Secret Service agent on Jill Biden detail shoots self in the leg, official says
Former US First Lady Jill Biden listens to former US President Joe Biden (off frame) as he delivers his farewell address to the nation from the Oval Office of the White House on January 15, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Mandel Ngan – Pool/Getty Images)
(PHILADELPHIA) — A U.S. Secret Service agent assigned to former first lady Jill Biden’s detail shot himself in the leg on Friday morning as the result of a “negligent discharge,” according to an agency official.
Dr. Jill Biden was not in the vicinity of the shooting, the official said.
The agent “suffered a non-life-threatening injury following a negligent discharge while handling a service weapon at the Philadelphia International Airport during a protective assignment,” the Secret Service said in a statement.
“There were no reported injuries to any other individuals and the special agent is being evaluated at an area hospital in stable condition,” the agency said.
There is no threat associated with this incident, the Secret Service official said earlier.
Emergency medical services responded to the scene and transported the agent to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center where he was listed in stable condition, the Philadelphia Police Department said.
The scene is being held for the investigation and there have been no disruptions to airport operations, the police department said.
The Secret Service’s Office of Professional Responsibility “will be reviewing the facts and circumstances of this incident,” the agency said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Kristin Ramsey, 53, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Ashley Okland. (West Des Moines Police)
(WEST DES MOINES, Iowa) — A woman has been arrested in the 2011 cold case murder of an Iowa real estate agent, authorities said.
Kristin Ramsey, 53, was arrested on Tuesday for first-degree murder in the death of Ashley Okland, the West Des Moines Police said.
Police and prosecutors did not elaborate on what led to Ramsey’s arrest, but Dallas County Attorney Matt Schultz said at a Wednesday news conference, “After hearing the evidence, a Dallas County grand jury issued a true bill indicting Kristin Ramsey with the murder of Ashley Okland.”
Okland was shot and killed while working at a model townhouse on April 8, 2011, according to the Iowa Attorney General’s Office Cold Case Unit.
Okland’s death sent “shockwaves” throughout the state and “haunted” the real estate community, West Des Moines Police Assistant Chief Jody Hayes said at the news conference.
“That Friday afternoon when Ashley was taken from us seems so long ago. We had lost our hope in finding answers and having any justice,” Okland’s sister, Brittany Bruce, told reporters.
She thanked the detectives and prosecutors for their relentless work on the case.
“We have full confidence in their abilities to see this through,” she said.
Brian Walshe, accused of murdering wife Ana Walshe on Jan. 1, 2023, is lead into his hearing at Norfolk Superior Court. (Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
(DEDHAM, Mass.) — Brian Walshe is set to be sentenced on Thursday after a Massachusetts jury found him guilty of killing and dismembering his wife, the mother of their three children.
His wife, Ana Walshe, went missing on Jan. 1, 2023, at the age of 39. Her body has not been found.
Brian Walshe, 50, pleaded guilty last month to improperly disposing of her body and lying to police following her disappearance. He had changed his plea on the two charges before jury selection got underway for the trial, while maintaining that he did not kill her.
A Norfolk County jury found Brian Walshe guilty of first-degree murder on Monday, after deliberating for approximately six hours over two days.
He is set to be sentenced on all three charges in the case on Thursday and faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole after being convicted of first-degree murder.
Brian Walshe did not testify during the two-week trial in Dedham, and the defense did not call any witnesses.
Defense attorneys said during the trial that Brian Walshe did not kill his wife but found her dead in bed on New Year’s Day in 2023 — calling her death sudden and unexplained — and then panicked and lied to police as they investigated her disappearance.
Prosecutors said Brian Walshe premeditatedly murdered and dismembered his wife, then disposed of her remains in dumpsters. The internet history on his devices on Jan. 1, 2023, included searches such as “best way to dispose of a body,” “how long for someone to be missing to inherit,” and “best way to dispose of body parts after a murder,” prosecutors said.
Evidence presented during the trial included surveillance footage of a man believed to be Brian Walshe buying tools and other supplies at a Lowe’s on Jan. 1, 2023. A receipt showed that items, including a hacksaw, utility knife, hammer, snips, Tyvek suit, shoeguards, rags and cleaning supplies, totaling $462, were purchased with cash.
Additional surveillance footage presented in court showed someone throwing out trash bags at dumpsters on multiple days in early January 2023.
Several blood-stained items recovered from dumpsters by investigators — including a hacksaw, a piece of rug, a towel and hairs — and an unknown tissue were linked to Ana Walshe through DNA testing, a forensic scientist from the Massachusetts State Police Crime Laboratory testified during the trial.
Ana Walshe was reported missing by her employer on Jan. 4, 2023. Brian Walshe told police at the time that she had a “work emergency” at her job in D.C. and left their Cohasset home on New Year’s Day, according to audio of his interview played in court.
Jurors heard testimony, including from a D.C. man with whom Ana Walshe was having an affair, that the mother of three was upset about being away from her young children so much — who were 2, 4 and 6 at the time — and there was stress in the marriage.
At the time, Brian Walshe and their three children were living in Massachusetts while he was awaiting sentencing in a federal fraud case after pleading guilty to a scheme to sell counterfeit Andy Warhol paintings. He was ultimately sentenced to 37 months in federal prison in that case.
Ballots arrive at the Fulton County Elections Hub and Operation Center on election night on November 5, 2024 in Fairburn, Georgia. Megan Varner/Getty Images
(FULTON COUNTY, Ga.) — A top Fulton County official on Thursday blasted the Trump administration for the FBI’s seizure of 2020 election ballots, saying the move is about “intimidation and distraction.”
County officials said the FBI seized original 2020 voting records Wednesday while serving a search warrant at the county’s Elections Hub and Operations Center.
The development comes after President Donald Trump has repeatedly said there was voter fraud in the 2020 election, specifically in Georgia, that contributed to his election loss. Georgia officials audited and certified the results following the election.
“Every audit, every recount, every court ruling has confirmed what we the people of Fulton County already knew: Our elections were fair and accurate and every legal vote was counted,” Robb Pitts, the chairman of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, said at a press briefing Thursday.
“These ongoing efforts are about intimidation and distraction, not facts,” Pitts said.
Last month, the Justice Department sued Fulton County for access to its 2020 election records, including ballot stubs and signature envelopes.
Asked why the county did not turn over the records then, Pitts said “there is a fight” over the ballots, but that county attorneys reviewed the warrant and said was in their best interest to comply.
“Fulton County has nothing to hide,” he said, “Fulton County elections are fair and lawful, and the outcome of the 2020 election will not change.”
The search warrant authorized the FBI to search for “All physical ballots from the 2020 General Election,” in addition to tabulator tapes from voting machines and 2020 voter rolls, among other documents, according to a copy of the warrant obtained by ABC affiliate WSB.
The warrant says the material “constitutes evidence of the commission of a criminal offense” and had been “used as the means of committing a criminal offense.” It was signed by federal magistrate Judge Catherine Salinas.
Specifically, the warrant listed possible violations of two statutes — one which requires election records to be retained for a certain amount of time, and another which outlines criminal penalties for people, including election officials, who intimidate voters or to knowingly procure false votes or false voter registrations.
