James Comey speaks onstage at 92NY on May 30, 2023 in New York City. (Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A Columbia law professor who is a friend and adviser to former FBI Director James Comey was subpoenaed last week by federal prosecutors in connection with a criminal probe into whether Comey allegedly lied in testimony before Congress, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
Daniel Richman has previously acknowledged his role as an intermediary between Comey and reporters in the wake of Comey’s 2017 firing by President Donald Trump during his first term over Trump’s anger with the FBI’s investigation into his 2016 campaign.
Richman met with federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia on Tuesday, sources familiar with the matter said.
In public statements, Richman has said he shared the content of memos written by Comey about his interactions with Trump with a reporter from the New York Times.
Trump later accused Comey of breaking the law by sharing his memos, arguing they contained classified information, though Richman later told ABC News in a statement that none of the documents had any classification markings.
The subpoena to Richman, according to sources, stems from an investigation into testimony Comey made before Congress in September 2020 about the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Comey has repeatedly defended his handling of the early stages of the investigation and denied any decisions were based out of political animus towards Trump.
A previous investigation by the Justice Department’s inspector general faulted Comey for violating FBI policies over his handling of the memos regarding his interactions with President Trump, though the DOJ under Trump’s first administration declined to prosecute him.
An attorney for Richman and an attorney for Comey did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
A Justice Department spokesperson also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(PITTSBURGH) — A Pennsylvania man was apprehended after he drove his car into a metal gate at the FBI building in Pittsburgh early on Wednesday, a ramming that federal law enforcement officials described as intentional.
Donald Henson, of Penn Hills, allegedly drove at a high rate of speed toward the main entrance gate at about 2:40 a.m., FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Giordano said during a press briefing.
The FBI confirmed late Wednesday morning that Henson was apprehended “a short time ago.”
“We look at this as an act of terror against the FBI,” Giordano said earlier on Wednesday. “This was a targeted attack on this building.”
There was “some vulgarity” scrawled on the side of the vehicle, the FBI said. The full details of what was written were not immediately clear, Giordano said, adding there appeared to be a reference to suicide.
Officials said no one was injured in the ramming.
He said the suspect fled the scene and it was believed that he may be dangerous. It was not immediately clear if Henson was armed, the FBI said.
Henson is the registered owner of the vehicle, Giordano said. The FBI compared surveillance video with Henson’s drivers license photo to further identify him, Giordano said, adding that he also had been identified as a former military member. He said Henson may have been experiencing a mental health issue.
After the crash, Henson allegedly exited the car, took an American flag out of the trunk and stuck it on the gate, the FBI said.
Images from the scene captured by ABC News affiliate WTAE appeared to show a white sedan sitting with a door ajar in front of a damaged metal gate near a security booth.
A spokesperson from the Pittsburgh Police Department told ABC News that officers responded to the 3300 block of E. Carson Street for a reported vehicle collision at about 3 a.m. on Wednesday. The vehicle collided with a gate outside of the building, before the driver exited the vehicle and fled the scene, the spokesperson said.
The FBI is leading the ongoing investigation, the police said. The FBI was working with the local U.S. Attorneys Office to draft a complaint against Henson, Giordano said.
Henson had come to the FBI Pittsburgh office within the last few weeks to make a complaint, Giordano said, adding it “didn’t make a whole lot of sense.”
“We contacted him and let him know that there was no federal crime we were able to charge,” he said.
(NEW YORK) — The Atlantic basin may have been quiet going into the peak of hurricane season, but officials are watching a new system that has developed into a tropical storm, which has the possibility of strengthening further.
The National Hurricane Center confirmed on Wednesday that Tropical Storm Gabrielle has formed in the Central Atlantic.
Te tropical storm does not pose a threat to the United States, as of Wednesday. The system should remain over open waters for several days, the NHC said.
The system previously met the criteria to be designated a tropical depression with winds greater than 34 mph on Wednesday.
Although dry air and other unfavorable atmospheric conditions have recently hindered development, the storm is expected to move into a more favorable environment later this week, giving it a better chance to become organized.
The storm will move Northwest and is not expected to hit any of the Leeward Islands or the Caribbean. If it develops further, the storm could be a hurricane in the vicinity of Bermuda.
The storm, which was originally described as a disturbance, was expected to become a tropical depression or tropical storm by the end of the week as it churns northwestward across the central Atlantic Ocean.
The development of a new tropical cyclone would mark the end of a notably quiet period in the Atlantic Basin, a stretch that included the climatological peak of the hurricane season on Sept. 10.
Tropical activity is expected to gradually ramp up over the next few weeks as conditions become more favorable for development, forecasters say.
NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center said the odds of tropical development are increasing across parts of the Atlantic Basin for the second half of September, as large-scale environmental conditions become more favorable.
Tropical weather experts at Colorado State University (CSU) echo these predictions, saying overall atmospheric conditions, including wind patterns, will shift in a manner that supports a notable increase in activity.
While the climatological peak of the Atlantic hurricane season has passed, roughly 60% of tropical activity typically occurs after Sept. 10, on average, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The remainder of September and October will likely be active, David Zierden, the Florida state climatologist and head of the Florida Climate Center at Florida State University, told ABC News last week.
September and October often see some of the busiest activity for hurricanes because sea surface temperatures can be at their highest, Zierden said. Higher temperatures provide “ample fuel” for the formation and intensification of tropical cyclones, he added.
Waters in the Gulf and Caribbean are currently “very warm,” Jennifer Francis, an atmospheric scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center, told ABC News last week.
Historically speaking, about two-thirds of all Atlantic hurricane season activity occurs between Aug. 20 and Oct. 10. In August, NOAA predicted above-normal activity for the remainder of the Atlantic hurricane season.
Last year demonstrated that late September and early October can be an active period for tropical development, with multiple threats that may be high-impact and potentially devastating.
Hurricane Helene, which caused devastating flooding in North Carolina, formed on Sept. 24, 2024, while Hurricane Milton, which caused widespread destruction in Florida, formed on Oct. 5, 2024.
ABC News’ Kenton Gewecke and Kyle Reiman contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — The Atlantic basin may have been quiet going into the peak of hurricane season, but officials are watching a new storm that has developed into a tropical depression, which has the possibility of strengthening further.
The National Hurricane Center confirmed on Wednesday that Tropical Depression Seven has formed in the Central Atlantic.
The system, which is expected to become Tropical Storm Gabrielle in the coming days, met the criteria to be designated a tropical depression with winds greater than 34 mph on Wednesday.
As of Wednesday, the tropical depression does not pose a threat to the United States.
Although dry air and other unfavorable atmospheric conditions have recently hindered development, the storm is expected to move into a more favorable environment later this week, giving it a better chance to become organized.
The depression will move Northwest and is not expected to hit any of the Leeward Islands or the Caribbean. If it develops further, the storm could be a hurricane in the vicinity of Bermuda.
The storm, which was originally described as a disturbance, was expected to become a tropical depression or tropical storm by the end of the week as it churns northwestward across the central Atlantic Ocean.
The development of a new tropical cyclone would mark the end of a notably quiet period in the Atlantic Basin, a stretch that included the climatological peak of the hurricane season on Sept. 10.
Tropical activity is expected to gradually ramp up over the next few weeks as conditions become more favorable for development, forecasters say.
NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center said the odds of tropical development are increasing across parts of the Atlantic Basin for the second half of September, as large-scale environmental conditions become more favorable.
Tropical weather experts at Colorado State University (CSU) echo these predictions, saying overall atmospheric conditions, including wind patterns, will shift in a manner that supports a notable increase in activity.
While the climatological peak of the Atlantic hurricane season has passed, roughly 60% of tropical activity typically occurs after Sept. 10, on average, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The remainder of September and October will likely be active, David Zierden, the Florida state climatologist and head of the Florida Climate Center at Florida State University, told ABC News last week.
September and October often see some of the busiest activity for hurricanes because sea surface temperatures can be at their highest, Zierden said. Higher temperatures provide “ample fuel” for the formation and intensification of tropical cyclones, he added.
Waters in the Gulf and Caribbean are currently “very warm,” Jennifer Francis, an atmospheric scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center, told ABC News last week.
Historically speaking, about two-thirds of all Atlantic hurricane season activity occurs between Aug. 20 and Oct. 10. In August, NOAA predicted above-normal activity for the remainder of the Atlantic hurricane season.
Last year demonstrated that late September and early October can be an active period for tropical development, with multiple threats that may be high-impact and potentially devastating.
Hurricane Helene, which caused devastating flooding in North Carolina, formed on Sept. 24, 2024, while Hurricane Milton, which caused widespread destruction in Florida, formed on Oct. 5, 2024.
ABC News’ Kenton Gewecke and Kyle Reiman contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Top Trump administration officials are pressuring federal prosecutors in Virginia to bring charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James for mortgage fraud, despite investigators so far failing to find sufficient evidence supporting such charges, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
After a five-month investigation and interviews with more than a dozen witnesses, federal prosecutors have so far uncovered no clear evidence that James knowingly made false statements to a financial institution to secure favorable terms on a mortgage for her Virginia home, according to multiple sources briefed on the investigation.
Trump himself has pressured the Department of Justice leadership to investigate James more aggressively, and two officials — Ed Martin, the head of the DOJ’s Weaponization Working Group, and Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency — have pushed the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia to seek an indictment of James.
When federal prosecutors recently declined to indict James, Pulte encouraged Trump to fire Erik Siebert, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and replace him with a prosecutor who would be willing to bring charges against James, sources said.
The move to seek an indictment against one of the president’s political rivals — who successfully brought a civil fraud case against Trump last year and leads multiple lawsuits challenging his administration’s policies — would mark a significant escalation in what the president’s critics have labeled a campaign of political retribution.
Pulte and Martin have argued that James committed mortgage fraud because one of the documents related to a 2023 home purchased by James falsely indicated the property would be her primary residence. However, investigators have so far determined that the document — a limited power of attorney form used by James’ niece to sign documents on her behalf when James closed on the home — was never considered by the loan officers who approved the mortgage, sources said.
Lawyers drafted the document itself for a third-party closing company based on a template that was never corrected, sources said, and every other document in James’ loan file for the mortgage accurately stated that she would not reside at the home.
Prosecutors have not yet been able to produce evidence that James knowingly filled out the power of attorney form incorrectly to influence the bank that issued the mortgage, said sources familiar with the investigation’s findings thus far.
James has denied wrongdoing, and her lawyer Abbe Lowell has criticized the criminal referral as “three pages of stale, threadbare allegations” that he called “the next salvo in President Trump’s revenge tour against Attorney General James.”
“Given the cascade of unsubstantiated allegations coming from the Trump Administration on its ‘mortgage fraud’ crusade against Democrats, it’s no surprise they are having trouble finding an objective and law-abiding prosecutor who would ignore the facts and the evidence to manufacture sham charges,” Lowell said in a statement to ABC News. “As we have repeatedly said, any impartial and non-political inquiry would conclude Attorney General James did not violate any laws managing her properties.”
A White House spokesperson declined to comment when contacted by ABC News. Representatives from the Justice Department and the Federal Housing Finance Agency did not respond to a request for comment.
The contentious investigation comes as Trump, Pulte, and Martin have accused numerous officials of engaging in mortgage fraud, with other investigations targeting Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff, Schiff, allegations both have denied.
Martin is also investigating James regarding a New York home, and federal prosecutors in Albany have issued subpoenas to James in connection with her civil fraud case against Trump and her corruption case against the National Rifle Association, according to multiple sources.
While Martin’s investigation of James’ Virginia properties has failed to yield clear evidence of fraud, sources said, he has taken aggressive steps to publicize the allegations and leapfrogged multiple steps usually taken by prosecutors. Last month, he sent James’ attorney a letter asking that she resign from her role as the New York attorney general, arguing it would “serve the ‘good of the state and nation'” for her to leave office.
“Her resignation from office would give the people of New York and America more peace than proceeding. I would take this as an act of good faith,” Martin wrote.
Days after sending the letter, Martin posed for a New York Post photographer outside James’ Brooklyn home, wearing a Columbo-style trench coat. He later posted a photo from his visit on social media.
As ABC News previously reported, the visit and photo earned him a rebuke from Attorney General Pam Bondi and her deputy, Todd Blanche, who told him the trip was counterproductive and harmful to his investigation, sources said.
“[D]espite the lack of evidence or law, you will take whatever actions you have been directed to take to make good on President Trump’s and Attorney General Bondi’s calls for revenge for that reason alone,” Lowell said in a letter to Martin, a copy of which was reviewed by ABC.
The mortgage investigation has exposed cracks in the DOJ leadership and raised fresh concerns that Trump officials are seeking retribution for the ill-fated prosecutions of the president, sources said.
‘She was the fraudster’ Each of the investigations into James, Cook, and Schiff revolves around two figures in the Trump administration who have since burnished their reputations for aggressively publicizing their claims of mortgage fraud.
Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, has issued the referral letters alleging the officials committed mortgage fraud, while Martin — who holds multiple titles as U.S. Pardon Attorney, Special Attorney for Mortgage Fraud, Associate Deputy Attorney General and Director of the DOJ’s Weaponization working group — has spearheaded the investigations at the Justice Department.
Before taking on his four roles, Martin briefly served as the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. He was the first person in recent history to run the pivotal office without any experience as a prosecutor or judge, and his tenure was marked by controversy. He dismissed dozens of prosecutors who worked on cases involving the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, defended the rioters who stormed the Capitol building, and called out potential targets of investigations on social media.
Trump withdrew Martin’s nomination for D.C. U.S. Attorney in May after he lost Senate support and instead opted to place him in the highest echelon of DOJ leadership in four influential roles that did not require confirmation.
Martin has initiated some of his investigations based on criminal referrals by Pulte, a private-equity executive whose family runs the third-largest home construction company in the United States. Pulte built a substantial public profile on social media by using Twitter to share his philanthropic work, though his outspoken presence last year prompted some members of his family to issue a statement distancing themselves from him.
“We additionally believe that some of Bill Pulte’s public communications through social media, public appearances, interviews, self-published articles and more may suggest that he speaks on behalf of the entire Pulte family. To the contrary, Bill Pulte does not represent, nor is he a spokesperson for, all members of the Pulte family, in any capacity,” the family’s charitable foundation said in a statement last year, though it said that the nonprofit “bears no ill will towards Bill Pulte.”
Last year, in a civil case brought by James against Trump and his family business, a New York judge concluded that Trump and his family had committed a decade of business fraud by overstating the value of their properties to get favorable loan terms, fining Trump and his sons nearly half a billion dollars. An appeals court subsequently tossed the financial penalty but upheld the finding that Trump committed fraud.
Pulte, who has publicized his mortgage fraud claims about James since April, has equated the allegations against James to Trump’s civil fraud case.
“I believe this is riddled with mortgage fraud, and frankly, I think that’s why she knew so much about the law in terms of how to go after President Trump,” Pulte told Fox News last month. “She was the fraudster, not President Trump.”
‘Improper political retribution’ The Trump administration’s probe of James began less than a month into the president’s term when newly appointed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the creation of a “Weaponization Working Group” headed by Martin. Among the topics the group was created to examine was James’ alleged “federal cooperation … to target President Trump, his family, and his businesses.”
One month after the Senate confirmed Pulte, he issued a criminal referral letter to the Department of Justice in April based on “media reports,” alleging that James “appears to have falsified records in order to meet certain lending requirements and receive favorable loan terms.” The allegations centered on three properties: a home in Virginia that James owns, where her niece resides; James’ Brooklyn townhouse; and her father’s house in Queens, New York.
Pulte accused James of falsifying records to claim she resided in the Virginia home in order to get better loan terms; misrepresenting the number of rooms in her Brooklyn home to meet requirements for a government-backed loan; and falsely claiming to be her father’s wife on a mortgage application in the 1990s.
“Letitia James is one of the most corrupt, shameless individuals ever to hold public office,” Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller told reporters on the day the referral letter was filed. “She is guilty of multiple significant serial criminal violations.”
Later in April, Lowell responded to each of the allegations in a fiery letter that labeled the referral Trump’s “latest act of improper political retribution.”
“U.S. Federal Housing Director William Pulte is the latest administration officer to carry out the all-too-familiar playbook of the President: praise the judicial system and those who serve it when he wins; criticize it when he loses, and attack those — attorneys and judges, alike — who are doing their jobs to protect and uphold the rule of law,” Lowell wrote.
Lowell said that the allegations about James’s homes were “cherry-picked.” Only one document related to the Virginia home — the power of attorney document that was filed so James’ niece could sign documents on her behalf — incorrectly listed the home as her primary residence, he wrote. DOJ investigators would later confirm Lowell’s claim that the POA document was the only document in James’ mortgage file that stated she would live in the home, sources said.
Regarding her Brooklyn home, Lowell argued that Pulte referenced a 24-year-old document to claim the building has five bedrooms, while all other records show it has four bedrooms. The deed for James’ fathers’ home, Lowell wrote, correctly reflects their father-daughter relationship.
“In a predictable pattern here, Director Pulte cites a mistaken May 20, 1983, document Mr. James filled out to cast his baseless allegation while again ignoring the other supporting documentation,” Lowell wrote.
‘Help Wanted’ Since federal prosecutors began looking into James’ Virginia property, they have interviewed or presented to the grand jury 15 witnesses, including insurers, loan officers, underwriters, realtors, and James’ niece.
To bring a case that she made false statements to a bank or federal financial institution, prosecutors would need to prove that James knowingly made a false statement with the intent to influence a bank. Sources tell ABC News that prosecutors have not found evidence to clear that high bar.
A loan underwriter interviewed by investigators said that, in the process of approving the loan, she never looked at or considered the power of attorney document that incorrectly listed the home as James’ primary residence, according to sources.
While Martin is examining whether another property owned by James in Virginia was inconsistently described as both “second home” and an “investment property,” sources said senior DOJ leadership believes Martin would be unable to prove any allegations beyond a reasonable doubt, in part because Fannie Mae guidelines on the issue are too vague.
Despite his investigation failing to yield a viable case, Martin has continued to aggressively pursue the claims with Trump’s backing, sources said. He recently requested 2-3 experienced prosecutors from the U.S. attorney’s office in the Eastern Districts of Virginia and New York to help with the investigations, and he has begun personally recruiting attorneys to join his “Special Attorney Fraud Unit,” said sources.
In a recruiting email titled “Help Wanted,” Martin invited current DOJ lawyers to be “fighters for justice and goodness and the American way,” according to materials reviewed by ABC News. In his pitch, Martin invoked the words of former Attorney General and Justice Robert Jackson — who famously warned that prosecutors going after people they dislike or seek to embarrass is “the greatest danger of abuse of prosecuting power” — when he told prospective team members that “The qualities of a good prosecutor are as elusive and as impossible to define as those that mark a gentleman.”
“In a special way, the SAFU is called to hold bad actors accountable,” Martin wrote. “After all, as New York, Attorney General Leticia [sic] James said, ‘Because no matter how big, rich, or powerful you think you are, no one is above the law.'”
(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) — A Pennsylvania man drove his car into a metal gate at the FBI building in Pittsburgh early on Wednesday, a ramming that federal law enforcement officials described as intentional, saying the man was being sought as a suspect.
Donald Henson, of Penn Hills, allegedly drove at a high rate of speed toward the main entrance gate at about 2:40 a.m., FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Giordano said during a press briefing.
“We look at this as an act of terror against the FBI,” Giordano said. “This was a targeted attack on this building. Thankfully no one was hurt, but we are going to exhaust every ability we have under the federal law to find, apprehend and prosecute this subject to the fullest extent.”
There was “some vulgarity” scrawled on the side of the vehicle, the FBI said. The full details of what was written were not immediately clear, Giordano said, adding that there appeared to be a reference to suicide.
He said the suspect fled the scene and it was believed that he may be dangerous. It was not immediately clear if Henson was armed, the FBI said.
Henson is the registered owner of the vehicle, Giordano said. The FBI compared surveillance video with Henson’s drivers license photo to further identify him, Giordano said, adding that he also had been identified as a former military member. He said Henson may have been experiencing a mental health issue.
After the crash, Henson allegedly exited the car, took an American flag out of the trunk and stuck it on the gate, the FBI said.
Images from the scene captured by ABC News affiliate WTAE appeared to show a white sedan sitting with a door ajar in front of a damaged metal gate near a security booth.
A spokesperson from the Pittsburgh Police Department told ABC News that officers responded to the 3300 block of E. Carson Street for a reported vehicle collision at about 3 a.m. on Wednesday. The vehicle collided with a gate outside of the building, before the driver exited the vehicle and fled the scene, the spokesperson said.
The FBI is leading the ongoing investigation, the police said. The FBI was working with the local U.S. Attorneys Office to draft a complaint against Henson, Giordano said.
Henson had come to the FBI Pittsburgh office within the last few weeks to make a complaint, Giordano said, adding it “didn’t make a whole lot of sense.”
“We contacted him and let him know that there was no federal crime we were able to charge,” he said.
(NEW YORK) — A 29-year-old man is recovering after suffering significant but non-life-threatening injuries to his chest and left arm following a bear attack in Yellowstone National Park, authorities said.
The solo hiker was walking on the Turbid Lake Trail, located northeast of Mary Bay in Yellowstone Lake and approximately 2.5 miles from the Pelican Valley Trailhead in the Pelican Valley Bear Management Area, when he encountered the bear and deployed bear spray against it, according to a statement from the National Park Service.
The hiker told officials he thought the bear was a black bear but, based on the location, size, and behavior of the animal, park officials said it was likely a grizzly bear and that bear management staff will attempt to confirm the species through DNA analysis, if possible.
National Park Service medics responded to the incident and walked out with the hiker who was subsequently taken to the Lake Medical Clinic before being flown to a nearby hospital for treatment.
“The Turbid Lake Trail is closed until further notice,” officials said. “Because this incident was a defensive reaction by the bear during a surprise encounter, the park will not be taking any management action against the bear.”
This is the first incident of a bear injuring a person in Yellowstone in 2025 and the first incident in over four years when, in May 2021, a grizzly bear injured a solo hiker on the Beaver Ponds Trail in Mammoth Hot Springs.
This incident currently remains under investigation.
A scenic view of the Farmingdale Long Island Railroad station near by the Bethpage State Park Golf Course on August 11, 2025 in Farmingdale, New York.
(LONG ISLAND, N.Y.) – – President Donald Trump has agreed to establish an emergency board to review the dispute between the Long Island Rail Road and the unions that represent its employees, according to an executive order released by the White House.
A coalition of unions representing about half of Long Island Rail Road employees averted a strike earlier this week by asking President Donald Trump to establish an emergency board, as they seek a pay increase.
Service will continue on the busiest commuter railroad in North America while this emergency board process is underway. A strike could occur next May, however, if a compromise with the MTA isn’t reached.
The news comes after the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen announced on Monday that 99.9% of its 529 active LIRR union members voted to authorize a strike.
The coalition of unions, however, agreed to formally request Trump to establish an emergency board to attempt to resolve the issues between the union and the LIRR and come to a new contract, staving off a potential strike that would have begun Thursday.
If BLET does not agree to a new contract by May, however, it could be the first time LIRR employees strike in over 30 years. LIRR unions last went on strike in 1994, but the walkout only lasted for two days before a new contract for LIRR employees was settled.
“These passengers, they’re our friends, our neighbors, our family, and they should be treated much better than we’ve seen over this past week,” said BLET Vice President James Louis. “This is why the five unions decided to be the grown-ups in the room and request President Trump to appoint a presidential emergency board per the Railway Labor Act and allow both sides to present the proposals to the board.”
The strike would potentially affect more than 270,000 daily commuters in New York, as five unions representing 55% of the LIRR workforce are demanding a 16% raise over a four-year period.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul decried the idea of a strike on Monday, stating that it would hurt LIRR employees and passengers.
“A strike would hurt not only the riders who rely on the LIRR, but also many hardworking LIRR employees and their families, who will be left without pay because of unrealistic demands and their union leadership’s refusal to negotiate,” Hochul said in a press release. “There is a fair offer on the table, and I have directed the MTA to be ready to negotiate anytime, anywhere.”
According to the MTA, which runs the LIRR, the unions planning to strike next year have already rejected one deal that offered them a 9.5% wage increase over a three-year period, which would keep LIRR workers as the highest-paid railroad employees in the country. LIRR engineers currently make $160,000 a year on average and top out at $350,000, according to the agency.
LIRR President Rob Free has lambasted the collective bargaining effort by the unions, citing it as a cash grab that would overpay LIRR employees who already earn almost $50 an hour on average, per MTA figures, which is 7% higher than industry norms, he said.
“These five labor organizations, who are amongst the highest paid in the nation, want 6.5% more than everyone else, without any concessions, including outdated work rules, that significantly increase salaries, including providing multiple days’ pay for one day of work,” Free said in a press conference last week.
However, the LIRR unions maintain they are trying to achieve fair wages for their members, as they have been without a pay raise for over three years and run almost 1000 daily trains.
Gil Lang, the General Chairman for the BLET’s LIRR engineers, said the unions are trying to keep pace with the rising cost of living in New York.
“We are only asking for a fair contract — one that provides modest wage gains, or at the very least, maintains real wages,” Lang said. “Our members would not ratify anything short of that.”
(NEW YORK) — Tyler Robinson, the person accused of assassinating conservative influencer Charlie Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, has been formally charged with a slew of offenses, including aggravated murder, with prosecutors announcing the intent to seek the death penalty.
Robinson, 22, has also been charged with felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, obstruction of justice, two counts of witness tampering and commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child, Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray announced on Tuesday.
Gray, who described Kirk’s death as “an American tragedy,” said he does not “take this decision lightly” in regard to seeking the death penalty for Robinson. The suspected shooter will continue to be held without bail.
Robinson is also scheduled to make his first court appearance on Tuesday.
Robinson was arrested last week for felony discharge of a firearm, aggravated murder and obstruction of justice, according to probable cause documents and was booked into the Utah County Jail.
Robinson was apprehended after his father recognized him in photographs released by authorities, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said last week.
“Robinson’s father reported that when his wife showed him the surveillance image of the suspected shooter in the news, he agreed it looked like their son,” according to the charging documents.
His father told Robinson to turn himself in, with the 22-year-old initially saying no, but later changing his mind, officials said previously.
When his father called Robinson, he implied he planned to “take his own life,” with his parents convincing him to meet them at their home, the charging documents said.
“As they discussed the situation, Robinson implied that he was the shooter and stated that he couldn’t go to jail and just wanted to end it,” the charging documents said.
His parents then asked their son why he committed this crime, to which he said “there is too much evil and the guy [Charlie Kirk] spreads too much hate,” according to the charging documents.
The suspect’s parents urged Robinson to speak with a family friend who is a deputy sheriff, who convinced him to turn himself in, charging documents said.
Prosecutors also revealed conversations between the suspect and his roommate in the moments after the shooting.
“I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out,” one of the messages read.
Investigators are continuing to assess evidence, including looking at electronic devices the suspect may have had access to, as federal charges could be announced in the coming days, law enforcement officials told ABC News.
A motive has not been revealed by officials, despite Vice President JD Vance saying “left-wing extremism” is “part of the reason” Kirk was killed.
Discord, a group chat messaging platform, confirmed on Monday that Robinson sent messages two hours before he was taken into custody admitting he shot the conservative influencer.
“Hey guys, I have bad news for you all…It was me at UVU yesterday. im sorry for all of this,” one of the messages read.
During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, FBI Director Kash Patel said the FBI is investigating “anyone and everyone involved in that Discord chat.”
Patel said there are “a lot more” than 20 people linked to Robinson on Discord and that the FBI is “running them all down.” He added that a “number of individuals” are currently being investigated.
In a press briefing from the Oval Office Monday evening, President Donald Trump said it appeared Robinson became radicalized on the internet.
“Something happened to him over a fairly short period of time. It looks like he was radicalized over the internet, and it’s radicalized on the left. He’s a left,” Trump claimed.
Robinson is alleged to have had an “obsession” with the conservative influencer, based on the alleged shooter’s digital footprint, FBI Co-Deputy Director Dan Bongino said Monday on Fox News.
Bongino said the suspect appeared to have exhibited “multiple warning signs.”
“I believe co-workers stated he had detached himself when the topic of politics came up and walked away,” Bongino said on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.”
Bongino said they are looking into whether anyone knew the shooting could happen and didn’t alert authorities, referring to the Discord chats Robinson allegedly had about Kirk.
“Did they … hear it and think it was a joke? That is what we’re trying to find out now,” he told Fox News. “If there is a larger network here, we will get that out to the public as soon as we can.”
(NEW YORK) — Charlie Kirk was a husband and the father of two young kids at the time of his death Sept. 10 at a campus university event in Utah.
Kirk, the founder of the conservative youth activist organization Turning Point USA, was remembered by his wife Erika Kirk in an address to the nation on Sept. 12, her first public message since his killing.
“You have no idea the fire that you have ignited within this wife, the cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry,” Erika Kirk said, adding that she would continue her late husband’s work with Turning Point USA.
“To everyone listening tonight across America, the movement my husband built will not die. It won’t, I refuse to let that happen … All of us will refuse to let that happen,” she said. “No one will ever forget my husband’s name, and I will make sure of it.”
Charlie Kirk, 31, was shot while speaking at Utah Valley University, the first stop this fall for his organization’s “The American Comeback Tour,” which was traveling to multiple college campuses across the country.
President Donald Trump announced Kirk’s death on social media, writing, “The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead.”
“No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us,” the president wrote. “Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”
Together, the Kirks are parents of two children, a son who turned 1 in May and a daughter who turned 3 in August.
“When I got home last night, our daughter just ran into my arms … and she said, ‘Mommy, I missed you.’ I said, ‘I missed you too, baby.’ She goes, ‘Where’s daddy?,'” Erika Kirk said in her Sept. 12 address. “What do you tell a 3-year-old? She’s three. I said, ‘Baby, daddy loves you so much. Don’t you worry. He’s on a work trip with Jesus so he can afford your blueberry budget.'”
Both Charlie Kirk and Erika Kirk shared glimpses of their home life on social media, sharing photos of their children, though not sharing their names or faces.
When Utah Gov. Spencer Cox announced at a Sept. 12 press conference the arrest of a suspect in Charlie Kirk’s fatal shooting, he spoke of the activist’s family.
“I especially want to thank the family of Charlie Kirk — Erika, Charlie’s parents, his children,” Cox said. “I want us to be thinking of them as we bring justice in this case. They will be involved in that justice. We will be working very closely with them as we move through this process as well.”
On Sept. 13, Turning Point USA announced details of a celebration of life ceremony for Kirk. The ceremony is set to be held Sunday, Sept. 21, in Glendale, Arizona, at State Farm Stadium, the NFL stadium in Arizona where the Cardinals play. The venue has a capacity of 63,000, according to the stadium’s website.
Here is more to know about Erika Frantzve Kirk
Erika Kirk is a former Miss Arizona USA and collegiate basketball player who is currently studying for a doctorate in Biblical studies at Liberty University, according to her biography on her website.
She is the founder of Proclaim, a faith-based clothing line, the host of the “Midweek Rise Up” podcast and the founder of two nonprofit organizations, according to her website.
Erika Kirk has also been a frequent presence by her husband’s side at speaking engagements and public appearances.
The couple went on their first date in New York City seven years ago this month, according to a post Erika Kirk shared on Instagram.
“5 years ago today, we sat inside Bills Burgers in NYC deep in conversation and banter over theology, philosophy, and politics and at the end, you paused, looked at me and said, ‘I’m going to date you,'” she wrote in a Sept. 5, 2023, post.
Following Charlie Kirk’s death, Erika Kirk shared a video on Instagram of Charlie Kirk telling the story of how they met to their daughter while sitting at a table at Bill’s Burgers in New York City.
“It started as a job interview … and then I realized momma was beautiful and smart and elegant and Christ-like, and so I said, ‘Forget this job interview. I want to date you.’ I said, ‘I have enough friends,'” Charlie Kirk is seen in the video telling their daughter as she sits on his lap. “And that’s where your journey began.”
Charlie Kirk proposed to Erika Kirk just two years after their first date, in December 2020, and they wed in Arizona on May 8, 2021, according to social media posts she shared at the time.
The couple sat down together for an episode of “The Charlie Kirk Show” in April to talk about marriage and family life.
“Keep your faith, obviously first, and try to identify any fleshy problems that you might be having,” Charlie Kirk said of his advice to young married couples, according to a YouTube video of the podcast.
Erika Kirk added, in part, “You have to continually invest in the confidence in one another, that you’re on the same team. You support each other. You love each other. You’re not going to undercut each other. You’re not going to undercut each other.”
