The CEO of UnitedHealth’s insurance division was gunned down Wednesday morning outside the Hilton hotel in Midtown in what police called a “brazen, targeted” attack.

Brian Thompson, 50, was repeatedly shot by a masked gunman about 6:46 a.m. who had been lying in wait outside the Sixth Avenue hotel, said NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.

“Many people passed the suspect, but he appeared to wait for his intended target,” she said.

Thompson was hit in the torso, prompting a desperate attempt by first responders to save him with CPR, harrowing video shows.

He was rushed in critical condition to Roosevelt Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:12 a.m., police said.

The mysterious gunman – who appeared to be skilled with a firearm, police said – ran off before hopping on an electric Citi Bike and disappearing into Central Park, said NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny.

🔥🚨BREAKING: Footage of United Health CEO Brian Thompson being assassinated has been released. pic.twitter.com/O0TF4D86re

— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) December 4, 2024

A manhunt was underway for the suspect as the NYPD and CrimeStoppers offered a $10,000 reward for information.

The motive behind the heinous hit remained unknown, Kenny said.

The gunman walked up to the hotel – where the UnitedHealth Group was holding its investors’ conference – about five minutes before the shooting, Kenny said.

Witnesses told The Post the suspect had been spotted near the hotel, on Sixth Avenue, milling around.

When Thompson – who had been staying at the nearby Marriott, according to sources – walked up to the hotel, the masked suspect struck, Kenny said.

“The shooter steps onto the sidewalk from behind the car, he ignores numerous other pedestrians, approaches the victim from behind and shoots him in the back,” Kenny said. “The shooter then walks toward the victim and continues to shoot.”

The shooter’s weapon appeared to have malfunctioned at that point, but he managed to quickly clear the gun and begin to fire again – a sign the suspect is proficient with firearms, Kenny said.

Thompson was struck by bullets at least once each in his back and right calf, Tisch said.

The suspect was described as a white male wearing a dark jacket, black face mask, and black and white sneakers. Officials said he was carrying a distinctive gray backpack.

Kenny said the shooter first ran off through the Ziegfeld alleyway between 54th and 55th streets, then hopped onto an electric Citi Bike – a ride captured in another surveillance photo.

The gunman peddled up the Avenue of the Americas toward Central Park, and was last seen around 6:48 a.m. biking onto Center Drive, Kenny said.

Cops recovered three live 9-millimeter rounds and three discharged shell casings at the scene, the chief said.

“The motive for this murder currently is unknown, but based on the evidence we have so far, it does appear that the victim was specifically targeted,” Kenny said. “But at this point, we do not know why.”

Thompson leaves behind his wife Paulette ‘Pauley’ Thompson, 51, and two children in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The family had received threats, Paulette Thompson told NBC News.

“There had been some threats,” she said, according to NBC. “Basically, I don’t know, a lack of coverage? I don’t know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him.”

The shooting sent shockwaves through the investors’ conference, where Forbes reported emotional attendees began to cry.

The slain CEO was “a stand up guy, a good dude,” said one investor who had previously dined with Thompson, according to Forbes. “I’ve never met anyone who had anything bad to say about him.”

Andrew Witty, CEO of parent company UnitedHealth Group, said the firm had been holding its Investor Day conference at the hotel on Wednesday, which Thompson was attending.

The conference was abruptly called off due to “a very serious medical situation” with one of its team members, Witty said in a statement.

Thompson, who had worked with UnitedHealth for the last 20 years, took the role of CEO in 2021 and was based at its offices in Minnetonka, Minnesota, according to his LinkedIn account.

When promoting Thompson, Witty praised his commitment to the company, which serves as the largest private health insurer in the US.

“Brian’s experience, relationships and values make him especially well-suited to help UnitedHealthcare improve how healthcare works for consumers, physicians, employers, governments and our other partners, leading to continued and sustained long-term growth,” Witty said at the time.

The exec lived in a five-bedroom home that he purchased in the North Star State in 2018 for $1 million, according to Zillow.

Thompson previously served as the company’s head of government programs, including Medicare and retirement.

The UnitedHealth Group, which employs more than 100,000 people across America, is ranked fourth in the Fortune 500.

Prior to joining UnitedHealth, Thompson spent six years in Minneapolis at PwC, an auditing and accounting firm.

Kenny said detectives are working with Citi Bike, which puts GPS tracks on its bikes, to track down the shooter’s ride.

He said the NYPD was “looking at everything.”

“We’re looking at his social media,” he said. “We are interviewing employees, we are interviewing family members. We will be speaking to law enforcement in Minnesota.”

Mayor Eric Adams sought to reassure New Yorkers that the shooting wasn’t a random act of violence in one of the most visible and highly trafficked places in the country – mere blocks and hours away from the Rockefeller Christmas tree’s lighting.

“It appears as though this was a targeted murder,” he said during an unrelated news conference.

“It seemed to have been clearly targeted by an individual, and we will apprehend that individual.”

NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said the shooting will not affect the Rockefeller Christmas tree lighting later that evening.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement that state police will provide the NYPD with whatever they need.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz offered prayers for Thompson’s family.

“This is horrifying news and a terrible loss for the business and health care community in Minnesota,” he said in a statement.

The French government collapsed on Wednesday as parliament voted to oust Prime Minister Michel Barnier and his cabinet, throwing the nation into the worst political and fiscal turmoil in decades.

The chaos leaves Europe’s second largest economy without a functioning government for the first time in 60 years — the most severe fallout to date from the efforts to shrink its deficit.

It is the latest political drama to stem from a bleak fiscal situation that caused backlash from financial investors. The UK faced its own economic and political turmoil that forced its central bank to intervene in 2022.

While an ocean away, it is a warning for President-elect Trump whose fiscal plans are expected to drive the deficit higher.

Barnier was ousted after just three months in the job. He was appointed by French President Emmanuel Macron, who called the snap elections that resulted in a deeply fractured parliament with no majority.

The “no-confidence” vote was called this week after Barnier pushed through an unpopular social security measure without parliamentary approval.

Barnier’s budget proposal, which came against a fiscal backdrop that was worse than initially thought, included roughly $60 billion worth of tax hikes and spending cuts.

France’s far-right firebrand Marine Le Pen has led the opposition against the budget.

The left-wing New Popular Front alliance joined forces with Le Pen’s National Rally to pass the no-confidence motion.

Investors have been dumping French government debt, pushing up the nation’s borrowing costs — upping the pressure to get its fiscal house in order.

The yield on France’s 10-year government bond briefly surpassed that of Greece, the country that faced its own devastating debt crisis a decade ago.

A caretaker government will have to lean on unprecedented measures to avert a shutdown this year.

Macron will have to appoint a new prime minister.

That official will begin the budget process again.

Republicans will have 220 seats in the House of Representatives in the 119th Congress, completing their majority caucus, after the last election to the House with outstanding results was called on Dec. 4.

The House Republican Conference on Nov. 12 declared victory in its quest to retain the majority in 2024’s general elections, and the Associated Press called the majority-making 218th House seat for the GOP—in Arizona’s 6th Congressional district, where Rep. Juan Ciscomani won re-election—on Nov. 13.

However, in a few races, the differences between candidates were just hundreds of votes and thus were too close to call until recounts and legal proceedings were completed. That process concluded on Dec. 4, nearly one month after Election Day on Nov. 5.

In the 13th district near the San Francisco Bay Area, Rep. John Duarte (R-Calif.) lost re-election to Democratic nominee Adam Gray by just 187 votes out of more than 205,000 votes cast. The contest was the final federal race to be called in the 2024 general election.

Democrats also flipped a GOP-held seat in California’s 45th district, which is located in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area. The contest’s Democratic nominee, labor lawyer Derek Tran, defeated two-term Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.) by a narrow margin of 613 votes, with the race being called on Nov. 27. The district was regarded as a toss-up by the Cook Political Report. The race was divided along county lines—the Los Angeles County half of the district voted heavily for Tran, while the Orange County portion voted narrowly for Steel.

Meanwhile, in Iowa’s First Congressional District, two-term Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks defeated Democratic nominee Christina Bohannan by just 798 votes, with that race also called on Nov. 27. The race was expected to be highly competitive, and the Cook Political Report had rated it as a “toss up.”

These results conclude the counting of votes in 2024’s federal elections, which resulted in Republican control of both houses of the 119th Congress from 2025 to 2027.

The House majority will be narrow, at just three seats, a decline from five seats after 2022’s midterm election.

President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election also means that conservatives will control all three branches of government, as six of the U.S. Supreme Court’s nine current justices were appointed by Republican presidents and are widely regarded as being conservative jurists.

Losses and Gains

Steel and Duarte will be among the several Republican incumbents who lost reelection in 2024. The list includes Rep. Mike Garcia of California as well as Reps. Marc Molinaro, Anthony D’Esposito, and Brandon Williams of New York. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.) also lost reelection, though she will be nominated by Trump to be the Secretary of Labor once he takes office on Jan. 20, 2025.

These losses, however, were offset by Republican gains in five other seats. In Alaska’s at-large district, Republican nominee Nick Begich defeated Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) by a two-percentage-point margin. The party also won two House seats in Northeastern Pennsylvania: In the 7th District, Republican state legislator Ryan Mackenzie defeated Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.); in the 8th District, Republican businessman Robert Bresnahan defeated Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.).

Other Republican gains include state Rep. Gabe Evans’s victory for the Republicans in the race for Colorado’s Eighth Congressional District, in which he defeated Rep. Yadira Caraveo (D). In Michigan’s Seventh district, former state Sen. Tom Barrett (R) beat Democrat Curtis Hertel Jr., also a former state senator, in the open election to replace Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D), who herself was elected to the U.S. Senate from Michigan, replacing the retiring Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.).

Vacancies

Despite their victories, Republicans will not begin the 119th Congress with a full majority. Several members of the conference have been selected by Trump for executive branch positions and, thus, will have to resign their seats in the House to assume them.

Departing members include Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.), who was appointed National Security Adviser with Cabinet rank. Waltz will take his seat in the 119th Congress on Jan. 3, only to resign 17 days later on Jan. 20 to assume his new office, which does not require Senate confirmation. Similarly, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) will also resign from office should her nomination to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations be confirmed by the Senate.

It’s highly likely that special elections to these seats will yield Republican winners, given their partisan rating and electoral history.

One former House Republican, Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), was nominated for the role of attorney general by Trump but withdrew shortly afterward amid heavy opposition to his nomination. Gaetz resigned from the 118th Congress immediately after he was nominated and, despite his withdrawal, has announced he will not take his seat in the 119th Congress. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) has already announced plans to hold special elections for the seats held by Gaetz and Waltz.

The immediate departures of Waltz and Gaetz and the expected departure of Stefanik will mean the conference has a zero-seat majority of 217 members in a 432-member House. During this time, Republicans will need every single member of the conference to vote with the party in order to pass legislation, and a sudden vacancy may unexpectedly give House Democrats the majority.

Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to run the FBI, was recently informed by the bureau that he had been targeted as part of an Iranian hack, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

Hackers are believed to have accessed at least some of Patel’s communications, according to one of the sources.

Trump transition spokesman Alex Pfeiffer declined to comment specifically on the hack in a statement to CNN.

“Kash Patel was a key part of the first Trump administration’s efforts against the terrorist Iranian regime and will implement President Trump’s policies to protect America from adversaries as the FBI Director,” Pfeiffer said in the statement.

Members of Trump’s inner circle have been targeted by foreign hackers in recent months. Last month, the FBI informed Todd Blanche, one of Trump’s lead attorneys and now his pick to be deputy attorney general, that his cellphone was tapped by Chinese hackers, three sources familiar with the matter previously told CNN. The Chinese government has denied US allegations that it is behind that hack.

Blanche was the second Trump attorney believed to be targeted by foreign hackers. CNN reported in August that attorney Lindsey Halligan was targeted as part of a separate Iranian hacking effort.

Donald Trump Jr. has also said he was notified by the FBI that he was “one of the top targets” of Iran.

Iran has for several years targeted members of Trump’s first administration and more recently sent information they stole from his presidential campaign to people who were affiliated with President Joe Biden’s campaign this summer.

In June, Iranian hackers breached the email account of longtime Trump ally Roger Stone and used the account to try to break into a senior Trump campaign official’s email, investigators have said.

The Iranian government has denied US allegations that it was trying to meddle in the November election.

President-elect Donald Trump announced several more additions to his incoming administration on Wednesday, including his choices for Army secretary, trade adviser, hostage envoy and NASA administrator.

Daniel P. Driscoll of North Carolina, a U.S. Army veteran and venture capitalist, will serve as secretary of the Army. Driscoll is a senior adviser to Vice President-elect JD Vance who fought with the 10th Mountain Division as a Cavalry Scout Platoon Leader in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

“I am pleased to nominate Daniel P. Driscoll, from the Great State of North Carolina, to serve as the Secretary of the Army. As a former Soldier, Investor, and Political Advisor, Dan brings a powerful combination of experiences to serve as a disruptor and change agent,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

Peter Navarro, who previously served as Trump’s trade adviser in the president-elect’s first term, will resume that role. Navarro returns to the White House as senior counsel for Trade and Manufacturing after his conviction on a misdemeanor contempt of Congress charge, for which he served four months in a federal prison.

“I am pleased to announce that Peter Navarro, a man who was treated horribly by the Deep State, or whatever else you would like to call it, will serve as my Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “During my First Term, few were more effective or tenacious than Peter in enforcing my two sacred rules, Buy American, Hire American. He helped me renegotiate unfair Trade Deals like NAFTA and the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS), and moved every one of my Tariff and Trade actions FAST….”

Adam Boehler, a businessman and former government official, will be Trump’s special presidential envoy for Hostage Affairs, with the rank of ambassador. Boehler previously served as the first CEO of the United States Development Finance Corporation and had worked with the Trump administration to negotiate the Abraham Accords.

“He has negotiated with some of the toughest people in the World, including the Taliban, but Adam knows that NO ONE is tougher than the United States of America, at least when President Trump is its Leader. Adam will work tirelessly to bring our Great American Citizens HOME,” Trump said.

Continuing, Trump picked billionaire Jared Isaacman to head up NASA. Isaacman is a private astronaut and associate of Elon Musk, who will lead the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. Isaacman is CEO of the payment processing company Shift4Payments and leads Polaris, a program that uses SpaceX vehicles to conduct private astronaut missions in orbit.

“I am delighted to nominate Jared Isaacman, an accomplished business leader, philanthropist, pilot, and astronaut, as Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA),’ Trump said.

“Over the past 25 years, as the Founder and CEO of Shift4, Jared has demonstrated exceptional leadership, building a trailblazing global financial technology company. He also co-founded and served as CEO of Draken International, a defense aerospace company, for over a decade, supporting the U.S. Department of Defense, and our Allies. Jared’s passion for Space, astronaut experience, and dedication to pushing the boundaries of exploration, unlocking the mysteries of the universe, and advancing the new Space economy, make him ideally suited to lead NASA into a bold new Era.”

In subsequent social media posts, Trump announced that Gail Slater would serve as assistant attorney general for the antitrust division at the Justice Department, and Dr. Michael William Faulkender will serve as deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Additionally, Trump selected Monica Crowley, a former assistant treasury secretary and former Fox News analyst, to serve as ambassador, assistant secretary of state and chief of protocol for the United States of America. He also named his personal lawyer, David A. Warrington, to serve as the next head of the Office of White House Counsel, the chief attorney for the White House.

Willam McGinley, a former White House Cabinet secretary from Trump’s first term, will also serve as counsel to the Department of Government Efficiency. Additionally, Paul Atkins, CEO of Patomak Global Partners, will be tapped as the next Securities and Exchange Commission chairman.

President Joe Biden is on a trip to Angola this week, and it appeared that during one of his events in the African country, his travel across the Atlantic Ocean left him with some jet lag.

During a meeting with African leaders at the Lobito Corridor Trans-Africa Summit on Wednesday, Biden appeared to monetarily fall asleep. The president closed his eyes multiple times as other leaders and officials spoke, and at times, his head appeared to drift into sleep as his eyes remained closed.

Watch:

Biden just fell asleep smack in the middle of a summit with African leaders pic.twitter.com/fs692GkE1A

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) December 4, 2024

Biden’s apparent sleep episodes were brief, and come near the end of a whirlwind trip to Angola which saw him visit with Angolan President Joao Lourenco and visit the country’s National Museum of Slavery. The president arrived in Angola Monday and is leaving the country, which is six hours ahead of Washington, D.C., Wednesday. Biden is expected to arrive back at the White House Thursday.

During the summit, Biden announced the U.S. would invest another $600 million into the rail corridor which goes across the African continent, including upgrading the railroad and helping with development of the corridor.

“The United States understands that how we invest in Africa is just as important as how much we invest in Africa,” Biden said at the summit.

“The Leaders discussed the transformative impact the Lobito Trans-Africa Corridor has had on enhancing access to the critical minerals needed for the clean energy transition and digital connectivity, strengthening food security, boosting regional trade, and empowering communities all along the Corridor,” a White House readout of the meeting said.

Biden’s trip to Africa comes more than a month before he leaves the White House on Jan. 20, and will be one of his final international trips before his term expires.

The president’s sleep was a topic of discussion following his poor debate performance against now-President-elect Donald Trump in June.

A report from the New York Times in July claimed that the president told Democratic governors he needed more sleep and fewer events after 8 p.m., and would be fine to continue his reelection bid. Later that month, Biden dropped his bid for a second term.

Tucker Carlson has travelled to Moscow to interview the Russian Foreign Minister, expressing concern at a lack of communication is leading the world to a potential “nuclear holocaust”, and stating his anger at the U.S. government preventing him from hearing both sides of the story by blocking an interview with Ukrainian President Zelensky.

Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden is accelerating towards the possibility of nuclear war between America and Russia, “back channel” de-escalation methods developed during the Cold War are being ignored, and the U.S. government has blocked repeated requests to interview Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, broadcaster Tucker Carlson said as he revealed a new Russia interview overnight. Speaking in a trailer for the forthcoming broadcast with Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s top diplomat, Carlson revealed he’d travelled to Moscow for the discussion and that he’d found the interview “absolutely fascinating”.

The Russian government confirmed the interview has been recorded, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova saying it was “quite long, over an hour and a half” and that it would have to be translated before broadcast. On the topics covered, she said the discussion touched on the state of Russian-U.S. relations, the Ukraine War, and “global geopolitics”.

Zakharova also made clear the Russian government’s own view on the nature and purpose of the war was expressed by her boss Lavrov, including allegations — common to Russia’s rhetoric over the conflict — that Ukraine was committing terrorist attacks against civilians.

The interview with Foreign Minister Lavrov comes ten months after Carlson became the first Western journalist to have a sit-down with Russian President Vladimir Putin since the renewed Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Carlson was criticised by many legacy media outlets for even speaking to Putin, to which he replied at the time: “it’s our job. We’re in journalism. Our duty is to inform people”, and said he was also trying to interview Ukraine’s President Zelensky.

Kyiv later forcefully slapped down the suggestion they’d talk to Carlson at all, implying he was an Russian asset. Yet today Carlson said the limiting factor on having such a conversation with Zelensky himself was not the Ukrainian government, but the United States. Carlson said:

…we’ve also tried for over a year to get an interview with Zelensky, the President of Ukraine. We’ve attacked that from a bunch of different angles, we’ve spoken to a lot of different people around him, had dinner with them, we’ve been in talks continuously. And those efforts have been thwarted by the U.S. government. The American embassy in Kyiv, which our tax dollars pay for, told the Zelensky government no, you may not do the interview. You can talk to CNN, but you can’t talk to us. So we’ve been unable to speak to him.

The likelihood of Carlson coming under fire from the legacy media this time around is also dampened by establishment broadcaster CNN publishing an interview of their own with Lavrov’s subordinate, Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov on Wednesday.

Perhaps the key theme in Carlson’s remarks is the importance of communication, both in the sense of allowing journalists to do their jobs to shine light on all players in the Ukraine drama, but also in preventing nuclear war itself by keeping the U.S. and Russia talking to each other. Carlson expressed alarm at the idea that there was no senior person in Washington trying to de-escalate, and that there was no contact between Washington and Moscow whatsoever. He said: “Tony Blinken, the Secretary of State, cut off all contact between the U.S. and Russian governments. There is no back channel, there is no conversation, there hasn’t been for more than two years. That’s shocking.”

On the United States suddenly ploughing forward with allowing Ukraine to launch strikes into the Russian hinterland with U.S.-provided missiles after the election of President Trump, Carlson said this was bringing the world closer to nuclear war even than during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He said of President Biden’s apparent decision: “It has accelerated ever since and it has reached its apogee so far in the weeks after Trump’s election… just a few weeks ago, the Biden administration, American military personnel launched missiles into mainland Russia and killed at least a dozen Russian soldiers. So we are, unbeknownst to most Americans, in a hot war with Russia, undeclared war.”

Tucker Carlson said the interview would be published “very soon” but did not name a date.

We’re back in Moscow. Here’s why. pic.twitter.com/7FfBhcaIUu

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) December 3, 2024

Sergei Lavrov has been the foreign minister of Russia since 2004 and is a career diplomat. As reported at Breitbart News, he has been heavily involved in Russia’s campaign to attempt to dissuade the West from supporting Ukraine through threats of retaliation. He has also appeared abroad as a deputy for President Putin since the Russian head of state was issued with an International Arrest Warrant.

In November, Lavrov criticised President Biden for deliberately trying to “muck things up” for President Trump’s forthcoming second term, saying the outgoing leader was trying to “leave as negative a legacy as possible for the next administration”. In June, he said Russia would consider any NATO troops deployed to Ukraine fair game, stating they “represent a legitimate target for our armed forces”.

Several top Veterans Affairs officials in Tennessee resigned as an internal investigation and a broader congressional probe into alleged sexual misconduct intensified, Breitbart News has reported.

Congressional investigators discovered that one man who resigned, whose name they would not tell Breitbart News but sources familiar say was a bargaining unit biomedical employee, had dozens of sexual relationships with women who worked at the Mountain Home VA medical center in Tennessee. In fact, the congressional investigators told Breitbart News this one man slept with no fewer than 32 different women who worked there—and the man and several of the women bragged about their exploits on an online group forum on a government communication portal that VA officials use to communicate about veteran healthcare and facility operations.

What’s more, sources familiar with the congressional investigation told Breitbart News they uncovered that an orgy of at least 12 officials who work at the facility took place. It’s unclear at this time whether the orgy happened on government property at the VA facility or off-site—but the mere fact that a dozen of the government workers employed there did this is astounding.

Regardless of the location of the orgy, at least two employees of the facility admitted having sex on the grounds of the VA hospital.

“The fact that the culture would even allow this to happen in the first place is absolutely wild and it all starts at the top,” a senior congressional aide familiar with the facts of the ongoing investigation told Breitbart News on Tuesday.

This scandal threatens to upend the closing days of outgoing Democrat President Joe Biden’s administration and could engulf senior officials like VA Secretary Denis McDonough. McDonough was former President Barack Obama’s White House chief of staff for Obama’s second term before Biden later named him to be the VA Secretary in this administration. Former President Donald Trump, now the president-elect again as he won the 2024 presidential election in a landslide, has named former Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) to lead the VA in his incoming administration. Collins may find serious issues from the Biden administration to clean up on this front as he takes office after he presumably is confirmed by the U.S. Senate early next year.

In addition to the biomedical employee—the man who investigators say had sex with 32 different women who work there—several other officials have also resigned as the investigations have intensified. The director of the Mountain Home facility also resigned, and at least two other employees there have resigned.

The story first surfaced in the summer as the House Committee on Veterans Affairs announced through chairman Rep. Michael Bost (R-IL) sending a letter to McDonough that the committee was investigating the matter. Later, in September, Bost pressed for more information and asked more questions on the matter.

Bost wrote to McDonough in September that since his initial letter in July that “whistleblowers have been in communication with Committee staff and provided further details on the allegations and information regarding additional allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and improper interpersonal relationships at the Mountain Home VA, which facility leadership allegedly did not address properly, that were previously unknown to Committee staff.”

“This new information is extremely disturbing and leads the Committee to believe there may be a serious culture problem at the Mountain Home VA,” Bost wrote.

The investigation spans both sides of Capitol Hill, as a local news report from September on the matter noted that Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)—who represents the state affected by this obviously—was supportive of the probe into the misconduct.

“The allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault at the VA Medical Center in Mountain Home are serious and disgusting, and American taxpayers deserve thorough and immediate answers from the Inspector General’s ongoing investigation,” Blackburn said at the time. “This is not the first time the VA has been the subject of scandal under the Biden-Harris administration, and any responsible parties must be held accountable.”

Congressional investigators are closing in now on more on this, and details are likely to keep seeping out into the public. It’s also unclear if this culture of depravity is something that extends beyond this one VA facility in Tennessee to other hospitals and facilities nationwide.

President-elect Trump is rumored to be considering replacing his Defense Secretary pick, former Fox News personality Pete Hegseth, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Trump is mulling another Cabinet pick switch-up as Republican Senators have concerns about sexual assault allegations against Hegseth.

If he were to choose DeSantis, it would be a shocking turn for the president-elect.

The Florida Governor ran a GOP presidential primary bid against Trump, and the two traded insults during the campaign. Still, the Journal noted that DeSantis was a well-known conservative who served in the military.

Hegseth is facing growing scrutiny from GOP senators after new revelations over the weekend included allegations of alcohol abuse and previous sexual misconduct.

He plans to meet with the House Republican Study Committee on Wednesday. While House members don’t have a say in the confirmation process, it could be seen as a pressure tactic to back the former “Fox & Friends Weekend” host.

Hegseth held his third round of meetings with senators and brought his wife, former Fox News producer Jennifer Cunningham Rauchet.

The Journal’s report comes just after Trump senior adviser Jason Miller said the team isn’t concerned with their choice of Hegseth amid the controversial reports.

DeSantis, who attempted to make amends as Trump seized the GOP nomination, will be ineligible to run for governor again once his term ends in 2027.

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who was initially tapped to be Trump’s attorney general but withdrew amid his own sexual misconduct allegations, has been floated to fill DeSantis’s seat when his term ends.

New rule: if Donald Trump is getting back his old job, then it might not be worth staying at your current job. That’s the premise that Bill Maher floated on his “Club Random” podcast speaking with Jane Fonda in an episode released Sunday. While interviewing the actor and activist, Maher expressed exhaustion at the prospect of covering Trump’s administration for the next four years.

“I mean I may quit,” Maher told Fonda.

“I don’t want to do another… I did Trump. I did all the Trump stuff before anybody. I called him a con man before anybody. I did, ‘He’s a mafia boss.’ I was the one who said he wasn’t going to concede the election. I’ve done it. I’ve seen this fucking—”

“Well then how come he’s so hostile to Jimmy Kimmel and not to you?” Fonda interrupted.

“He’s very hostile to me. He tweets about me every week. Every week he accidentally watches my show and goes, ‘Low ratings loser!’ I’m bored with it,” Maher answered.

“The show is the politics. There is no other thing. And he’s going to dominate the news like he always does.”

President-elect Trump last made headlines for attacking Maher back in September, when he wrote in a post on his platform Truth Social, “I seldom watch Low Rated Bill Maher but, when I do, I marvel at the fake laughter on the Show. It sounds like a bad ‘Laugh Machine,’ it’s so obnoxious and disgusting, just like him, always laughing no matter what is said.”

Whether or not Maher is seriously weighing an exit from “Real Time” due to Trump’s coming presidency, the host is supposedly on the books through 2026. Warner Bros. Discovery and HBO renewed “Real Time” for two more seasons back in March.

“Two more years in the dream job of a lifetime, on the network so many dream of being on — I think that’s what we call a no-brainer,” Maher said in a statement at the time. Maher has led “Real Time” on HBO since 2003 and has done 12 comedy specials for the network. “Real Time” was last renewed in 2021 with a two-season guarantor.

Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister has withdrawn from consideration to head President-elect Donald Trump‘s Drug Enforcement Administration.

In a statement, Chronister said Tuesday being nominated “the honor of a lifetime” but was stepping down after the “gravity of this very important responsibility set in.”

“Over the past several days, as the gravity of this very important responsibility set in, I’ve concluded that I must respectfully withdraw from consideration. There is more work to be done for the citizens of Hillsborough County and a lot of initiatives I am committed to fulfilling,” he wrote in a statement. “I sincerely appreciate the nomination, outpouring of support by the American people, and look forward to continuing my service as Sheriff of Hillsborough County.”

To have been nominated by President-Elect @realDonaldTrump to serve as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration is the honor of a lifetime. Over the past several days, as the gravity of this very important responsibility set in, I’ve concluded that I must respectfully… pic.twitter.com/bvNF8m9Bh4

— Chad Chronister (@ChadChronister) December 3, 2024

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who had previously voiced concerns over Chronister’s nomination over his arrest of a pastor for defying COVID-19 lockdown orders, celebrated his withdrawal shortly after it was announced.

“This sheriff ordered the arrest of a pastor for holding services during the COVID panic. He was tapped by Trump to head the DEA. Glad to see him withdraw from consideration,” Massie said in a statement on X. “Next time politicians lose their ever-lovin minds, he can redeem himself by following the Constitution.”

Massie had previously voiced concerns over Chronister’s nomination, announced by Trump on Saturday, over the arrest, saying it should have “disqualified” him.

Momentum against the Florida sheriff gradually built in the days after Trump tapped Chronister despite strong showings of support from Florida Republicans, including Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL).

“When I appointed Chad as Hillsborough County Sheriff in 2017, he had already spent more than 20 years in law enforcement fighting every day to protect Florida families,” Scott claimed.

“His work over the last 7 years shows Chad’s dedication to cracking down on crime, fighting the fentanyl crisis, and showing up every day to keep Floridians safe.”

Chronister joins former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) as the sole nominees to Trump’s Cabinet to withdraw from consideration before the Senate confirmation process. Gaetz, Trump’s first pick to be attorney general, backed out after meetings with Republicans in the Senate showed he lacked the votes to be confirmed.

The jury in the trial of Daniel Penny, the 26-year-old Marine veteran charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the death of Jordan Neely, began deliberating the case on Tuesday afternoon. They later came back with a note requesting that part of the jury instructions be reread.

“We the jury, request a reading of jury instructions, part 2, explanation of the law that applies to the part which is justification and defines causation,” the note read, per Inner City Press.

In NY v. Daniel Penny, a jury note: “We the jury, request a reading of jury instructions, part 2, explanation of the law that applies to the part which is justification and defines causation.” So Judge Wiley is re-reading it to them. Book: https://t.co/dZCoJPxHU7

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 3, 2024

The jury of seven women and five men was specifically interested in the portion about the justified use of force, ABC News reported. To convict, the jury must weigh whether Penny’s actions aboard the uptown F train were justifiable or not.

The jury was dismissed Tuesday evening, requesting to come back Wednesday to continue deliberations, per CNN.

While jurors had not been seated on Wednesdays during the trial, which began in November, the judge had asked them to consider coming in if they were still deliberating the case.

In May 2023, Neely boarded the train and witnesses said that he began making violent threats toward passengers.

Penny and his defense team have argued that Penny was trying to protect fellow train passengers when he placed Neely in a chokehold to restrain him, with other passengers assisting.

President Biden pledged $1 billion in humanitarian support to Africans displaced by historic droughts and food insecurity on Tuesday, as North Carolina residents continue to rebuild after the devastation left by Hurricane Helene.

“The United States continues to be the world’s largest provider of humanitarian aid and development assistance. That’s going to increase, you know, that’s the right thing for the wealthiest nation in the world to do,” Biden said while speaking in Angola. “Today I’m announcing over $1 billion in new humanitarian support for Africans displaced from homes by historic droughts and food insecurity. We know African leaders and citizens are seeking more than just aid. You seek investment.

“So, the United States is expanding our relationship all across Africa from assistance to aid, investment to trade, moving from patrons to partners to help bridge the infrastructure gap,” he added.

BREAKING: Biden announces $1 billion to help African nations rebuild homes hit by natural disasters pic.twitter.com/fUcbJUamON

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) December 3, 2024

Biden’s visit to Angola this week marks the first time the president has stepped foot on African soil during his presidency, and it comes as people in North Carolina continue to face challenges after Hurricane Helene caused destruction and devastation in late September.

Last month, the White House requested $98 billion in additional disaster relief funding to help efforts in Helene-ravished areas.

Congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle have pledged to act swiftly once they get a formal request from the Biden administration.

On top of that, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told reporters last month that her agency “will need additional funding of approximately $40 billion beyond its 2025 budget request to support the ongoing recovery efforts to these storms and meet our overall mission requirements through the end of the fiscal year.”

Still, until these funds are in place, some continue to slam Biden’s legacy of putting foreign countries before his own, which was seen Tuesday as a video of Biden making the $1 billion announcement in Africa made the rounds on social media.

“BREAKING: Joe Biden just announced a $1B aid package for AFRICAN nations that are rebuilding from natural disasters. What about North Carolina? This is DISGUSTING,” one user on X wrote.

“This is by far the WORST President of all time,” another said on X.

Still, one more user asked, “Can anyone please explain why Joe Biden hates America so much?”

Helene ravaged part of the U.S. Southeast in late September, killing more than 100 people in North Carolina alone.

It’s estimated to have caused billions of dollars worth of damage as well.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., previously told Fox News Digital that he believed it could be one of the most expensive storms in U.S. history.

Fox News host Sean Hannity was just revealed as the buyer of a jaw-dropping $23.5 million estate in Manalapan, FL, snapping up the extravagant waterfront megamansion just 10 months after announcing that he was relocating permanently to the Sunshine State from New York.

Hannity, 62, who hosts his own show on Fox News, as well as a national radio show, announced in January that he would be upping sticks from his longtime home in New York to move to his property in Palm Beach, FL, from where he planned to record both his TV and radio appearances.

The on-air personality purchased his 3,800-square-foot Florida property in 2021 for $5.3 million—but had only ever used it as a vacation home before opting to “leave New York for good” in order to pursue his “freedom.”

However, it appears the luxurious pad didn’t afford Hannity quite enough space to run free, and he has now added an enormous 12,378-square-foot dwelling to his real estate holdings in his new home state.

His new property is a 30-minute drive from Palm Beach proper and boasts an impressive eight bedrooms and 10.5 bathrooms, as well as 1.86 acres of waterfront land.

While the home—which was listed by Gary Pohrer and Nick Malinosky, of The Exclusive Group at Douglas Elliman—was originally built in 1990, it has undergone several renovations since it last traded hands in 2021, according to its listing.

These updates include “new flooring, all new bathrooms; new impact sliders; and a new cooler unit in wine room.”

Perhaps its most alluring quality, however, is its plum spot on the barrier island of Manalapan, which ensures close proximity to the beach, plenty of privacy, and staggering views of the water at all hours of the day.

The home was certainly designed with water fanatics in mind, offering a “resort-style” heated swimming pool, a large private dock, and a private beach house.

However, despite its many impressive amenities and recent upgrades, local real estate agents told the Wall Street Journal that some might consider the home a teardown and opt to raze it to make way for something more modern and imposing.

It is unclear whether Hannity plans to move into the home immediately after his Nov. 26 closing, or if he will aim to complete his own work on the property until it meets his living standards.

What is certain is that the Fox News host has no immediate plans to return to New York any time soon, having first revealed in January that he was “done” with the state forever.

“I’ve been threatening now to do this for quite a while, but we are now beginning our first broadcast from my new home and that is in the free state of Florida,” Hannity said during a January episode of his iHeartRadio show. “I am out. I am done. I’m finished.”

The outspoken conservative explained that the motivation for his move down south came from his dislike of the political policies implemented by representatives in New York, explaining that he felt much more aligned with those adopted by leaders in Florida.

“Finally, for the first time that I can think of in my adult life, I actually have representatives in the state that I’m living in that share my values,” he went on. “Like so many Americans, I left New York for good and am now in the state with, let’s see: warmer weather, law and order, better education, more freedom, better quality of life – and guess what? No state income tax.”

Hannity cut ties with the state of New York once and for all in June, when he sold his picture-prefect Oyster Bay estate for $12.7 million, 16 years after he purchased the waterfront property for $8.5 million.

The TV host listed the residence in early May for $13.75 million. The palatial property, which was sold fully furnished, quickly sparked a bidding war and was under contract within seven days.

At the time, the listing agents, Shawn Elliott and his son, Zachary Elliott, of Nest Seeker’s International, told Realtor.com® that it was a “new record for the fasted home sale over $10 million in the area,” with Shawn adding that the person who purchased the home was a longtime fan of Hannity.

The identity of the seller of the anchor’s new property has not been revealed and records reveal that the deal was carried out via an LLC, likely to preserve the anonymity of its former owner.

In the years since the home was completed in 1990, it has changed hands only a few times, starting in 2005, when it sold for $8.75 million. It was then put back on the market in 2009, ultimately selling for $8.98 million later that year.

That owner retained the property for more than a decade before selling it on in 2018 for $18 million.

Hannity ultimately scored a fairly sizable discount on the enormous estate, which was first listed for sale in February 2024 for $29 million, before that price was lowered to $25.95 million in October.

It’s unclear whether Hannity plans to live in the home by himself, or if his two children, who he shares with ex-wife Jill Rhodes, will spend at least a portion of their time in the Florida mansion.

Meta is mistakenly removing too much content across its apps, according to a top executive.

Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, told reporters on Monday that the company’s moderation “error rates are still too high” and pledged to “improve the precision and accuracy with which we act on our rules.”

“We know that when enforcing our policies, our error rates are still too high, which gets in the way of the free expression that we set out to enable,” Clegg said during a press call I attended.

“Too often, harmless content gets taken down, or restricted, and too many people get penalized unfairly.”

He said the company regrets aggressively removing posts about the covid-19 pandemic. CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently told the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee the decision was influenced by pressure from the Biden administration.

“We had very stringent rules removing very large volumes of content through the pandemic,” Clegg said.

“No one during the pandemic knew how the pandemic was going to unfold, so this really is wisdom in hindsight. But with that hindsight, we feel that we overdid it a bit. We’re acutely aware because users quite rightly raised their voice and complained that we sometimes over-enforce and we make mistakes and we remove or restrict innocuous or innocent content.”

Clegg’s comments suggest that, after years of ramping up to what is now billions of dollars in annual spend on moderation, Meta’s automated systems have become too ham-fisted. Examples of “moderation failures” were recently trending on Threads, which has been plagued with takedown errors in recent months.

The company publicly apologized after its systems suppressed photos of President-elect Donald Trump surviving an attempted assassination. And its own Oversight Board recently warned ahead of the US presidential election that its moderation errors risk the “excessive removal of political speech.”

Meta has yet to make any major known changes to its content rules since the election, though it sounds like big changes could be coming. Clegg referred to the rules as “a sort of living, breathing document” during the call with reporters.

When I asked him about Zuckerberg’s dinner with Trump last week and if Meta still planned to resist government pressure to moderate, as Zuckerberg told the House Judiciary Committee, Clegg sidestepped the question.

“I can’t give you a running commentary on conversations I was not part of,” he said of Zuckerberg’s recent dinner with Trump.

“The administration is still being assembled and the inauguration has not happened, so the conversations at this stage are clearly fairly high level. Mark is very keen to play an active role in the debates that any administration needs to have about maintaining America’s leadership in the technological sphere, which, of course, is tremendously important given all the geostrategic uncertainties around the world and particularly the pivotal role that AI will play in that scenario.”

Alex Consani, a biological male, became the first transgender Model of the Year at the 2024 Fashion Awards on Monday.

Consani became the latest biological male to steal a woman’s spotlight when he appeared on stage at the Royal Albert Hall in London, calling the moment a “big step in the right direction.” Consani has spent the bulk of 2024 participating in various runway shows, modeling for brands such as Chanel, Stella McCartney and Victoria’s Secret.

Trans woman Alex Consani is crowned Model of the Year at the British Fashion Awards – beating five biological females who were also shortlisted.

Is this fair? pic.twitter.com/PqhlcAugQS

— Peter Lloyd (@Suffragent_) December 3, 2024

The 21-year-old walked on stage with bleach-blond hair and eyebrows to accept the title. Consani thanked “black transwomen” Dominique Jackson, Connie Fleming and Aaron Rose Philip, who “really fought for the space I’m in today,” the model said.

He also thanked his parents for supporting his dream of joining the fashion industry, adding that more parents of transgender children should demonstrate the same level of support.

“Because change is more than possible — it’s needed,” Consani said.

The biological male made headlines in October after becoming the first transgender model to walk the runway at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.

Consani is signed with IMG Models, the same agency that represents supermodels Claudia Schiffer, Hailey Bieber and Bella and Gigi Hadid, according to CNN.

The transgender model made his catwalk debut for Tom Ford in 2021 and later walked the runway for multiple luxe brands, including Alexander McQueen, Chanel and Versace.

Consani also modeled for the Ann Demeulemeester Spring-Summer 2024 show as part of Paris Fashion Week in September.

Other instances of biological men stealing the spotlight from women include Bailey Anne Kennedy, who won the Miss Maryland USA pageant in 2024; Kataluna Enriquez, who won the Miss Nevada USA pageant in 2021; Rikkie Valerie Kolle, who won the Miss Netherlands pageant in 2023 and Marina Machete, who placed in the top 20 at the Miss Universe pageant in 2023.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law late Tuesday, vowing to eliminate “anti-state” forces as he struggles against an opposition that controls the country’s parliament and that he accuses of sympathizing with communist North Korea.

Less than three hours later, parliament voted to lift the declaration, with National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik declaring that the martial law was “invalid” and that lawmakers “will protect democracy with the people.”

Police and military personnel were seen leaving the Assembly’s grounds after Woo called for their withdrawal. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the liberal Democratic Party, which holds the majority in the 300-seat parliament, said the party’s lawmakers will remain in the Assembly’s main hall until Yoon formally lifts his order.

Seemingly hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the Assembly, waving banners and calling for Yoon’s impeachment.

“Democratic Party lawmakers, including me and many others, will protect our country’s democracy and future and public safety, lives and properties, with our own lives,” Lee told reporters.

The president’s surprising move harkened back to an era of authoritarian leaders that the country has not seen since the 1980s, and it was immediately denounced by the opposition and the leader of Yoon’s own conservative party.

Under South Korea’s constitution, the president can declare martial law during “wartime, war-like situations or other comparable national emergency states” that require the use of military force to maintain peace and order. It was questionable whether South Korea is currently in such a state.

When martial law is declared, “special measures” can be employed to restrict the freedom of press, freedom of assembly and other rights, as well as the power of courts.

The constitution also states that the president must oblige when the National Assembly demands the lifting of martial law with a majority vote.

Following Yoon’s announcement, South Korea’s military proclaimed that parliament and other political gatherings that could cause “social confusion” would be suspended, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said.

In Washington, the White House said the U.S. was “seriously concerned” by the events in Seoul. A spokesperson for the National Security Council said President Joe Biden’s administration was not notified in advance of the martial law announcement and was in contact with the South Korean government.

The military also said that the country’s striking doctors should return to work within 48 hours, Yonhap said. Thousands of doctors have been striking for months over government plans to expand the number of students at medical schools. The military said anyone who violates the decree could be arrested without a warrant.

Soon after the declaration, the parliament speaker called on his YouTube channel for all lawmakers to gather at the National Assembly. He urged military and law enforcement personnel to “remain calm and hold their positions.

All 190 lawmakers who participated in the vote supported the lifting of martial law. Television footage showed soldiers who had been stationed at parliament leaving the site after the vote.

Hours earlier, TV showed police officers blocking the entrance of the National Assembly and helmeted soldiers carrying rifles in front of the building.

An Associated Press photographer saw at least three helicopters, likely from the military, that landed inside the Assembly grounds, while two or three helicopters circled above the site.

The leader of Yoon’s conservative People Power Party, Han Dong-hoon, called the decision to impose martial law “wrong” and vowed to “stop it with the people.” Lee, who narrowly lost to Yoon in the 2022 presidential election, called Yoon’s announcement “illegal and unconstitutional.”

Yoon said during a televised speech that martial law would help “rebuild and protect” the country from “falling into the depths of national ruin.” He said he would “eradicate pro-North Korean forces and protect the constitutional democratic order.”

“I will eliminate anti-state forces as quickly as possible and normalize the country,” he said, while asking the people to believe in him and tolerate “some inconveniences.”

Yoon — whose approval rating has dipped in recent months — has struggled to push his agenda against an opposition-controlled parliament since taking office in 2022.

Yoon’s party has been locked in an impasse with the liberal opposition over next year’s budget bill. The opposition has also attempted to pass motions to impeach three top prosecutors, including the chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, in what the conservatives have called a vendetta against their criminal investigations of Lee, who has been seen as the favorite for the next presidential election in 2027 in opinion polls.

During his televised announcement, Yoon also described the opposition as “shameless pro-North Korean anti-state forces who are plundering the freedom and happiness of our citizens,” but he did not elaborate.

Yoon has taken a hard line on North Korea over its nuclear ambitions, departing from the policies of his liberal predecessor, Moon Jae-in, who pursued inter-Korean engagement.

Yoon has also dismissed calls for independent investigations into scandals involving his wife and top officials, drawing quick, strong rebukes from his political rivals.

Yoon’s move was the first declaration of martial law since the country’s democratization in 1987. The country’s last previous martial law was in October 1979, following the assassination of former military dictator Park Chung-hee.

A U.S. Secret Service agent opened fire near the Washington, D.C., home of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen after confronting several people who were trying to break into cars on her street early Tuesday morning, the agency said.

There is no evidence that the agent, who was assigned to Yellen’s protective detail, hit any of the suspects before they fled in their own vehicle, the Secret Service said.

Yellen was not under threat during the incident and was not harmed, the agency said.

The shooting occurred nearly 13 months after a Secret Service agent assigned to protect President Joe Biden’s eldest granddaughter, Naomi Biden Neal, fired shots at several people who were breaking into an unoccupied government vehicle outside of her home in the Georgetown section of Washington, D.C.

The incident Tuesday outside of Yellen’s home, which is in the northwest section of Washington, occurred at about 1:30 a.m. ET, according to the Secret Service.

The agent “observed a sedan with multiple occupants who were attempting to open car doors along the street,” the agency said.

“As the sedan approached the agent, a confrontation occurred between the agent and the car’s occupants, the Secret Service said. “The agent discharged their service weapon.”

“The suspects fled the scene in the sedan, and a lookout was issued to local law enforcement,” the agency said.

The shooting will be investigated by the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington and Washington Metropolitan Police, according to the Secret Service.

A 13-year-old migrant boy and three masked buddies stabbed a man in a brass-knuckle beatdown near Times Square on Sunday – all because he wouldn’t take their photo, cops and sources said.

The Ecuadorian teen and his pals approached the 23-year-old victim around 9 p.m. at West 40th Street and Seventh Avenue and asked him to snap their picture, police and sources said.

When the pedestrian said no, the crew ganged up on him – socking him in the face and stabbing him in the back and leg with a brass-knuckle knife, authorities said.

They also tried to grab his cellphone but were unsuccessful, cops said.

The suspects ran off, but cops managed to nab the young teen after searching the area with the victim, police said.

The incident was first reported by ViralNewsNYC.

The youngster – whose last known address is the notoriously violence-ridden Roosevelt Hotel – was charged with second-degree robbery, cops and sources said.

The victim refused medical attention after the violent encounter with the stab wounds only superficial, authorities and police said.

The three suspects who are still on the loose were each last seen wearing all black and black facemasks, sources said.

The arrested teen was previously busted this past Oct. 26 in connection to a chain snatching on board a northbound F train at McDonald Avenue and Avenue X in Brooklyn, law enforcement sources said.

Four other suspects were involved – with all five holding down the victim, who had been sleeping before the robbery but then tried to fight off the muggers, the sources said.

The teen’s bust steps from the Crossroads of the World came weeks after NYPD Chief of Crime Control Strategies Michael Lipetri told The Post that the department is “arresting juveniles at the highest level than we have ever seen before.”

“We are seeing juveniles commit five, six, seven robberies. Most of them get dealt with under the Family Court statutes.” Lipetri said.

Just this week, dozens of children were found alone at the U.S.-Mexico border, including a 10-year-old boy who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border on Thanksgiving Day and a 4-year-old girl from Honduras found by officials.

According to Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Chris Olivarez, more than 100 unaccompanied children have encountered agents on the nation’s southern border since Sunday, Nov. 24.

“I want the American people to see the impacts of this current border situation that we’ve been in for the last three plus years, and how it impacts unaccompanied children are coming across that border,” Olivarez told “NewsNation Prime.”

According to Olivarez, the children they’ve encountered ranged from 2 years old to 17 years old.

The unnamed 4-year-old girl had a note with her when she encountered agents, with a phone number and first name. Her mother told NewsNation she is already in the U.S. and said she left her child in the hands of criminal smugglers in Honduras and Mexico in hopes of being reunited.

“I found a coyote and I paid for them to bring her to me,” the woman said.

“She came alone. It was just the coyote. The last time I talked to my daughter was Saturday, and I haven’t heard anything since they told me the coyote had already handed her over to another coyote, but I don’t know anything else about her.”

It’s “all too common,” Olivarez explained, adding that he fears the influx of unaccompanied minors will only get worse.

“It really shows the inner workings of how these criminals are operating, also how some of these family members, if they are family members in fact, how they even allow their child to make this long, precarious journey to United States at the hands of criminals,” he added.

Olivarez pointed to “whatever agreement” the Biden administration made with Mexico to get its border crossings numbers down, saying: “There is no safety mechanisms. There is no protocols in place to protect unaccompanied children.”

The 4-year-old’s mother shared photos of her daughter with NewsNation.

The photos, sent to the mother by a human smuggler while her daughter was still in Mexico, show more children in the background.

The mother tells NewsNation that her daughter is still under U.S. immigration custody and it’s unclear if or when she will be released to her in South Carolina.