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UPI
a day ago
- Politics
- UPI
Romanian man pleads guilty to leading 'swatting' of U.S. officials
A Romanian man on Monday in Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty as the ringleader of a group making bomb threats and triggering "swatting" attacks against U.S. officials and legislators, the Justice Department said. File photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo June 2 (UPI) -- A Romanian man on Monday pleaded guilty as the ringleader of a group making bomb threats and triggering "swatting" attacks against 75 U.S. public officials, including members of Congress, four religious institutions and journalists, the Justice Department said. Thomasz Szabo, 26, was extradited from Romania to the District of Columbia in November, DOJ said in a news release. Szabo and his co-conspirators reported false emergencies at government buildings, houses of worship, and private residences, including the homes of senior government officials, prosecutors said. Nemanja Radovanovic, 21, of Serbia, was charged with Szabo in August 2024 on one count of conspiracy, 29 counts of threats and false information regarding explosives, and four counts of transmitting threats in interstate and foreign commerce. Szabo, who is also known as Plank, Jonah and Cypher, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of threats involving explosives. He faces up to 15 years in prison for the two counts. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 23. "This defendant led a dangerous swatting criminal conspiracy, deliberately threatening dozens of government officials with violent hoaxes and targeting our nation's security infrastructure from behind a screen overseas," Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. In late 2020, Szabo founded an online community that falsely reported threats at the addresses for the purpose of provoking a police response there, DOJ said. He was the moderator of chat groups. The false reports included a threat in December 2020 to commit a mass shooting at New York City synagogues, and one in January 2021 to detonate explosives at the U.S. Capitol and kill President-elect Joe Biden. Szabo publicized "swatting" activity to his followers and encouraged them to engage in behavior like that. From Dec. 24, 2023, to early January 2024, DOJ said members of Szabo's group committed swatting and bomb threats that included at least 25 members of U.S. Congress or family members, at least six current or former senior U.S. Executive Branch officials, at least 13 current or former senior federal law enforcement officials, multiple members of the federal judiciary and at least 27 current or former state government officials or family members of officials. Also targeted were religious institutions and remembers of the media. "I did 25+ swattings today," one subordinate bragged to Sazabi, and "creating massive havoc in America. $500,000+ in taxpayers wasted in just two days." Investigating the cases were the U.S. Secret Service Washington Field Office and Criminal Investigative Division, the FBI's Washington and Minneapolis Field Offices, and the U.S. Capitol Police. In December, U.S. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger testified before the Senate Rules and Administration Committee about the need for more officers as the number of threats against members of Congress escalates. Other agencies assisting were in Bucharest, Romania; south Florida, central Florida; Syracuse, N.Y.; western Washington State; South Dakota; southern Illinois; and northern New York. "Today, Szabo pleaded guilty to a years-long conspiracy that targeted victims with swatting and bomb threats, including to government buildings, houses of worship and homes of government officials," FBI Director Kash Patel said. "Swatting endangers lives and will not be tolerated by the FBI. We are fully committed to working with our partners." "Anyone who hijacks police resources for senseless crimes like these will have to answer for their actions," interim U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro in the District of Columbia said. Szabo was born in Egypt and lived in Kuwait for 17 years.
UPI
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- UPI
Scripps National Spelling Bee finals air Thursday night
Dev Shah, 14, from Largo, Fla., won the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee by spelling the word "psammophile" on June 1, 2023. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo May 29 (UPI) -- The final round of the prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee gets underway at 8 p.m. EDT on Thursday with nine contestants vying for the title. The event pits 243 spelling champions from every state and the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands to determine which one earns the Scripps Cup during the spelling competition's 100th year. Contestants from Canada, the Bahamas, Germany, Ghana, Kuwait and Nigeria also compete for the title. National Spelling Bee contestants must not be older than age 15 or have progressed beyond the eighth grade. They advance to the National Spelling Bee by competing in regional competitions. This year's nine finalists are between the ages of 11 and 14. Last year's runner-up, Faizan Zaki, 13, from Allen, Texas, is among the nine finalists. He lost in a tie-breaking spell-off to last year's winner, Bruhat Soma. The winner receives a custom trophy, $52,500 in cash prizes, a commemorative medal and a one-year subscription to reference works from Merriam-Webster and the Encyclopedia Britannica. All finalists receive at least $2,000, with the second-place finisher winning $25,000. More than one person can tie for the championship. When two or more contestants tie for the title, each receives the $50,000 grand prize from the National Spelling Bee. The finals will be aired live on ion, which is available via streaming and many television cable and satellite subscription services. This year's National Spelling Bee began on Tuesday, when 60 contestants were eliminated during a preliminary spelling and vocabulary round. Another 84 spellers were eliminated later on Tuesday after completing a written spelling and vocabulary test. Three quarterfinal rounds held narrowed the field to 57 semifinalists on Wednesday, and four semifinal rounds produced the nine contestants who qualified for Thursday night's final round. The Scripps National Spelling Bee has been held annually since 1925, when nine students competed for the title. It was suspended from 1943 to 1945 due to World War II and in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The competition has created a historical archive to celebrate the spelling competition's centennial year. This year's competition is its 97th and is being held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Md., which has hosted the event since 2011.
UPI
27-05-2025
- UPI
2 dead, 9 injured in shooting at Philadelphia park
Two people were killed and nine others injured in a shooting at a park in Philadelphia on Memorial Day. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI. | License Photo May 27 (UPI) -- Authorities in Philadelphia continue to search for the shooter or shooters behind gunfire that left two people dead and nine injured in the city's Fairmount Park. Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel announced early Tuesday that two adults, a man and a woman, were killed in the incident that occurred Monday night, and there were also three teens between the ages of 15 and 17 among the injured. Police said the incident happened near a pavilion in a section of the park that is popular for cookouts. Police also noted that the gunfire took place even as officers were nearby. According to Bethel, several rounds were fired, and it was not immediately clear whether more than one weapon was involved. A crashed Hyundai was also reported to be connected to the incident but how it was involved and whether anyone in the vehicle was shot remains unclear. No one has yet been arrested in connection with the case, and no weapons related to the gunplay have been recovered.
UPI
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- UPI
SZA takes home early award at American Music Awards
SZA performs during the halftime show at Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on February 9. On Monday, she took home the American Music Awards prize for Favorite R&B Song. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo May 26 (UPI) -- SZA took home the first prize at the American Music Awards on Monday in Las Vegas for her song "Saturn." She won for Favorite R&B Song, one of six nominations for the night, including Artist of the Year, Collaboration of the Year, Favorite Hip-Hop Song, Favorite Female R&B Artist and Favorite R&B Album. "I'm so grateful for everyone that worked on this song," SZA said during her acceptance speech. Blake Shelton made his first appearance at the AMAs, singing his hit "Stay Country or Die Tryin.'" The show opened with a performance by host Jennifer Lopez briefly singing her 2012 hit "Dance Again" followed by a dance routine to a medley of 23 of the year's biggest hits by Chappell Roan, Billie Eilish, Shaboozey, Béyonce and more.
UPI
22-05-2025
- UPI
U.S. officials say Chicago sting in February seized nearly $34M in illegal e-cigs
The FDA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection teamed up for a joint operation that recovered tens of millions of dollars worth of illegal e-cigarette products seized in Chicago, officials said Thursday. FDA Commissioner Martin Makary (pictured in March in Washington, D.C.) said the effort helps keeps e-cigs "out of the hands of our nation's youth." File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo May 22 (UPI) -- Tens of millions of dollars worth of illegal e-cigarette products were seized in Chicago in a joint operation between the FDA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, officials said Thursday. Officials say the sting in February that uncovered the China-originated packages was valued at about $33.8 million and were intended for distribution to multiple states. Investigators uncovered several illegal e-cig brands such as Snoopy Smoke, Raz and more. "We continue to see an increased number of shipments of vaping related products packaged and mislabeled to avoid detection," said Bret Koplow, acting director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products. The FDA and CBP sit on a joint federal task force focused on e-cigarette enforcement activity. "However, we have been successful at preventing these shipments from entering the U.S. supply chain," Koplow said, despite efforts to "conceal the true identity of these unauthorized e-cigarette products." February's seizure in Illinois was part of a joint federal operation to examine incoming U.S. shipments and prevent the entry of illegal e-cigarettes. "Seizures of illegal e-cigarettes keep products that haven't been authorized by the FDA out of the United States and out of the hands of our nation's youth," said FDA Commissioner Marty Makary. On Thursday, the FDA said many of the unauthorized shipments contained vague product descriptions with incorrect values in an "apparent attempt to evade duties." According to federal officials, most shipments violate the FDA's food, drug and cosmetic laws, while other products get confiscated due to intellectual property right violations on trademarked items. Additionally, they added that FDA officials sent import letters warning 24 tobacco importers. At the end of April, border agents busted a shipment of some 17,500 fake brand cigarettes from Vietnam valued at nearly $730,000 after pausing its arrival in Miami and intercepting it days later in Texas. Last year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Chicago made 121 seizures that contained more than 3.2 million banned electronic nicotine devices worth over $81 million, and the agency made a similar million-dollar seizure in June of illegal vape pens offloaded from China.
