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Over the last year, Fox News correspondents Bill Melguin and Griff Jenkins have been following complaints from Border Patrol sources that many of the crucial remote surveillance cameras in multiple sectors along the southern border have not been operational.U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee Republicans say whistleblowers came forward to the committee last week, claiming that “some of the busiest Southwest border sectors have nearly 50 or more cameras offline with multiple towers that have been out of service for more than a year.”On Wednesday, the House Homeland Security Committee sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, claiming that whistleblowers came forward to the committee last week with concerning information on this issue. The letter from Republicans to Mayorkas demanded answers. BORDER PATROL FACING LARGE-SCALE SURVEILLANCE CAMERA OUTAGE WITH ‘SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS’: REPORTAdditionally, the committee says the sources claim that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is responsible for repairing the cameras, and it has been improperly contracting to companies employing non-US citizens against Customs and Border Protection (CBP) policy “who may be physically manipulating the equipment on the camera towers.” These surveillance cameras are extremely important to Border Patrol for tracking migrant evaders, smugglers, gotaways, and large groups, and having so many of them not working is a big problem for Border Patrol, committee sources said. “Multiple sources revealed to the Committee last week that more than 66% of the cameras in the remote video surveillance systems upgrade (RVSS-U) program are inoperable. According to these sources, some of the busiest Southwest border sectors have nearly 50 or more cameras offline with multiple towers that have been out of service for more than a year.”EX-ICE OFFICIAL WARNS TREN DE ARAGUA HAS GROWN FASTER INSIDE US THAN MURDEROUS RIVAL GANG: ‘PUT THEM OUT NOW’In a statement to Fox News, the Border Patrol union said:”Once again, we have another situation of ineptness from this administration, and it continues to show how out of touch DHS leadership is. Not only does this have an impact on the country by not knowing who or what is coming in, it also impacts the safety of the agents working the front lines,” Art Del Cueto, vice president of the National Border Patrol Council said. NBC News reported that an October memo said nearly one-third of cameras, roughly 150 of 500 cameras on surveillance towers, were out due to technical issues. AFGHAN ISIS TERROR PLOT: BIDEN ADMIN AGENCIES POINT FINGERS AS LAWMAKERS DEMAND ANSWERS”The nationwide issue is having significant impacts on [Border Patrol] operations,” the memo said.The RVSS are nearly 15 years old and are used to monitor areas of the border without the need for regular on the ground patrols. Agents will rely on a variety of detection and surveillance, including AI-powered towers, as well as helicopters, K-9s, the border wall, and the agents themselves.Agents have noted the helpfulness of the automated surveillance towers, which are more advanced and use AI to track migrants and help agents locate them. CBP has deployed more than 300 of the towers.Officials say that RVSS is an old, costly system requiring regular maintenance and dedicated staff to monitor the cameras. That is opposed to the newer systems that use AI and provide alerts to agents in real time.”CBP continues to install newer, more advanced technology that embrace[s] artificial intelligence and machine learning to replace outdated systems, reducing the need to have agents working [on] non-interdiction functions within a local command center.”However, the National Border Patrol Council’s branch in Laredo, Texas, recently highlighted the issues and told agents that it “shares your concerns that inoperable camera towers along the border are causing serious Officer Safety and Border Security concerns.”The report comes as border security remains a top issue ahead of the 2024 election. Both presidential candidates, former President Trump and Vice President Harris, have pledged to provide more funding to the southern border and have been attempting to show voters that they are the stronger candidate for securing it.Fox News’ Adam Shaw and Griff Jenkins contributed to this report.



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Publish date : 2024-10-17 02:49:37

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Fox News host Jesse Watters broke down Vice President Kamala Harris’ exclusive interview on “Special Report” and dissected why her campaign is failing.JESSE WATTERS: Covering the Kamala campaign has been disorienting. First, she was the most unpopular VP in history. Then she’s Mrs. Messiah. Her record is radical left. Then she agrees with Trump. But her values haven’t changed. Her VP’s wooing white dudes and Obama is scolding the brothers. She hid from CNN for five weeks. Then she turned down the Fox debate. Now, she’s playing footsie with Rogan and begging to come on Fox. Well, be careful what you wish for, because Kamala Harris just sat down with Brett Baier for a half hour and she was roughed up so badly Pelosi’s asking Joe to get back in. This was the first time the vice president and the Democrat nominee had ever had to answer for herself. She spent more time defending herself with Brett than she has defending the actual border. 



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Publish date : 2024-10-17 01:40:20

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A forgotten Civil War veteran who died without a proper burial is finally receiving recognition, thanks to two eighth-grade students in New York.Kendall Peruzzini and Mary McCormick spoke with Fox News Digital on Wednesday about their efforts to commemorate Daniel Walterhouse, a Union Army veteran who died in 1910. Both teens attend Albion Middle School in western New York.Walterhouse, who was born in Orleans County, New York, in 1823, died at the Orleans County Alms House at around 87 years of age. He was an Orleans County native who enrolled in the Fourth Michigan Infantry in 1861.Tim Archer, a retired service learning teacher at Albion Middle School, told Fox News Digital that the former Union soldier spent around a decade of his life at the poorhouse. He had been injured during the war and spent time in a Confederate prison camp.ARCHAEOLOGISTS UNCOVER ONE OF THE WORLD’S OLDEST CHRISTIAN CHURCHES”[The almshouse] was a place where people that didn’t have anybody to care for them came,” the teacher explained. “Anyone from [people] with mental, physical disabilities, babies that were unwanted up to the elderly, immigrants that didn’t have family in the area, and blind people.”The Orleans County Alms House was in operation from the 1830s to 1960, according to Archer. In 1910, Walterhouse was buried in an unmarked grave in a section of the poorhouse’s cemetery for people who couldn’t afford a headstone.Archer was familiar with the cemetery for years, but was contacted by a historian from Michigan who inquired about a Civil War veteran buried in the cemetery. The retired educator presented the research opportunity to McCormick’s mother, a secretary at the school. In Archer’s mind, there were no better researchers to take the summer break opportunity than Peruzzini and McCormick.ONE-OF-A-KIND ANCIENT BATHHOUSE FOUND BURIED IN THE HILLS OF SICILY”I’ve had both of these girls as students a couple of years ago prior to my retirement, so I knew they were good students and great girls,” Archer explained. “I knew they’d be good researchers, and I knew they’d be willing, even over the summer months, to participate in it.”After doing copious amounts of research about the forgotten veteran over the summer, the girls successfully petitioned the Orleans County Legislature to approve a headstone request for Walterhouse. They’re currently waiting to hear back from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs to approve their application for a headstone, which is likely.Both girls said they love learning about history and found the project interesting. They were able to gather a few details about Walterhouse’s life, even though many of the poorhouse’s records were burned in a fire.”He was a war veteran and he did get injured,” McCormick explained. “He got stabbed and captured, so I think it’s just really important that he gets recognized.””I like history a lot,” she continued. “We studied the Civil War in classes, and we’ve explained to our classes about this project that we’ve been doing, and it’s all very interesting.”CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER”I find it very fascinating, finding out about the past and present,” Peruzzini added.The two 14-year-olds consider it a huge honor to help commemorate Walterhouse, whose service they admire — even 160 years later.”I think it’s an honor for me and Mary, because he should be respected and appreciated for all that he’s done,” Peruzzini said. For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle.”I would love to recognize more people… I do think that there are opportunities for more war veterans to be recognized,” McCormick explained. “And out of this whole experience, I really think that we can learn to appreciate everything as we have…because we’ve learned about the alms house and how much they didn’t have, and how hard it really was for all these people. So for Daniel to get recognized would just be so amazing.”Archer told Fox News Digital that Walterhouse served his country “in a unique way,” and said that the project was an important learning experience for the girls.”The poorhouse is kind of an added uniqueness, in that these were people that were forgotten in their own day, much less a Civil War veteran who served his country in such a unique way for two years, and was yet forgotten even in his own lifetime,” Archer said. “And so that’s kind of the added segment to this that the girls have kind of brought forth, and the community is going to really recognize this if we can get the headstone in.”CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP”When kids are able to do their own research and get outside of the classroom… it can excite a student more than just reading out of a textbook,” the educator said. “Plus, it helps them to get to know their community leaders by going to the town clerk or to the county historian or presenting in front of the county legislature.”Fox News Digital reached out to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs for comment.



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Publish date : 2024-10-17 00:32:31

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One of the five teenage girls accused of beating a 64-year-old disabled man to death in Washington, D.C., in October 2023 testified after pleading guilty that she and the other suspects committed the assault because they “were bored” and looking for something to do, according to reports.Metropolitan Police Department officers responded to the 6200 block of Georgia Avenue just before 1 a.m. Oct. 17, 2023, for a report of a man down, according to a press release. Upon arrival, officers found 64-year-old Reggie Brown with trauma consistent with an assault. He died at the scene.A local CBS station in D.C. reported that five girls between the ages of 12 and 15 were accused of chasing Brown down and beating him to death.The oldest suspect, a 15-year-old who was sentenced to three years in prison last week for assault with a dangerous weapon, pleaded guilty along with two of the other suspects.FAMILY OF DISABLED DC MAN REGGIE BROWN CALLS FOR CHILD SUSPECTS IN DEADLY BEATING TO BE CHARGED AS ADULTSProsecutors called the 15-year-old to testify Tuesday as a key witness in the trial of the two remaining girls, who face second-degree murder charges.The station noted that it was granted permission to cover the proceeding as long as it did not identify any of the juveniles or family members.During the 15-year-old’s testimony, the station reported, she said she and the others in her group were hanging out at a skate park in Silver Spring, Maryland, and were looking for something else to do once returning home to D.C.CRIME A TOP ISSUE FOR WASHINGTON, DC, DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY FOLLOWING LAST YEAR’S SURGE IN HOMICIDE, CAR JACKINGSThe 15-year-old reportedly said she proposed they “find someone to beat up.”The prosecutor, Gabrielle LoGaglio, asked the teenager, “Why did you suggest that to the group?””Because we were bored,” she reportedly responded.At about 11 p.m., the group of girls walked toward Georgia Avenue and Sheridan Street in the Brightwood neighborhood of D.C.DISABLED DC MAN BEATEN TO DEATH ON VIDEO, 3 YOUNG GIRLS ARRESTEDWhen they reached the intersection, the girl said, they came across an unknown man who was already attacking Brown as he was lying on the ground. The 15-year-old testified that she asked the man if they could help beat up Brown, and he agreed to let them.Then, she told the court, they began chasing Brown, who attempted to flee as the man was speaking to the teens.The station reported that surveillance footage showed the teens and the man running after Brown through an alley until they caught up with him.The teenager testified that her younger sister recorded the group taunting Brown as they beat and kicked him.Prosecutors presented the video in court, which reportedly showed Brown on the ground as the girls kicked and mocked him for bleeding.DC POLICE OFFICER SHOT DRIVING TO WORK; 2 PERSONS OF INTEREST DETAINED IN MARYLAND”Damn, you leaking,” one girl who remained unidentified, reportedly shouted at the victim.The station also reported that the D.C. deputy chief medical examiner testified during an earlier hearing that Brown died of blunt force trauma to the head, which caused bleeding in his brain.As the girls walked away from the scene, the 15-year-old reportedly testified, she realized what they had done.”Do you remember what you were thinking when you walked back to the alley,” LoGaglio asked her.”He’s dead,” she responded.The same 15-year-old is expected to take the stand again Thursday to be cross-examined by the defense.If convicted, the remaining suspects could face a maximum sentence of prison until the age of 21, the station reported.



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Publish date : 2024-10-16 23:37:29

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One of several Venezuelan migrants accused of participating in a street brawl with two New York City police officers earlier this year has been arrested by immigration authorities after the city honored a detainer request, a move contrary to New York’s sanctuary city policies. Darwin Andres Gomez-Izquiel, 19, was arrested upon being released from local custody. The arrest was made after the New York City Department of Corrections honored a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer request despite New York’s sanctuary city status.He remains in ICE custody pending deportation proceedings, the agency said. “Gomez-Izquiel is a criminal and threat to the public servants, residents and businesses of New York City,” said ICE New York City Field Office Director Kenneth Genalo. “We will not allow our communities to become safe havens for noncitizens who refuse to abide by our laws. ICE New York City will continue to work with unending determination to apprehend and remove these violent criminal offenders.” VENEZUELAN TREN DE ARAGUA GANG MEMBER NABBED IN NY 2 YEARS AFTER BORDER PATROL RELEASED HIM INTO USIn a statement to Fox News Digital, the NYC Department of Corrections said it “processes ICE detainers pursuant to local law, which defines the extent of our cooperation with federal immigration authorities.”  Gomez-Izquiel was initially arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents in August 2023 but voluntarily returned to Mexico, ICE said. On Oct. 3, 2023, he was arrested again in Texas after illegally crossing the southern border, authorities said. He allegedly failed to appear before an immigration judge after being released. On Jan. 27, Gomez-Izquiel was part of a group of migrants that attacked two NYPD officers outside a migrant shelter in Times Square. He allegedly grabbed one officer and kicked another. Gomez-Izquiel was convicted of assault and sentenced in July to 364 days in jail. After the cop assault, he was initially released without bail but was arrested weeks later for his alleged role in a violent robbery at a Macy’s department store in Queens in which a security guard sustained minor injuries. VENEZUELAN TREN DE ARAGUA GANG RECRUITING KIDS FROM TEXAS MIDDLE SCHOOLS”One of the migrants who assaulted our officers last week in Times Square is back at it again,” NYPD Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry posted on X at the time. “This time he was part of a group that robbed a department store in Queens. They also assaulted an employee. Different borough, different crime — same disregard for the law. This is the last thing NYers need.”Juvenile illegal immigrants in Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang, have committed a series of crimes in New York but have remained free because of the state’s lenient laws, NYPD Detective Bureau Assistant Chief Jason Savino.”It’s shocking to say the least, and we’ve seen a progression with this group,” Savino told “Fox & Friends” Tuesday morning.Twenty members of a subset of the gang calling itself “Los Diablos de la 42″ in reference to New York’s 42nd Street have been arrested in 50 separate crimes, according to Savino.”When they first came, they were actually encouraged not to commit crimes, so they stuck to pickpockets, then they graduated to snatches, soon after scooter crime,” Savino told Fox News. “Why? Because their original criminality did not have consequences.”Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz contributed to this report. 



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Publish date : 2024-10-16 22:27:00

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