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The largest wildfire in Louisiana history was caused by arson, state officials said. The largest wildfire in Louisiana History that has destroyed tens of thousands of acres was caused by arson , state official s announced. The Louisiana State Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) said it concluded its investigation into the wildfires in Beauregard Parish and found that the Tiger Island Fire was deliberately caused. Officials are offering a $2,000 reward to anyone who has information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who caused the fire, the LDAF said in a press release Saturday. MORE: At least 74 dead in Johannesburg building fire, authorities say The Tiger Island Fire began on Aug. 22 in a wooded pine plantation and has destroyed more than 31,000 acres of land and damaged 20 homes and structures, LDAF officials said. The fire is 50% contained as of Sunday, according to the National Wildfire Coordinating Group. Louisiana State Department of Agr...

A Department of Defense official has been charged with dog fighting, according to records unsealed by the Justice Department on Monday night. A Department of Defense official has been charged with dog fighting, according to records unsealed by the Justice Department on Monday night. Fredrick D. Moorefield Jr. -- who serves as the deputy chief information officer for command, control and communications -- allegedly engaged in dog fighting under the code name "GeeHad," according to a statement from the Maryland U.S. Attorney's office. MORE: Police looking for little boy at center of pizza gift card scam to support his baseball team "Moorefield … and [his] associates used [an] encrypted messaging application to discuss how to train dogs for illegal dogfighting, exchanged videos about dogfighting, and arranged and coordinated dogfights," the statement read. "Moorefield … also discussed betting on dogfighting, discussed dogs that died as a result of dogfighting,...

Josh Paul said he believes that Israel’s heavy military response to Hamas, resulting in thousands of civilian deaths, has been “counterproductive” to its own security. A U.S. State Department official explained his decision to resign over the Biden administration’s commitment to provide military aid to Israel following Hamas' deadly attack on the country nearly two weeks ago. Until yesterday, Josh Paul was the director of congressional and public affairs at the State Department’s Bureau of Military Affairs, where he helped craft policy around sending military arms to other countries. Speaking to ABC News’ Brad Mielke on START HERE, Paul said he believes that Israel’s heavy Military response to Hamas, resulting in thousands of civilian deaths, has been “counterproductive” to its own security. He also said that, unlike the decision-making process for arms sales in other instances, such as to Saudi Arabia, there has been “no space allowed for debate” regarding Israel. During a State ...

Two U.S. officials tell The Associated Press that a military base in southern Syria where U.S. troops have maintained a presence to train forces as part of a broad campaign against the Islamic State group was attacked by drones on Thursday WASHINGTON -- A Military base in southern Syria where U.S. troops have maintained a presence to train forces as part of a broad campaign against the Islamic State group was attack ed by drones on Thursday, two U.S. officials told The Associated Press. One drone was shot down, but another caused in minor injuries, said one of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter before an official announcement about the incident. The attack s follow similar drone strikes over the past few days against U.S. and coalition bases in Iraq amid simmering anger in the region after an explosion at a Gaza hospital killed hundreds of people. The al-Tanf garrison in southeastern Syria is located at a sensitive juncture often used by Iranian...

A high-ranking FBI agent pleaded guilty for a second time on Friday to charges he concealed a $225,000 payment from an Albanian intelligence official while on the job. One of the highest-ranking FBI agents ever to face criminal charges pleaded guilty for a second time on Friday to charges he concealed a $225,000 payment from an Albanian intelligence official while on the job. Charles McGonigal, 55, admitted in federal court in Washington, D.C., that he took the cash payment in 2018 while he was supervising counter intelligence at the FBI’s New York field office. The Albanian official later served as an FBI source in a criminal investigation involving foreign political lobbying that McGonigal supervised, prosecutors said. MORE: Ex-FBI counterintelligence chief Charles McGonigal pleads guilty in case related to Russian billionaire Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 16 when McGonigal faces up to five years in prison. In this Jan. 23, 2023, file photo, Charles McGonigal, former special a...

The remarks about AI came a day after a similar warning from tech leaders. A top U.S. official for cybersecurity said Wednesday that humanity could be at risk of an "extinction event" if tech companies fail to self-regulate and work with the government to reign in the power of artificial intelligence. The remarks came a day after hundreds of tech leaders and public figures backed a similar statement that compared the existential threat of AI to a pandemic or nuclear war. Among the 350 signatories of the statement were Sam Altman, the chief executive of OpenAI, the company behind the popular conversation bot ChatGPT, and Demis Hassabis, the CEO of Google DeepMind, the tech giant's AI division. Responding to questions about the joint statement, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly urged the signatories to self-regulate and work with the government. "I would ask these 350 people and the makers of AI -- while we're trying to put a r...

An appeals court has declined to answer whether then-President Trump was acting within the scope of his employment when he allegedly defamed E. Jean Carroll in 2019. The D.C. Court of Appeals has declined to answer whether then-President Donald Trump was acting within the scope of his employment when he allegedly defamed writer E Jean Carroll when denying her rape claim. Carroll sued Trump for defamation over statements he made in 2019 when he denied her claim that he raped her in the dressing room of Bergdorf Goodman in the 1990s. MORE: E. Jean Carroll's defamation trial against Trump indefinitely delayed Trump, who also denies defaming her, has argued that the Justice Department should be substituted as the defendant in the case because, at the time of his allegedly defamatory statements, he was acting in his official capacity as an employee of the federal government. Such a ruling would make the case go away, as the federal government cannot be sued for defamation. On Thursd...

The head of the National Transportation Safety Board is expressing concern about the safety risks that heavy electric vehicles pose if they collide with lighter vehicles DETROIT -- The head of the National Transportation Safety Board expressed concern Wednesday about the safety risks that heavy electric vehicle s pose if they collide with lighter vehicle s. The official, Jennifer Homendy, raised the issue in a speech in Washington to the Transportation Research Board. She noted, by way of example, that an electric GMC Hummer weighs about 9,000 pounds (4,000 kilograms), with a battery pack that alone is 2,900 pounds (1,300 kilograms) — roughly the entire weight of a typical Honda Civic. “I’m concerned about the increased risk of severe injury and death for all road users from heavier curb weights and increasing size, power, and performance of vehicles on our roads, including electric vehicles,” Homendy said in remarks prepared for the group. The extra weight that EVs typically carry ...