Bombshell Report Reveals Cause of Dominican Republic Roof Collapse That Killed 236: ‘Complete Disregard for Building and Safety Laws’

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The owners of the doomed Jet Set nightclub in the Dominican Republic, where 236 people were buried alive earlier this year, ignored obvious warning signs and building safety laws, leading to the catastrophic collapse, a bombshell new government report reveals.

Sibling club owners Antonio and Maribel Espaillat, who were arrested last week, overloaded the building’s roof, made structural changes without permits and refused to call off the ill-fated April 8 bash despite obvious signs of danger hours earlier, the report said, according to Dominican Today.

“The defendant Maribel Espaillat, aware of a falling debris incident hours before the collapse and in response to a request to suspend the activity, refused to do so, citing the absence of the defendant Antonio Espaillat López and the impossibility of stopping the party, prioritizing economic gain over the safety and lives of people,” the Public Ministry document said.

“The nightclub, originally a movie theater, underwent a change of use that involved an inadequate structural adaptation,” investigators said.

“A key column in the structure was subsequently removed, significantly affecting the roof’s stability, without any professional assessment or permit to support the modification, demonstrating high-risk behavior.” (Read more from “Bombshell Report Reveals Cause of Dominican Republic Roof Collapse That Killed 236: ‘Complete Disregard for Building and Safety Laws’” HERE)

Fed Shock: Fed Officials Forecast Higher Rates and Higher Inflation

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The Federal Reserve delivered an unexpected blow to hopes for lower borrowing costs in the future, projecting higher inflation and higher interest rates in updated forecasts released Wednesday. While policymakers left their benchmark rate unchanged and signaled that they may cut in the second half of this year, forecasts of officials showed they expect fewer cuts next year and the year after that.

The central bank held the federal funds target at 4.25 to 4.50 percent, its level since the December rate cut. But the accompanying economic projections revealed rising concern that inflation is not receding fast enough—and that rates may need to stay elevated to keep it in check.

Officials now forecast that the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, will climb to 3.0 percent by the end of 2025. Core PCE inflation, which excludes food and energy, is expected to reach 3.1 percent. Both represent notable upward revisions from the March forecast, which anticipated 2.7 percent and 2.8 percent respectively.

“We expect a meaningful amount of inflation to arrive in the coming months,” Fed chairman Jerome Powell said. “We have to take that into account.”

This came as a surprise to many Fed watchers because recent inflation data has come in softer than expected, with prices holding steady or rising only at a slow rate. The annualized quarterly pace of the PCE inflation is 1.5 percent, below the Fed’s two percent inflation target, and core PCE inflation is two percent, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. (Read more from “Fed Shock: Fed Officials Forecast Higher Rates and Higher Inflation” HERE)

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‘Highly Vulnerable’ Iranian Supreme Leader May Try to Activate ‘Sleeper Cells’ in the West as Israeli Onslaught Mounts: Expert

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Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei may be attempting to activate terrorist “sleeper cells” across the West as he repeatedly makes inflammatory statements rejecting President Trump’s calls for surrender, Middle East experts say.

As Iran is increasingly squeezed by Israel — losing far more than the Jewish state has in the nearly week-old war — Henry Jackson Society research fellow Barak Seener warned Wednesday that Khamenei may be seeking to awaken terrorist Iranian sympathizers across the world as he runs out of traditional resources.

“The very fact now that the Iranian regime is volatile, it’s targeted, and it’s highly vulnerable — that’s what actually makes it increasingly dangerous to the West, in that it has nothing to lose it has this about this sense of nihilism, and it affects the rational calculus,” Seener said during a call with reporters hosted the America-Middle East Press Association.

Khamenei on Wednesday rejected Trump’s demands that Tehran give up its nuclear program, calling the president’s demands “absurd rhetoric” while refusing to back down.

“The US entering in this matter is 100% to its own detriment,” he said. (Read more from “‘Highly Vulnerable’ Iranian Supreme Leader May Try to Activate ‘Sleeper Cells’ in the West as Israeli Onslaught Mounts: Expert” HERE)

Alaska Hits Shocking Heat Record as Dangerous Phenomenon Accelerates: ‘Those Temps Could Feel Like 110’

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In a tragic milestone for rising global temperatures, the National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory for Alaska, the first such alert in the state’s history, Grist reported.

Facing 22 hours of summer daylight and temperatures forecast to reach 90 degrees Fahrenheit in some areas, Ciara Santiago, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Fairbanks, Alaska, issued the historic advisory.

“People in [the] Lower 48 might think that’s nothing, but here those temps could feel like 110,” Santiago said, per Grist.

With June temperatures normally in the low 70s, the heat posed a challenge for residents more accustomed to dealing with brutal winters than hot summers. Most homes were designed to trap rather than release heat, and few buildings have air conditioning, Grist reported.

Due to a phenomenon known as Arctic amplification, areas near the Earth’s poles are warming at a much faster rate than the rest of the planet. With one-third of the state within the Arctic Circle, Alaska has experienced these effects firsthand, warming twice as fast as the lower 48 states, according to Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. (Read more from “Alaska Hits Shocking Heat Record as Dangerous Phenomenon Accelerates: ‘Those Temps Could Feel Like 110’” HERE)

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Gen Zers Who Watched BLM Burn Down the Country Have No Sympathy for L.A. Riots

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Riots have become an all-too-familiar sight on American television screens. The country seems constantly braced for radical extremism disguised as “peaceful protests.” The images of car burnings and “F*ck ICE” graffiti coming out of Los Angeles last week are only the latest. Unfortunately, these incidents are so similar to the Black Lives Matter riots of 2020, that California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom tried to score some pathetic political points by correcting someone who mixed up a video from 2020 with a current video. In the five years since the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, California is still stuck in its fiery, lawless ways.

I turned 18 one week after George Floyd was killed. I didn’t post any photos on my birthday because that was the day when social media users were pressured into posting a black square online. No restaurants were open because of Covid, so my family cooked dinner at home, then afterwards we gathered around the television to watch live coverage of riots across the country.

At 23 years old, I’m now indifferent to rioting. During the Michael Brown protests, I remember trembling at the images of cops wearing gas masks, coming out of the smoke towards legions of screaming protestors. Even Kyle Rittenhouse’s story jarred me, especially since he was only a few months younger than I was and his infamous incident occurred less than an hour from my house. These protests became increasingly frequent and close to home, and as they did, my attitude towards them changed.

Eighteen-year-olds are typically known to be idealists with starry-eyed dreams of equality and global peace. In the past, liberals have taken advantage of this naivety to build an energetic coalition of misinformed college kids. This seemed to be a reliable phenomenon, with around 43 percent of Gen Z adults aged 18-24 identifying as liberal. However, recent studies have found that Gen Z teens are far more likely to have moderate political views, have their parents’ religious affiliations, and distrust political institutions.

Shutting down schools, businesses, and even playgrounds during Covid impacted younger children in a severe way, as they lost human contact during a crucial stage of their development. Like me, many were cut off from friends and activities, with nothing more than a screen left to entertain them. (Read more from “Gen Zers Who Watched BLM Burn Down the Country Have No Sympathy for L.A. Riots” HERE)

Park Service Wrongly Celebrates Juneteenth as ‘National Independence Day’

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It has long been clear that the leftist activists who succeeded in getting “Juneteenth” added as a federal holiday meant to strip Independence Day of some of its moral and historical significance. The timing of Juneteenth, only a fortnight and change before the Fourth of July, is intended to usurp some of the Fourth’s glory. At the same time, the theme of the new holiday is designed to suggest that slavery, rather than liberty, is the defining feature of our founding. It’s an attempt to make 1776 vie with 1619, with the abolition of slavery being portrayed as our real moment of independence, in place of the moment when we actually proclaimed our independence and declared that “all men are created equal.”

Now the National Park Service has sent out an email celebrating Juneteenth as “National Independence Day.” If Juneteenth is that, then what is the Fourth of July? The email conveys that the NPS is “thrilled to announce that all national parks … will offer free entry on June 19th.” It adds, “On Juneteenth, we honor the enduring journey toward freedom and equality.” Most Americans would associate such language with the Fourth.

While the NPS now regularly denigrates or marginalizes our founding — witness its ongoing efforts to make the Jefferson Memorial woke — its communication about Juneteenth, unfortunately, is not really an example of the agency’s having gone rogue. Per the Office of Personnel Management, the official name of the holiday to be observed on June 19 is “Juneteenth National Independence Day.” The official name of the holiday to follow 15 days later is “Independence Day.” It could hardly be clearer that Juneteenth was intended to compete with, and partially marginalize, the Fourth of July.

America does not need, should not have, and does not legitimately have, two Independence Days. Designating Juneteenth as “National Independence Day” intrudes upon our actual Independence Day. It suggests that Americans’ freedom doesn’t really trace to the Declaration of Independence but rather to the Emancipation Proclamation — or, more exactly, to awareness of that proclamation (more than two years after it was issued). It also suggests that our actual Independence Day doesn’t apply to all Americans.

The author of the Emancipation Proclamation viewed these matters quite differently. In his wonderful 1858 Chicago speech, Abraham Lincoln said, “Now, it happens that we meet together once every year, somewhere about the 4th of July, for some reason or other.” He began examining that reason by referencing the direct ancestors of many in attendance: “We run our memory back over the pages of history for about eighty-two years, and we discover … a race of men living in that day whom we claim as our fathers and grandfathers.” These “were iron men … and we understood that by what they then did it has followed that the degree of prosperity which we now enjoy has come to us.” (Read more from “Park Service Wrongly Celebrates Juneteenth as ‘National Independence Day’” HERE)

U.S. Warns Travelers of ‘Violent Crime,’ Weak Policing in Popular Vacation Hot Spot

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Officials are warning Americans to “exercise increased caution” when traveling to a popular summer tourist destination in light of violent crime rates and a lack of law enforcement resources throughout the country.

The United States Department of State has issued an updated travel advisory for the Dominican Republic, according to the agency’s website.

“Violent crime is a concern in the Dominican Republic despite more police presence in areas often visited by tourists,” the department said in a statement. “Do not display wealth and be wary of meeting individuals from online in secluded locations.”

The warning, which previously listed the Caribbean vacation destination as a Level 2 advisory, was posted on June 12 following a periodic update, according to a State Department spokesperson.

Countries are assigned advisories from Level 1-4 based on the area’s risk factors, such as civil unrest and natural disasters. (Read more from “U.S. Warns Travelers of ‘Violent Crime,’ Weak Policing in Popular Vacation Hot Spot” HERE)

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‘U.S. Homeland’ Now Includes Greenland After Major Shakeup by Pentagon

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has taken action to have Greenland declared part of the “U.S. homeland” to be defended by American forces, according to a report in Military Times.

The Pentagon announced Tuesday that it was shifting responsibility for Greenland from U.S. European Command to U.S. Northern Command, with the Department of Defense framing “the revision as part of a broader review of its Unified Command Plan, which divides the world into separate military units and outlines the roles and responsibilities of U.S. combatant commands,” Military Times reported.

The U.S.-run Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland “is one of the most strategically important military sites in the world,” according to The New York Times.

Since retaking office in January, President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to annex the Danish territory in the name of national security. “One way or the other, we’re going to get it,” Trump said of Greenland during a March speech before a joint session of Congress.

In a statement, a Pentagon spokesperson claimed, “[This] change will strengthen the Joint Force’s ability to defend the U.S. homeland, contributing to a more robust defense of the western hemisphere and deepening relationships with Arctic allies and partners.” (Read more from “‘U.S. Homeland’ Now Includes Greenland After Major Shakeup by Pentagon” HERE)

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796 Dead Babies Found Hidden in Septic Tank at Unwed Mothers’ Home Run by Nuns

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Excavation has begun on a septic tank at a site in Ireland that authorities believe contains the remains of nearly 800 dead babies and children who died at a home for unwed mothers run by Catholic nuns.

Many of the infant remains are feared to have been dumped in the cesspool known as “the pit” at the former institution in the small town of Tuam, County Galway, local historian Catherine Corless told Sky News.

In total, 798 children died at the home between 1925 and its closure in 1961, of which just two were buried in a nearby cemetery, Corless’ research found.

The other 796 children’s remains are believed to be under the site of the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home, which was demolished in 1971 and is now surrounded by a modern apartment complex.

Bon Secours, known locally as The Home, was a maternity home for unmarried mothers and their children, run by a religious order of Catholic nuns. (Read more from “796 Dead Babies Found Hidden in Septic Tank at Unwed Mothers’ Home Run by Nuns” HERE)

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Comptroller and Mayoral Candidate Lander Arrested by ICE at Federal Plaza in NYC

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City comptroller Brad Lander was dramatically arrested by ICE agents Tuesday in a chaotic scene outside a federal immigration court – drawing outrage and support from his fellow Democratic mayoral primary candidates.

Eye-popping video from 26 Federal Plaza showed Lander being manhandled and cuffed by the feds after the comptroller vocally protested masked federal agents hauling away a man leaving an immigration hearing.

Lander repeatedly demanded to see a judicial warrant as he kept his hand clutched on the detainee’s shoulder, video obtained by The Post shows.

After Lander refused to let go, an officer could be heard saying, “Take him in,” prompting agents to cuff him.

“You don’t have the authority to arrest US citizens,” Lander repeated in protest, video shows.

“I’m not obstructing, I am standing right here in the hallway. I asked to see the judicial warrant. … You don’t have the authority to arrest US citizens asking for a judicial warrant.” (Read more from “Comptroller and Mayoral Candidate Lander Arrested by ICE at Federal Plaza in NYC” HERE)