On Thursday, regulation enforcement and the U.S. Lawyer for the Center District of Florida introduced costs towards a brother and sister within the placement of a bomb at MacDill Air Power base, a key U.S. base amid the warfare in Iran because it’s dwelling to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and U.S. Particular Operations Command. This nationwide safety bombshell was of no curiosity to NBC (and barely in any respect to ABC) on their flagship newscasts Thursday evening and Friday morning.
Whereas 27-year-old Ann Mary Zheng was arrested, her brother Alen Zheng stays at massive and fled to….China (which opens up a harmful set of prospects vis-à-vis the Chinese language regime). At a Thursday press convention, the U.S. Lawyer mentioned they weren’t but positive whether or not the 2 People have twin citizenship in China.
Thursday’s CBS Night Information with Tony Dokoupil supplied a welcome distinction with a full story on this and aired previous to the continued lead story of the previous few weeks within the (Democrat-created) Homeland Safety shutdown that has brought about mass chaos at American airports with TSA employees remaining unpaid.
“Additionally growing tonight, the FBI says it is aware of who positioned a bomb exterior MacDill Air Power Base in Tampa this month. The bottom key to U.S. operations in Iran and the indictments coming down late in the present day. Two siblings charged, the sister arrested, her brother nonetheless on the run,” Dokoupil declared in a gap tease.
Dokoupil later started the phase by calling the event “main information” within the “doubtlessly lethal explosive system discovered exterior MacDill Air Power Base,” which “[t]he FBI says it was positioned there by a 20-year-old man who has since fled to China.”
This phase on Thursday’s @CBSEveningNews with @TonyDokoupil was the one full report on a broadcast community morning or night newscast concerning the indictment of two Chinese language-People within the placement of a bomb at MacDill Air Power base, the house of CENTCOM pic.twitter.com/sOt1AwtOsa
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) March 27, 2026
Correspondent Cristian Benavides delivered much more beautiful findings concerning the bomb and when it was discovered:
BENAVIDES: Tony, what’s so scary right here is that officers say it took six days for this explosive system to be found. They are saying that it was actual. It may have killed lots of people, however for some cause it didn’t detonate. In response to federal authorities, Alen Zheng planted an explosive system on March tenth close to MacDill Air Power Base in Tampa, Florida. Minutes later, a 911 name reported a bomb had been positioned on the bottom.
U.S. ATTORNEY FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA GREGORY KEHOE: The MacDill personnel searched the bottom and I’m the whole base and didn’t discover the system at the moment.
BENAVIDES: It was ultimately found on March 16. By then, prosecutors say Zheng and his sister, Ann Mary Zheng had bought the black Mercedes used to move the bomb to the bottom and fled to China.
Benavides defined Ann Mary Zheng had, for some cause, returned to the U.S. and, with authorities already onto her, she was arrested upon her return and “charged with being an adjunct after the very fact and tampering with proof.”
In a second soundbite from U.S. Lawyer Kehoe, he mentioned an FBI search of their dwelling “discovered” further “IED elements.”
After reiterating to viewers that the Tampa-area base “homes Central Command, accountable for navy operations within the Center East, together with the warfare with Iran,” Benavides mentioned officers had not but revealed a motive.
“China doesn’t have an extradition treaty with the U.S. though it does negotiate in some instances, prosecutors say they don’t have any proof that Zheng was working with the Chinese language authorities,” the CBS reporter concluded.
Sadly, it seemingly wouldn’t come as a shock if, given the data already shared, some connection to Chinese language intelligence or the CCP is found.
Within the case of the aforementioned ABC, all they may muster was a 23-second information transient on Friday’s Good Morning America from information reader Will Reeve:
Friday’s ‘Good Morning America’ on ABC may solely pull down 23 seconds on the MacDill bomb, speedily transferring by the bombshell that the brother remains to be in China pic.twitter.com/9kEeDk4SVs
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) March 27, 2026
We start [New at 7:30] with a brother and a sister indicted for allegedly planting an explosive system at McDill Air Power base in Florida. The system was discovered on March 16 exterior the bottom’s customer’s heart. It didn’t go off. The siblings escaped to China however the sister got here again. She is below arrest. The brother remains to be in China and the motive behind the plot is unclear.
Thursday’s NBC Nightly Information targeted closely on the Savannah Guthrie interview, however they nonetheless discovered time for different tales, together with a disturbed man driving onto a Daytona Seaside tarmac and making an attempt to forcibly board an airplane. To be honest, CBS’s Dokoupil additionally coated it, however he nonetheless discovered time for MacDill.
Within the case of each NBC’s Right this moment and CBS Mornings on Friday, they remained scorching on the trial of a Hawaii physician who allegedly tried (and failed) to homicide his spouse whereas mountain climbing. However like with the Daytona drunk, ABC’s Good Morning America discovered time to cowl the Lifetime film in-waiting and a bomb that would have wreaked havoc at one of many nation’s most vital navy installations.
To see the related CBS transcript from March 26, click on right here.
