The sicko accused of brutally stabbing 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska to death on a train in North Carolina last month has been hit with a federal criminal charge, the Justice Department and FBI announced Tuesday.

Decarlos Brown Jr, 34, is now facing one count of committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system for the incomprehensible killing.

It comes in addition to the first-degree murder charge he is facing in state court for allegedly killing Zarutska in the stabbing that was caught on camera.

"Iryna Zarutska was a young woman living the American dream — her horrific murder is a direct result of failed soft-on-crime policies that put criminals before innocent people," US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Tuesday.

"I have directed my attorneys to federally prosecute DeCarlos Brown Jr., a repeat violent offender with a history of violent crime, for murder. We will seek the maximum penalty for this unforgivable crime, and he will never again see the light of day as a free man."

FBI Director Kash Patel ripped the savage stabbing as "a disgraceful act that should never happen in America.

"The FBI jumped to assist in this investigation immediately to ensure justice is served, and the perpetrator is never released from jail to kill again," he added in a statement.

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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said she isn't tracking any potential meeting in the works between President Trump and NYC Mayor Eric Adams.

"I am not tracking any meeting with Mayor Adams, but I'm sure if that happens, the New York Post will be one of the first people to know about it," she told The Post during the White House press briefing Tuesday.

The Post also asked her whether Trump had spoken with Adams recently about the mayoral race, with the Thursday deadline for candidates to get off the ballot fast approaching.

Trump, who has been keen on getting socialist mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani to lose the race, is scheduled to trek to New York City on Thursday, the 24th anniversary of 9/11, to attend the Yankees game.

President Trump and Vice President JD Vance are planning to mark the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks with visits to multiple stops in DC and NYC scheduled for Thursday.

Trump will commemorate the tragic attack during a visit to the Pentagon and later attend the New York Yankees game against the Detroit Tigers in the Bronx.

Vance will head to Ground Zero along with second lady Usha Vance.

Trump and Vance previously visited Ground Zero last year alongside former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that congressional Democrats are "using" Jeffrey Epstein's victims as "political pawns" — while side-stepping a journalist's question about whether Trump would meet with them.

"Why are the Democrats all of a sudden caring about this? It's because they are desperately trying to concoct a hoax to smear the president of the United States," Leavitt said.

"We have seen this time and time again, [California Rep.] Ro Khanna and all of these other Democrats, they could have cared about those victims four years ago when Joe Biden was in office. They could have pushed for transparency then. Unfortunately, the Democrats are using victims as political pawns to try to smear and to push a hoax against the president of the United States."

Leavitt said that "sure, we would support" professional handwriting analysis of a crass letter attributed to Trump in a 2003 birthday book for Epstein.

"I believe it was the Daily Signal that published a piece with three separate signature analysts who said that this absolutely was not the president's authentic signature, and we have maintained that position all along," she said.

President Trump was not on board with Israel striking Qatar to eliminate Hamas targets, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said just now.

"The Trump administration was notified by the United States military that Israel was attacking Hamas, which very unfortunately, was located in a section of Doha, the capital of Qatar," Leavitt said.

"Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States, that is working very hard, and greatly take risks with us to broker peace does not advance Israel or America's goals.

"However, eliminating the mobs who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza is a worthy goal," she added, noting that Mideast special envoy Steve Witkoff informed Qatar of the impending strike.

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Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr said in an interview published Monday that he is willing to penalize major media companies if he and President Trump believe they are “out of line.”

The Wall Street Journal described Carr as a maverick, saying he has embraced Trump’s “showman instincts” to hold broadcasters accountable. While previous FCC chairs were often reluctant to rein in major companies, Carr said he would pull broadcast licenses from any outlet he believes has engaged in misconduct against the “public interest.”

“Broadcast licenses are not sacred cows,” Carr told the outlet.

Carr, who has been with the FCC since 2017, said the agency is “fully aligned with the agenda that President Trump is running.”

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Here's a look at what's happening Tuesday in national politics:

• House GOP leadership is set to hold a news conference at 10 a.m. ET
• The House HELP Subcommittee will hold a hearing on antisemitism in labor unions at 10:15 a.m.
• White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt will brief the press at 1 p.m.
• The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee has a 2:30 p.m. hearing on allegations that Mark Zuckerberg's Meta buried child safety research.
• President Trump will participate in a swearing-in ceremony for the United States Ambassador to the Portuguese Republic in the Oval Office at 4 p.m.
• Trump will sign a proclamation at 4:30 p.m.

Keep following this live blog throughout the day for the latest news and updates from our reporters in Washington.

President Trump blasted Democratic North Carolina Senate candidate Roy Cooper on Monday, charging that the former Tar Heel State governor's policies enabled the murder of a Ukrainian refugee aboard a Charlotte light rail train.

"The blood of this innocent woman can literally be seen dripping from the killer’s knife, and now her blood is on the hands of the Democrats who refuse to put bad people in jail, including Former Disgraced Governor and 'Wannabe Senator' Roy Cooper," Trump wrote on Truth Social, after watching the "horrific video" of Iryna Zarutska's murder.

Trump raged that Zarutska's alleged killer was previously arrested and released on "CASHLESS BAIL."

"North Carolina, and every State, needs LAW AND ORDER, and only Republicans will deliver it!" the president argued.

The president ended his message with a call for North Carolinians to vote for former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley, who Trump vowed "WON’T LET THIS HAPPEN AGAIN."

WASHINGTON — Executors for the estate of dead pedophile Jeffrey Epstein handed over critical documents — including a book comprised of letters to the disgraced financier for his 50th birthday — to a congressional committee on Monday.

The Republican-led House Oversight Committee received the files — which also include a non-prosecution agreement reached with the feds in 2007 and the deceased sex trafficker's last will and testament — following a subpoena issued last month, according to an aide.

At least one of those birthday letters came from Donald Trump years before he first ran for political office, the Wall Street Journal previously reported.

"Entries from Epstein's address/contact books from Jan. 1, 1990 through Aug. 10, 2019" were also part of the trove handed to the Oversight panel, per the committee aide.

Other details about Epstein's bank accounts were also obtained after Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) questioned the Treasury Department about any related Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs).

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Monday it was "not necessary" for Congress to extend a 30-day emergency order by President Trump that put the capital's police department under federal control after the District of Columbia's mayor affirmed the feds will keep helping local law enforcement "indefinitely."

"The mayor has invited the National Guard to remain indefinitely," Johnson told reporters. "We've not received a request ... for Congress to act."

"We're grateful for the results, I mean, crime rates are down dramatically," he added.

Bowser issued her own order -- with no expiration date -- Sept. 2 keeping the Metropolitan Police Department cooperating with their federal counterparts “to the maximum extent allowable by law within the District.”

Trump's order putting MPD under federal control was set to expire Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration Monday to continue sweeping immigration raids in the Los Angeles area that target individuals based on broad criteria such as their occupation or whether they speak Spanish.

The justices halted a lower court ruling that restricted what critics have dubbed “roving” raids conducted by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while the matter is considered by an appeals court.
Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh issued a brief concurrence explaining the order, while the court’s three liberal justices issued a blistering dissent.

“Immigration stops based on reasonable suspicion of illegal presence have been an important component of US immigration enforcement for decades, across several presidential administrations,” Kavanaugh wrote. “… The interests of individuals who are illegally in the country in avoiding being stopped by law enforcement for questioning is ultimately an interest in evading the law. That is not an especially weighty legal interest.”

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