[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Tourists were left scrambling for their lives after gunfire erupted in New York City's busy Times Square.
The chaos unfolded at 3.30pm near 42nd Street and Broadway on Thursday, following the Knicks' ticker-tape championship parade which drew massive crowds.
Video showed tourists, including parents who were seen frantically pulling their children behind them sprinting away from at least two gunmen.
Officials said the shooting began after a dispute between several people.
A webcam video shows at least two people in black clothing step into the crowded intersection and open fire with what appear to be handguns.
A 26-year-old man was also slashed in the neck in connection to the conflict that broke out.
He was transported to the hospital in stable condition and is expected to survive.
Bonnie White told the New York Post that her vehicle was struck with a bullet: 'There were shots fired, and my car got hit in the hood.
'I just heard the shots fired, and I seen the guy. I'm p***ed. I'm so mad. I don't know what's going to happen to my car.'
[NY Post] Apparently, he wasn't just stealing jokes this time
A wave of investigators descended on comedian Carlos Mencia’s Encino mansion Thursday as officers moved methodically through the property, hauling out boxes, sealed cases, and bags of materials tied to a sweeping tax fraud investigation.
Photos from the scene show a heavy presence from the California Franchise Tax Board enforcement team, with officers posted across the driveway and front entrance as they carried evidence containers from inside the home to waiting vehicles.
The dramatic scene is tied to a major criminal case announced by Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who has charged Mencia with 12 felony counts related to alleged tax evasion totaling approximately $8.7 million.
“Failing to report millions of dollars in income is a slap in the face to hardworking Californians who diligently file and pay their taxes every year because they care about their communities and the public goods, like police, fire, roads, and utilities, their tax dollars provide,” Hochman said.
Prosecutors allege Mencia failed to file tax returns for six consecutive years, spanning 2019 through 2024, covering both personal and corporate income.
Officials say repeated 78 warning notices were issued but no filings were made.
Authorities further claim roughly $3.3 million in personal income and $5.4 million in corporate earnings went unreported through Nedlos Entertainment, Inc., where Mencia is listed as CEO and owner.
The alleged tax loss to California is estimated at about $8.7 million.
The case includes six felony counts tied to personal taxes and six tied to corporate filings.
Mencia, whose legal name is Ned Arnel Holness, was arrested at his Encino home at approximately 7:05 a.m. during the operation.
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/19/2026 02:40 ||
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#1
OTOH - I'm not fond of the recent trend to make any arrest the subject of a SWAT raid.
[National Review] The man accused of coordinating a failed scheme to attack the UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House over the weekend is an illegal immigrant from Mexico who was granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) under the Obama administration, Department of Homeland Security officials said Thursday.
FBI agents arrested Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez in Omaha, Neb., on Sunday for his alleged connection with a plan to attack the recent UFC event on the south lawn of the White House, which was attended by numerous government officials and others. Alvarez is believed to be the ringleader of the group that planned the attack, according to officials, while four other co-conspirators were also arrested over the weekend in Ohio, Missouri, and California.
The FBI alleges Alvarez was responsible for organizing the thwarted attack, which involved a multi-part plan to target buildings near the event with explosive-laden drones in an attempt to force a mass evacuation that would send crowds toward a pre-staged sniper team. The would-be attackers then allegedly planned to storm the White House gate.
[Armstrong Institute] For years, South Africa’s rolling blackouts became a symbol of national decline. Businesses bought generators. Families planned their lives around power schedules. Factories lost production. Politicians blamed everyone but themselves. Now, after years of crisis, South Africa has achieved something many thought impossible. The country recently passed 300 consecutive days without load-shedding, and Eskom’s energy availability factor has climbed to nearly 66%. Diesel spending has fallen dramatically, and for the first time in years the power grid is no longer the country’s biggest economic problem.
The IMF projects South African GDP growth of just 1.0% in 2026. Even more troubling, real GDP per person has fallen from roughly $5,954 in 2010 to about $5,715 in 2024. After fourteen years, South Africans are approximately 4% poorer on a per-capita basis despite commodity booms, government plans, infrastructure spending, and now an improving electricity system.
This is where governments consistently misunderstand economics. They identify a visible problem and assume solving it will automatically create prosperity. It rarely works that way. South Africa’s blackouts were certainly damaging, but they were never the sole cause of economic stagnation. Weak investment, deteriorating infrastructure, high unemployment, declining productivity, capital flight, and government inefficiency were already undermining growth long before the power crisis reached its peak. The blackouts simply made the deeper problems impossible to ignore.
The labor market tells the real story. Official unemployment has climbed to 32.7%, while youth unemployment has reached an astonishing 45.8%. In the first quarter of 2026 alone, employment reportedly fell by 345,000 jobs. An economy growing at 1% simply cannot absorb a rapidly expanding labor force. Young people entering the workforce find themselves competing for opportunities that often do not exist.
The investment numbers are equally concerning. Gross fixed capital formation stands at just 14.5% of GDP, well below the levels typically seen in emerging economies that experience sustained growth. No country becomes prosperous without investment. Factories, railways, ports, power plants, technology infrastructure, and housing all require capital. When investment remains weak, growth inevitably follows.
Even South Africa’s freight network reveals the problem. Rail volumes have recovered from recent lows, but remain nearly 30% below the levels recorded less than a decade ago. The country may have restored electricity, but moving goods efficiently across the economy remains a challenge. Growth is not merely about producing power. It is about transmitting economic activity throughout an entire system.
What makes South Africa particularly important is that it serves as a warning for many countries facing similar pressures. Around the world, governments are confronting aging infrastructure, rising debt, slowing productivity, demographic challenges, and declining living standards. Politicians continue searching for single solutions to what are fundamentally systemic problems. There is no magic switch that restores prosperity once confidence has been damaged.
The lesson is simple. Electricity matters. Infrastructure matters. But confidence matters more. Capital flows where it feels secure. Investment follows confidence. Jobs follow investment. Living standards follow productivity. South Africa solved the crisis everyone could see. The challenge now is solving the problems that remain hidden beneath the surface.
The lights came back on. The harder task is reigniting economic confidence.
[ShabelleMedia] The military of the Central African Republic has formally denied reports circulating on social media alleging an attempted coup against the government, insisting that the country remains stable and state institutions are functioning normally.
In a statement, the armed forces command dismissed claims of a coup plot as "baseless" and accused those spreading the reports of seeking to create confusion and undermine public confidence in the authorities.
Military officials urged citizens to disregard unverified information and rely solely on communications issued by official government institutions.
Authorities in Bangui said security forces remain fully operational and loyal to President Faustin-Archange Touadéra, adding that there was no threat to the country’s constitutional order.
The military also warned against the dissemination of false information, saying such reports could harm national security and social stability.
The denial comes amid heightened sensitivity across Africa to reports of military takeovers, following a series of coups and attempted coups in several countries on the continent in recent years.
The government reiterated that no coup attempt had taken place, describing the reports as speculation and misinformation intended to destabilize public confidence.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has a week left in office, but her enemies are bracing for her final act before she concludes her unique 16-month leadership that strained the intelligence community.
Gabbard’s final bow, the Daily Mail can reveal, is expected to be the public release of secret intelligence documents surrounding COVID-19 origins, gain-of-function research, and Anthony Fauci's coverup of the pandemic's origin. She is also planning additional transparency surrounding the CIA's MKUltra mind-control program.
The timing is no accident. Gabbard delayed her resignation by a month after announcing in May that she was stepping down to care for her husband Abraham, who has been diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer.
Allies say she had unfinished business.
The quest has already provoked a confrontation. Whistleblower James Erdman III, a former CIA officer, claims the agency retrieved 40 boxes of files related to JFK assassination records and MKUltra declassification efforts, a claim the CIA disputes.
MKUltra, launched in the 1950s, used psychedelic drugs, hypnosis and electroshock therapy in pursuit of mind control techniques.
Much of the documentary records were destroyed in 1972 when CIA Director Richard Helms ordered files shredded after President Nixon announced his intention to replace him.
What remains classified and what exactly Gabbard intends to release is still unknown.
#3
the rare form of bone cancer is kind of strange too. That can be caused remotely by ways... look at cancers of people Russia wanted dead for like cancers.
#4
Whistleblower James Erdman III, a former CIA officer, claims the agency retrieved 40 boxes of files related to JFK assassination records and MKUltra declassification efforts, a claim the CIA disputes. I doubt there is much earth-shaking information about the JFK assassination that is not known. Anything else was probably destroyed long ago or never filed away in the first place. MKUltra was looked into by the Rockefeller Commission and the Senate Church Committee. It doesn't seem like there is much new ground to plow here.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] The Mayor Oak, over 1,200 years old, has died in Sherwood Forest near Nottingham, UK. The BBC reported this on June 18,citing the Royal Society, which manages the reserve. Obviously due to Climate Change™
According to experts, the tree has seen a noticeable decline in the quality and quantity of its leaves in recent years, and this spring, no leaves have emerged at all.
The exact cause of the oak's death is difficult to determine, but one possible explanation is that intense human activity near the tree led to compaction of the soil around it, preventing rainwater from reaching its roots.
The department also noted that after its death, the oak will remain in Sherwood Forest as a habitat for wildlife and a "natural monument" for visitors. The tree will continue to decompose for several decades. Like AlGore
The Major Oak is one of the oldest trees in the world and the most famous tree in Europe. Its trunk girth reached approximately 11 meters, and its crown spread was nearly 28 meters. Around 350,000 tourists from all over the world visited the tree annually. The legend of Robin Hood is also closely associated with this oak: it was believed that he and his gang used the tree's hollow trunk as a hideout while hiding from the Sheriff of Nottingham. Some Bristlecone Pines in CA are over 4800 years old
#3
one possible explanation is that intense human activity near the tree led to compaction of the soil around it, preventing rainwater from reaching its roots.
The average lifespan of an English oak (Quercus robur) is typically between 600 to 1,000 years, with some specimens living even longer under ideal conditions.
So the poor thing was overdue. Here’s hoping someone was clever enough to grow seedlings from its acorns and plant them. American Heritage Trees sells certified saplings of a variety of historic trees — the trailing daughters’ PTA planted a few at their elementary school for Arbor Day, back when I could suggest such things.
#8
Some Bristlecone pine trees in the Inyo National Forest in CA are over 4000 yr old. There are a lot of them at the 7000-9000' altitude.
There are similar trees in Chile with about the same age.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
06/19/2026 12:37 Comments ||
Top||
#9
Looks like it will make several good coffee table.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/19/2026 12:47 Comments ||
Top||
#10
Wahahahahhaa....gasp, whahahahahaha.
Why is that funny, Besoeker? The trailing daughters are full-grown women in their mid-thirties — I gave up volunteering for things when I got sick because I was too busy sleeping.
#11
"Funny".... because I suffer a similar fate with my "suggestions" within our adult progeny. I continue to talk about the weather, the price of milk and eggs, and automobiles.
#12
^
If one is not going to establish the back story beforehand, one should at least do some foreshadowing. That way one's readers are not baffled and somewhat irritated.
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.
[NY Post] 
[National Review] The man accused of coordinating a failed scheme to attack the UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House over the weekend is an illegal immigrant from Mexico who was granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) under the Obama administration, Department of Homeland Security officials said Thursday.
