Following the arrest, Michael Leavitt told WMUR that "The only concern has always been the safety, well-being, and privacy of my son." The father stated that his child had not spoken with Ferreira since her arrest and declared the mother "should not be sitting in a jail hours away from her family and from her child's life. She's a great mom, and from what I heard, I think he's been a pretty good dad," adding the mother "is locked up in Louisiana, where she should have never been in the first place."

Ferreira is now being held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center while awaiting removal proceedings, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed to NBC News, stating she violated her B2 tourist visa that required her departure by June 6, 1999. Her attorney, Todd Pomerleau, challenged the arrest and the designation, claiming she "maintained her legal status" under the Obama-era DACA program and is working on her green card. Pomerleau asserted that "Bruna has no criminal record whatsoever" and that she "is abruptly arrested and taken from her young child right before Thanksgiving," challenging the DHS: "I don't know where that is coming from. Show us the proof. There's no charges out there. She's not a criminal illegal alien."

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's 'criminal illegal alien' relative detained by ICE https://t.co/i80Ct03dnO pic.twitter.com/szCor8eJBl

— New York Post (@nypost) November 26, 2025

A relative establishing a GoFundMe page for Ferreira claimed she adhered to all protocols after being brought to the US in 1998, stating: "Since then, she has done everything in her power to build a stable, honest life here. She has maintained her legal status through DACA, followed every requirement, and has always strived to do the right thing." Separate source claims indicated that Michael Leavitt's son "has lived full-time in New Hampshire with his father since he was born. He has never resided with his mother." The father won $1 million from a Draft Kings fantasy football contest in 2014 when he was engaged to Ferreira and their son was an infant.

The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that "All individuals unlawfully present in the United States are subject to deportation," which aligns with the administration's strategy. Since taking office, the Trump administration has engaged in a "mass deportation campaign," which includes a push for people unlawfully present in the country to "self-deport" as well as major law enforcement operations involving ICE, the Border Patrol, and the National Guard across the US.

At the time of Michael Leavitt's fantasy football win, Bruna Ferreira told the North Andover, Mass., Eagle-Tribune: "I need the lights fixed on the back of my car." She also added that they needed a lamp for her son's room, but otherwise, she observed that "Other than that we don't really need much. We have our health. We have a nice condo. We really are blessed."

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A Massachusetts coffee shop has become an unexpected viral sensation after offering customers a unique deal: show off your dance moves for five seconds and receive a free coffee, reports Good Morning America.

The promotion at Coffee Milano Cafe in Middleborough, which was inspired by a similar initiative at a local pizza shop, has captured widespread attention on social media, garnering 7.6 million views on TikTok since its posting on November 18.

"Walk in and give us your BEST dance moves for 5 seconds," reads a sign prominently displayed on the establishment's entrance door.

Dancing for free coffee!

(:coffeemilanocafe) pic.twitter.com/p6pck1hkeX

— GoodNewsMovement (@GoodNewsMVT) November 22, 2024

 "We just thought it was going to be a small thing for the people that come in every day," Olivia Svenson, barista and social media director of Coffee Milano Cafe, told ABC News.

The heartwarming initiative has resonated with audiences far beyond the cafe's local customer base. According to Svenson, the viral response stems from the promotion's ability to let people express themselves freely.

"Everybody likes to see people happy," she explained. "It wasn't that (the coffee) was free. It is that people were able to express themselves."

The patrons at Coffee Milano Cafe in Middleborough, Massachusetts did not hold back. https://t.co/oTp7se9m4N

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) November 22, 2024

 Building on this unexpected success, the cafe is planning to continue spreading joy with a special Black Friday event. Additionally, they are exploring variations of the dance-for-coffee concept, including a potential dance-with-your-dog edition, Svenson revealed.

"We have a fun environment that the owners love, so we just want to make people happy," she said.

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Chabad of Central Massachusetts is cutting ties with a longtime Massachusetts rabbi for actively promoting anti-vaccine views and strident opposition to public health efforts to rein in the coronavirus pandemic.

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Central Massachusetts Chabad said Thursday that on Jan. 27 it dismissed Rabbi Michoel Green as a representative of the organization, which oversees Jewish community centers in the region.

Green has run the Chabad house in Westborough, a town in Massachusetts, for nearly 20 years.

Rabbi Mendel Fogelman, director of the Central Massachusetts Chabad, said in a statement that Green has been warned multiple times that his activities, statements and other personal pursuits are "contrary to the organization's mission" of providing meaningful ways for Jews to learn about and celebrate their heritage.

"Some of his public pronouncements were extremely reckless and potentially dangerous, and he has repeatedly been hostile and offensive to those who did not agree with him," Fogelman said. "Our organization is about lovingly reaching out to every Jew."

In a lengthy statement to supporters Thursday, Green called the decision "ill-advised" and expected it would be reversed.

He stressed his center would continue to operate even though the Chabad Lubavitch movement has terminated his status and removed his center from its database of recognized Chabad houses.

Green said his center was incorporated as an independent, nonprofit house of worship and did not receive funding from any Chabad organization.

"They did not 'fire' me from my position of rabbi and director of Chabad of Westboro, nor do they have any jurisdiction over our shul altogether," he said in part. "Our shul will continue to serve our community as we have faithfully for nearly two decades."

Green, who describes himself on Facebook as "not just anti-vax" but "consistently anti-pharma," has been highly critical of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

He's claimed the vaccines are "experimental injections" that could lead to "death, lifelong injury and infertility." In fact, there is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines result in sterilization. The vaccines approved for use in the US have gone through large trials and intense scrutiny with thousands of people having received one or both shots at this point.

Green has also been critical of basic virus safety guidelines such as wearing a face mask in public. In one post, he encourages people to "take off the mask. Slow the spread of tyranny." That's also inaccurate – the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says masks are a simple but highly effective way to slow the spread of the disease.

In a follow-up statement, Green stood by his prior comments on the vaccine and virus safety.

"This is not about me personally, but about censorship, suppression of dissent, and kowtowing to medical tyranny," he said in part. "If your doctor or rabbi pressures you to get this experimental injection, find a new doctor or rabbi."

Some Orthodox Jewish communities in the New York City-area have bristled at government efforts to slow the pandemic, which has hit their enclaves particularly hard.

Some Jewish leaders complain the measures are discriminatory, while others have urged their faithful to heed social distancing and other public health rules.

An order by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo temporarily limiting the size of religious gatherings in certain coronavirus hot spots this past fall prompted protests and legal challenges in Brooklyn and other heavily Orthodox Jewish areas of the state.

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In her comments to The Hill published on Sunday, Warren said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was pushing for expansion, which she said was inconsistent with the two-state solution.

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"It is the official policy of the United States of America to support a two-state solution, and if Israel is moving in the opposite direction, then everything is on the table," she said.

The Massachusetts senator is the current front-runner in the Democratic race, speeding past Joe Biden as the Ukraine crisis seems to have taken a toll on his backing.

She is also the second Democrat in this race to voice approval for cutting aid to Israel, after Pete Buttigieg, trailing way behind Warren in polls, said in June he could cut the military aid over full West Bank annexation.

In the run-up to the September general election, Netanyahu pledged to annex swathes of land in the West Bank if elected – echoing a similar statement made before the spring elections.

Earlier, in March, the Trump administration formally recognized the Golan Heights as part of Israel, making the US the first country to do so.

This article was originally published by i24NEWS.

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Aia Polansky says she didn't hesitate to run the man down after he pulled down his pants as she ran along the Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on July 18.

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Surveillance video released by Massachusetts State Police shows the unfazed and infuriated 33-year-old former Israeli army soldier sprinting to overtake the unidentified man.

Polansky says that she grabbed the man's arm and called for help, but the man slipped from her grip and escaped when she reached for her phone to call police as passersby who witnessed the confrontation failed to come to her aid.

The mother of two says the decision to confront the flasher was not difficult.

"I knew that he's flashing himself to me, the next girl he's going to grab. The third girl will get raped," she told The Associated Press. "I knew that if I'm not gonna get him now he's gonna get away with it and it will happen again. He was forcing himself to my reality."

Polansky has a message for the unidentified man.

"Climb out of the bed in your mom's house, go to court on your action. Be responsible for what you did. It's the stupidest decision you ever made," she said, noting the flasher had picked the "wrong person to mess around with."

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Police in Arlington, Massachusetts have responded to two cases of such fires over the past week at the home of Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries.

Rabbi Avi and Luna Bukiet's home also serves as the Chabad Center for Jewish Life of Arlington-Belmont.

On Thursday night, there were "light flames burning shingles on one side" of the house, reported local Fox affiliate WFXT, citing officials. A police officer patrolling the area was at the scene within 30 seconds to get rid of the flames by using a handheld extinguisher.

That same evening, there was a suspicious fire at the Chabad Jewish Center in Needham, Mass., which state and federal authorities were also investigating. Chanie Krinsky posted on Facebook that her husband, Rabbi Mendy Krinsky, who directs the Chabad center with her, "was outside with the fire extinguisher before the smoke alarms even went off."

On Saturday night, Chabad in Arlington caught fire. Police are trying to identify someone caught on video walking away from the house.

"We smelled a lot of smoke," Bukiet told WFXT. "There was a ton of smoke inside in the basement going up to the first floor."

Firefighters discovered a small fire "burning on the wood shingles of one side of the home. The fire was quickly extinguished and the damage was minor," reported WFXT.

Neither incident caused personal injuries or damage inside the home.

In a statement, acting Arlington Police Chief Julie Flaherty said that an officer will be present full-time in the area.

"These are extremely concerning incidents in which an innocent family has had the safety and security of their home compromised by some else's violent actions," she said.

After the Saturday fire, Bukiet said he had not gotten any threats.

"An unsettling time for everyone, but there's so much love and so much support that goes around, and at these moments you see people coming to the fore and coming to the surface and really showing how much of a community we are," he said.

"Somebody out there wants to hurt us. Just because we exist. And that is frightening. Hate can't be reasoned with. Hate just needs to be eradicated," said Krinsky in her Facebook post. "A little bit of light dispels a lot of darkness. Please take this opportunity to help us end this darkness. Do a mitzvah today to bring more light into this world!"

According to Chabad.org, Bukiet said Shabbat services would go on as usual. All of the Chabad emissaries involved expressed their gratitude to local law enforcement and fire departments, which have been supportive and are working on solving what appears to be a string of anti-Semitic attacks.

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