[FoxNews] Cristian Mondragon-Fajardo is one of three teens accused of 12 shootings that left four people injured
The 17-year-old suspect accused of launching a random shooting spree across Austin has been identified as an illegal immigrant, prosecutors revealed Tuesday.
Cristian Mondragon-Fajardo is one of three suspects who allegedly carried out 12 separate shootings across the city over the weekend, leaving three people injured and another victim in critical condition. The two other suspects, ages 15 and 16, have not been publicly identified due to their age.
During Mondragon-Fajardo’s court appearance Tuesday, prosecutors disclosed that an ICE detainer had been issued following his arrest Sunday, according to Fox 7 Austin.
"The ICE detainer does add an extra component to his process," Criminal Defense & Immigration Attorney Robert Jimenez said.
The development comes after a retired Austin police officer blasted the city’s left-leaning leadership, accusing the city council of embracing policies that weakened law enforcement before the violent rampage, including the stripping of key tools used by police.
Last weekend’s violent crime spree targeted the city’s first responders, with gunfire striking two Austin Fire Department stations and three fire trucks. Authorities said additional incidents included gunfire damage to five vehicles and four homes, as well as the theft of a firearm and five cars.
Mondragon-Fajardo was reportedly charged with six felonies, including two counts of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, two counts of aggravated assault with a motor vehicle, theft of firearms and evading arrest in a motor vehicle.
Prosecutors said Mondragon-Fajardo is being held without bond, arguing he poses a danger to the community and could face deportation if released, the outlet said.
With the ICE detainer in place, immigration agents have requested that local law enforcement notify ICE before releasing the suspect and hold him for up to 48 business hours, allowing federal authorities to assume custody for potential deportation proceedings.
However, the detainer does not indicate that ICE can immediately take over the criminal case.
"That would only kick in once he is no longer authorized to be held by state custody," Jimenez said, according to Fox 7.
ICE could become involved later, either after a prison sentence or parole is completed, at which point Mondragon-Fajardo could face removal proceedings.
Jimenez reportedly added that the immigration hold may also affect defense strategy, potentially shaping how attorneys approach any plea negotiations given the possible immigration consequences.
"You might be able to get a beneficial plea agreement, but that plea agreement might still result in severe negative immigration consequences," Jimenez said.
Mondragon-Fajardo also has an active warrant for allegedly previously stealing a firearm from a local store, where the 15-year-old suspect is accused of stealing another weapon on Saturday.
It is unclear whether Mondragon-Fajardo’s co-defendants are being processed through a separate juvenile justice system due to their ages.
[FoxNews] An emergency 8 pm curfew was imposed after teens started brawls and jumped on cars at the oceanfront community
New Jersey officials made a half-dozen arrests after a swarm of youngsters descended on a quaint shore town in the latest viral teen takeover plaguing local communities across the country.
The incident unfolded Tuesday night, when Long Branch police were called to Pier Village – a sprawling oceanfront community clad with rental units and hotels – regarding reports of a massive group of teenagers inciting brawls, jumping on cars and contributing to "disorder" across the boardwalk, according to NJ.com.
Bystander footage shows a line of police officers carrying riot shields and corralling the teens in the street, as various other large groups can be seen weaving between cars as they are escorted out of the area.
Five people – a 19-year-old and a 20-year-old woman, and three teenagers under 18 – were reportedly arrested on disorderly conduct charges. A sixth teenager was also taken into custody for allegedly eluding police.
Additional arrests are expected due to reports of two separate aggravated assaults – one on the first block of Centennial Drive and a second at the local train station – stemming from the incident, NJ.com reported. Police are also investigating a suspected vehicle theft in the area.
"The City of Long Branch takes these events seriously and will not tolerate conduct that endangers residents, visitors, business owners, or our public safety personnel," Public Safety Director Charles Shirley Jr. said in a statement, according to the outlet.
"Pop-up gatherings of this nature have repeatedly disrupted Jersey Shore communities, and Long Branch is prepared to act decisively whenever public safety is threatened," he added.
The incident forced city officials to implement an emergency 8 p.m. curfew, with law enforcement officers clearing the streets by 9:15 p.m., according to NJ.com.
Authorities reportedly said 69 officers with the Long Branch Police Department were deployed to the scene, along with 70 additional officers from more than a dozen neighboring agencies.
"It’s heartbreaking and it’s frustrating," nearby resident Jason DeSantis told NJ.com. "You just heard the sirens, 5:30, 6 o’clock, just continually more and more and more people coming in."
DeSantis reportedly added that the local Starbucks looked as though "a bomb went off" and the town’s beaches were "disgusting" after the youngsters dispersed.
"It was all over social media — senior skip day in Long Branch," DeSantis said. "They knew about this, you knew it was coming. I just wish the mayor would have been on top of it."
The chaos comes as communities up and down the Jersey Shore are bracing for Memorial Day weekend, with officials in nearby Seaside Heights calling in federal authorities to prepare for the onslaught of crowds.
Sad to have to say it...
But maybe a few need to be shot dead, to make the rest wake up to the ramifications of their actions.
Age has nothing to do with when a 13 yr has a real loaded gun and has had 100's of hours X-Box training and wants to play real life Call to Duty or some other fantasy game with brick or bat.
May 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. Defense Department on Friday released a second batch of previously classified files, opens new tab on alleged UFO sightings, including references to people reporting unexplained green orbs, discs and fireballs.
At the order of President Donald Trump, the first batch was made public on May 8. He is the latest president to release U.S. government reports on unidentified flying objects, a disclosure process that began in the late 1970s.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the documents, photos and videos of what are officially known as "unidentified anomalous phenomena" had long fueled speculation.
"It's time the American people see it for themselves," he said in a statement.
One of the 222 files released on Friday contains 116 pages of documentation relating to a series of reported sightings and investigations in a top secret facility in Sandia, New Mexico, from 1948 to 1950.
"This file contains 209 sightings of 'green orbs', 'discs', and 'fireballs' reported near the military base," the Defense Department said.
Experts said the first batch contained new videos of known sightings but gave no conclusive evidence of alien technology or extraterrestrial life.
"The people who have gatekept this information for 80 years, they don't want to share it. They've gotten a lot of power and control over the years, and it's just frankly not human nature for people to want to give up power and control, so there's a tug-of-war happening behind the scenes," he said.
"There are a number of other reasons guiding their desire to keep this secret, including a general belief that the public can't handle the truth."
[Georgia Record] Fayetteville, Ga. — A major data center campus in Fayette County, Georgia, drew nearly 30 million gallons of water through unmetered connections before the issue surfaced due to complaints of low water pressure from nearby homeowners, county officials said.
The discovery, first reported by Politico, centers on the sprawling 615-acre QTS data center development located about 20 miles south of Atlanta. Quality Technology Services (QTS), owned by Blackstone, operates the site, which is one of the largest data center projects in the United States.
Fayette County investigators found that the campus had been pulling water through two connections the county was unaware of and had not properly billed. As a result, QTS was issued retroactive charges totaling $147,474. County officials estimated the unmetered usage covered roughly four months, while the company maintained the period was between nine and 15 months.
Vanessa Tigert, director of the Fayette County Water System, attributed the oversight to an administrative error that occurred during the county’s transition to smart meters.
"Fayette County is a suburb, it’s mostly residential, and we don’t have much commercial meters in our system anyway," Tigert said. "And so we didn’t realize our connection point wasn’t working."
#1
Georgia wide is currently having massive severe, widespread drought. About 95+% of the state has been reporting rainfall deficits of 10 to 20 inches short of normal rainfall.
EXAMPLE: Our fresh water well on a family LMOE property in Butts County (yes Butts county) , was at 190 ft, just 3 weeks ago. Then suddenly we had no water. Turned out, like many in the area we needed to add another 20+ feet and in our case replace Pump motor. Because the increase flow of sand due to lower water table, had chewed up a few motor blades.
QUESTION.
Why the hell do we suddenly need all these data centers and need to hide the massive abuse of public resources being done installing them? Is it A.I. demanding it?
Posted by: Abu ||
05/22/2026 13:44 Comments ||
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#5
Operating a cooling tower costs more than the free taxpayer subsidized water they started out with.
Then there's the upfront costs of building one. I'd suspect that once they start being charged for the water they use, they'll be looking for alternatives.
(Mods, sorry for the Spammy post above.)
Posted by: Abu ||
05/22/2026 13:51 Comments ||
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#6
The International Energy Agency says US data centers are expected to account for nearly half of US electricity demand growth between now and 2030.
Where is all that power coming from, over what power lines, thru which neighborhoods?
Not to mention the potential climate change ramifications!! Somebody tell Greta!!
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/22/2026 15:25 Comments ||
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[FoxNews] Officials say four people were found unresponsive inside the Mountainair residence during a suspected overdose call
Three people died and nearly 20 first responders were quarantined Wednesday after exposure to an unidentified substance at a New Mexico home, authorities said.
New Mexico State Police said officers responded around 11 a.m. to a residence in Mountainair, New Mexico, to assist the Torrance County Sheriff’s Office with what was initially believed to be a suspected overdose involving an unknown substance.
Authorities said four people were found unresponsive inside the residence. Three of them were pronounced dead, according to a police statement.
Officials said 18 first responders were exposed to the substance and later began experiencing symptoms including nausea and dizziness.
The fourth occupant of the residence and the exposed first responders were transported to the University of New Mexico Hospital, where they are being quarantined, evaluated and monitored.
Two first responders remain in serious condition, police said.
Mountainair Mayor Peter Nieto said three of the four EMTs from Mountainair EMS have been released from the hospital, while EMS Chief Josh Lewis will remain hospitalized overnight for observation.
Albuquerque Fire Rescue hazmat teams are working to identify the substance involved.
Investigators said they believe the substance may spread through contact but do not believe it is airborne.
Authorities said there is no threat to the public and that a secure perimeter has been established around the residence.
"At this time, we do not know the exact cause," Nieto said in Facebook post. "However, based on the information currently available, all indications are pointing toward narcotics as a possible factor. The investigation is still ongoing, and officials are working carefully to confirm the facts before releasing final conclusions."
Mountainair Public Works said the incident was not caused by carbon monoxide or related to natural gas.
#7
VF is more common where earth disturbance (tilling/grading) is operating - CA's central valley is where an elementary school buddy acquired it back in the 70's (Boys Scout camping trip). Killed him.
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/22/2026 18:37 Comments ||
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[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] US President Donald Trump on Thursday warned of possible military intervention in Cuba, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that Cuba has been a national security threat for years.
Trump said previous US presidents have considered intervening in Cuba for decades but that 'it looks like I´ll be the one that does it.'
'Other presidents have looked at this for 50, 60 years, doing something,' Trump told reporters when asked about Cuba during an environmental event in the Oval Office.
'And, it looks like I´ll be the one that does it. So, I would be happy to do it.'
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters separately that Cuba has been a national security threat for years because of its ties to US adversaries such as Russia and China and that Trump is intent on addressing it.
Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants who has long taken a hard-line against Cuba´s socialist leadership, said the Trump administration wants to resolve differences with Cuba peacefully but is doubtful the US can reach a diplomatic resolution with the island's current government.
Trump's 'preference is always a negotiated agreement that´s peaceful. That´s always our preference. That remains our preference with Cuba,' Rubio said in Miami before boarding a plane to attend a NATO meeting in Sweden and then visit India.
'I´m just being honest with you, you know, the likelihood of that happening, given who we´re dealing with right now, is not high,' he said.
Top Trump aides - including Rubio, CIA chief John Ratcliffe and other senior national security officials - have met with Cuban officials in recent months to explore possible improvements in relations. But the U.S. side has come away unimpressed from those talks, leading to even more sanctions imposed on the Cuban government in the past week.
Over the years, Cuba has gotten used to 'buying time and waiting us out,' Rubio said. 'They´re not going to be able to wait us out or buy time. We´re very serious, we´re very focused.'
When asked whether the US would use force in Cuba to change the island's political system, Rubio repeated that a diplomatic settlement was preferred but noted that 'the president always has the option to do whatever it takes to support and protect the national interest.'
He pushed back on a reporter´s suggestion that it sounded like 'nation-building,' insisting it was about addressing a national security risk.
The renewed threat takes on greater weight a day after the administration announced criminal charges against the island's former leader, Raúl Castro.
Federal prosecutors on Wednesday unveiled an indictment that accuses Castro of ordering the shootdown in 1996 of civilian planes flown by Miami-based exiles. The charges, which were secretly filed by a grand jury in April, included murder and destruction of an airplane.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has condemned the indictment as a political stunt that sought only to 'justify the folly of a military aggression against Cuba.'
The Castro indictment has led many to believe that the Trump administration is following the same playbook it did when it captured then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a military operation in early January.
Maduro, who has been imprisoned in the U.S. since his seizure, faces federal drug trafficking charges and has pleaded not guilty.
The US military touted the arrival of the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier and accompanying ships to the Caribbean Sea on the same day the charges against Castro were announced.
US Southern Command said the ships are taking part in maritime exercises with partners in Latin America that began in March.
Rubio would not discuss how the US might move to implement the indictment against Castro, who turns 95 next month.
Trump has been threatening military action in Cuba ever since ousting Maduro and then ordering an energy blockade that choked off fuel shipments to Cuba.
That has led to severe blackouts, food shortages and an economic collapse across the island.
The Trump administration this month also has slapped new sanctions on Cuba, the largest of which is against Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A., a business conglomerate operated by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces.
On Thursday, Rubio announced that the sister of the GAESA's executive president, who was living in the U.S., has had her green card revoked and been arrested, and is now in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.
'Past Administrations have permitted the families of Cuban military elites, Iranian terrorists and other reprehensible organizations to enjoy lavish lifestyles in our country funded by stolen blood-money, while the people they repress at home suffer in increasingly dire circumstances. No longer,' Rubio said in a statement.
Trump has ratcheted up talk of regime change in Cuba after pledging to conduct a 'friendly takeover' of the country if its leadership did not open its economy to American investment and kick out US adversaries.
China opposes US sanctions and pressure on Cuba, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, said Thursday.
'China firmly supports Cuba in safeguarding its national sovereignty and national dignity and opposes external interference,' Guo added.
[FoxNews] GOP scrutiny of the grant comes after the Justice Department indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center last month
A watchdog is sounding the alarm over at least $3.85 million in taxpayer-backed support tied to the Southern Poverty Law Center, including a multimillion-dollar federal grant for a university-led project that it says integrates SPLC's racial justice curriculum into middle school classrooms.
Using the power of public records requests, taxpayer watchdog OpenTheBooks released a report Friday highlighting $1,352,655.07 in taxpayer dollars it said had been paid "directly" to the SPLC from school districts, states, cities, counties, universities and other public entities since fiscal year 2016. OpenTheBooks also found an active National Institutes of Health-backed University of Michigan project grant worth $2.5 million, which materials from the university say integrates the SPLC's "Learning for Justice" curriculum, previously called "Teaching Tolerance," into programming for middle school classrooms.
The grant's original Freedom of Information Act-obtained application said researchers would integrate "the Teaching Tolerance curriculum from the Southern Poverty Law Center" into an existing middle school program and test it across six Genesee County, Michigan, middle schools.
Eighth-grade lesson materials from the SPLC's curriculum, reviewed by Fox News Digital, directed students to a "map of active hate groups" suggesting "anti-gay" and "radical traditionalist Catholic" organizations are equivalent to the Ku Klux Klan, Neo-Nazis and Black-Separatists. Other Learning for Justice youth materials encourage students to see themselves as part of a "movement for justice" and include toolkits for sustained activism.
President Donald Trump's Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) told Fox News Digital the program "is no longer being funded" and has been "redesigned" to focus on reducing teen and family violence. However, OpenTheBooks points to University of Michigan’s current project page, which still says the active NIH-backed project integrates SPLC’s Learning for Justice curriculum and lists SPLC as a partner. FOIA-obtained NIH records also show the original grant documents repeatedly described the project as integrating SPLC’s Teaching Tolerance curriculum into the YES program.
"Utilizing taxpayer resources to promote harmful, leftwing rhetoric in our education systems is inappropriate, and I support efforts to root out and expose organizations like SPLC," Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., said in response to the grant funding. "I support the important work of the House Judiciary Committee to expose the nefarious agenda, funding, and tactics of the Southern Poverty Law Center."
The grant scrutiny comes the same week the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing titled "The Southern Poverty Law Center: Manufacturing Hate," examining what the committee described as SPLC’s role in "distorting civil rights policy" and newly released information that the group allegedly funneled money to extremists it was claiming to combat.
The hearing featured testimony from author of "Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center" and Daily Signal senior reporter Tyler O’Neil, who told Fox News Digital that "the NIH needs to address parents’ concerns about this grant."
"The Southern Poverty Law Center’s Learning for Justice project pushes critical race theory and transgender ideology. Meanwhile, the SPLC uses its ‘hate map’ to condemn parental rights groups on the other side of the issue, silencing opposition to its agenda by comparing these groups to the Ku Klux Klan," O'Neil added. "Federal tax dollars should not promote this divisive program in schools."
University of Michigan’s current project page says the active NIH-backed program integrates SPLC’s Learning for Justice curriculum into a middle-school program aimed at addressing "racism and racial discrimination" and measuring students’ "racist beliefs and behaviors." Meanwhile, the SPLC’s current Learning for Justice materials frame the program around "educating for liberation," "racial equity" and the "deconstruction of White supremacy."
Fox News Digital reached out to the University of Michigan, including the grant's project leader, professor Marc Zimmerman, and Kate Barnes, a communications manager for the university’s Office of the Vice President for Research whose staff bio says she handles media relations for various projects, but did not immediately receive a response.
[NYPost] Pretty photos.
UPDATE: Postponed. SpaceX postpones highly anticipated Starship launch
Countdown halted after engineers unable to resolve last-minute technical issues; delay comes one day after Musk-owned company filed for IPO expected in June
#2
Starship launched on time, lost one Raptor vacuum engine, (of six, total), deployed 20 'sample' satellites, and is coasting toward a splashdown in the Indian Ocean. 34 minutes into the flight.
Realllly fast off the pad.
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/22/2026 19:06 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
