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Ketel Marte's unexplained absence gets stranger as Diamondbacks fight for NL wild card spot
One of the weirdest stories of the 2026 Major League Baseball season just keeps getting weirder.
The Arizona Diamondbacks had a tough start to the year, but have battled back to put themselves squarely in postseason contention. Led by Corbin Carroll, Geraldo Perdomo, Gabriel Moreno and a resurgent Nolan Arenado, the Diamondbacks as of Wednesday afternoon found themselves just 1.5 games out of the third wild card spot in the National League.
Importantly, they finish out the season with three games against the team they're chasing, the San Diego Padres. Perhaps even more importantly? They might have to chase those Padres down without one of their best players, infielder Ketel Marte.
SAN DIEGO PADRES STAR MANNY MACHADO IS WRONG TO COMPLAIN ABOUT MODERN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
Marte's had a down season, by his very high standards, but still leads the team in home runs with 21, strikes out just 15% of the time, and typically contributes solid to above-average defense. There's just one problem: he didn't show up to the game a few days ago, and nobody seems to know exactly why.
Monday afternoon, the Diamondbacks were set to start a series against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Each game vitally important, a series against a tough opponent on the road, and Marte just... didn't show up. With no explanation.
Arizona waited until 20 minutes before game time to put Marte on the restricted list, and the story got even stranger afterward. Manager Torey Lovullo was asked about Marte's absence after the game and said he tried talking to his star infielder but "there was very little coming back."
"It's been a crazy day. All I know is he's dealing with a personal issue," he said postgame. "We're trying to figure that out. He didn't show up today, and he was put on the restricted list. That's as much as I know right now.
"I'm sure in time we'll start to uncover and unravel some information. But I knew that there was something going on today. … I still believed he was going to be here. He just didn't show up."
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Lovullo also seemed uncertain that Marte was even in Boston at all.
That personal matter, whatever it is, then turned into him getting an MRI for some undisclosed injury. After not showing up on Monday, he was absent once again on Tuesday, meaning he wasn't seen by the team's medical staff or coaching personnel. Once again, Lovullo seemed completely unaware of what was happening with the 32-year-old.
"I think he's headed back to Phoenix to get some exams done on his left knee," he said.
Lovullo went on to essentially say the team has moved on from worrying about Marte's status, instead focusing on trying to win games.
"That's what I've been told," he added. "But overall, my focus has shifted. My focus yesterday was squarely on this topic, but right now it's on the 26 players that are inside of the clubhouse right now. That's my responsibility and that's what we have to do in this game. We've got to shift our focuses and be present for what's most important. And the most important thing to me right now is going out to win a baseball game."
They lost 9-4 on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Marte's agent, Charisse Espinosa-Dash, issued a statement to MLB reporter Jon Morosi, reiterating that he's dealing with an undisclosed "personal matter," as well as repeating that he'll get an MRI on his knee.
"[Marte] is currently managing a personal matter and will be undergoing an MRI on his knee tomorrow. Ketel appreciates the unwavering support from fans, teammates, the Diamondbacks organization, and Torey Lovullo during this time. He remains optimistic about his recovery and looks forward to returning to the field to contribute to the team as soon as possible," the statement said.
So to sum up, Marte didn't show up to the stadium on Monday, didn't tell his team he wasn't going to show up, his manager wasn't sure he was even in Boston, he's dealing with a personal matter, and he now has a knee injury that requires an MRI — though he apparently didn't come to the ballpark to tell team medical staff about it or get the MRI during the road trip. Bizarre, to say the least.
This isn't the first time that Marte's had an odd absence from his team. In 2025, he missed three games after the All-Star break and went home to the Dominican Republic, reportedly frustrated that his home had been burglarized.
He's also asked for games off, something the team has acknowledged, though the "load management" model has been less of a problem than simply not showing up. Several outlets have reported that his teammates are frustrated with his absences or missed games, though Lovullo has repeatedly denied it.
When asked about it, teammate Geraldo Perdomo said he didn't get a response to a text asking Marte what happened. He did say that he's had a knee issue since mid-July.
"I texted him and asked him what happened, and he didn't respond to me yesterday," Perdomo said. "But today I just texted him about how his knee feels, because I know it's been bothering him since the [All-Star] break. And he told me he felt a little uncomfortable and was going to get an MRI. So, that's the conversation that we had."
No one would fault Marte for missing games due to a knee injury. And obviously, personal matters can be extremely serious and justify being away from the team, regardless of the time of year or postseason ramifications. But not showing up to the ballpark, with no communication? That's inexcusable. The worst part for the Diamondbacks and their fans? Nobody seems to know when to expect Marte back, if at all.
Jon Ossoff's controversial Trump jab sparks media feeding frenzy over White House aide Natalie Harp
A White House aide is becoming a household name due to a feeding frenzy by liberal media stemming from a comment by an ambitious Democrat.
Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., who polls currently suggest will win reelection in November and has already been generating 2028 presidential buzz, went viral over the weekend for a jab he made at President Donald Trump, heavily suggesting he was having an inappropriate relationship with his personal aide Natalie Harp.
Ossoff claimed Trump would rather "build a ballroom and travel with Natalie" than do his job as president.
The comment drew instant backlash from conservatives. When asked about it on MS NOW, Ossoff insisted he referenced her merely as Trump's "security blanket" and nothing more — leaving conservatives to pummel him as a "coward" for not standing behind what they considered was his sexist innuendo.
JON OSSOFF DODGES ON WHY HE INVOKED TRUMP AIDE'S NAME DURING GEORGIA CAMPAIGN RALLY
Still, that hasn't stopped the media from obsessing over the 35-year-old White House aide.
The New York Times published a profile on how Harp "emerge[d]" in the national spotlight following Ossoff's comment.
"She never takes a day off, not even on Sunday," the Times began the profile. "She works out of the Oval Office and she’s got a regular seat on Marine One. She texts with world leaders on the president’s behalf. She stays up late with him drafting social media posts. She rarely speaks on camera and yet she is never not there, ever-present with a wide smile and her eyes fixed on the president."
"She is a platinum blonde geyser of positivity, there to buck him up when the going gets rough," the paper wrote, adding how she's often referred to as Trump's "human printer" for giving him hard copies of things with her portable printer.
Harp has received overwhelming coverage on cable news. Her name has been mentioned at least 86 times on MS NOW since Monday, according to Grabien transcripts. Meanwhile, CNN has mentioned her at least a whopping 132 times in the same period.
CNN made headlines with a story, citing unnamed sources, alleging Harp "jumped into an SUV trunk" in order to ride with Trump in an October 2023 court appearance because she "wouldn’t take no for an answer" when the vehicle didn't have enough room.
The network also drew intense backlash for interviewing Harp's estranged brother on air.
CNN's Brian Stelter said it "mounts to a victory for Ossoff," crediting him with "the art of the viral clip."
"His 'travel with Natalie' line... showed a sophisticated understanding of the social media environment. It titillated, provoked and enraged different audiences simultaneously," Stelter wrote.
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The Daily Beast ran a tabloid-esque story alleging first lady Melania Trump is "locked in a secret power struggle" over her husband with Harp, citing speculation from anti-Trump author Michael Wolff. Rolling Stone declared in a headline, "Nothing About Trump and Natalie Harp Is Normal," while Forbes went more suspicious with its headline, "Natalie Harp Seen Everywhere With Trump Lately—Why That’s Raising Questions."
The far-left publication Salon tied Harp's presence to Trump's health, running the headline, "Trump aide Natalie Harp nurses his decline."
"Whatever the case, the rumors have served to draw more attention to Trump’s age. But the simple fact that he requires a woman to linger around him most of the time, ready to express her devotion and that of his most ardent followers, isn’t a great look. When considered alongside the extraordinary medical privacy exerted by Trump and the White House, it cuts against his failing efforts to position himself as virile and robust," Salon wrote.
Others, meanwhile, are reveling in the media discourse set off by Ossoff. Axios examined how his one-liner is testing "Democrats' appetite for going low" ahead of 2028.
"Some battleground candidates are going viral for shooting from the hip. Jon Ossoff is doing it from a carefully controlled script," Politico wrote. "Ossoff’s campaign appearances are marked by pithy stump lines that are prone to catch fire online and aggressive jabs at Trump and his Republican opponent that appeal to Democrats’ desire for fighter candidates. But behind his bold persona on the trail is a senator who is hands-on in all aspects of his campaign, including messaging."
Conservative critics are blasting the rampant coverage of Harp.
"So Jon Ossoff and some very online Dems make catty and suggestive remarks about Natalie Harp and so all the major news orgs scramble to follow ‘the story,’" Washington Free Beacon reporter Chuck Ross reacted.
"The egregious sexist attacks on Natalie Harp are absolutely insane — and they’re coming from prestigious journalists. What is wrong with everyone?!" podcast host Meghan McCain posted on X. "Every president has close aides and sometimes they are females. Like what year is this?! Should women never go into politics?!"
In a statement to Fox News Digital, the White House called Harp "one of the most loyal and hardest-working aides on President Trump's team."
"The Fake News’s continued attacks on President Trump and his Administration prove exactly why trust in media is at historic lows," White House spokesman Davis Ingle said. "The media should get back to reporting real news and stop regurgitating Trump-Deranged liberal talking points."
John Stamos celebrates turning 63 with a thirst trap that has fans saying 'have mercy'
John Stamos is celebrating his birthday with a steamy mirror selfie.
The now 63-year-old "Full House" star took to Instagram to celebrate his birthday with a mirror selfie featuring him in his birthday suit, which he captioned, "63."
Fans went wild in the comments section, with many making references to his character in the popular '90s sitcom, Uncle Jesse.
While his phone blocked his face, the black-and-white photo showed off Stamos' toned abs and gave fans a peek at the tattoo on his left shoulder.
SOFIA VERGARA SIZZLES IN RED BIKINI WHILE CELEBRATING 54TH BIRTHDAY ON YACHT IN ITALY
"More like Uncle Yes-se! 😂 Happy Birthday!❤️" one fan wrote, while another added, "HAVE MERCY," which was his character's catchphrase in the show.
Other comments included catchphrases from the show, with one writing, "You Still Got It Dude 😎👍🔥🥵" and another adding, "✂️ it outttttt! 🔥"
Another fan added, "Not John Stamos with the thirst trap 🪤," while his former "Full House" co-star, Candace Cameron Bure also chimed in in the comments section, writing, "Happy birthday Uncle J 🥳."
Stamos debuted the tattoo on his shoulder in March, in an Instagram video showing the tattooing process, with the words, "Guess who got his first tattoo," written across the video.
In the caption, Stamos explained the significance behind the tattoo, which features a Native American horseback rider looking skyward, in his caption.
"The Beach Boys placed this image: ‘Appeal to the Great Spirit’ over Brother Records as a symbol of artistic freedom and trust in a higher creative path," he wrote. "Lately I’ve felt that same pull in my own life. Stepping into this new chapter of my career, taking bigger swings, following the work wherever it leads."
During a recent appearance on "The Bobbycast" podcast, Stamos shared why he has declined to compete on "Dancing with the Stars," despite being asked by producers a number of times.
"What makes that show good is people suffering and looking like fools," Stamos began. "They’re breaking their feet, calluses. I don’t want that."
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He later added that after repeatedly being asked to compete on the show he finally told producers, "Don’t ever ask me again," telling podcast host, Bobby Bones, "I'm never gonna do that show."
Bones notoriously won the show in 2018 with his pro partner, Sharna Burgess, a win which sparked backlash on social media.
Prince Harry, Meghan Markle planning to move back to UK with children 6 years after royal exit: reports
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are planning to move back to the United Kingdom with their two children later this month, six years after stepping away from royal duties and settling in California, according to multiple reports.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex intend to relocate to a private residence outside London, the BBC reported Wednesday, citing earlier reporting from The Telegraph and The Sun.
Their children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, are enrolled to begin attending a British school in September, according to the BBC.
King Charles III was informed of the move Sunday and reportedly welcomes the opportunity to spend more time with the Sussex family privately. Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, have also been informed.
The move is not expected to change Harry and Meghan's royal status. They reportedly have no plans to resume duties as working royals and will remain private individuals.
Royal author Simon Vigar recently told Fox News Digital that Harry had envisioned a different arrangement when the Sussexes stepped away from royal duties in 2020.
"Harry did think that there was a hybrid version that they could do. And I think in years to come, there will be a hybrid version. I think he's right. There has to be a hybrid version of this where people don't get accused of cashing in but can support their cousins or their brother or whatever," Vigar said. "The [Sussexes] thought they could have a hybrid role of having a business life and a private life, while also spending a few months in the U.K. supporting the queen. Harry believed that was an option, which was whipped away from him."
Fox News Digital reached out to Buckingham Palace and Archewell, which oversees the offices of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, for comment.
The development follows a July reunion between the Sussexes and Charles at Highgrove House, the king's private residence in Gloucestershire. It marked the first time Charles had seen Archie and Lilibet in person in more than four years, according to the BBC.
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Harry and Meghan had not visited the U.K. together since Queen Elizabeth II's funeral in 2022.
The couple left royal duties in 2020 and ultimately settled in Montecito, California. Their relationship with the royal family became increasingly strained after they publicly discussed their grievances in interviews, their Netflix docuseries and Harry's 2023 memoir, "Spare."
Harry has repeatedly expressed a desire to reconcile with his family, but security has remained a major point of contention.
The Duke of Sussex lost a legal challenge in 2025 over the level of police protection available to him and his family while in the U.K. He has previously said safety concerns prevented him from bringing Meghan and their children to Britain.
Despite the planned return, royal experts previously told Fox News Digital that reconciliation with Harry's family would not necessarily mean a return to royal duties.
"There's always room for Harry to support his family privately as a son and brother," Kinsey Schofield, host of YouTube's "Kinsey Schofield Unfiltered," told Fox News Digital. "That's very different from supporting the monarchy publicly as a working royal. The monarchy has successfully adapted to a smaller working team."
8-year-old boy killed after tree falls at YMCA summer camp in Massachusetts
An 8-year-old boy was killed after a tree fell on multiple people Tuesday morning during summer camp at a YMCA sites in Massachusetts, officials said.
The incident, which also injured a camp counselor, happened at the YMCA’s Camp Chickami in Wayland, fire and police departments said in a joint statement.
The boy was struck by a large branch when a tree fell and struck another tree, creating a domino effect, Fire Chief Neil McPherson said, according to MassLive.
The adult victim was reportedly struck by a smaller branch.
TERRIFYING SCENE UNFOLDS AT SIX FLAGS AS STORM-TOPPLED TREE SENDS 4 GUESTS TO HOSPITAL
First responders rushed to the area "to find a child suffering from life-threatening injuries and an adult suffering from less serious injuries," officials said.
The child was then airlifted by medical helicopter but succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, according to officials.
A YMCA representative told Fox News Digital that the adult victim sustained minor injuries and has since been released from a hospital following treatment.
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After the incident, the camp will remain closed for the rest of the week, West Suburban YMCA President and CEO Jack Fucci said in a statement.
"The entire West Suburban YMCA family is grieving the loss of a young camper when a tree fell at Camp Chickami in Wayland on Tuesday," he said.
"We are keeping the camper’s family foremost in our thoughts at this extraordinarily difficult time. We are making grief counseling and other support resources available to camp staff, campers, and their families. "
Wayland officials also extended their condolences after the incident.
"I want to offer our sincere thoughts and support to the family and friends who are facing this tragic loss," acting Police Chief Mark Hebert said in a statement.
"Our Wayland community is grieving today, and thinking of those who lost so much as a result of this tragic accident," McPherson added.
"I encourage anyone who is experiencing overwhelming grief or anxiety to talk to someone, reach out for help, and to remember that we are the strongest when we stand together as a community."
Bronx man accused of attacking Shabbat worshippers admitted motive in recorded interview, feds say
A Bronx man charged with federal hate crimes for a violent disruption at a Midtown Manhattan synagogue explicitly admitted to investigators in a recorded interview that his actions were "all a racial thing" and "all religious motivated," according to federal prosecutors.
During the recorded post-arrest interview, Larry Montes, 46, of the Bronx, allegedly made several antisemitic and derogatory remarks including, "F--- the Jews ... It’s racial," and "I will never affiliate with no filthy f------synagogues, either here or in f------ Israel."
Montes, who was charged with two counts of committing hate crimes and one count of destruction of religious property resulting in bodily injury, faces up to 30 years in prison, according to the Justice Department.
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Prosecutors claim Montes brazenly assaulted two people and shouted obscenities at parishioners during the Jewish Sabbath service at the Central Synagogue in Midtown, which was attended by 375 people.
During the Shabbat service, Montes stood up, began shouting and physically struck and damaged two ceremonial silver candlesticks with gold accents, authorities said. As the head of security attempted to remove him from the sanctuary, Montes screamed, "F--- you people" and "I don’t f--- with you people," according to prosecutors.
Montes then punched a female congregant with a closed fist and assaulted a security guard who was attempting to handcuff him, authorities said.
He allegedly directed a racial slur at the guard, who is Black, before spitting in his face and headbutting his left eye socket, prosecutors said. Montes also threatened to return to the synagogue at a later date.
In addition to the federal charges, he faces state charges related to the incident. New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the woman and the security guard who were assaulted are doing well.
After the attack, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani expressed shock over the violence.
"I can only imagine the pain and fear an attack like this, during Shabbat services, causes for the congregation and for Jewish New Yorkers across our city," he wrote on X. "Every New Yorker must be able to observe their religion without fear of violence."
Montes remains in custody.
Thousands of North Korean IT workers are infiltrating corporate America
Thousands of North Korean operatives posing as IT workers are applying for remote jobs at U.S. companies, and many are getting hired.
Using stolen American identities, U.S.-based "laptop farms" and artificial intelligence to write résumés and help answer interview questions, Kim Jong Un’s regime is exploiting the remote work economy to get its workers inside American companies.
In 2024 alone, the sprawling, state-directed workforce generated nearly $800 million for North Korea, according to the Treasury Department, helping the heavily sanctioned regime fund its weapons programs.
"The North Korean regime targets American companies through deceptive schemes carried out by its overseas IT operatives, who weaponize sensitive data and extort businesses for substantial payments," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
The threat goes beyond the paycheck.
Once hired, the workers gain legitimate credentials and trusted access to corporate networks, potentially opening the door to theft, espionage, extortion and more sophisticated North Korean cyber operations.
Fox News interviewed Michael "Barni" Barnhart, a former Army intelligence specialist turned cybersecurity threat hunter who tracks North Korean IT workers for a living.
Barnhart said the workers are so pervasive that when he recently sampled 20 Fortune 500 companies, he found evidence that North Korean IT workers had applied to, worked for or targeted 18 of them.
Barnhart has spent much of his career hunting America’s adversaries.
He joined the Army as a teenager, training in human intelligence before moving into signals intelligence and counterterrorism and deploying to Iraq.
He later moved into cybersecurity, eventually helping build Mandiant’s North Korea-focused threat hunting operation before the company was acquired by Google. Now at cybersecurity firm DTEX, Barnhart focuses on nation-state insider threats, including the sprawling North Korean IT worker operation.
His pursuit of North Korean hackers has even left a permanent mark.
Barnhart has tattoos on his feet commemorating North Korean hacking groups he has helped investigate, including APT43 and APT45, groups tied to operations targeting U.S. think tanks and healthcare organizations.
Another tattoo says "IT workers rich experience," a reference, he said, to language that repeatedly appears on résumés used by North Korean IT workers.
"Anytime we knock off a North Korean hacking unit, I get them tattooed on my feet," Barnhart said.
Barnhart said North Korea begins building its cyber workforce remarkably early. The regime can identify children with an aptitude for math, science, technology and problem-solving and funnel them into specialized training beginning as young as seven years old.
"For a communist regime, everything's a little different," Barnhart said. "If you look like you're gonna have some sort of potential or some sort of potential later on, you're going to get swept in that pipeline."
By college, some are already working on technology with military applications, Barnhart said, including drones and anti-drone technology. The most talented can be funneled toward North Korea's elite hacking units, while others become part of its sprawling overseas IT workforce.
And the scheme is evolving.
As American companies become better at spotting suspicious overseas applicants, North Korean operatives are increasingly recruiting people in the U.S. and other countries to become their faces in job interviews, host company laptops or lend them their identities.
They are also turning to AI.
North Korean operatives are now using generative AI and interview-assistance tools to help them answer questions during job interviews in real time. He said they are also using deepfake and other AI technologies as companies become more adept at identifying suspicious applicants.
"They're using AI, a lot of times, in their actual interviews, using that generative AI to help do it, using interview AI assistance," Barnhart said.
The technology helps address one of the weaknesses that previously made the scheme easier to spot.
An applicant claiming to have been born and raised in the United States might struggle with basic questions about the city where he supposedly lives, speak with an unexpected accent or appear to be reading answers from another screen.
But as employers learn more about these warning signs, Barnhart said, North Korean operatives are changing their tactics.
North Korean operators are increasingly working through people in countries, including Pakistan, India and Nigeria, Barnhart said, adding even more layers between the North Korean worker and the company being targeted.
They can also exploit third-party contractors, potentially allowing them to reach a company's network without ever coming directly through its front door.
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"As soon as everyone has a lead on them, they like to switch," Barnhart said.
These schemes can rely heavily on people thousands of miles away from North Korea.
Often, companies mail a work laptop to a new employee. An address in North Korea, Russia or China, where some of these workers are, would immediately raise red flags. To create the appearance the employee is actually working from inside the United States, North Korean operatives recruit Americans to receive and host the computers. Some Americans host dozens of computers for dozens of companies. These are called, "laptop farms."
The Justice Department has prosecuted a growing number of Americans and other facilitators for participating in such schemes.
In some cases, the participants knowingly help overseas workers deceive American companies. In others, Barnhart said, people can initially be "hoodwinked" into believing they are simply helping a foreign developer or earning easy passive income.
North Korean operatives scour social media, messaging apps, job sites and online forums for potential recruits, Barnhart said, including Reddit, Discord, Telegram, WhatsApp and Craigslist.
The targets are often people struggling financially.
"They like them poor because you need that incentive to dangle in front of them," Barnhart said.
A person might initially be offered a few hundred dollars to host a laptop, lend an identity or become the American face of an overseas developer. The requests can then escalate.
"All I got to do is have this laptop in my house, and you're going to give me money," Barnhart said, describing how an unsuspecting participant might view the arrangement. "Little by little you can start to see over the years the schemes get larger or the asks get bigger."
Barnhart provided Fox News with an actual recruitment message obtained from a real operation showing how someone was asked to impersonate a job applicant during interviews.
"In my past experience, hiring managers liked my skills and experience, but they were not moving forward with me because of my lack of English level. We are looking for a native English speaker/software developer to collaborate closely with me.
"You will be joining all meetings (Google or Zoom) with the given profile name to do interviews with clients and pretend to be someone else during interviews."
The use of Americans and overseas intermediaries creates another problem for investigators. The person whose identity, address or laptop is being used may not necessarily be the person actually doing the work.
Federal prosecutors have documented schemes involving both witting and unwitting third parties, stolen identities, proxy computers and U.S.-based laptop farms.
Recent Justice Department cases have also shown facilitators allowing overseas IT workers to create fraudulent résumés in their names, participate in employer vetting and remotely access company-issued laptops from abroad.
In 2025, Arizona resident Christina Chapman was sentenced to more than eight years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.
Chapman helped North Korean IT workers get jobs at more than 300 U.S. companies, including several Fortune 500 corporations. The companies included a top five major television network, a Silicon Valley technology company, an aerospace manufacturer, an American carmaker, a luxury retail store and a U.S. media and entertainment company, according to the Justice Department.
Chapman operated a "laptop farm," receiving computers from U.S. companies at her home and helping deceive those companies into believing their employees were located in the United States. She shipped 49 laptops overseas, including to China. More than 90 laptops were seized from her home after the execution of a search warrant in October 2023.
Chapman organized and stored the company laptops in her home, even including notes identifying which U.S. company was associated with each computer so she would not confuse them.
North Korean workers are stealing the identities of normal everyday Americans.
The Wall Street Journal recently profiled a victim of identity theft, Michael Brown. North Korea used Brown’s identity to get jobs in at least two companies, according to the WSJ.
"North Korea is not just a threat to the homeland from afar. It is an enemy within. It is perpetrating fraud on American citizens, American companies and American banks. It is a threat to Main Street in every sense of the word," U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro said in a statement.
The threat, however, is not limited to the money North Korea collects.
Barnhart said he initially viewed the IT workers primarily as a revenue-generation operation and focused his attention instead on North Korea's more sophisticated hacking units. Then investigators began finding the IT workers intertwined with those hacking operations.
"They're not just fraudulent hires," Barnhart said. "You really got to watch out."
Once a fraudulent worker has been hired, the dynamic changes dramatically. Instead of a North Korean hacker trying to break through a company's defenses from the outside, the company itself may have handed a North Korean operative credentials, a laptop and trusted access to its systems.
Barnhart said he has seen evidence of workers inside organizations with strategic intelligence value to North Korea, including critical infrastructure, defense-related organizations, research and development and other sensitive sectors.
"Do they have the placement and access to do it? Yes, I can tell you right now, verified," Barnhart said. "I've seen them in places we do not want them to include critical infrastructure as well."
Barnhart said North Korea's approach is essentially scattershot: place thousands of workers inside organizations around the world. At an ordinary retail company, the primary objective may simply be collecting a paycheck. But a worker who lands inside a defense contractor, pharmaceutical company, government organization or critical infrastructure operator can suddenly become far more valuable.
The worker could steal information or potentially provide an opening for more sophisticated North Korean cyber operators, Barnhart said.
That possibility is one reason the IT worker operation represents something different from ordinary employment fraud.
"These are not just insider threats," Barnhart said, describing them as insiders who can potentially "open the door" for more skilled North Korean hackers.
"This is going to supply a weapons program for a regime that is sanctioned to their eyeballs."
North Korean IT workers had already started targeting remote jobs at U.S. companies before the COVID-19 pandemic began. Barnhart said the operation can be traced back more than a decade, with the threat accelerating in the mid-2010s.
Then, millions of Americans suddenly began working remotely.
"Once the pandemic hit, it became absolute gasoline on a fire," Barnhart said.
The remote work revolution gave North Korean operatives something they previously lacked at scale — the ability to get hired by an American company without ever physically entering an American office.
For North Korea, the operation also offers a critical way around international sanctions.
Barnhart contrasts the IT workers with North Korea's massive cryptocurrency thefts. A hacking unit might steal millions of dollars in a single operation, drawing immediate international attention. The IT workers instead provide thousands of legitimate-looking paychecks arriving little by little.
"The IT workers are a slow, steady paycheck," Barnhart said.
Spread across thousands of workers, those salaries create a steady stream of money flowing toward one of the most heavily sanctioned governments in the world.
"It's a bypass sanction because this is a country that's sanctioned to their eyeballs," Barnhart said.
And the money generated by the scheme may have consequences far beyond the Korean Peninsula. The Treasury Department says the North Korean government uses most of the wages earned by its IT workers to generate hundreds of millions of dollars to support the regime's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.
And North Korea is now increasingly intertwined with Russia's war in Ukraine.
Earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia was preparing to deploy an additional North Korean contingent and has received additional ballistic missiles from Pyongyang. Russia is increasingly dependent on North Korea for its war in Ukraine.
"For the first time in its history, Russia cannot wage war without reinforcements from North Korea," Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy warned the relationship also gives North Korea something valuable in return: an opportunity to test its troops and weapons under real battlefield conditions and improve them.
"The more North Korean strikes there are here in Ukraine, in Europe, the more their missiles and soldiers are used, the more they correct their shortcomings and blind spots, the greater the danger will later be for Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines and other countries in the region," Zelenskyy said.
Barnhart argued that Americans should understand the chain connecting the remote work scheme to North Korea's expanding military relationship with Russia.
Western companies can unknowingly pay North Korean workers. Those workers generate hard currency for a regime under extensive international sanctions. North Korea uses revenue from overseas workers and other illicit schemes to support its government and weapons programs. Pyongyang, in turn, has supplied weapons and troops to Russia.
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"If the Western dollars and ally dollars are going to North Korea to help their weapons program, and they in turn are giving those weapons to the Russians to help with their Ukrainian conflict," Barnhart said, the implications become much broader.
The connection shows why U.S. officials increasingly view the fraudulent-worker operation as more than an employment scam. It is a mechanism for generating hard currency for a sanctioned regime that is simultaneously expanding its military support for Moscow, Barnhart explained.
Barnhart warned companies cannot rely solely on federal law enforcement to stop the threat because of the sheer scale of the operation and because the North Korean workers themselves are often beyond the reach of U.S. authorities.
"It's on us to trust but verify," Barnhart said.
He said companies need to rethink remote hiring and identity-verification procedures, particularly for employees who will receive access to sensitive networks, intellectual property or critical systems.
One way companies can do this is to run identity checks as well as background checks on potential employees.
While a traditional background check looks into an applicant’s record, an identity check can determine whether the person sitting down for the interview on the computer screen is the same person whose face is on the identification and credentials that were submitted.
"We have to change," Barnhart said. "We can't just rely on law enforcement. They're only gonna go so far. We have to rely on our own policies and our own verifications in being able to stop them."
Drew Brees calls Hurricane Katrina 'defining moment' of career, credits faith and community for perseverance
Drew Brees said two words at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio earlier this month that started a loud roar through the seats during his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction speech.
Brees said he and his wife were scared, yet excited to embark on the next chapter of his NFL career in a city with which he would become synonymous — through the good and the bad.
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As Brees joined the New Orleans Saints before the start of the 2006 season, Hurricane Katrina had devastated the city. The Hurricane created a total of $125 billion in estimated damage and was the deadliest American hurricane since 1928 with 1,392 deaths. Football was the last thing on the minds of those trying to rebuild their beloved community in New Orleans, but it became a pillar of hope and positivity, something to rally around thanks to Brees and his teammates.
After a 20-year stay in the NFL filled with ups and downs, Fox News Digital asked Brees in a recent interview if joining the Saints while dealing with Hurricane Katrina was a defining moment in his Hall of Fame career.
"It was definitely a defining moment in my career," Brees responded quickly, while highlighting his partnership with DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS. "Honestly, most of the defining moments in my career, especially as it pertains to football, came on the heels of something devastating happening, or something that was a difficulty, a challenge, a failure. Something where I felt like maybe it was being taken away from me. Injuries give you that feeling in sports.
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"Hurricane Katrina, everyone in New Orleans felt like they were losing everything, losing the entire city, and truly having to start over. So, that’s where the bond was created."
Repairs were eventually made to the then-Louisiana Superdome, and the Saints held their first game against the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 25, 2006, for a community that was still trying to come back but screamed their heads off for their home team after they spent weeks away to start the season. Brees couldn’t help mentioning in his Hall of Fame speech the famed blocked punt early in the first quarter by Steve Gleason that sent the stadium into rapture.
Not only was it years building back the city, but the Saints were building something special at the same time. Years later in Super Bowl XLIV, Brees won the game’s MVP after leading the Saints to a 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. It was a true culmination of perseverance, strength, support and courage that led to Brees lifting the Vince Lombardi Trophy up in the air in Miami for not just his entire team, but an entire city that had his back through even the worst of times.
"I’ve always taken the approach with those events that it’s your opportunity to come back stronger," he explained. "It’s your opportunity to maybe learn from the things that happened before, and apply the lessons learned that are going to help you come out on the other side better, stronger, both mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally. So, you do. You need those things. It’s hard to manufacture those things in any other way. It’s just the mindset you have around it, that I’m always going to come back stronger from those moments. It’s not if those moments are going to happen — it’s when. Then, the approach I’m going to take around using it as fuel. It’s very necessary."
Brees also noted how important his Christian faith was throughout his career, but especially during that time when Hurricane Katrina wrecked the lives of so many in his city.
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"To me, that’s what got me through so many of those tough moments, knowing that God has a plan and this is just equipping me for what is to come next," he said. "So, I need to use this to be strengthened, to be molded, and just to believe there’s a higher calling. There’s a higher purpose. That this is here for a reason. It’s so true.
"I mean, every one of those moments, especially going to New Orleans because you look at that on the surface. To the average person looking from afar, you would think, ‘How does that city overcome this situation?’ Yet, you pull all these pieces together and you have this belief. You have this faith, you have this trust. You see what happened when you get people who come together with that mindset."
As Brees put it in his Hall of Fame speech: "You trusted me with the soul of the city, and I would’ve died to protect that calling."
SPORTS ALL IN ONE PLACE
Outside of football, Brees is also a businessman, being a co-owner and partner in Walk-on’s Sports Bistreaux, one of the fastest-growing sports bar franchise concepts in the country. It began in Louisiana, has grown to 80-plus units, and it continues to pave its way through the country.
As a sports bar concept, there’s nothing that matters more than having any game, any time, for customers walking into the establishment.
Football is king in the Southeast, as well as throughout the rest of the country, and DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS makes it easy for those like Brees to bring together live TV and streaming networks all in one place. More than 300,000 bars and restaurants have access to local, national, college and pro games for fans to watch through DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS, which includes NFL Sunday Ticket.
"We pride ourselves on Louisiana-inspired cuisine. It's unbelievable food," Brees said of Walk-on’s Sports Bistreaux. "My kids crave it all the time. But like a really family-friendly atmosphere, you know, whether it's date night, bring the family, bring the little league after the game — something for everybody. Obviously, it’s sports, and high energy, and excitement on the TV all the time. Thanks to our partnership with DirecTV for Business, that's what allows us to basically have access to every college and pro game around the country. And that's not just football. We're talking basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer. So big events like March Madness and the Kentucky Derby, Masters — you name it. So, we're really appreciative of that DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS partnership. It allows us to help create that energy and excitement around our establishments.
"And for the fans themselves, sportsbarfinder.com allows them to find those sports from DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS at their local spot anywhere in the country, which Brees loved to see.
"There's a saying: fans have more friends. You know, they really do. You step into your local sports bar wearing the local jersey. Man, all of a sudden, next thing you know, you're high-fiving everybody, and you just made 100 more friends. That's the kind of atmosphere and that's what sports does, it brings people together," he said.
Shirley MacLaine makes rare video appearance, pokes fun at 1960s movie flop
Shirley MacLaine, who played the title role in 1969’s "Sweet Charity," made a rare video appearance this week for a New York theater doing a screening of the musical.
The 92-year-old actress told the Southampton Playhouse in Long Island in a video posted to their Instagram: "Wish I could be with you" ahead of the Aug. 25 showing of her movie.
"I would like to see ‘Sweet Charity’ again,’" she added. "And while you’re watching it, remember how hard we worked."
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The "Steel Magnolias" star then stage whispered, "And between you and me, it didn’t do very well, so I hope you guys like it.
"Much love," she added, blowing a kiss.
MacLaine received plenty of love in the comments.
"Oh, Shirley. I love you. What an incredible human being," one fan wrote, and another said, "I fell in love with Shirley in 1969 when I saw her up on the big screen in Sweet Charity."
A third quipped, "The greatest legs in showbiz!"
"Sweet Charity," which was legendary choreographer Bob Fosse’s directorial debut, flopped at the box office, making only $4 million domestically on a $20 million budget, according to Turner Classic Movies.
The film’s failure slowed the rollout of big budget musicals in the industry for a time.
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Fosse’s second directorial effort, "Cabaret" with Liza Minelli, three years later, however, was a success.
MacLaine has been spotted out and about in Los Angeles a couple of times this year, and her last public appearance was in December when she received a lifetime achievement award at the first-ever Dance Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Los Angeles.
Chita Rivera, who was in "Sweet Charity" with MacLaine, told a Playbill reporter several years ago that Fosse told her and Paula Kelly that their dancing had to be perfect in the number, "There’s Gotta Be Something Better Than This," because he would always use the take when MacLaine looked the best.
But she added that when she overshot a leap and Fosse decided that was the shot to go with, MacLaine sensed Rivera’s frustration and used her position to ask Fosse if they go do it again so Rivera could get it right.
MacLaine left for New York to dance when she was just a teenager.
She told CBS in 2024 that she remembered her dance teachers telling her "that I have too much expression in my dancing. I might want to think about acting."
She got her start in the Broadway play "The Pajama Game" and was quickly cast in Hitchcock’s "The Trouble with Harry" in 1955.
She received her first Academy Award nomination three years later for her role in "Some Came Running" and won an Oscar for her performance in "Terms of Endearment."
MacLaine told CBS she’s not afraid of dying.
"I’m kind of interested in going there," she said. "I’m looking forward to being part of the heaven experience. I really am."
Third body found in Minneapolis in three days as police investigate string of deaths: report
Police have reportedly been finding bodies across Minneapolis, with the latest grisly discovery made near the city’s Stone Arch Bridge.
FOX9 reports that the University of Minnesota Police Department found a body near the bridge but has not revealed the circumstances leading up to the person’s death.
The grim find marks the third body found in Minneapolis in three days. The first body was found on Saturday at 6 p.m. in a wooded area near East River Flats park near the Mississippi River.
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Police have identified the woman found Saturday evening as Karen Lynn Sognesand, 56, from Maple Grove, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported.
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An obituary for the woman says, "The most loving, caring, daughter, sister and friend has left us too soon. Her struggle with mental health and the loss of her dad was just too much."
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The second body was found Sunday at 11:30 a.m. near the shoreline of Bde Maka Ska Lake.
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"The body was found in a severe state of decomposition, according to a statement from the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board," the Star Tribune reported.
It is unclear whether the three discovered bodies are linked to a crime.