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Police charge man with providing fertility clinic bombing materials

Police charge man with providing fertility clinic bombing materials

UPIa day ago

Daniel Jongyon Park of Kent, Wash., was arrested Tuesday on charges of providing material support to the man who bombed a Palm Springs, Calif., fertility clinic in May. Photo courtesy of the FBI
June 4 (UPI) -- Federal officials have arrested a Washington man they said provided "significant quantities" of explosive materials to the man who attacked a California fertility clinic in a suicide bombing.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in the Central District of California charged Daniel Jongyon Park of Kent, Wash., with providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists.
Officials arrested him Tuesday night shortly after he arrived on a flight to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. Park had been deported from Poland where he traveled to in the days after the May 17 attack.
Police said Edward Bartkus of Twentynine Palms, Calif., attacked the American Reproductive Centers location in Palm Springs, Calif., using a vehicle-borne bomb. He was allegedly motivated by his anti-natalist views that people shouldn't be brought into the world without their consent.
The Justice Department said Park shared Bartkus' views and bought and shipped more than 200 pounds of ammonium nitrate to Bartkus' home. Park also joined Bartkus in Twentynine Palms, where the two allegedly conducted experiments on how to build explosives using the chemicals.
Attorney General Pam Bondi thanked the Polish government for assisting in returning Park to the United States to face charges.
"Bringing chaos and violence to a facility that exists to help women and mothers is a particularly cruel, disgusting crime that strikes at the very heart of our shared humanity," she said.

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Four killed, 53 injured in Russian drone, missile attack on Ukraine
Four killed, 53 injured in Russian drone, missile attack on Ukraine

UPI

time34 minutes ago

  • UPI

Four killed, 53 injured in Russian drone, missile attack on Ukraine

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USSS Ordered Destruction of White House Cocaine Day After Closing Case
USSS Ordered Destruction of White House Cocaine Day After Closing Case

Yahoo

time38 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

USSS Ordered Destruction of White House Cocaine Day After Closing Case

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The Uniformed Division, which is charged with protecting the facilities and venues for presidents, was a key player in the decision-making because one of its officers had discovered the cocaine on July 2, 2023, a quiet Sunday when President Biden and his family were at Camp David in Maryland. On Sunday night, after Secret Service Technical Services Division officers couldnt identify the white substance, the Uniformed Division locked down the White House and called in the D.C. Fire Department hazmat teams to ensure that it wasnt anthrax or ricin. The discovery of the bag of cocaine posed a problem for Cheatle, who resigned in the face of bipartisan pressure after the July 13 assassination attempt against Donald Trump. Hunter Biden had a well-documented addiction to cocaine, crack cocaine, and other substances for many years but repeatedly claimed to be sober since 2021, an assertion that had prompted former President Biden to often proclaim how "proud" he is of his son. While neither Joe nor Hunter Biden were at the executive mansion when the cocaine was found, it was discovered after a period when Hunter had been staying there. Cheatle became close to the Biden family while serving on Vice President Joe Bidens protective detail - so close that Biden tapped Cheatle for the director job in2022, in part because of her close relationship to first lady Jill Biden. During the feverish speculation in the days and weeks after the cocaines discovery, the White House refused to answer whether the cocaine came from a Biden family member and labeled as"irresponsible"reporters who asked about a possible link to Hunter or another Biden family member. Its unclear exactly when Cheatle and other top officials tried to persuade the Forensics Services Division to destroy the evidence. At some point during the brief investigation, Matt White, the vault supervisor, received a call from Cheatle or someone speaking on her behalf asking him to destroy the bag of cocaine because agency leaders wanted to close the case, according to two sources in the Secret Service community. Whites boss, Glenn Dennis, head of the Forensics Services Division, then conferred with the Uniformed Division, which first discovered the cocaine. At some point, Cheatle appears to have overruled Richard Macauley, who appears to have paid a price in his Secret Service career - at least temporarily - for standing his ground. At the time of the cocaines discovery, Macauley was serving as the acting chief of the Uniformed Division after the recent retirement of Alfonso Dyson Sr., a 29-year veteran of the agency. When Dyson left his position, Macauley, who is black, and was named the Secret Services Uniformed Division Officer of the Year in 2018, became acting director. Despite Cheatles push to hire and promote minority men and women, Macauley was passed over for the job of Uniformed Division chief in what some in the agency suspected was an act of retaliation for supporting those who refused to dispose of the cocaine. Cheatle brought in Mike Buck, an agent who was in retirement, to serve in the top U.D. role instead of Macauley. After Trump chose Sean Curran to lead the agency, however, Buck left, and Curran tapped Macauley to replace him. Shifting Secret Service public statements, overly redacted documents, and media misinterpretations have contributed to an avalanche of lingering questions about the cocaine. Several major media outlets initially reported that the Secret Service had discovered the drug in the White House library, citing a D.C. Fire EMS dispatch call that appeared to state that the substance was found there. 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"Its going to compare the spectra collected in the field to the spectra in the library and make an identification match." After correcting mistaken reports that the cocaine was found in the White House library, media reports then cited a Guglielmi statement that the cocaine was found in a "West Wing workspace." Days later, Guglielmi clarified further that it was found in a small locker in a vestibule near the West Executive Avenue entrance to the West Wing, a heavily trafficked area where visitors and lower-level staff store electronics before VIP tours. A FOIA-released internal Secret Service document further muddied the waters by claiming that the cocaine was found in the "[redacted] lobby floor," creating even more suspicion surrounding the location where the cocaine was first discovered. Sources familiar with the statement in a Secret Service Protective Division document said it was not a reference to the physical floor of a room, but the lobby level of the West Wing where the lockers were located in a vestibule leading into it. The Secret Service has confirmed that "locker 50," where the cocaine was allegedly left, has a missing key. Susan Crabtree is RealClearPolitics' national political correspondent.

A Southwest passenger kicked and spat at the crew when they tried to stop her from opening an exit in midair, affidavit says
A Southwest passenger kicked and spat at the crew when they tried to stop her from opening an exit in midair, affidavit says

Business Insider

timean hour ago

  • Business Insider

A Southwest passenger kicked and spat at the crew when they tried to stop her from opening an exit in midair, affidavit says

A Southwest flight from Nashville to Phoenix diverted to Oklahoma. A passenger is accused of kicking and spitting at cabin crew after trying to open an exit in midair. Jendaya Kashar Brennan was charged with interference with flight crew members and attendants. A Southwest Airlines passenger was indicted on Tuesday, accused of assaulting a flight attendant, which in turn led to the flight being diverted. Jendaya Kashar Brennan, 30, also tried to open the plane's emergency exit in midair, says an FBI special agent's affidavit. The incident occurred on May 22 on Southwest Flight 3239 from Nashville to Phoenix. Data from Flightradar24 shows how the Boeing 737 diverted to Oklahoma City, around halfway through the typically 3-hour journey. Crew members told the FBI special agent that Brennan told the flight attendants she wanted to get off the plane. Brennan, who was sitting in the last row, tried to use the rear exit door, while a flight attendant had to block her, per the affidavit. It adds that after Brennan continued screaming and ignoring the crew's requests to stop trying to exit the plane, two passengers were asked to help restrain her. While somebody trying to open a plane's exit in midair would be a frightening situation, it is not possible to actually open the door at altitude. The cabin's pressure is much higher than outside, producing huge forces that keep the doors sealed shut. The affidavit says that flight attendants started to apply wrist restraints to Brennan while she kicked them in the legs and spat at them. It also says that Brennan tried to pull one flight attendant by their lanyard, before the crew also applied leg restraints. "Brennan continued to fight the flight crew and broke her wrist restraints," the affidavit says. The two passengers, who were retired correctional officers, held down Brennan's hand, per the affidavit. The captain said he decided to divert the plane to Oklahoma City to prevent the flight attendants or passengers from being injured. "Brennan continued to actively scream and yell until the flight landed," and local police carried her off the plane, the affidavit says. Brennan was charged with one count of interference with flight crew members and attendants. If found guilty, she could face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

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