Firefighters respond to a fire at the Silver Lake Nursing Home in Bristol, Pa., Dec. 23, 2025. WPVI
(BUCKS COUNTY, Pa.) — A massive fire has erupted at a nursing home in eastern Pennsylvania following a possible gas explosion, officials said.
The Upper Makefield Township police described it as a “mass casualty incident” at the Silver Lake Nursing Home and asked people to avoid the area in Bristol, which is about 25 miles northeast of Philadelphia.
It’s believed some people are trapped inside, according to an official briefed on the matter. Responders are trying to get everyone out safely and are investigating the cause of the explosion, the official said.
The scene remains active and those nearby should follow the direction of local authorities, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a post on X.
“I’ve been briefed on the incident at Silver Lake Nursing Home in Bucks County, and my Administration is in contact with local officials and first responders on the ground,” Shapiro said.
“Please join Lori and me in praying for the Bristol community,” he said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Jeffrey Epstein is seen in this image released by the Department of Justice in Washington, December 19, 2025 (U.S. Justice Department)
(NEW YORK) — Even as investigators took Jeffrey Epstein into custody in July 2019, they were already turning their attention to others in the wealthy financier and convicted sex offender’s vast orbit who might also be involved in his crimes, according to a massive new trove of files released by the Justice Department early Tuesday morning.
The fresh batch of files also add new details to the Epstein saga not previously known, including operational details that went into planning for his 2019 arrest; how some federal officials reacted to his death by suicide in jail; and images of the fake Austrian passport Epstein held under a pseudonym.
And the files included a 2020 heads up from a federal prosecutor that Trump had traveled with Epstein more than was previously known at the time.
The latest DOJ disclosure under the Epstein Files Transparency Act includes more than 10,000 files totaling more than 10 gigabytes of material, ranging from internal government emails to investigative materials, to a blueprint of Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse used by officials executing their search.
The DOJ posted the new materials just after midnight ET on Tuesday morning, marking the latest cache of materials released under a congressional mandate. The law, which President Donald Trump signed in November, required the DOJ to release all the documents by Friday, Dec. 19, although the department has said the vetting process required to protect Epstein’s victims has slowed their delivery.
A statement from alleged victims said the DOJ “violated the law” by “failing to redact survivor identities.”
Epstein, the wealthy financier and convicted sex offender, died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019. A co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking of minors and other offenses.
Investigation into potential co-conspirators
Hours after Epstein had been arrested at Teterboro Airport and his Manhattan home had been raided, investigators also sought to ramp up their pursuit of others who might also potentially be involved in his alleged crimes.
Though it has previously been reported that investigations of possible Epstein co-conspirators were a focus after his death, the new disclosures indicate that those efforts had already begun by the time he was arrested — and were in fact well underway.
“When you get a chance can you give me an update on the status of the 10 co-conspirators?” someone from the FBI’s New York office wrote in an email at 12:24 p.m. July 7, 2019 — the day after Epstein’s arrest. The reply: That contact had been made with some of the alleged accomplices, and investigators were efforting others. Most of the names are redacted; however some are not.
The documents the DOJ chose to release Tuesday do not detail the information investigators sought from these individuals, nor the basis for characterizing them as potential co-conspirators.
“Attempts were made to [redacted] and Brunel,” the update said, referring to Jean-Luc Brunel, a now-disgraced modeling agent and Epstein associate, who would be arrested the following year in Paris and charged with rape of minors over the age of 15 and sexual harassment. It’s not clear if the charges related specifically to any Epstein victim. Brunel, who maintained his innocence, was found dead by suicide in his Paris prison cell in February 2022.
“Attempts to [Ghislaine] Maxwell are being made in Boston today,” the July 7 email said.
“I do not know about Ohio contacting Wexner,” the email added — referring to Leslie Wexner, the Ohio billionaire for whom Epstein served as a longtime personal financial adviser.
Wexner has previously denied any knowledge of Epstein’s behavior and said he had cut ties with him in 2007. “I condemn his abhorrent behavior in the strongest possible terms and am sickened by the revelations I have read over the past weeks,” he said in a written statement to his foundation after Epstein’s arrest, obtained by ABC News at the time. The founder and chairman of L Brands said after Epstein’s death that he was “embarrassed” to have ever been associated with the disgraced sex offender.
Wexner has never been charged and was not identified at Maxwell’s trial as a co-conspirator.
In another email exchange, dated July 9, 2019, a member of the FBI’s Crimes Against Children Human Trafficking Unit received an update on the 10 alleged co-conspirators.
“3 have been located in FL and served GJ subpoenas; 1 in Boston, 1 in NYC, and 1 in CT were located and served,” the email said. “4 of the 10 are outstanding with attempts having been made. 1 is a wealthy business man in Ohio, a lead is being sent to CV; the remaining 3 are currently out of pocket.”
The email added that teams of special agents and prosecutors were shortly flying out to “various locations” in Florida “to interview approximately 25 victims.”
About month later, Epstein would be found dead by suicide in his New York jail cell. But his death did not halt investigations into his associates, according to the files.
In September 2019, prosecutors exchanging updates noted the investigation into Epstein’s alleged co-conspirators was “ongoing,” and that they had had conversations with several people who would cooperate in the investigation. Prosecutors later detailed a seven-page “memo on co-conspirators we could potentially charge” as well as a 86-page “co-conspirator update memo,” according to the files.
In July 2020, Maxwell would be arrested by the FBI in New Hampshire. She was charged by the Southern District of New York with conspiring to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, sex trafficking of a minor and other offenses. She was convicted in 2021 on five of six counts and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
No alleged co-conspirator other than Maxwell has ever been charged, and the Department of Justice said in July that there were no credible allegations that would lead to charges against others.
A heads-up about Trump’s travel
Six months after Maxwell’s arrest, prosecutors receiving Epstein-related records discovered that the onetime friend and current sitting president had in the 1990s traveled with Epstein far more than they had previously known.
“For your situational awareness, wanted to let you know that the flight records we received yesterday reflect that Donald Trump traveled on Epstein’s private jet many more times than previously has been reported (or that we were aware), including during the period we would expect to charge in a Maxwell case,” according to the Jan. 7, 2020, email to recipients whose names and email addresses are redacted.
“In particular, he is listed as a passenger on at least eight flights between 1993 and 1996, including at least four flights on which Maxwell was also present,” the email said. “He is listed as having traveled with, among others and at various times, Marla Maples, his daughter Tiffany, and his son Eric. On one flight in 1993, he and Epstein are the only two listed passengers; on another, the only three passengers are Epstein, Trump, and then-20-year-old [redacted]. On two other flights, two of the passengers, respectively, were women who would be possible witnesses in a Maxwell case. We’ve just finished reviewing the full records (more than 100 pages of very small script) and didn’t want any of this to be a surprise down the road.” It’s not clear if there was any response to the message.
The flight records of Epstein’s private aircraft documents referenced in that email would later become public exhibits during Maxwell’s 2021 trial. There was no allegation raised during those proceedings that Trump’s travels on Epstein’s plane were in any way connected to the charges against Maxwell.
Prosecutors press for interview with Prince Andrew
One of the documents included is an extensive email exchange in September and October 2020 between an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York and a lawyer representing then-Prince Andrew of Britain.
In the email exchange — which took place a few months after Maxwell’s arrest — Andrew’s lawyer lays out restrictions on the manner of the interview, including Andrew only providing a signed witness statement, and the topics he would agree to discuss.
Prosecutors pushed for a live in-person or virtual interview, according to the files. Andrew’s lawyer appeared to refuse, agreeing only to written answers. In the last email of the exchange, the assistant U.S. attorney writes, “[B]ecause the written statement you propose to provide will not assist our investigation, we intend to move forward with our MLA request seeking a compelled interview of your client.” An MLA request, or Mutual Legal Assistance, is a request from one country to another for assistance in a legal matter. It’s not clear from the newly-disclosed files if prosecutors followed through on the MLA request.
The fact that Andrew, who has been stripped of his title as prince, had offered a written statement, and that the SNDY had declined that format and intended to pursue an MLA request were reported at the time — but these communications reveal an extensive inside look at the process of those negotiations.
Details of Epstein’s arrest
Meticulous planning went into the undercover operation that would ultimately take Epstein into custody, according to the newly released DOJ files.
Among the documents is an “Operations Order Form,” dated July 2, 2019 — four days before he would be arrested — that strategizes how it might all go down upon his return from overseas.
“Epstein is presently out of the country. A silent hit notification with [Customs and Border Protection] has been put into effect for his return to the US. Upon Epstein’s return to the US, CBP will detain him at an airport. Agents and NYPD detectives will coordinate with FBI Newark and CBP, then respond to effect the arrest of Epstein,” the document said.
“Once Epstein is in custody, a search warrant for his premises in New York will be sworn out,” the document said. “Agents and NYPD detectives will knock and announce their presence at the subject premises. Upon entry, the subject premises will be secured and the search warrant will be executed. Teams will then break off to conduct interviews.”
The order mentions a “tactical brief” scheduled for July 8. But agents got word Epstein’s return home was imminent, according to the files.
“We received a hit notification that our sub will be landing at Teterboro at 1720 tomorrow, 7/6/2019,” according to a July 5, 2019, email from an FBI special agent. The agent then goes on to suggest that they should plan to meet at the airport at 3:30 p.m. “in case of an early landing.”
The exchange noted Epstein used a private plane and was a “frequent flier out of Teterboro. Ideally we would like to pick him up when he arrives.” Because Epstein would be arriving on an international flight, CBP would need to initiate the arrest, the agents noted.
Also included in the documents is the arrest warrant for Epstein dated July 2, 2019, and issued by SDNY. Epstein was arrested July 6, 2019, when he landed at Teterboro.
Epstein’s alter ego, ‘Marius Fortelni’’
The new disclosure also includes several photographs of a fake Austrian passport bearing a photograph of Epstein — but in the name of Marius Robert Fortelni — who listed his occupation as “Manager” and his residence as Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
The passport was issued in 1982 and was valid until 1987. On the inside pages are stamps from airport arrivals in Paris and Nice, France, in the early 1980s as well as entry stamps for England and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
After Epstein’s arrest in 2019, prosecutors said they had discovered that passport in a safe in Epstein’s New York mansion, along with three U.S. passports, 48 loose diamonds and $70,000 in cash.
Epstein’s defense attorneys, seeking to secure bail for their client, said that two of the US passports were expired. The foreign passport, they claimed, was given to Epstein “by a friend,” and he had never used it to travel. They argued he received it in the 1980s for personal protection when traveling in the Middle East.
Internal government reaction immediately after Epstein’s death
Internal communications sent in the hours after Epstein was found unresponsive at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan in August 2019 show how some people with federal email addresses reacted to the news, with one stating that they could not understand how it happened.
“His victims deserve some sort of modicum of justice and this is not how it should have gone down,” one unidentified individual wrote.
The names and email addresses of the people who sent the messages were redacted.
“In separate news and not to be crass but Epstein! Wow. Can we still pursue forfeiture against the estate?” one of the emails said.
“We can bring a civil forfeiture against the properties IF we’re within statute, which we may not be. We’ll have to look at it, but we’ve got some time, since I’m pretty sure no one’s going to want to have that be was our immediate reaction to his suicide,” another person responded. “We can’t pursue any kind of general money judgment against the estate – there we’re out of luck.”
One person wrote in an email that it had not been a “great year” for the Bureau of Prisons in the New York area.
“It’s just slightly more awkward where he was somehow allowed to commit suicide on a second try in two weeks by a branch of our government,” the email noted.
Jeffrey Epstein is seen in this image released by the Department of Justice in Washington, December 19, 2025 (U.S. Justice Department)
(NEW YORK) — Even as investigators took Jeffrey Epstein into custody in July 2019, they were already turning their attention to others in the wealthy financier and convicted sex offender’s vast orbit who might also be involved in his crimes, according to a massive new trove of files released by the Justice Department early Tuesday morning.
The fresh batch of files also add new details to the Epstein saga not previously known, including operational details that went into planning for his 2019 arrest; how some federal officials reacted to his death by suicide in jail; and images of the fake Austrian passport Epstein held under a pseudonym.
And the files included a 2020 heads up from a federal prosecutor that Trump had traveled with Epstein more than was previously known at the time.
The latest DOJ disclosure under the Epstein Files Transparency Act includes more than 10,000 files totaling more than 10 gigabytes of material, ranging from internal government emails to investigative materials, to a blueprint of Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse used by officials executing their search.
The DOJ posted the new materials just after midnight ET on Tuesday morning, marking the latest cache of materials released under a congressional mandate. The law, which President Donald Trump signed in November, required the DOJ to release all the documents by Friday, Dec. 19, although the department has said the vetting process required to protect Epstein’s victims has slowed their delivery.
A statement from alleged victims said the DOJ “violated the law” by “failing to redact survivor identities.”
Epstein, the wealthy financier and convicted sex offender, died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019. A co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking of minors and other offenses.
Investigation into potential co-conspirators
Hours after Epstein had been arrested at Teterboro Airport and his Manhattan home had been raided, investigators also sought to ramp up their pursuit of others who might also potentially be involved in his alleged crimes.
Though it has previously been reported that investigations of possible Epstein co-conspirators were a focus after his death, the new disclosures indicate that those efforts had already begun by the time he was arrested — and were in fact well underway.
“When you get a chance can you give me an update on the status of the 10 co-conspirators?” someone from the FBI’s New York office wrote in an email at 12:24 p.m. July 7, 2019 — the day after Epstein’s arrest. The reply: That contact had been made with some of the alleged accomplices, and investigators were efforting others. Most of the names are redacted; however some are not.
The documents the DOJ chose to release Tuesday do not detail the information investigators sought from these individuals, nor the basis for characterizing them as potential co-conspirators.
“Attempts were made to [redacted] and Brunel,” the update said, referring to Jean-Luc Brunel, a now-disgraced modeling agent and Epstein associate, who would be arrested the following year in Paris and charged with rape of minors over the age of 15 and sexual harassment. It’s not clear if the charges related specifically to any Epstein victim. Brunel, who maintained his innocence, was found dead by suicide in his Paris prison cell in February 2022.
“Attempts to [Ghislaine] Maxwell are being made in Boston today,” the July 7 email said.
“I do not know about Ohio contacting Wexner,” the email added — referring to Leslie Wexner, the Ohio billionaire for whom Epstein served as a longtime personal financial adviser.
Wexner has previously denied any knowledge of Epstein’s behavior and said he had cut ties with him in 2007. “I condemn his abhorrent behavior in the strongest possible terms and am sickened by the revelations I have read over the past weeks,” he said in a written statement to his foundation after Epstein’s arrest, obtained by ABC News at the time. The founder and chairman of L Brands said after Epstein’s death that he was “embarrassed” to have ever been associated with the disgraced sex offender.
Wexner has never been charged and was not identified at Maxwell’s trial as a co-conspirator.
In another email exchange, dated July 9, 2019, a member of the FBI’s Crimes Against Children Human Trafficking Unit received an update on the 10 alleged co-conspirators.
“3 have been located in FL and served GJ subpoenas; 1 in Boston, 1 in NYC, and 1 in CT were located and served,” the email said. “4 of the 10 are outstanding with attempts having been made. 1 is a wealthy business man in Ohio, a lead is being sent to CV; the remaining 3 are currently out of pocket.”
The email added that teams of special agents and prosecutors were shortly flying out to “various locations” in Florida “to interview approximately 25 victims.”
About month later, Epstein would be found dead by suicide in his New York jail cell. But his death did not halt investigations into his associates, according to the files.
In September 2019, prosecutors exchanging updates noted the investigation into Epstein’s alleged co-conspirators was “ongoing,” and that they had had conversations with several people who would cooperate in the investigation. Prosecutors later detailed a seven-page “memo on co-conspirators we could potentially charge” as well as a 86-page “co-conspirator update memo,” according to the files.
In July 2020, Maxwell would be arrested by the FBI in New Hampshire. She was charged by the Southern District of New York with conspiring to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, sex trafficking of a minor and other offenses. She was convicted in 2021 on five of six counts and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
No alleged co-conspirator other than Maxwell has ever been charged, and the Department of Justice said in July that there were no credible allegations that would lead to charges against others.
A heads-up about Trump’s travel
Six months after Maxwell’s arrest, prosecutors receiving Epstein-related records discovered that the onetime friend and current sitting president had in the 1990s traveled with Epstein far more than they had previously known.
“For your situational awareness, wanted to let you know that the flight records we received yesterday reflect that Donald Trump traveled on Epstein’s private jet many more times than previously has been reported (or that we were aware), including during the period we would expect to charge in a Maxwell case,” according to the Jan. 7, 2020, email to recipients whose names and email addresses are redacted.
“In particular, he is listed as a passenger on at least eight flights between 1993 and 1996, including at least four flights on which Maxwell was also present,” the email said. “He is listed as having traveled with, among others and at various times, Marla Maples, his daughter Tiffany, and his son Eric. On one flight in 1993, he and Epstein are the only two listed passengers; on another, the only three passengers are Epstein, Trump, and then-20-year-old [redacted]. On two other flights, two of the passengers, respectively, were women who would be possible witnesses in a Maxwell case. We’ve just finished reviewing the full records (more than 100 pages of very small script) and didn’t want any of this to be a surprise down the road.” It’s not clear if there was any response to the message.
The flight records of Epstein’s private aircraft documents referenced in that email would later become public exhibits during Maxwell’s 2021 trial. There was no allegation raised during those proceedings that Trump’s travels on Epstein’s plane were in any way connected to the charges against Maxwell.
Prosecutors press for interview with Prince Andrew
One of the documents included is an extensive email exchange in September and October 2020 between an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York and a lawyer representing then-Prince Andrew of Britain.
In the email exchange — which took place a few months after Maxwell’s arrest — Andrew’s lawyer lays out restrictions on the manner of the interview, including Andrew only providing a signed witness statement, and the topics he would agree to discuss.
Prosecutors pushed for a live in-person or virtual interview, according to the files. Andrew’s lawyer appeared to refuse, agreeing only to written answers. In the last email of the exchange, the assistant U.S. attorney writes, “[B]ecause the written statement you propose to provide will not assist our investigation, we intend to move forward with our MLA request seeking a compelled interview of your client.” An MLA request, or Mutual Legal Assistance, is a request from one country to another for assistance in a legal matter. It’s not clear from the newly-disclosed files if prosecutors followed through on the MLA request.
The fact that Andrew, who has been stripped of his title as prince, had offered a written statement, and that the SNDY had declined that format and intended to pursue an MLA request were reported at the time — but these communications reveal an extensive inside look at the process of those negotiations.
Details of Epstein’s arrest
Meticulous planning went into the undercover operation that would ultimately take Epstein into custody, according to the newly released DOJ files.
Among the documents is an “Operations Order Form,” dated July 2, 2019 — four days before he would be arrested — that strategizes how it might all go down upon his return from overseas.
“Epstein is presently out of the country. A silent hit notification with [Customs and Border Protection] has been put into effect for his return to the US. Upon Epstein’s return to the US, CBP will detain him at an airport. Agents and NYPD detectives will coordinate with FBI Newark and CBP, then respond to effect the arrest of Epstein,” the document said.
“Once Epstein is in custody, a search warrant for his premises in New York will be sworn out,” the document said. “Agents and NYPD detectives will knock and announce their presence at the subject premises. Upon entry, the subject premises will be secured and the search warrant will be executed. Teams will then break off to conduct interviews.”
The order mentions a “tactical brief” scheduled for July 8. But agents got word Epstein’s return home was imminent, according to the files.
“We received a hit notification that our sub will be landing at Teterboro at 1720 tomorrow, 7/6/2019,” according to a July 5, 2019, email from an FBI special agent. The agent then goes on to suggest that they should plan to meet at the airport at 3:30 p.m. “in case of an early landing.”
The exchange noted Epstein used a private plane and was a “frequent flier out of Teterboro. Ideally we would like to pick him up when he arrives.” Because Epstein would be arriving on an international flight, CBP would need to initiate the arrest, the agents noted.
Also included in the documents is the arrest warrant for Epstein dated July 2, 2019, and issued by SDNY. Epstein was arrested July 6, 2019, when he landed at Teterboro.
Epstein’s alter ego, ‘Marius Fortelni’’
The new disclosure also includes several photographs of a fake Austrian passport bearing a photograph of Epstein — but in the name of Marius Robert Fortelni — who listed his occupation as “Manager” and his residence as Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
The passport was issued in 1982 and was valid until 1987. On the inside pages are stamps from airport arrivals in Paris and Nice, France, in the early 1980s as well as entry stamps for England and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
After Epstein’s arrest in 2019, prosecutors said they had discovered that passport in a safe in Epstein’s New York mansion, along with three U.S. passports, 48 loose diamonds and $70,000 in cash.
Epstein’s defense attorneys, seeking to secure bail for their client, said that two of the US passports were expired. The foreign passport, they claimed, was given to Epstein “by a friend,” and he had never used it to travel. They argued he received it in the 1980s for personal protection when traveling in the Middle East.
Internal government reaction immediately after Epstein’s death
Internal communications sent in the hours after Epstein was found unresponsive at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan in August 2019 show how some people with federal email addresses reacted to the news, with one stating that they could not understand how it happened.
“His victims deserve some sort of modicum of justice and this is not how it should have gone down,” one unidentified individual wrote.
The names and email addresses of the people who sent the messages were redacted.
“In separate news and not to be crass but Epstein! Wow. Can we still pursue forfeiture against the estate?” one of the emails said.
“We can bring a civil forfeiture against the properties IF we’re within statute, which we may not be. We’ll have to look at it, but we’ve got some time, since I’m pretty sure no one’s going to want to have that be was our immediate reaction to his suicide,” another person responded. “We can’t pursue any kind of general money judgment against the estate – there we’re out of luck.”
One person wrote in an email that it had not been a “great year” for the Bureau of Prisons in the New York area.
“It’s just slightly more awkward where he was somehow allowed to commit suicide on a second try in two weeks by a branch of our government,” the email noted.
In a screen grab from a video released by Secretary Kristi Noem, the US Coast Guard apprehends an oil tanker that was last docked in Venezuela, on Dec. 20, 2025. (@Se_Noem)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump said Monday that the U.S. is still actively pursuing a sanctioned oil tanker linked to Venezuela, but that he’s confident the vessel will be seized.
“It’s moving along and we’ll end up getting it,” Trump said while unveiling a new class of battleships from his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. “Yeah, we’re actually pursuing it. Can you imagine? Yeah, because it came from the wrong location. It came out of Venezuela, and it was sanctioned.”
The U.S. Coast Guard over the weekend was “in active pursuit of a sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion,” an official told ABC News.
“It is flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order,” the official said at the time.
The tanker, named Bella 1, was not filled with cargo and en route to get oil when U.S. authorities attempted to board it, an official told ABC News on Monday.
Trump said the United States will keep the oil and ships after seizing sanctioned tankers.
“We’re keeping it. We’re keeping the ships also,” he said.
On President Nicholas Maduro, Trump said it would be “smart” for him to step down when asked if the administration’s ultimate goal in Venezuela is to force him from power.
“Well, I think it probably would. I can’t tell him. That’s up to him what he wants to do. I think it would be smart for him to do that. But again, we’re going to find out,” Trump said. Though the president also warned, “if he plays tough, it’ll be the last time he’s ever able to play tough.”
The Bella 1 tanker fled into the Atlantic Ocean and was not flying a legitimate national flag, giving the Coast Guard the jurisdiction to attempt to seize it.
These details were first reported by the New York Times.
The action came after the U.S. Coast Guard seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela on Saturday, just ten days after the seizure of a sanctioned oil tanker.
Unlike that first vessel seized, the tanker seized Saturday is not on any sanctions list maintained by the U.S., EU, U.K. or U.N., according to Kpler, a data firm that tracks transportation and logistics networks.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed Saturday’s operation in a post on social media, saying that the Coast Guard “apprehended” the tanker with support from the Department of Defense in a pre-dawn action. She said the tanker had last made port in Venezuela.
“The United States will continue to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil that is used to fund narco terrorism in the region,” Noem said in the post. “We will find you, and we will stop you.”
Last week, President Trump threatened to impose what he called “a total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers” traveling to and from Venezuela – a move that could devastate the Venezuelan economy, since oil exports are the lifeblood of Maduro’s regime.
In response to Trump’s announcement, Maduro said Venezuela would continue to trade oil and that Trump’s “intention” is regime change.
“This will just not happen, never, never, never – Venezuela will never be a colony of anything or anyone, never,” Maduro said.
The U.S. has amassed the largest military presence in the Caribbean in decades, including the world’s largest aircraft carrier.
The Pentagon also has so far struck 28 alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, killing at least 100 people, without providing any public evidence that the boats were carrying illegal drugs or identifying those killed.
In a screen grab from a video released by Secretary Kristi Noem, the US Coast Guard apprehends an oil tanker that was last docked in Venezuela, on Dec. 20, 2025. (@Se_Noem)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump said Monday that the U.S. is still actively pursuing a sanctioned oil tanker linked to Venezuela, but that he’s confident the vessel will be seized.
“It’s moving along and we’ll end up getting it,” Trump said while unveiling a new class of battleships from his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. “Yeah, we’re actually pursuing it. Can you imagine? Yeah, because it came from the wrong location. It came out of Venezuela, and it was sanctioned.”
The U.S. Coast Guard over the weekend was “in active pursuit of a sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion,” an official told ABC News.
“It is flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order,” the official said at the time.
The tanker, named Bella 1, was not filled with cargo and en route to get oil when U.S. authorities attempted to board it, an official told ABC News on Monday.
Trump said the United States will keep the oil and ships after seizing sanctioned tankers.
“We’re keeping it. We’re keeping the ships also,” he said.
On President Nicholas Maduro, Trump said it would be “smart” for him to step down when asked if the administration’s ultimate goal in Venezuela is to force him from power.
“Well, I think it probably would. I can’t tell him. That’s up to him what he wants to do. I think it would be smart for him to do that. But again, we’re going to find out,” Trump said. Though the president also warned, “if he plays tough, it’ll be the last time he’s ever able to play tough.”
The Bella 1 tanker fled into the Atlantic Ocean and was not flying a legitimate national flag, giving the Coast Guard the jurisdiction to attempt to seize it.
These details were first reported by the New York Times.
The action came after the U.S. Coast Guard seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela on Saturday, just ten days after the seizure of a sanctioned oil tanker.
Unlike that first vessel seized, the tanker seized Saturday is not on any sanctions list maintained by the U.S., EU, U.K. or U.N., according to Kpler, a data firm that tracks transportation and logistics networks.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed Saturday’s operation in a post on social media, saying that the Coast Guard “apprehended” the tanker with support from the Department of Defense in a pre-dawn action. She said the tanker had last made port in Venezuela.
“The United States will continue to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil that is used to fund narco terrorism in the region,” Noem said in the post. “We will find you, and we will stop you.”
Last week, President Trump threatened to impose what he called “a total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers” traveling to and from Venezuela – a move that could devastate the Venezuelan economy, since oil exports are the lifeblood of Maduro’s regime.
In response to Trump’s announcement, Maduro said Venezuela would continue to trade oil and that Trump’s “intention” is regime change.
“This will just not happen, never, never, never – Venezuela will never be a colony of anything or anyone, never,” Maduro said.
The U.S. has amassed the largest military presence in the Caribbean in decades, including the world’s largest aircraft carrier.
The Pentagon also has so far struck 28 alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, killing at least 100 people, without providing any public evidence that the boats were carrying illegal drugs or identifying those killed.
The FBI and Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office are looking for missing 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard. FBI
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) — Ashlee Buzzard, the mom of missing 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard, has been taken into custody in connection with the investigation into her missing daughter, sources told ABC News.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office did not provide additional information and only said it will share “major developments” in Melodee’s case at a news conference at 2 p.m. local time, 5 p.m. ET Tuesday.
Melodee was last seen alive on Oct. 9 near the Colorado-Utah border, according to authorities.
On Oct. 7, Melodee and Ashlee Buzzard had left their Lompoc, California, home for a three-day road trip that took them to the Nebraska area, the sheriff’s office said.
Ashlee Buzzard returned home to Lompoc on Oct. 10 with the car she and Melodee had rented on Oct. 7 — but Melodee was not with her, the sheriff’s office said.
Authorities have claimed Ashlee Buzzard wore wigs and swapped license plates during the trip, and they said Ashlee Buzzard didn’t cooperate with the search for Melodee.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
The booking photo for Antonio Moore. Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office
(PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla.) — A 65-year-old woman was fatally stabbed at a Barnes & Noble store in Florida, authorities said.
A suspect is in custody, according to police.
The incident occurred shortly before 8 p.m. on Monday at a Barnes & Noble in Palm Beach Gardens, according to police.
Officers responding to the stabbing found the victim — identified by police as Rita Loncharich — inside the store and “immediately rendered aid,” the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department said.
She was transported to a local hospital, where she died from her injuries, police said.
The suspect allegedly ran out of the store following the stabbing, according to police.
Witnesses provided a description and investigators located the suspect — identified by police as 40-year-old Antonio Moore — a short time later, authorities said.
Moore was booked Tuesday morning on a charge of first-degree premeditated murder and is being held without bond, online jail records show.
“This investigation is active and ongoing,” the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department said in a press release on Tuesday. “Investigators are still trying to determine a motive for this attack.”
ABC News has reached out to Barnes & Noble for comment.
Former President Bill Clinton speaks onstage during The New York Times Dealbook Summit 2024 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on December 04, 2024 in New York City. Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for The New York Times
(WASHINGTON) — After the Department of Justice released thousands of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in a tranche on Friday that included a number of decades-old photographs of former President Bill Clinton, a spokesperson for Clinton on Monday called on all of the files relating to Clinton to be released.
In a statement, Clinton spokesperson Angel Ureña accused the DOJ of using the selective release of Epstein documents to imply wrongdoing where there is none, challenging the department to immediately release any remaining materials mentioning or showing Bill Clinton in the files.
Ureña, a spokesperson for Clinton, wrote on Monday that the content and method of how the Department of Justice has released files makes it “clear” that “someone or something is being protected.”
“We do not know whom, what or why,” Ureña wrote. “But we do know this: We need no such protection.”
“Accordingly, we call on President Trump to direct Attorney General Bondi to immediately release any remaining materials referring to, mentioning, or containing a photograph of Bill Clinton,” Ureña added.
Ureña alleged that if the Department of Justice does not do so, it would confirm suspicions that the Department is releasing data selectively to “to imply wrongdoing about individuals who have already been repeatedly cleared by the very same Department of Justice, over many years, under Presidents and Attorneys General of both parties.”
The initial release of the files on Friday contained numerous old photos of Epstein traveling with Clinton, including pictures of Clinton lounging in a jacuzzi and one of him swimming with Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence after her 2021 conviction for sex trafficking of minors and other offenses.
The images were released without any context or background information.
On Friday, Ureña had written in a statement, “The White House hasn’t been hiding these files for months only to dump them late on a Friday to protect Bill Clinton. This is about shielding themselves from what comes next, or from what they’ll try and hide forever. So they can release as many grainy 20-plus-year-old photos as they want, but this isn’t about Bill Clinton. Never has, never will be.”
The Department of Justice has defended both its process and timing in releasing the files, saying in a statement on Sunday that more than 200 lawyers were working “around the clock” to review files for release.
“The Department of Justice is committed to transparency and redacting only what is legally required,” the department said in a statement. “The Department is required by law to redact identifying information about the victims, minors, or potential victims, as well as privileged material. NO redactions have been or will be made to protect famous individuals or politically exposed persons.”
A law signed by President Donald Trump in November required all the files related to federal investigations into the disgraced financier to be released by Friday, Dec. 19. The department has been releasing files since that deadline, but did not fully meet that deadline in releasing all Epstein-related materials, and what has been released so far is a fraction of the files.
The DOJ has faced backlash from victims and from lawmakers for the slow rollout of the files. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, in an appearance on Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Presswith Kristen Welker, defended the department’s slow release of the files, saying they wanted to continue to review documents to “protect victims.”
“It’s very simple and very clear: the statute also requires us to protect victims, and so the reason why we are still reviewing documents and still continuing our process is simply that — to protect victims… we’re going through a very methodical process with hundreds of lawyers looking at every single document and making sure that victims’ names and any of the information from victims is protected and redacted,” Blanche said.
Some of Epstein’s victims and their lawyers have also said redactions in the files released have not been sufficient and that some victims’ identities have been exposed. On Sunday, two attorneys who represent more than 200 survivors of Epstein and his convicted co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell told ABC News that they had been hearing from clients who have seen their names or other identifying information in un-redacted documents in the DOJ’s disclosure.
Clinton has not been accused of wrongdoing and denies having any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes. No Epstein survivor or associate has ever made a public allegation of wrongdoing or inappropriate behavior by Clinton in connection with his prior relationship with Epstein.
The former president traveled with Epstein several times, according to flight logs from Epstein’s private jets that were made public during civil litigation against Epstein. Those logs showed that Clinton and his entourage had taken four international sojourns in 2002 and 2003 on the financier’s Boeing 727 to locations including Bangkok, Brunei, Rwanda, Russia, China and elsewhere.
President Donald Trump, on Monday, was asked whether he was surprised by the number of photos of Clinton in the files.
Trump said he has always gotten along with Bill Clinton and added, “I hate to see photos come out of him, but this is what the Democrats, mostly Democrats and a couple of bad Republicans are asking for. So, they’ve given their photos of me too. Everybody was friendly with this guy [Epstein]. Either friendly or not friendly, but you know, he was around. He was all over Palm Beach and other places.”
(Trump himself has denied having any knowledge of Epstein’s alleged crimes and said at the time of Epstein’s arrest in 2019 that they hadn’t spoken in 15 years; he has also spoken about kicking Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago.)
The Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released photos earlier this month, prior to the Department of Justice’s releases, that also showed Epstein or Maxwell with Clinton and others, including Trump, Woody Allen, Bill Gates, Steve Bannon, former Prince Andrew and billionaire Richard Branson, among others.
The context, time frame and location of the photographs are unclear.
ABC News’ James Hill and Katherine Faulders contributed to this report.
Former President Bill Clinton speaks onstage during The New York Times Dealbook Summit 2024 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on December 04, 2024 in New York City. Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for The New York Times
(WASHINGTON) — After the Department of Justice released thousands of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in a tranche on Friday that included a number of decades-old photographs of former President Bill Clinton, a spokesperson for Clinton on Monday called on all of the files relating to Clinton to be released.
In a statement, Clinton spokesperson Angel Ureña accused the DOJ of using the selective release of Epstein documents to imply wrongdoing where there is none, challenging the department to immediately release any remaining materials mentioning or showing Bill Clinton in the files.
Ureña, a spokesperson for Clinton, wrote on Monday that the content and method of how the Department of Justice has released files makes it “clear” that “someone or something is being protected.”
“We do not know whom, what or why,” Ureña wrote. “But we do know this: We need no such protection.”
“Accordingly, we call on President Trump to direct Attorney General Bondi to immediately release any remaining materials referring to, mentioning, or containing a photograph of Bill Clinton,” Ureña added.
Ureña alleged that if the Department of Justice does not do so, it would confirm suspicions that the Department is releasing data selectively to “to imply wrongdoing about individuals who have already been repeatedly cleared by the very same Department of Justice, over many years, under Presidents and Attorneys General of both parties.”
The initial release of the files on Friday contained numerous old photos of Epstein traveling with Clinton, including pictures of Clinton lounging in a jacuzzi and one of him swimming with Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence after her 2021 conviction for sex trafficking of minors and other offenses.
The images were released without any context or background information.
On Friday, Ureña had written in a statement, “The White House hasn’t been hiding these files for months only to dump them late on a Friday to protect Bill Clinton. This is about shielding themselves from what comes next, or from what they’ll try and hide forever. So they can release as many grainy 20-plus-year-old photos as they want, but this isn’t about Bill Clinton. Never has, never will be.”
The Department of Justice has defended both its process and timing in releasing the files, saying in a statement on Sunday that more than 200 lawyers were working “around the clock” to review files for release.
“The Department of Justice is committed to transparency and redacting only what is legally required,” the department said in a statement. “The Department is required by law to redact identifying information about the victims, minors, or potential victims, as well as privileged material. NO redactions have been or will be made to protect famous individuals or politically exposed persons.”
A law signed by President Donald Trump in November required all the files related to federal investigations into the disgraced financier to be released by Friday, Dec. 19. The department has been releasing files since that deadline, but did not fully meet that deadline in releasing all Epstein-related materials, and what has been released so far is a fraction of the files.
The DOJ has faced backlash from victims and from lawmakers for the slow rollout of the files. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, in an appearance on Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Presswith Kristen Welker, defended the department’s slow release of the files, saying they wanted to continue to review documents to “protect victims.”
“It’s very simple and very clear: the statute also requires us to protect victims, and so the reason why we are still reviewing documents and still continuing our process is simply that — to protect victims… we’re going through a very methodical process with hundreds of lawyers looking at every single document and making sure that victims’ names and any of the information from victims is protected and redacted,” Blanche said.
Some of Epstein’s victims and their lawyers have also said redactions in the files released have not been sufficient and that some victims’ identities have been exposed. On Sunday, two attorneys who represent more than 200 survivors of Epstein and his convicted co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell told ABC News that they had been hearing from clients who have seen their names or other identifying information in un-redacted documents in the DOJ’s disclosure.
Clinton has not been accused of wrongdoing and denies having any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes. No Epstein survivor or associate has ever made a public allegation of wrongdoing or inappropriate behavior by Clinton in connection with his prior relationship with Epstein.
The former president traveled with Epstein several times, according to flight logs from Epstein’s private jets that were made public during civil litigation against Epstein. Those logs showed that Clinton and his entourage had taken four international sojourns in 2002 and 2003 on the financier’s Boeing 727 to locations including Bangkok, Brunei, Rwanda, Russia, China and elsewhere.
President Donald Trump, on Monday, was asked whether he was surprised by the number of photos of Clinton in the files.
Trump said he has always gotten along with Bill Clinton and added, “I hate to see photos come out of him, but this is what the Democrats, mostly Democrats and a couple of bad Republicans are asking for. So, they’ve given their photos of me too. Everybody was friendly with this guy [Epstein]. Either friendly or not friendly, but you know, he was around. He was all over Palm Beach and other places.”
(Trump himself has denied having any knowledge of Epstein’s alleged crimes and said at the time of Epstein’s arrest in 2019 that they hadn’t spoken in 15 years; he has also spoken about kicking Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago.)
The Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released photos earlier this month, prior to the Department of Justice’s releases, that also showed Epstein or Maxwell with Clinton and others, including Trump, Woody Allen, Bill Gates, Steve Bannon, former Prince Andrew and billionaire Richard Branson, among others.
The context, time frame and location of the photographs are unclear.
ABC News’ James Hill and Katherine Faulders contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — This year is expected to be the busiest on record for holiday travel, but rough weather can make getting to your Christmas destination even harder.
As a life-threatening storm heads to California, here’s a look at the Christmas week weather forecast:
Tuesday
Snow is falling in the Northeast on Tuesday. Up to 1 inch of snow is possible along the Interstate 95 corridor from New York City to Boston, but that snow may not accumulate much at all.
While New York City won’t have a white Christmas, this snowfall will bring a white Christmas to inland New England. Up to 6 inches of snow is possible in upstate New York, Vermont and New Hampshire, while more than 6 inches is possible in parts of Maine.
In Southern California, those driving to their Christmas destination should try to head out the door during the day on Tuesday, because a dangerous storm will move in with heavy rain on Tuesday night and continue through Wednesday.
On Christmas Eve, the weather will be calm across most of the country — but not for California.
Residents of Southern California — including densely-populated Los Angeles County — are bracing for an 18-hour-long downpour on Wednesday that’ll bring life-threatening flooding.
Four to 7 inches of rain is forecast, and some areas could even top 9 inches. This is an incredible amount of rain over an area that usually records 2.4 inches of rain in the month of December.
Wind gusts could reach 70 mph from Tuesday to Thursday.
Residents should be prepared for significant road flooding, rising rivers and mudslides and rockslides as the debris flow could impact recent burn scar areas.
Those traveling for Christmas should expect road closures and flight delays.
Thursday
On Christmas Day, record high temperatures are possible for millions from the Midwest to the South.
Temperatures are forecast to soar to record highs of 66 degrees in Albuquerque, New Mexico; 71 degrees in Rapid City, South Dakota; 79 degrees in Midland, Texas; 78 degrees in Tulsa, Oklahoma; and 75 degrees in Atlanta.
While not record highs, temperatures could also jump to 80 degrees in Austin and Houston, 79 degrees in Miami and Orlando, Florida, and 75 degrees in Memphis, Tennessee.
One of the only parts of the country that has a good chance for a white Christmas is inland New England, where the snow from Tuesday could linger on the ground through Christmas Day.
Some mountainous areas in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Colorado and California will also see a white Christmas.
Meanwhile, the rough weather will continue for California, with another round of rain on Christmas Day. The ground in Southern California will be so vulnerable at that point from Wednesday’s rain, so the new round of rain could trigger renewed flooding, landslides and debris flows.
