(NEW YORK) — Ghislaine Maxwell has been moved to a low-security federal prison in Florida to serve her 20-year sentence for sex trafficking, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
Maxwell, who has filed notice that she intends to appeal her conviction and sentence, is currently listed as an inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tallahassee.
The facility is different than what Maxwell’s attorneys had requested. They asked that she serve her time in Danbury, Connecticut.
Maxwell, 60, was found guilty of conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to recruit, groom and abuse minors.
The outgoing director of the BOP, Michael Carvajal, was subpoenaed to testify this week before a Senate panel and could face questions about Epstein’s suicide while in jail.
Maxwell’s defense attorneys had frequently complained about the conditions of her confinement at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where she was previously held, arguing she was subjected to harsh treatment because of her association with Epstein.
At the facility in Tallahassee, Maxwell will be expected to wake up at 6 a.m., make her bed, dress in khaki pants and khaki shirt and maintain a regular job assignment.
(NEW YORK) — As abortion laws across the South and Midwest block nearly all abortions in over a dozen states, some city politicians are seeking new ways to protect abortion access.
While city leaders can’t directly overturn state legislature, some are seeking city-wide bills to mitigate the effects of state bans.
Austin unites against Texas state law
On Thursday, Austin’s city council voted to enact the GRACE Act, which effectively decriminalizes abortion in the city. One council member, Mackenzie Kelly, was absent from the vote.
City policy will be updated to deprioritize the investigation or enforcement of any charges related to pregnancy and abortion.
While Austin is still under Texas’ abortion law that bans nearly all abortions in the state, the GRACE act aims to minimize criminal accountability for those who seek or provide abortions.
“Criminalizing abortions won’t make them go away. It only puts people of lower economic means and communities of color at risk by making seeking essential health care unsafe,” Council member Vanessa Fuentes told ABC News.
The legislation also blocks the use of city funding or other resources for information sharing, data collection and surveillance related to abortion services and other reproductive health decisions, according to District 4’s office.
The act, however, will not apply when “coercion or force” is used against a pregnant person or in cases of criminal negligence related to a pregnant person’s health, the office added.
Jenna Hanes, communications director for the District 4 office, said that council member Jose Vela believes abortion is just like any health care, and shouldn’t be limited by politics.
“Abortion being punishable by up to 99 years in the state of Texas is ridiculous, it’s a violation of human rights,” Hanes told ABC News.
The city unanimously passed another three measures on Thursday, all aimed to protect access to abortion.
One was a nondiscrimination ordinance, which does not allow a resident to be discriminated against in housing or employment based upon their previous reproductive choices.
Two other measures were introduced by the city’s mayor, Steve Adler, and passed by the council.
One is an awareness campaign regarding birth control options, including male-targeted options such as vasectomies. The second directs the city manager to explore options to assist city employees in traveling for any procedure they cannot obtain within Texas — including abortions.
“In Austin we stand together and fight for what is right. Reproductive rights and choice are fundamental rights,” Adler told ABC News.
New Orleans resistance meets state backlash
Some New Orleans officials have adopted similar measures, and are facing backlash from the state government for doing so, the New Orleans mayor’s office said.
Louisiana’s abortion laws are currently not in action, as a temporary order blocking enforcement was issued June 27 and has since been extended several times, with a state judge expected to hear arguments Tuesday, officials said.
If the laws are cleared by the judge, several New Orleans officials have pledged to resist enforcing the bans.
In June, the New Orleans City Council passed a resolution similar to the GRACE Act that prohibits public funds or resources from being used by local law enforcement to enforce the trigger ban, according to the mayor’s office.
Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams said his office will not prosecute abortion providers, and New Orleans Police Department and the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office said they will not arrest nor investigate providers.
In opposition, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry called upon the state treasurer and his fellow members of the Bond Commission, a state agency that determines who can incur debt or levy taxes, to delay any applications and funding for New Orleans and Orleans Parish until officials agree to enforce the ban, according to a statement from Landry.
New Orleans mayor Latoya Cantrell said she will continue to fight to make New Orleans a safe haven for abortion access.
“As a Black woman, I understand the devastating impact these laws will have on our health and safety. We experience a higher maternal mortality rate than any other group and we cannot risk our reproductive health care decisions being forced out of our hands,” Cantrell told ABC News.
St. Louis leaders defy the state of Missouri
A similar circumstance exists in St. Louis, where Mayor Tishaura Jones signed a bill to direct $1 million in federal relief funds to support access to abortions on Thursday, according to the mayor’s press conference.
Hours later, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed suit to block the new law, issuing a statement that the law was “blatantly illegal.”
“I believe that abortion is healthcare and that healthcare is a human right. He does not,” Jones said. “I believe, and a majority of Missourians believe, reproductive health care decisions should stay between St. Louisans, their God, and their doctor. The attorney general does not.”
Earlier this week, the St. Louis County Council voted not to adopt a similar bill to use federal funding towards abortion resources following a nearly three-hour debate on Tuesday.
The effort, sponsored by Council members Lisa Clancy, D-5th District, and Kelli Dunaway, D-2nd District, faced a 4-3 vote at the end of the meeting, blocking it from enactment.
Clancy told ABC News that she sponsored this bill because “removing the ability to access this procedure is a fundamental violation of the freedom of women and other pregnant people to self-determine their health care decisions.”
Clancy said that two abortion clinics in neighboring Illinois are the most accessible for the St. Louis region. But, for those who don’t have transportation, lodging and child care, getting to those clinics remains nearly impossible.
“My bill will help to level the playing field among those who need abortions to actually get them by providing funding for the logistics required to get an abortion across state lines,” Clancy told ABC News.
District 6 Council member Ernie Trakas told ABC News that he does not believe it is legitimate to use such funds for abortion travel, and that passing such a bill would “most definitely result in suit being file by the Missouri Attorney General.”
(NEW YORK) — The sixth teenager in the 1989 Central Park jogger case, who pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, will be exonerated on Monday.
While the famous “Central Park 5” juveniles went to trial, a sixth teen, Steven Lopez, pleaded guilty to avoid the rape charge.
On Monday afternoon, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr. is moving to vacate Lopez’s guilty plea and dismiss the indictment.
On the night of April 19, 1989, Trisha Meili was jogging in Central Park when she was raped, brutally beaten and left for dead. She survived and testified, but did not remember her assault.
Five teenagers — Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise — had high-profile trials after they were taken into custody, hounded in police interrogations and ultimately gave false confessions.
Salaam, Santana and McCray were convicted of rape, assault and robbery. Wise was found guilty of sexual abuse, assault and riot, and Richardson was convicted of attempted murder, rape, sodomy, robbery, assault and riot.
In 2002, convicted rapist Matias Reyes confessed to being Meili’s sole attacker, and Reyes’ DNA was matched to the crime scene. The five men’s convictions were overturned and they later received a settlement from the city.
Lopez’s case is not as well known. Lopez, who was 15 when arrested and interrogated, took a deal with prosecutors to avoid the rape charge and pleaded guilty to robbing a male jogger the same night as the rape, according to The New York Times.
Lopez served over three years and didn’t receive settlement money, the Times reported.
ABC News’ Susan Welsh, Keren Schiffman and Enjoli Francis contributed to this report.
(HOUSTON) — A Houston-area police officer was shot in the face by a suspect armed with two automatic pistols with extended magazines, authorities said.
Crystal Sepulveda was injured early Saturday and hospitalized in stable condition, authorities said.
“She’s a strong officer, she will make it through this,” Missouri City Assistant Police Chief Lance Bothell said at a news conference.
Sepulveda, who has been with the Missouri City Police Department for three years, suffered one gunshot to the face and another to the foot, he said.
The shooting took place early Saturday when Missouri City officers spotted a car that was suspected of being linked to an aggravated robbery on Friday, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner told reporters. Officers pursued the car, Finner said, and the suspect stopped in front of a house. The suspect then headed to the side or back of the house where he shot Sepulveda, Finner said.
The suspect fled on foot, and when he was found in a backyard, he opened fire on officers, Finner said. The suspect was shot and pronounced dead at a hospital, he said.
“We never celebrate the loss of life, but what could you do when a suspect is so violent?” Finner told reporters. “I ask for prayers for everybody involved, but certainly our men and women on the front line.”
(LAKE MEAD, Nev.) — Dramatic before-and-after photos of Lake Mead are providing visual evidence to the alarming rate in which the water levels at the largest reservoir in the country are receding.
Satellite images released by NASA show side-by-side comparisons of Lake Mead, one taken on July 6, 2000, and the other more than two decades later on July 6 of this year.
The images show waterways that have thinned drastically over the past 22 years as the surface of Lake Mead continues to hit its lowest levels since it was created in the 1930s amid a decadeslong megadrought in the West, which is intensifying and expanding. The light-colored fringes along the shorelines in the present-day photos is the phenomenon known as the “bathtub ring” due to the mineralized areas of the lakeshore that were formally under water.
In June 2021, Lake Mead’s surface elevation dipped to 1,071.48 feet, the lowest in recorded history at the time. In August of that year, the first-ever water shortage was declared for Lake Make, prompting mandated water releases to Arizona, Nevada and Mexico in 2022 in an effort to keep generating power and providing water for essential uses.
Now, water levels in the reservoir are so low they could soon hit “dead pool” status, in which the water is too low to flow downstream to the dam.
The minimum surface elevation needed to generate power at the Hoover Dam is 1,050 feet, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Anything below that is considered an “inactive pool,” and a “dead pool” exists at 895 feet in elevation.
The water levels at Lake Mead measured at 1043.82 on June 23 and remained at 1040.75 on Sunday, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation — a mere 146 feet away from becoming a dead pool. As of July 18, Lake Mead was only at 27% capacity, according to NASA.
The highest surface elevation ever in Lake Mead was in June 1983, when levels were recorded at 1,225.85 feet, according to data from the Bureau of Reclamation. The reservoir also approached maximum capacity in the summer of 1999, according to NASA.
Lake Mead has lost more than 25 feet this year alone, data shows. The water has receded so much that it has revealed multiple human bodies, some that may have been dumped there, as well as a World War II-era boat.
Water levels are expected to continue to dry up until November, when the wet season begins.
Much of the megadrought and the concern over a potential water shortage is attributed to climate change, as global temperatures increase, causing less snow to fall in the winters and therefore less water flowing into the Colorado River once spring arrives year after year. About 10% of the water in Lake Mead comes from local precipitation and groundwater, and the rest comes from snowmelt in the Rocky Mountains that flows down the Colorado River and to Lake Powell, the second-largest reservoir in the U.S., Glen Canyon and the Grand Canyon.
More than 74% of the Western U.S. is experiencing drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Lake Mead, which is part of the Colorado River watershed, provides water to 40 million residents in the Southwest. Levels at the reservoir are projected to hit a level that could require additional cuts in July 2023, as well as another 25-foot drop in the next 14 months, according to the Bureau of Reclamation.
Continuing a 22-year downward trend, water levels in Lake Mead stand at their lowest since April 1937, when the reservoir was still being filled for the first time. As of July 18, 2022, Lake Mead was filled to just 27 percent of capacity. https://t.co/qwgabmDJOGpic.twitter.com/iNMbuT5zbh
Global warming has exacerbated the megadrought so much that the current 22-year drought could have been reduced to just seven years without the interference of human-caused climate change, Matthew Lachniet, a professor of Geology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, told ABC News Chief Meteorologist Ginger Zee.
“The scientists have been warning about this for a very long time,” Lachniet said. “We feel it’s time for the policy to catch up.”
(NEW YORK) — Former Vice President Al Gore said Sunday that now is the time to act on climate change as the U.S. experiences record heat and wildfires rage across Europe.
“They’re saying that if we don’t stop using our atmosphere as an open sewer, and if we don’t stop these heat trapping emissions, things are gonna get a lot worse,” Gore told ABC This Week co-anchor Jonathan Karl. “More people will be killed and the survival of our civilization is at stake.”
Gore said global warming pollution is trapping the heat equivalent of 600,000 Hiroshima-class atomic bombs.
“That’s why the heat records are being broken all the time now,” he said. “That’s why the storms are stronger, why the ice is melting and the sea levels rising and why the droughts and fires are hitting us so hard and so many other consequences.”
President Joe Biden recently announced several executive actions to address climate change but didn’t include what activists sought most: a declaration of a national climate emergency.
When asked if Biden should declare an emergency, Gore said he’ll “leave it to others to parse the pros and cons” of such action. But there is more Biden can do, he said.
“The EPA can take action to further limit emissions from power plants and from tailpipes, and the Supreme Court decision did not take all their power away,” Gore said. “We could stop allowing oil and gas drilling on public lands, and he could appoint a new head of the World Bank instead of the climate denier that leads it now, appointed by his predecessor.”
But Karl noted a recent focus of the Biden administration has been lowering gas prices, which has meant asking countries to ramp up oil production.
“Isn’t this counterproductive in terms of the climate agenda?” Karl asked.
Gore said people need to avoid “confusing the short term with the long term.”
“This should be a moment for a global epiphany, and the voters and the publics in countries around the world need to put a lot more pressure on their political leaders,” he said. “Don’t forget the fact that all 50 of the Republican senators have been against doing anything on climate, even though the vast majority of the American people want it.”
Gore also praised the work of the Jan. 6 committee after a witness this week invoked his conduct in conceding the 2000 election.
“I think these hearings have been the most persuasive and effective since the Watergate hearings so long ago,” Gore said, “and I think we’re seeing a huge impact on public opinion in our country, too. They’ve done an incredible job.”
Matthew Pottinger, a national security official in the Trump White House, said in live testimony that Gore may have disagreed with the Supreme Court’s decision that ended his presidential bid but he “gave a speech of concession … where he said this is for the sake of the unity of the U.S. as a people and for the strength of our democracy.”
“His speech actually is a good model for any candidate for any office, up to and including president, and for any party to read, particularly right now,” Pottinger said.
Gore said Sunday that he simply did what the Constitution required.
“What was it personally difficult?” Gore said. “Well, you know, when the fate of the country and the traditions and honor of our democracy are at stake, it’s not really a difficult choice.”
(SAN PEDRO, Calif.) — Two people are dead and five others are injured after a shooting at Peck Park Sunday in San Pedro, California, Los Angeles police said.
The shooting possibly started as a dispute between two groups and there were likely multiple shooters, according to the LAPD.
No suspects are in custody at this time.
The incident was reported at or near the car show taking place at the park, according to ABC Los Angeles station KABC. Witnesses told the station there were hundreds of people gathered in the park at the time.
Police said some weapons were recovered at the scene, and authorities are looking into whether or not this was a gang-related incident.
The conditions of those injured was not immediately known.
Earlier Sunday, the Los Angeles Fire Department said three male and three female victims were taken to area hospitals by LAFD Paramedics. Their ages were unknown.
San Pedro is a neighborhood in Los Angeles.
ABC News’ Marilyn Heck contributed to this report.
(MARISPOSA, Calif.) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Mariposa County as hundreds of firefighters are battling a fast-moving fire burning near Yosemite National Park that remained out of control on Sunday.
The Oak Fire ignited Friday afternoon and has exploded to 15,603 acres as of Sunday night, according to state fire officials. The fire is currently 0% contained.
“The fire remained active through the night moving toward the communities of Jerseydale, Darrah, and Bootjack,” Cal Fire said in its incident report Sunday.
The low humidity, which is between 5% and 10%, is expected to “hamper firefighting efforts,” according to Cal Fire.
The agency said fire activity remains “extreme with frequent runs, spot fires and group torching.” Cal Fire said emergency personnel are working to evacuate people, while at the same time protecting structures. As of Sunday night, 10 structures had been destroyed and five damaged, Cal Fire said.
Fueled by winds and 100-degree temperatures, the fire “grew significantly” between Saturday night and Sunday morning as flames crept further into the Sierra National Forest just south of Yosemite, according to Cal Fire.
Cal Fire Battalion Chief Jon Heggie took ABC News on a tour of the edge of the blaze and noted large patches of dried out vegetation that had not yet burned to illustrate the type of terrain on fire and producing high-intensity heat, saying, “this is what we’re dealing with throughout this whole incident.”
“It really is a challenge because the amount of heat that’s in this fuel. It makes it challenging to our firefighters to fight these fires,” Heggie said.
The fire started around 2 p.m. Friday near the Mariposa County town of Midpines, Cal Fire said. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Newsom’s office said Saturday that the state has secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help provide resources as it responds to the “rapidly-moving fire.”
More than 90% of Mariposa County has exceptional drought conditions, which can provide ample dry brush to fuel the fire. Hot, dry weather has also helped drive the blaze.
This is the third wildfire to burn in the county over the past two weeks.
The Washburn Fire, which started on July 7 near the southern entrance of Yosemite National Park, is 79% contained after burning over 4,800 acres.
The containment of the fire, which at one point was inching dangerously close to the park’s large sequoia grove Mariposa Grove, allowed the southern entrance of the park to open Saturday morning.
The smaller Agua Fire, which started on July 18, is now fully contained after burning some 420 acres. The fire was caused by a car, officials said.
(MARIPOSA, Calif.) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Mariposa County as hundreds of firefighters are battling a fast-moving fire burning near Yosemite National Park that remained out of control on Sunday.
The Oak Fire ignited Friday afternoon and has exploded to 14,281 acres as of Sunday morning, according to state fire officials. The fire is currently 0% contained.
“The fire remained active through the night moving toward the communities of Jerseydale, Darrah, and Bootjack,” Cal Fire said in its incident report Sunday.
The low humidity, which is between 5% and 10%, is expected to “hamper firefighting efforts,” according to Cal Fire.
The agency said fire activity remains “extreme with frequent runs, spot fires and group torching.” Cal Fire said emergency personnel are working to evacuate people, while at the same time protecting structures.
Fueled by winds and 100-degree temperatures, the fire “grew significantly” between Saturday night and Sunday morning as flames crept further into the Sierra National Forest just south of Yosemite, according to Cal Fire.
Cal Fire Battalion Chief Jon Heggie took ABC News on a tour of the edge of the blaze and noted large patches of dried out vegetation that had not yet burned to illustrate the type of terrain on fire and producing high-intensity heat, saying, “this is what we’re dealing with throughout this whole incident.”
“It really is a challenge because the amount of heat that’s in this fuel. It makes it challenging to our firefighters to fight these fires,” Heggie said.
The fire started around 2 p.m. Friday near the Mariposa County town of Midpines, Cal Fire said. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Newsom’s office said Saturday that the state has secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help provide resources as it responds to the “rapidly-moving fire.”
More than 90% of Mariposa County has exceptional drought conditions, which can provide ample dry brush to fuel the fire. Hot, dry weather has also helped drive the blaze.
This is the third wildfire to burn in the county over the past two weeks.
The Washburn Fire, which started on July 7 near the southern entrance of Yosemite National Park, is 79% contained after burning over 4,800 acres.
The containment of the fire, which at one point was inching dangerously close to the park’s large sequoia grove Mariposa Grove, allowed the southern entrance of the park to open Saturday morning.
The smaller Agua Fire, which started on July 18, is now fully contained after burning some 420 acres. The fire was caused by a car, officials said.
(PEACHTREE CITY, Ga.) — A U.S. Marshal and a murder suspect were shot on Sunday while law enforcement officials attempted to arrest the suspect in Peachtree City, Georgia, according to the Pike County Sheriff’s Office.
Officials from Pike County, about one hour south of Atlanta, said that while U.S. Marshals were arresting 19-year-old suspect Antonio Murgado Jr., an officer-involved shooting occurred.
U.S. Marshals and the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office attempted to execute the arrest warrant around 9:18 a.m. at the Shiloh Mobile Home when shots rang out, authorities said.
“When officers entered the home, Murgado fired a gun and hit a Task Force Officer one time,” according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. “Officers returned gunfire at Murgado, hitting him multiple times.”
Murgado and the officer have non-life-threatening injuries, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
The Marshal is expected to be released from an area hospital on Sunday, according to ABC News Atlanta affiliate WSBTV.
Murgado was arrested and charged with felony murder for allegedly killing 19-year-old James Knight during a drug deal on July 16, WSBTV reported.
At the time of the crime, Murgado was out on bond for armed robbery in Georgia’s Clayton County and possessing methamphetamine in another county, officials said.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirmed it has launched a probe into the officer-involved shooting.
