A devastating photo has surfaced of a young mother who was killed after police say she was stabbed by a knife-wielding woman in the heart of Times Square.

Erin Piacenti, 32, from Chester, New Jersey, died Monday afternoon after being stabbed in the stomach by 49-year-old Pamela Cisneros Lopez, officials said.

A GoFundMe fundraiser created in her memory shows Piacenti smiling brightly while cradling her newborn daughter, Madison, beside her husband, Frank.

According to the fundraiser, Monday marked Piacenti’s first day back in the office after maternity leave. She worked as a vice president at Bank of America.

Piacenti was on West 41st Street in Midtown Manhattan when Lopez allegedly approached her and stabbed her in what authorities described as a random attack.

Lopez was finally stopped by officers after the random stabbing spree, in which she also knifed 68-year-old Tak Kam in the stomach.

A post to the fundraiser, which has already brought in over $95,000, said: ‘Erin’s life was defined not by the circumstances of her death, but instead by the way she lived. 

‘Erin was deeply devoted to her family and friends, exceptionally bright and accomplished, and was someone who brought warmth and energy to the people around her.

‘Erin and Frank celebrated their second wedding anniversary this summer, had just returned from a family road trip upon her passing, and were preparing to build a life together with their new daughter. That life changed incomprehensibly in an instant.

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‘Funds raised will be dedicated to supporting Madison as she grows up surrounded by the family, friends, stories, and memories that will allow her to know just how remarkable her mother was.’ 

Footage emerged earlier this week showing officers firing a taser at Lopez, from Queens, as she refused to back down and waved the two kitchen knives at them.

Police then shot the woman, and she immediately fell to the ground where she was handcuffed and given first aid. 

At a press conference alongside Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Lopez had told officers during a brief standoff: ‘I’m not dropping anything, I would rather kill both of you.’

Tisch told reporters: ‘This was an extraordinarily dangerous situation unfolding in the heart of Times Square, the crossroads of the world.

‘At any given moment, there are thousands of New Yorkers, commuters, tourists, families, workers moving through these streets.’ 

She added that Lopez has a ‘documented mental health history’ with the department which included two incidents in 2018 and 2019 but she was never arrested. 

Both Tisch and Mayor Mamdani praised the officers, saying more people could have been hurt or killed if not for their actions. 

This is a breaking news story. 

A private jet went down in a field near a Central Valley airport Tuesday morning, but in a remarkable outcome, those aboard escaped without serious injuries.

Porterville Fire Department crews were dispatched to the crash site near Porterville Municipal Airport, close to the intersection of Newcomb Street and Teapot Dome Avenue.

According to the fire department, “When crews arrived on scene, six passengers had already exited the aircraft.”

Officials said firefighters coordinated with the pilots and additional emergency responders to make the plane safe, including securing its power sources.

The Federal Aviation Administration reported that seven people were on board the aircraft when it crashed.

The Porterville Police Department said everyone inside the plane was able to safely get out of the aircraft with “no major injuries” reported. 

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Wild photos showed the jet on its belly, with the nose of the aircraft appearing damaged. 

Officials said they do not know what caused the crash and an investigation is underway.

“A Cessna 560XL crashed while landing at Porterville Municipal Airport in California around 11:45 a.m. local time on Tuesday, Sept. 1,” a statement from the FAA read.

“Seven people were on board. The FAA will investigate.”

The plane took off on Tuesday from the Oakland International Airport in Oakland and landed near the Porterville airport, according to flight records.

Authorities cautioned people to avoid the area in the immediate future as investigators do their work at the scene. They also said residents should expect delays and road closures in connection to the crash.

“Please avoid the area for the next several days as the NTSB arrives to conduct its investigation,” the fire department said.

Authorities say a reported shooting at Westwood Hills Elementary School in Waynesboro, Virginia, has been contained, the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday.

Waynesboro Public Schools said in a Wednesday morning social media update that “all Westwood students, teachers, and staff are accounted for and are safe,” noting that families were being reunited with students at a designated site while a temporary lockdown remained in place.

Shortly after noon, about two hours after the reported incident, the district announced that the lockdown across all Waynesboro schools had been lifted.

“We appreciate your cooperation, understanding and patience through this process,” the school system said, adding that all Westwood Hills Elementary students had been released to their parents and guardians.

“Currently, law enforcement is at all locations out of an abundance of caution. Parents are encouraged to follow the directions of school staff and law enforcement. “Again, all students, staff, and teachers are safe.”

Authorities urged the public to avoid the immediate area while the investigation continued.

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No additional details about possible injuries or a suspect were immediately released, but local reports have indicated just one adult was injured.

“I am monitoring the emergency at Westwood Hills Elementary School this morning,” Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger wrote on X. “My heart is with these young students, their parents and families, and the teachers and staff at the school.

“Thank you to the first responders who are assisting at the scene. Augusta County and Waynesboro law enforcement and schools are continuing to provide updated guidance to community members.”

Democratic Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones posted support services for students and staff will be available.

“My office is in contact with local authorities in Waynesboro and Augusta and stands ready to offer support and resources as needed,” he wrote on X just before noon. “The safety of our children, teachers, and staff is paramount in this moment. Thank you to the first responders and law enforcement on the scene.”

MENIFEE, Calif. — More than a year after Lauren Dominguez’s mother died unexpectedly in her sleep at 55, her family says they believe a kratom product played a role in her death.

The family has since taken legal action, filing a lawsuit against both the product’s manufacturer and the retailer that sold it.

“I think my mom was like our last safe place since our dad passed away 11 years ago, unexpectedly, so when you lose your second parent, you just feel kind of alone,” Dominguez said.

Dominguez said her mother was discovered unresponsive inside her home in Southern California.

“She looked so peaceful, just in her jammies. She had the fan on and the heater on, and she just was laying there,” she said.

According to the coroner’s report, the cause of death was acute mitragynine intoxication, with chronic alcohol use listed as a contributing factor. Mitragynine is one of the main chemicals found in products containing kratom.

“It makes me angry because people think it’s safe and it’s not,” Dominguez said. “There’s people that have posted on Instagram, and I’ve literally wrote them like don’t take this. My mom died from it.”

Attorney Michael Jeandron, who represents Dominguez and her family, said the lawsuit targets the manufacturer and retailer of a kratom product.

“Kratom is marketed as herbal, as natural, as a supplement, it comes from a plant,” Jeandron said.

Jeandron alleged that consumers may be misled about the product’s safety.

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“The company’s marketing it as safe and tested, and they provide results that say all of these kratom products are safe. The problem is that even a small dose of kratom can cause respiratory depression,” he said.

According to the California Department of Public Health, taking kratom can lead to addiction, serious harm, overdose and death. The product is illegal to sell in California.

However, after an interview with Dominguez, the product was still being sold at Almond Smoke Shop in Menifee, where Dominguez said her mother purchased it.

“It is addictive, but they don’t realize it’s going to be addictive when it’s sold on the shelf next to an energy drink and beef jerky at a gas station,” Jeandron said. “They just think it’s a supplement, it’s natural, it must be safe.”

Requests for comment were sent to the owner of Almond Smoke Shop in Menifee and to the manufacturer of the kratom product, known as Exotic Blue Magic. No responses had been received at the time of publication.

Dominguez said the loss of her mother has continued to affect her family.

“It’s affected my kids because they think, will you go to sleep and not wake up? And before we knew what it was, we didn’t know what had happened,” she said.

She said she hopes the product will no longer be available for sale.

“I just hope that it’s not sold anymore,” Dominguez said. “It almost makes me angry.”

Kim Kardashian has sparked fresh backlash online after fans reacted negatively to what they believed was a strongly filtered video featuring her 13-year-old daughter, North West.

North, the eldest child of Kardashian and her third ex-husband Kanye West, uploaded the clip this week on the TikTok account she shares with her mother.

In the video, the young creative wore a long blue wig, dark gothic-inspired makeup and a black leather ensemble as she danced enthusiastically to Rihanna’s 2006 hit SOS. North, who has shown a growing interest in beauty and music, often experiments with makeup looks on herself as well as on relatives and friends.

But while the playful performance drew plenty of attention, some viewers said they were distracted by the appearance of North’s nose, prompting a wave of concerned comments from fans.

“Her contouring her beautiful nose is making me really upset. What is happening here??” one person wrote in a comment seen by The US Sun.

‘Poor kid that she got influenced by her relatives to believe her face is not pretty enough as it is /: Bad parenting,’ sniffed another. 

The Daily Mail has contacted a representative for Kardashian for comment.

North was firmly defended by her fans, one of whom wrote with a set of praying hands emoji: ‘be nice guys she has the comments on.’

‘I also had a Hot topic phase,’ one giggled as another wrote: ‘Man i wish i had that budget at 13 when i had an alt phase, yall dont get it.’

Still another mounted a spirited argument in favor of the look, writing: ‘y’all obviously didn’t have an alt phase when u were 13 and it shows. imagine having an alt phase as a 13 year old with UNLIMITED BUDGET AND CONNECTIONS. of course she wants to express herself let her be. nothing about this is inappropriate.’ 

North, who has embarked on her own music career, ignited a social media firestorm when she revealed in August 2025 that she had obtained a dermal piercing consisting of two small metal balls under a knuckle of her right hand middle finger.

Dermal piercings are distinct from other piercings in that a tiny anchor hooked under the skin is used to keep the jewelry in place.

As a result, they come with risks like keloid scarring, infection and – if improperly looked after – even rejection by the wearer’s body. 

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North’s mother, who has spoken often about being her primary guardian, was thus raked over the coals for allowing her to get a dermal piercing so young.

However North responded by posting a TikTok in December in which she mimed to the sound-byte: ‘Why are you crying? How old are you? Just pull it together,’ with a caption that read: ‘this is for everyone that’s mad over a finger piercing.’

Undeterred by the brickbats her mother was receiving, North then apparently unveiled two further dermal finger piercings on her Insta Stories in January. 

Then this May, in the music video for her first solo single #N0rth4evr, she was shown strolling through a graveyard with two stick-on piercings under one of her eyes and another one placed near the top of her nose.

Much of the video was grainy and choppy, in a nod to ‘found footage’ horror movies like The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity. 

Her follow-up single was a collaboration with a fellow ‘nepo baby‘ – Lil Novi, the 16-year-old son of rap legend Lil Wayne and R&B songstress Nivea.

Lil Wayne and Kanye worked on a number of songs together in the 2000s, including the 2007 release Barry Bonds and the 2008 single See You in My Nightmares. 

Their children’s new effort, entitled MULA THA ROOT OF ALL EVIL, is a cacophonous piece of music with a frenetically edited music video to match.

North materializes in the middle of the video with blue hair, seemingly wearing a set of grillz as well as a pair of spiky gauntlets.

North is one of the four children Kardashian and West welcomed into the world together – the others being Saint, 10, Chicago, eight, and Psalm, seven. 

More than three decades after it nearly became reality, the Swamp Dragons are finally getting their moment.

The Nets will host Swamp Dragons Night on Jan. 29, 2027, when they face the Clippers, paying tribute to the famously quirky team name that came close to replacing “Nets” in the 1990s.

The special theme night, which will include a bobblehead giveaway, is part of the franchise’s 60th season celebration.

“One of the most memorable ‘what ifs’ in basketball history will come to life as fans celebrate the unforgettable identity that ‘almost was,’” the team said in its announcement.

It is hard not to imagine how different the franchise’s story might have looked had the Nets actually become the Swamp Dragons, a name so unusual it sounds more like a minor-league baseball club than an NBA team.

While playing in New Jersey, team brass considered changing the name in an attempt to entice more fans.

Former Nets president Jon Spoelstra told ESPN in a 2016 article that he liked the idea of a “Dragons” nickname after it emerged as a finalist for the expansion Toronto franchise.

The swamp angle played homage to the team’s home in The Meadowlands.

 “The Dragon came up right away, but we needed something to identify it locally. I was sitting in my office with Jim Lampariello, our vice president, and I just said, ‘Every time I look out the window here, I see this swamp. And every time I think of swamps, I think of swamp rats. What about that?’” Spoelstra told ESPN.

“He just said, ‘I don’t think that’s very nice. What about Swamp Dragons?’ I loved it. Dragons are mythical, and fun.”

But one very important NBA person had some qualms: then-NBA commissioner David Stern.

“David told me, ‘This is the stupidest f—ing idea I’ve ever heard,’” Spoelstra told ESPN.

Stern ultimately allowed the Nets to proceed if all seven of the team’s owners would agree on the change and all seven OK’d the name, per the ESPN article.

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They reportedly agreed to proceed forward, and the NBA spent $500,000 “to protect the name and any markings they would produce,” according to ESPN.

The team’s logo would have featured a teal, purple and black dragon twirling a basketball on one claw while they breathed red fire, which would have aligned with other logos at the time.

The original Raptors logo is similar in its portrayal.

The Nets next had to get a supermajority from the league’s 27 owners to green-light the change, but some backlash reportedly emerged about using the word “swamp.”

Spoelstra told ESPN that an individual from then-Gov. Christine Whitman’s office called them and said they didn’t like the term being used.

The owners didn’t mind the backlash and reportedly OK’d the change in a 26-1 vote in what should have been a grand moment.

But that one vote somehow came from the Nets co-owner David Gerstein.

“We voted against our own name change,” Spoelstra told ESPN. “I thought (Stern) was kidding. If your own team votes no, you can’t go ahead with something like this.”

Gerstein indicated in 2016 that not proceeding was the right call.

“I don’t recall the vote, but we all thought it was inappropriate in the end. The name just wasn’t right,” he told ESPN. “I mean, would they be the Brooklyn Swamp Dragons today? The rest of the league would have done whatever we wanted, but we decided collectively to vote against it.”

The Nets ultimately changed their logo in 1997, and have since ditched The Meadowlands and moved to Brooklyn and undergone even more logo changes.