INTERNACIONAL
FBI asked ‘Sammy the Bull’ if ex-Gambino mob prosecutor Comey knew meaning of ’86’: court filing
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The FBI interviewed Salvatore Gravano, the former underboss of the Gambino crime family known as «Sammy the Bull,» to ask if ex-FBI Director James Comey likely knew what the term «86» means, according to court documents.
Gravano, who had familiarity with Comey due to Comey’s role as the lead prosecutor in United States v. John Gambino et al. in the 1990s, told an FBI case agent during a May 2026 phone call that Comey «had to know» what 86 meant, according to a sworn affidavit from his lawyer Patrick Fitzgerald supporting Comey’s motions to dismiss the case.
Comey is facing a case in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Eastern Division, accusing him of threatening President Donald Trump through his May 2025 «8647» seashell Instagram post.
«On May 8, 2026, the case agent had a telephone conversation with Salvatore ‘Sammy the Bull’ Gravano, the former Gambino crime family underboss who was one of the cooperating witnesses at the United States v. John Gambino trial,» the affidavit, filed last month, reads.
«During the telephone conversation to discuss the logistics of his forthcoming interview, Mr. Gravano stated his belief that Mr. Comey had to know what the term ’86’ meant ‘as it related to killing someone,’» the court documents say.
JAMES COMEY ’86 47′ SEASHELL CASE PROSECUTOR SUDDENLY STEPS DOWN, ASSISTANT US ATTORNEY STEPS IN
Hearing of Italo-American boxer Salvatore Gravano, nicknamed «Sammy the Bull», at the Capitol on April 1, 1993. (Photo by Jeffrey Markowitz/Sygma via Getty Images)
The U.S. Department of Justice brought two federal charges against Comey – threatening the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce – in April for a social media post Comey made displaying a photo of seashells arranged on a beach to say «8647.»
BLANCHE TURNS THE TABLES ON COMEY INDICTMENT CRITICS: ‘REST ASSURED’ CASE GOES BEYOND INSTAGRAM POST
Prosecutors alleged the photo was a reference to killing Trump, with «86» referring to a slang term for killing and «47» referring to Trump as the 47th U.S. president.
Comey’s defense lawyer cited the FBI’s interview with Gravano to challenge the claim that Comey’s Gambino prosecution meant he understood «86» as a reference to killing. Though Gravano told agents Comey «had to know» the term’s mob meaning, he said he did not recall ever discussing it with Comey. The filing also says FBI searches of the Gambino case materials found no references to «86.»
«During the recorded interview, which lasted 25 minutes, Gravano said that ’86’ generally means to ‘get rid of’ and to him, as a ‘gangster,’ it means ‘to kill,’» the affidavit said.
SAMMY GRAVANO REVEALS THE MOMENT HE DECIDED TO COOPERATE WITH THE GOVERNMENT AGAINST JOHN GOTTI
Former FBI director James Comey has been indicted by the Justice Department (Cheriss May/Getty Images)
Gravano added that he believed Comey’s post was a call for violence, but not an admission that Comey himself would be carrying out said violence.
«While Gravano claimed that the post was a call for violence against President Trump (‘let’s kill Trump’), Gravano did not claim Mr. Comey’s seashell post to be a statement threatening that Mr. Comey would personally kill President Trump,» the affidavit read.
Comey has claimed that he found — and did not arrange — the seashell display and did not realize some people interpreted «86 47» as a violent message.
FORMER FBI AGENT SAYS COMEY CHARGES HINGE ON INTENT EVIDENCE AND JURY INTERPRETATION
«I don’t see it the way some people are still saying it is, but again, I don’t want any part of any violence. I’ve never been associated with violence, and so that’s why I took it down,» Comey told MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace in May 2025, alluding to the fact that he removed the post shortly after putting it up on Instagram.
Comey said he didn’t think it had any dark intentions.
Former F.B.I. Director James Comey testifies before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election. ( )
«I actually didn’t think of it as political speech by me, but I thought, ‘What a clever way to express a political view.’ The shells were the same color for each of the letters… It took a lot of work. Somebody with artistic flair did that, and I have a hard time believing it was anybody with a dark intention, and it certainly was no dark intention on my part or my spouse’s part,» he said.
Fox News Digital contacted the FBI and a legal representative for James Comey for further comment.
justice department, donald trump, james comey, true crime newsletter, fbi
INTERNACIONAL
Abdul El-Sayed touts ‘whole a–’ medical credentials while defending sex changes for children
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Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed said the government should not restrict sex changes, arguing that «whole a–» doctors like himself should be allowed to make their own determinations for patients’ treatment plans.
The remarks came during El-Sayed’s Friday rally held at Michigan State University, during which the former Detroit Health Department head responded to a student’s question about protecting sex changes. Since launching his campaign, El-Sayed has flaunted that he is a «physician» and, if elected, he would be the first doctor to serve as a Democratic senator in 50 years. However, Fox News Digital previously reported El-Sayed has never held a medical license in Michigan or New York.
«I went to a whole a– medical school, everybody I graduated with also went to whole a– medical school,» El-Sayed said. «And then… they went to whole a– residency. Right? And some of them went to whole a– fellowship. They took whole a– exams to provide whole a– healthcare.»
DEM SENATE HOPEFUL’S ‘PHYSICIAN’ CAMPAIGN PITCH UNDER FIRE AFTER LICENSE RECORDS REVEAL KEY GAPS
Abdul El-Sayed answers a question during a press conference at the Michigan Democratic Party State Endorsement Convention in Detroit on April 19, 2026. El-Sayed has never held a medical license in Michigan or New York. (Jose Juarez/AP Photo)
«They are the experts that a patient wants to see when they seek care,» El-Sayed continued. «And the decision about what healthcare is necessary ought to be held between a patient — and or their parents if they’re under the age of 18 — and their doctor. That’s it.»
The remarks come as the Trump administration has made major strides in restricting minors’ access to «sex-rejecting» procedures, which include hormone therapy and surgeries.
Earlier this week, the Justice Department announced that Mount Sinai had joined other hospitals, like Texas Children’s Hospital, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and Connecticut Children’s Hospital, to halt sex change procedures for children after reaching an agreement with the Trump administration.
MEDICAID ENDS FUNDING FOR CHILD SEX-CHANGE PROCEDURES AS TRUMP ADMIN SLAMS ‘EXPERIMENTAL’ TREATMENTS
El-Sayed has made the promise of «Medicare-for-all» — government-run healthcare — as the major selling point of his campaign; he said that even though the government will be covering the bill, it needs to stay out of the doctor’s decisions about a patient’s treatment plan.
«I don’t think the government gets to have a say about what healthcare is provided in what circumstances and why,» El-Sayed said. «And to me, that is the standard on which we decide how we make healthcare decisions.»
THE MEDICARE FOR ALL TRADE-OFFS SOCIALISTS AREN’T TALKING ABOUT, ACCORDING TO EXPERTS
A protester holds a sign in support of sex changes for transgender children outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on June 18, 2025. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
«Not what the government says you can or can’t do, but what a patient and/or their parent, if they’re under 18, and their provider to decide. That’s the most important thing,» El-Sayed continued. «And there’s a lot of disinformation about us, what we’re talking about, when we talk about reproductive rights and when we’re talking about healthcare for the trans folks. But, in the end, the place where the rubber meets the rope is in that clinical room between a patient and a provider, and that to me is the center we should engage on.»
El-Sayed argued that Republicans agree with his belief that treatment decisions should be between a patient and their doctor, pointing to the Right to Try Act, which allows terminally ill patients to try experimental drug treatments that aren’t yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration after they have exhausted all other treatment options.
«Because conservatives fought for a very long time for this legislation called ‘Right to Try’ legislation, which is the idea that the government couldn’t tell you [that] you couldn’t have a certain medication,» El-Sayed said.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PROBE COULD UPEND WIDELY USED TRANSGENDER YOUTH TREATMENT GUIDELINES
A transgender rights supporter takes part in a rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court as the justices hear arguments in a case on transgender health rights in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 4, 2024. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
«So they agree that the decision about healthcare ought to be between the person and their provider. That’s it. So let’s use that standard, and keep to that standard, and make sure the government doesn’t have the ability to tell you what you can or cannot do with your own life,» El-Sayed said.
However, the research on the efficacy of treating individuals with gender dysphoria by allowing them to change sexes with «cross-sex» hormones and puberty blockers is limited.
The World Professional Association for Transgender Health, whose guidelines are used by leading medical associations like the American Academy of Peditatrics, is currently facing a lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission stemming from allegations that its guidelines misled parents about the «medical consensus and medical necessity, as well as the safety and effectiveness» of sex change procedures.
The FTC has accused WPATH of failing to disclose the side effects associated with some procedures, such as patients experiencing incontinence, erectile pain, mood disturbances, pelvic pain and vaginal pain stemming from «cross-sex» hormones.
Meanwhile, countries that have socialized medicine have put restrictions in place for minors seeking sex changes. In England, the National Health Service put a pause on «cross-sex» hormones for 16- and 17-year-olds in March after finding research was «really weak» to support it.
The country already had a ban in place restricting children under 16 years old from taking sex-change hormones.
El-Sayed’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment regarding his medical credentials.
politics, health, health care, abdul el sayed, health care executive
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Twenty-five years after a generation promised to «Never Forget,» that pledge now relies on education for the more than 100 million Americans with no memory of 9/11.
The Pentagon is preparing to help address that challenge by breaking ground this weekend on a long-awaited Visitor Education Center at the only one of the three 9/11 attack sites still without a dedicated museum or education center.
The new center is intended to fill the gap that has grown more pronounced with each passing year by helping Americans who never experienced the attacks understand not only what happened on Sept. 11, 2001, but why it continues to matter.
Joseph Kornhoff, executive director of the Pentagon Memorial Fund, told Fox News Digital that nearly one-third of the country was either not alive that day or has no recollection of it and therefore lacks the «personal connection» shared by those who watched the attacks unfold.
NEW 9/11 MUSEUM EXHIBIT AIMS TO CONNECT YOUNGER AMERICANS TO THE ATTACKS THROUGH POWERFUL ARTIFACTS
Members of the military and first responders watch as an American flag is unfurled on the side of the Pentagon to mark the 25th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks on September 11, 2026 in Arlington, Virginia. The United States is marking the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when a group of al-Qaeda hijackers flew airplanes into the World Trade Center, Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people. (Photo by Finn Gomez/Getty Images)
«That’s what we’re trying to provide with the visitor education center experience,» Kornhoff said in an interview with Fox News Digital, explaining that the goal is to give visitors a personal connection that allows them to «start to understand the gravity of that day.»
Flowers lay on a bench at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial, adjacent to the Pentagon, ahead of the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, in Washington, DC, on September 9, 2026. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)
Nearly 230 miles north, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York is confronting the same generational divide.
Beth Hillman, president and CEO of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, said the passage of time has only made the annual vow to «Never Forget» more important as the number of Americans with firsthand memories of the attacks declines.
«Many in my generation remember exactly where we were on that horrific day,» Hillman said during an Aug. 31 press preview outlining the museum’s plans for the 25th anniversary. «Yet, 100 million Americans were not even born or are too young to remember that day for themselves today.»
BROOKLYN TEACHERS WHO WITNESSED 9/11 AS CHILDREN REVEAL WHAT THEY WANT THE NEXT GENERATION TO REMEMBER
Noah Rauch, the museum’s senior vice president for education and public programs, said he has watched that transition unfold firsthand through the museum’s work with students and teachers. «I’ve seen this line creeping up between memory and history, between those who remembered the attacks and those who didn’t,» Rauch said during the Aug. 31 press event.
The United States is marking the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when a group of al-Qaeda hijackers flew airplanes into the World Trade Center, Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people. (Jeenah Moon – Pool/Getty Images)
That transition from memory to history also raises a more modern challenge. Americans too young to remember the attacks are increasingly learning about an event they never experienced firsthand, while conspiracy theories and false narratives about 9/11 run rampant online.
Kornhoff said that makes factual education increasingly important, pointing specifically to conspiracy theories surrounding the attack on the Pentagon and narratives suggesting that America «deserved 9/11.»
«That’s the need for the education center,» Kornhoff told Fox News Digital. «As a nation, we need to really take a step back, look at how we’re educating our young children to make sure that we’re providing them with the facts of the situation … and not these conspiracy theories and entertaining wild ideas that just simply are not true.»
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: 9/11 IS JUST A HISTORY CHAPTER FOR A NEW GENERATION OF AMERICANS
Flowers and American flags rest beside inscribed names at a reflecting pool at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum on Sept. 11, 2026, in New York City, as the nation commemorated the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. (Jeenah Moon – Pool/Getty Images)
The Pentagon center will include 10 exhibits telling the human stories of the attack, including the 184 people killed at the Pentagon and aboard American Airlines Flight 77, the first responders who rushed to the scene and the military and civilian personnel who aided the wounded.
«We are going to address the facts of the day,» Kornhoff said. «We are going to address the entire Pentagon story.»
The renewed focus on 9/11 education has also reached Capitol Hill. Reps. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., introduced bipartisan legislation ahead of the 25-year anniversary, which aims to direct the Department of Education to examine how 9/11 is taught in schools nationwide and identify gaps in instruction.
Kornhoff praised the effort during his interview with Fox News Digital, saying the legislation reflects a growing recognition of the need to educate generations with no firsthand connection to the attacks.
Stainless-steel benches dedicated to victims are seen at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial in Washington, DC, on September 10, 2026, ahead of the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. ((Photo by Alex WROBLEWSKI / AFP via Getty Images))
The Pentagon 9/11 Memorial Visitor Education Center is expected to open by the end of 2029 near the existing Pentagon 9/11 Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.
The project received $12 million in federal funding this year, along with $1 million from Virginia and additional private donations raised by the Pentagon Memorial Fund. Once completed, the center is expected to include interactive exhibits, historic artifacts and firsthand accounts from survivors and victims’ families while providing visitors with additional context about the attack and its aftermath.
september 11, pentagon, politics, washington dc, historic sites, education
INTERNACIONAL
El Niño amenaza con encarecer alimentos, energía y logística en Centroamérica y República Dominicana durante 2027
El fenómeno de El Niño podría trasladar sus efectos a la economía de Centroamérica y República Dominicana, a través de un aumento en los precios de los alimentos y la electricidad, restricciones para el transporte marítimo y presiones sobre la actividad productiva.
El reporte “Perspectivas económicas de Centroamérica, Panamá y República Dominicana”, elaborado por Deloitte, advierte que el impacto más marcado puede concentrarse en 2027.
El fenómeno de El Niño comenzó oficialmente el 11 de junio de 2026. En julio, el Centro de Predicción Climática de la Administración Nacional Oceánica y Atmosférica de Estados Unidos estimó en 81% la probabilidad de que alcance una intensidad “muy fuerte” entre octubre y diciembre. Si se confirma, estaría entre los eventos más intensos registrados desde 1950.
La principal consecuencia climática prevista para la región es la sequía. La fase cálida del fenómeno ENOS, sigla de El Niño-Oscilación del Sur, suele asociarse con menores lluvias, temperaturas más altas y estrés hídrico, sobre todo en la vertiente del Pacífico y el Corredor Seco.
La menor disponibilidad de agua puede afectar tanto a la agricultura como a la generación de energía y la operación logística de Panamá.
Menor oferta de granos básicos
El reporte identifica a la producción agropecuaria como una de las primeras vías de consecuencias del fenómeno hacia los hogares.
La sequía puede reducir la oferta de granos básicos en el Corredor Seco, mientras que el encarecimiento de fertilizantes y diésel puede elevar los costos de producción y trasladarse a los precios finales de los alimentos.
El impacto sobre la canasta alimentaria podría extenderse hasta 2027, de acuerdo con las proyecciones incluidas en el estudio. El café también aparece entre las actividades expuestas a los efectos del menor régimen de lluvias y las temperaturas más elevadas.
El informe incluye entre los temas a seguir la persistencia de aumentos en alimentos y energéticos, junto con la evolución del conflicto en Medio Oriente y su incidencia sobre los precios internacionales del petróleo.
La sequía amenaza la energía hidroeléctrica y la operación del Canal de Panamá
La sequía también amenaza la generación hidroeléctrica. Si caen los niveles de agua disponibles para las plantas, los países deberán compensar parte de esa producción con fuentes térmicas, que implican mayores costos por el uso de combustibles.
El documento señala que una menor generación hidroeléctrica puede presionar las tarifas eléctricas al alza. El aumento de ese costo tendría efectos sobre los presupuestos familiares y sobre empresas que dependen de electricidad para sus procesos productivos.
A la vez, los gobiernos podrían enfrentar una mayor carga fiscal si aplican subsidios energéticos o programas de apoyo para contener el impacto de las tarifas. El reporte considera esos desembolsos como uno de los factores que podrían modificar el escenario económico de la región durante 2026 y 2027.
En Panamá, las condiciones de sequía pueden afectar los niveles de agua necesarios para la operación del Canal. El análisis contempla posibles restricciones de calado y dificultades logísticas como una de las cuatro vías principales por las cuales El Niño puede repercutir en la economía regional.
Las limitaciones sobre el calado de los buques podrían incidir en la actividad del Canal de Panamá y en las cadenas de suministro. El reporte sitúa a la logística y al transporte entre los sectores que deben monitorearse ante una eventual profundización del fenómeno.
La advertencia adquiere relevancia para una economía en la que el comercio y el transporte figuran entre las actividades que lideran el crecimiento.
El reporte diferencia dos etapas. Durante 2026 prevé la consolidación del fenómeno, alertas para el sector agrícola, ajustes tarifarios y las primeras posibles restricciones al tránsito marítimo. Para 2027, en cambio, anticipa que los efectos más fuertes pueden manifestarse sobre los embalses, las cosechas y el Canal de Panamá.
En todos los casos, el documento plantea que los efectos del clima se combinarán con otros factores económicos, como la evolución de las remesas, los precios de los combustibles, el desempeño de Estados Unidos y la trayectoria de la inflación.
sequía,Canal de Panamá,agricultura,energía hidroeléctrica,transporte marítimo
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