An incident was reported at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Special Enforcement Bureau compound in East Los Angeles, July 18, 2025. KABC
(LOS ANGELES) — At least three people were killed in an apparent “horrific incident” at a Los Angeles law enforcement training facility, Attorney General Pamela Bondi said.
The victims, employees of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, appeared to be handling explosives when there was a blast, sources told ABC News. The facility, a Special Enforcement Bureau compound, also houses the bomb squad.
“Our federal agents are at the scene and we are working to learn more,” Bondi wrote on social media.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(UNION, Maine) — The 17-year-old suspect in the murder of a paddleboarder earlier this month will appear in court on Friday, where he is expected to be charged with one count of murder.
Sunshine Stewart was found dead on July 3 at Crawford Pond in Union, Maine. Her cause of death was strangulation and blunt force trauma, Maine State Police revealed Thursday.
The suspect, who is male, was arrested without incident Wednesday night, police said. He came to the pond area to spend summer vacation time with his family, according to an official familiar with the investigation.
He is expected to appear remotely from the South Portland juvenile detention facility, where he is being held, in front of a Knox County district judge.
It is unclear whether the 17-year-old will be charged as an adult.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Steve Farzam has been charged for allegedly impersonating a firefighter after officials found a fire truck and other first responder gear in his home, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. KABC
(LOS ANGELES) — A Southern California man has been charged for allegedly impersonating a firefighter after officials found a fire truck and other first responder gear at his home, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.
Steve Farzam, 47, was charged on Thursday with 28 criminal counts for a “string of alleged crimes that occurred between 2023 and May of this year, including impersonating a firefighter during the Palisades Fire, assaulting a first responder and discharging a laser at aircrafts,” the district attorney’s office said in a press release on Thursday.
“This defendant’s alleged actions reflect a disturbing pattern of lawlessness and disregard for public safety. If proven, this type of escalating conduct undermines the integrity of our emergency response systems and erodes public trust and we will use every single legal tool available to hold the defendant accountable,” Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement.
The investigation into Farzam began earlier this month when the Los Angeles Police Department started looking into cases “involving pilots being struck by a laser while piloting commercial aircraft and helicopters around West Los Angeles area,” according to a press release from the LAPD.
The incident occurred back on Feb. 21, when the suspect pointed a blue laser on law enforcement and commercial aircraft, according to ABC Los Angeles station KABC.
This investigation “led to an individual named Steven Farzam,” with police then filing 28 counts of felony and misdemeanor charges against him and securing a search warrant, police said.
On Wednesday, the suspect was taken into custody and officials served a “multi-location search warrant at Farzam’s residences in West Los Angeles,” police said.
During the search, police found two utility vehicles with California exempt license plates, police and fire light package equipment for vehicles, radios, first responder identifications, a Pierce Fire Engine, multiple rounds of ammunition, “various fraudulent documents relating to a fictitious Fire Department and other first responder paraphernalia,” officials said.
The fire truck that was discovered at his home had burn marks on the top of it and was registered to the Santa Muerte Fire Department, which does not exist, officials said.
Officials believe on Jan. 16, Farzam “posed as a firefighter during the Palisades Fire, gaining access to restricted emergency zones and interfering with emergency operations,” according to the district attorney’s office.
During Farzam’s arraignment on Thursday, Deputy District Attorney David Ayvazian said that during the Palisades Fire, the suspect “tried to badge his way into fire zones, which he successfully did at least three times — pretending to be an arson investigator,” according to KABC.
Farzam faces six counts of discharging a laser at an aircraft, three counts of assault with a deadly or dangerous weapon, four counts of assault upon a peace officer, one count of impersonation of a public officer, one count of carrying a loaded unregistered handgun in a vehicle, seven counts of perjury by declaration and one count of procuring and offering false or forged instrument, officials said. He also faces the two misdemeanor charges of impersonating a fire officer and trespassing on closed lands, the district attorney’s office said.
Farzam pleaded not guilty during his arraignment on Thursday and he is currently being held in custody without bail, the district attorney’s office said. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 28, officials said.
Farzam’s public defender said in court on Thursday that the suspect should be granted bail, according to KABC.
“There is not a substantial likelihood that his release would result in great bodily harm to anyone,” the public defender said.
(NEW YORK) — Defense attorneys for alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter Luigi Mangione say prosecutors at the Manhattan district attorney’s office are violating his health privacy rights by accessing confidential medical information, according to a court filing Thursday seeking a hearing and sanctions.
“The District Attorney has subpoenaed Mr Mangione’s health insurer, and, if their account is to be believed, they partially reviewed confidential, private, protected documents that the District Attorney readily admits are protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. There is no question that the District Attorney has no right to possess or review these documents,” the filing said.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to murdering UnitedHealthcare chief Brian Thompson on a Midtown street last December. Mangione was not covered by UnitedHealthcare.
Instead, prosecutors have said he wanted to send a message about corporate greed.
His attorneys are now seeking access to information from prosecutors and from Mangione’s insurer, Aetna, arguing the subpoena was improper.
“There is no question that the People have violated Mr Mangione’s rights under HIPPA by possessing and reviewing the subpoenaed documents. However, the violation goes far beyond this. The violation also involves the intentional and knowing violating of his doctor-patient privilege,” the defense said.
The district attorney’s office said it will formally respond in court papers.
However, prosecutors said they requested limited information from Aetna and Aetna sent them additional materials in error. Prosecutors said they deleted the materials as soon as they became aware of them and brought it to the attention of both the defense and the court.
The error was compounded by defense counsel resending to prosecutors the very same items prosecutors had already deleted, a source familiar with the subpoena said.
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell/Photo credit: Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in February released what was then described as the “first phase of the declassified Epstein files.”
That initial release — which was delivered to a group of prominent right-leaning influencers and journalists — included 341 pages of documents related to the disgraced financier. But 118 pages of those files were duplicative of one another.
The vast majority of those documents were previously made public through the prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein’s former associate Ghislaine Maxwell or civil lawsuits, including flight logs from Epstein’s plane, a redacted version of Epstein’s so-called “black book” of contacts and a heavily redacted seven-page list of masseuses.
The only newly-released document in “phase one,” which received little public attention, was a three-page catalog of evidence that appears to be an accounting of evidence seized during the searches of Epstein’s properties in New York and the U.S. Virgin Islands after his arrest in 2019, and a search of his Palm Beach mansion a dozen years earlier.
That little-noticed index offers a roadmap to the remaining trove of records that President Donald Trump’s administration has declined to release, including logs of who potentially visited Epstein’s private island and the records of a wiretap of Maxwell’s phone.
The three-page index is a report generated by the FBI that lists the evidence inventoried by federal law enforcement during the multiple investigations into his conduct. According to that index, the remaining materials include 40 computers and electronic devices, 26 storage drives, more than 70 CDs and six recording devices. The devices hold more than 300 gigabytes of data, according to the DOJ.
The evidence also includes approximately 60 pieces of physical evidence, including photographs, travel logs, employee lists, more than $17,000 in cash, five massage tables, blueprints of Epstein’s island and Manhattan home, four busts of female body parts, a pair of women’s cowboy boots and one stuffed dog, according to the list.
The unreleased evidence notably includes multiple documents related to two islands Epstein owned in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Little Saint James — where his compound was located — and Greater Saint James. According to the index, the files include a folder containing Island blueprints, photographs and other documents.
Some of the documents could shed light on who visited the island. According to the index, the files also include a Little Saint James logbook as well as multiple logs of boat trips to and from the island.
The evidence also includes multiple lists, one vaguely described as a “document with names” and an employee contact list. Investigators also recovered pages of handwritten notes, multiple photo albums, an Austrian passport with Epstein’s photograph and more than a dozen financial documents.
The records also include three discs containing the outcome of “court authorized intercept[s]” of a phone number previously belonging to Ghislaine Maxwell.
In a joint memo released last week, the FBI and DOJ argued that a “large portion” of the records included photographs of victims and child pornography. According to the DOJ, the evidence includes “images and videos” of victims who appear to be minors, “over ten thousand downloaded videos and images of illegal child sex abuse material and other pornography,” and a “large volume” of images of Epstein. Authorities also concluded that Epstein did not maintain a “client list” or blackmail prominent individuals.
“While we have labored to provide the public with maximum information regarding Epstein and ensured examination of any evidence in the government’s possession, it is the determination of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted,” the memo said.
The memo argued that “a fraction of this material would have been aired publicly had Epstein gone to trial” and that a court order prohibits further disclosure of the materials.
“One of our highest priorities is combatting child exploitation and bringing justice to victims. Perpetuating unfounded theories about Epstein serves neither of those ends,” the memo said.
Stanislav Kogiku/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(TOKYO) — For Americans who were eagerly awaiting the release of the Nintendo Switch 2, the delay of U.S. pre-orders for the popular new gaming console this April was one indication of what’s to come if President Donald Trump’s planned 25% tariffs on all Japanese exports goes into effect on August 1, as he’s said it will in his latest letter to the Japanese government on July 7.
U.S. pre-orders of Nintendo’s next generation gaming console were delayed from April 9 to April 24 because of the impact of potential tariffs from the U.S., the company said at the time.
Nintendo moved forward with the planned June 5 launch date of the device in the U.S., selling 3.5 million consoles worldwide in the first four days on the market, but the delay for such a high-demand product suggests consumers could see greater impacts to products from the popular gaming company that are sold in the United States in the near future.
“There will be tariffs imposed on the devices, so definitely there will be impact,” Professor Yusuke Koyama who teaches economics and focuses his research on the gaming and animation industry at Shibaura Institute of Technology in Japan told ABC News.
“If the tariffs are fixed, and it’s clear that it’s going to be a long-term thing, they are definitely going to have to raise prices,” he added.Tariffs on Japanese exports aren’t the only issue Nintendo could face in the Trump tariff war, Koyama said.
The Nintendo Switch 2 devices are primarily manufactured outside of the U.S. in China and other countries in Southeast Asia. Because of this, the devices will be impacted by the tariffs not only on Japan but on other Asian countries as well, he added.
Nintendo previously had most of their devices made in China, but the company began shifting its production sites to other countries in Southeast Asia in 2019, during the first Trump administration, Koyama said.
“It is not an easy thing to move the production sites on the devices,” Koyama said.
Japanese electronics companies may have to restructure once they start to feel the impact from the U.S. tariffs, chief economist at the Japanese Dai-ichi Life Research Institute Hideo Kumano told ABC News.
“At the moment, people don’t really feel the impact, but recently some electronics companies announced their plans for restructuring,” Kumano told ABC News. “If such plans are actually executed, then people lose jobs … Such a negative impact might be felt by summer or autumn onwards.”
Nintendo has not announced any plans for restructuring publicly at this time, and Nintendo declined ABC News’ request for an interview.
If a Japanese company does business globally, it will be impacted by the coming tariffs, Kumano added. “All companies that do business globally will be impacted one way or another,” he said.
While Nintendo’s gaming consoles and physical products will be impacted, the games consumers can download won’t be subject to the new tariffs. While the U.S. consumer downloading ratio compared to purchasing of physical products is already high, Koyama said he could see this area of Nintendo’s business expand if the tariffs do cause other prices to increase.
“In the U.S., it already has a high downloading ratio, so I think that trend may just get stronger with this,” Koyama said. “In Japan, the packages are still more popular.”
Despite potential price hikes, Koyama predicts consumers will still purchase Nintendo products and games, because their games are unique compared to their competitors.
“Nintendo is producing games that you cannot find in other PC games or PlayStation games, so that’s why the games are very popular,” Koyama said. “I think the consumers will still buy.”
Japanese companies Kumano has spoken with said these tariffs are unlike anything they’ve seen before.
“I’ve actually had conversations with people from various companies, and they all say that things were changing so rapidly. This is the first experience for them to be involved in such rapid and dramatic change,” Kumano said.
(WASHINGTON) — Tech billionaire Elon Musk, who earlier this month feuded online with President Donald Trump after stepping down as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, has been flooding his social media feed with criticism of Trump and his administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Using his X platform, Musk has been on a posting spree since Wednesday, posting or reposting criticisms of Trump’s handling of the Epstein files more than 35 times.
He’s even used his AI chatbot Grok — which just clinched a $200 million deal with the Trump administration — to address the issue.
The administration angered many of Trump’s supporters when it announced last week that it would not release any additional files on Epstein, the wealthy financier and convicted sex offender who died in jail by suicide in 2019, after earlier promising to do so.
Musk’s avalanche of attacks comes just weeks after he posted — but later deleted — a claim that Trump’s name appeared in the Epstein files, and that that was why more documents weren’t being released.
At the time he said the post “went too far.” Now, however, he’s returned to attacking the president.
In one post, Musk called the Trump administration’s actions “a cover up (obviously)” and claimed in another that “so many powerful people want that list suppressed.”
In response to Trump calling the matter the “Epstein Hoax,” Musk mockingly wrote, “Wow, amazing that Epstein ‘killed himself’ and Ghislaine is in federal prison for a hoax,” referring to former Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell who is serving a 20-year prison term for aiding Epstein in his sexual abuse of underage girls.
Musk also took a shot at how Trump has handled past issues, listing, “1. Admit nothing; 2. Deny everything; 3. Make counterclaims” — before adding, “But it won’t work this time.”
He also reposted a photo of the binders that Attorney General passed out to MAGA influencers at the White House in February that were labeled “Epstein files: Phase 1.”
“Where is ‘Phase 2’? Musk asked.
Addressing X’s AI chatbot, Grok, Musk asked, “Would that mean the government right now — as we speak — knows the names & ages of all those who traveled on Epstein’s plane?”
“Yes, the DOJ and FAA hold extensive passenger manifests and flight logs from Epstein’s jets,” Grok replied.
Though Musk slammed Trump’s handling of the Epstein files, his attacks themselves were riddled with false assumptions, including conspiracy theories about the existence of an Epstein “client list,” which is unsupported by evidence.
Responding to criticism from Musk earlier this month, Trump posted to his own social media platform, “I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely ‘off the rails,’ essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks.”
Musk, the top donor in the 2024 election who helped boost Trump’s path to victory, led the administration’s effort to slash the federal government before stepping down from the post in May.
A White House spokesperson, when asked for comment, directed ABC News to Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s comments during Thursday’s press briefing. Asked if Trump has been in contact with any of the social media influencers who have challenged his handling of the Epstein files, Leavitt said, “The president and this team are always in contact with the president’s supporters, with voices of many kinds on both sides of the aisle.”
“But, ultimately, he has led this country not just over the past six months to historic success, but also through his first four years as president … and as I always say, the American people should trust in President Trump,” Leavitt said.
(LOS ANGELES, Calif.) — Murder and burglary charges were filed Thursday in the killing of an “American Idol” music supervisor and her husband at their home in Los Angeles.
The suspect — 22-year-old Raymond Boodarian — is accused of scaling a fence onto the Encino property and then shooting and killing the couple during a struggle when they arrived home, Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Guy Golan told reporters Tuesday.
Boodarian has been charged with two counts of murder and a count of residential burglary, according to Los Angeles ABC station KABC. He appeared in court on Thursday afternoon, where the judge set his next court hearing for Aug. 20. He is being held without bail.
The victims — Robin Kaye and her husband, Thomas Deluca, both 70 — were found shot to death in their Los Angeles home during a welfare check on Monday, authorities said.
It is believed the couple was killed four days earlier, on July 10, police said. That day, the Los Angeles Police Department said it received two calls about a possible burglary at the address after a person was seen jumping the fence onto the property.
Officers responding to the calls that day were unable to go into the home because it is highly fortified, with 8-foot walls with spikes, police sources said. Police flew a helicopter over and saw no signs of a burglary or any other trouble and cleared the scene, Golan previously told reporters.
Surveillance footage later reviewed by police showed the suspect scaling the fence and then apparently entering an unlocked door, Golan said. The victims arrived home about 30 minutes later, police said.
While responding for a welfare check on Monday, officers were able to make their way into the home and found the victims dead with multiple gunshot wounds, Golan said. They both had gunshot wounds to the head, police said.
Detectives have since found a gun at the suspect’s residence that will be tested to determine if it was the alleged murder weapon, LAPD homicide detectives said Wednesday.
Police were investigating a motive and working to understand what happened inside the house, Golan said Tuesday.
Police do not believe Boodarian knew the victims, and the house did not appear to be ransacked, Golan said. There is no camera footage from inside the house that shows what went on, he said.
The LAPD will look into how police responded to the initial burglary call last week to make sure it was handled appropriately, Golan said.
Kaye had been with “American Idol” since 2009, according to a spokesperson for the ABC television show.
(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Justice recommended that the former officer who was found guilty of violating Breonna Taylor’s civil rights during a botched Kentucky raid should receive one day of imprisonment in a sentencing memorandum filed Wednesday.
The Justice Department filing, which also recommended three years of supervised release, was signed only by department officials and none of the line prosecutors.
“This sets a dangerous precedent,” attorneys of Taylor’s family said in a statement on Thursday. “When a police officer is found guilty of violating someone’s constitutional rights, there must be real accountability and justice. Recommending just one day in prison sends the unmistakable message that white officers can violate the civil rights of Black Americans with near-total impunity.”
The sentencing for Hankison, which was scheduled to take place on Wednesday, has been delayed until July 21 after prosecutors asked for more time to file their sentencing memo. Hankison’s defense team did not object to the delay.
This comes after Hankison’s defense team filed a sentencing memorandum urging the judge for leniency, citing various factors.
In the sentencing memorandum, Hankison’s defense team argued, in part, that Taylor’s boyfriend first fired at police, which is what “provoked” the three officers, including Hankison, “to discharge their weapons.” They also argued that in prison Hankison could be “suspectable to abuse based on his status as a police officer” and the immense media coverage of this case.
The guilty verdict came in November, hours after the jury acquitted Hankison of a second count of violating the civil rights of three of Taylor’s neighbors, who lived in an adjacent apartment that was also struck by gunfire during the raid.
Taylor was fatally shot during the raid. The three officers fired dozens of rounds after her boyfriend fired one round at them, striking one of the officers.
Hankison fired 10 rounds through Taylor’s sliding glass door and window, which were covered with blinds and curtains, prosecutors said. Several of the rounds traveled into Taylor’s neighbor’s apartment, where three people were at the time. None of the 10 rounds hit anyone.
Prosecutors argued Hankison’s use of force was unjustified, put people in danger and violated the civil rights of Taylor and her three neighbors. The indictment alleged Hankison deprived Taylor of the right to be free from unreasonable seizures and deprived her neighbors of the right to be free from the deprivation of liberty without due process of law.
Hankison was initially set to be sentenced in April 2025, but the sentencing was delayed until June 2025 and then again until July 16 and now until July 21 after the judge partially granted the motion filed by prosecutors, who asked for a 14-day delay.
The Justice Department declined to comment beyond the filing. Hankison’s legal team didn’t immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
ABC News’ Alex Mallin, Meredith Deliso, Sabina Ghebremedhin, Jack Moore and Victoria Arancio contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — The nondissemination order in the University of Idaho murder case was lifted by Judge Steven Hippler on Thursday, but all documents in the case that have been sealed will remain sealed for now.
The order, also known as a gag order, banned police and prosecutors from speaking about the high-profile case that gripped the nation.
Hippler’s decision to end the gag order comes six days before admitted killer Bryan Kohberger’s sentencing.
Kohberger, who pleaded guilty to all counts at a July 2 change of plea hearing, will return to court for his sentencing on July 23.
As a part of the plea deal, the former criminology Ph.D. student will be sentenced to four consecutive life sentences on the four first-degree murder counts and the maximum penalty of 10 years on the burglary count.
At the July 2 hearing, Hippler asked Kohberger how he pleaded for each count of murder and named the four students: roommates Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle, and Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin. Kohberger quickly said “guilty” each time.
The college students were all stabbed to death at the girls’ off-campus house in the early hours of Nov. 13, 2022. Kohberger was arrested nearly seven weeks later.
