.

A MAC-10 is typically illegal to own in California, which has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the U.S., especially on “assault weapons.” However, a Californian is allowed to legally possess a weapon that is later outlawed.

Luna did not specify when the weapon was obtained or whether its ownership was illegal.

The sheriff also said the weapon had a 30-round magazine and that the shooter swapped magazines at some point during his assault. Large capacity magazines, defined by California law as anything carrying more than 10 rounds, are illegal in the state.

This combination image created using photos provided by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department shows a male suspect allegedly involved in a shooting on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023, in Monterey Park, Calif. 
(Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department via AP)

Police tape cordons off the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, California, on Sunday, Jan. 22.
(AP/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna, at podium, briefs the media outside the Civic Center in Monterey Park, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. 
(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

A magazine swap on the weapon can happen within seconds, a firearm expert in the state of California informed Fox News Digital. 

A resident can, similar to an outlawed weapon, legally keep in their possession any large-capacity magazine if it was obtained before Jan. 1, 2000, Reuters reported.

FIRST VICTIMS IDENTIFIED FOLLOWING MONTEREY PARK, CALIFORNIA, MASS SHOOTING

After his assault, police said the shooter fled the ballroom and used the Norinco, which was properly registered, to take his own life.

Capt. Andrew Meyer from Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau said police have video from inside the dance studio but that its graphic contents would not be released at this time.

Investigators also obtained a warrant for the suspect’s home, where they found a Savage Arms .308 caliber bolt action rifle and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

Yolanda Gallegos, 72, prays for victims killed in a shooting outside Star Dance Studio in Monterey Park, California, on Monday, Jan. 23.
(AP/Jae C. Hong)

A woman writes a message on a wooden heart that displays the name of a victim at a vigil outside Monterey Park City Hall, blocks from the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, late Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023, in Monterey Park, Calif. 
(AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

A family gathers at a memorial outside the Star Ballroom Dance Studio on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023, in Monterey Park, Calif. A gunman killed multiple people at the ballroom dance studio late Saturday amid Lunar New Years celebrations in the predominantly Asian American community. 
(AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

The rifle is considered a hunting sports rifle and is legal in the state. The abundance of ammunition is also legal to own and is common across California.

During the press conference, Luna said the suspected gunman had not been to the Star Ballroom in the past five years and that any connection to the victims was not immediately clear. 

The suspect was arrested in 1997 for illegal possession of a firearm, Luna said. He is Vietnamese and previously lived in China and Hong Kong. A motorcycle was also placed at the scene by the presumed shooter at some point before the shooting. Police believe this may have been staged as a getaway vehicle. 

A police car is seen near the scene of a deadly shooting on January 22, 2023, in Monterey Park, Calif. 
(Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)

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The victims that were killed Saturday night have been identified as Valentino Alvero, 68, Hong Jian, 62, Yu Kao, 72, Lilian Li, 63, Ming Wei Ma, 72, My Nhan, 65, Diana Tom, 72, Muoi Ung, 67, Chia Yau, 76, Wen Yu, 64, and Xiujuan Yu, 57.

The U.S. Constitution recognizes Americans have a fundamental right to own firearms and the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld this right.

The conventional wisdom about Donald Trump may once again be wrong.

The media-political complex is convinced that Trump has never been weaker, given how badly his handpicked candidates fared in the midterms, and that he’s ripe for a primary defeat. That might be true.

The complex is also convinced that Trump is going to be charged with some kind of crime, while conceding that the odds of that involving classified documents have plummeted after Joe Biden and Mike Pence also found they had such papers. But its members are hopeful that a Georgia prosecutor fighting to keep a special grand jury report secret to protect future defendants is about to indict Trump. That might be true.

Above all, this complex firmly believes the public is so utterly exhausted by Trump and his grievances and his stolen-election claims that there is no way he can win the White House again. That, too, might be true.

President Donald Trump smiles as he walks towards members of the media on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, Oct. 11, 2019, before boarding Marine One for a short trip to Andrews Air Force Base, Md., and then on to Louisiana for a rally.
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

BIDEN, TRUMP, CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS: COULD THIS ALL BE PARTISAN HYPE?

But shouldn’t the press consider the possibility that it’s not?

The notion that Trump will be criminally charged is the hardest to predict, since such deliberations remain secret. But after Russiagate, the first impeachment, the second impeachment, the Trump Org probe and so on, those who crave seeing him in an orange jumpsuit have repeatedly been disappointed. And if Trump is hit with charges, there is little question that MAGA nation would rally behind him and he’d be able to cast himself as a martyr.

As for the primaries, Emerson College Polling shows that the former president remains the front-runner. He leads with 55 percent, trailed by Ron DeSantis with 29 percent, Mike Pence with 6 percent and Nikki Haley with 3 percent. Other recent polls have found similar results.

Now it’s possible, of course, that DeSantis will win by convincing enough Republicans that he offers Trump’s policies without the personal baggage. Or he may turn out to be a stiff and unlikable candidate. Another contender, like Haley or Mike Pompeo, could break out. 

But no one is rushing to get in for the next few months. Politico reports that advisers for three potential candidates have discussed the advantages of jumping in at the same time, in recognition of the fact that Trump on the attack “can be lethal.” One GOP insider is quoted as saying a group launch “provides them protection from Trump.”

FROM RON KLAIN TO JEFF ZIENTS, WHY BIDEN’S NEW STAFF CHIEF WILL BE FAR LESS VISIBLE

I don’t see how that’s true, given that Trump used his pugilistic style to beat 16 rivals to win the nomination in 2016. And multiple rivals can easily divide the anti-Trump vote.

So imagine now he’s the nominee. Is it beyond comprehension that he could beat an 82-year-old president who might be showing increasingly visible signs of slowing down?

That takes us to another part of the respected Emerson poll – which should be discounted because it’s so far in advance of actual voting, but provides an interesting marker.

The poll found Trump beating Biden, 44 to 41 percent, the 3-point gap being within the margin of error, so it’s a statistical tie.

This was touted as a turnaround because in November’s Emerson poll, Biden was leading Trump by 3 points – also a statistical tie, but this is a 7-point swing in Trump’s favor. For what it’s worth, the new survey says Biden leads DeSantis by less than a percentage point, 40-39.

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ handling of a Cuban immigration surge may serve as a lens into his policy platform should he run for president in 2024.
(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

Now I could write a series of columns on why Trump can never make it back to the White House. How his mishandling of the pandemic will never be forgotten. How he has alienated suburban and female voters with attack-dog politics. How he inspired the violence of Jan. 6 and waited hours before lifting a finger to stop it.

How he’s off to an erratic start, with such self-inflicted wounds as dining with Kanye West and Nick Fuentes. How his non-stop insistence the last election was stolen, without any evidence, makes him seem like a self-absorbed loser. 

How his casual use of a racial slur, calling Mitch McConnell’s wife Elaine Chao “Coco Chow,” is offensive. How the country doesn’t want another four years of chaos. How for too many people the Trump brand is now toxic.

But I also remember sitting on the set of my show the Sunday before the 2016 election, when virtually the entire world saw Hillary Clinton as a lock, cautioning that there was still some chance that Trump could win.

SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE’S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY’S HOTTEST STORIES

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton arrive for the Presidential Inauguration of Trump at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 20, 2017. 
(REUTERS/Saul Loeb/Pool)

So is there no way in hell that a former President of the United States could win back his old job, even if that hasn’t been done since Grover Cleveland? I think the odds are diminished if Biden somehow doesn’t make it and Trump runs against a much younger candidate, though the Democrats don’t exactly have a deep bench.

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But is the media-political complex just a tad overconfident in its deeply held belief that Trump can’t eke out another Electoral College win?

I’m not saying it will happen. I’m not saying it should happen. But is it really impossible?

Raleigh, North Carolina, just had its bloodiest year in recent history, and it is likely that a police staffing crisis and ongoing anti-cop sentiment led to the spike in violence, one expert told Fox News Digital.

“Raleigh, like police forces all over the country, has had staffing problems,” said Jon Guze, senior fellow in legal studies at the John Locke Foundation, a North Carolina-based conservative think tank.

Raleigh recorded 49 homicides in 2022, a more than 48% increase from the 33 homicides reported in 2021. Last year’s tally was the highest in a single year since at least 1995, according to FBI data that tracks violent crimes, WRAL reported this month.

“The evidence has just been piling up now for more than 20 years that police presence deters crime,” Guze said. “And if you don’t have enough officers, especially in high-crime, high-disorder neighborhoods, you’re going to get more crime of all kinds, and especially homicides.”

DEMOCRAT-RUN TOURIST TOWN IN NORTH CAROLINA SEES VIOLENT CRIME SPIKE AS POLICE DWINDLE: ‘PERFECT STORM’

Skyline of downtown Raleigh, N.C.
(Walter Bibikow via Getty Images)

The 49 homicides happened in 43 incidents, according to WRAL. They included two officer-involved shootings, four cases in which there were no arrests, 26 cases cleared by arrests and 11 pending cases. The data show the police department has a clearance rate of 74%.

“Our clearance rate has typically been over 95%, and we are confident that we will continue that trend,” Raleigh Police Lt. Jason Borneo told WRAL.

Various cities across the country have been rocked by violent crime increases since 2020, when protests and riots exploded across the country following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns upended day-to-day life. Nationally, murders increased by nearly 30% in 2020 compared to the prior year, marking the largest single-year increase in killings since the FBI began tracking such crimes.

AFTER 2020’S RECORD BLOODY YEAR, LARGE CITIES ACROSS THE NATION STILL FACE SKY-HIGH MURDER RATES 2 YEARS LATER

Some experts have attributed the murder spike to a range of issues that collided that year, including anti-police rhetoric voiced by Black Lives Matter and defund the police proponents, the pandemic, a culture of lawlessness promoted by liberal district attorneys and the “Ferguson effect,” when police pull back and violent crimes spike.

Riot police advance toward protesters in Minneapolis May 30, 2020.
(Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Before the pandemic and riots of 2020, Raleigh had 29 homicides in 2019, 17 homicides in 2018 and 27 homicides in 2017.

MASSIVE INCREASE IN BLACK AMERICANS MURDERED WAS RESULT OF DEFUND POLICE MOVEMENT: EXPERTS

Guze said he penned a report after Floyd’s death predicting crime would skyrocket as calls to defund the police rang out from coast to coast.

Demonstrators hold a sign saying “defund the police” during a protest over the death of a Black man, Daniel Prude, after police put a spit hood over his head during an arrest in Rochester, N.Y., Sept. 6, 2020.
(REUTERS/Brendan McDermid)

“Far from solving problems like police misconduct and over-incarceration, spending reductions will make those problems worse and will, moreover, inflict additional harm on the communities that have already been harmed the most by the turmoil that followed Floyd’s death,” Guze wrote June 11, 2020. 

“If we want to improve conditions in those communities and ensure there are fewer instances of police misconduct and less incarceration, we need to hire more police officers. And we need to pay them more.”

FBI’S NATIONAL CRIME DATA FOR 2021 INCOMPLETE, LACKS DATA FROM NEARLY 40% OF POLICE NATIONWIDE

He told Fox News Digital this week that “of course we have” had that crime spike and it has “affected many, many cities now.”

Raleigh Police fire tear gas to disperse a crowd of demonstrators in front of the First Baptist Church at the corner of South Wilmington and East Morgan streets May 31, 2020, in Raleigh, N.C.
(Robert Willett/Raleigh News & Observer/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

For Raleigh, Guze said the homicide figure is a “little puzzling” because the city never defunded its police, and the homicide spike is occurring years after other cities already saw increases take hold.

“It’s worrying, of course, but the other thing I think is important to keep in mind is we’re starting at a very low base compared to an awful lot of cities. North Carolina has been lucky. None of our cities have got homicide rates that compare with places like my own hometown St. Louis.”

Guze said North Carolina’s capital, which has a population of roughly 469,000 people, is far smaller than cities often in the news for murders, such as Chicago or New York City. And since Raleigh is starting from a lower base of murders, “that means that any increase can look more significant than it is.”

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“That said, though, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we’re just lagging a little bit,” the legal fellow said, explaining neighboring Durham saw a spike in murders happen sooner after 2020.  “And it may just be that Raleigh is catching up with the rest of the country as far as the impact of changes in policing and reactions to the death of George Floyd and so on.”

A police officer parks in front of the home of a suspect of a shooting that left five people dead and two others injured Oct. 14, 2022, in Raleigh, N.C.
(Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)

Raleigh has been grappling with staffing shortages with its police department in recent months, reporting it is 100 officers short as of December, Spectrum 1 News reported. 

“They’ve been short-staffed. And that’s going to have an impact,” Guze said. “Even if your staffing levels are where you want them, it makes a difference how proactive the policing is.

“We’ve known that for a long time, too. This goes all the way back to the ‘90s, that proactive policing — what some people nowadays would call community policing — that gets the police on the street in high-crime neighborhoods and sometimes even making stops. This makes a big difference.”

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Guze added that, unlike some other cities seeing crime spikes, soft-on-crime prosecutors are not playing a role in Raleigh’s murder spike and that he’s not aware of any laws at the state level that would encourage this type of lawlessness. 

Guze advised that city and state leaders should not “just wait and hope this mood changes at a national level” regarding police feeling welcome in communities again following the anti-police sentiment that erupted in 2020. 

“I think showing the police that we appreciate them, providing enough funding so that we can hire good officers and lots of them, I think will make a big difference,” he said.

Meghan Markle was noticeably absent from the spotlight as Prince Harry embarked on a media tour for his latest tell-all.

The Duke of Sussex’s explosive memoir, “Spare,” which was published on Jan. 10, sold 1.43 million copies during its first day on sale in the U.K., U.S. and Canada, making it the fastest-selling nonfiction book of all time.

Despite the book’s overwhelming success, sources recently told The Telegraph that the duchess, 41, “may have raised gentle concerns about whether it was the right move.” The mother of two, who was described as “media-savvy,” was “more wary than the duke about this particular project.”

GB News host Dan Wootton called the Telegraph report “absolutely fascinating” because he felt “it was the first sign of Meghan trying to distance herself from all of the collateral PR damage caused by ‘Spare,'” U.K.’s Express reported.

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Several royal experts have wondered why the Duchess of Sussex was absent while her husband went on a media tour to promote his explosive memoir ‘Spare’.
(Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Royal author Christopher Andersen, who recently wrote a book about King Charles III, told Fox News Digital that he was not surprised the former American actress is nowhere to be seen following the book’s release. He suspected that she is sending a clear message – this was Harry’s work alone.

“Meghan clearly doesn’t want to make it look as if she’s somehow manipulating Harry, or that she’s had a hand in shaping his memoirs,” Andersen explained. “The Sussexes are very sensitive to the fact that their critics believe she has some mesmeric sway over him. The fact is, this is Harry’s story, and for better or worse he has to own it.”

Andersen also believes there’s a good reason why the former “Suits” star may have allegedly been wary about some of the contents in “Spare.”

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Prince Harry’s memoir ‘Spare’ hit bookshelves on Jan. 10, quickly becoming a bestseller.
(Random House)

“What may be most concerning to both Harry and Meghan is the blowback they’ve gotten from people in the military who feel he was ill-advised to write about killing 25 enemy combatants while serving in Afghanistan,” said Andersen. “I can’t imagine if they’d had it to do over, that Meghan in particular would just as soon have had him leave those kinds of statistics out of the book.”

To promote “Spare,” Harry, 38, made solo appearances on ITV, CBS’ “60 Minutes,” “Good Morning America” and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

In comparison, when Markle launched her “Archetypes” podcast, Harry made a comical cameo in the episode featuring Serena Williams. Additionally, when she promoted her children’s book “The Bench” at a New York school, her husband was on site to support his spouse. The outlet also pointed out that when Markle spoke to The Cut magazine, Harry “appeared from somewhere in the house” to tell the journalist that his wife “had complained after her photoshoot that she was a mom, not a model.”

“You can be both,” he said.

MEGHAN MARKLE, PRINCE HARRY REACT TO JEREMY CLARKSON’S PUBLIC APOLOGY FOR SCATHING ARTICLE ‘SHARED IN HATE’

Prince Harry previously made a guest appearance on Meghan Markle’s “Archetypes” podcast.
(Photo by Dominic Lipinski – WPA Pool/Getty Images)

“The book was always Harry’s thing, in the same way the podcast was always hers,” royal expert Shannon Felton Spence told Fox News Digital. “We didn’t see him in podcast promotion. Their PR strategy has never made sense to me, but they are clearly trying to build a Harry and Meghan brand and a Harry brand and a Meghan brand.”

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex is seen leaving “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” on Jan. 9, 2023, in New York City.
(Gotham/GC Images)

“The question is… What about an Archewell brand?” she asked, referring to the couple’s nonprofit. “The book has definitely hit their brand. In my estimation, they had everything they wanted one month ago after the Netflix documentary. Their story was out and garnered massive sympathy from even the most apathetic American viewers. The memoir undid all that goodwill, and the press tour has been an absolute cringe-fest.”

“Spare” is the latest in a string of public pronouncements by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex since they quit royal life in 2020. At the time, they cited what they saw as the media’s racist treatment of the duchess and a lack of support from the palace.

Following their exit, the couple sat down with Oprah Winfrey for an interview that was viewed by 50 million people globally. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex spoke out again in a six-part Netflix documentary released last month.

PRINCE HARRY, MEGHAN MARKLE ‘SPARE’ FALLOUT THREATENS HOLLYWOOD FUTURE: EXPERTS

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex released a six-part Netflix docuseries last month.
(Netflix)

Following the book’s publication, several royal experts wondered whether “Spare” and its shocking claims would threaten the pair’s chances of becoming a power couple in Hollywood. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex reside in the wealthy, coastal city of Montecito, California.

“Since few would refute the assumption that Meghan is rather smart, perhaps she has witnessed their plummeting popularity in both the U.S. and the U.K.?” Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital. “She can see that the ever popular, and by some claims her rival, Catherine, Princess of Wales is ‘rising above the drama’ [as several outlets reported]. She has been seen ‘keeping calm and carrying on’… She was back visiting a hospital in Liverpool and a nursery in Luton. While she’s ‘onward and upward’ Meghan is sliding downward and dejected perhaps?”

A detail from the children’s book “The Bench” by Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, which is inspired by her husband Harry and her son Archie, is pictured on display in a bookshop in London on June 8, 2021, following its release. The Duke of Sussex was seen supporting his wife as she read her book to children during a visit to a New York City school in Harlem.
(Photo by TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images)

“Perhaps Meghan, in addition to reading the polls, has heard of the great greeting Catherine received with huge cheers from the awaiting crowd when she arrived in Liverpool?” Fordwich shared. “So, while Harry is whining and complaining, Catherine is focusing on others, working hard doing her duty and raising her family.”

“Catherine has not been complaining and perhaps Meghan has seen how well this has served both her and the Queen Consort, Camilla,” Fordwich continued. “Being a dedicated mother, wife, daughter-in-law, public speaker and community worker – in other words, doing one’s duty – are greatly admired on both sides of the Atlantic, as polls have shown. Meghan might be watching?”

PRINCE HARRY SAYS 400 PAGES CUT FROM BOOK ‘SPARE’ BECAUSE WILLIAM, CHARLES WOULD NEVER FORGIVE HIM

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are seen attending the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Awards a month ago in New York City. The couple reside in California with their son Archie and daughter Lilibet.
(Mike Coppola)

“Spare” exposes deeply personal details about Harry and the British royal family. The prince made damning allegations of a toxic relationship between the monarchy and the press, describing how family members would leak unflattering information about other members in exchange for positive coverage of themselves. He specifically singled out his stepmother Camilla, accusing the Queen Consort of feeding private conversations to the media as she sought to rehabilitate her image after her longtime affair with his father.

Harry’s story is dominated by his rivalry with his elder brother Prince William, who is heir to the British throne, and the death of their mother, Princess Diana, in 1997. Harry, who was 12 at the time, described how then-Prince Charles broke the news of his mother’s accident but did not hug his son. Harry added that he and William both “begged” their father not to marry Camilla, worried she would become a “wicked stepmother.”

Tom Bradby and Prince Harry chatted ahead of the release of “Spare.”
(ITV)

The many claims in Harry’s book sparked nonstop headlines. Harry alleged that during an argument in 2019, William, 40, called Markle “difficult” and “rude,” then grabbed him by the collar and knocked him down. Harry said he suffered cuts and bruises from landing on a dog bowl. Harry also alleged that William and his now-wife Kate Middleton “howled with laughter” when he notoriously wore a Nazi uniform to a costume party.

Buckingham Palace officials have declined to comment on any of the allegations made in Harry’s book. A spokesperson for the king did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. A spokesperson for Kensington Palace, which represents the Prince and Princess of Wales, told Fox News Digital it doesn’t have a comment. Allies of the royal family have pushed back on Harry’s claims, largely anonymously.

KATE MIDDLETON SAYS ‘TALKING THERAPIES DON’T WORK FOR SOME PEOPLE’ FOLLOWING PRINCE HARRY’S ‘SPARE’ RELEASE

Prince Harry talked about his drug use, seeing Princess Diana’s crash photos and his stepmother’s status in a “60 Minutes” interview.
(CBS Photo Archive)

The Telegraph noted that despite the book’s popularity, approval ratings have fallen on both sides of the pond for the couple. Palace sources insisted that with Markle backing her husband’s attempts in seeking peace with his family, she may not attend the king’s coronation on May 6.

Harry told ITV that he wants his father and older brother back, adding that he wants “a family, not an institution.”

During his press tour, Harry also defended his decision to write a memoir that lay bare rifts inside Britain’s royal family, saying it was an attempt to “own my story” after 38 years of “spin and distortion” by others.

Kinsey Schofield, a royal expert and host of the “To Di For Daily” podcast, told Fox News Digital she believes there are elements of “Spare” “that have Meghan’s fingerprints all over it.”

MEGHAN MARKLE, KATE MIDDLETON’S ROYAL TAILOR SPEAKS OUT ON FALLOUT AMID PRINCE HARRY’S ‘SPARE’ RELEASE

Prince Harry detailed tense texts allegedly between Kate Middleton, left, and Meghan Markle, right.
(Max Mumby/Indigo)

“The most obvious would be providing Harry with private correspondences she received from Catherine, the Princess of Wales,” she explained about the excerpts that detailed alleged tense texts between the royal wives. Schofield insisted “Harry and Meghan both knew that this book would ruffle some feathers.”

“Not wanting Meghan to be seen as the instigator, she might have been advised to stay in the shadows for this brief period of time,” she added.

Sources have told The Telegraph that it was Harry alone who made up his mind to share his story, spending two years working with ghostwriter J. R. Moehringer. They claimed the duchess stood back and instead, “offered her full support. They noted she “is immensely proud of his achievements.”

“Is this the way she would have approached things? Possibly not,” a source told the outlet. “But she will always back him and would never have got involved in promoting such a personal project. This was about his own life, his journey and his perspective.”

PRINCE HARRY SLAMS BRITISH PRESS, ‘SALACIOUS HEADLINES’ ON ‘THE LATE SHOW,’ CLAIMS HIS WORDS HAVE BEEN SPUN

Royal experts insist it won’t be long until the Duchess of Sussex makes an appearance again.
(Photo by Anwar Hussein/WireImage via Getty Images)

Schofield believes it won’t be the last tell-all for the Sussexes. According to Schofield, she would not be surprised if Markle released her own book in time as part of her brand. She noted that “correcting the narrative seems to be Harry and Meghan’s top priority – to an exhausting degree.”

“Did they anticipate becoming such a punchline in the states over ‘Spare?’ I don’t think so,” said Schofield. “But I think Meghan calls the shots and probably signed off on the book… I doubt Harry buys a stick of gum without his wife’s approval at this point. Or a new dog bowl.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: House Republican leaders announced a shakeup of the structure of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, a key panel that oversees a wide-range of energy, health care and technology-related issues.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., who recently assumed the role as chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, announced the change Wednesday, saying the panel would be “reoriented” to help it succeed at its mission. The shakeup mainly impacts the responsibilities of the panel’s subcommittees and shifts how the committee will be equipped with addressing its priorities.

“For 227 years, the Energy and Commerce Committee has led on solutions to keep the promise of America, where we have lifted more people out of poverty and led the world in raising people’s standard of living,” McMorris Rodgers told Fox News Digital in a statement. “This Congress, Republicans will continue to honor the committee’s rich history to improve people’s lives and ensure America leads a new era of innovation and entrepreneurship.” 

“That is why we are reorienting our subcommittees to ensure our work tackles the greatest challenges and most important priorities of the day, including lowering energy costs, beating China, and building a more secure future,” she continued.

REPUBLICANS’ SPR BILL LEAVES DEMOCRATS SQUIRMING OVER OIL LEASING: ‘IT’S THE PROCESS OF BALANCE’

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in 2019.
(Zach Gibson/Getty Images)

Under the changes, the Energy Subcommittee will change to the Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Subcommittee; the Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee will switch to the Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Minerals Subcommittee; and the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee will now be the Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee.

The Communications and Technology, Health and Oversight Subcommittees will remain unchanged.

REPUBLICAN LEADERS PROMISE AGGRESSIVE ENERGY-RELATED OVERSIGHT: ‘WE INTEND TO PULL BACK THE CURTAIN’

Overall, the alterations to the committee’s structure highlight how committee Republicans, who have promised to aggressively tackle hot-button issues on energy, climate, Big Tech and health, aim to address those key issues. 

Under the changes, the newly-named Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Subcommittee will notably have jurisdiction of climate change issues. Republicans have argued that solutions to climate change go hand-in-hand with boosting energy security. 

House Energy and Natural Resources ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., speaks during a hearing on April 6, 2022.
(Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Minerals Subcommittee will seek to pursue policies that broadly reduce reliance on Chinese supply chains, including critical mineral supply chains which are vital for green energy development. The name change comes as Republicans continue to seek permitting reform that would remove regulations they say hamper domestic manufacturing and mining.

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And the Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee is set to seek solutions to the vulnerability of Americans’ data to abuse from Big Tech companies and the Chinese government.

“Trust and confidence in representative government is broken,” McMorris Rodgers said earlier this month. “Accountability in federal agencies is nonexistent, so the Biden administration is pushing radical policies to please its political allies. And the American people are paying the price for it — at the pump, at the grocery store and at the doctor’s office.

“The Energy and Commerce Committee is at the center of solving the most important issues facing hardworking Americans — lowering costs, promoting free speech and preserving free markets.”

Closing arguments wrapped Tuesday in the trial for New York City bike path terror attack suspect Sayfullo Saipov, accused of murdering eight people and injuring many more.

The jury was set to begin deliberating on Wednesday, CBS News reported.

In the three-hour closing argument Tuesday, prosecution said Saipov turned the “bike path into his battlefield” on behalf of ISIS, according to the outlet.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Richman said Saipov was smiling when he asked to hang the flag of the Islamic State group in his Manhattan hospital room after the Oct. 31, 2017, attack he carried out with a speeding rental truck. Prosecutors say it was the worst terrorist attack to strike New York since 9/11.

DRAMATIC NEW VIDEO SHOWS MOMENTS BEFORE NYC TRUCK ATTACK DRIVER SAYFULLO SAIPOV IS SHOT BY POLICE

Saipov, 34, steered the truck onto a bike path along the Hudson River and the West Side Highway that is popular with tourists and Manhattan residents, mowing down bike riders.

Federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Sayfullo Saipov
(St. Charles County, Mo., Department of Corrections / KMOV via AP / File)

Earlier in the trial, the jury was played shocking video that showed the rental truck barreling toward the bike path at high speed, striking a yellow school bus filled with children.

Richman urged jurors to convict Saipov of all charges in a case that could result in the death penalty. If the jury returns a guilty verdict on all charges after starting deliberations, a penalty phase of the trial will begin a week later. Unless jurors unanimously choose death, the sentence would be life in prison.

Individuals who were injured or lost loved ones at the hands of the Uzbek man were among those who testified during the trial.

A law enforcement officer walks by a crime scene, Nov. 1, 2017, after a driver mowed down people on a riverfront bike path near the World Trade Center in New York.
(AP Photo / Mark Lennihan / File)

“He targeted his victims without mercy,” Richman said. That night, the prosecutor added, “he smiled. He was proud. He was happy with what he had done that day. He was happy about the terrorist attack. … He had done what he came to do.”

Richman said Saipov only stopped his motorized rampage when he struck a small school bus, injuring children. Otherwise, he said, Saipov planned to head to the Brooklyn Bridge and kill as many people as he could there. He was arrested after he pointed black pellet and paintball guns at a police officer, who shot him.

In this courtroom sketch, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Richmond gives the government summations in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023, in New York, holding up a knife that defendant Sayfullo Saipov allegedly possessed during his attack.
(Elizabeth Williams via AP)

During the trial, defense lawyers haven’t contested that Saipov carried out the attack.

But they say he should be acquitted of a racketeering charge because prosecutors were wrong to claim that he carried out the attack so that the Islamic State group would let him become a member.

Defense lawyer David Patton said Saipov was expecting to die in the attack.

In this courtroom sketch, defendant Sayfullo Saipov listens during closing statements in Manhattan federal court, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023, in New York.
(Elizabeth Williams via AP)

“He did not expect to be here before all of you and did not expect to be joining any organization,” Patton said. And that, he added, means Saipov is not guilty of racketeering.

Patton said that to do something “as awful” as what his client did, he had to already consider himself a member of the Islamic State group.

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He said Saipov had an “expectation that he would die by police shooting.”

Saipov, who has been imprisoned without bail since the attack, legally moved to the U.S. from Uzbekistan in 2010. He lived in Ohio and Florida before joining his family in Paterson, New Jersey.

Fox News’ Maria Paronich and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

The boys are back in town. 

Hollywood stars Brad Pitt and George Clooney were spotted out in New York City on Tuesday filming their upcoming movie “Wolves.”

Pitt, 59, and Clooney, 61, were having a twinning moment as the two actors both sported leather jackets and gray pants with black shoes. 

BRAD PITT’S WILD YEAR: FROM LAWSUITS TO ABUSE ALLEGATIONS AND A NEW RELATIONSHIP

Despite the cold, winter weather, the “Ocean’s Eleven” stars appeared to be having a great time, as they were spotted at a Drive-In Hotel in Harlem. 

Pitt, 59, and Clooney, 61, were having a twinning moment, both sporting leather jackets and gray pants with black shoes.
(Getty Images)

Pitt and Clooney were additionally seen laughing together as they sat in a dark blue vehicle on the set. 

Clooney flashed his pearly whites behind the wheel, while Pitt smiled from the passenger seat. 

Pitt and Clooney were additionally seen laughing together as they sat in a dark blue vehicle on the set. 
(Getty Images)

In another photo, Pitt was seen in a teal velour jumpsuit. He wore a white shirt underneath with white sneakers and carried a yellow scarf with a red bag over his shoulder.

Brad Pitt was also seen in a teal velour jumpsuit. He wore a white shirt underneath with white sneakers and carried a yellow scarf with a red bag over his shoulder.
(Getty Images)

The Apple TV+ thriller “Wolves” is about “two lone fixers who are assigned the same job,” according to the streaming company. The film is written and directed by John Watts.

Despite the cold, winter weather, the “Ocean’s Eleven” stars appeared to be enjoying themselves on set.
(Getty Images)

GEORGE CLOONEY SAYS TWINS ‘DON’T REALLY CARE’ HE’S A STAR AT KENNEDY CENTER HONORS WITH WIFE AMAL CLOONEY

This isn’t the award-winning actors’ first time working alongside one another. They previously starred in the “Ocean’s” franchise and “Burn After Reading” together.

In 2022, both Pitt and Clooney were busy working on several films. 

Pitt starred in the drama-comedy “Babylon,” which was released in theaters last December. He was also in the assassin comedy “Bullet Train” and was featured in Sandra Bullock’s “The Lost City.”

Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Andy Garcia attend the London premiere of “Ocean’s Eleven” in 2001.
(Dave Hogan/Mission/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Clooney recently worked with Julia Roberts on “Ticket to Paradise.” The coveted actor was also recognized at the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C., last month.

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Clooney was one of five artists celebrated, including Amy Grant, Gladys Knight, Tania León, and members of the band U2: Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr.

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His co-star Roberts showed support for her celebrity friend by wearing a black gown covered with framed photos of Clooney to the event.

“It’s cool to be out here with my friends, and you don’t have to sit and wonder if you’re going to win either, you already know… which is helpful,” Clooney told Fox News Digital.

Julia Roberts wore a dress covered in photos of her friend George Clooney at the 45th annual Kennedy Center Honors.
(Gail Schulman/CBS via Getty Images)