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NEW YORK — Former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges he profited from rigged poker games and provided sports bettors with non-public information about injuries to stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Jones, a onetime teammate of James, said little during back-to-back arraignments in federal court in Brooklyn, letting his court-appointed lawyer enter not guilty pleas in a pair of cases stemming from last month’s federal takedown of sprawling gambling operations.

Jones, 49, acknowledged he read both indictments and that he understood the charges and his bail conditions, which include his mother and stepfather putting up their Texas home as collateral for a $200,000 bond that will allow him to remain free pending trial.

Jones’ lawyer, Kenneth Montgomery, told a judge that they “may be engaging in plea negotiations.” He is due back in court for a preliminary conference with other defendants on Nov. 24.

Jones was among more than 30 people arrested in the gambling sweep. The others included reputed mobsters and prominent basketball figures, including Portland Trail Blazers head coach and Basketball Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier.

Sports bettor Marves Fairley also pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges alleging he cashed in on information about injuries to NBA players, including some that prosecutors say Jones provided to him.

Jones, an NBA journeyman, earned more than $20 million playing for 10 teams in 11 seasons from 1999 to 2009. He and James played together in Cleveland from 2005 to 2008 and he served as an unofficial assistant coach for James’ Lakers during the 2022-2023 season.

According to prosecutors, Jones sold or attempted to sell non-public information to bettors that James was injured and wouldn’t be playing in a Feb. 9, 2023, game against the Milwaukee Bucks, texting an unnamed co-conspirator: “Get a big bet on Milwaukee tonight before the information is out.”

James wasn’t listed on the Lakers’ injury report at the time of the text message, but the NBA’s all-time scoring leader was later ruled out of the game because of a lower body jury, according to prosecutors, and the Lakers lost the game 115-106.

On Jan. 15, 2024, prosecutors said, Fairley paid Jones approximately $2,500 for a tip that Davis, the Lakers’ forward and center at the time, would see limited playing time against the Oklahoma City Thunder because of an injury.

Fairley then placed a $100,000 bet on the Thunder to win, prosecutors said, but the tip was wrong. Davis played his usual minutes, scored 27 points and collected 15 rebounds in a 112-105 Lakers win, prompting Fairley to demand a refund of his $2,500 fee, prosecutors said.

Jones, a native of Galveston, Texas, who played college basketball at the University of Houston, is charged in both cases with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. As part of his bail agreement, his travel is restricted to parts of Texas and New York City. He was allowed to keep his passport to use as identification for flying until he obtains a REAL ID, which his lawyer said should happen soon.

A hot hand from outside the three-point arc, Jones once proclaimed himself in an interview with Insidehoops.com as “the best shooter in the world.” He played in every regular season game for three consecutive seasons from 2003 to 2006.

After his playing days, he worked as a “shooting consultant” for the Cavaliers and was an assistant coach when the team, led by James, won the NBA championship in 2016.

In the poker scheme, according to prosecutors, Jones was among former NBA players used to lure unwitting players into poker games that were rigged using altered shuffling machines, hidden cameras, special sunglasses and even X-ray equipment built into the table.

According to the indictment, Jones was paid $2,500 for a game in the Hamptons where he was instructed to cheat by paying close attention to others involved in the scheme. His instructor likened those people to James and NBA All-Star Stephen Curry, prosecutors said. When in doubt, Jones was told to fold his hand, prosecutors said.

In response, according to prosecutors, Jones texted: “y’all know I know what I’m doing!!”

The poker scheme often made use of illegal poker games run by New York crime families that required them to share a portion of their proceeds with the Gambino, Genovese and Bonnano crime families, according to prosecutors.

Members of those families, in turn, also helped commit violent acts, including assault, extortion and robbery, to ensure repayment of debts and the continued success of the operation, officials said in court documents.

Sisak writes for the Associated Press.

Chris Wood, Dilane Bakwa, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ola Aina remain unavailable for Nottingham Forest.

Wood could return from a knee injury in time to face Leeds United next weekend.

Back-up goalkeeper Angus Gunn has also been after damaging knee ligaments during training.

Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez has returned to full training following nine months out with a knee injury although he is not in contention to travel to the City Ground.

“He [Martinez] wants to go to this one, he is not going to this one, he is going to take time,” said United boss Ruben Amorim.

“He is really good, he is really good, and he gives us that edge in every training session and that is also really good for us.

Harry Maguire is a doubt after missing the 4-2 win against Brighton last weekend due to a knock and Leny Yoro could once again deputise.

Players out: Nottingham Forest – Gunn, Wood, Bakwa, Zinchenko, Aina Manchester United – Martinez

Doubts: Nottingham Forest – none Manchester United – Maguire

Key FPL notes:

Oct. 14 (UPI) — News organizations on Tuesday broadly rejected new rules from the Pentagon demanding journalists only report approved information or risk losing their press credentials.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth unveiled the new rules last month requiring journalists to sign a pledge stating they would neither access nor report any information that had not been signed off by the Pentagon – even if it was unclassified. The Department of Defense threatened to revoke the press credentials of journalists, barring them from accessing facilities, if they refused to sign.

Press organizations immediately blasted the rules, calling them an affront to the First Amendment and independent reporting on the military and national security. Now, many national media outlets have refused the ultimatum.

ABC News, CBS News, CNN, FOX News Media and NBC News issued a joint statement indicating declined to agree to the new requirements.

“The policy is without precedent and threatens core journalistic protections,” the outlets said in the statement. “We will continue to cover the U.S. military as each of our organizations has done for many decades, upholding the principles of a free and independent press.”

Hegseth has had a contentious relationship with the media, blaming the press after he came under scrutiny for sharing sensitive military information on the Signal app. The former Fox News personality has previously issued a series of rules restricting press activities within the Pentagon to prevent inadvertent leaks.

The Pentagon Press Association also issued a statement Tuesday saying the latest rule contradicted Hegseth’s pledge to improve transparency at the department. The association called it an “entirely one-sided move” that would cut the public off from reporting on issues of sexual assault in the military, conflicts of interest, corruption, as well as the well-being of service members.

“The Pentagon certainly has the right to make its own policies, within the constraints of the law,” the association said. “There is no need or justification, however, for it to require reporters to affirm their understanding of vague, likely unconstitutional policies as a precondition to reporting from Pentagon facilities.”

Hegseth on Tuesday downplayed the rules, writing on X that the “Pentagon now has same rules as every U.S military installation.”

Other outlets that refused to sign the pledge include The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Atlantic.

Hegseth responded on X with an emoji waving goodbye.

For years, Matthew McConaughey wouldn’t tell his mom, Kay, anything of substance during their weekly phone calls — her love of spreading news had cost her his trust.

“We had about an eight-year period where I had to have short conversations with her on our Sunday phone calls because she was sharing a lot of information,” Matthew told People in a joint interview with his mother. “I’d tell her something on Sunday between son and mom, and Tuesday I’d read about it in the news or see it in the local paper.”

Kay called the period a hiatus, which started after she took the media on a tour of Matthew’s childhood home without his consent. In her defense, she didn’t think he would find out.

“I was so proud that I was just telling the world,” she said.

The hiatus came to an end when Matthew felt stable enough with his fame. When the two hit red carpets together after that, Kay would ask if there were any rules she had to follow, but he let her tell the raunchiest stories at will.

“My mom can say whatever the hell she wants,” Matthew said. “Let’s take the lasso off and just go for it, Mom.”

Matthew and Kay co-star in the upcoming film “The Lost Bus,” where she plays his mother. The movie, which premieres Friday on Apple TV+, also stars Matthew’s oldest son, Levi.

Hear the sound of fingers crossing? That might be Levi hoping his dad learned a thing or two from Grandma.

The Pentagon says it will require credentialed journalists at the military headquarters to sign a pledge to refrain from reporting information that has not been authorized for release — including unclassified information.

Journalists who don’t abide by the policy risk losing credentials that provide access to the Pentagon, under a 17-page memo distributed Friday that steps up media restrictions imposed by the administration of President Trump.

“Information must be approved for public release by an appropriate authorizing official before it is released, even if it is unclassified,” the directive states. The signature form includes an array of security requirements for credentialed media at the Defense Department, which Trump has moved to rename the War Department.

Advocates for press freedoms denounced the nondisclosure requirement as an assault on independent journalism. The new Pentagon restrictions arrive as Trump expands threats, lawsuits and government pressure as he remakes the American media landscape.

“If the news about our military must first be approved by the government, then the public is no longer getting independent reporting. It is getting only what officials want them to see,” said National Press Club President Mike Balsamo, also national law enforcement editor at the Associated Press. “That should alarm every American.”

No more permission to ‘roam the halls’

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News Channel personality, highlighted the restrictions in a social media post on X.

“The ‘press’ does not run the Pentagon — the people do. The press is no longer allowed to roam the halls of a secure facility,” Hegseth said. “Wear a badge and follow the rules — or go home.”

The Pentagon this year has evicted many news organizations while imposing a series of restrictions that include banning reporters from entering wide areas of the complex without a government escort — areas where the press had access in past administrations as it covers the activities of the world’s most powerful military.

The Pentagon was embarrassed early in Hegseth’s tenure when the editor in chief of the Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, was inadvertently included in a group chat on the Signal messaging app where the Defense secretary discussed plans for upcoming military strikes in Yemen. Trump’s then-national security advisor, Mike Waltz, took responsibility for Goldberg being included and was shifted to another job.

The Defense Department also was embarrassed by a leak to the New York Times that billionaire Elon Musk was to get a briefing on the U.S. military’s plans in case a war broke out with China. That briefing never took place, on Trump’s orders, and Hegseth suspended two Pentagon officials as part of an investigation into how that news got out.

On Saturday, the Society of Professional Journalists also objected to the Pentagon’s move, calling it “alarming.”

“This policy reeks of prior restraint — the most egregious violation of press freedom under the First Amendment — and is a dangerous step toward government censorship,” it said in a statement Saturday. “Attempts to silence the press under the guise of ‘security’ are part of a disturbing pattern of growing government hostility toward transparency and democratic norms.”

And Matt Murray, executive editor of the Washington Post, said in the paper Saturday that the new policy runs counter to what’s good for the American public.

“The Constitution protects the right to report on the activities of democratically elected and appointed government officials,” Murray said. “Any attempt to control messaging and curb access by the government is counter to the First Amendment and against the public interest.”

Lee writes for the Associated Press.

Sept. 20 (UPI) — Journalists covering the Pentagon will have to pledge to access only authorized information or lose their press credentials, the Department of War announced Friday.

The new policy enables Pentagon officials to revoke the credentials for any press staff that they might deem a security threat, according to The Washington Post.

War Department officials published a 17-page document explaining the changes for press coverage.

“DoW remains committed to transparency to promote accountability and public trust,” the document says, as reported by NPR.

“However, DoW information must be approved for public release by an appropriate authorizing official before it is released — even if it is unclassified.”

War Department Sec. Pete Hegseth earlier restricted the media’s ability to freely move about the Pentagon and required an escort from department-approved personnel.

“The press does not run the Pentagon, but the American people do,” Hegseth said Friday on social media.

“Wear a badge and follow the rules — or go home,” he said.

The new rules for media drew a rebuke from National Press Club President Mike Balsamo.

“This is a direct assault on independent journalism at the very place where independent scrutiny matters the most: the U.S. military,” Balsamo said Friday in a prepared statement.

President Donald Trump recently changed the Defense Department’s official name to the Department of War.

Sept. 13 (UPI) — Officials at the University of California-Berkeley have shared personal information on 160 students, faculty and staff with the federal government amid an anti-Semitism investigation.

The Department of Education and Office of Civil Rights is investigating claims of anti-Semitism at the university and requested the information, which the U.C. Office of the President ordered staff to provide, The Daily Californian reported this week.

The Daily Californian is an independent student publication at the university and reported that the university shared the information in August and informed those affected in an email from the university’s Office of Legal Affairs on Sept. 4.

“As part of its investigation, OCR required production of comprehensive documents, including files and reports related to alleged anti-Semitic incidents,” the email read, as reported by The Daily Californian.

The email told respective individuals that the university included their names in reports provided by the University of California system’s Office of General Counsel, as required by law.

Those whose names were provided are among some who have been accused of anti-Semitic activities at the university, affected by such activities or complained about them, SFGate, The New York Times and The Guardian reported.

Many of those accused of anti-Semitism at the university are Muslims and Palestinians, but an unnamed graduate student said such claims often arise from classroom discussions regarding Israel and the Middle East, according to The Daily Californian.

Faculty member Judith Butler is among those named and is described by The Guardian as a “feminist philosopher and queer theorist.”

Butler also is a Jewish scholar who has criticized Israel’s actions in its war against Hamas and asked university administrators about the information disclosed.

“We have a right to know the charges against us, to know who has made the charges and to review them and defend ourselves,” Butler told The Guardian.

“But none of that has happened, which is why we’re in Kafka-land,” she said, while referencing German writer Franz Kafka and his published works.

“It is an enormous breach of trust,” Butler added.

The Trump administration has targeted many elite universities for alleged anti-Semitism, including encampments, protests and building takeovers, and has withheld federal funding from those accused of enabling campus anti-Semitism.

The Education Department began investigating U.C.-Berkeley in February, and Republican lawmakers in July accused university Chancellor Rich Lyons those at two other universities of not effectively stopping anti-Semitism on their respective campuses, according to The New York Times.

Aug. 20 (UPI) — Hundreds of staff from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told Congress that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is sharing false health info with the public and called on him to step up protection of public health professionals.

They accused Kennedy of complicity in “dismantling America’s public health infrastructure and endangering the nation’s health.”

More than 750 current and former HHS employees on Wednesday called on Kennedy to stop “spreading inaccurate health information” and prioritize the safety of public servants in the health sector in the wake of this month’s fatal shooting at the Atlanta headquarters of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The attack came amid growing mistrust in public institutions, driven by politicized rhetoric that has turned public health professionals from trusted experts into targets of villainization,” the letter to members of Congress read in part.

“And now, violence,” it added.

The “Save HHS” crew accused Kennedy, 71, of endangering the lives of his HHS employees with his own words and rhetoric, and pointed to multiple specific accusations in the letter of Kennedy doing so in the public square.

According to law enforcement, the alleged shooter was skeptical of the COVID-19 vaccine and assumed he was harmed by it. He fired hundreds of rounds with about 200 striking six different CDC facilities across its Atlanta campus.

CDC Director Susan Monarez told HHS staffers during a 10,000-person virtual call the danger of misinformation had “now led to deadly consequences.”

Kennedy met with Monarez two days after the shooting.

The HHS crew noted the recent CDC attack on Aug. 8, where DeKalb County police officer David Rose was fatally shot was “not random.”

“If the very people that are supposed to be protecting Americans are not safe, then no American is safe,” Dr. Anne Schuchat, former principal deputy director of the CDC, said in a statement.

The letter also noted the HHS workforce wanted to honor Rose and his memory.

But it also pointed to fears of “retaliation” and issues of “personal safety.”

“We sign this declaration in our own personal capacities, on our personal time, and without the use of government equipment, as protected by our First Amendment rights,” they stated.

Health experts and other officials have rung alarm bells over Kennedy’s deployment of health data universally known as false for years, even before U.S. President Donald Trump nominated Kennedy to be the nation’s health chief.

Wednesday’s letter follows a similar letter to Congress in January signed by more than 17,000 U.S. doctors via the Chicago-based Committee to Protect Health Care, which stated Kennedy was a danger to America’s national healthcare system.

Gov. Gavin Newsom filed a request Sunday seeking records from the Trump administration to explain why a phalanx of Border Patrol agents showed up outside a news conference held by leading California Democrats last week.

Newsom filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security asking for “all documents and records” related to the Aug. 14 Border Patrol operation in downtown Los Angeles, which took place outside the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo. At the news conference, Newsom announced a campaign to seek voter approval to redraw California’s congressional maps to boost Democrats’ chances of retaking the House and stymieing Trump’s agenda in the 2026 midterm elections.

“Trump’s use of the military and federal law enforcement to try to intimidate his political opponents is yet another dangerous step towards authoritarianism,” Newsom posted Sunday on X. “This is an attempt to advance a playbook from the despots he admires in Russia and North Korea.”

Newsom announced at the press event the “Election Rigging Response Act” — which would scrap independently drawn congressional maps in favor of those sketched by Democratic strategists in an attempt to counter moves by Republicans in Texas and other GOP-led states to gerrymander their own districts to favor Republicans in the 2026 midterms. Meanwhile, dozens of armed federal agents massed in the adjacent streets wearing masks, helmets and camouflage.

Newsom and other leading Democrats, including L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, dismissed the Border Patrol action as an intimidation tactic. In response to questions from The Times on Sunday, Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said the agents were “focused on enforcing the law, not on [Newsom].”

McLaughlin said two people were arrested during the Little Tokyo operation. One was a drug trafficker, according to McLaughlin, who said the other was a member of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang that has been a focus of the Trump administration’s efforts to use the Alien Enemies Act to speed up deportation efforts.

She did not respond to questions about how many agents were deployed or what specific agencies were involved in the Aug. 14 operation. Border Patrol Sector Chief Gregory Bovino, who has been leading the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration operations in California, was at the scene and briefly spoke to reporters.

McLaughlin did not name either person arrested or respond to a request for further information or evidence of links between the arrests and the Venezuelan gang.

“Under President Trump and [Department of Homeland Security] Secretary [Kristi] Noem, if you break the law, you will face the consequences,” she wrote in an e-mailed statement. “Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Thursday, witnesses at the scene identified one of the men arrested as Angel, a delivery worker who was carrying strawberries when he was captured.

“He was just doing his normal delivery to the courthouse,” said the man’s colleague, Carlos Franco. “It’s pretty sad, because I’ve got to go to work tomorrow, and Angel isn’t going to be there.”

In the FOIA request, Newsom’s legal affairs secretary, David Sapp, called the Border Patrol deployment an “attempt to intimidate the people of California from defending a fair electoral process.”

In addition to documents related to the planning of the raid, the FOIA request also seeks “any records referencing Governor Newsom or the rally that was scheduled to occur” and communications between federal law enforcement officials and Fox News, which allowed the Trump-friendly media outlet to embed a reporter with Border Patrol that day.

Trump’s increased use of the military and federal law enforcement against his political rivals has drawn growing concern in recent months. The president deployed the National Guard and U.S. Marines to quell protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles earlier this year. Just last week, Trump sent swarms of federal law enforcement officials to Washington, D.C., to combat what he sees as out-of-control crime, despite the fact that most crime statistics show violence in the nation’s capital is at a 30-year low.

Although Newsom demanded an answer by early September, the federal government is notoriously slow in responding to FOIA requests and will often delay responses for years. A spokesman for Newsom did not immediately respond to questions on Sunday about what, if any, other legal steps the governor was prepared to take.

Voters would have to approve Newsom’s plan to redraw the congressional maps in a special election in November. The new maps, drawn by Democratic strategists and lawmakers behind closed doors instead of the independent commission that voters previously chose, would concentrate Republican voters in a few deep-red pockets of the state and eliminate an Inland Empire district long held by the GOP.

In total, Democrats would likely pick up five seats in California in the midterms under the redrawn maps, possibly countering or outpacing Republican efforts to tilt their map red in Texas. Other states have already begun to consider redrawing their maps along more partisan lines in response to growing anxieties over the fight to control the House of Representatives in 2026.

Times staff writer Seema Mehta contributed to this report.

Lee is accused of going online and offering to assist Russian authorities in exchange for Russian citizenship.

An active duty soldier has been charged with seeking to pass sensitive information about the United States Army’s main battle tank to the Russian government, the US Justice Department has announced.

The suspect, Taylor Adam Lee, has been charged with “attempted transmission of national defense information to a foreign adversary and attempted export of controlled technical data without a license”, the Justice Department said in a statement on Wednesday.

Lee, a 22-year-old soldier stationed at Fort Bliss in Texas, has yet to enter a plea in the charges, filed at the US District Court for the Western District of Texas.

John A Eisenberg, assistant attorney general for national security, said Lee sought to “transmit sensitive national defense information to Russia” regarding the operation of the M1A2 Abrams – the main battle tank used by the US Army.

In June, Lee is said to have gone online and offered assistance to Russia in exchange for Russian citizenship. In the alleged messages, Lee, who holds a top-secret security clearance, allegedly “transmitted export-controlled technical information” about the M1A2’s operation and vulnerabilities.

“The USA is not happy with me for trying to expose their weaknesses,” Lee reportedly said. “At this point, I’d even volunteer to assist the Russian Federation when I’m there in any way,” he added.

Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI’s counterintelligence division, said Lee then shared a memory card containing documents and information about the tank and other US military operations during an in-person meeting in July with someone he believed to be a Russian intelligence officer.

“Today’s arrest is a message to anyone thinking about betraying the US – especially service members who have sworn to protect our homeland,” Rozhavsky said.

The documents contained technical data Lee was not authorised to provide, with some marked “Controlled Unclassified Information”, according to prosecutors.

“Throughout the meeting, Lee stated that the information on the SD card was sensitive and likely classified,” prosecutors said.

Lee is also alleged to have attempted to provide the Russian government with a piece of hardware from the M1A2 Abrams tank at a July 31 meeting at a storage unit in El Paso, Texas.

“After doing so, Lee sent a message to the individual he believed to be a representative of the Russian government stating, ‘Mission accomplished’,” according to prosecutors.

Aug. 4 (UPI) — Florida’s Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier is demanding guest lists, surveillance footage and personal information from people who attended a drag Pride event in Vero Beach on June 29, according to Scott Simpson, organizer for Qommittee, a national volunteer network defending drag artists’ rights.

The group says that no laws were violated in the event, and Florida’s statewide “drag ban” has been blocked by federal courts. But state officials are “weaponizing existing laws to bully, intimidate, and surveil our community,” Simpson said.

Simpson’s group has publicized Floridians’ rights and called for organizing.

“This is serious government overreach designed to intimidate drag performers into silence,” he said. “They want performers to stop performing. They want venues to stop booking drag shows. They want our community to stop gathering and celebrating who we are.

“Going to a drag show should not mean you forfeit your anonymity or land your name in a government database,” Simpson said. “We cannot let that happen. Every drag performer and venue in Florida must stay loud, stay proud, and protect themselves while continuing their art.”

This isn’t the first attack on Vero Beach’s drag community. Linda Moore, the vice mayor of Vero Beach, is being investigated by Uthmeier for a “Pride Tea Dance” held last month at the Kilted Mermaid, a wine bar she owns in the town on the Atlantic coast. But it’s unclear what charges Moore might face and questions remain concerning Uthmeier’s legal basis for the investigation.

Uthmeier’s office cited evidence that the event was promoted as being open to all ages and included sexualized adult performers who “wore revealing attire and burlesque outfits while interacting with the children.”

“In Florida, we don’t sacrifice the innocence of children for the perversions of some demented adults,” Uthmeier said in a statement.

But Moore said the bar has hosted it for at least the past five years.

“We have the event every year; it’s our gay pride event, and it is all ages,” Moore said. “It’s a family-friendly event, and then once the drag show actually starts, we tell the parents who have small children that they can’t stay for the show.”

Simpson’s Qommittee website clarifies drag performers’ rights and realities, as well as Florida’s laws on drag shows open to all ages versus shows for adults only. It also tells performers how to protect themselves if they’re targeted by government officials and to keep performing and keep showing up at drag shows.

“This intimidation campaign wants us to self-censor out of fear,” Simpson said. “We will not give them that victory.”

July 29 (UPI) — The State Department has increased to $10 million its reward for information leading to the identification or location of the leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Sa’ad bin Atef al-Awlaki is the man the State Department says leads AQAP and has called for attacks against the United States and its allies.

Al-Awlaki also has led AQAP attacks against the United States and kidnapped Americans and other Westerners in Yemen in his prior role as the amir of the Shabwah province in Yemen, according to a State Department news release issued on Tuesday.

The State Department previously offered a $6 million reward for information identifying or locating al-Awlaki’s whereabouts via the Rewards for Justice program.

Al-Awlaki also goes by the names Sa’d Muhammad Atif and Jalaal al-Sa-idi and was born in Yemen sometime between 1978 and 1983.

He stands 5’6″ and has a thin build, according to the State Department.

The State Department also is offering rewards of $5 million and $4 million, respectively, for information leading to the identification or location of Ibrahim al-Banna and Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al-Qosi.

Al-Banna and al-Qosi are part of the leadership team that assists al-Awlaki in his role as the leader of AQAP.

Anyone with information on al-Awlaki, al-Banna or al-Qosi can contact the Rewards for Justice office via Telegram, Signal or WhatsApp at +1202-702-7843.

Those using a Tor browser also can contact the Rewards for Justice’s Tor-based tipline at he5dybnt7sr6cm32xt77pazmtm65flqy6irivtflruqfc5ep7eiodiad.onion.

Congress created the Rewards for Justice program in 1984, which is administered by the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security.

The program offers rewards for information that helps protect American lives, U.S. interests and national security.

Since its inception, Rewards for Justice has paid out more than $250 million in rewards to more than 125 people who provided information that helped protect U.S. citizens and end threats to national security.

LOVE Island fans are convinced the Casa Amor boys told Meg about Dejon’s behaviour in unaired scenes.

Despite a couple of wobbles following the arrival of bombshells Malisha and Billykiss, Meg believed Dejon was loyal to her.

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However, seeds doubting his intentions seemed to have been sown in Meg’s mind during a villa game shortly before Casa Amor when Billykiss brought up Dejon’s unwillingness to close things off with her.

Though Meg initially said there was no need to for them to do that and the other girls were just jealous, days later she was reduced to tears thinking about Dejon’s behaviour.

The dramatic emotional switch appeared to come out of the blue as she poured her heart out to Helena.

Now viewers think the new boys have told her how Dejon has really been acting, having seen some of the show before taking part themselves.

One person wrote in a fan forum: “It was a bit odd that it took casa for Meg to finally wake up and realize that Dejon has been playing with her since day 1? Like a lot of the girls warned her. I genuinely believe that the producers or the casa boys let her in on some info. And also, if Helena knew why didn’t she tell her? Lol.”

Another said: “The casa boys definitely got into her head. Ty was telling her that Dejon never tells her the full story or something like that and I’ll bet others have said things.”

A third wrote: “Probably some of the Casa boys said stuff to her about what’s been shown and people’s opinions of him on the outside.”

A fourth said: “I think she’s been told some stuff but she won’t stick to her opinion.”

Meg chose to couple up with Dejon at the very start of the series and they’ve been together ever since.

Though very flirtatious, he has remained loyal to “his Meg,” claiming the “tests” have only made them stronger as a couple.

Though some viewers feel Dejon’s game plan is to stick with Meg so he can coast to the £50k prize.

And Meg is also now doubting his intentions, telling Helena: “I just feel really upset today. I don’t know why.

“I was just talking about things with Em, and I don’t know, we just, like, certain things with me and D, like, it actually makes me realise he really doesn’t mean what he says sometimes.”

In Casa Amor, Dejon admitted he had a spark with new girl Andrada, telling her: “And I feel like the more time we spend with each other, the better things are getting.”

His eyes also lit up after Andrada made a steamy confession.

Clearly determined to turn his head for good, the newcomer opened up about her high sex drive. 

When Dejon asked about her type, Andrada said: “I have to want them three times a day… I have to.” 

Looking impressed, Dejon asked: “So you have a high sex drive?”

She said: “I do… It’s really bad.”

But Dejon remarked: “That’s not bad.”

However, he later backtracked by declining to share a bed with her out of “respect” for Meg.

Will they pick up where they left off in tonight’s recoupling?

Love Island continues tonight at 9pm on ITV2.

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May 30 (UPI) — A Defense Intelligence Agency worker has been charged with attempting to provide classified information to an officer or agent of a government because he was dissatisfied with the Trump administration, the Justice Department said.

Nathan Laatsch, 28, of Alexandria, Va., was arrested Thursday and was to make his initial court appearance Friday afternoon in the Eastern District of Virginia on Friday, DOJ said.

Thinking he was communicating with a foreign official, Laatch unknowingly was in touch with an undercover FBI agent.

Since 2019, Laatsch was a civilian employee as a data scientist and information technology specialist in the DIA’s Insider Threat Division and held a top secret security clearance, according to the DOJ.

DIA headquarters are located in Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington.

The arrest affidavit didn’t list the name of the foreign country.

After his arrest, he allegedly told authorities he was requesting citizenship in the foreign country because of conditions in the United States.

“I’ve given a lot of thought to this before any outreach, and despite the risks, the calculus has not changed,” the affidavit obtained by Politico said. “I do not see the trajectory of things changing, and do not think it is appropriate or right to do nothing when I am in this position.”

Subsequently, the agency obtained video from the DIA office where Laatsch was seen writing notes and then hid them into his socks, according to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia obtained by ABC News.

Another DIA employee saw him placing multiple notebook pages in the bottom of his lunchbox, according to the affidavit.

In March, the FBI received a tip that someone was willing to provide classified information to a friendly foreign government. It initially wasn’t known that person was Laatsch.

The FBI obtained an email from someone who didn’t “agree or align with the values of this administration” and was “willing to share classified information” to which he had access. This included “completed intelligence products, some unprocessed intelligence, and other assorted classified documentation,” DOJ said.

Laatsch transcribed classified information to a notepad at his desk and over about three days moved it from his workspace.

A meeting was scheduled with the suspect’s contact.

On May 1, FBI surveillance observed Laatsch go to a specified location at a park in Northern Virginia and left an item. After Laatsch departed, the FBI retrieved a thumb drive, which contained information marked “Secret” or “Top Secret.”

On May 7, Laatsch allegedly sent a message to the undercover FBI agent, which indicated Laatsch was seeking something from the foreign government in return for continuing to provide classified information. On the next day, Laatsch said he was interested in “citizenship for your country” because he did not “expect things here to improve in the long term.”

He told the agent he didn’t need “material compensation.”

Between May 15 and Tuesday, Laatsch again transcribed multiple pages of notes from his work station and put them in his clothing, DOJ said.

On Thursday, the suspect arrived at a prearranged location in northern Virginia. He was arrested when the FBI received the documents.

The FBI Washington Field Office is investigating the case with assistance from the U.S. Air Force Office of Investigations and DIA.

FBI Director Kash Patel posted Thursday on X: “This case underscores the persistent risk of insider threats. The FBI remains steadfast in protecting our national security and thanks our law enforcement partners for their critical support.”

May 16 (UPI) — A federal judge will hear arguments Friday from the Trump administration to determine if the government has the legal privilege to not share details about its actions taken toward the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

Abrego Garcia was deported in March to the supermax Terrorism Confinement Center prison, or CECOT, in El Salvador because he was an accused member of the MS-13 gang.

The U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration in April to return Abrego Garcia, who it said was illegally removed from the United States.

Abrego Garcia’s lawyers continue to try to bring him back but allege the federal government has purposefully delayed his return. The Trump administration has since invoked “state secrets privilege,” which allows an executive department to withhold information or evidence in a court case because the information or evidence could jeopardize national security.

The administration’s use of the privilege has presiding U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis to ask lawyers from both sides of the case to file added legal papers about the administration’s use of the privilege.

Abrego Garcia’s attorneys filed papers Monday that purport the government has yet to produce any evidence that it has done anything to facilitate the man’s release from imprisonment in El Salvador.

Abrego Garcia was born in El Salvador but entered the U.S. illegally in 2011 and had been living in Maryland. He was granted a withholding of removal legal status in 2019 that protected him from deportation due to the risk he would face upon a return to El Salvador from local gangs.

He was one of hundreds of migrants sent by the Trump administration in March to CECOT, and despite the government’s acknowledgement that he was incorrectly deported, he has been purported to be a member of the gang MS-13 by immigration officials.

Abrego Garcia’s legal team has argued that he was not only never part of MS-13, but was never charged or convicted of any crimes in the United States.