The U.S. Secret Service intends to use drones before and on Inauguration Day as part of heightened security measures in place in the wake of the recent terrorist attack in New Orleans.On January 3, USSS special agent in charge of the Washington field office Matt McCool announced that drones would be part of larger security protocols implemented in Washington, D.C., throughout the month of January, especially during the swearing in of the new Congress, the funeral events for the late President Jimmy Carter, and the upcoming inauguration."While I advise everyone that the Secret Service will use drones as part of our comprehensive security plan, do not be alarmed if you see these assets during the upcoming events or training in the days ahead," McCool said less than two weeks ago.McCool then reiterated those remarks at a press conference on Monday. "The Secret Service's comprehensive security plan will continue to use drones as part of our protective [plan]," he said, according to Susan Crabtree of RealClearPolitics. "Do not be alarmed if you see these assets during the inauguration or training in the days ahead."'Every four years, the District is proud to support the peaceful transition of power.'In a statement Monday, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), who recently met with President-elect Donald Trump, said local and federal law enforcement had been preparing for the inauguration for a year. "Every four years, the District is proud to support the peaceful transition of power," she said. "We take pride in this responsibility, and we’re grateful to our federal partners, local agencies, and community members who work together to ensure a safe and secure event."In addition to drones, law enforcement officials plan to use high visibility patrols, fencing, and barriers to keep the area safe.The Secret Service went public about plans to use drones after an Islamic terrorist, 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar of Texas, apparently drove a rental truck through a crowd of people celebrating on Bourbon Street in New Orleans in the early morning hours of New Year's Day. The murderous rampage left 15 dead and 35 injured.Then just a few hours later, Master Sgt. Matthew Alan Livelsberger drove a Tesla Cybertruck to the Trump hotel in Las Vegas, where the vehicle detonated. Livelsberger, 37, was later discovered dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.Because the Las Vegas incident occurred so shortly after the attack in New Orleans and because of the Cybertruck's association with Elon Musk, a strong Trump ally, some speculated that Livelsberger intended to use the explosion to make a political statement.A motive for the incident remains under investigation, but shortly before his death, Livelsberger sent an email, claiming to have insider knowledge about alleged war crimes in Afghanistan as well as the purpose behind the drones spotted flying about near the coast of New Jersey."What we have been seeing with 'drones' is the operational use of gravitic propulsion systems powered aircraft by most recently China in the east coast, but throughout history, the US," Livelsberger wrote. "Only we and China have this capability. Our OPEN location for this activity in the box is below. China has been launching them from the Atlantic from submarines for years, but this activity recently has picked up. As of now, it is just a show of force and they are using it similar to how they used the balloon."The New Jersey drones, which began appearing in November, have prompted widespread concerns regarding American safety and possible government and/or foreign surveillance. While the FAA claimed earlier this year that most of the drones were actually airplanes, stars, or "authorized drones," the agency nevertheless expanded the list of areas in New Jersey where drone usage would be restricted.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) dropped assault charges against a Chinatown landlord who fought back when a vagrant attacked him with a nail-studded chunk of wood in late August, the New York Post reported.Bragg’s office initially charged Brian Chin — a 32-year-old Harvard graduate student — with felony assault after the incident, the paper said.'Instead of doing the right thing, [Bragg] used his office to pursue a case against me for nearly five months. It leads me to ask the question: How many other innocent people has he incarcerated?'Chin spotted the vagrant lying on the ground outside the subway station at Chrystie and Grand Streets in Manhattan around 8:30 p.m. Aug. 24, the Post said. Chin allegedly kicked the male three times, the paper said, citing a criminal complaint.Chin told the Post he approached the male because he recognized him as a local panhandler and wanted to make sure he was OK: “We have so many drug overdoses and deaths and pretty much every conceivable horror that you can imagine. Immediately, he woke up after that and just started screaming.”The paper said the pair initially went their separate ways after the encounter — but both came back a few minutes later. Chin said he returned because he was haunted by the slaying of his renter, Christina Yuna Lee, two years ago, the Post said. Chin blasted Bragg over Lee's 2022 killing, insisting it could have been prevented since the suspect in her killing had a lengthy criminal history.“Especially after the murder, if someone is acting violent, I just like to stand by the front door, just to make sure that no one gets followed in, all my tenants are safe,’’ Chin noted to the paper.More from the Post:The homeless man did turn violent, breaking a wooden chair and swinging the nail-laden hunk of wood at Chin — who in turn knocked him down and punched him a half-dozen times before the assailant quit.Blood gushed from the unidentified man’s face as he struggled to get to his feet when cops arrived, the complaint said. And when he tried to stand, he fell back and slammed his head into the subway station railing.Authorities rushed him to Bellevue Hospital with facial and skull fractures, the complaint said. He was intubated and put on a ventilator afterward.Chin told the paper he tried to calm him down but feared for his life during the fight: “I just wanted to get home to my wife and kids." Chin also told the Post that in the aftermath he felt "awful. I never want anyone to get hurt.”The paper said the assault charges against Chin could have landed him in jail for up to seven years — until Bragg decided not to pursue them.“It’s our job to thoroughly investigate and prosecute violent conduct, including incidents of alleged assault,” a representative for the Manhattan DA’s office said Sunday, according to the Post. “This case has been dismissed and, as a result, sealed by the court.”­The process is the punishment?Chin told the paper he's annoyed that the charges had been hanging over his head since the summer: “I am more angry than relieved because this is something that never should have happened."He added to the Post that he "was treated like a violent perpetrator in the eyes of the law, and it has been five months of an unending, waking nightmare. … I woke up every day thinking that I would spend years in jail when I never committed a crime.”Chin also told the paper that he had to resign from his teaching position because he no longer could pass a background check: "What was this for? It upended my life, everything I spent decades working for.”He also noted to the Post that the homeless man later was charged with menacing and that it's “personally abhorrent that this case was ever brought.” “With such an abundance of evidence from the very start, it was clear that I was not a perpetrator but a victim,” Chin told the paper. “Instead of doing the right thing, [Bragg] used his office to pursue a case against me for nearly five months. It leads me to ask the question: How many other innocent people has he incarcerated? How many were not so fortunate as to have been attacked on their own property and to have access to surveillance footage showing their innocence?”The Post said Chin compared himself to Jose Alba — the New York City deli worker Bragg charged with murder after Alba stabbed an attacker to death in 2022. After public outrage over what many saw as self-defense, Bragg dropped all charges against Alba. “How many more victims — how many more Jose Albas, how many more cases such as myself — will need to be at his hands before the politicians who have continually shielded him wake up to the fact that this is not how justice is conducted in this country? It’s not what New Yorkers deserve," Chin told the paper.Chin's attorney Kenneth Gilbert told the Post that Bragg saved face by dropping his client's charges: “If it had gone to trial, it would have been an embarrassment for the prosecutor’s office."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Peter Doocy Makes KJP Stammer One Final Time With Question About the Dem Party's Leader

Brilliant: Trump to Pull Off His Best and Biggest Troll Yet of Biden, Harris in Inaugural Parade

From Butler, Pennsylvania to Washington DC - Donald Trump and Destiny

Let the Hilarity Begin: MSNBC Just Gave Conservatives a Rachel Maddow-Shaped Inauguration Present

Former State Dept. Official Blames US Support for Israel for Terrorist Threats Against America

Biden's Wild Remarks on Border and Secret Service Agents May Just Be the Craziest Things He's Ever Said

Your iPhone has built-in protections to keep you safe from phishing attacks and security threats, but scammers have found a clever new way to bypass those safeguards. As reported by BleepingComputer this week, hackers have started adapting to Apple's security measures to trick iPhone users into clicking malicious links. By default, iMessage disables links in messages from unknown senders. One way to reactivate a link is for the recipient of a text to respond to the message, which is why hackers have changed their methods. There's a good chance that at some point in the past few months, you have received a phishing text informing you about an undeliverable USPS package, unpaid toll, or free prize. These texts often include lengthy hyperlinks, but they're disabled by default. In order to trick iPhone users into clicking on links, scammers have started asking them to reply and reopen the message or copy and paste the link into a browser. "Please reply Y, then exit the text message, reopen the text message activation link, or copy the link to Safari browser to open it," reads one phishing text. As BleepingComputer explains, we have become accustomed to replying "Yes," "No," or "Stop" to texts to confirm appointments or opt out of surveys. Scammers have begun taking advantage of this tendency to make their scams more viable. "If you receive a message whose links are disabled or from an unknown sender asking you to reply to the text, you are strongly advised not to do so," BleepingComputer warns. "Instead, contact the company or organization directly to verify the text and ask if there is anything else you need to do." Don't Miss: Don’t be tricked by this phishing campaign targeting Verizon customers The post There’s a sophisticated new wave of phishing attacks targeting iPhone users appeared first on BGR. Today's Top Deals Today’s deals: $285 Nintendo Switch OLED, $199 Lenovo flagship Chromebook, $128 Sony ANC headphones, more Today’s deals: $8 wireless fast charger, $735 black Apple Watch Ultra 2, $70 foldable 4K camera drone, more Today’s deals: $15 Amazon credit, $299 FLASHFORGE 3D printer, $29 queen mattress topper, $60 Keurig, more Best Apple deals for January 2025

The Americans for Prosperity, a nonprofit conservative organization, announced Monday a $20 million nationwide ad campaign advocating for Congress to renew President-elect Donald Trump's tax cuts, passed during his first term.