A Chinese woman was indicted by a judge in Paris for allegedly stealing nearly $2 million worth of gold nuggets from the city’s National Museum of Natural History, including items dating back to the California gold rush. 

The Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office announced Tuesday that the 24-year-old suspect was charged with organized theft and criminal conspiracy following the Sept. 16 heist. She was arrested two weeks later in Barcelona, Spain, as she was preparing to return to China, it added. 

Prosecutors said on the morning of Sept. 16, a museum curator was notified by a cleaning staff member of debris inside the facility and the disappearance of gold nuggets usually on display, which included an 11-pound nugget from Australia, items linked to the 19th century California gold rush and a nugget gifted by Tsar Nicholas I of Russia in 1833. 

An investigation determined that two doors at the museum were cut open with a circular saw. In the mineralogy gallery, the display case containing the nuggets was broken into with a blowtorch, authorities said.

LOUVRE HEIST ADDS TO HISTORY OF HIGH-PROFILE MUSEUM BREACHES, LEAVES OTHER GALLERIES ON EDGE 

At the site, investigators found a screwdriver, saws, the blowtorch and three gas canisters used to power the blowtorch, according to the prosecutor’s office. 

It said surveillance footage revealed that a single person entered the museum by force around 1 a.m. on the morning of the heist. 

The Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office estimated that the financial loss of the gold nuggets is around $1.74 million, while an additional $58,000 worth of damage was caused by the break-in. It also said the historical and scientific value of the gold pieces was priceless. 

NEW VIDEO PURPORTEDLY SHOWS LOUVRE THIEVES IN ACTION DURING BRAZEN DAYTIME HEIST 

The Galerie de Mineralogie of the National Museum of Natural History is seen in Paris, France.  (Rachel Sommer/picture alliance via Getty Images)

At the time of her arrest in Barcelona, the suspect attempted to dispose of around two pounds of melted gold pieces, prosecutors added. 

They said the investigation remains ongoing, as authorities are trying to figure out what happened to the stolen items and if there are any accomplices. 

In France, the organized theft charge is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. 

The National Museum of Natural History in Paris was broken into on Sept. 16, 2025, prosecutors said. (Rachel Sommer/picture alliance via Getty Images)

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The suspect remains in custody while awaiting court proceedings. 

Paul Ingrassia withdrew his nomination to lead a government watchdog agency on Tuesday after his inflammatory rhetoric came to a head this week in a report about race-fueled text messages he purportedly sent.

Ingrassia’s decision to remove himself from consideration to head the Office of Special Counsel came two days before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs was set to consider his nomination.

«I will be withdrawing myself from Thursday’s HSGAC hearing to lead the Office of Special Counsel because unfortunately I do not have enough Republican votes at this time,» Ingrassia wrote on social media.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., quashed all hope of Ingrassia’s confirmation on Monday, saying, «He’s not going to pass.» When asked on Tuesday if it would be a mistake for Ingrassia to appear for his hearing, Thune laughed and said, «Yeah.»

KEY TRUMP NOMINEES STALLED BY SENATE DEMS PUTS PRESSURE ON GOP LEADERS

Ingrassia, 30, said in a group chat, according to Politico, that he sometimes had a «Nazi streak» in him, and he used the term «moulignon,» an Italian slur for Black people, to call for doing away with Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Black History Month.

The leaked chat was only the latest controversy as Ingrassia has floated around the administration serving in two different roles.

In July, Ingrassia faced a formal complaint from a lower-ranking female colleague who alleged, according to Politico, that when they arrived at a hotel for a work trip in Orlando, she found she did not have a room and was informed by Ingrassia that she would be sharing one with him. The woman, who did end up sharing a room with him, later retracted the complaint and Ingrassia also disputed it.

Ingrassia has publicly defended social media influencer and self-described «misogynist» Andrew Tate, and previously worked at a law firm that said he was on Tate’s legal team before his July 2024 admission to the New York bar. Tate and his brother face U.K. charges of rape, actual bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain, filed by the Crown Prosecution Service in May 2025. They deny the allegations.

Ingrassia was first hired as a White House liaison at the Department of Justice, where he was briefly put in charge of hiring Trump loyalists at the department. But he abruptly left and took a job at the Department of Homeland Security instead.

President Donald Trump nominated Ingrassia in May to lead the Office of Special Counsel, an independent agency (unaffiliated with the DOJ) that vets workplace complaints from federal employees.

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President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Washington. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo)

«Paul is a highly respected attorney, writer, and Constitutional Scholar, who has done a tremendous job serving as my White House Liaison for Homeland Security,» Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time.

Ingrassia rejected Politico’s characterization of the text messages, saying through his lawyer that even if they were real, «they clearly read as self-deprecating and satirical humor making fun of the fact that liberals outlandishly and routinely call MAGA supporters ‘Nazis.’»

Ingrassia has been scrutinized time and again for controversial writings, and pressure had been building on Trump to yank his nomination.

In a since deleted X post days after Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel, Ingrassia called the Palestine-Israel conflict a «psyop.»

Controversial influencer Andrew Tate (C) arrives at the Municipal Court of Bucharest, Romania, on June 21, 2023. (Daniel MihailescuI/AFP via Getty Images)

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A coalition of Jewish organizations was among those who called for Ingrassia’s nomination to be withdrawn.

«Mr. Ingrassia’s public statements and associations with people who espouse antisemitic, racist, and misogynistic views, raise serious questions about his ability to carry out these responsibilities with the integrity, impartiality, and commitment required of the office,» the coalition wrote.

A White House official confirmed to Fox News Digital that Ingrassia was no longer the nominee.

Alex Miller contributed to this report.

El presidente estadounidense, Donald Trump, suspendió este martes su cumbre pautada en Budapest con su par ruso, Vladimir Putin, ante la falta de progresos en las negociaciones de alto el fuego en Ucrania.

“No quiero una reunión inútil. No quiero perder el tiempo”, dijo Trump al ser preguntado por periodistas en la Casa Blanca sobre los motivos de esta decisión. Además, señaló que Rusia y Ucrania deberían replegar tropas simplemente para poner freno a la matanza.

El secretario de Estado norteamericano, Marco Rubio, habló por teléfono el lunes con el canciller ruso, Serguéi Lavrov, después de que Trump anunciara que los dos funcionarios se reunirían esta semana para organizar la reunión bilateral en la capital de Hungría.

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“Rubio y Lavrov mantuvieron una productiva conversación telefónica. No es necesaria una reunión presencial adicional entre el secretario y el ministro y no hay planes para que el presidente Trump se reúna con el presidente Putin en el futuro inmediato”, dijo un funcionario de la Casa Blanca.

El Kremlin también declaró que no había una fecha precisa para una cumbre.

Desde Kiev, un funcionario ucraniano admitió que Trump presionó al presidente Volodimir Zelenski para que cediera a Moscú la región del Dombás, en el este de Ucrania, que está bajo control militar ruso.

Rusia descartó un alto el fuego

Rusia descartó hoy un alto el fuego en Ucrania y dijo que deben solventar las causas originales del conflicto antes de poner fin a la guerra, en alusión a las aspiraciones de Kiev de ingresar en la OTAN y la defensa de los derechos de los rusoparlantes.

“Lo importante, de todas formas, no es el lugar ni los plazos (de la próxima cumbre), sino cómo vamos a avanzar en lo que fue acordado y sobre lo que se alcanzó un amplio entendimiento en Anchorage (Alaska)”, dijo Lavrov en rueda de prensa. Putin y Trump se reunieron en una cumbre bilateral celebrada el pasado agosto en esa ciudad estadounidense.

Una nueva reunión presidencial estaba fijada en breve. La habían pactado ambos mandatarios durante una llamada telefónica mantenida el jueves pasado. Al día siguiente Trump tenía previsto reunirse con Zelenski, para abordar el suministro de misiles Tomahawk de fabricación estadounidense que podrían penetrar profundamente en Rusia.

Trump describió la llamada como un avance y rápidamente publicó en redes sociales que se reuniría con Putin en Budapest dentro de dos semanas. Ahora todo quedó en suspenso.

El mandatario estadounidense admitió su frustración con Putin tras jactarse durante mucho tiempo de que podría poner fin a la guerra en un día tras regresar a la Casa Blanca, debido a su química personal con el líder ruso.

Qué pasó entre Donald Trump y Volodímir Zelenski

Pero el líder estadounidense también está frustrado con Zelenski, al que no consigue torcer el brazo en cuanto a concesiones territoriales concretas.

Trump presionó a Zelenski para que cediera la región del Dombás, en el este de Ucrania, prácticamente bajo entero control ruso, durante las tensas conversaciones del pasado viernes, según informó un funcionario ucraniano.

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La fuente agregó que las conversaciones con Trump “no fueron fáciles” y que los esfuerzos diplomáticos para poner fin a la guerra entre Rusia y Ucrania parecían estar “prolongándose” y “dando vueltas en círculo”.

Trump pidió la semana pasada tanto a Moscú como a Kiev que detuvieran la guerra en las líneas de batalla actuales y no hizo referencias públicas a que Kiev cediera territorio.

Pero cuando se le preguntó si Trump instó a Zelenski a retirarse de las tierras que Ucrania aún controlaba, una de las principales demandas de Putin, el funcionario ucraniano afirmó: “Sí, es cierto”.

Zelenski salió de la reunión con las manos vacías después de que Trump se negara a anunciar públicamente la entrega de los misiles de largo alcance Tomahawk.

Ucrania considera que el Dombás, una zona mayormente industrial que abarca las regiones orientales de Lugansk y Donetsk, es una parte inseparable de su territorio y rechazó en muchas ocasiones la idea de cederlo.

Los líderes europeos también rechazan la idea de que Ucrania ceda territorio, y apoyan en su lugar la propuesta de que los combates se congelen en las líneas del frente actuales.

En una declaración conjunta publicada el martes, líderes como Emmanuel Macron, de Francia; Giorgia Meloni, de Italia, y Keir Starmer, de Gran Bretaña, advirtieron que Rusia no estaba “comprometida seriamente con la paz”.

(Con información de AFP y EFE)