A Collinsville man is in the Henry County Jail after police charged him with intentionally placing devices in the roadway that caused flat tires. They also found explosives in his home. This is the press release from the Sheriff’s Office:
On January 6, 2026, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office responded to the area of Murphy Road and Virginia Avenue following reports of tire deflation devices (metal spikes) intentionally placed in the roadway. As a result of the devices being present in the roadway, at least two vehicles sustained tire damage.
An investigation was initiated to determine who was responsible for placing the devices. During the investigation, Elden Douglas Duncan, age 64, of 569 Murphy Road, Collinsville, Virginia, was identified as a potential suspect. On February 2, 2026, a search warrant was subsequently executed at Mr. Duncan’s residence.
During the search, deputies located packaging materials consistent with the purchase of the tire deflation devices. Additionally, several boxes of various types of ammunition were found inside the residence. Investigators also discovered a crudely constructed improvised explosive device along with remnants of additional detonated improvised explosive devices.
Due to the presence of the improvised explosive device, bomb technicians with the Virginia State Police were requested to respond and render the device safe prior to its removal from the residence. The device was seized and is currently being analyzed by the Virginia State Police to determine the most appropriate charges.
As a result of the investigation into the tire deflation devices, and due to Mr. Duncan’s status as a convicted felon, he has been charged with the following offenses:
§18.2-308.2- Possession of Ammunition by Convicted Felon
§18.-147.2- Devices for Puncturing Motor Vehicle Tires
Two Counts § 18.2-324- Throwing or Depositing Certain Substance Upon the Highway
Two Counts § 18.2-137- Damage Property
Mr. Duncan is currently being held at the Henry County Adult Detention Center without bond. This investigation remains ongoing, and additional charges are expected. The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources was also contacted regarding the illegally possessed hide and feathers of a red-tailed hawk. A conservation officer responded to the residence and took possession of the bird’s remains. Charges related to this offense are pending.
The Henry County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the Virginia State Police and the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources for their assistance with this investigation.
Smoke rises after an explosion in the industrial zone, caused by debris after interception of a drone by air defence, according to the Fujairah media office on March 05, 2026, in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Christopher Pike/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — On Feb. 28, the United States and Israel launched massive strikes on Iran in an operation targeting military and government sites that President Donald Trump has said could last as little as four weeks.
One month later, both countries remain engaged in a war that has impacted the wider Gulf region, killing thousands of people, as the Pentagon is preparing to surge thousands of troops to the Middle East, according to U.S. officials.
As the U.S. enters its fifth week of the conflict, here’s a look at how we got here, where things stand and where they may go from here.
Negotiations break down Operation Epic Fury began months after the U.S. and Israel carried out strikes on nuclear weapons facilities in Iran, with Trump declaring at that time that the regime’s nuclear capabilities had been “obliterated.”‘
In the weeks leading up to the Feb. 28 strikes, the U.S. tried to negotiate with the Iranian regime to reach a nuclear deal, with Trump saying he was weighing whether to strike. A day before launching Operation Epic Fury against Iran, Trump said he was “not happy” with the negotiations.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was among those killed in Tehran in the initial strikes, with his son Mojtaba Khamenei later chosen to succeed him.
Trump said at the start of the “major combat operations,” which occurred without Congressional approval, that they were to “defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,” and he called on the Iranian people to depose the regime.
In the weeks since, more than 1,440 civilians, including at least 217 children, have died from U.S. and Israeli strikes in Iran as of March 23, according to a report from several human rights groups. Iranian officials have blamed the U.S. for a missile strike on an Iranian elementary school that killed nearly 170 people. The Trump administration has said it is investigating the incident.
Regional allies attacked Iran retaliated against the strikes with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, regional U.S. bases and multiple Gulf nations, primarily targeting U.S. interests in the region.
Thirteen American servicemembers have been killed since the war began, including seven from retaliatory strikes in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and six from an aircraft crash in Iraq. Over 300 troops have also been injured, a U.S. official said Friday.
Iran has also launched a series of retaliatory strikes against the energy infrastructure in several Gulf states after Israel hit its largest gas field — in what one Qatari official called a “dangerous escalation.”
Experts say the strikes and the threat of further attacks risk throwing global energy markets into a state of protracted chaos.
Amid the conflict, Israel has also intensified its long-running strike campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon and expanded its ground operations in the south of the country. More than 1,000 people have been killed and thousands more injured in Lebanon amid this escalation, according to Lebanese officials.
In response to the U.S.-Israeli strikes, Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital maritime passage for the oil and shipping trades, threatening an energy crisis.
Iran has attacked several oil tankers since the war began in late February, halting nearly all shipping traffic. The supply shock has sent the price of oil surging.
Trump has threatened to attack Iran’s power plants if it doesn’t fully reopen the strait, since extending the deadline to do so to April 6.
US’ expansive aims Trump’s stated goals in Iran have shifted and expanded in the weeks since the conflict began, from talks of regime change and peace throughout the Middle East to, more recently, reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Among other key aims, the U.S. military has said Iran’s navy and ballistic missile stocks and production capabilities have been degraded by airstrikes.
Making sure Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon has been another major goal of Trump’s. Iran’s intent to build a nuclear weapon, according to Trump, was a central justification for the war.
Trump has suggested that Americans could go in to seize Iran’s enriched uranium. Experts previously told ABC News that a large American force on the ground would likely be needed to take the nuclear material but would carry a lot of risk.
During a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Vice President JD Vance emphasized the importance of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and warned that there are “further military options” possible.
Where things go from here The White House has said “productive” negotiations have been ongoing between the U.S. and Iran, while officials in Tehran have publicly denied that any talks have taken place.
The U.S. has presented Iran with a 15-point framework for a peace deal via Pakistan, according to White House special envoy Steve Witkoff. As of Friday, the U.S. has not received a response from Iran, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Sources previously told ABC News the plan addressed Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs as well as maritime routes.
The negotiations come as the U.S. is preparing to surge as many as 5,000 troops to the Middle East, according to two U.S. officials, and the Pentagon is seeking $200 billion in supplemental funding for the war. The funding request has been met with bipartisan skepticism from some lawmakers.
Rubio on Friday declined to answer questions from reporters on whether the U.S. planned to deploy ground troops in Iran. Though he said the U.S. can achieve its goals without putting boots on the ground.
Trump, who has said he believed the war could last up to four weeks, and at other times four to six weeks, said this week that the operation is “ahead of schedule” and should end soon. Rubio told reporters Friday that the operation could end in a “matter of weeks, not months.”
The Israel Defense Forces said Friday they need “a few more weeks” to fully degrade Iranian military capabilities, such as missile-launchers, a senior Israeli security official told ABC News.
(NEW YORK) — A severe weather threat continues over the Deep South on Saturday with tornadoes and flash flooding possible. A Flash Flood Watch remains in effect for more than 8 million Americans in parts of Alabama and Georgia until Saturday evening.
Early Saturday morning, there were already active storms over parts of the South, primarily in Mississippi. The main threat will be in the morning into the afternoon hours where conditions will be more favorable for severe development.
These storms will continue into the afternoon from New Orleans to Clemson, South Carolina — including cities like Atlanta and Pensacola. Damaging wind, tornadoes, and some large hail are the primary threats Saturday morning and into the day.
The threat will die down later in the afternoon and into the early evening but rain continues to push east and northeast from the late evening into the overnight hours.
Another few rounds of heavy rain are likely and could inundate areas of the South again, leading to a widespread additional 1 to 3 inches, with some localized areas of Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee getting up to 3 to 4 inches of additional rain.
Rain is expected to fall in Philadelphia starting at 11 a.m., New York City after 12 p.m. and Boston and further up the I-95 corridor later in the afternoon. Rain will continue through much of the day across most of the Northeast down to the Mid-Atlantic.
On the northern side of the storm, some light snow — quick dusting up to 3 inches — could fall in Chicago on Saturday morning, but will be clear before the NFL Wild Card Matchup this evening.
Parts of Wisconsin and especially Michigan could see 3 to 6 inches of fresh snow on Saturday, while northern New England could be cold enough to see a dusting to 3 inches of snow and up to a tenth of an inch of ice.
