Sororities at a notable university in Southern California are stepping up their security measures amid ongoing harassment incidents involving homeless individuals, which have left many students feeling uneasy. According to recent reports, the UCLA Panhellenic Association has taken the initiative to hire private nighttime security to patrol the sorority row, a stretch of Hilgard Avenue within the bustling Los Angeles campus.

This action comes after numerous reports from young women who have encountered aggressive behavior and inappropriate remarks from homeless individuals. These incidents have prompted criticism of the campus police for their perceived lack of responsiveness to the students’ plight.

In a telling account, 20-year-old student Ani Hovanesian expressed her frustration following a meeting with the University of California Police Department (UCPD). “The meeting didn’t go well,” she noted. “They seemed unaware of the issue and not really proactive. They kept turning it back on us, asking why we weren’t calling 911 or reporting these incidents. But we have been, and that’s precisely why we’re reaching out to them.”

The UCLA Panhellenic Association, known as the largest women’s association at UCLA, has thus taken matters into their own hands, ensuring that private security keeps a vigilant watch over the area to protect its members and maintain a safe environment for all. The decision underscores the growing concern for safety within the urban college setting.

“We had a meeting with UCPD a few weeks ago and it didn’t go well,” 20-year-old student Ani Hovanesian told The Post. “They seemed unaware of the issue and not really proactive. They kept turning it back on us like ‘why aren’t you calling 911 or reporting any of this’ and it’s like ummm, we are and that’s why we’re here.”

Another student, 20-year-old Catherine Nichley, said she doesn’t feel “completely safe.”

“The weird part is that it’s usually the same three homeless men hanging around this row, typically between 40 and 60 years old, often sitting at the bus stop,” she told The Post.

She described one man, dubbed “The Hilgard Screamer,” who randomly yells at all hours of the day and night.

The Apha Phi sorority house UCLA’s sorority row taken on an unknown date. (Google Maps)

“These men stare into your soul,” Nichley told the outlet. “They make lewd comments, and I’ve actually yelled back, ‘What are you looking at?’ because it feels so creepy.”

Another sorority member said she rarely sees campus police in the area, and that she feels safer walking near the fraternity houses, where there is a larger police presence. She added that sometimes, homeless people sleep on the lawns of the sorority houses.

The University of California Police Department said it conducts regular patrols in the area.

Janss Steps on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles on Oct. 20, 2017. (MichaelGordon1/Getty Images)

“UCPD takes seriously the concerns students have raised about harassment and unsettling behavior near Hilgard Avenue. Students should feel safe where they live, study and walk near campus, and we are listening closely,” the department told Fox News Digital.

“UCPD conducts regular and directed patrols in the area, including increased evening presence, and continues to work with campus partners, student leaders and chapter stakeholders to address concerns and connect students with support,” the department added.

Fox News Digital reached out to UCLA Panhellenic Association.

Netflix is on the verge of expanding its involvement with the NFL’s broadcasting lineup once more.

According to a report by John Ourand from Puck News on Thursday, the streaming giant is nearing an agreement with the NFL that is likely to feature the Week 1 showdown between the 49ers and Rams in Australia, a game set for the night before Thanksgiving, and several Christmas matchups.

The historic game in Australia is scheduled for Thursday, September 10, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, marking the NFL’s debut in the country. NBC is anticipated to handle the production responsibilities for this event, as stated by The Athletic.

In another groundbreaking move for both Netflix and the NFL, a game on Thanksgiving Eve is set to be part of the deal.

The NFL began considering this idea back in March, which has created an opportunity for the league to offer additional content to its broadcasting partners.

For the Thanksgiving Eve contest, the NFL will likely be looking for at least $100 million for the standalone primetime window as the league’s massive viewership increases each year. Amazon reportedly pays the league $100 million for the Black Friday afternoon game.

Over the last two seasons, Netflix has reportedly paid $150 million per year to broadcast two Christmas Day games. That is set to continue through December as a three-year deal enters its final season.

For scheduling, the teams in the Wednesday night slot will likely play the previous Saturday instead of Sunday.

It’s not the first time the league has dipped its toes into Wednesday night football. Netflix’s first NFL broadcasts on Christmas Day took place on a Wednesday in 2024.

Jake Reiner took a heartfelt moment to reminisce about his illustrious parents as he made his return to his podcast, marking the first appearance since their unexpected passing late last year.

In a tragic event last December, Rob and Michelle Reiner were found murdered in their Los Angeles residence, with Jake’s younger sibling, Nick, aged 32, facing charges of first-degree murder.

During the latest episode of his podcast, The Incline: Dodgers, which centers around baseball, Jake, 35, expressed gratitude for the outpouring of support he has received “since everything happened.”

“I couldn’t be more thankful,” Jake shared. “It felt like the right time to come back to the podcast. I’ve been contemplating it for quite some time and have been in discussions with my co-host Kevin Klein about it.”

Jake also highlighted his father Rob’s passion for baseball, noting that the acclaimed director of classics like Stand By Me and When Harry Met Sally was an ardent Dodgers enthusiast.

‘It’s something that I’ve always connected with with my dad, first and foremost, and it’s something that I will continue to connect with him for the rest of my life,’ he stated.

Rob Reiner’s son Jake remembered his father fondly when he returned to his podcast The Incline: Dodgers this week. Seen in September

This comes five months after his parents were brutally murdered in their home. Jake’s brother Nick was arrested and later charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with their deaths, and he has since pleaded not guilty

‘When it comes to the Dodgers, you know, my first love, is something that I’ve always connected with my dad first and foremost, and it’s something that I will continue to connect with him for the rest of my life,’ Jake previously told People. 

In April, Jake described the ‘too impossible to process’ moment he learned his parents had been murdered.

In a Substack essay, he shared the shock of discovering his brother was accused of carrying out the killings. He also revealed his sister, Romy, 28, informed him of their parents’ deaths.

Jake recounted traveling to the house in a taxi, describing the 45-minute journey ‘in a trance’ as he tried to process what had happened.

‘The only thing I could focus on was that I needed to get to my childhood home. I needed to get to my sister. I needed to figure out what the hell just happened,’ he wrote. 

‘I was robbed of so many things that day. My parents won’t be at my wedding, they won’t get to hold their future grandchild, and they won’t get to see me have the successful career I’m still seeking. It simultaneously breaks my heart and enrages me.’

Left to right, Romy Reiner, Nick and Jake in a photo posted by Jake in 2016

Left to right, Michele, Rob, Jake, Romy and Nick at the 41st annual Chaplin Award Gala at Avery Fisher Hall in 2014, in New York

Jake wrote the scale of the loss was compounded by the accusation against his brother.

He said: ‘We lost more than half of our family that night in the most violent way imaginable.

‘Sure, any loss of a parent is devastating, but nothing compares to losing both of them at the same time and, on top of that, having your brother be at the center of it. It’s almost too impossible to process.’

Jake said the months since the killings have been marked by ongoing grief and disbelief.

In February Nick plead not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his parents

He added: ‘Every day since then has been horrendous. Every meeting we take, every person we talk to, every tear we shed, every movement we make is connected to our parents being murdered.’

Jake described the continuing impact on himself and Romy, writing the reality of the loss remains constant.

He said: ‘Because they weren’t your parents, it might be easier to move forward or even forget for a moment about what happened that day. But for us, it’s every single day.’

Paying tribute, Jake said his parents were central to his life. He added: ‘They are my guiding lights, the foundation of who I am as a human being, and the most giving people I have ever known.’

A man who unlawfully entered the United States from Haiti has been sentenced to face the death penalty after being convicted of murdering a store clerk in Fort Myers, prosecutors revealed.

On Thursday, State Attorney Amira Fox announced that a Lee County grand jury had indicted 40-year-old Rolbert Joachin. The indictment is linked to the tragic incident on April 2, where Nilufa Easmın, a 51-year-old Bangladeshi immigrant, was killed at a gas station in Fort Myers, Florida.

Prosecutors stated that Joachin is alleged to have attacked Easmın outside the gas station, delivering fatal blows to her head with a hammer.

The horrific act was captured on surveillance cameras, which showed Easmın confronting Joachin after he smashed her car window, only to be repeatedly struck with the hammer. Authorities have described the footage as “extremely brutal and incredibly violent.”

Indicted on a charge of first-degree murder, Joachin is now facing the death penalty, as prosecutors emphasize the severity of the crime.

Investigators say Joachin fled the scene following the attack, prompting a citywide search before Fort Myers police located and arrested him.

“This crime was so violent, so extreme, so unwarranted. It is something that once seen, is never to be forgotten. I want to thank the Lee County Grand Jury who watched and reviewed the gruesome evidence in this case and gave their full attention. I know it was not easy. This defendant entered the United States illegally and brutally ended the life of a mother simply at her job, working to provide for her family,” State Attorney Fox said.

“He will be punished to the fullest extent of the law. We will seek the death penalty in this case,” Fox said.

Split of Rolbert Joachim surveillance photo and mugshot. (Fort Myers Police Department)

President Donald Trump condemned the violent video, and blasted the Biden administration for releasing the suspect in 2022.

“An Illegal Alien Criminal from Haiti, who was released into our Country by the WORST President in History, Crooked Joe Biden, and the Radical Democrats in Congress, just beat an innocent woman to death with a hammer at a gas station in Florida,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “The video of her brutal slaying is one of the most vicious things you will ever see.

“This one killing should be enough for these Radical Judges to STOP impeding my Administration’s Immigration Policies, and allow us to END THIS SCAM ONCE AND FOR ALL,” he added. 

WATCH:

Joachim first entered the U.S. in August 2022, and was released into the country under former President Joe Biden, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

A federal judge later issued a final order of removal against Joachim, but he was granted Temporary Protected Status, which Trump has described as “a massively abused and fraudulent program.” He has also blamed what he called “radical liberal district court judges” for blocking efforts by his administration to end it.

While a federal judge issued a final order of removal against him, Joachim was reportedly granted Temporary Protected Status, a program Trump called “massively abused and fraudulent” and difficult to eliminate due to Democratic support.

The suspect then remained in the country after his status expired in 2024.

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Liberal members of the City Council are advocating for a new bill aimed at automatically enrolling residents, including undocumented immigrants, into social benefit programs.

Council member Crystal Hudson is championing this initiative, which proposes that the Department of Social Services utilize tax data, social services records, and other governmental databases to identify qualifying New Yorkers. These individuals would be enrolled in “city-created benefit programs” without needing to submit an application.

Although the proposal’s financial implications are anticipated to be substantial, neither the lawmakers nor Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration have provided an estimate of how much this automatic enrollment program would ultimately cost taxpayers.

“We all strive to do the right thing, but the bureaucratic system often complicates these efforts,” Hudson remarked during a City Council hearing on Wednesday, where the bill was under discussion.

Under the proposed legislation, the department would be required to notify individuals about their enrollment in specific programs. This notification would include details about the benefits offered, any related costs, necessary steps to finalize enrollment, and the option to opt out if desired.

Hudson argued the bill is needed because many people never make it through the city’s red tape. She pointed to Fair Fares, a program that offers half-priced subway and bus rides for low-income New Yorkers, where only about 37% of eligible riders were enrolled as of late 2025.

“I’m trying to help you help New Yorkers,” Hudson told Department of Social Services officials who testified at the hearing.

“I think with a little chutzpah and imagination — and with the right investments — we could make it happen.”

But the council’s own Fiscal Impact Statement concedes lawmakers do not know what the bill would cost.

The Finance Division wrote that the legislation “may necessitate increased funding for the Department of Social Services, but currently there is not sufficient information available to assess the cost.”

The city’s Office of Management and Budget also did not provide an estimate.

The bill is cosponsored by a slate of Progressive Caucus members and allies, including Lincoln Restler, Julie Won, Carmen De La Rosa, Gale Brewer, Shahana Hanif, Harvey Epstein and Farah Louis.

At a City Council hearing Wednesday, HRA Chief Program Officer Rebecca Chew said the administration is still reviewing the proposal, including budget considerations, and she raised alarms about privacy and consent.

She warned that benefits eligibility often hinges on sensitive information — from immigration status and income to pregnancy, HIV status and domestic violence history — and that building a centralized auto-enrollment database could clash with state and federal privacy rules.

The bill does not name specific programs, but it applies to any city-created benefit administered by the social services commissioner.

That definition could cover Fair Fares, which is open to illegal immigrants as well as other New York residents. 

It could also reach city-run guaranteed income pilots, some of which accept illegal immigrants. 

Depending on how the bill is interpreted, it might even apply to CityFHEPS, the rental assistance program whose costs have more than tripled in recent years, from about $500 million in fiscal 2023 to a projected $1.7 billion in 2026.

If CityFHEPS were pulled into automatic enrollment, the price of a bill that already lacks a fiscal estimate could snowball.

Speaker Julie Menin signaled support for auto-enrollment in Fair Fares, but stopped short of explicitly endorsing Hudson’s legislation, which would mandate automatic enrollment across the full range of city-created benefit programs administered by DSS.

“Speaker Menin strongly supports expanding access to Fair Fares, which provides targeted relief to riders in a way that budget watchdogs agree is cost-efficient.” a spokesperson for Menin told The Post. “Following today’s testimony, the Speaker will consider feedback from all stakeholders as Council Member Hudson’s bill moves through the legislative process.”

Hudson’s blank-check bill lands as Gotham is already staring down a budget crisis with city agencies ordered to trim costs amid a projected $5.4 billion budget shortfall for fiscal year 2026 and a $10.4 billion shortfall looming in fiscal year 2027, according to estimates from the city comptroller’s office.

Hudson did not respond to an inquiry from The Post.