(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Navy and the U.K.’s Royal Navy foiled a major Houthi attack Tuesday night in the Red Sea, shooting down 18 one-way drones and three missiles targeting commercial ships.
The incident began at around 9:15 p.m. local time when the Houthis launched “Iranian-designed one-way attack” drones, “anti-ship cruise missiles, and an anti-ship ballistic missile,” Centcom said in a post on X. According to Centcom, the weapons were launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
The Houthi missiles and drones were targeting an area where dozens of merchant vessels were transiting, Centcom said Tuesday night.
All of the drones and missiles were shot down by fighter jets from Navy carrier the USS Eisenhower, three U.S. Navy destroyers and the U.K.’s HMS Diamond, according to Centcom.
Tuesday night’s attack marks the 26th Houthi attack on commercial shipping lanes since Nov. 19.
The U.S. issued a joint statement with a coalition of allies over the attacks earlier this month, saying, “The Houthis will bear the responsibility for the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, or the free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways.”
In late December, the Pentagon announced the formation of Operation Prosperity Guardian, a multi-national maritime task force that would counter the Houthi attacks.
The American and British warships that countered this latest Houthi attack are all participating in that operation.
(WASHINGTON) — The director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms is the latest public official to fall victim to a swatting incident, according to law enforcement sources.
Steven Dettelbach was swatted at his home over the holidays, sources confirmed to ABC News.
Local law enforcement quickly engaged with the ATF security detail and determined there was no threat to the director, sources said.
ATF declined to comment.
Dettelbach was appointed by President Joe Biden and sworn in as director in July 2022.
Dettelbach joins special counsel Jack Smith and U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan as the latest swatting victims.
Special counsel Smith was targeted with a swatting call at his Maryland home on Christmas Day, according to two sources familiar with the situation.
Montgomery County Police quickly engaged with the U.S. Marshals and determined there was no threat to Smith, sources said.
Smith was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate election interference and mishandling of classified documents.
Chutkan, the federal judge who is overseeing former President Donald Trump’s federal case in Washington D.C. was swatted on Sunday, according to law enforcement sources.
The U.S. Marshals who protect both Smith and Chutkan declined to comment and the special counsel’s office declined to comment.
(WASHINGTON) — Former Oath Keeper Ray Epps was sentenced to one year of probation on Tuesday for his role during the attack at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
In addition to the year of probation, Epps received a $25 fine, $500 restitution and 100 hours of community service.
Before his sentencing, Epps said that he never should have believed claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
“Truth is not always found in the places I used to trust,” Epps said in court on Tuesday, appearing virtually and noting that what he called “Trump cult” turned on him.
The former Oath Keeper pleaded guilty last year to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct on restricted grounds. Epps faced a maximum of one year in prison and one year of probation. Prosecutors had asked that he serve six months of prison.
Epps was sentenced Tuesday as former President Donald Trump — who himself echoed conspiracy theories that Epps was an undercover government agent — appeared in court for his arguments on his claims of presidential immunity.
That conspiracy theory was later debunked, and Epps filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News in 2023 over attacks against him by former host Tucker Carlson.
Fox News has moved to dismiss the suit arguing that the statements were opinion and not defamatory facts. That motion is reportedly pending a hearing.
Prosecutors called out those who they say “falsely called out Mr. Epps as an FBI plant.”
“They have publicly blamed Mr. Epps for what happened that day and for other persons being charged and convicted. Their lies have led to real threats against Mr. Epps, his wife, and his family,” the government said.
Prosecutors noted at length that Epps never entered the Capitol and did not charge him with engaging in any violence or destruction on Jan. 6.
“This guy was trying to turn people against me. … He was calling me ‘boomer,’ and it’s his generation’s fault that we’re in the position we’re in,” Epps told investigators.
Epps turned himself in to the FBI and voluntarily sat for an interview with the FBI and publicly testified before the House Select Committee in January 2022. He had no prior arrests.
But prosecutors maintained that Epps should still receive jail time for his role.
“He didn’t start the riot. He made it worse,” prosecutor Michael Gordon told the judge.
Prosecutors tried to paint Epps as “eager to take advantage of others” and argued that by joining the riot, Epps “did the exact same thing he was accusing Antifa of being responsible for.”
Prosecutors, defense attorneys and the judge all agreed on one point: that Epps’ world was upended after Jan. 6.
Prosecutors argued on Tuesday that “Ray Epps has been unfairly scapegoated” in the aftermath of Jan. 6, despite their contention that “he is not innocent.”
“While many defendants have been vilified in a way unique to Jan. 6, you seem to be the first to have suffered for what you didn’t do,” Chief Judge James Boasberg said during sentencing.
Boasberg noted that Epps “had to live life like a fugitive because of lies others spread.” Epps now lives in a trailer in the woods, his attorney, Edward Ungvarsky, wrote in a court filing.
An attorney for Epps wrote in a court document that Epps “has been attacked, defamed, and vilified — and after a decision that his actions at the Capitol did not warrant prosecution, a 180-degree turnaround by the government, with the threat of a request for prison time, after his name became dragged through the mud by right-wing political dramaturges who used the (correct) lack of prosecution as a social media and public cudgel against the Garland Justice Department.”
Epps vowed to dedicate the rest of his life to fighting for the truth, including debunking accusations of election deniers.
In September 2023, Ungvarsky asked that Epps be allowed to keep his firearms, despite the standard requirement that defendants turn in their guns. Boasberg denied the request but invited Ungvarsky to file a motion and said he would consider it in this case.
Epps will be able to freely travel with no restrictions.
(NEW YORK) — An online petition is calling for the release of Virgilio Aguilar Mendez, a 19-year-old Guatemalan migrant who was charged with aggravated manslaughter after a Florida police officer collapsed and later died following a struggle while attempting to arrest the teen.
The Change.org petition, which was started on Jan. 3 by Mariana Blanco of the nonprofit The Guatemalan-Maya Center, has gained a lot of traction in recent days. As of Tuesday morning, the petition had garnered over 443,000 signatures.
Aguilar Mendez’s lawyer, Phillip Arroyo, told ABC News that signatures on the online petition are being directed to the U.S. Department of Justice and the St. Johns County’s Sheriff’s Office. Arroyo has also requested the State Attorney’s Office of the Seventh Judicial Circuit of Florida to drop the charges against the teen.
“It’s a grave injustice, and they know it,” Arroyo said. “The facts of this case and the evidence in this case do not support the charge that he is facing.”
On May 19, 2023, Aguilar Mendez was on the phone with his mother outside the Motel 8 building where he was staying when Sgt. Michael Kunovich, an officer with the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office in St. Augustine, Florida, approached the teen, according to Arroyo.
Body camera video and audio of the incident reviewed by ABC News shows Kuvonich calling the dispatcher and describing Aguilar Mendez as a “suspicious Hispanic male,” but he never specified why he thought Aguilar Mendez was suspicious.
Kunovich proceeded to ask Aguilar Mendez a series of questions, which the teen seemed to struggle to understand. Aguilar Mendez, who his attorney says is from a small indigenous community in Guatemala and primarily speaks the ancient indigenous language Mam, can be seen in the body camera video trying to explain to Kunovich that he was just eating and tells him on two occasions that he does not speak English.
The officer then asked Aguilar Mendez if he had any weapons on him and grabs Aguilar Mendez by the arm. Aguilar Mendez then begins to walk away and a struggle ensues. Kunovich calls for reinforcement as he attempts to handcuff Aguilar Mendez.
During the incident, which lasted about eight-and-a-half minutes, additional officers responded to the scene. Aguilar Mendez is thrown to the ground, held in a chokehold, pinned down by officers, and tased on multiple occasions.
According to Arroyo, five minutes after Aguilar Mendez was handcuffed and put into the patrol car, Kunovich suffered a heart attack.
That same night, Aguilar Mendez was charged with murder for Kunovich’s death. The charges were later reduced by the state of Florida to aggravated homicide of a police officer, which is punishable by life in prison. He has been in jail without bond since.
ABC News obtained a copy of the autopsy report, which concluded Kunovich died of natural causes after suffering cardiac dysrhythmia, which may have been a result of the severe heart disease he was noted to have, a prior heart attack, or heart and lung deterioration due to smoking.
“These cardiac changes, while recent, predate the struggle with the subject,” the report said. “The circumstances do not fully meet the criteria for a homicide manner of death.”
The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office declined ABC News’ request for comment.
According to police records from the incident obtained by ABC News, Aguilar Mendez “armed himself with a folding pocket knife, which he retrieved from his shorts pockets.”
Body camera video reviewed by ABC News does not clearly show the moment Aguilar Mendez allegedly grabbed the knife from his pocket, but officers can be heard telling Aguilar Mendez to drop the knife. The teen tells the officers that he needs the knife to cut up watermelon.
Aguilar Mendez was recently declared by the court as being mentally incompetent to stand trial due to his lack of understanding of the American criminal justice system, Arroyo told ABC News. A judge has put the case on pause as Aguilar Mendez is receiving help learning about the American criminal justice system before his case can proceed.
The State Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
“For the state to prove this beyond every reasonable doubt they have to establish that Mr. Aguilar [Mendez] knew that Officer Kunovich had a heart condition… and that despite knowing that Mr. Kunovich had a heart condition, he did something negligent that caused his death,” Arroyo said. “Nobody knew that Mr. Kunovich had a heart condition, much less our client.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) meets with Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz (2nd-R) in Tel Aviv, on Jan. 9, 2024, during his week-long trip aimed at calming tensions across the Middle East. (Evelyn Hockstein/POOL via AFP via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken emerged from a series of meetings with high-level Israeli officials on Tuesday with an agreement to launch a United Nations-led assessment mission that will pave the way for civilians displaced by warfare in northern Gaza to eventually return home — a significant step toward restoring a sense of normalcy in the besieged enclave.
“As Israel’s campaign moves to a lower intensity phase in northern Gaza, and as the IDF scales down its forces there, we agreed today on a plan for the U.N. to carry out an assessment mission,” Blinken said during a press conference in Tel Aviv, referring to the Israel Defense Forces. “It will determine what needs to be done to allow displaced Palestinians to return safely to homes in the north.”
“Now, this is not going to happen overnight. There are serious security, infrastructure, and humanitarian challenges,” Blinken cautioned. “But the mission will start a process that evaluates these obstacles and how they can be overcome.”
Blinken also forcefully defended Israel from allegations of genocide brought by South Africa before the U.N.’s highest legal body, the International Court of Justice, claiming the case “distracts the world” from vital efforts tied to the conflict.
“Moreover, the charge of genocide is meritless,” Blinken asserted. “It’s particularly galling given that those who are attacking Israel — Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, as well as their supporter, Iran — continue to openly call for the annihilation of Israel and the mass murder of Jews.”
But while in Israel during one of several visits he has made to the country since Hamas’ Oct. 7 surprise terrorist attacks, Blinken did publicly express some criticism of its government, particularly right-wing officials’ opposition to the creation of an independent Palestinian state — urging them from the podium to “stop taking steps that undercut Palestinians’ ability to govern themselves effectively.”
The secretary was also asked about calls by two Israeli ministers for the transfer of Palestinians out of Gaza, a stance the State Department slammed as “inflammatory and irresponsible” last week.
Blinken said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had assured him that forced resettlement of Palestinians outside of the enclave’s border was not the position of his government.
But even convincing the Israeli government to allow the U.N. to explore pathways for those displaced within Gaza’s perimeter was far from guaranteed.
Since the outbreak of the war, U.S. officials say the Israeli government has been reluctant to allow various types of outside assistance to enter into Gaza out of concern that it will inadvertently benefit Hamas fighters, and that changing the country’s stance often requires face-to-face diplomacy with high-level cabinet members.
Nearly two million people across the Gaza Strip — the overwhelming majority of its population — have been displaced at some point during the conflict, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
The agency also says it has had extremely limited ability to distribute humanitarian assistance in northern Gaza and share information about conditions in the area since shortly after the fighting began.
Blinken said he had also discussed Israel’s plans to scale down its campaign during closed door meetings, and reaffirmed the Biden administration’s enduring commitment to supporting its fight against Hamas until the threat posed by the designated terrorist group was eliminated.
“We believe Israel has achieved significant progress toward this fundamental objective,” he said.
Some 1,200 people were killed in Israel in the Oct. 7 terror attack, according to the Israeli prime minister’s office. More than 23,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
LA Lakers 130, Toronto 125 (In progress)
Minnesota 113, Orlando 92
Sacramento 131, Detroit 110
New York 112, Portland 84
Memphis 120, Dallas 103
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Seattle 5, Buffalo 2
Toronto 7, San Jose 1
Tampa Bay 3 Los Angeles 2 (OT)
Vancouver 5, NY Islanders 2
Winnipeg 5, Columbus 0
Florida 5, St. Louis 1
Anaheim 5, Nashville 3
Edmonton 2, Chicago 1
Calgary 6, Ottawa 3
Arizona 4, Boston 3 (OT)
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
San Diego St. 81, San Jose St. 78
Nebraska 88, Purdue 72
Iowa St. 57, Houston 53
Kentucky 90, Missouri 77
Duke 75, Pittsburgh 53
Baylor 81, BYU 72
Auburn 66, Texas A&M 55
Boise St. 65, Colorado St. 58
Utah St. 83, Wyoming 59
Creighton 84, DePaul 58
Texas 74, Cincinnati 73
(LONDON) — An internet seller who tricked eBay users into bidding for a walking stick that he falsely said belonged to Queen Elizabeth II has been sentenced.
Dru Marshall, a 26-year-old man from Romsey, England, claimed to be a Senior Footman at Windsor Castle — one of the queen’s many homes and where she was buried following her funeral in 2022 — when he listed an “antler walking stick” for sale via online auction just one week after she passed away, according to the Crown Prosecution Service.
“In his eBay listing, Marshall said the Queen used the stick in her final years ‘as she struggled with her mobility’ and dishonestly claimed the money raised would go to Cancer Research UK,” CPS said in their statement. “Bids reached £540 when Marshall hastily closed the listing after discovering Thames Valley Police were investigating the scam.”
Marshall was subsequently arrested and would plead not guilty to fraud by false representation, “at different times claiming the venture was not a scam but a joke made in bad taste and later a social experiment to see how much attention his post would receive,” authorities said.
However, prosecutors secured a conviction against Marshall “by unravelling his ever-changing defence with extensive computer evidence,” CPS said. “Debunking the claim his account had been hacked by a friend in Spain, prosecutors used Marshall’s online search history to show his intent to defraud potential victims by finding the terms ‘the Queen’ and ‘how to delete an eBay listing.’”
Marshall was sentenced to a 12-month Community Order on Monday at Southampton Magistrates’ Court and was also ordered to complete 40 hours of unpaid work.
“Dru Marshall used the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to try and hoodwink the public with a fake charity auction – fuelled by greed and a desire for attention,” said Julie Macey, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS Wessex. “Marshall’s scheme was ultimately foiled before he could successfully con any unsuspecting victims – and the CPS will continue to work hand-in-glove with law enforcement to bring fraudsters to justice.”
Justin Timberlake has wiped his Instagram, presumably in advance of new music, while Joey Fatone just announced that he’s going on tour with Backstreet Boys‘ AJ McLean. Seems like we’re not getting the *NSYNC reunion tour fans had hoped for — but hey, at least we still have the group’s reunion song, “Better Place,” to listen to. And Joey told ABC Audio that even after not recording together for 23 years, the guys found it easy to get back into the groove.
“It’s just like riding a bike,” Joey said, noting that the “Better Place” recording session was just like the ones they’ve had in the past. “You know, we recorded with each other for many years, and we also recorded in the studio where JC and Justin were writing and producing some of the songs. So we were in the booth with them.”
“So it wasn’t like someone’s gonna go, ‘Oh, sing this note,’ [and] I’m like, ‘Nah, I got one better,’ yknow?” Joey said. “It’s more or less, ‘I trust your judgment. Let’s go with it.’ That kind of thing.”
As for whether or not he was surprised Justin called the band to be on the song for the Trolls: Band Together soundtrack, Joey said not really.
“It wasn’t a surprise surprise,” he said. “‘Cause we’ve gotten calls a few times or we’ve called each other about other projects. And either we shot them down or we said, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.’ So this was the one that felt right.”
Joey and AJ’s tour kicks off March 15. The presale starts January 10 at 10 a.m. local time.
Teyana Taylor got teary when trying to articulate what a true sisterhood in Hollywood means to her during an appearance on The Tamron Hall Show.
She joined Tuesday’s show to chat about her new film, The Book of Clarence, but became emotional when Hall flashed a picture onscreen of Taylor alongside stars Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Ava DuVernay and Regina King.
“All of you are at the top of the game and they were celebrating you at that moment,” Hall said, to which Taylor responded with a long pause and tears.
Taylor explained that the photo of the women wasn’t a planned moment but a chance encounter after the group noticed her during an event and encouraged her to join their huddle.
She recalled, “I was like, ‘Oh my God, like, I don’t want to walk up, I don’t want to invade anybody’s personal space.’ And Aunjanue was like, ‘OH MY GOD! TEYANA!’ And I was just really shocked because as badly as I wanted this picture to happen, I wasn’t gonna be the one to ask, you know?”
Taylor said she remembers conversations she had with herself in the past about women empowerment and how oftentimes the idea is preached but not always practiced.
“So to walk into these rooms, whether it’s on purpose or by accident, and to be loved on and appreciated and seen and heard, it means a lot. And it’s genuine,” she added.
She said, “The way they loved on me and just embraced me was amazing.”
Christopher Polk/Golden Globes 2024/Golden Globes 2024 via Getty Images
Stop speculating: We now know what Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift were actually talking about at the Golden Globes.
Lip-readers who viewed the footage have been claiming that Selena was telling Taylor and Taylor’s pal Keleigh Sperry that Kylie Jenner wouldn’t let her boyfriend Timothée Chalamet take a photo with her. A source denied this to People, but the speculation continued. Now, Selena herself is setting the record straight.
E! News posted a photo of the conversation on Instagram with the caption, “At tea time, we’d love to know if Selena Gomez was really gossiping about Kylie Jenner & Timothée Chalamet at this year’s #GoldenGlobes.”
Selena commented, “Noooooo I told Taylor about two of my friends who hooked up. Not that that’s anyone business.”
This isn’t the first time that Selena has popped into the comments section of a post to set the record straight on speculation about her personal life. In December, she confirmed that she was dating Benny Blanco on a fan page by commenting, “He is my absolute everything in my heart.”
She also commented on another post that speculated that they were involved by writing, “Facts.”
