Over 11,000 counterfeit Labubu dolls worth $500,000 seized at Seattle airport: CBP
Plush dolls Labubu are displayed inside a craw machine on September 2, 2025, in Hong Kong, China. (Sawayasu Tsuji/Getty Images)
(SEATTLE) — Over 11,000 counterfeit Labubus — the dolls that have recently exploded in global popularity — were seized at Seattle’s airport, with officials estimating their worth to be over half a million dollars, according to a Customs and Border Protection spokesperson.
“Fake Labubus are not welcome in America. Thanks for the good catch Seattle!” CBP said on X on Friday.
The bust occurred on Aug. 26 when CBP officers assigned to Seattle Air Cargo at Sea Tac began searching a shipment from South Korea that was “falsely manifested as ‘LED Bulb,'” a CBP spokesperson told ABC News in a statement. Inside the boxes, officials found 11,134 counterfeit Labubu dolls — also known as “Lafufus” — with a manufacturer suggested retail price of $513,937.76, CBP said.
The shipment of dolls, which breached federal laws of importation and merchandise involved in copyright or trademark violations, was destroyed by officers, the spokesperson said.
There have not been any charges or arrests made for the counterfeit shipment, but the “smugglers engaged in this contraband attempt have incurred in a significant economic loss by having their products seized by the U.S. government,” the spokesperson said.
Brian Humphrey, the director of field operations for the CBP Seattle field office, said officers are “still on the lookout for the one and only 24K GOLD Labubu.”
Labubus, which debuted in China in 2015, have exploded in popularity this year, with revenue for Pop Mart — the company behind the dolls — reaching $1.8 billion in 2024, according to the company’s annual financial report.
While the dolls retail for about $30, they can go for hundreds and sometimes even thousands of dollars on the resale market.
The dolls counterfeit alternative, “Lafufus,” are typically made with lower-quality materials and may have different features than authentic Labubus.
This bust in Seattle comes after dozens of boxes of Labubus, totaling around $7,000, were stolen from a California store last month, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
ABC News’ Alondra Valle contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — A 27-year-old man wearing body armor and carrying a high-powered M4 rifle shot and killed four people, including an off-duty police officer working security in a Midtown Manhattan office building, officials said during a press conference Monday evening.
A fifth victim was left critically injured in the shooting, officials said.
The incident occurred just before 6:30 p.m. in a building located at 345 Park Ave. and 52nd Street, which contains the headquarters for the investment company Blackstone and the National Football League, sources told ABC News.
It is unclear if those companies, or any company in the building, were tied to the shooting.
After apparently barricading himself on the 33rd floor, the suspect, who was identified as Las Vegas resident Shane Devon Tamura, was found dead from what is believed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
During a press conference on Monday evening, Tisch said preliminary information suggests the suspect traveled cross-country by car from Las Vegas before arriving in New York City.
Tamura had a license to carry a concealed weapon in the state of Nevada. “We believe this to be a lone shooter,” Tisch said.
The man emerged from a double-parked BMW in front of the office building and entered the lobby alone and immediately opened fire on an NYPD officer and sprayed the lobby with bullets, Tisch said.
He made his way to the elevator bank, where he shot a security guard, Tisch said. He then went up to the 33rd floor, where he shot another person before shooting himself in the chest, she added.
Officers searched the suspect’s vehicle after the shooting, where they found a rifle case with rounds, a loaded revolver, ammunition and magazines, a backpack “and medication prescribed to Mr. Tamura,” Tisch said. The motive is currently under investigation, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said earlier on Monday.
A witness inside the Midtown office building at the time of the shooting detailed to ABC News what it was like at the scene as colleagues hid in lockdown, unsure of what was unfolding.
“We heard multiple shots go off in quick succession from the first floor, and a lot of us just rushed into the room,” Jessica Chen said, adding that she was on the second floor of the building watching a presentation with about 150 other people when the shooting started.
“Some went out in the back door, out onto the street. Other people, including me, we ran into the conference room and then eventually barricaded the tables across the doors and just stayed still,” Chen said.
“I texted my parents, ‘I love them,'” Chen said. “Nothing can describe that feeling.”
Chen went on to say that she recalled doing active shooter drills in school and said she often wondered what she would do in this kind of scenario. “It’s unfortunate that all Americans could think this through,” Chen said.
FBI New York Field Office management personnel and agents responded “to provide support at the active crime scene in Manhattan,” Bongino said on X.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she has been briefed on the situation.
KPMG, an accounting firm that also has offices in the building, released a statement after the shooting, saying, “Our hearts go out to the victims of this horrific act and their families.”
“We are incredibly grateful for the bravery of building security and law enforcement,” the company said.
(NEW YORK) — Lyle and Erik Menendez are heading to their long-awaited parole hearing, marking a huge step forward in their push to be released after 35 years behind bars.
Erik Menendez’s parole hearing is set for Thursday and Lyle Menendez’s hearing will be on Friday. After the hearings conclude, the parole board will determine whether the brothers are suitable for parole.
The final decision on parole will then go to California Gov. Gavin Newsom to approve, deny or modify the decision, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. If granted parole, they’d be eligible for release immediately after the decision is finalized, which takes about five months, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. If parole is denied, the denial could be for either three, five, seven, 10 or 15 years, according to the department.
“Newsom can also exercise his clemency power to pardon or release the Menendez brothers at any time,” the DA’s office said.
Here’s what you need to know about the case:
The brothers’ push for release Lyle Menendez, now 57, and Erik Menendez, now 54, were initially sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for the 1989 murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez.
Lyle Menendez was 21 and Erik Menendez was 18 at the time of the crime. They said they committed the murders in self-defense after years of abuse by their father.
LA County DA Nathan Hochman has fought against their release, calling the brothers’ claims of self-defense part of a litany of “lies.” But the brothers have the support of over 20 family members in their efforts to be freed.
A new sentence This May, Judge Michael Jesic resentenced Erik and Lyle Menendez to 50 years to life in prison, which follows the recommendation made in October by then-LA County DA George Gascón. This new sentence makes them immediately eligible for parole.
The judge noted he was moved by the supportive letters from prison guards and was amazed by the work the brothers had accomplished to better the lives of their fellow inmates.
The brothers, who watched the resentencing hearing from prison, gave their own statements to the judge, admitting their guilt.
“I killed my mom and dad,” Lyle Menendez told Jesic. “I give no excuses.”
Lyle Menendez admitted to committing perjury by lying in court in the ’90s and he apologized to his family for years of lies and the shock and grief of the crimes.
Erik Menendez also admitted to lying for years and apologized.
“I committed an atrocious act,” he told the judge. “… No justification for what I did.”
Erik Menendez added that he’s “come a long way on this path” of redemption and said, “I will not stop trying to make a difference.”
Bid for a new trial Meanwhile, the brothers are pursing another path separate from the parole process.
In 2023, they submitted a habeas corpus petition to try to get another trial based on new evidence not originally presented in court.
The petition presents two pieces of new evidence. One is allegations from a former member of the boy band Menudo, who revealed in the 2023 docuseries “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed” that he was raped by Jose Menendez. The second is a letter Erik Menendez wrote to his cousin eight months before the murders detailing his alleged abuse; the cousin testified about the alleged abuse at trial, but the letter — which would have corroborated the cousin’s testimony — wasn’t unearthed until several years ago, according to the brothers’ attorney.
This month, Hochman filed a response to the habeas corpus petition, stating that he “concluded that this petition does not come close to meeting the factual or legal standard to warrant a new trial.”
“The central defense of the Menendez brothers at trial has always been self-defense, not sexual abuse. The jury rejected this self-defense defense in finding them guilty of the horrific murders they perpetrated; five different appellate state and federal courts have affirmed those convictions, and nothing in the so-called ‘new’ evidence challenges any of those determinations,” Hochman said in a statement. “Our opposition to this ‘Hail Mary’ effort to obtain a new trial over 30 years later makes clear that justice, the facts, and the law demand the convictions stand.”
Hurricane Erin – The Fifth Named Storm Map/ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Hurricane Erin, now a powerful Category 4 storm churning in the Caribbean, is not forecast to hit land, but it will impact North Carolina and bring dangerous waves and rip currents to the U.S. East Coast.
Here’s the latest forecast:
Erin’s outer bands lashed the Caribbean this weekend, flooding Puerto Rico and leaving more than 80,000 customers on the island without power on Monday.
A flood watch remains in effect for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands for more heavy rain on Monday, while tropical storm alerts were issued in Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas for up to 6 inches of rain and powerful wind gusts through Tuesday.
Erin is forecast to remain a major hurricane through at least mid-week as it begins to move north and then northeast by Thursday. Erin will move between the U.S. East Coast and Bermuda on Thursday and Friday and then head out to sea.
While Erin won’t hit the U.S. directly, the storm’s biggest impact on the East Coast will be along the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where coastal flood watches, tropical storm watches and storm surge watches are in effect. The storm surge could be as high as 4 feet.
High surf advisories have also been issued for the Outer Banks, with waves forecast to reach 10 to 15 feet, and even 20 feet in some areas.
The peak of the dangerous waves in the Carolinas will be on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tropical storm conditions are possible in the Outer Banks by late Wednesday.
Officials in Dare County, located in the central Outer Banks, have issued a countywide state of emergency, as well as a mandatory evacuation order for visitors and residents on Hatteras Island. In nearby Hyde County, Ocracoke Island is also under a state of emergency, with mandatory evacuations for residents and visitors.
Lifeguards up and down the East Coast are on alert for dangerous waves from Erin.
A high surf advisory is in effect from Savannah, Georgia, to Charleston, South Carolina, where waves could reach 6 feet.
By Thursday, as Erin moves north, beaches in New Jersey and Long Island will see massive waves up to 12 feet.
Life-threatening rip currents will also be widespread along the East Coast all week, and likely through the weekend, due to these unsettled waters.
ABC News’ Aidan Gellert and Melissa Griffin contributed to this report.
