The NFL, Apple Music, and Roc Nation announced late last month that Benito Ocasio, the cross-dressing Puerto Rican rapper known as Bad Bunny, will headline the Super Bowl halftime show on Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California.

While Ocasio, a supporter of Kamala Harris’ failed presidential campaign, recently suggested on “Saturday Night Live” that “people all around the world who love my music are also happy” about the decision, a great many Americans appear deeply displeased with the league’s choice of entertainer.

Ocasio has, after all, admittedly avoided touring in the U.S. because of the Trump administration’s faithful enforcement of federal immigration law; cursed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents; and repeatedly dressed up in drag, in at least one case wearing fake breasts. Ocasio has also raised eyebrows with his suggestion that Americans — whose official language is English — will have to learn Spanish to understand his Super Bowl performance.

‘One by one, conservatives will take back every great American institution.’

Fortunately, there will be an alternative for normal Americans. Turning Point USA announced on Thursday that it will be running a rival halftime show “celebrating faith, family & freedom.”

While the conservative organization has yet to announce performers and key event details, the name of the Super Bowl halftime alternative contains a major hint: “The All American Halftime Show.”

— (@)

The corresponding website for the TPUSA event asks visitors to indicate which genres of music they’d prefer to see featured, including Americana, classic rock, country, pop, worship, or “anything in English.”

Blaze News has reached out to a TPUSA spokesman for additional insights into the event.

RELATED: Bad Bunny gets the ball, football fans get the finger

Photo by Ray Tamarra/GC Images

The news was well received by American conservatives and other patriots.

BlazeTV host Auron MacIntyre said in response to the announcement, “It’s time.”

“The NFL chose Bad Bunny. Turning Point chose America. That’s how we win the culture war — by building something better,” wrote Crystal Kate, senior adviser to Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts.

The New York Young Republican Club noted, “We’re beginning to see the formation of a parallel culture in America, a revitalization of the true American Spirit, free from corporate wokeism and donor/advertising pressures. One by one, conservatives will take back every great American institution.”

President Donald Trump suggested that Ocasio, the headliner for the official alternative to the TPUSA halftime show, is “absolutely ridiculous.”

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​Turning point usa, Tpusa, Charlie kirk, Super bowl, Nfl, Football, Halftime, Halftime show, Bad bunny, Ocasio, Politics 

On Thursday morning, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) held a press conference to provide updates on the ongoing government shutdown. Along with other GOP leaders, Johnson placed blame for the shutdown squarely on Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and other leading Democrats.

“It seems complicated, what’s happening in Washington right now,” Johnson said. “It actually is very simple.”

‘A majority of the Senate is already on our side. … So this really does get down to Leader Schumer and the bulk of his caucus.’

The speaker went on to say that Schumer and other top Democrats are prolonging the shutdown to appease the radical wing of their party. “They are worried about the Marxist flank in their Democrat Party,” Johnson said. “… He’s terrified that he’s going to get a challenge from his far left.”

According to Johnson, the Democrats’ delaying tactic is hurting the average American: “They are playing politics, and real Americans are paying the price for it.”

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said that Republicans are ready and willing to work with Democrats to move legislation forward. “We’re prepared to work. I’ve got very talented counterparts on the Democratic side,” Cole said.

He added that Schumer and other prominent Democrats are preventing bipartisan progress: “A majority of the Senate is already on our side. A bipartisan majority of 55. So this really does get down to Leader Schumer and the bulk of his caucus.”

RELATED: ‘BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!’ Trump brings an end to another bloody war ahead of Nobel Prize announcement

Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) echoed the speaker’s comments on Democrat efforts to appease the radical elements of the party. “I think the American people are getting sick of this charade,” Scalise said. He pointed to these efforts at appeasement as a major reason for the Democrats’ refusal to compromise. “Chuck Schumer is more concerned with his political job than he is about the jobs of millions of American families,” he claimed.

For his part, Schumer has remained focused on the additional health care funding and coverage that Democrats have insisted on adding to the continuing resolution in order to open up the government. In a post on X, Schumer wrote, “The government is shut down because Trump and the Republicans are hellbent on taking healthcare away from you.”

Since the government shut down, there have been five votes on measures to reopen it. All of them have failed. Another vote is scheduled for October 10.

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​Mike johnson, Chuck schumer, Politics 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged a detainer against an illegal alien who killed a college student in a hit-and-run accident and received a light prison sentence, Blaze News has exclusively learned.

‘This monster should never have been in our country and has had a final order of removal since 2018.’

On April 2, Rosali I. Fernandez-Cruz, a 24-year-old illegal alien from El Salvador, was driving his pickup truck when he struck and killed Nathaniel Baker, a 21-year-old University of South Carolina student, who was riding his motorcycle in Richland County, South Carolina.

Fernandez-Cruz, who illegally entered the U.S. through the Mexico border in December 2016, fled the scene of the crash without attempting to administer aid.

Three of the four charges against Fernandez-Cruz were ultimately dropped, including failure to render aid, failure to yield right of way, and driving without a license.

He pleaded guilty to hit-and-run resulting in death and was sentenced to just one year in prison. He was also given credit for 131 days of time served.

Fernandez-Cruz’s scheduled release is set for March 2026.

RELATED: Inside the Portland ICE facility under siege by Antifa extremists

Rosali I. Fernandez-Cruz. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

A Department of Homeland Security press release revealed that ICE has lodged a detainer against Fernandez-Cruz to ensure that he is deported following the completion of his prison sentence.

An immigration judge issued a final order of removal in 2018.

RELATED: Chicago mayor creates ‘ICE-free zones’ meant to impede federal agents — White House fires off brutal response

Nathaniel Baker. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

“21-year-old USC student Nathaniel ‘Nate’ Baker was driving a motorcycle when he was hit by a truck driver who fled the scene,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated. “The hit-and-run driver, Rosali Isaac Fernandez-Cruz, was in our country illegally and received just one year in prison for taking Nate’s precious life. ICE lodged a detainer to ensure as soon as this killer completes his one-year prison sentence that ICE is notified to arrest him and get him OUT of our country.”

“Nathaniel was a 21-year-old college student with his whole life in front of him. This monster should never have been in our country and has had a final order of removal since 2018,” McLaughlin added.

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​News, Immigration and customs enforcement, Ice, Department of homeland security, Dhs, Illegal immigration crisis, Illegal immigration, Immigration crisis, South carolina, Rosali i. fernandez-cruz, Rosali fernandez-cruz, Nathaniel baker, Nate baker, University of south carolina, Hit-and-run, Politics 

A flyer allegedly created by far-left radicals calls for activists to use laser pointers against law enforcement helicopters in Portland, Oregon.

Portland has been the site of violent rioting against officers of Immigration and Customs Enforcement by Antifa protesters. The situation has deteriorated to the point where the Trump administration has ordered National Guard troops to protect federal facilities and the White House has threatened to cancel federal funding to the city.

‘All you need is a laser. Leave home — they can see where the laser is coming from.’

On Thursday, a flyer surfaced on social media that seems to call upon activists to commit a federal crime.

“Every night for weeks we are forced to listen to the threatening rhythm of helicopter blades as the federal regime spies on us. The only limit power knows is our refusal to submit. This Saturday, October 11th, at 9 pm you are invited to fight back. All you need is a laser. Leave home — they can see where the laser is coming from,” the flyer reads.

“Go to a park, a field, or some other public place, and once the clock strikes 9 unleash your beam at the cop copter. Mask up,” the flyer continues. “Coordinate with friends to throw a laser party!”

The flyer can be traced back to a post on a website titled Rose City Counter-Info that publishes “anarchist and anti-authoritarian” material. The website also publishes material promoting Antifa.

Leftist protesters have previously used laser pointers to attack federal agents in Portland, most notably in 2020. In July of that year, several protesters were arrested for violence including the use of lasers as weapons.

RELATED: Nick Sortor threatens legal action against the Portland Police Department after his arrest over Antifa attack

Photo by John Rudoff/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Journalist Andy Ngo captured video showing Portland protesters using high-powered laser pointers at that time.

“It’s not surprising to see Antifa announce their intention to commit a federal crime,” national correspondent Julio Rosas told Blaze News. “Their goal is to cause disruptions to the federal government in any way they can. It would be amusing to see if they follow through on it as four illegal aliens in Portland were recently arrested for doing the same thing.”

Rosas spoke at a roundtable about Antifa at the White House on Wednesday to describe his experiences in dealing with the left-wing group.

Blaze News’ requests for comment from various Portland Antifa websites were not immediately answered.

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​Antifa flyer, Laser attack on pilots, Portland antifa, Antifa anti-ice attack, Politics 

A Canadian gym that claims the fitness industry is dominated by white people has removed a pricing structure that was based on race.

R Studios released a statement in response to online backlash after reports circulated that showed the company offering classes for “BIPOC … Black, Indigenous, Person of Colour” at half its typical rate. Its usual rate was $30, but the “BIPOC” rate was $15.

‘Our mission has always been to create spaces that feel safe.’

As reported by the Daily Mail, not only did the Halifax, Nova Scotia, studio offer a special “BIPOC drop in rate,” but a screenshot of an alleged chat with the company revealed users could get a “reduced” membership cost simply for being “a black person.”

“Yes, we offer a BIPOC membership option,” the company allegedly responded, according to the image.

In response, the fitness studio posted a series of statements to its Instagram account, seemingly admitting to the pricing program.

“Our mission has always been to create spaces that feel safe, inclusive, and welcoming for all people,” the post began.

The statement then immediately positioned the company as implementing diversity programs as a method to fight bigotry. Not only did R Studios claim that the fitness industry has “long been predominantly white and often inaccessible,” the company seemed to state it has engaged in race-based hiring practices as well.

“We have taken pride in being leaders who actively promote diversity through our hiring practices, in-studio equity and inclusion training, and the creation of our IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Accessibility) Committee.”

Further cementing that customers are to “feel seen” at the business, R Studios then addressed “feedback and criticism” surrounding its efforts to create a “discounted membership” created by its “BIPOC team and IDEA Committee to help foster diversity and inclusion.”

RELATED: DEI in space? How Biden hijacked NASA for a woke agenda

City of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, in 2023. Photo by Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images

The post continued, claiming that while R Studios’ “initiative was built from a place of compassion and community,” the company said it understood that some have interpreted the pricing tiers to be “exclusive.”

The company then justified the decision by saying part of its work means recognizing “true inclusion,” which involves creating “intentional space for those who have been historically marginalized or excluded.”

R Studios further announced that it would be removing all discounted memberships and replacing them with an allegedly “even more inclusive” program to provide memberships for those who face “financial or systemic barriers” but “regardless of background.”

On the final page of the post, the company said it remains committed to DEI.

This commitment is still displayed proudly on the R Studios website, where it boasts a land acknowledgement.

“The Rstudios community is currently working to be more inclusive,” the statement reads. The company also declares in the acknowledgement “that we are in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People.”

It adds, “This territory is covered by the ‘Treaties of Peace and Friendship’ signed in 1725.”

The Mi’kmaq have been noted as being scalpers for pay who tortured prisoners of war from other tribes, which was of course common at the time.

RELATED: Serena Williams disgusted over cotton plant inside hotel — then it quickly backfires

Local political candidate from the People’s Party of Canada Jeff Evely commented that he felt the fitness studio was in violation of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act.

“R studios in Nova Scotia charges double for white people, in violation of Sections 5(1) of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act,” Evely wrote on X.

Notably, the studio’s owner, Connie McInnes, was celebrated by national Canadian bank TD Canada in 2019 for her efforts to create “safe spaces for women.”

R Studios did not respond to Blaze News’ request for comment regarding race-based pricing and hiring practices.

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​News, Canada, Woke, Dei, Diversity equity inclusion, Gym, Yoga, Fitness, Racism, Bipic, Politics 

Pro-Hamas protesters who allegedly became violent during a march in Boston on Tuesday evening will remain in custody unless they can raise sufficient funds to cover their high bail costs.

‘I think that effectively, the far-left promotes violence.’

Thirteen agitators were arrested earlier this week while participating in a pro-Palestine rally on the two-year anniversary of Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack that caused the deaths of more than 1,200 Israelis.

Some of the charges against the protesters included disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and disturbing the peace.

Four officers sustained non-life-threatening injuries, including broken bones, in scuffles with the protesters.

John Gately, the host of the “John F Gately Show,” captured footage of the demonstration and estimated that roughly 175 people attended.

“There was a kerfuffle. There was a report of pepper spray; I didn’t see that,” Gately told Blaze News on Wednesday. “It was a fight in the middle of Tremont Street.”

RELATED: Masked pro-Hamas agitators turn violent — 4 cops injured, 13 arrested in Boston

Image source: John Gately

“From my perspective, this is all the same ball of wax: Antifa, free Palestine, trans-tifa. They’re all the same effectively, far-left/communist agitators,” Gately said. “It’s all the same oppressor versus oppressed dialectic.”

“I think that effectively, the far-left promotes violence,” he added.

On Thursday, the Boston Herald reported that the arrested protesters were slapped with high bail amounts. Three individuals, 26-year-old Osama El Khatib, 19-year-old Styx Hatch, and 21-year-old Roder Atwood, were held on $10,000 bail. Atwood is accused of assaulting a police officer and causing bodily harm.

Atwood, a Tufts University senior, pleaded not guilty. His attorney requested that Atwood be released, noting his lack of prior criminal record.

Blaze News reached out to Atwood’s attorney, Peter A. O’Karma.

RELATED: ‘BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!’ Trump brings an end to another bloody war ahead of Nobel Prize announcement

Image source: John Gately

Atlanta Carrig-Braun, 24, and Haley Macintyre, 24, were held on $7,500 bail. A few other individuals, including 27-year-old Madeline Weikel, 22-year-old Jacob Pettigrew, and 28-year-old Gabrielle Smith, were held on $5,000 bail.

Owen Woodcock, 26, and Amun Prophet, 25, were held on $1,000 bail. Prahlad Iyengar, 25, Laith Hintzman, 19, and Benjamin Andre Choucroun, 20, were held on $500 bail.

In a statement previously provided to Blaze News, Mayor Michelle Wu (D) said, “We are extremely grateful for the work of the Boston Police in keeping the city safe and in supporting the right to peacefully protest. Boston will not tolerate violence, and we categorically condemn those who came into our community to attack our police officers. The individuals who engaged in these attacks must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

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​News, Pro-hamas, Hamas, October 7 terror attack, October 7, Pro-palestine, Palestine, Boston, Massachusetts, Protest, Politics 

Jackie Hill Perry is a Christian author whom BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey has admired and agreed with on many issues, but whose stance on racial justice became abundantly clear in 2020 and led to her blocking Stuckey on social media.

Now, in a recent episode on her “With the Perrys” podcast, Perry explained that she doesn’t believe Charlie Kirk is a martyr — and Stuckey couldn’t disagree more.

“They misunderstand. ‘Why don’t you think he’s a martyr?’ And it’s like, because I heard what he said. And so, it’s not that I don’t appreciate his stances on abortion, on sexuality, on marriage, but it’s also, I hear other things alongside that that don’t give martyr,” Perry said.

“I want to get to the bigger point here, which is really important, and that is about martyrdom. Was Charlie a martyr? She says that other things that he said ‘didn’t give martyr.’ And I take issue with how that is phrased because that’s such a flippant way to be talking about the assassination of a brother in Christ,” BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey comments.

“What does the Bible say that a martyr is?” she asks. “When we look at the etymology of martyrdom and that word, what does it actually mean? Is a martyr someone who only says things we agree with? Is a martyr someone who never says things that are offensive? Is a martyr someone that has to be perfect and totally sinless? Is that how we define martyr?”

“Because it seems to me from that conversation that that is how they are defining it. Charlie Kirk said things that they don’t agree with,” she adds.

However, the biblical definition of a martyr is much different from the one Perry was basing her rejection of Kirk on.

“A martyr is one who bears testimony to faith, one who willingly suffers death rather than surrender his or her religious faith, especially their Christian beliefs,” Stuckey reads.

“When we look into the Greek term ‘martys’ — so when we look at the etymology, the study of this word, ‘martys’ literally means witness. So a witness to the truth. And what does witness mean? It means someone who attests to a fact, to an event, from personal knowledge. So one who so testifies. Now what does testify mean? To affirm the truth of,” she continues.

“What is not the definition of a martyr is someone who always agrees with us. Someone who never offends us. Someone who is sinless. Only Jesus was sinless. Someone whose words meet our definition of gentle or loving or kind. It is also not someone who never talked about politics or who voted a certain way,” Stuckey explains.

“That’s not how we define martyrdom,” she adds.

Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?

To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Sharing, Video phone, Free, Camera phone, Upload, Video, Youtube.com, Relatable with allie beth stuckey, Relatable, Allie beth stuckey, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Charlie kirk, Charlie kirk martyr, Martyrdom, Religion, Christianity, The bible, Jackie hill perry, Charlie kirk assassination 

Over a week into the Democrat-induced government shutdown, President Donald Trump revealed just how far the administration is willing to go.

During a Cabinet meeting Thursday, Trump said Democrats will get “a little taste of their own medicine.” The government has officially entered its ninth day of the shutdown, and neither Democrats nor Republicans seem to have budged. As a result, Trump is turning up the pressure.

‘They wanted to do this.’

“Despite all of the damage that it’s caused, the shutdown, it’s been, you know, pretty damaging, I mean, not yet because it’s early, but it gets a little bit worse as it goes along,” Trump said.

As a result, Trump said his administration will “be making cuts that will be permanent.”

RELATED: Pam Bondi tears into Democratic senator: ‘I wish you loved Chicago as much as you hate President Trump’

Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

“We’re only going to cut Democrat programs, I hate to tell you,” Trump said.

“We’ll be cutting some very popular Democrat programs. … They wanted to do this, so we’ll give them a little taste of their own medicine,” Trump added.

Democrats have voted several times to keep the government closed since the October 1 funding deadline. The Republican-led funding bill is a clean continuing resolution with no partisan anomalies. The only change in the GOP’s bill is a bipartisan increase in security funding for lawmakers following Charlie Kirk’s assassination.

In contrast, the Democrat-led funding bill boasts a $1.5 trillion price tag and aims to reverse most if not all legislative accomplishments achieved through Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

RELATED: Trump praises Blaze News reporting during Antifa roundtable at White House — and slaps down MSNBC, CNN

Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images

“Chuck Schumer proclaimed this morning that every day gets better for them,” Trump said. “No, every day it’s actually getting worse for them, and they’re having a rebellion in the Democrat Party because they want to stop.”

“This is a confession that he’s acting, not to serve the people, but to serve the partisan interests of his party,” Trump added. “And I don’t think he’s serving them well because … they just lost an election in a landslide.”

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​Donald trump, Cabinet meeting, Chuck schumer, Schumer shutdown, Government shutdown, One big beautiful bill, Congress, Shutdown, Funding bill, Continuing resolution, Mass layoffs, Russ vought, Office of management and budget, Senate democrats, House democrats, Senate republicans, House republicans, Charlie kirk, Charlie kirk assassination, Politics 

A Democrat state representative in North Carolina has been accused of raping a teenager, prompting some in his party to demand his resignation.

On Wednesday, state Rep. Cecil Brockman, 41, was booked into Guilford County jail on four charges: two counts of statutory rape of a child between the ages of 13 and 15, a class B felony, and two counts of indecent liberties with a child, a class F felony.

‘The profound seriousness of these criminal charges makes it impossible for him to effectively represent his community.’

Court documents allege that on August 15, Brockman “unlawfully, willfully, and feloniously did engage in a sexual act with” and “did commit and attempt to commit lewd and lascivious act upon the body of” a 15-year-old victim. Whether the alleged victim is male or female is unclear.

Court documents further claim that Brockman has attempted to make contact with the alleged victim, even going so far as “attempting to locate the juvenile in the hospital” and “attempting to use his status” as a state lawmaker “to gain information” about the victim’s whereabouts.

Brockman was not given bail upon his arrest. He is scheduled to appear in court again on Thursday afternoon.

A spokesperson from Brockman’s legislative office declined a request for comment from Blaze News.

Since his arrest, high-profile members of his party from around the state have already called for his resignation.

“The profound seriousness of these criminal charges makes it impossible for him to effectively represent his community,” the North Carolina Democratic Party said in a statement, according to WRAL.

House Minority Leader Robert Reives (D-Chatham) hedged a bit, saying that if the allegations are proven true, then they “would disqualify him from public office.” But Reives said first, “It is important to let the legal process unfold.”

RELATED: Evil unchecked always spreads — and Democrats are proof

Photo by Maxine Wallace/the Washington Post via Getty Images

The calls for Brockman to resign stand in stark contrast to the heated political situation in Virginia, where Democrats around the state have stood by Jay Jones, their candidate for attorney general, despite previous violent statements about a Republican colleague and his family.

Last week, a text conversation from 2022 resurfaced between then-House Delegate Jones and Republican House Delegate Carrie Coyner. During their exchange, Jones said:

in a hypothetical scenario in which he has two bullets and must choose whether to kill then-Speaker Todd Gilbert (R), Adolf Hitler, or Pol Pot, “Gilbert gets two bullets to the head.””Put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know and he receives both bullets every time.“Gilbert’s two kids are “little fascists” who should die so that “evil” Gilbert will change his mind on some political issues.if his Republican colleagues should die before he does, he would “go to their funerals to piss on their graves.“

​Cecil brockman, Jay jones, Abigail spanberger, North carolina, Virginia, Democratic party, Politics 

New York City police said a 25-year-old male admitted to beating a man to death inside a Brooklyn subway station, ABC News reported.

Police said officers arrived at the Jay Street station just after 3 p.m. Tuesday after getting a call about an “aided male,” the news network said.

Police added that suspect had a katana sword — with a blade of more than 20 inches in length — resting in his lap at the time of the arrest, WABC reported.

Upon arrival, officers “observed an unidentified male, unconscious and unresponsive, with trauma about the body,” police added to ABC News.

Paramedics transported the victim to New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital in “critical condition”; he later was “pronounced deceased,” police told the news network.

The suspect punched, kicked, and stomped 64-year-old Nicola Tanzi — and allegedly admitted to detectives that he did it because he didn’t like the way the victim looked at him, police told WABC-TV, which added that Tanzi suffered a fractured skull.

Authorities named the suspect as 25-year-old David Mazariegos late Wednesday afternoon, WABC reported, adding that he’s been charged with murder, robbery, and grand larceny.

Authorities added that Mazariegos has 17 prior arrests, including for assault earlier this year, petit larceny, and graffiti, WABC said.

RELATED: ‘White boy,’ ‘cracker’: Subway rider dares to glance at hollering female behind him — so she veers into beatdown mode: Cops

WABC said Mazariegos was arrested around 10 p.m. Tuesday after NYPD officers assigned to the subway in Times Square saw him sitting on the sidewalk.

Police added that suspect had a katana sword — with a blade of more than 20 inches in length — resting in his lap at the time of the arrest, WABC reported.

What’s more, police told WABC that Mazariegos also was in possession of four of the victim’s credit cards — including one the suspect allegedly used to make a Target purchase Tuesday night.

RELATED: 4 females — ages 13 to 15 — arrested after they beat, tried to rob 71-year-old woman while she was on her way to church: Cops

Detectives also are looking into similarities between Tuesday’s murder and the death of a worker who confronted a shoplifter at a Morton Williams in Hell’s Kitchen last month, WABC said.

More on what led to the deadly attack, according to WABC:

Police say the suspect was pulling on the exit gate at the Jay Street-MetroTech station, attempting to gain entry around 3 p.m. Tuesday when Tanzi approached.

The two exchanged words, and the suspect sucker punched the 64-year-old, knocking him to the ground.

According to investigators, video from MTA security cameras recorded the suspect then punching, kicking, and stomping the victim’s head 15 times while he was on the ground.

Police say the suspect was then seen boarding a Bronx-bound No. 2 train.

Candles burned at the scene of the crime Wednesday in memory of Tanzi, WABC said, adding that others said he was a security guard and a nice guy.

— (@)

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch credited the department’s domain awareness system, which sent photos of the suspect to officers’ phones, after which the suspect was arrested, WABC reported.

“Right after this horrific attack, the entire NYPD received an emergency alert to their phones with photos of the suspect and a physical description,” Tisch said on X. “Eagle-eyed cops working near Times Square recognized this perp from the photos they had just received and immediately brought this dangerous criminal into custody.”

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​Subway, New york city, Man beaten to death, Looked at me the wrong way, Arrest, David mazariegos, Murder charge, Crime 

The federal government collects samples of wastewater to protect citizens from communicable diseases, it says.

The seldom-discussed operation is called the Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance program, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

‘… 72-hour period from collection to detection is unacceptable.’

The program is twofold; the first portion involves collecting and monitoring wastewater samples from select U.S. airports.

In San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, New York City (JFK), and Washington D.C. (IAD), either airplane wastewater or airport bathroom wastewater is collected. In other cities like Newark (EWR), Miami, and Seattle, only nasal swab samples are collected from willing international travelers.

The CDC explains that samples are shipped to a laboratory for “digital polymerase chain reaction (dPCR)” testing to ensure there are no pathogens that are of concern to public health. Samples that do have certain pathogens undergo sequencing to determine variants, strains, or mutations that could be dangerous.

“Basically, if you use the washroom on a plane, they’ll pull the material from the plane; the fecal matter and the urine, and we can actually run that through a device that can actually sequence it and detect the presence of a threat or whatever viral material you might have shed,” Jake Adler, CEO at Pilgrim Labs, told Blaze News.

Adler, the biodefense entrepreneur behind the clay-based hemostatic dressing Kingsfoil, described the program as largely ineffective, however, that is mostly due to the sheer time it takes for the samples to make it to labs for analysis.

RELATED: Biotech founder sliced open his own legs on camera to prove his product is safe for US troops

Jimmy Arias, 46, from Venezuela, washes his face in the bathroom of a makeshift shelter operated by the city at O’Hare International Airport on Aug. 31, 2023. Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

“They’re going to be pulling the wastewater, or basically the material from the bathroom, and then bringing that to a local laboratory and monitoring for the presence of viruses,” Adler detailed.

“That means they have to drive roughly four hours to each portable sampling unit — which we have, I think, close to 3,000 or 3,500 across the country … then they do the testing and then 72 hours later we know whether or not we’ve detected a threat. Now obviously, a 72-hour period from collection to detection is unacceptable,” the CEO explained.

Adler has a solution, however. The biotech expert said he is working on a chemical threat detection system that will not only work for military operations, but would have domestic implementations, as well.

RELATED: Chinese informant allegedly alerted FBI to Wuhan lab leak in early 2020: Report

Bathroom aboard a United Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. Photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Calling it Argus, Adler described the program as a “next-generation, fully autonomous and near real-time bio-surveillance platform” that detects the presence of bio-aerosols, viruses, and pathogenic bacteria in the air.

This would massively cut down on the time it takes to identify a threat, Adler told Blaze News. In airports especially, tracking the presence of viruses in the air for “real-time sequencing and analysis” to understand how the virus could spread through the population via movement patterns would be a game changer.

Adler strongly affirmed that any product released through his company would not only be safe, but it would have to be something he was willing to experience himself.

That is why, when he released Kingsfoil, the biotech entrepreneur was willing to cut his own leg open in order to showcase the product.

“I’m a human, right? So I am a relevant model,” he said about testing the product on himself. Shockingly, Adler said that he has already told his team that he intends to “probably do it again, as needed.”

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