Author: Fox News

Alex Murdaugh’s son, Paul, confronted him about his drug use one month before he and his mom were shot to death on the family’s hunting estate in South Carolina, prosecutors revealed for the first time Friday.

Colleton County jurors were shown a text that Paul sent  his father May 6, 2021.

“I am still in EB because when you get here we have to talk. Mom found several bags of pills in your computer bag,” Paul allegedly wrote. “EB” likely refers to the family’s Edisto Beach house. 

Murdaugh is accused of executing Paul, 22, and his wife, Maggie, 52, June 7, 2021. 

ALEX MURDAUGH: TIMELINE OF ONCE-POWERFUL SOUTH CAROLINA LAWYER’S SPECTACULAR DOWNFALL

Alex Murdaugh looks over to his defense attorney Jim Griffin in his trial for murder at the Colleton County Courthouse on Friday, February 10, 2023.  (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post and Courier/Pool)

Assistant Attorney General Creighton Waters called special agent Peter Rudofski, of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, as the state’s final witness.

ALEX MURDAUGH SPED UP WHEN HE PASSED LOCATION WHERE HIS SLAIN WIFE’S PHONE WAS FOUND: WITNESS

The transcribed voicemail was introduced during his testimony. It was also revealed that Maggie had conducted several internet searches from May 6 to the 26th of 2021 to identify specific pills.

“White pill 30 on one side rp,” she typed into a Safari search engine on May 6, describing a 30 milligram tablet of oxycodone. 

Alex Murdaugh’s son, Paul, confronts him over his drug use in a text May 6, 2021 – about a month before Paul and his mom were murdered. The text introduced Friday at Murdaugh’s double murder trial. (South Carolina Attorney General’s Office)

The next day, Murdaugh texted his wife. “I am very sorry that I do this to all of you. I love you,” he wrote. Maggie didn’t respond, according to Rudolfski.

Maggie’s older sister, Marian Proctor, testified Tuesday at the Colleton County Courthouse. 

She said Maggie called Paul her “little detective” because if there were pills in the house that his dad shouldn’t be taking, he was determined to find them.

MAGGIE MURDAUGH’S SISTER RECOUNTS ALEX MURDAUGH’S ‘STRANGE COMMENT AFTER MURDERS IN TEARFUL TESIMONY

Three months after the slayings, Murdaugh admitted to investigators after a botched suicide attempt that he spent as much as $60,000 a week on pills.

He confessed that on Sept. 4, 2021, he had his drug dealer, Curtis “Cousin Eddie” Smith, shoot him in the head, so his living son, Buster, could collect a $10 million life insurance payout. But Smith only grazed his head.

Alex Murdaugh, left, bows his head as his sister-in-law, Marian Proctor, testifies Feb. 14 on behalf of the state at his double murder trial in Walterboro, South Carolina. (Fox News )

State law enforcement division agents later found $2.4 million in checks Murdaugh wrote Smith.

The disbarred attorney told investigators that he’d misappropriated fees from his law firm and his clients to fuel his raging addiction.

ALEX MURDAUGH ADMITS TO BOTCHED SUICIDE PLOT IN POLICE INTERVIEW

Murdaugh faces 99 counts of financial crimes spanning 19 indictments that allege he stole nearly $9 million through various schemes.

In another text from Murdaugh to former Palmetto State Bank CEO Russell Laffitte, he urgently requested a credit line of $600,000 on Moselle. 

Prosecutors introduced two photos as they questioned their final witness.  Marian Proctor, and her younger sister, Maggie Murdaugh in the photo to the left. Buster, Maggie and Paul Murdaugh in the photo to the right. (South Caroline Attorney General’s Office)

“My dad will sign also if needed. How much turn around will that take?” he asked in the June 3, 2021, message. Laffitte was later convicted of six federal crimes stemming from his dealings with Murdaugh.

At the end of Rudofski’s testimony, Waters showed jurors two photos. In one, Maggie poses with Proctor, her only sister.

 In the second, she is beaming in a blue dress, as Buster and Paul stand on either side of her.

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Prosecutors have argued that Murdaugh killed his wife and son to prevent his financial misdeeds from being exposed.

Tiger Woods looked like he was walking into the weekend at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, on Friday, but then he bogeyed three of his final four holes.

After he completed his second round, Woods was at 1-over, behind the cut line of what was then even. To make matters worse, play was suspended on Friday, so he had to wait a bit longer to learn his fate.

However, the cut line moved back a stroke, and Woods was right on the line, putting him into contention for the weekend.

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Tiger Woods reacts to his putt on the fourth green during the second round of the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, on Friday. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)

The Genesis Invitational is Woods’ first tournament since the Open Championship in July, an event where he missed the cut.

It was an up-and-down round for Woods, who struck the ball well but wasn’t great in the short game.

“I did not putt well today, I blocked a lot of putts early, and this is probably the highest score I could have shot today,” Woods said after his round. “Probably should have shot probably five or six better than this, easily. Just didn’t make the putts early and the middle part of the round when I had those opportunities. And they weren’t very hard putts, I just hit bad putts and obviously had a very bad finish, too.”

Yet, he prevailed, and plenty of bettors are really happy – DraftKings CEO Jason Robins said that “98% of bets” on the sportsbook were placed on Woods to make the cut.

“It amazes me — Tiger will never go out of style,” Robins said on Fox Business. “Now, we did price it at +150 — sorry, Tiger — so I think it seems attractive to a lot of people.”

Some states even had it boosted to +200 on the site. (A $100 bet would win $200.) Of course, if you can get plus-odds at maybe the greatest golfer of all time to simply make it to the weekend, it definitely is hard not to jump.

Before the Genesis, Woods last played at the Open Championship at St. Andrews, where he did miss the cut. But if you know how Tiger operates, making the cut is hardly a success.

Tiger Woods celebrates with a fist pump after making a birdie putt on the 17th hole green during the first round of the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club on February 16, 2023, in Pacific Palisades, California. (Keyur Khamar/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)

TIGER WOODS RESPONDS TO BACKLASH OF HANDING JUSTIN THOMAS A TAMPON: ‘FRIENDS HAVING FUN’

“Making a cut’s a great thing. If I enter the event, it’s always to get a W,” Woods said Tuesday. “There will come a point in time where my body will not allow me to do that anymore, and that’s probably sooner rather than later. But wrapping my head around that transition and being an ambassador role and just playing and just trying to be out here with the guys? No, that’s just not in my DNA.”

Robins added that there are several other bets surrounding Tiger, perhaps to win or finish in certain positions, “but you just don’t often see almost 100% of bets on one side of anything, so it’s just a testament to the popularity of Tiger.”

Woods was paired up with Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy for the first two rounds. The 15-time major champion closed out his first round with three consecutive birdies to finish with a two-under 69. 

However, despite the success on the course, he caught some flack in the first round after handing a tampon to Thomas after outdriving him.

Tiger Woods of the United States (L) and Justin Thomas of the United States walk off the ninth tee during the first round of the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club on February 16, 2023, in Pacific Palisades, California.  (Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

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“It was supposed to be a funny game, but obviously it hasn’t turned out that way,” Woods said. “If I offend anybody, it was not the case. It was just friends having fun. 

“If I offend anybody in any way, shape, or form, I’m sorry. It was not intended to be that way. We play pranks on one another all the time. Virally, I think this did not come across that way, but between us, it’s different.”

Max Homa leads the pack at -10.

South Africa launched joint naval drills with Russia and China Friday, prompting international backlash along with questions over its allegiances with Western allies. 

The 10-day long military exercises, which come as the one-year anniversary of Russia’s deadly invasion of Ukraine looms, signify more than an ambivalent attitude towards the war, it suggests Washington’s attempts to court South Africa are failing. 

“There is a real desire on the part of South Africa to create a multipolar world and there is a real sense that the world has been done a disservice by an either bipolar or unipolar world,” Cameron Hudson, a senior associate in the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) told Fox News Digital. 

Hudson explained that this policy means South Africa will choose to work with any nation that best suits it including the U.S., Russia and China despite adversarial differences – a geopolitical tactic that Western nations have a difficult time accepting. 

“In a multipolar world, all partners are valid partners,” he said. 

China’s President Xi Jinping, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin arrive to pose for a group picture during the 10th BRICS conference Jul 2018.  (Photo by GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

US-AFRICA LEADERS SUMMIT: WASHINGTON ‘PLAYING CATCH-UP’ WITH RUSSIA AND CHINA

The war in Ukraine has prompted Western countries to draw geopolitical lines, and they have called on nations around the globe to condemn the war. 

But South Africa, which was one of 35 nations last year to abstain from a U.N. vote condemning the war in Ukraine, has decided to take a neutral stance.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a call with his South African counterpart earlier this week in which they reportedly discussed the upcoming anniversary and Minister Naledi Pandor’s support for a peaceful resolution to the war, a readout of the talks said. 

But the readout did not include any mention of the joint drills with China or Russia – two of the U.S.’s biggest adversaries and who have been vying for greater influence in the African continent as their ties with the West become increasingly strained. 

In a statement to Fox News Digital a State Department spokesman said Friday the department had noted with “concern” South Africa’s decision to hold joint drills with Russia and China.

“We encourage South Africa to cooperate militarily with fellow democracies that share our mutual commitment to human rights and the rule of law,” the spokesman added. 

The Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov docked in Cape Town harbor South Africa, Tuesday, Feb. ​14​, 2023 en route to the South African east coast to conduct naval exercises with the South African and Chinese Navy. The exercise began on Friday Feb. 17, 2023, a demonstration of the countries’ close ties amid Russia’s war in Ukraine and China’s tense relationship with the West. (AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht) ((AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht))

But Hudson argued that Washington’s private or public lobbying to discourage relations with its chief adversaries could be only complicating the situation further. 

“South Africa is not unique in the position that it holds among Africans,” Hudson said. “They do not want to be trapped between great powers. They want to be able to choose and define their external relationships and not be pressured.”

China has been inserting itself across the continent for years by employing various loan programs that often result in Beijing’s increased influence as poor nations struggle to pay off the loan commitments – a scheme that has been deemed “debt trap diplomacy.” 

But Russia’s increasing interest in the African continent has Western officials concerned. 

Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sergei Lavrov (L) shakes hands with South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor (R) during a press conference following their meeting at the OR Tambo Building in Pretoria on January 23, 2023. 

BLINKEN FLIES INTO ‘SUPERPOWER’ BATTLEGROUND IN AFRICA

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has already visited the continent twice this year alone, including South Africa in January.

Earlier this month he pronounced that the West had been unsuccessful in isolating Moscow from Africa following his second tour.

Blinken traveled to South Africa in August where he championed the end of apartheid and met with Pandor for a joint press conference. 

But Blinken’s reception by the South African government did not appear to be as warmly welcomed as Lavrov’s visit earlier this month. During a joint press conference the international minister accused the U.S. and its Western allies of employing “a sense [of] patronizing bullying” when it came to the war in Ukraine. 

“It’s a bit ironic that while South Africa kind of rails against the West, for its sort of hegemony historically, it’s aligning itself with malign actors,” Hudson said, adding that the drills that kicked off Friday are just the latest “rejection of all the courting that the Biden administration has been doing in South Africa.”

Over the last 20 years the U.S. has provided over $7 billion in AIDS relief to South Africa alone, which doesn’t include the other millions of dollars in humanitarian aid Washington continues to provide annually. 

It is unclear how much aid either Russia or China provide to South Africa annually, but Hudson explained this is the crux of Washington’s woes in Africa.

“We in the United States, view our relationships in South Africa and with Africa, as kind of aid dependent – it is not a relationship of equals,” he said. “It is a relationship of donors and recipients.

“Whereas Russia and China are building relationships of equals,” he added. “They’re not sending aid to these countries. They’re doing business deals, they’re doing security deals, they’re making investments, they’re building political alliances in ways that we in the United States simply are not.”

Russia’s close ties with South Africa date back to the days of apartheid when Moscow backed the African National Congress (ANC) in its fight against the oppressive government.

The BRICS foreign affairs ministers are meeting in preparation for the full heads of state summit between July 25 and 27 2018. (STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images)

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The U.S.’s support of the South African government during the early days of apartheid in the late 1940s was largely down to the government’s support of anti-communist ideals – a topic of immense importance to Washington as the Cold War between the U.S. and Russia kicked off. 

Though the U.S. also eventually sanctioned the South African government in support of ending apartheid in 1986, Russia’s official and unofficial financial backing of the ANC reportedly ensued for decades after apartheid ended. 

Russia has also made efforts to renew its diplomatic ties with South Africa in the face of Western isolation.

“South Africa is going to have its cake and eat it too,” Hudson explained. “They’re going to take humanitarian aid from us. They’re going to take investments from the Chinese. They’re going to take energy deals from the Russians. 

“For them there is no internal inconsistency to that because they want a multilateral world,” he added. “The question is, is Washington willing to accept that? 

“And I think the bottom line is if Washington isn’t willing to accept that, it’s going to be cut out of South Africa,” Hudson said.

The South African embassy in Washington, D.C. did not return Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

In recent weeks, a Chinese spy balloon captured the nation’s attention. The alarm and outrage among the American people demonstrate a broad consensus on national security. To those who follow foreign policy public opinion, this reaction comes as no surprise.  

Americans are clear-eyed about the threats we face, but they worry that our government and military might not be up to the task of responding. Policymakers in the new Congress should know Americans are ready for serious action on the multiplying threats to our national security. 

The latest Reagan National Defense Survey shows an increasing public awareness of the threats emanating from China and Russia. In our nationwide public opinion poll, 81% of Americans are concerned about the threat of rising authoritarianism around the world — up from 75% in 2021. 

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Nearly two-thirds are worried about Russia winning the war in Ukraine, and three-quarters are concerned that the war will expand to NATO countries in Eastern Europe, forcing the United States to get directly involved. If Russia were to attack a NATO ally, most Americans support that U.S. involvement. 

Ukrainian soldiers inspect a damaged Russian tank on a road near the recently retaken village of Kamianka, Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Sunday (AP Photo)

Americans are concerned that Russian aggression will have spillover effects in other parts of the world, inspiring other authoritarian countries to invade their democratic neighbors. Even before this recent spy balloon incident, China and Taiwan were not far from the minds of most Americans.  

Seven in 10 worry that within the next five years, the United States will go to war with China. They are concerned about China’s economic practices, its military buildup and its human rights abuses — but they do not believe we have a clear strategy to manage our relationship with China. Less than half think the United States has the best military capabilities in the world. Even fewer think we have the best high-tech capabilities.  

With this assessment of the strategic landscape, here are three things Congress and the Biden administration must achieve: 

1. Invest in peace through military strength 

In the face of Chinese military investment and Russian military aggression, we must rebuild American hard power to bolster deterrence — reestablishing the peace in Europe and maintaining the peace in the Indo-Pacific.  

According to our survey, increasing defense spending has widespread public support. Three-quarters favor a higher military budget — including supermajorities (more than two-thirds) of Democrats, Independents and Republicans. Congress should provide funding for a bigger navy, more conventional weapons, and a modernized nuclear arsenal. It should also assist our military with procuring and integrating the cutting-edge technologies we need to compete in the 21st century. 

2. Develop a strategy for confronting China, our top adversary 

Americans identify China as the country posing the greatest threat to the United States, despite Russia’s aggression in Ukraine dominating headlines for almost a year.  

Three-quarters of Americans now view China as an enemy, up from 55% in 2018.The newly formed House Select Committee on China represents a laudable first step in addressing this threat. Part of this committee’s work should consider ways to strategically separate our economy from China’s in industries relevant to national security.  

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Over half of Americans, including a majority of both Democrats and Republicans, support efforts to reduce the amount of trade between the United States and China. Simultaneously, Congress should enhance American support for Taiwan, as bipartisan majorities approve of efforts to deter a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, such as increasing the U.S. military presence in the region and increasing arms sales to Taiwan. 

3. Uphold American values of freedom and democracy 

Americans want our country to walk and chew gum when it comes to the Indo-Pacific and Europe. In particular, they want to stand with the people of Ukraine.  

Nearly one year into the war, a majority of Americans wants the United States to continue providing assistance and equipment to the Ukrainians in their fight for freedom. Only one in three Americans believe we have enough problems at home and cannot afford to spend more on the conflict and risk further provoking Russia.

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Americans understand that a freer and more democratic world is one of greater peace and prosperity. Our values are our interests. Seven in 10 Americans want to continue or increase U.S. assistance for democracy advocates abroad. In addition to supporting the fight in Ukraine, Congress should fully fund the National Endowment for Democracy and the U.S. Agency for Global Media as part of our efforts to advance freedom around the world. 

Policymakers on both sides of the aisle should know that Americans believe, as Ronald Reagan explained at the 1980 Republican National Convention: “The United States has an obligation to its citizens and to the people of the world never to let those who would destroy freedom dictate the future course of life on this planet.” Our leaders would do well to take a page from President Reagan’s foreign policy playbook. 

Thomas Kenna is the Reagan Institute’s policy associate. 

Faculty from three Vermont state colleges have voted no confidence in the board of trustees that oversees the separate institutions after the board voted to have the school libraries go all-digital and restructure athletics, the faculty announced Friday.

The vote by the faculty of Castleton University, Northern Vermont University and Vermont Technical College came in response to what they called the “reckless decisions.”

The schools that are part of the Vermont State Colleges system will be consolidated this summer into the Vermont State University, but the individual schools will still maintain separate campuses. The state colleges have been struggling for years with declining student numbers due in large part to Vermont’s well-known demographic challenges and increasing costs.

VERMONT STATE COLLEGES TRUSTEES ADOPT SYSTEMWIDE ‘ANTI-RACISM PLEDGE’

The no confidence motion was in the Vermont State College Board of Trustees, Chancellor Sophie Zdatny, Chief Academic Officer Yasmine Ziesler, and President Parwinder Grewal. The motion specifically excludes the student representative on the board, the faculty said in a news release.

“We need to see the larger picture in order to help make (Vermont State University) successful,” the faculty said in announcing the vote. “Any decisions made moving forward need to be made transparently, driven by data and cost benefit analysis, and need to be communicated with wisdom and compassion.”

Faculty members at three Vermont colleges have voted no confidence in the board of trustees that oversees each of them.

Also Friday, the Vermont School Library Association called on the state college system to reverse the decision to eliminate print libraries, repurpose physical spaces and lay off librarians.

The state colleges announced the changes last week.

VERMONT UNIVERSITY HOSTS ‘SEX TOY BINGO’

When asked for a reaction on Friday, the administration of the state colleges sent a message from last week from Grewal, the incoming Vermont State University president, apologizing for the way the initial announcements were made.

He said the libraries will not be closed, but they will be transformed to serve “not only campus-based learners, but all learners. The digital generation is coming through the door, and we need to be prepared to serve them well — with full access for everyone.”

Grewal said they must make strategic decisions. “And sometimes those decisions may mean a change in one area that will feel like loss to invest in another area,” he said.

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They claimed the shift to an all-digital library format was a “data driven decision” that would give users unlimited access to resources. The changes to athletics include moving some of the sports offerings on some of the campuses to club teams rather than intercollegiate sports.

A man suspected in two shootings outside of West Los Angeles synagogues this week has been charged with hate crimes, officials said in a Friday press conference. 

U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said that a federal criminal complaint had been filed in his office Friday morning against suspect Jaime Tran, 28, charging him with two hate crimes. 

“Hate crimes have no place in our community, antisemitism has no place in our community,” he said, adding, “The complaint alleged that Tran, motivated by hate, targeted two victims because they were Jewish or he believed them to be Jewish.” 

Tran faces life in prison if convicted because the complaint contains allegations that he attempted to murder the men he shot, Estrada said. 

LOS ANGELES POLICE SAY SAME SUSPECT MAY BE INVOLVED IN TWO SHOOTINGS IN JEWISH NEIGHBORHOOD WITHIN 24 HOURS 

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass speaks at a press conference in which officials announced federal hate crime charges against suspect Jaime Tran on Friday.  (Karen Bass/Twitter)

Tran was arrested in Cathedral City, east of Los Angeles, Thursday evening and transferred to federal custody Friday morning. 

He was expected to make his first appearance in a Los Angeles federal courtroom on Friday.

Tran is accused of shooting both men at close range from moving cars while the men were leaving synagogues in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood, which is predominantly Jewish. 

The shootings occurred within a 24-hour period on Wednesday and Thursday mornings. Both men are expected to survive. 

The initial investigation indicates Tran found the neighborhood after searching a business review app for a kosher market, the FBI Los Angeles FBI office said in a press release shared with Fox News Digital. 

LOS ANGELES SHERIFF CREATES OFFICE FOCUSED ON CONSTITUTIONAL POLICING

Estrada said both victims – who were shot in the back and upper arm – were wearing clothing that identified their Jewish faith, “including black coats and head coverings.”

He also commended the “swift and decisive action” of law enforcement officers in arresting Tran. 

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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the “terror” of the two shootings was “felt all across Los Angeles.” She noted that antisemitism is on the rise in L.A. and across the country, saying fighting hate crimes “in all forms” is a priority in her administration.

Tran has an alleged history of making antisemitic threats, including texting a former classmate, “I want you dead, Jew,” the Los Angeles Times reported. 

“In addition to targeting innocent people with violent physical attacks, these crimes instill fear in the community,” Donald Alway, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. “There is no place in Los Angeles and, indeed, the United States of America, for fear to control communities and to intimidate people of faith. Law enforcement will work together to prevent hate crimes, whether they be civil liberties violations or acts of terror. On behalf of the FBI, I wish a full recovery to the victims who were senselessly attacked for their faith, as well as peace to the Jewish community.”

Fox News host Jesse Watters expressed frustration with articial intelligence technology, believing that it will discriminate against conservatives Friday on “The Five.”

CHATGPT FACES MOUNTING ACCUSATIONS OF BEING ‘WOKE,’ HAVING LIBERAL BIAS

JESSE WATTERS: I just hate A.I. already, these stupid liberal robots. And you know what they’re going to do? They’re going to censor us. They’re going to mess with us. It’s like we just got over this Twitter thing literally months ago, we just got over this, and then they just hop, skip and a jump around us, and now they’re using machines to mess with us. And in the future, I can already see my future, and I’m being discriminated against. We all are, almost everybody at this table, almost, will be discriminated against by the robots and that’s annoying. Come on, guys, we just need more conservatives to go to Stanford and then go work at Google. But none of the conservatives are any good at tech. It’s all liberals who …

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JUDGE JEANINE PIRRO: Don’t say that, that the Conservatives are not good at tech.

JESSE WATTERS: Why aren’t they writing code? How about conservative write some rigged code once, then I can discriminate against them in the future.

Residents of a county about 70 miles north of New York City are reporting an “unusual odor” in the area and “residue” on their cars, officials say.

The Orange County Government said in a Facebook post Friday that it has not determined a cause.

“Orange County, NY Department of Health has received reports regarding residents smelling an unusual odor and seeing residue on their cars. There is not enough information currently to determine a cause. However, Orange County has Environmental Health staff in the field investigating,” the Facebook post reads.

The county is located about six hours from East Palestine, Ohio, where a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed on Feb. 3. In the days after the derailment, a controlled release of chemicals was conducted because of the risk of a major explosion, officials said.

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Orange County government office. (Google Maps)

According to the Facebook post from the Orange County government, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is sending a team to investigate the odor and residue.

MOUNT SINAI MEDICAL ALUM: STAFF MUST ‘RECOGNIZE THEIR OWN COMPLICITY IN A RACIST HEALTH SYSTEM’

The Orange County Fire Services Hazmat team is also investigating the issue and checking local manufacturing businesses for any leaks or releases.

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Officials said there is “no known urgent public health threat.”

A mistrial was declared in Maryland on Friday in the murder case against a former Pentagon police officer who shot two suspected burglars dead in 2021 while he was off-duty.

A Montgomery County jury failed to reach a verdict in the trial against David Dixon, who is accused of killing Dominique Williams, 32, and 38-year-old James Johnson, after deliberating over two days. 

Dixon told authorities he believed both men were breaking into cars and that he was trying to stop them. 

A third man, Michael Thomas, 36, survived the shooting. Dixon’s lawyers claimed the April 7, 2021 shooting was in self-defense. Prosecutors said Dixon shot into the back of a car that was fleeing five times, striking two passengers. 

DC METRO EMPLOYEE KILLED TRYING TO STOP SHOOTER ‘HEROIC,’ SUSPECT IDENTIFIED

David Dixon, a former officer with the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, is accused of shooting to death two suspected burglars. (Pentagon Force Protection Agency)

During the trial, prosecutors released surveillance footage of Thomas bringing Williams and Johnston to a hospital. 

“There’s no question that David Dixon, nor any reasonable person, would think that they were in any physical harm or risk of bodily injury or death at all,” Attorney David Haynes, representing Johnson’s family, said of the video, according to WUSA-TV in Washington, D.C. “So to us, this was clearly an unjustified shooting. We look forward to a retrial, we look forward to justice, we look forward to David Dixon being taken off the streets so that he doesn’t harm anyone else again.”

Dixon said he was trying to make a citizens arrest. He was charged with second-degree murder and attempted murder. He faces up to 180 years in prison. 

He remains in jail without bond for the deadly shooting and an unrelated assault case. 

Prosecutors said they plan to retry the case. 

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As the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine nears, NATO allies once again pledged this week to send more defense systems, ammunitions, artillery and tanks in an effort to defeat Russia, but one top defense official said victory for Ukraine will require more than border security. 

Kyiv has said it hopes to claim victory against Russian President Vladimir Putin by the end of 2023, which in its eyes means ousting all Russian troops from its territory, including Crimea, and shoring up defenses for the future.

“Victory for us will mean not just throwing the enemy out and restoring our territorial sovereignty,” Yuriy Sak, top adviser to Ukraine’s defense minister, told Fox News Digital.  “Victory will also mean establishing a Ukraine which will make such aggression impossible in the future.”

Ukrainian soldiers adjust a national flag atop an armored personnel carrier on a road near Lyman, Donetsk region on Oct. 4, 2022. (Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images)

DEFENSE SECRETARY AUSTIN SAYS US WOULD ENTER CONFLICT IF RUSSIA ATTACKS ESTONIA

Ukraine has already seen victories in parts of its eastern front after it successfully pushed Russian forces out of the Kharkiv region in September, damaged Putin’s Crimean bridge in October, and forced Russian troops across the Dnieper River in November when it recaptured the city of Kherson. 

But Ukraine is now faced with the prospect of keeping Russian troops not only out of these areas, but the regions they have not yet freed.

Sak said the only way to ensure adequate border protection is to transform Ukraine’s forces to adhere to the same standard as Western militaries – a feat its troops are already working on as they are being trained by U.S. and NATO forces. 

But even more important to Ukraine’s long-term security is its ability to have the complete backing of its Western allies, explained the defense adviser – a move that Putin has long viewed as his greatest threat. 

Ukrainian marines prepare for bilateral military exercises with the United States on Sept. 16, 2014, near Yavorov, Ukraine. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

“Ukraine needs to become a member of NATO,” Sak said. “De facto we are already a member of NATO alliance because we are fighting to stop the enemy from going further into the NATO countries. We are using weapon systems that members of NATO provide us with.”

The defense adviser said that even after Russian forces are pushed out it will take time to rebuild Ukraine, particularly the Luhansk, Dontesk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions most affected by the war.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: BELARUS WILL JOIN FIGHT IF EVEN ‘ONE SOLDIER’ ATTACKS TERRITORY, PRESIDENT SAYS

Ukraine needs to become more militarily self-sufficient, he added.

“We will have to build and considerably improve our own defense industry so that we are less reliant on the military support of our partners,” Sak said. 

The adviser said munitions factories and maintenance plants are basic requirements for achieving this plan and he pointed to the fact that when military equipment is damaged during the war it frequently has to be sent to nations like Poland for repairs. 

Ukrainian servicemen sit atop armored personnel carriers near the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk on July 11, 2014. (Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images)

Putin launched his invasion over the claim that Ukraine posed an existential threat by attempting to join NATO.

In early peace negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv, Russia demanded that Ukraine pledge to never join the alliance. Kyiv appeared to consider the demand until negotiations collapsed.

By September, Kyiv had pushed forward in its membership quest.   

NATO has also rejected Russia’s demands that it block Kyiv’s pathway to joining the military alliance and NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg accused Putin last year of being fearful of “democracy and freedom.”

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Ukraine maintains that it is not only in its own interest that Kyiv win the war against Russia, but maintains that it is fighting for the security of Europe and world order. 

“We all should step up our efforts and shift into high gear so that we don’t allow this war to become a protracted war – it’s not in the interest of anyone,” Sak argued. “It’s not just about Ukraine. It’s about the stability of Europe and the world.”