Juan Sierra was arrested Thursday after he was caught "attempting to start a fire" in the West Hills section of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times reported. Witnesses saw the 33-year-old attempting to ignite brush in an area near the Kenneth fire.
Residents who allegedly witnessed Sierra trying to light a fire detained him until police arrived. Los Angeles Police from the Topanga Division picked up Sierra shortly after 5:30 p.m.
Ventura County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Monica Smith Gomez noted that Sierra was arrested on a probation violation. Police say Sierra is a "person of interest" in starting the blaze, although he has not been charged.
Driven by high winds and fueled by dry vegetation, the inferno is threatening homes near Hidden Hills and Calabasas after starting near the county line. Other fires are also threatening life and property in the area as firefighters move to contain them.
The fire has left devastation in its wake as flames continue to spread throughout the area. Notably, nearly a thousand acres of brush ignited around the time Sierra was arrested Thursday night.
Authorities believe it may have been arson, but so far have not given an official account of how it started. Firefighters attempted to beat back the blaze with water drops, but the wildfire began encroaching near homes in Malibu Canyon.
As of Friday evening, the blaze was about 50% contained, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The Ventura County Fire Department said it would firefighting efforts would persist in an effort to contain the blaze.
“Firefighters worked throughout the day to mop up hot spots and improve containment lines, adding to the overall containment of this fire. Firefighters will continue monitoring and patrolling this evening to ensure the fire remains within its established perimeter,” county officials said.
The first reported wildfire came Tuesday in Pacific Palisades and spread overnight into Santa Monica and Malibu. The Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s Office said Friday that 11 people have been killed so far.
The cause of the blaze may be arson, but there’s no shortage of blame to go around to the people in charge of California. One of the most shocking issues is that fire hydrants in affected areas are running dry.
President-elect Donald Trump has blamed the bureaucratic rot in California for this, with Democratic Gov. Gavin Newson at the top of the list. Trump said as much on his Truth Social Wednesday, echoing sentiments he expressed on The Joe Rogan Experience in October.
Trump recounted his experience with some Golden State congressmen when he asked why the California countryside was so dry. They responded that freshwater was being rerouted to the sea to protect a particular species of fish.
"Because the water isn't allowed to flow down. And in order to protect a tiny little fish, the water up north gets routed into the Pacific Ocean. Millions and millions of gallons of water gets poured," Trump said.
These fires are devastating regardless of how or why they started. The people in control of California are squarely to blame for the perfect storm of missteps that caused this.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Many people consider the abuse of children for pornography to be one of the most egregious crimes around.
A recent case in which two homosexuals were convicted of abusing their adopted sons for that purpose got them sentences that essentially amount to life in prison.
But now a video report from OMG, O'Keefe Media Group, charges that the federal Bureau of Prisons is working to categorize such offenses as "low severity."
The organization said it has obtained documents "detailing a controversial proposal by the BOP to reclassify child exploitation offenses from 'high severity' to 'low severity.'"
The OMG report said, "Additionally, the new policy would classify terrorism-related offenses for female inmates as 'low security' and animal cruelty as a 'low-moderate' offense. These changes stem from a draft of the Security Designation and Custody Classification Manual, signed by BOP Director Colette S. Peters."
The plans were outlined in a recent memo from Christopher Wade, chief of labor relations, to Jennifer Hinton, a labor relations specialist.
A report from the Gateway Pundit said O'Keefe obtained the documents from a "high-level" source in the Bureau of Prisons.
The source said, "I can say with absolute certainty that the BOP is an agency in an existential crisis. If I looked at this agency through the lens of a CEO, I would probably think that complete privatization would be the most sensible route.
"We need at least $5B in infrastructure repairs agency-wide, our health care (especially at my institution) is in absolute shambles, fentanyl and other hard drugs are being used by inmates and can be found anywhere without much effort, contraband cell phones are abundant and we have a very serious drone problem (especially at my institution) that's uncontrollable and extremely dangerous. The BOP is a failed agency where corruption and incompetence, at the management level, run rampant."
A man with a machete and multiple knives was arrested at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.
44-year-old Mel J. Horne, of Washington, D.C., was arrested for multiple counts of Carrying a Dangerous Weapon.
The shocking incident unfolded as former President Jimmy Carter was lying in state at the Capitol Rotunda - and before President-elect Trump made an appearance to pay his respects.
According to Capitol Police, Horne was passing through security at the Capitol Visitor Center when police noticed a machete in his bag. They found three more knives in his possession and took him into custody.
"Security screening was temporarily stopped at the north side of the Capitol Visitor Center, while the USCP investigated, but the checkpoint was reopened approximately an hour later," police said.
No information is available at this time about Horne's motive, but Capitol Police said they would provide more details later on.
"Horne will be interviewed by USCP investigators to determine his motive. At this time there is no on-going threat towards the Congress, the U.S. Capitol, or the public."
The man was arrested before Trump arrived at the Capitol to meet with Republican senators and pay his respects to President Carter, who died last month at the age of 100.
Capitol Police shared a statement on Horne's arrest on social media with a picture of the weapons they retrieved: a rusty machete and three switchblades.
USCP Stops, Arrests Man with Machete & Knives at Security Screening: https://t.co/l3CPimfyAt pic.twitter.com/S1zRwt3vg4
— The U.S. Capitol Police (@CapitolPolice) January 8, 2025
The Capitol was last hit by a deadly attack in April 2021, when a black nationalist rammed his car into a Capitol Police officer, killing him. There have been numerous disturbances since then.
A man was arrested at a Capitol checkpoint in November 2024 with a blowtorch, smelling of fuel.
In a separate incident Wednesday, a Virginia man was arrested for trying to set his car on fire outside the Capitol. The 35-year-old suspect reportedly said to a grounds crew worker, “I have napalm and I’m trying to light it on fire.”
The man lit a bag on fire, which extinguished on its own. Police found accelerants in the bag and took the man into custody.
“Twice today our officers stopped a man who could have been a danger to the Capitol Hill community,” Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said in a statement. “This vigilance is critical during this time of heightened security.”
New details have been released from the attempted assassination of Brett Kavanaugh by a deranged leftist.
The gunman, Nicholas Roske, told police that he was planning to break into Kavanaugh's house, shoot the Supreme Court justice, and then shoot himself.
The plan had been forming in his mind for a month following the unauthorized leak of the Supreme Court's draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade - and it all unraveled in seconds after an emotional phone call with his sister.
A redacted interview transcript between Roske and detectives was filed by Roske's lawyers as they fight to suppress evidence, arguing Roske wasn't in the right mental state to be informed of his rights.
"At the time, Mr. Roske was acutely suicidal, visibly exhausted, and had repeatedly expressed his need for psychiatric care,” they wrote in their motion.
Throughout the interview, Roske discussed his mental history and a condition that requires him to take medication, although the illness was redacted in the transcript.
Roske told police that he formed a "delusional" idea that killing Kavanaugh would "do something positive" after the leak of the court's Dobbs ruling, which ended the federal right to an abortion. He was also angry about two mass shootings in Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas and believed the Supreme Court would make it easier to get guns.
"I’ve been suicidal for a long time, and when I saw that … leaked draft, it made me upset and then it made me want to—I don’t know,” Roske said. “I was under the delusion that I could make the world a better place by killing him.”
Roske told police that he flew from his home in California to Dulles' International Airport in Virginia on June 7, 2022, arriving before midnight. He had already researched Kavanaugh's home, using Wikipedia and Google to pinpoint the residence.
Roske took a taxi to Kavanaugh's family home in the quiet suburb of Chevy Chase, Maryland, arriving in the early morning. He had with him tools to break into Kavanaugh's house, including a crowbar, as well as zip ties and a pistol that he had brought in a suitcase.
Kavanaugh was left unharmed after Roske called 911 and told them he needed psychiatric help. It was Roske's sister who convinced him to drop his murderous plot. Roske had texted her "I love you" and she responded with a concerned phone call.
“I told her what I was doing, I was up to, and she told me that that wasn’t the way to go about trying to make the world a better place and, you know, that she didn’t want to, you know, she wanted to have me as a sibling for the rest of her life and not, you know, with that ending,” he said.
Roske is facing a trial in June, and his lawyers are battling with prosecutors about what evidence the jury will see. His lawyers argue the police interview should be suppressed because he could not understand his Miranda rights warning.
They also say his rights were violated by a warrantless search of his belongings.
In a tale that seems almost as old as time, a former child star has found himself in repeated legal trouble, with the most recent incident occurring just days ago.
As the Hollywood Reporter explains, Zachery Ty Bryan, who rose to fame portraying the son of Tim Allen's character in 90s sitcom hit Home Improvement, was arrested last week -- again -- on allegations of domestic violence, adding to a lengthy history of run-ins with the law.
Bryan's latest troubles unfolded in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, as local affiliate WBTV reports, and he was arrested and charged with second-degree domestic violence.
Records revealed that Bryan was booked and processed at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center on Thursday, with a bond set at $10,000.
He reportedly secured release on Friday after having been taken into custody over events the reportedly kicked off on New Year's Day, according to TMZ.
Police responded to a call on the day in question and spoke to an alleged victim to said that Bryan had punched her in the face several times, put his arm around her neck, choked her, and put her in fear for her life after declaring that he would kill her.
Authorities indicated that the woman's physical injuries were consistent with her account, and therefore Bryan was taken into custody as a result.
Bryan's significant involvement with the justice system began back in 2020, when he was charged in Oregon, again with domestic violence involving strangulation and assault.
In the summer of 2023, Bryan again ran into difficulty when he was arrested for felony assault in contravention of the Oregon Abuse Prevention Act, eventually pleading to felony fourth-degree assault while still avoiding jail time.
Sadly, domestic violence is not the only category of crime in which Bryan has been implicated in recent years.
Back in February of this year, Bryan was charged in Riverside County, California with DUI.
As recently as October, he again faced a similar charge, this time in the state of Oklahoma.
Bryan's run on Home Improvement lasted between 1991-1999, and though he received guest roles in a host of other programs and movies, his life in recent years has been plagued with apparent issues of substance abuse and emotional turmoil.
Allen, Bryan's on-screen dad from so many years ago, told the Hollywood Reporter last summer that he was baffled by his former colleague's troubles, saying, “Zach is a great kid who has grown into a complex man. At a certain point, he deviated from the guy I know to somebody who is reacting to situations that I had nothing to do with and can't control,” but surely, he joins millions of others in hoping that the onetime child star gets the help he so clearly seems to need.
The FBI has had a series of unfortunate incidents regarding negative publicity and complete screw-ups over the past few years, and the New Orleans terror attack was another one added to the list.
According to the Washington Times, a number of the rank-and-file agents of the FBI are reportedly embarrassed and dismayed over the agency's initial handling of the aftermath of the attack, which killed over a dozen people and wounded dozens more.
Some of the agents the outlet cited said they can't wait for the Senate to confirm President-elect Donald Trump's incoming FBI director, Kash Patel, to avoid the ongoing humiliation.
Several agents interviewed by the outlet, who chose to remain anonymous for obvious reasons, said the agency had a number of failures regarding the investigation of the New Orleans attack.
The word on the street from the aforementioned anonymous agents paints a scary and disgusting picture of what happened in the aftermath of the attack.
The Washington Times noted:
Several agents who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the FBI failed to execute a comprehensive counterterrorism plan when Shamsud-Din Jabbar of Texas, an Army veteran, rammed a pickup truck carrying an ISIS flag into New Year’s Eve revelers, killing 14 and wounding dozens.
They said the top FBI official on the scene broke with decorum and that the bureau failed to follow basic procedures.
At the crux of the failure and the reason questions have been raised was the reported absence of Lyonel Myrthil, the special agent in charge of the New Orleans FBI office, at the time of the attack.
The agency, like every other agency, was well aware of the massive crowds in the popular city due to the New Year's Eve holiday and the college football playoff game -- the Sugar Bowl -- the next day.
The agents who provided the information to the outlet demanded that outgoing FBI Director Christopher A. Wray and Deputy Director Paul Abbate leave the agency right away.
"They need to go right now, not only Wray, but Abbate needs to go. This is awful. This is embarrassing. Kash Patel is the person to have in there," one of the anonymous agents said, adding, "He needs to come right now, right away, because these people have to leave."
The FBI's first mistake in the aftermath of the deadly attack was dispatching Alethea Duncan, assistant special agent in charge, to the scene instead of the appropriate leadership.
The Times noted:
Wearing khakis, a blue polo shirt and a nose ring, Ms. Duncan immediately contradicted New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell, who said at the press conference that her city was “impacted by a terrorist attack.”
"This is not a terrorist event. What it is right now is there were improvised explosive devices that were found, and we are working on confirming if it is viable or not," she said, which later forced the agency to correct her in confirming that it was, in fact, a terrorist attack.
Many across social media echoed the agents' calls for real leadership to take over and do away with the obvious number of unqualified, DEI hires that the agency is currently stocked with.
Authorities are unclear whether an exploding Tesla Cybertruck in Las Vegas had any link with an attack on New Year's partygoers in New Orleans, the Associated Press reported. President Joe Biden told the press, "There's nothing to report on that score at this time."
In the early morning hours of New Year's Day, a pickup truck driven by 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar plowed into a crowd on Bourbon Street. The death toll has climbed to 15 while at least another 30 are injured.
The FBI is now investigating this incident as a terrorist attack. They are also looking for additional suspects who may have planted an explosive device in the French Quarter, including three men and a woman who were caught on surveillance camera.
Curiously, a Cybertruck that contained fireworks exploded and caught fire outside of a Las Vegas hotel owned by President-elect Donald Trump on that same day. One person was killed in that incident, and seven others were injured as the White House insists there's no connection.
Some are wondering if there's a coverup as both Jabbar and Matthew Livelsberger served at Fort Bragg and in Afghanistan, although not at the same times, LA Times reported. Questions abound, given the timing of the incidents and similar military service.
However, items linking Jabbar to the terror group ISIS were found in the vehicle used in the attack, while no such evidence exists for the Las Vegas incident. Biden directly denied that any link had been found in his remarks to the press on Wednesday.
"Additionally, we’re tracking the explosion of a Cybertruck outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas. Law enforcement and the intelligence community are investigating this as well, including whether there’s any possible connection with the attack in New Orleans," Biden shared.
"Thus far, there’s nothing to report on that score at this time. I’ve directed my team to make sure every resource, every resource is made available to federal, state, and local law enforcement to complete the investigation in New Orleans quickly and to make sure there’s no remaining threat to the American people," Biden said.
President-elect Donald Trump slammed Biden's administration for the failures that led to these attacks on his Truth Social Thursday. "Our Country is a disaster, a laughing stock all over the World!" Trump wrote.
"This is what happens when you have OPEN BORDERS, with weak, ineffective, and virtually nonexistent leadership. The DOJ, FBI, and Democrat state and local prosecutors have not done their job," Trump added.
It's unclear if illegal immigration had anything to do with either attack. However, Trump correctly stated that the agencies "spent all of their waking hours unlawfully attacking their political opponent, ME, rather than focusing on protecting Americans from the outside and inside violent SCUM that has infiltrated all aspects of our government, and our Nation itself," he wrote.
"The USA is breaking down - A violent erosion of Safety, National Security, and Democracy is taking place all across our Nation. Only strength and powerful leadership will stop it. See you on January 20th. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" Trump later concluded.
America is reeling from these incidents that are happening just as Trump is about to take office. The nation needs a strong leader, and Trump's inauguration can't come soon enough.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A Florida sheriff has delivered a stunning warning to would-be criminals who break into people's homes.
Expect to get shot.
It is the Daily Mail that documented the comments from Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells following a confrontation that left one burglar dead and another in custody.
"This is the state of Florida. If you want to break into someone's home, you should expect to be shot," he warned.
The report noted the dead suspect was Jorge Nestevan Flores-Toledo, 27, from Mexico, who also went by Anibal Miller-Valencia.
The events developed that a homeowner saw two masked men on his surveillance cameras, and he promptly ordered his wife to safety and then armed himself.
"He was able to shoot one of the suspects, while the other ran away, and was later caught by police," the report said.
The second suspect was identified as Michel Soto-Mella, 39, from Chile. The report said he was found by the homeowner climbing into the window.
Both were illegal aliens whose visas had expired, the report said.
Wells praised the actions of the intended victim: "He knew something bad was about to happen, and he didn't stall. He grabbed his firearm, told his wife to get into a safe spot. … We're trying to get everything that we can from the [surviving] suspect. He's being somewhat cooperative, but he's not telling us everything."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Famous but disgraced former "Today" show host Matt Lauer is being targeted by accusations from animal-rights activists who have released a "grisly" video to the New York Post alleging sheep are being abused at his New Zealand estate, which includes a sheep farm.
A statement from a representative for Lauer said he had no knowledge of the allegations that concern actions at Hunter Valley Farming, which operates on part of Lauer's 16,000-acre estate there.
"(Lauer) was deeply disturbed and saddened to hear of what allegedly has happened, and immediately launched his own investigation of his tenant's operations, which is currently underway," the statement to the Post said.
The report in the Post said the allegations from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals charged, "Sheep are routinely hit, beaten in the face, and stitched up with needle and thread with no pain medication."
The report said Lauer acquired the $9 million property just months "before he was booted from the morning show after several woman accused him of sexual harassment and rape."
Part of his property is then rented out to the sheep operation.
It was Ingrid Newkirk, the PETA chief, who told the publication, "Matt Lauer's New Zealand getaway is hell for scared sheep who are flung about, pinned down and cut up."
Lauer denied all the claims made about him before his dismissal from "Today," and never was charged.
The report said he sold a $44 million home in the Hamptons in 2022 at least partly so he could spend more time in New Zealand.
The Post said the sheep operations are run by Digby and Hannah Cochrane, and the couple released a statement saying, "At shearing time we employ independent shearing contractors, to shear the sheep, who work in accordance with New Zealand industry accepted guidelines and practices."
The estate also has hiking trails, rental lodges, a cattle farm and more.
The site, Hunter Valley Station located about two hours from Queenstown, also features a five-bedroom, lakefront homestead.
New Zealand is a major contributor to wool supplies worldwide.
The PETA accusations include that farm workers "drag sheep across the floor" by a leg.
The site was one of 11 PETA infiltrated. Other allegations include animals being dropped onto the hard floor and shoved into their pen.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Over the last couple of years there has been an explosion of instability around the world. Multiple armed conflicts now rage, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict which has cost hundreds of thousands of lives, a war that has triggered a realignment of interests as several nations have opted to join NATO.
There's also the violence in the Middle East that resulted from the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel just over a year ago, and the thousands dead there.
Further, there's been China's saber-rattling over what territory it wants to take over, and other conflicts that are taking human lives, including armed conflict across Africa.
Critics of Joe Biden blame his weakness on the international stage for the surging loss of life, as the conflicts mostly erupted after he took office, and President-elect Donald Trump has committed to working to end them quickly.
But the results are uncontested: Up to one million deaths in the Russia-Ukraine conflict alone.
And that threat has prompted one nation, Sweden, one of the new NATO members, to begin hunting for cemetery space.
A report at the Independent explains burial associations there, which have a legal responsibility for maintaining resources for the nation, are trying to acquire "enough land for something they hope they'll never have to do: bury thousands of people killed in war."
The report explains the hunt for available land follows recommendations of the Church of Sweden's national secretariat and reflect crisis preparedness guidelines from the national Civil Contingencies Agency as well as the Swedish military, the report said.
The report specifically cited Sweden's decision to join NATO, through which it would be defended by other members and also be called upon to defend them, and "tensions with Russia."
The nation's Burial Act"requires associations to have enough land to bury about 5% of the population within any parish, if needed.
The Independent explained the Goteborg Burial Association, in Sweden's second-largest city, now is hunting for at least 10 acres to handle the casket burials of some 30,000 "in case of war." That's in addition to hunting for another 15 acres for ordinary use.
Goteborg Association spokeswoman Katarina Evenseth said, "The (recommendations) mean that we need more land for burial grounds and this is a phenomenon in the big cities, and a problem in the big cities, where land resources are scarce to begin with and not always sufficient to meet burial ground needs even in times of calm and peace."
The long-neutral nation also has ramped up efforts for crisis preparedness.
"Back in 2015 the government assigned various authorities to once again start engaging in civil defense planning, and many organizations have started planning, with the Church of Sweden being at the forefront of that planning," said Jan-Olof Olsson, an expert on infrastructure protection.
"Unfortunately it is the case that we are reminded to a greater degree that war could happen and that we simply need to be prepared for that," Olsson said.
Sweden's adherence to neutrality shift sharply in 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine. Sweden and Finland both opted then to pursue NATO entrance.
Both nations just weeks ago updated preparedness instructions.