EXCLUSIVE I'm a former FBI boss. There is a 'sleeper' threat that could lead to the biggest US terror attack since 9/11
A former FBI boss has warned of the biggest terrorist attack on US soil since 9/11 from a sleeper cell of militants who slipped into the country during the 'open borders' of the Biden era.
Chris Swecker, an assistant FBI director in the 2000s, says Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terrorist groups likely snuck sleeper agents into the US when the southern border was swamped with migrants.
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Wales Online
32 minutes ago
- Wales Online
Comedian Dawn French apologises for posting controversial Israel-Hamas video
Comedian Dawn French apologises for posting controversial Israel-Hamas video The Vicar Of Dibley actress Dawn French has apologised for a video she posted online regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict, saying she "clumsily used a mocking tone" and it "appeared one-sided" Dawn French publicly apologised following the controversial video (Image: undefined via Getty Images ) Comedian Dawn French issued an apology after her attempt at satire on the Israel-Hamas conflict fell flat with audiences, accepting she "clumsily used a mocking tone" which "appeared one-sided." The Vicar Of Dibley star took to social media earlier this week with a video where she alternated between her regular voice and a higher-pitched imitation. In a video addressing the conflict, she said: "Complicated, no, but nuanced", while concluding with a firm "Bottom line is, no." In a higher-register she quipped: "Yeah, but you know they did a bad thing to us." However, in light of criticism, Dawn has removed the contentious video from X and shared an apology, stressing that her aim was never "to mock, or dismiss, or diminish the horror of what happened" on October 7, 2023. Her latest statement on Saturday, opened with: "Ok, it's important to address this. "I posted a video in the style I've been using for social media in an effort to convey an important point. I clumsily used a mocking tone." She stated explicitly: "My intention was NEVER to mock, or dismiss, or diminish the horror of what happened on 7 October 2023 and what continues to unfold from that brutal unthinkable, unforgivable, savage attack." Article continues below She emotionally added, "My heart broke for the many innocent people and their families that were killed, tortured, r@ped and kidnapped. The fact that hostages are still held is utterly appalling. "My intention was to mock and point the finger of shame at the behaviour of the cruel leaders on ALL sides of this atrocious war, who have continued to behave like the worst, dangerous, sickening bullies and seem to relish the tyrannical and childish one-up-manship of the violence. "THEY were my target, but clearly I failed to do that, and that's on me. I apologise unreservedly. "I'm particularly sorry that my disgust at Hamas didn't figure. It appeared one-sided, and that is wrong. "I am a person, who like many others, is feeling increasingly helpless and hopeless as we witness the carnage and destruction worsen. "The images of starving and wounded children have haunted me day and night. History has taught us never to stand by and allow this kind of inhumane violence to be wrought on anyone, especially innocent children. Article continues below "I have felt my silence is complicit or even somehow sanctioning. So in my small way I wanted to voice my desire to say NO – to BOTH sides – to any further violence. "I hope you will understand my intention was not to offend, but clearly I have. For which I'm sorry and I have removed the video." For the latest TV and showbiz news sign up to our newsletter
Daily Mail
33 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Teen boy shoots himself dead after 'sextortion' scam that's every parent's worst nightmare
A Kentucky teen took his own life after being targeted in a cruel 'sextortion' scam that used AI-generated nude images to try to blackmail him. Elijah Heacock, 16, of Glasgow, was getting ready for bed on February 27 when he received a chilling text demanding $3,000 to keep an AI-generated nude photo of him from being shared with friends and family, KFDA News reported. Only hours later, his family found him inside their home's laundry room gravely injured by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Despite efforts to save him, Elijah died in the hospital the next day. It wasn't until the teen was in the hospital that his parents discovered the AI-generated photos on his phone, uncovering the disturbing reality behind his suicide. The digital evidence revealed that he had fallen victim to a sextortion scam - where criminals target young people online, threatening to release explicit images unless they pay up or comply with potentially harmful demands. Now, more than three months after the tragedy, Elijah's family is channeling their grief into action - fighting to make it a federal crime to post both real and generated sexually-oriented images of someone online without their consent. 'The people that are after our children are well organized,' Elijah's father, John Burnett, told CBS News. 'They are well financed, and they are relentless.' 'They don't need the photos to be real, they can generate whatever they want, and then they use it to blackmail the child,' he added. 'It's kind of like a bullet in a war. It's not going to win the war. No war is ever won by one bullet. You got to win battles. You got to win fights. And we're in it.' On the night of February 27, Elijah's mother, Shannon, urged him to get to bed early, reminding him of the district basketball playoff game the next day in their hometown, the Wall Street Journal reported. Elijah - known to his parents as 'their tornado' for his bold spirit and relentless ambition - seemed excited for the events planned the next day, WLKY reported. Just before 10:30pm, the teen texted his mother about grabbing coffee before the game the next morning, the WSJ reported. An hour after Shannon went to sleep, her daughter jolted her awake with gut-wrenching news no mother ever wants to hear. Elijah was found in the laundry room, bloodied, after shooting himself. The 16-year-old 'wasn't depressed, he wasn't sad, he wasn't angry,' Burnett told CBS News about his son. Now, more than three months after the tragedy, Elijah's family is channeling their grief into action - fighting to make it a federal crime to post both real and generated sexually-oriented images of someone online without their consent The grim truth began to unravel as Elijah's parents searched his phone, ultimately discovering a series of AI-generated nude photographs. 'They started asking Eli for money,' Shannon told KFDA of the blackmailer. 'This person was asking for $3,000.' 'Three-thousand dollars from a child,' she added. 'And now, we're looking at $30,000 to bury our son and medical bills.' After being alerted to the disturbing images, the Barren County Sheriff's Office arrived at the hospital, where a deputy reviewed its contents firsthand. In the final hour before Elijah took his own life, he exchanged more than 150 text messages with the person threatening him, the WSJ reported. If he didn't send the $3,000, the person warned, a fake nude image of him would be sent to friends and family. It quickly became clear the case needed to be escalated to the FBI. Elijah's case wasn't a rare occurrence, but rather part of a growing trend in the age of advanced technology and chatbots. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), more than 500,000 sextortion cases targeting minors were reported last year alone. At least 20 young individuals have taken their own lives since 2021 after falling victim to sextortion scams, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 'You don't actually need any technical skills at this point to create this kind of illegal and harmful material,' Dr. Rebecca Portnoff, head of data science at a non-profit focused on preventing online child exploitation, told CBS News. In January 2024, 15-year-old David Gonzalez Jr. died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after becoming the target of the sex scam, the WSJ reported. The Utah teenager was contacted by what appeared to be a teenage girl on the social media app Wizz, and the conversation quickly moved across Instagram, Snapchat and iMessage - continuing throughout the day. Eventually, one of the perpetrators told the boy they knew where he lived and threatened to release screenshots from a live video call he had participated in with the supposed girl. Junior didn't have the $200 they demanded - and just hours later, his parents were shattered by the sound of a gunshot from upstairs. A bill introduced in the Kentucky Senate this year aims to criminalize sexual extortion, set penalties for offenders, and implement measures to tackle the growing problem. 'This is a problem that our young people and others are facing that is devastating,' said Steve Riley, State Representative for Barren County. 'Can you imagine the pain that a parent has to go through in this situation?' On March 7, Riley spoke about Elijah on the Kentucky House floor, sharing that he had spoken with Shannon following her son's death. The bill now awaits Governor Andy Beshear's signature to become law. 'We have to do everything as a body and as a state to deal with this situation,' Riley added. 'What kind of lowlife human being would use sexual extortion to devastate another person, both emotionally, mentally, and financially? That's what we're dealing with.' On a larger scale, the government is stepping up efforts to combat extortion, including the recently passed 'Take It Down' Act - championed by Melania Trump and signed into law by President Trump. Elijah's parents also fought for the change with hopes that the recently signed measure will make a difference. The 'Take It Down' Act not only makes sharing fake/real explicit images online without consent a federal charge, but it also requires social media companies to remove the images within 48 hours of the victim's request.
Telegraph
41 minutes ago
- Telegraph
British lawyers for Hamas investigated by watchdog
The law firm trying to remove Hamas from the UK's list of proscribed terrorist groups is being investigated by a solicitors' watchdog, The Telegraph understands. Riverway Law made headlines in April when it launched an appeal to have Hamas taken off Britain's list of proscribed groups. The firm made a submission to Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, arguing that Hamas posed 'no threat to the UK people' and should be allowed to operate here on free speech grounds. Just days after submitting its appeal to the Home Office, the firm was reported to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) by Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary. Mr Jenrick argued that Riverway's appeal potentially breached UK sanctions rules on terror groups. He also drew attention to apparent social media posts about the war in Gaza by Fahad Ansari, the leading lawyer in the case and the director of Riverway. The posts included claims that Hamas is a 'legitimate resistance movement' protecting Palestinians from 'UK-sponsored Israeli genocide'. A good reminder that in the majority of the world, Hamas is not a banned group but is viewed as a legitimate resistance movement fighting for liberation against a genocidal apartheid state occupying Palestinian land. — Fahad Ansari 🇵🇸 (Stop the Gaza genocide) (@fahadansari) December 6, 2023 The SRA is understood to be at an early phase of its investigation and no conclusions have yet been reached. In a letter to the watchdog sent in April, Mr Jenrick said there was 'a clear need to uphold public confidence in the legal profession and to ensure rigorous enforcement of the UK sanctions regime'. He said that there were 'significant questions as to whether Riverway have complied with their obligations under the UK sanctions regime, the SRA's own published guidance and broader professional standards expected of solicitors'. Mr Ansari has defended his firm's actions. In response to Mr Jenrick's complaint he said: 'We were in contact with OFSI [the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation], external counsel and others who had represented sanctioned organisation[s], to ensure that we did not breach our duties under the sanctions regime.' Riverway submitted a 106-page application to the Home Office in April, accompanied by a video which was posted to its social media channels. Today, our legal team submitted the application to the Home office to remove Hamas from the banned list of organisations under UK Counter terrorism powers You can read the full legal application here: — Riverway Law (@riverwaylaw) April 9, 2025 The application argued the proscription of Hamas in the UK should be lifted in line with European Convention of Human Rights protections in the interest of freedom of speech. It also claimed the ban is disproportionate and that Hamas poses 'no threat to the UK people'. The ongoing appeal, believed to be the first of its kind, is being fronted by Mousa Abu Marzouk, Hamas's head of international relations and its legal office. Mr Jenrick welcomed the SRA's investigation on Saturday, telling The Telegraph: 'Our sanctions regime is pointless if it isn't enforced. 'Ansari is a shameless apologist who argues Hamas poses no threat to the British people. What nonsense. This evil death cult threatens free people everywhere.' Mr Ansari has previously appeared to make a series of controversial social media posts related to the ongoing Israel-Gaza war. In posts dating from last year he appeared to praise fighters of the 'courageous Palestinian mujahideen', wrote 'you should view Hamas as an army of angels' and dismissed international courts as 'hopeless', saying that 'only armed resistance' would help Palestinians. In April last year, a post on his X account said: 'Eid Mubarak to everyone celebrating especially the courageous Palestinian mujahideen who continue to resist the Western-backed Israeli genocide entirely on their own. You are the pride of this Ummah. May you celebrate Eid one day in a fully liberated Palestine.'
