Instagram personality charged with murder months after allegedly fatally stabbing boyfriend

Instagram personality charged with murder months after allegedly fatally stabbing boyfriend
Instagram personality charged with murder months after allegedly fatally stabbing boyfriend
Hawai’i Police Department

(LAUPAHOEHOE, Hi.) — Social media personality Courtney Clenney has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder with a deadly weapon, months after the death of her 27-year-old boyfriend Christian Obumseli.

The 26-year-old, who goes under the name Courtney Tailor on Instagram, was arrested in Laupahoehoe, Hawaii, Wednesday after Miami-Dade County prosecutors issued a warrant for her arrest in the April 3 stabbing, police said.

Miami-Dade County’s chief medical examiner determined Obumseli’s cause of death was a stab to the chest with a knife, which punctured his subclavian artery, Katherine Rundle, the Miami-Dade state attorney, said at a press conference Thursday.

The stab wound was the result of a forceful downward thrust, just over 3 inches into the artery, Rundle said.

Rundle alleged Obumseli and Clenney were involved in an “extremely tempestuous combative” relationship since November 2020.

“It was learned that the security and building staff at the Miami apartment documented many incidents of loud arguments between the couple after they moved into the building in January 2022. Tenants as far as an apartment two floors above were making complaints to security and building management about the noises and the ruckus,” Rundle said.

Building management was going to evict the couple due to the many complaints, Rundle said.

Rundle said tenants called the building manager the day of the stabbing to report a disturbance. The manager then called 911. Eleven minutes later, Clenney called 911, notifying them that Obumseli was stabbed and needed help, Rundle said.

Obumseli can be heard on the 911 call repeatedly saying that he was dying and he was losing feeling in his arm, according to Rundle. Clenney is heard saying, “I’m so sorry, baby,” Rundle said.

According to Rundle, Clenney told police that Obumseli shoved her against the wall by the neck but he did not choke her and then claimed he threw her to the ground but allowed her to get up. Rundle added that Clenney moved to the kitchen and grabbed a knife. As he approached her, Clenney alleged that she threw the knife from a distance of about 10 feet, Rundle said.

The medical examiner said throwing the knife from that distance would not have caused the fatal stab wound, according to Rundle.

Clenney has alleged the stabbing was in self-defense but police said they observed no injuries on Clenney that would have corroborated her account. Clenney also allegedly provided several inconsistent accounts about the incident itself and never stated that Obumseli was armed with any type of weapon, Rundle said.

Clenney’s attorney, Frank Prieto, has also claimed the fatal April 3 stabbing was self-defense, saying Clenney’s allegatio. aligned with evidence found at the scene, he said in an NewsNation interview posted on his website.

Miami Police Chief Chief Manny Morales alleged that Clenney lied about being thrown to the ground the day of the stabbing, he told reporters.

Clenney is being held at the Hawai’i Police Department’s East Hawai’i Detention Center pending her initial court appearance. Rundle said Thursday that Clenney has not yet appeared in court.

Clenney will be given the option to waive or contest extradition when she appears in court. Clenney’s attorney has told officials she intends to waive extradition, which would allow officials to facilitate her return to Florida, Rundle said.

Clenney was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service with assistance from members of the Hawaii Police Department, Hawaii police said in a press release.

Rundle also showed elevator footage of the couple dated Feb. 21 in which Clenney appears to physically attack Obumseli repeatedly. Rundle said the evidence suggested Clenney was being violent toward Obumseli.

Police had also responded to arguments at the apartment on April 1, two days before the stabbing, Rundle said.

Prieto said Clenney was placed under a mental health hold on the night of the stabbing and she was “completely distraught” in the interview. Prieto said Clenney was released to her family within 48 hours. Prieto did not immediately respond to ABC News’ requests for comment.

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Watchdog felt it faced delays monitoring DHS, Secret Service texts — but never sent notice to Congress

Watchdog felt it faced delays monitoring DHS, Secret Service texts — but never sent notice to Congress
Watchdog felt it faced delays monitoring DHS, Secret Service texts — but never sent notice to Congress
Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images, FILE

(WASHINGTON) — Career staff at the government’s watchdog for the Department of Homeland Security prepared a notice to Congress earlier this year about their difficulty obtaining Secret Service text messages connected to Jan. 6, but it was never included as part of the watchdog’s regular reporting requirement to lawmakers.

New documents reviewed by ABC News, and first obtained by the independent accountability group Project on Government Oversight, show the DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG)’s legal office went so far as approving a draft notice to Congress that was ultimately not included in the agency’s semi-annual report in June.

It’s unclear why the notice was not in the report. But the draft document details what the OIG said were “avoidable” roadblocks imposed on its work by DHS.

According to the notice, the DHS used a cumbersome approval process to release requested records to the OIG, which was “requiring [the office] to waste valuable time making inquiries.” And after delays of more than a month in some cases, documents would arrive with unexplained redactions.

Amid those described delays, according to the notice, the OIG said it was on Feb. 23 when the Secret Service notified the watchdog’s staff of the mobile phone data migration process in early 2021 “which wiped all data” — including the Jan. 6-related texts.

This contradicts another timeline: The watchdog’s office was aware as early as December that Secret Service texts from Jan. 6 had been erased, according to congressional committee members who received a Secret Service briefing on the subject last month.

It wasn’t until more than six months after the OIG allegedly knew about the deletions that it formally notified lawmakers, on July 13, according to Congress.

As ABC News previously reported, Democrats in Congress released new evidence last week alleging that nearly a year before notifying Congress, Inspector General Joseph Cuffari had abandoned his efforts to recover the Secret Service’s text messages from Jan. 6.

Democrats have called on Cuffari to step down, suggesting a cover-up related to the text message probe.

Sen. Gary Peters, Democratic chair of the Homeland Security Committee, on Wednesday requested a “full accounting” from Cuffari about the efforts to recover messages from the Secret Service and other DHS officials.

“These are serious allegations and diverge from the information that you previously provided me and my team,” Peters wrote.

“Therefore, I am requesting that you provide me with a complete accounting of actions planned and taken by your office and clarify the inconsistencies in what has been reported to date,” he wrote.

The DHS Office of Inspector General did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

Regarding the government watchdog’s Jan. 6 investigation more generally, their June report had noted “significant delays” with Secret Service records production.

“We continue to discuss this issue with Secret Service,” the brief statement said then.

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Dallas salon shooting suspect indicted on hate crime charge for allegedly shooting 3 Korean women

Dallas salon shooting suspect indicted on hate crime charge for allegedly shooting 3 Korean women
Dallas salon shooting suspect indicted on hate crime charge for allegedly shooting 3 Korean women
Jason Marz/Getty Images

(DALLAS) — A man accused of shooting three Asian American women at a Dallas hair salon in May was indicted Tuesday on multiple counts, including committing a hate crime and aggravated assault, the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office announced.

Jeremy Smith, 37, is charged with seven counts of aggravated assault, each with a hate-crime enhancement and punishable by five years to life in prison. He was arrested by Dallas police on May 16 and remains in the county jail with bail set at $700,000.

After Smith entered the Koreatown establishment on May 11, he allegedly fired 13 shots from a .22-caliber rifle, injuring three women — the salon owner, an employee and a customer — and endangering four others. The three women, who are all Korean, suffered nonfatal injuries and were transported to a local hospital after the shooting, police said.

Smith allegedly targeted the victims because of “his bias or prejudice against Asian Americans,” according to the announcement.

Smith’s girlfriend told police detectives he had been paranoid about Asian Americans since being involved in a car crash two years ago with an Asian man, according to a police affidavit.

Whenever Smith is around an Asian American person, he begins having delusions that “the Asian mob is after him or attempting to harm him” and was fired for “verbally attacking” his Asian boss, his girlfriend said, according to the police affidavit.

According to the affidavit, she told police Smith experienced panic attacks because of his delusions and was even admitted to several mental health facilities.

Texas federal prosecutors, the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice’s civil rights division partnered for a federal hate crime investigation into Smith.

Over recent years, the country has seen a sharp increase in anti-Asian violence. Many attacks have been captured in viral videos, intensifying fear and anger among Asian Americans.

Last year, a gunman killed six women of Asian descent at a shooting at massage businesses in and near Atlanta. Earlier this month, a West Texas man was sentenced to 25 years in prison for attacking an Asian family outside a Midland, Texas, department store in 2020. The man assumed they were Chinese and therefore responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an FBI analysis on increasing hate crimes.

Last May, President Joe Biden signed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act into law, which designates a Justice Department official to focus on reviewing incidents and provides grants to police departments so they can establish hotlines for hate crime reporting.

However, the law has also drawn rebuke for increasing policing and bolstering a carceral system some say is demonstrably ineffective at preventing crime and discriminatory, particularly toward Black Americans.

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Marine major and his interpreter find brotherhood amid war in Afghanistan

Marine major and his interpreter find brotherhood amid war in Afghanistan
Marine major and his interpreter find brotherhood amid war in Afghanistan
ABC

(WASHINGTON) — A year ago, America ended its longest war and withdrew troops from Afghanistan. After occupying the country for two decades, the withdrawal immediately led to a dangerous situation for any U.S. allies still left in the country, who risked retribution from the Taliban.

During the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, the bond between two men from opposite worlds proved to be unshakeable and led to the rescue of a desperate family. They are now sharing their experiences in a dual memoir, “Always Faithful.”

After several failed attempts to leave, interpreter Zainullah Zaki, known as Zak, who had worked for the U.S. military for several years in Afghanistan, his wife and their four small children were able to leave Afghanistan safely – with the aid of Marine Corps Maj. Thomas Schueman, who helped from the other side of the world.

Schueman left Afghanistan in 2013, Zak remained in Afghanistan. As the Taliban took over Afghanistan’s capital, Schueman said he immediately thought of his friend and began to make calls, texts and social media posts to try to find someone who could help.

Meanwhile, Zak spent days in Kabul working to get the proper documents he needed for himself and his family to come to the United States, as Schueman worked from the United States to devise a strategy to get Zak out of the country, ABC News reported in August 2021.

Finally, Schueman said he found someone at the Kabul International Airport to look for Zak’s family and secure spots for them on a plane to Qatar.

Schueman and Zak first met in Helmand Province in 2010. Schueman said that Zak quickly became “family.”

“It quickly became apparent that Zak was there to do so much more than simply translate our words; that he was there to fight alongside us,” said Schueman. “He became one of the members of my platoon, and he was almost immediately family to us.”

Chaos ensued in August 2021, when the U.S. began withdrawing the troops left in Afghanistan after spending nearly two decades in the country.

Zak recalled the onset of the war in 2001 and the first time he saw American soldiers arrive in his country.

“When the Americans came, they were working [to build] Afghanistan. They work for our bright future,” said Zak. “I decided to go and join the U.S. Army and work together, side by side with them.”

Although he was able to help Zak, Schueman said his work is far from over. He is continuing to advocate and push lawmakers to help other U.S. allies safely evacuate.

“I do believe that many people have very good intentions to support our allies,” said Schueman. “It just seems that the red tape to honor some of these promises that we made to the allies sometimes seem nearly insurmountable.”

Schueman said that the two hope that their story can help draw attention to people like Zak and their experiences during the war.

“I think it’s important to have that dual narrative perspective where you don’t have an American telling what Afghanistan is like,” said Schueman. “You have someone who was born there and raised there. Telling us about their culture, about their religion, about their history. And so I think that’s imperative in this type of story.”

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Standoff ends after armed man allegedly tried to break into Cincinnati FBI office

Standoff ends after armed man allegedly tried to break into Cincinnati FBI office
Standoff ends after armed man allegedly tried to break into Cincinnati FBI office
Douglas Sacha/Getty Images

(CINCINNATI) — An hourslong standoff between law enforcement and an armed man who allegedly tried to break into the FBI’s Cincinnati office has ended, officials said.

The status of the suspect was not immediately clear.

Ohio State Highway Patrol started pursuing the suspect shortly after 9:30 a.m. after he allegedly fled from the field office.

Troopers followed the suspect, who was driving a white Ford Crown Victoria, to Clinton County, where shots were fired, according to officials.

The suspect, who officials said was armed with a rifle and wearing body armor, had been contained in a cornfield off Interstate 71 near Wilmington, according to Clinton County Emergency Management. The suspect appeared to have a gunshot wound to his leg but was mobile, according to a law enforcement source.

The suspect was allegedly armed with an AR15-style rifle and also brandished a nail gun during the alleged break-in attempt at the FBI field office in Cincinnati, according to multiple law enforcement sources.

Clinton County Emergency Management alerted around 4:30 p.m. that the law enforcement response “has ended.”

A lockdown was in effect within a 1-mile radius of the standoff scene. People were instructed to lock doors and stay inside.

The man led police on a chase along Interstate 71 before exiting near Wilmington. Ohio State Highway Patrol said shots were fired from the suspect’s vehicle before it exited and, once it pulled off the interstate, gunshots were exchanged between the suspect and police.

No officers have been injured, police said.

It remains unclear why the man allegedly tried to break into the FBI office but it comes amid a series of threats following the FBI’s court-authorized search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida residence.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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Polio vaccine boosters offered to kids in London as virus linked to New York case detected

Polio vaccine boosters offered to kids in London as virus linked to New York case detected
Polio vaccine boosters offered to kids in London as virus linked to New York case detected
KoldoyChris/Getty Images

(LONDON) — Children in London are being offered polio vaccine boosters after sewage samples with the virus were found in multiple areas across the city.

The U.K. Health Security Agency announced Wednesday that all children between ages 1 and 9 across the British capital will be eligible to receive an inactivated polio vaccine booster.

“This will ensure a high level of protection from paralysis and help reduce further spread of the virus,” the agency said in a statement.

“While the majority of Londoners are protected from polio, the [National Health Service] will shortly be contacting parents of eligible children aged 1 to 9 years old to offer them a top-up dose to ensure they have maximum protection from the virus,” Jane Clegg, chief nurse for the NHS in London, added.

There are more than 1 million children between those ages who live in London as of mid-2020, the latest year for which data is available, according to the U.K. Office of National Statistics.

Between February 8 and July 5 of this year, poliovirus has been detected in 19 sewage samples across nine boroughs including at Beckton Sewage Treatment Works in London, which is the largest sewage treatment plant in the U.K.

Recently, a report indicated a polio case in New York was genetically linked to the samples found in the U.K.

Polio vaccines are part of routine immunizations for children. In the U.S., vaccinated children are not recommended to get a booster shot at this time.

According to the UKHSA, the booster program will begin in the areas where the virus has been detected and where vaccination rates are lowest before being rolled out across the city.

“The NHS in London will contact parents when it’s their child’s turn to come forward for a booster or catch-up polio dose — parents should take up the offer as soon as possible,” the agency’s statement read.

 

On July 21, health officials reported a case of polio was discovered in Rockland County in New York — just north of New York City — in a 20-year-old unvaccinated man.

The man contracted vaccine-derived polio, which means he was infected by someone who received the oral polio vaccine, which is no longer used in the U.S. or the U.K.

The oral vaccine uses a live weakened virus, which — in rare cases — can spread through fecal matter and infect unvaccinated individuals. Comparatively, the injectable polio vaccine, uses an inactivated virus.

As of Aug. 5, 11 samples were genetically linked to the Rockland County patient including six samples collected in June and July from Rockland County and five samples collected in July from nearby Orange County, health department data shows.

However, health officials have said the majority of the population is not at risk for polio because most were vaccinated as part of their regular childhood immunizations, but that it’s important for those who are unvaccinated to get their shots.

The New York State Health Department told ABC News its focus would be on ensuring immunizations.

“Our current focus is to ensure unvaccinated New Yorkers and children get immunized against polio and that they are up to date with their polio immunization schedule,” the department said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is the organization in the U.S. that makes vaccine recommendations, but has not suggested any such move to add a fifth dose of polio vaccine to the current vaccine schedule underway.

The CDC did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

The agency recently told ABC News the U.S. health agency is deploying a team to New York to investigate the case in Rockland County. The team will also administer vaccines in the county.

“These efforts include ongoing testing of wastewater samples to monitor for poliovirus and deploying a small team to New York to assist on the ground with the investigation and vaccination efforts,” the agency said in a statement.

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Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks about FBI raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago

Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks about FBI raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago
Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks about FBI raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday afternoon spoke for the first time since FBI agents raided former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida.

Citing “the substantial public interest in this matter,” Garland said the government had filed a motion to unseal the warrant authorizing Monday’s search, which Trump has sharply criticized as a partisan attack.

The FBI operation was in relation to documents that Trump took with him when he departed Washington, including some records the National Archives said were marked classified, sources previously told ABC News.

Garland said Thursday that Trump’s attorney had been provided on Monday with a copy of both the warrant and a list of what was taken from Mar-a-Lago by the agents.

Garland did not discuss any specifics of law enforcement’s work.

“Faithful adherence to the rule of law is the bedrock principle of the Justice Department and of our democracy. Upholding the rule of law means applying the law evenly without fear or favor,” he said. “Under my watch, that is precisely what the Justice Department is doing.”

He said he “personally approved” the unprecedented decision to seek such a search warrant against a former president but stressed that “the department does not take such a decision lightly.”

“Where possible, it is standard practice to seek less intrusive means as an alternative to a search and to narrowly scope any search,” Garland said.

He acknowledged there was still much he could not say — given longstanding department policy not to comment on ongoing investigations that may unduly harm those caught in law enforcement’s wake before charges, if ever, are brought.

The search of Trump’s home marked a significant development in one of several legal issues that Trump faces. (He denies wrongdoing in each.)

“All Americans are rightly entitled to the even-handed application of the law, to due process of the law and to the presumption of innocence,” he said. “Much of our work is by necessity conducted out of the public eye. We do that to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans and to protect the integrity of our investigations.”

Finally, he said, he wanted to “address recent unfounded attacks on the professionalism of the FBI and Justice Department agents and prosecutors.”

The search of Mar-a-Lago drew a resounding chorus of criticism from Republicans and some others over what the detractors said was a lack of clarity about why such a move was necessary.

“The American people want transparency when you are raiding the home of a former president,” Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said Wednesday. “The FBI is raiding the home of a former president. The American people deserve to know why.”

Speaking at a separate event Wednesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray said of the search, “I’m sure you can appreciate that’s not something I can talk about.”

As Trump has many times before, he and his allies have cast the investigation as a partisan sham. Trump said it was “not necessary or appropriate”; he has not released any information about the court-authorized search warrant, which he would have been provided.

The men and women of the FBI and the Justice Department are dedicated patriotic public servants, every day,” Garland said Thursday, noting that he would “not stand by silently when their integrity is unfairly attacked.”

“They protect the American people from violent crime, terrorism and other threats to their safety while safeguarding our civil rights,” Garland said. “They do so at great personal sacrifice and risk to themselves. I am honored to work alongside them.”

“This is all I can say right now,” Garland concluded, rebuffing questions from journalists in the room. “More information will be made available in the appropriate way and have the appropriate time.”

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Foul fumes in South Jersey have been contained and identified, officials say

Foul fumes in South Jersey have been contained and identified, officials say
Foul fumes in South Jersey have been contained and identified, officials say
WPVI

(PAULSBORO, N.J.) — Officials have cracked the code on what was stinking up southern New Jersey this week, after authorities removed a truck that was releasing chemical fumes on Thursday morning.

According to New Jersey officials, the foul smell has been reported across several counties before being identified on Wednesday.

A tanker truck at a truck stop was releasing a chemical that caused the stench around Paulsboro, Gloucester County, officials said.

Gloucester County Emergency Management issued a shelter-in-place around 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday for East Greenwich, Paulsboro, Gibbstown and areas across the Delaware River after the fumes worsened. The issue was lifted approximately two hours later.

“It’s doing exactly what it should do. When the temperature rises to a certain level, the vessel itself will actually expel fumes. So it’s built to do that,” East Greenwich Township Police Chief Matthew Brenner said on Wednesday. “There’s no leak per se.”

The smell, which affected the noses of numerous South Jersey residents, led to several 911 calls to emergency crews around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. Soon after, authorities tracked down the reeking vehicle at the TA Truck Service Area on the 100 block of Berkley Road in Paulsboro off I-295 where it was releasing fumes from its rear tanker.

According to officials, complaints came from neighboring counties as far as Buena Vista Township, Atlantic County.

However, the truck wasn’t actually removed until Thursday morning.

The East Greenwich Township Police Department said the tanker is expelling fumes from a fuel additive chemical called Lubrizol 1395 (Zinc Alkyldithiophosphate).

The chemical can cause health hazards such as possible skin irritation and eye damage, according to its safety data sheet. However, its data doesn’t say the level of its toxicity if inhaled.

Hazmat crews monitored and tested the air quality around the scene and officials confirmed there is no risk to the public, despite the uncomfortable odor.

To remove the truck, officials evacuated the surrounding area within 200 feet of the tanker, as officials said the chemical is combustible under the right conditions. Officials said that there is little risk to the public, however, especially as the truck is now removed.

No injuries have been reported due to the chemicals released.

A representative from Lubrizol told ABC News Philadelphia station WPVI they are aware of the situation and investigating but have no further comment.

The Gloucester County Office of Emergency Management will be opening a call center for residents with questions or concerns. The call center phone number is 856-384-6800. It will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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Donald Trump received subpoena in spring for documents not turned over to investigators: Sources

Donald Trump received subpoena in spring for documents not turned over to investigators: Sources
Donald Trump received subpoena in spring for documents not turned over to investigators: Sources
SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump received a subpoena in the spring for documents related to what Trump is believed to have failed to turn over to federal investigators, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.

It is not immediately clear what specifically the subpoena was seeking and whether Trump provided any documents in response to the subpoena, the sources said.

The subpoena came in the spring and played a role in a visit by federal investigators in June, the sources said.

CNN and The New York Times were first to report the information about the subpoena.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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One killed, three hurt in shooting outside 24 Hour Fitness: Brentwood police

One killed, three hurt in shooting outside 24 Hour Fitness: Brentwood police
One killed, three hurt in shooting outside 24 Hour Fitness: Brentwood police
Joe Raedle/Getty Images, FILE

(BRENTWOOD, Calif.) — One person was killed and three others were injured in a shooting that stemmed from an altercation at a Northern California gym, police said.

The three people hurt self-transported to hospitals and are expected to survive, Brentwood police told ABC News.

The gunshots rang out just before 2 a.m. outside a 24 Hour Fitness in Brentwood, which is about 55 miles east of San Francisco.

The “altercation” began inside the gym, on or near basketball courts, and carried out into the gym’s front parking lot where it “escalated,” police said.

At least two people pulled out guns and fired multiple shots, police said, citing surveillance video.

One of the four people shot, a man in his 20s, died at the scene, police said.

No motive is known, according to police, who called it an isolated incident.

One suspect has been detained but no arrests have been made, police said.

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