Former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Jessica Aber was found dead in her home at age 43 on Saturday, according to the Alexandria Police Department.
APD Statement regarding Beverley Drive Death Investigation pic.twitter.com/86iNsUzQyO
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) March 22, 2025
Officers responded to Aber's location at 9:18 a.m. after reports of an unresponsive woman and found Aber's deceased body, the statement said.
They are investigating the death according to their usual protocols for these situations.
"The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia will determine the cause and manner of death," the statement concluded.
Aber was appointed by former President Joe Biden to the position in 2021 and confirmed unanimously by the Senate.
She served in the position until her resignation in 2025 to allow President Donald Trump to appoint a successor.
While in the position, she proescuted MS-13 gang members and Russians accused of war crimes against Ukraine.
According to a source close to Aber, however, she had a long-term chronic health condition and police do not think the death is suspicious at this time.
The current U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik S. Siebert, said Aber was “unmatched as a leader, mentor, and prosecutor, and she is simply irreplaceable as a human being.”
“We remain in awe of how much she accomplished in her all too brief time in this world. Her professionalism, grace, and legal acumen set the standard. Though we are devastated by this loss, each of us in the Eastern District of Virginia will look to her example and endeavor to live up to that standard,” he added.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi also expressed sorrow over Aber's death.
“The loss of Jessica Aber, former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, is deeply tragic,” she wrote.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to her family and friends during this profoundly difficult time,” she added.
A harrowing scene unfolded in a Las Cruces, New Mexico park late Friday evening, as gunshots rang out at what authorities described as an unauthorized car show.
According to the Associated Press, the mass shooting incident at Young Park left three dead and 15 injured, with victims ranging in age from 16 to 36.
Reporting from the Daily Mail indicates that the violence erupted between two groups of attendees at the unsanctioned event, who were said to have had existing tensions.
Heated words among those involved escalated into gunfire, with at least 50-60 shots fired, based on forensic evidence recovered at the scene.
Upwards of 200 individuals could be seen fleeing from the shooters, seeking cover anywhere they could, though ultimately, three were fatally wounded and 15 others sustained wounds of one degree or another.
Authorities later reported that those killed included a 16-year-old boy and two adult males, aged 18 and 18, respectively.
Though identities of the deceased victims were not immediately released, it has since been revealed that the youngest of those killed in the melee was Andrew “AJ” Madrid, a sophomore baseball player on the Centennial High School junior varsity squad, as the Las Cruces Sun News reported.
Las Cruces Police Chief Jeremy Story discussed the dangers of the sort of unauthorized car show gatherings that took place on Friday and their conduciveness to violent encounters.
“What tends to occur, is a lot of illegal behavior with the vehicles, there were firearms throughout the event that were used and people with firearms out willy nilly,” Story noted.
Suggesting that staffing issues may have exacerbated the severity of the outcome on Friday, Story added, “I had no units available for most of the night prior to the shooting, logistically, I got what I got, I wish it would have been different, but it wasn't for a lack of trying.”
Story was resolute in his quest for answers in the case, however, declaring, “This horrendous, senseless act is a stark reminder of the blatant disregard people in New Mexico have for the rule of law and order,” adding that with regard to the perpetrators, “We will hold them accountable to the criminal justice system.”
Las Cruces Mayor Pro Tem Johana Bencomo weighed in as well, stating, “This was a heinous act of violence that will leave our city mourning. As with all acts of gun violence in our city, my heart is broken for the victims and families impacted.”
KFOX 14 reported on Sunday that one adult and one juvenile had been arrested by Las Cruces police for their suspected involvement in Friday's shooting.
Tomas Rivas, 20, and an unnamed 17-year-old boy are now in custody and have been charged with three counts of open murder with more potential charges pending, and hopefully their apprehension will lead to the justice and accountability the victims in this case deserve.
The New York Court of Appeals has struck down a New York City law Thursday that would have allowed noncitizens to vote in local elections, the Daily Caller reported. Liberal and conservative justices alike in the state's highest court voted 6-1 to block the law.
The New York City Council passed the law in December 2021 and was allowed to into effect by New York City Mayor Eric Adams. The law went into effect in January 2022 and was immediately challenged by Republicans in the state.
It opened the city's elections to "lawful permanent residents" in the city, meaning some 800,000 noncitizens would get to cast ballots. Many celebrated the court's decision to restore common sense to New York City elections.
🚨BREAKING: New York State’s top court strikes down New York City’s noncitizen voting law in a 6-1 decision.
HUGE WIN!!
The law would have allowed over 800,000 noncitizens to vote in municipal elections, including mayoral races. pic.twitter.com/UQNVCiV5U2
— I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) March 20, 2025
According to the Associated Press, the 2021 law was written with the rationale that permanent residents and those permitted to work in the U.S. should be able to vote even if they aren't American citizens. It would also allow so-called "Dreamers," who came to the U.S. illegally as children, could be given a voice.
"We build a stronger democracy when we include the voices of immigrants," former City Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez said when advocating for the law. Rodriguez is also the city's Department of Transportation commissioner.
After some trepidation, Adams came out in favor of the law at the time as well. "I believe that New Yorkers should have a say in their government, which is why I have and will continue to support this important legislation," the mayor said at the time.
According to Fox News, some believe that because noncitizens who live in New York City are taxpayers, they should have a say in the local government. "These New Yorkers pay billions in taxes and yet have no say in local policies on public safety, garbage collection, or housing — all matters that affect their day-to-day lives," attorneys wrote in defense of the law in court filings.
There are some jurisdictions, including 11 Maryland towns, that allow their residents to vote even without citizens. However, national election laws still prohibit noncitizens from voting for president.
Armed with their feel-good motivations, the people advocating for the law felt that New York's state Constitution left the door open to noncitizens voting. The language of the document guarantees citizens who are 18 and over the right to vote.
However, the Constitution does not explicitly say anything about noncitizens, at least according to those pushing for the law. In his opinion, Chief Judge Rowan Wilson confirmed that the state is clear about the intentions even if it doesn't spell out prohibitions.
The judge said that their reading would make it okay "to enact legislation that would enable anyone to vote – including… 13-year-old children," Wilson wrote. "The New York Constitution as it stands today draws a firm line restricting voting to citizens," he added.
"It is plain from the language and restrictions contained in that ‘citizen’ is not meant as a floor, but as a condition of voter eligibility: the franchise extends only to citizens whose right to vote is established by proper proofs," Wilson wrote. Thursday's decision answered the question once and for all.
The insanity of allowing noncitizens to vote in elections is something that can only come from Democrats. President Donald Trump and the Republicans are once again rejoicing that commonsense has struck down yet another Democratic attempt to rig elections.
President Donald Trump had high praises for his son Barron, who turned 19 this week, Fox News reported. The youngest of the Trump sons is wrapping up his first year at New York University at the Stern School of Business.
Donald Trump has always involved his family in his business and political ventures. Barron was largely excluded from all of that until the 2024 presidential election, which was the first time he was old enough to vote for his father.
On Election Day, proud mama Melania Trump posted a photo of Barron at the voting booth. Before that victorious day, it was Barron's input that compelled Donald Trump to sit down with popular podcasters Joe Rogan and Theo Von.
At his inaugural parade, President Trump publicly recognized Barron for helping him win the election. Recently, Donald Trump used the occasion of Barron's 19th birthday to once again praise him and his other adult children, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump, and Tiffany Trump.
During an interview on Fox News' "The Ingraham Angle," host Laura Ingraham asked the president about Barron as he would be celebrating his 19th birthday on Thursday. Ingraham wanted to know what Donald Trump sees as Barron's strength.
"Business," Donald Trump said of his youngest son. "All of my kids, they've been very good, they're very smart, always good students, always the big schools, the good schools, hard to get into schools," Donald Trump said.
"Barron's a very smart guy, but Eric and Don, Tiffany, Ivanka -- they're smart people," the president said of the rest of his children. "I'm lucky. Look, you have to be a little bit lucky, too," Donald Trump added.
The president said that his adult children are "very smart and they're good kids" who "work hard and they love our country and they're proud of their father," Donald Trump noted. He also mentioned they all have "a very good relationship," Donald Trump said.
When it comes to Barron's future, Donald Trump believes his son has a particular knack that sets him apart from his older children. "Maybe technology," Trump said of Barron's possible career path.
"He can look at a computer" and seemingly know what to do, Donald Trump implied. "I turn off his laptop, I said, 'Oh good,'" the 78-year-old president recounted.
"And I go back. Five minutes later, he's got his laptop. I say, 'How did you do that?' 'None of your business, dad,'" the president said. "No. He's got an unbelievable aptitude in technology," Donald Trump added.
Perhaps Barron's youth and experience with the internet was the greatest contribution any of Donald Trump's children made to the campaign. As Vox noted, TikTok users skewed more conservatively during this election cycle as Donald Trump captured more of the youth vote in 2024.
Donald Trump is proud of his children, who are all successful and have never had the legal troubles of other politicians' kids. It shows that he's an involved father who has raised such upstanding individuals, including young Barron.
Willie Frank Peterson, whose sentence was commuted by then-President Joe Biden, is facing new weapons and drug charges, Fox News reported. The 52-year-old was previously sentenced to six years and three months behind bars for conspiracy to distribute cocaine.
Peterson began serving his sentence on Sept. 13, 2023 but was released on Jan. 17, thanks to Biden's grant of clemency. If not for the former president's generosity, Peterson would still be behind bars.
However, just two months after walking free, Peterson was picked up by the Dothan Police Department in Dothan, Alabama. He's facing several drug charges, including one count of possession of marijuana and two counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance, and three gun charges.
This is Willie Frank Peterson. He was just arrested for possessing cocaine, hydrocodone, marijuana, and two counts of illegally possessing a firearm.
Biden’s autopen commuted his sentence just 2 months ago.
He’s now back in prison. pic.twitter.com/WpuLAfgYfd
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 20, 2025
In the waning days of his historically horrible presidency, Biden was generous and flinging open prison doors for criminals. On the day Peterson was freed, he was just one of 2,500 inmates to be released from jail.
"Today’s clemency action provides relief for individuals who received lengthy sentences based on discredited distinctions between crack and powder cocaine, as well as outdated sentencing enhancements for drug crimes," Biden said. He claimed that they were mostly nonviolent offenders being let back into society.
"With this action, I have now issued more individual pardons and commutations than any president in U.S. history," he touted. Indeed, Biden granted thousands of pardons, including to his convicted three-time felon son Hunter Biden, despite his promises that he wouldn't.
"The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election. No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son," he said in a statement, according to the Associated Press.
"I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision," Joe Biden said. While America understands the love of a father, there are new questions about the validity of some of those same moves he effortlessly made for strangers.
Peterson's arrest demonstrates that letting people out of prison will only lead to more crime. However, President Donald Trump has raised new questions about Biden's pardons and clemencies because he used an autopen to sign off on the historic number of them.
Although it's a standard device used to make signing off on preapproved documents easier for presidents, Trump noted in his Truth Social post on Sunday that it was troubling considering Biden's mental state. "In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them, but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them!" Trump charged.
"The necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden. He knew nothing about them, and the people that did may have committed a crime," he added. While it's unlikely to void the pardon and clemency documents, it's still worth exploring whether Biden was capable of this action.
Presidents have the privilege of granting clemency and pardons for any reason or no reason at all. However, there are consequences to doing that, as evidenced by Peterson's rearrest, and it's essential to make sure it was something Biden really wanted done.
A pair of prominent fundraisers for embattled Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams are under federal investigation, Newsmax reported. The U.S. attorney's office for the Eastern District of New York is investigating Winnie Greco and Lian Wu Shao over a possible Chinese election interference.
Greco was Adams' top Democratic fundraiser and the Asian affairs director under Adams until resigning in October amid FBI allegations about her connections to the Chinese Communist Party government. Her home and office were raided last month.
Shao, the wealthy owner of the New World Mall in Queens, where Greco leases an office, also had his Long Island home raided the same day. It doesn't seem Adams is implicated in any improper connections to the CCP.
However, these two fundraisers are linked to one another and the Chinese government. This news came not long after federal charges against Adams had been dropped.
The New York Times reported that Greco had been an associate of Adams since at least 2014. He was Brooklyn borough president at the time and named her "honorary ambassador to Brooklyn’s Chinese community."
She visited China with Adams for at least two of the six times he trekked to the communist nation where he met with government officials and prominent businessmen. In 2018, Greco held an event that raised $64,000, which was then matched for another $100,000 by a city program.
That fundraiser was held in a restaurant at Shao's New World Mall, where she would raise another $1.6 million in the 2021 campaign for mayor over nine events. He rewarded her in 2022 by putting her in his administration, where Greco arranged several events with Adams and Chinese officials.
Shao also played his part in fundraising for Adams, first securing a $200,000 matching donation from the city by getting 100 of his low-wage employees to give $249 each to Adams' campaign. In 2021, he secured $364,000 in matching funds from 231 donors for $55,000.
The only problem is that at least four people listed as attendees claim they weren't at the event held at Shao's home. "I definitely did not attend. I’ve never attended a campaign contribution event in my life," said attorney Kenneth Horowitz, whose name was listed in campaign filings.
These ties to people with connections to the Chinese government aren't a great look for Adams. He's not been implicated in this particular investigation but has legal woes of his own, especially with fundraisers.
According to the Associated Press, Adams' 2024 indictment involved questionable campaign contributions from a foreign official. Adams allegedly accepted $100,000 in luxury travel and other contributions off the books.
This was reportedly arranged in exchange for special favors from the city. People in Adams' orbit have also been investigated, though President Donald Trump believes Adams may be targeted for lawfare for the mayor's outspoken opposition to the flood of illegal immigration in his city.
"I know what it’s like to be persecuted by the DOJ, for speaking out against open borders. We were persecuted, Eric. I was persecuted, and so are you, Eric," Trump said in October. The president's Department of Justice has subsequently called off the federal case against Adams.
There are many people associated with Adams who have legal baggage, including his fundraisers. This raises questions about the mayor and his potentially crooked fundraising, but it's up to investigators to connect the dots if there's anything to it.
A senior staffer who has been with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for decades is leaving, Axios reported. Legislative director Meghan Taira is expected to depart next month while his party is in turmoil.
Schumer has already tapped Dylan Laslovich, who was Montana Democratic Sen. John Tester’s chief of staff, to replace her. Taira’s exit has been planned for months, but the timing couldn't be worse for Schumer.
Last week, he became unpopular within his party for working with Republicans to prevent a government shutdown. This week, “safety concerns” caused him to cancel his book tour.
Scoop: Chuck Schumer's longtime legislative director will depart his office next month, Axios has learned.
Meghan Taira has been with Schumer for nearly 20 years, and the departure has been planned for a while, I am told. She will be replaced by Jon Tester's former Chief of…
— Stephen Neukam (@stephen_neukam) March 17, 2025
According to the New York Times, Schumer was instrumental in allowing a GOP continuing resolution to pass. He and nine other Democrats were enough for the legislation to advance to the president’s desk, where it was signed.
This angered Democrats who felt that he was obligated to oppose President Donald Trump even with a looming government shutdown. It was a complete turnaround on previous refusals, but he claimed he had no choice because of Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
“A shutdown would shut down all government agencies, and it would solely be up to Trump and DOGE and Musk what to open again, because they could determine what was essential. So their goal of decimating the whole federal government, of cutting agency after agency after agency, would occur under a shutdown,” he told the Times Wednesday.
Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) was one of the many voices decrying Schumer’s move. She claimed he “sent out mixed signals” about their collective opposition to Trump’s cost-cutting agenda.
“People are scared, and they want us to do something. They want to see Democrats fighting back,” Dingell said, echoing the sentiments of many Democratic lawmakers.
Even before Schumer helped Republicans, it was clear that Democrats were in trouble with their base. According to CNN, a poll by SSRS between March 6 and 9 revealed record-low approval ratings for the Democratic Party.
"Among the American public overall, the Democratic Party’s favorability rating stands at just 29% – a record low in CNN’s polling dating back to 1992 and a drop of 20 points since January 2021, when Trump exited his first term under the shadow of the January 6 attack at on Capitol." The news outlet claimed the GOP's rating was at 36%.
These numbers come after Trump won another term in the White House despite all of the attacks networks like CNN leveled at him, not to mention the lawfare from his enemies in political positions. Not only did he win, he won big.
"This is a historic political realignment," Republican political strategist Ryan Williams said, according to Fox News. "He just expanded the party in a way that no other nominee has been able to do before. And I think that’s why the polling missed this because he so radically changed the composition of the electorate," Williams added.
Democrats seem to be falling apart as Republicans are on the ascendancy. Amid all of that turmoil, Schumer is also losing his top aide, which doesn't bode well for the politician who should be the head of the Democratic Party's opposition.
The estimated $80 million fortune of legendary actor Gene Hackman may not go to his kids if the terms of his 1995 will are allowed to stand, according to TMZ.
The 1995 document left his entire estate to Hackman's wife, Betsy Arakawa, who was found dead with him in their home in New Mexico last month.
Arakawa left most of her estate to Hackman, but she had a clause in her will that could throw a monkey wrench into everything.
A provision in her will says that if they die within 90 days of each other, her estate would go to charity.
That could leave out Hackman's adult children Christopher, Leslie, and Elizabeth.
Hackman reportedly had a strained relationship with his kids with late ex-wife Faye Maltese for a while, but in his later years they got along better even though they didn't see him too often.
The Independent reported that Christopher has hired prominent estate attorney Andrew M. Katzenstein, which may indicate that he plans to challenge the will.
TMZ seemed to think the kids could get at least some of Hackman's millions because of the strange way the wills were done and their age.
Also, it appears that Arakawa died first of hantavirus, which may make the clause in her will void. Logically, she couldn't inherit any of Hackman's money if she died first.
In other news, representative for Hackman's estate Julia Peters asked a local court to block the release of any autopsy-related information from the public.
Peters was especially concerned about the photos of their bodies, which had reportedly lain in the house for at least a week.
The couple “lived an exemplary private life for over 30 years in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and did not showcase their lifestyle,” the petition said.
As private as the Hackmans were, they surely would not want pictures of their dead bodies all over the news.
Because of the unusual nature of their deaths, it's certain they've been in the news a lot more than they wanted to be.
Since he was tapped to lead the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency, tech billionaire Elon Musk has been subjected to no end of insults and abuse by those opposed to his vision for a massive federal downsizing.
However, recently unearthed footage reveals that one of the Democratic Party's most revered personalities, namely, former President Barack Obama, once called for precisely the type of cuts now advocated by Musk, as Fox News reports.
The footage, dating back to 2011, sees then-President Obama advocating for significant reductions in federal spending, even if it impacted programs that “a lot of people care about.”
Obama went on, “Everyone knows that getting rid of the deficit will require some tough decisions, and that includes cutting back on billions of dollars in programs that a lot of people care about.”
The then-president added that even if deeper discussions needed to take place when it came to cutting well-established or well-loved programs, the country should at least eliminate “pointless waste and stupid spending that doesn't benefit anybody,” and he said that such cuts ought to occur “even if we didn't have a deficit.”
“No amount of waste is acceptable, especially when it's your money,” Obama asserted, expressing sentiments that sound eerily similar to those underlying the efforts of Musk's DOGE.
Interestingly, Obama even took aim at “thousands of buildings across the country that no one uses,” but for which the federal government was still paying, a lingering dilemma at which the Trump administration's cost-cutting team has been taking a very close look.
To address the aforementioned concerns, Obama created the “Campaign to Cut Spending” and tapped then-Vice President Joe Biden to take the lead, as Breitbart notes.
According to the 2011 footage, Biden was put in charge of “a renewed effort to hunt down misspent tax dollars in every agency and department of this government.”
The initiative, Obama suggested, was poised to be a great success because, as he put it, “nobody messes with Joe.”
Despite Obama's accompanying issuance of an executive order establishing something called the “Government Accountability and Transparency (GAT) Board,” the cost-cutting push eventually fizzled without achieving the sort of results the then-president seemed to have envisioned.
Upon seeing the unearthed video of the former president's cost-cutting proclamation from years ago, Musk himself took to X and mused, “Obama sounds exactly like @DOGE!!”
The key difference between the government waste reduction initiatives launched by Obama and Trump's seems to be the resolve and ability of the person tapped to lead them.
The fact that Musk is actually following through on the president's promises and getting the job done for the American people has sent liberals into a tailspin from which they may not recover.
A continuing resolution extending government funding passed Friday afternoon thanks to 10 Senate Democrats who joined the GOP, Politico reported. The 62-38 vote allowed the bill to clear to a final vote on the bill, which President Donald Trump signed on Saturday.
In the week leading up to getting the bill to its final vote, Democrats were conflicted about whether to give Trump this win. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer explained the predicament Democrats found themselves in.
"While the CR bill is very bad, the potential for a shutdown has consequences for America that are much, much worse. I believe allowing Donald Trump to take even more power via a government shutdown is a far worse option," Schumer said Thursday.
.@SenSchumer (D-NY): "While the CR bill is very bad, the potential for a shutdown has consequences for America that are much, much worse … Therefore, I will vote to keep the government open and not shut it down." pic.twitter.com/1IkuJqOObr
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 13, 2025
The continuing resolution would fund the government for another seven months. It included $13 billion in cuts for non-defense spending, which is something Trump supports and Democrats typically recoil from.
However, Democrats were eager to stave off a government shutdown that would occur if they couldn't reach an agreement on a spending bill. Before its passage, Democrats were making dire predictions about what would happen if they didn't pass it.
They were dead set against giving Trump anything he wanted, thinking it would give him an edge in implementing his agenda. Prior to the vote, it was unclear whether they would cave on this despite the pitfalls of not signing on.
When the time for a vote came, Schumer joined Republicans along with Senate Minority Whip Dick Durban. Other Democrats who voted for the bill included Sens Brian Schatz of Hawaii, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Gary Peters of Michigan, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania.
Sen. Angus King of Maine, who is an independent who typically joins Democrats, also voted for the bill. The only Republican to vote against it was Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.
According to Fox News, Trump signed the bill into law on Saturday, which thwarted the impending shutdown. The government is now funded through September, which means the fight will happen all over again next fall.
Even though it passed, there was collateral damage on the GOP side from the fight. Trump went after Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky for opposing the spending bill and said, "HE SHOULD BE PRIMARIED, and I will lead the charge against him," Trump said, according to a report from Fox News.
This move sent shockwaves throughout the GOP, as Massie has been a staunch conservative. However, Massie seems to have gotten the best of Trump this time, as he's actually seen a fundraising boon after the attack.
"In less than three days, I’ve received $261,000 through 3,203 individual donations, without sending an email, a text, or a phone call. It’s a fundraising record for me and it’s boosted my current cash on hand north of $1.1 million," Massie proclaimed in a statement.
This has been a contentious fight to fund the government, but it takes the issue off the table for now. The tension between Trump and Massie will likely blow over, but leftists in the media will surely make the most of it anyway.