(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) — Suffolk County, New York, police are looking for a man and a young girl who took money for Girl Scout cookies that residents say were never delivered.
Police on Long Island said they received at least 11 reports from people who said they gave money to buy cookies they never received.
During some of the incidents, money was given to the man who was accompanied by the child, while in other cases, the girl was alone, according to police.
Police are investigating the incidents to determine whether they are connected. The incidents occurred between February and May and were reported to police between June 18 and June 20, according to police.
The Girl Scouts of Suffolk County said in a statement that it was working with law enforcement and encouraged victims of the scam to file a police report.
The Girl Scouts also said they will provide cookies to anyone who placed a bogus order, “because nothing is more disappointing than not getting your Girl Scout cookies,” according to the statement.
“The Girl Scout Council of Suffolk County was saddened to learn that somebody would use the inherent goodwill of the Girl Scouts to take money from their neighbors under false pretenses,” the organization said.
The cookie season runs from just before New Year’s to the end of April or early May, the Girl Scout Council said.
“Anyone selling cookies at this point in the year is not representing our council and its efforts,” it added.
Girl Scouts sell cookies during booth sales or will have an order form with the information to be taken. They do not ask for payment upfront, according to the council.
“Anyone recording a sale in a makeshift book and taking money is not accurately representing Girl Scouts of Suffolk County,” the council said.
The woman known as the getaway driver for Eric Holder Jr. — the suspect in Nipsey Hussle‘s murder that happened in Los Angeles three years ago — testified in court Monday. According to Rolling Stone, Bryannita Nicholson, 35, took the witness stand and testified that she unwittingly drove Holder away from the scene after Hussle was gunned down outside of his Marathon Clothing store on March 31, 2019.
Nicholson recalled meeting Holder while working as Lyft driver and described their relationship as casual dating, according to the report. She said the day of Hussle’s death she was directed to the clothing store, where Hussle and Holder had a conversation about “snitching.”
“Did you say I snitched?” Holder asked Hussle, according to her testimony.
“It didn’t sound like he was mad,” Nicholson said, describing Holder’s tone at the time as “loud” but not “aggressive.”
The home health care aide detailed the moments up to and after she heard gunshots. She said Holder started loading a gun while in the car. A short time later, he jumped out and told her not to leave without him. According to Rolling Stone, Nicholson testified she heard multiple gunshots before Holder returned to the car and told her to drive with a “stern” voice.
Nicholson said she drove Holder to Long Beach and that she didn’t learn of Hussle’s killing until later that night.
The murder trial for the slain rapper, born Ermias Asghedom,began last Wednesday with the jury hearing opening statements. Holder was indicted on one count of murder, two counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
If convicted as charged, Holder faces up to life in prison.
Michael J. Fox is set to receive an honorary Oscar at this year’s Governors Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Tuesday.
The actor will be getting the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for the work he’s done for Parkinson’s disease research.
“Michael J. Fox’s tireless advocacy of research on Parkinson’s disease alongside his boundless optimism exemplifies the impact of one person in changing the future for millions,” Academy President David Rubin said in a statement.
Three other individuals are also receiving honorary awards this year for their “indelible contributions to cinema and the world at large”: pioneering filmmaker Euzhan Palcy, songwriter Diane Warren and director Peter Weir.
The 13th Governors Awards will take place Saturday, November 19, in Los Angeles.
Miley Cyrus‘ live New Year’s Eve special on NBC last December was a ratings hit, and now Miley’s thinking about who’ll be joining her when she does it again this year.
Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party was broadcast live from Miami, with co-host Pete Davidson and musical guests like Saweetie, 24kGoldn, Anitta, Jack Harlow. Her specialdrew more than 6 million viewers, even with — or maybe because of — Miley’s wardrobe malfunction during “Party In the U.S.A.” She and producer Lorne Michaels are now planning a second installment, and she tells Varietywhy it’s necessary that she have a co-host.
“Originally, it was just Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party, and there was no co-host,” she explains. “But one thing that me and Lorne really thought was important was that there is a sexiness and a romanticism to the night, and we thought it was important that there’ll be kind of that perfect gentleman.”
Noting that she wanted “someone that wasn’t going to be too serious and was able to keep the fun and the energy,” as well as someone who’d be “super professional when it came to improvisation,” Miley selected Pete Davidson to join her. And as she tells Variety, “We’re just seeing what fits now for 2023.”
“Carrying this whole show alone, it’ll end up sacrificing, I think, some of the music,” Miley says, explaining why she wants to have a co-host again. “I think music is what drives New Year’s — whether just people making playlists or going out and hearing DJs — music is a staple of New Year’s, so that’s my No. 1 focus.”
Lorde has premiered the video for “The Path,” the opening track off her new album, Solar Power.
In a newsletter to fans, the “Royals” artist describes the clip as a “prequel” to the visual for the Solar Powertitle track.
“You see my character joining her friends and family on the island where they’ve chosen to start life anew, arriving in her trademark suit and quickly being transformed by nature’s strange magic,” Lorde shares.
You can watch the video for “The Path” streaming now on YouTube.
Also in the newsletter, Lorde reflects on the year since she first announced Solar Power in June 2021.
“I can honestly say it has been the year with the highest highs and lowest lows I think I’ve ever experienced,” Lorde says. Upon Solar Power‘s initial release, it did not meet the commercial and critical highs Lorde had previously achieved.
“It took people awhile to get the album — I still get emails every day from people who are just coming around to it now! — and that response was really confounding and at times painful to sit with at first,” she continues. “I learnt a ton about myself and how I’m perceived by making and releasing this album, and I feel significantly more connected and alive in my art practice and life than pretty much ever before.”
Florence Pugh will star in and co-produce the new limited series Netflix is developing based on the classic novel East of Eden, Deadline reported Tuesday.
Zoe Kazan will executive produce and write for the series. This project is personal to her, as she is the granddaughter of director Elia Kazan, who previously adapted the novel into a 1955 film that launched the career of James Dean.
“I fell in love with East of Eden when I first read it, in my teens,” Kazan told Deadline. “Since then, adapting Steinbeck’s novel – the great, sprawling, three-generational entirety of it – has been my dream.”
Kazan also expressed deep gratitude for Pugh’s casting, and for the opportunity to tell antiheroine Cathy Ames’ story.
“Florence Pugh is our dream Cathy; I can’t imagine a more thrilling actor to bring this character to life,” she said. “Writing this limited series over the last two years has been the creative highpoint of my life.”
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The Russian military has since launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, capturing the strategic port city of Mariupol and securing a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jun 21, 4:41 pm
2 captured Americans being held in eastern Ukraine: Russian media
Alexander Drueke and Andy Huynh, two Americans feared to have been captured while fighting in Ukraine, are being held in a detention facility in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, Russia’s Interfax reported, citing an unnamed source.
The State Department said earlier that the Kremlin has not yet officially confirmed to the U.S. that the men have been captured, much less shared any information on their location.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Tuesday that the U.S. has reached out to Russia about the missing Americans, but received no answers.
“We are working hard to learn more about reports of Americans who may be in Russian custody, or in the custody of Russian proxy forces. We have been in touch with Russian authorities regarding U.S. citizens who may have been captured while fighting in Ukraine,” Price said.
Jun 21, 2:20 pm
Russia still stonewalling on missing American fighters, State Dept. says
Senior State Department officials said Tuesday that the U.S. has not received any direct information from Russian authorities or any of their proxy forces about Alexander Drueke and Andy Huynh, two American citizens feared to have been captured while fighting in Ukraine.
While the Kremlin’s spokesman has publicly labeled Drueke and Huynh as mercenaries and said “they should be held responsible,” Moscow has not yet officially confirmed to the U.S. that the men have been captured.
But senior State Department officials reiterated that the U.S. has been in contact with the Russian government to remind them of the protections granted to prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions, even though the Kremlin argues that as “soldiers of fortune” the detainees would not be covered by those protections and could face the death penalty.
“We obviously disagree vigorously. And we have made our position clear to the Russian government,” one official said.
The Geneva Conventions outline the humanitarian rights given to prisoners of war, however, mercenaries are not given the same protections.
When asked if the Americans could face the death penalty, Kremlin spokesman Dimitry Peskov said this week, “Yes, we do not rule out anything.”
White House spokesman John Kirby on Tuesday called that “appalling.”
“It’s appalling that a public official in Russia would even suggest the death penalty for two American citizens that were in Ukraine,” he said.
Kirby added that the U.S. was still “trying to learn more about these two individuals.”
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford and Ben Gittleson
Jun 21, 12:51 pm
Russia controls about 96% of Luhansk region
Russia now controls about 96% of the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian forces are fighting to hold onto several municipalities in the Luhansk region: Severodonetsk, Lysychansk and the three neighboring villages of Pidlisne, Myrna Dolyna and Toshkivka.
Serhiy Haidi, the head of the Luhansk Regional State Administration, said Ukrainian forces are still holding on to the city of Lysychansk because it sits on elevated ground, giving them a tactical advantage. Russian forces have been heavily shelling the city where approximately 10,000 civilians remain. More than 10 high-rise buildings, private homes and a police station have been destroyed.
In Severodonetsk, Russian forces continue to fire on the Azot chemical plant where 568 civilians are sheltering.
-ABC News’ Fidel Pavlenko, Natalya Kushnir and Christine Theodorou
Jun 21, 11:15 am
AG Garland visiting Ukraine, meeting with prosecutor general on war crimes
Attorney General Merrick Garland made an unannounced visit to Ukraine on Tuesday.
Garland is meeting with Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova to discuss the efforts to help identify, apprehend and prosecute the people involved in war crimes and other atrocities in Ukraine, a Department of Justice official said.
Garland told reporters, “The United States is sending an unmistakable message: There is no place to hide. We and our partners will pursue every avenue available to ensure that those who are responsible for these atrocities are held accountable.”
Garland announced that the Justice Department has launched a War Crimes Accountability Team.
“This initiative will bring together the Department’s leading experts in investigations involving human rights abuses and war crimes and other atrocities; and provide wide-ranging technical assistance, including operational assistance and advice regarding criminal prosecutions, evidence collection, forensics, and relevant legal analysis,” the department said in a statement. “The team will also play an integral role in the Department’s ongoing investigation of potential war crimes over which the U.S. possesses jurisdiction, such as the killing and wounding of U.S. journalists covering the unprovoked Russian aggression in Ukraine.”
The Justice Department also said it will provide more personnel to help Ukraine and other international partners counter Russian illicit finance and sanctions evasion, including “an expert Justice Department prosecutor to advise on fighting kleptocracy, corruption, and money laundering.”
-ABC News’ Alex Mallin
Jun 21, 9:00 am
AG Garland to visit Ukraine, meet with prosecutor general on war crimes
Attorney General Merrick Garland is making an unannounced visit to Ukraine on Tuesday, according to a Department of Justice official.
Garland will meet with Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova to discuss the efforts to help identify, apprehend and prosecute the people involved in war crimes and other atrocities in Ukraine, the official said.
Garland told reporters, “The United States is sending an unmistakable message: There is no place to hide. We and our partners will pursue every avenue available to ensure that those who are responsible for these atrocities are held accountable.”
-ABC News’ Alex Mallin
Jun 21, 7:42 am
American killed in Ukraine, officials say
U.S. citizen Stephen Zabielski has died in Ukraine, the State Department confirmed to ABC News Tuesday morning.
“We can confirm the death of U.S. citizen Stephen Zabielski in Ukraine,” a State Department spokesperson said. “We have been in touch with the family and have provided all possible consular assistance. Out of respect to the family during this difficult time, we have nothing further.”
Zabielski’s death was first reported by Rolling Stone.
US officials again cautioned Americans against traveling to Ukraine, saying “that U.S. citizens in Ukraine should depart immediately if it is safe to do so using any commercial or other privately available ground transportation options.”
-ABC News’ Matthew Seyler
Jun 21, 5:39 am
Russia intensifies threats, announces retaliatory strikes
Following Ukraine’s attack on three oil drilling platforms in the Black Sea off the coast of Russian-annexed Crimea on Monday, Russian officials announced plans to strike critical Ukrainian targets in retaliation.
“The attack on the Chernomorneftegaz towers unleashes Russia’s hands,” Mikhail Sheremet, a Russian member of parliament, said on Monday as quoted by Russian media. “Retaliatory strikes on decision-making centers will be carried out in the near future,” Sheremet added.
Seven people remain missing after Ukraine’s strike on the drilling platforms, a source in the emergency services of Crimea said on Tuesday.
The fire on one of the oil rigs is still continuing, Russian Federation Council member from Crimea Olga Kovitidi told Interfax.
“With regards to the blaze, it is not abating on the oil rig. The fire approached the well overnight,” Kovitidi said.
On a day filled with intimidation tactics, Russia extended its threats to Lithuania on Monday, calling the Baltic country’s decision to suspend the transit of EU-sanctioned goods to the Russian Kaliningrad region “unprecedented” and “illegal.”
On June 18, Lithuania notified the Kaliningrad Railway of suspending the transit of EU-sanctioned goods through its territory. Up to half of ready-to-import goods, including building materials and metals, are subject to the ban, Kaliningrad region Governor Anton Alikhanov said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the Lithuanian Chargé d’Affaires on Monday and warned the Baltic diplomat of repercussions if freight transit to the Kaliningrad region is not restored in full in the near future.
“Russia reserves the right to take action to protect its national interests,” the Russian ministry told the Lithuanian official as reported by local media.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a tweet on Monday that “Russia has no right to threaten Lithuania.” According to Kuleba, “Moscow has only itself to blame for the consequences of its unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine.”
Yet on the same day, Russian officials announced military drills of the Baltic Fleet in the Kaliningrad region.
Several hundred firings of multiple rocket launcher systems, large-caliber guns and other artillery will be carried out during the exercises, the Baltic Fleet stated on Monday.
Maneuvers in the Kaliningrad region on Monday involved about 1,000 servicemen and more than 100 combat units, including special artillery equipment and missile units, according to Russian media.
Andriy Yermak, who heads the Ukrainian Presidential office, said Russia’s attempts to threaten Lithuania “are a challenge for the European Union and NATO.”
“Now it is important to maintain a stable position and not make concessions to Russia on sanctions and restrictions on the transit of goods from Russia to Kaliningrad,” Yermak said on Monday.
Any concession will be perceived by Russia as a weakness, the Ukrainian official added.
-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres, Max Uzol, Tatiana Rymarenko and Yuriy Zaliznyak
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told MSNBC that Americans Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh and Alexander Drueke, who were captured while fighting in Ukraine, “committed crimes,” and that they were not part of the Ukrainian armed forces and therefore not subject to the Geneva Conventions.
“They were involved in firing and shelling our military personnel, they were endangering their life and they should be responsible. They should be held responsible … for those crimes that they have committed,” he said.
The Geneva Conventions outline the humanitarian rights given to prisoners of war, however, mercenaries are not given the same protections.
Regarding WNBA star Brittney Griner, who has been detained in Russia since February, Peskov said she’s not a hostage.
He said Russia has strict drug laws and she was caught carrying banned substances.
Griner was taken into custody at an airport near Moscow after officials allegedly found vape cartridges with hashish oil in her bag. Hasish oil is illegal to possess in Russia. The U.S. government has classified her case as “wrongfully detained,” which means that the U.S. would work to negotiate her release.
Jun 20, 4:09 pm
Ben Stiller, a goodwill ambassador with UNHCR, visits Ukraine
Actor Ben Stiller, a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for the last five years, is visiting Ukraine to highlight the refugee crisis.
“I’m here meeting people forced to flee their homes due to the war in Ukraine. People have shared stories about how the war has changed their lives — how they’ve lost everything and are deeply worried about their future,” Stiller said Monday from Ukraine.
“Protecting people forced to flee is a collective global responsibility,” he said. “We have to remember this could happen to anyone, anywhere.”
Stiller was seen meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday. Stiller told the actor-turned-president, “What you’ve done and the way that you’ve rallied the country and for the world, it’s really inspiring.”
Stiller also met with displaced people in Poland.
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou
Jun 20, 2:10 pm
Russians launching large-scale offensive in Luhansk region
Serhiy Haidai, the head of the Regional Military Administration in Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, said the situation along the entire Luhansk front is “extremely” difficult with Russian forces “launching a large-scale offensive in our region.”
“They have accumulated a sufficient number of reserves and today all the free settlements of the region are on fire,” Haidai said.
The city of Lysychansk in the Luhansk Oblast has been coming under “massive” Russian fire all day, he said, with the number of victims unknown. He said Russian forces are advancing along the Lysychansk-Bakhmut highway and nearby settlements are under constant fire.
Haidai added that Ukrainian troops are only in control of the Azot chemical plant in Severodonetsk.
Olivia Rodrigo has been keeping busy with her SOUR World Tour — and her reported new boyfriend.
Peoplereports the Grammy winner is dating Instagram star and DJ Zack Bia. A source told the outlet “they’ve been dating since the Super Bowl. They really like each other.”
Representatives for Olivia, 19, and Zack, 26, have not commented on the reports.
Olivia was previously linked to 25-year-old producer Adam Faze, but the two never confirmed their relationship, which reportedly lasted for seven months. She also reportedly dated fellow High School Musical: The Musical: The Series co-star Joshua Bassett, and their breakup is rumored to have inspired her SOUR album.
As for Zack, he had an on-again, off-again relationship with singer Madison Beer — but the two called it quits in 2019. He was also seen canoodling with Outer Banks star Madelyn Cline in December, but he previously stated they are just friends that “hang out all the time.”
Judas Priest has added another U.S. leg to the band’s ongoing 50 Heavy Metal Years tour.
The newly announced fall outing will run from October 13 in Wallingford, Connecticut, to November 29 in Houston, Texas. Queensryche will also be on the bill.
“Defending the heavy metal faith for 50 years, the Priest is back!” says frontman Rob Halford.
Tickets go on sale this Friday, June 24, at 10 a.m. local time. For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit JudasPriest.com.
Priest first launched the 50 Heavy Metal Years tour, which celebrates the “Breaking the Law” icons’ 50th anniversary, in 2021 after being postponed from 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, Halford and company are set to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year with the Musical Excellence Award. The 2022 Induction Ceremony takes place November 5 in Los Angeles.
