Actor Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa pose for a portrait in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
(LOS ANGELES) — Actor Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 65, both tested negative for carbon monoxide, authorities revealed Friday, amid an investigation after they were mysteriously found dead alongside one of their dogs at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office Adan Mendoza said he believes that carbon monoxide is ruled out as a possible cause of death.
Hackman is believed to have died on Feb. 17 — nine days before he and his wife were discovered dead — Mendoza also said Friday, noting that was the date of the last recorded “event” on his pacemaker. That is believed to have been Hackman’s “last day of life,” the sheriff said, noting that it is still unclear when Arakawa died.
A cause and manner of death remain pending, he said. Investigators are still awaiting full autopsy results and toxicology reports, he said.
The couple was found on Wednesday during a welfare check with no obvious signs of how they died, according to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.
However, their deaths were “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation” due to all of the “circumstances surrounding” the scene, according to the search warrant affidavit.
There was no external trauma to either of them, which led officials to conduct testing for carbon monoxide and toxicology, the sheriff’s office said.
Mendoza said it could be at least three months before they have the final autopsy findings.
He said the pathologist from the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator had expedited some tests and informed him earlier Friday that the couple had tested negative for carbon monoxide.
“She shared that information with me because she thought it was relevant to the case and important for the public to know,” Mendoza said.
In a Thursday search of the couple’s home, investigators recovered two cellphones, thyroid medication, blood pressure medication, Tylenol, a 2025 monthly planner and health records, court records show.
Hackman was discovered on the floor in the mud room, according to the search warrant. It appeared he fell suddenly, and he and his wife “showed obvious signs of death,” the document said.
Arakawa was found lying on her side on the floor in a bathroom, with a space heater near her body, according to the search warrant, and her body showed signs of decomposition due to some mummification to her hands and feet.
On the counter near Arakawa was an opened prescription bottle, with pills scattered, according to the search warrant.
A German shepherd was found dead about 10 to 15 feet from Arakawa, the document said. That dog was in a crate or a kennel, according to Mendoza. Two other dogs owned by the couple survived, though officials said both had access to a doggy door.
The Santa Fe City Fire Department found no signs of a possible carbon monoxide leak or poisoning, the document said. Tests found no carbon monoxide in the house, according to Fire Chief Brian Moya.
New Mexico Gas Company also responded, “As of now, there are no signs or evidence indicating there were any problems associated to the pipes in and around the residence,” the document said.
Two maintenance workers said they hadn’t heard from Hackman and Arakawa in about two weeks, the document said.
A maintenance worker who initially responded to the home found the front door open but there were no signs of forced entry or that anything had been stolen, the document said.
There was no indication of a crime and “there could be a multitude of reasons why the door was open,” the sheriff told reporters Thursday.
There was “no obvious sign or indication of foul play,” but authorities “haven’t ruled that out yet,” the sheriff said.
Investigators are “keeping everything on the table,” he added.
ABC News’ Kevin Shalvey, Erica Morris and Emily Shapiro contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — More than 100 Drug Enforcement Administration agents packed a New York City federal courtroom Friday for the arraignment of the alleged mastermind behind the 1985 murder of Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, the first DEA agent killed on Mexican soil.
Rafael Caro Quintero, 72, was arraigned on multiple drug and weapons offenses in Brooklyn federal court following his extradition Thursday to the U.S. from Mexico.
“Today is a historic event,” Frank Tarentino, the special agent in charge of the DEA’s New York division, said at a press briefing outside the courthouse following the hearing. “We have waited 40 years for this day. This day, when justice would be served.”
Caro Quintero appeared in a bright orange tee shirt beneath a navy smock for his arraignment. He was shackled at the hands before he took his seat in court.
A DEA agent was allowed to join U.S. marshals in escorting Caro Quintero from the courtroom, a symbolic gesture. Forty years after the death of Camarena, the DEA finally has its man.
“After 40 years the man who murdered Enrique Camarena is finally facing justice in the United States,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Saritha Komatireddy said in court. “Justice never forgets.”
Komatireddy said Caro Quintero “pioneered Mexican drug trafficking” and the violent enforcement of his cartel’s turf.
His court-appointed attorney entered a not guilty plea on his behalf and did not contest pretrial detention.
Caro Quintero was among 29 top drug operatives Mexico who were expelled and transferred to the U.S. under pressure from the Trump administration.
He was convicted in Mexico in 1985 of the torture and murder of Camarena, one of the most notorious killings in the history of the Mexican narco wars. After serving 28 years of his 40-year sentence, he was released from prison in 2013 when a Mexican judge ruled that he had been improperly tried. Caro Quintero promptly went into hiding, as U.S. officials stridently condemned the release.
In 2018, he was added to the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list, with a $20 million reward available for information leading to his arrest or capture.
The criminal ringleader was once again detained in Mexico in 2022, nearly 10 years after his release. At the time, the FBI said that he was allegedly involved in the Sinaloa cartel and the Caro-Quintero drug trafficking organization in the region of Badiraguato in Sinaloa, Mexico, and warned that he should be considered “armed and extremely dangerous.”
Caro Quintero is charged in the Eastern District of New York with multiple drug and weapons offenses, including leading a continuing criminal enterprise, making him eligible for the death penalty if convicted.
In his remarks outside the courthouse, Tarentino said Camarena “remains a symbol of strength, honor, courage, unity and determination.”
“Rafael Caro Quintero, the man responsible for Kiki’s kidnapping, torture and murder in 1985 in Guadalajara, Mexico, will answer for his crimes,” Tarentino said.
Camarena joined the DEA in 1974, the year after its founding.
For more than four years in Mexico, Camarena investigated the country’s biggest marijuana and cocaine traffickers.
In early 1985, reportedly close to unlocking a multibillion-dollar drug pipeline, Camarena was kidnapped while headed to meet his wife. The agent’s capture and subsequent murder were dramatized in Netflix’s “Narcos: Mexico.”
(ILLINOIS) — An Illinois man has been convicted of murder and hate crime charges in the 2023 fatal stabbing of a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy.
Wadee Alfayoumi was stabbed 26 times and his mother more than a dozen in the Oct. 14, 2023, attack inside their home in the Chicago suburb of Plainfield.
Their landlord, 73-year-old Joseph Czuba, was indicted on multiple murder charges, as well as attempted murder, aggravated battery and hate crime counts. He had pleaded not guilty.
Authorities said he targeted his tenants because they were Muslim and in response to the war between Israel and Hamas that had just ignited after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
A Will County jury found Czuba guilty of all counts.
Jurors began deliberating around noon Friday, before reaching their verdict less than two hours later.
Wadee’s father, Odai Alfyoumi, thanked those who supported him in remarks following the verdict.
“I don’t know if I should be pleased or upset, if I should be crying or laughing,” he said through a translator during a press briefing with the Chicago division of the Council of American-Islamic Relations, the U.S.’ largest Muslim civil rights organization.
“People are telling me to smile. Maybe if I were one of you, I would be smiling. But I’m the father of the child, and I’ve lost the child,” he said.
He also prayed that “this senseless loss is the last that we will see, that no child would suffer what my beloved had to go through.”
CAIR Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab said they are pleased with the verdict, calling it a “very clear-cut case.”
“This is a case that shook up the Muslim community, the Palestinian community, and really Chicago and Illinois and the nation, maybe even the world at large,” Rehab said. “This is one of the worst hate crimes that have been committed in recent memory that targeted an innocent 6-year-old boy, a kindergartner, and his mother.”
The child’s mother, Hanan Shaheen, was the first to take the stand in the weeklong trial.
She said Czuba attacked her first with a knife, stabbing her multiple times, saying, “You devil Muslim, you must die,” as her son watched, according to Chicago ABC station WLS, which was in the courtroom.
She testified that she called 911 from the bathroom when he appeared to leave, but then she started to hear her son screaming, according to WLS.
“I started hearing my son screaming, screaming, screaming, ‘Oh no, stop,'” Shaheen said, according to WLS.
Jurors also listened to the mother’s 911 call from the bathroom, in which she was heard telling the dispatcher, “He’s killing my baby,” WLS reported.
They also watched body camera footage of the officers responding to the bloody scene and were shown the knife used in the attack, which an officer said was still in the boy’s body when they arrived. Jurors additionally heard remarks Czuba made in a law enforcement vehicle following the attack.
“I thought they were going to do jihad on me,” Czuba said, according to WLS.
He also said he was “afraid for my life” and his wife and said the family was “just like infested rats,” according to WLS.
Czuba and his wife rented part of their Plainfield home to the mother and son for two years.
His now-ex-wife testified for prosecutors that Czuba became withdrawn in the days after the war and wanted the family to move out immediately, while she wanted to give them 30 days’ notice, according to The Associated Press.
Czuba did not take the stand, waiving his right to testify.
His defense attorneys told jurors at the start of the trial that there were holes in the state’s case and urged them to “go beyond the emotions to carefully examine the evidence,” according to the AP.
ABC News’ Cheryl Gendron contributed to this report.
(ANCHORAGE, Alaska) — Ashley Keith used to always dream about joining the world of professional sled dog racing.
She got her first sled dog when she was 13 years old and fantasized about one day participating in the renowned 1,000-mile race in Alaska, the Iditarod.
In 2003, she thought her dream was coming true when she was asked to work as a handler for a prominent family that has competed in the Iditarod for decades.
But in reality, “that was what really killed my dream,” Keith told ABC News.
During her time as a handler, she said she was appalled by the conditions the dogs were living in — inspiring her to start Humane Mushing, a movement that fights to raise the standards for sled dog welfare.
The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, also known as the “Last Great Race,” is a 1,000-mile race held annually in Alaska since its start in 1973. The competition always occurs during the peak of Alaska’s winter, requiring dogs and mushers — the drivers of the sled — to travel through frozen rivers, mountains and blizzards, according to the race’s website.
The 53rd annual Iditarod will begin with a ceremonial start on Saturday, with the official start taking place Monday. The race will not conclude until the last musher crosses the finish line, which is projected to occur on March 11.
Due to a lack of snow, this year’s race has a different starting point in Fairbanks, Alaska, which extends the competition by an additional 150 miles, according to the race organizers.
The race is a core part of Alaska’s history, stemming back to the Iditarod Trail, a path that was used as a mail route in the 20th century and was critical for transportation in the winter months when roads were obstructed, according to the race’s website.
Despite its tight connection to the culture of Alaska, some argue the race is a form of animal abuse, with dogs working under high levels of stress in extreme weather conditions.
Iditarod officials did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment. ABC News also reached out to the World Sleddog Association, Humane World for Animals and the International Sled Dog Veterinary Medical Association for comment.
Race alerts concerns of animal abuse
More than 150 dogs have reportedly died from the race since its start, including three that occurred in the 2024 race, according to PETA. Those deaths do not include dogs that died during training or the off-season, PETA noted. While these recent deaths prompted calls for the race to end, organizations have been protesting the Iditarod for decades, according to Melanie Johnson, a senior manager at PETA.
“This cruelty needs to end now,” Johnson told ABC News. “The number of dogs who die is just going to keep going up as long as the race continues.”
According to a 2001 study by the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, more than 80% of dogs that finish the Iditarod sustain persistent lung damage. A 2003 study by the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine found that dogs forced to participate in endurance racing had a 61% higher rate of stomach erosions or ulcers.
Johnson said the leading cause of death for dogs who race in the Iditarod is aspiration pneumonia, which is when the dog inhales its own vomit.
“Whenever a dog is forced to run 100 miles a day, their bodies are going to be pushed past their limits,” Johnson said.
Campaigns and protests by PETA have led several Iditarod sponsors to drop out, including Alaska Airlines, ExxonMobil and the Anchorage Chrysler dealership. With very few sponsors left, Johnson said the race is “really in dire straits.”
Veterinarian treatment at the race
Others argue the race is safe for dogs to compete in, including Dr. Lee Morgan, a veterinarian who previously provided care to canines competing in the Iditarod. In his 14 years working at the race, Morgan told ABC News only seven of the 14,000 dogs he saw have died.
“I’m not diminishing their deaths, but I see that sort of thing with any event that involves people,” Morgan said. “I’ve seen dogs that have died running on the beach with their owner. I’ve seen dogs overheat. Almost any event that involves dogs and humans, there’s a chance for unforeseen circumstances.”
Morgan, who wrote the book “4,000 Paws: Caring for the Dogs of the Iditarod,” said all dogs are required to provide blood work, a urinalysis, an EKG and must undergo a physical exam prior to competing in the race. He also said the race places multiple medical personnel on site at different checkpoints, where each dog is examined and treated for any issues.
Legality of the Iditarod
Despite the accusations of abuse, the Iditarod is a legal competition in the state of Alaska, according to Matthew Liebman, associate professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law.
Similar to other parts of the U.S., Alaska’s anti-cruelty law states a person commits cruelty to animals if the person knowingly inflicts severe or prolonged physical pain on the animal or has a legal duty to care for an animal but fails to do so, causing prolonged suffering to the animal or its death.
Liebman pointed out that Alaska includes an exemption to this law, allowing “generally accepted dog mushing or pulling contests or practices or rodeos or stock contests” to continue to operate.
“This just represents Alaska’s legislature making the determination that even if mushing does cause animals to suffer, it’s something they’re willing to tolerate for the sake of sport or tradition,” Liebman told ABC News.
Liebman said many states prohibit the “overworking” or “overdriving” of animals, meaning the Iditarod might violate anti-cruelty laws in other states.
‘No way do I want any dog on my team to die’
Typically, around 50 mushers compete in the Iditarod each year, with the record being 96 mushers in 2008, according to the race’s website. But those numbers continue to decline, with only 33 mushers registered to compete in this year’s race, which “ties for the record of the smallest field of competitors in the race’s history,” according to Johnson.
Musher Erin Altemus, who competed in the race last year, said it’s impossible to force these racing dogs to run if they don’t want to, which is exactly why she wasn’t able to complete the race in 2024.
“Ultimately what happened to me in the Iditarod is that my dogs didn’t want to run anymore,” Altemus told ABC News. “I had to respect that. There’s nothing I can do to change their minds.”
Keith said the way the dogs are strapped in, with one strap around their neck and another around their back, causes the dogs to be dragged if they ever wish to stop running. Some dogs even have to go to the bathroom without stopping, also known as “pooping on the fly,” according to Keith.
Vets and mushers claim the dogs are able to stop when they need to and are allowed time to rest at different checkpoints throughout the race, where they are also examined by a veterinary team.
At last year’s race, Altemus said she witnessed nothing but kindness and love toward the dogs, both from mushers and staff. The four-legged athletes received treats, massages, copious amounts of hay to sleep on and Prilosec to prevent stomach ulcers, Altemus said.
“If you were at a checkpoint and seeing the dogs coming and going and seeing how much they love to run and how much the mushers do care for their dogs, I think that speaks for itself,” Altemus said.
Altemus said she and other mushers “live in fear” of making a wrong decision for her dogs.
“Going into that race, you think, ‘No way do I want any dog on my team to die,'” Altemus said.
PETA will hold demonstrations at the race throughout the weekend, with one protest at the Mushers Banquet on Saturday and another at the Official Restart on Monday.
As for the future of the Iditarod, Ketih thinks the race’s “days are numbered.”
“No one who cares about their dogs is going to drive them 1,000-plus miles in one week,” Keith said. “Nobody that loves their dogs is pushing them that hard.”
(LOS ANGELES) — Police in California discovered the body of a 51-year-old woman in the trunk of a car being driven by her 24-year-old son following a pursuit where he tried to escape authorities, police said.
The incident began on Tuesday when officers from the El Cajon Police Department were called to a “suspicious circumstance” at Motel 6, located at 550 Montrose Court in El Cajon, California.
The caller reported that he went to check on his mother who had not returned home after visiting her other son, 24-year-old Richard Leyva, who was staying at the motel. However, upon arrival, the caller said that he discovered his mother’s body in the trunk of her black Hyundai Sonata.
“Investigators have determined that an altercation then happened between the two brothers,” police said in their statement released on Wednesday. “Leyva got into the Hyundai and drove off, striking his brother in the process. The brother was uninjured.”
Police say they quickly responded to the scene and located the Hyundai when a traffic stop was attempted, but Leyva fled from the officers in the process and began to lead them on a pursuit.
“The chase ended when Leyva crashed into two other vehicles,” police continued. “He was taken into custody after officers deployed a Taser to subdue him.”
Following Leyva’s arrest, police began and inspecting the vehicle and ended up discovering the body of a deceased woman in the trunk who was later identified as 51-year-old Jamison Webster.
Her death is being investigated as a homicide, police said.
Leyva has been booked into San Diego County Jail on charges of homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, and evading law enforcement.
Detectives are continuing to investigate the circumstances that led to the woman’s death and the investigation remains open.
Actor Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa pose for a portrait in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
(LOS ANGELES) — Authorities are searching for answers into the death of actor Gene Hackman, 95, who along with his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 65, were mysteriously found dead alongside a dog in their Santa Fe, New Mexico, home on Wednesday.
The couple was found on Wednesday during a welfare check with no obvious signs of how they died, according to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.
However, their deaths were “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation” due to all of the “circumstances surrounding” the scene, according to the search warrant affidavit.
There was no external trauma to either of them which led officials to conduct carbon monoxide and toxicology with the official results pending, the sheriff’s office said.
Hackman was discovered on the floor in the mud room, according to the search warrant. It appeared he fell suddenly, and he and his wife “showed obvious signs of death,” the document said.
Arakawa was found lying on her side on the floor in a bathroom, with a space heater near her body, according to the search warrant, and her body showed signs of decomposition due to some mummification to her hands and feet.
On the counter near Arakawa was an opened prescription bottle, with pills scattered, according to the search warrant.
A German shepherd was found dead about 10 to 15 feet from Arakawa, the document said. That dog was in a crate or a kennel, according to Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza.
The Santa Fe City Fire Department found no signs of a possible carbon monoxide leak or poisoning, the document said. But, if there was carbon monoxide at the scene, it could have vented out of the home through the open front door before responders arrived.
New Mexico Gas Company also responded, “As of now, there are no signs or evidence indicating there were any problems associated to the pipes in and around the residence,” the document said.
Two maintenance workers said they hadn’t heard from Hackman and Arakawa in about two weeks, the document said.
A maintenance worker who initially responded to the home found the front door open but there were no signs of forced entry or that anything had been stolen, the document said.
There was no indication of a crime and “there could be a multitude of reasons why the door was open,” the sheriff told reporters Thursday.
There was “no obvious sign or indication of foul play,” but authorities “haven’t ruled that out yet,” the sheriff said.
Investigators are “keeping everything on the table,” he added.
ABC News’ Kevin Shalvey, Erica Morris and Emily Shapiro contributed to this report.
The main gate at the prison in Guantanamo at the US Guantanamo Naval Base on October 16, 2018, in Guantanamo Base, Cuba. (Photo by SYLVIE LANTEAUME/AFP via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — When Jose, a Venezuelan migrant who was seeking asylum in the United States, was awoken by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official at 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 8, he sensed he was being sent to Guantanamo Bay, home of the notorious U.S. prison camp that administration officials said would house the most violent “worst of the worst” migrants apprehended on American soil.
“When we got on the [military] plane, they put restraints on our hands, feet, and waist,” said Jose, who requested that his last name not be used out of fear of retribution. “They searched us and then sat us in a chair, tying us to it and binding our feet together. We hoped it wouldn’t be Guantanamo but in the end, that’s where we ended up.”
Jose is one of the more than 170 migrants who spent two weeks at the naval base before being sent to Venezuela. He told ABC News that while he had a suspicion he was being sent to Guantanamo, he claims U.S. officials never told him and the other migrants where they were being sent.
“Our minds were racing, thinking we were kidnapped, wondering who would get us out of there,” said Jose. “Because no one tells you anything.”
Jose told ABC News that he had traveled to Mexico’s northern border to wait for an asylum appointment that he requested through the U.S. Customs and Border Protection app, prior to it being shut down by the Trump administration. After three weeks of waiting and “no food or a place to stay,” he decided to surrender to authorities at the U.S. southern border. He was detained at a detention center until he was transferred to Guantanamo.
ABC News spoke with Jose and another Guantanamo detainee, Jhoan Bastidas Paz, in Spanish, and reviewed court testimonies from three other detainees about their experience on the naval base before they were released. They allege U.S. officials transferred them to Guantanamo despite their having no criminal records, and several claim they were denied phone calls with their attorneys and relatives despite repeated demands.
“From the moment we were there, we tried to kick the doors, we went on countless strikes,” Jose said. “We clogged the toilets and protested, we covered the cameras because the confinement is unbearable.”
Jose told ABC News the room in which he was placed had “cobwebs and a disgusting smell.” He said that he spent 10 days without a mattress.
“They give you food … but it’s like they don’t give you any, [it’s] very little food,” Jose said. “There came a point where I would lick the plate. The food had no salt, but I would still eat it as if it were very tasty, because I was hungry.”
Jose said he and the other detainees were only allowed outside twice in two weeks and were denied phone calls with their relatives and families.
“There are four cages outside,” Jose said. “That’s the yard. You leave one room to go into another cell.”
Representatives from the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
Bastidas Paz had surrendered to authorities after crossing the U.S. southern border from Mexico in 2023. He was charged with “improper entry” to which he pleaded guilty, and was in a detention center in El Paso, Texas, until he was transferred to Guantanamo Bay.
Both Jose and Bastidas Paz told ABC News they are not members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, despite the U.S. government saying they are.
“We’re not from Tren de Aragua or anything, we’re not criminals, we’re immigrants,” Bastidas Paz said. He said that officials never told him he was being sent to Guantanamo and then to Venezuela.
“I don’t think it’s fair that they’re taking us there, like that, with lies, because practically we’re being taken there, kidnapped, without telling us anything, and when we realize it, they leave us there, and I don’t think it’s fair,” Bastidas Paz said.
Bastidas Paz told ABC News that he went on a hunger strike with other detainees while they demanded information from officials. He also claims he was only allowed to shower three times during the time he was in Guantanamo.
“We are immigrants and we haven’t committed any crime to be taken to that very ugly prison,” Bastidas Paz said.
Jose said he has not been able to sleep since he arrived in Venezuela.
“I haven’t slept at all because of the fear that I might fall asleep and … I’d wake up back there,” he told ABC News. “That’s the terror I feel.”
(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Justice released files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein Thursday evening.
The material released contained previously published pilot logs from the prosecution of Ghislaine Maxwell. The records include redactions performed by prosecutors on the case to protect the identities of potential victims. Also published is Epstein’s so-called “black book” that has previously been made public.
One document never before seen is what the Justice Department is calling “Evidence List,” a three-page catalog of material apparently obtained through searches of Epstein’s properties in New York and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Among the items investigators obtained, according to the document, is “one CD labelled ‘girl pics nude book 4′” and a folder titled “LSJ logbook,” which appears to be a reference to Epstein’s private island, Little St. James.
Investigators also recovered a bag “containing one yellow envelope marked ‘SK’ dated 08/27/08 containing multiple smaller envelopes containing $17,115” in U.S. currency.
The date is notable because it coincides with the time Epstein was in jail in Palm Beach, Florida. SK could be a reference to one of Epstein’s former associates.
The evidence list also contained dozens of recording devices, computers, hard drives and memory sticks along with “1 brown bust sculpture of female breasts,” one folder containing “1 vibrator, 3 buttplugs, 1 set of cuffs, 1 dildo, 1 leash, 1 box of condoms, 1 nurse cap, 1 stethoscope.”
The list also included several massage tables – one of which was wheeled into court during Maxwell’s trial – numerous photo albums and pictures, including one that said “photo album of girl and Epstein” and a bag containing “1 set of copper handcuffs and whip.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi had instructed FBI Director Kash Patel to investigate what she describes as an apparent withholding of investigative files related to Epstein.
In her letter to Patel, Bondi said prior to his confirmation she had requested all files related to Epstein — but late Wednesday evening was informed by “a source” that the FBI field office in New York was in possession of “thousands of pages of documents” that had not been handed over.
In recent media appearances on Fox News, Bondi has teased out the pending release of documents in the Justice Department’s holdings related to its investigation of Epstein, who died by suicide in August 2019 while awaiting trial.
Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
(LOS ANGELES) — Former Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley is appealing her dismissal, nearly a week after Mayor Karen Bass removed her from the top post in the wake of the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires.
Crowley sent a letter to the Los Angeles City Council on Thursday, informing them she is proceeding with an appeal of Bass’ removal of her as fire chief.
According to the Los Angeles City Charter, the appeal would require the approval of two-thirds of the 15 city council members to overturn the firing.
In response, a spokesperson for Bass’ office said in a statement, “Former Chief Crowley has the right to appeal her dismissal.”
Bass removed Crowley from her position on Friday, saying firefighters were sent home instead of being used when the deadly fires broke out last month.
“We know that 1,000 firefighters that could have been on duty on the morning the fires broke out were instead sent home on Chief Crowley’s watch,” Bass said in a statement. “Furthermore, a necessary step to an investigation was the President of the Fire Commission telling Chief Crowley to do an after action report on the fires. The Chief refused. These require her removal.”
Ronnie Villanueva, a retired LA Fire chief deputy of emergency operations, was appointed interim chief.
Crowley exercised her civil service rights to stay with the department at a lower rank with duties to be assigned by the new interim chief, according to the mayor’s office.
The former chief said it was an “absolute honor to represent and lead the men and women of one of the greatest fire departments in the world.”
“I am extremely proud of the work, sacrifice and dedication of our LAFD members, both sworn and civilian,” she said in a statement on Saturday.
Crowley’s dismissal as chief was met with criticism by Freddy Escobar, the president of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City.
“Chief Crowley is a strong leader who has the respect of our firefighters and wasn’t afraid to tell the truth,” he said in a statement on Saturday. “She’s being made a scapegoat from a devastating fire without the benefit of a full investigation into what actually happened.”
Bass has faced tremendous pressure and questions surrounding her decision to attend an event in Ghana when the fires broke out on Jan. 7, despite days of warnings about the unprecedented weather event that drove the fires.
Crowley openly criticized Bass in a local TV interview on Jan. 10, saying Bass had failed the city, citing funding and staffing of the fire department.
Bass said she has not cut the fire department budget while in office.
At least 29 people died as multiple wildfires — fueled by severe drought conditions and strong winds — raged across Southern California in January.
The largest of the fires in Los Angeles County — the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood — began on Jan. 7 and spread to 23,707 acres. The fire remained active for 44 days. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
The second largest of the fires — the Eaton Fire, north of Pasadena — also began on Jan. 7 and spread to 14,021 acres. It remained active for 44 days and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
ABC News’ Mark Osborne, Nadine El-Bawab and Bonnie Mclean contributed to this report.
New police footage shows the moment a sheriff’s deputy rescued a baby from a burning apartment in Winder, Georgia.
At approximately 1:13 p.m. on Tuesday, Winder police and fire units reached out to the Barrow County Sheriff’s Department for assistance in a residential fire, according to the sheriff’s department.
While on the way to the scene, police were informed that “an infant child was still in the apartment and was unable to be reached,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Deputies immediately attempted to rescue the infant, but several units were “not able to continue beyond a certain point in the building” due to the significant amount of smoke.
Despite the dangerous conditions, Deputy Jhancarlos Arango and a Winder police officer entered the building to save the child, police said.
The moment, which was captured on body worn camera video obtained by ABC affiliate WSB in Atlanta, shows the two officers racing into the apartment, with the deputy even covering his nose and mouth with a pair of pants to prevent inhaling the smoke.
Police said Arango and the other officer were “able to crawl to the infant, following the cries, and rescue the child.”
In the video, Arango can be heard saying, “I can’t breathe” while rescuing the child. Once everyone was back outside, the deputy said, “Thank you, God.”
This infant was not the only child saved from this fire, according to the Winder Fire Department. Two other small children were removed from the apartment complex, the fire department said.
The children — including the infant — and both law enforcement officers were transported to the hospital for smoke inhalation, but are all expected are to be OK, according to officials.
The fire was contained to the room of origin, according to Winder Fire Chief Matt Whiting.
“We are incredibly grateful for the swift and coordinated efforts of our local first responders,” Whiting said. “Their quick actions ensured that this situation was contained effectively, and lives were saved.”
