NYPD on High Alert for Terror Attack:  The Tri-State area is on hyper-alert for the threat of a terror attack during the Fourth of July holiday as the Islamic State (ISIS) continues to actively radicalize people in the area and orders their followers to "kill the enemy" during the Ramadan holiday.  CBS New York reports that five people have been arrested in New York and New Jersey recently on terror-related charges, the latest being 23-year-old Alaa Saadeh, who is believed to be part of a group planning to detonate a pressure cooker bomb at a New York landmark.  The Department of Homeland Security has ordered the NYPD and 18,000 other law enforcement agencies across the nation to be "especially vigilant and prepared."

Bill Aims to Stop Illegal Immigrant 'Catch and Release' Practices:  Congressman Matt Salmon has introduced a bill that aims to halt criminal alien "catch and release" practices, in response to the murder of a young Arizona man at the hands of an illegal immigrant who was out on bond after a burglary conviction.  Nicole Garcia of Fox News 10 reports that Apolinar Altamirano shot and killed 21-year-old convenience store worker Grant Ronnebeck over a pack of cigarettes.  HB 2941, or "Grant's Law," requires U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to keep criminal aliens detained for at least 90 days, after which they would be put in the front of the line for deportation.

Chicago Communities Brace for Violent Weekend:  As the Fourth of July weekend approaches, Chicago's South and West side residents brace for the "seemingly inevitable" violence that has come to be associated with the celebration.  Jeremy Gorner and Lolly Bowean of the Chicago Tribune report that last year's Fourth of July festivities resulted in 14 people dead and 66 wounded in just 3 ½ days, many of which were attributed to gang violence.  Homicides and shootings have risen sharply in the city in the first half of 2015, prompting law enforcement and even trauma doctors to mentally prepare for what the weekend may bring.

NY Prison Escapees Broke Out Twice:  David Sweat, one of the two convicted murderers who broke out of a New York prison and went on the run for weeks before being shot and captured, told authorities that he and his accomplice Richard Matt, fatally shot by police while on the run, conducted a "dry run" of their escape the night before their plan reached fruition.  Fox News reports that Sweat claims to have used a hacksaw blade to cut holes in the steel walls of his and Matt's cells and in the 24-inch steam pipe they crawled through to reach the catwalk in the bowels of the prison, where they reached the outside of the prison through a manhole.  He also claims that the two navigated the pipe from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. in the days before their planned breakout.  As details of the plan continue to unfold, more Clinton Correctional Facility prison officials are being put on leave, including the superintendent, his deputy and 10 other employees.