Current Events
School Shooting
At Annunciation Roman Catholic Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota a gunman approached just before 8:30 Wednesday morning and fired through windows at parishioners and school children. Two students, ages 8 and 10 were pronounced dead at the scene. Fifteen other children, ages 6 through 15 were injured as well as three parishioners in their 80’s. All of the injured are expected to survive.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey spoke saying “There are no words that can capture the horror and the evil of this unspeakable act. Children are dead. There are families that have a deceased child. You cannot put into words the gravity, the tragedy or the absolute pain of this situation.”
Waymo Coming to NYC
Monday, Waymo and New York City mayor Eric Adams announced that a permit has been issued to allow the autonomous taxi service to begin operating in the city.
El Mayo Pleads Guilty
Monday Attorney General Pam Bondi spoke in New York to announce that Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada Garcia confessed and pled guilty to charges related to drugs, human trafficking and homicide and will spend the rest of of this life in Prison.
Cofounder of the Sinaloa Cartel, partner to El Chapo, the 77 year old pled guilty to only two of 17 charges, one of racketeering conspiracy and one count of running a continual criminal enterprise.
Official Charges against Ismael Zambada Garcia
Department of Justice statement on plea deal
Kilmar Abrigo Garcia
Monday, Kilmar Abrigo Garcia, originally from El Salvador, appeared at the federal building in Baltimore. He spoke through a translator before going inside, expressing gratitude for the support of his wife, family and the community. He was taken into ICE custody while inside. Afterwards, his attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg of Murray Osorio PLLC spoke at length on his behalf:
“Mr Abrego Garcia was taken into custody by ICE this morning. As he was leaving the jail in Tennessee on Friday, he’s been given a notice, requiring him to check in at 8 am this morning. The notice stated that the reason was ‘interview’, clearly that was false. There was no need for them to take him into ICE detention. He was already on electronic monitoring from the us martial service and basically on hours arrest. The only reason that they’ve chosen to take him into detention is to punish him. To punish him for exercising his constitutional rights. His constitutional right to fight back against being illegally deported to El Salvador, his constitutional right to speak up, through his court filings on the torture and treatment that he received in El Salvador at the direct request of our government. His constitutional right not to allow his harm to be twisted to take a guilty plea if he doesn’t want to, his constitutional right to exercise his right to a jury trial on his criminal proceedings if he so chooses, and his constitutional right and his right under the bail reform act to leave the prison and come home to his family. He’s being punished for exercising those rights.
We asked the ICE officer what the reason for his detention was. The ICE officer didn’t answer. The ICE officer stated that he’ll be taken to a detention center. We asked the ICE officer which detention center, the ICE officer said that they weren’t able to say. We asked the ICE officer for a copy of any paperwork that’s being served on him today. The ICE officer wouldn’t even commit to even giving us that paperwork.
In the last 5 minutes, Mr. Abrego Garcia has filed a new lawsuit in the federal court for the federal district of Maryland challenging his current confinement and challenging deportation to Uganda or to any other country unless and until he’s had a fair trial as in an immigration court as well as his full appeal rights.
In 2019 Mr. Abrego Garcia had a full trial. It lasted over two days, in this building behind me. And the result of that trial is that the judge entered an order that he could not be deported to El Salvador. That order was not even appealed by the government. If they want to deport him to any other country, they need to go through that exact same process. Unless and until they have gone through that process, they do not have the right to put him on an airplane, and that’s what we’re going to be asking the district court to insure. That he is not put on any flight to any country whatsoever, whether it’s Uganda, south Sudan, unless and until he has had a full and fair trial in an immigration court as well as his full appeal rights.
So he’s filed a lawsuit, seeking to insure that he is not removed from the united states pending his immigration proceedings. “
Full Video Outside The Federal Building
Coast Guard Record Drug Seizure
Rear Adm. Adam Chamie of the United States Coast Guard spoke Monday to announce the largest offload of seized drugs in US history. Coast Guard cutter Hamilton offloaded 76,140lbs of drugs including over 61,000lbs of cocaine and 14,000lbs of marijuana.
NYC Deputy Mayor DJ Daniel Sworn In
Tuesday, NYC Mayor Eric Adams held a press conference to swear in DJ Daniel as Deputy Mayor for Public Safety.
DJ has been sworn into over 1350 law enforcement agencies across the United States, including NYC Police Commissioner and honorary member of the US Secret Service.
The 13 year old cancer survivor from Houston, TX has battled brain and spinal cancer since 2018 when he was given just 5 months to live. 7 years and 13 surgeries later, he dreams of becoming a police officer.
Full Press Conference with Eric Adams
DEA Article about swearing in JD in April 2025
Cracker Barrel
Cracker Barrel attempted to remodel their restaurants, revamp their menu and change their logo. Met with relentless online pressure, they announced on Instagram that they will cancel their new logo and indicated they may also halt remodeling of stores.
Taylor Swift Engagement
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce announced their engagement this week on Instagram.
Taylor Swift Engagement Post on Instagram
Politics
Harjinder Singh and US DOT
Harjinder Singh, an Indian national who entered the United States illegally was arrested in California for a fatal crash in Florida last week. Singh, who had been issued commercial driver licenses by both California and Washington state, made an unlawful U turn on Florida’s turnpike and three people were killed when their van struck his trailer. Singh has been transferred to and charged in Florida.
The United States Department of Transportation secretary Sean Duffy spoke in response Tuesday to explain steps being taken to reduce the number and severity of crashes. He noted USDOT will begin to remove funding from states that do not adhere to guidance requiring English language proficiency for issuance of driver licenses.
DOT Statement – English Proficiency Requirement
Desantis On Immigration
Desantis spoke Saturday alongside lieutenant governor Jay Collins and state troopers.
Last week a truck driver from India, in the United States illegally, attempted to make an improper U turn on Florida’s turn pike, killing three people.
In response Desantis announced an immigration enforcement operation led by FHP, but involving other state and federal agencies. It began last week and as of the 23rd nearly 200 arrests had taken place including 37 individuals who had previously received final orders of removal, 8 who had been deported and illegally reentered. One had been deported 4 times previously.
Since march fhp has arrested 3600 individuals following 4700 background checks via federal databases. More than 600 had prior criminal history.
Full Ron Desantis Press Conference
Trump Executive Orders
On Monday, President Trump signed several executive orders. One takes steps to end cashless bail nationwide while another is specific to cashless bail in Washington D.C. A third directs prosecution of anyone burning an American flag and the last covers additional measures for tackling crime in D.C.
White House Executive Orders Archive
Trump’s Full Remarks from August 25, 2025
NYC Mayoral Race
Staying in New York City, but moving to politics, mayoral candidates Curtis Sliwa and Zohran Mamdani both held press conferences to address crime in the city. Mamdani spoke about transportation safety and promised to address underfunded and partially complete projects like McGuinness Blvd in Greenpoint. Sliwa focused on violent crime in the Bronx and signaled his desire to hire an additional 7000 NYPD officers. He also spoke in support of President Trump, noting executive orders signed Monday to end cashless bail.
I watched Mamdani’s statement live and cannot find the video online now, but here is my transcription:
“…it begs the question of what the safety of New Yorkers is worth. Is it not worth more than $12,500 and a cameo on a TV show? Is it not worth more than crab cakes and clams at Gracy Mansion? I ask you this in sincerity because this fight has been built around the losses of loved ones in this neighborhood and yet we know that it’s a fight to ensure no one else is lost in this neighborhood.
And that decision by the administration, to implement half of this road dyke is a decision that put New Yorker’s lives in danger. And as has been said by the other incredible elected officials around the city, this doesn’t just have meaning here in Greenpoint, it sets a model for the rest of the city. And for too long that has been a model that has said that if you have enough money you could buy your way. But what this model represents is that working people can and must be safe no matter if they drive if they bike, if they walk, if they ride the bus if they take the train they must be safe across the city and we will make decisions with safety as the imperative.”
“that’s why I speak so much about turning the page on the politics of the past. Because corruption isn’t just about what politicians stand to gain. It’s also about what the public loses. And we know that my opponents do not share this commitment…we have spent much of this press conference speaking about Mayor Adams, but Andrew Cuomo is no better.
This is a man who thinks it’s’ right to turn on red here in NYC. This is a man for whom this city is a place to be feared, not a thing to be loved and served. And as mayor, I understand the crisis that we are facing and I understand that the core of the fight to serve this city is a love of this city and a love of the people who call this city home.
So we will make McGuinness safe, we will make New York City safe.”
Sports
Little League World Series
On Sunday, Nevada faced off against Chinese Taipei in the 2025 little league World Series. Chinese Taipei hadn’t won the title since 1996 but held Nevada hitless through 4 and one third. They were also able to capitalize on some pitching mistakes to take an early lead. Chinese Taipei ultimately prevailed 7-0 to end a 7 year streak for the United States.
Cadillac F1
Tuesday, the Cadillac F1 team, slated to start in the 2026 season, announced their official driver lineup across their social media platforms. Former Mercedes driver and Lewis Hamilton teammate Valteri Bottas will join ex-Red Bull driver Sergio Perez in Cadillac’s inaugural season.
Cadillac F1 Official Statement
Tennis / US Open
Daniil Medvedev lost the match and his temper in the first round of the US Open Sunday. He played Benjamin Bonzi who is ranked 51. He delayed the match for several minutes to yell at the chair umpire and microphones. Another outburst happened Wednesday following Taylor Townsend’s defeat of Jelena Ostapenko. Videos of both events are available at The Cold Take dot com. Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz, Novak Djokavak (SINNER?) all advanced to the Men’s 4th round. On the women’s side, Townsend and Coco Gauf join Jessica Pegula and Arnya Sabalenka in the 4th round. We’ll bring you final tournament results next week.
NCAA Football
College Football Gameday celebrated the retirement of 90 year old Lee Corso yesterday. Famous for dawning the head, and sometimes the entire costume of the team he picks to win, Lee has been a Saturday morning staple since 1987. Ahead of number 3 Ohio State’s fourteen to seven win over preseason number one university of Texas, Corso donned Brutus Buckey’s head one last time. Brutus was the first mascot head he tried in 1996.
Florida State upset eighth ranked Alabama in Tallahassee 31-17.
Number 9 LSU defeated 4th ranked Clemson at Clemson 17-10
World
Israel
Tuesday, David Mencer, Israeli Govt. Spokesperson for the national public diplomacy directorate in the prime minister’s office gave a press conference in Tel Aviv. He spoke about the government’s five stated principals for ending the war in Gaza:
- Disarming Hamas
- Returning All Hostages, living and dead
- Demilitarizing Gaza
- Israeli Security Control Over Gaza
- Establishment Of Alternative Civilian Administration
He expressed thanks to the Lebanese government for their commitment to disarm Hezbollah and signaled Israel’s readiness to both assist Lebanon and reduce IDF presence at the border saying “If the Lebanese armed forces take the necessary steps to implement the disarmament of Hezbolah, Israel will engage in reciprocal measures, including the phased reduction of the IDF presence in coordination with the US led security mechanism.
Now is the time for both Israel and Lebanon to move forward in a spirit of cooperation, focusing on a shared objective of disarming Hezbolah and promoting the stability and prosperity of both nations.”
He also voiced disagreement and displeasure at the media narrative around aid to Gaza.
Full Israeli Government Statement
Markets
Markets remained flat with the Dow closing down 408 points for the week, a loss of point zero one percent. Nasdaq similarly dropped 41 points while the S&P fell 6. Gold closed at 3446 per ounce, a 76 dollar pickup.