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) — Three Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies were killed in an explosion at a law enforcement training facility on Friday, county officials said.
The victims appeared to be handling explosives when there was a blast, sources told ABC News. The Biscailuz Training Center in Monterey Park, a Special Enforcement Bureau compound, also houses the bomb squad, sources said.
The cause of the explosion is not known, according to LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn.
Arson investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Los Angeles Fire Department are among those responding, LA Mayor Karen Bass said. The FBI is also on the scene, Attorney General Pamela Bondi said.
“This is an extraordinarily painful day for our Sheriff’s Department and for LA County. My prayers are with the families of the deputies and their colleagues in law enforcement who are reeling from this tragedy,” Hahn said in a statement. “I am offering my full support to our Sheriff Robert Luna and his department as they not only work to support our deputies but to investigate what went so wrong. We need to get to the bottom of what happened and make sure that it never happens again.”
“Please pray for the entire Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department,” Bondi wrote on social media.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — Annie Tomasini on Friday became the third Biden administration official to plead the Fifth Amendment in a House panel’s investigation into former President Joe Biden’s mental fitness and use of a presidential autopen while in office.
Tomasini was called on to appear before the Republican-led House Oversight Committee for a closed-door interview.
Tomasini, who served as the deputy chief of staff to Biden, invoked the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and declined to answer questions, according to Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer.
Comer, who did not attend the hearing on Friday, subsequently criticized what he called a “pattern of key Biden confidants seeking to shield themselves from criminal liability.”
“It’s unbelievable that Ms. Tomasini and others refuse to answer basic questions about President Biden’s fitness to serve. It’s apparent they would rather hide key information to protect themselves and Joe Biden than be truthful with the American people about this historic scandal,” Comer said in a statement.
Tomasini didn’t take questions from reporters as she left the Rayburn House Office Building Friday.
Tomasini’s lawyer provided a statement to the committee, which was obtained by ABC News, on her reasons for invoking the Fifth Amendment.
“The Committee has asked Ms. Tomasini to testify in connection with an investigation into use of the autopen,” the statement, signed by Tomasini’s counsel Jonathan Su, read. “There is no actual evidence of wrongdoing by Ms. Tomasini, and President Biden has already confirmed that he made all decisions concerning the grants of clemency at the end of his term.”
“It is well known that there is an ongoing federal criminal investigation into this matter by the Department of Justice, ordered by the current White House,” the statement continued. “This past week, the Chairman suggested that it is ‘very possible’ the investigation could generate criminal referrals to the Department of Justice. Under these circumstances, any reasonable person would seriously consider an invocation of their Fifth Amendment rights.”
The House panel has requested several interviews with former Biden officials as part of their probe.
Earlier this week, Anthony Bernal, who served as assistant to the president and chief of staff to the first lady in the Biden administration, also invoked the Fifth Amendment in his deposition.
“The record is also clear that persons of the full range of the political spectrum, in recent and historical Congressional investigations, have invoked their Fifth Amendment rights to decline to answer questions from Congress. Any suggestion that such an invocation is itself evidence of wrongdoing would be highly irresponsible and flatly wrong, particularly from those elected to represent the people and uphold the Constitution,” Bernal’s lawyer wrote in a letter to the committee obtained by ABC News.
O’Connor, too, declined to answer questions when he briefly appeared before the committee for a transcribed interview. He cited both the Fifth Amendment and physician-patient privilege. After, the House Oversight Committee took the unprecedented step of releasing a video of the deposition that occurred behind closed doors.
The committee also released a video of Bernal’s deposition and is likely to do so for Tomasini as well.
Neera Tanden, who served as the director of the White House Domestic Policy Council under Biden, sat for several hours of testimony in late June. When asked after by reporters if there was an effort to disguise Biden’s condition, Tanden replied: “Absolutely not.”
Biden himself rejected reports of cognitive decline during an appearance on ABC’s “The View” in early May.
“They are wrong. There’s nothing to sustain that,” Biden said at the time.
ABC News’ Alexandra Hutzler contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is slated Friday to sign the first major federal law governing cryptocurrency, a business that Trump’s family have begun forging strong ties to and have promoted in recent years.
The House of Representatives passed the GENIUS Act Thursday with bipartisan support, a month after it cleared the Senate. The bill, a key priority for the president, outlines specific regulations aimed at making a specific kind of digital currency called stablecoins more accessible and mainstream.
Over the last few years, Trump, once a crypto skeptic, has begun to tout himself as the most crypto-friendly commander in chief in U.S. history, and pushed for Congress to take up the issue on the campaign trail. The president, who launched his own crypto meme coin earlier this year, recently said he is a “fan of crypto” and called it a “very powerful industry” that the U.S. has “dominated.”
“I’m president. And what I did do there is build an industry that’s very important,” Trump said last month. “If we didn’t have it, China would.”
Stablecoins are cryptocurrency that have their value tied to a stable asset like the U.S. dollar. The GENIUS Act makes it easier for banks and other entities to issue these coins, and is expected to increase public trust in the assets and growing the industry overall.
Traditionally, buyers use their personal bank accounts to buy a stablecoin, and then use the stablecoin to trade for some other kind of more volatile crypto, such as Bitcoin or something else.
“Our years of diligent work in Congress to bring clarity to payment stablecoins have reached a historic turning point. President Trump called on Congress to send him landmark legislation to his desk by August, and we have delivered,” Republican Rep. French Hill, the chairman of the House’s Financial Services Committee, said in a statement.
The bill passed following a stalemate among House Republicans after it stalled for nine hours before it made it to a debate.
Although many Democrats, including House leaders, backed the bill, some expressed concerns that the bill doesn’t stop public officials from pushing their personal coins and profiting from anonymous transactions.
Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters, the ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, slammed the bill, pointing to a firm with ties to the Trump family that recently launched its own stablecoin and could benefit from the currency being more widely used.
A company associated with the Trump family owns a 60% stake in World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture, which launched USD1, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, this spring.
Trump’s image is all over the firm’s website, which once dubbed him “chief crypto advocate” and has since changed his title to “co-founder emeritus.”
“The Unstable Act creates the appearance of a federal framework for stablecoins, but it does not provide the federal government with the full authority it needs,” Waters said Thursday before the vote.
World Liberty Financial said in a previous statement to ABC News that it is “a private company with no ties to the U.S. government.”
The White House has insisted that there are no conflicts of interest in the crypto ventures, stating that Trump’s assets are in a trust managed by his children.
It will take some time before the public sees changes outlined in the bill. After Trump signs the law, federal regulators will have six months to come up with specific regulations.
The House also passed the CLARITY Act, a market structure package that sets the rules for assets that are overseen by the Securities and Exchange Commission or commodities that are regulated by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission. That measure now heads to the Senate.
Andres Felipe Pineda Mogollon, who was wanted for escaping from Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey, was arrested in Los Angeles, federal authorities said. FBI Los Angeles
(LOS ANGELES) — The last remaining detainee who escaped from an immigration detention center in New Jersey last month has been located in Los Angeles, federal authorities said.
Andres Felipe Pineda Mogollon was one of four detainees who escaped from Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark on June 12, according to the FBI.
He was arrested after a traffic stop in Silver Lake, the FBI in Los Angeles said Thursday. No additional details on his capture were released.
Mogollon, a 25-year-old Colombian national, has been charged with escape from the custody of an institution or officer, according to the Department of Justice.
He was previously arrested by the New York City Police Department in April for petit larceny and by the New Jersey Police Department in May for residential burglary, conspiracy residential burglary and possession of burglary tools, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
He is illegally in the country after overstaying a tourist visa, according to DHS.
The other three detainees — Joel Enrique Sandoval-Lopez, Joan Sebastian Castaneda-Lozada and Franklin Norberto Bautista-Reyes — were captured within a week of escaping from Delaney Hall, a privately owned facility that has been contracted out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, authorities said.
DHS had described the four men as “public safety threats” who were all in the country illegally.
Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., said at a news conference last month that the four men escaped from the facility by breaking through a wall — which he described as “drywall with a mesh interior” — in a unit that led to an exterior wall and into a parking lot. Kim said he was briefed on escape by the facility’s administrators and ICE officials.
Kim said the escape followed “disturbances” and unrest over the past 24 hours related to food access at the facility. However, DHS released a subsequent statement saying, “contrary to current reporting, there has been no widespread unrest” at Delaney Hall.
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) — Consumer sentiment ticked higher in July, marking two consecutive months of improved shopper attitudes as businesses navigated President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats targeting dozens of countries. The fresh reading matched economists’ expectations.
The recent resurgence of consumer sentiment followed six straight months of worsening attitudes, according to University of Michigan survey data released Friday. Before the swell of optimism, consumer sentiment had fallen to near its lowest level since a bout of inflation three years ago.
Despite the new data, the measure of consumer sentiment remains 16% lower than where it stood in December, before Trump took office.
Year-ahead inflation expectations dropped for a second consecutive month, declining from 5.0% in June to 4.4% this month, the survey data showed. The anticipated inflation level would still mark a major increase from the current year-over-year inflation of 2.7%.
The new report on consumer sentiment came a day after the release of retail sales data that showed unexpectedly strong performance in June. Robust shopper appetites last month suggested that the uncertainty surrounding Trump’s tariffs hadn’t prompted households to stash extra income.
Consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, is a key bellwether for the outlook of the nation’s economy.
So far, key measures of the economy have largely defied fears of a tariff-induced downturn. The unemployment rate stands near a historically low level and job growth remains robust, though it has slowed from previous highs. Inflation has climbed over the last two months but it remains below where it stood when Trump took office.
Some analysts expect price increases to accelerate over the coming months as tariffs take hold, though many have acknowledged that the path forward remains unclear amid Trump’s fluctuating policies.
Typically, importers pass along a share of the tariff-related tax burden in the form of higher costs for shoppers. A host of major retailers, including Walmart and Best Buy, have warned of potential price hikes as a result of Trump’s levies.
Trump has rolled back many of his steepest tariffs over recent months, including a sky-high levy on China, the top source of U.S. imports. In recent days, however, Trump announced plans to slap tariffs as high as 50% on dozens of countries, including 25% tariffs on top U.S. trade partners such as Japan and South Korea.
The fresh levies are set to take effect on Aug. 1. In addition, a proposed 50% tariff on copper imports could intensify the impact of the country-specific levies.
(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.
