INTERNACIONAL
Culture clash laid bare as violent Somali gangs grip suburban communities: ‘These kids are different’
More than 100 rounds fired in a Minnesota neighborhood have left police struggling to explain a troubling pattern: Somali American youths from financially comfortable households are turning online disputes into gang violence.
The violence raises bigger questions about what is driving these gangs and whether struggles to fit into American life, cultural or clan ties, government policies or failures by schools and other institutions have played a role and what makes these youths different from traditional American street gangs.
«They’re coming from families. They got money, and they have resources,» Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges told Digital of the young Somali American gang members under investigation.
Those questions follow a late-night Bloomington gunfight that left one person injured during a string of shootings across suburban Minneapolis-St. Paul.
100-SHOT SOMALI GANG GUN BATTLE ROCKS MINNESOTA AS SHERIFF WARNS ‘WE’RE IN TROUBLE’
Hodges said the suspects defy traditional drug- or money-driven gang profiles. Asked what drives the violence beyond social media disputes, he acknowledged investigators lack a clear answer.
«I don’t know. I can’t tell you. I really wish I could,» Hodges said.
Somalia, long considered a failed state until the mid-2010s, according to the U.N., has endured decades of clan-based warfare and weak central government authority, including the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu depicted in «Black Hawk Down,» when Somali militiamen battled U.S. forces during an ill-fated military operation, part of the turmoil that drove waves of refugees to America.
More than 111,000 Somali refugees were admitted to the U.S. between 2001 and 2023 through the federal refugee resettlement program, spanning the George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden administrations. Minnesota became a major destination, alongside sizable Somali American communities in New York, Texas and Ohio.
Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, believes one possible explanation lies in how refugees have been resettled.
«We have to remember also that this population’s origins were as refugees who were a vulnerable population and traumatized in many cases,» Vaughan told Digital.
«But they were settled in clusters in certain places in the United States. And I believe that is a policy that has facilitated the formation of these gangs because it removes a lot of the incentives for people to assimilate.
«And it just makes assimilation to the larger society much more difficult because it’s not necessary for people to get by.»
Vaughan described an emphasis on preserving homeland cultures rather than encouraging integration as a «missed opportunity,» arguing it can leave immigrants in a «separate society within the larger Minnesota community.»
History, however, complicates the argument that maintaining strong ethnic ties necessarily prevents assimilation.
Stanford sociologist Tomás Jiménez cautioned against treating gang involvement among a small subset of second-generation immigrants as evidence that an entire community has failed to integrate.
«I would actually not think of it as, like, a failed assimilation, as much as a particular kind of assimilation,» Jiménez said.
He noted that Italian, Irish, Mexican and Salvadoran communities experienced gang activity while broader integration continued.
Jiménez emphasized that assimilation unfolds across generations, pointing out that the Italian American experience spanned roughly 75 years rather than occurring overnight. He identified education, economic advancement, language and intermarriage as important measures of integration.
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Donald Tricarico, an Italian American immigration scholar at Queensborough Community College, drew parallels between Italian and Irish immigrants, who established close-knit ethnic communities in New York. He said Italian families often followed relatives from the same villages into the same neighborhoods and occupations.
«They came to the same neighborhoods … what migration historians call ‘chain migration,’ and they … went to the same neighborhoods,» he said, citing his own family’s multigenerational experience in New York City.
«There isn’t a switch that gets flipped,» Tricarico said, challenging assumptions that Italian Americans assimilated quickly and noting that close-knit ethnic communities persisted into the 1980s in some cases.
WORKING-CLASS AMERICANS SAY THEIR TOWN IS THE NEXT DEARBORN — AND THEY’VE HAD ENOUGH
«Assimilation is a slow crawl,» he said, explaining that economic advancement and integration typically unfold across generations.
Tricarico noted that some Sicilian immigrants arrived with ties to existing Mafia networks overseas, a criminal element distinct from the broader Italian immigrant population. Hodges, meanwhile, said investigators have found no evidence that longstanding clan rivalries in Somalia are driving the Minnesota violence.
Somali American community figures have offered their own explanations, including the challenges facing immigrant parents.
At an Eden Prairie news conference Wednesday, Somali teacher Fardousa Yossuf suggested parents working long hours may have neglected their children’s needs and «expressed disbelief» that people raised with Islamic values could engage in gun violence, according to Alpha News.
Imam Yusuf Abdulle rejected characterizing the violence as a Somali problem in an interview with WCCO – CBS Minnesota posted on YouTube.
«These kids are Americans. They’re born and raised here,» Abdulle said. «It is an American problem. It is not a Somali problem.»
Vaughan, meanwhile, warned that the gangs have not reached the sophistication of transnational organizations such as MS-13 but could become more entrenched without intervention.
She pointed to families and schools as critical to preventing recruitment and argued that local institutions and law enforcement must intervene before the groups become more organized.
Vaughan acknowledged she had not established that specific Minnesota schools or resettlement policies prompted the shootings.
Asked whether longstanding Somali clan rivalries were fueling the shootings, Hodges said investigators found no evidence supporting that explanation.
«No, we have not seen that. I haven’t seen it,» he said.
He added that people from groups in conflict in Somalia can belong to the same cliques in Minnesota.
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Hodges said police are redirecting task force resources toward the gangs and questioned whether some Hennepin County prosecution policies could limit intervention.
He warned the Bloomington gunfire could have endangered innocent bystanders had it occurred during daylight.
«If that had been one o’clock in the afternoon, it would have been a different story on that block,» he said.
minnesota, somali immigrant community, crime world, politics, minneapolis st paul, refugees, immigrant education, donald trump
INTERNACIONAL
Who is Navi Pillay? Nobel Peace Prize winner’s UN record renews fierce antisemitism accusations
Netanyahu slams pro-Palestinian protesters and UN delegates
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a blistering address to the United Nations General Assembly, labeling delegates who walked out of his speech as ‘moral cowards.’ Senior correspondent Eric Shawn reports on intense anti-Israel protests in New York City, leading to several high-profile activist arrests.
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The decision to award the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to former U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay sparked fierce backlash Friday from Jewish advocacy groups and U.N. watchdogs accusing the South African jurist of longstanding anti-Israel bias and defending antisemitic rhetoric.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee honored Pillay, 85, for her contributions to international law and efforts to hold perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide accountable.
But her selection immediately reignited controversies surrounding her leadership of U.N. investigations into Israel, her defense of a fellow commissioner accused of antisemitism and positions she expressed before being appointed to investigate the Jewish state.
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South African Judge Navi Pillay speaks during a news conference in Geneva Sept. 16, 2025. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)
«Navi Pillay is indeed a world leader, an individual at the forefront of the international spread of the poisonous forms of antisemitism that beset the 21st century,» Anne Bayefsky, president of Human Rights Voices and director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights, told Fox News Digital.
Bayefsky accused Pillay of having «perfected the art of perverting legal and universal standards of human rights to demonize and delegitimize Jewish self-determination. This award stands as a testament to human wrongs.»
The Nobel Committee offered a sharply different assessment of Pillay’s legacy, praising her lifelong commitment to international justice and describing her career as an example of courage and integrity in defending the rule of law.
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Controversial South African judge Navi Pillay, chair of the independent United Nations Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel arrives to a news conference in Geneva June 18, 2025. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images.)
Who Is Navi Pillay?
Born in Durban, South Africa, in 1941, Pillay built her career challenging apartheid-era discrimination, becoming the first non-White woman appointed to South Africa’s high court. She later served as a judge at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court.
From 2008 to 2014, she served as U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. In 2021, she was appointed to chair the U.N. Human Rights Council’s open-ended Commission of Inquiry investigating alleged violations in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
In September 2025, the commission concluded that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, a finding Israel rejected as politically motivated and biased. The commission’s conclusion was not a ruling by an international court.
Geneva-based UN Watch condemned Friday’s Nobel announcement, accusing Pillay of breaching the impartiality expected of international investigators.
UN CHIEF BACKS OFFICIAL WHO REPOSTED ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIVIST’S CLAIMS AMID CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION
The flag alley at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Sept. 11, 2023. (Denis Balibouse/File Photo/Reuters)
«We are shocked that the Nobel Committee honored Navi Pillay,» Executive Director Hillel Neuer said. «Her troubling record on antisemitism and gross breach of ethics in presiding over a notorious U.N. commission utterly disqualifies her from such an award.»
Neuer pointed to a June 2020 manifesto that Pillay signed calling on governments to «Sanction Apartheid Israel,» along with a June 2021 letter urging President Joe Biden to punish Israel after its conflict with Hamas.
UN Watch argued that the positions raised questions about her impartiality before she accepted the commission’s chairmanship in July 2021.
Despite the criticism, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres congratulated Pillay on receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, praising her decades-long career in international justice and specifically highlighting her leadership of the U.N. investigation into Israel.
«For decades, she has been a champion of international law and human rights and a steadfast, independent voice of justice amidst some of the most historic international legal cases of our time,» Guterres said in a statement on Friday.
Guterres highlighted her different roles, including chairing the commission investigating Israel and the Palestinian territories, declaring that Pillay had demonstrated «that the force of law must prevail over the law of force and that defending human rights is the surest safeguard against injustice.»
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A view of the rostrum where the Nobel Committee’s chairman, Jørgen Watne Frydnes will announce the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2025, in Oslo Oct. 10, 2025. (Rodrigo Freitas/NTB Scanpix via AP)
Another controversy erupted in 2022 when fellow commissioner Miloon Kothari suggested that social media criticism of the investigation was controlled by the «Jewish lobby» and questioned Israel’s U.N. membership.
The remarks were condemned by U.S. officials, including then-State Department antisemitism envoy Deborah Lipstadt. Pillay defended Kothari, arguing his comments had been taken out of context. Kothari subsequently apologized, calling his language inappropriate and insensitive.
The controversy also reached Germany, where Berlin’s mayor withdrew support for a planned event honoring Pillay in 2022, and the event was canceled, according to The Times of Israel.
Bayefsky also recalled the 2009 U.N. anti-racism conference in Geneva, when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivered an inflammatory speech attacking Israel. While Western diplomats walked out, Pillay remained seated.
However, Pillay subsequently condemned his address, saying she joined the secretary-general in «utterly deploring the speech,» according to the U.N.’s official transcript.
«Her after-the-fact denunciation was utterly disingenuous.» Bayefsky claimed, «Pillay had been given Ahmadinejad’s speech, questioning the veracity of the Holocaust and talking about the «ugly faces» of Zionists, in advance and yet still handed him the microphone as Conference Secretary-General.»
The Nobel Committee, meanwhile, defended Pillay’s legacy, crediting her with strengthening international law at a time when the institutions responsible for enforcing it face increasing political pressure.
Pillay’s selection highlights the divide between supporters who celebrate her contributions to international justice and critics who contend that her record on Israel undermines the universal human rights principles she championed.
Navi Pillay, who won the Nobel Peace Prize Oct. 9, 2026, speaks during a briefing to U.N. member states about ongoing investigations of the Commission at the U.N. offices in Geneva April 16, 2024. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP)
Fox News Digital reached out to Pillay for comment but didn’t receive one in time for publication.
anti semitism, human rights, united nations, human rights united nations, world
INTERNACIONAL
Trump names Leavitt successor after weeks of speculation — and she’s no stranger to MAGA
President Donald Trump tapped a trusted ally from the company behind his Truth Social platform to become his next White House press secretary Friday, naming attorney and television commentator Katie Zacharia to succeed Karoline Leavitt.
Two White House officials confirmed the selection to Digital before Trump publicly announced the appointment on X.
Zacharia, an attorney and frequent television commentator, currently serves as senior communications adviser to Trump Media & Technology Group, which operates the president’s social media platform, Truth Social. She will succeed former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
«It is my Great Honor to have just appointed, as Press Secretary, Katie Zacharia. Katie currently serves as Senior Communications Advisor to Truth Social (Trump Media & Technology Group), where she has been outstanding!» Trump wrote Friday afternoon.
KAROLINE LEAVITT JOINS AS CONTRIBUTOR AFTER LEAVING WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY ROLE
Zacharia celebrated the appointment in a post on X, thanking Trump for what she called the «distinguished privilege» of serving as White House press secretary.
«Serving President Trump and the American people at this critical 250-year mark is the honor of a lifetime,» Zacharia wrote. «President Trump has shown America that we can be great again, and he works to effectuate that greatness every single day. His confidence is a true privilege, and his leadership is a blessing to this country.»
Zacharia said her focus would be on communicating the administration’s accomplishments to the American public while working with reporters across the country.
«The work ahead is to continue delivering strong results for our Country and communicating to the American people the major wins that this Administration is making every single day,» she wrote. «I look forward to working with the White House press corps, and with reporters across the country, to get that record out.»
She also acknowledged the expectations that come with succeeding Leavitt.
«Following the fabulous Karoline Leavitt is a high standard, and one worth meeting,» Zacharia wrote.
Zacharia previously served briefly as a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security following the departure of Tricia McLaughlin, who had served as press secretary under former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
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«Katie is a distinguished Graduate of Pepperdine University, and the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, an attorney, and a frequent Commentator on outlets, including and Newsmax. She was previously involved in my Campaigns, assisting in key Swing States, where we won 7 out of 7. She has an unblemished record of support, and has been a loyal and brilliant supporter, right from the beginning,» said Trump.
«She is, likewise, a devoted fan and member of MAGA! I am confident that Katie will deliver strong results for our Country as the next White House Press Secretary, as she has the respect of, and will work fantastically with, the Media, the American People, and my Administration. Katie is replacing the fabulous Karoline Leavitt, who did a fantastic job as Press Secretary. Good luck Katie,» he added.
A 41-year-old mother of four, Zacharia has been married to her husband Tyler since 2011. He is a producer known for projects like the 2019 film «The Irishman» and 2025 movie, «Roofman.» Zacharia notes on her Instagram that her husband has also worked with Angel Studios on «David,» «Brink of War» and «Young Washington.»
WHITE HOUSE PLANS GUEST HOSTS FOR PRESS BRIEFINGS WHILE KAROLINE LEAVITT TAKES MATERNITY LEAVE
Since Leavitt’s departure, there have been only two formal White House press briefings — one with Vice President JD Vance and one with Attorney General Todd Blanche.
The White House adopted a rotating lineup of top Trump administration officials to lead press briefings while former press secretary Karoline Leavitt was on maternity leave over the summer.
«Katie has been an effective champion of MAGA movement and America First policies – and most importantly clearly has [the] trust of President Trump,» former Trump press secretary Sean Spicer told Digital.
«Anyone who has not met her yet will quickly see that she is a genuinely kind person who will work well with the press corps, unlike the first press secretary who came across as an angry leprechaun at times,» Spicer added.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio kicked off the rotation, followed by Vice President JD Vance, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. Rather than relying on a single deputy press secretary, the administration tapped high-profile officials to field questions from reporters on the president’s agenda.
Names previously floated as potential replacements for Leavitt included former Trump attorney and current Justice Department adviser Alina Habba, CNN political commentator Scott Jennings, principal deputy White House press secretary Anna Kelly, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, former Pence communications director Katie Miller, White House communications director Steven Cheung and Breitbart Washington bureau chief Matthew Boyle.
white house, donald trump, politics
INTERNACIONAL
La Caja de Seguro Social de Panamá mantendrá las urgencias abiertas las 24 horas después del terremoto
La Caja de Seguro Social (CSS) informó que sus policlínicas y hospitales mantendrán la atención de urgencias durante las 24 horas luego del terremoto que afectó distintas zonas de Panamá, con daños reportados principalmente en Tonosí y otras localidades del interior del país.
El director de la CSS, Dino Mon, explicó en entrevistas con Telemetro que la institución atendió hasta el momento a personas con crisis de ansiedad y a adultos mayores que sufrieron caídas al intentar evacuar durante el sismo. “Nada grave, nada de temas mayores”, aseguró sobre los casos registrados en las instalaciones de la entidad.
Mon indicó que las policlínicas con servicios de urgencias y quirófanos recibieron la instrucción de ampliar su funcionamiento, al igual que los hospitales de la red. La medida incluye laboratorios, estudios especiales y equipos rotativos para responder ante eventuales réplicas o nuevas emergencias.
La principal restricción anunciada por la institución afecta los tratamientos de hemodiálisis y otras terapias de sustitución renal en todo el país. El funcionario explicó que la reducción del suministro de agua en la capital y problemas en sistemas de respaldo de algunos hospitales del interior obligaron a detener esos servicios.
“Todo este tratamiento requiere grandes cantidades de agua y además agua tratada de calidad”, señaló Mon. La CSS espera reiniciar las terapias el domingo, una vez que concluya la revisión de las plantas de agua y se garantice la seguridad operativa de los centros médicos.
También se habilitaron carpas en los hospitales para trasladar de forma preventiva a pacientes hospitalizados si ocurren nuevas réplicas. Mon indicó que estos espacios permitirán evacuar áreas internas y mantener la atención de las personas que requieran cuidados médicos.
Las inspecciones del Sistema Nacional de Protección Civil (Sinaproc) continuaban en varias instalaciones. Entre ellas, el Hospital Rafael Estévez, en Aguadulce; el Hospital de Zona; una policlínica de Penonomé y la sede de la CSS en Tonosí.
De acuerdo con el director, Tonosí concentró las afectaciones más importantes debido a su cercanía con el epicentro. También mencionó daños en la Caja de Atención Primaria de Salud (CAPS) de Los Pozos. “La única entidad importante que registra afectaciones de carácter mayor es Tonosí”, afirmó.
Mon adelantó que realizará un recorrido por las provincias centrales, Veraguas y Tonosí para evaluar las instalaciones y definir las acciones necesarias para restablecer el funcionamiento total de los servicios. La atención de urgencias se mantendrá abierta durante todo el fin de semana para asegurados y personas sin cobertura.
El terremoto fue el más fuerte sentido en Ciudad de Panamá en los últimos 20 años
El terremoto que sacudió varias regiones de Panamá este viernes fue el más fuerte sentido en la ciudad de Panamá durante los últimos 20 años, afirmó el director general del Cuerpo de Bomberos, Víctor Raúl Álvarez Villalobos, en entrevista con Meridiano Blu, de BLU Radio.
El epicentro se ubicó en Tonosí, en la provincia de Los Santos, y el movimiento se percibió con mayor intensidad en la península de Azuero, Veraguas, Coclé, Herrera y Los Santos.
El Cuerpo de Bomberos trabajaba desde 2014 en ejercicios de preparación y evacuación. El mismo viernes había realizado una práctica interna en sus estaciones como parte de los preparativos para un simulacro nacional previsto para el martes siguiente, lo que permitió probar los protocolos de respuesta y evacuar las instalaciones.
Las autoridades reportaban daños materiales, pero todavía no tenían información confirmada sobre víctimas mortales. En Penonomé, algunos hoteles y supermercados presentaban afectaciones en sus estructuras, mientras los equipos de emergencia recorrían las zonas para evaluar los daños y comprobar la seguridad de las edificaciones.
Álvarez recomendó desalojar las construcciones, permanecer en espacios abiertos, evitar los tendidos eléctricos y permitir el trabajo de los organismos de socorro. Hospitales, centros educativos y otras edificaciones fueron evacuados, mientras los equipos revisaban instalaciones con alta concentración de personas en Ciudad de Panamá, incluidos hospitales, escuelas y edificios gubernamentales.
Así están las tablas del Torneo Clausura y la Tabla Anual: la lucha por el descenso y la clasificación a las copas internacionales
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