Se espera que haya cientos de policías en labores de patrullaje y que se cierren algunas calles en Midtown Manhattan para un evento privado de dos días en el Madison Square Garden con motivo de la boda de Taylor Swift, según entrevistas y un memorándum interno de planificación policial.

A partir del jueves, agentes del Departamento de Policía de Nueva York, del Departamento de Policía de la Autoridad Metropolitana de Transporte y de la policía de Amtrak se desplegarán en los alrededores del lugar para el acto, que en el memorándum se describe como una celebración de la boda de Swift con Travis Kelce.

Los actos están cerrados al público. La pareja ha invitado a unas 100 personas a una cena de ensayo en el Infosys Theater, un recinto dentro del Garden, el jueves alrededor de las 6 pm, según un memorándum interno de la policía con detalles sobre las reuniones.

El memorándum se titula “Boda de Taylor Swift en el Madison Square Garden”.

Una vocera del Departamento de Policía dijo que los planes para el evento aún no se habían concluido.

Durante una rueda de prensa sobre los preparativos de la ciudad para el 4 de julio, Jessica Tisch, la comisaria de policía, reconoció que había “un evento que estamos vigilando en el Madison Square Garden el viernes por la noche”, pero se negó a dar más detalles al respecto.

“Por supuesto, la policía de Nueva York tendrá un dispositivo de seguridad preparado, pero no voy a dar más detalles por ahora”, dijo durante la rueda de prensa en One Police Plaza, donde apareció junto al alcalde Zohran Mamdani.

En una entrevista con 1010 WINS, Mamdani dijo que la ciudad estaba preparada para las aglomeraciones, “tanto si se concentran fuera del Madison Square Garden como si se reúnen en cualquiera de los puntos de observación de los fuegos artificiales del 4 de julio”.

El viernes se espera que lleguen hasta mil invitados al Garden para una gran celebración, con posibles presentaciones en el escenario, según el memorándum. Las puertas del recinto se abrirán sobre las 4 pm para una hora del cóctel en el sexto piso, seguida de “una boda y una recepción en el recinto” que empezarán sobre las 5:30 pm, según el memorándum. Se espera que el evento termine sobre las 2 am.

Swift también ha solicitado permisos para cerrar calles cercanas, según dos personas al tanto de la planeación. El viernes, se espera que entre las calles cerradas estén West 31st y West 33rd, que rodean el Garden.

Está previsto un dispositivo de la policía para la cena de ensayo del jueves, según un agente de las fuerzas del orden que conoce el plan.

El costo del permiso para celebrar un evento de gran envergadura –que se clasifica como aquel que “tiene un impacto considerable en la comunidad circundante” y requiere el cierre total de las calles– es de hasta 66.000 dólares al día. La solicitud del permiso para los eventos se extiende hasta el mediodía del sábado, según las personas que conocen la solicitud.

El costo total de los pagos para los eventos en el Garden no quedó claro de inmediato.

Kenneth Corey, exjefe de departamento de la Policía de Nueva York dijo que probablemente se necesitarían cientos de agentes de policía para garantizar la seguridad de la multitud fuera del recinto, además del equipo de seguridad privada que Swift ha contratado.

“No hay nada comparable a su nivel de fama y a su base de seguidores: está al nivel de Elvis, Michael Jackson o los Beatles en su apogeo”, dijo. “Estuve casi 35 años en la policía de Nueva York y nunca hubo una boda ni de lejos de esta magnitud”.

Leé también: Crece la expectativa por la boda de Taylor Swift y Travis Kelce: ¿cantarán Ed Sheeran y Paul McCartney?

Los aficionados de Swift son famosos por su entusiasmo y lealtad, y podrían aparecer cientos o miles de ellos fuera del recinto. La ola de calor que azota la ciudad desde ahora hasta el sábado también podría suponer un reto a la hora de garantizar la seguridad de quienes acudan, dijeron las autoridades.

La policía tendrá que instalar barreras de hormigón similares a las que se montaron durante las finales de la NBA para proteger a los fans de cualquier amenaza terrorista, como los atropellos con vehículos, dijo Corey.

El refuerzo policial se producirá durante el fin de semana largo del 4 de julio, en un momento en el que el gasto del Departamento de Policía de la ciudad ya es elevado.

A principios de junio, Tisch les dijo a los concejales que el departamento preveía gastar unos 92 millones de dólares en horas extras para hacer frente a las “exigencias históricas” que exigen garantizar la seguridad pública en los eventos de verano de la ciudad, como el campeonato de la NBA y las celebraciones del aniversario número 250 de Estados Unidos.

No estaba claro si el costo de la seguridad en torno a la boda de Swift estaba incluido en esa cifra.

Algunos neoyorquinos se han quejado de que la ciudad tenga que asumir los costos adicionales y los problemas de transporte asociados al evento de Swift.

Cuando se le preguntó sobre los preparativos para el evento, un vocero de la Agencia de Transporte Municipal (MTA por su sigla en inglés) dijo: “Esperamos que el servicio y el acceso a Penn Station sigan siendo normales durante todo el fin de semana festivo”.

Grace Rauh, directora ejecutiva de Citizens Union, un grupo de vigilancia del gobierno, dijo que las celebraciones eran positivas para la ciudad y su imagen, y que suponían un uso adecuado de los recursos.

“Es un anuncio fantástico de lo genial que es Nueva York”, dijo Rauh. “Lo entendemos. Somos de aquí. Ella podría casarse en cualquier sitio”.

Scott Munro, presidente del sindicato de detectives de la ciudad, no estaba de acuerdo.

“Deberían celebrar la boda en Pensilvania o donde sea que ella haya nacido”, dijo, al mencionar los altos niveles de agotamiento entre los agentes, que ya han hecho una cantidad extraordinaria de horas extras.

En el último mes, unos 5000 detectives han acumulado 85 horas extras debido a las finales de la NBA y el Mundial, dijo el detective Munro.

“¿Podemos agregar algo más aquí?”, dijo. “Creo que Travis Kelce y Taylor Swift deberían dar las gracias a todos los agentes que están ahí fuera bajo el calor, lejos de sus familias y trabajando”.

Leé también: Taylor Swift fue vista saliendo de un importante estudio de grabación ¿Se vienen nuevas canciones?

El Departamento de Policía va a estar “al límite de sus posibilidades ese fin de semana” por los otros eventos programados para celebrar el 250 aniversario de la nación, dijo Corey.

“El departamento exige una carga de trabajo considerable en cuanto a eventos programados, y probablemente no haya tenido comparación en la historia”, dijo.

Swift ha dado prioridad a la privacidad y la seguridad a lo largo de los años, y también se ha enfrentado a amenazas en el pasado. En agosto de 2024, se vio obligada a cancelar tres conciertos en Viena después de que las autoridades se enteraran de un complot para atacar uno de sus conciertos. Las autoridades registraron una casa en Austria, donde dijeron que encontraron componentes para fabricar bombas, machetes, cuchillos, dinero falso y propaganda del Estado Islámico. Un hombre de 21 años fue condenado por planear el atentado.

Tisch ya había ordenado a los agentes que trabajaran en turnos de 12 horas durante todo el Mundial, que terminará el 19 de julio en el MetLife Stadium de East Rutherford, Nueva Jersey

El despliegue para el evento de Swift será intenso, pero nada que ver con el enorme despliegue de fuerzas que rodeó las finales de la NBA, cuando se enviaron miles de agentes para controlar a las multitudes de aficionados y el desfile de la victoria de los Knicks. La policía creó una “zona acordonada” desde la calle 29 Oeste hasta la 35 Oeste, entre la Sexta y la Octava Avenida, donde cerró la calle al tráfico y a la mayoría de la gente.

Corey dijo que, en una ciudad que acoge constantemente desfiles gigantes, visitas de dignatarios y otros eventos a gran escala, una gran fiesta en el Garden debería ser como un día normal en la oficina.

“¿Acaso hay algún momento tranquilo en Nueva York?”, dijo.

*Por Maria Cramer, reportera del Times que cubre el Departamento de Policía de Nueva York y la delincuencia en la ciudad y sus alrededores, Chelsia Rose Marcius, reportera de justicia del Times que cubre el Departamento de Policía de Nueva York, y Emma G. Fitzsimmons, corresponsal de política pública del Times que cubre la ciudad de Nueva York.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Thursday it killed five members of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, while the Kurdish opposition group told Fox News Digital that six of its Peshmerga — a term commonly used for Kurdish fighters — were killed in what it described as an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ambush in northwest Iran.

The clash marks another escalation in Iran’s Kurdish-majority west after days of reported attacks and clashes involving Iranian security forces, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Kurdish armed factions. 

It also underscores the current position of Iranian Kurdish opposition groups that recently were viewed by U.S. and Israeli officials as a possible pressure point against Tehran during the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran but ultimately stayed out of the conflict amid mixed signals from Washington and pressure from both Iran and Turkey.

WAVE OF ATTACKS ON IRAN’S IRGC RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT RENEWED KURDISH INSURGENCY

Majeed Gly, president of the American Kurdish Committee, told Fox News Digital the latest clashes should not be read as a full-scale uprising, but also should not be dismissed as routine border violence.

«What I’m hearing is, this is not business as usual,» Gly said. «This is not like periodic clashes on the border. This is operations, and it seems to be deep inside.»

Gly said Kurdish frustration has grown sharply after months of Iranian attacks on Kurdish areas and opposition-linked sites, including in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. He said the region has been hit by more than 850 attacks since February, leaving at least six civilians dead and dozens more wounded.

Hejar Berenji, the U.S. representative of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, or PDKI, confirmed to Fox News Digital that six PDKI Peshmerga were killed in a clash with IRGC forces in the Piranshahr area of Iranian Kurdistan.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it had killed five members of the banned PDKI in northwest Iran, Reuters reported Thursday, citing state media. The IRGC said the group was ambushed after entering Iranian territory in mountainous border areas near Piranshahr in West Azerbaijan Province.

WAVE OF ATTACKS ON IRAN’S IRGC RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT RENEWED KURDISH INSURGENCY

Kurdish separatists attempted an Iran crossing from Iraq amid protests. (Mustafa Ozer/AFP via Getty Images)

Berenji identified the six Peshmerga as Karo Hormuziari, Fardin Changizi, Mohammad Khaki, Abdullah Mohammadpour, Twana Osmani and Mohammad Amin Bayezidi. He said the incident took place Wednesday night in the village of Qizqapan, near Piranshahr, and said the PDKI unit was on a «political and organizational mission» when it was «ambushed by a large and heavily equipped IRGC force.»

«This should be understood in the broader context of the Islamic Republic’s continued repression in Iranian Kurdistan and its repeated attacks on Iranian Kurdish civilian camps in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, even during ceasefire and negotiation periods,» Berenji said. «The regime has increased pressure on Kurdish communities because it understands that Iranian Kurds remain among the most organized and determined democratic forces inside Iran.»

The PDKI is one of Iran’s oldest Kurdish opposition movements. The group has been involved in decades of intermittent conflict with the Islamic Republic, while Tehran has long viewed Kurdish armed groups as separatist threats, while others describe it as a historic, centrist and nationalist Iranian Kurdish opposition group that Iran has targeted for years, including through assassinations of its leaders decades ago.

The Kurds are one of the largest stateless ethnic groups in the Middle East with communities spread across Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. In Iran, many Kurds live in the country’s mountainous west and northwest, where Kurdish opposition groups have long accused Tehran of repression, executions, forced assimilation and military crackdowns. Iranian authorities view armed Kurdish factions as separatist or «terrorist threats.»

The latest clash followed several days of violence in western Iran. A similar incident near Piranshahr was reported by Iranian state media Tuesday, with the IRGC saying it had killed six members of what it called an «opposition and separatist group.» 

Two IRGC members were killed and two wounded in a shooting in Kermanshah Province Monday evening, an attack claimed by a newly formed Kurdish armed group seeking retaliation for the IRGC’s role in suppressing the 2022–2023 protest movement, according to the Kurdish rights group Hengaw.

Iran also appeared to be expanding pressure on Kurdish opposition groups beyond PJAK, the Kurdistan Free Life Party, after days of clashes between PJAK and the IRGC, The Jerusalem Post reported Thursday. 

Berenji said the latest clash was not a response to ongoing U.S.–Iran memorandum of understanding negotiations, which remain unresolved as talks continue without a finalized agreement.

WAVE OF ATTACKS ON IRAN’S IRGC RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT RENEWED KURDISH INSURGENCY

Vice President JD Vance (center) speaks with Army Chief and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir (left) and Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar after arriving for the U.S.-Iran peace talks in Islamabad April 11, 2026.  (Jacquelyn Martin/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

«The Kurdish struggle for freedom, democracy and national rights predates the current negotiations and is not dependent on them,» Berenji said. «At the same time, any agreement that ignores the Kurdish question, the regime’s attacks on Kurdish civilians and the repression inside Iran will not bring real stability.»

Gly said Kurdish anger has been compounded by language in the U.S.–Iran memorandum of understanding that critics interpret as Washington agreeing not to interfere in Iran’s internal affairs.

KHAMENEI BODY IN COLD STORAGE AS FEARED BASIJ MOBILIZES AHEAD OF HISTORIC IRAN FUNERAL

People take part in a march in Erbil, Iraq, April 21, 2026, expressing support for the unity of Iranian Kurdish parties and condemning Iranian missile strikes and military actions against Kurdish groups in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.  (Rasul Gawhari/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

«This sentence has taken every Iranian opposition group the wrong way, especially the Kurds,» Gly said. 

He argued that even during negotiations with hostile powers, the United States should not abandon its public support for freedom movements, invoking former President Ronald Reagan’s approach to the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Gly said he does not see clear evidence that Kurdish groups have gained major new military capabilities but said the perception of Iran’s strength has changed.

«What has changed is the perception of weakness of Iran,» Gly told Fox News Digital. «They are less afraid of the regime.»

The new violence carries broader significance for Washington because Iranian Kurdish opposition groups were recently discussed as a possible ground pressure point against Tehran. 

U.S. officials and Kurdish groups had discussed a potential military operation against Iranian security forces in western Iran, Reuters reported in March, while a separate report said Israel was backing Iranian Kurdish plans to seize Iranian border areas, though such an operation would likely require U.S. and Israeli support.

But those expectations quickly faltered. In April, Kurdish fighters ultimately stayed out of the war because of mixed signals from Washington and Israel and Iranian threats and strikes against Kurdish positions in Iraq. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged President Donald Trump during the conflict to prevent Kurdish forces from launching a ground operation inside Iran, reflecting Ankara’s longstanding opposition to Kurdish armed movements gaining ground in the region, Reuters also reported. 

During the conflict, Trump told Reuters he would be «all for it» if the Kurds wanted to move against Iran and said their objective should be «to win,» but Kurdish commanders were frustrated by the lack of a clear U.S. or Israeli strategy.

Berenji said the PDKI does not seek chaos, but insisted Kurdish forces have the right to defend themselves.

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Naval units from Iran and Russia simulate the rescue of a hijacked vessel during joint drills at the Port of Bandar Abbas in Hormozgan, Iran, on Feb. 19, 2026. (Iranian Army/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

«We seek a democratic, pluralistic, secular and federal Iran where all nations and communities can live with dignity and rights,» he said. «But the Kurdish people also have the right to defend themselves against repression, intimidation, and attacks by the IRGC.»

Fox News Digital has reached out to Iran’s mission to the United Nations for comment.

New York Attorney General Letitia James is facing renewed criticism from Republicans after the Trump administration suspended federal funding for the state’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU), citing years of poor criminal enforcement performance and leadership decisions that federal officials say left fraud investigations lagging.

The federal action gives Republicans a new line of attack against James as she campaigns for re-election. Republican challenger Saritha Komatireddy has made the state’s struggling Medicaid Fraud Control Unit a key issue in the race, arguing James failed to aggressively prosecute fraud. Federal watchdogs’ findings now lend new weight to those claims.

«Letitia James ran New York’s Medicaid Fraud Unit into the ground, and now we know why: a deliberate leadership choice to open fewer cases and let them drag on for years,» Komatireddy said in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

«This means New York taxpayers are losing their hard-earned money to fraudsters, and patients and seniors are being hurt or neglected, and no one is holding them accountable.»

DR. OZ NAMES 5 STATES IN FRAUD CRACKDOWN AS TRUMP ADMIN TARGETS MEDICAID ABUSE

The Republican Attorneys General Association also chimed in on the funding freeze, arguing it reflected broader differences between Republican and Democratic attorneys general in combating fraud.

«While Republican attorneys general are aggressively fighting fraud, waste, and abuse, Democrat AGs like Keith Ellison in Minnesota and Letitia James in New York knowingly aid and abet scams and fraud in their states,» RAGA Executive Director Adam Piper said in a statement. 

«Republican AGs are thrilled to roll up our sleeves and work with JD Vance, Republican AG staff alum Andrew Ferguson, Scott Brady, and the White House Task Force to save taxpayers billions of dollars and deliver maximum accountability.»

In a June 30 letter denying the unit’s annual recertification, Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) officials concluded that New York’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit had become the lowest-performing large state unit in the nation for criminal Medicaid fraud enforcement despite receiving roughly $60 million annually in federal funding and employing more than 270 staff members.

«The New York MFCU is not effectively prosecuting criminal Medicaid fraud,» the letter stated. «The Unit reported only 53 fraud convictions from 2023 to 2025. This is by far the lowest among similar-sized Units; the next lowest number of reported fraud convictions for this period was 129.

«Enough is enough.»

The report also found New York ranked last in criminal indictments, securing fewer than 10 fraud indictments in four of the past five years.

Federal officials further found that 34% of the unit’s open cases were more than three years old, while 69% of referrals from the state’s Medicaid Program Integrity Unit had remained pending for at least two years, contributing to a growing investigative backlog.

The HHS letter concluded that the unit’s poor performance stemmed in large part from «a deliberate leadership choice» to prioritize high-impact civil fraud cases over criminal prosecutions, finding that strategy had left the office ineffective at pursuing criminal Medicaid fraud despite its size and resources.

PENNSYLVANIA AG EXPLAINS WHY STATE LEADS NATION IN MEDICAID FRAUD CONVICTIONS WHILE OTHERS BATTLE MASS SCHEMES

New York Attorney General Letitia James attends a campaign rally with community leaders in the Jackson Heights neighborhood in the Queens borough of New York City on Nov. 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez, File)

While federal officials acknowledged the state’s fraud unit remained competitive in civil recoveries, they said those results did not outweigh the decline in criminal enforcement.

«The Unit has sacrificed its ability to effectively fight criminal fraud to obtain civil recoveries that are largely in line with its peers,» the report stated.

James blasted the funding freeze, accusing the Trump administration of targeting New York for political reasons.

«This administration’s unprecedented attack on New York is another political distraction,» James said in a statement to Fox News Digital. «During my time as attorney general, my office has recovered more than $627 million for Medicaid and was recognized by this very administration for leading the nation in anti-fraud efforts.»

James’ office noted that HHS highlighted New York as one of four states responsible for half of all civil recoveries nationwide in fiscal year 2025. The attorney general also pointed to several recent Medicaid fraud prosecutions, including multimillion-dollar fraud cases announced in recent weeks.

«The only people this decision benefits are the criminals we investigate every day,» James said. «We are considering all legal options to stop this outrageous action.»

TRUMP SAYS ANTI-FRAUD EFFORTS ARE UNCOVERING BILLIONS IN WASTE, CLAIMS SAVINGS COULD BALANCE BUDGET

John Sarcone, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York (Will Waldron/Albany Times Union via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, federal prosecutors in New York said they are expanding efforts to investigate Medicaid fraud and patient abuse.

«Attorney General James’ apparent inability to explain the New York MFCU’s indefensible criminal enforcement performance is not a political distraction as she puts it,» First Assistant U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III, who is spearheading the revival of the NDNY Health Care Fraud Task Force, said in a statement.

Sarcone noted that the New York MFCU averaged just nine criminal indictments a year between 2021 and 2025, compared with more than 100 annually during the three years preceding James’ tenure.

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«Public benefits fraud and Medicaid fraud did not abruptly stop in 2019,» Sarcone added. «Instead, under the failed leadership of AG James, criminal Medicaid fraud in New York State has been ignored.»

The suspension took effect July 1 and remains in effect through Sept. 30 unless New York completes a series of corrective actions ordered by HHS, including reducing case backlogs, increasing criminal indictments and improving coordination with federal investigators. If those deficiencies are not corrected, the Office of Inspector General warned New York it could lose its federal Medicaid Fraud Control Unit grant for fiscal year 2027.