shot

Neither Alexander Straus nor Mark Parsons were around when Angel City played its first NWSL game in 2022. But they didn’t miss much; in four years the team had one winning season and made just one playoff appearance.

So Straus, in his first full season as coach, and Parsons, 15 months into his job as sporting director, decided to raze the club and its sad history and start over. That break from the past couldn’t have been much clearer than it was in the opening game of the team’s fifth season Sunday, one which ended in a 4-0 rout of the Chicago Stars.

Three of the goals — from Evelyn Shores, Ary Borges and Maiara Niehues — came from players who weren’t on the roster at the start of last season. Borges also picked up her first Angel City assist.

The performance was the most dominant in club history and the margin of victory matched Angel City’s largest ever. It was also the team’s first season-opening win since 2022.

“There is a little bit of a new beginning,” Straus said.

“We’re a completely different organization than we were at the end of last year,” Parsons added.

Angel City proved that when teenager Kennedy Fuller opened the scoring in the 33rd minute, dribbling up the right wing and into the box before driving a right-footed shot off Chicago keeper Alyssa Naeher and just inside the near post.

Shores doubled the lead in the 53rd minute, heading in a Fuller corner for her second NWSL goal before Borges, a Brazilian international, made it 3-0 13 minutes later, jumping on a short goal kick by Naeher, then beating the keeper cleanly with a left-footed shot from the center of the box.

Niehues, another Brazilian international, closed the scoring in the 70th minute on a right-footed shot from the center of the box. Iceland’s Sveindis Jonsdottir got the assist on that goal. Of the four goal-scorers for Angel City, only Borges is over 21.

Angel City dominated the match statistically as much as it did on the field, outshooting Chicago 17-7 and putting six of those shots on target. Angel City keeper Angelina Anderson needed to make just two saves to record the clean sheet.

The announced crowd of 16,813 on a beautiful sun-splashed afternoon was the smallest for an Angel City opener.

CHICAGO — This was hardly a masterpiece of Big Ten basketball, what with the barrage of bricks and busted possessions. Nor was it the sort of night to convince you of UCLA’s chances as a surefire conference contender.

But amid the mess of its 72-59 win over 14th-seeded Rutgers on Thursday night, UCLA showed the sort of mettle it may need to keep its season kicking this March.

It started with Donovan Dent, whose masterful month continued with his first career triple-double — and the first triple-double in Big Ten tournament history. The senior tallied 12 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists. He and Tyler Bilodeau, who added a game-high 21 points, were the rare bright spots on offense for the Bruins.

Otherwise, UCLA struggled to find any sort of rhythm. It shot just 38% from the floor, worse than it had in any win this season. And still, the Bruins were in control for most of the game after pulling away early in the second half.

None of that will fly against No. 3 seed Michigan State on Friday at 6 p.m. PDT, which beat UCLA by 23 points the last time they met.

But until Thursday it’d been quite some time since UCLA actually managed to win away from home. Not since Jan. 29 had it won outside of L.A., and only once this season had it won outside of the Pacific time zone.

For a while, it didn’t seem like UCLA intended to win Thursday, either. Even as Rutgers gave it every chance to pull away.

The Bruins did shut down Rutgers’ Tariq Francis, who was fresh off a 29-point performance in a first-round win over Minnesota. Francis didn’t score until the nine-minute mark in the second half. He finished with six points on two-of-11 shooting.

The two teams spent most of the first half trading wasted possessions and taking turns with their respective shooting slumps. Four minutes scoreless for Rutgers. Three scoreless for UCLA. Four scoreless for Rutgers. Then three scoreless for UCLA. Back and forth they went in their futility.

The Bruins had plenty of chances to build a lead early. While Rutgers struggled to find rhythm on offense, settling mostly for contested shots inside the arc, UCLA got its share of open shots all around the floor. It just wasn’t able to hit many of them. Both teams shot a meager 31% before halftime.

Those shots fell more frequently in the second half, as UCLA pushed its lead to 15. The Bruins still struggled to put the Knights away, until Dent took matters into his own hands late, pushing UCLA to victory.

BOSTON — Charlie McAvoy scored 39 seconds into overtime and Jeremy Swayman stopped 14 shots on Tuesday night to earn the Boston Bruins their 13th straight victory at home, 2-1 over the Kings.

Mason Lohrei scored midway through the third period to break a scoreless tie. But the Kings tied it five minutes later when Drew Doughty’s shot from the blue line deflected off the heel of Bruins forward Elias Lindholm and into the net.

It was the seventh straight time the teams had gone to overtime in Boston.

In the overtime, Mark Kastelic blocked a shot in the defensive zone and made a long pass to David Pastrnak, who waited for McAvoy to come into the zone. The Bruins’ defenseman and U.S. Olympian, who went to the locker room at the end of the second period after taking a puck off his mouth, skated in on Darcy Kuemper and went to his backhand for the winner.

Kuemper stopped 21 shots for the Kings, who entered the night one point out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The victory kept Boston in possession of the East’s second wild-card spot.

Swayman tied his career high with his 25th win of the season. The Bruins haven’t lost at the TD Garden since before Christmas.

After the game, Kings forward and future Hall of Famer Anze Kopitar stayed on the ice to shake hands with the Bruins after what is expected to be his last game in Boston.

THE woman charged with attempted murder after allegedly shooting up Rihanna’s home called the pop superstar a “witch” and claimed she was going to “die” in a disturbing video before the attack.

A string of unhinged posts shared over the last few weeks lay bare 35-year-old Ivanna Lisette Ortiz’s alleged obsession with the Diamonds hitmaker.

Police claim the suspect fired multiple shots using an AR-15-style rifle – with several bullets striking Rihanna’s front gate and an RV parked on the driveway – after she drove to the star’s $14million Los Angeles home on Sunday.

Mom-of-three Rihanna was reportedly at home at the time of the disturbing incident but was not injured.

It is unclear whether anyone else, including her partner, A$AP Rocky, or their young children were in the property at the time.

Ortiz, from Orlando, Florida, remains in custody, and bail has been set at around $10.2million, officials confirmed to The U.S. Sun.

SHOCK ATTACK

Woman charged with attempted murder after shooting at Rihanna’s LA mansion

In the months leading up to the crime, Ortiz blasted the star in videos on her YouTube channel,c where she shares daily clips with the title, Praying Woman’s Journal.

“Rihanna, when you die, God is taking me to my future,” she tells viewers in one bone-chilling video from two months ago.

“You want to kill me? Shut the f*** up. Okay, shut the f*** up. Yeah, she’s a witch. She’s a witch. I’m a watchman. She’s a witch. Get that stupid girl out of here, okay,” she continues to ramble incoherently.

Other posts shared on Ortiz’s Facebook mention celebrities, including Rihanna, as she seemingly threatens the pop star.

On February 23, she wrote, “@badgalriri — Are you there? Cause I was waiting for your AIDS 5-head self to say something to me directly instead of sneaking around like you’re talking to me where I’m not at.”

She also shared a photograph of rapper Drake, with the caption, “When Drake found out Rihanna has AIDS #champagnepapi.”

There is no suggestion that her posts are true.

She referenced Rihanna as far back as December, even claiming she was “with @badgalriri” a month later, along with other stars tagged in her disturbing posts.

Ortiz also seemed angry at many female celebrities on her page, branding Kim Kardashian a “stupid b****,” adding, “Your turn hiding b****, stop begging for a look.”

Pictures show her in full glam with different hair styles, and in one, she appears next to several awards, writing, “Posing with my pageant trophies. Miss Teen Illinois Latina Princess 2006.”

She lists herself as living in Florida and is featured in earlier posts with a young girl, thought to be her daughter.

The U.S. Sun obtained filings from December 2025 that show a Florida appeals court upheld a ruling stripping Ortiz of all time-sharing rights with her child in her legal fight with ex, Jed Nikko Valdez Sangalang.

Ortiz had appealed a temporary order issued by a judge in Orange County that revoked her time-sharing entirely and barred her from having any contact with their child.

She filed for divorce in 2015, and the case docket shows it is still ongoing years later.

She was also previously charged after an alleged violent attack on her ex-partner in front of their young child, according to records.

Details about the exact outcome of that case remain limited, but Ortiz has a history of legal issues in Florida, including allegedly violating pretrial release conditions. 

The U.S. Sun has reached out to Sangalang for comment.

Meanwhile, Rihanna has yet to comment on the shooting incident.

A dispatch call from the Los Angeles West Division was reviewed by The U.S. Sun, and features an operator asking officers to attend to an address on Heather Road after reports of gunfire.

The call crackled over the radio, with the dispatcher relaying that the shots had come from across the street and that no one at the scene had a clear view of the suspect.

Witnesses said the gunfire came from a white Tesla, which was seen speeding away down Coldwater Canyon after “ten shots” were fired at the property’s gate.

For more than 10 minutes, officers scrambled for information as they tried to determine the Tesla’s exact model and license plate while investigators worked to pull nearby surveillance footage.

Authorities later said the suspect, described as having braided hair and wearing a cream blouse, was tracked by helicopter to a shopping center parking lot in Sherman Oaks and arrested around 30 minutes after the initial call.

When officers stopped the car, they allegedly found an assault rifle and seven shell casings inside the vehicle.

Cale Makar had a goal and two assists, Nathan MacKinnon secured his fourth consecutive 100-point season with a third-period assist, and the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche ended the Ducks’ five-game winning streak with a 5-1 victory Tuesday night at Honda Center.

Parker Kelly scored two goals and Scott Wedgewood made 27 saves for the Avalanche, who have won three straight and four of five since the Olympic break. Martin Necas got his 27th goal and Gabriel Landeskog also scored to complete Colorado’s back-to-back sweep of the Southern California clubs.

Cutter Gauthier scored his 29th goal and Lukas Dostal stopped 21 shots for the Ducks, whose eight-game home winning streak since Jan. 2 also ended.

The Ducks would have moved into first place in the Pacific Division with a point, but the loss kept Vegas one point ahead. The Ducks are in a playoff race down the stretch for the first time since 2018.

After two fruitless Ducks power plays in the opening minutes, Makar put the Avalanche ahead from the slot with his 18th goal.

Necas added his seventh power-play goal of the season 2 1/2 minutes later, beating his Czech Olympic teammate with a high shot. The goal was just the second on the power play in the last 12 games for the Avalanche, who inexplicably have the NHL’s worst man-advantage unit despite their overall excellence.

Gauthier hammered home a one-timer early in the second after a superb cross-ice pass from Jackson LaCombe, but Kelly got his 14th goal later in the period.

Landeskog then scored a goal in his second straight game, connecting early in the third on a one-timer from MacKinnon, who got his 59th assist to go with his NHL-leading 41 goals.

Loud explosions have been heard in Doha, the capital of Qatar, as defence systems shot down incoming Iranian missiles. Falling debris ignited large fire that sent plumes of black smoke rising above the city. Iran has hit multiple Gulf states as it responds to US-Israeli attacks.

The U.S. military used a laser to shoot down a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) drone over southwest Texas earlier this week, U.S. officials confirmed to The War Zone. We now know that this drone was small in size and was engaged by AeroVironment’s LOCUST directed energy weapon. The friendly fire incident spurred expanded airspace restrictions over the Fort Hancock area that will last for four months. It also gives credence to the FAA’S concerns about the operational deployment of counter-drone laser weapons along the border. The same system was used to fire at suspected Mexican cartel drones flying across the southern border into Texas two weeks ago, which resulted in a large airspace closure, general confusion and major headlines.

LOCUST Laser Weapon System

Federal officials confirmed last night that some kind of incident occurred on Wednesday, although a joint statement held back from making a definitive conclusion on exactly what happened.

“This reported engagement occurred when the Department of War employed counter-unmanned aircraft system authorities to mitigate a seemingly threatening unmanned aerial system operating within military airspace,” the Defense Department, CBP, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in their statement.

“The engagement took place far away from populated areas, and there were no commercial aircraft in the vicinity,” the statement added.

The Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR) covered an area located roughly 50 miles southeast of El Paso, the scene of a drone incident earlier this month, and the U.S. Army base at Fort Bliss, a facility that has counter-drone operations as part of its training remit. The TFR lasts until June 24 and prevents most pilots from flying over the area. Emergency services, like medevac flights and search and rescue operations, will be allowed to fly in the area if they contact Albuquerque Center, which will coordinate with U.S. Northern Command’s Joint Task Force-Southern Border, which is overseeing military operations in this area.

In an earlier statement, the FAA noted that an incident had led to it expanding a temporary flight restriction that was already in place around Fort Hancock. The restriction was issued for “Special Security Reasons,” the FAA added, and did not impact commercial flights in the region.

An unnamed U.S. official previously told CBS News that a laser weapon was used to down the drone in the area of Fort Hancock, a small community located on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Democrat Representatives Rick Larsen, André Carson, and Bennie Thompson, all members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, also issued a joint statement. “Our heads are exploding over the news that DoD reportedly shot down a Customs and Border Protection drone using a high-risk counter-unmanned aircraft system,” they said, criticizing an apparent lack of coordination between the agencies involved.

Earlier this month, CBP personnel reportedly used a laser directed-energy weapon to take down an object, which they assumed to be a drone operated by a Mexican drug cartel. Multiple reports said that the object turned out to be a Mylar balloon. A U.S. official told us at the time that the incident was the first time a laser weapon had been fired at drones in the continental U.S.

The system involved, identified by Reuters as an AeroVironment LOCUST laser counter-drone weapon, was lent to the CBP by the U.S. Army.

It was reported on that occasion that flight restrictions were imposed around El Paso as a result of a breakdown in coordination between the U.S. military and the FAA over the employment of a counter-drone system armed with a laser-directed energy weapon.

As we discussed at the time, the chaotic aftermath of the El Paso incident underscored the policy challenges and impediments the U.S. still faces in defending against drone incursions over the homeland. These are significant national security concerns that TWZ has been at the forefront of reporting on for years.

Under a federal statute commonly referred to as 130(i), “DoW can mitigate drone threats to protect military installations and missions inside the U.S., but it does not have general domestic airspace policing authority,” Scott Shtofman, Vice President & Counsel, Regulatory Affairs for the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), told us in the wake of the El Paso incident.

Safety concerns about using directed energy weapons, and especially kinetic ones, to take down drones in the U.S. have been a major factor in why they haven’t been previously used in this role. A little less than a year and a half ago, officials at U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM), which has coordinating authority for counter-drone efforts in the U.S., said the use of such weapons was not yet on the table. The reason is that they can create dangerous or otherwise serious collateral effects that are less of a concern in a war zone.

While the details of this week’s incident are still to be established, it appears almost certain that this is the latest chapter in the ongoing saga of U.S. efforts to counter small drone incursions over the country.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

PHOENIX — Two nights after losing to the Orlando Magic in a heartbreaker, the Lakers focused on trying to beat a Phoenix Suns team missing key players.

In the end, the result was the same — disappointment.

The Lakers lost 113-110 after Austin Reaves missed a three-pointer as time expired, the Suns coming up with the clutch shot on Royce O’Neale‘s three with nine-tenths of a second left to send the Lakers to their third consecutive loss Thursday night.

On the final play, Marcus Smart inbounded the ball and LeBron James and Maxi Kleber set a double-screen to get Reaves open. Reaves floated to the corner and took a cross-court pass but his shot bounced off the rim, sending the Lakers to another loss despite Luka Doncic‘s 41 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth affair before the Suns built a 12-point lead with 6:28 left. The Lakers quickly recovered and tied the score on a Reaves three-pointer with one minute left. O’Neale scored on an offensive rebound to give the Suns a 110-108 lead before James scored on a put-back to tie the score.

The Suns then called a timeout to set up O’Neale’s winning shot.

Phoenix, which had lost six of eight, played without All-Star guard Devin Booker (right hip strain), Dillon Brooks (left hand fracture) and Jordan Goodwin (left calf strain).

Still, the Lakers (34-24) knew the Suns (34-26) would play hard and throw up a lot of three-pointers — Phoenix shot 22 for 50 from three-point range.

When the Lakers went up by three early in the fourth, things looked good. But then the Suns went on a 13-3 run.

Lakers coach JJ Redick was forced to call a timeout after Oso Ighodaro rolled in for an uncontested dunk, putting the Lakers down 96-86 with 7:43 left.

The Lakers went down by 10 points in the second quarter, but took a two-point lead late in the quarter on a Reaves three-pointer. But Grayson Allen scored on a layup to tie the score 49-49 at halftime.

The Lakers opened a 13-point lead in the third quarter, but ended up tied 80-80 entering the fourth.

Allen carried the Suns in the third, scoring 16 points. He missed just one of his shots and just one of his five three-pointers in the third.

James finished with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists. Reaves scored 14 points and Smart had 13 points.

The Lakers lost to Orlando on Tuesday by one point on a botched play when Doncic didn’t shoot a three-pointer and instead passed the ball to James, who missed a last-second three-point attempt.

It was a tough way for the Lakers to end their eight-game homestand, going 4-4 over that stretch.

Redick was asked if it is easy to move on after a tough loss.

“Well, I think that’s not in general,” Redick said. “I think there are specific times throughout the season where you talk about what just happened, more than just your normal review. You’re not going to do that after every game. So, we had a great practice and meeting on Monday after the Boston game and you don’t need to belabor every single loss.”

ETC.

Lakers forward Rui Hachimura didn’t play against the Suns because of an illness, the team said. But backup center Jaxson Hayes, who missed the last game with right ankle soreness, played 21 minutes against the Suns, finishing with eight points and three rebounds.

Feb. 26 (UPI) — The Department of Defense shot down a Customs and Border Protection drone, Democratic House lawmakers said Thursday, prompting the Federal Aviation Administration to expand its no-fly zone near El Paso, Texas.

Little information about the shootdown has been made public. UPI has contacted the Pentagon and CBP for comment.

“Our heads are exploding over the news that DoD reportedly shot down a Customs and Border Protection drone using a high-risk counter-unmanned aircraft system,” Reps. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., Andre Carson, D-Ind., and Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said in a statement.

“We said MONTHS ago that the White House’s decision to sidestep a bipartisan, tri-committee bill to appropriately train C-UAS operators and address the lack of coordination between the Pentagon, [the Department of Homeland Security] and the FAA was a short-sighted idea.

“Now, we’re seeing the result of its incompetence.”

The FAA told UPI that it expanded the temporary flight restriction in place over Fort Hancock, located about 50 miles southeast of El Paso.

The TFR has been in place since Dec. 23 for “Special Security Reasons.” It has been “expanded to include a greater radius to ensure safety,” the FAA told UPI. The restriction is in place through 8 p.m. local time on June 23, according to the Notice to Air Missions.

The statement was distributed by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, on which Larsen serves as the ranking member. Carson is ranking member of the Aviation Subcommittee and Thompson is ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee.

This is a developing story.

CAMERON, N.C. — The 21-year-old North Carolina man who drove through a gate at President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort with a shotgun before he was shot and killed worked as a golf course groundskeeper and liked to sketch.

Austin Tucker Martin rarely, if ever, talked about politics, seemed afraid of guns, and came from a family of Trump supporters, according to Braeden Fields, a cousin who said the two grew up together.

“I wouldn’t believe he would do something like this. It’s mind-blowing,” Fields said. “He wouldn’t even hurt an ant. He doesn’t even know how to use a gun.”

Martin drove into the secure perimeter at Mar-a-Lago early Sunday and raised a shotgun at two Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy who then opened fire “to neutralize the threat,” said Sheriff Ric Bradshaw.

Trump, who often spends weekends at the Palm Beach, Fla., resort, was at the White House at the time.

Investigators have not identified a motive. Trump faced two assassination attempts during the 2024 campaign, including one just a few miles from Mar-a-Lago when a man was spotted aiming a rifle through shrubbery while Trump was golfing.

Following Sunday’s incident, Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said investigators believed Martin bought his shotgun while driving to Florida. Authorities said his family had recently reported him missing.

Martin was from central North Carolina, where guns and hunting are a part of life, his cousin said. But whenever they’d go hunting or target shooting, Martin would never pick up a gun, Fields told the Associated Press on Sunday.

He lived with his mother in a modest modular house down a rutted sandy road near the town of Cameron. No one answered the door Monday, and the large police presence from the day before was gone.

Martin’s sister was killed in a car accident a few years ago, and he has an older brother who’s in the military, Fields said.

For the last three years, Martin had worked as a groundskeeper at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club.

“It’s tragic. I feel for his family,” said Kelly Miller, president of the course in nearby Southern Pines. “It’s just unfortunate what transpired. It was totally unexpected.”

Martin last year started a business to sell pen drawings he made, according to state records. A website matching the company name features illustrations of golf courses, buildings and ancient Roman architecture.

Politics didn’t seem to be among his interests, his cousin said

“We are big Trump supporters, all of us. Everybody,” Fields said, but his cousin was “real quiet, never really talked about anything.”

Breed writes for the Associated Press. AP reporters Michelle L. Price in Washington, Ali Swenson in New York, Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, S.C., and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed to this report.

Rory McIlroy shot a four-under-par 67 but it was not enough to overhaul winner Jacob Bridgeman, who won by one shot at the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles.

Northern Ireland’s McIlroy started the day six shots off the lead but despite making five birdies he could not catch American Bridgeman, who got over the line with a one-over-par 72 to finish on 18 under.

Bridgeman, who held a seven-shot lead early in the day, held back tears on the 18th green before sinking a three-foot putt for his first PGA Tour title.

He is also the first man to win the prestigious event in his tournament debut since 1975.

Bridgeman’s victory continues his good start to the year having had two top-10 finishes in his opening four events, including last week’s eighth place at Pebble Beach.

The 26-year-old’s three bogies on the final day at the Riviera Country Club gave the chasing players hope, including countryman Kurt Kitayama, who finished tied for second with McIlroy on 17 under after carding a seven-under-par 64.

World number two McIlroy was even par after the first nine holes, but made four birdies on the back nine, including a brilliant hole-out from the greenside bunker on the 12th, to put pressure on Bridgeman.

A nervy closing three holes saw Bridgeman bogey 16 then leave his putt on 18 over three feet short, after McIlroy had drained a 30 footer to get within a shot, to ensure a tense final stroke in front of tournament host Tiger Woods.

Bridgeman held his nerve though to claim a first PGA Tour title in style, with victory at one of the Signature Events moving him inside the top 25 of the world rankings for the first time.

England’s Tommy Fleetwood shot a four-under-par 67 to finish joint-seventh on 12-under, which included a slam dunk eagle with his approach shot on 15 from 173 yards out.

World number one Scottie Scheffler made a flying finish with his 65 seeing him recover from his bad start on Thursday to finish in joint 12th.

That meant an end to Scheffler’s brilliant run of 18 consecutive top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour.

England’s Marco Penge, who was the joint-leader alongside Bridgeman after the second round, ended in tied for 16th place on 10 under.

Max Greyserman provided another big highlight of the day as he made a hole-in-one at the 14th, which illuminated an otherwise difficult day for him as he made four bogeys and a double bogey in his 73.

An armed man drove into the secure perimeter of Mar-a-Lago, President Trump’s resort in Florida, as another vehicle was exiting before being shot and killed early Sunday morning, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service.

The man, who was in his early 20s and from North Carolina, had a gas can and a shotgun, according to Anthony Guglielmi, the Secret Service spokesman. The man had been reported missing by his family a few days ago, and investigators believe he headed south and picked up the shotgun along the way.

Guglielmi said a box for the weapon was discovered in the man’s vehicle after the incident, which took place around 1:30 a.m.

The man killed was identified by investigators as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the investigation.

Trump has faced threats to his life before, including two assassination attempts during the 2024 campaign. Although the president often spends weekends at his resort, he and First Lady Melania Trump were at the White House when the breach at Mar-a-Lago occurred.

After entering near the north gate of the property, the man was confronted by two Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw.

“He was ordered to drop those two pieces of equipment that he had with them. At which time he put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position,” Bradshaw said at a news conference. The two agents and the deputy “fired their weapons to neutralize the threat.”

The FBI asked residents who live near Mar-a-Lago to check any security cameras they may have for video that could help investigators.

Investigators are working to compile a psychological profile, and a motive is still under investigation. Asked whether the individual was known to law enforcement, Bradshaw said, “Not right now.”

The incident comes as the country has been rocked by spasms political violence.

Trump survived an assassination attempt during a 2024 campaign rally in Butler, Pa. The gunman fired eight shots, one grazing Trump’s ear, before being killed by a Secret Service counter-sniper.

A few months later, a man tried to assassinate Trump while he played golf at his West Palm Beach club, a few miles from Mar-a-Lago. A Secret Service agent spotted that man, Ryan Routh, aiming a rifle through the shrubbery before Trump came into view. Officials said Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire and caused Routh to drop his weapon.

Routh was found guilty last year and sentenced this month to life in prison.

The White House referred all questions to the Secret Service and FBI.

There have been other recent incidents of political violence as well.

In the last year, there was the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk; the assassination of the Democratic leader in the Minnesota state House and her husband and the shooting of another lawmaker and his wife; and an arson attack at the official residence of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.

Five days ago, a Georgia man armed with a shotgun was arrested as he sprinted towards the west side of the U.S. Capitol.

And on Jan. 6, 2021, a violent pro-Trump mob attacked the Capitol and tried to stop Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s presidential election victory.

Price writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report.

At the end of moving day at the Genesis Invitational, Jacob Bridgeman found himself right where he was when he started four hours earlier — at the top of the leaderboard. Only this time, he was all by his lonesome.

Experiencing the ambiance and tradition of Riviera Country Club for the first time this tournament, Bridgeman recorded a second consecutive round of 64 with surgical precision Saturday, leaving patrons in awe after shooting the lowest score of the day and moving to 19 under par, six shots clear of second-place Rory McIlroy, who shot a 69.

“I felt great all day,” Bridgeman said. “I had a nice start and that got me a little bit of a gap.”

Playing his third official round at Riviera Country Club, the 26-year-old from South Carolina navigated the renowned course like a grizzled veteran. He is 18 holes away from not only his first PGA Tour victory and the $4-million winner’s check, but he also has an opportunity to break the tournament scoring record in the process.

Lanny Wadkins set the 72-hole record at Riviera, shooting 20-under 264 to win the Los Angeles Open in 1985.

Bridgeman equaled the event’s 54-hole record of 194 held by Joaquin Niemann, who was also 19 under through three rounds in 2022.

Jacob Bridgeman prepares to hit from a bunker on the 14th hole during the third round of the Genesis Invitational on Saturday.

(Caroline Brehman / Associated Press)

“To be doing this on this stage is a dream for me,” Bridgeman said.

Englishman Marco Penge began the round tied with Bridgeman for first at 12 under, one shot in front of McIlroy, but struggled all day and wound up tied with Max Greyserman for seventh at nine under.

McIlroy got a four at the par-five first to pull even with the leaders, who both birdied it themselves 10 minutes later to move to 13 under. Penge missed the fairway at No. 2, took a one-stroke penalty and bogeyed, while Bridgeman parred to take sole possession of the lead. He followed with back-to-back birdies to reach 15 under.

A birdie at No. 6 put McIlroy alone in second at 13 under, then Penge dropped another shot off the pace with a bogey at No. 7.

South African Aldrich Potgieter, who started the day in a four-way tie for 12th and five pairings ahead of the leaders, eagled the first hole and moved into third place alone after birdies at the 10th and 12th. Joining him at 12 under minutes later were Xander Schauffele, who birdied No. 10, and playing partner McIlroy, who three-putted for bogey.

“It’s awesome,” Potgieter said upon learning his swing and strategy were analyzed on live television by tournament host Tiger Woods. “I almost walked into him a few times in the clubhouse. This is a special place.”

Potgieter shot a 65 and sits alone in third at 12 under. Aaron Rai is fourth at 11 under, and Schauffele is tied with Kurt Kitayama for fifth at 10 under.

McIlory remained steady, parring the final seven holes, but failed to gain ground. The five-time major champion from Northern Ireland bounced right back from his bogey with a birdie at the 11th to reach 13 under just before Penge birdied the 11th to get back to even par and join Potgieter and Schauffele at 12 under.

“The greens got so fast, so soft and they got bumpy later in the day,” said McIlroy, who would be thrilled to get his 30th PGA Tour win at Riviera, where he will be paired with Bridgeman in the final round Sunday. “It was hard for me to trust my reads but I’m proud of myself. I stayed patient.”

Bridgeman got in trouble at the eighth when his bunker blast landed short of the hole and rolled off the green, leading to his first bogey, but he parred No. 9 and made the turn with a two-stroke margin over McIlroy, Potgieter and Schauffele. Undeterred by his misfortune two holes earlier, Bridgeman began the back nine with a birdie at No. 10 and an eagle at No. 11 to give himself a four-shot cushion.

Inscribed in a brass plaque behind the tee box at No. 4 are the immortal words of the legendary Ben Hogan, a three-time winner at Riviera in the late 1940s, who deemed it: “The greatest par 3 hole in America.“ The hole had been a source of controversy all week following the decision to lengthen it from 236 to 273 yards. Only five of 51 players birdied it while 11 bogeyed it Saturday.

Starting the day 12 shots back after barely making the cut, No. 1-ranked Scottie Scheffler carded six birdies — one less than he had in the first two rounds combined — to shoot a 66 and get to five under.

“I played solid today,” said Scheffler, who’s riding a streak of nine straight top-four finishes on tour. “The course is gettable in the morning as the greens are fresher. So I was able to hole a few putts, which is key. I was glad to get an early tee time and see what I can do. I wanted to shoot a little bit lower, but overall five under is pretty solid.”

Attacks by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank have intensified recently, backed by Israeli forces.

A young Palestinian man was killed and four other people were injured when a group of Israeli settlers, backed by Israeli forces, opened fire on a village in the occupied West Bank.

The death of the young man on Wednesday evening, identified as Nasrallah Abu Siyam, 19, marks the first killing of a Palestinian by Israeli settler gunfire so far this year, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reports.

During the attack on the village of Mukhmas, located northeast of occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli settlers also stole dozens of sheep from local Palestinian residents, Wafa reports.

The attack on Mukhmas and other Palestinian towns and villages constitutes a “dangerous escalation in systematic terrorism and reflects a complete partnership between the settlers and the occupation forces,” Mu’ayyad Sha’ban, head of the Palestinian Authority’s Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, told Wafa.

Calling for international protection for Palestinian communities, Sha’ban said that settlers have now killed 37 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since October 2023, but the escalating violence would not deter Palestinians from holding onto their land.

Mukhmas and the adjacent Bedouin community of Khallat al-Sidra have faced repeated attacks by Israeli settlers, often occurring with the protection or presence of Israeli forces, according to reports.

The governorate of Jerusalem, one of the 16 administrative districts of Palestine, said in a statement that the killing of the young man by Israeli settlers was a “fully-fledged crime… carried out under the protection and supervision of the Israeli occupation forces.”

Translation: Martyr of the town of Mukhmas, Nasrallah Abu Siyam, who ascended after succumbing to his injury from settler gunfire during the attack on the town northeast of occupied Jerusalem.

The governorate said the attack was part of a dangerous surge of violence carried out by settlers in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and characterised by the widespread use of live ammunition, direct shooting at Palestinian citizens, as well as burning local Palestinian homes, damaging vehicles and property, and seizing land.

Armed settler violence is being supported by “pillars of the Israeli government”, foremost among them far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, the governorate added, according to Wafa.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank since 2023, and more than 10,000 people have been forcibly displaced.

Since the start of this year alone, almost 700 Palestinians in nine communities have been displaced due to settler attacks, including 600 displaced from the Ras Ein al-Auja Bedouin community in Jericho governorate, OCHA reports.

Earlier this week, Israel’s government approved a plan to designate large areas of the occupied West Bank as Israeli “state property”, shifting the burden of proof to Palestinians to establish ownership of their land in a longstanding situation where Israel has made it all but impossible to obtain property titles.

Described as de-facto annexation of the West Bank, the Israeli government’s decision has drawn widespread international condemnation as a grave escalation that undermines the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.

Israel’s attempted land grab and killings by settlers come amid a sharp increase in Israeli military operations across the occupied West Bank, where forces have intensified raids, carried out forced evictions, home demolitions, and other repressive measures in multiple areas.

MILAN — The U.S. advanced to the final of the women’s hockey tournament at the Milan-Cortina Olympics with a 5-0 rout of Sweden on Monday and will meet the winner of the second semifinal between Canada and Switzerland in Thursday’s gold-medal game.

The goals came from Cayla Barnes, Taylor Heise, Kendall Coyne, Hayley Scamurra and Abbey Murphy. Hannah Bilka had two assists while Aerin Frankel turned back 23 shots in pitching the Americans’ fifth consecutive shutout, running their scoreless streak to more than 331 minutes. The unbeaten U.S. has scored at least five times in each of its six games, outscoring opponents 31-1 overall.

Kendall Coyne, top left, celebrates with her teammates after scoring against Sweden in the second period Monday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Barnes got things started 5:09 into the first period, taking a pass from Kelley Pannek behind the goal line, settling it inside the right faceoff circle, then blasting a shot over the shoulder of Swedish goalie Ebba Svensson Traff for her first goal of the Games. Barnes is the 15th American to score in the tournament.

But that was all the U.S. would get in a first period in which it built a 13-2 shot advantage.

Heise doubled the advantage midway through the second period, although Bilka did most of the work, taking the puck at center ice and driving hard up the right wing before slipping a deft pass across the front of the goal for Heise, who had an easy tap-in.

Six minutes later Murphy made it 3-0 and the rout was on, with Coyne and Scamurra adding goals 109 seconds apart to extend the U.S. lead to 5-0 heading into the second intermission.

U.S. forward Abbey Murphy, right, scores past Sweden goalkeeper Ebba Svensson Traff in the second period Monday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

MILAN — The U.S. will take the No. 2 seed into the quarterfinals of the men’s hockey tournament of the Milan-Cortina Olympics after beating Germany 5-1 on Sunday to finish group play unbeaten.

The Americans’ opponent in the final eight will be determined in a four-game qualification round Tuesday. Canada, also unbeaten after it thrashed France 10-2 earlier in the day, will take the top seed into the quarterfinals by virtue of its plus-17 goal differential.

The U.S. got two scores Sunday from Auston Matthews and goals from Zach Werenski, Brock Faber and Tage Thompson. Germany’s only score came from Tim Stutzle of the Ottawa Senators, his fourth of the Olympics, with less than nine minutes to play.

The Americans outshot Germany 13-3 during the first 16 minutes, but a combination of poor puck handling and sloppy play in front of the net kept them off the scoreboard until Werenski, a defenseman with the Columbus Blue Jackets, took a pass from Matthews in the center of the right circle, stepped up and drilled a wrister past goalie Maximilian Franzreb nine seconds before the first intermission.

The U.S. thought it had a goal moments earlier when Vegas Golden Knights’ forward Jack Eichel drove the puck from the top of the left circle though a crowd and into the back of the net. But the officials ruled the play had been whistled dead before the shot.

Matthews, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ captain, doubled the advantage 3:25 into the second period, poking the rebound of a Quinn Hughes’ shot by Franzreb for his second power-play goal of the Olympics.

Faber, who plays for he Minnesota Wild, made it 3-0 with less than 2:30 left in the second period, playing the puck off the boards near the blue line and flicking it on goal where Eichel got a stick up in front of Franzreb, distracting the goalie as he reached up unsuccessfully to glove the puck.

Thompson, of the Buffalo Sabres, and Matthews closed out the scoring for the U.S. with goals less than five minutes apart into the final period.