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U.S. NEWS Thursday 4 January 2024
FBI calls bomb threats that led to brief lockdowns and evacuations

of some state capitols a hoax

By REBECCA REYNOLDS was given.
Associated Press “This is an ongoing investi-
A bomb threat emailed gation and there is no fur-
to officials in several states ther threat to the Capitol or
early Wednesday briefly surrounding buildings,” said
disrupted government af- Bailey Martin, a spokesper-
fairs and prompted some son for the Mississippi De-
state capitol evacuations, partment of Public Safety.
but no explosives were The closures were brief and
found and federal offi- disruptions minimal in most
cials quickly dismissed the states.
threats as a hoax. Montana’s Capitol building
The threats follow a spate reopened within two hours
of false reports of shootings after a sweep of the build-
at the homes of public of- ing was completed and
ficials in recent days. the threat was found not
Connecticut, Georgia, to be credible, said Megan
Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Grotzke, spokesperson for
Michigan, Minnesota, Mis- the Department of Admin-
sissippi and Montana were istration.
among the states that In Minnesota, oral argu-
evacuated statehouse of- ments at the state Supreme
fices or buildings. Court inside the Capitol
The FBI said it was aware Traffic rolls past the Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson, Miss., as Capitol Police respond to a were interrupted, but were
of numerous hoax bomb bomb threat within the building, Wednesday mornin, Jan. 3, 2024. Associated Press moved to other courtrooms
threats at state Capitol in the Minnesota Judicial
buildings, but had “no infor- very seriously because it Office. Lawmakers were Public safety officials Center, said Kyle Christo-
mation to indicate a specif- puts innocent people at elsewhere for ethics train- locked down the Mississippi pherson, a spokesperson
ic and credible threat.” The risk,” it said in a statement. ing, but Secretary of State Capitol on the second day for the Minnesota Judicial
bureau said it was working Kentucky Gov. Andy Bes- spokeswoman Michon of the legislative session Branch.
with state, local and fed- hear said on X that the Lindstrom said some candi- and the state Senate de- Other states including Wy-
eral law enforcement to Capitol was evacuated date filings were disrupted. layed its morning meeting. oming, Oklahoma, Nebras-
gather, share and act on while state police investi- The “mass email” warned The building was evacuat- ka, Missouri and Maryland
information. gated a threat received of multiple explosives that ed and bomb-sniffing dogs received threats, but didn’t
“The FBI takes hoax threats by the Secretary of State’s would go off in a few hours. circled before an all-clear close.q

U.S. intel confident militant groups used largest Gaza hospital in

campaign against Israel: AP source

By ZEKE MILLER the information released and control activities, store National Security Council Hamas-run Health Minis-
AP White House Correspon- doesn’t fully back some of some weapons, and hold spokesman John Kirby told try says has killed 22,100
dent Israel’s most significant al- at least a few hostages.” reporters a day before Is- people though it does not
WASHINGTON (AP) — The legations that the hospital The U.S. believes that rael entered the hospital. differentiate between ci-
U.S. is “confident” that served as the central node Hamas members evacuat- Gaza’s hospitals have vilians and combatants.
Palestinian militant groups for activities by Hamas and ed days before Israel raid- played a central role in Hospitals enjoy special pro-
used Gaza’s largest hospi- Palestinian Islamic Jihad. ed the complex on Nov. 15 the dueling narratives sur- tected status under the in-
tal to hold “at least a few” The U.S. official shared the and that they destroyed rounding the war that the ternational laws of war. q
hostages seized during their assessment on the condi- sensitive documents and
bloody Oct. 7, 2023, attack tion of anonymity. electronics before Israeli
and to house command in- “The U.S. Intelligence Com- troops entered the facility.
frastructure, an American munity is confident in its U.S. officials had previously
intelligence assessment judgment on this topic and pointed to classified intel-
declassified Tuesday and has independently cor- ligence, obtained inde-
shared by a U.S. official roborated information on pendently from the Israelis,
found. HAMAS and PIJ’s use of the to offer support for Israel’s
The assessment offers the hospital complex for a va- raid. “I can confirm for you
firmest U.S. support for Israeli riety of purposes related to that we have information
claims about the Shifa hos- its campaign against Isra- that Hamas and the Pal-
pital complex, which was el,” the assessment states. estinian Islamic Jihad use
raided by Israeli forces in It continues that it believes some hospitals in the Gaza
November in an operation the groups “used the al- Strip, including al-Shifa, and
decried by global humani- Shifa hospital complex and tunnels underneath them
tarian organizations and sites beneath it to house to conceal and to support
some members of Presi- command infrastructure, their military operations Israeli soldiers show the media an underground tunnel found
underneath Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Nov. 22, 2023.
dent Joe Biden’ s party. Yet exercise certain command and to hold hostages,” Associated Press