Category: Security

The final compromise on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by Congress prevents the Pentagon from mandating the use of personal pronouns regarding official military documents.

According to The Daily Caller, the compromise reached by Congress regarding the NDAA prevents the Pentagon from either requiring or prohibiting troops or Department of Defense employees from using personal pronouns in official military documents.

The bill’s conference report states, “The Secretary of Defense may not require or prohibit a member of the armed forces or a civilian employee of the Department of Defense to identify the gender or personal pronouns of such member or employee in any official correspondence of the Department.”

The Daily Caller reported that despite Republican Party leadership pushing for gender ideology to be entirely removed from the U.S. military, an amendment to the NDAA for fiscal year 2024 clarified that the secretary of defense cannot prohibit Department of Defense staff or military members from listing preferred gender pronouns in official communications.

READ MORE: Pentagon wants $114 million for ‘diversity, inclusion’ programs

The final compromise of the NDAA bill reached by Congress, which is expected to be signed into law, also removed the House’s amendment that would have prevented the Pentagon from using taxpayer funding to cover the cost of military members traveling for abortion services or transgender treatments.

According to a copy of the House’s version of the NDAA bill that was passed in July, the bill would have reversed the Biden administration’s abortion policy at the Pentagon and would have prevented military insurance from covering the cost of gender-transition hormone treatments and transgender surgeries.

The Daily Caller reported that Senate Republicans did not include similar amendments in their version of the NDAA for fiscal year 2024. The outlet noted that by not including similar amendments, Republicans on the conference committee were put in a position that ultimately allowed the amendments passed by House Republicans to be removed as the Senate and the House worked toward a compromise for the final bill.

Dick Szlasa, whose Hall of Fame lacrosse coaching career was highlighted by a successful 10-year stint at Navy, died Saturday night at Autumn Lake Healthcare in Manchester after being in failing health for many months. He was 87 years old.

Szlasa was Navy men’s lacrosse coach from 1973 through 1982 and compiled a record of 85-44. He led the Midshipmen to a program record 10 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.

Szlasa had the unenviable task of succeeding the legendary Willis Bilderback, who led the Midshipmen from 1959 through 1972 and amassed a gaudy 131-26-2 record, including nine United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association national championships.

In addition to living up to the legacy of Bilderback, Szlasa also arrived at the Naval Academy at a time when military service was ridiculed in the wake of the Vietnam War.

Szlasa was hired away from Washington & Lee, which he transformed from a struggling program into a national contender. Ironically, Navy wound up losing to the Washington & Lee teams Szlasa had built in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament in 1973 and ’74.

Having two years to bring in his own recruits paid dividends as Szlasa led the Midshipmen to the national championship game in 1975. Navy upset No. 2 Cornell on its home field in the semifinals before losing, 20-13, to No. 4 Maryland in the final held at Homewood Field in Baltimore.

In an oddity, Navy played archrival Army one day later and won, 10-5. Szlasa was the recipient of the Morris Touchstone Memorial Award as National Coach of the Year in 1975.

Navy reached the NCAA Tournament semifinals five other times under Szlasa, who resided in Arnold throughout his tenure at the academy. He had a well-earned reputation as an outstanding recruiter and wound up developing 49 All-Americans while with the Midshipmen.

Attackman Jeff Long was among the many talented prospects Szlasa lured to Annapolis from upstate New York. Long became a three-time All-American and remains Navy’s all-time leading scorer with 233 career points. The 1978 academy graduate was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2009.

Navy had two national award winners during Szlasa’s tenure with Jake Lawlor earning the Schmeisser Award as the best defenseman in Division I (1975) and Mike Buzzell receiving the Turnbull Award as the top attackman (1980).

Other first team All-Americans during the Szlasa era were midfielder Bob Desimone, attackman Brendan Schneck and attackman Syd Abernethy.

“It was remarkable that Coach Szlasa was able to recruit the caliber of players he did during a time when service academies were highly unpopular,” said Tom McKee, a Navy defenseman who graduated in 1977.

Jeff Johnson, a goalie who was an honorable mention All-American in 1977 and ’78, said Szlasa focused his recruiting efforts on the Baltimore area, upstate New York and Long Island.

“He was a heck of a recruiter and brought in a lot of top-notch talent,” Johnson said.

Abernethy, an Annapolis High graduate who was inducted into the Chesapeake Chapter of USA Lacrosse last January, was among many Anne Arundel County products that played lacrosse at Navy under Szlasa. Others included brothers Ernie and Jeff Styron (Annapolis High), Tim Gavin (Glen Burnie) and Pete Sandford (Severn School).

“I think Dick Szlasa was the right coach at the right time for Navy lacrosse. His record and accomplishments speak for themselves,” Abernethy said.

Tom Hanna served as Szlasa’s top assistant from 1973 through 1976. He recalled Szlasa being shrewd enough to get Severna Park resident Jack Jones, the C. Markland Kelly Award winner as the nation’s best goaltender in 1954, to serve as a volunteer assistant.

Szlasa, who was a standout defenseman at the University of Maryland, oversaw that end of the field. Hanna handled the offense, while Jones worked with the goalies.

Hanna recalled that Hall of Fame coaches Joe Duff (baseball) and Glenn Warner (men’s soccer) were invaluable resources as he and Szlasa learned the inner workings of the Naval Academy.

“Dick appeared to be gruff as a coach, but he had a big heart and loved his players,” Hanna said. “Dick put his arms around everyone whether it was a senior All-American, an incoming plebe or the equipment manager. He cared about everyone involved with the program.”

Szlasa was ahead of his time in terms of implementing a science-based fitness program pioneered by Towson State professor Richard Slevin, a Severna Park resident. McKee recalls the coaching staff placing orange traffic cones around the perimeter of the practice field and the players having to do laps and sprints.

“Running the cones at the end of practice was brutal. Coach Szlasa was adamant that no team was going to be in better shape and wanted to develop mental toughness,” McKee said. “We fondly referred to Coach Szlasa as the ‘biggest thing ever.’ He was a larger than life figure in terms of both size and presence.”

Szlasa played multiple sports at Dundalk High, then lettered in both varsity soccer and lacrosse at Maryland. He served as athletic director at both Parkville and Perry Hall, starting the lacrosse programs at both Baltimore County high schools.

After serving in the United States Army as a member of the 101st Airborne Division, Szlasa became head coach of men’s lacrosse at Towson University in 1967. Szlasa left Towson to accept the same position at Washington & Lee in Lexington, Virginia. He completely turned around a downtrodden program that had just one winning season from 1959 through 1969.

The Generals posted a 30-8 record in their last three seasons under Szlasa, earning a berth in the first NCAA Tournament that was held in 1972. Washington & Lee went a combined 29-2 and reached the NCAA semifinals in 1973 and ’74 with players all recruited by Szlasa.

Towson High graduate Sam Englehart was among many Baltimore County recruits that Szlasa rebuilt the program with.

“Coach Szlasa saw Washington & Lee as a program with untapped potential. He went down there, rolled up his sleeves and turned it into a national power in just a few years through hard work and smart recruiting,” said Englehart, who was a three-time first team All-American. “He was old school with an unwavering focus on fundamentals and discipline.”

After leaving Navy, Szlasa served as athletic director and head lacrosse coach at Drew University from 1983 to 1990. It was during that time he was recruited to play Coach Gant in the 1984 movie “First Born,” whose title character was a lacrosse player.

Szlasa, who also had a short stint as athletic director at Wesley College in Delaware, was inducted into the Intercollegiate Men’s Lacrosse Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2017. He is also a member of the Baltimore Chapter of USA Lacrosse Hall of Fame and the Dundalk High Athletic Hall.

“I’ve been flooded with calls, texts and emails from all sorts of former players who credit my dad with making a positive impact on their lives,” Steve Szlasa said.

Szlasa, who lived in Marriottsville then Westminster toward the end of his life, is survived by son Steve (Cindy) along with daughters Anne Szlasa and Michaelina Sarmiento (Santi). He is also survived by five grandchildren.

A funeral service and interment for Dick Szlasa, being held at St. John Catholic Church in Westminster, will be limited to immediate family. A Celebration of Life ceremony for Coach Szlasa will be announced in the near future.

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(c) 2023 The Capital

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Strong, independent, self sufficient. That sums up Oswego East senior Andrew Wiggins, but he is no army of one.

He’s definitely a team player.

No doubt, it’s just one of many positive character traits that led football coaches at West Point to view the 6-foot-2, 190-pound linebacker as a potential recruit.

The 3.67 GPA carried by Wiggins, a two-sport standout, had to help, too.

“What he brings to the team is toughness, and he’s tough-minded,” said Oswego East basketball coach Ryan Velasquez, who starts Wiggins at forward. “What we like about him — he’s not afraid to battle with the bigger guys.

“He’s 6-2, but you look at his frame. He has broad shoulders and a wide base. He brings so much to the table for us.”

Wiggins’ focus Wednesday was divided between the two sports.

In the morning, he signed with Army, where he will play football. In the evening, Wiggins then scored four points with five rebounds, three steals and one blocked shot in a 60-59 nonconference loss at Metea Valley.

Will Ashford, a 6-6 senior who finished with a game-high 23 points, powered the Mustangs (5-4) to a 12-point lead in the third quarter. Jehvion Starwood, a 6-3 guard and Wyoming recruit who finished with 17 points, then led a comeback by Oswego East (8-5).

A steal and layup with 11 seconds to go from Noah Mason tied it 59-59 for the Wolves.

Metea’s James Parker answered. He was fouled on a drive to the basket and made the first of two free throws with 2.6 seconds left.

After a timeout, Parker missed the second free throw, Mason rebounded it, but his desperation shot well short of the half-court line was off the mark.

“We needed to score and the ball was in my hands,” Parker said. “It wasn’t the plan to miss the second free throw, although we talked about it in the huddle.

“It played out very well, though.”

Meanwhile, basketball may have been Wiggins’ first love, but he realized football was best for his future.

“When I got to football sophomore year, I realized I was a lot better at it,” he said. “I was really athletic, and just tried to work on my gift and get better.”

He played cornerback as a junior but moved this past season to linebacker.

“We probably played him out of position junior year,” Oswego East football coach Tyson LeBlanc said. “I’m guessing Army might even try him at nickel safety.

“What’s different with the military academies, you actually sign a piece of paper that doesn’t commit you to the football team but to the school for four years.”

In their junior year, Cadets commit to serve eight years after graduating in a combination of active duty and reserve component service.

“I think it’s really good,” Wiggins said. “It can set you up for life. You sacrifice a little bit of your freedom but work for your country, and it’s what you have to do.”

Wiggins also had an offer in October from Air Force, but joined high school teammate and offensive lineman Tim Savchuk in signing with Army. Savchuk had committed in June to West Point.

“Army talked to Tim about me and he put in a good word,” Wiggins said. “That’s how it worked, then they saw my film and liked the way I play.”

Two other Division I football signees from the Wolves were offensive lineman Zac Clarke with Cincinnati and tight end Aiden Moriarty with Southern Illinois.

There’s one basketball season left to finish, however.

“My role is to just be strong and try to be a defensive presence,” Wiggins said. “Then, just try to get my layups in.”

Velasquez called Wiggins the ultimate team player.

“West Point is getting a good one in that he brings a lot of energy every time he steps on that floor,” Velasquez said. “That’s what we love.”

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(c) 2023 The Courier-News

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Gen. Charles Brown, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs, spoke with his Chinese counterpart for the first time in a call that the Biden administration billed as a further sign that ties between the two countries’ militaries may be getting back to normal.

The Defense Department said that the video call between Brown and Liu Zhenli, held Thursday morning Washington time, included discussion of working together to avoid miscalculations and maintaining open lines of communication.

A senior U.S. military official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity, credited a meeting between President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping in California in November for opening the way to restore contacts that had been severed since then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August.

The official said future steps include plans to hold talks on defense policy in January and a round of maritime consultations in the spring.

This would be the first time the two sides have held the defense policy coordination talks, intended to be an annual dialog, since Beijing canceled them following Pelosi’s trip. It would also be the first in-person edition since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

A summary of the call from the Chinese defense ministry stressed that Washington needs to understand and respect Beijing’s interests and concerns — including its territorial claims in the South China Sea. The ministry also said the status of Taiwan is an internal matter and that U.S. interference won’t be tolerated.

The meeting is a sign both sides want to sustain more stable engagement, according to Eurasia Group. But it’s “unlikely that military-to-military engagement will lead the People’s Liberation Army to significantly scale back operations such as intentional intercepts of U.S. aircraft in the South China Sea,” analysts including Anna Ashton wrote in a note.

The U.S. and China had previously accused each other of provocative or unprofessional actions during repeated encounters by military craft in and around the South China Sea. But on Monday, Adm. John Aquilino, head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, said China has stopped “dangerous” military actions in the weeks since the Biden-Xi meeting.

Brown said Dec. 2 that he was “standing by” for an opportunity to speak with Liu, touting the importance of maintaining communications with adversaries “to prevent miscalculation.” The last time a Joint Chiefs chairman spoke with his Chinese counterpart was in July 2022, according to U.S. officials.

They said conversations with Beijing are ongoing about future contacts among senior US and Chinese officials but didn’t provide timelines for any future conversations involving Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin or others. The Chinese government hasn’t yet named a new minister of national defense following the October ouster of Li Shangfu; the U.S. officials suggested this was expected to occur in March.

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© 2023 Bloomberg L.P

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For the second time in six months, the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday denied a request from gun rights advocates to put a hold on Illinois’ sweeping gun ban, the latest decision coming as the deadline approaches for owners to register prohibited firearms they owned prior to the law’s effective date.

It was the second court setback this week for opponents of the ban on high-powered guns and high-capacity magazines. On Monday, the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago denied a request from the National Association for Gun Rights and a Naperville gun dealer for a review by the full court of November’s ruling by a three-judge panel that kept the gun ban in place.

The Supreme Court in May declined a request by plaintiffs to block the state and local gun bans until the 7th Circuit appellate case was adjudicated.

Legal challenges to the ban are not over. The Supreme Court’s decision on Thursday merely denied the gun advocates’ request for a temporary halt on the ban from being enforced until they take a full appeal of the 7th Circuit’s ruling to the high court.

Speaking to reporters outside the Governor’s Mansion following a Hanukkah event on Thursday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker again defended the gun ban, saying he believes “as everybody that voted on the law and voted for it, that this is not only a legal undertaking, an appropriate undertaking to keep and safeguard the people of the state of Illinois, but a constitutional one too.”

The ban has been the subject of intense legal wrangling on the state and federal levels ever since Pritzker signed it into law on Jan. 10, six months after a mass shooting during a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park left seven people dead and dozens more hurt.

In April, U.S. District Judge Stephen McGlynn of the Southern District of Illinois issued a preliminary injunction against the ban, ruling that it likely violated the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. That decision, resulting from lawsuits filed by other gun rights advocates, was overturned last month by the 7th Circuit.

Earlier this week, McGlynn heard arguments over the legality of the registration process for guns that are grandfathered in under the ban. Residents who owned guns covered by the ban before it took effect have to register those firearms by Jan. 1 or face a misdemeanor charge for a first offense and a felony for subsequent violations.

Gun rights organizations argue the registry violates both the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms and the 14th Amendment’s due process clause. McGlynn indicated that he’s likely to not issue an injunction in the case.

The registration process began Oct. 1, and state records as of Dec. 8 show that 6,141 gun owners have registered nearly 12,100 guns and about 6,250 firearm accessories or other firearm components covered by the ban.

Earlier this week, Republican state Rep. Dan Caulkins of Decatur asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block the registration requirement from taking effect. The high court also denied that request.

Caulkins also sued to overturn the gun ban as a whole in state court, but the Illinois Supreme Court ruled against him in August. He has appealed the ruling to the federal high court, which has yet to rule on his request.

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© 2023 Chicago Tribune

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

As Chicago police Officer Craig Lancaster awaits trial on a felony aggravated battery charge for striking an eighth grade student, newly released documents show that his girlfriend — a Chicago Public Schools teacher — gave a CPS official the wrong last name for Lancaster and identified him as a computer company employee instead of a cop.

Records show the teacher sent an email to her principal shortly after Lancaster’s off-duty altercation and said her friend Craig “Wiliams” grabbed the teen because the boy disregarded her directions to line up and directed inappropriate words at her in response. She also told the principal her friend worked for a computer company, according to a redacted incident report obtained by The Chicago Tribune.

A CPS spokesperson declined to answer questions about the discrepancies, citing the school system’s ongoing investigation into the altercation. School officials provided the student’s grandmother with the officer’s correct name and occupation the following morning.

The couple have been dating for about 20 years, according to Lancaster’s attorney.

The Tribune obtained the incident report and the teacher’s email as part of an open records request submitted to Chicago Public Schools in October. Lancaster was indicted in November, shortly after the Tribune published a video that shows the veteran officer hitting 14-year-old JaQuwaun Williams near his throat as the boy walked into Gresham Elementary School on May 18.

The school system released the records following Lancaster’s arraignment last month, at which he pleaded not guilty and was barred from stepping on school property.

The teacher declined to comment when reached by the Tribune.

Records show Lancaster, 55, made an off-duty visit to Gresham Elementary in May to bring money to his girlfriend, a math teacher who was directing students into the building before classes began. ‭Prosecutors have said the teacher had left the school door open, apparently creating confusion among the students as to whether they were supposed to be lining up or were allowed to enter.

A security recording of the incident, which does not have sound, shows JaQuwaun walking toward the open door with a friend. Before the teen enters the building, Lancaster steps into his path and strikes him in the throat area, according to the video.

The blow sends the teen reeling backward. The teacher steps between them and orders JaQuwaun to stand near the wall. He complies and is allowed to enter the school minutes later.

The officer and JaQuwaun have acknowledged the teen said something as he headed toward the open door, though prosecutors say the two offered different accounts about the intended target of the comments.

The teen told the Tribune he was complaining to his friend about a foul that took place on the playground basketball court just a few minutes earlier. In an email to Gresham Principal Kimberly Oliver several hours after the incident, the teacher said the boy had directed his anger at her.

His “response to my statement was stop talking to me bitch along with other inappropriate words while disregarding my direction,” she wrote. “Craig went to grabbed (redacted) and said do not talk to her like that. I instrustioned Craig to let (redacted) go and leave.” (The Tribune is publishing these quotes verbatim.)

A fifth grade teacher who witnessed the altercation described Lancaster in more aggressive terms.

“I observed a man whose name I don’t know shove a student whose name I don’t know in the upper chest/neck area with his full strength,” the teacher wrote in an email to Oliver, also obtained by the Tribune. “He yelled at the student something to the effect of ‘who the (expletive) you talking to?’ multiple times and continued to approach the student as the student walked backward away from him.”

The video shows Lancaster, who is wearing civilian clothes, leaving the schoolyard less than a minute after the incident.

According to a redacted incident report written on school letterhead, Lancaster lifted his shirt and “revealed a badge and gun holster” when a security guard stopped him in the school parking lot. It’s unclear whether the holster held a weapon, according to the report.

The incident report indicates Lancaster’s girlfriend told the principal that Lancaster worked at American Heritage Computer Co., though the Illinois secretary of state’s office has no record of a business by that name. Public records and social media posts indicate Lancaster has a second job working for a security company with a similar name.

Lancaster is a 30-year Chicago police veteran who began his career with the department as a civilian employee. He was relieved of his police powers after a grand jury indicted him last month and remains on administrative duty. Battery is typically a misdemeanor charge in Illinois, though it can be upgraded to a felony if the incident takes place on public property.

Lancaster attorney Tim Grace has said the officer intervened because the teen was a threat to those around him. Grace told the Tribune he believes prosecutors went too far by charging Lancaster with a crime that carries a maximum five-year prison sentence. The officer also could receive probation under the sentencing guidelines outlined in court.

The teen’s family is suing Lancaster and the city of Chicago, accusing the latter of instilling a sense of impunity among the police ranks by failing to investigate and punish misconduct. JaQuwaun’s attorney, Jordan Marsh, said he has seen the teacher’s statement and incident report as part of discovery in the civil case.

“It raises more questions than it answers,” Marsh said. “I just don’t know why there is such a strange series of misstatements and omissions. I don’t want to disparage anyone without having all the information, but it is odd.”

In a recent Tribune interview, JaQuwaun said he repeatedly asked to call his grandmother — whom he calls “Mom” and who has raised him since he was young — as soon as he got inside the building after the incident, but school officials denied his requests. His grandmother said he is seeing a therapist and has had trouble sleeping since the incident.

JaQuwaun is now a 15-year-old freshman at Simeon Career Academy.

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© 2023 Chicago Tribune

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

The United States military will have the smallest force in over 80 years as it prepares for the start of 2024. The Pentagon recently informed Congress that the U.S. military faces one of its “greatest challenges” as it navigates the “difficult recruiting environment” that resulted in multiple military branches missing recruitment targets in 2023.

According to the $886 billion National Defense Authorization Bill that was passed by Congress last week and is expected to be signed into law by President Joe Biden, the number of active-duty U.S. troops will drop to 1,284,500 in 2024.

The Daily Mail reported that the number of active-duty troops forecasted for 2024 represents the lowest number of troops since before the United States fought in World War II in 1941.

Ashish Vazirani, the Pengagon’s acting undersecretary for personnel and readiness, recently told the House Armed Services Committee that the military missed its 2023 recruitment goal by 41,000 personnel.

“That number understates the challenge before us as the services lowered end-strength goals in recent years, in part because of the difficult recruiting environment,” Vazirani said.

READ MORE: Navy 7,000 sailors short of recruitment goals

Vazirani warned Congress that the U.S. military’s “all-volunteer force” is currently facing “one of its greatest challenges” since it was launched in 1973 after the military draft was ended. Vazirani added that the military needs American leaders to help issue a “national call to service.”

According to The Daily Mail, while the Marine Corps and the Space Force reached their recruitment goals in 2023, the Army, Navy, and Air Force each missed their recruitment targets.

“While the picture of the current recruiting environment is acutely difficult, the Defense Department and the military services are working together to resolve issues, improve processes, and expand awareness of the many opportunities military service offers,” Vazirani said. 

Vazirani told Congress that the causes of the recent recruitment shortfalls are “complex and multifaceted.”

According to the Pentagon, military recruiters have identified that individuals born between 1997 and 2012, known as Generation Z, have “decreasingly followed traditional life and career paths” and have a “low trust in institutions.”

The Pentagon also cites a lower percentage of young people in the United States with relatives who served in the military as a contributing factor to recruitment challenges. Vazirani claimed that just 20 years ago, only a quarter of young Americans had never thought about joining the U.S. military, while over 50% of young Americans today have never considered joining the military.

“This has led to a disconnect between the military and a large share of society,” Vazirani said. “Youth of today are not saying no to what the military has to offer, they simply don’t know much about military service.”

Vazirani stressed the importance of leaders talking to young people about the U.S. military and encouraging them to consider serving in the military. He said the military needs to “reach today’s youth” with a “message that resonates with them and motivates them to act.”

“Overcoming our recruiting challenges requires a national response with contributions from across government and the private sector,” he said. “Over the last 50 years, the all-volunteer force has proven itself to be the best way to maintain a force capable of defending our nation; and, with our combined efforts, I am confident we will remain as such for the foreseeable future.”

State officials have arrested three people who are accused of participating in a sextortion scheme run from inside of one of South Carolina’s prisons.

On Friday, the South Carolina Department of Corrections announced the arrests made by the department’s Inspector General for the three’s role in a “sprawling” scheme that netted $146,000 from five victims in 2022. The scheme was orchestrated by an inmate at the Lieber Correction Institution, located in Ridgeville, according to the department. The alleged ringleader isn’t named in the warrants.

Three people, Tori Michelle Boiter, 53, of Greenville; Ashely Paige Scates, 48, of Laurens; and Seth Daniel Shurburtt, 36, of Pelzer have been charged for their alleged roles in the scheme. The three face charges including bank fraud, criminal conspiracy, money laundering and violations of the Computer Crimes Act.

Scates and Shurburtt were arrested Dec. 11. Boiter was arrested the following day. Bond has been set for all three defendants, according to court records.

None of the three appear to have been charged under South Carolina’s new charge of sexual extortion, a crime that carries up to a 20 year prison sentence. The law, passed after a York County lawmaker’s son died by suicide after falling victim to a sextortion scheme, made it a felony offense to blackmail someone after luring them to send sexually explicit photos of themselves via text or social media.

Charges against the inmate at the center of the scheme have not been served, according to a statement from the South Carolina Department of Corrections.

In its statement, the corrections department alleged the unnamed inmate used a contraband cellphone smuggled into the prison to create online dating profiles. The inmate then began communicating with victims and exchanging sexual images.

Once compromising material had been shared, the inmate impersonated a parent, lawyer or private investigator, saying the victim had been communicating with a minor, according to the corrections department. He would then threatened the victims with legal consequences and criminal charges if they refused to make large payments to him.

Warrants show Boiter, Scates and Schurburtt in 2022 received over a dozen payments — ranging from a few thousand dollars to up to over $20,000. Victims often transferred money from online banking apps like Zelle and then deposited it into bank accounts.

One warrant describes how between April 1 and July 31, 2022, Scates allegedly deposited $118,467 extorted from the victims into her account at the CPM Federal Credit Union, according to the warrants.

Warrants also describe how the group used fake documents to perpetrate their scheme. One warrant alleged Boiter signed a fake “non-disclosure agreement” that was given to an extortion victim and used the name Bethey Hawley.

In another instance, Schurburtt allegedly accepted $2,878.71 via PayPal from an extortion victim on June 1, 2021. Texts obtained by investigators showed the victim believed he was sending the money to father of a minor he thought he had been communicating with.

Repeat of sextortion scam on SC military members

The alleged scheme was a pared down repeat of a widespread sextortion scam run by South Carolina inmates that targeted members of the military. Roughly 440 members of the military in the mid-2010s were ensnared in a scheme where inmates using contraband cellphones set up dating profiles before pretending to be minors and demanding payment.

Fifteen people, including five inmates, were charged in 2018 for their role in the scheme, which saw $560,000 paid to the blackmailers.

“The public will not be safe until state prison systems can stop inmates from using illegal cellphones to commit crimes,” SCDC Director Bryan Stirling said in a statement issued Friday. “SCDC will not tolerate this illegal behavior and is taking enormous steps to identify and deactivate these phones.”

Since the 2018 case, the South Carolina Department of Corrections has waged a war on contraband cellphones.

In July, the department began testing out a long-anticipated program to disable targeted cell phones in state prisons. While federal prisons can “jam” cell signals, state entities are forbidden by federal law from using a similar technology. But the new program allows corrections officials to identify cell phone signals inside of prison and then disable specific, unauthorized devices with the assistance of telecom carriers.

Because the technology targets the device itself, inmates can’t get around the system by changing carriers.

This high-tech solution has also been pared with statewide contraband sweeps to prevent employees from bringing in phones and the installation of netting to prevent phones from being thrown over prison walls or even delivered by drone.

Charges in sextortion scam

The charges for the three defendants arrested this week are listed below:

Tori Michelle Boiter

• Five counts of bank fraud
• Securities fraud related to money laundering
• Financial transaction card fraud more than $1,000
• Two counts of forgery
• Breach of trust
• Criminal conspiracy
• Violation of the Computer Crime Act
• Possession of methamphetamines

Ashley Paige Scates

• Four counts of bank fraud
• Three counts of breach of trust
• Securities fraud related to money laundering
• Financial transaction card fraud more than $1,000
• Criminal conspiracy
• Violation of the Computer Crimes Act

Seth Daniel Shurburtt

• Six counts of bank fraud
• Securities fraud related to money laundering
• Violation of the Computer Crimes Act
• Three counts of breach of trust
• Financial transaction card fraud more than $1,000
• Criminal conspiracy

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© 2023 The State

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The USS Harry S. Truman rejoined the U.S. Second Fleet after a year-long maintenance cycle at Norfolk Naval Shipyard.

Looming roughly 20 stories above the water, the floating city was pulled up the Elizabeth River on Sunday morning to Naval Station Norfolk.

The aircraft carrier entered Norfolk Naval Shipyard on Dec. 7, 2022, for a “planned incremental availability” two months after returning from a nine-month deployment in response to Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

The maintenance cycle saw modernization efforts, structural repair and preservation work to the weapons elevators, the flight deck and hangar bay, the main mast and exterior of the ship, as well as general repairs to the hull, mechanical and electrical infrastructure.

The availability also focused an enhancing gyms, barber shops, laundry areas, and entertainment spaces to improve the crew’s quality of life. In addition to the routine repairs, about 20% of the crew’s berthings and heads were completely overhauled from the floor to the ceiling.

“Recognizing the physical and mental well-being of Sailors as crucial factors in personal and professional growth, the ship’s force and shipyard personnel worked diligently to create an environment that demonstrates to Sailors that they are our priority,” said Lt. Cmdr. Courtney Callaghan, public affairs officer for the Truman.

The ship also has been outfitted with Wi-Fi capabilities, which is becoming more common on Navy vessels. East Coast-based carriers USS Gerald R. Ford, USS George Washington, and USS John C. Stennis offer Wi-Fi to sailors in some eating areas while at sea.

On average, Nimitz-class aircraft carriers have 16 scheduled shipyard visits throughout their 50-year life cycle. This included 12 planned incremental availabilities, three dry-docking planned incremental availabilities, and one refueling complex overhaul.

As it rejoins the fleet, the Truman is entering a training cycle. It will conduct multiple underways over the coming months to prepare for its next deployment.

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© 2023 The Virginian-Pilot

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Fighting spread to a Sudanese city crucial to international aid efforts, forcing about 15,000 people to flee and threatening to deepen a humanitarian disaster caused by the eight-month-old civil war.

Clashes and air-strikes engulfed locations around Wad Madani over the weekend, with the U.S. urging the Rapid Support Forces militia that’s battling Sudan’s army to halt its attack.

The city, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) southeast of the capital, Khartoum, and the broader Al-Jazirah state host nearly half a million people who’ve escaped violence elsewhere in the North African country.

“Wad Madani has become a safe haven for displaced civilians and is an important hub for international humanitarian relief efforts,” U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement. “A continued RSF advance risks mass civilian casualties and significant disruption of humanitarian assistance efforts.”

The eruption of a new front in central Sudan also threatens to derail fragile international efforts to broker a new cease-fire in the conflict that’s killed more than 12,000 people and forced 6.7 million from their homes. The United Nations is warning of a humanitarian catastrophe, with 25 million — more than half Sudan’s population — in need of aid.

The U.N. said 14,000 to 15,000 people were seeking refuge west of Wad Madani and elsewhere in the state, which is known as Sudan’s breadbasket due to its rich farmland. Videos on social media showed people hastily loading their belongings onto trucks. The local government announced a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew.

Sudan’s war broke out in mid-April when the military and RSF, which jointly overthrew a civilian-led government in 2021, turned on each other in a battle for sole control. African, U.S. and Saudi Arabian officials are trying to arrange a landmark meeting between RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan before year’s end.

There was escalation on the diplomatic front, too, with the neighboring nation of Chad on Saturday giving four Sudanese diplomats 72 hours to leave. The order came after a Sudanese army official accused Chad of interfering in the conflict, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Allegations by Yasser Al-Atta, the assistant commander in chief of Sudan’s army, that the United Arab Emirates has given support to the RSF sparked a diplomatic feud earlier this month.

The Gulf nation has repeatedly denied any interference, saying it’s committed to de-escalation and the provision of humanitarian relief through a field hospital located in the Chadian city of Amdjarass, close to the Sudanese border.

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© 2023 Bloomberg L.P

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