Author: Fox News

• The Supreme Court in North Carolina has decided to not overturn the conviction and death sentence of a man who sexually abused, tortured, and murdered a 4-year-old girl under his care.
• In 2010, Jonathan Douglas Richardson killed Teghan Skiba while her mother, Richardson’s then-girlfriend, was traveling for Army Reserve training.
• Richardson is among more than a hundred people sentenced to capital punishment in North Carolina.

The North Carolina Supreme Court upheld on Friday the first-degree murder conviction and death sentence of a man found by a jury to have abused and tortured his then-girlfriend’s 4-year-old daughter.

In a 6-1 ruling, the state’s highest court kept in place the conviction of and punishment for Jonathan Douglas Richardson in the July 2010 death of Teghan Skiba.

Prosecutors during his 2014 trial said that Richardson killed the girl while she was in his care for 10 days when the girl’s mother went to New Mexico for Army Reserve training.

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North Carolina man Jonathan Douglas Richardson killed a 4-year-old girl in July 2010. The state Supreme Court has decided to not overturn his conviction and death sentence.

Investigators accused Richardson, who was living in an outbuilding behind his grandparents’ home in Johnston County at the time of the death, of shaking the girl violently and hitting her head against something. An autopsy determined the cause of her death was blunt force trauma to the head.

The girl’s body contained numerous “lacerations, puncture wounds, burns, bite marks and bruising” and evidence of sexual abuse, according to the prevailing opinion written by Associate Justice Michael Morgan. The jury also found Richardson guilty on kidnapping, sexual offense with a child and child abuse counts.

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“We conclude that defendant received a fair trial and capital sentencing proceeding free of prejudicial error and that the death sentence recommended by the jury and imposed by the trial court is not excessive or disproportionate,” Morgan wrote in his opinion, which covered more than 180 pages.

Associate Justice Anita Earls wrote a dissenting opinion, saying while she affirmed the conviction, a new sentencing hearing was needed because “the trial court committed both structural error and allowed the State to present unfairly prejudicial evidence.”

Richardson, now 34, is among more than 130 people on North Carolina’s death row. The state last carried out an execution in 2006.

Commuters in Karachi, Pakistan experienced an unusual traffic jam on Tuesday, August 29, when a lion escaped and was roaming about the road. 

The lion “escaped from a private vehicle,” Reuters reported — and was on the lam for about two hours before it was captured.

Karachi police said the lion was in transit when it made its great escape during rush-hour traffic.

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“Our teams rushed here immediately. Praise be to Allah, it is with us safely and no one is in danger now,” wildlife inspector Mukhtyar Soomro told Reuters. 

Video from the scene shows the lion being led out by the scruff of its neck. 

A lion that escaped from a private vehicle amid heavy traffic is shown captured in this video screengrab, in Karachi, Pakistan, on Aug. 29, 2023. Nobody was injured during the two hours the lion was roaming free. (REUTERS TV/via REUTERS)

The lion was captured after it apparently grew bored with walking through traffic and wandered into the basement of a building, said Reuters. 

A witness at the scene told the news agency that there was a “massive traffic jam” of both media vehicles and curious onlookers who were trying to spot the lion. 

Pakistan’s Wildlife Department said the lion had been taken to a compound. 

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“The owner of the lion has been detained and a case will be registered against him,” Senior Superintendent of Police Shiraz Nazir said in a statement.

It was later reported in Pakistani media that the lion’s owner, Shamsul Haq, along with four other dependents, had been given bail. 

People carry a cage for capturing a lion that escaped from a private vehicle in this video screengrab, in Karachi, Pakistan, Aug. 29, 2023.  (REUTERS TV/via REUTERS)

While it is illegal to keep exotic animals such as lions, as pets in residential areas, the practice is “not uncommon” in Pakistan, said Reuters.

“Wealthy businessmen have been known to operate private zoos and sometimes parade the animals for the public,” said the agency.

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In court, Haq stated, “I don’t want the lion” — and that the “court may hand over its custody to anyone it deems fit.” 

There was a “massive traffic jam” of both media vehicles and curious onlookers. 

Pakistani media reported it is thought that Haq and others were in the process of illegally smuggling the lion to another province when the big cat got out of the vehicle.

Lions are not native to Pakistan — but are often illegally kept as pets. (FOX)

Initially, the five suspects tried to say that the lion was sick and that they were taking it to see the veterinarian, said Pakistani newspaper The Express Tribune. 

That story fell apart, said The Express Tribune, when officials detected “the presence of an aged tortoise” in the vehicle. 

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On Wednesday, the medical team at the Karachi Zoo, where the lion is being held, found that the lion had no health problems, further casting doubt on the story. 

Haq admitted to officials that he bought the lion about a year ago, when the animal was 18 months old. 

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It is still unclear as to how or why the lion escaped in transit.

Officials told The Express Tribune that they believe it could have gotten “agitated” from being transported in a very small and dilapidated cage. 

Reuters contributed reporting to this article. 

“Friends” director James Burrows is sharing details that could have altered the beloved sitcom.

In his new memoir, “Directed By James Burrows,” the director explains that Ross Geller’s wife, Emily, was nearly recast because of the lack of chemistry Helen Baxendale (Emily) had with David Schwimmer (Ross).

“She was nice, but not particularly funny,” Burrows wrote in his memoir of Helen, according to People magazine.

“Friends” originally went on-air in 1994. (Photo by: David Bjerke/NBCU Photo Bank)

Per the outlet, Burrows explained that it was hard to find chemistry like Ross and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) has onscreen.

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“Schwimmer had no one to bounce off,” Burrows said. “It was like clapping with one hand.”

The 82-year-old director continued, “In sitcoms and any type of romantic comedy, the funny is just as important as the chemistry. We discovered that any new girlfriend for Ross needed to be as funny as Rachel.”

Helen Baxendale as Emily Waltham, David Schwimmer as Ross Geller in “Friends.” (Photo by Joseph Del Valle)

Casting a new actress to portray Emily was never completely off the table for Burrows, but due to the sitcom’s “tight” schedule, it never happened.

“Often, you can’t recast, because of tight shooting deadlines or other logistical considerations,” Burrows said. “You need someone who gets laughs. Sometimes you start an arc and it ain’t working out, so you have to get rid of that person. If it’s a day player, it’s a quick goodbye.”

Burrows said that if the opposite were true and there was chemistry “the writers go to work to figure out some way of keeping the actor.”

Ross and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) eventually rekindled their romance in “Friends.” (Photo by Oliver Upton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)

Baxendale appeared as Emily in a total of 14 episodes and made her debut in season four. Emily and Ross’ wedding appeared in season five.

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Longtime “Friends” fans will remember their wedding – specifically when Ross Geller infamously muttered Rachel’s name during his wedding vows to Emily.

Eventually, Ross and Rachel reunited. At the “Friends” reunion special in 2021, Schwimmer shed some insight on his and Aniston’s onscreen romance.

“Friends” went off-air in 2004. (NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)

“At some point, we were crushing hard on eachother,” he began. “But it was like two ships passing because one of us was always in a relationship and we never crossed that boundary. We respected that.”

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Aniston said, “Honestly, I remember saying one time to David, ‘It’s going to be such a bummer if the first time you and I actually kiss is going to be on national television.'”

Teams across Major League Baseball had to adjust to the pitch clock this season. 

As the calendar changes to September, some teams are making their final pushes for the postseason. But, players will still have to adhere to the pitch clock rules. MLB does not plan to make any adjustments to the pitch timer for the playoffs, according to multiple reports.

ESPN reported that MLB officials appear to hope the momentum of the faster regular season games will carry over into the postseason, which begins in October.

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The pitch clock counts down as Carlos Santana of the Pittsburgh Pirates waits for a pitch from Houston Astros starter Jose Urquidy during the first inning of the game at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

The league’s competition committee adopted the clock ahead of Opening Day. The MLB also banned defensive shifts and introduced larger bases this season. 

The decision to keep the pitch clock rules intact comes amid ongoing complaints from several players. 

MLB’S PITCH CLOCK MAY BE LEADING TO BETTER DEFENSE, PLAYERS AND MANAGERS SAY

The clock is set at 15 seconds with no runners on base and 20 seconds when there are runners.

The current rules also stipulate that pickoff attempts or step-offs will be limited to two per plate appearance. If a third pickoff throw is attempted and is unsuccessful, the pitcher is charged with a balk.

The average time of a nine-inning game has dropped from three hours, 10 minutes in 2021 to three hours, four minutes last year, when the PitchCom electronic signaling device was introduced, and to two hours, 39 minutes so far this season.

The pitch clock ticks down in the top of the ninth inning of the game between the Texas Rangers and Philadelphia Phillies at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on April 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Emil T. Lippe, File)

The average has crept up from two hours, 37 minutes in April to two hours, 38 minutes in May; two hours, 39 minutes in June; and two hours, 41 minutes in both July and August.

Clock violations have averaged 0.48 per game, dropping from 0.71 in April to 0.57 in May; 0.41 in June; 0.38 in July; and 0.29 in August.

Sergio Alcantara of the Chicago Cubs waits in the on-deck circle next to the pitch clock during a spring training game against the Texas Rangers at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona, on March 7, 2023. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

In an effort to promote safety, bases were increased to 18-inch squares from 15 inches to reduce the likelihood of first basemen being stepped on. 

Stolen bases increased to an average of 2.81 per game from 2.23 in the minor leagues last season, and the success rate rose to 78% from 68%.

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During last year’s MLB playoffs, games averaged three hours, 23 minutes. The 2022 World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Houston Astros took an average of three hours, 24 minutes per game.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

FOX Corporation has launched a donation drive for relief efforts by the American Red Cross following Hurricane Idalia, the company announced on Friday. 

FOX Corporation made a donation to the Red Cross Hurricane Idalia relief efforts and continues to be an Annual Disaster Giving Program partner. The program enables the Red Cross to respond immediately to disasters by providing safe shelter, hot meals, emotional support and resources to aid in recovery. 

FOX News viewers will be able to donate directly to relief efforts through FOX Forward Red Cross by clicking here or scanning the QR Code below.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO RED CROSS HURRICANE IDALIA RELIEF EFFORTS

Idalia made landfall Wednesday as a dangerous Category 3 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of over 125 mph and a storm surge predicted to reach as high as 15 feet in some areas. 

Pasco County Sheriff’s officer drives through a flooded street after Hurricane Idalia in Hudson, Fla., on Aug. 30, 2023. (GREG LOVETT/THE PALM BEACH POST / USA TODAY NETWORK)

Ducks float in the flooded water near the Steinhatchee Marina in Steinhatchee, Fla., on Aug. 30, 2023, after Hurricane Idalia made landfall. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)

DESANTIS PRAISES HURRICANE RESPONSE, ‘CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC’ FOR LESS DEVASTATION THAN 2022’S IAN 

Idalia’s force was felt long after it made landfall, remaining a hurricane as it moved into northern Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, dropping 8 to 10 inches of rain across much of the region before exiting back into the Atlantic. 

Due to this, the Red Cross is carefully working across state and county lines to ensure no community impacted is missed.  

Responders are driving across large swaths of geography and working with local community leaders to identify portions of their community that are most vulnerable. Tornadoes, flash flooding, water surge and hurricane force winds have impacted more than 30 counties across four states.  

FOX Corporation has launched a donation drive for relief efforts by the American Red Cross following Hurricane Idalia, the company announced on Friday. 

TROPICAL STORM IDALIA IMPACTS NORTH CAROLINA 

There is also a fear that many impacted residents are remaining in their homes, no matter the level of damage, out of fear of looting.  

The QR code will also appear on-screen throughout FOX News’ coverage of the hurricane for viewers to scan and then be directed to FOX Forward Red Cross.

In August, FOX Corporation launched a similar donation drive for relief efforts following the deadly Hawaiian wildfires. 

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Fox News’ Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report. 

For more Culture, Media, Education, Opinion and channel coverage, visit foxnews.com/media. 

I just returned from Taiwan, having met with President Tsai Ing-wen, her cabinet, and various ministries over a week-long trip to this island nation of 23 million. I was curious to see what changed since my visit the summer prior, just days before the stop by Speaker Nancy Pelosi that jump started this very turbulent period between Taipei and Washington, and Beijing. 

My view last year was that Taiwan needed to do much more, and quickly, to improve its defenses, and thus its ability to deter Chinese President Xi Jinping from attacking this thriving democracy, an action he instructed his military to prepare for by 2027. Increasing the defense budget, adopting an asymmetric warfare strategy, acquiring the right arms to effect it, extending conscription, enhancing training, improving reserve mobilization, stockpiling key items, and building resilient communications comprised my list of recommendations.

But in the months since that visit – and a year marked by constant PRC threats across the 100-mile Taiwan Strait, the discovery of Chinese spy balloons above America’s skies and police stations in our cities, more revelations of espionage, and intimidating military moves against our allies in the region, to name a few – solid progress has been made.

Tsai made the bold and right decision to extend conscription from four months to twelve; defense spending is ticking up to 2.5 percent of GDP; stockpiling of critical items is underway; and the military is figuring out how to train for and implement a “porcupine & poison frog” defense strategy, all while challenging near daily PRC incursions across the strait. Importantly, polling indicates that large majorities support these moves.

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This last part is the most encouraging. I’ve come to view the growing willingness of all Taiwanese to fight for their country – a whole of society approach – as the key to deterring a Chinese invasion. This evolution was shocked into being by Russia’s unprovoked invasion of its neighbor and sustained by the courage and success of the Ukrainian people. Let’s also hope that Xi is learning the painful lesson the Ukrainians are teaching Vladimir Putin – that a smaller nation with the will to win can beat back a larger foe, inspiring global support in the process.

That said, there is more to do, beginning with a greater sense of urgency in both Taipei and Washington. While I believe Taiwan’s defense spending needs to be much higher, stockpiling should be expanded, and training reforms accelerated, the U.S. must re-prioritize and hasten arms deliveries to Taiwan. The recent move to leverage Presidential Drawdown Authority was a good one, but Washington should use the Defense Production Act to reallocate weapons production, and the Excess Defense Articles program to convey platforms (like soon-to-be-mothballed Littoral Combat Ships?) to Taipei, for example.    

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Congress should also give the Pentagon the multiyear production authorities and appropriations requested to build up our defense industrial base and start pumping out the thousands of anti-ship and anti-air missiles, sea mines and mine layers, loitering munitions, and other weapons needed by U.S. forces in the IndoPacific, Taiwan, and others. Xi’s deadline to his military is only a few years away, but he could act sooner if the results of Taiwan’s upcoming election upset him, or if the Chinese economy collapses and he needs an external issue to distract his masses.  

Lastly, more should be done to rally the world in defense of another vulnerable democracy. President Biden’s recent summit with the leaders of Japan and South Korea was a solid move to bring allies together against the backdrop of a malevolent Chinese Communist Party determined to overturn international rules and dominate the global order. But more multilateral efforts (especially with our NATO allies) specific to Taiwan – joint transits of the strait, enhanced air and sea patrols in the area, multilateral exercises and training of Taiwan’s military – would push back against the new norms Beijing is trying to establish, while also improving deterrence.  

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And non-military actions like concluding a free trade agreement with Taiwan and eliminating double taxation measures against businesses would not only strengthen economic ties between our countries but would also green light others to do likewise. Further, this would give Taipei the opportunity to de-risk its trade and investments out of the PRC — something all nations would be wise to pursue.

It’s regrettable that this era of great power competition has devolved into a hot war in Europe and the beginnings of a cold one in Asia. This is not what the democracies of the world wanted, but this is what the autocracies are presenting.

Ukraine is now the front line, and we must help them win, but let’s take the lessons of that conflict and the short amount of time we have to ensure Taiwan doesn’t become the next front in this global struggle. After all, America’s national security and economic prosperity are ultimately on the line as well.

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The Atlantic Coast Conference is throwing its hat in the ring as conference realignment takes over college athletics. 

The ACC Board of Directors voted Friday to admit Stanford, Cal and SMU as full members starting in the 2024-25 school year, the conference announced.

California Golden Bears tight end Jake Tonges, #85, avoids a tackle during the college football game between the California Golden Bears and Stanford Cardinal on Nov. 20, 2021 at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, California. (Bob Kupbens/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

“We are thrilled to welcome three world-class institutions to the ACC, and we look forward to having them compete as part of our amazing league,” said ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D. “Throughout the evaluation process, the ACC Board of Directors, led by President Ryan, was deliberate in prioritizing the best possible athletic and academic experience for our student-athletes and in ensuring that the three universities would strengthen the league in all possible ways. 

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“Cal, SMU and Stanford will be terrific members of the ACC and we are proud to welcome their student-athletes, coaches, staff and entire campus community, alumni and fans.”

The additions of Stanford and Cal to the ACC now means the Pac-12 conference has just two schools committed beyond the 2023-24 seasons – Washington State and Oregon State. 

The preeminent West Coast conference has been decimated over the past month, losing eight schools one year after USC and UCLA announced their departure to the Big Ten. 

Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado will join the Big 12 while USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon will head to the Big Ten. 

The two Bay Area schools were rumored to be in discussions regarding a move to the ACC over the past several weeks. Still, four schools – Clemson, North Carolina, Florida State and NC State – were against the additions three weeks ago in a straw poll, according to ESPN.

A close up view of a SMU Mustang logo on a football helmet during the Southern Methodist University Mustangs versus Maryland Terrapins game on Sept. 17, 2022 at Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium in College Park, Maryland. (Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Cal and Stanford are expected to receive a 30% revenue share when they join and SMU is expected to get no broadcast revenue for the first nine years, per the ESPN report. 

“Stanford welcomes the invitation extended by the ACC member universities, and we are excited to join them beginning in 2024,” said Stanford University President Richard P. Saller. “Student-athletes come to Stanford to pursue their highest academic and athletic potential, and joining the ACC gives us the ability to continue offering them that opportunity at a national level. We appreciate the dedicated efforts of Commissioner Jim Phillips and the leaders of the ACC member institutions to create this promising path forward.”

The ACC will now have 18 members, 17 of which will play football. Notre Dame plays as an independent. 

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Stanford and Cal will join a conference where 14 of the 16 other schools play in the Eastern Time Zone. 

Increased travel for student-athletes has been a concern for many as former Pac-12 schools have joined conferences with most schools in the Midwest and the East Coast. 

Following the departures of Oregon, Washington, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State from the Pac-12, Missouri Tigers head football coach Eli Drinkwitz questioned whether the decisions were made with the best interest of the student-athletes in mind. 

ACC logo during a college football game between the Pittsburgh Panthers and the Virginia Cavaliers on Nov. 12, 2022, at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Lee Coleman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

“Look, my question is, did we count the cost? I’m not talking about a financial cost. I’m talking about did we count the cost for the student-athletes involved in this decision? What cost is it to those student-athletes?” Drinkwitz asked in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 

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“We’re talking about a football decision — they based it off football — but what about softball and baseball [teams] who have to travel cross-country? Do we ask about the cost of them? Do we know what the No. 1 indicator or symptom or cause of mental health is? It’s lack of rest and sleep.”

“Traveling in those baseball/softball games, those people, they travel commercial, and they get done playing at 4 [p.m.] They got to go to the airport, they come back, it’s 3 or 4 in the morning. They got to go to class. I mean, did we ask any of them? Are we going to look back … ?”

Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report

Texas schools have been unable to install armed officers on every campus, a requirement that materialized following last year’s deadly shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, which left 19 students and two teachers dead.

Immediately after the shooting, the state — and the nation — were divided on how best to ensure the safety of children in schools as the scourge of gun violence continued to plague the classroom. Texas lawmakers sewed a vision of having at least one armed officer on every campus across the state’s school districts to serve as a first line of defense before traditional law enforcement could arrive.

These lawmakers even passed a law requiring the presence of armed officers, but their mandate, which took effect Friday, has run into several roadblocks such as the schools not having enough money or available personnel.

Dozens of Texas’ largest school districts, responsible for educating many of the state’s 5 million students, have been forced to start their new school years and reopen classrooms without meeting the state’s new requirements.

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Southside Independent School District police officer Ruben Cardenas keeps watch as students arrive at Freedom Elementary School, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Texas has nearly 9,000 public school campuses, second only to California, making the requirement the largest of its kind in the U.S.

The mandate was included in House Bill 3, a safety bill Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed in June.

Abbott’s office told Fox News Digital that safety at schools and for the community “remains a top priority” for the governor.

“Keeping our schools and communities safe remains a top priority for Governor Abbott, which is why he made school safety an emergency item for the 88th Regular Legislative Session,” said Abbott spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris. “Working with the Texas Legislature, Governor Abbott signed HB 3 into law this year to provide schools with the resources they need to ensure safe learning environments for students and educators. HB 3 allows for flexibility when school districts have difficulty finding licensed peace officers, with programs like the school marshal and guardian programs. The Texas Education Agency’s new Office of Safety and Security is working directly with school districts to ensure campuses are using these initiatives to their full potential.”

He added: “Governor Abbott will continue working with the legislature to expand school safety initiatives and ensure all Texas students can thrive.”

Stephanie Elizalde, superintendent of the Dallas Independent School District, which has more than 140,000 students, said she supports the idea of the added security but said the state did not supply enough money to meet its own requirement.

“We all support the idea,” Elizalde told The Associated Press. “The biggest challenge for all superintendents is that this is yet again an unfunded mandate.”

This photo taken on May 24, 2023, shows pictures of victims of a school mass shooting placed at the former Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. (Wu Xiaoling/Xinhua via Getty Images)

A mass shooting at the former Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, left 19 pupils and two teachers dead. (Wu Xiaoling/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Local school officials told AP that Texas gave districts about $15,000 per campus, but the sum is hardly sufficient. In Dallas, Elizalde said an extra $75,000 is needed for each additional officer in Texas’ second-largest district.

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Some districts have also turned to private security firms or have armed more staff and teachers.

“This is probably new to everybody at this stage of the game. It’s expensive,” said Charles Hollis, director of operations at L&P Global Security in Dallas, which until this year had not put guards at public schools.

The community gathered to remember those that were lost in a shooting last year at Robb Elementary that took the lives of 19 students and two teachers. (Sergio Flores for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

People attend a candlelight vigil for victims of a school mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, May 24, 2023. (Wu Xiaoling/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Not only is funding for officers an issue, others are not finding enough of them to fill thousands of openings across the U.S. amid an ongoing national shortfall of officers.

Florida became the first state to pass a requirement to have an armed officer on school campuses following 2018’s deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

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The new Texas law does not require districts to report compliance, so there is no official record showing how many schools are or are not meeting the standard.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

• Enrique Portillo, a 26-year-old member of the MS-13 violent street gang, pleaded guilty on Aug. 31, 2023, for his part in the murders of four people.
• Portillo attacked two of the people he murdered with a machete and baseball bats as they walked through a park seven years ago in Brentwood, New York.
• Former President Donald Trump promised an all-out fight against MS-13 in response to the Brentwood killings.

A member of the violent MS-13 street gang pleaded guilty Thursday for his part in the murders of four people, including two teenage girls who were attacked with a machete and baseball bats as they walked through their suburban Long Island neighborhood seven years ago.

Enrique Portillo, 26, was among several gang members accused of ambushing best friends Nisa Mickens, 15, and Kayla Cuevas, 16, in retaliation for a dispute among high school students in 2016.

The murders in Brentwood, about 30 miles east of New York City, shook parents and local officials and cast a spotlight on the deepening problem of gang violence in the suburbs.

As president, Donald Trump visited Brentwood and promised an all-out fight against MS-13, saying he would “dismantle, decimate and eradicate” the gang.

ICE AGENTS ARREST MS-13 MEMBER ON EL SALVADOR’S TOP 100 MOST-WANTED

Gang violence had been a problem in some Long Island communities for more than a decade, but local police and the FBI began pouring resources into a crackdown after the community outrage sparked by the killings of the high school girls.

Police also began discovering the bodies of other young people — mostly Hispanic — who had vanished months earlier, but whose disappearances had initially gone unmarked by civic leaders and the news media. Some parents of the missing complained that police hadn’t done enough to search for their missing children earlier.

As part of a guilty plea to racketeering, Portillo also admitted to using a baseball bat in a fatal 2016 gang attack on a 34—year-old man and standing watch as gang members shot and killed a 29-year-old man inside a Central Islip deli in 2017.

Elizabeth Alvarado, left, and Rob Mickens speak with reporters on Sept. 15, 2016, at the scene where their teenage daughter, Nisa Mickens, was found dead in Brentwood, New York.  (AP Photo/Mike Balsamo, File)

“As part of his desire to gain status within MS-13, Portillo repeatedly acted with complete disregard for human life, killing four individuals along with multiple other attempts,” Breon Peace, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a news release.

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Portillo and other members of an MS-13 faction were driving around Brentwood in search of rival gang members to attack and kill on Sept. 13, 2016, when they spotted Kayla, who had been feuding with gang members at school, walking with Nisa in a residential neighborhood, prosecutors said.

Portillo and the others jumped out of the car and chased and killed both girls with baseball bats and a machete. Nisa’s body was discovered later that night and Kayla’s body was found the next day.

As prosecutors detailed the killings in court, Kayla’ father, Freddy, stood from his seat in the front row and left the courtroom.

Portillo’s attorney, David Stern, read a statement from his client, who admitted his guilt and to being a member of MS-13.

“Being older now, I’m very sorry for my actions,” Portillo, who was 19 at the time, said in the statement.

Portillo faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced in January for his role in the killings and in four other attempted murders and arson. He was among several adults and juveniles charged in 2017 in the girls’ deaths and the first publicly revealed to have been convicted. Two adults are still awaiting trial. The cases involving the juveniles are sealed.

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A month after Nisa and Kayla’s deaths, Dewann Stacks was beaten and hacked to death on another residential street by Portillo and others who, once again, were driving around Brentwood in search of victims, prosecutors said.

Esteban Alvarado-Bonilla was killed inside a deli the following January by gang members who suspected that the No. 18 football jersey that he was wearing marked him as a member of a rival gang.

MS-13 got its start as a neighborhood street gang in Los Angeles, but grew into a transnational gang based in El Salvador. It has members in Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico and thousands of members across the United States with numerous branches, or “cliques,” according to federal authorities.

After Kayla’s death, her mother, Evelyn Rodriguez, worked as an anti-gang activist until her own death in 2018 in a dispute with a neighbor over the placement of a memorial.

The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee is asking the panel’s chairman to subpoena Jared Kushner’s investment firm over its ties to the governments of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). 

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., raised concerns over Kushner starting Affinity Partners soon after leaving his father-in-law, former President Donald Trump, left the White House. Kushner served in the administration along with his wife, Ivanka Trump, where as a senior adviser he played a large role in Middle East policy. 

“At the time Mr. Kushner transitioned from the White House to the private sector, diplomats and ethics experts raised their concerns about the glaring potential conflicts of interest arising from Mr. Kushner’s financial interests in the Gulf region,” Raskin wrote in a letter to Chairman James Comer, R-Ky.

“Moreover, his extensive and successful courting of sovereign wealth funds raises significant legal, constitutional, and ethical questions, given his key governmental role shaping U.S. foreign policy during the Trump Administration.”

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Former White House senior adviser Jared Kushner is again under the microscope by House Democrats  (AP)

Last year when Democrats still held the House majority, the Oversight Committee launched an investigation into a $2 billion investment made in Kushner’s company by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, which is controlled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, six months after Kushner left the administration. 

“Yet, despite Committee Democrats’ repeated efforts to obtain relevant documents to understand the full scope of Mr. Kushner’s foreign business dealings and the legal, constitutional, and ethical problems they create, Mr. Kushner and his fund have refused to cooperate with our requests,” Raskin wrote.

He accused Kushner and his firm of “unjustifiably” stonewalling and urged Comer to use his majority subpoena power to let committee Democrats continue their investigation. 

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Oversight Committee ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin, L, sent a letter to committee chairman Rep. James Comer, R, asking him to subpoena Kushner’s firm (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Raskin’s letter also suggested he believes that Kushner improperly used his position in the Trump administration to enrich himself and his family business, including pushing for the ex-president’s state visit to Saudi Arabia and defending MBS internally when he was accused of orchestrating the murder of a U.S.-based journalist.

When asked for a response by Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for the House Oversight Republicans dismissed Raskin’s letter as a distraction from the committee’s work investigating the Biden family’s own foreign business dealings.

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“Ranking Member Raskin’s letter to Chairman Comer is nothing more than an attempt to distract from the mounting evidence of Joe Biden’s involvement in his family’s influence peddling schemes,” the spokesperson said on Friday.

Raskin accused Kushner of pushing policies in the Trump administration that benefited his and his families’ business

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“If Ranking Member Raskin was truly concerned about ethics in government, then he would join Republicans in our investigation of the Bidens’ blatant corruption. However, Ranking Member Raskin is only concerned about playing Biden family defense lawyer.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Affinity Partners for comment but did not immediately hear back.