Tourists casually destroy Fox News' narrative of crime-ridden NYC in live interview

Tourists casually destroy Fox News' narrative of crime-ridden NYC in live interview
Fox News/screen grab

In a live television interview on Fox News, two tourists refuted the network's characterization of New York City as crime-ridden.

During her Wednesday program on Fox News, host Martha MacCallum issued a Fox News Alert to report that the NYPD was preparing for pro-Palestinian protests at the Rockefeller Center tree lighting ceremony Wednesday night.

"This is an added element of potential tension," MacCallum warned viewers, noting that protesters could be covered in "fake blood."

After providing some background on previous protests, the host asked for a report from national correspondent Bryan Llenas, who was at Rockefeller Center with two tourists from Tulsa, Oklahoma.

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"Now I know you have seen, like the rest of the country, these protesters," Llenas told the two women. "Are you concerned at all about protesters trying to disrupt an event like this tonight?"

"No," one tourist said. "Not at all."

"Do you guys feel safe walking around the city?" Llenas asked.

"Absolutely," the first tourist said.

"Yes," the second tourist agreed.

For years, Fox News has pushed the narrative that cities run by Democrats were unsafe because of violent crime, looting, and homelessness.

Watch the video below from Fox News.

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President Donald Trump uncorked an attack on David Letterman a day after the legendary late-night comedian delivered blistering criticism of Jimmy Kimmel's abrupt suspension from ABC.

When asked Thursday at The Atlantic Festival 2025 his thoughts on Kimmel being yanked off the air, Letterman replied, “This is misery."

“I feel bad about this,” he said. “We see where this is all going, correct? It’s managed media. And it’s no good. It’s silly. It’s ridiculous. And you can’t go around firing somebody because you’re fearful or trying to suck up to an authoritarian criminal administration in the Oval Office. That’s just not how this works."

Letterman warned comedians won't be the only ones targeted by the Trump administration.

“In the world of somebody who is an authoritarian, maybe a dictatorship, sooner or later, everyone is going to be touched,” he said.

He then scolded Trump some more, and called it a "premeditated" ouster.

“The institution of the president of the United States ought to be bigger than a guy doing a talk show.”

Kimmel’s show was suspended indefinitely over his remarks after the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Kimmel’s monologue accused MAGA supporters of exploiting Kirk’s death for political gain and mocked how Trump publicly grieved the loss.

In classic Trump fashion, the president took to his Truth Social platform to attack Letterman.

"Whatever happened to the very highly overrated David Letterman, whose ratings were never very good, either. He looks like hell, but at least he knew when to quit. LOSER!!!"

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One Republican state lawmaker in Oklahoma now wants to require every public university in the state to erect statues to slain far-right activist Charlie Kirk.

On Friday, Jeffrey Sachs — an assistant professor at Nova Scotia's Acadia University — called attention to a bill by Oklahoma state senators Shane Jett (R) and Dana Prieto (R) that would mandate every public university in the Sooner State build a "Charlie Kirk Memorial Plaza." The bill, which has been filed as Senate Bill 1187 and does not yet have a formal name, would force universities to set aside a portion of real estate in a visible public location — like the quad, the student union or main entrance pathways — "to maximize public awareness and utilization."

Senate Bill 1187 would also make it a requirement for schools to erect a statue of both Kirk and his family, and to include a plaque honoring Kirk as "a voice of a generation, modern civil rights leader, vocal Christian, martyr for truth and faith, and free speech advocate."

"Square or plaza plans shall include a statue of Charlie Kirk sitting at a table with an empty seat across from him or a statue of Charlie Kirk and his wife standing and holding their children in their arms as a central element of the square or plaza design. The statue design and size shall be approved by the Legislature as part of the overall design review and approval process," the bill reads.

Universities would be authorized to accept donations to fund the cost of the monuments "from the National Endowment for the Arts and any private, corporate, or public source to fund the development, maintenance, and enhancement of the squares or plazas and any associated statues." It also stipulated that the state legislature may appropriate tax dollars as a "donation matching funds" as a way of showing "broad-based support for the squares or plazas."

Additionally, the bill makes it clear that any "student, employee or faculty member" who vandalizes or defaces statues of Kirk on their campuses could face steep punishment, including immediate termination of their enrollment or employment. And the legislation even includes an emergency declaration it deems "necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health or safety," in order to immediately have the legislation go into effect.

In July, WalletHub found Oklahoma ranked 50th out of 51 states (when including Washington D.C.) in public education. Only New Mexico ranked further behind the Sooner State. Criteria used to determine rankings included "test scores, graduation rates, school safety and bullying rates."

Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) responded with outrage on Friday evening to the news that President Donald Trump strong-armed his own hand-picked U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, into resigning — out of anger that Siebert couldn't muster the evidence to charge New York Attorney General Letitia James with mortgage fraud.

"Unbelievable," Warner posted to X. "Trump has now announced he is pushing out a U.S. Attorney because he refused to prosecute Trump’s political enemies."

"The message is clear: Trump will punish anyone who has the independence to challenge his baseless vendettas," he added.

James, who has launched multiple investigations into the Trump family and won a half-billion-dollar civil fraud judgment against them, is one of a number of Trump adversaries that the president's controversial Federal Housing Finance Agency director, Bill Pulte, has accused of fraud by hunting through old real estate paperwork — in this case, claiming that she improperly classified a residence in Virginia as a primary home. James has denied any wrongdoing.

So far, none of the criminal complaints lodged by Pulte have resulted in actual charges against Trump's rivals, and Reuters cast serious doubt on the validity of his allegation against Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook.

Many legal experts are horrified by Trump's effort to oust a prosecutor in retaliation for not finding the evidence to bring a criminal case the administration wanted to bring against a political opponent, with some outright calling it an impeachable offense.

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