"Empire" actor Jussie Smollett orchestrated an attack on himself, in which he said two men beat him while shouting homophobic and racist slurs and putting a rope around his neck, because he was "dissatisfied" with his salary, police said Thursday. Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said Smollett sent a threatening letter to himself and paid two men $3,500 to stage the attack against him. "This announcement today recognizes that 'Empire' actor Jussie Smolett took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career," Johnson said. Get More

North Carolina's elections board Thursday ordered a new election in the nation's last undecided congressional race after the Republican candidate conceded his lead was tainted by evidence of ballot-tampering by political operatives working for him. The State Board of Elections voted 5-0 in favor of a do-over in the mostly rural 9th Congressional District but did not immediately set a date. In moving to order a new election, board chairman Bob Cordle cited "the corruption, the absolute mess with the absentee ballots." Get More

Tax preparation is rarely easy, but this filing season comes with a unique set of complications. It's the first year people are filing under the massive overhaul to tax law put in place by Congress in late 2017. Tax season also kicked off days after a partial government shutdown. Still, some taxpayers are feeling a bit confused. The Associated Press enlisted executives from some of the biggest tax preparers to answer questions about this tax season. Get More

A Coast Guard lieutenant accused of being a white supremacist who stockpiled guns and compiled a target list of prominent Democrats will remain detained in federal custody after his arrest. Federal Magistrate Judge Charles Day ordered 49-year-old Christopher Paul Hasson held Thursday but said he might be willing to reconsider later if the government hasn't charged him with more serious crimes in the next two weeks. The U.S Attorney for Maryland, Robert Hur, told reporters outside the courthouse Thursday that the sheer number and force of the weapons recovered from Hasson's residence, coupled with the disturbing nature of his writings, "appear to reflect a very significant threat to the safety of our community," particularly given the position of trust that Hasson held with the U.S. government. Get More

Federal prosecutors say an IRS investigator in California has admitted leaking confidential details of financial transactions by former Trump attorney Michael Cohen to Michael Avenatti, lawyer for Stormy Daniels, NBC News reported. John C. Fry has been charged in federal court with searching for and disseminating Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs), reports filed by banks when they note potentially suspicious transactions. Get More at NBC News

An Israeli spacecraft rocketed toward the moon for the country's first attempted lunar landing, following a launch Thursday night by SpaceX. A communications satellite for Indonesia was the main cargo aboard the Falcon 9 rocket, which illuminated the sky as it took flight. But Israel's privately funded lunar lander — a first not just for Israel but commercial space — generated the buzz. Israel seeks to become only the fourth country to successfully land on the moon, after Russia, the U.S. and China. The spacecraft — called Beresheet, Hebrew for Genesis or "In The Beginning" — will take nearly two months to reach the moon. Get More

The Trump administration, which abruptly announced in December that it was pulling out of Syria, said Thursday that it will keep 200 U.S. troops in the country for now. "A small peace keeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for period of time," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a one-sentence statement. Get More

Two sons of notorious drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman have been indicted on drug conspiracy charges, the Justice Department said Thursday. Joaquin Guzman Lopez, 34, and Ovidio Guzman Lopez, 28, are charged in a single-count indictment that was unsealed last week in Washington. Prosecutors allege the two brothers conspired to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana into the U.S. from Mexico and elsewhere in the world from 2008 to 2018. They are both believed to be living in Mexico and remain fugitives. Get More

A man is accused of striking a female U.S. Secret Service officer outside the White House Monday, after breaching a police security perimeter, according to a Secret Service affidavit reviewed by the News4 I-Team. Officers arrested Christopher Henry Alexander Davis after a physical struggle, according to the affidavit. Davis faces a federal charge of interfering with a federal law enforcement agent. Get More

Customs officers inspecting luggage at Washington Dulles International Airport thought something seemed off about chocolates in a woman's luggage. They searched the treats and found hashish inside. Get More

A federal judge ordered Roger Stone not to discuss his criminal case with anyone and issued a stinging reprimand Thursday over the longtime Trump confidant's decision to post a photo on Instagram of the judge with what appeared to be the crosshairs of a gun. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said that Stone would "pose a danger" to others in the case unless she modified the terms of his release to include the gag order. Stone had taken the witness stand to try to explain his post and apologize to the judge, repeatedly telling her that he had made an egregious and inexcusable mistake. Get More

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday issued a long-awaited update to sunscreen rules aimed at strengthening regulation of over-the-counter sunscreens, NBC News reported. Two of the 16 main chemical ingredients in over-the-counter sunscreen products are considered safe, the FDA says, as part of a proposal aimed at improving the safety and quality of sunscreen products sold without prescription in the United States. Get More at NBC News

As a showdown looms over humanitarian aid destined for Venezuela, President Nicolas Maduro closed off his country's border with Brazil, vowing on Thursday to block the emergency food and medicine that has rallied his opponents and which he claims is part of a U.S.-led coup plot. Amid the mounting tensions, opposition leader Juan Guaido set off in a cross-country caravan for the border with Colombia, where much of the U.S.-supplied aid is warehoused and where he has called on thousands of ordinary Venezuelans to assemble Saturday to help bring it across. A group of lawmakers also headed to the Colombian border were stopped a few hours outside Caracas by national guardsmen in anti-riot gear who positioned a trailer truck in front of a tunnel, blocking the highway westward. A shouting match and scuffle ensued, with the guardsmen firing tear gas before the lawmakers eventually forced their way through and resumed their journey. Get More