National Headlines
Judge declares mistrial in Palisades Fire suspect’s federal trial
Jonathan Rinderknecht is seen in a photo released by the Department of Justice. (Department of Justice)(LOS ANGELES) -- The judge declared a mistrial Friday in the federal trial of the man accused of starting the deadly blaze that devastated the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles last year, with the jury deadlocked.Jonathan Rinderknecht was accused of "maliciously" starting a fire that six days later developed into what became known as the Palisades Fire, one of the most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles history.He was indicted on three federal counts -- destruction of property by means of fire, arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and timber set afire -- which carry up to 45 years in prison. He pleaded not ... Read More
John Bolton pleads guilty to 1 count of mishandling classified information
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and former National Security Advisor John Bolton arrive for a plea deal hearing at U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on June 26, 2026 in Greenbelt, Maryland. (Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images)(GREENBELT, Md.) -- President Donald Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton pleaded guilty Friday to one count of illegal retention of national security information. Bolton entered his plea to the single felony count in federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland, before U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang.The guilty plea makes Bolton thus far the only successfully prosecuted case in Trump's campaign of retribution against those he perceives to be his political enemies.Bolton had faced 18 counts of unlawful transmission and retention of national defense information for ... Read More
Billionaire Leon Black tells Oversight panel his payments to Jeffrey Epstein were for ‘bona fide advice’
Leon Black, chairman and chief executive officer of Apollo Global Management LLC, attends the annual Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, Calif., April 27, 2015. (Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)(WASHINGTON) -- Appearing before the House Oversight Committee Friday, private equity billionaire Leon Black said he was unaware of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's "demonic life" and that the $158 million he paid Epstein was for legitimate services and "bona fide advice," according to a copy of his opening remarks reviewed by ABC News.The latest in a series of rich and powerful people questioned about their relationship with Epstein as part of the House Oversight panel's ongoing probe, Black maintained a social relationship with Epstein since the mid-1990s and ... Read More
Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold accused of orchestrating kidnapping and robbery
Terrion Arnold is seen in a booking photo released by the Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office on June 24, 2026. (Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office)(TAMPA, Fla.) -- Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold faces multiple felony charges in Florida for allegedly orchestrating a kidnapping in which three men were robbed and beaten at gunpoint, authorities said.The 23-year-old NFL player is one of seven people arrested in connection with the "targeted armed robbery" in Tampa, police said. Arnold is accused of "coordinating and directing" the codefendants to "lure" the three men to an apartment, where they were allegedly beaten in retaliation for the alleged theft of more than $200,000 worth of his personal property from an Airbnb he had stayed at with friends ... Read More
Grandmother suspected in deaths of 4 grandchildren, daughter in New York home: Police
Police tape blocks off an area as investigators collect evidence after a man crashed his vehicle after being fatally shot during a confrontation with ICE officers on September 12, 2025, in Franklin Park, Illinois. The Chicago area has seen a surge in ICE activity recently, part of the Trump administration's crackdown on undocumented immigrants in the area dubbed "Operation Midway Blitz". (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)(MECHANICVILLE, N.Y.) -- Police in an upstate New York town said Thursday that a grandmother is suspected in the deaths of four of her grandchildren, her daughter and herself inside their apartment building.Officers in Mechanicville, New York, said they discovered the victims' bodies inside an apartment on Tuesday after neighbors reported not seeing them for ... Read More
Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ immigration detention center has closed, governor says
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - “Alligator Alcatraz,” the remote Florida immigration detention center that faced harsh criticism for its conditions, has shut down nearly a year after opening, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday. DeSantis said the center at an isolated airstrip in the Everglades was always meant to be only temporary until more permanent detention centers could be secured and federal officials now have that capacity. “It served its purpose for the time,” the Republican governor said at a news conference. Officials announced a temporary closure of the facility earlier in June and sent all of the detainees to other facilities, saying hurricane season made it unsafe to keep them in the Everglades. Immigration advocates said the tents were never safe ... Read More
Harvey Weinstein’s New York rape charge dropped after accuser says she can’t endure a fourth trial
NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein avoided a fourth trial on a New York rape charge after his accuser said she could not endure testifying again, leading prosecutors to drop the #MeToo-era case on Thursday. The movie mogul still stands convicted of another sexual felony in New York and others in California, and he remains behind bars. But the New York rape charge had remained unresolved after an overturned conviction followed by two hung juries. The judge formally dismissed the charge Thursday. Weinstein had a neutral expression as court officers led him out of court in his wheelchair. The Oscar-winning producer denies all the accusations. The rape charge concerned an allegation that he raped hairstylist and actor Jessica Mann in ... Read More
12 charged with allegedly using drones to smuggle contraband into prisons
A drone is seen carrying a payload as photographed by the Georgia Department of Corrections. (Georgia Department of Corrections)(NEW YORK) -- Twelve individuals have been charged in what the Justice Department is calling a vast conspiracy to smuggle contraband into 10 federal prisons across the country through a coordinated drone operation.The 17-count indictment, unsealed Wednesday, alleges that starting in September 2023, those charged allegedly used six drones to drop contraband at least 38 times into 10 federal prisons from Atlanta to Mississippi.ABC News reported last year on the escalating security threat that drones pose to prisons.The Bureau of Prisons has a drone alert system that notifies prison staff when a drone is nearby, according to court documents.Some of the individuals charged in ... Read More
Judge again directs DOJ to address whether ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ is dead
U.S. President Donald Trump during the G7 Summit on June 17, 2026 in Evian-les-Bains, France. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)(WASHINGTON) -- A federal judge is again directing the Justice Department to formally address whether the Trump administration's "Anti-Weaponization Fund" is dead, as the agency has claimed.The order, filed Wednesday by District Judge Leonie Brinkema, comes after the Justice Department refused to issue a signed declaration verifying the $1.8 billion fund was not moving forward.In her order, Brinkema said she is not satisfied with the DOJ's contention that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's recent testimony before Congress is proof enough that the fund is dead."That the defendants have refused to accord a genuine degree of trustworthiness to their representations about the Fund not going forward is particularly ... Read More
Suspect in Kansas City interstate shootings believed to be found dead: Police
The FBI said it is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the arrest of Oscar Sanchez-Munoz. (FBI)The man wanted by the FBI in a string of shootings in the Kansas City, Missouri, area is believed to have been found dead, according to police.Oscar Sanchez-Munoz, 22, allegedly shot at a car in Wyandotte County, Kansas, on June 11, authorities said, and then on June 16, he allegedly shot at five cars along Interstate 70 in Kansas City, Missouri. The June 16 shootings killed one person and wounded four, police said.On the night of June 16, Sanchez-Munoz barricaded himself inside a house in Independence, Missouri, east of Kansas City, and engaged in a standoff with police, authorities ... Read More
Father, son missing off Oahu coast, search underway
In this screen grab from a video released by the Honolulu Fire Department, HFD responded to a report of a missing swimmer reported at Hanauma Bay Ridge Trail, on June 24, 2026. (Honolulu Fire Department)(OAHU, Hawaii) -- The United States Coast Guard and local officials are conducting a search for a 49-year-old man and his 16-year-old son who went missing Tuesday morning after leaving for a hike on the eastern coast of Oahu, a Coast Guard press release said.Family members said the pair left their hotel at around 7 a.m. Tuesday to hike the Hanauma Bay Rock Bridge Trail, according to officials. Passersby found a backpack containing the man's belongings near the trail at 8:45 a.m. and notified the Honolulu Police ... Read More
Suspect arrested in back-to-back blowgun dart shootings in Cleveland
Police in Cleveland, Ohio, are investigating back-to-back attacks, June 22, 2026, in which victims were shot with blowgun darts similar to one in this photo. (The Washington Post via Getty Images)(CLEVELAND) -- A man suspected of shooting two people with blowgun darts in back-to-back broad daylight attacks this week in the same Cleveland, Ohio, neighborhood, has been arrested, police said on Wednesday.The 42-year-old suspect, whose name was not immediately released, was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of felony assault following a two-day manhunt, according to the Cleveland Police Department.One of the victims was shot multiple times with blow darts and had to undergo surgery, according to police.The bizarre attacks unfolded around 4 p.m. local time on Monday in the Clark-Fulton ... Read More
‘Canary in the coal mine’: States threaten crackdown on election betting
Booths await Maine residents to cast their ballots at a polling station inside the Portland Exposition Building on June 9, 2026 in Bangor, Maine. (CJ Gunther/Getty Images)(NEW YORK) -- On prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket, bettors can put money on dozens of election-related bets in Maryland, from the winner of the upcoming gubernatorial race to the margin of victory in the state's 6th Congressional District. For most Americans, the Maryland elections are fair game -- races in the state are already generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in trading volume on the major prediction markets. But not for residents of Maryland, which is one of a handful of states that ban election betting. And Jared DeMaranis, the state's election administrator, plans to enforce it. "If ... Read More
Trump says DOJ will ‘immediately’ look into price gouging at the gas pump
A view of gas pumps at a USA Gasoline station on May 04, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump has called for the Department of Justice to "immediately start looking into" oil companies as he accused them of price gouging and not lowering the "price at the pump" fast enough in a message on social media.“The big Oil Companies are not dropping their price at the pump commensurate with the sharply lower prices they are paying for Oil,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “Those prices are dropping like a rock! In other words, customers are being ‘gouged.’”“I have instructed the DOJ to immediately start looking into this,” Trump continued. “Gasoline prices ... Read More
Camp Mystic, following deadly flooding incident, files for bankruptcy
Search and recovery workers dig through debris looking for any survivors or remains of people swept up in the flash flooding near Camp Mystic on July 6, 2025 in Hunt, Texas. . (Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)(HUNT, Texas) -- Camp Mystic, the Christian all-girls sleepaway camp, filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday, according to court records. The Chapter 11 filing comes nearly a year after a deadly flood killed 25 girls and two teen counselors at the camp's Guadalupe River location, which is located in the Texas Hill Country.According to the Wednesday filing, Camp Mystic has a debt exceeding $10 million. Paul Yetter, an attorney representing seven victims' families, said in a statement Wednesday, "Bankruptcy will not stop all responsible parties from being held accountable.""These innocent ... Read More
Former chief of staff to ex-NYC Mayor Eric Adams arrested in federal bribery case
handcuffs fingerprints (ATU Images/Getty Images)(NEW YORK) -- Frank Carone, a former chief of staff to ex-New York Mayor Eric Adams, was arrested on Wednesday morning along with his brother Anthony and two others as part of a federal bribery case, according to federal investigators.While serving as chief of staff, Frank Carone allegedly "agreed to accept a series of bribe payments" as part of a scheme to "exploit the city's migrant crisis for profit," according to an indictment unsealed Wednesday in Brooklyn federal court.In 2022, during the influx of migrants into New York, the city needed to rent entire hotels to accommodate asylum-seekers using emergency contracts.Frank Carone allegedly accepted $120,000 in bribes from two co-defendants, Crystal Chen and Yan Po Zhu, ... Read More
FBI, NYPD search sites around city amid corruption investigation, sources say
Close up of the NYPD logo on a police car. (Tim Drivas Photography/Getty Images)(NEW YORK) -- The FBI and New York Police Department conducted searches on Wednesday morning at various locations around the city as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged corruption at the nation's largest police department.The investigation is targeting current and former police executives, sources familiar with it told ABC News.Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch issued a statement confirming the searches, saying the NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau was working alongside the FBI in executing search warrants "as part of a criminal investigation being pursued by the NYPD, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.""The investigation is ongoing and concerns conduct by ... Read More
‘I did not know’: Former Epstein secretary Lesley Groff denies any awareness of boss’ sex crimes
Lesley Groff (C), a former assistant to Jeffrey Epstein, arrives to testify at a closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill on June 09, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)(WASHINGTON) -- Lesley Groff, the former executive secretary of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, attempted to deflect any culpability in Epstein’s crimes, telling lawmakers that she routinely scheduled massages for her boss but never booked appointments for anyone she knew to be underage, according to a House Oversight Committee transcript released Tuesday."I never met these women, so I didn't know if they were young or how old they were," Groff said during her appearance earlier this month. "I thought that it was just something that he did, ... Read More
Bill Gates told House panel Epstein was plotting to blackmail him about extramarital affairs
Microsoft Co-Founder Bill Gates stops to speak to the media as he arrives to testify at a closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill on June 10, 2026, in Washington, DC. The committee is continuing to hold closed-door interviews as part of their investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. (Photo by Tom Brenner/Getty Images)(WASHINGTON) -- After Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates tried to end his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender attempted to use compromising information about Gates' extramarital affairs to force his way back into Gates' life -- but never explicitly threatened him, Gates told the House Oversight Committee earlier this month, according to a transcript of the closed-door session released Tuesday.Gates appeared before ... Read More
Another hydrothermal explosion has occurred at Yellowstone National Park
Looking south, toward Black Diamond Pool (steaming blue area in the left middle ground) along a fissure that formed during a small hydrothermal explosion on June 13, 2026, in Biscuit Basin, Yellowstone National Park. The fissure is about 18.5 meters (61 feet) long and filled with near-boiling water. (USGS)(WYOMING) -- Another hydrothermal explosion has occurred at Yellowstone National Park, highlighting the unstable nature of the reserve's extensive volcanic network, the U.S. Geological Survey says.On June 13, a small hydrothermal explosion occurred at Yellowstone's Biscuit Basin -- a popular thermal area located less than 2 miles northwest of Old Faithful, according to the USGS.The explosion occurred at 5:09 a.m. local time and did not cause any injuries, according to the USGS. ... Read More
2 dead in Northern California library shooting
Police line tape. Crime scene investigation. Forensic science. (D-Keine/Getty Images)(LOS ANGELES) -- Police arrested an 18-year-old suspect in a shooting Monday evening at a Northern California library, which left two dead and one injured, according to the Chico Police Department.Shots were fired soon after 5 p.m. at the Chico branch of the Butte County Library in Chico, California. Law enforcement took the suspect into custody as he fled the library out the back, Chico Police Chief Billy Aldridge said in a news conference on Monday.The suspect, identified as Bradley Scott Sayer, was arrested and is currently being held in the Butte County Jail on two counts of murder, according to Chico police.Officers said the suspect wanted a Columbine massacre-style shooting ... Read More
3 women dead in Philadelphia double murder-suicide
(PHILADELPHIA) -- Three women are dead in a double murder-suicide in a South Philadelphia home, police said.Janice Picano, 67, is believed to have shot Angelina Picano, 18, and Denise Grottini, 55, before turning the gun on herself on Monday, according to a preliminary investigation by the Philadelphia Police Department.Officers responded to a report of a person with a gun at around 5:30 p.m. on Monday. When officers arrived on the scene, they found three women shot, police said.All three women were pronounced dead shortly after 5:30 p.m., police said.The investigation into the incident remains active and ongoing. Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. ... Read More
LA warehouse fire continues to burn as officials warn residents of air quality issues
This photo released by the Los Angeles Fire Department, shows the Boylan Heights storage facility fire in Los Angeles, on June 21, 2026. (Los Angeles Fire Department)(LOS ANGELES) -- Firefighters continue to battle a massive blaze at a Los Angeles warehouse that has been burning for nearly a week, which has spread heavy smoke for miles.As of Tuesday morning, the fire at the Boyle Heights Storage Facility, which stores frozen food, is still ongoing, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.Due to the facility's architecture and cold storage shelving, crews have to battle the blaze from the outside as they cannot ventilate the insulated roof, Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Jaime Moore told reporters Monday."The entire roof has been compromised, ... Read More
Wind-whipped Utah wildfire surpasses 31,000 acres, prompts evacuations
Fire weather danger. (ABC News)(NEW YORK) -- A wildfire burning in Utah has grown to more than 31,000 acres, prompting mandatory evacuations of homes and campgrounds and completely closing a highway in the mountainous area.Fueled by drought conditions and blustery winds, firefighters are waging twin battles against two major blazes, both measuring more than 48 square miles, officials said.The Cottonwood Fire in Beaver County started Monday afternoon and spread rapidly, fanned by wind gusts of up to 50 mph, according to Utah Fire Info.Overnight, the Cottonwood fire grew by nearly 7,000 acres "due to high temperatures, gusty winds, and extremely dry fuels," the U.S. Forest Service said in a statement early Wednesday. The fire remains 0% contained.The Cottonwood Fire ignited around 3:36 p.m. on ... Read More
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