
Terrified European family reveal Dem-run city they visited where they'd 'never felt so unsafe'
An unidentified Redditor and their family stayed in a Downtown Seattle hotel during a recent visit to the Emerald City.
They shared details of their nightmare stay, saying the city was full of homeless people and drug-addicts.
'The number of junkies in the street is insane, they are screaming and catcalling you,' they wrote on Reddit. 'There are more homeless than tourists.'
While finding a place to eat after dropping their bags off, they were horrified to encounter a man who was talking on the phone while unsteadily walking down the path with a 'huge hunting knife.'
'Wtfff??' the vacationer wrote. 'Definitely coming back with an Uber to the hotel.
'For the perspective, I went to many US cities on the East Coast and this is the first time I have ever felt so unsafe.'
Many of the commenters believed the family may have ended up on the bad side of town.
'Seattle has tons of great neighborhoods, but not there,' one wrote.
While finding a place to eat after dropping their bags off, they were horrified to encounter a man who was talking on the phone while unsteadily walking down the path with a 'huge hunting knife'
'As soon as they said downtown Seattle, I was like oh no, you done f**ked up,' another wrote.
A third replied: 'Plenty of people walk around downtown. They just carry big knives, mentally unstable or stoned beyond belief.'
King County, which includes Seattle, has 16,000 homeless people - the largest number ever reported in the county and city.
In 2022, there was 13,300 people experiencing homeless, meaning the number spiked 23 percent in two years, data from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development showed.
Seattle has already had 2,387 incidents of violent crime this year, including 671 robberies, 1,527 aggravated assaults, and 173 rapes.
Homeless people have been pictured slumped over in the streets of Seattle and openly shooting up drugs, after the city's officials chose not to make public drug use illegal.
In August 2023, the Seattle City Council voted not to pass legislation that would have allowed the City Attorney's Office to prosecute public drug use cases.
Almost instantly, the streets were filled with people openly shooting up drugs.
Many commenters said there were good parts to the city, but to avoid downtown
The city's new $800million mega project to revitalize the city has already descended into squalor and despair with a new fountain turned into a bubble bath for homeless people earlier this month.
Seattle launched the $806million Waterfront Seattle Program in 2010 to reconnect the city to its waterfront along Puget Sound - a large saltwater inlet of the Pacific Ocean.
It recently opened the Joshua S. Green Sr. Fountain to the Columbia Street waterfront, now set amid new public art added as part of the revitalization.
But despite the extensive efforts - and the hundreds of millions invested - the city's homelessness crisis continues unabated.
Some believe officials are ignoring the city's most urgent problems, choosing instead to focus on crafting the illusion of a perfect city through cosmetic renovations.
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Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Tucker Carlson makes bombshell allegations about Jeffrey Epstein as MAGA civil war rages over 'client list'
Tucker Carlson claimed Jeffrey Epstein was an Israeli agent who blackmailed US politicians on Friday while addressing a political gathering for young voters in Florida. The former Fox News host issued his wild conspiracy theory about Epstein as MAGA implodes over the Trump administration's handling billionaire's so-called 'client list.' 'The real question is, why was he doing this, on whose behalf, and where did the money come from?' the 56-year-old Republican firebrand asked. 'And those are the questions that need to be answered. And I think it's entirely fair to ask them.' While addressing the ring-wing crowd, Tucker brought up the Department of Justice (DOJ) recently declaring Epstein's 'client list' never existed. Attorney General Pam Bondi has come under fire for the call she made earlier this week, when she also squashed speculation that Epstein's 2019 jail cell death was anything other than a suicide. Carlson denounced the DOJ's findings, going on to share his own theory about Epstein's sinister scheme. He explained that he believes Epstein, 66, was employed by Israel's intelligence service, Mossad. Carlson questioned where all of the billionaire's wealth came from, going from a math teacher to 'having multiple airplanes, a private island, and the largest residential house in Manhattan.' 'And no one has ever gotten to the bottom of that because no one has ever tried. And moreover, it's extremely obvious to anyone who watches, that this guy had direct connections to a foreign government,' he claimed. He said the reason Epstein's connection to the Middle Eastern nation is not discussed publicly was because 'we have been somehow cowed into thinking that's naughty.' 'There is nothing wrong with saying that. There is nothing hateful about saying that. There's nothing anti-Semitic about saying that. There's nothing even anti-Israel about saying that,' Tucker asserted. 'And the effect of making that off-limits has been to create a lot of resentment and I'll say it, hate online, where people feel like they can't just say, 'What the hell is this? You have the former Israeli prime minister living in your house?"' Carlson was likely referring to Epstein's close ties with the former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Barak met with him dozens of times - and even allegedly stayed over at Epstein's place - starting in 2013. 'You have all this contact with a foreign government. Were you working on behalf of them? Were you running a blackmail operation on behalf of a foreign government?' he asked the stunned listeners. Carlson also claimed that 'every single person in Washington DC' shares his sentiment, and none of them 'hate Israel.' On Tuesday, Carlson discussed this very topic on his podcast, claiming Bondi was orchestrating a cover-up in order to protect members of the intelligence community who were ensnared in Epstein's conduct. 'The current DOJ under Pam Bondi is covering up crimes, very serious crimes by their own description,' Carlson said. 'Intel services are at the very center of this story, US and Israeli and they're being protected.' Carlson was not the only one to bring up the controversial issue at the summit full of thousands of young conservatives on Friday night. Fox News Host Laura Ingraham also took the Turning Point stage - taking an audience poll of who is satisfied with how the Epstein investigation was handled. 'How many of you are satisfied – you can clap – satisfied with the results of the Epstein investigation? Clap,' she urged the crowd. Not a single clap could be heard. Instead, the room echoed with boos. 'How many of you are not satisfied with the results of the investigation?' she asked, this time hit with a wave of clapping and applause from passionate listeners. The Turning Point event kicked off Friday and will run through the weekend, with high-profile conservatives including President Donald Trump scheduled for appearances. Despite fury directed at the Trump administration - which many believed would deliver more transparency regarding Epstein's convoluted case - the president has backed Bondi amid calls for her to step down. Far-right activist and media personality Laura Loomer helped lead the calls on X for Bondi's resignation on Monday While many have also criticized FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, Bondi has faced the brunt of the backlash. Far-right internet personality Laura Loomer, for example, has been especially vocal about booting Bondi. 'Please join me in calling for Blondi to RESIGN!' Loomer posted to X, using her nickname for the blonde-haired AG. 'How many more times is this woman going to get away with Fing (sic) everything up before she is FIRED?' she added in the Monday evening post. But White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reaffirmed Trump's continued support for Bondi despite calls to resign. 'President Trump is proud of Attorney General Bondi's efforts to execute his Make America Safe Again agenda,' Levitt told the Daily Mail.


Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Blake Lively fears Justin Baldoni will make her deposition a 'public spectacle' after BIZARRE venue request
Blake Lively is preparing to for tough questions from Justin Baldoni 's legal team as she tries to nail down a venue for her upcoming deposition in her ongoing sexual harassment lawsuit against the actor. But the 37-year-old actress' legal team fears that Baldoni's attorneys will try to make her sworn testimony into a 'public spectacle,' according to court filings obtained by on Friday. The actress' legal team sought to schedule the deposition at a location that would minimize publicity amid the whirlwind trial, which was redacted in the documents following a request by her attorneys, though the venue is located in New York City. Her proposed venue would make for a stark contrast with what Baldoni's attorney Bryan Freedman is requesting, as he previously told TMZ that Lively's deposition should be live-streamed to an audience in Manhattan's iconic indoor arena Madison Square Garden. Freedman's suggestion, which Lively's attorney shot down at the time as a publicity-seeking distraction, would be to sell tickets to the event and donate the proceeds to domestic violence victims. has contacted representatives for Lively and Baldoni to request comment but hasn't received a response yet. The 37-year-old actress' legal team has requested a venue in New York for the deposition, according to redacted documents. Her attorneys are concerned that Baldoni's team may try to force her to walk in front of paparazzi and gawkers; Baldoni seen in December 2024 in LA The parties have currently agreed to conduct the deposition on July 17, though recent legal filings indicate that the two sides have been in conflict over discovery requirements. In emails between Lively and Baldoni's attorneys that were entered into the record, Lively's lawyers accused Baldoni's team of failing to mail hard drives of evidence to them in a timely manner, which would make it difficult for the Gossip Girl star and her team to examine any documents or videos the defendants may refer to when questioning her. Her legal team also expressed concern in the new filings that Baldoni may hope to have her paraded in front of paparazzi and gawkers if the deposition is held in a less-private location. In a statement to TMZ, Lively's representative said: 'Ms. Lively is looking forward to her deposition next week, and it should follow the same rules as every other witness in this case. 'Justin Baldoni's lawyer has tried to make this matter a public spectacle at every turn, even proposing to sell tickets to a televised deposition at Madison Square Garden,' they continued. 'This is a serious matter of sexual harassment and retaliation and it deserves to be treated as such.' Earlier this week, courting filings indicated that from an email sent July 2 that the deposition for Lively, who shares four children with husband Ryan Reynolds, 48, would take place on July 17. The details were uncovered as part of a request for a one-week extension after attorneys for Lively subpoenaed a pair of publicists employed by Baldoni, 41. An attorney for the publicists then subsequently filed the motion, according to documents obtained by Earlier this week, it was revealed in court documents that the deposition has been scheduled for July 17; Lively is pictured June 9 in NYC The Gossip Girl alumna, who with Reynolds was dismissed from Baldoni's $400 million defamation and extortion lawsuit nearly a month ago, is tentatively slated to take the stand when the trial begins in New York City in March 2026. The deposition is slated to take place in New York City, insiders confirmed to TMZ, but the intended location wasn't initially revealed. Insiders close to Lively told the outlet that she was prepared to face a series of difficult inquiries, and that Reynolds isn't expected to attend. reached out to reps for Lively and Baldoni for further comment at the time. Baldoni's attorney Bryan Freedman spoke with TMZ Live June 10, a day after a New York City judge scuttled Baldoni's $400 million suit. The lawyer admitted that while he and the Baldoni camp 'weren't pleased that that the judge dismissed the defamation claim, ' it wasn't 'what the case is about.' He then recapped the series of events that led to the massive litigation surrounding the surprise summer hit. 'We got started because Blake Lively filed a CRD complaint and then walked over and filed a lawsuit,' he said, 'which accused some very good people of a smear campaign and accused a terrific young man of sexual harassment - both of the which were completely untrue.' 'And that's where the case got started' and 'where the case stands today.' 'What we wanted our win is to show there was no smear campaign, and there's no sexual harassment,' Freedman explained. 'And she hasn't proved a thing - as a matter of fact, it's just the opposite.' Freedman told TMZ Live that evidence presented in the early stages of litigation has been damning for Lively and Reynolds. 'Look at the facts, look at what's been shown, look at the receipts, look at the video,' said the lawyer. Freedman told the outlet that proving the claims Lively made to be false has always been the chief focus for Baldoni's team, 'in addition to getting damages.' He said he was hoping Lively didn't 'drop her lawsuit ... because she's on a false victory tour, and she's afraid of the truth. 'The truth is, you know, going to be shown through depositions, which is what's going to be next, I've noticed her deposition - it's set in June - we're going to see if she's going to appear at that deposition or not,' Freedman said. 'And we're gonna proceed forward with the case, and we're gonna show that there was no sexual harassment, and we're gonna show that there was no smear campaign.' Freedman in May told People he hoped the deposition would have a large audience amid massive public interest in both the film and what happened behind the scenes during production. 'Since Ms. Lively is open to testifying, let's make it count Hold the deposition at MSG, sell tickets or stream it, and donate every dollar to organizations helping victims of domestic abuse,' he said. The actress on Monday released a powerful statement on June 9, hours after a judge dismissed Baldoni's case. 'Last week, I stood proudly alongside 19 organizations united in defending women's rights to speak up for their safety,' Lively said on Instagram. 'Like so many others, I've felt the pain of a retaliatory lawsuit, including the manufactured shame that tries to break us.' The Los Angeles-born star continued: 'While the suit against me was defeated, so many don't have the resources to fight back.' Lively vowed that she was 'more resolved than ever to continue to stand for every woman's right to have a voice in protecting themselves, including their safety, their integrity, their dignity and their story.' Lively wrapped up in thanking those in the public who have supported her amid the turbulent past year. 'With love and gratitude for the many who stood by me, many of you I know,' Lively said. 'Many of you I don't. But I will never stop appreciating or advocating for you.' The It Ends With Us actress, whose legal battle has had a significant impact on her friendship with Taylor Swift, added a list of groups that had publicly supported her amid the highly-publicized Tinseltown tussle. Among them, in alphabetical order, were the California Employment Lawyers Association, California Women's Law Center, CHILD USA, Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, Equal Rights Advocates, Esperanza United, Her Justice, and Herunivercity Inc. In a move that might have been a harbinger of changing momentum in the case, Lively took aim at Baldoni Thursday, saying that women's groups had abandoned him in droves. A total of '19 leading survivors and organizations devoted to women's rights, children's rights and domestic violence have now signed onto four separate amicus briefs,' a spokesperson for the Another Simple Favor actress told Daily Mail in a statement. The statement continued: 'All are united in opposing Justin Baldoni's attempt to dismantle a law designed to protect women who speak up — simply to protect himself.' Lively's team said that Baldoni was going against his own playbook as the complicated legal case progresses, leaving himself open to increased scrutiny in the wake of his past public statements. 'Rather than defend his case on the facts, Baldoni is now contradicting years of his own public persona - abandoning the message of his #MeToo YouTube 's, podcasts, TED Talks, and interviews, where he once upon a time urged men 'to listen to the women in your life … to hold their anguish and actually believe them, even if what they're saying is against you,' Lively's rep said. The statement wrapped up: 'These women and organizations are sounding the alarm about his DARVO tactics, and the chilling effect they could have well beyond this case.' One party that can breathe a sigh of relief after Baldoni's lawsuit was thrown out is Marvel Entertainment, LLC. Baldoni had subpoenaed the studio to get it to preserve any documents related to the Deadpool & Wolverine character Nicepool, which his legal team claimed was designed 'to mock, harass, ridicule, intimidate or bully' Baldoni. The star of films such as The Town and The Shallows posted a statement to her Instagram Stories amid the momentous legal proceedings June 9 But after throwing out Baldoni's lawsuit, Liman agreed to Marvel's request to 'quash the subpoena issued to Marvel from [Baldoni's] Wayfarer Parties and for a protective order prohibiting the disclosure of Marvel's confidential documents.' Baldoni's team had send a letter requesting documents be retained to Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and Bob Iger, CEO of its parent company Walt Disney, on January 7. Lively has accused Baldoni of sexual harassment in a lawsuit; while Baldoni accused Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and publicist Leslie Sloane of defamation and extortion in a $400 million suit - the latter of which was dismissed Monday. Baldoni has denied the allegations brought about by Lively, while Lively, Reynolds and Sloane have denied the accusations made in litigation by Baldoni. Lively in December sued Baldoni amid claims of sexual harassment during production of the motion picture. In her lawsuit, the Gossip Girl alum accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her in multiple ways — including body shaming her — and orchestrating a smear campaign against her to damage her reputation. Baldoni and his reps have said in response to the lawsuit that Lively twisted the meaning of text messages and mislead the public about their interactions while making the motion picture. In her lawsuit, Lively named a number of Baldoni's collaborators, including his company Wayfarer Studios, the studio's CEO and financial backer, and PR personnel Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel. Baldoni subsequently sued the newspaper for $250 million in a defamation claim over a December 21 story titled '"We Can Bury Anyone": Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine ;' the newspaper has denied the allegations. Baldoni on January 16 filed a $400 million lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds and her publicist Leslie Sloane, alleging defamation and extortion. Baldoni told the court the trio had concocted 'false accusations of sexual harassment' against him. In the film based off Colleen Hoover's 2016 novel, Lively portrayed florist Lily Bloom opposite Baldoni who played the role of Ryle Kincaid.


Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Federal judge issues stunning rebuke to Trump by blocking 'unlawful' ICE detentions in southern California amid wide scale crackdown
A federal judge delivered a stunning rebuke to the Trump administration on Friday, halting what she described as racially-driven, unconstitutional immigration raids that have upended lives, shuttered businesses, and thrown entire communities into chaos across Southern California. The blistering ruling stunned government attorneys and sent shockwaves through the Department of Homeland Security. US District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong granted a temporary restraining order barring federal agents from using race, language, or vocation as justification for immigration stops. She also ordered immediate access to legal counsel for detainees held at the notorious downtown Los Angeles facility known as 'B-18.' The ruling marks a major legal victory for immigrant rights groups and a sharp blow to the Trump administration's hardline immigration tactics in liberal California - tactics critics have called draconian, dangerous, and politically motivated. Mayor Karen Bass praised the decision in a scathing statement Friday afternoon, saying Angelenos were living in fear as 'masked men grab people off the street, chase working people through parking lots and march through children's summer camps.' The court order stops ICE and CBP agents from detaining individuals based on race, Spanish-language use, or presence at sites like car washes, tow yards, bus stops, and Home Depot parking lots - all locations where hundreds of people were swept up in recent weeks. The lawsuit, Vasquez Perdomo et al. v. Noem et al., was filed last week on behalf of several advocacy organizations, three undocumented immigrants, and two US citizens, one of whom, Latino tow truck worker Brian Gavidia, was allegedly detained despite showing valid identification. The case was sparked by a wave of arrests across seven California counties including Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and Pasadena, that immigrant rights groups described as indiscriminate and terrorizing. Since June 6, more than 2,800 people have been detained in a massive escalation of ICE operations. A Los Angeles Times analysis found that nearly 70 percent of those arrested had no criminal record, and more than half had never been charged with a crime. Inside B-18, detainees were allegedly held in squalid conditions, denied food and water, and stripped of their constitutional right to an attorney. Judge Frimpong not only ordered 24-hour legal access and confidential phone lines for those in custody, she blasted the administration's apparent lack of evidence to justify the raids. California Governor Gavin Newsom weighed in, delivering one of the strongest rebukes yet of the Trump administration's tactics. 'Justice prevailed today - the court's decision puts a temporary stop to federal immigration officials violating people's rights and racial profiling,' Newsom said in a statement. 'Stephen Miller's immigration agenda is one of chaos, cruelty and fear. Instead of targeting the most dangerous people, federal officials have been arbitrarily detaining Americans and hardworking people, ripping families apart, and disappearing people into cruel detention to meet outrageous arrest quotas without regard to due process and constitutional rights that protect all of us from cruelty and injustice. 'That should stop now. California stands with the law, and the foundation upon which our founding fathers built this country. I call on the Trump administration to do the same.' California Attorney General Rob Bonta called the ruling a 'critical victory' and condemned what he called the Trump administration's campaign of 'fear and division.' Bonta led a multi-state coalition backing the plaintiffs and previously sued the Trump administration over an executive order to federalize California's National Guard. In court, he argued that the raids were not about immigration enforcement but about punishing Los Angeles for its political opposition to Trump - citing the president's own social media post vowing to conduct 'the single largest Mass Deportation Program in history.' Government lawyers struggled to defend the crackdown, saying agents acted lawfully and had only a few days to respond to the allegations. DOJ attorney Sean Skedzielewski insisted that ICE agents were trained on the 4th Amendment and acted 'aboveboard', but Judge Frimpong was openly skeptical, repeatedly pressing him on the lack of specific documentation. Declarations from DHS officials Kyle Harvick and Andre Quinones were dismissed as 'very general' and 'failing to engage with the high volume of evidence' presented by the plaintiffs. Plaintiffs argued the raids had less to do with public safety and more to do with politics - a point echoed by several city governments that joined the lawsuit this week. The cities of Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Montebello, and five others argued in their filing that the crackdown is a retaliation campaign, designed to make an example of Democratic strongholds. A curbside vender sells food to day laborers waiting near a Home Depot home improvement store in hope of finding work in Los Angeles Tajsar pointed to Gavidia's case as emblematic of the abuses. He was detained 'for no other reason than the fact that he's Latino and working at a tow yard in a Latino neighborhood,' he said. The Trump administration is expected to appeal the ruling, but for now the restraining order remains in effect in what is a rare, stinging legal defeat for an administration that has largely succeeded in hardening the nation's immigration enforcement policies. Community leaders are celebrating the decision but warning that the fight isn't over. The temporary order could eventually become permanent if the plaintiffs prevail at trial - a possibility Judge Frimpong suggested is highly likely.