(WATERBURY, CT) — Five people were shot at a Connecticut shopping center on Tuesday, police said.
Officers responded to the Brass Mill Center in Waterbury at approximately 4:40 p.m. following reports of a “disturbance,” Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo said during a press briefing. They found several victims suffering from gunshot wounds, he said.
The victims were transported to local hospitals for medical treatment. There are no fatalities at this time, according to Spagnolo.
A person of interest was identified by detectives and taken into police custody Tuesday evening, Waterbury Police said in a statement.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the person of interest was one of the five injured.
The shooting was not a random act of violence, Spagnolo said, adding, “We believe this started as a conflict and it escalated.”
Police believe the suspect and victims knew each other. A semi-automatic pistol was used in the shooting, the chief said.
State police and federal agencies are assisting in the investigation, including clearing the mall and collecting digital evidence, the chief said.
“There’s a tremendous amount of law enforcement here right now,” Spagnolo said. “We’re following some very strong leads.”
Spagnolo said he does not believe there’s any threat in the immediate area.
Lea Suzuki/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
(LAS ANGELES) — A violent break-in occurred at the California home of Beanie Babies mogul Ty Warner that left a woman in a coma, officials said.
A Nevada man now faces multiple charges, including attempted murder, in connection with the home invasion and assault, according to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office.
The incident unfolded on May 21 at the Montecito home of Warner, according to court filings obtained by ABC News.
The suspect — 42-year-old Russell Maxwell Phay of Henderson, Nevada — was taken into custody “after violently attacking a stranger inside a private residence and barricading himself from deputies,” the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputies responding to the residence found the victim with “severe injuries” outside and, following a search of the residence, the suspect barricaded in an upstairs bathroom, the sheriff’s office said.
“The suspect attempted to flee by climbing out of a second-story bathroom window,” the sheriff’s office said in a press release. ” He jumped to the ground where he was apprehended by deputies and a Sheriff’s K9.”
The victim — identified in the criminal complaint as L. Malek-Aslanian — was transported by ambulance to a local hospital. The attack left her “comatose due to brain injury,” the complaint stated.
The complaint alleges that Phay entered the home with the intent to burglarize it, then held Malek-Aslanian against her will and assaulted her, causing great bodily injury. The victim was “particularly vulnerable,” the complaint stated.
Investigators do not have any indication that the victim or suspect knew each other, authorities said.
The homeowner was identified in the complaint as T. Warner. The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office confirmed that to be Ty Warner.
Phay was charged Friday with first-degree attempted murder with premeditation and deliberation, residential burglary, kidnapping, assault and resisting a peace officer, the district attorney’s office said. He is additionally charged with special allegations for personally inflicting great bodily injury resulting in a coma.
Phay has pleaded not guilty to his charges. His bail has been set at $1 million.
He is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on June 2. Attorney information was not immediately available.
(LONDON) — Hundreds of Ukrainian drones crossed into Russia overnight into Wednesday morning, dozens of which targeted Moscow and again caused disruption to flights in and out of the capital, according to officials there.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 296 Ukrainian drones over 12 regions — including the capital Moscow — during the latest round of long-range strikes.
Moscow Governor Andrei Vorobyov said on Telegram that at least 42 drones were downed over the region. Vorobyov reported damage to three homes in the town of Chekhov around 40 miles south of the capital.
Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport — one of four international airports in the capital — also warned travelers of delays due to flight restrictions imposed during the latest drone attack. Recent weeks have seen regular disruptions to Moscow’s airports during such strikes.
Andriy Kovalenko, the head of the Counter-Disinformation Center operating as part of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said on Telegram there were “some pretty good hits” during Tuesday night’s attack.
Among the targets were the Dubna Machine-Building Plant — involved in the production of aviation, missile and drone technology, Kovalenko said — in the city of Dubna, around 70 miles north of Moscow.
Kovalenko said the Technopark ELMA-Zelenograd facility — which hosts the development of microelectronics, IT, robotics and medical equipment — was also targeted. The facility “is one of the centers where import substitution of critical components previously imported from the West takes place,” Kovalenko said.
ABC News could not immediately verify Kovalenko’s claim of successful strikes on the facilities.
Russia continued its own long-range attacks on Ukraine overnight. Ukraine’s air force said Moscow launched six missiles and 88 strike drones into the country, of which 71 drones were shot down or otherwise neutralized. The air force said it recorded impacts in eight locations.
The intensity of strikes by both sides have only increased since President Donald Trump’s return to office in January, the president having promised to end Russia’s war on its neighbor war in 24 hours. Trump has not delivered on that promise, and his frustration appears to have been building in recent weeks with the continued failure of U.S.-led ceasefire efforts.
Trump called Putin “absolutely crazy” in a Sunday social media post, then on Tuesday said Putin “doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD. He’s playing with fire!”
The U.S. and Ukraine are now waiting for Russia to deliver its peace memorandum — a document promised by Putin to Trump during a phone call between the two leaders earlier this month. Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Tuesday that Moscow was still working on the document.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cast doubt on the Russian proposal. “They’ve already spent over a week on this,” he wrote on social media on Tuesday. “They talk a lot about diplomacy. But when, in the midst of all that, there are constant Russian strikes, constant killings, relentless assaults, and even preparations for new offensives.”
On Wednesday, Andriy Yermak — the head of Zelenskyy’s presidential office — wrote on Telegram, “Russians are masters of empty words.”
(WASHINGTON) — After hearing the news that President Donald Trump will pardon reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, who served time for tax evasion and bank fraud, their daughter, Savannah Chrisley, in a video on Instagram posted on Tuesday, celebrated the news.
“The president called me personally as I was walking into Sam’s Club and notified me that he was signing paper pardon paperwork for both of my parents,” Chrisley said in the Instagram video. “So both my parents are coming home tonight [Tuesday] or tomorrow [Wednesday], and I still don’t believe it’s real. I’m freaking out — the fact that the president called me.”
“I will forever be grateful for President Trump, his administration and everyone along the way, all of my lawyers, the people who put in countless hours and effort and love for my family to make sure that my parents got home,” the 27-year-old continued.
Chrisley emphasized that her parents now get a “fresh start” thanks to the pardon.
“My parents get to start their lives over… President Trump didn’t just commute their sentences, he gave them a full unconditional pardon. So for that, I am forever grateful,” Chrisley said.
Savannah Chrisley had previously appealed to the Trump administration for pardons for her parents and spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention.
The couple, who became famous for their show “Chrisley Knows Best,” were sentenced in November 2022 to a combined 19 years in prison on charges including fraud and tax evasion.
Todd Chrisley was sentenced to 12 years in prison and 16 months of probation while Julie Chrisley was ordered to serve seven years in prison and 16 months of probation. The couple was also ordered to pay $17.8 million in restitution.
“Chrisley Knows Best” premiered in 2014 and followed the lavish lifestyle of wealthy real estate developer Todd Chrisley and his family.
The charges against the Chrisleys stem from activity that occurred at least as early as 2007, when the couple allegedly provided false information to banks and fabricated bank statements when applying for and receiving millions of dollars in loans, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In 2014, two years after the alleged bank fraud scheme ended, the couple is accused of fabricating bank statements and a credit report that had “been physically cut and taped or glued together when applying for and obtaining a lease for a home in California.”
In a phone interview with ABC News on Tuesday, Savannah Chrisley told ABC News the call from Trump came “totally out of the blue.”
“I kind of had gotten to a place where I had lost hope, and just felt like nothing was going in my favor. And then I got the call … It was just a shock, and the president was so kind and loving. He’s the reason my family is coming back together,” Chrisley said. “I have always stood by him and his administration, and I will continue to stand by them and fight for them.”
(NEW YORK) — The GENIUS Act, a cryptocurrency regulation bill making its way through the Senate, has thrust a little-known type of digital asset into the spotlight.
The industry-backed measure establishes rules targeting stablecoins, a form of cryptocurrency pegged to the value of another asset, often the U.S. dollar.
If enacted, the bill could allow such crypto coins to become a mainstream tool for digital payments and investments, proponents say. Critics warn that wider adoption of stablecoins may endanger consumers and the broader economy.
Here’s what to know about crypto coins and how they could impact your finances:
What are stablecoins?
Stablecoins are a type of digital currency backed by another form of currency, like the U.S. dollar or a commodity like gold.
Typically, the issuer of a stablecoin holds at least one unit of reserve currency for every stablecoin. A stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, for instance, is backed by a reserve of dollars that matches the number of coins.
Stablecoins are designed to be less volatile than other forms of cryptocurrency, which experience large price swings in part because digital assets lack inherent value.
Cryptocurrencies – including popular coins like bitcoin and ether – can be highly sensitive to news developments or investor behavior. In turn, such digital currencies pose difficulty for individuals trying to conduct a purchase or sale using digital assets.
“Most crypto assets have nothing behind them – they’re literally annotations on a database or spreadsheet,” Hilary Allen, a law professor at American University who examines stablecoin policy, told ABC News. “Stablecoins have reserve assets linked to the annotations in the database.”
As their name suggests, stablecoins “evolved as a way of keeping a more stable price for crypto assets,” Allen said.
What do stablecoins mean for your finances?
For now, stablecoins function primarily as a tool for crypto investors, but wider adoption could pave the way for their use as a form of digital payment in everyday purchases, some experts said.
Stablecoins offer crypto investors a place to store their profits without converting the gains into fiat currency.
Once a crypto trader finds a new digital asset deemed worthy of investment, the stablecoins can be used to acquire that target cryptocurrency. When the trader wants out of the new investment, he or she can cash out for more stablecoins.
In other words, Allen said, stablecoins amount to a “cash-management tool.”
Some stablecoins offer annual yields for investors, meaning the digital assets also function as liquid assets with stable upside akin to money-market mutual funds, some experts said.
In theory, both dollar-pegged stablecoins and money-market funds can be exchanged for a dollar at any time. That flexibility allows asset holders to earn small gains while retaining the capacity to sell off the asset at any time.
A potential integration of stablecoins into conventional finance could allow them to be used in a manner similar to app- or debit card-based payments, some experts said.
“You wouldn’t need to physically transfer bills,” said Steven Schwarz, a law professor at Duke University who studies stablecoins, who noted the crypto coins could have particular value for cross-border transactions.
“The holy grail would be to find a so-called ‘global stablecoin’ – one that everyone will accept internationally,” Schwarz said.
What are the risks posed by stablecoins?
Critics warn that stablecoins enable illicit transactions, lack consumer safeguards, and pose a threat to the wider financial system.
The fundamental consumer risk in holding a stablecoin stems from the possibility that an issuer will squander the reserve assets used to back the crypto tokens, some experts said.
“The risk is that you may go to the issuer of the stablecoin and say, ‘Please redeem my stablecoin for the underlying reference assets,'” Schwarz said. “And the issuer may be unable to redeem the stablecoin.”
“The issuer may be in bankruptcy or failed to provide the assets in the first place,” Schwarz added.
Wider adoption of stablecoins may coincide with participation by non-bank firms, which may result in assets that lack the protection of federal deposit insurance and the anti-fraud stipulations allowing users to redeem funds spent wrongfully or mistakenly, some experts said.
On a broad scale, such risky practices could pose a risk to the financial system, since asset holders could demand repayment from issuers unable to cover the reimbursements.
Such a scenario could trigger a government bailout or other public policy solution at the expense of taxpayers, Arthur Wilmarth, a law professor at George Washington University, told ABC News.
“These issuers could be in trouble during a crisis,” Wilmarth said. “It may require a massive bailout.”
Stablecoins, meanwhile, account for about 3 of every 5 illicit cryptocurrency transactions, blockchain data firm Chainalysis found in January.
“They’re used for money laundering and sanctions evasion – that type of thing,” Allen said.
Some critics say the risks posed by stablecoins are exemplified by conflict-of-interest concerns raised by President Donald Trump’s dealings in the crypto tokens.
In March, Trump-backed crypto firm World Liberty Financial issued a stablecoin USD1. An Abu Dhabi-based investment firm earlier this month used the stablecoin to make a $2 billion investment in crypto exchange Binance, putting Trump’s company in a position to profit from the deal. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
(NEW YORK) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to force New York City to end its congestion pricing program.
Judge Lewis Liman granted a temporary restraining order on Tuesday barring the Trump administration from withholding “federal funds, approvals, or authorizations from New York State or local agencies to enforce compliance” with its demands to terminate the tolling program. The order is in effect until June 9.
The development comes after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the toll program, sought a preliminary injunction to prevent the federal government from withholding approvals or funds for continuing to collect tolls after the U.S. Department of Transportation reversed course and pulled federal approval of the congestion pricing program earlier year.
In his order, Liman said the Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration are “temporarily restrained from taking any action” to implement or enforce compliance after rescinding federal approval of the toll program.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul lauded the judge’s order as a “win” for New York in the battle over congestion pricing, saying it blocks the Trump administration from “retaliating against New York” for continuing the program, which is the first of its kind in the nation.
“Judge Liman’s temporary restraining order is a massive victory for New York commuters, vindicating our right as a State to make decisions regarding what’s best for our streets,” Hochul said in a statement Tuesday. “New Yorkers deserve to control our own traffic patterns, keep gridlock off our streets and protect our clean air. We need to make the massive investments necessary to support our transit system and prevent it from falling into disarray and disrepair. Congestion pricing is the right solution to get us there.”
“Congestion pricing is legal, it’s working and we’re keeping the cameras on,” she added.
The Department of Transportation pulled federal approval of the congestion pricing program on Feb. 19, weeks after it went into effect, following a review requested by President Donald Trump. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at the time 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 while calling it “backwards and unfair.”
The MTA immediately challenged the Trump administration’s reversal in federal court, seeking a declaratory judgment that the DOT’s move is not proper. Hochul and MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber have said they will not turn off the tolls without a court order.
Duffy extended a deadline for New York to end the collection of the toll multiple times, most recently warning last month that the Federal Highway Administration would take actions to “remedy New York’s noncompliance,” such as withholding approvals or funds for other transportation projects,” starting on May 28 if it didn’t cease congestion pricing.
Duffy has not publicly commented on the judge’s order Tuesday.
In a response to the MTA’s motion seeking a preliminary injunction, Duffy’s counsel argued the request should be denied because New York cannot show irreparable harm “because of the premature nature of this entire dispute” over the proposed compliance measures. “Critically, FHWA has not decided to impose any of these ‘proposed’ or ‘potential’ compliance measures yet,” they wrote.
The congestion pricing plan, which launched on Jan. 5, 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.
The toll generated nearly $50 million in revenue in its first month and is on track to generate $500 million in net revenue by the end of this year, as initially projected, the MTA said.
(TEXAS) — Texas lawmakers have passed a bill that would make it easier for parents to opt out of vaccinating their children, despite the current measles outbreak in West Texas.
The bill — HB 1586 — would allow parents to download and fill out a form available on the Texas Department of State of Health Services website to exempt their children from all vaccinations required to attend public school.
Under current state law, a person claiming an exemption from required immunizations must submit a written request to the department requesting an affidavit form. They would then complete an affidavit on a form and disclose the reason for the exemption, according to Texas law.
Republicans have argued it simplifies the process, and saves money, while Democrats have argued it could lessen immunity — especially during an ongoing measles outbreak.
“This will save taxpayer dollars in printing and mailing, increase government efficiency, and ensure kids are enrolled in school on time, guaranteeing children their fundamental right to an education,” Republican state Rep. Lacey Hull, who introduced the bill, said on social media after it passed the House.
Democratic state Rep. John Bryant said on social media, “This session, over a dozen bills have been filed to weaken vaccine mandates, promote immunization exemptions, and eliminate reporting requirements. Just last month, a second unvaccinated child died from the measles outbreak in Texas. … The spread of misinformation has led to preventable deaths and hurts our public health. I urge everyone to elect people who put science and the well being of others over political ideology.”
In addition to measles, Bryant also cited the past benefits of vaccination against polio and, more recently, COVID-19.
As of Tuesday, there have been 729 confirmed cases of measles in Texas — primarily in West Texas — according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
There have been two deaths in Texas among school-aged children, according to the department.
The best way to prevent getting sick is to be immunized with two doses of a vaccine against measles, with two doses of the MMR vaccine preventing more than 97% of measles infections, according to the department.
Parents or individuals requesting an exemption must sign a document saying they understand the “benefits and risks of immunizations and the benefits and risks of not being immunized,” the bill states.
To become law, the bill — which passed in the Senate on Sunday, 11 days after the House — needs to be signed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. It would go into effect beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, according to the bill.
ABC News has reached out for comment on whether the governor plans to sign the bill.
Current law requires the department to maintain a record of the total number of affidavit forms sent out each year and provide that information to the legislature.
The proposed bill would allow the department to maintain a record of the total number of times the form was accessed or requested online, but it would no longer be required.
Measles infections in the U.S. have surpassed 1,000 cases, according to most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This year’s total number of cases is the second-highest case count in 25 years, according to data from the CDC.
About 96% of measles cases are among those who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown, according to CDC data.
At least three deaths have been confirmed this year — two children and one adult — all of whom were unvaccinated.
(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Homeland Security and FBI are warning that large-scale events are prime targets for violence, highlighting the potential for violence at events this summer.
However, the DHS and FBI did not indicate there are any known threats in a joint intelligence bulletin sent to law enforcement on May 23.
“Violent extremist messaging continues to highlight major sporting and cultural events and venues as potential targets, and threat actors — including domestic violent extremists (DVEs), homegrown violent extremists (HVEs) inspired by Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), and other mass casualty attackers not motivated by an ideology — previously have targeted public events with little to no warning,” according to the bulletin.
Some attacks, such as the New Year’s Day truck attack in New Orleans, could serve as inspiration for future attacks, the bulletin said, noting that calls for violence typically increase in the days leading up to holidays or big events.
Domestic and homegrown extremists “not primarily motivated by an ideology, likely will see public events as potential attack targets, given the number of high-profile events this summer that are expected to draw large crowds and recent attacks and plots in the West targeting mass gatherings, which could serve as inspiration,” the bulletin said.
“We advise government officials and private sector security partners to remain vigilant of potential threats to upcoming public celebrations and large gatherings,” it added, highlighting World Pride 2025, Independence Day and the 250th Army anniversary parade as possible targets.
The bulletin also said some attackers could use a variety of means to carry out an attack.
“Attackers in the United States historically have used a variety of tactics to target public events, including vehicles, firearms, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs),” it said. “The use of vehicle-ramming alone or in conjunction with other tactics, such as edged weapons, firearms, or IEDs used after the vehicle has stopped, is a recurring tactic that a variety of threat actors in the West have employed when targeting crowded pedestrian areas.”
Last week’s shooting that targeted Israeli Embassy staffers and killed two in Washington, D.C., could inspire other attacks in the United States, the DHS said in a separate bulletin obtained by ABC News.
“The 21 May attack that killed two Israeli embassy staff members at an event in Washington, DC, underscores how the Israel-HAMAS conflict continues to inspire violence and could spur radicalization or mobilization to violence against targets perceived as supporting Israel,” according to the bulletin, which was also dated May 23.
The department noted that it has seen online users sharing the suspect’s alleged writings and “praising the shooter and generally calling for more violence.”
“If calls for violence continue, particularly if other violent extremists in the Homeland or abroad reference the Capital Jewish Museum shooter, our concern for additional violence in the Homeland would increase,” the bulletin said.
The suspect in the fatal shooting last Wednesday outside an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., is a 31-year-old Chicago man who police say shouted “free, free Palestine” following the attack.
The suspect, identified as Elias Rodriguez, was promptly taken into custody at the scene of the shooting and was questioned by police, according to Pamela Smith, chief of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia.
(OKLAHOMA CITY) — A search is underway for an inmate at an Oklahoma correctional facility who “unlawfully” walked away from prison, according to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
At approximately 8:25 p.m. on Monday, William D. Brainard, 44, was “determined to have unlawfully walked away” from the Clara Waters Correctional Center in Oklahoma City, the department of corrections said in a statement on Monday.
Brainard is serving a five-year sentence for burglary of the third degree and larceny of an auto, aircraft or other motor vehicle, according to the department of corrections website.
He is described as 5 feet, 9 inches tall, weighs 215 pounds and has several tattoos — including one on his abdomen that reads “smile now cry later” and one on his arm that reads “love mom, corn fed, devil,” according to the wanted poster released by officials.
Brainard could also be found under the aliases of Dewayne W. Brainard, William Brainard, William D. Brainard or Corn F. Hillbilly, officials said.
The escaped inmate has also previously been sentenced for second-degree robbery, assault or battery with a dangerous weapon and distribution or possession with intent of a controlled dangerous substance, according to the corrections’ department website.
If anyone sees Brainard or knows his whereabouts, police said to not approach him and call 911 or the department of corrections at 405-425-2570.
(NEW YORK) — A second suspect in the alleged kidnapping and torture of an Italian man in a luxury New York City apartment surrendered on Tuesday, police sources told ABC News.
Like co-defendant John Woeltz, the second suspect is expected to face charges of kidnapping, assault and unlawful imprisonment, the sources said. The man turned himself in at the NYPD’s 13th Precinct, according to the sources.
He has not yet been named by law enforcement.
Woeltz, a crypto entrepreneur, was arrested Friday after a tourist from Italy told police he was tortured in the suspect’s SoHo apartment for more than two weeks, according to police.
The alleged 28-year-old victim told police he arrived in New York from Italy on May 6 and went to Woeltz’s home. Woeltz allegedly took the man’s passport, police said.
The alleged victim told police that Woeltz, 38, and another person beat him, used electric shock and hanged him off a ledge after he refused to provide his bitcoin password, according to the criminal complaint.
The alleged victim was able to escape Friday morning, running to a traffic enforcement officer for help, and was taken to the hospital, police said.
When police responded to the home, they found multiple Polaroid pictures of the alleged victim being tied up and tortured in Woeltz’s apartment, as well as multiple torture items in view, according to police sources.
A gun was recovered in the home, police said.
Woeltz did not make any comments to reporters as he was escorted out of his apartment by police in handcuffs last week. He was held without bail on charges of kidnapping, assault and unlawful imprisonment during his initial appearance in court Saturday. He did not enter a plea.
Woeltz is next due in court Wednesday. His attorney had no comment on the case following Woeltz’s arrest.
