Department of Homeland Security warns of potential attacks amid Iran operation
A Department of Homeland Security seal on a podium at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) headquarters, Mar. 13, 2024. (Luke Barr/ABC News)
(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Homeland Security has warned of potential lone-wolf and cyberattacks amid the ongoing strikes in Iran, according to a law enforcement bulletin obtained by ABC News.
“Although a large-scale physical attack is unlikely, Iran and its proxies probably pose a persistent threat of targeted attacks in the Homeland, and will almost certainly escalate retaliatory actions—or calls to action—if reports of the Ayatollah’s death are confirmed,” according to the bulletin.
“In the short-term, we are most concerned that Iran-aligned hacktivists will conduct low-level cyber attacks against US networks, such as website defacements and distributed denial-of-service attacks,” officials said in the bulletin.
The alert was issued on Saturday, a day before a gunman opened fire in Austin, Texas, and authorities are investigating whether or not the suspect was inspired by the situation overseas.
Law enforcement sources told ABC News the suspect was wearing a sweatshirt with “Property of Allah” on it and underneath, a shirt with “Iran” and the Iranian flag on it.
Officials are also investigating whether the suspect had mental health issues.
The bulletin said physical attacks are rare for those inspired by Iran.
“Lone offenders in the Homeland have not historically been motivated by issues related to Iran, the IRGC, or Shia violent extremism; however, the existential threat to the Iranian regime and increased US or Israeli actions could prompt some US-based violent extremists or hate crime perpetrators to attack targets perceived to be Jewish, pro-Israel, or linked to the US government or military,” officials said in the bulletin.
Derek Mayer, the former assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Secret Service’s Chicago field office, said law enforcement is always on alert for a lone offender.
“I think law enforcement authorities are concerned about attacks happening every day. And obviously, yesterday with the bombings taking place in Iran, the attacks could come even at a higher rate, but it’s your schools, it’s your churches, it’s at your airports,” Mayer, now the chief security officer and vice president of executive protection at P4, said. “The current threat environment in the United States and across the world is, it’s very dangerous right now, but it’s also to say the last quarter of a century, since the September 11th attacks of 2001, the landscape across the United States and also across the world has been very dangerous.”
Police departments across the country have stepped up patrols in high-traffic and high-target areas.
“At times like this, they will be up in patrols and officers, more posts at government facilities, but there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes that the public doesn’t see, whether that be, you know, counter surveillance, whether it be extra intelligence monitoring,” he said.
Jake Rosmarin, one of the American passengers who was on the hantavirus-stricken MV Hondius cruise ship, is speaking out while quarantining. (ABC News)
(NEW YORK) — An American cruise ship passenger who has been quarantining at a Nebraska facility after being exposed to hantavirus said he plans to remain there for the full 42 days.
Jake Rosmarin, who is from Boston, has been at Nebraska’s National Quarantine Unit since May 11. He said staying the full six weeks is the best way to keep his loved ones safe.
“I have been traumatized by this whole experience. I’m afraid to leave this room until I know that the chance of me getting sick is 0%,” he told ABC News. “I want to know when I leave that the chances of me risking other people, my family, friends, the general public, I want know that my risk isn’t minimal. I want that also to be 0%.”
Not all of the 18 Americans who were sent to the facility are staying the full 42 days, which was recommended by health officials.
The incubation period — or the time that passes between exposure and when the first symptoms appear — for the Andes strain of hantavirus, which is believed to be behind the cruise ship cluster, is 42 days.
After the mandatory 21-day quarantine period, many have returned home to self-quarantine for the next 21 days, Rosmarin said. It’s unclear how many left and how many are staying.
On Friday, the New York State Department of Health said two New Yorkers who were quarantining in Nebraska are returning to the state this week.
The two people will be transported via non-commercial flights and complete the remainder of their 42-day monitoring period in residences located out of New York City.
The health department said the individuals have agreed to remain at home and avoid contact with other people. Plans are in place in the event the two people develop symptoms, health officials said.
Rosmarin — who had been traveling by himself — said he wanted to stay in Nebraska because those quarantining at the facility have quick access to medical care and testing, the latter of which is twice a week.
“Once you go home, you’re not gonna be able to be tested,” he said. “So, if you start getting sick, like you may not find out right away and you might not be able to get that care as quickly as possible.”
Rosmarin said he has tried to establish a routine during his time in quarantine, which includes getting up between 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. and exercising on a stationary bike.
He said he passes the time by completing puzzles, putting together Lego sets and crocheting.
“I have a calendar where I cross off the days going down,” Rosmarin said. “I watch new TV shows, new movies. I started a book and, honestly, the days have been flying by. The fact that it’s already been 21 days is kind of crazy to me.”
As of May 27, the World Health Organization said the total number of hantavirus cases remains at 13 and all linked back to the MV Hondius cruise ship.
Additionally, the number of deaths remains at three, including a married Dutch couple and a female German national.
“Given the long incubation period of up to six weeks, it is not unexpected that cases continue to be reported until the end of the six weeks since last exposure,” the WHO wrote in a bulletin last week.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in front of the American flag to the press as he departs the White House on May 12, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — A District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals panel is set to hear arguments Thursday over the Trump administration’s bid to reinstate executive orders that sought punishing sanctions against four elite law firms over their past representation or employment of perceived political foes of President Donald Trump.
Four separate district court judges had previously granted permanent restraining orders sought by the four law firms — Perkins Coie, Susman Godfrey, Wilmer Hale and Jenner & Block — after determining the EOs were unconstitutional.
Some of the judges derided the White House’s efforts to punish the firms in particularly blistering terms, likening the pressure campaign mounted last year by the Trump administration against ‘Big Law’ as akin to McCarthyism and the ‘Red Scare’ era in American history.
Staring down similar prospects of facing executive orders that sought to virtually eliminate their interactions with the government, at least nine other elite firms entered into controversial settlements with the Trump administration in exchange for providing pro bono legal services for causes supported by the White House.
Those settlements, which in sum totaled nearly $1 billion by the White House’s calculation, led to an exodus of high-profile attorneys at several of the firms who said the agreements amounted to capitulation in response to an unlawful intimidation campaign by the Trump administration.
In March, the Justice Department appeared inclined to drop their appeal of the injunctions and even notified attorneys and the circuit court that it was withdrawing the case.
Less than 24 hours later, however, the department abruptly reversed course and said it would continue arguing the appeal after multiple news articles described the move as a major victory for the firms that mounted the legal battle.
It’s unclear whether that back-and-forth will surface in oral arguments Thursday as the law firms seek to convince a three-judge panel to uphold the injunctions — which barred the Trump administration from implementing sanctions that included barring firm attorneys from accessing some federal properties and restricting their security clearances. Several of the firms described in detailed filings how the orders, if implemented, would effectively bankrupt them.
The administration, however, argued the orders were well within President Trump’s power to issue, and described the district courts’ orders as an impermissible intrusion on the executive branch.
“This appeal of those sweeping decisions is not about the sanctity of the American law firm; it is about lower courts encroaching on the constitutional power of the President to discuss and address invidious racial discrimination, national security risks, and other problems with certain law firms,” DOJ attorneys said in a court filing in March.
The remnants of a fire smolders near a melted fence as a result of the Brantley Highway 82 wildfire on April 23, 2026 in Atkinson, Georgia. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
(BRANTLEY COUNTY, Ga.) — At least 1,000 homes are being threatened by two major wildfires in Georgia that have burned more than 34,000 acres combined, according to officials.
Dry conditions from a persistent drought and gusty winds continue to fuel the wildfires in Georgia, Florida and elsewhere across the Southeast.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency for 91 counties in South Georgia.
The two major wildfires burning in Southeast Georgia are the Highway 82 Fire in Brantley County, and the Pinelands Road Fire in nearby Clinch County, officials said.
The Highway 82 fire, which started on Monday, had grown to nearly 5,000 acres and had destroyed at least 54 homes, County Manager Joey Carson said at a news conference on Wednesday. The fire was 15% contained on Wednesday evening, according to the Georgia Forestry Commission.
Hundreds of homes are in danger of being burned in the Highway 82 Fire, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which sent assets and personnel to the area on Wednesday to assist in fighting the fire and helping the community recover.
The Pinelands Road Fire started over the weekend on mostly private forest land, officials said. It grew from about 9,000 acres on Wednesday morning to more than 29,600 acres by Wednesday night and was spreading toward Echols County, according to officials.
The fire was threatening 64 homes and 37 other structures in the area on Wednesday evening, but there were no reports of homes being destroyed, according to the Georgia Forestry Commission, which said that fire also was 10% contained by Wednesday evening.
FEMA said on Wednesday said that the two fires are threatening 1,000 homes. The agency sent assets and personnel to assist in battling fires and helping communities recover after the agency approved a Fire Management Assistance declaration.
“Obviously, this fire became a lot larger than we thought it would be on Monday. We’ve got resources that have come in from all over South Georgia and now from the state,” Carson said Wednesday, adding that he expected more resources from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to arrive later that day.
The fire, burning northwest of Brunswick, Georgia, “continues to exhibit unpredictable behavior,” according to a statement Wednesday night from the Brantley County Sheriff’s Office.
Chuck White, director of Emergency Management in neighboring Camden County, said at the news conference on Wednesday that some homeowners in the area “have lost everything.”
“I’ll be very honest with you and say it’s a miracle that we have not had any lives lost,” Carson said Wednesday afternoon, adding the blaze was among 90 wildfires that have ignited across the state since Saturday.
Schools in Brantley County canceled classes for the second day in a row on Thursday due to the fire threat and smoke, officials said.
“This decision has been made to ensure the safety of our students, families, and employees, and to allow our Brantley County families time and space to navigate the impacts of the fire,” the local school system said in a statement on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, students and staff at two schools in the Brantley County town of Waynesville were forced to evacuate during the school day, officials said.
The Georgia Forestry Commission also issued its first mandatory burn ban in state history on Wednesday. The ban on outdoor burning, which will remain in effect for at least 30 days, is for 91 counties in the lower half of the state due to worsening drought conditions and rising wildfire activity, the agency said.
Carson noted that firefighters nearly had the Brantley County fire under control on Tuesday until afternoon wind gusts escalated the fire danger.
“Within 30 minutes, the winds picked up pretty significantly, and it went from being almost in control to a major wildfire,” Cason said. “Yesterday morning, we had 700 acres burned. It burned over 4,000 acres in a matter of hours as soon as the wind picked up.”
Persistent dry conditions have led to one of the worst droughts on record for parts of Georgia, fueling wildfires in the state.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, more than 48% of Brantley County is under what is called an Exceptional Drought – the highest level of drought it has experienced in more than 25 years.
Across Georgia, more than 69% of the state is under an Extreme Drought. At the start of the year, only 1% of the state was under an Extreme Drought or higher.
Georgia needs between 12 and 18 inches of rainfall to end its current drought, according to data from the National Centers for Environmental Information.
In Florida, near the Georgia-Florida line, the Railroad Fire was burning in Clay and Putnam Counties, which are also under drought conditions. As of Wednesday morning, the Railroad Fire had grown to more than 4,000 acres and was more than 50% contained on Wednesday morning, according to the Florida Forest Service.
Across the Southeast – including Florida, Alabama, Georgia, South and North Carolina and Virginia – more than 97% of the region is under a moderate drought or higher.
Florida is experiencing its worst drought in 25 years, with at least 71% of the state under an extreme or exceptional drought, the two highest levels, the Florida Forest Service said.
Fire alerts issued from Texas to Montana and Minnesota
Meanwhile, pockets of fire weather continue to linger in parts of the Rockies and Great Plains on Wednesday.
More than a dozen states across the Rockies and Plains from Texas to Montana and Minnesota were under fire weather alerts on Wednesday due to hot, dry and windy conditions.
Relative humidity in parts of the Rockies and Plains on Wednesday was expected to fall to as low as 5%, and wind gusts up to 30 to 45 mph are also forecast, allowing any wildfires to rapidly start and spread.
The wildfire threat is expected to continue Thursday in the Rockies and Plains as wind gusts are forecast to reach 60 mph and relative humidity is expected to be down to the single digits.
