A prisoner in Oregon, who transitioned from male to female while incarcerated, has been granted a substantial settlement following allegations of mistreatment. This comes after the individual, now known as Zera Lola Zombie, filed a lawsuit against the Oregon Department of Corrections, citing abuse by staff during their time in a male facility.

Zera Lola Zombie, who was born Daniel Lee Smith, has been residing in the women’s Coffee Creek Correctional Facility since April 2025. The settlement, reported by The Oregonian, amounts to $295,000 and is a result of a lawsuit initiated in 2021.

Zombie’s criminal record includes a conviction for first-degree manslaughter, having pleaded guilty to the 2014 beating death of a girlfriend, Samantha Lee Brown. The sentence was 20 years in prison, with an additional 15 years for first-degree assault after a violent incident with another inmate. Zombie is not expected to be released until 2049.

A mugshot from 2023 depicts Zera Lola Zombie as an inmate at the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, underscoring the ongoing journey within the correctional system. Zombie publicly identified as transgender in 2020 and subsequently began hormone therapy. By 2022, Zombie was actively pursuing gender confirmation surgery while still in prison.

The Oregonian reported that Zombie came out as transgender in 2020, and began taking sex change hormones. In 2022, Zombie began the process of seeking a sex change surgery in prison.

According to the report, Zombie will receive $95,000 from the settlement, while Zombie’s attorneys will receive $200,000 to cover their fees.

Zombie claimed repeated sexual assaults by a cellmate at the Oregon State Penitentiary, and further sexual assaults at the hands of a different cellmate at Two Rivers Correctional Facility, according to court documents.

The claim said Zombie was discriminated against based on gender, that officials broke the law by housing a female in a male prison, said they failed to “follow both federal and Oregon rules and laws concerning the designation and protection of plaintiff as a Vulnerable Adult-In-Custody … at high risk for both physical and sexual assault,” housed an inmate with a known sexual predator, refused to provide legally-mandated counseling and failed to report the sexual assaults per Oregon and federal law.

The Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, a women’s prison and prisoner intake center operated by the Oregon Department of Corrections, is located in Wilsonville, Ore., in 2019. The facility opened in 1991. (KELLY JORDAN/Statesman Journal)

In 2023, a judge designated Zombie as a vulnerable person, forcing the prison to allow Zombie to live in a single-person cell.

“On this record, it is not at all clear that, without the Court’s intervention, defendants will refrain from placing plaintiff in a cell with an inmate known to be a sex offender, or that defendants will designate plaintiff as a vulnerable inmate,” said an order written by United States District Court Judge Ann Aiken. “Plaintiff need not await another assault before obtaining preventative relief.”

The Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, a women’s prison and prisoner intake center operated by the Oregon Department of Corrections, is located in Wilsonville, Ore. It opened in 1991. (KELLY JORDAN / Statesman Journal)

“While we cannot comment on specifics of litigation, we take all allegations of sexual assault seriously and are committed to addressing them thoroughly and responsibility, a spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Corrections told Fox News Digital. “We uphold our duty to protect those in our custody, guided by a zero-tolerance policy for sexual abuse and harassment. Prevention remains a priority, and we are dedicated to eliminating sexual assault and misconduct in Oregon’s correctional facilities.”

Zombie’s attorney, John Burgess, did not return a request for comment.

Amid growing tensions and uncertainties on the global stage, Poland’s prime minister has cast doubt on America’s steadfastness towards NATO should Russia launch an attack on Europe. This concern was voiced by Donald Tusk, who emphasized the urgency of clarifying America’s commitment to the Western alliance, warning that a Russian assault could be just months away.

In a conversation with the Financial Times, Tusk underscored that Europe’s pressing issue is determining whether the United States will uphold the loyalty it pledges in NATO treaties. His remarks come at a time of heightened scrutiny over the United States’ role within the alliance, particularly under President Donald Trump’s administration.

These statements mark a rare and pointed critique of President Trump’s unpredictable stance on NATO. His oscillating declarations—ranging from threats to withdraw the U.S. from the alliance to contemplating punitive measures against NATO for perceived inadequacies in supporting his Middle East endeavors—have left allied nations perplexed and uneasy about the future of transatlantic relations.

Tusk’s comments are a rare direct rebuke of US president Donald Trump’s flip-flopping on his position on NATO. 

From warning that he would pull the US out of NATO entirely to exploring ways to punish the alliance for not doing enough to help his war in the Middle East, members of the defence bloc have been left confused as to what Trump wants. 

He claimed to have ‘no complexes’ about relations between Poland and the US, adding: ‘Washington treats Poland as the best and the closest ally in Europe.’

But, he insisted: ‘For me, the real problem is what it is in practice if something happens.

‘I want to believe that [Article 5] is still valid, but sometimes, of course, I have some problems. 

Donald Tusk (pictured) said that the question of the US’ role in the Western alliance needed to be answered soon as Russia could attack an alliance member in a matter of ‘months’

Tusk’s comments are a rare direct rebuke of US president Donald Trump’s (pictured) flip-flopping on his position on NATO

‘I don’t want to be so pessimistic . . . but what we need today is also practical context.’ 

He pointed to NATO’s milquetoast reaction to the Russian incursion of drones into Poland last year, which saw the Kremlin send around 20 drones violate Polish airspace. 

Few of Poland’s NATO allies saw it as a material attack, with the alliance reluctantly scrambling fighter jets to shoot some of the drones down. 

Tusk recalled: ‘I had some problems during the night in September when we had this pretty massive drone provocation made by the Russians 

‘It wasn’t easy for me to convince our partners in Nato that it wasn’t a random incident, it was a well-planned and prepared provocation against Poland. 

‘For some of our colleagues, it was much easier to pretend that nothing happened. This is why I want to be certain that if something happened, that… Russia knows the reaction will be tough and unequivocal.’ 

He added that NATO also had to rise up to face the challenge Russia poses itself: ‘For the whole eastern flank, my neighbours . . . the question is if NATO is still an organisation ready, politically and also logistically, to react, for example against Russia if they try to attack.’

Tusk’s warning comes just as the Pentagon was revealed to be exploring ways for the US to punish NATO countries for failing to support the Iran war, including reviewing the UK’s claim to the Falklands Islands and suspending Spain from the alliance.  

The policy options are detailed in an email expressing frustration at some allies’ perceived reluctance or refusal to grant Washington access, basing and overflight (ABO) rights for the Iran war, a US official told Reuters.

The email stated that ABO is ‘just the absolute baseline for NATO,’ according to the official, who added that the options were circulating at high levels in the Pentagon.

(L-R) US Vice President JD Vance and US President Donald Trump listen to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speak during a meeting on April 23

Royal Marine Peter Robinson carrying the Union Jack as he marched towards Stanley in the final hours of the Falklands War in June 1982

The memo also includes an option to consider reassessing US diplomatic support for longstanding European ‘imperial possessions,’ such as the Falkland Islands near Argentina.

The State Department’s website states that the islands are administered by the United Kingdom but are still claimed by Argentina, whose Libertarian President Javier Milei is a Trump ally. 

Britain and Argentina fought in 1982 over the islands after Argentina made a failed bid to take them. Some 650 Argentine soldiers and 255 British troops died before Argentina surrendered.

Donald Trump has repeatedly insulted Prime Minister Keir Starmer, calling him cowardly because of his unwillingness to join the US war with Iran, ​saying he was ‘No Winston Churchill’ and describing Britain’s aircraft carriers as ‘toys’.

Britain initially did not grant a request from the US to allow its aircraft to attack Iran from two British bases, but later ​agreed to allow defensive missions aimed at protecting residents of the region, including British citizens, amid Iranian retaliation.

One option in the email envisions suspending ‘difficult’ countries from important or prestigious positions at NATO, the official said. 

Sauce Gardner couldn’t help but chuckle when asked if he considers himself a three-time first-round draft pick.

“Even if I were to be a first-round choice for the next two years, I’d still put in the work,” Gardner remarked. He was taken by the Jets as the No. 4 overall pick in 2022, but was traded to the Colts last October in exchange for first-round picks in 2026 and 2027.

“I’ve already got plenty on my plate just being who I am, but it’s nothing I can’t manage,” he added with determination.

The highly anticipated draft kicked off on Thursday, yet six teams found themselves on the sidelines after trading away their first-round picks over the past year. These included the Colts, Packers (who acquired Micah Parsons), Broncos (Jaylen Waddle), Bengals (Dexter Lawrence), Jaguars (Travis Hunter), and Falcons (James Pearce Jr.). They had to wait until Friday to make their moves as the other 26 teams began bolstering their rosters.

However, not all is lost for these teams. For those like the Packers, Broncos, and Jaguars, who traded out of the latter half of the first round, the situation might not be as grim as it initially appears.

“Pretty heavy up at the top,” Patriots executive vice president Eliot Wolf said, per ESPN, in his evaluation of the draft class, “then maybe from, call it No. 25 to No. 50, is sort of the same level of player.”

Here is a look at what needs those six teams — left out of first-round mock drafts — could address:

Bengals (No. 41)

Both starting cornerbacks are free agents after the season, so the Bengals could get a jump on replacing DJ Turner II and/or Dax Hill.

This part of the draft also is a sweet spot to add a linebacker, after Browns second-round linebacker Carson Schwesinger won 2025 Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Throw in swing tackle, too.

Possibilities: LB Jacob Rodriguez, Texas Tech; LB CJ Allen, Georgia; CB Chris Johnson, San Diego State; CB Brandon Cisse, South Carolina; OT Caleb Tiernan, Northwestern.

Colts (No. 47)

Defense, defense, defense in a playoffs-or-bust season.

Their needs are similar to the Bengals’: Linebacker sticks out like a sore thumb, and they need a defensive back, especially a nickel/safety, because Kenny Moore II has requested a trade.

Improving the pass rush is important, too. A big-bodied receiver would complement the in-house receivers.

Possibilities: Allen; LB Anthony Hill Jr., Texas; DB Keionte Scott, Miami; CB D’Angelo Ponds, Indiana; WR Malachi Fields, Notre Dame.

Falcons (No. 48)

It was stunning during the 2025 draft when the Falcons traded their first-rounder (wound up No. 13) and more to select Pearce (No. 26).

It sure would be nice to have No. 13 to draft Makai Lemon or Omar Cooper Jr. into the receiving corps. Instead, that could be the direction for the second round.

The Falcons don’t often draft players from Georgia, but this could be two years in a row doing so.

Possibilities: WR Germie Bernard, Alabama; WR Zachariah Branch, Georgia; OL Emmanuel Pregnon, Oregon; DT Christen Miller, Georgia; CB Keith Abney II, Arizona State.

Packers (No. 52)

The Packers default to using top picks on athletes in the defensive front seven, so that’s certainly a path forward.

Cornerback, including the nickel, looks like a spot for rookie reinforcements who could become starters in 2027.

And the offensive line depth is shaky. When it comes to backups, the franchise looks for guard/tackles or guard/centers who offer gameday flexibility.

Possibilities: Scott; Tiernan; OL Gennings Dunker, Iowa; edge Gabe Jacas, Illinois; edge Dani Dennis-Sutton, Penn State.

Jaguars (No. 56)

A second-round theme is starting to emerge with playmaking inside linebackers, but there are especially big shoes to fill here after All-Pro Devin Lloyd exited.

Another way to improve the run defense is to address defensive tackle.

The depth behind starting edges Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker also could use an upgrade.

Is Bhayshul Tuten really ready to be a starting running back in a committee?

Possibilities: RB Jadarian Price, Notre Dame; Hill; LB Josiah Trotter, Missouri; DT Gracen Halton, Oklahoma; edge R Mason Thomas, Oklahoma.

Broncos (No. 62)

One of the most balanced rosters in the NFL truly is set up to pick the best available player.

Fastballs Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper collapse the pocket off the edge, but a versatile defensive lineman with some inside pass rush ability would be a luxury pick.

Head coach Sean Payton is always looking for someone to fill his “Joker” do-it-all weapon on offense.

Possibilities: Price; Miller; TE Eli Stowers, Vanderbilt; TE Max Klare, Ohio State; DT Darrell Jackson Jr., Florida State.

Are these cancellations happening at the last minute?

My flight was canceled. What should I do first?

Do I have the right to a refund or a new flight?

Are passenger rights the same everywhere?

What protections apply?

How can I prepare before a trip to avoid headaches?

What do I need for a claim or complaint?

Should I accept the first alternative flight the airline offers?

Can I book a different flight myself?

Any other tips to avoid getting stuck?

According to a new theory presented by an independent investigator, the Zodiac Killer’s enigmatic communications were more than mere taunts directed at law enforcement. These cryptic messages might actually harken back to his earliest known victim. Alex Baber, who claims to have deciphered the killer’s codes, suggests that the notorious serial killer may have begun his string of crimes with the unsolved murder of Elizabeth Short, famously known as the Black Dahlia, 23 years before his acknowledged spree.

Alex Baber, co-founder of Cold Case Consultants of America, revealed that after an intensive nine-month investigation, he managed to solve a complex encryption. The code, he says, involved both transposition and substitution within a 2 x 7 grid format.

“For the first time in history, detectives from the LAPD have approached a suspect’s family to acquire DNA,” Baber shared with Fox News Digital during an interview at the Hamptons Whodunit event in East Hampton over the weekend. “This is unprecedented in the Black Dahlia investigation, and we have a strong sense that we might be on the right track.”

The Los Angeles Police Department has not yet responded to requests for comments on these developments, and an FBI representative has also refrained from making any statements.

In a presentation at the Hamptons Whodunit event on April 17, 2026, in East Hampton, New York, Alex Baber discussed his findings, asserting a connection between the Black Dahlia and Zodiac murders. (Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)

Baber’s finding, that the Zodiac’s “Z13” cipher depicts the name of a prime suspect in the 1947 Black Dahlia murder, was first revealed in the Daily Mail, and he presented them publicly Saturday at the East Hampton Library.

With help from a proprietary artificial intelligence software and self-taught knowledge of cryptography, he said the 13-character message is decoded to read “Marvin Merrill.” After further digging into social security records, he said he discovered that’s an alias for Marvin Margolis, who he said dated Short in the 1940s and had been on the LAPD’s suspect list after her murder and dismemberment. His AI software flagged the connection between the two cases, he added.

San Francisco police circulated composite sketches of the Zodiac killer based on witness descriptions following the slaying of a cab driver in San Francisco. The suspect is linked to four other slayings in Napa and Vallejo, California. (Getty Images)

Once he’d developed Margolis as a potential suspect, he said he went to visit his surviving son, who showed him a handwriting sample, which Baber said he suspected was a match to Zodiac both in terms of the handwriting and linguistically.

When Baber revealed his findings to the son, he recounted the following reaction:

“He immediately turned white, his hands started shaking and he reached across the table — when he grabbed my hand,” Baber said. “First time I’ve ever had an interview where they’ve initiated physical contact with me, and at that point, he says, ‘We’re gonna be OK.’”

An image of Marvin Merrill in 1969. (Courtesy of Alex Baber)

The son provided writing samples showing both Zodiac and Margolis made the same phonetic spelling errors, Baber said.

“I said, ‘I hate to blow your mind, but he’s also suspect on record not from my agency but from the grand jury inquest with the original files for LAPD in 1947 of Elizabeth Short’s homicide,’” Baber recalled.

“He said, ‘Elizabeth? Well, let me show you something,’” Baber continued.

After flipping through his phone, he produced a haunting sketch, labeled “Elizabeth” across the bottom.

“The first thing I said is, ‘Holy s—,’” Baber said.

He provided images of a sketch Margolis drew 46 years after Short’s death, which he says showed additional detail when viewed in person — indentations on the page from a pencil tip used to add texture to the inked drawing. The alarming part about those features is that they coincide with injuries sustained by Short, he said, and that an impression of the word “Zodiac” is hidden within a black background on the bottom right of the image.

Alex Baber of Cold Case Consultants of America poses for a photo in the courtyard of the East Hampton Library during the Hamptons Whodunit event on Saturday, April 18. Baber presented evidence he says shows the Black Dahlia murder and Zodiac serial slayings were linked. (Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)

After Baber cracked the code, he said he shared it with the FBI and had it peer-reviewed by other experts, including one he described as a former National Security Agency codebreaker.

That one, he said, reverse engineered his decryption and realized that the key to the cipher was far simpler: the Black Dahlia victim’s first name, Elizabeth.

“Elizabeth was the key to solving the Z13,” he said. He said her name generates a numerical sequence used to rearrange the cipher.

Another notable connection Baber said he found was between Margolis and a close friend who specialized in encryption during World War II.

Baber said he believes this image shows Black Dahlia victim Elizabeth Short and was drawn by Marvin Margolis, who may have used the aliases Marvin Merrill and Marty Merrill. Margolis was an early suspect in Short’s 1947 murder. He was never charged and has since died. According to Baber, there are indentations from a pencil visible in person that add texture and new clues to the image, including wounds that are consistent with those found on Short and, more explosively, the word “Zodiac” in the lower right. (Alex Baber)

“His roommate Bill Robinson, who lived with him when he lived with Elizabeth Short, was actually one of the hand-picked cryptographers in World War II by General MacArthur,” he said.

Margolis lived with Robinson in Los Angeles at the time of Short’s murder, according to police records from the investigation Baber obtained and shared with his findings. The records also show Margolis was one of 22 persons of interest back in 1951.

John Kelly, a criminal profiler and psychoanalyst who has been following the case for years, told Fox News Digital he reviewed Baber’s materials and found his findings “have legs.”

“This person of interest has had numerous careers and failed at all,” Kelly told Fox News Digital.

But one that stood out was his service as a medic in the Pacific during World War II.

“The career field that produces the most serial killers is the medical field,” he said, pointing toward Dr. Harold Shipman, who killed more than 200 of his own patients, and nurse Charles Cullen, who killed dozens of his own.

Five of the 22 early suspects in Short’s murder were also doctors, the records show.

“In my opinion, this guy fits like a glove,” Kelly said.

<!–>

The portrayal of Michael Jackson’s life in a new biopic is raising eyebrows for its selective storytelling.

Jackson, whose reputation has been deeply affected by numerous allegations of child abuse, is the subject of a film that opts to gloss over these controversies.

There are reports suggesting his daughter, Paris Jackson, has come to believe that her father was indeed guilty of such accusations.

Despite this, Hollywood, along with the majority of the Jackson family, has proceeded with creating ‘Michael,’ a film that presents a heavily filtered narrative. It sidesteps significant aspects such as Jackson’s traumatic childhood, struggles with drug dependency, and the persistent allegations of pedophilia that shadowed his career.

Notably, the movie omits any mention of his 2005 criminal trial, where he faced charges of molesting a 13-year-old boy but was ultimately acquitted. This omission raises questions about the film’s intent to present a balanced view of the pop icon’s life.

Such a hagiography, it seems, has little appeal. The film, which premiered Monday, currently has a 34 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and critics have savaged its alternate take on history.

‘This is a frustratingly shallow, inert picture, a kind of cruise-ship entertainment, which can’t quite bring itself to show that Michael was an abuse victim, brutalized by his father and robbed of his childhood,’ said The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw.

‘Perhaps this is because it would have a cause-and-effect implication [on the later part of] Jackson’s life in which his behavior was increasingly perplexing, dangling a baby over a hotel balcony — as well as facing sexual abuse allegations.’

The new ‘Michael’ biopic (pictured), which premiered Monday, currently has 34 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and critics have savaged its alternate take on history.

Indeed — there was an ambient concern, never quite vocalized for legal reasons, that a grown man who preferred the company of very young boys, who was first accused of child molestation in 1993, and who told Oprah in a televised interview that he considered sharing his bed with little boys, during what he called sleepovers, ‘a beautiful thing’ now had children of his own.

One of whom he dangled over a hotel balcony when that child, named Blanket, was a baby.

Whether you believe the accusations or not, Michael Jackson was weird. His best friend, in adulthood, was a chimp named Bubbles.

Jackson — again, as a grown man — slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber.

He named his estate ‘Neverland’ and built an amusement park on its grounds. He claimed his fixation on childhood games, rides and preoccupations — on children — was because he never had a childhood of his own.

Jackson told Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, in a series of interviews published in the 2009 book The Michael Jackson Tapes, that he would watch children playing in the park across from his recording studio and cry.

‘I wanted to go over there so bad it was killing me, just to make a friend to say, ‘Hi,’ Jackson said. ‘I used to walk the streets looking for someone to talk to’.

Boteach: ‘How old were you?’

Jackson: ‘It was during the Thriller album.’

Let me answer that question directly: Jackson was 24 years old when he made Thriller. A grown man, at the height of his artistry, crying because he couldn’t go play with children.

Not that that’s in the movie. Or that there’s any given conflict of interest in Michael’s nephew playing Michael, or in the Jackson family — the beneficiaries of Jackson’s estate — being heavily involved.

New York Times critic Alissa Wilkinson wrote, ‘The movie itself becomes a tale of triumph and glory for someone everyone admired, rather than an estate’s attempt to scrub clean the life story of a star who has been multiply accused, in harrowing terms, of child sexual abuse. That same estate is the reason that an HBO documentary that gives space for two men who have accused Jackson to tell their story has been deleted from its streaming platform; you can’t watch it, because it might as well not exist.’

As the Daily Mail exclusively reports, Paris has become close to the Cascio family, who say that her father repeatedly raped four of their children for years.

‘Paris has stayed in touch… and she is especially close with their mother, Connie,’ a source told the Daily Mail. ‘There have been some very candid conversations over the years between Paris and the Cascio family and, based upon those, Paris knows exactly what her father did.’

Paris, now 28 and living in Los Angeles, is not ready to speak about her beliefs publicly — yet.

‘This will come out officially from Paris in time,’ the source said. ‘It’s going to come out when Paris wants it to come out.’

She has only recently altered tattoos memorializing her father, including a sizable one of his face on her arm — that one defaced by a scar caused by her apparent self-harm.

As the Daily Mail exclusively reports, Paris Jackson has become close to the Cascio family, who say that her father repeatedly raped four of their children for years. (Michael is pictured with Dominic Cascio)

Paris (pictured) has recently altered tattoos memorializing her father, including a sizable one of his face on her arm – that one defaced by a scar caused by her apparent self-harm.

For a very long time, Paris had been among her father’s defenders. Her outspokenness comes with great cost. If the Cascio family wins the lawsuit they’ve filed against the Jackson estate, that costs Paris money.

Why risk that? And why risk permanent estrangement from the Jackson family?

It’s worth noting – as the New York Times points out – that HBO very quietly pulled the 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland, in which two alleged survivors accused Jackson of serially molesting them as children, from its streaming service after a legal dispute with the Jackson estate.

Has #MeToo meant nothing? Harvey Weinstein? Sean Combs?

Now is surely the time to truly examine who Jackson was and how – and why – the media and the culture may have allowed him to hide in plain sight.

None other than Paris Jackson said it herself on social media last summer.

The new Michael hagiography, she said, is full of ‘lies’ and inaccuracies, and she opted out of it completely rather than fight what she implies is — for now — an unwinnable fight.

‘The film panders to a very specific section of my dad’s fandom that still lives in the fantasy,’ Paris said. ‘And they’re going to be happy with it.’

Yi Fang Chen believed her son had the academic credentials to gain admission to the elite Stuyvesant High School in New York City.

However, there was a significant hurdle: his ethnicity.

Chen’s son became entangled in the city’s Discovery Program, an initiative designed as a supplementary route for disadvantaged students who narrowly missed the test score threshold for the city’s specialized high schools.

In 2018, the program underwent a substantial transformation under then-Mayor Bill de Blasio.

De Blasio expanded the Discovery admissions significantly, directing these competitive schools to allocate 20% of their seats to Discovery students. The goal was to increase the enrollment of black and Hispanic students, which inadvertently affected the admission prospects for Asian students.

Under the state’s Hecht-Calandra law, those schools — world-renowned for their 15 Nobel laureate alums — must admit students based solely on their scores on the objective, anonymous Specialized High Schools Admission Test.

And Chen’s son scored so close to the Stuyvesant cutoff that he would certainly have been admitted — if not for the Discovery expansion.

The city’s discriminatory intent to exclude Asians worked exactly as it was meant to against him.