They want to destroy America from the inside. Now Iranian sleeper agents line up on our doorstep - and an ally could be set to unleash them all
The explosive revelation comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, where a shaky ceasefire appears to be holding after America joined Israel 's 12-day bombing campaign of Iran 's nuclear program.
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
South Park takes aim at Trump's Washington DC crime crackdown with the return of an old character
South Park has teased the return of an old character in another savage episode mocking the Trump administration's Washington, D.C., crime crackdown. In a post on the iconic show's X account, a 20-second teaser shows the long-serving Towlie on a trip to the capital amid a backdrop of troops and tanks on the streets. 'Wow, Washington D.C.,' Towlie says, looking out of his bus window with bewilderment. Towelie, which the producers created years before to satirize how heavily merchandised and exploited their creations were becoming, was previously branded the 'worst character ever' by co-star Eric Cartman. Towlie first made an appearance in 2001 in Season 5 and has featured sporadically ever since – often being depicted as high on marijuana, while spouting the phrases, "I have no idea what's going on" or "Don't forget to bring a towel.' As the fresh teaser clip continues, Towlie is seen standing outside a fictionalised depiction of the White House, and saying, 'This seems like the perfect place for a towel.' The character's return coincides with the commander-in-chief's move to deploy the military in D.C., after claiming the city was 'becoming a situation of complete and total lawlessness' on August 11. The administration's justification for deploying the military has been widely disputed, as recent data suggests the opposite: violent crime is reportedly down 26 percent, according to the city's police department. Earlier this week, MAGA South Park actor Janeshia Adams-Ginyard hailed the series' latest episodes skewering Trump's actions as brilliant, while claiming that the producers were by no means taking sides. 'They've been going after everybody. Red or blue – it don't even matter,' she said. Though senior Trump officials have rebuked the new series, including Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, after she was portrayed as being obsessed with plastic surgery, and mocked for shooting her dog. 'It's so lazy to just constantly make fun of women for how they look. Only the liberals and the extremists do that,' Noem said, responding to the second episode. 'If they wanted to criticize my job, go ahead and do that, but clearly they can't; they just pick something petty like that,' she continued. Vice President J.D. Vance and conservative podcaster Charlie Kirk, however, have embraced the mockery, praising the sardonic jokes. 'Well, I've finally made it,' Vance wrote on X after the second episode aired. The White House, on the other hand, was less affable about the latest episodes, calling them 'a desperate attempt for attention,' in a press statement. Meanwhile, South Park's popularity continues to shine with Comedy Central announcing that the second episode drew 6.2 million viewers across cable and streaming in its first three days. Episode three will air on Wednesday on Comedy Central at 10 p.m. Eastern time and 9 p.m. Central, and will be available on Thursday on Paramount+.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
DC food delivery drivers are being swept off the street in police crackdown: ‘Widespread fear amongst community members'
President Donald Trump has unleashed federal officers and the National Guard on the streets of Washington, D.C. ostensibly to combat "violent gangs" and other criminals, but videos appear to show agents harassing and detaining food delivery workers, leaving the capital's immigrant population wary. A recent NBC News report documented a D.C. resident's shock when — after ordering food from Uber Eats — he went outside to determine why his delivery driver hadn't made it to his house, only to find the driver surrounded by federal agents. 'I stepped into the street, I looked down and see lights in the direction, like police lights, in the direction of where my driver was,' Tyler DeSue told NBC News. 'It was my driver by himself and, like, nine different officers all wearing different uniforms. ... Most of them had face coverings on.' The agents reportedly took the driver, named Sidi, into custody after questioning him about his vehicle's registration and his immigration status. Sidi asked for an Arabic translator as he was unsure of why he was being detained, but a Homeland Security Investigations agent informed him no one with them spoke Arabic and thus could not tell him why he was being detained in a way he could understand. According to the report, Sidi is not the only delivery driver to face harassment at the hands of Trump's federal agents. Videos and eyewitness accounts of agents stopping drivers have been making the rounds online and are being discussed in delivery driver chat groups, according to the report. During a normal day in the District, delivery drivers typically criss-cross the city picking up orders, some in their cars and others on small scooters with attached delivery boxes. But locals are reporting that fewer drivers are on the streets since the crackdown began. 'The number of people who come to pick up orders has diminished,' Clarissa Vasquez, who works at a Columbia Heights restaurant, told NBC News. 'We are at 4% of the people who come to pick up food.' Some of the drivers may have left D.C. to take orders in nearby Virginia and Maryland, where they're less likely to run into federal agents. Atenas Estrada, a program director with Amica Center for Immigrant Rights in D.C., said the center is aware of the reports concerning delivery drivers. She told NBC News that the threat of detainment can lead to fear among both undocumented and documented migrants. 'What I am seeing, personally, is widespread fear amongst community members. People, you know, making decisions or avoiding places that they perhaps would not otherwise avoid or leave,' Estrada told NBC News. Trump launched his federal patrols after Edward Coristine, aka 'Big Balls,' one of DOGE head Elon Musk's staffers, was attacked by a group of teenagers from Maryland. Despite Trump's insistence that D.C. is rife with violent crime, official statistics from the Metropolitan Police Department show a 30 percent decrease in violent crime since the same time last year. The president has accused the MPD of reporting 'fake crime numbers' to 'create a false illusion of safety' in a Truth Social post. He suggested that a probe into the department's numbers may be underway. 'This is a very bad and dangerous thing to do, and they are under serious investigation for so doing!' Trump wrote. down by 35 percent, marking the lowest its been in 30 years.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Beaming Amanda Knox laughs as she poses up a storm and kisses her husband at premiere of new series based on her ex-flatmate's harrowing murder
Amanda Knox grinned and shared a smooch with her husband - at the premiere of a dramatized mini-series based on the real life case that saw her accused of murdering her flatmate during a year abroad. The divisive public figure - exonerated in the death of of her roommate Meredith Kercher - was the image of glee as she joined actors on the red carpet for Hulu's 'The Twisted Tale Of Amanda Knox' in New York. It's a contrast to the tone of the TV series, which explores the aftermath of the 21-year-old's student's killing. Amanda and her boyfriend at the time, Raffaele Sollecito, were convicted in their first trial of killing Meredith but after another round of flip-flop verdicts, they were ultimately exonerated by Italy's highest court in 2015. The 38-year-old, from Seattle, Washington, has since spoken in great length about life after prison - and how she is still 'haunted' by the incident. However, her manner in photos from the event earlier this week were positively jovial, as she and Rafaello smiled alongside their actor counterparts Grace Van Patten and Giuseppe De Domenico. Despite the bleak nature of the show, Amanda sported a floral summer dress accentuated with bow-tie detailing, while her husband Christopher Robinson sported a trendy mesh blouse worn under a light grey suit. Meanwhile Rafaello donned a cheerful cornflower blue blazer and matching slacks for the occasion. The series, which is executive-produced by both Amanda and feminist campaigner Monica Lewinsky - who has spent years moving on from a sex scandal with then-President Bill Clinton - has drawn mixed reviews - especially due to the lack of active involvement from the victim's family. Despite that, the Guardian 's Lucy Mangan gave it four stars out of five, albeit lambasting an 'often dodgy' script. 'The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox has its flaws,' she penned. 'The mannered, Wes Anderson-lite openings to each episode sit uneasily with the harrowing hours to which they give way and the script – particularly in those openings – can be dreadful. 'We were just getting to know our young selves in this charmed and ancient city,' says Knox in a voiceover early on. 'And later: 'Does truth actually exist if no one believes it?' At one point, investigator Monica (Roberta Mattei) describes Knox providing 'unsolicited information in crude American spasms'. 'Fortunately, the main parts are held together by an unreservedly brilliant performance by Grace Van Patten as Knox, in English and Italian (halting at first, fluent by the end of Knox's incarceration), the ebullient, naïve, overconfident, shattered young woman caught in so many currents and cross-currents it seems a miracle that she ever made it back to shore.' The Times was more critical, with Carol Midgley writing: 'As you would expect, the drama is very much on Knox's side, presenting her as a co-operative and pleasant young woman caught up in an unending utter nightmare in a foreign country. 'Yes, a bit crass that she kissed and cuddled her boyfriend at the police station, but then who wouldn't want some comfort when their friend had just been found brutally murdered?' Elsewhere, ranking it only two stars out of five, Nick Hilton wrote for the Independent: 'The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox knew that it was swimming in morally murky waters. 'The series was originally supposed to be called Blue Moon, but transitioned to its rather twee title ahead of release. And that should give some indication about the unusually bubbly tone of this eight-part series. ''Full of hope, curiosity and the naivety of youth, I embarked on my romantic Italian adventure,' Knox informs audiences, like she's setting up an episode of Amanda in Perugia. The series leans heavily on these voiceovers to explain Amanda's quirks (such as providing an impromptu gymnastics display at the police station or wearing a T-shirt to court bearing the slogan 'All you need is love' in all caps). 'The show's visual flourishes – like a juror juggling computer-generated ears to illustrate their exposure to inadmissible evidence – mirror its goofy, confident protagonist. It also makes the tone of the series very distinct from the grim BBC procedurals we're used to in Britain, owing a debt of gratitude to schlocky tastemaker Ryan Murphy (creator of the American Horror Story anthology series). Speaking to the Guardian as filming for the show kicked off last year, Meredith sister explained the victim's family found it 'difficult to understand how the series served any purpose'. 'Meredith will always be remembered for her own fight for life, and yet in her absence, her love and personality continues to shine,' she added. 'We will forever feel this indescribable void but we live by Meredith's standards with dignity.' It comes as Amanda has revealed how Monica became her mentor as she tried to rebuild her life. The two women met at a speaking engagement in 2017, just two years after Italy 's highest court exonerated Amanda and Raffaele in Meredith's murder. Amanda told The Hollywood Reporter how she was nervous and had begged the event organizers to let her speak with Monica in private. The former White House intern obliged, and even made Amanda a pot of tea as she shared some guidance from her years trying to move past her sex scandal with then-President Bill Clinton. 'She had a lot of advice about reclaiming your voice and your narrative,' Amanda said. 'That ended up being a turning point for me.' Years later, Amanda shared her desire to tell her story on screen in an interview with The New York Times - and upon seeing it, Monica jumped on board. Together, the pair wound up assembling a creative team, including This Is Us executive producer K.J. Steinberg and famed producer Warren Littlefield, to create 'The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox,' a limited series for Hulu. After years of planning, the duo celebrated the premiere of the show on the red carpet Tuesday. Just hours earlier, Amanda released the latest episode of her podcast, Hard Knox, in which she and Monica spoke of the importance of telling the stories of those who survived scandal. Speaking of the decision, Monica noted that she does not often pay attention to a story after it fades from headlines. 'I don't think about "How is this person rebuilding their life?"' she said, her voice cracking as she apparently started to tear up. It was Amanda that had discovered Meredith's bedroom door locked and blood in their bathroom, but after police in Italy noticed her acting odd she became a suspect. Amanda pictured speaking to the media during a brief press conference in front of her parents' home in 2015 But, she said, she thinks it is important to 'understand, as my therapist calls it, the long tale of trauma - and that it's not even just the person, but the collateral damage for people's families.' 'It's not the story of like, being a person and being gutted and then building your life back. 'And having to find yourself again,' Monica said, noting that both of their scandals arose when they were in their 20s. 'You think you know everything, you think you know who you are and it's then ripped away from you,' she reflected. 'It's reconfigured and reflected back to you as a monster that you never saw yourself as, that you actually aren't.' During that time, Amanda said, 'it's hard to remember that you have value as a human.' 'I think it's a better product because I was able to share really personal and intimate things about, you know, my life that wasn't just like a Hollywood gloss over reality,' she added. 'Like it becomes dirtier in a good way because it has all the messy humanity and you have all these scenes that I, you know, remember being in the writer's room being like, "This is an actual thing that has happened" and they were like, "You can't make this stuff up."' But the duo also sought to play on the 'anatomy of bias,' aiming to showcase how events unfold and are perceived through different people's perspectives. 'It's the way we story tell and it's the way we process a story in our own minds that is impacted by everything we're bringing to that moment that has been shaped by bias upon bias upon bias,' Lewinsky said. 'Every interaction that we have with a person is not just a straight interaction,' Knox added. 'It is colored by the context that we all carry. 'All of us are little universes inside of ourselves and we collide with each other,' she said. The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox airs on Hulu, and stars Grace Van Patten in the titular role. Elsewhere, Amanda recently said she believes the spirit of her murdered roommate Meredith Kercher still 'haunts' her. Speaking with People, she however clarified that this is 'not in that bad way that people sort of project on to me'. 'More in this benevolent spirit who is reminding me of the value of life, the privilege it is to live and the privilege it is to fight for your life,' Amanda added. 'Because she fought for hers.' Despite being freed and declared innocent, Amanda told the outlet that she has never been allowed to fully live her life. She added: 'There's always this subtext, like "Look at Amanda living her life while Meredith is dead." 'Any expression of life in my life is seen as an offense to the memory of my friend who got murdered.' She also said that she had panicked when she found out she was pregnant with her first daughter Eureka, 3. 'I did not want the first instance of my daughter's existence into this world [to] be a headline like "Amanda gives birth to know who will never get to have a daughter? Meredith",' she added. It was Amanda that had discovered Meredith's bedroom door locked and blood in their bathroom, but after police in Italy noticed her acting odd she became a suspect. At the time, Amanda put the blame on her boss at a local bar she worked at, Patrick Lumumba, who had a solid alibi, which only increased police suspicions. After an immense investigation and trial, Amanda, who was 20 years old at the time was convicted for the crime in 2009. She was sentenced to 26 years in prison for faking a break-in, defamation, sexual violence, and murder. In January of this year the defamation conviction was upheld by Italy's highest court over her comments about Lumumba. Amanda shared a video of herself weeping after the conviction was upheld, saying it was 'disappointing'. She also added on X: 'I've just been found guilty yet again of a crime I didn't commit'. Her lawyers said she accused Lumumba during a long night of questioning and under pressure from police, who they said fed her false information. The European Court of Human Rights found that t he police deprived her of a lawyer and provided a translator who acted more as a mediator. Rudy Hermann Guede, from the Ivory Coast, was eventually convicted of murder after his DNA was found at the crime scene. Guede was freed in 2021, after serving most of his 16-year sentence. Amanda returned to the US in 2011 after being freed and has established herself as a global campaigner for the wrongly convicted. She has a podcast with her husband, Christopher Robinson, and has a new memoir coming out next week titled, 'Free: My Search for Meaning.'
