The aerospace firm at the heart of a chemical crisis that led to the evacuation of thousands of California residents over the Memorial Day holiday weekend is now facing yet another lawsuit.

This legal challenge accuses the UK-based GKN Aerospace of negligence, trespass, and nuisance. It claims the company neglected to uphold safety protocols, despite receiving prior regulatory warnings and having a history of environmental infractions.

The lawsuit is one of many filed in the aftermath of a malfunctioning storage tank that contained flammable methyl methacrylate. The tank overheated and was compromised, leading to evacuation orders across multiple cities in Orange County, California, during the holiday period.

Officials reported that a crack developed in the tank, which unexpectedly released pressure and helped prevent a catastrophic explosion, allowing most of the displaced residents to return home.

In response to the crisis, Governor Newsom declared a state of emergency in Orange County as the failing chemical tank threatened to cause a devastating explosion.

Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency in Orange County as California continues to respond to the hazardous chemical incident in Garden Grove. (Ethan Swope/AP)

The plaintiffs’ “trespass” claim is particularly notable, arguing that the chemical vapors, odors and airborne contaminants migrating into their community constituted an invasion of their property.

The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified compensation and punitive damages for emotional distress, the temporary loss of property use and the long-term diminution of property value caused by chemical stigma.

During the emergency, authorities ordered some 50,000 people living in parts of Anaheim, Buena Park, Cypress, Garden Grove — where the GKN facility has been located since 1966 — Stanton and Westminster to leave their homes.

DISNEYLAND REMAINS OPEN AS EVACUATION ZONE SHRINKS AROUND CHEMICAL TANK SCARE

Evacuees from an aerospace chemical plant tank leak moved to another shelter after the Garden Grove Sports and Recreation Center closed for the night in Garden Grove, Calif., on May 22, 2026. (Ethan Swope/AP)

President Donald Trump granted a federal emergency declaration on Monday in response to the incident.

The lawsuit claims that GKN “consciously disregarded the rights and safety of Plaintiffs and other nearby residents by failing to implement, fund, maintain, inspect, repair, and enforce adequate safety systems despite the known risks associated with MMA and the facility’s hazardous materials operations.”

The Garden Grove facility, which manufactures windows and canopies for commercial and military aircraft, as well as spacecraft, had a prior regulatory history concerning environmental and air quality compliance, the lawsuit states. Specifically, it points to a reported 2025 settlement involving air quality violations that resulted in a substantial civil penalty.

20 CHEESE FACTORY WORKERS INJURED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL AT NEW MEXICO FACTORY RELEASES TOXIC GAS: POLICE

Water is sprayed on a tank that overheated at an aerospace plant in Garden Grove, Calif., on May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

“Plaintiffs are informed and believe that this prior history placed Defendants on additional notice that their hazardous materials operations required strict compliance, careful monitoring, and conservative safety practices,” the complaint states.

Exposure to MMA can cause serious respiratory problems, neurological issues and irritation to the skin, eyes and throat, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

At least 44 lawsuits have been filed related to the incident, the Orange County Register reported.

Evacuees move to another shelter after an aerospace chemical plant tank leak forced the closure of the Garden Grove Sports and Recreation Center in Garden Grove, Calif., on May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Fox News Digital has reached out to GKN for comment.

In a statement issued earlier in the week, the company apologized for the emergency.

“I recognize how challenging this has been, particularly over the Memorial Day holiday,” said GKN Senior Vice President Steve Carlin, who oversees the Garden Grove site’s programs. “We are committed to understanding what occurred and identifying ways we can support those affected.”

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A mother has been taken into custody for allegedly continuing to collect food stamp benefits in her missing daughter’s name for nearly a decade, according to police reports.

Shannon Anderson, who is both homeless and a registered sex offender, faces charges of felony food stamp fraud. Authorities claim she unlawfully received benefits intended for her daughter, Jodie “Brooke” Anderson. Brooke disappeared from a Nashville restaurant at the age of 18, as reported by WSMV.

“It’s unacceptable to exploit the system like this,” expressed Brooke’s aunt, De’Anna Anderson, in an interview with the outlet. “While our veterans struggle to access essential benefits, she’s capitalizing on her daughter’s disappearance.”

The troubling case dates back to June 2018, when Brooke was officially reported missing. At the time, both Brooke and her mother were struggling with homelessness and substance abuse issues, and had last been seen at a Jack in the Box fast-food restaurant.

Brooke was reported missing in June 2018 after she and her mother — who were both homeless and drug addicts — went to a Jack in the Box.

Shannon, 51, who was the last person to see her alive, went to use the bathroom and found her gone when she returned.

Her daughter wasn’t reported missing until August 2018, while her mother was incarcerated, her aunt said.

The case went cold, but De’Anna hopes that her mom’s latest arrest will bring new attention to Brooke’s missing persons case.

“I was hoping for years we would find her, but everything points to murder,” she said, adding that her niece’s lifestyle leads her to believe she was likely killed.

“Finding her would take a huge load off of me and finding out what happened. Then I would want justice. If I said I didn’t, I’d be lying.”

Shannon previously worked for the Davidson County Criminal Court Clerk’s Office and as a school bus driver — before drugs upended her life. 

She is listed as homeless and has a long criminal history dating back to 2013, including a charge for promoting prostitution in 2017 that landed her on the Tennessee sex offender registry, according to court records.

Shannon remains in custody on a $22,000 bond on all seven charges related to food stamp fraud, violating her sex offender registration and failure to appear.

The movement advocating for UFO disclosure appears to have reached a critical juncture. With growing public curiosity and President Donald Trump’s directive to declassify materials related to Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP), a coalition of lawmakers, whistleblowers, and researchers is rallying for what they deem a groundbreaking push for transparency.

On June 9, David Grusch, along with several members of Congress, will convene at the US Capitol. Their mission is to urge the release of UFO-related evidence that Grusch claims is currently buried within classified government archives.

Grusch, who previously testified under oath before Congress in 2023, asserts that he possesses direct knowledge of covert government programs involving technology not of human origin. His testimony has fueled calls for greater transparency and public disclosure.

The former intelligence officer is anticipated to present compelling reasons for why these materials should be scrutinized and made accessible to the public, potentially steering the conversation on UAPs into unprecedented territory.

The former intelligence officer is expected to outline why he believes those materials should now be reviewed and released to the public.

‘President Trump now has an historic opportunity; this press conference is about moving from testimony to action,’ Grusch said. ‘Let the American people judge the facts for themselves.’

The event comes after the Trump administration has released two batches of UFO files this month, with the first dump on May 8. 

Investigative filmmaker and moderator of the meeting, James Fox, said: ‘The public deserves real answers, Congress deserves access, and reality should not be classified. If our requests are fulfilled, this could change the course of history.’ 

The second batch of UFO files released by the Pentagon included a video of a mysterious object in the sky

The event, set for 1pm ET, will feature remarks from Representatives Eric Burlison, Jared Moskowitz, Anna Paulina Luna and Tim Burchett, with additional participants to be announced.

Burlison said in a press release: ‘President Trump is the first president to take concrete steps towards transparency on UAP. 

‘The recent releases are an important start, so now it’s the obligation of Congress to make sure career intelligence officials don’t obstruct his directive, in order to prevent selective disclosure or another dead end.’

Officials said additional releases from agencies, including the CIA, are expected in the coming weeks as pressure grows for greater transparency surrounding UFO investigations.

For decades, many UFO-related records remained locked away due to Cold War secrecy, national security concerns and fears about exposing sensitive military technology detected by radar and surveillance systems.

Critics have long argued that successive administrations avoided publicly acknowledging unexplained cases out of concern over public backlash, institutional embarrassment and growing conspiracy theories surrounding UFO investigations.

On Wednesday, President Trump held a Cabinet meeting where he said: ‘We’re releasing a lot of information having to do with extraterrestrial… things and people are totally fascinated by it.

‘It’s literally trending number one, can you believe it?’

David Grusch (center) previously testified under oath before Congress in 2023, claiming he had firsthand knowledge of secret government programs involving technology of non-human origin

Grusch testified alongside two other military whistleblowers, Ryan Graves, an esteemed former pilot, and Navy veteran fighter pilot Commander David Fravor, who witnessed the 2004 ‘Tic Tac’ UFO.

House lawmakers held the hearing to pressure the executive branch to release more information about unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) or UFOs.

This significant event was the first time these three men, or any individual, had sworn under oath about UFO encounters.

Graves, a former F-18 pilot with over a decade of service in the US Navy, was the first to give opening statements.

‘My testimony is based on information I’ve been given by individuals with a long-standing track record of legitimacy and service to this country, many of whom have shared compelling evidence in the form of photography, official documentation and classified oral testimony to myself and many various colleagues,’ he told lawmakers, stating he was driven to share it by a ‘commitment to truth and transparency.’

He told the committee that he and more than 30 aircrew members and veterans have experienced UAPs, unidentified aerial phenomena, along with members of Congress who have confided in him.

Graves said, as an F-18 pilot in the Red Rippers, their squadron was ‘split by UAP’ during a training mission near Virginia Beach in 2014.

He described the object as ‘dark gray or black inside a transparent sphere.’ It was about 15 feet in diameter and came within 50 feet of the lead aircraft.

Ryan Graves, a former pilot, Air Force and intelligence agency veteran David Grusch and Navy veteran fighter pilot Commander David Fravor have been sworn in and are ready to share their experiences

The mission commander ended the flight, and the squadron submitted a safety report. Graves continued to explain.

‘This story is more common than we expect,’ Graves said, ‘more than 30 witnesses had told his group about similar sightings.’

‘Often, they are veterans with decades of flying experience,’ he added.

Graves also said: ‘UAPs are in our airspace but are grossly underreported.’

Grusch spoke next, providing details about how the US government has ‘intact and partially intact’ extraterrestrial vehicles.

He has previously said the US has run a top-secret UFO retrieval program for decades and claimed the ‘Vatican was involved’ in the first-ever UFO crash.

Grusch said last month that the first recovery of a UFO was in Magenta, Italy, in 1933, and Mussolini’s Italian government held it until 1944 through 1945, when Pope Pius XII tipped America off about it.

David Fravor discussed the Tic Tac-shaped object seen in the sky over California on November 10, 2004 Video of what the Navy could trace of the object was leaked in 2017, and the Pentagon declassified the case in 2020

‘Due to my extensive executive-level intelligence support duties, I was cleared to literally all relevant compartments and in a position of extreme trust in both my military and civilian capacities,’ Grusch said during Wednesday’s hearing.

‘I was informed in the course of my official duties of a multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse engineering program to which I was denied access to that additional read-on when I requested it.’

Grusch also said he had faced brutal retaliation after coming forward about his firsthand accounts of UFOs.

‘I do have knowledge of active planned reprisal activity against myself and other colleagues.

‘There were certain colleagues of mine who were brutally administratively attacked. It makes me very upset as a leader to see that happen to other co-workers and superiors of mine in the last three years,’ Grusch added.

Fravor reminded the world about his infamous 2004 encounter with the ‘Tic Tac’ UFO.

‘I’d like to say that the tic tac object we engaged in 2004 was far superior to anything that we had at the time, have today or looking to develop in the next 10 years, he said.

‘If we, in fact, have programs that possess this technology, it needs to have oversight from those people that the citizens of this country elected in office to represent what is best for the United States and best for the citizens.’

Fravor described the Tic Tac object as being ‘perfectly white, smooth and had no windows,’ with ‘two little objects that came out of the bottom.’

In a significant diplomatic development, military representatives from Israel and Lebanon commenced negotiations on Friday morning in Washington, facilitated by the Pentagon. These discussions are part of a new U.S.-mediated effort to enhance security coordination, with the aim of preventing further tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border and reinforcing a delicate ceasefire established in mid-April.

A spokesperson from the State Department informed Fox News Digital that, “As we have consistently emphasized, the sole route to enduring peace is through direct talks between the two sovereign states.”

This dialogue represents a transition from diplomatic engagement to direct military coordination. The agenda is expected to cover critical issues such as enforcing the ceasefire, ensuring border stability, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from parts of southern Lebanon, and the role of the Lebanese Armed Forces in curbing Hezbollah’s influence.

REPORTS INDICATE ISRAEL IS MOVING TOWARDS A CEASEFIRE AGREEMENT WITH HEZBOLLAH

Present at the State Department meeting in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 2026, were prominent figures such as Michael Needham, counselor for the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad, and Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter. Their gathering was captured in a photograph by Jacquelyn Martin of the Associated Press.

The talks come weeks after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire first reached during the broader regional conflict tied to the U.S.–Iran war. While large-scale fighting has eased, Israeli forces continue operating inside parts of southern Lebanon and Hezbollah maintains drone and rocket capabilities, keeping tensions high along the border.

The ceasefire was extended on May 15 for another 45 days, creating pressure on both sides to show progress before the current arrangement expires.

But analysts say the central question overshadowing the talks is whether Lebanon can realistically curb Hezbollah’s military power without risking internal collapse.

“This will be the first meeting between representatives of the militaries since the start of the negotiation process between Lebanon and Israel,” Ahmed Sharawi, a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, told Fox News Digital.

Representing Lebanon in the talks is Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) commander Gen. Rodolphe Haykal, who previously served as commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces in southern Lebanon, an area where Hezbollah maintains a strong presence. Hezbollah is the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist organization designated by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization. 

“What we should expect is talks regarding de-confliction and what the expectations are for the LAF in terms of the broader disarmament plan against Hezbollah’s weapons,” he said.

Sharawi said the chances of a broader breakthrough remain limited so long as Hezbollah remains heavily armed and politically entrenched inside Lebanon.

“The biggest obstacle here is that the Lebanese state is yet to present a feasible plan to disarm Hezbollah,” he said.

LAWMAKERS QUESTION WHETHER US MOVING FAST ENOUGH TO CAPITALIZE ON HEZBOLLAH’S WEAKENED STATE

But analysts say the central question overshadowing the talks is whether Lebanon can realistically curb Hezbollah’s military power without risking internal collapse.  (Ibrahim AMRO / AFP via Getty Images)

He pointed to the terms of the November 2024 ceasefire agreement, which placed responsibility for disarming Hezbollah on the Lebanese state.

“We are yet to see the confiscation of one single bullet from Hezbollah,” Sharawi said.

He also warned that Hezbollah’s deep support among Lebanon’s Shiite population complicates any attempt to move toward normalization with Israel.

“There’s a fear of a civil war,” he said. “That also accounts for the Lebanese state’s unwillingness to disarm Hezbollah.”

The talks opened as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled Israel intends to maintain military pressure on Hezbollah despite the negotiations.

Sharawi argued the Trump administration nevertheless appears determined to push the process forward as part of a broader effort to weaken Iranian influence in the region.

“The reason behind these meetings is that President Trump is really trying to push for a peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon,” he said. “Peace between these two countries could really undermine Hezbollah and its influence in Lebanon.”

WALTZ SAYS TRUMP HAS CREATED ‘BEST CHANCE IN OUR LIFETIME’ TO BREAK HEZBOLLAH’S GRIP ON LEBANON

Churches in the southern Lebanese town of Rmeish remained standing throughout the conflict, as residents say the community resisted Hezbollah attempts to launch rockets from the area. (Jusoor News)

Israeli analysts similarly described the talks less as a breakthrough and more as a strategic signal aimed at Hezbollah.

“The war between us and Hezbollah is continuing,” Yossi Kuperwasser, senior project manager at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security and former head of the Research Division of Israeli Military Intelligence, told Fox News Digital.

“There is no doubt the Lebanese government does not have a monopoly on the use of force in Lebanon,” he said.

‘OVERBLOWN’ REPORTS ON ISRAEL–LEBANON NORMALIZATION RISK HINDERING BORDER TALKS BEFORE THEY BEGIN: OFFICIAL

IDF troops discovered a Hezbollah weapons cache near a UNIFIL post in southern Lebanon in 2024. (IDF Spokesman’s Unit)

Kuperwasser said expectations for an immediate diplomatic breakthrough should remain low, but argued the talks themselves send an important political message.

“The purpose of these talks is first and foremost to send a message to Hezbollah and also to the Americans,” he said. “Both sides are prepared to sit together against Hezbollah and signal that they are moving, even if slowly, toward normalization between Israel and Lebanon.”

He argued Hezbollah has been weakened politically and militarily by the ongoing conflict and by growing frustration among Lebanese civilians displaced by the fighting.

“For years Hezbollah portrayed itself as the defender of Lebanon,” Kuperwasser said. “Now many Lebanese see Hezbollah as responsible for the suffering Lebanon is experiencing.”

Kuperwasser added that while Israel supports strengthening the Lebanese army, Beirut fears direct confrontation with Hezbollah could ignite another civil war.

“The Lebanese government fears military action against Hezbollah would lead to civil war,” he said. “That fear shapes everything.”

The talks also come amid mounting domestic pressure inside Israel, where critics of Netanyahu have accused the government of pursuing containment rather than decisive military victory against Hezbollah.

Speaking Friday during a visit to Israel’s northern front, Netanyahu said Israeli forces had crossed the Litani River and were operating across multiple parts of Lebanon. 

“We are operating in Beirut, in the Bekaa Valley, across the entire front and striking Hezbollah hard,” Netanyahu said.

A woman holds her dog as she walks past burned cars a day after an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon, on April 9, 2026. (Emilio Morenatti/AP)

Meanwhile, Lebanon’s leadership is attempting to balance growing American pressure with fears of internal instability and renewed sectarian conflict.

Neither the Israeli Embassy in Washington nor the Lebanese Embassy in Washington immediately responded to requests for comment. The Pentagon did not have anything to add when asked to comment.