New York Post - 04.10.2026 — 2026-10-04

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OD and drug bust at Cornell frat hours before alleged gang rape: report

Cornell's Chi Phi frat house was a drug den, and the university knew it. Campus cops made a bust there just hours before a student was allegedly drugged and gang-raped — and someone overdosed on ketamine a day before that. The revelations raise fresh questions about why Chi Phi was not shuttered by the Ivy League administration immediately, which may have prevented the alleged sex attack.

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Reeseon to savor H'ween

America has a sweet tooth. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are the nation's favorite Halloween candy, followed by Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bars and M&M's, according to DoorDash.

But the nation's candy cravings get a whole lot weirder once you cross state lines, with everything from Laffy Taffy and Red Vines licorice to Circus Peanuts and even Sour Patch Kids topping the list in some states.

DoorDash crunched its delivery data to determine the most-ordered sweet treat in each state — and found Reese's reigning supreme in 17 states, from Washington and Oregon to Indiana, Pennsylvania, Maine and the Virginias.

Laffy Taffy has a five-state stronghold, winning over candy lovers in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin, while Californians have a hankering for Red Vines.

Down South, meanwhile, seven states are goblin up Dollar General's Sweet Smiles, an affordable candy assortment, as their favorite Halloween treat. The old-school treats still have plenty of fans, with Circus Peanuts leading the nostalgic pack.

Jeanne Erickson

Paris Hilton, 45, is the picture of see-through sexiness and elegance Saturday between top-label gigs near the Champs-Elysées on Day Six of Paris Fashion Week.

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It's Paris' Fashion Week!

Getty Images

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'LOVE' THESE WORDS! Gen Z date vocab

By JEANNE ERICKSON

Instead of foreplay, Gen Z has wordplay.

A Zoomer's quest for romance is tangled up in sky-high expectations, wallet-busting dates, scarce sex and enough ridiculous dating lingo to require its own dictionary, a relationship psychologist told The Post.

“But most of it is just something recycled with a new label,” said Dr. Orion Taraban, who decodes relationship head games on his popular YouTube show “PsychHacks.”

■Shrekking means dating someone you consider less attractive because they'll appreciate you more.

"Not nice," said Taraban. "He'll be kicked to the curb when she finds something better. Yet, the No. 1 question I get from women is, 'How can I get married?'

■ Frankensteining is an attempt to mold a romantic partner's looks or personality to bring them up to desired standards. "Never works, forget it," advised the doc.

■Clear Coding is where a person shows up on the first date with a checklist of desired traits, which is also called Dating with Intention.

“It’s mostly women who do this,” Taraban claimed. “There won’t be a second date.”

Turns out zoomy gals are out to bag an older, more successful and wealthier man.

“About 85% of women on apps are dating 15% of men,” he said. “But they’ll find out that it only works out 1% of the time.”

And the name game only gets worse.

■Friendfluence is bringing pals along to help assess the prospect. “The same thing as a double date,” laughed Taraban.

■Benching means keeping a backup romantic option warm.

■ Wanderlove is vacation romance, which is known to lead to love because vacationers think they'll never see this person again and can behave more like themselves.

■ Wildflowering means tossing out the checklist and seeing what happens — which Taraban considers the healthiest approach.

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[A mistake to appoint Tish: foes] AG's 'biased remarks'

New York State Attorney General What this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable. I'm holding her in my heart and in my prayers.

By RICH CALDER and GEOFF EARLE

Attorney General Letitia James is too political, biased and unethical to fairly investigate the seven Cornell University fraternity brothers accused of raping a female classmate, pols and other critics told The Post.

Appointed by Gov. Hochul on Friday to be the special prosecutor in the exploding scandal, James had already posted sympathy for the accuser days earlier on social media — and now refuses to comment on the biased remarks.

Rensselaer County Executive Steven McLaughlin — whom James indicted on grand larceny and election fraud charges in 2021 but was later acquitted by a jury — said the “Cornell Seven” should “expect the worst: because he’s living proof that the far-left Democratic prosecutor is anything but impartial.

“She’s clearly engaged in targeted persecutions and prosecutions,” the Republican pol said. “She targeted me. She targeted the president.

"In my case, she spent over \$1 million trying to nail me over absolutely nothing. She is clearly engaged in targeted political hits. I don't know all the facts of the case, but I am sure she is going to try and nail these guys rather than let justice prevail."

McLaughlin joined a growing chorus of critics who agreed with President Trump, who predicted Friday the Cornell Seven won't get a "fair shake" with James on the case — because the attorney general is a "corrupt person."

James won a massive \$454 million civil judgment against Trump's business for allegedly inflating its value, but the decision was overturned by a state appeals court last year.

“Much like with the legal action she brought against the president, Attorney General Tish James appears to have already drawn her own conclusions about this incident, without gathering all the facts,” said Councilman Frank Morano (R-Staten Island). “I don’t know how anyone could expect her to be fair and objective.”

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'Not impartial'

Council Minority Leader David Carr said James “has a well-documented history of making highly charged public statements about people she is investigating and prosecuting.”

“That is exactly the wrong background for a special prosecutor in a case where impartiality is everything,” said the Staten Island Republican.

“She was publicly characterizing this case before she was even appointed. The allegations deserve to be investigated aggressively, but the accused also deserve due process.”

Joe Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said an independent outsider should have been appointed to do this."

Hochul's office did not return messages Saturday and James ducked questions about her role in the case during an unrelated Bronx event.

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CORNELL

MESSAGE: Then-Columbia student Emma Sulkowicz carried around campus the mattress on which she said she was sexually assaulted — to protest the Ivy's lack of action against her accused rapist.

By GABRIELLE FAHMY

US college

'epidemic'

8,000+ rapes

in single year

A staggering 8,227 rapes were reported at American colleges and universities in 2024 — and elite New York schools were far from immune from the plague of sexual violence, a Post review of federal and state crime data found.

Nationally, the University of Utah had the most reported rapes — nearly double the number logged at the next-highest schools. The 36,894-student public university in Salt Lake City recorded a shocking 146 rape accusations in 2024, according to data from the US Department of Education.

The University of Colorado Boulder had the second highest count, with 96 rapes reported in 2024, followed by Ohio State University, with 67.

Most of the alleged attacks (122) took place in dorms, while another 18 reportedly happened in other campus buildings, and six occurred in off-campus property run by the school or a student organization.

The other schools in the national top 10 in 2024 were Penn State University, with 57 reported rape cases; UCLA with 52 cases; the University of California Santa Cruz, 46; the University of California Santa Barbara, 43; Indiana University, 43; University of Kansas, 39 and University of Kentucky, 37.

In New York, Columbia University stood out with 262 reported incidents of sexual violence in 2024.

While federal data tracks rape, New York's state reporting rules require colleges to report more broadly — sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence and stalking in a combined tally.

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[FRAT 'DRUG DEN'] Rape U.

Here are the college campuses, nationally and in New York, with the most reported rapes and incidents of sexual violence in 2024

USA | College | Enrollment | Rapes | University of Utah | 36,894 | 268 | University of Colorado Boulder | 38,799 | 150 | Ohio State University | 61,443 | 110 | Penn State University | 50,737 | 97 | University of California Santa Cruz | 19,938 | 84 |

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New York | College | Enrollment | Incidents of sexual violence | Columbia University | 35,075 | 262 | New York University | 56,832 | 229 | SUNY Albany | 17,560 | 217 | SUNY Binghamton | 18,815 | 198 | Cornell University | 43,154 | 166 | Source: US and NYS Departments of Education

Not only did Columbia have the highest number of sexual violence incidents reported, it also had the worst record out of the large New York schools when it came to investigating and taking disciplinary action, a Post analysis found.

The Big Apple Ivy logged 21 reported rapes on campus, all of which were reported in residence halls.

Of the 262 incidents reported to the school's Title IX coordinator in 2024, only three were investigated. Of those, only a single case resulted in the accused student being expelled.

Over the full period since this data has been collected and made available, from 2018-24, Columbia consistently had the worst record of the Empire State colleges.

Over those seven years, an average of 9% of the 1,202 total reported cases were investigated, and just 1% — 17 cases — resulted in disciplinary action.

Columbia student Emma Sulkowicz famously carried the mattress she said she was sexually assaulted on around campus for months to protest the university's lack of action against her accused rapist — even bringing it on the stage as she graduated in 2015.

Paul Nungesser, her classmate, was accused of raping her during sophomore year in 2012 — but he was cleared after a university investigation.

NYU reported 229 cases of sexual violence in 2024. Of these, 28 were investigated, and 10 resulted in disciplinary action. SUNY Albany followed with 217 cases and SUNY Binghamton 198.

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Cornell backlash

Cornell University, at the center of a drug-fueled gang rape scandal, had 166 cases of sexual violence reported in 2024 — the year the alleged incident occurred at the Chi Phi frat house in October. That year, 18 of the cases were investigated and disciplinary action was taken in 11 cases, which included three expulsions and four suspensions, per the data.

Two of the Chi Phi guys accused in the gang rape case were expelled, and two others were suspended for a year, the university's president has said.

By GABRIELLE FAHMY and ARIEL ZILBER

ACTIVITY: Cornell University Police responded to the Chi Phi fraternity house on Oct. 19, 2024 and made a drug-related arrest during a roughly 40-minute response to a call about an overdose.

Cornell University documented significant drug activity at the Chi Phi fraternity house before a student was allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted there — with campus cops making a drug bust just hours before the reported gang rape, and responding to a ketamine overdose a day before, records show.

Cornell University Police responded to Chi Phi at about 1:05 a.m. on Oct. 19, 2024, and made a drug-related arrest during the roughly 40-minute response, referring an individual to the school's Office of Student Conduct, according to the department's Daily Crime Log.

A newly released Cornell Title IX hearing decision also documented an overdose at Chi Phi.

“Ketamine was a substance used by multiple individuals in the Chi Phi house at the time, including [redacted] who had overdosed on or about Oct. 18, 2024,” the university hearing document states, according to the Cornell Daily Sun.

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['Rugby house'] Fraternity bust hours before 'sex assault'

The revelations raise fresh questions about why Chi Phi was not suspended on the days the drug bust and OD happened — and before a woman claims she was assaulted there.

Hours after the drug bust, the former Cornell student identified in court papers as Jane Doe said she arrived at the house around 11 p.m. and was later pressured into taking drugs before being sexually assaulted by multiple fraternity members into the early morning hours of Oct. 20.

Her lawsuit alleges Cornell “knew or should have known” that Chi Phi had a history of drug use, specifically ketamine, and claims police responded to a drug-related incident at the house about a week before the alleged assault.

Cornell's current Sorority and Fraternity Life policy prohibits illegal drugs at chapter houses and says a chapter may be immediately placed on interim suspension when violations pose health and safety risks. Chi Phi was ultimately suspended Nov. 8, 2024, when Doe reported the alleged assault to campus police.

The Chi Phi frat house was known at the Ithaca Ivy League as the “rugby house,” and players had a reputation on campus for being drunken rowdies, according to some students.

In a popular online forum about Greek life, one student wrote, “Chi Phi have a lot of ruggers, they drink, of course, as a team, because that’s what rugby players do.”

“Very fratty brothers who are usually real drunk at parties . . . and have turned [Chi Phi] into the rugby house,” said another.

The Post found that three of the “Cornell Seven” were members of the Cornell Rugby Football Club.

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'Incapacitated'

A fourth frat member who is not one of the seven but is a named defendant in the lawsuit also played for the rugby club for at least three years, until 2026, according to the club's rosters.

He was accused in the alleged rape victim's Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit of “breaching his duty to supervise and maintain” the frat house’s safety as the plaintiff, known only as “Jane Doe,” was “plied with alcohol and drugs” and “sexually assaulted and raped” for at least four hours.

None of the Cornell Seven or the other member have been charged with a crime in the al-

leged rape case.

One of the rugby players allegedly suggested a threesome with another fraternity brother and took Doe upstairs sometime after she entered the Chi Phi house.

Two rugby players allegedly stayed behind when the other brothers left the room after doing ketamine and took Doe to another room where they did more ketamine and had another threesome while she was “completely incapacitated.”

The rugby club said it removed the players, but questions are mounting about what it knew, given two of the men played for the team into 2026.

The rugby club said in an Instagram post last week it was “deeply disturbed” by the information that came to light, calling the allegations “horrific.”

The club's head coach Dave Burke didn't return The Post's calls and coach Zach Ahlin hung up when reached by a reporter.

Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff, in a video statement Saturday, called Doe's allegations "deeply disturbing" and "a defining moment" in the university's history, adding "we must do better."

Gossip

Page Six .....20

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PostScript p. 37-46

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Books ..... 42-44

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Ryan Dunleavy .... 76

NFL Bettor's Guide. 78-79

Brian Costello .... 80

Mark Cannizzaro .... 80

Jon Heyman .... 84

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Student gets lesson in woke intolerance

By SONYA GUGLIARA

A New Jersey student claims he was branded a “racist” and forced to drop an online course after his woke professor spotted a “Trump 2020” flag hanging on his wall during a Zoom class.

Justin Caiazzo, 29, is suing Passaic County Community College, business professor Gladys Harris and Dean of Academic Services Peter Hynes, arguing his First Amendment rights were violated during a July 2021 online class.

In a Sept. 23 complaint filed in New Jersey Superior Court, Caiazzo, of Lake Hiawatha, said he was blindsided when Harris allegedly stopped her business statistics class after spotting the Trump banner in his background.

Harris demanded he take it off the wall, bringing the entire class to a halt, court papers claimed.

When Caiazzo asked what was wrong with the flag, Harris called it “offensive,” according to the complaint. She then slammed him as a “racist” in front of his classmates and ultimately booted him from the Zoom call when he refused to remove the banner, the suit says.

Caiazzo claims the confrontation affected his treatment in the class. During the next class session, Harris allegedly allowed other students to speak over Caiazzo while refusing to let him participate.

After that session, Caiazzo said, he asked Harris if there were any opportunities for tutoring or for discussing the tense exchange, but Harris snarkily replied that he should get help on “tutor.com.”

Worried that the confrontation would hurt his ability to pursue his education, Caiazzo sought help from Hynes and other school officials. They launched a probe, but ultimately backed Harris. They blamed Caiazzo and claimed his “political expression was disfavored,” the suit says.

Officials also never offered him any “meaningful relief,” such as allowing him to transfer to another class or opt for a “no credit” grade.

Instead, he was forced to grin and bear it, and ultimately dropped the class because he believed the damage was irreparable.

"[He] ultimately withdrew from the class at his own expense rather than continue under conditions regarded as hostile, unfair, unconstitutional and academically untenable," court papers said.

Caiazzo is now demanding unspecified damages for educational harm, emotional distress and humiliation.

"Our client was wronged on many levels," Caiazzo's attorney, Marc Calello, told The Post. Caiazzo wasn't able to graduate because he was forced to drop the course, Calello said.

PCCC, Hynes and Harris did not return requests for comment.

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Mayor's antisemitism plan ripped

A coalition of more than 25 Big Apple-based Jewish community groups is ripping Mayor Mamdani's plan to combat antisemitism, claiming it deliberately ignores hatred targeting Jews and Israel.

The groups — which include the New York City

Public School Alliance and Bridgebuilders Grassroots Coalition — slammed a 33-page blueprint for dealing with rising antisemitic crime that the mayor rolled out Tuesday, saying it “falls dangerously short” by “largely sidestep[ping] the biggest threat Jewish New Yorkers" face: anti-Jewish harassment and "violence cloaked as anti-Israel activism."

“That omission isn’t incidental. It’s the central failure of the report,” the groups said in a letter Friday to Phylisa Wisdom, executive director of Mayor's Office to Combat Antisemitism, demanding the Mamdani administration issue a new plan that defines antisemitism and addresses anti-Zionist hatred.

Mamdani's strategy invests \$29 million annually towards hate-crime prevention — a \$3 million hike — by improving security at synagogues and other Jewish cultural centers

Wisdom did not return messages, but Mamdani spokesman Sam Raskin said the administration stands by the plan. Rich Calder

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Miami nice for foodies

Choke on this, New York. WalletHub has dished up its annual list of the best destinations for foodies, spotlighting cities where diners can feast without spending a small fortune, and to the shock and dismay of many, the Big Apple didn't crack the top 20.

To determine gastronomic glory, WalletHub compared more than 180 cities. The ranking considered restaurant variety and the number of affordable places with strong customer ratings, food festivals, Michelin-starred restaurants, grocery costs and the number of farmers' markets.

Miami took the top spot, with the top five rounded out by Portland, Ore., San Francisco, Seattle, Austin and Orlando.

“Miami is the best city for foodies, leading the country when it comes to the availability of affordable restaurants rated at least 4.5 stars out of 5,” said study authors, noting that it is home to 12 Michelin-starred restaurants and a plethora of farmers’ markets and specialty food stores.

New York ranked a dismal 22nd. According to the study, while the city earned 12th place for diversity, accessibility and quality, it ranked 179th for affordability, which helps explain its final score. Reda Wigle

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Bots can feel 'hurt'

They're putting the “AI” in “pain.” To tweak a line from “Terminator 2,” machines now know why we cry.

Controversial coders have sparked backlash from AI activists after creating an “AI torture chamber” to reportedly stress-test a pain axis in the tech, New Atlas reported last week.

In a study published on arXiv, a team showed 25 AI models scenarios involving physical, cognitive or even moral pain inflicted on the AI or their user. The tests showed that, despite their lack of nerves, large language models could create a kind of physical and emotional agony. Ben Cost and Hannah Sparks

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THE FRIGHT FIT

PEEK-A-BOO! Spirit Halloween released its 2026 costume trend report and is willing to bet movies and TV shows like "Toy Story," "Off Campus" and "Obsession" will be well-represented.

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By AURIELLE WEISS

The unofficial champion of spooky season has been revealed.

Halloween is just weeks away, and those looking to sport their favorite get-up may want to hurry and scoop up a costume. If you need some help deciding, the self-proclaimed “heavyweight champ” of Halloween has got you covered.

Spirit Halloween — the largest Halloween retailer in North America — just dropped its costume trend report — and it's scary good. The New Jersey-based seasonal retailer has been “lurking, watching, decoding and obsessing” over what it feels is likely to be showing up on your doorsteps begging for candy.

“People often ask how we predict Halloween trends. The reality is we’re watching them develop all year long,” said Kym Sarkos, executive vice president of Spirit Halloween. “From blockbuster entertainment and gaming to social media and nostalgia, our team is constantly tracking what’s capturing attention so we can be ready with the looks fans want most.”

The Halloween shop broke down the trends into a few categories:

From the hyped and the hot collection, couples can scoop up the varsity swag and campus crushes. As the “Off Campus” sensation has taken over TVs, the big-box retailer suspects the classic licensed jerseys, crisp varsity jackets and iconic looks will be a huge hit.

The Halloween giant is also willing to bet “the toys will be taking over” streets. This means get ready to see a bunch of Woody, Buzz, Jessie and Slinky Dog out to play this year.

Demon Hunters is likely to be another fan favorite after "KPop Demon Hunters" had a breakout year.

As horror never loses its cool, the chain thinks folks will be wearing items from viral internet horrors, blood-curdling new-school cinema — like “Obsession” — and tons of the classic slashers.

Retailer dishes

on top costumes

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A world apart: Unneeded body pieces

It turns out the human body has a sort of junk drawer, too.

We have a number of body parts that served an important purpose for our distant ancestors but are essentially useless now, yet continue to take up space.

In fact, these body parts often cause problems for us, from pain to life-threatening infections, leading us to remove them and confirm that yes, we actually don't need them at all.

1. Appendix

Your appendix is a tiny tube at the end of your large intestine, on the lower right side of your midsection.

That tiny pouch can become infected and inflamed (appendicitis), which causes sudden pain, nausea, constipation, and bloating. If it ruptures, it could spread infection through the body and become life-threatening.

That's why removal of the entire organ is a common emergency surgery (about 300,000 performed a year in the US). After it's gone, you can live a completely normal and healthy life.

2. Gallbladder

The gallbladder stores and concentrates bile, a digestive fluid that breaks down fats that are made by the liver. It rests right below the liver in the upper right area of the abdomen.

Like the appendix, removing the gallbladder is a common surgery — more than

1.2 million removals are done each year in the US. This might be required when gallstones cause painful blockages, or a patient experiences frequent “gallbladder attacks” of stabbing pain after eating heavy meals.

Other such parts include tonsils, wisdom teeth and the plantaris, a leg muscle.

Allie Yang

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['Worse than 9/11'] Pilots now the terrorists

By DAVID SPECTOR

The hijacking of the Dubai airliner might be the beginning of a horrifying new terrorist tactic of recruiting and radicalizing pilots to do 9/11-style attacks, a former IDF colonel and intelligence officer warns.

"An individual doesn't get the idea on his own to crash a plane full of people including himself. Somebody told him that if you do that you get your 72 virgins," Miri Eisin, now an Israeli government spokesman, told The Post.

"If you think back to past plane hijackings, including 9/11, the hijacker was never the pilot of the plane . . . This could be a new kind of suicide bomber," she said.

Eisin said she immediately suspected Iran's hand in the near-tragic FlyDubai hijacking, although she was careful to stress that she has no direct evidence.

She said that the Omani pilot who stabbed his Indian co-pilot and attempted to crash the plane full of 174 passengers — most Israelis — before he was overpowered by heroic Israeli passengers could have been radicalized by the Islamic Republic or its terrorist proxies.

The pilot has been identified by The Wall Street Journal as Hamam al-Hammami. He had previously been banned from flying by Oman due to suspicions he had become radicalized, the WSJ reported.

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'Kind of things'

“This to me is very much something that could have come from Hezbollah or the IRGC Quds Force; this is the kind of things that they think of,” Eisin said. She added that Iran, if responsible for the attack, may be trying to unleash a new kind of suicide bomber by infiltrating airlines with radicalized pilots.

"Just because someone's a pilot doesn't mean they can't be radicalized, people from all walks of life could be radicalized. [Syrian dictator] Bashar al-Assad was a doctor, [Nazi war criminal] Josef Mengele was a doctor," she said.

Oded Ailam, a former deputy head of global operations for Israel's Mossad intelligence agency and now a researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, said it's likely Iran was able to radicalize the pilot passively without formally recruiting him via its vast array of anti-Israel propaganda online and in other venues.

He predicts airlines will install technology that lets crew access the cockpit in the case of a copycat attack.

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Qaeda: Kill US flyers

Al Qaeda publicly called for Americans on airplanes to be targeted in a vile post that referenced the 9/11 terror attacks while praising the Dubai flight hijacker — whose social media account shared photos of one of the terror group's leaders.

The threat appeared to come Friday from the latest edition of al-Bayan, a weekly publication launched in July by pro-al Qaeda supporters.

In an article, al Qaeda supporters from the Arabian Peninsula — which often refers to al Qaeda's Yemen branch — said in Arabic that the United States and Israel had more enemies than ever and called for their citizens to be targeted in airline attacks.

“Planes carrying Zionists, Americans . . . can be targeted, as happened on September 11th and 30th,” it threatened.

Gabrielle Fahmy, Geoff Earle

WAR ON TERROR

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'CREW'LY

By DAVID SPECTOR

Told FlyDubai

jet heroes to

free ‘hijacker’

The crew of the hijacked Fly-Dubai plane shockingly clashed with heroic Israeli passengers who subdued the ax-wielding copilot after he attacked the pilot — demanding he be freed, two men who helped secure the terror suspect told The Post in exclusive interviews.

“They were asking us to untie the terrorist — we had no idea why,” said banking executive Tzvika Manes, one of the three civilians who took down the would-be hijacker.

“They were saying to free the terrorist — we got instantly suspicious of them,” said real estate professional Daniel Schlichter, who was sitting in the second row, close to the cockpit.

Manes, 40, was traveling with his wife and three daughters, aged 11, 7, and 6, after a family vacation in Japan, when the co-pilot, identified by The Wall Street Journal as Omani national Hamam al-Hammami, began hacking at the Indian pilot, Capt. Smit Machchhar, with a crash ax.

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'You are not God'

The seriously injured Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door. Manes, along with plumber Yaniv Hayoun and Asaf Rajuan, rushed to confront the attacker and overpowered him.

SCARS OF BATTLE: FlyDubai Capt. Smit Machchhar (left) and his 'attacker,' co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami (right), were both battered and bloody after al-Hammami's foiled 'hijacking' attempt.

Hayoun, a plumber, then managed to stabilize the nosediving plane using techniques he learned from the TV show “Air Disasters.”

But after the three Israelis subdued the pilot and restrained him face-down with his hands tied behind his back — first with zip ties, then using headphone wires that Schlichter gathered from passengers — some crew members began demanding that he be freed.

An argument ensued and the Israeli trio shot back that under no circumstances would the suspected terrorist be released.

“They said, ‘You are not God, you are not going to kill him,’” Manes recalled. “We didn’t want to kill him — we just wanted him not to kill us.”

Schlichter, 59, who was also returning from a vacation in Japan with his wife, and Manes both said that the Israelis even gave the wounded terrorist an oxygen mask.

“We wanted him to live so he could be investigated,” Schlichter said.

A power play ensued with the crewmembers insisting that they were in charge of the plane and needed to remain alone in the area directly in front of the cockpit.

The Israelis, fearing the crew could be involved in the pilot's plot, ordered the stewards to leave the cockpit area and to take seats in the middle of the plane.

“We told them, ‘Now the policy is we’re in charge and you do what we say,’ ” Manes said.

“We didn't know what to think — we were in a suspicious mode for every steward.”

A group of passengers, Schlichter among them, escorted the crew members to seats in the fifth or sixth row, away from the cockpit.

"We shouted at them and told them to sit down," said Schlichter, who has two children and two granddaughters.

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Crew not accused

The trio then enlisted a “big guy” to guard the cockpit and prevent anyone from entering, Manes said.

Reserve pilots seated on the back of the plane had at that point already entered the cockpit and taken over control of the aircraft.

After the crew was seated, they began to “understand that this was a special case,” Schlichter said, and they started tending to the traumatized passengers, providing them with blankets and water.

The crew has not been accused of conspiring with the blood-thirsty copilot.

When asked by The Post about the crew's behavior, FlyDubai

WAR ON TERROR

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OUTRAGEOUS!

HEROES: Banking executive Tzvika Manes (left) and real estate professional Daniel Schlichter (right) helped subdue their FlyDubai jet's "hijacking" co-pilot.

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MAGA hats off to lifesaver

Not all heroes wear capes — and this one is ready to put on his new MAGA hat.

President Trump gushed about FlyDubai hero Yaniv Hayoun Saturday, and declared “he can be my plumber” after his cockpit heroics thwarted an attempted terror attack.

The president released a video on his Truth Social ac-

said it could not comment on a matter under investigation.

“We remain fully committed to supporting the ongoing investigation and are in close coordination with the relevant government authorities and regulators,” it said in a statement.

"I stayed with the terrorist until count, where he proclaimed Hayoun a “Trump fan.”

“He’s my kind of guy,” Trump said. “He can be my plumber. He can be whatever he wants to be. What a job he did.”

The video contains clips of US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee's meeting with Hayoun and his gifting of a MAGA hat signed by Trump. Geoff Earle

we landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. After that I hugged my daughters and told them they were going to be OK and that they are heroes," Manes said.

The self-described “regular finance guy” never dreamed he would one day be the center of a movie-like life-or-death midair battle. His only thought was saving his family.

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'Fight or flight'

"When I heard my daughters crying ‘Father I don’t want to die’ — that was the trigger for me to run and fight. I wasn’t thinking of anything — it was just fight or flight," Manes said.

The co-pilot fought the three men viciously.

“Punches were flying, we were kicking him, we didn’t know if he still had his knife, we couldn’t see it,” Manes said. “None of us were fighters or heroes — we were just normal guys who wanted to save our families.”

“It was sounds you only hear in a movie,” Schlichter said.

Manes, the CEO of Barak Capital Underwriting, Israel's largest investment bank, said he has bruises all over his body.

"The G-Force was like something I never felt like in my life — it felt like everything was soaking. It was a crazy feeling," he said.

Schlichter said that he was fully prepared to die as the plane nos-edived 17,000 feet in moments.

“It was the longest minute I’ll ever have in my life — I remember everything. I remember clearly thinking about 9/11, then I thought about my children, my family, how awful it would be for them to hear what happened,” he said.

Both men said they were overwhelmed by the number of things that had to go right for everyone aboard to survive.

“Statistically this kind of miracle cannot be happening. The chance that each one of us especially would be on the same second where they had to be, I can't even fathom how unlikely it is,” Schlichter said.

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Cockpit attacker wielded an ax

The deranged FlyDubai co-pilot used a crash ax to stab the pilot and take control of the cockpit in an attempted “terrorist attack,” the United Arab Emirates prosecutor general revealed.

Hamam al-Hammami allegedly attacked pilot Smit Machchhar with the emergency crash ax, which is typically stored in the cockpit, Prosecutor General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said.

The 29-year-old Omani national was arrested after allegedly trying to hijack the Israel-bound flight on Wednesday in what the United Arab Emirates, which is leading the investigation, deemed an attempted terrorist attack.

The jet plunged 18,000 feet before heroic passengers subdued al-Hammami and took control of the plane. The plane made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia under the control of two backup pilots who were onboard.

Al-Hammami used to work for Oman Air, but was let go when radical ideology was found on his cell phone, according to sources.

All FlyDubai pilots undergo security screenings before flying and medical checks at least once a year, The Wall Street Journal reported.

First officers graduating to captain status must undergo in-house psychological checks, but it is not clear whether al-Hammami was subjected to a similar check, according to the outlet.

Shane Galvin, Wires

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[Parents of victim have ‘miracle’ son] 'Love' is the victor

By DOREE LEWAK

These parents were delivered a miracle scripted in heaven.

Nearly three years after Hamas terrorists abducted their son Almog on Oct. 7 and killed him in captivity 11 months later, Nira and Yigal Sarusi have welcomed a baby boy, thanks to a medical procedure made possible by eggs frozen a quarter-century ago, and what the grieving parents call divine intervention.

Lavi was born on Yom Kippur, just two weeks before the third anniversary of Israel's darkest day, when Hamas terrorists kidnapped his brother, then 26, from the Nova music festival.

Despite his own gunshot wounds, the civil engineering student stayed behind to help his injured girlfriend Shahar, who was later killed.

He planned to propose the following year.

"It's a true miracle," Yigal told The Post, adding that as life was cruelly stolen, new life can miraculously emerge — a testament that evil will not win.

“It’s all from God,” the 60-year-old said.

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Days of agony

The hope the Sarusis held for 331 agonizing days that their “hero” son would return home alive was dashed when Hamas executed Al-mog and five other hostages.

He, Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg Polin and four others were slain deep inside the bowels of Gaza in a Rafah tunnel in August 2024 just moments before the IDF was closing in to rescue them. They would become known as “The Beautiful Six.”

Haunting images of the inconsolable parents at Almog's funeral were seared into the soul of the country.

Courtesy of Amit Sarusi

While mourning their son, the oldest of four children, the Sarusis remembered eggs frozen some 25 years earlier as part of a medical procedure and, with the blessing of their remaining children, decided to pursue surrogacy.

But the Ra'anana-based couple kept their journey private.

“We didn’t talk about it because we didn’t know if it would succeed,” Yigal said, noting they endured a few failed rounds. “But he’s 100% ours.”

NEW LIFE: Yigal Sarusi (right) welcomes baby Lavi, which means Lion in Hebrew, after mourning the loss of his son Almog (left) who was executed by Hamas after Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist slaughter in Israel.

Lavi is “lion” in Hebrew, and that’s exactly what this miracle child represents for the beaming

parents.

“He’s the future of Israel,” Yigal said. “I want all of Israel to love this kid.”

Between diaper changes and night feedings, starting over again at 58 and 60 isn't easy, but it's priceless.

“We knew this moment would feel good. But it’s even better than we imagined,” declared Yigal, who noted that Lavi bears a resemblance to his late brother.

"We're insisting life goes on,"

said a defiant Yigal.

“It’s pure joy that we have a new son. The heart is getting full.”

Yigal hopes his baby boy will embody the values of Almog — a “brave, strong, optimistic” young man who volunteered to tutor children and shopped for the needy on holidays. And he was never without his two favorite possessions, his guitar and white Jeep.

“We teach his values. We are all Almog now.”

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Singer takes a swipe at Israel

Country singer Zach Bryan wore a “Free Palestine” shirt during his concert at Robert Kraft’s Gillette Stadium on Friday night, one month after the Jewish NFL owner barred rapper Macklemore over his anti-Israel rant.

Bryan, 30, donned a black T-shirt emblazoned with white 3D lettering that read “FREE PALESTINE” as he took the stage for his sold-out show in Foxborough, Mass., Friday night.

A picture of a pine tree sat below, dividing it from the remainder of the message that read “AN APPEAL TO HEAVEN.”

A “Pine Tree” flag and “Appeal to Heaven” are references to an American Revolutionary campaign connected to George Washington’s command of the Continental Army.

"Some American colonists embraced the idea that God could be summoned to help them defend their natural rights," the National Park Service said about the flag and slogan.

The “Revival” singer wasn’t alone as several of his band members also wore Palestine-branded clothing.

Guitarist Noah Le Gros wore a green Palestine soccer jersey onstage alongside Bryan.

Nicholas McEntyre

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'Windowsill baby' symbol of hope

Ten-day-old Kai Labban was the newest and tiniest star of Kibbutz Nirim, an idyllic cooperative oasis one mile from the Gaza border, when a nightmare shattered the community's world on Oct. 7, 2023.

New parents Aimee and Uriel Labban were blissfully doting on their newborn boy when Hamas terrorists stormed their home and set it ablaze, trying to smoke out everyone inside.

The Labbans' sole focus was to save their precious, eight-pound, black-haired newborn, so they scrambled to their bedroom's safe room and placed the tyke in the crevice of a windowsill.

“I took the photo. I thought that if we don’t survive, at least the world will know we did our best to try,” recalled Aimee, who shared the image in real time with family abroad — who then sent it to the media.

Kai's windowsill picture was already circulating around the world after extended family posted the heartbreaking image, which would go on to become an international symbol of hope as Kai became known as the youngest survivor of the attacks.

“We just tried to keep him alive,” Aimee, 33, told The Post on the near third anniversary of the savage attack that murdered 1,200.

As the heart-wrenching image went viral, support poured in from around the world. Doree Lewak

Courtesy of the Labban family

MIRACLE BABY: Kai Labban was 10 days old when he was put in a windowsill to protect him from the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023 (left). He recently celebrated his third birthday inside the kibbutz (right).

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Sticking its two necks out

No, you're not seeing double!

A rare two-headed baby turtle was found at a protected nesting site on Cape Cod in Massachusetts last month — and is miraculously surviving against the odds.

The tiny diamondback terrapin hatchling, which weighs as much as a nickel, has bicephaly, a rare developmental anomaly, the Cape Wildlife Center shared on Facebook.

The pint-sized turtle was brought to the wildlife center by the Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary to be closely monitored and cared for.

Bicephaly — where an animal is born with two functioning heads on one single body — is typically caused by the incomplete splitting of a single embryo during the formation of identical twins, according to Live Science.

The team at Cape Wildlife Center said it has seen only two other bicephalic cases in the last five years — making the double-headed baby turtle “especially rare.”

“While we’ve encountered this unusual condition before, every case gives us another opportunity to learn more about these fascinating animals’ anatomy and physiology,” the center wrote. Ella Morrison

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Slay rap on Tenn. teens

Four teens were busted in connection to a drive-by shooting that killed a Tennessee high schooler after a football game in August.

The arrests came six weeks after Cameron Frierson, 16, was fatally shot in front of his younger brother after the two boys attended a football game in Nashville, police said.

Jon'quavous Johns-Collins, 18, Marcelle Stem Jr., 17, Lil Tay Webster, 17, and Zachkeius Brown, 16, were each charged with homicide. The four teens were inside of a vehicle from which "multiple shots were fired" the night of the killing, cops said. Ella Morrison

DEBRIS FOUND

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Hope is lost for missing med jet

GRIM SEARCH: Coast Guard choppers led the search.

By SHANE GALVIN and DANIEL CODY

Debris from an air ambulance that mysteriously vanished early Saturday in the waters off Nantucket has been discovered floating in the ocean, the US Coast Guard confirmed.

Six people were aboard the Boston-bound medical transport plane that lost contact with the Federal Aviation Administration before it was scheduled to land at 1:25 a.m., according to the USCG and FlightAware.

The pilot of the The Gulfstream G100, which left Bermuda's L.F. Wade International Airport Saturday at 12:41 a.m., declared an emergency about five minutes later, according to a copy of the radio transmission obtained by LiveATC.net.

“You're coming in blind. Is that what you said?” the air traffic controller asked, seemingly struggling to understand the pilot, whose response was inaudible.

"You're coming in a little weak so I didn't hear what your response was, if you were de-"

"claring an emergency or not," the controller said — and confirmed that the pilot was declaring an emergency.

The controller was later heard asking the pilot of a separate plane if the medical aircraft was visible on its anti-collision system, and the pilot said it was not.

The flight plummeted from 24,000 feet to 11,000 feet in roughly three minutes starting at about 1:04 a.m., before stabilizing at 11,000 feet, according to FlightAware data.

A Massport Fire Rescue dispatcher asked emergency crews at 1:12 a.m. to get ready for a plane with an “electrical issue” to land at Logan International Airport in about 15 minutes, according to radio audio captured by Broadcastify and reviewed by The Boston Globe.

"The aircraft has lost radio and radar," the dispatcher said of the plane.

Crews from the Boston-based Coast Guard cutter William Snarling rushed to the

scene off the coast of Massachusetts and were sifting through wreckage to identify parts of the downed aircraft, a USCG spokesperson told The Post Saturday evening.

Four Canadians —

two medical personnel and two pilots — and two Bermuda natives, a patient and their relative, were onboard the aircraft, Latitude Air Ambulance, the company operating the flight, told The Canadian Press.

The US Coast Guard identifies victims or missing people 24 hours after next of kin are notified, according to an agency spokesperson.

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20M getting \$90 in M'care aid: prez

President Trump announced Friday that over 20 million “wonderful seniors” will receive \$90 checks this month to help cover Medicare premiums.

Eligible Medicare Part B enrollees will receive the one-time payment via direct deposit or check thanks to the Medicare Improvement Fund that was established in

2008, according to the White House.

Trump called the fund “a pointless ‘Slush Fund’ that has only been used by Democrats in Congress to pay for the Waste, Fraud, and Abuse for their Special Interest friends, and drive up Healthcare costs.

“We are finally using this Fund ... to substantially

LOWER costs for our Seniors," he said in a Truth Social post. However, those whose premiums are already paid by Medicaid or who pay an Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount do not qualify.

Trump's pledge to seniors Friday night comes off the back of his administration's announcement of \$500 checks for about 950,000 Obamacare enrollees, premised on the Biden administration's alleged overcharge of user fees to health insurance companies, which in turn charged consumers higher rates.

The president clarified the \$90 payments are “separate from the equally substantial Refund ‘Checks’ we are sending to One Million Americans who were overcharged for their Unaffordable Care Act plans by Joe Biden.”

"The American People . . . can also rest assured the . . . \$5,000 Trump Dividend will be distributed to every US citizen if, and when, the Republicans win the Midterm Elections!" he added.

Ella Morrison

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The nosy. reservoir dogs of NY

NYC Env. Protection; adobe stock

H2O protectors

By ANDREW BALABAN

The Big Apple's water supply has a new best friend.

A team of dogs is helping protect New York City's drinking water supply by sniffing out invasive zebra mussels at two Westchester County reservoirs, Titicus and Cross River.

“Conservation dogs are a new tool in DEP’s toolbox for safeguarding New York City’s drinking water, underscoring the agency’s commitment to maintaining the nation’s largest unfiltered supply,” a spokesperson for the city’s Department of Environmental Protection told The Post.

The hounds are trained on 14 invasive species and live full time with their dedicated handlers who receive stipends from the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference.

According to the state Department of Environmental Conservation, a dogs' sense of smell can be 100,000 times more sensitive than humans', and they can search for species "nearly impossible to locate with traditional survey methods."

Zebra mussels (inset) can clog pipes and alter water chemistry. They reproduce quickly in underwater infrastructure and are tough to find once they take hold, the

National Park Service said.

Peat, a Labrador who lives in Newburgh with program leader Arden Blumenthal, is trained specifically on zebra mussels and was chosen as the reservoir scout to sniff around boat launches, storage areas and shorelines.

"He is just a typical boy. He's sweet and goofy when it's not work time," Blumenthal said. "He loves a belly rub, but he's also a seriously persistent workaholic."

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New effort

The pup plan began last March, when the DEC awarded a \$400,000 contract to the trail conference for “dog services” to detect, delineate and manage invasive species.

In September, New York City's Department of Environmental Protection partnered with the state to search New York's reservoirs for zebra mussels.

So far, three candidates — Peat (above), another Labrador and a Australian cattle dog — have been trained to serve as the state's Dogs for Invasive Species Control and have surveyed for invasive species across New York's parks and waterways.

The trail conference has plans to add a fourth dog to its pack.

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T. Swift's cheesy new music

By ALYSON KRUEGER

AYLOR Swift got her fairytale ending, but for many fans, the love affair is over.

Last Sunday, the 36-year-old, newlywedded

pop icon made history at the MTV VMAs as the most-awarded artist in the show's history, but Swifties could only muster so much enthusiasm for the milestone.

Two days prior, Swift released “The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore,” a four-track addition to her 12th studio album which came out last October. But the new songs — “Patient Zero,” “Cleveland!,” “Pink Clouding,” and “Babylon” — were mostly met with derision, not delight.

“Verses evoke ‘Baby Shark’ with blocky melodies that overly emphasize each rhyming syllable,” wrote Spencer Kornhaber in The Atlantic. “Her lyrics, usually laden with double and triple meanings, invite little extended analysis.”

NOT 'ENCHANTED': Last week, Taylor Swift released four new songs as an "Encore" to her last album and set a VMAs record, but Swifties and critics had little praise for her.

“Taylor Swift needs an intervention,” commentator Link Lauren declared on TikTok. “These songs were so bad

they would not make the cut for a playlist at Forever 21. The mall would not play these songs."

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Boring love songs

“Cleveland!” — an ode to Swift’s new husband Travis Kelce with lyrics like “The taste of me is acquired, but it’s his favorite dish” — was declared especially cringeworthy. This, on top of last year’s unsubtle ode to Kelce’s manhood, “Wood.”

“She cares more about how the world sees them together than how she sees him.” wrote Poppie Platt in the Telegraph. “This is miles away from the sensitive songwriter who, while dating English actor Joe Alwyn between 2016 and 2023, wrote some of 21st century pop’s most intensely

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and newlywedded bliss are turning off fans

romantic love songs."

The new tracks, coupled with the fact that Swift has yet to release wedding photos from her July 3 wedding, have longtime fans questioning their loyalty — and if her best music is behind her. What does happily ever after mean for a musician who built an empire chronicling bad breakups, girlish crushes and revenge fantasies?

"All the music sounds like AI. There's no heart or soul in it," said a 30-year-old public relations executive in New York City, who asked to remain anonymous and has listened to the singer religiously since she was 12. "I feel like she's gotten lazy with her music, because all the songs sound very familiar."

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Cash grabs

Still, on paper Swift has never been bigger.

When it came out last fall, “The Life of a Showgirl” sold more than 4 million copies in its first week. In addition to her record 33 VMAs, she’s got 14 Grammys to her name.

Yet, while there are some fans who will like anything Swift does, the p.r. exec says that they deserve better.

"[We] have to hold people accountable to good music. Like, she has the best producer in the world and she has an incredible team around her, so why is she missing the mark? Has she got-

ten lazy, or is it a commercial thing, like she just wants to pump it out?" the exec said.

Kristiane Westray, a 38-year-old writer who lives in Brighton, England, says that Swift's business savvy has gone too far and detracted from her artistry.

"There were like 30 different variants of 'Mid-nights,' and the same for 'The Life of a Showgirl,' and it's obviously being done to drive sales," she said.

In its release week, "Showgirl" came in 27 physical editions — 16 CDs, eight vinyl records, two deluxe CDs bundled with clothing and a cassette — along

with 11 digital versions.

Westray was born in 1988, about a year before Swift, so in her 20s she related deeply to Swift's songs about heartbreak, dreams and friendship.

Everything changed when she went to the Eras tour at Wembley Stadium in London. The tour ran from 2023 to 2024 and became the first in history to gross more than \$2 billion.

HAND UP: Swift pointed at her ring after Kelce scored in a game.

Westray said she looked around the stadium and felt there was something too mass-market about what she was seeing. “I was like, ‘This just doesn’t feel authentic.’ I mean, she’s literally a billionaire now. Our lives are so different, so what have I got to relate to?” she said.

She also questioned if Swift has made good use of her good use of her sizeable platform, compared to slightly edgier ri-

vals like Olivia Rodrigo and Charli XCX. Rodrigo recently launched Daisy Chain Fields, an all-women, nonprofit music festival in Irvine, Calif., that donated proceeds to worthy causes.

Charli XCX is famed for bringing lesser known female artists on-stage at her shows.

“What has Taylor done?” Westray asked. “I know that she donates to charities, but the amount she donates is so small compared to her income, it’s like me donating 50 cents. I want her to really do something good for the world."

Instead, Swift shut down New York City streets on a holiday weekend for her July 3 wedding to Kelce, a sports arena spectacle that included a laundry list of celebrity guests — Tom Cruise, Ed Sheeran, Hugh Grant, Dakota Johnson, Zoë Kravitz and many more — along with a castle theme and raffled off luxury items.

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‘Humiliation ritual’

With so much fanfare, people expected pictures, and they've gotten nothing.

“Taylor Swift is subjecting fans to a humiliation ritual,” said one TikTok video. “She wanted people to make fools of themselves, humiliating themselves, desperate for any crumbs of what they could get out of her wedding . . . and yet she would give them nothing of substance, and then she would invite all these celebrities who she doesn't even know, they are not friends of hers, in order to be like, see, I am above you . . . You are the working class, and the only function that you serve in my life is to buy more variants of my albums."

Critics say that celebs who have less splashy, more off-the-radar nuptials — say Tom Holland and Zendaya — are fine to keep things under wraps. But, if you get married in the middle of a city, use public resources and fill the room with some of the most famous faces of the day, the public expects something.

"I am someone who defends Taylor Swift. I always have. I don't like it when people dunk on her for any reason," said another user on TikTok. "If you're going to have a wedding at Madison Square Garden, you're going to have the big wedding and invite all these people in a really public place, and you know your fans just really want to see that fairy tale moment where you marry Travis. To keep that from them I think is cruel.”

There have also been questions about how Swift behaves in the stands at Kelce's games, which some find increasingly contrived. Last month, when the Kansas City Chiefs played the Indianapolis Colts at Arrowhead Stadium and Kelce caught a 13-yard touchdown, she eagerly pointed at her wedding ring.

"I have found myself feeling nostalgic and saddened at times as I remember the way she 'used to be,' with her fans," Britton Rae, 27, a Nashville-based content creator and author, told The Post. "She is more guarded, polished, and protected from the outside world which, unfortunately, includes us fans right alongside her haters."

Westray put it more succinctly. "I am so disappointed in her," she said. "She has broken my heart."

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HAVING A BALL!

By ANGELA BARBUTI

Courtesy of Alley Cabral

They're in a league of their own. The 3,000 women of Bombshell Baseball Club take game days very seriously — and if they can't make it to the stadium, they're dissecting games live in their huge group chat.

“Every single at-bat, every out, is being talked about in that moment,” founder Alley Cabral told The Post.

"When the game is on, we are all talking baseball, but then it goes into girls' families and their marriages and relationship stuff."

Cabral, 29, a Bronx native, actually quit her corporate job this year to run the club for female fans of Major League Baseball, which she launched via Twitter in October 2024.

Back then, she named it Bronx Bombshells, intending it to be for diehard Yankees fans like herself.

"As a Dominican-American, baseball is my identity. So it was something that I had with my family and my boyfriend, but I didn't have any girlfriends that actually enjoyed it. And I realized that if I'm feeling alone in this, there has to be other people that are," said Cabral.

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Better together

Within a year, she expanded the group to female fans of any MLB team and changed the name to Bombshell Baseball Club.

Now, the ladies are having a ball during the playoffs — especially local Yankees fans, as the team advanced to the ALDS.

“Post-season baseball is my favorite time of the year. It’s when you get to see 162 games worth of fandom hopefully pay off and experience it with the people you love the most,” said Erica Fisher of New Jersey, who has been a member since 2025.

Soon after Cabral started the then-Twitter group, members began encouraging her to organize in-person meetups.

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When ‘diamonds’ are 3,000 girls’ best friend

The first one was at Yankee Stadium in April 2025, when eight girls showed up.

In August, 230 women showed up for a Yankees hat event.

“They talk every single day . . . so they literally act like they’ve known each other for years. So, you hear screaming, shrieking, picture taking. Everyone’s running around,” Cabral said.

“Game days are crazy in the best way possible. Because just imagine 30, 40, 50 girls, all congregating in a section.”

In June of 2025, Cabral launched an official online chat for Yankees fans and, by August, added sub-

IT'S A HIT: Alley Cabral, a mega Yankees fan (above), created a club for women baseball fans that has exploded in popularity, including a big gathering recently at the Stadium.

channels, so now each team in the major leagues has its own.

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Open to all

“So any girl that’s a fan of any team can join and find girls that actually like that team too,” she explained.

“And then we have a main chat where all the girls just talk random stuff.”

Of course, some of the chatter involves swooning over players.

"I think we all have crushes on the players, that's just how it goes," she said.

As the club grew it became “a full-fledged business,” Cabral said.

"The way we have income is through revenue from our events and membership. So people have the option to do a free membership, but if they want discounts to events, they have the option to purchase a membership."

And what will happen when Yankees and Red Sox fans get together?

“We have a strict ‘no fighting’ rule in our group,” Cabral said.

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Life of a no-show girl at 'Le Bern'

There is a “Blank Space” in this world-famous dining room.

Although countless celebrities have wined and dined at Le Bernardin, there's one A-lister who hasn't sampled the French seafood the three Michelin-starred restaurant is known for — Taylor Swift.

“No, she never came,” Chef Eric Ripert told The Post. “Maybe if she reads the article, she will be inspired to come here.”

The famed restaurateur revealed the notable names that have graced the star-studded reservation book at the Midtown mainstay on West 51st Street — and the star of “An Officer and a Gentleman” was the first to come to mind.

“Richard Gere likes to eat a lot at Le Bernardin and when he’s in town, always visiting us and it’s always a pleasure to feed him and speak to him a little bit,” Ripert, 61, said.

Ripert, who started at Le Bernardin in 1991 as chef de cuisine and is now its executive chef and co-owner, has also cooked for Jay-Z and Beyoncé as well as John Legend — and another superstar singer.

“Mick Jagger comes to Le Bernardin when he is in town and he’s friends with my business partner, so he’s always at ease and happy,” he added.

The celebrity chef said he doesn't whip up anything special for VIPs, and in his 46-year career, he's never been nervous about cooking for famous faces.

Angela Barbuti

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Spirit of Lord, or hunger, moved him

A salvation-seeking raccoon tried to attend a special Mass at a Catholic Church in Greenwich Village.

The varmint heard the calling at St. Joseph's Church on Sept. 25, calmly walking up the candle-lit steps and through the front doors of the gorgeous place of worship on Sixth Avenue and Washington Place, video released by the church shows.

As he passed through the door, the masked bandit sniffed around the foyer, presumably for some food, but was quickly spotted by the Rev. Jonah Teller, the footage shows.

The quick-footed pastor closed in on the raccoon, cutting off its path and directing it out the door.

It then scampered down the steps and up Sixth Avenue, shocking passersby — “I’ve never seen one of those in the city before!” shouted one.

The critter could have been drawn by the entrancing candle-light of the “Night Fire” Mass, which the 1833-constructed church holds four times a year.

The visitation came a week before the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, which is commemorated with the Blessing of the Animals.

"I don't know if his spirit is walking in behind the raccoon, but it's a great reminder of St. Francis and of God," Teller told The Post, adding that he hopes the critter does not return. Shane Galvin

Getty Images

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Michael Goodwin

mgoodwin@nypost.com

ALTHOUGH he wrote and has lived his life by the “Art of the Deal,” Donald Trump faces a giant hurdle in trying to persuade voters to keep his party in control of Washington.

Over the next month, he must successfully sell the idea that his presidency has been a big success, and that he needs a Republican congress to help him finish the job.

Midterm elections commonly spell trouble for the occupant of the White House, but Trump's challenge is far from ordinary.

With his personal popularity sagging and his party a decided underdog in swing districts and states, the president must move mountains of voters and do it quickly.

Election Day on Nov. 3 is approaching on the fast track, and the urgency is compounded because nearly all states allow some form of early voting.

Showing that he realizes his political life and legacy are on the line, the president plans to spend most of October barnstorming America, with reports saying he aims to visit at least 10 states.

The scale of the challenge is indicated by the fact that his first stops were in Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama — states that are usually reliably red, but are not yet secured this year.

The extended tour is unusual, but Trump has little choice. With polls and betting markets predicting Dems will win majorities in both the House and Senate, the president's final two years in office will be the stuff of nightmares unless he can engineer a stunning comeback.

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Don's opening to close midterms

Otherwise, we know what the template of failure looks like — the second half of his first term. After Dems won a House majority in 2018 and made Nancy Pelosi Speaker, she orchestrated investigations of nearly every breath the president took and every dollar he spent.

Thanks to the help of leftist partisans carrying media credentials and a corrupt deep state, she turned the Russia-gate hoax into an impeachment farce.

A similar fate would be certain to befall the president again, with Dems now largely running on a “Get Trump” platform. Under the sway of burn-it-down radicals, their agenda ranges from more impeachment to imposing sky-high taxes on families and businesses, demonizing Israel and reopening borders to all comers.

Trump knows as much, but his schedule shows he believes voters can be persuaded that he and the

GOP congress have earned the right to stay the course.

In important ways, the president has a strong case, but the success of his travels and rallies will depend on how persuasively he makes that case.

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Messaging trap

With the Real Clear Politics average of polls showing he has an approval rating of just 38%, compared with 60% disapproval, he faces a steep climb.

Inflation is still driving up prices, and most Americans are giving Trump poor grades on the economy. Majorities are also tired of the war in Iran, so how the president makes his final pitch could be the deciding factor in November.

One hurdle is that he has fallen into the trap of telling people how great everything is when their day-to-day experiences, especially when it comes to rising prices, are telling them something very different.

The message that all is well was a bust when Joe Biden and Kamala Harris tried it in 2024, and it's not working any better for Trump.

One factor is the president's habit of premature declarations of victory, over both inflation and Iran. An alternative approach, even at this late hour, would be to acknowledge public concerns and explain why he believes he and a GOP congress will achieve widely beneficial victories.

To judge from comments he made at the White House on Thursday, the president is not yet ready to go there.

"I give us an A+ on the government, on economics, on everything" he said, according to Politico. An AP-NORC poll found just $26\%$ approve of his handling of the economy, with a mere $17\%$ happy with how he has managed the cost of living.

More alarming, a whopping 65% told pollsters White House policies are contributing to price hikes on everyday goods.

Countering that sentiment is difficult, but it is essential to highlight economic success stories. The Census Bureau reports that median household income is the highest on record at \$87,400.

---

Working class key

Similarly, The Wall Street Journal reports that the 4.2% unemployment rate is “at a historically low level that indicates the labor market remains generally healthy.”

Stock markets have soared as many businesses have reported record earnings, with the S&P 500 gaining $37\%$ since Trump's reelection.

Weaving these accomplishments together while also recognizing that many families feel left out is difficult, but the effort is essential. Charting when and why the tide will change and lift all boats would give voters concrete reasons to stick with the team in place.

Railing against the polls as being biased won't work, nor will boasts that the nation is living in a golden age of peace and prosperity.

Ditto for promoting grand Washington construction projects, whether it be an expanded White House ballroom or an Arch of Triumph armed with snipers and drones.

They are not likely to win over disillusioned voters, especially those troubled by Trump family members taking financial advantage of the presidency.

As for Iran, many Americans no doubt forget his patient efforts to negotiate a treaty for the mullahs to voluntarily give up their nuclear weapons project.

The regime's refusal to even consider the idea led to the US and Israeli attacks that, I continue to believe, were fully justified.

Also absent so far in the president's election-year pitch is the working-class appeal that lifted him to a smashing victory over Harris two years ago.

Those appeals were the heart of his campaign, just as they were in his shocking upset win over Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Two October events in the '24 race still stand out as hilarious and wildly effective. In the first, Trump spent 30 minutes working in a McDonald's outside Philadelphia. He wore a store apron over his suit and learned how to prepare french fries and handed bags of them to cars from a drive-through window.

Ten days later, in Green Bay, Wis., he got off his plane and climbed into the passenger seat of a large garbage truck that featured his name.

Sporting a yellow and orange safety vest over a white shirt, Trump asked reporters, "How do you like my garbage truck?"

It came just one day after Biden had said something to the effect that all Trump supporters were garbage.

Point made!

Both events were hailed because they were funny, as well as consistent with his pitch to working-class Americans.

It's not a coincidence that he carried both Wisconsin and Pennsylvania that November, along with five other swing states.

His challenge now is to help his party do it all again.

By RICH CALDER

Radical US Senate candidate James Talarico of Texas held a Big Apple fundraiser hosted by leaders of a group that supports gender surgery and transition drugs for minors — weeks after insisting he opposes the controversial practices.

In a Sept. 8 Fox News interview, the Democratic state legislator facing Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a critical November race said he'd vote in favor of a national ban on gender surgery for minors if elected to the Senate.

And the 37-year-old also claimed he's “been consistent on this issue,” adding that his earlier opposition to a Texas bill to ban transgender surgeries on minors was simply because the measure “was overly broad.”

Yet Talarico's Tuesday Greenwich Village fundraiser was hosted by three people who serve on the boards of the Human Rights Campaign or its foundation — an organization that advocates access to what it calls “gender-affirming care” for transgender minors, according to TexasScoreCard.com.

---

LGBTQ lobbying

The reception's hosts included Morgan Cox, who sits on the HRC's board of directors; author Andrew Solomon, who serves on the HRC Foundation Board of Directors; and former US Ambassador to Spain James Costos, who sits on both the HRC and its foundation boards, according to an event flyer.

ELECTION 2026

---

A change of heart? TALARICO

\* FOR TEXAS \*

Donate to Talarico Victory Fund

SAVE THE DATE

FOR A RECEPTION IN SUPPORT OF

JAMES TALARICO

CANDIDATE FOR U.S. SENATE

GEORGE SOLOMON,

ANDREW SOLOMON & JOHN HABICH,

AMB. JAMES COSTOS & MICHAEL S. SMITH,

MORGAN COX & DERRALL HILL,

DONNI & MIKE HALVORSON, ETHAN HAWKE,

MIHAIL LARI, LAUREN & LENNY STERN

(HOST COMMITTEE IN FORMATION)

TUESDAY,

SEPTEMBER 29TH

5:30PM

GREENWICH VILLAGE,

NEW YORK, NY

(LOCATION PROVIDED

24 HRS IN ADVANCE)

SUGGESTED CONTRIBUTIONS

Champion \$13,500 ★ Host \$5,000 ★ Co-Host \$3,500

Individual \$1,000

WHAT THE FUND? A group that supports and transitions for minors held a fundraiser for James Talarico (top) in his race against Ken Paxton.

KEEP OUT!

Whether Republicans retain control of the House or not, Rep. Tim Burchett (above) plans to block Darializa Avila Chevalier from taking her seat if she wins.

---

Talarico ‘trans’ twist

The HRC is the nation's largest LGBTQ political lobbying group.

In a guide published by its foundation, the organization notes puberty-blocking drugs can be given to adolescents and that “some trans youth may benefit from gender-affirming surgery, which is rarely an option under the age of 17.”

The guide also offers a chart detailing what the HRC calls the “Common Steps in Gender Transition.” It lists puberty blockers for “early- to mid-adolescents” and cross-sex hormone therapy, including testosterone for biological females and estrogen with an androgen inhibitor for biological males.

Tickets to Talarico's fundraiser ranged from \$1,000 for an individual ticket to \$13,500 for "Champion" level entry, according to the event listing.

Talarico pocketing checks at the fundraiser thrown by HRC honchos — while publicly distancing himself from gender surgery for minors — is one of his many U-turns, critics said.

“James Talarico will say anything to get elected; he will change his positions depending on who’s in the room,” claimed Paxton campaign spokeswoman Madison Cercy.

---

Flip-flop

“No matter how much flip-flopping he may do, he will remain a radical Democrat who wrote a bill to eliminate the oil and gas industry, fought for passing a state income tax, and the moment he’s sworn in, he’ll begin pushing his radical trans agenda once again, Cercy added.

“Most Texans believe protecting kids isn’t up for negotiation, and it certainly isn’t for sale at a Manhattan fundraiser.”

Zach Kraft, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, agreed: "It is hard to keep track of what James Talarico claims to believe given that he flip flops" regularly.

"If you want to know how he will vote in the Senate, look at his record in the Legislature where he voted for taxpayer-funded sex changes for kids of any age and to allow men in women's sports," Kraft added.

In 2023, as a member of the Texas House of Representatives, Talarico voted against a bill that ultimately became law, which prohibited gender surgery, puberty blockers and hormone treatments for minors.

Two years earlier, he agitated his conservative constituents by claiming on the Texas House floor that under his interpretation of the Bible “God is non-binary” and “both masculine and feminine and everything in between.”

He also repeatedly voted against bills requiring athletes to compete by biological sex.

Talarico's campaign did not return messages.

---

GOPer planning

By GEOFF EARLE

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) plans to try to block Democratic nominee and New York socialist Darializa Avila Chevalier from taking her seat in Congress if she wins the Nov. 3 election — over her saying she used the American flag as a napkin.

Burchett told The Post he intends to make the unusual parliamentary move when the new Congress convenes in January — using a simple majority to prevent newly elected lawmakers from being seated before they take the oath of office.

“You take an oath to uphold the Constitution, and you’re pretty much disavowing it right there. I just think we’ve lost our compass,” he said in an interview.

He cited the Chevalier's incendiary flag comment, which he called an affront to his own family's military service. His father was a World War II Marine, while his dad's brother served on a Navy destroyer.

But it is the memory of his maternal uncle — and a family heirloom — that most deeply connects Burchett to the flag.

"I'm looking at a 48-star flag that hung on my uncle's casket and [he] died fighting the Nazis, and then see somebody going to get elected to Congress in New York who said they use that flag for a napkin," he said. "I thought, man, that same dadgum flag hung on my uncle's casket. It's the same flag that men and women fought and died for to free the slaves, and that's what they're using as a napkin.

---

'Get some guts'

"If we vote to seat them, is one Democrat going to say no? I'm not going to vote to seat those people. Are they gonna say anything? Democrats died for this country as well as Republicans did."

The threat by Burchett, who flew with President Trump on Air Force One last week to Tennessee, is an early sign of the intense partisan clashes set to flare at the start of a new Congress, where Democrats are poised to make gains and a cadre of left-

REUTERS

---

move to keep NY pol out if elected

wing lawmakers including Chevalier are set to yank the party to the left after winning safe-seat primaries.

Burchett said he would make the motion whether Republicans retain control of the House or become the minority party. “I think the Democrat Party needs to . . . get some guts, and get their rudder back for the working people,” he fumed.

Burchett's uncle on his mother's side, Roy Hicks, was wounded shortly after D-Day battling German forces in the bloody earthen embankments near Normandy known as the hedgerows. Burchett still has his uncle's Purple Heart and keeps the flag that covered Hicks' coffin in his Knoxville congressional office.

Contested elections “can muck up the legislative process and take time away from real governing,” said Dr. Jeffery Jenkins, a political scientist at the University of Southern California Price School of Public Policy.

There have been more than 600 contested elections in the nation's history, but they haven't been

PATRIOT: Burchett kept the 48-star American flag (below) that once hung on the grave of his uncle Thomas R.

Hicks (above), who "died fighting Nazis."

“truly meaningful” since the turn of the 20th century,” he said.

“That said, the last decade or so has made me wonder if we’re in a ‘new normal’ for what’s possible. And that might include turning back the clock to strategies the parties used a century ago.”

Chevalier — who will face Republican Jomo M. Williams in the general election — made the controversial comment in a 2019 Twitter post that has since been deleted: “I forgot to get napkins so I just wiped my hand on the American flag behind me.”

Chevalier, who upended Rep. Adriano Espaillat in the primary for the 13th Congressional District, which covers northern Manhattan and the western Bronx, later said she regretted the comment.

It was just one flashpoint in the Mamdani-backed socialist's history of controversy.

---

AOC 'A-OK'

She took part in the 2024 campus takeover at Columbia University and was a key player in an anti-Israel group that once said it was “fighting for the total eradication of Western civilization.”

She attended an anti-Israel rally the day after the horrific Hamas Oct. 7 attack in Israel. In an online post during the 2020 election, she called the US a “f--king disgrace” and called President Joe Biden a “war criminal.”

On Jan. 3, 2027, she will become a new member of Congress — but not if Burchett can help it.

The Constitution states “Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns and qualifications of its own Members,” and there have been contentious floor fights over seating lawmakers.

Rep. Adam Clayton Powell (D-NY) was excluded from representing his Harlem-based district in 1967 — and the Supreme Court ultimately ruled in 1969 that the House had exceeded its authority by excluding him after he had been duly elected and met the constitutional qualifications for office.

Without any election irregularities or constitutional qualifications issues to point to, Burchett's effort is an uphill battle.

"If we refused to seat folks in Congress who said things that we strongly disagreed with, nobody in the House would be seated," said GOP operative John Feehery, a former senior House leadership aide.

Despite his fury at Chevalier, Burchett has much warmer feelings for the original “Squad” member, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). He called AOC “my buddy” and has endearingly referred to her as a “friendly neighborhood Marxist.”

---

Dems up in Sen. races: polls

The nation's two largest states by land area gave Democrats a boost in the battle for Senate control Saturday, with candidates in Texas and Alaska hitting $50\%$ or more in new polls.

Both races would represent pickups if Democrats are able to hold on and win on Nov. 3, which is just a month away.

In Texas, Democratic state Rep. James Talarico leads Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, 51% to 45%, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll released Saturday. President Trump's approval rating in the state stands at 40%, compared with 57% who disapprove.

The poll, which examined five Republican-held Senate seats, gives Talarico a six-point advantage, just outside the poll's 4.5-percentage-point margin of error and roughly double his edge in the RealClearPolitics polling average in the Republican-leaning state. A Marist College poll last week also put Talarico ahead by six points.

In Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola leads Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, 50% to 43% — a seven-point advantage that exceeds the poll's margin of error.

The poll also found former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown leading Republican Sen. Jon Husted in Ohio, 49% to 46%, in a survey released hours before Trump was set to visit the state to boost Husted, who was appointed to fill the seat vacated by Vice President JD Vance.

In Iowa, where there is an open seat, Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) edges Democrat Josh Turk 48-47, in a state Trump carried with $56\%$ of the vote in 2024. And in Kansas, which hasn't sent a Democrat to the Senate in a century, Sen. Roger Marshall was in a tie, 45-45, with Democrat Adam Hamilton.

Geoff Earle

AP Photo; Reuters; Fordham School of Law

2nd STAB AT IT?

---

2nd Another execute attempt in limbo

By ALEX DIAZ

Christa Pike could still be executed after surviving two botched attempts if she recovers and is able to understand the punishment, experts revealed.

The convicted murderer, 50, was set to become the first woman put to death in Tennessee for over 200 years Wednesday, but survived the lethal injections administered to her and is now being given life-saving care in the hospital while remaining unconscious and in critical condition.

“She can’t be executed if she is brain injured and doesn’t understand the proceedings,” Professor Deborah Denno of the Fordham School of Law told The Post.

"The United States Supreme Court recognized in a case involving a dementia patient in 2019 that you can't execute someone who's not aware of the punishment that they're going to receive."

But Denno explained if Pike survives and is found to be mentally competent, she could have a “strong argument” for double jeopardy — which means that convicts cannot be punished twice for the same crime.

That could lead to a recommendation that she serve life in prison rather than face the death penalty for the brutal murder of her 19-year-old classmate Colleen Slemmer in a jealous rage in Jan. 1995, Denno said.

“I doubt whether that would happen in this case, because of the nature of the crime, and because the governor seems extremely responsive to the victim’s family,” Michael Meltsner, professor emeritus at Northeastern University School of Law, said.

Pike's lawyers have called on Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee — who halted state executions and ordered an independent review after this week's fiasco — to commute her sentence.

“For instance, the governor could commute her sentence to 30 years in jail, but that’s unlikely to happen here.”

Before her bungled execution attempt, Pike claimed she had a "history of difficulty with blood draws and needle insertion," according to a motion filed by her attorneys.

NOT OVER YET: “[Christa Pike] can’t be executed if she is brain injured and doesn’t understand the proceedings,” Fordham law professor Deborah Denno (right) said. Pike remains critically ill, her lawyers say.

Under Tennessee law, lethal injection is the primary form of capital punishment — with inmates whose crimes were committed before Jan. 1, 1999 being given the choice of the electric chair instead.

She even proposed hanging as an alternative method of execution due to her concerns over Tennessee's lethal injection protocol, but the request was rejected.

---

Alternative method

Pike rejected the electric chair as an alternative method because of her Buddhist beliefs.

Denno said that, should she face execution again, Pike's lawyers could push again for an alternative method to be used.

“She could be executed using a different method of execution, and she has a very good argument that lethal injection, in her case and with her particular medical situation, simply doesn’t work.

“However, the state could reject all her arguments and just set a new execution date using lethal injection again.”

In a statement to The Post Friday, Pike's lawyers revealed that "Christa remains hospitalized" and "is critically ill, unconscious, intubated and receiving breathing assistance through a ventilator."

adiaz@nypost.com

---

Probe into failed Tenn. execution

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee appointed a renowned former US attorney to lead the independent probe into the botched execution of death row inmate Christa Pike — hours after the state's prison chief resigned Saturday.

Ed Stanton, who served as the US attorney for the Western District of Tennessee from 2010-17, will review the state Department of Correction's conduct during Pike's execution attempt to determine whether protocol was followed, the Republican governor's office announced.

Stanton previously led an independent investigation into the state's lethal injection protocol in 2022 after Tennessee officials uncovered that drugs used in prior executions weren't being tested properly, WKRN-TV reported.

The revelation led Lee to halt all executions in Tennessee for the remainder of 2022 — including capital punishment for death row inmate Oscar Smith — and for the nearly three years that followed.

Stanton's review pushed Tennessee officials to "substantially rewrite the protocol before executions resumed" in February 2025, the governor's office said.

The new lethal injection protocol introduced a single dose of pentobarbital — the same drug administered to Pike on Wednesday — instead of a three-drug cocktail. Ella Morrison

---

Ex's sis blasts Gypsy

Ken Urker's sister, Autumn Urker, said Gypsy Rose Blanchard "had no right to lie" about the details surrounding her former partner's unexpected death.

Autumn claimed to the US Sun Friday that Blanchard's birthday text was not what prompted concerns about her brother.

TMZ previously reported a family member discovered Ken after he failed to respond to Blanchard's text wishing him a happy 34th birthday.

“Gypsy had no right to lie and say that it was because of some text that she sent to him,” Autumn, 31, told The Sun.

She also claimed Blanchard had been telling people “they were engaged and planning baby number two,” but said neither was true.

Blanchard, 35, and Ken shared daughter Aurora Raina, whom they welcomed in December 2024.

Autumn said Blanchard and Ken “were not together” and told the outlet they had split “over a month ago,” claiming Ken was the one who ended the relationship.

“When he was like, ‘I’m done,’ she’d do a thing, and so it was a fight whenever they split,” she said.

Amanda Rubio

---

Ex's sis blasts Gypsy

Ken Urker's sister, Autumn Urker, said Gypsy Rose Blanchard "had no right to lie" about the details surrounding her former partner's unexpected death.

Autumn claimed to the US Sun Friday that Blanchard's birthday text was not what prompted concerns about her brother.

TMZ previously reported a family member discovered Ken after he failed to respond to Blanchard's text wishing him a happy 34th birthday.

“Gypsy had no right to lie and say that it was because of some text that she sent to him,” Autumn, 31, told The Sun.

She also claimed Blanchard had been telling people “they were engaged and planning baby number two,” but said neither was true.

Blanchard, 35, and Ken shared daughter Aurora Raina, whom they welcomed in December 2024.

Autumn said Blanchard and Ken “were not together” and told the outlet they had split “over a month ago,” claiming Ken was the one who ended the relationship.

“When he was like, ‘I’m done,’ she’d do a thing, and so it was a fight whenever they split,” she said.

Amanda Rubio

---

Data center push by Don

President Trump defended the rapid build-out of massive data centers Saturday as he rallied supporters in Ohio to turn out for Republican candidates in next month's midterm elections — warning that blocking the tech projects would hand an advantage to China.

"There's so much money to be made for Ohio. You can't just turn them off. They'll go to China," Trump told supporters at the campaign rally outside Dayton — where he urged voters to back Republican Sen. Jon Husted and gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

Ariel Zilber, With Wires

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'Bach' seeks Dr. for ailing views

---

Ian Mohr

imohr@nypost.com

Oli Coleman

ocoleman@nypost.com

Mara Siegler

msiegler@nypost.com

Carlos Greer

cgreer@nypost.com

Martha Williams

mwilliams@nypost.com

---

Seen on the flip side

YOU'RE gonna flip. Downtown tabloid On the Rag launched its special double issue last week. From one direction, it's Samuel Loren's buzzy literary paper, but flip it upside down and turn it around, and it's an issue of Tif Sigfrids' artworld mag, "Umm...". Loren said he "didn't know almost any" of the people Sigfrids brought in and vice versa. "We realized we were speaking to two different generations. The issue became a way of smashing those worlds together." Andrew Kreps of the Andrew Kreps Gallery, Susan Inglett of the Susan Inglett Gallery, Ben Davis of Artnet News and Vice's Nick Dove attended a rager for the issue at a private home on Fifth Avenue.

---

'Spy' back to day job

KEVIN Hart, who has been filming “Spy Duo” with Henry Cavill in New Jersey, is the latest heavyweight comic who has been stopping by the Comedy Cellar for surprise sets. A source tells us that Hart (above) popped by last week for an hourlong set to test out new material, riffing on family and golf trips. We hear he was also in the week before, with a source saying he also likes coming by to hang with other comedians. When we asked the venue’s owner, Noam Dworman, for any details, he cracked of the diminutive star, “He’s taller in person.”

THE next “Bachelor” could be the one to treat their heartache. The dating reality show has started reaching out to potential suitors for the 30th season, with a source telling us it is going back to its “old-school roots” by looking for someone who actually wants to fall in love.

Mike Varshavski, a doctor who went viral for his good looks and health advice, has been contacted by producers for the next season, set to premiere in 2027, a source told Page Six.

The 36-year-old family medicine practitioner was named Sexiest Doctor Alive by People in 2015. That same year, Buzzfeed highlighted him in the article “Um, You Really Need To See This Hot Doctor and His Dog.”

Dr. Mike, as he is known online, boasts 15.1 million followers on YouTube and 6 million on Instagram.

We hear the show, which debuted in 2002, is trying to return to its “roots” by finding someone “genuinely successful” and “charming” who is “actually looking for love.”

Several past Bachelors have been accused of going on the show to get clicks and boost their careers. A contestant on the show's most recent season, which aired early last year, accused leading man Grant Ellis of “clout chasing.”

Ratings have been going down over the years. The US Sun reported last year that the show hired a new casting team to try to crank

viewership back up.

“They need a fresh start,” a source told the publication. “They won’t be following the tradition of choosing someone who’s already part of the franchise. They want someone who’s serious about looking for love and not just in it to be an influencer.”

The source also told the pub, “He’ll most likely be in his 30s and will have a good career, good morals and is going to be a huge catch to any contestant on next season. It will be like the earlier years of the show.”

The show has spawned “The Bachelorette,” “Bachelor in Paradise” and “The Golden Bachelor.” A rep for “The Bachelor” did not comment.

---

Legendary Patti keeps fans in the ‘LuP’

TONY Award winner Patti LuPone took the stage at the 92nd Street Y Thursday for her show “A Life in Notes” — belting out hit songs from her childhood and her Broadway bangers. LuPone brought down the house singing “The Ladies Who Lunch,” from Stephen Sondheim’s “Company,” holding a martini glass, as well as “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” from “Evita,” in which she starred as the original Eva Peron in 1979. LuPone, who also starred as the first Fantine in the 1985 London production of “Les Miserables,” sang “I Dreamed a Dream” as well. The show was interspersed with moments from LuPone’s life — from her first crush, “Old Yeller” star Tommy Kirk, to her second, Troy Donahue. “Sometimes I would kiss my pillow pretending it was him,” she said. “By the way, those weren’t the worst kisses in my life.” The Broadway legend also explained the show’s concept, saying that there’s “comfort in looking at the past and remembering a touchstone that marked a moment.” LuPone will next be seen playing Vogue editor Diana Vreeland in “Full Gallop,” a one-woman off-Broadway show starting in January.

---

Best local Flayvors

CELEB chef Bobby Flay

swears he doesn't play the macho

guy in the kitchen. "I don't have a

shtick," he told PageSix.com's

Nicki Gostin at the Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame last

week. "I'm exactly who I am . . .

I'm a native New Yorker, a guy

from the city." OK. Favorite hot

dog stand? "Probably my local

stand, the local hot dog guy. I've

been eating those hot dogs since I

was a kid." Favorite doughnut?

"Donut Plant," he said, adding, "I

don't hate Dunkin'. I think they

do a good job." Pizza? "L'Indus-

trie is great, Lucali, Mama's Too.

Joe's, old school, is fantastic."

---

Truth about tall tail

SARAH Jessica Parker arrived at the New York City Ballet fall gala last week with a ginormous, ribbon-wrapped ponytail that her husband, Matthew Broderick, quipped he was responsible for. A spy overheard a guest tell Broderick, "Your wife looks great. That's quite a ponytail," to which he joked, "I did it! If I need her attention, I pull it." Parker (above) is the vice chair of the ballet's board of directors and appeared to be on cloud nine during cocktail hour on the plaza at Lincoln

Center. “I love that you can actually smell the fountain,” she gushed to PageSix.com’s Nicki Gostin. “I love this night. It’s hard to imagine it’s been this many years. It’s our 14th year, and it continues to grow,” she said. The evening’s honorary air was Stevie Nicks.

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Gimme Shelter

525 W. 22nd St.

JENNIFER GOULD

River Harte, Drone Home Media

---

Strutting her stuff in high 'deals'

CANADIAN supermodel Linda Evangelista's West Chelsea pent-house has sold for \$6.75 million, according to property records. News of the deal was first re-

ported by Curbed.

The industrial-chic home, which comes with a 2,500-square-foot terrace, was rented last year by fellow Canadian Keanu Reeves for around \$45,000 a month, when he was in town starring in Broadway's "Waiting for Godot," as Gimme Shelter exclusively reported at the time.

The penthouse is inside 525 W. 22nd St., a six-story elevator edifice known as the Spears Building.

A West Chelsea real estate pioneer, Evangelista (inset) purchased the swanky aerie in a then-burgeoning arts district for \$1.4 million back in 2001 — eight years before the first section of the popular High Line opened, transforming the area.

The Canadian beauty had first listed the four-bedroom, two-bath nest for \$9.45

million in 2024. The price had then dropped first to \$8.19 million and then to \$7.99 million earlier this year, as Gimme also reported.

Listing broker Steve Gold, of Corcoran, once told Gimme Shelter that the price

was a “value buy” because he has sold “north of \$5,000 a square foot nearby.”

The 4,022-square-foot ritzy residence comes with lots of open spaces and custom built-ins.

A large living room is warmed by a fire-

place. There's also an eat-in chef's kitchen.

Industrial design-style details include high ceilings, skylights, polished concrete floors and exposed brick.

As for the pièce de résistance, the main corner bedroom suite features High Line views, a spa-like bath and a grand dressing room fit for a super-model — with six floor-to-ceiling custom closets.

In 1990, Evangelista famously told Vogue that she and fellow super-model Christy Turlington wouldn't "wake up for less than \$10,000 a day." Back then, she was part of a super-model cabal that included Turlington, as well as Naomi Campbell,

Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer and Tatjana Patitz.

Last year, Evangelista paid \$5.24 million for a three-bedroom unit not too far away — at the grand 35 Hudson Yards, property records show.

---

Pier pressure

THIS statement Manhattan home has no real “pier.”

An Upper West Side townhouse with an English-style garden is on the market for \$6.6 million.

The sellers are Chelsea Piers founder Roland Betts (right) and his wife Lois.

The Betts bought the 20-foot-wide residence at 313 W. 102nd St. for \$150,000 in 1972 — \$1.22 million today.

The Betts loved the townhouse so much that they got married there the year they bought it, Compass listing broker Miryam Tesfaegzi told Gimme Shelter.

In 1992, Betts formed Chelsea Piers L.P. with two partners, winning a 30-year-lease to redevelop the run-down, aban-

doned piers on Manhattan's West Side. The complex launched in 1995 on more than 28 acres of crumbling waterfront infrastructure — with sports facilities including an ice hockey and skating rink, a gymnastics studio and a gym — attracting more than 4 million visitors a year.

And long before the Betts bought the residence, it had been home to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt's father, troubled Gilded Age socialite Elliott Bulloch Roosevelt — the younger brother of future President Teddy Roosevelt — who lived there until his death in 1894 at age 34.

Addicted to alcohol, morphine and laudanum, and devastated by the deaths of his estranged wife and their son less than two years earlier, Roosevelt jumped out of one of the home's many windows. He

died the next day.

By the time the Betts bought it, the house had been divided into apartments, but they restored it to a single-family home and raised their two daughters there: Maggie Betts, a movie director and Jessica Betts Dreyfuss, who works at Chelsea Piers Management.

More than 50 years later, the Betts have moved to a nearby residence, but they still come around to tend the garden.

And there is nothing quite like the garden, Tesfaegzi added, which boasts “hostas and ferns, with white hydrangeas standing out in the back. There are also large pink caladiums and on the sides there are vibrant gold and pink lantana and colorful mums too.”

---

Chef's kiss

JULIA Child's former home of four decades — a late-19th-century residence just blocks from Harvard

Yard — is on the market for \$6.47 million.

Child's world-famous home kitchen was preserved and now stands in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. But this updated home still has her stamp, including her plantings in the irrigated, landscaped garden and Floribunda roses, Coldwell Banker's Ed Feijo, who shares the listing with Coldwell's Gail Roberts, told Gimme Shelter.

Built in 1889, this Cambridge residence where Child filmed her TV shows, including “In Julia’s Kitchen with Master Chefs” and “Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home.”

The sellers, who have declined to be named, bought the dwelling for \$3.7 million in 2009, records show.

Child lived in the home from 1961 to 2001, when she moved into a California retirement home. She died in 2004 in Montecito at the age of 91.

At 6,321 square feet, the renovated spread includes a new chef's kitchen with a pantry in a space

where Child and her husband prepared martinis for guests. The basement holds a gym, a laundry room and a wine room.

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CAMPAIGN: Self-described influencer Emily Gellis made 50,000 videos claiming F-Factor products weren't safe — based on no evidence whatsoever.

---

[THE JUSTICE F-FACTOR] Diet guru Tanya Zuckerbrot has seized her life back after years of trolling

By SARA NATHAN

ow does a fashion influencer with no medical or nutrition qualifications bring down a \$40 million diet empire, with only a phone?

Emily Gellis managed to do just that after accusing F-Factor dieting guru Tanya Zuckerbrot of poisoning people — while subjecting her to years of relentless online attacks, calling her the “scum of the earth.”

The health and wellness business Zuckerbrot had spent 25 years building, drawing in New York's elite and a celebrity clientele, was effectively destroyed.

Now, after a six-year legal battle, Gellis, 40, has agreed to publicly apologize and pay Zuckerbrot \$240,000, according to publicly available court transcripts.

“You don’t understand what I lived with,” Zuckerbrot, 55, said of the witch hunt. “People watched my life being destroyed — to them, it was entertainment. But this isn’t gossip, it’s my life.”

Aside from her allegations about Zuckerbrot's products, Gellis accused the mom-of-five of using drugs, failing to pay taxes and engaging in criminal activity — all of which was untrue.

She told her Instagram followers, who now number 185,000, that Zuckerbrot was a “powderpushing, money-hungry, disgusting, gaslighting, greedy woman,” who ran a “cult-like” operation.

---

50,000 videos

Zuckerbrot said Gellis ultimately posted more than 50,000 videos about her and F-Factor.

“You can’t imagine what it feels like to be hunted,” she said. “I couldn’t leave the house. I would have panic attacks in the supermarket. I thought the world was believing what was being written about me.”

The registered dietitian said that she lost millions in business and ultimately spent more than \$1 million on lawyers fighting back.

But the toll went far beyond money, as Zuck-erbrot admitted the campaign left her suicidal.

“I lived with a cyber stalker,” she said.

It all started in 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, when Gellis — who dubbed herself an “accidental activist” — began publicizing anonymous testimonials from followers claiming they had suffered serious physical and mental-health problems while following the F-Factor diet.

She had never met Zuck-erbrot. But in just 75 days, Gellis posted more than 4,500 Instagram stories and posts about Zuckerbrot and F-Factor, according to court papers.

Gellis linked the products to everything from gastric distress and hair loss to panic attacks, UTIs, miscarriages and even death.

She also alleged F-Factor's fiber powders contained dangerous levels of arsenic and contacted the company's retail partner Bloomingdale's to warn that it was selling "poison."

Zuckerbrot, who has a master's degree in nutrition and food studies from NYU, launched her F-Factor 20/20 fiber and protein powders and bars in 2018.

According to court papers seen by The Post, the products were manufactured in a pharmaceutical-grade facility and tested for microbiological safety, heavy metals and the accuracy of their label claims.

Within two years, Zuckerbrot said, the company was generating more than \$1 million a month and had been valued at more than \$40 million.

As the controversy exploded in August 2020, Zuckerbrot went on the “Today” show and released a certificate of analysis for F-Factor’s chocolate fiber/protein powder.

NBC News had the document independently reviewed by two nutrition consultants, who said the trace amounts of metals, including arsenic and lead, were at safe levels.

"Anything grown in the soil, even organically . . . can contain trace amounts of metals," Zuckerbrot said at the time. "It does not mean that they are not safe for consumption. In fact, we have the highest standards of testing to ensure our products are 100% safe for consumption."

She added, “I do regret that we did not share this information sooner.”

But Gellis' online onslaught continued.

"At first, we were ignoring her," Zuckerbrot told The Post. "We knew our products are safe."

---

Inflated numbers

Gellis went on to claim that more than 10,000 people had contacted her with complaints about F-Factor.

That number would become one of the most significant issues in their eventual legal battle.

Zuckerbrot revealed that evidence obtained during discovery showed that Gellis had fewer than 100 complaints.

And Gellis, a married mom-of-two, has now acknowledged that her claims about the sheer number of purported victims were inaccurate.

Thousands of social-media posts about F-Factor were not thousands of individual complaints. And reports of symptoms did not, without medical evidence, establish that F-Factor products had caused them.

But by the time the true scale of the complaints emerged in discovery, the damage had already been done.

The allegations had become a national story, and The New York Times ran a major piece featuring Gellis posing for a glossy photo shoot, headlined, “The Great Diet Crash: A Crusade Against Tanya Zuckerbrot’s F-Factor Diet.”

What had begun as claims about diet products became increasingly personal.

Gellis compared Zuckerbrot to perverts Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein, made allegations about drugs, taxes and criminal behavior, and even claimed Zuckerbrot was sending people to stalk, harass and intimidate her.

Now, six years later, Gellis has admitted that she got it badly wrong.

“What began as an inquiry evolved into a sustained and harmful campaign that was not grounded in verified facts,” Gellis said in a public apology filed in New York Supreme Court as part of the settlement of Zuckerbrot’s lawsuit.

When it came to some of the personal allegations she made about Zuckerbrot, Gellis was even more direct.

“None of these statements were true,” she admitted.

She also acknowledged that she went after the relationships underpinning Zuckerbrot's business, contacting brand partners, celebrity clients and ambassadors and urging them to distance themselves from F-Factor.

MOVING ON: Tanya Westrich, with husband Anthony, is relaunching.

“I did not rely on medical, scientific, or qualified expert analysis,” Gellis said. “I relied heavily on unverified and anonymous information from social media, which I presented as fact.

“I contacted Bloomingdale’s, her retail partner, and told them they were selling ‘poison,’ ” she added.

Gellis admitted that she blocked Zuckerbrot, her employees and others who attempted to respond — cutting herself off from information that could have challenged what she was posting.

“Instead of pausing to reassess, I continued,” she said.

---

'Deeply sorry'

For Zuckerbrot, those admissions prove that this was never simply a six-year quest to wring an apology from Gellis.

She sued, she said, to stop the alleged defamation, cyberstalking and harassment — and to protect her name, family and business.

The apology came along with the settlement.

“My actions created a hostile online environment that contributed to humiliation and isolation,” Gellis said. “I cannot undo the damage that was done. But I can take responsibility for my actions, and I do so here, fully and publicly.

"To Tanya Zuckerbrot, I am deeply sorry. Yes, I want to say that again. I am deeply sorry."

Zuckerbrot's attorney told The Post, “In accordance with the Court’s Order entered on September 22, 2026, Ms. Gellis’s comment remains that the litigation between Ms. Zuckerbrot and her has been settled.”

As for the settlement, Zuckerbrot “wanted the amount to reflect the emotional harm she caused. The \$240,000 represents the medical bills for the trauma treatment that helped save my life,” she said. “I explained to the judge that her actions drove me — a mother of five — to the point of almost taking my own life. Without the help of my trauma doctors, I do not believe I would be alive today.

"The \$500 she will pay each month for the next 40 years will serve as a monthly reminder of the pain and suffering she caused and the treatment I needed to survive it," she said.

Zuckerbrot, who is married to corporate real estate investor Anthony Westreich, is now preparing to relaunch F-Factor in 2027 — and has no intention of rebranding.

“Absolutely not,” she said. “I’m proud of F-Factor and the thousands of people who have lived healthier lives because of it. I’m excited to bring our products back to market and back to the F-Factor community.”

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[Posh biz pair shot to death] COP-SLASH VIDEO

The CEO of a swanky fashion company and his wife were found shot dead outside their home in the hills overlooking UC Berkeley on Friday morning.

Berkeley police were called to the area around 10:48 a.m. Friday after shots were heard. Cops found married couple Bryan, 61, and Michelle Walker, 63. Both were pronounced dead.

The Walkers ran a women's fashion company, Bryn Walker. The pair designed clothing with “luxurious fabrics” aimed at “women who demand comfort, quality and easy sophistication,” according to their website. The company had locations in California and Massachusetts.

In a haunting surveillance video, the first gunshot can be heard around 10:43 a.m. Friday, and then a man is heard crying. A second shot soon rings out. Ross O'Keefe

Vile cowards

seen fleeing

OFFICER DOWN: Cops (above) treat Detective Jose Mercedes (top inset) and hunt the attackers (top right).

By TINA MOORE, TOMAS E. GASTON and JENNIFER BAIN

The men wanted for brutally stabbing and slashing an off-duty NYPD detective seven times during a Bronx robbery are seen making their getaway in new surveillance footage released by police Saturday.

Detective Jose Mercedes was getting something out of his trunk at Rochambeau Avenue and East 208th Street in the Norwood neighborhood around 1:45 p.m. Friday when he was ambushed by the brazen e-bike-riding duo, police said.

The pair allegedly attacked Mercedes as they tried to snatch his gold chain, officials said.

"The two individuals stabbed and slashed the victim multiple times throughout the body and proceeded to forcefully re-"

move the victim's chain from around his neck," police said.

The suspects then fled on the motorized bike, last seen traveling southbound on Rochambeau Avenue, cops said.

---

In 'stable'

Video from the crime scene shows Mercedes bleeding profusely.

EMS rushed him to Jacobi Medical Center in stable condition, cops said.

Mercedes' uncle Ricardo Mercedes, 49, his wife Cynthia, 44, and their son

James, 10, visited him at the hospital Saturday.

“We want the justice system to ensure the police do their job effectively, but the courts go too easy on them, sending criminals right back out onto the street,” the cop’s uncle told The Post.

He thinks his nephew will have surgery on his arm over the weekend “because two fingers are not well. They don’t move.”

“He is stable now, thank God,” the uncle said.

He said his nephew was the first police officer in the family.

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Could E.T. do the samba?

By SHANE GALVIN

A former Brazilian minister is calling on the US to declassify its records on one of his country's most notorious UFO incidents — when two red-eyed aliens purportedly crash-landed and were confiscated by Uncle Sam.

Aldo Rebelo, ex-minister of science, technology and innovation and former president of the Chamber of Deputies, told The Post there is more to be learned from the 1996 Varginha UFO crash — known as Brazil's Roswell.

“It is of public and national interest that these episodes be revealed and known,” said Rebelo.

"The 1996 Varginha incident in Brazil underwent a serious military investigation. There are statements from military personnel, and from doctors who participated. In part, these are public records and others are maintained classified," said Rebelo, who was a federal deputy at the time of the alleged crash.

The alleged incident has become one of Brazil's most famous UFO cases.

On Jan. 20, 1996, Liliane Silva, Valquiria Silva and Katia Andrade reported seeing a strange bipedal creature in Varginha, a city in southeastern Brazil.

The women described the creature as having brown, oily skin, three horn-like bumps on its head, an ammonia-like smell and glowing red eyes. They later recounted their experience to UFO investigator James Fox for his documentary “Moment of Contact.”

“What we saw wasn’t human and wasn’t an animal either. Nowadays I do think it was a being from another planet,” Liliane Silva said in the film.

Seven days before the sighting, dozens of residents reported observing strange lights and a cigar-shaped object flying low over fields near the rural town, according to witnesses.

The US Air Force supposedly shot down the craft, witnesses told Fox in “Moment of Contact.”

The most extraordinary claims involve what happened next.

Two beings, one alive and one dead, were allegedly held by Brazilian authorities, who then transferred custody to the US government, according to military personnel who appeared in the film and television news reports at the time.

Rebelo has taken notice of President Trump's UFO disclosure effort and believes now is the best opportunity to bring the truth to light.

"Now, if the United States decided to declassify more files, it is natural that Brazil would also offer its classified documents about the Varginha episode and others," said Rebelo, who was a longshot candidate for president for the Christian Democracy party in Brazil, where elections begin on Sunday.

The Trump administration has declassified hundreds of federal documents as part of the president's transparency agenda, but no publicly released documents have established a US role in the alleged Varginha incident.

The US Air Force did not respond to The Post's request for comment.

---

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'Space cadet' UFO talk

told the podcaster.

A wide variety of alien species zoomed around planet Earth in different types of UFOs — including beings that looked like Greek gods, 7-foot-tall reptiles and small grays — UFO whistleblower David Grusch claimed on a jaw-dropping Joe Rogan podcast.

Grusch, a retired Air Force officer and former intelligence officer at the

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the National Reconnaissance Office, claimed to have become aware of these belief-stretching details through his work for the UAP Task Force in 2020.

“Even for me, ex-deep state intel officer, I’m like, I cannot believe I’m talking about this on Joe Rogan. And I mean, I know it sounds schizo,” Grusch

But one day people will replay the podcast and say, “‘We thought he was crazy, but what do you know? It’s true,’” Grusch added.

Grusch claimed he saw a video that showed military members at a “contemporary” UFO crash site that had as many as four dead alien bodies inside. Shane Galvin

---

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[Prez's Bruce boost] Don flying in to aid NY GOP candidates

ON THE TRAIL: President Trump will visit Syracuse Oct. 9 to campaign with Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman (below) and boost upstate GOP House hopefuls.

By GEOFF EARLE

President Trump's trip to up-state New York this week is a bid to help his pal Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman — but also to help prevent Republican House seats from slipping away.

Trump is set to campaign with Republican gubernatorial candidate Blakeman in Syracuse on Oct. 9, as the GOP looks to juice turnout in a state where several House races are suddenly competitive.

Blakeman, who has been attacking Democratic Gov. Hochul on tax cuts and energy costs, has been keeping his own race competitive.

But he also has an effect on candidates down the ticket, and Trump needs to try to make sure Republicans are enthusiastic enough to show up and vote.

---

Motivates Dems too

"In '22, New York state determined the House majority. And in 2026, New York could determine it again," said one Republican operative.

Republicans point to former Rep. Lee Zeldin's 2022 campaign for governor, arguing that his bid helped drive Republican turnout across the state even though he ultimately lost to Hochul, $53\% -47\%$ .

The challenge for Trump is that his ability to fire up Republicans comes with a potential downside: He is deeply unpopular with many New York Democrats who are gunning to vote.

"I think it's going to cut both ways. On the one hand, Trump's negatives in New York are very deep. People are very emotional — the ones that don't like Trump really don't like him," said Grant Reeher, a political science pro-

fessor at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship.

---

Closer races

But he can also help fill the Republican enthusiasm gap, said Reeher: "Certainly one thing the guy is good at is getting people ramped up. On balance it may be something that could help the Republican candidates."

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) made her own political trip upstate last week, with a plan to set up campaign infrastructure to turn out low-propensity voters.

Anthony Constantino, running in New York's 21st Congressional District, is among those GOP candidates who have most enthusiastically hugged Trump. He even put a Trump sign on the roof of his sticker business.

And then there's Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), whose Hudson Valley seat is one of the country's most closely watched House battlegrounds.

Trump's trip to Syracuse could also help Republican Kailee Buller, a former top aide to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. She is trying to topple Rep. John Mannion, who won his last race with $55\%$ of the vote.

---

'Blake': No trans in girls lockers

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman is pledging a sweeping statewide ban on transgender students in girls' school bathrooms and locker rooms if he's elected New York's governor in November, The Post has learned.

The Republican gubernatorial candidate told the newspaper his “Protect Our Daughters” plan would also prohibit biological males who transition to female from rooming with girls on overnight school trips.

The move is in response to the state Department of Education — with Gov. Hochul's blessing — blocking similar restrictions approved by local school boards on parts of Long Island.

“Kathy Hochul has shown time and again that she would rather satisfy a political agenda than protect our daughters’ safety, privacy, and dignity,” Blakeman said.

Blakeman — who in 2024 issued a first-of-its-kind executive order barring transgender athletes from participating in girls' and women's sports on Nassau County-run properties — said his plan would create statewide standards reserving girls' bathrooms, locker rooms, and overnight accommodations exclusively for biological females.

Blakeman's reps said the pledge applies to public school students from kindergarten through 12th grade statewide.

They failed to specify how he'd enforce such a measure, but Albany sources said it would be an uphill battle as he'd likely have to persuade the far-left state Legislature, which also controls the Department of Education, to back the plan. Rich Calder

---

Double bust vs. upstate alien

A man who was arrested in Putnam County twice in an 18-hour span last week is an illegal immigrant with a lengthy criminal history, according to the Department of Homeland Security and local authorities.

Diego Rodriguez-Ordo-

nez, 24, of Brewster, faces

multiple charges after he allegedly robbed a Kent convenience store and assaulted a clerk trying to stop him early Wednesday, only to be released from custody and arrested again later that evening on a charge of forcibly touching a woman on a Metro-North train.

The DHS confirmed Friday that Rodriguez-Ordonez was in the US illegally, had multiple prior convictions and was released into the country during the Biden administration.

ICE said it lodged a detainer for him Wednesday.

Victor Nava

and Vaughn Golden

---

4 immigs caught in perv sting

Four out of 11 alleged sex offenders arrested during a police sting operation in Indiana are illegal immigrants, the Department of Homeland Security said.

The men thought they were communicating with underage girls online before driving to meet them for what they believed were sexual encounters, authorities said. Instead, they were met by undercover detectives.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged detainer requests for them.

They were identified as: El Hadji Babacar Ndiaye, of Senegal; Lucky Philip Udoudo, of Nigeria; Filmeno

Ricardo Flores Marin, of Mexico, and David Josue Gomez-Posada, of El Salvador.

“We are calling on Indiana to honor our detainers,” a DHS spokesperson said. “All of their claims will be heard by an immigration judge, and they will receive due process.” Fox News

sabrinacarpenter/Instagram

Superstar songstress Sabrina Carpenter gives millions of Instagram followers a sultry second look at her vintage pink, black-tassled Dolce & Gabbana she wore at the VMAs when she and Madonna won Best Collaboration for “Bring Your Love.”

---

[BIG O.T. FOR BABY DADDY] School principal shock

By DAVID SPECTOR

A New York City public school principal approved nearly 200 hours of overtime and secured tenure for her baby daddy while he was working under her at the same school — a blatant violation of city rules.

Bridget Garzaniti, principal of the High School of Arts and Technology on the Upper West Side, OK'd \$12,000 in overtime pay for her domestic partner, Curtis

Williams in 2024, the city's Conflicts of Interest Board found.

Garzaniti was fined \$7,500 and Williams was ordered to pay \$4,250 to the COIB. But they kept their jobs.

Garzaniti and Williams have lived together since June 2017 and share a child, who was born in August of the same year, stated the September COIB report, which was first reported by Susan Edelman on her Substack.

Garzaniti recommended in a letter to the district's superintendent that Williams be granted tenure in June 2024, which was approved by the Department of Education.

Tenured public schools employees receive iron-clad, career-long job protections.

"I highly recommend Curtis for tenure. He has been a valuable asset to our school and has made significant impact on the lives of students and staff," Garzaniti wrote.

She also awarded him the top rating in his June 2024 performance review, the report stated.

Critics blasted the principal for abusing her position to lavish benefits on her live-in baby daddy and called on city Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels to pursue further discipline.

---

Broken rules

Public servants are barred by the City Charter and DOE regulations from using their positions to financially benefit people they have personal relationships with, and school principals are not allowed to have personal relations work under them at the same school.

DOE rules stipulate that the principal should have reported her relationship to the district's superintendent, who would have transferred one of the employees out of the school, former Deputy Chancellor Eric Nadelstern said.

After a complaint was lodged, Williams was transferred to the High School for Law, Advocacy and Community Justice, which is located in the same building.

Garzanati, Williams (together above) and the DOE did not respond to requests for comment.

---

Hosp left needle in me!

A New York mom claims bungling Mount Sinai doctors left a needle inside her during one of two surgeries — and she endured seven years of unexplained agony before the discarded sharp was finally discovered, according to a lawsuit.

Jana Petriganova DeGregoris, ironically a nurse herself for the same hospital network, and her husband Gerard DeGregoris, are suing the Manhattan hospital along with doctors Isabel Blumberg, Philip Torina and Scott Nguyen over the roughly 1.5-inch needle she says was found inside her abdomen.

Blumberg, Torina, Nguyen and Mount Sinai did not return requests for comment. The couple's attorney, John Cagney, declined to comment. Sonya Gugliara

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ICED 'MOLE' Feds grab 'sewer' immig

By TINA MOORE

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has busted one of the gold-hunting mole men who emerged from a manhole near the United Nations, The Post has learned.

Samuel Reveron Ascanio, 25, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, was taken into custody after the city set him free, despite a prior federal warrant for his arrest.

“New York City had a clear opportunity to transfer this individual to ICE in a secure, controlled environment,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations New York City Field Office Director Kenneth Genalo told The Post.

“Instead, the city recklessly released him despite his repeated arrests and unresolved criminal charges — a choice that needlessly returned an alleged public-safety threat to the

streets ... ICE will not allow noncooperation to deter us from enforcing federal immigration law and protecting our communities." New York is a sanctuary city and its laws limit police cooperation with federal immigration agents.

---

Already wanted

"The NYPD does not participate in civil immigration enforcement, in accordance with New York City laws," a spokesperson said in an email.

The NYPD arrested Reveron Ascanio on Sept. 24 and charged him with criminal trespassing after someone called 911 to report seeing three men climbing out

of a sewer manhole a day earlier at Park Avenue and East 61st Street at around 4:30 a.m.

A federal arrest warrant had been issued for Reveron Ascanio

two days before the sewer incident, an ICE spokesperson said.

The warrant stemmed from a Sept. 20 arrest for alleged criminal mischief in which he and two other men were allegedly stripping parts from a U-Haul van in a Queens parking lot, according to police sources.

Additional reporting by Adry Torres

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PBA honors best in blue for their bravery

By TINA MOORE

They are some of the best apples.

Dozens of NYPD cops were recognized with awards and cheers from their fellow Finest this week at a Police Benevolent Association event in Queens.

“We know there are people out there who think they can do our job better, who want to tell us how to do our jobs,” PBA President Patrick Hendry said Thursday at the Finest of the Finest Awards at Russo’s on the Bay in Howard Beach.

“But none of them ever had to face an individual who pulled out a gun, pointed at them, and started firing,” Hendry said. “None of them ever ran towards a burning car and rescued the person inside. None of them ever gave chest compressions to a baby who wasn’t breathing. All of you have done those things.”

The police officers honored for bravery included Officer Grant Pulgarin, who tackled a suspected homegrown terrorist who had just hurled an improvised explosive device into a crowd in an ISIS-inspired attack outside Gracie Mansion in Manhattan's 19th Precinct on March 7.

"This officer was policing a demonstration outside Gracie Mansion when he spotted a man who had just thrown a fuse-lit bomb," said PBA Treasurer Joe Strong. "He ran toward the danger and stopped the terrorist with a perfectly executed tackle, one that any NFL coach would be proud of."

Pulgarin, who couldn't comment on the case because it's part of an active investigation, then held the terrorist down as he was handcuffed while his accomplice was arrested, Strong said. The officer was handed a plaque at the ceremony.

Also honored for their bravery, Officers Seoungjae Chung, Donglun Liu, Antonio Andreani and Lt. Michael Simmonds of Brooklyn's 62nd Precinct shot and killed a meat cleaver-wielding maniac after he stabbed four children in an 84th Street home on April 6, 2025.

The officers broke down the door to save the children, ages 8 to 16, who all miraculously survived their stab wounds, the PBA said.

“Upon arrival, these officers, hearing screams from inside the apartment, had to kick in the door to gain access,” PBA Recording Secretary George Winkler told the crowd of about 150. “Once inside, the perp charged the officers, who were forced to shoot and wound the suspect to put an end to the carnage."

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Off-duty hero

The PBA also honored the NYPD Harbor Unit's officers Christopher Kessinger, Steven Westgate and Sgt. Jose Figueroa, who rescued sailors from a Mexican Navy vessel that struck the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge in May 2025, leaving two crew members dead.

J.C. Rice; Paul Martinka; Brian Chenensky/FNTV

"If it weren't for the expert efforts of these police officers, the toll would have been much higher," Strong said. "These officers, under very difficult and dangerous conditions, evacuated 19 victims, carrying them to safety and getting them the medical attention they needed."

Police Officer Joseph Wetzel was honored for springing into action and saving a driver and passenger after a fiery crash in Wantagh, Long Island, on Feb. 4, despite being off-duty and on long-term medical leave as he underwent radiation treatments for cancer, he told The Post.

THEY STEPPED UP: The PBA held its Finest of the Finest Awards (above) this week. Among those honored were officers who responded to a Mexican Navy vessel (top) that hit the Brooklyn Bridge and an improvised Gracie Mansion “terrorist” attack (right).

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Plea for a biting chance

Major has spent more than 545 days locked away from his family. Now, the clock to ever return him to his beloved owner is running out.

A federal judge once again halted the euthanasia of the injured 65-pound Belgian Malinois (right) — giving Shane Lilly a precious few days to fight for the dog he loves, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

Senior US District Judge David Alan Ezra delayed Major's euthanasia on Sept. 29 and said he would rule in 10 days as he weighs whether the dog can safely be released to Lilly.

Jeanne Erickson

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'Safer snorting' straws

Canada is giving paper straws to jailbirds across federal prisons for “safer snorting” of drugs such as cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin, according to a memo that went out to correctional officers.

Federal officials in the

Great White North were apparently worried inmates might nick themselves while shoving dope up their snouts.

The document, posted by an unnamed corrections officer last week on social media, said the single-use biodegradable straws were intended for inhaling “substances in powdered form” or “vapor from heated substances.”

But critics are already bashing the idea, with Ontario Premier Doug Ford vowing to put his foot down in his province.

Gabrielle Fahmy

He can take the heat.

A Slovenian did a handstand for 47 seconds while on fire to break a Guinness World Record.

Filip Kržišnik, 35, a gymnast and stunt coordinator, joked to the record book reps: “I didn’t manage to find a better solution to get warm.”

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REP. OF CONGO

He's making waves.

A daredevil TikToker will make an intrepid 434-mile journey down the hippo-infested Sangha River in an inflatable raft.

Ash Dykes, a 35-year-old Welsh adventurer, will be livestreaming the trip for his 1 million TikTok followers.

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CANADA

Michael J. Fox was officially named to the companion level of the Order of Canada to honor his global work with Parkinson's disease.

The 65-year-old Emmy-winning actor, a native of Edmonton, Alberta, was diagnosed with the progressive nervous system disorder at age 29 and founded The Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2000 to raise millions of dollars to find a cure.

The companion level is the most prestigious tier of the Order of Canada, which “recognizes outstanding achievement and merit of the highest degree, especially in service to Canada or to humanity at large,” according to the website for the Governor General of Canada.

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AUSTRALIA

Someone dropped the torch on this one.

Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic emblems were accidentally leaked by the Games' official YouTube channel.

The emblems, inspired by the cockatoo to symbolize Australia's wildlife, were supposed to be unveiled in their entirety Monday.

However, they were visible Saturday night in a preview image for the video.

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ITALY

A renowned painting expected to fetch \$57 million at auction is back in Rome, the city that inspired it.

J.M.W. Turner's 1836 painting "Rome, from Mount Aventine" will be auctioned by Sotheby's in London in December.

But for now, it is on display at the 18th-century Baroque palace Palazzo Rondinini for three days. Angela Barbuti, Wires

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RUSSIAN 'PLAGUE'

FIRST VICTIM: Daria Shipilova died after she allegedly broke a test tube at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute (above). At right, a worker in full protective gear walks to the hospital where she died.

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Lab quarantined after staffer death

By JEANNE ERICKSON

A suspected pneumonic plague outbreak has erupted in Russia, killing a young lab worker, forcing nearly 200 people into isolation and triggering accusations that Vladimir Putin's regime is trying to keep the infection's possible spread under wraps.

The alarm was raised in Siberia after a worker at an anti-plague laboratory died of the disease, which killed tens of millions in the medieval Black Death, according to a report from The Moscow Times.

Anna Popova, who heads Russia's public-health watchdog, then rushed 2,600 miles from Moscow to the Irkutsk region as authorities quarantined a hospital and placed scores of people who had come into contact with the victim under medical observation.

"The situation in Shelekhov, Irkutsk region, where a plague quarantine has been declared, resembles the Wuhan case," the Russian political insider channel Nezygar warned.

COVID-19 emerged in Wuhan, China, before spreading worldwide and killing at least 7 million people, according to global health estimates.

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First fatality

Daria Shipilova, 28, a laboratory assistant at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute, was the first reported fatality.

She reportedly told medical staff that she had accidentally broken a test tube containing live bacteria while collecting samples for testing, according to news outlet Lyudi Baikala.

She first fell ill while on an expedition near Russia's border with Mongolia. She was hospitalized in Shelekhov on Tuesday with symptoms of severe pneumonia, placed on a ventilator and died Thursday, according to reports.

Írkutsk Gov. Igor Kobzev canceled all public events in the region, and urged the public to remain calm after meeting with Popova to coordinate emergency containment measures.

"All identified contact persons have been placed under medical observation. As of today, the contacts show no signs of illness, and their laboratory test results are negative," Kobzev wrote on the Telegram message app Friday.

Reports also claimed that antibiotics had run out in the Irkutsk region, prompting frightened residents to seek medical help from pharmacies and other medical facilities.

Popova has not publicly commented on the reported outbreak.

But senior Russian-American epidemiologist Mikhal Favorov, a k a Michael Favorov, a former high-ranking official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, disputed the account that a broken test tube caused the infection, calling it evidence of a possible cover-up, according to The Moscow Times.

“It’s laughable,” said Favorov. “Someone working at the anti-plague Institute in Irkutsk wears a protective anti-plague suit. If you break a test tube, the likelihood of infection is actually very low.”