Justin Sholly seen in this undated police handout. (Montgomery County District Attorney)
(SOUDERTON, Pa.) — A volunteer firefighter has been arrested for allegedly setting fires and then responding to them with his fire department, according to officials in eastern Pennsylvania.
Justin Sholly, a 29-year-old member of the Perseverance Volunteer Fire Company in Souderton, was arrested on Sunday on charges including arson, according to court documents.
The first fire was Friday morning, when the Perseverance Volunteer Fire Company and other agencies responded to a fire at a detached garage/barn, according to the criminal complaint. The blaze was about 50 feet behind a home that had 10 people inside, the complaint said.
Hours later, the Perseverance Volunteer Fire Company responded to a trash fire, the complaint said.
Then early Saturday morning, crews responded to a property where there were multiple fires coming from a barn, a shed, an outhouse, three cars and a gazebo, according to the complaint. The fires were near a home with eight people inside, the document said.
Investigators used license plate reader databases to zero in on Sholly as a suspect, according to the criminal complaint.
Sholly admitted to setting all three fires, according to the court documents. After two of the blazes, Sholly went to his fire department and then responded back to the fire scenes with the other firefighters, documents said.
Sholly said one of the fires was near property he believed belonged to an employer who fired him in 2015, the complaint said.
The Perseverance Volunteer Fire Company said Sholly has been suspended from the department “with intent to remove upon future outcomes.”
“The actions described in the criminal charges stand in complete opposition to the core values, mission, and dedication of our company,” the fire department said in a statement on Tuesday.
Yellow police tape says “police line do not cross” is set against blurry background. (Sheila Paras/Getty Images)
(BAKERSFIELD, Calif) — All hostages have been released, and a suspect is confirmed dead on Wednesday after an hours-long standoff at a bank in California, sources told ABC News.
The standoff began after a reported bomb threat at a bank in California. Two hostages were first released after hours of ongoing negotiations with a suspect, according to authorities.
The bomb threat was reported at a Chase Bank building in downtown Bakersfield around 1 p.m. local time Tuesday, police said.
An unidentified man entered the bank and was “barricaded” with an unknown number of people inside, Bakersfield Police Department Sgt. Eric Celedon told reporters earlier.
“We remain on scene at the Chase Bank building and have negotiated the release of a second hostage,” Bakersfield police said in an update on social media, shortly after 9 p.m. local time. “There are currently no injuries reported.”
Crisis negotiators were in contact with the individual over the phone, according to police. Celedon said authorities have not confirmed if there is a bomb.
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security are assisting, and other resources are coming in from throughout the state, police said.
Several buildings in the surrounding area were evacuated, police said. The Chase Bank is located at Chester Avenue and 17th Street.
“This is a very active scene,” Celedon said Tuesday while urging people to avoid the area.
“Every single resource is at this site’s disposal — SWAT team, bomb squad, K9 team, gang unit, negotiators, drone team — every single asset we have to bring this to the safest conclusion is out here right now.”
Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche testifies during a House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on June 02, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department’s number three-ranked official suggested overnight in a since deleted post that the Trump administration would be moving forward with an alternative plan to compensate victims of claimed Biden-era “weaponization.”
The post came just hours after the acting attorney general committed to Congress that DOJ was scrapping plans for a so-called “Anti-Weaponization Fund.”
The fund was created in exchange for Trump agreeing to drop his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS as well as two civil claims related to the Russia collusion investigation he faced during his first term in office and the 2022 search of his Mar-a-Lago estate.
Stanley Woodward, the associate attorney general who signed off on the president’s controversial settlement, responded approvingly to a suggestion pushed by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on X Tuesday that victims of so-called Biden-era “weaponization” could still be compensated through claims under the requests under the Federal Torts Claims Act.
“We’re on it.” Woodward posted at 10:45 p.m. Tuesday evening in response to Graham’s post. Woodward’s post was deleted Wednesday morning, and a DOJ spokesperson has not responded to ABC’s request for comment as to why it’s no longer on his X account.
The post comes just hours after acting AG Todd Blanche told House lawmakers that the administration was permanently scrapping plans for its “Anti-Weaponization Fund.”
Blanche, however, under pressure from Democrats did not commit to putting the department’s position into writing.
Democrats could seek to seize on Woodward’s post as evidence the administration is seeking an alternate way to pay Jan 6 rioters.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass looks on as she greets customers at Pann’s Restaurant on June 01, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. With one day to go before the California primary, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass continues to campaign across the city. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
(LOS ANGELES) — Votes are being counted in the closely watched primary election to determine Los Angeles’ next mayor.
Voters in the nation’s second-largest city had their choice of 14 candidates to choose from in a race that included incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, reality TV personality Spencer Pratt and city Councilwoman Nithya Raman.
ABC News projects that Bass will advance to a runoff, though it is currently unclear which candidate she will face in the runoff election.
During the campaign, candidates running for the top office in Los Angeles focused on a variety of issues afflicting the Southern California metropolis, including recovery from the devastating 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, homelessness, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and more.
While the primary is nonpartisan, Bass has served Congress as a Democrat, Raman is a self-described Democrat, and Pratt is a registered Republican.
Here is a rundown of the candidates, the issues and how the election will function.
The candidates
While 14 candidates are running for office, three front-runners have emerged in polls: Bass, Pratt and Raman met in the only televised debate of the race on May 6.
Bass, a Los Angeles native, entered politics in 2004 after a career in medicine as a physician assistant. The mayor served in the California State Assembly, rising to the speaker of the assembly before running for Congress in 2010.
She served six terms in the House as a Democrat before becoming the first woman and second African American mayor of Los Angeles in 2022.
Raman, running as a progressive, launched her campaign earlier this year, just before the deadline, and has been a member of the city council since 2020.
Raman, who holds degrees from both Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, describes herself as an “urban planner” on her website.
Pratt, who has generated headlines since announcing his candidacy earlier this year, is running as an outsider in the field. Pratt rose to fame in his 20s serving as a villain archetype on the hit reality TV show “The Hills.”
The former reality star has said his political ambitions were fueled by his association with the Palisades wildfire, which claimed his home.
The issues
No topic has been more prominent in the mayoral campaign than the Los Angeles fire response and recovery. When fires ravaged the region in early 2025, more than 10,000 structures were destroyed as more than 30,000 acres of the city burned.
Pratt has been the most outspoken critic of the city’s response. Bass has defended her actions while also admitting the city must learn from the fire. Raman has also criticized the “dysfunctional” response to the fires.
Homelessness, another key issue candidates have focused on down the stretch, was hotly debated on the debate stage last month. Bass has cited what she says are inroads on the issue, saying L.A. had seen a decrease in homelessness under her administration.
Raman’s campaign has stressed the importance of bringing unhoused people indoors, while Pratt has focused on what he sees as the core cause of homelessness: drug addiction.
The candidates also have different stances on what the city’s approach to ICE should be. Last year, ICE raids became a flashpoint for widespread protests across the city.
As mayor, Bass has pushed back on ICE’s presence in Los Angeles, saying in a press release in March, “Los Angeles will not stand for ICE’s fear, intimidation and unlawful targeting.”
Raman’s plan to address ICE in Los Angeles includes appointing a police chief “committed to protecting immigrants” and ensuring the Los Angeles Police Department “does not coordinate with federal immigration enforcement,” according to her website.
Pratt recently told ABC News the future mayor would not be able to work with ICE because of California’s sanctuary law status, adding, “I’m going to make the streets so safe the federal government is not going to need to come to L.A., because they’re going to be like ‘Wow this mayor has these streets safe and clean.'”
Other hot topics at play in the primary is the revival of Hollywood, LAPD funding, affordable housing and more.
How the primary works
According to the city of Los Angeles election code, the Los Angeles mayoral primary can result in either an outright winner or a runoff, depending on final vote tallies.
A candidate will be determined the winner if they receive a majority of votes in the primary. In the case that does not happen, the top two vote-getters will advance to a runoff in the general election in November.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy April 23, 2026. (Photo by Byron Smith/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Ukrainian drones hit one of Russia’s largest oil terminals in St. Petersburg overnight into Wednesday morning, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, sending plumes of black smoke towering over the city as the landmark St. Petersburg International Economic Forum prepared to open.
Zelenskyy said Ukrainian long-range drones struck targets including the Petersburg Oil Terminal overnight — just under 700 miles from Ukrainian territory.
The latest round of “long-range sanctions,” as officials in Kyiv refer to Ukrainian drone strikes inside Russia, “yielded good results. Important facilities on Russian territory were hit last night,” Zelenskyy said in a post to Telegram.
St. Petersburg is known as Russia’s “second capital,” and is a regular target of Ukrainian drone attacks given its political and economic significance, plus its role as a key export hub for Russian oil.
Video from the city showed attendees of the International Economic Forum arriving at the venue with clouds of black smoke hanging over the city.
St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov said in a post to Telegram that “infrastructure facilities in the Kronstadt, Kirovsky and Krasnoselsky districts were attacked” by Ukrainian drones.
“Several facilities were damaged. Currently, efforts are underway to mitigate the consequences. Several people were injured. There were no fatalities. An operational headquarters is in operation. Forces and resources have been put on high alert,” Beglov wrote.
Conceived of as Russia’s version of Davos, the annual International Economic Forum gathers Russia’s political and business elite in St. Petersburg. Prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the event also hosted many international leaders.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to deliver his keynote speech to the event on Friday.
Robert Mims Cook — the head of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, who is overseeing President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project and his planned triumphal arch in Washington — is set to attend the forum, which would make him the first American official to do so since 2022.
High profile radical conservative influencer Candace Owens has also been invited to speak at the forum, while the pro-Trump right-wing influencers Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan are also in Russia.
Russia’s federal air transport agency, Rosaviatsiya, said in a post to Telegram that temporary flight restrictions were introduced at St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport during the overnight attacks.
Temporary restrictions were also imposed on airports in the Russian cities of Saratov, Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod and Pskov, Rosaviatsiya said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a post to Telegram that its air defenses shot down at least 354 Ukrainian drones overnight into Wednesday morning.
Elsewhere, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said the capital also came under Ukrainian attack. The mayor said in posts to Telegram that air defenses intercepted at least 22 Ukrainian drones heading toward the capital on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
Steps to the United States Supreme Court, Washington DC, America. (joe daniel price/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Supreme Court has cleared the way for Alabama Republicans to use a contested 2023 congressional map that a lower court last week called “intentional race-based discrimination” in violation of the Voting Rights Act and the Constitution.
The move is a significant win for the GOP, allowing the state to eliminate one of two majority-Black districts occupied by Democrats, even as election experts and state administrators have warned of major confusion for voters with the late change.
Civil rights groups lamented the decision as a stark example of the impact of the court’s historic April decision in Louisiana v. Callais which rolled back longstanding voting rights protections for minority voters.
In an unsigned opinion Tuesday, the court’s conservative majority said the unanimous three-judge panel — which included two Trump appointee — in the Alabama dispute failed to apply “updated” standards the justices issued in the Callais decision for proving a political process is not equally open for minority voters.
The court said the panel “did not heed the presumption of legislative good faith” by concluding state lawmakers had “discriminatory animus.”
The court’s decision concluded that the judges also erred in blocking the 2023 map even though the minority voters challenging it could not provide an alternative map that offered the same political advantages sought by Republicans.
Alabama Republican Gov. Kay Ivey praised the decision, and her office confirmed the state would hold a special primary using the new maps with redrawn districts on Aug. 11.
“The U.S. Supreme Court confirmed what I have said all along and that is that Alabama knows our state, our people and our districts best,” Ivey said in a statement. “Today’s decision is a win for the people of Alabama and our elections.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in a lengthy dissent joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, accused her colleagues of “unleashing chaos” and “confus[ing] voters.”
The map change will require state officials to change the voter registrations of hundreds of thousands of voters in a matter of days and educate them on where to cast new ballots.
“Just as Alabama doubled down on racial discrimination, the Court today doubles down on chaos,” Sotomayor wrote. “Because I choose to defend the rule of law and the right of all Alabamians to participate equally in democracy, I respectfully dissent.”
In 2024, Alabama had been required to use a map with two majority-Black districts, one of which was won by Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures.
The new map could allow Republicans to flip Figures’ seat.
The NAACP slammed the Supreme Court’s decision as discriminatory.
“The Supreme Court continues to unleash chaos in our democratic process, and with this latest action, gives Alabama approval to use a congressional map that had previously been found to be intentionally discriminatory,” NAACP General Counsel Kristen Clarke wrote in a statement. “This is a Court that is stripping Black voters of power and voice at a speed that would put Jim Crow jurists to shame. Our message to communities remains the same — the best way to express dissent is by showing up at the ballot box this election season.”
-ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim contributed to this report.
Signage for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) headquarters is seen, April 2, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(VIRGINIA) — Two Honduran immigrant children have been unlawfully detained at a youth facility in Virginia for more than 300 days, the American Civil Liberties Union alleged in a lawsuit filed on Tuesday.
According to the complaint, the two siblings — a 16-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl who lawyers say both fled gang violence in Honduras — have remained in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) despite “the existence of a fully vetted and approved sponsor.”
The lawsuit alleges that the government agency, which operates under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has “repeatedly delayed reunification through shifting technical and immaterial objections to sponsorship paperwork.”
According to the complaint, a close family friend stepped forward to sponsor them upon their arrival in U.S. in July 2025. By October 2025, federal officials had allegedly completed a positive home study and background checks, and recorded that “no documents are pending” in the case.
But instead of releasing the children, government officials “repeatedly” reopened the sponsorship process over minor clerical details, the lawsuit alleges.
The minors are being detained at Youth For Tomorrow, a Christian-based organization that provided services to unaccompanied migrant children. The ACLU said in the complaint that the delays in processing sponsor paperwork “are part of an escalating pattern” by the Office of Refugee Resettlement “to prevent children from being released.”
The two siblings, according to the lawsuit, have “documented educational accommodation plans and require specialized educational and developmental services” that they are not receiving while in custody.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services told ABC News that the Office of Refugee Resettlement does not comment on active litigation. Youth For Tomorrow did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
The lawsuit comes as the average stay for unaccompanied minors in ORR custody has grown from 30 days in 2024 to 117 days in 2025 under the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown.
“ORR is choosing chaos and confusion for the children in its care over safety and stability,” Sophia Gregg, an attorney with the ACLU of Virginia, said in a statement. “ORR is tasked with facilitating the safe and speedy release of unaccompanied children in its care, but instead of following the law, it’s choosing to advance the Trump administration’s cruel, anti-immigrant agenda and causing irreparable harm to children in the process.”
(WASHINGTON) — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed during testimony before a House subcommittee on Tuesday that the Trump administration is backing down from establishing a $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” to benefit allies of President Donald Trump following heavy pressure from Republican congressional leadership.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Harris County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Bureau Major Earl Dean speaks to reporters after a man and his girlfriend were found dead in a murder-suicide after an hours-long standoff with police. (Harris County Sheriff’s Office)
(HOUSTON) — A man and woman were found dead in a Houston apartment after an hours-long standoff with the sheriff’s department, according to officials.
A 20-year-old woman and the 23-year-old suspect were found dead in the apartment, Harris County Sheriff’s Department Patrol Bureau Maj. Earl Dean said at a press conference on Monday.
Deputies received a report of man “frantic” on his phone just before 2 p.m. Monday, saying he “accidentally shot his girlfriend,” Dean said.
At the scene, deputies made contact with the man, who refused to obey their commands and threatened to kill himself. The man then barricaded himself inside the apartment, Dean said.
Deputies contacted additional resources and a SWAT team took over the scene, according to Dean.
After several hours of the crisis negotiation team talking to the man, trying to get him to surrender, the man refused all commands, Dean said.
“At one point we did deploy gas into the apartment complex. The male retreated onto the balcony where he suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” Dean said.
“This is very unfortunate,” Dean said.
No deputies discharged their weapons during the incident, according to Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.
The circumstances surrounding both deaths remain under investigation. There is no ongoing threat to the public, Gonzalez said.
A protester speaks to the police using a megaphone near the Delaney Hall detention center on May 31, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. Mayor Ras Baraka of Newark has ordered a mandatory curfew surrounding Delaney Hall from 9 PM Saturday until 6 AM Sunday. (Photo by Andres Kudacki/Getty Images)
(NEWARK, N.J.) — New Jersey officials are pursuing legal avenues to get to the bottom of allegations of poor conditions at Delaney Hall in Newark, including threatening to sue to shut down the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility if state health inspectors are not allowed to examine it.
The city of Newark already filed a lawsuit in April 2025 against the GEO Group, the private company contracted by ICE to run the facility, alleging that the company made modifications to Delaney Hall to prepare it for use as a detention facility without required state oversight. However, Mayor Ras Baraka and city leaders said Tuesday that they will expand that litigation to call for the facility’s closure if state health inspectors aren’t given full access.
New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and Gov. Mikie Sherrill also announced Tuesday that the state has filed suit against the GEO Group, asking the state superior court to order the company to allow state health inspectors access.
Protests and an alleged hunger strike have been ongoing since May 22 after reports alleged the 300 inmates inside the ICE detention center have been poorly fed, are not receiving proper medical care and are being held in poor conditions.
“If the GEO Group – with a $1 billion government contract – has nothing to hide and the conditions inside Delaney Hall are as safe and as sanitary as this private corporation and the Trump Administration claim, then there is no legitimate reason why my health inspectors are being kept from full access throughout the building,” Sherrill said in a statement Tuesday announcing the state’s suit.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responded to the attorney general’s suit with a statement on X Tuesday, calling it “frivolous.”
“ICE is committed to transparency, and Delaney Hall complies with all required state and local laws,” DHS said, in part. “ICE is regularly audited and inspected by external agencies. All detainees are provided with proper meals, quality water, blankets, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers.”
The GEO Group did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment about Baraka’s announcement and the state’s lawsuit.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin has previously said that the reports of the poor conditions are untrue.
Baraka said Tuesday during a news conference outside of Delaney Hall that the alleged conditions inside the detention center were “inhumane” and that action needed to be taken. There was a report that alleged one of the inmates suffered a miscarriage and was not given proper care, according to the mayor.
“It’s troubling, which forces us to expand our lawsuit against Delaney Hall,” Baraka said.
Eric Pennington, Newark’s business administrator, told reporters Tuesday that the city asked the GEO Group to allow health inspectors to check the facility.
Sherrill said last week that inspectors from the state Department of Health visited Delaney Hall on May 28 but were “denied full access” and “allowed to inspect only a limited part of the facility.”
The New Jersey Attorney General’s office further said in Tuesday’s lawsuit announcement that the health inspectors were “barred from inspecting crucial areas of the facility, including the medical unit, sleeping areas, and bathing and toileting areas.”
Pennington said Tuesday that the city will use their legal options to get the inspectors inside.
“If they don’t allow us in, we, along with partners who are out here to protect the individuals inside, they will join our lawsuit, along with the state Health Department, to join to have this facility shut down until it can be inspected and ensured it is safe for the individuals who are in there,” he said.
“We are awaiting GEO Group’s response now and we expect to go to the court in the next day or two to continue the existing lawsuit,” Pennington added.
Davenport’s suit seeks an expedited injunction that directs the GEO Group to allow inspectors inside, according to court documents.
“The reports of unsanitary and unsafe conditions inside Delaney Hall are extremely concerning, and GEO Group – like any other business and facility in New Jersey – must follow the law,” Davenport said in Tuesday’s announcement.
Several elected officials have visited the facility since the protests began and claimed they have seen the poor conditions firsthand.
Federal and state law enforcement agents have clashed with protesters on numerous days, with federal officers in some instances firing tear gas and using batons. Several people have been arrested, some of whom were accused of assaulting federal officers.
Sherrill and other New Jersey Democrats have criticized the federal government for their response and actions against the protesters and have called on everyone to lower the temperature.
A curfew was enforced outside the facility starting Sunday night.
Baraka, who said Tuesday that he had spoken with protesters, said that there were no arrests made Monday night but that the curfew would continue for at least one more day.
Limited visitation privileges were restored Sunday following a request by the governor.
