The booking photo for Seth “Andrea” Gregori, Feb. 24, 2025. (Corpus Christi Police Department)
(HOUSTON, TEXAS) — Authorities in Texas said on Monday that they have thwarted a “mass casualty attack” after arresting a suspect who allegedly made terroristic threats against police officers.
Seth “Andrea” Gregori was arrested on a terroristic threats warrant Monday morning, the Corpus Christi Police Department said.
“The Federal Bureau of Investigation was notified of Gregori making terroristic threats against Corpus Christi Police Department Officers,” the police department said in a statement. “The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the threats and secured an arrest warrant for Gregori.”
The 21-year-old suspect allegedly planned an attack on police “similar to the 2016 Dallas ambush,” the FBI’s Houston office said.
In the 2016 incident referenced by the FBI, five Dallas police officers were killed and seven injured in an ambush-style shooting.
The shooter, Micah Xavier Johnson, told a hostage negotiator that he wanted to kill white people, especially police officers, and expressed anger for Black Lives Matter, police said. The ex-U.S. Army reservist was killed by police when they detonated a bomb delivered by a robot.
The 21-year-old suspect allegedly planned an attack on police “similar to the 2016 Dallas ambush,” the FBI’s Houston office said.
In the 2016 incident referenced by the FBI, five Dallas police officers were killed and seven injured in an ambush-style shooting.
The shooter, Micah Xavier Johnson, told a hostage negotiator that he wanted to kill white people, especially police officers, and expressed anger for Black Lives Matter, police said. The ex-U.S. Army reservist was killed by police when they detonated a bomb delivered by a robot.
Police did not release any additional details on the case involving Gregori.
No charges have been filed yet in the case, the Nueces County District Attorney’s Office told ABC Corpus Christi affiliate KIII.
It is unclear if Gregori has an attorney at this time.
Deb Cohn-Orbach/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — New York City’s congestion pricing toll generated nearly $50 million in revenue in its first month, officials said Monday, as the Trump administration moves to kill the first-in-the-nation program.
From Jan. 5, the first day of the program, to Jan. 31, tolls from the congestion pricing program generated $48.66 million, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which manages the city’s subways as well as bridges and commuter rails.
The net revenue for that period was $37.5 million when taking into account expenses to run the program, the MTA said.
The program is on track to generate $500 million in net revenue by the end of this year, as initially projected, the MTA said.
“With an initial performance in line with projections, we can confidently move forward with projects that rely on funds from the Congestion Relief Zone,” MTA Chief Financial Officer Kevin Willens said in a statement. “We look forward to seeing similar results in the coming months.”
The update comes after the U.S. Department of Transportation last week said it pulled federal approval of the plan following a review requested by President Donald Trump.
The review found that the “scope of this pilot project as approved exceeds the authority authorized by Congress” under the Federal Highway Administration’s Value Pricing Pilot Program, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a letter to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday.
Trump celebrated the DOT’s move, saying on his social media platform Truth Social, “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!”
The MTA said it immediately challenged the Trump administration’s reversal in federal court. The MTA is seeking a declaratory judgment from the court that the DOT’s move is “not proper” and is not turning off the tolls under the program until there’s a court order, Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said Wednesday.
Duffy, who called the plan “unfair,” told CBS News on Wednesday that he’d be open to some form of congestion pricing while questioning the price of the NYC toll.
The congestion pricing plan charges passenger vehicles $9 to access Manhattan below 60th Street during peak hours as part of an effort to ease congestion and raise funds for the city’s public transit system. During peak hours, small trucks and charter buses are charged $14.40 and large trucks and tour buses pay $21.60.
According to the MTA’s findings, 68% of the $48.66 million in revenue generated in January came from passenger vehicles, 22% from taxis and for-hire vehicles, 9% from trucks and 1% from buses and motorcycles.
New York officials have touted the success of the program in easing traffic, with Hochul saying last week that congestion has “dropped dramatically” since the program went into effect last month.
(OXFORD, OHIO) — A fraternity at Miami University in Ohio has been suspended after a student complained of “inhumane” hazing, according to a hazing incident report obtained by ABC News.
According to the report, which was made by a member of another fraternity, an unnamed student was “coerced and forced into accepting a Bid at Sigma Alpha Epsilon,” after which he was allegedly “hazed for multiple days and was forced to cut communication with all others.”
The student was allegedly “required to ingest an entire can of chewing tobacco and then do a handstand.” He vomited as a result, and “was then told to eat the throw up,” though the report states he did not.
Students pledging the fraternity were also “forced to do wall sits while covered in baby oil” and forced to drink every time they slipped, the report states.
They were allegedly also forced to stay in a basement and not permitted to leave except for food and showers, it states.
In a message the alleged victim showed the reporting student, an active member allegedly threatened a pledge, saying he would hold a “12 gauge down his throat and watch his brain splatter.”
As a result of the alleged hazing, the unnamed student contacted the student who made the report and asked to join his fraternity instead, saying Sigma Alpha Epsilon “was not the right fit for him,” the report states.
“During this phone call I noticed that his voice sounded shaky and fearful,” it states.
Upon informing Sigma Alpha Epsilon he would be dropping out of the pledging process, members allegedly tried to convince him to stay, according to the report.
Members “said things such as ‘the first week is always the hardest’ ‘you’ll see why we do all the things we do’ ‘we all had to go through it’ ‘some of the guys haze just to haze,'” the report states.
Sigma Alpha Epsilon was suspended as a result of the hazing incident report, the student newspaper, The Miami Student, first reported.
A spokesperson for the university did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News but confirmed the suspension in a statement to local ABC affiliate WCPO.
“A Miami University Greek organization (Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity) is under investigation and its activities have been summarily suspended by the Office of Community Standards for allegations of hazing,” the statement said.
The fraternity chapter, as well as the national organization, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(NEW YORK) — Accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann is due back in court Tuesday when his attorney will attempt to convince a judge to invalidate certain DNA evidence that’s never been used in New York state courts.
Heuermann, who was arrested in July 2023, has pleaded not guilty to the murders of seven women whose remains were found discarded on Long Island between 1993 and 2011.
His attorneys have urged the judge to preclude evidence pertaining to nuclear DNA results obtained from hairs recovered from six victims: Maureen Brainard Barnes, Megan Waterman, Amber Costello, Sandra Costilla, Jessica Taylor and Valerie Mack.
The DNA match resulted from a technique known as whole genome sequencing, which hasn’t been subject to an admissibility hearing in any New York court.
Prosecutors consented to Tuesday’s hearing but have argued the defense motion to dismiss the evidence should be denied because the technique is “generally accepted in the scientific community” and is based on technology “relied upon in a wide variety of scientific and forensic settings.”
Defense attorney Michael Brown has said the California lab where the DNA testing was done is a for-profit business that is not accredited in New York.
Prosecutors have expressed confidence the DNA evidence would be admissible.
“For over thirty years, New York State courts have continuously adapted to embrace advancements in DNA technology,” assistant district attorney Andrew Lee said. “The advancement of forensic science and nuclear DNA analysis involving Whole Genome Sequencing has allowed law enforcement to now link genetic profiles consistent with the defendant, and/or individuals who have resided with him, to six of the seven victims through hairs found at the crime scene and/or on the victims. The People intend to introduce such evidence of defendant’s guilt at trial, which will aid the jury in its determination.”
In addition to DNA, prosecutors are also relying on evidence recovered on some of the 350 electronic devices seized from Heuermann that they’ve said include his “significant collection of violent, bondage and torture pornography” dating back to at least 1994. This online collection included images of mutilation and tying up women with ropes, two things prosecutors said are consistent with injuries inflicted on Mack and how she was bound.
(LONDON) — Dozens of officials in the U.S. Agency for International Development’s humanitarian aid bureau received termination notices over the weekend, despite prior assurances from Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the agency’s “core lifesaving medicine, medical services, food, shelter and substance assistance” would be preserved.
Beginning late Friday night, several now-former employees at the Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance received termination letters from personnel officers at USAID, according to copies of those letters obtained by ABC News.
BHA is the government’s lead federal agency for international emergency disaster relief, working closely with the military to provide humanitarian aid in the wake of earthquakes, typhoons, hurricanes and other global natural disasters.
Serena Simeoli, a Humanitarian Aid Adviser to the Military at BHA, told ABC News that she received a termination letter on Friday night, but that it was not addressed to her and did not include her name or contract number — so she remains “confused” about what to do.
Simeoli said her small team of some 60 employees had assisted during “sudden-onset disasters, complex emergencies,” including the earthquakes in Haiti and Syria, typhoons in the Philippines, hurricanes in the Caribbean, and the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.
Without BHA, “it is going to be very challenging” for the U.S. to play a meaningful role in global emergency relief, “and I think I’m a little scared to think how it might go without us,” Simeoli said.
“The work that we do it matters, and we won’t know how much it matters until we’re presented with another catastrophic disaster,” she warned.
“I’ve devoted so much of my life to this organization … I would work around the clock because I believed in what we were doing,” Simeoli said. “It’s pretty painful to see and to be a part of what’s been happening.”
Another former BHA official said some colleagues reported receiving multiple termination notices, including some during the overnight hours this weekend.
That official, a former Marine, said that during his tenure with USAID he had responded to some of the world’s most challenging natural disasters .
“It makes me seriously question why I dedicated my entire adult life to carrying water in the most dangerous places in the world for our government and its people,” said the person, who asked not to be identified out of fear of retaliation.
Rubio wrote in a late January memo that he would grant an emergency waiver to allow USAID’s humanitarian missions to continue — but noted that the “resumption is temporary in nature.”
A State Department representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
(NEW YORK) — A U.S. appeals court has upheld the conviction of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, who is serving more than 11 years in prison for defrauding investors with false claims about her company’s blood-testing technology.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld the fraud convictions, sentences and $452 million restitution order for Holmes and her second in command, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, who was sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Camilo Freedman/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(ATLANTA) — Delta passengers were forced to evacuated via slides at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Monday after haze or smoke was observed in the plane, according to the airline and the Federal Aviation Administration.
Delta Flight 876 was en route from Atlanta to Columbia, South Carolina, on Monday morning when “haze inside the aircraft was observed,” a Delta spokesperson said. The FAA said “the crew reported possible smoke in the flightdeck.”
The Boeing 717 aircraft — which had 94 passengers, two pilots and three flight attendants on board — returned to Atlanta and landed safely, according to Delta and the FAA.
Atlanta Fire Rescue helped passengers deplane, according to the airport.
“There is a moderate impact to operations at this time,” according to the airport.
“Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people, and we apologize to our customers for the experience,” a Delta spokesperson said.
An undated photo of 4-year-old Chosen Morris who died after accidentally shooting himself in Davenport, Florida. Davenport Police Department
(DAVENPORT, Fla.) — A 4-year-old boy named Chosen Morris has died after accidentally shooting himself in the head with a handgun he found in his parents’ car, according to authorities in Florida.
The “tragic accident” unfolded Friday evening as the Morris family prepared to go out for pizza, the Davenport Police Department said.
Chosen’s dad, Robert Morris, was in the bathroom getting ready and his mom, Quinta Morris, was on the computer in her bedroom, police said.
Quinta Morris said she heard a “pop” and assumed her children broke something, according to police. She went to the living room to talk to them, but only her 7-year-old and 11-year-old were there, police said.
Quinta Morris started looking for Chosen and noticed the door to the garage was open, police said. In the garage, she found Chosen in the driver’s seat of the car with a gunshot wound to his head, police said.
Chosen’s parents rushed him to the hospital where he died on Saturday afternoon, police said.
Authorities believe Chosen was excited about the outing and went to the car to wait for his family, and then found the handgun under the driver’s seat, police said. Robert Morris owns the Smith & Wesson M&P .40 caliber gun, police said.
“This is a tragic accident,” Davenport Police Chief Steve Parker said in a statement. “As a father and grandfather, I can’t imagine what Mr. and Mrs. Morris are going through right now. Our prayers are certainly with the Morris family as they endure this heartbreaking tragedy.”
“It is important that gun owners know where their firearms are at all times, and when not in possession of their firearm, ensure it is properly secured with some type of lock, whether it is a trigger lock or stored in a locked cabinet or box,” Parker told ABC News via email.
There were at least 411 unintentional shootings by children in 2023, marking the worst year on record since Everytown’s tracking started in 2015. There were at least 360 unintentional shootings by children last year, causing 136 fatalities, according to Everytown.
There have been at least 21 unintentional shootings so far this year, resulting in 11 deaths, Everytown said.
(WASHINGTON) — As the Trump administration continues to vet potential candidates for top posts within the Justice Department, a powerful White House intermediary has been pushing to hire candidates that exhibit what he called “exceptional loyalty” to Trump, and his efforts sparked clashes with Attorney General Pam Bondi’s top aide, Chad Mizelle, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
The White House intermediary, Paul Ingrassia, complained directly to Trump about Mizelle, the Justice Department’s chief of staff, and suggested to the president that Mizelle is hurting Trump’s political agenda, sources said. But Ingrassia has since been reassigned to work with the Department of Homeland Security, a White House official familiar with the matter told ABC News.
Trump was reelected in November after promising to rid the Justice Department of what he alleged was political bias tainting federal law enforcement. Bondi has echoed that rhetoric, issuing a directive within hours of taking office to establish a “Weaponization Working Group” that she said would review all of the “politicized” investigations previously targeting Trump.
According to Ingrassia’s LinkedIn page, he became “President Trump’s White House Liaison for DOJ” in January. In private, to White House colleagues, he described himself as Trump’s “eyes and ears” at the Justice Department, with significant authority to help interview and select candidates for senior and lower-level positions, sources said.
Soon after the White House announced Ingrassia’s appointment, Ingrassia began occupying an office on the fifth floor of the Justice Department, in an area typically reserved for the most senior staff in the attorney general’s office, according to sources.
But in the wake of Ingrassia’s growing clashes with Mizelle, Mizelle took steps to have Ingrassia removed from the Justice Department and assigned to another agency — a move that irritated some senior White House officials, sources said. Ingrassia complained to associates earlier this month that he had been locked out of his Justice Department devices, said sources.
He is now serving as a liaison to DHS, helping with staffing there, the White House official told ABC News. Ingrassia did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News, but another White House official said ABC News’ reporting on this matter is “riddled with falsehoods,” without indicating specifically what information they believe is false.
“Everyone is working as one unified team to staff the DOJ with patriots who are committed to Making America Safe Again,” White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement.
Infighting became almost commonplace during Trump’s first term, with one former Trump aide even titling his 2019 memoir about that administration, “Team of Vipers.”
Recently, Ingrassia told colleagues that finding candidates for Justice Department roles who are loyal to Trump is a top priority for him, and he privately claimed that even rank-and-file career prosecutors within the department are corrupt, sources told ABC News.
Ingrassia insisted to colleagues that anyone who worked under the Biden administration’s attorney general, Merrick Garland, or under attorney general Bill Barr during Trump’s first administration, should be presumed as unqualified to work for Trump’s new administration, sources said.
If taken literally and broadly, that could implicate nearly every current employee of the Justice Department.
Sources said Mizelle resisted Ingrassia’s hard-line approach, leading Ingrassia to accuse Mizelle of disrespecting him and improperly making unilateral personnel decisions, sources said.
Among the candidates that sources said Ingrassia has been trying to place within the Justice Department is attorney John Pierce, who represented many of the defendants who were pardoned or had their sentences commuted by Trump’s recent executive order related to the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol.
Ingrassia pushed for Pierce to take over the office within the Justice Department that helps the White House vet pardon requests, the sources said.
In his first several weeks as Justice Department’s chief of staff, Mizelle himself has played a public role in promoting the Trump administration’s agenda. When Bondi held her first press conference two weeks ago to announce a civil lawsuit against state leaders in New York for their immigration policies that she said value “illegal aliens over American citizens,” Mizelle stood on stage behind her and helped answer a question from a reporter.
On Friday, Mizelle filed a publicly-released complaint with the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, accusing a federal judge of “hostile and egregious misconduct” in his handling of a case challenging Trump’s recent efforts to limit or ban transgender service members. The judge has not yet responded to the complaint.
Ingrassia, before joining the Trump administration last month, led communications efforts for a nonprofit legal organization that promotes itself as “the answer to the useless and radically leftist American Civil Liberties Union,” and he was a writer for the right-wing website Gateway Pundit.
Trump was known to repost some of Ingrassia’s pro-Trump stories on social media, sources said.
Ingrassia graduated from Cornell Law School in May 2022, less than three years ago, according to his LinkedIn page. For several months in 2023, he worked as a law clerk and summer associate at the New York-based McBride Law Firm, which online promotes its work fighting “the Department of Justice’s malicious prosecution and horrific treatment of January 6th Detainees.”
Between 2021 and 2023, Ingrassia also worked for the law firm led by New York attorney Marc Kasowitz, who was previously a longtime personal attorney for Trump and represented him in the government’s investigations of alleged ties between Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and the Russian government.
In January, after becoming the White House liaison to the Justice Department, he wrote on social media that the Trump administration has “a mandate from the American people [to] rebuild trust and confidence in our justice system by realigning it with its Constitutional prerogative.”
“The era of WEAPONIZED JUSTICE ends TODAY,” he wrote. “GOD BLESS AMERICA AND MAGA.”
During her confirmation hearing, Bondi assured senators that she would “not politicize” her office.
“I will not target people simply because of their political affiliation. Justice will be administered evenhandedly throughout this country,” she vowed.
(NEW YORK) — A series of storm systems fueled by an atmospheric river brought flash flooding to the Pacific Northwest this weekend — and more rain is on the way.
The new system will bring more heavy rain, snow, gusty winds and the threat of avalanches to the Northwest and northern Rockies on Monday and Tuesday.
Damaging winds reaching 60 to 80 mph are possible from the Washington and Oregon coast all the way inland to Montana.
The Spokane area in eastern Washington was inundated with 3 to 6 inches of rain this weekend, washing out roads. Now, the additional heavy rain could cause flooding in western Washington and Oregon on Monday.
In the northern Rockies, a flood watch has been issued for Montana and Idaho due to the snow melt and rain.
In the highest elevations of the northern Rockies, an avalanche warning has been issued after the rain and snow caused the snowpack to become unstable.
These storms are also bringing huge waves up to 34 feet to the West Coast.
