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New York Post
7 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Post
Wendy Toussaint drives a Long Island school bus to pay the bills — but he's on the precipice of his big boxing break
He's gone from seat belt to title belt. Long Island school bus driver Wendy Toussaint is moving at a mile a minute, moonlighting as a champion boxer. 'The kids get so excited about it, they always tell their parents I'm a professional fighter,' Toussaint, 33, told The Post following his IBF USBA junior middleweight title win over Olympian Joe Hicks Jr. on June 6. 'They ask me, 'Does it hurt getting punched in the face?' 'Did you make a million dollars already?' ' the 17-3 champ said, adding he will kindly point out to students that he wouldn't be a bus driver in Deer Park on a seven-figure income. Toussaint has his eyes on the big prize, however, as his management and training team at Heavy Hitters Boxing in Ronkonkoma figure he's only about two wins away from garnering national attention. 'I've been waiting for some time, hoping something happens,' he said. 'The fact that I know I will get a shot at the big stage, that is the motivation.' Going the distance Toussaint didn't exaggerate when he said 'some time' — 23 years to be exact. Originally from Haiti and raised in French Guiana, Toussaint began boxing at the age of 10 after some trainers recognized his remarkable power and quickness. 4 Long Island school bus driver Wendy Toussaint moonlights as a champion boxer. Heather Khalifa for New York Post He quickly rose through the ranks of amateur fighting, but realized that moving to America with his mother was in the best interest of having a chance to make it big. After arriving at 17 and later becoming a U.S. citizen, Toussaint, nicknamed 'The Haitian Fire,' was determined to keep getting better in the ring but needed to pay the bills while doing so. 'It's not easy, I try to help my mother,' he said. 'I was doing home health care for seniors, I worked in a factory and worked security before driving the bus.' He was also a volunteer firefighter in Wyandanch. Toussaint found that bus driving, his job for the past six years, was ideal for the other gig. 4 Wendy Toussaint has a 17-3 record as a boxer. Heather Khalifa for New York Post 'After morning drop off, I can go train, pick the kids up in the afternoon, and then go train more,' he said. None of it feels like grunt work, but rather a blessing to the 154-pounder. 'I would do all these things because sometimes you make dreams about something, but it doesn't happen,' he said. 'You get that feeling when you start to succeed, you feel a little light, you say, 'Wow, I like it, I want to keep looking at that light' and keep pushing.' 4 Wendy Toussaint (left) trains with Kevin Zaharios at Heavy Hitters Boxing in Ronkonkoma, N.Y. Heather Khalifa for New York Post He's also become an icon in his Caribbean home nation as tons of fans tune in to watch him on the canvas, brawl after brawl. 'They are like, 'Oh my God, this is impressive!' They think I'm rich, but I say, 'No chance,' ' he joked. Full throttle When Toussaint switches gears into his ambitious boxing mode, the sweet and safe driver swerves into something much more mighty. 'Every time I get in the ring, it's like you did something to my mother. We're really gonna fight,' he said. 'It's like an apocalypse.' 4 Wendy Toussaint is nicknamed 'The Haitian Fire.' Heather Khalifa for New York Post Toussaint said this time is now the most important for his career, as the next two fighters he squares off against may determine the trajectory of his boxing career — and a shot at trading the bus for a sweet sports car. He is ready to move full speed ahead with the same confidence he radiated ahead of the Hicks fight. 'I knew I was gonna beat him up,' Toussaint boasted. 'Now, I feel like I am on top of the mountain. I'm so excited.' No matter what adversity lies ahead, Toussaint knows he can steer the course after everything that's brought him to this point. 'Even coming here to America, it's not easy,' he said. 'I don't have the money yet, but I'm living in the American dream.'
Sky News AU
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Donald Trump's fear of Iran becoming ‘another Libya' stalls decision on nuke site strikes for two weeks: sources
President Trump's wariness over bombing Iran is due in part to concerns about creating 'another Libya' if Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei is toppled, administration insiders told The Post — as Trump shelves his decision for up to two weeks. The president in recent days has specifically mentioned the oil-rich North African country's decade-long plunge into anarchy in 2011 — after the US joined a NATO bombing campaign to oust dictator Muammar Gaddafi — three sources close to the administration said. Trump 'doesn't want it to turn into Libya,' said one insider familiar with the administration's deliberations on potentially joining Israel's airstrikes against Iran's nuclear program. On Thursday afternoon, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the president was also biding his time before deciding whether to join Israel's strikes 'based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future.' Iran's Foreign Minister Araghchi is expected to meet his UK, French, German, and EU counterparts in Geneva, Switzerland on Friday for talks. Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff is not set to attend, Leavitt said, but noted that he's continued his own conversations with the Iranians. One of The Post's sources said they directly heard the president say in private he was worried about Iran becoming like Libya before Israel began its aerial assault on Iran. Other sources were briefed by those who had heard him say so following the start of the conflict last week, with one source close to the administration saying he also mentioned Afghanistan and Iraq. A fifth source lacked direct knowledge of the Libya remarks, but was briefed on Trump's considerations, said the president seems most inclined to order limited airstrikes to finish off Iran's nuclear facilities at Fordow and Natanz with 30,000-pound 'bunker buster' bombs that can't be carried on Israeli jets. 'Libya was a much more extended kind of bombing commitment, and it ended up being regime change,' the fifth source noted. 'If the regime falls [in Iran], then it's not on Trump, because that's not the goal of his very limited strike.' That source mentioned concern that 'we get somebody worse than Khamenei.' 'As far as President Trump goes, he's not going to get in the business of who runs Iran, that's very salable to his base,' the source said. If the US does successfully use bunker busters on the nuclear sites, one source close to the White House said 'there is still dealing with Iran's response' and fears of contamination or Iran retaliating through terrorism. 'He'd rather have a deal,' the source told The Post. 'There are two reasons Trump talks about Libya: the first is the chaos after what we did to Gaddafi. The second is the Libya intervention made it more difficult to negotiate deals with countries like North Korea and Iran,' said the source who heard the president directly mention the comparison. Israel's defense minister left no doubt that the Jewish state is in favor of regime change on Thursday after dubbing Iran's supreme leader 'the modern Hitler.' 'The IDF has been instructed and knows that to achieve all the objectives, without question this man should no longer continue to exist,' Defense Minister Israel Katz said. Hours later, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the choice of US involvement in the conflict was 'entirely' up to Trump, claiming for the first time that the Israeli military was capable of decimating the remaining Iranian nuclear facilities without American bunker-buster bombs. 'We will achieve all our objectives and hit all of their nuclear facilities. We have the capability to do that,' Netanyahu said when asked by a reporter about the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant hidden half a mile under a mountain. Trump's cabinet members have also expressed strong concerns regarding UN watchdog findings about Iran violating its non-proliferation obligations for uranium enrichment, far above what's considered necessary for civilian purposes and at levels 'unprecedented for a non-nuclear state,' a US official said. CIA Director John Ratcliffe has in private meetings made the analogy that suggesting Iran is not prepared to make use of its near weapons-grade nuclear program would be like saying a football team one-yard from the end zone doesn't want to score a touchdown, according to the official. After Israel launched its preemptive airstrikes on Iran last week, many military experts had doubted that the Jewish state has the capabilities of taking out Fordow, given how far underground it's located. Even Israel's 2,000-pound bombs, purchased from the US, had been believed to be too small. Multiple countries in the region have been torn apart by long-running civil wars involving the US — including Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen — but Trump has repeatedly pointed to Libya. Libya's longtime dictator Gaddafi, who ruled for 42 years and voluntarily gave up a nuclear weapon program in 2003, was toppled by domestic foes aided by the Obama administration's intervention. Khamenei similarly has ruled for a generation — with 35 years in power as supreme leader after nearly eight years as Iran's president under the first supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini. In Libya, a hoped-for democratic transition gave way to a hellscape of ruthless warlords and religious extremists. Slave markets opened and Islamic State terrorists filmed themselves beheading groups of Christians on the beach. Oil production plunged and the lack of a central government prompted Africans from across the continent to cross the Mediterranean to Europe in unsafe boats. Leavitt told reporters at Thursday's White House briefing that 'the president is balancing a lot of viewpoints and he is listening not just to other world leaders, but to his advisors and to people here in the country and the American people too.' 'Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks,' she said, sharing a full statement from Trump. On regime change, Leavitt said 'the president's top priority right now is to ensure that Iran can not attain a nuclear weapon and providing peace and stability to the Middle East.' The White House referred The Post to Leavitt's comments made during the briefing. Originally published as Donald Trump's fear of Iran becoming 'another Libya' stalls decision on nuke site strikes for two weeks: sources
New York Post
9 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Zohran Mamdani receives car bomb threat in vile voicemail — prompting NYPD hate crime probe
A vile bigot left state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani's office an expletive-filled, anti-Muslim voicemail Wednesday threatening to bomb his car — one of several recent death threats the mayoral contender has received, his campaign and police said. The NYPD's hate crimes unit is investigating the threats against Mamdani, a Muslim US citizen who was born in Uganda, cops said. The same unidentified man left two voicemails — both of which were obtained by The Post — that mix racist bile with chilling threats of violence, sources said. Advertisement The NYPD said a vile bigot left state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani's office an expletive-filled, anti-Muslim voicemail Wednesday threatening to bomb his car. Christopher Sadowski 'You're a terrorist piece of s–t, and you're not welcome in New York or in America, neither is your f–king family so they should get the f–k out,' the sicko said in the message Wednesday. 'Go start your car and see what happens. I'd keep an eye on your house and family. Watch your f–king back every f–king second until you get the f–k out of America. Nobody wants your terrorist ways here. And check your beeper, too, you terrorist f–k,' he caller said, apparently referring to Israel's pager attacks against Hezbollah. 'Beep beep.' Advertisement Mamdani's Queens office has received four voicemails going back to March that make anti-Muslim threats, police said. A staffer reported the threats after receiving the disturbing Wednesday voicemail, which appears to be made by the same caller who left a similarly alarming message on June 11, sources said. 'While Zohran does not own a car, the violent and specific language of what appears to be a repeat caller is alarming, and we are taking every precaution,' said a spokesman for Mamdani's campaign. Every morning, the NY POSTcast offers a deep dive into the headlines with the Post's signature mix of politics, business, pop culture, true crime and everything in between. Subscribe here! Advertisement 'While this is a sad reality, it is not surprising after millions of dollars have been spent on dehumanizing, Islamophobic rhetoric designed to stoke division and hate. Violence and racism should have no place in our politics.' The hate crime investigation comes as Mamdani, who is running neck-and-neck with former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary, faced an uproar over his refusal to denounce the 'globalize the intifada' rallying cry — which many consider an incitement to violence against Jews. Mamdani has repeatedly said he rejects violence and antisemitism. He emotionally spoke Wednesday with tears in his eyes about the Islamophobic death threats he and his family have received, but didn't specify details. The unidentified individual left two voicemails — both of which were obtained by The Post that contained violent and racial threats to Mamdani. Derek French/SOPA Images/Shutterstock Advertisement The hateful caller, in the June 11 message, told Mamdani to go back to Uganda before someone shoots him in the head and 'gets rid' of his family. 'You are not compatible with our Western values,' the racist caller said. 'So stop spewing your antisemitic rhetoric and get the fuck out of America.' The calls were made from an untraceable number, sources said. 'There are no arrests and the investigation remains ongoing by the Hate Crime Task Force,' police said. Additional reporting by Joe Marino
New York Post
10 hours ago
- New York Post
John O'Keefe pal slams Karen Read for claiming she fought for ‘justice': ‘More evidence that points to her than anybody else'
A close friend of slain Boston cop John O'Keefe slammed Karen Read for proclaiming she's fought for justice in her beau's case harder than anyone else — just after she was acquitted of his murder. The officer's pal, John Jackson, told The Post that Read, who was accused of hitting O'Keefe with her car and leaving him to die in the snow, wasn't there for him when he desperately needed her. 'The irony of that, right? How hard was she fighting between 12:30 and 6 in the morning on Jan. 29, 2022?' Jackson said Thursday. 8 Karen Read speaking outside of Norfolk County Superior Court after she was found not guilty of murdering her boyfriend John O'Keefe on June 18, 2025. David McGlynn 8 Read claimed that she is fighting for O'Keefe to receive justice after she was acquitted. Courtesy of David Yannetti 'You want to fight for justice now, fine. But in the moment when he needed you, you weren't there. You caused it and you weren't there.' O'Keefe was left to die in a snowbank for hours overnight and his frozen body was discovered the following morning after Read dropped him off at a house party in Canton in January 2022 — setting off the explosive legal spectacle. The longtime pal of O'Keefe ripped into the financial analyst, claiming 'there is more evidence that points to her than anybody else' and eviscerated her obsessive legion of fans that went wild after she was acquitted of murder and manslaughter charges. Read, 45, was accused of striking O'Keefe, 46, with her Lexus on Jan. 29, 2022 after dropping him off at a house party in Canton more than three years ago. She was quickly charged, but her legal team claimed the investigation was shoddy and argued she was being scapegoated by law enforcement. 8 A friend of John O'Keefe blasted Read's claim about seeking justice for the late police officer. AP 8 Read crying in the courtroom after the verdict was read. Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images She took a victory lap after the acquittal on murder and manslaughter charges, boldly claiming to her crowd of supporters, 'No one has fought harder for justice for John O'Keefe than I have.' She was only convicted of drunk driving and given a year of probation. Her first trial ended in a hung jury. About 12 hours after the verdict was revealed, Jackson was still downtrodden while noting O'Keefe's family was 'surprised' and 'heartbroken' by the jury's decision to only convict on the drunk driving charge. 8 O'Keefe's mother Peggy O'Keefe in court during jury deliberations on June 18, 2025. Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool 'The reality is whether it's beyond a reasonable doubt or not in the eyes of the jury, there is more evidence that points to her than anybody else,' Jackson, 49, said. 'And for us, that's a shame because we feel like it's a missed opportunity for justice.' 'The story is she was there the last time he moved,' he also claimed. 'She was there the last time he moved with her car. If you want to believe anything else, that's your prerogative. I would suggest you don't let other people tell you what to think.' One of the unavoidable scenes during the months-long retrial was the hordes of Read supporters congregating outside the courthouse to support the former college professor. 8 A crowd of Read's supporters outside the Massachusetts courtroom on June 18, 2025. David McGlynn 8 A supporter of Read celebrating the not guilty verdict. David McGlynn The fanatics wore pink and would flash a silent hand gesture that means 'I love you' in American Sign Language. Jackson said her supporters must've suspended 'all critical thinking' to root for Read and questioned if they longed to be part of a community. 'To turn around and see grown men wearing pink shirts and holding signs,' Jackson said. 'Really? That's what you want to do on a Saturday? You have time for that?' 8 Read making an 'I love you' hand sign to supporters at the courthouse. David McGlynn Jackson, who was a pallbearer at O'Keefe's funeral, said some supporters have harassed O'Keefe's family and friends during the legal saga that spanned over two trials and started more than three years, including doxxing anyone who spoke up against Read. 'I think there is some social control there,' Jackson said when asked if he thought the pro-Read group was like a cult. 'Whether it be the pull of wanting to belong to something greater than yourself … but you can fulfill that need by doing something good, something greater than supporting someone who the evidence doesn't point to anybody else but her.' Meanwhile, he remembered his late friend as an 'incredible man' who stepped up to raise his orphaned niece and nephew after their parents died. 'He didn't think about it. He did it,' Jackson said. 'That is a real hero.'
New York Post
11 hours ago
- New York Post
Dogs are family, says NY judge in dachshund death case
What was once was man's best friend is now man's closest family — in New York, at least. Dogs are so much more than just possessions, a Brooklyn judge just ruled, in allowing the heartbroken family of an adorable, Tuxedo-wearing dachschund named Duke to sue for emotional distress after the tiny pup was cruelly mowed down by a driver. Nan DeBlase, who was walking her son Trevor DeBlase's pooch on July 4, 2023, is entitled to damages because she was tormented by witnessing the helpless 4-year-old get crushed, Supreme Court Judge Aaron Maslow said. Advertisement 'It is reasonable for a jury to conclude that witnessing Duke being crushed led to emotional distress that goes beyond that which is generally felt by the loss of mere property,' Maslow wrote in his bombshell decision Tuesday. 'This Court fails to see why a beloved companion pet could not be considered 'immediate family' in the context of the zone of danger doctrine under the fact pattern presented by Plaintiffs.' 7 Duke decked out in a sharp tuxedo for Trevor Deblase's April 2023 wedding. Instagram/@trevdeblase Advertisement Nearly exactly two years ago, Nan was walking with Duke in Mill Basin when an out-of-control driver blew through a stop sign, slamming into the leashed wiener dog as Nan jumped out of harm's way. 'It was very traumatic, extremely,' Nan, 66, told The Post Wednesday. 'I mean, I was hysterical when it happened.' Duke's untimely death — just a few months after he walked down the aisle at Trevor's wedding, dressed in a sharp tux — was all captured on video and shows how Nan even patiently waited for an earlier car to drive through before crossing the street. 'A few hours ago a man blew a stop sign, almost hit my mother and hit my poor sweet Duke and killed him,' Deblase wrote on his Instagram page on July 4, 2023. Advertisement 7 Dogs, like Duke the dachshund, can be legally family, according to a Brooklyn judge this week. Instagram/@ 'I can't even believe I am typing these words right now,' the post reads. 'I loved this dog more than life itself and things will never be the same without him.' Challenging an outdated law — and winning The DeBlases sued a month later, challenging an 'antiquated' law which only allowed Trevor to sue driver Mitchell Hill for the market value of his treasured pooch, plus medical costs — roughly $2,000. And the mother-son duo won — mostly — with Maslow granting Nan's claim to emotional distress because she was there and Duke was leashed, but denying it for Trevor as he was not at the scene. Advertisement 7 On July 4, 2023, a driver plowed through a stop sign in Mill Basin and took a sharp left-hand turn, right into Duke, killing him, and narrowly missing Trevor DeBlase's mother, Nan. 'Since Nan DeBlase was tethered to Duke at the time of the accident,' Maslow's decision read, 'it is proper for her to recover damages for emotional distress resulting from witnessing Duke's death and fear for her own safety, all due to Defendant's negligent, indeed reckless, operation of his vehicle.' While the decision greatly expands the legal definition of family tree, the judge made his ruling a 'carveout' that applies to people walking a leashed dog, only to watch a negligent driver crush and kill their beloved dog, and nearly kill them too. 'I took a step to get out of the way of this monster, who not only ran a stop sign, but was making a turn,' Nan recalled. 'If you don't see the stop sign, how do you see people? It was like he was driving with his eyes closed, and yet was able to make a left turn — I can't even understand it.' 7 'I can't even believe I am typing these words right now,' Trevor DeBlase wrote in a social media post about his dog Duke's death. 'I loved this dog more than life itself and things will never be the same without him.' Instagram/@ She called Maslow's ruling 'long overdue' in New York. Dog owners in Tennessee are similarly allowed to sue for up to $5,000 of non-economic damages if a pet is killed or sustains serious injury from another — but the act must occur on the victim's property. 'These things — they should have changed a long time ago — and not just in New York, but in all the states,' she said. While Trevor now has another dachshund — Cooper — Duke's death still affects him and Nan 'horribly.' Advertisement 7 While Trevor now has another dachshund — Cooper — Duke's death still affects him and his mom 'horribly,' she told The Post. Facebook/Trevor DeBlase 'They miss Duke so much,' Nan told The Post. 'They have a little shrine in their house dedicated to him.' 'You can't fill that spot,' Nan said, adding that she also got her own dog, a poodle mix named Cashew, 'but you can try.' How the 'zone of danger' came into play The DeBlase family's argument for negligent emotional distress over Duke's death comes from a legal concept known as 'zone of danger,' which limits such claims to relatives who were in harm's way when their loved one was killed. Advertisement 7 'I took a step to get out of the way of this monster,' Nan DeBlase told The Post, 'who not only ran a stop sign, but was making a turn. It was like he was driving with his eyes closed, and yet was able to make a left turn — I can't even understand it.' Hill and his lawyer, who the judge said 'provided no opposing evidence' in the hearings, did not reply to requests for comment. The judge found him in the wrong on various fronts: he ran the stop sign, didn't use his turn single and did not check before turning at the intersection. In a move that showed Maslow took the dog-human family relationship seriously, he asked for outside groups to file papers in support of DeBlase or Hill — and surprisingly, many big-name animal groups sided with the deadly driver. A ruling in favor of Duke and his family, according to groups like the the New York State Veterinary Medical Society and the American Kennel Club, would create out-of-control liabilities for the pet industry, and raise costs across the board. Advertisement But Maslow's ruling was crafted almost specifically to avoid this 'parade of horrors' argument,' which he called 'overstated.' Maslow wrote 'it stands to reason that companion animals, like Duke, could also be recognized, as a matter of common sense, as immediate family,' citing changing societal norms. 7 Trevor's claim for emotional damages was denied, but his mother's was granted, since she was nearly killed herself and witnessed Duke's death while she was holding his leash. Instagram/@ He added that the ruling would be limited to dogs, because of his 'leashed' stipulation and that 'very few people walk tethered to their cats, rabbits, or other non-dog pets on a leash,' Maslow wrote. Advertisement Other animal rights groups who filed papers supporting Duke's family cheered the ruling, with one group thanking Maslow for his 'wisdom and courage.' 'Animals are not 'things'; they are living, breathing, sentient beings,' Nora Marino from the Legal Action Network for Animals told The Post. 'Courts must realize that and issue decisions accordingly. This decision was an enormous step in the right direction.' 'It serves the interest of justice to recognize that Duke was not a legal 'thing,'' said Christopher Berry from the Nonhuman Rights Project. 'He was a member of the family.' Trevor declined to comment through his attorney. 'Our clients are grateful for the court's decision, which will enable them to obtain justice for their damages,' said the family's attorney, Gregory T. Cerchione. 'Animals are people' cases have been heard in New York before The case will surely face legal review — as 'changing societal norms' Maslow cites have found their way to the state's highest court before. Judge Rowan Wilson is one of two jurists who filed a dissenting opinion with the famous Happy the Elephant case, where the state's top court rejected an effort to sue for human rights claims on behalf of a not-so-happy caged pachyderm at the Bronx Zoo back in 2022. The next year, Wilson was confirmed as chief judge for the state's highest court. For Nan, who will have to testify at the trial to confirm their damages, she sees reminders of the trauma every day. The intersection where Duke was slaughtered is just steps from her home. 'It's so difficult for me,' she says of watching people still plowing through the stop signs. 'Keep your eyes open — stop being distracted,' Nan said. 'You gotta pay attention, it's very sad.'
