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Reporter’s Notebook: Chicago cop killed after suspect released under SAFE-T Act

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We’ve been swamped with news the last few weeks, and as a result, I feel I was only able to scratch the surface on a very impactful story out of Chicago. So, allow me to get into the details of a case that shows dramatic flaws in the system, and how Chicago citizens and police are paying a terrible price.

It’s the case of Alphanso Talley, 26 years old. His criminal record goes back to when he was a juvenile and the records are sealed. Now, he is accused of killing Chicago Police Officer John Bartholomew and gravely wounding another. Were it not for the Illinois SAFE-T Act, which created cashless bail in 2021, Talley would not have been on the street, critics of the law say.

Talley had so many pending criminal cases, they overlap and get confusing. Talley was accused in an armed carjacking and robbery in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood in April 2025. Despite the violent nature of the crime, Talley was released in December 2025 on electronic monitoring pending trial.

Cook County Circuit Judge John Lyke Jr., who ordered his release, said during a December hearing: “There’s no doubt these bails would have been set at monetary amounts that he presumably couldn’t afford.”

ILLINOIS NO-CASH BAIL LAW ‘UTTERLY MANIPULATED’ BY VIOLENT OFFENDERS, DEM ALDERMAN SAYS AFTER COP’S KILLING

Skip forward to March 8, 2026. Talley is accused of violating the curfew on his ankle monitor and not just a little bit. He stayed out all night. In fact, because he did not return home, he did not charge his ankle monitor and the battery went dead, prosecutors say. That generated an alert, which told the Cook County Chief Judge’s office that “the individual’s whereabouts are unknown.” No one went and picked up Talley.

More than 48 hours later, pretrial services notified Judge Lyke that the ankle monitor went dead and Talley missed a court appearance. Lyke then signed an arrest warrant. No one went and picked up Talley. 

Saturday morning, April 25, 2026, one minute after the Family Dollar store opened, Talley and a man alleged as his accomplice, 18-year-old Jeron Tate, followed cashier Maria Velazquez inside, prosecutors allege. Velazquez was robbed at gunpoint and beaten with the pistol so severely her nose was broken. The bruises on her face are punctuated by a knot on her head the size of a golf ball and she can’t sleep.

“I wake up early in the morning, I’m sleeping and I can see his face. I see his face and I can’t sleep,” she said in Spanish to our Fox affiliate in Chicago. For obvious reasons, the single mother of three feared for her life. “If I would have died, what would happen to my children? They are still so young and they depend on me.” 

Now, Velazquez has learned that Talley was a frequent visitor of the criminal courts. “They kept letting him out, knowing he had a criminal history. Why did they let him free?” she asked. “This would have never happened. The police officer would not have died.”

POLITICIANS WANT YOU TO PAY FOR ‘CASHLESS BAIL.’ IT’S DANGEROUS AND EXPENSIVE

Talley was picked up a short time after the Family Dollar was robbed and Velazquez was beaten. No stranger to arrest, Talley executed a trick he had used in previous arrests, police say. The affidavit shows he claimed he had eaten five bags of drugs and needed to be hospitalized because he was having trouble breathing. It’s unclear how he was able to smuggle a gun into the hospital. But, it came out in court that Talley was allowed some privacy when it came time to remove his pants and put on the hospital gown.

Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Mike Pekara said that after metal handcuffs were removed so a CT scan could be conducted, Talley reached under a blanket and fatally shot Officer John Bartholomew in the face. Bartholomew’s partner was shot in the chin, leaving him in critical condition.

Pekara said Talley robbed a hospital staff member of his ID, shot out glass doors at the hospital and set off running practically naked with the hospital gown around his neck and electric monitors still stuck to his chest. 

Talley was found hiding under a porch and arrested for the second time that day.

On May 1, a hearing got underway at the Cook County criminal courts building to determine if, this time, Talley should be held in jail pre-trial. His family members filled at least two rows in the courtroom and shouted to Talley that they loved him. Talley interacted with them so much that a sheriff’s deputy hovered over him and Cook County Circuit Judge D’Anthony Thedford admonished him to stop “giggling” while beginning the criminal proceedings for killing a police officer.

LENIENT JUDGES IGNORE RED FLAGS, CAVE TO SOFT-ON-CRIME PRESSURES AS THEY RELEASE REPEAT OFFENDERS: ATTORNEY

When the hearing was over and Talley ordered jailed, I was able to ask John Catanzara, head of the Chicago police union, if Bartholomew would be alive were it not for the SAFE-T Act.

“Yes, it’s just a simple reality,” Catanzara answered. “I mean he wouldn’t have qualified for parole. He would not have qualified for electronic monitoring. He would have had a cash bond that he would not have been able to meet for those extremely violent offenses. So, that alone, the cashless bail let him out and gave him the ability to be out on the street terrorizing.”

“The electronic monitoring system is broken,” said Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke. “Electronic monitoring is not an alternative to detention. It does not keep people safe.”

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who championed the SAFE-T Act, blamed Judge Lyke without naming him. “In most cases where Republicans have complained about the SAFE-T Act it’s actually been a bad decision by an elected judge,” said Pritzker. “A judge should have made the decision to keep that person in jail.” 

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who has called incarceration a “sickness,” went back to a familiar refrain against jailing criminals. “Look, we’ve had an addiction on jails and incarceration. More people get locked up in our country than anywhere else in the world. And yet, we have illegal weapons that flow through our streets and we have a lack of mental health support,” said Johnson.

“He’s a sickness and addiction that’s going to be gone in less than a year,” Catanzara responded. “And it can’t come soon enough. I didn’t think it could get worse with [Former Chicago Mayor Lori] Lightfoot, but we got dumber and just more racist and ignorant.”

“We have a mayor of the City of Chicago saying that he doesn’t think this individual should be incarcerated,” Chicago Alderman James Gardiner said. “He’s an embarrassment.”

This is not an isolated incident. Lawrence Reed is a lifetime offender who was put on an ankle monitor. He also disregarded the curfew on his monitor. Court records show he had been out all night twice before Nov. 17, 2025. That night he violated his curfew again, boarded Chicago’s Blue Line train and set Bethany MaGee on fire, police say. Reed faces both state and federal charges.

Alderman Anthony Napolitano says nearly 1,000 people in Chicago are currently enrolled in Cook County’s troubled electronic monitoring program. “Empty jail cells are not a success when we have officers being attacked and shot constantly, and citizens being attacked constantly.”

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Remains recovered of US soldier who went missing in military exercises in Morocco, 2nd soldier still missing

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The remains of a U.S. Army officer who went missing during military exercises in Morocco were recovered from the Atlantic Ocean, while the search continues for a second missing soldier, according to military officials.

The remains of 1st Lt. Kendrick Lamont Key Jr., 27, of Richmond, Virginia, were recovered Saturday, U.S. Army Europe and Africa announced Sunday. Key, a 14A Air Defense Artillery officer, was one of two U.S. soldiers who reportedly fell from a cliff during an off-duty recreational hike near the Cap Draa Training Area on May 2.

A Moroccan military search team found Key in the water along the shoreline at about 8:55 a.m. local time Saturday, roughly one mile from where both soldiers reportedly entered the ocean, the Army said.

“Today, we mourn the loss of 1st Lt. Kendrick Key, whose remains were recovered in Morocco,” Brig. Gen Curtis King, commanding general of the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, said in a statement. “Our hearts are with his Family, friends, teammates, and all who knew and served alongside him. The 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command Family is grieving, and we will continue to support one another and 1st Lt. Key’s Family as we honor his life and service.”

LONG-LOST SOLDIER’S GRAVE DISCOVERED AT REMOTE US NATIONAL PARK AFTER 150 YEARS

Key and the second soldier were reported missing on May 2 after participating in African Lion, an annual multinational military exercise hosted across Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana and Senegal.

The two were reported missing around 9 p.m. near the Cap Draa Training Area outside Tan-Tan, a terrain featuring mountains, desert and semi-desert plains, the Moroccan military said.

The disappearance of the two soldiers led to a search-and-rescue mission involving more than 600 personnel from the U.S., Morocco and other military partners. Ships, helicopters and drones were deployed as part of this operation.

Search efforts will continue for the second missing soldier.

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A U.S. contingent remained in Morocco after the military exercises ended on Friday to provide command and control and to support the ongoing search and rescue mission.

Key was assigned to Charlie Battery, 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, according to the Army.

His decorations include the Army Achievement Medal and Army Service Ribbon.

He entered military service in 2023 as an officer candidate and earned his commission through Officer Candidate School the following year as an Air Defense Artillery officer. He later completed the Basic Officer Leader Course at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

Key is survived by his parents, his sister and his brother-in-law.

African Lion 26 is a U.S.-led exercise that began in April across Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana and Senegal, with more than 5,600 civilian and military personnel from more than 40 nations.

For more than 20 years, it has been the largest U.S. joint military exercise in Africa.

In 2012, two U.S. Marines were killed, and two others injured during an MV-22 Osprey crash near Cap Draa while participating in Exercise African Lion.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Pacers president apologizes to fans after team’s ‘risk’ backfires in NBA Draft Lottery

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The Indiana Pacers’ risky move backfired after the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery saw them lose their top pick altogether in a disastrous turn of events on Sunday afternoon.

Heading into the lottery, the Pacers, who went 19-63 just one season after reaching the NBA Finals out of the Eastern Conference, had a 52.1% chance of having a top-four pick.

However, when they didn’t see their team chosen in the first four picks – Indiana also had a 14% chance of getting the No. 1 overall pick – it was time to panic.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

The reason? The Pacers included their first-round pick in a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers for Ivica Zubac, but they only made it a top-four protected pick. That means, if the Pacers were chosen in the lottery as a top-four selection, they would be able to keep it.

But the Pacers were chosen as the No. 5 pick, and the Clippers now own the selection in next month’s draft.

NBA LOTTERY CHAOS: WASHINGTON WIZARDS STRIKE GOLD, PACERS PAY FOR TANKING GAMBLE NIGHTMARE

As a result, Pacers team president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard took full responsibility for the move, apologizing on social media.

“I’m really sorry to all our fans,” he wrote on X. “I own taking this risk. Surprised it came up 5th after this year. I thought we were due some luck. But please remember – this team deserved a starting center to compete with the best teams next year. We have always been resilient.”

The Pacers were viewed as a team that were actively tanking despite the NBA’s attempt to crack down on such a season, with the lottery being one way of that. And it clearly worked this time around.

Pritchard was trying to be transparent and honest with the Pacers fan base, but people were quick to jump in the comments to make their thoughts, and gripes, known.

“You lose Myles Turner and add Zubac,” one X user began. “You lose [Benedict] Mathurin and the number 5 pick with absolutely nothing in return. This is why fans are upset, for a center who not even a top 5 center in the NBA. Who trades their future away for Ivan [sic] Zubac???”

Another X user called this a “generational draft,” and couldn’t fathom the Pacers won’t be picking from a deep class.

“If I were a Pacers fan and my team traded away a top 5 pick for Ivica Zubac in the middle of a tanking season I would be beyond devastated,” a fellow X user wrote.

The Pacers were without their All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton all season long after he suffered an Achilles injury during the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. But Indiana still has key members of that team returning next season, including Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, and Aaron Nesmith.

However, this 2026 draft class is quite the spectacle, with many believing it to be deep considering the talent of BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, Kansas’ Darryn Peterson, UNC’s Caleb Wilson, and Duke’s Cam Boozer, among others.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

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Israeli PM Netanyahu argues public opinion shift on Israel ‘correlates almost 100%’ to social media

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed on “60 Minutes” Sunday that the dramatic shift in public opinion on his country could be traced to the rise in social media.

“Israel has gone to unbelievable lengths to get innocent civilians out of harm’s way,” Netanyahu said. “We text message millions of text messages to them—make millions of phone calls to them, pamphlets, leaflets, you name it, OK? We have seen the deterioration of the support for Israel in the United States almost — I would say, it correlates almost 100% with the geometric rise of social media.”

He continued, “And that by itself is not what caused it. And I don’t believe in, you know, in censoring them or anything. But I’ll tell you what happened. We have several countries that basically manipulated social media. And they do it in a clever way. And that’s something that has hurt us badly.”

IRAN-LINKED INFLUENCE CAMPAIGN PUSHES ANTI-ISRAEL MESSAGING DISGUISED AS US VOICES

Netanyahu acknowledged that Israel has made “mistakes” in its war against Hamas but emphasized that they were not deliberate actions.

“Israel is besieged on the media front, on the propaganda front, and we’ve not done well on the propaganda war,” he said.

Netanyahu remarked that even host Major Garrett would not be immune to negative propaganda if there was enough pressure against him.

CONTRIBUTOR FOR FAR-LEFT OUTLET CALLS FOR ‘WIPING OUT ISRAEL,’ SAYS ISRAELIS ‘MUSTN’T FEEL SAFE’

“I can paint you as a monster,” Netanyahu said. “And if I say it often enough, enough people will believe it.”

An NBC News poll in March found that only 32% of Americans view Israel positively while 39% of Americans saw the nation in a negative light. The shift was far more pronounced among Democrats and independents, while Republicans were still largely sympathetic to the Jewish state.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE

This shift in opinion followed Israel’s war with Gaza, as well as the U.S.-led military strikes on Iran.

During the interview, Netanyahu indicated that the war with Iran was “not over” yet despite significant accomplishments.

“I think it accomplished a great deal, but it’s not over, because there’s still nuclear material, enriched uranium that has to be taken out of Iran. There are still enrichment sites that have to be dismantled. There are still proxies that Iran supports. There are ballistic missiles that they still want to produce. Now, we’ve degraded a lot of it. But all that is still there, and there’s work to be done,” Netanyahu said.

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