Vince McMahon to pay $1.7 million for failing to disclose settlements
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(WASHINGTON) — Vince McMahon, the former head of WWE, will pay $1.7 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission for failing to disclose two settlements he had with employees while he ran the formerly publicly traded company.
One settlement agreement, signed in 2019, obligated McMahon to pay a former employee $3 million in exchange for the former employee’s agreement not to disclose her relationship with McMahon and her release of potential claims against WWE and McMahon, and the second agreement, signed in 2021, obligated McMahon to pay a former WWE independent contractor $7.5 million in exchange for the independent contractor’s agreement not to disclose her allegations against McMahon and her release of potential claims against WWE and McMahon, according to the SEC.
These payments were not disclosed and, thus, “WWE overstated its 2018 net income by approximately 8 percent and its 2021 net income by approximately 1.7 percent,” according to the SEC.
McMahon agreed to pay a $400,000 civil penalty and reimburse WWE $1,330,915.90, the SEC said.
In a statement posted on X, McMahon said the “case is closed.”
“Today ends nearly three years of investigation by different governmental agencies,” he said.
“There has been a great deal of speculation about what exactly the government was investigating and what the outcome would be. As today’s resolution shows, much of that speculation was misguided and misleading,” he added. “In the end, there was never anything more to this than minor accounting errors with regard to some personal payments that I made several years ago while I was CEO of WWE. I’m thrilled that I can now put all this behind me.”
McMahon, who is married to President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be education secretary, Linda McMahon, resigned from WWE’s parent company TKO Group Holdings in 2024 after he was sued by a former employee accusing him of sexual misconduct. McMahon has denied any wrongdoing in that suit.
A tropical system churning in the Caribbean is forecast to strengthen into Tropical Storm Rafael on Monday as it takes aim at Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and the Gulf Coast.
A tropical storm warning has been issued for Jamaica, where Rafael is forecast to bring heavy rain and mudslides Monday night into Tuesday morning. A hurricane warning has been issued for the Cayman Islands.
Rafael could strengthen to a hurricane by Tuesday night into Wednesday morning as it makes landfall in Cuba with heavy rain, strong winds, flash flooding and storm surge.
Rafael is expected to move into the Gulf of Mexico as a tropical storm by the end of the week.
By Saturday, Rafael could reach the U.S. Gulf Coast.
It’s too early to tell which parts of the Gulf Coast will see the worst conditions. Everyone from Texas to Florida should monitor the storm’s path.
(LAS VEGAS) — Matthew Livelsberger — the driver of the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded on New Year’s Day outside the Trump International Las Vegas Hotel — shared personal and political “grievances” in two letters found on a phone in the vehicle and called the attack a “wake up call,” authorities said Friday.
Livelsberger, an active-duty Army soldier, said the country was being led by the “weak” and those out to “enrich themselves,” while also claiming the incident was not meant as a terrorist attack, according to excerpts of the two letters shared by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
“I know everyone is very eager to try to understand and be able to explain what happened,” Las Vegas Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren said during a press briefing on Friday. “We still have a large volume of data to go through, a lot of content to go through.”
The department said they would release the two letters to the public.
“You’ll see that he actually calls it a stunt, in one of these documents that we’re going to release to you, that he was trying to get the attention of the American people because he was upset about a number of different things,” Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said during Friday’s briefing. “But I’ll let those writings speak for themselves.”
Livelsberger died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound prior to the blast, the Clark County coroner confirmed Thursday evening. No one else was seriously hurt, though seven bystanders sustained minor injuries, officials said.
The evidence shows Livelsberger “thoughtfully prepared” and acted alone in the incident, Spencer Evans, special agent in charge for the FBI’s Las Vegas division, said during Friday’s press briefing. Livelsberger was not on the FBI’s radar prior to the incident, Evans said.
“Although this incident is more public and more sensational than usual, it ultimately appears to be a tragic case of suicide involving a heavily decorated combat veteran who was struggling with PTSD and other issues,” Evans said.
Authorities are also looking into a letter purportedly sent by Livelsberger and shared by the military-themed “Shawn Ryan Show” podcast on Friday. That information was sent to the FBI following the attack, Evans confirmed.
“We still have not conclusively determined that that’s from the subject, but feel confident, based on evidence that we’re uncovering on his devices, that that was, in fact, from Livelsberger,” Evans said.
In the Cybertruck, officials found credit and identification cards in Livelsberger’s name, evidence he owned the weapons found in the destroyed vehicle and identified tattoos that appeared to match Livelsberger’s body, however, severe physical injuries slowed the identification process.
The Clark County coroner ultimately identified Livelsberger — of Colorado Springs, Colorado — as the driver on Thursday. His cause of death was a self-inflicted intraoral gunshot wound.
Livelsberger was found with a gun at his feet. Two firearms — one handgun and one rifle — were found in the vehicle “burnt beyond recognition,” McMahill said.
Both weapons were purchased legally on Monday, he added.
Two phones were recovered from the vehicle, including one containing the two letters, Koren said. Investigators have been unable to access the other phone at this time, he said.
It is unclear why Livelsberger chose a Tesla or the route he took, authorities said Friday.
Livelsberger rented the Tesla vehicle on Saturday in Denver via the Turo app, before driving to Las Vegas through cities in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. His progress was tracked through Tesla charging stations, officials said.
The vehicle first pulled into the Trump International Las Vegas Hotel valet area just after 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, officials said. It then left the area, driving along Las Vegas Boulevard, before returning to the valet area at about 8:39 a.m., exploding 17 seconds after its arrival.
Livelsberger served as a Green Beret in the Army and was on approved leave from serving in Germany at the time of his death, a U.S. Army spokesperson said Thursday.
He received extensive decorations in combat, including the Bronze Star with a “V” device for valor, indicating heroism under fire. Livelsberger received four more standard Bronze Star medals, according to Army records. He also earned the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with three stars. Each star represents service in a separate campaign in Afghanistan.
Livelsberger had been receiving mental health assistance over the last year, a U.S. official confirmed Friday.
Another U.S. official confirmed that officials thought Livelsberger was stable enough to go home for Christmas and his leave was approved.
The Department of Defense has turned over Livelsberger’s medical records to local law enforcement, Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters during a briefing on Friday.
“I just don’t have more details to share,” she added, when asked about reporting from CNN that the suspect had been diagnosed with depression last year.
Singh noted that service members are encouraged to seek help with any mental health issues.
The Las Vegas incident is not believed to have any direct connection to the New Year’s Day truck attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people — as well as the suspect — and injured 35 others, according to the FBI. The truck used in the New Orleans attack was also rented using the Turo app, officials said.
Evans reiterated Friday that there is no evidence that the two events are connected, saying there are “coincidental similarities” between them — including that both drivers were in the military, rented vehicles through the same service and stayed in an Airbnb.
There is no evidence at this time that the two drivers had any overlap even though both served in Afghanistan, Singh also said Friday.
Livelsberger was a supporter of President-elect Donald Trump, an official briefed on the probe told ABC News. His wife, who investigators spoke to in Colorado Springs, said he had been out of the house since around Christmas after a dispute over allegations of infidelity, the official said.
His wife told officials she did not believe Livelsberger would want to hurt anyone, the official told ABC News.
Livelsberger is believed to have told the person he rented the truck from that he was going camping at the Grand Canyon, the official told ABC News.
Investigators are still looking to determine how the items in the truck were detonated, but with the contents of the vehicle so badly burned, it may be a slow process, according to the official.
The sheriff said Tesla CEO Elon Musk helped the investigation by having the truck unlocked after it auto-locked in the blast and by giving investigators video of the suspect at charging stations along its route from Colorado to Las Vegas.
McMahill said police believe the explosion was an “isolated incident” and that “there is no further threat to the community.”
Video played at Thursday’s Las Vegas news conference showed a load of fireworks-style mortars, gasoline cans and camping fuel canisters in the back of the truck.
If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one, call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
(WASHINGTON) — An Army specialist has been charged with the murder of a fellow soldier whose body was found on an Army base last week.
Spc. Wooster Rancy, 21, is accused in the murder of Sarah Roque, a 23-year-old sergeant, officials said Thursday.
Last week, Roque was found dead in a dumpster at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri.
Rancy also faces obstruction of justice charges, officials said. He is currently in pretrial confinement ahead of a preliminary hearing.
A combat engineer, Rancy is originally from Miami and joined the Army in 2022, officials said.
It is not yet clear what led to Rancy’s arrest or the motive in the killing.
Roque, of Ligonier, Indiana, was reported missing after she failed to report for duty last week.
In a press conference after her body was found, Maj. Gen. Christopher Beck said her death was being investigated as a homicide.
“As a commander and a leader, this is a tragedy,” Beck said. “This is something that we never want to happen, we never want for the family to have to endure, or for the unit to have to endure.”
Roque served as a mine dog handler, officials said. Since she enlisted in 2020, she was awarded the Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal and the Army Service Ribbon.
“Sarah not only served our country bravely and honorably as a soldier, she was also a daughter, a sister and a friend to many,” Beck said.
