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D.C. pipe bomb suspect must stay in pre-trial custody, judge rules

WASHINGTON — A federal magistrate judge on Friday ordered that the Virginia man accused ofplanting pipe bombs in the nation's capital on Jan. 5, 2021,remains detained ahead of his trial, determining that he posed a "potential danger" to the public.

Federal prosecutors allegethat Brian Cole, 30,planted explosive devices at the Republican and Democratic parties' headquarters nearly five years ago. He's been in custody since his Dec. 4 arrest, when he was charged with transporting an explosive device and attempted malicious destruction by means of explosive materials.

"Although home incarceration and a GPS monitor would provide some check against Mr. Cole's ability to carry out any menacing or dangerous conduct in the community, the Court is simply not satisfied these conditions rise to the necessary level," Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh wrote in his ruling.

"This is particularly true based on the severity of the potential danger Mr. Cole is alleged to pose, given his alleged persistent acquisition and retention of so-called 'bombmaking parts,' and given his reported penchant and capacity to create explosive devices and deploy them in public settings."

"If the plan had succeeded, the results could have been devastating: creating a greater sense of terror on the eve of a high-security Congressional proceeding, causing serious property damage in the heart of Washington, D.C., grievously injuring DNC or RNC staff and other innocent bystanders, or worse," Sharbaugh wrote.

Cole has not yet entered a plea in the case.

Cole's attorneys wanted him to be released into the custody of his grandmother. The government objected to his release, describing him as showing a pattern of "comprehensive deception" and saying it did not trust him to keep to the conditions of his release.

In a federal court filing on Tuesday, Cole's attorneys said he has beendiagnosed with autismspectrum disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The filing described his diagnosis as a mild form of autism.

Defense attorney Mario Williams told the judge on Tuesday that Cole has spent the last five years following the same routine as he typically does and has kept the same job with his family's bail bonds business over several years with no attempt to flee. Cole's autism and OCD disorder is partially why he follows the same routines every day, Williams said.

Cole's attorneys argued that the government has not presented any evidence that suggests evasive conduct or resistance to law enforcement.

But in a motion filed Sunday, the government alleged that Cole wore a face mask and gloves the night he planted the bombs, as well as wiping down the bombs with disinfectant. The government said Cole also performed a factory reset of his phone more than 900 times between December 2020 and the day he was arrested.

Federal prosecutors urged the judge to keep Cole in detention, alleging that Cole felt "extreme acts of violence" were justified because of hisdislike of both political parties. The motion said that the man told FBI agents that "something just snapped" after he had watched "everything getting worse."

He directed his ire at the Democratic and Republican parties because "they were in charge," Cole told agents, according to the government filing.

Prosecutors confirmed in the filing Sunday that Cole told agents he thought it looked like "something was wrong" with the election and that he followed the situation on platforms such as YouTube and Reddit. According to prosecutors, Cole said that Trump supporters who believed the election was being "tampered with" shouldn't be called "conspiracy theorists," "bad people," "Nazis," or "fascists."

He is alleged to have told agents that he didn't align politically with his family members and that he didn't tell them he was "going to a protest in support of [then President] Trump."

Cole was allegedly inspired to use pipe bombs by his interest inThe Troubles in Northern Ireland, the sectarian war between Catholics and Protestants that escalated into violence in the 1970s. The violence, which included bombing attacks, went on for three decades.

According to the government's filing, Cole did not test the devices before planting them and they failed to go off as planned.

"Ultimately, it was luck, not lack of effort, that the defendant failed to detonate one or both of his devices and that no one was killed or maimed due to his actions," the government filing said. "Indeed, the defendant admitted that he set both devices to detonate 60 minutes after he placed them."

Gary Grumbach reported from Washington, D.C. Doha Madani reported from New York City.

byVincento Seyarto

in

January 02, 2026

D.C. pipe bomb suspect must stay in pre-trial custody, judge rules

WASHINGTON — A federal magistrate judge on Friday ordered that the Virginia man accused ofplanting pipe bombs in the nati...

Swiss bar fire started by sparklers, investigators say, amid efforts to ID victims

Crans-Montana, Switzerland —Investigators said Friday that the deadly fire thattore through a popular barin the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana early on New Year's Day was caused by sparklers on Champagne bottles, which ignited the bar's ceiling.

Police have said about 40 people were killed and dozens were badly injured. Most of the victims were just teenagers celebrating the holiday, and the intensity of the deadly fire has left authorities with grim work to identify badly burned remains, which they say may take days, as desperate families are left to wait for word of their missing loved ones.

Swiss authorities said Friday that 113 out of the 119 people injured had been identified.

Beatrice Pilloud, the attorney general for Switzerland's Valais Canton, said authorities have interviewed two bar managers to help them understand the internal configuration of the venue and its capacity. She said the investigation was still ongoing.

Video has emerged that shows the moment a man tried but failed to snuff the first flames in the basement of the Le Constellation bar with a white cloth. The fire swept upward, to the upper level of the building.

In videos posted on social media, people can be heard screaming as dozens raced to try and escape through narrow exits. Many suffered horrific burns and smoke inhalation, and dozens remained hospitalized on Friday across the country, as well as in neighboring France, Italy and Germany.

Some 36 hours after the disaster, which authorities say appears to have been accidental, at least two dozen people were still missing.

A flower with a note is laid after a fire broke out overnight at Le Constellation bar on Jan. 1, 2026, in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. / Credit: Harold Cunningham/Getty

The facade of the bar was hidden on Friday behind a white barricade.

One survivor said bar staff had inadvertently sparked the inferno.

"One woman climbed onto another woman's shoulders with two bottles and birthday sparklers were going off," said 16-year-old French visitor Axel Cavalier. "She waved them too high, they hit the ceiling and it caught fire."

Lucas Rebot, 24, told CBS News he and his girlfriend tried to get into Le Constellation at 1 a.m., about 30 minutes before the fire started, but were told the venue was full and were turned away. He said he had been at the bar a few days earlier and noticed at the time that the ceiling was covered in foam insulation, "like a music studio."

CBS News' partner network BBC News and France's BFM TV published photos Friday that they said showed the moment the sound insulation on the ceiling was set alight just above people holding sparklers, as described by the witnesses.

Other witnesses have relayed similar information. Authorities said early on in the investigation that there was no indication of an attack or explosion.

"At no moment is there a question of any kind of attack," Pilloud said Thursday, adding later that it was unclear how many people had been in the bar at the time of the fire, but that its maximum capacity would be one of the factors looked at as part of the investigation.

"For the time being, we don't have any suspects," she said when asked if anyone had been arrested. "An investigation has been opened, not against anyone, but to better understand the circumstances of this dramatic fire."

Forensic police and other officials are seen at the site of a New Year's Day fire that broke out at Le Constellation bar, Jan. 1, 2026, in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. / Credit: Harold Cunningham/Getty

Forensic experts, meanwhile, have begun using dental and DNA records to identify the dead.

Clavier said one of his friends had died in the fire and two or three more were among those still listed as missing.

"The first objective is to assign names to all the bodies," Crans-Montana's mayor Nicolas Feraud said Thursday, adding that it could take days.

Mathias Reynard, who heads the regional Valais government, said it was essential to carry out the work "because the information is so terrible and sensitive that nothing can be told to the families unless we are 100 percent sure."

One of the first victims identified was a promising young Italian golfer Emanuele Galeppini, who was mourned by the Italian Golf Federation ina statementissued Thursday as "a young athlete who embodied passion and authentic values."

Crans-Montana is a popular destination for skiing, but is also an international golf resort in the warmer months.

Italian outlet SportMediasaidGaleppini, originally from Genoa, was 16 years old. It said his father was in Crans-Montana and had spent much of Thursday searching for information about his missing son.

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byVincento Seyarto

in

January 02, 2026

Swiss bar fire started by sparklers, investigators say, amid efforts to ID victims

Crans-Montana, Switzerland —Investigators said Friday that the deadly fire thattore through a popular barin the Swiss ski...

Getty Stock photo of a laboratory technician preparing embryo cultivation plates.

NEED TO KNOW

An Oregon woman is alleging that her mother was mistakenly inseminated with another man's sperm
The now 44-year-old woman and her parents are suing the clinic after discovering two years ago that her father is not her biological dad
They are requesting $17 million in damages

An Oregon woman is alleging that her mother was mistakenly inseminated with another man's sperm.

According to court documents obtained by PEOPLE, the now 44-year-old woman — identified in the lawsuit as A.P. — is joined by her biological mother, known as C.W., and her father by marriage and birth, known as K.W., in suing Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and Providence Health & Services of Oregon for $17 million.

The threesome claims that C.W. and K.W. sought out fertility care and family planning at OHSU after being referred by their physician. However, they claim that during the process, the clinic mixed up K.W.'s sperm with another man's – known as R.W. in the lawsuit — and mistakenly gave her the wrong person's sperm.The Oregonianwas first to report the news.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

C.W. and K.W. welcomed their daughter A.P. in December 1981 and raised her as their biological child, never thinking that something had happened at the hospital. R.W. and his partner also became pregnant and welcomed their child in November 1981.

A.P. did not discover that her father is not K.W. until two years ago, when she underwent genetic testing. According to the lawsuit, more genetic testing revealed that her biological father is R.W.

Now, the family claims that K.W. was "stripped entirely" of his biological fatherhood of his firstborn baby with his wife, C.W., and says he is permanently reminded of the violation against his family.

Getty Stock photo of a laboratory technician performing in vitro fertilization of a human egg.

C.W. claims she was also stripped of the bond of creating a shared life with her husband, and had to "bear the humiliation, discomfort, and physical distress" of carrying a pregnancy to term with another man's semen specimen. She says she suffered a "severe invasion of her personhood."

The family claims that A.P. is the "product of nonconsensual birth" and will endure doubt, frustration and confusion for the rest of her life. They also allege that the hospital knew of the mistake and "concealed the use of R.W.'s genetic material" and has refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing.

Now, they are requesting $17 million in damages from the hospital. OSHU declined to comment when reached by PEOPLE.

Read the original article onPeople

byVincento Seyarto

in

January 02, 2026

Oregon Woman Claims Fertility Clinic Inseminated Her Mom with Wrong Man's Sperm in $17 Million Lawsuit

NEED TO KNOW An Oregon woman is alleging that her mother was mistakenly inseminated with another man's sperm The now 44-year-old woman...

Zelenskyy names Ukraine's head of military intelligence as his new chief of staff

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday appointed the head of Ukraine's military intelligence as his new chief of staff, a move that comes as the U.S. leads a diplomatic push to end Russia's nearly 4-year-old invasion.

Announcing the appointment of Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, Zelenskyy said Ukraine needs to focus on security issues, developing its defense and security forces, and peace talks — areas that are overseen by the office of the president.

Zelenskyy had dismissed his previous chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, after anti-corruption officials began investigating alleged graft in the energy sector.

The president framed Budanov's appointment as part of a broader effort to sharpen the focus on security, defense development and diplomacy.

"Kyrylo has specialized experience in these areas and sufficient strength to achieve results," Zelenskyy said.

Budanov, 39, said on Telegram his new position is "both an honor and a responsibility — at a historic time for Ukraine — to focus on the critically important issues of the state's strategic security."

In his evening address, Zelenskyy announced further changes to his team, saying he had proposed Mykhailo Fedorov, the current minister for digital transformation, as the new minister of defense.

Fedorov, 34, is credited with spearheading the introduction of drone technology in Ukraine's army and introducing several successful e-government platforms in his current role.

He replaces Denys Shmyhal who took up the post last July in a major government shake-up. Zelenskyy thanked Shmyhal and said he would be taking up another role in government. He also credited the ministry for reaching a target production of more than 1,000 interceptor drones per day in December.

Earlier, Zelenskyy appointed Foreign Intelligence Service head Oleh Ivashchenko to replace Budanov as intelligence chief.

'Prominent face of Kyiv's intelligence effort'

Budanov is one of the country's most recognizable and popular wartime figures. He has led Ukraine's military intelligence agency, known by its acronym GUR, since 2020.

A career military intelligence officer, he rose through the defense establishment after Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. He also took part in special operations and intelligence missions linked to the fighting with Moscow-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine before the full-scale invasion of February 2022. He reportedly was wounded during one such operation.

Since the full-scale invasion, Budanov has become a prominent face of Kyiv's intelligence effort, regularly appearing in interviews and briefings that mix strategic signaling with psychological pressure on Moscow. He has frequently warned of Russia's long-term intentions toward Ukraine and the region, while portraying the war as an existential struggle for the country's statehood.

Under Budanov, the GUR expanded its operational footprint, coordinating intelligence, sabotage and special operations aimed at degrading Russian military capabilities far beyond the front lines. Ukrainian officials have credited military intelligence with operations targeting Russian command structures, logistics hubs, energy infrastructure and naval assets, including strikes deep inside Russian territory and occupied areas.

His appointment to lead the office of the president marks an unusual shift, placing an intelligence chief at the center of Ukraine's political and diplomatic coordination.

Ihor Reiterovych, a Kyiv-based independent political expert, noted that Budanov had participated in the talks with the U.S. and "will fit much more naturally into the overall context" of the negotiations.

"Unlike Yermak, he has both experience in this field and has worked in a relevant position," Reiterovych said, adding that the GUR also has had certain contacts with Russia on issues such as prisoner exchanges.

Russia reports a higher death toll from a strike

Russian authorities said Friday the death toll from what they called a Ukrainian drone strike on a cafe and hotel in a Russian-occupied village in Ukraine's Kherson region rose to 28. Kyiv strongly denied attacking civilian targets.

Svetlana Petrenko, spokeswoman of Russia's main criminal investigation agency, the Investigative Committee, said those killed in the village of Khorly, where at least 100 civilians were celebrating New Year's Eve, included two minors, while 31 people were hospitalized.

A spokesman for Ukraine's General Staff, Dmytro Lykhovii, denied attacking civilians. He told Ukraine's public broadcaster Suspilne on Thursday that Ukrainian forces "adhere to the norms of international humanitarian law" and "carry out strikes exclusively against Russian military targets, facilities of the Russian fuel and energy sector, and other lawful targets."

He noted that Russia has repeatedly used disinformation and false statements to disrupt the ongoing peace negotiations.

The Associated Press could not independently verify claims made about the attack.

Washington praises progress in negotiations

U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said Wednesday that he, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump's son-in-law andadviser Jared Kushnerhad a "productive call" with the national security advisers of Britain, France, Germany and Ukraine "to discussadvancing the next stepsin the European peace process."

The U.S. efforts has faced a new obstacle earlier this week, when Moscow said it would toughen its negotiating stand after what it said was a long-range drone attack against a residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin in northwestern Russia early Monday.

Kyiv has denied attacking Putin's residence, saying the Russian claim was a ruse to derail the negotiations.

In his New Year's address, Zelenskyy said a peace deal was "90% ready" but warned that the remaining 10% — believed to include key sticking points such as territory — would "determine the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe, how people will live."

Overnight attacks

Elsewhere in Ukraine, Russia struck a residential area of Kharkiv with two missiles Friday, Zelenskyy wrote on his Telegram page, adding that Moscow's forces "continue the killings, despite all the efforts of the world, and above all the United States, in the diplomatic process."

At least 19 people in the eastern city were injured, including a 6-month-old, said regional administration head Oleh Syniehubov.

The Russian Defense Ministry denied launching any strikes with missiles or other airborne weapons on Kharkiv on Friday and suggested, without offering evidence, that the damage could have been caused by the detonation of ammunition at a weapons depot.

Earlier Friday, Russia conducted what local authorities called "one of the most massive" drone attacks at Zaporizhzhia. At least nine drones struck the city, damaging dozens of residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure but causing no casualties, according to Ivan Fedorov, head of the regional administration.

Overall, Russia fired 116 long-range drones at Ukraine, according to Ukraine's air force, with 86 intercepted and 27 striking their targets.

The Russian ministry said its air defenses intercepted 64 Ukrainian drones overnight in multiple Russian regions.

The Russian city of Belgorod was hit by a Ukrainian missile, according to regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov. Two women were hospitalized after the strike, which shattered windows and damaged an unspecified commercial facility and a number of cars in the region that borders Ukraine, he said.

byVincento Seyarto

in

January 02, 2026

Zelenskyy names Ukraine's head of military intelligence as his new chief of staff

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday appointed the head of Ukraine's military intelligence as...