​NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!. Officials in Philadelphia have dismantled a massive drug ring operating out of a sham coffee shop, run largely by longtime, senior figures in the criminal world, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced Sunday.. The sweeping takedown, dubbed “Operation Cocaine and Coffee,” was launched and primarily targeted a storefront known as Cumberland Coffee and Snacks, where authorities say the second floor was used to cook and package crack cocaine for street-level distribution.. At least 17 suspected members of the operation were arrested, many described by officials as well past middle age and deeply entrenched in the drug trade.. Authorities said the group, allegedly run by 56-year-old Lewis Alexander, plagued the community with “absolute harm” for more than a decade and is believed to have ties to violent crime.. FEDERAL AGENTS ARREST 12 ALLEGED MEMBERS OF LA’S MASSIVE 18TH STREET GANG DRUG TRAFFICKING OPERATION. “Well, today, North Philadelphia’s, the Lewis Alexander drug trafficking organization, they have a new turf and it’s inside a correctional facility,” Sunday said.. “Some of the defendants here are in their 50s, 60s and 70s,” he added. “Many of these defendants have been at this a very long time. They were menaces to society, to people and families who just want to live free without concern of violence and crime in their everyday life.”. While the raid centered in North Philadelphia, the operation’s reach reportedly extended well beyond the coffee shop, with officials serving warrants at roughly 30 locations across Philadelphia, Delaware County and New Jersey.. DRUG KINGPIN ON PAROLE CAUGHT WITH ENOUGH FENTANYL TO KILL MOST OF COUNTY, DA SAYS. Prosecutors described the organization as a persistent blight on the neighborhood, with a nearby bar and barbershop also swept up in the investigation as authorities worked to dismantle the network.. “The criminal organization has remained like weeds as families and homeowners have moved in and out of residences in the area,” Sunday said.. The takedown resulted in 17 arrests and the seizure of 27 firearms, roughly four pounds of cocaine, more than 130 pounds of marijuana, as well as fentanyl, ecstasy and cash, according to officials.. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP. The defendants face a range of felony charges, including running a corrupt organization, drug trafficking and illegal firearm possession.. Alexander is currently incarcerated on $750,000 bail.  

​NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!. A South Florida city leader was found dead in her home Wednesday, and her husband was in police custody, authorities said.. Coral Springs Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen was found by police officers at around 10 a.m. Wednesday after they began an investigation into her “well-being,” the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported.. Police Chief Brad Mock didn’t provide any details about the circumstances of Bowen’s death, saying it was being investigated as a “domestic violence incident.” Bowen’s husband, Stephen Bowen, was in police custody, Mock said.. WANNABE BURGLARS STORM REAL HOUSEWIVES STAR’S MANSION – ONLY TO GET SPOOKED BY ALARM, CRASH GETAWAY CAR: COPS. The chief said there were no other suspects being sought.. Bowen was first elected to the Coral Springs City Commission in 2020 and was re-elected in 2024. She was appointed by the commission last November to serve a second, one-year term as vice mayor, according to her bio on the city’s website.. Before being elected to the commission, Bowen worked as an environmental scientist who formerly served on the Broward County Soil and Water Conservation District, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported.. Bowen’s family confirmed her death on her social media accounts.. “Throughout her years in public office, she led with integrity, compassion, and an unwavering sense of purpose,” the family’s statement said.. “She believed in bringing people together, listening to those she served, and working tirelessly to create positive change in her community. To us, she was a source of strength, wisdom, and love — someone who always put others before herself.. REPEAT OFFENDER ALLEGEDLY STABS PREGNANT MOM IN RANDOM GROCERY STORE PARKING LOT ATTACK ‘WITH A STEAK KNIFE’. “While many knew her as a leader and advocate, we knew her as a sister, a daughter, and a friend whose warmth and laughter filled every room. Her legacy will live on not only in the policies she helped shape, but in the countless lives she touched.”. The Coral Springs government Facebook page paid tribute to Bowen, calling her “leadership grounded in compassion, strength, and an unwavering commitment to others.”. “Her impact on Coral Springs is immeasurable, and her loss leaves a void in our hearts. We ask our community to keep her family, loved ones, and all who are grieving in your thoughts and prayers. In this difficult time, we stand together as one city. We will carry her light, even in this darkness.”. U.S. Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost, D-Fla., said he was saddened to hear of Bowen’s death, remembering her as a “tireless advocate, a dedicated progressive leader, and a powerful voice for her community.”. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP. Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said she spoke with Bowen a few days ago.. “I held her in a hug at our party’s leadership summit, never imagining it would be one of our last moments together,” Fried said in a statement.. “Nancy was my f  

​The Artemis II crew launched into history on Wednesday, blasting off aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft on a mission around the moon—the first crewed journey beyond low-Earth orbit in more than five decades. Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch of the United States, along with Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency, boarded the 322-foot Orion spacecraft at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39B in the afternoon, just hours before liftoff at 6:35 p.m. The mission is expected to travel around the moon and back, marking the first crewed venture beyond low Earth orbit since 1972. Although Artemis II will not land on the lunar surface, it is designed to carry the four-person crew farther from Earth than any crewed mission since the Apollo era.

NASA describes the Orion spacecraft as the most powerful launch system it has ever built. Standing 322 feet tall, the rocket will send the spacecraft and its crew into deep space for the first time, testing critical systems ahead of proposed future lunar landing missions. With the crew now in space, they are expected to spend several days aboard, including a multi-day journey around the far side of the moon before returning to Earth for a planned splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

NASA has laid out ambitious plans for future missions, including additional lunar exploration in the coming years. Artemis II follows the uncrewed Artemis I test flight and is a major step toward missions such as Artemis III, which will involve testing with a lander from SpaceX, Blue Origin, or both, while in Earth’s orbit. Although Artemis III originally aimed to land on the moon, the focus has shifted toward Artemis IV for a landing, with the broader program designed to support long-term lunar exploration and pave the way for human missions to Mars.

President Donald Trump established the Artemis program during his first term in 2017 as part of a broader push to return American astronauts to the moon. Hours before the rocket launch, Trump celebrated the Artemis II mission, saying, “America is going back to the Moon! America doesn’t just compete, we dominate, and the whole World is watching. God bless our incredible astronauts, God bless NASA, and God bless the Greatest Nation ever to exist, the United States of America!”

House Speaker Mike Johnson also praised the crew and NASA on Wednesday, offering prayers for the crew’s safety as they pursued this historic milestone.  

​NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!. More than half a century after NASA’s final Apollo mission, astronauts prepared Wednesday to return to the moon, but this time, they will not land.. Instead, four crew members aboard Artemis II will fly past the moon on a 10-day mission, traveling farther into space than any humans since the Apollo era.. The mission is designed as a crewed lunar flyby, a critical test of NASA’s deep-space systems before attempting future landings, according to NASA.. Launched aboard the Space Launch System rocket, the Orion spacecraft will first enter Earth’s orbit before following a precise path known as a “free-return” trajectory.. NASA BEGINS INFRASTRUCTURE OVERHAUL UNDER ISAACMAN AS TRUMP PUSHES AMBITIOUS SPACE EXPLORATION GOALS. Scientists said the route uses the combined gravitational forces of Earth and the moon to carry the spacecraft around the far side of the moon and safely back home without requiring major course corrections.. Artemis II will mark the first time astronauts fly aboard both the Orion spacecraft and the SLS rocket, making it a key demonstration of NASA’s human deep-space capabilities.. The mission will test how well the spacecraft and its systems work with astronauts on board, including navigation, life support and communication far from Earth.. NASA RACES TO BUILD MOON BASE AS US CHALLENGES CHINA IN NEW SPACE RACE. It also will give NASA a better understanding of how crews operate during deep space travel, officials said.. Astronauts will take part in experiments during the flight, including one called A Virtual Astronaut Tissue Analog Response (AVATAR), which uses “organ-on-a-chip” technology to study how radiation and weightlessness affect the body.. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP. NASA claims Artemis II is a necessary step before attempting a moon landing on a future mission.. By proving the spacecraft and crew can safely travel to deep space and back, the mission moves the agency closer to returning humans to the lunar surface and eventually sending astronauts to Mars.  

​NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!. A Utah teenager found dead more than 50 years ago has been named as yet another victim of notorious serial killer Ted Bundy.. Authorities said Wednesday that DNA helped link Bundy to the killing of Laura Ann Aime. The 17-year-old vanished after leaving a Halloween party to buy cigarettes on Oct. 31, 1974, according to KTVX.. Her body was discovered by hikers in an embankment near American Fork Canyon road just days later.. “Laura didn’t live with the family at the time,” Aime’s niece, Tara Stucki, told the outlet last year. “She was kind of a free spirit and was off with friends at the time.”. ‘TIMES SQUARE KILLER’ USED FAKE POLICE BADGE TO MURDER 18-YEAR-OLD NURSING STUDENT: DEATHBED CONFESSION. Investigators determined Aime had been raped, strangled and murdered, KTVX reported.. For several decades, authorities pointed to Bundy as the prime suspect in Aime’s death, noting he began studying law at the University of Utah just two months before her disappearance.. Bundy had allegedly “approached [Aime] multiple times before” and “kind of stalked her before taking her,” Stucki told KTVX.. ‘TEXAS KILLING FIELDS’ COLD CASE EXPLODES AS SUSPECT INDICTED IN TWO SLAYINGS DECADES AFTER 30 BODIES FOUND. However, Bundy reportedly failed to recall if Aime was among his victims while confessing to several homicides throughout Utah.. The mystery surrounding Aime’s death lay dormant for 51 years, until investigators with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office used new DNA technology to link Bundy to Aime’s killing.. ‘LOVERS’ LANE’ MURDERS SUSPECT NABBED DECADES AFTER COUPLE FOUND DEAD IN CAR. “We bring this case to a closure and more importantly closure to the Aime family,” Utah County Sheriff Mike Smith said at a news conference Wednesday morning, according to FOX 13.. Investigators obtained a male DNA profile using bodily fluids found on Aime’s remains following recent testing, KTVX reported.. FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X. The genetic profile was reportedly input into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a national DNA database, which provided a match in Florida.. SIGN UP TO GET TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER. Following additional analysis, investigators were able to link the DNA profile to Bundy.. Aime is believed to be Bundy’s third victim in Utah.. SEND US A TIP HERE. The Utah County Sheriff’s Office has since shared the DNA profile with other departments in hopes of finding more of Bundy’s victims, with authorities reportedly adding they believe the development will provide a resolution to another cold case – though no additional details were provided.. Bundy has long been linked to the killings of several women in Florida, Utah, Colorado, Oregon and Washington from 1974 to 1978.. LISTEN TO THE NEW ‘CRIME & JUSTICE WITH DONNA ROTUNNO’ PODCAST. He previously confessed to a total of 28 murders, but investigators believe he could be responsible for hundreds of killings.. Bundy was convicted a