St. Paul police recover Suni Lee sculpture plaque, but bust still missing
Officials say someone stole the bronze bust of Olympic gymnast Suni Lee from Phalen Regional Park last week. On Monday, police confirmed they had pulled the granite plaque from a nearby lake.
The artist behind the statue is Seexeng Lee, one of Suni Lee's family members. He says the theft happened on the two-year anniversary of the bust's unveiling.
"What are the odds?" said Seexeng Lee. "Then when the photo got to me my jaw dropped. I'm like, no, can it be?"
Seexeng Lee had worked in secret to surprise Suni Lee with the piece two years ago. He hoped the statue would spark pride in the east side community she came from.
"I try so hard to to use art as a vehicle to capture that essence of community through Suni, and that's why it hurts when it's like no this piece is about Suni but it's not just about her it's about us," he said.
Seexeng Lee has ideas for what could come next. But he's still holding out hope police will find the original.
"I think all of us are still hoping for full recovery and nothing's damaged to it and we could put it back and make it better than before," he said.
St. Paul police are asking if anyone saw something to give them a call.
Note: The above video first aired on Aug. 1, 2025.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
At Least 1 Dead, Multiple Injured After U.S. Steel Plant Explodes, Authorities Say
Aerial footage appeared to show serious structural damage following the Pennsylvania blast on Aug. 11NEED TO KNOW At least one person is dead, and others have been injured after the U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works plant exploded in Pennsylvania on Monday, Aug. 11 A spokesperson for the Allegheny County Department of Emergency Services confirmed to PEOPLE there has been one fatality, while multiple individuals have been injured Two people are believed to be unaccounted for, according to the Allegheny County Emergency Services DepartmentAt least one person has died and others are injured after an explosion at a steel plant in Pennsylvania, authorities said. Emergency workers are responding to the deadly explosion at the U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works plant in Clairton, Penn., Kasey Reigner, a public information officer for the Allegheny County Department of Emergency Services, said in a statement to PEOPLE. At least one person has been killed in the incident, Reigner added. Their identity has not been released at this time. Allegheny County Emergency Services and Allegheny County Police are currently on scene investigating, she said. It was not immediately clear what caused the blast. Reigner said the scene remains active and the public is asked to avoid the area. "Two people are currently believed to be unaccounted for, and multiple individuals have been treated for additional injuries. The status of those individuals is not known at this time," Reigner said. Dark grey smoke could be seen billowing as the explosion occurred during a time-lapse video shared by ABC affiliate WTAE. Aerial footage from the station appeared to show serious structural damage in the aftermath of the blast. "My administration is in touch with local officials in Clairton, PA as they respond to an explosion at US Steel Clairton Coke Works plant this morning," Penn. Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a post on X, adding that the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and state police are in touch with first responders. "The scene is still active, and folks nearby should follow the direction of local authorities. Please join Lori and me in praying for the Clairton community." Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Zachary Buday told WTAE he was working nearby when the incident occurred. "Felt like thunder. Shook the scaffold, shook my chest, then shook the building. Then we saw the smoke coming up from the steel mill," Buday told the station. Read the original article on People
TechCrunch
21 minutes ago
- TechCrunch
U.S. government seized $1 million from Russian ransomware gang
The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Monday it has seized the servers and $1 million in Bitcoin from the prolific Russian ransomware gang behind the BlackSuit and Royal malware. According to the press release, a coalition of global law enforcement agencies, including from the U.S., Canada, Germany, Ireland, France, U.K., and others, seized four servers and nine domains on July 24. In addition, authorities also seized around $1 million in cryptocurrency. BlackSuit and Royal are two different types of ransomware, believed to be developed by the same Russian cybercriminal gang that has targeted critical infrastructure in the United States and beyond. 'BlackSuit actors have demanded over $500 million USD in total and the largest individual ransom demand was $60 million,' the U.S. cybersecurity agency CISA said in an advisory last year. 'The BlackSuit ransomware gang's persistent targeting of U.S. critical infrastructure represents a serious threat to U.S. public safety,' Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said in the press release. According to ICE's Homeland Security Investigations, which led the investigation, Royal and BlackSuit have compromised more than 450 victims in the U.S., 'including entities in the healthcare, education, public safety, energy and government sectors.' And, in total, the cybercriminals have earned more than $370 million in ransom payments since 2022. The recovered bitcoin was recovered from a digital currency exchange account, whose funds were frozen in January of last year, according to the announcement.
Associated Press
22 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Trump's order to deploy troops in DC is his latest use of the National Guard in cities
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is bringing in 800 National Guard members to help law enforcement fight crime in Washington, but just 100 to 200 of the troops will be on the city's streets at any given time, the Army said. Trump's directive on Monday for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to activate the National Guard is just the latest example of him sending the Guard into cities to support immigration enforcement or fight crime over the objection of local and state officials. How the National Guard deployment in DC will work According to the Army, Guard troops will be deployed under Title 32, or 'federal-state status' authority. That means the troops can conduct law enforcement activities on the streets of the nation's capital — though, at the moment, that doesn't appear to be the plan. 'Their duties will include an array of tasks from administrative, logistics and physical presence in support of law enforcement,' according to a statement from the Army, to which the District of Columbia National Guard directed all questions. About 500 federal law enforcement officers are being assigned to patrols in Washington, including from the FBI; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Drug Enforcement Administration; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and the Marshals Service. Hegseth told reporters that Guard members will be 'flowing into the streets of Washington in the coming week.' He also said the Pentagon was 'prepared to bring in other National Guard units — other specialized units,' though he didn't offer any further details. The timeline for the troop deployment also is vaguely defined. According to Trump's directive, National Guard troops will remain deployed until the president determines 'that conditions of law and order have been restored.' Besides the 800 Guard members, Trump said 'we will bring in the military if it's needed' — seemingly referring to active duty troops in addition to the Guard — but added that 'I don't think we'll need it.' Trump recently sent Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles The deployment of troops to Washington comes after the Pentagon has pulled out the vast majority of the roughly 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 active duty Marines that Trump sent to Los Angeles in late June. Trump argued that the deployment was necessary after his administration's immigration crackdown led to protests throughout the city. Troops were largely tasked with protecting federal buildings and guarding immigration agents as they conducted raids. Hegseth compared plans to send troops into the nation's capital to their deployment to the U.S.-Mexico border and to Los Angeles. 'We will work alongside all D.C. police and federal law enforcement,' Hegseth said. However, California's governor and city officials argued that the LA deployment was unnecessary and went to court to try to fight it. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told reporters that the National Guard's primary mission had been to guard two buildings that 'frankly didn't need to be guarded.' In addition, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, also a Democrat, has questioned the effectiveness of using the Guard to enforce city laws. 'I just think that's not the most efficient use of our Guard,' she said Sunday on MSNBC's 'The Weekend.' Trump deployed the Guard to Washington in his first term This is also not the first time Trump unilaterally has chosen to use federal forces in the U.S. capital. In 2020, during the protests over the police killing of George Floyd, Trump deployed the National Guard and federal law enforcement to the city, at one point using them to forcibly clear peaceful protesters from a square near the White House so he could stage a photo op. It became a controversial moment in his first administration in part because Gen. Mark Milley, who was then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, appeared alongside Trump. Some saw Milley's presence as the military's endorsement of using troops against U.S. citizens. Milley later apologized.
