Tesla Cybertruck vandalized with swastika in NYC: Police
NYPD
(NEW YORK) — Police in New York are searching for two individuals who were caught on video surveillance vandalizing a Tesla Cybertruck in Brooklyn.
At approximately 1 a.m. on Thursday, two unidentified suspects “carved the word ‘Nazis’ and a swastika on the doors of a parked unoccupied Tesla,” the New York Police Department said. The incident, which occurred in front of 730 Monroe Street in Brooklyn, was captured on video surveillance.
After vandalizing the vehicle, the suspects “fled on foot in an unknown direction,” police said.
The incident is being investigated by the NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force, police said. Officials said anyone with more information regarding the vandalism is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-8477.
Recent attacks aimed at Tesla dealerships, vehicles and charging stations have been reported in Seattle; Kansas City, Missouri; and Charleston, South Carolina, as well as other cities across the United States since Tesla CEO Elon Musk began his role with the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
A man was arrested this week for allegedly setting Tesla vehicles on fire in Las Vegas earlier this month and is facing federal charges in the alleged Molotov cocktail attack.
On Monday, the FBI announced the establishment of a task force to address the incidents targeting Teslas.
“The FBI will be relentless in its mission to protect the American people. Acts of violence, vandalism, and domestic terrorism — like the recent Tesla attacks — will be pursued with the full force of the law,” the FBI said in a statement to ABC News.
Lone offenders appear to be the ones carrying out these attacks, according to an FBI and Department of Homeland Security assessment obtained by ABC News on March 21.
“While they may perceive these attacks as victimless property crimes, these tactics can cause accidental or intentional bodily harm,” the assessment said. “Some individuals with political or social goals are likely to view the publicity surrounding these past incidents as validation that these tactics are successful in drawing public attention, and they may be galvanized to engage in similar violence.”
(PHILADELPHIA) — Philadelphia Eagles fans flocked to downtown Philadelphia on Friday to celebrate the team’s massive 40-22 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Sunday’s Super Bowl.
The city expects 1 million people to attend Friday’s parade and ceremony — including kids. Philadelphia city offices and Philadelphia public schools are closed for the citywide celebration.
“We look forward to joyfully celebrating the Eagles’ victory as a community, and we hope that you do so safely and responsibly with friends and family,” the school district said in a statement.
The Eagles players’ parade began at 11 a.m. More than 15 Jumbotron screens will be along the parade route to broadcast the celebration live.
The parade will be followed by a ceremony at 2 p.m. on the “Rocky” Steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
But if you’re heading to Philadelphia on Friday, make sure to layer up with your Eagles gear.
When the parade begins, gusty winds could reach 20 to 25 mph. The wind chill — what temperature it feels like — will be only 22 degrees.
By 2 p.m., the wind chill is only expected to rise to 27 degrees — much colder than normal for mid-February.
This is the Eagles’ second Super Bowl championship; the team’s first win was in 2018.
The 2025 Eagles parade comes exactly one year after the Chiefs’ Super Bowl celebration during which a mass shooting erupted following a dispute. Paradegoer Lisa Lopez-Galvan was killed and 22 people were hurt.
The Chiefs wrote on social media Friday, “A year ago, on a day intended for celebration and love, our city experienced tragedy in the form of senseless violence. We continue to heal with you as we move forward together.”
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department is in the midst of an urgent and chaotic effort to review sensitive materials from the FBI investigation into the convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein, with Attorney General Pam Bondi pushing the FBI and her own department to release more files from the case amid continued pressure from President Donald Trump’s supporters, multiple sources told ABC News.
As many as a thousand FBI agents, many of whom are usually focusing on national security matters, have been enlisted to help with the effort, sources said.
The push comes two weeks after Bondi handed out binders with Epstein case files to pro-Trump social media influencers at the White House — files that ultimately contained little new information. The move caught White House officials off guard and outraged some supporters of the president, who had been promised that more details would be made public. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded that “everyone is working together as one unified team at the direction of President Trump.”
In tense private exchanges earlier this week, Bondi pressed FBI Director Kash Patel to do more to release still-secret information from the case involving one of the most infamous sex-trafficking criminals in modern history, sources said.
Justice Department officials have made it clear to others throughout the Trump administration that it is now a top priority of the attorney general to sort through the materials related to Epstein and decide what can be publicly disclosed in the days ahead, sources said, and FBI agents have been told to expect to work on this into the early morning hours.
Sources tell ABC News that the Justice Department’s national security division is devoting many of their resources to the effort, despite some top law enforcement officials believing that the information Bondi is demanding be reviewed contains no new revelations.
The all-hands-on-deck effort to expedite the release of additional material has led to a growing rift between officials at the FBI and DOJ, sources said, as both have faced online backlash from vocal MAGA over the Trump administration’s handling of the files.
In a statement, a DOJ spokesperson told ABC News, “Under Attorney General Bondi’s leadership, the Department of Justice is working relentlessly to deliver unprecedented transparency for the American people.”
The White House referred ABC News to the DOJ’s response.
“Director Patel is committed to full transparency and justice, swiftly delivering documents to the DOJ,” FBI spokesperson Ben Williamson told ABC News in a statement. “He has complete faith in Attorney General Pam Bondi’s leadership and dedication to holding the powerful accountable.”
Among the material under consideration for release is previously undisclosed video evidence from the sex-trafficking investigation into Epstein, sources said, adding that the DOJ has not yet made a final decision on that matter.
Authorities may also be reviewing materials detailed in a document released earlier this month that the Justice Department is calling “Evidence List,” a three-page catalog of material apparently obtained through searches of Epstein’s properties in New York, Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Among the items investigators obtained, according to the document, is “one CD labelled ‘girl pics nude book 4’ and a folder titled “LSJ logbook,” which appears to be a reference to Epstein’s private island Little St. James.
The document also lists dozens of recording devices, computers, hard drives and memory sticks, along with various sexual paraphernalia.
Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while facing federal child sex trafficking charges. The well-connected financier, who owned a private island estate in the U.S. Virgin Islands, has long been rumored to have kept a “client list” of celebrities and politicians, which right-wing influencers have baselessly accused authorities of hiding. Multiple sources familiar with both civil and criminal cases against Epstein say no such list has been discovered.
In an interview last week, Bondi was asked about the increasing pressure from Trump’s base to release more files, and confirmed that the department was working to make them public.
“The MAGA group is mad that we don’t know more about the Epstein files … are you going to give us any more information?” Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo asked the attorney general.
Bondi responded that FBI Director Kash Patel was working on providing the DOJ with a timeline for the next document release.
“We will get out as much as we can, as fast as we can to the American people,” she said.
ABC News previously reported that Bondi faced backlash from the White House and Trump allies over her handling of the initial Epstein file release earlier this month.
During a White House event with pro-Trump social media influencers, Bondi distributed binders labeled “Epstein Files: Phase 1,” catching senior White House officials off guard. The materials contained mostly previously public records, sparking outrage from some of Trump’s supporters, including far-right activist Laura Loomer, who slammed the release as “unprofessional” and untrustworthy.
Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
(SANTA FE, NM) — A New Mexico judge ruled Monday that video, audio and photos that fall under New Mexico public records law can be released in connection to the deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa.
But Judge Matthew Wilson said their bodies cannot be shown; the bodies must be blurred or edited out.
This comes after Hackman’s estate petitioned for an injunction to stop the release of certain records.
It’s unclear when the remaining body worn camera footage will be released and if it will take any editing by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.
The New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator said it “respects the ruling.”
“As of today, the NM OMI has not finalized the post-mortem examination reports of Mr. Eugene Hackman and Mrs. Betsy Hackman,” the agency said. “However, once those reports are finalized, the NM OMI will release the reports and will not release photos, as ordered. The NM OMI will release documents to those who have requested them through it’s normal protocol, which is through The University of New Mexico’s public records portal. The NM OMI offers condolences to the Hackman Family.”
Officials previously released body camera footage from authorities responding to the Hackmans’ home, but not the couple’s bodies.
Hackman and Arakawa were mysteriously found dead in their Santa Fe home during a Feb. 26 welfare check with authorities unclear about their causes of death.
It was later announced Hackman, 95, died of cardiovascular and Alzheimer’s disease likely around Feb. 18, about one week after his wife died from a rare syndrome, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, on about Feb. 12, officials said.
Hackman’s death was from “hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer’s disease as a significant contributory factor,” Dr. Heather Jarrell, chief medical investigator for the state’s Office of the Medical Investigator, announced at a news conference.
“Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer’s disease,” she said. “He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think, ultimately, that is what resulted in his death.”
Arakawa, 65, died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare disease transmitted through rodent urine, droppings or saliva, officials said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the disease “initially causes flu-like symptoms that can progress to more severe illness where people have trouble breathing.”
Those who contract hantavirus after being exposed to rodent excrement often feel ill for roughly three to six days, Jarrell said.
“Then they can transition to that pulmonary phase, where they have fluid in their lungs and around their lungs,” she said. “And at that point, a person can die very quickly, within 24 to 48 hours, roughly speaking, without medical treatment.”
Hackman was likely home with his deceased wife for one week before he died, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said.
