Northeast
Whistleblower accuses acting Secret Service director of reducing counter surveillance before Trump shooting
BUTLER, Pa. – A whistleblower told Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley that Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. personally directed cuts to the Counter Surveillance Division (CSD), which led to the threat assessment team failing to perform its typical duties prior to the Butler, Pennsylvania rally.
The senator’s report comes after lawmakers grilled agency leaders on the mounting security failures at the Pennsylvania rally where former President Trump narrowly escaped assassination.
The whistleblower alleged that the Secret Service CSD, the division that performs threat assessment of event sites before the event occurs, did not perform its evaluation prior to the fateful rally in Western Pennsylvania on July 13.
“This is significant because CSD’s duties include evaluating potential security threats outside the security perimeter and mitigating those threats during the event,” Hawley wrote in a letter to Rowe on Thursday.
TRUMP SHOOTING: TIMELINE OF ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
Senators grilled Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate about the events leading up to the July 13 attempted assassination of former U.S. President Donald Trump. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The whistleblower further alleged that if the CSD performed their normal duties, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks “would have been handcuffed in the parking lot.”
SENATORS ACCUSE SECRET SERVICE OF TRYING TO MAKE LOCAL POLICE A ‘SCAPEGOAT’ FOLLOWING TRUMP RALLY SHOOTING
“The whistleblower claims that if personnel from CSD had been present at the rally, the gunman would have been handcuffed in the parking lot after being spotted with a rangefinder,” Hawley wrote to Rowe. “You acknowledged in your Senate testimony that the American Glass Research complex should have been included in the security perimeter for the Butler event.”
“The whistleblower alleges that because CSD was not present in Butler, this manifest shortcoming was never properly flagged or mitigated,” he said.
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is covered by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Hawley’s office also revealed Rowe’s alleged personal involvement in cutting staffing to CSD.
“The whistleblower further alleges that you personally directed significant cuts to CSD, up to and including reducing the division’s manpower by twenty percent,” Hawley said. “You did not mention this in your Senate testimony when asked directly to explain manpower reductions.”
Sen. Josh Hawley released a report on Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr.’s alleged involvement in the staffing at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Rowe also contributed to a cultural problem at the organization, the whistleblower claimed, saying that retaliation was threatened to those who raised security concerns.
“The whistleblower also alleges retaliation against those within the Secret Service who expressed concern about the security at President Trump’s events,” Hawley said. “The whistleblower claims that following an event with the former President at a golf tournament in August of last year, Secret Service personnel present expressed serious concern that the Secret Service’s use of local law enforcement was not adequate for security needs: local law enforcement were not properly trained for the event or otherwise prepared to execute the tasks given them.”
“Further, Secret Service personnel expressed alarm that individuals were admitted to the event without vetting,” he said. “The whistleblower alleges that those who raised such concerns were retaliated against.”
TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT PUTS SECRET SERVICE FUNDING IN QUESTION: AMERICANS ‘DESERVE ANSWERS’
In a statement to Fox News Digital, the Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said that they will respond to Hawley’s requests.
“We respect the Senator and the role of oversight and will respond to the request through official channels,” Guglielmi said.
An aerial image shows investigators surveying the area of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania on Thursday, July 25, 2024. (Fox Flight Team )
Approximately 90 minutes passed between the time law enforcement officials first identified a suspicious person near the rally grounds.
Officials temporarily lost sight of the suspicious person, but then around 5:52 p.m. a sniper spotted Crooks, which was about 20 minutes before gunfire rang out.
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Boston, MA
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Pittsburg, PA
Trash pickup schedules adjusted in Pittsburgh-area communities due to impending heat wave
Several communities in the Pittsburgh area have adjusted their trash pickup times as the region is bracing for a heat wave with temperatures and heat indexes expected to be near 100 degrees this week.
The hottest temperatures of 2026 are expected this week and by Tuesday afternoon, temperatures are anticipated to reach into the 90s. This, coupled with extremely high humidity levels, means the heat index — also known as the “feels like” temperature — will flirt with triple digits.
In Mt. Lebanon, trash and recycling pickup routes will begin earlier than normal to help keep workers safe amid the extreme heat.
“All trash and recycling should be placed at the curb the night before your scheduled collection day, as collection times may occur earlier than usual,” a notice posted on municipality’s Facebook page said.
Shaler Township said that it received an update from County Hauling that collection crews will begin their routes earlier than normal this week as well.
“Please place all trash and recycling at the curb the night before your scheduled collection day,” the township said.
In Robinson Township, trash collection will begin at 5 a.m. on Tuesday, one hour earlier than normal.
People are being asked to have their trash and recycling at the curb at least one hour prior to their normal pickup time.
Pleasant Hills Borough said it had adjusted its trash pickup schedule for earlier in the day on Friday to “help reduce employee exposure to hazardous temperatures.”
“This temporary adjustment is being made in the interest of employee health and safety,” the borough said. “We kindly ask that you help notify your residents that all trash and/or recycling should be placed at the curb the night before their scheduled collection day, as collection times may occur earlier than usual.”
In Brentwood Borough, Noble Environmental will begin earlier collection on pickup routes as well.
People are being asked to place their trash and recycling at the curb the night before their scheduled collection day.
The borough added that collection days are not changing, only the start time of the pickup routes.
“Thank you for your cooperation as crews work safely during this week’s heat wave,” the borough said.
The Library Volunteer Fire Company said that trash pickup in South Park Township is being moved earlier on Thursday.
“We kindly ask Township residents to place trash and recycling at the curb the night before Thursday, July 2nd pickup, as collection times may occur earlier than usual,” the notice said.
Connecticut
New Haven asks for retrial after jury awards Connecticut man $38M in wrongful conviction lawsuit
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The City of New Haven is asking for a retrial after a jury awarded a Connecticut man $38 million in May for being wrongfully convicted of murder and imprisoned for 21 years.
Stefon Morant was allegedly wrongfully convicted of a double homicide in 1994. According to the New York-based law firm of Neufeld Scheck Brustin Hoffmann & Freudenberger, LLP, the jury ruled New Haven police officers and the City of New Haven were liable for his wrongful imprisonment.
The jury found that New Haven police detectives made up false evidence to frame Morant and that the city was liable for suppressing evidence favorable to criminal defendants.
A judge has issued a temporary stay, pausing any payments until the motion is resolved.
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