The National ICE Council issued a scathing letter to President Donald Trump regarding the continuation of "wasteful and dangerous" immigration policies at the U.S.-Mexico border.

"We regretfully write to inform you that in the middle of an immigration crisis on the southern border, your Administration is squandering scarce ICE resources and playing political games with our officers," the National Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council wrote in a letter sent to Trump on Monday. "To be direct Mr. President - the rhetoric doesn't match reality and we hope that this letter shows you the complete and total nonsense that is really taking place under the Trump Administration on the southern border."

Michelle Obama's former Chief of Staff, Tina Tchen, attempted to have the Jussie Smollett case transferred from the Chicago Police Department to the FBI, according to texts and emails released by the Cook County State's Attorney's Office.

Tchen, a Chicago-based attorney, reached out on Feb. 1 to Chicago's top prosecutor Kim Foxx - telling her that the "Empire" actor's family had "concerns" about the investigation.

Smollett was considered at the time to be the victim of an assault, however the actor was subsequently charged with disorderly conduct for filing a false police report in connection with a staged hate crime. Last week, a Chicago grand jury slapped Smollett with a 16 count indictment for lying to the police - to which he pleaded not guilty on Thursday.

"Spoke to the Superintendent Johnson," Foxx emailed Tchen on Feb. 1, in reference to Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson. "I convinced him to Reach out to FBI to ask that they take over the investigation."

The Italian Justice Ministry has ordered a preliminary investigation into an appeals court ruling by all-female judges which overturned a rape verdict by arguing in part that the woman who was attacked was too ugly to be a credible rape victim, according to The Star.

The ruling has sparked outrage in Italy, prompting a flash mob Monday outside the Ancona court, where protesters shouted "Shame!" and held up signs saying "indignation."

The appeals sentence was handed down in 2017 - by an all-female panel - but the reasons behind it only emerged publicly when Italy's high court annulled it on March 5 and ordered a retrial. The Court of Cassation said Wednesday its own reasons for ordering the retrial will be issued next month. -The Star

The head of the Gambino crime family, Francesco "Franky Boy" Cali was gunned down on Wednesday night in front of his Staten Island home.

The 53-year-old Cali was shot six times in the chest and then run over by an assassin driving a blue pickup truck in the lavish Todt Hill neighborhood around 9:20 p.m., while his wife and young children were inside, according to the NY Post.

He was taken to Staten Island University Hospital where he died.

The gunman sped off in a blue pickup truck after the hit, which one source described as "disrespectful" because it took place near his family home in an outer borough.

Cali is the first mob boss to be slain in New York City since a fresh-faced John Gotti ordered the murder of then-Gambino boss Paul Castellano in 1985 at Sparks steakhouse in Midtown.

"Even Gotti had more respect," one police source told The Post. "He did it out in Manhattan." -NY Post

Hollywood elites are, by definition, in the business of concocting fictional stories. Is it any surprise that they apply these skill sets beyond screen and stage entertainment, where the fiction is acknowledged, and use them to achieve their objectives in realms affecting their personal and political lives?

In both the college admissions scandal and the alleged hate crime fraud masterminded (I use the term very loosely) by Jussie Smollett, I find five other common points in addition to the first point of employing fiction:

Two: Powerful people from powerful families with no concern for issues of right and wrong tried to accomplish their goals "by any means necessary." Religion - the notion the God watches over us and knows when we sin - is regarded as a quaint vestige of the past and a hindrance to achieving necessary ends, both personal and political.

Three: Wealth enables payoffs. Most people cannot conceive of lavishing thousands of dollars, much less hundreds of thousands or even millions, on bribes because they earn their money through hard work. But such are the rewards of stardom or business success: once liberated from concerns over morality (see point two), there is no problem in offering whatever it takes ($3,500 for a couple of Nigerian brothers, or millions to a college official) to get the desired behavior.

Here's a woman who knows what she wants - and doesn't want! When Mike Weirsky of New Jersey hit the lotto jackpot for $273 million, many people likely thought his ex-wife would want him back. After all, the couple divorced only months ago and financial issues were apparently part of their problems.

Take him back? No way, 53-year-old Eileen Murray. All the money in the world won't bring her back to her former husband of 15 years.

"He's not appealing to me all of a sudden because he has this money," she told the New York Post. "I'm not going after anything. I have morals. I know what I've worked for and it's everything that I have."

Editor's note: Blake J. Harris is the bestselling author of Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation, which is currently being adapted for television by Legendary Entertainment, producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, and Scott Rudin. His second book, The History of The Future-which was published on February 19-chronicles the dramatic, larger-than-life true story behind the founding of Oculus, and its quest for virtual reality, and the company's $3 billion acquisition by Facebook. What follows is an interview with Harris conducted by Quillette's Clay Routledge.

Clay Routledge: I just finished your latest book, The History of the Future. And I have to tell you, I tore through it. Such a fascinating story in so many ways. What made you interested in telling the story of Oculus VR and its founder, Palmer Luckey?

Blake J. Harris: So back in 2014, my first book was published. This was a big, life-changing experience for me. Prior to that-for the previous eight years-I had been a commodities broker, buying and selling things like sugar, coffee and soybeans for Brazilian clients. But with the publication of Console Wars, I was able to quit that job and follow my dream (mostly I mean "writing", but a little part of me also means "never wearing pants" #ShortsForLife). Anyway, as I was saying, Console Wars was life-changing for me; and one of the cool things that happened early on was that Popular Mechanics decided to write a feature about me. Needless to say, this was a VERY big deal in the Harris family. And so when the issue came out-on Mother's Day 2014-I slipped away from our family brunch to go pick up a copy of the issue from a nearby bodega, feeling so excited; my big moment! Except instead of flipping through the magazine and checking out the piece about me, I was captivated by the person on the cover: a 21-year-old-kid wearing a virtual reality headset-and the story about his VR startup. I took it as a good sign that by the time I got back to our family brunch all I could talk about was what I'd read about this kid (Palmer Luckey) and his incredible company (Oculus).

From there, it took me nearly two years to get the access I would need to accurately and authentically tell this story, and then it took over three years to actually research and write the book (especially because-as I'm sure we'll get to-the, uh, "unexpected twist").

New Jersey taxpayers are footing the bill to help pay for illegal immigrants in the state to attend college, a move that Campus Reform's Cabot Phillips says sets encourages further illegal immigration to the U.S. and further sets a dangerous precedent for future generations.

As Campus Reform previously reported, New Jersey forked over $1.6 million during the fall 2018 semester alone to help more than 500 illegal immigrants attend college. This is a result of Gov. Phil Murphy (D) signing a law allowing illegal immigrants to apply for state financial aid.

Phillips called the move "ridiculous" on Fox Business Network's Varney and Co. on Tuesday.

Kurds and Yazidis are in fear of their lives as they try to survive amid rampant lawlessness and militant attacks in an overcrowded refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, a controversial new documentary shows.

"My life has been in danger since the first day I arrived here. I haven't got a good night's sleep," one of the residents of the infamous Moria camp told the crew of the documentary 'Borderless', which is meant to highlight the migrant crisis in Europe.

The interviewed asylum-seekers claimed the camp was infiltrated by terrorists from Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL): "ISIS is here... They can rape, they can kill, they can steal. And the drugs are everywhere."

They attack minorities, such as Yazidi or Kurds. They killed four Kurds lately in this camp.

The residents also complained that police largely ignore the widespread crime.

"We told them many times to put a camera at least, to protect ourselves," a man was filmed saying, adding that his requests were rejected.

Federal prosecutors are conducting a criminal investigation into data deals Facebook struck with some of the world's largest technology companies, intensifying scrutiny of the social media giant's business practices as it seeks to rebound from a year of scandal and setbacks.

A grand jury in New York has subpoenaed records from at least two prominent makers of smartphones and other devices, according to two people who were familiar with the requests and who insisted on anonymity to discuss confidential legal matters. Both companies had entered into partnerships with Facebook, gaining broad access to the personal information of hundreds of millions of its users.

The companies were among more than 150, including Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Sony, that had cut sharing deals with the world's dominant social media platform. The agreements, previously reported in The New York Times, let the companies see users' friends, contact information and other data, sometimes without consent. Facebook has phased out most of the partnerships over the past two years.