Celebrating another year, we wish a happy birthday to Prince Archie!

On Wednesday, Meghan Markle took to Instagram to honor the 7th birthday of her and Prince Harry’s eldest son with a heartfelt post.

The 44-year-old former “Suits” actress shared a nostalgic photo featuring Harry gently holding newborn Archie, captioning it, “7 years later…happy birthday to our sweet boy 🤍.”

The Instagram carousel also included a charming image of Archie and his sister, Princess Lilibet, enjoying a moment together as they splashed in a shallow pond, hand in hand.

Archie was welcomed into the world by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in May 2019.

During the infant’s debut, the new mom dubbed motherhood “magic” and “pretty amazing.”

The “Deal or No Deal” alum gushed, “I have the two best guys in the world, so I’m really happy.”

Harry, for his part, said becoming a dad was “been the most amazing experience [he could] ever possibly imagine.”

Princess Lilibet, now 4, joined the family in June 2021.

By that time, Harry, 41, and Markle had resigned from their royal roles and moved to a Montecito, California, mansion.

Although the couple primarily keep their children out of the public eye, Markle started giving regular glimpses of the little ones after re-joining Instagram in January 2025.

When Archie turned 6 four months later, the actress showed her followers a sunset shot of her son in striped pajamas.

“Where did the time go?” Markle asked in May 2025. “And for all of you who came to celebrate with us at his party last weekend, thank you for making his birthday so incredibly special ❤️.”

That same month, Markle told “Jamie Kern Lima Show” listeners how intentional she is about “building [her kids’] confidence and their self-esteem.”

She gushed, “That’s the best part about being a mom. It’s not about the grandeur of a gesture. It’s about, ‘I see you. I’m nurturing and I see you so deeply and I love being able to see your growth.’”

During an “Aspire” podcast chat the following month, Markle acknowledged how “privileged” her children are — but shared how she and Harry combat that.

The couple teach Archie and Lilibet about “manners and taking care of the things around you,” as well as the fact that “there is a cost and a price” to everything, Markle said in the June 2025 interview.

Jane Fonda has expressed her heartfelt tribute to her former husband, Ted Turner, who passed away at 87. The celebrated actress, now 88, reflected on their shared past and Turner’s indelible impact on her life following the announcement of his death by CNN, the network he famously founded.

In a touching post on social media, Fonda, who was married to Turner from 1991 until 2001, hailed him as her “favorite ex-husband.” She fondly remembered their complex relationship, highlighting his “brilliant mind” and “vulnerability” with a sense of deep affection.

Fonda described Turner as a “gloriously handsome, deeply romantic, swashbuckling pirate” who swept into her life and changed her forever. She reminisced about how he needed her, something she had never experienced before with someone so extraordinary. Turner was not just any individual; he was the mastermind behind CNN and Turner Classic Movies and had achieved the prestigious America’s Cup as a top sailor.

She wrote: ‘MY IMMEDIATE THOUGHTS ABOUT TED. He swept into my life, a gloriously handsome, deeply romantic, swashbuckling pirate and I’ve never been the same. 

‘He needed me. No one had ever let me know they needed me, and this wasn’t your average human being that needed me, this was the creator of CNN, and Turner Classic Movies, who had won the America’s Cup as the world’s greatest sailor. He had a big life, a brilliant mind and a soaring sense of humor.

‘He could also take care of me. That was new as well. To be needed and cared for simultaneously is transformative.

Jane Fonda paid tribute to her ‘deeply romantic and swashbuckling’ ex-husband Ted Turner following his death aged 87 on Wednesday – pictured 1990 

The iconic actress, 88, who was married to Turner from 1991-2001 shared a poignant social media post after the billionaire CNN founder’s passing was confirmed on Wednesday by the cable network he founded – Turner pictured 2012 

‘Ted Turner helped me believe in myself. He gave me confidence. I think I did the same for him, but that’s what women are raised to do. Men like Ted aren’t supposed to express need and vulnerability. That was Ted’s greatest strength, I believe.

‘He also taught me more than any other person or school classes, mostly about nature and wildlife, hunting and fishing (hunters and fishermen who follow the law are the best environmentalists), but also about business and strategy. 

‘Next to Katharine Hepburn, Ted was the most competitive person I have ever met and that was fascinating to witness. 

‘Whether it was who’d made the most ski runs at the end of the day, to acres of land owned (stewarded is the more fitting word for his relationship to land), who had the most billions, how many countries he’d made love to his prior lover in and could I match that, it was challenging. 

‘Ted was challenging, but I’ve always been up for a challenge, and with Ted it was almost always worth it.

‘As our friend, Ron Olson, said, “Ted was a great teacher, often by example. He challenged us to think big (he once asked me to draft a resolution for the UN and the US Congress to ban all nuclear weapons; I did) and act small (for the twenty years since meeting Ted, I too, pick up trash on my walks).”

‘I loved Ted with all my heart. I see him in heaven now with all the wildlife he helped bring back from extinction – the black footed ferrets, the prairie dogs, Big Horned sheep, Mexican Gray Wolf, the Yellowstone wolf pack, bison, the red cockaded woodpecker and so many more, they’re all gathered at the pearly gates applauding and thanking him for saving their species.

‘Five children survive him, five talented, complex kids who I had the privilege of becoming stepmother to. I had four stepmothers growing up and I know how important stepmothers can be, so we all did our best to build an extended, rag tag family, and I love them to this day. If it was complicated to be married to him, think how complicated it was being his child. And they are all doing fine.

‘Rest in Peace, dearest Ted. You are loved and you will be remembered.’

Fonda once called Turner her ‘favorite ex-husband.’ Above, on their wedding day in 1991

The pair are pictured together in 2013 – 12 years after their divorce 

Fonda and Turner were both each other’s third spouses when they wed in 1991.  Turner is survived by his five children from his first two marriages.

He never remarried after Fonda filed for divorce in April 2001.

 Fonda attended an event in honor of a charity she and Turner cofounded while together in November. 

‘Ted’s not here, but he is here in my heart, and I know he is here in a lot of our hearts,’ she said at the time. 

Nicknamed the Mouth of the South for his outspokenness, Turner built a media empire that spanned several cable and satellite sports stations. For decades, he also owned the Atlanta Braves.

Turner founded CNN, the first 24-hour cable news channel, in 1980.

He was named Time’s Man of the Year eleven years later for the station’s live coverage of current events.

CNN Worldwide CEO Mark Thompson acknowledged his death in a statement.

A cause was not given, but Turner was known to have had Lewy body dementia.

‘He was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN,’ Thompson wrote of Turner.

‘Ted is the giant on whose shoulders we stand, and we will all take a moment today to recognize him and his impact on our lives and the world.’

Thompson further touted the TNT founder as an ‘intensely involved and committed leader, intrepid, fearless and always willing to back a hunch and trust his own judgment.’

Turner officially resigned from Turner Broadcasting System – which includes CNN – in 2006. 

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in November 1938, took over a faltering family billboard business after his father’s suicide before launching his television career with purchases of several radio stations and a struggling Atlanta station in 1970.

Within ten years, Turner managed to turn the channel around. He used the profits to help launch CNN, which quickly gained traction in the United States and later internationally.   

The launch came as viewers were shifting from broadcast to cable, with CNN subsequently surfacing as a key source of news during the Persian Gulf War in the early 90s.

The channel’s success inspired the creation of several other 24-hour news channels since, including Fox News. 

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in November 1938, Turner took over a faltering family billboard business after his father’s suicide and transformed it into a sprawling media empire

Turner was also a major philanthropist, donating to several causes over the course of multiple decades

Turner’s television empire extended beyond CNN, however, with TBS and TNT, Turner Classic Movies and Cartoon Network among his other creations.

Turner also attempted to acquire CBS in the 80s but failed. He also owned Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) for a time, before selling off the storied studio for a fraction of what he paid to keep the rights to large portions of its film catalog. 

The shrewd business move helped launch both TNT and Turner Classic Movies, while also allowing Turner to curate content for a then-growing TBS. Films like Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz filled out time slots, as did syndicated programs like The Andy Griffith Show. 

The deals continued – and grew in scope – in the 1990s, when Turner Broadcasting merged with Time Warner in 1996, making Turner vice chairman of a newly formed entertainment powerhouse.   

In 2001, Time Warner merged with America Online in a $165 billion deal that was billed as the biggest merger in corporate history.

The merger, however, failed within a decade, largely due to the fall of AOL, which used an inflated share price for the deal during the height of its success. Turner, the biggest shareholder, lost billions.

Then, in his mid-60s and semi-retired, Turner lost roughly $8 billion as a result, he admitted at the time.

His net worth, as of Wednesday, was estimated to be $2.8 billion, according to Forbes. The advertising business he inherited from his late father was worth $1 million.

Turner as a guest on Meet the Press in 2008

Turner remained Time Warner’s vice chairman until 2003 and a board member until 2006.

His 50-year career is widely seen as groundbreaking.

David Zaslav, the CEO of Turner asset Warner Bros. Discovery, hailed Turner as ‘a visionary, a trailblazer, and a foundational force behind many of the brands that are central to Warner Bros. Discovery’ in his own statement.

‘Ted’s entrepreneurial spirit, creative ambition and willingness to take risks changed the media industry forever. 

‘He believed deeply in the power of ideas, in doing things differently and in building platforms that could inform, inspire and connect people around the world. 

‘That belief inspired generations of leaders, myself included. He did not just disrupt media. He transformed it,’ said Zaslav.

Turner revealed to CBS in 2018 that he was battling Lewy body dementia, a progressive brain disorder that he played down as ‘a mild case of what people have as Alzheimer’s.’

‘It’s similar to that, but not nearly as bad,’ Turner told then-CBS Sunday Morning host Ted Koppel. ‘Tired. Exhausted. That’s the main symptoms. And forgetfulness,’ he said.

Turner at the official CNN launch event in Atlanta, Georgia, in June 1980. The station is widely credited with revolutionizing how Americans consume news

Turner was named Time’s Man of the Year in 1991 for CNN’s live coverage of current events like the Persian Gulf War

Donald Trump paid Turner respects on Wednesday as well, with a post to Truth Social.

The President, after panning CNN’s current leadership, called the tycoon ‘one of the Greats of Broadcast History’.

Trump also hailed him as ‘a friend.’

‘Whenever I needed him, he was there, always willing to fight for a good cause!’

Turner’s philanthropic efforts included the Goodwill Games, the Better World Society, the Nuclear Threat Initiative (in 2001) and the Turner Foundation.

In a 2010 pledge, he credited his philosophy on ‘giving back’ to his late father, whom he said ‘was also philanthropic with his own small resources. 

‘Not only did he make contributions to causes that he cared about, he also supported the tuition of two African-American students at his alma mater, Millsaps College, in the late 1950s,’ Turner said at the time. 

 ‘It made a big impression on me to see someone as hard-charging as my father take the time to quietly help out two young people like this.’

‘I’m particularly thankful for my father’s advice to set goals so high that they can’t possibly be achieved during a lifetime and to give help where help is needed most,’ he added. 

Turner is survived by his five children from his first two marriages

‘That inspiration keeps me energized and eager to keep working hard every day on giving back and making the world a better place for generations to come.’

In his later years, Turner was an active practitioner of yoga and was known to wander his immense Montana ranch on horseback.

It remains unclear when he received his dementia diagnosis. The disease also affected actor Robin Williams before his death in 2014.

The individual accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump and his Cabinet during the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on April 25 may have been driven by issues related to the conflict in Iran.

A preliminary intelligence report from the Department of Homeland Security, which Reuters accessed, indicates that the suspect, Allen, had “multiple social and political grievances.” The document suggests that his actions might have been influenced by the ongoing situation in Iran.

This report, described as a “Critical Incident Note,” was released after a public records request by the nonprofit organization Property of the People, according to Reuters. It points to Allen’s social media activity concerning the Iranian conflict as part of its reasoning.

Cole Allen pictured in a hotel room with weapons. (Department of Justice)

In a statement to Fox News Digital, the Department of Homeland Security mentioned, “DHS shares Critical Incident Notes to swiftly disseminate information and intelligence to federal, state, and local authorities.”

“These reports notify our partners of the latest available information following significant incidents that have impacts to homeland security. DHS does not publicly comment on the information contained in internal law enforcement communications.”

Allen’s anti-Trump sentiments were expressed in a so-called manifesto, according to authorities.

Minutes before the attack, a pre-scheduled email from Allen was sent to his family and friends, explaining his actions, authorities said.

He allegedly acknowledged that his mission would likely severely harm him at the least but never stated that he was willing to die for his cause. His motivations were political, and he painted himself as a savior of those who he thinks have been oppressed by the current administration. 

Allen apologized profusely to family, friends and everyone he had come in contact with on his cross-country trek. He noted that there were certain people he hoped wouldn’t be caught in the crossfire and described himself as “friendly.”

A sketch shows Cole Allen standing in court before Magistrate Judge Dana Verkouteren May 4, 2026. (Dana Verkouteren)

Allen entered a lobby outside the ballroom at the Washington Hilton at 8:36 p.m. April 25 after descending from his 10th-floor hotel room.

Security footage allegedly shows him charging through a magnetometer before firing one shot from a 12-gauge shotgun. A pellet from the buckshot struck a Secret Service agent’s ballistic vest. The agent did not suffer serious injuries.

One agent fired five rounds at Allen but did not hit him. Allen fell to the ground and was apprehended.

He is incarcerated inside a Washington, D.C., jail.

Law enforcement personnel detain Cole Tomas Allen, a suspect in the shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington, D.C., April 25, 2026. (Donald J Trump via Truth Social/Handout via Reuters)

He is scheduled to be arraigned May 11.

Fox News Digital reached out to Allen’s attorney.

(NEXSTAR) – A collection of Matthew Perry’s cherished memorabilia from his time on the hit show “Friends” is set to be auctioned, with the proceeds supporting a foundation established in his honor.

Die-hard fans of the beloved sitcom will have the chance to own some of Perry’s personal keepsakes, including over two dozen scripts, some autographed by the entire cast. Among the scripts are those for notable episodes such as “The One With Ross’s Tan” and “The One Where Joey Speaks French.” The scripts from both the pilot and the finale are also part of the auction.

Additionally, a replica of the iconic yellow peephole frame from Monica’s apartment door is available for bidding, capturing a piece of “Friends” nostalgia.

Beyond “Friends” memorabilia, the auction will feature items appealing to contemporary art enthusiasts, including two pieces by the enigmatic artist Banksy and one by Mel Bochner.

All funds raised from the auction will benefit The Matthew Perry Foundation, dedicated to providing access to addiction recovery services.

“Matthew believed addiction should be met with compassion and science, not stigma and silence,” said Lisa Kasteler Calio, CEO of the Matthew Perry Foundation, in a press release. “This auction fuels the Foundation’s work to expand access to evidence-based care and confront stigma. It is one more way we ensure that no one has to fight this disease alone.”

Proxy bidding with Heritage Auctions began on Tuesday. The full auction starts on June 5.

Ted Turner, who passed away at the age of 87, was an American figure who defied simple categorization.

Turner, the mastermind behind CNN, stood as one of the most influential media magnates in history. Yet, his accomplishments extended far beyond media. He was a renowned philanthropist, a passionate environmental advocate, and one of the largest landowners in the United States.

In addition to these roles, Turner also excelled as an international yachtsman, owned both baseball and NBA teams, and was famously married to actress Jane Fonda.

Turner’s vibrant and bold personality earned him a variety of nicknames, including ‘The Mouth of the South,’ ‘Captain Outrageous,’ and ‘Terrible Ted,’ none of which seemed to fully encapsulate his larger-than-life character.

Reflecting on his own persona, Turner once quipped, “If I only had a little humility, I’d be perfect.”

‘I’m trying to set the all-time record for achievement by one person in one lifetime. And that puts you in pretty big company – Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Gandhi, Christ, Mohammed, Buddha, Washington, Roosevelt, Churchill.’

In September 2018, Turner revealed that he had Lewy body dementia, a degenerative nerve disease. He spent his final years privately, much of it at his 113,000-acre ranch in Montana amid forests and rolling meadows populated by deer, elk, bears and mountain lions. 

Turner was worth an estimated $2.6 billion when he died. During his lifetime he made philanthropic history by announcing that he was donating $1 billion to the United Nations, calling it ‘the best investment I’ve ever made.’

In 2010, he promised to donate most of his remaining wealth to good causes when he died.

Ted Turner was married to Jane Fonda in the 1990s

The future creator of CNN was born Robert Edward Turner III on November 19, 1938, in Cincinnati, Ohio.

His father, Robert Jr. was from a cotton-growing family in Mississippi, and had headed for Ohio in the Great Depression, wedding Florence Rooney, whose father owned grocery stores.

His father was an alcoholic who beat him with a leather strap and wire coat hanger, which he would later describe as ‘hurting like the devil.’

When Turner was nine his family moved to Savannah, Georgia, and he was sent to a Christian military boarding school. In the summers, he painted billboards for his father’s advertising business.

In 1956, he went to Brown University in Rhode Island but his father was outraged by his decision to study classics, rather than for a business degree.

His father wrote to him: ‘My dear son, I am appalled, even horrified, that you have adopted Classics as a major. I am a practical man, and for the life of me I cannot possibly understand why you should wish to speak Greek. With whom will you communicate in Greek?

‘I think you are rapidly becoming a jackass, and the sooner you get out of that filthy atmosphere, the better it will suit me.’

Ted Turner at the official CNN launch event in Atlanta, Georgia, in June 1980. The station is widely credited with revolutionizing how Americans consume news

Ted Turner holds a bottle and an admirer as he and his crew celebrated their victory in the America’s Cup

According to fellow students Turner was a heavy drinker, was caught with a girlfriend in his room, and failed to graduate. He then joined his billboard company, Turner Outdoor Advertising.

In 1963 his father was in debt as he tried to make it into the biggest billboard company in the southern states, and committed suicide, shooting himself at the family home in Savannah.

It left Ted Turner in charge at age 24.

The business was initially sold to pay debts, but he then repurchased it.

In 1970, he bought a failing Atlanta UHF television station, Channel 17, now called WTBS, for $2.5 million.

After a rocky start, Turner eventually made the station profitable with low-cost 24-hour programming.

In 1976, he made WTBS the first ‘superstation’ by beaming its signal to a satellite, allowing its programming to be picked up by local cable systems across the country.

Turner, who always described himself as more of an ‘adventurer’ than businessman, then indulged his passion for sports.

He bought the Atlanta Braves baseball team, and the Atlanta Hawks basketball team. which provided more content for his superstation.

He appointed himself manager of the Braves, leading to a dispute with Major League Baseball, and lost his only game in charge.

in 1997 Ted Turner, owner of the Atlanta Braves, throws the ceremonial first pitch before the first regular season game in the Braves new stadium, Turner Field

Turner also became determined to win the America’s Cup yacht race, and did so in 1977 off Newport, Rhode Island. However, his behavior became notorious.

‘He flirted with every girl in sight, crawled pubs with his crew, got tossed out of chic clubs and restaurants for boozy behavior and turned Newport’s blue bloods positively purple,’ Time magazine reported at the time.

Turning his attention back to his business, Turner decided to start the first 24-hour news TV channel.

While many ridiculed the idea, to Turner it seemed common sense.

‘I worked until 7 pm and, when I got home the news was over,’ he once said. ‘So I missed television news completely, and I figured there were lots of people like me.’

He added: ‘If Alexander the Great could conquer the known world, why couldn’t I start CNN?’

Cable News Network – CNN – began broadcasting from Atlanta on June 1, 1980.

Offering low pay but the lure of adventure, Turner signed up journalists and technical crew.

There were a litany of early mishaps which led to the nickname ‘Chicken Noodle Network,’ and it began losing $2 million a month.

Turner later described how he ‘lived on a couch in my office the first 10 years’ and he was sometimes seen in the newsroom in a bathrobe.

Ted Turner, center, is carried off by his crew following a news conference after his vessel Courageous won the Americas Cup sailing race, Sept. 19, 1977, in Newport, Rhode Island

CNN’s breakout moment came in with the Gulf War in 1990 when it broadcast the whole thing live.

‘I learn more from CNN than I do from the CIA,’ President George H.W. Bush was quoted as saying.

Turner was named Time magazine’s ‘Man of the Year’ in 1991 and declared a ‘televisionary’ for ‘turning viewers in 150 countries into instant witnesses of history.’

Along the way he made numerous controversial remarks, including calling some of his employees ‘Jesus freaks’ because of the Ash Wednesday marks on their foreheads.

He also told a group of Germans that after being on the wrong side of two world wars, they could turn things around just as his losing Braves baseball team had done.  

Turner also had an intense rivalry with fellow media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who he once challenged to a fist fight. One of Murdoch’s newspapers asked on its front page if Turner was ‘insane.’

His Turner Foundation gave millions to environmental groups, while he promoted and invested in clean energy.

Turner also became one of the largest private landowners in the United States with more than 1.9 million acres (770,000 hectares) in six states, including Montana, where he spent much of his time.

He owned a herd of some 50,000 bison, which he used to supply a restaurant chain he founded in 2002 called Ted’s Montana Grill.

In 2018 Ted Turner said he rarely watched CNN anymore because it was too focused on politics

Turner’s conservation efforts included owning a herd of 50,000 bison

In 1996 his company Turner Broadcasting System, was bought by Time Warner for $7.5 billion.

Five years later, Time Warner merged with AOL in a $99 billion deal that saw him stripped of his position overseeing the cable networks that he had created.

Ultimately, he lost billions as the value of the company’s stock fell.

In 2003 he quit as vice chairman and three years later stepped down as a Time Warner director.

He battled depression and often spoke of suicide, according to his biographer.

The most high profile of his three marriages was to Jane Fonda in 1991. When they met he was already divorced twice with five adult children. The marriage lasted a decade and they remained friends.

Fonda later said: ‘Given his childhood, he should’ve become a dictator. He should’ve become a not nice person. The miracle is that he became what he is. A man who will go to heaven. He’s a miracle.’

Jane Fonda and Ted Turner at a charity event in 2006

Speaking in 2012, Turner said he was ‘brokenhearted.’

‘I lost Jane. I lost my job here. I lost my fortune, most of it,’ he said. ‘Got a billion or two left. You can get by on that if you economize.’

In 2018, in the middle of President Donald Trump’s stormy first term, Turner said in an interview that he rarely watched CNN any more, saying that it focused too much on politics.

In early 2025, Turner was hospitalized with a mild case of pneumonia before recovering at a rehabilitation facility.

He is survived by his five children, 14 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

A California man linked to a notorious underground biolab has been convicted by a federal jury for masterminding a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme involving COVID-19 testing, officials announced.

Jia Bei Zhu, a 64-year-old Chinese national, faced a two-week trial in Sacramento and was found guilty on all 12 charges, which included conspiracy, wire fraud, the distribution of misbranded medical devices, and providing false information to the Food and Drug Administration, as reported by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

According to prosecutors, Zhu operated through his Fresno-based firm, Universal Meditech Inc. (UMI), to distribute over a million defective COVID-19 test kits nationwide, amassing nearly $4 million during the pandemic’s peak.

“This verdict ensures accountability for actions that took advantage of a public health emergency for personal profit,” commented U.S. Attorney Eric Grant. “The defendant intentionally misled the public by selling inferior, foreign-manufactured test kits when accuracy and dependability were paramount.”

In addition, the Department of Justice has filed more charges against Jia Bei Zhu, 62, who runs the Reedley Bio-Lab, along with his associate. (KMPH)

Authorities say the tests were falsely marketed as FDA-approved, made in the USA and produced in certified laboratories — claims that prosecutors say were entirely fabricated.

According to evidence presented at trial, Zhu and his associates imported cheap COVID-19 tests from China, then repackaged and resold them under false pretenses. Many of the kits were missing basic components and, in some cases, did not work at all, victims testified.

Employees told jurors they were instructed to lie to customers and feared retaliation if they refused. Many of those workers had no medical or scientific background and were recruited from unrelated jobs, including retail and childcare.

Federal investigators say the operation was driven by deception at nearly every level, from misleading online marketing to false claims made directly to regulators.

“The defendant’s scheme … undermined public health during a critical time,” said FDA Special Agent in Charge Robert Iwanicki.

Zhu had previously drawn national scrutiny over his connection to a now-shuttered warehouse in Reedley, California, described by officials as an illegal, makeshift biolab that raised alarms about potential biohazards.

Inside the Chinese-linked biolab in Reedley, California, where a leak occurred. (KMPH)

The Reedley facility previously drew scrutiny after local and federal officials found lab materials, mice and improperly stored substances, though officials later said the materials tied to this case did not pose a risk to humans.

However, authorities emphasized that the criminal charges in this case were not directly tied to the biological materials found at that site. Federal agencies, including the FDA, CDC and FBI, ultimately determined the materials were part of a failed attempt to manufacture COVID-19 tests and did not pose a threat to the public.

Prosecutors said UMI’s Fresno facility itself lacked the ability to manufacture COVID-19 tests and was described as an unsanitary warehouse that fell far below established standards.

Lab equipment with Mandarin writing is seen in a biolab located in Fresno, Calif. (KMPH)

Zhu’s alleged romantic and business partner, Zhaoyan Wang, was also charged but fled the United States before his arrest and remains a fugitive believed to be in China.

Prosecutors say the pair attempted to dodge scrutiny by relocating their operation and rebranding the company under a new name, but the effort failed as federal investigators closed in.

In one instance, Zhu allegedly lied to federal agents about his identity, claiming to be a different person who had recently arrived in the U.S.

Zhu is scheduled to be sentenced in August and faces decades in prison if given the maximum penalties. Each wire fraud charge alone carries up to 20 years.

Federal officials say the case underscores their commitment to cracking down on pandemic-related fraud.

“Our office remains committed to prosecuting those who endanger the public through fraud,” Grant said.