FBI Arrests a Man in New York Linked to Explosion at a California Fertility Clinic

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FBI Arrests a Man in New York Linked to Explosion at a California Fertility Clinic

(Headline USA) The FBI has arrested a man on charges linked to last month’s car bombing of a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California, three law enforcement officials said Wednesday.

The man, Daniel Park, a 32-year-old resident of Kent, Washington, was arrested Tuesday night at the John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, one of the officials said.

It was not immediately clear what Park was charged with or how he was connected to the investigation. Investigators believe the bomber died in the blast.

Federal prosecutors are expected to release details at a news conference in Los Angeles. The arrest was first reported by NBC News.

The law enforcement officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss a criminal case that has not been publicly disclosed.

The FBI has identified Guy Edward Bartkus as the suspect in the apparent car bomb detonation, and investigators say he had nihilistic and “anti-pro-life” writings. A body was found near a charred vehicle outside the clinic.

Officials said at the time they were investigating whether Bartkus had any help. He tried to livestream the explosion, but the attempt failed, the FBI says. He left behind writings that are still being examined to determine his state of mind.

The blast gutted the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic in Palms Springs and shattered the windows of nearby buildings along a palm tree-lined street. Witnesses described a loud boom followed by a chaotic scene, with people screaming in terror and glass strewn along the sidewalk and street. A body was found near a charred vehicle outside the clinic.

A senior FBI official called the explosion possibly the “largest bombing scene that we’ve had in Southern California.”

Authorities executed a search warrant in Bartkus’ hometown of Twentynine Palms, a city of 28,000 residents northeast of Palm Springs with a large U.S. Marine Corps base. Authorities haven’t shared specifics about the explosives used to make the bomb and where Bartkus may have obtained them.

Investigators are working to learn more about Bartkus’ motives. They haven’t said if he intended to kill himself in the attack or why he chose the specific facility.

He appeared to hold anti-natalist views, which include a belief that it is morally wrong for people to bring children into the world. The clinic he attacked provides services to help people get pregnant, including in vitro fertilization and fertility evaluations.

At least one reporter has raised questions about whether the alleged bomber was on the FBI’s radar beforehand.

At the FBI’s press conference last month, a reporter from the area’s local News Channel 3 asked about the matter. The press conference was shut down immediately after her question.

“We had a reporter on scene at the Twentynine Palms area yesterday, and community members were telling her that there was an FBI presence there in the days leading up to that. Can you confirm that?” the reporter asked.

“I cannot,” responded Akil Davis, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles office.

Another FBI official immediately piped in, ending the conference just as Davis was about to take another question: “OK folks, we’re done here.”

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

 

Biden’s Lesbian Press Secretary Leaves the Democrat Party, Announces New Book

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Biden’s Lesbian Press Secretary Leaves the Democrat Party, Announces New Book

(Headline USA) Former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has a book out this fall that promises a close look at former President Joe Biden’s decision not to run for reelection and calls for thinking beyond the two-party system.

Jean-Pierre herself has switched her affiliation to independent after working in two Democratic administrations, according to Legacy Lit, a Hachette Book Group imprint that will publish “Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines” on Oct. 21.

“Until January 20, I was responsible for speaking on behalf of the President of the United States,” Jean-Pierre, the first Black woman and openly gay person to hold the position of White House press secretary, said in a statement released Wednesday.

“At noon on that day, I became a private citizen who, like all Americans and many of our allies around the world, had to contend with what was to come next for our country. I determined that the danger we face as a country requires freeing ourselves of boxes. We need to be willing to exercise the ability to think creatively and plan strategically.”

Jean-Pierre, 50, succeeded Jen Psaki as press secretary in 2022 after previously serving as deputy press secretary and also working as a senior adviser during Biden’s victorious 2020 campaign. During President Barack Obama’s first term, she was a regional political director.

Jean-Pierre was criticized at times for being evasive about Biden’s physical condition. Her book comes at a time when CNN’s Jake Tapper and other mainstream media figures are finally admitting that they and the Democrats knew all along that Biden was unfit to serve.

Wednesday’s announcement from Legacy Lit says that she will take readers “through the three weeks that led to Biden’s abandoning his bid for a second term and the betrayal by the Democratic Party that led to his decision.”

“She presents clear arguments and provocative evidence as an insider about the importance of dismantling the torrent of disinformation and misinformation that has been rampant in recent elections and provides passionate insight for moving forward,” the announcement said.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

 

Headline Rewind: Our Best Stories from Last Week

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Headline Rewind: Our Best Stories from Last Week

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The video below breaks down our best stories from last week that were either unreported or underreported by other outlets. Find the time-stamps and links to the stories below the video!

0:20: SCOOP: Alleged Trump Shooter’s College Emails Revealed, Including the Last One He Ever Sent

SCOOP: Alleged Trump Shooter’s College Emails Revealed, Including the Last One He Ever Sent

2:05: FBI Denies Request for Records on Trump Shooting, Even Though Director Says Case is Closed

FBI Denies Request for Records on Trump Shooting, Even Though Director Says Case is Closed

3:25: FBI Informant in ‘764’ Network Avoiding Punishment for Heinous Crimes against Children

FBI Informant in ‘764’ Network Avoiding Punishment for Heinous Crimes against Children

4:54 James O’Keefe Fights to Reclaim Project Veritas Amid New Allegations

James O’Keefe Fights to Reclaim Project Veritas Amid New Allegations

 

Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

Boulder ‘Terror’ Suspect’s Family in ICE Custody, Pending Deportation

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Boulder ‘Terror’ Suspect’s Family in ICE Custody, Pending Deportation

(, The Center Square) The family members of the suspect in Sunday’s Colorado attack have been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials and could be deported as early as Tuesday evening, according to the White House.

The wife and five children of Mohamed Soliman, the suspect in the Boulder attack linked to antisemitism and deemed a terrorist by authorities, are in “ICE custody for expedited removal.”

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed the family members of Soliman were being taken into custody.

Noem assured the public that Soliman would be “prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” However, the secretary added that his family is also under investigation.

“We’re also investigating to what extent his family knew about this horrific attack, if they had any knowledge of it, or if they provided support to it,” Noem said in a video posted to social media.

Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Soliman, a 45-year-old from Egypt, overstayed his visa and has remained in the country “illegally.”

“He entered the country in August 2022 on a B2 visa that expired in February 2023. He filed for asylum in September 2022,” according to Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security.

The FBI said Soliman used a “makeshift flame thrower and threw an incendiary device into the crowd” during a pro-Israel event organized by Run for Their Lives, injuring 12 people. The group advocates for the return of Israeli hostages being held by Hamas following an Oct. 7, 2023, attack on a Jewish music festival in Gaza.

According to reports, Soliman was heard yelling, “Free Palestine” during the attack.

Soliman reportedly told law enforcement that “he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead.”

“At least 14 unlit Molotov cocktails and a backpack weed sprayer, potentially containing a flammable substance, were found nearby,” according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Colorado.

Soliman faces multiple felony charges in addition to a federal hate crime charge. He is being held in the Boulder County Jail on a $10 million bond. Soliman could face hundreds of years behind bars if convicted on all charges.

DC Mayor Bowser Faces Ethics Complaint over $62K Foreign Trip

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DC Mayor Bowser Faces Ethics Complaint over $62K Foreign Trip

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Did the anti-Trump DC mayor break the law by accepting gifts and free travel from a foreign government? A watchdog group just filed an ethics complaint on this matter. 

The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust filed a complaint Tuesday with the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability after Mayor Muriel Bowser failed to properly disclose who funded her 2023 trip to Doha. Bowser attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference that April. 

In April 2025, WJLA-TV began scrutinizing Bowser’s foreign trips and found “shoddy record-keeping” around her travel.  For instance, no DC records showed who financed her Doha trip. 

Bowser’s office told WJLA-TV that the DC Chamber of Commerce had paid. When that entity denied funding the trip, the mayor’s office then pointed to the U.S. Conference of Mayors. This latter entity did not confirm ever paying for such a trip. 

However, WJLA-TV later obtained a letter, through an open records request, showing that Qatar had paid for the trip as an “in-kind donation.” The so-called donation totaled $61,930, according to the outlet.

DC law requires donation agreements between private entities and the government. Bowser’s office allegedly only requested such an agreement in February 2025, nearly two years after the 2023 trip. 

Because the DC government never actually entered into a donation agreement, the Qatar trip could be considered a personal gift to Bowser. That raises ethical, and possibly legal, concerns, since government officials are prohibited from accepting such gifts. 

In a press statement, FACT executive director Kendra Arnold scolded Bowser’s refusal to come clean about the foreign trip. 

“The basic standard for elected officials is honest transparency–which means following all disclosure laws and willingly answering the public’s questions,” Arnold wrote. “The Mayor’s unwillingness to provide basic information about numerous high-profile trips is unacceptable.” 

Arnold noted that Qatar may not be an isolated case, since the mayor has not disclosed who paid for her travels to President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate or the Augusta National. 

“The ethics rules exist to protect against corruption and when they are ignored, the public’s trust erodes. I urge the Board to investigate and enforce the law without delay,” Arnold added. 

Foreginer Confesses to Swatting Ring That Targeted Conservatives, Officials

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Foreginer Confesses to Swatting Ring That Targeted Conservatives, Officials

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) A Romanian national confessed on Monday to leading a swatting ring that used bomb threats and hoax calls to target officials, journalists and houses of worship. 

Tomasz Szabo pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of making threats involving explosives after he orchestrated a network of individuals, including conservative personality Jack Posobiec and X page Catturd. 

Many of the fake calls prompted heavily armed responses to victims’ homes, effectively putting their lives in danger. 

Among the victims were: 

  • 25 members of Congress, at times including their family members 
  • 13 then-current and former federal officials 
  • 27 state government officials, then-current and former, and their family members 
  • Several federal judges 
  • Four religious institutions 
  • Multiple members of the media 

In separate X posts, Posobiec and Catturd revealed that Szabo was the individual behind the swatting incidents targeting them. 

“I have been receiving regular letters from the DOJ about the case,” Catturd wrote. “They also said, as a victim, I could go to the sentencing hearing if I wanted and even read an impact statement.”

Meanwhile, Posobiec said that “scumbag” Szabo swatted his parents in the past. 

According to court documents, one of Szabo’s subordinates bragged about making more than 25 swattings in a single day. The individual boasted that he was “creating massive havoc” in America and costing taxpayers $500,000 “in just two days.”

Szabo was extradited from Romania last November. He faces a combined maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. 

Attorney General Pam Bondi slammed Szabo’s criminal acts in a press statement, saying: “This case reflects our continued focus on protecting the American people and working with international partners to stop these threats at their source.” 

FBI Director Kash Patel echoed those sentiments: “Swatting endangers lives and will not be tolerated by the FBI. We are fully committed to working with our partners to bring to justice those criminals hiding behind keyboards and threatening violence.”

Cringe Alert: Dems Unveil ‘TACO’ Campaign in an Attempt to Annoy Trump

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Cringe Alert: Dems Unveil ‘TACO’ Campaign in an Attempt to Annoy Trump

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The Democratic National Committee has unveiled its latest anti-Trump stunt, baffingly branded “TACO,” an acronym for “Trump Always Chickens Out.” 

The campaign, first reported by Axios on Tuesday, comes in response to Trump lecturing a reporter who mentioned the Wall Street phrase allegedly used to predict his reaction to tariff-triggered market drops. 

“Don’t ever say what you said. That’s a nasty question,” Trump fired back. 

In response, the DNC hired a taco truck near the Republican National Committee’s headquarters on Tuesday. 

The truck handed out free tacos and featured an image of Trump in a chicken suit, alongside the “Trump Always Chickens Out” slogan. 

“With his idiotic trade policy, he talks a big game, caves, and then leaves working families and small businesses to deal with the fallout,” DNC chair Ken Martin said in a statement. 

The campaign was short-lived, as the truck quickly ran out of tacos and drove off early. Republicans wasted no time mocking the “TACO” effort on X. 

“We have the lamest opposition in American history,” wrote Vice President JD Vance on X. 

RNC communications official Zach Parkinson laughed off the gimmick in remarks to Axios: “LMFAO. A taco truck? Are they going to be giving out free vasectomies again too?” 

Journalist Nick Sortor added, “These people are BEYOND pathetic.” 

Fox News anchor Jesse Watters also chimed in: “Democrats have a MAN problem. And they think the solution is tacos and handing out flyers outside the gym.” 

Still, embattled Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., tried to lean into the failed campaign, posting a video of himself eating a taco in what he framed as a jab at Trump. 

CNN Anchor Exits Network in Disgrace Following Defamation Embarrassment

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CNN Anchor Exits Network in Disgrace Following Defamation Embarrassment

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) CNN star correspondent Alex Marquardt announced on Monday that he was leaving the network, just months after his misleading reporting on Navy veteran Zachary Young triggered a $5 million defamation payout. 

Marquardt made the announcement on X, reminiscing about his eight years with the network. “Tough to say goodbye but it’s been an honor to work among the very best in the business,” he wrote. 

Though Marquardt did not specify what prompted his abrupt departure, former CNN media correspondent Oliver Darcy reported that he was actually fired. Network executives and Marquardt allegedly had “editorial differences,” which led to the exit.  

The fallout follows Marquardt’s dubious coverage of Young’s selfless efforts to rescue stranded Afghans from the Taliban-controlled territory after the Biden administration’s disastrous withdrawal in 2021. 

Marquardt misleadingly implied that Young may have profited unethically from these rescue operations. Contrary to evidence, CNN portrayed Young as someone exploiting vulnerable individuals in Afghanistan.

This portrayal cost CNN big time.

Young insisted that he never charged Afghans for rescue missions and instead relied on private donations and nonprofit support.  

CNN attempted to save face by issuing an apology, but Young ultimately sued anyway. 

A jury ultimately agreed with Young’s grievances, ruling that the network defamed him. 

Court documents revealed text messages in which Marquardt vowed to take Young down. “We’re gonna nail this Zachary Young mf**ker,” he wrote. 

Those messages, along with other damning evidence, prompted a jury to award Young $5 million in damages. CNN quickly settled before additional penalties could be determined.  

Young, who is also suing the Associated Press, had originally sought $1 billion from CNN.

GOP Fractures as Elon Musk and Rand Paul Oppose Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’

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GOP Fractures as Elon Musk and Rand Paul Oppose Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’

(Headline USA) President Donald Trump wants his “big, beautiful” bill of tax breaks and spending cuts on his desk to be signed into law by the Fourth of July, and he’s pushing the slow-rolling Senate to make it happen sooner rather than later.

Trump met with Senate Majority Leader John Thune at the White House early this week and has been dialing senators for one-on-one chats, using both the carrot and stick to nudge, badger and encourage them to act. But it’s still a long road ahead for the 1,000-page-plus package.

“His question to me was, How do you think the bill’s going to go in the Senate?” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said about his call with Trump. “Do you think there’s going to be problems?”

It’s a potentially tumultuous three-week sprint for senators preparing to put their own imprint on the massive Republican package that cleared the House late last month by a single vote. The senators have been meeting for weeks behind closed doors, including as they returned to Washington late Monday, to revise the package ahead of what is expected to be a similarly narrow vote in the Senate.

“Passing THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL is a Historic Opportunity to turn our Country around,” Trump posted on social media. He urged them Monday “to work as fast as they can to get this Bill to MY DESK before the Fourth of JULY.”

But Trump’s high-octane ally, billionaire Elon Musk, lambasted the package — and those voting for it.

“This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,” Musk posted on his site X, as some lawmakers have expressed reservations about the details. “Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”

Thune, like House Speaker Mike Johnson, has few votes to spare from the Senate’s slim, 53-seat GOP majority. Democrats are waging an all-out political assault on GOP proposals to cut Medicaid, food stamps and green energy investments to help pay for more than $4.5 trillion in tax cuts — with many lawmakers being hammered at boisterous town halls back home.

“It’d be nice if we could have everybody on board to do it, but, you know, individual members are going to stake out their positions,” Thune said Tuesday.

“But in the end, we have to succeed. Failure’s not an option.”

Speaker Johnson called Musk’s harsh criticism of the bill “very disappointing.”

“With all due respect,” said Johnson, who said he spoke with Musk for more than 20 minutes, “my friend Elon is terribly wrong about the one big beautiful bill.”

At its core, the package seeks to extend the tax cuts approved in 2017, during Trump’s first term at the White House, and add new ones the presidents campaigned on, including no taxes on tips and others. It also includes a massive build-up of $350 billion for border security, deportations and national security.

To defray the lost tax revenue to the government and avoid piling onto the nation’s $36 trillion debt load, Republicans want reduce federal spending by imposing work requirements for some Americans who rely on government safety net services. Estimates are 8.6 million people would no longer have health care and nearly 4 million would lose Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program benefits, known as SNAP.

The package also would raise the nation’s debt limit by $4 trillion to allow more borrowing to pay the bills.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Trump’s bill “is ugly to its very core.”

Schumer said Tuesday senators should listen to Musk. “Behind the smoke and mirrors lies a cruel and draconian truth: tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy paid for by gutting health care for millions of Americans,” said the New York senator.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office is expected to soon provide an overall analysis of the package’s impacts on the government balance sheets. But Republicans are ready to blast those findings from the congressional scorekeeper as flawed.

Trump Tuesday switched to tougher tactics, deriding the holdout Republican senators to get on board.

The president laid into Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, the libertarian-leaning deficit hawk who has made a career of arguing against government spending. Paul wants the package’s $4 trillion increase to the debt ceiling out of the bill.

“Rand votes NO on everything, but never has any practical or constructive ideas. His ideas are actually crazy (losers!).” Trump posted.

Paul seemed unfazed. “I like the president, supported the president,” the senator said. “But I can’t in good conscience give up every principle that I stand for and every principle that I was elected upon.”

The July 4th deadline is not only aspirational for the president, it’s all but mandatory for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who has warned Congress that the nation will run out of money to pay its bills if the debt ceiling, now at $36 trillion, is not lifted by mid-July or early August to allow more borrowing. Bessent has also been meeting behind closed doors with senators and GOP leadership.

The road ahead is also a test for Thune of South Dakota who, like Johnson, is a newer leader in Congress and among the many Republicans adjusting their own priorities with Trump’s return to the White House.

While Johnson has warned against massive changes to the package, Thune faces demands from his senators for adjustments.

To make most of the tax cuts permanent — particularly the business tax breaks that are the Senate priorities — senators may shave some of Trump’s proposed new tax breaks on automobile loans or overtime pay, which are policies less prized by some senators.

There are also discussions about altering the $40,000 cap that the House proposed for state and local deductions, known as SALT, which are important to lawmakers in high-tax New York, California and other states, but less so among GOP senators.

“We’re having all those discussions,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., another key voice in the debate.

Hawley is a among a group of senators, including Maine Sen. Susan Collins and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who have raised concerns about the Medicaid changes that could boot people from health insurance.

A potential copay of up to $35 for Medicaid services that was part of the House package, as well as a termination of a provider tax that many states rely on to help fund rural hospitals, have also raised concerns.

“The best way to not be accused of cutting Medicaid is to not cut Medicaid,” Hawley said.

Collins said she is reviewing the details.

There’s also a House provision that would allow the auction of spectrum bandwidth that some senators oppose.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

BREAKING: DOJ Announces Charges in Chinese ‘Agroterrorism’ Case

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BREAKING: DOJ Announces Charges in Chinese ‘Agroterrorism’ Case

(Headline USA) A Chinese scientist entered the U.S. last year with a toxic fungus stashed in his backpack, federal authorities said Tuesday as they filed charges against him and a girlfriend who worked in a lab at the University of Michigan.

The pathogen is known as Fusarium graminearum, which can attack wheat, barley, maize and rice and sicken livestock and people, the FBI said in a court filing in Detroit.

The FBI said a scientific journal describes it as a “potential agroterrorism weapon.”

Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, were charged with conspiracy, smuggling, making false statements and visa fraud.

“The alleged actions of these Chinese nationals, including a loyal member of the Chinese Communist Party, are of the gravest national security concerns,” U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon Jr. said.

Jian appeared in court and was returned to jail to await a bond hearing Thursday. An attorney who was assigned only for her initial appearance declined to comment.

In July 2024, Liu was turned away at the Detroit airport and sent back to China after changing his story during an interrogation about red plant material discovered in his backpack, the FBI said.

He initially claimed ignorance about the samples but later said he was planning to use the material for research at a University of Michigan lab where Jian worked and where Liu previously worked, the FBI said.

The FBI said authorities found a scientific article on Liu’s phone that was titled, “Plant-Pathogen Warfare under Changing Climate Conditions.”

A week before arriving in the U.S., according to investigators, Liu exchanged messages with Jian, who said, “It’s a pity that I still have to work for you.”

The FBI said Liu replied: “Once this is done, everything else will be easy.”

Months later, in February, FBI agents visited Jian at the campus lab. She said, “100% no,” when asked if she had been assisting Liu with the pathogen at the lab. The FBI said it found a signed statement on her phone expressing her support for the Communist Party of China.

Messages between the two in 2024 suggest that Jian was already tending to Fusarium graminearum at the campus lab before Liu was caught at the Detroit airport, the FBI said. The university does not have federal permits to handle it.

The U.S. does not have an extradition treaty with China, which makes Liu’s arrest unlikely unless he returns.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

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