Men who brought explosives to NYC protest cited Islamic State as inspiration, complaint says

NEW YORK (AP) — Two men who broughtexplosivesto a far-right protest outside New York City's mayoral mansion said they were inspired by the Islamic State extremist group, according to a court complaint.

Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, were being held without bail after a court appearance Monday on charges that include attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass destruction. Their lawyers didn't argue for bail but could do so later.

The homemade devices,which did not explode,were hurled Saturday during raucous counterprotests against an anti-Islam demonstration led by Jake Lang, a far-right activist and critic of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democrat and the first Muslim to hold the office.

"Balat and Kayumi sought to incite fear and mass suffering through this alleged attempted terror attack in the backyard of an elected city official," James Barnacle, who runs the FBI's New York office, said at a news conference after the brief court session.

The defendants said nothing in court, but Kayumi smirked and looked over at Balat as the judge read part of the complaint alleging they acted in support of the Islamic State group. Balat stared ahead at the defense table.

According to the complaint, Kayumi blurted out, as he was being arrested Saturday, that "ISIS" was the reason for his conduct. Balat later told authorities that he had pledged allegiance to the extremists, and Kayumi asserted that he was affiliated with the group, the complaint said.

Officers asked Balat whether he was aiming to accomplish something akin to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three people and wounded hundreds more.

"No, even bigger," Balat replied, according to the complaint.

Defense attorney highlights suspect's youth

Emir Balat's lawyer, Mehdi Essmidi, said outside court that his client is a Philadelphia-area high school senior with "complicated stuff going on" in his personal life. "There's a lot to figure out," the attorney added.

Asked whether he believed Balat was a terrorist, the lawyer said: "I believe he's 18 and he doesn't have any idea what he's doing."

Kayumi's lawyer, Michael Arthus, pointed in court to the extensive publicity surrounding the case and asked that prosecutors avoid saying anything that could prejudice potential jurors.

No one answered the door at a home listed as belonging to one of Kayumi's relatives in Newtown, Pennsylvania. At a home where neighbors said Balat lives in nearby Langhorne, a young man declined to comment when a reporter knocked on the door.

A spokesperson for Neshaminy High School, located in Langhorne, confirmed that Balat is in his senior year there. He has not attended in-person classes since enrolling in the district's virtual program this past September, according to a note sent to parents Monday by the district's superintendent.

Essmidi said he didn't believe the two young men had known each other for long. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said neither defendant had a criminal history.

Meanwhile, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi commented on social media that authorities "will not allow ISIS's poisonous, anti-American ideology to threaten this nation."

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No ties to Iran war are identified

Tisch said there are no indications that the attack was connected to the ongoingwar in Iran.

An automated license plate reader captured the defendants entering New York City from New Jersey less than an hour before the noontime attack, according to the complaint. Kayumi's mother filed a missing person report, saying she last saw him around 10:30 a.m. Saturday.

The men's vehicle — registered to one of Balat's relatives — was discovered Sunday, a few blocks from where they were arrested. A search of the car turned up a fuse, a metal can, and a list of chemical ingredients and components that could be used to build explosives, the complaint said.

Lang's sparsely attended protest Saturday drew a far larger group of counterdemonstrators. Amid the faceoff, Balat tossed a jar-sized device that contained the explosive TATP into the crowd, the complaint said. The object also contained a fuse, plus an exterior layer of duct-taped nuts and bolts, the complaint said.

The device extinguished itself steps from police officers. According to the complaint, Balat then ran down the block and collected a second, similar device — which has yet to be tested for explosives — from Kayumi. Balat dropped it near some police officers and tried to run away, the complaint said. Police tackled Balat and soon arrested him and Kayumi.

"Violence that is meant to chill free speech, violence that is meant to keep us from assembling peaceably, will be met with swift justice," Manhattan-based U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said at a news conference Monday.

Protester arrested on unrelated charges

The scene had grown chaotic even before the devices were thrown. Police said one person involved in the anti-Islam demonstration, Ian McGinnis, 21, was arrested after he pepper-sprayed counterprotesters.

McGinnis, of Philadelphia, was released without bond after pleading not guilty Sunday to assault and aggravated harassment in a New York court, records show. His attorney, Steven Metcalf, said Monday that McGinnis was defending himself from counterprotesters.

Three others were arrested but released without charge.

Lang, who's running for U.S. Senate in Florida, was charged with assaulting an officer and other offenses during theJan. 6 insurrectionat the U.S. Capitol. He was later freed from prison as part ofPresident Donald Trump's sweeping act of clemency.

While Mamdani spoke to reporters Monday morning at the mayoral residence, Gracie Mansion, Lang heckled from outside the gates.

This story has been corrected to reflect that police are now identifying one of the suspects by the name Ibrahim Kayumi, instead of Ibrahim Nikks. Earlier headlines were corrected to show Tisch referred to the possibility of the suspects being inspired by rather than related to the Islamic State group.

Associated Press writers Michael Catalini in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, and David Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed.

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Men who brought explosives to NYC protest cited Islamic State as inspiration, complaint says

NEW YORK (AP) — Two men who broughtexplosivesto a far-right protest outside New York City's mayoral mansion said they...

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Signal and WhatsApp users face sweeping Russian phishing push, Dutch agencies warn

Russia is "engaged in a large-scale global attempt" to take over Signal and WhatsApp accounts,two Dutch intelligence agenciessaid Monday, adding to warnings issued by several groups about the security risk to the messaging apps.

According to the agencies, hackers are using phishing techniques to target high-profile people, posing as accounts with names like "Signal support" and securing details from users that would give them account access.

Signal is believed to be one of the most secure messaging platforms available. It is a common battlefield messaging tool among theUkrainian militaryand last year it became the subject of aWhite House scandalwhen a group of top officials accidentally added a journalist to a group chat discussing military strikes in Yemen.

Now, according to the Dutch report, Russian intelligence has launched a vast campaign to break into Signal and WhatsApp accounts,. The scheme has already compromised the messages of Dutch government employees, the report said, adding that it is "probable that targets include other persons of interest to the Russian government, such as journalists."

Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to a request for comment.

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The warning follows a similar one issued byGermany in February, saying that unidentified hackers were trying to phish high-profile Signal users in German military and politics.

Last year, Google said it had identifiedRussian actors trying to phish Signal accountsassociated with the Ukrainian military, and warned that the tactic would likely spread.

"We are aware of recent reports regarding targeted phishing attacks that have resulted in account takeovers of some Signal users, including government officials and journalists. We take this very seriously," the companypostedon social media, alongside an example phishing message.

Hackers havelong targeted WhatsApp, owned by Meta, which as of last year claimed to have more thanthree billion active monthly users. But Signal,operated by a nonprofit, is far less popular and uses a complex type of encryptiondesigned to be unbreakable, even by a theoretical advanced quantum computer.

While Signal verifies a new user's account by texting their phone number, the app deliberately does not show users' phone numbers to each other as a way to better protect their privacy. However, that can make a scam message seem more convincing, since a user who receives a message that comes from "Signal support" — not a real service Signal offers — can't check the phone number associated with the account to see if it's suspicious.

A WhatsApp spokesperson declined to comment but recommended users never share their login information with other people and recommended itsscam protection guide.

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Signal and WhatsApp users face sweeping Russian phishing push, Dutch agencies warn

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World leaders eye oil reserves, but so far hold off on tapping them

NEW YORK (AP) — A widening war in Iran has halted oil tankers, made targets of refineries and spooked investors worried about the cascading impact of spiking energy prices.

Oil Prices

If it might seem like the ideal time to dip into the world's emergency oil stockpiles, global leaders have so far responded with reluctance.

Here is a look at the energy supplies that countries hold and when they tap them:

Many countries have reserves of oil

Since war erupted in the Middle East on Feb. 28 with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, the flow of oil tankers through theStrait of Hormuzhas all but stopped, cutting off a vital passageway for a huge amount of the world's oil.

That has sent prices of oil soaring.

Brent crude oil, the international standard,surged to nearly $120 a barrelMonday, about 65% higher than when the war started, before retreating toward $90.

Countries around the world hold vast quantities of oil that they can use in the event of a crisis, including the U.S., which holds a massive emergency supply — known as theStrategic Petroleum Reserve— in underground salt caverns in Texas and Louisiana.

Because oil is a global commodity and flooding the market with a sudden stream of new supply has international implications, countries often talk to one another before tapping reserves. That includes coordinating with the International Energy Agency, an organization created in the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis.

But opting to use oil reserves is never a simple calculation, particularly when linked to a war with constantly shifting parameters and no clear timeline.

"The key question on drawing down these reserves remains one of, 'How long will this conflict last?'" says Tom Seng, an energy finance professor at Texas Christian University. "And, more importantly, 'How long with the Strait of Hormuz remain blocked?'"

Timing a release is tricky

Oil reserves have been tapped when the market has faced major disruption in the past, including wars in Iraq, Libya and, most recently,in Ukraine.

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Kenneth Medlock, senior director of the Center for Energy Studies at Rice University, says it's not a matter of whether the current conflict is serious enough to merit intervention, but whether the precise moment has arrived.

"The price is up but it could get worse," Medlock says. "What happens if this drags on for two, three months? Then you run into a situation where you lose your buffer."

Each of the 32 member countries of the IEA promises to have a reserve at least equivalent to what they import in a 90-day period. The U.S. exports more than it imports, maintaining its reserve despite there being no requirement. But for other countries, tapping their reserves will result in them eventually needing to replenish what was taken.

"Because of that, countries tend to keep reserves for a last-resort scenario, should the disruption be prolonged," says Maksim Sonin, an energy executive who works with Stanford University's Hydrogen Initiative.

Discussions can cool markets

So far, leaders have been reticent to tap reserves.

Over the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump downplayed the idea of turning to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, saying supplies were ample and prices would soon fall.

Representatives from the Group of Seven major industrialized powers discussed the issue Monday, but likewise decided against using strategic reserves.

"We're not there yet," French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said after chairing the G7 meeting. Still, he told reporters in Brussels that the group was "ready to take necessary and coordinated steps in order to stabilize markets, such as strategic stockpiling."

Fatih Birol, the executive director of the IEA, took part in the meeting, noting afterwards the "significant and growing risks for the market." IEA member countries have more than 1.2 billion barrels of emergency oil on hand, the organization says.

Though leaders have so far held off from using their reserves, energy expert Brenda Shaffer says the fact that they are even discussing the option could ease markets.

"As long as the market keeps hearing about these possibilities," says Shaffer, a professor at the Naval Postgraduate School, "I think that will have a smoothing effect on the global oil market."

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World leaders eye oil reserves, but so far hold off on tapping them

NEW YORK (AP) — A widening war in Iran has halted oil tankers, made targets of refineries and spooked investors worried a...

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Rosanna Arquette calls Quentin Tarantino 'creepy' for using slur

"Pulp Fiction" star Rosanna Arquetteis speaking out against directorQuentin Tarantino's decision to include a racial slur in the film.

In an interview with the Sunday Timespublished Saturday, March 7,Arquette, 66,blastedTarantinofor the choice, saying that she still has love for the movie but can't stand what she sees as Hollywood's leniencewith the director.

"It's iconic, a great film on a lot of levels. But personally I am over the use of the [slur] – I hate it," she told the outlet. "I cannot stand that [Tarantino] has been given a hall pass."

As 'Pulp Fiction' turns 30,we rank all Quentin Tarantino movies

"It's not art, it's just racist and creepy," she continued.

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Arquetteplayed Jody, wife to drug dealer Lance (Eric Stoltz), in the 1994 film. Her role, though small, became part of the film'scontinued cult canon lore.

In the interview, the"Desperately Seeking Susan" actressalso said she harbors some resentment for the money she didn't see from the film's release.

"I'm the only person who didn't get a back end [a share of the takings]. Everybody made money except me," she told the Sunday Times. She went on to blame her lack of cuton Harvey Weinstein, the movie's producer, who has since been sentenced to prison time fora series of sexual assaults. Arquette wasamong the actressesinterviewed for a 2017expose of Weinsteinpublished in The New Yorker, which helped pull the curtain back on decades of alleged sexual misconduct perpetrated by the Hollywood titan. Weinstein has denied all wrongdoing.

The actress told the Sunday Times that in the early '90s she met with Weinstein about the film's script and he greeted her in a bathrobe, then attempted to put her hands on his genitalia.

"I was fortunate because I was not raped," she told the outlet. "But, boy, was it going there and I paid a price for saying no, and later I paid a price for telling the truth."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Rosanna Arquette calls Tarantino 'creepy' for slur in 'Pulp Fiction'

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Rosanna Arquette calls Quentin Tarantino 'creepy' for using slur

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Woman identified in shooting at Rihanna's Los Angeles house

Los Angelespolice on Mondayidentified a 35-year-old Florida woman as the person who allegedly opened fire on Rihanna's Southern California home with an AR-15-style rifle.

Ivanna Lisette Ortiz was booked into custody on suspicion of attempted murder in connection with the Sunday afternoon incident at the property just outside Beverly Hills, police said.

Thenine-time Grammy winnerwas at the home in Beverly Crest, just north of Beverly Hills, with partner A$AP Rocky andtheir childrenwhen the shots were fired at about 1:15 p.m., police said.

The suspect drove up to the property's entrance and started shooting, police said. A possible motive wasn't clear.

The property's front gate appeared to have bullet holes, but police said no one was hurt.

A car matching the description of the one seen at Rihanna's house during the shooting was spotted in nearby Sherman Oaks, where officers made a traffic stop and arrested the suspect, LAPD sources told NBC Los Angeles.

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Ortiz was arrested at 2:20 p.m. Sunday and booked into L.A. County jail shortly after 2 a.m. Monday, according to sheriff's records. Her bail was listed in jail records at $10.225 million.

The suspect was linked to social media accounts of an Illinois native who claims to work as a speech therapist in Florida.

State records indicate there is a woman of the same name who is a licensed speech-language pathologist who is currently in good standing. The license was issued on March 17, 2015, and is active until Dec. 31, 2027, according to state records.

The suspect also has arrest records linked to Florida.

Her divorce from her ex-husband turned violent on June 25, 2023, when he dropped off their children at Ortiz's apartment, according to an arrest affidavit.

Ortiz had texted the ex-husband, "You'll be socked on the nose tonight" at the drop-off, according to the affidavit.

Cellphone video of the confrontation showed Ortiz calling the man a homophobic slur, the affidavit said.

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Jennifer Runyon Corman once shared why she stopped acting for 2 decades

After being a cast member onAnother WorldandCharles in Chargeand appearing inGhostbustersandUp the Creek, Jennifer Runyon Corman stepped back from acting in the '90s and '00s. But as the actress —who died on March 6 at age 56— revealed in a2016 interview, it was for a worthwhile personal reason.

According to the interview, after the birth of her first son, Wyatt, in 1993, Runyon Corman knew she "wanted to take some time just to be a mom."

"I grew up in a family where my parents worked, and we had housekeepers and nannies," Runyon Corman explained. "I grew up with other people who were there every day. I didn't want that for my kids, because I know all I wanted was my mom. I wanted to be a mom. I wanted to experience every moment. I didn't want somebody calling me on the set going, 'Oh my God, Wyatt walked!' I wanted to be the one, if possible, that experienced that first."

Runyon Corman, who died afterbeing diagnosed with cancer, continued that she and husband Todd Corman opted to leave Hollywood to raise Wyatt and his sister, Bayley, eventually settling in Idaho and then Oregon.

"We were gone for about 10 years and had our kids, and we moved to California 10 years later because our parents were getting older, and we felt it was time to come home and spend time with our parents," Runyon Corman shared.

She continued to utilize her acting skills, however.

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"I would work in [Wyatt and Bayley's] schools and teach acting, not to introduce kids to being actors, but doing all of the fun improv exercises with the kids because it helps them get over that fear of being in front of an audience and peers, if they have to give a speech or do a report," Runyon Corman said. "My hope was, this is a way to enlighten kids, showing them it's okay to stand up in front of people; anybody can do this."

Corman continued her passion for helping youth by becoming involved with theTilly's Life Center, a nonprofit devoted to inspiring "today's youth to reach their full potential as productive, kind, happy, and responsible individuals." In the interview, Runyon Corman shared how she helped launch the center with its namesake and founder, Tilly Levine.

"[Tilly] wanted to give back to kids and help kids who were troubled. She started this program with me, and a couple of other people," she said. "It's a program to give kids tools to get through tough times: how to communicate, how to forgive, how to dream your biggest dreams — tools to help you in life. All of us would benefit from it, and a lot of us don't learn these things until we are older."

Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with ourEW Dispatch newsletter.

After a two-decade break from being on screen, Runyon Corman returned to acting in 2015 and took on a few roles until her final appearance in 2025'sSpectral Squad: The Haunting of Sophie Lawson.

Family and friends paid tribute to the actress after her death, with daughter Bayley Cormanwriting in an Instagram postthat "all of the best parts of me" came from her mother. "i would give anything for one more day together," Bayley wrote.Willie Aames, who played Buddy Lembeck acrossCharles in Charge's five-season run, paid tribute to his castmate in aFacebook poston Sunday. "Jenn was more than a friend. She was my dear dear friend, muse, and encourager. We shared family Christmas's together, vacations, weekends, lunches and dinners together… We did shows together, but most of all — we LAUGHED."

Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly

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Thune says no to filibuster changes even after Trump's threats about SAVE America Act

Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Monday reiterated that there would not be changes to Senate rules in order to pass a Republican-led election reform bill that President Donald Trump has demanded be sent to his desk.

"Yeah, that's not going to happen," Thune said when asked by ABC News about whether Senate rules requiring 60 votes to advance most legislative matters could be altered in light of Trump's new pressure campaign to pass theSAVE America Act, which would change voter ID requirements ahead of November's midterm elections.

"The president clearly is very interested in getting the SAVE America bill up and voted on, although he wants a modified version of it, and so we'll do our best to do that," Thune said. "But the one thing I've said all along is, and I've told him and others, that I can't guarantee an outcome. I can't guarantee a result. If the result is only achieved by nuking the legislative filibuster, we don't have the votes to do that and so that's not a -- that's just not a realistic option."

Thune's comments come after Trump on Sunday threatened to withhold his signature on all legislation until the SAVE America Act is delivered to his desk.

What is the Trump-backed SAVE America Act requiring voter ID, proof of citizenship to register?

"It must be done immediately. It supersedes everything else. MUST GO TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE. I, as President, will not sign other Bills until this is passed," Trump said in a post on his social media platform.

In his post, Trump mentioned the possibility of utilizing the so-called "talking filibuster" to pass the SAVE America Act. The "talking filibuster" would be a change to Senate operating procedure that would allow senators to side-step the current rules requiring 60 votes to advance most legislation. It could see lawmakers making tireless speeches on endless numbers of amendments on the floor.

Absent a rules change to modify how it would work, Thune warned, a "talking filibuster" like the one being floated could quickly become a "monthslong" process that eats up valuable Senate floor time with no guaranteed outcome. There's not enough support, he said, to change the rules.

"Our time in the Senate is a finite resource and it's something that we need to use wisely and well to get as much done as we can," Thune said.

What is the SAVE America Act?

The SAVE America Act is a Republican-sponsored election reform bill. It would restrict mail-in ballots, require photo ID at polling places and mandate that states obtain proof of citizenship before registering a person to vote in a federal election.

TheHouse narrowly passed the billin February with the support of a singular Democrat. But the measure faces a harder battle in the Senate, where Democrats have vowed to block it from advancing.

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, in a post on X on Sunday evening, said Trump's threat does not change Democrats' commitment to stonewall the bill.

"The SAVE Act is Jim Crow 2.0. It would disenfranchise tens of millions of people.  If Trump is saying he won't sign any bills until the SAVE Act is passed, then so be it: there will be total gridlock in the Senate," Schumer posted. "Senate Democrats will not help pass the SAVE Act under any circumstances."

What Trump has said about SAVE America Act amid his push for passage

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On Monday, Thune suggested he could bring the SAVE America Act up for a floor vote as soon as the Senate completes its work on a housing measure that is currently making its way through the chamber and absent an agreement on funding for the Department of Homeland Security.

But a vote on that bill is unlikely to pass under the current Senate rules, and therefore may not meet the president's demands to send it to his desk.

What does Trump's threat mean for congressional business?

Congress may need to act on a number of important pieces of legislation that could be stalled by Trump's refusal to sign bills.

A White House official told ABC News on Monday that Trump's threat to withhold his signature on legislation does not apply to any potential funding solution that lawmakers reach to fund the DHS, parts of which have been shut down since Feb. 14 amid afunding fight over Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

If Congress reached an agreement on funding for the department, Trump's signature would be needed to enact that bill into law.

"The president was referring to other bills, not DHS funding," the official said. "If the Democrats do the right thing and pass funding for DHS, the president will, of course, fund the agency."

But there are other bills that could potentially come up that might be stalled due to Trump's threat.

If Congress were to approve any additional supplemental funding for the conflict in Iran, that would also require Trump's signature. So too would a key piece of bipartisan affordable housing legislation that is making its way through the Senate right now.

Thune said on Monday that he hopes Trump may still ultimately support some key pieces of legislation despite his threat.

"I know he is passionate about the SAVE America Act and his statement was an expression of that, but I hope at the end of the day that if we can move things across the floor here and actually put legislation on his desk, that he will find a way to sign it," Thune said.

Legislation can still be enacted without the president's signature, but it would be delayed.

If the president takes no action on a bill delivered to his desk for 10 days, excluding Sundays, while Congress is in session, a bill automatically becomes law.

If Trump vetoed legislation instead of simply refusing to sign it, lawmakers would have to present bills with veto-proof majorities, which requires 2/3 majorities in both chambers. It's not clear from Trump's post whether he's threatening to veto legislation.

When asked about whether Trump is threatening to veto legislation, the White House referred ABC News back to the president's post, which makes no specific reference to vetoes.

ABC News' John Parkinson and Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report.

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Thune says no to filibuster changes even after Trump's threats about SAVE America Act

Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Monday reiterated that there would not be changes to Senate rules in order to pass a...

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