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The U.S. Department of Defense made a formal referral to the Department of Justice after planning documents relating to the war in Ukraine leaked online. Military documents containing sensitive information about U.S. and NATO material supporting the Ukraine military in their fight against Russian forces began appearing on social media. "We are aware of the reports of social media posts, and the Department is reviewing the matter," Sabrina Singh, Pentagon deputy press secretary, said Friday morning. Friday night, Singh said the DOD has made a referral to the DOJ regarding the leak.

Two brothers who agreed to attack Jussie Smollett as part of what those brothers now say was a fake hate crime hoax can move forward with a defamation claim against one of Smollett’s attorneys, a federal judge has ruled. According to court records, the two brothers, Olabinjo Osundairo and Abimbola Osundairo, sued attorneys Mark Geragos, Tina Glandian, and the Geragos & Geragos Law Firm in 2019. “Mr. Smollett told Plaintiffs, in private, that he needed a favor from them: they were to help him stage a social media hoax and pretend to attack him,” the lawsuit says. “Mr. Smollett’s motivation...

A black-owned automobile shop had been targeted for weeks by vandals leaving racist graffiti but the owner was surprised to find out the suspects were also black after he set up surveillance cameras. The incident unfolded at Dwayne Haynesworth's Auto Body and Repair Shop in Spring Lake, North Carolina. Haynesworth told WRAL that he was confused by the racist images left on cars by vandals over several weeks. "I mean I'm not bothering anybody. I'm just out here trying to do business. I don't really know anybody out here," he said. The spray painted swastikas and KKK figures on his...

The black high school student who accused three white male classmates of pinning her down and cutting off her dreadlocks has 'acknowledged' that she made the allegation up, according to her school.

Jussie Smollett is back on the set of “Empire” in Chicago following his release from police custody on Thursday, Variety has learned. Smollett was released after posting bail in Chicago after police accused him of staging what was originally reported as a hate crime last month. He was originally intended to film throughout this week on the Fox series, but his role was dramatically reduced in light of his ongoing legal troubles. Whether or not Smollett will continue to work on the show as it wraps up the final two episodes of its fifth season remains to be seen. Fox...

...Jussie Smollett arrested and faces a felony charge for allegedly filing false police report...

Chicago cops on Wednesday called Jussie Smollett a suspect in the investigation into whether he orchestrated a reputed hate-crime attack against himself and said he was being probed for allegedly filing a false police report. The department is “currently presenting evidence before a Cook County Grand Jury,” a police spokesman tweeted.

Jussie Smollett is now officially in the crosshairs of law enforcement, because Chicago PD said he's now "officially classified as a suspect in a criminal investigation ... for filing a false police report." The cops say detectives are currently presenting evidence to a Cook County Grand Jury. If Smollett is charged the felony carries a maximum 3-year prison sentence. We're told the 2 brothers are at the courthouse now and are expected to testify ... most probably today.

The brothers who say Jussie Smollett hired them to stage the alleged attack were caught on surveillance camera buying a bunch of items they used during the incident. The video -- first posted by CBS2 in Chicago -- shows Ola and Abel Osundairo at the checkout counter as they pile up the items, which include ski masks, gloves, bandanas, sunglasses and red hats. EXCLUSIVE: I tracked down surveillance of the Osundairo's buying supplies before "attack" Sources say Jussie Smollet told brothers what to buy. Countless phone calls placed for this. Visited more stores than I wish to admit. @cbschicago https://t.co/GT6h2g6Y9a...

Federal investigators are looking into whether 'Empire' actor Jussie Smollett is responsible for a threatening letter that was addressed to him and sent to show's Chicago studio about a week before he was allegedly attacked, according to ABC News. The letter is currently being analyzed in an FBI crime lab, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service is also investigating the situation, according to federal officials. Two Nigerian brothers, Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo, who were persons of interest in the attack, told authorities that Smollett paid them to stage the attack after getting mad that the threatening letter didn't get as...

For Sens. Kamala D. Harris and Cory A. Booker, Democratic presidential candidates who were promoting an anti-lynching bill, the “attack” on actor Jussie Smollett in Chicago looked like a horrible yet opportune talking point. Instead, the apparent hoax is turning out to be a warning to 2020 Democratic candidates about singling out people for martyrdom, including the woman who accused Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh of sexual assault and the drum-banging American Indian who confronted Catholic high school students on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. In the rush to speak too soon about the Smollett case, Ms. Harris...

On Monday, I asked if there was more hoax to the Jussie Smollett hoax than had yet been asserted. Ola and Abel Osundairo have claimed the three rehearsed the attack before it was acted out on a Chicago street. But what of — I asked — the threatening letter to Jussie, which supposedly served as catalyst for the staged fight (here)? On January 22nd, the Empire actor received a letter featuring a stick figure hanging from a tree, with a gun to his head and a caption reading “You will die, black fag.” As the Monday story went, detectives believe...

The news that Empire star Jussie Smollett may have orchestrated his own hate crime certainly came as a shock to much of America. Joe Jervis, however, wasn’t exactly surprised. Jervis, creator of the news blog Joe.My.God, has been covering LGBTQ-related news and events for 15 years. Several years ago, he decided he would only report on alleged hate crimes if at least one of three criteria were met: There had been an arrest, there was conclusive video evidence, or there were uninvolved eye-witness accounts. The recent assault of a gay man in Salt Lake City, which was captured on film,...

Jussie Smollett’s phony hate-crime story could have been taken apart in 24 hours, except for one thing: Nobody wanted to be the first to call bullsh**. Who will bell the cat? Not the police, and I don’t blame them. Smollett is a vocal critic of President Donald Trump who checks two protected-category boxes: He is gay and he is black. No police officer comes out ahead in any encounter in which he has to explain that he isn’t a racist or a gay-basher. There isn’t much evidence that racist or homophobic attacks have increased in the Age of MAGA —...

Jussie Smollett case to go to grand jury as it's alleged Empire star 'REHEARSED hoax attack with two Nigerian brothers who he paid $3,500 to assault him with bleach and a noose' A grand jury is slated to hear the Jussie Smollett case next week, according to law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation into the Empire actor's alleged hoax attack. Chicago police insiders told TMZ that authorities are keeping a close eye on two Nigerian brothers, who were arrested and questioned about the attack before being released on Friday, to make sure that Smollett doesn't try to contact them....

“Chicago Police believe Jussie Smollett paid two men to orchestrate the assault. The sources tell CNN that the two men are now cooperating fully with law enforcement,” tweeted CNN crime and justice reporter Shimon Prokupecz Saturday evening. Earlier Saturday, Fox 32 Chicago’s Rafer Weigel, citing several police sources, reported Abimbola “Abel” and Olabinjo “Ola” Osundairo — the two Nigerian brothers arrested and later questioned by police about the alleged incident — purchased the rope found around the actor’s neck the night of the alleged attack at an ACE hardware store. CBS Chicago’s Charlie De Mar reports at least one of...

Are we finally coming to the end of the Jussie Smollett “hate crime” story? I’ve mostly steered clear of this confusing tale except for some of the usual banter on Twitter, but the most recent developments seem to be sending the actor toward a very dark place. To be clear, we’re not at the point where anything is 100% confirmed, and if Smollett actually was attacked I want his assailants found and prosecuted. But according to the Chicago police, the investigation into his alleged assault has “shifted.” They’re still not being terribly specific, but there are plenty of hints...

Left-wing Hollywood wasted no time in politicizing and blaming President Donald Trump and his supporters for an alleged hate crime attack on Empire actor Jussie Smollett — an encounter that police now reportedly believe to have been staged. CNN’s Shimon Prokupecz reported Saturday, “Chicago Police believe Jussie Smollett paid two men to orchestrate the assault. The sources tell CNN that the two men are now cooperating fully with law enforcement."Left-wing Hollywood, of course, used the alleged attack to cast blame on President Trump and the United States in general. Empire co-creator Lee Daniels said, “We have to love each other...

The two Nigerian brothers arrested in connection with the assault on "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett are no longer suspects in the attack. They're now cooperating with police. A source close to the investigation confirms to CBS News the brothers told detectives Smollett paid them to participate in the alleged attack on January 29 and that they purchased the rope — which was found around Smollett's neck — at a nearby hardware store. The source said detectives have evidence to corroborate the sale, something the men's attorney alluded to Friday night. "New evidence that was brought to their attention, obviously I...

Chicago (CNN) Two law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation tell CNN that Chicago Police believe actor Jussie Smollet paid two men to orchestrate an assault on him that he reported late last month. The men, who are brothers, were arrested Wednesday but released without charges Friday after Chicago police cited the discovery of "new evidence." The sources told CNN the two men are now cooperating fully with law enforcement.