Month: December 2023

Police in Philadelphia have arrested a suspect in a deadly stabbing that left one security guard dead and another injured on Monday morning at the city’s historic Macy’s department store in Philadelphia, located in the 1300 block of Market Street in Center City.

Interim police commissioner John Stanford said on Monday that the incident began around 10:45 a.m. when a man allegedly attempted to steal multiple hats from the store. After the man was stopped by security, there was a  confrontation and the security guards retrieved the stolen merchandis, with the man allowed to leave – only to return about 15 minutes later.  The suspect headed toward one of the security guards, then ran toward a second security guard with a knife out and began to stab him, at which point he suffered several slash/stab wounds. Stanford said one security guard, a 30-year-old male, was stabbed in the neck and died from his injuries. The second security guard, 23, was stabbed in the arm and face and was listed in stable condition.

Philadelphia police said transit law enforcement apprehended the suspect at the SEPTA’s rapid transit train Somerset Station. Authorities have yet to release the identify of the suspect or victims.

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73-year-old Manuel Rocha, a former American diplomat who served as U.S. ambassador to Bolivia, has been arrested in a long-running FBI counterintelligence investigation. Rocha, who is accused of secretly serving as an agent of Cuba’s government, was arrested in Miami on Friday on a criminal complaint.

Rocha’s 25-year diplomatic career was spent under both Democratic and Republican administrations, much of it in Latin America during the Cold War. His roles included a stint at the U.S. Interests Section in Cuba during a time when the U.S. lacked full diplomatic relations with Fidel Castro’s communist government.

Born in Colombia, Rocha was the top U.S. diplomat in Argentina between 1997 and 2000. During his time as ambassador to Bolivia, he intervened directly into the 2002 presidential race, warning weeks ahead of the vote that the U.S. would cut off assistance to the poor South American country if it were to elect former coca grower Evo Morales. Rocha also served in Italy, Honduras, Mexico and the Dominican Republic, and worked as a Latin America expert for the National Security Council.

Following his retirement from the State Department, Rocha began a second career serving as the president of a gold mine in the Dominican Republic partly owned by Canada’s Barrick Gold. He’s also held senior roles at XCoal, a Pennsylvania-based coal exporter; Clover Leaf Capital, a company formed to facilitate mergers in the cannabis industry; law firm Foley & Lardner and Spanish public relations firms Llorente & Cuenca.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said on Monday, “This action exposes one of the furthest reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the U.S. government by a foreign agent.” Rocha’s initial appearance in court took place Monday, and he will be arraigned later this month.

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Alaska Airlines announced on Sunday that it has made a deal to buy Hawaiian Airlines for $1.9 billion. The deal, which is forecast to take nine to 18 months, will see both companies keep their brands, a unique decision that Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci and Hawaiian Airlines CEO and President Peter Ingram say was made out of respect for the nearly hundred-year legacy of both airlines. The combined organization will be based in Seattle under the leadership of Minicucci.

Minicucci said at a news conference: “this is a fantastic deal that bring two airlines that have amazing loyalties in our regions together,” and added that the merger will give customers expanded domestic and international choices. Said Minicucci: “this combination is an exciting next step in our collective journey to provide a better travel experience for our guests and expand options for West Coast and Hawai’i travelers.”

Said Ingram: “In Alaska Airlines, we are joining an airline that has long served Hawai‘i, and has a complementary network and a shared culture of service With the additional scale and resources that this transaction with Alaska Airlines brings, we will be able to accelerate investments in our guest experience and technology, while maintaining the Hawaiian Airlines brand.”

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Four members of a family, including two children, were killed on Sunday morning in Far Rockaway, a residential neighborhood on the beach in the Queens borough of New York City.  The male suspect later set the family house on fire and stabbed two NYPD officers who responded to the incident, one of whom later shot the man dead.

The suspect was identified as Courtney Gordon, 38, but the NYPD did not identify any of the victims. Gordon had one prior arrest for strangulation domestic violence incident in the Bronx, NY. An 11-year-old girl was found dead from her injuries in front of the house, but officers were unable to enter because of a fire inside the living room. When the fire was extinguished, police found a 12-year-old boy, a 44-year-old woman and a 30-year-old man dead inside a back room. Another victim, a 61-year-old woman, is hospitalized in critical condition.

NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said in a news conference from Jamaica Hospital in Queens that two officers responded to a 911 call around 5:10 a.m.  Described as a young female, the 911 caller said that her cousin was killing her family members at a home. Maddrey said: “I just want to kind of set the stage for you. It’s a residential block with homes on it but at this particular location there’s a driveway and you go up the driveway and you go to the end of the driveway, there’s another four or five private two-homes there. So, our officers pull up to the driveway. As they get to the driveway, they see a male pulling out. He’s carrying luggage. Our officers ask the male a question or two in an encounter that lasted about ten seconds where the male draws a knife on the officers.”

The suspect used a kitchen steak knife to stab one of the officers in the neck and chest, and stabbed the second officer in the head before one of the officers, a 28-year veteran of the department, drew his firearm and shot the suspect. The officers were taken to Jamaica Hospital, where they are expected to recover.

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