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(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is set to hold a lunch meeting with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado at 12:30 p.m. ET Thursday, the White House said. The meeting, which is currently scheduled to be closed to press, will take place in the White House private dining room.

“She’s a very nice woman,” Trump said of Machado on Wednesday, according to Reuters. “I’ve seen her on television. I think we’re just going to talk basics.”

Trump also said Wednesday he had a “great conversation” with Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez, their first since authoritarian Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro was seized by the U.S. on Jan. 3.

“We had a call, a long call. We discussed a lot of things,” Trump said during a bill signing in the Oval Office. “And I think we’re getting along very well with Venezuela.”

The president said last week on his social media platform that he had “cancelled the previously expected second Wave of Attacks” on Venezuela after the government released several political prisoners, but he added that “all ships will stay in place for safety and security purposes.” 

Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for her work “promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela” and her push to move the country from dictatorship to democracy.

“Machado is receiving the Nobel Peace Prize first and foremost for her efforts to advance democracy in Venezuela,” the Nobel Committee said at the time. “But democracy is also in retreat internationally. Democracy — understood as the right to freely express one’s opinion, to cast one’s vote and to be represented in elective government — is the foundation of peace both within countries and between countries.”

Machado said last week that she would like to give or share the prize with Trump, who oversaw the successful U.S. operation to capture Maduro. Maduro is now facing drug trafficking charges in New York, to which he has pleaded not guilty.

“I certainly would love to be able to personally tell him that we believe — the Venezuelan people, because this is a prize of the Venezuelan people — certainly want to, to give it to him and share it with him,” Machado told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Monday. “What he has done is historic. It’s a huge step towards a democratic transition.”

When asked earlier in January whether Machado could become the next leader of Venezuela, Trump said it would be “very tough for her” because she “doesn’t have the support or the respect within the country.”

The Norwegian Nobel Institute issued a statement last week saying that once the Nobel Peace Prize is announced, it “can neither be revoked, shared, nor transferred to others. Once the announcement has been made, the decision stands for all time.”

Machado dedicated the prize to Trump, along with the people of Venezuela, shortly after it was announced in October 2025.

“I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause,” she said then.

Trump has coveted and openly campaigned for winning the Nobel Prize himself since his return to office. White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung slammed the Nobel Committee for its decision after Machado was announced as the most recent winner.

“[Trump] has the heart of a humanitarian, and there will never be anyone like him who can move mountains with the sheer force of his will,” Cheung said in an X post. “The Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace.”

Jorgen Watne Frydens, the Nobel Committee chair, was asked about Trump’s “campaign” for the prize last year but denied it had any impact on the decision-making process.

“We receive thousands and thousands of letters every year of people wanting to say what, for them, leads to peace,” Frydens said. “This committee sits in a room filled with the portraits of all laureates and that room is filled with both courage and integrity. We base only our decision on the work and the will of Alfred Nobel.”

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(PHILADELPHIA) — The family of Ellen Greenberg is celebrating the prospect of a federal investigation into the way various agencies in Philadelphia handled her death. 

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Thursday that the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania issued subpoenas as part of an inquiry into whether Greenberg’s death was properly investigated. 

The family of the 27-year-old teacher has long claimed the case was “embarrassingly botched” and warranted additional investigation. 

“The prospects of the federal United States attorneys investigating any aspect of Ellen’s murder is a dream come true for [her parents] Sandee and Josh,” family attorney Joseph Podraza said in a statement to ABC News. “We have only wanted justice for Ellen and now have renewed hope this will occur. Sandee and Josh and their lawyers will continue to pursue and support all avenues to secure justice in this matter.”

The US Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania declined to comment. ABC News has reached out to various offices involved in Greenberg’s case, including the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office, which have not immediately returned request for comment.

Greenberg was found by her fiancé in January 2011 in the kitchen of their home with a 10-inch knife in her chest and over a dozen stab wounds. The fiancé told police at the time the door was locked from the inside and investigators said there were no signs of forced entry or defensive wounds.

The Philadelphia medical examiner’s office initially ruled Greenberg’s death a homicide, then switched to suicide.

In October, the medical examiner affirmed she died by suicide after the medical examiner’s office agreed to reassess the case following lawsuits from her family that contested the initial finding. Dr. Marlon Osbourne, the pathologist who performed the original autopsy, stated in a sworn statement in 2024 that “Ellen’s manner of death should be designated as something other than suicide.”

The Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office agreed to review the case again as part of a settlement with her family to determine whether her manner of death should be changed to “could not be determined” or “homicide.”

Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Lindsay Simon stated in the 32-page review that it was her opinion that Greenberg’s death is “best classified as ‘Suicide.'”

Simon determined Greenberg had 23 stab and incised wounds in her neck, head and front torso — up from the initial autopsy report’s finding of 20 wounds — many of which “would best be categorized as hesitation wounds.” Additionally, she determined there were another 20 bruises from the initial report, raising the number to 31. No defensive wounds were found on her body, and “the fact remains that Ellen would be capable of inflicting these injuries herself,” Simon stated.

The evidence did not indicate any foul play or that there was anyone else in the apartment at the time of her death, but that Greenberg was “suffering from anxiety at the time of her death” and that the “anxiety appeared mostly to be due to her work as a teacher,” according to the review.

If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide — free, confidential help is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call or text the national lifeline at 988.

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(MINNEAPOLIS) — The Department of Homeland Security said a federal law enforcement officer shot a person in Minneapolis on Wednesday evening, saying the latter fled a traffic stop and then — along with two other people — began attacking the officer.

“Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired defensive shots to defend his life,” DHS said in a statement on social media. “The initial subject was hit in the leg.”

Both the officer and the person who was shot were taken to the hospital, DHS said.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the person shot was an “adult male,” and that his injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.

DHS said federal law enforcement officers were conducting a “targeted traffic stop” Wednesday evening at 6:50 p.m. local time. The DHS statement identified the person being stopped as “an illegal alien from Venezuela.”

DHS said the person drove away in his car, crashed into a parked vehicle and then fled on foot.

When a pursuing officer caught up to the person, “the subject began to resist and violently assault the officer,” DHS said in the statement. 

“While the subject and law enforcement were in a struggle on the ground, two subjects came out of a nearby apartment and also attacked the law enforcement officer with a snow shovel and broom handle,” the statement said.

The statement added, “As the officer was being ambushed and attacked by the two individuals, the original subject got loose and began striking the officer with a shovel or broom stick.”

After the officer fired, the three people ran back into the apartment and barricaded themselves inside, DHS claimed in the statement.

It’s unclear from the statement when and how an arrest was made, but DHS said both of the two people, who were not shot, it alleges attacked the officer were taken into custody.

A crowd later gathered at the scene of the second shooting. O’Hara said the crowd amounted to an “unlawful assembly” and accused some people of throwing fireworks and rocks at officers.

“People need to leave. This is already a very tense situation and we do not need this to escalate any further,” O’Hara told reporters at a news conference Wednesday night.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said the situation was “not sustainable” and urged residents to protest peacefully.

“There’s still a lot that we don’t know at this time,” Frey said. “But what I can tell you for certain is that this is not sustainable. This is an impossible situation that our city is being put in.”

ICE and Border Patrol officers are “creating chaos,” in the city, Frey said, adding, “I’ve seen conduct from ICE that is disgusting and is intolerable. If it were your city, it would be unacceptable there too.”

ICE officials have disputed those claims, saying federal officers are seeking only those who’ve broken the law. “If Frey truly cared about safety in his community, he would work with ICE to get the worst of the WORST out of Minnesota,” the agency said on Wednesday.

Customs and Border Patrol said on Monday that additional officers were “are on their way to restore order and we welcome cooperation from state and local law enforcement” in Minneapolis. The agency, which sits under the DHS, described Frey’s leadership as “weak,” accusing his administration of encouraging “lawlessness.”

“We are not going to let our officers be attacked in an aggressive manner and sit idly by,” Gregory K. Bovino, a senior Border Patrol official, said on Wednesday. “In addition to the most important mission of enforcing Title 8 Immigration laws, we will also arrest those who attack and assault our agents. You will go to jail.”

Frey said protesters should avoid confrontations with federal officers. “And for anyone that is taking the bait tonight — stop,” he said. “That is not helpful. Go home. We cannot counter Donald Trump’s chaos with our own brand of chaos.”

Frey said there were 600 Minneapolis Police Department officers working to “keep our streets safe” as the protests continued. About 3,000 federal officers had been dispatched to Minnesota, he said.

In a rare primetime address, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz Wednesday called on President Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to “end this occupation” in Minnesota, 

“Donald Trump wants this chaos. He wants confusion, and yes, he wants more violence on our streets. We cannot give him what he wants,” Walz said. “We can, we must protest loudly, urgently, but also peacefully. Indeed, as hard as we will fight in the courts and at the ballot box, we cannot and will not let violence prevail.”

Noem had said on Tuesday that the ICE officers were on the scene for an operation that was “rapidly removing the criminal illegal aliens who have found sanctuary in Tim Walz’s Minnesota.”

“The men and women of DHS law enforcement are working day and night to arrest and deport sickos, dirtbags, and fraudsters from across the state,” she added.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, meanwhile, accused both Frey and Walz of inciting unrest.

“Minnesota insurrection is a direct result of a FAILED governor and a TERRIBLE mayor encouraging violence against law enforcement,” Blanche said on Wednesday on social media. “It’s disgusting.”

He added, “Walz and Frey — I’m focused on stopping YOU from your terrorism by whatever means necessary. This is not a threat. It’s a promise.”

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(NEW YORK) — Former college All-American Antonio Blakeney is among 17 basketball players charged in a point-shaving scheme to fix games in the NCAA and Chinese Basketball Association and rig bets, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday in Philadelphia. 

Federal officials are announcing the charges on Thursday.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(NEW YORK) — Scientists have factored damage to the ocean into the social cost of carbon for the first time — finding it nearly doubles the economic impact from climate change.

Ocean damage from climate change — dubbed the “blue” social cost of carbon — causes the global cost of carbon dioxide emissions to society to nearly double, according to new findings by researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego.

The researchers calculated an additional $46.2 per ton of carbon dioxide — amounting to a total of $97.2 per ton of carbon dioxide, a 91% increase, according to the study, published Thursday in Nature Climate Change. Global carbon dioxide emissions were estimated to be 41.6 billion tons in 2024, according to the Global Carbon Budget, implying nearly $2 trillion in ocean-related damages in one year that are currently missing from standard climate cost estimates.

The ocean has never been accounted into the economic harm caused by greenhouse gas emissions before, the researchers said. The ocean was largely overlooked in the standard accounting of the social cost of carbon, despite widespread degradation to coral reef ecosystems, losses from fisheries and damage to coastal infrastructure — all of which are “well documented” and have impacted millions of people globally.

In addition, the distribution of impacts is “highly unequal” across the globe, according to the paper. Islands and small economies will be disproportionately affected, given the regions’ dependence on seafood and nutrition, according to the study.

Scripps researchers felt the need to put a price tag on the harm that climate change causes to the ocean in order to properly inform key decision-makers with a cost-benefit analysis, said environmental economist and assistant professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico Bernardo Bastien-Olvera, who led the study during a postdoctoral fellowship at Scripps Oceanography.

“The ocean was the big missing piece in these models that calculate the climate impacts on humans,” Bastien-Olvera told ABC News.

Human-amplified climate change damages oceans by warming temperatures and altering its chemistry, according to the Scripps researchers. The changes then alter the distribution of species and damages ecosystems such as reefs, mangroves, seagrass beds and kelp forests.

Coastal infrastructure, such as shipping ports, can also be damaged by increased flooding and stronger storms.

The social cost of carbon is an economic metric used in climate policy to estimate the damages that a ton of carbon dioxide causes to humans today, Bastien-Olvera said.

The researchers estimated the social cost of carbon by using integrated assessment models to run different future scenarios of how people and the economy might behave during the next century, also incorporating the potential climate impacts on systems such as coral reefs, mangroves, fisheries and seaports, Bastien-Olvera said.

The accounting was further developed by looking at straightforward market-use values, such as decreased fisheries revenue or diminished trade, as well as non-market values such as health impacts of reduced nutrition availability from impacted fisheries and recreational opportunities at the ocean, according to Scripps.

The research accounted for reduced availability of key nutrients in seafood, including calcium, omega-3 fatty acids, protein and iron — the loss of which can be linked to increases in disease risk and additional deaths.

The economic cost is caused by losses in the fishing industry, damage to coastal communities and impacts to systems that help fortify those communities, like mangroves and reefs.

The social cost of carbon is considered a more accurate accounting of harm from climate change than other calculations used as the basis of carbon credits or carbon offsets to travelers, according to Scripps.

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(NEW YORK) — As forests shrink and wildlife disappears, mosquitoes are increasingly turning to people for their blood meals, a shift that raises real concerns about the potential spread of diseases that affect humans.

A new study published in the journal Frontiers suggests these buzzing, biting insects are playing a growing role in the increased transmission of Zika, yellow fever, dengue and other diseases that mosquitoes pass on to people, thanks in part to disappearing habitats.

Deforestation, which is the widespread clearing of forests, and other human activity has vastly reduced local populations of plants and animals while increasing human populations in the same areas, according to the study.

“Mosquitoes that are normally feeding on other hosts within the habitat can shift to humans if the habitat is no longer suitable for those hosts and they leave,” Laura Harrington, a Ph.D.-level professor of entomology at Cornell University, told ABC News.

Human blood was widely found in nine types of mosquitoes in two formerly uninhabited areas in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, preliminary study results found. This area was once a part of the Atlantic Forest that covered 502,000 square miles. Today, it has shrunk to 29% of its original size as a result of deforestation and development, according to the final study.

The researchers point to past studies showing that areas with heavier deforestation have a higher mosquito abundance and higher rates of mosquito-borne disease because disturbed habitats favor species that thrive near people. At the same time, reduced biodiversity removes animals that can dilute disease transmission, making humans more likely to become the primary blood source.

Sérgio Lisboa Machado, a co-author of the paper and a professor at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, said mosquitoes are opportunists who don’t venture far to find food.

“So they start searching for humans because mosquitoes rarely fly very long distances,” he told ABC News. “They are not going to pay a lot of energy to find [other food sources].”

More than 17% of all infectious diseases are caused by vector-borne diseases, meaning a disease that’s transmitted to humans by a living organism, such as mosquitoes, ticks, and flies, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports. These biting insects cause more than 700,000 deaths globally.

Mosquitoes alone transmit dozens of serious diseases to humans, according to the WHO, which consequently considers them the deadliest animals on Earth.

Female mosquitoes are the culprit. They must drink blood to get the protein and iron they need to develop their eggs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

There is a “reproductive drive for them to feed on blood, and if there’s no other host there, most mosquitoes would feed on a human,” Harrington told ABC News.

Male mosquitoes buzz, but they don’t bite, instead dining on nectar and plant sugars.

There are 3,500 mosquito species globally, Harrington said, noting that there are only a handful that truly prefer the taste of human blood over other animals. When given a choice, only a small fraction of mosquito species regularly seek out humans.

“It’s something that we’ve known for a long time,” Harrington said. “This notion that manipulating the landscape can alter mosquito feeding patterns and sometimes shift feeding patterns towards humans.”

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(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration took steps this week to reinstate hundreds of health and safety officials who had previously been dismissed in widespread layoffs, granting a major win for advocates of workplace safety.

The newly reinstated employees belong to the National Institute of Safety and Health, or NIOSH, a small federal office within the Department of Health and Human Services that’s focused on protecting coal miners from black lung respiratory disease. Critics of the Trump administration have accused the government of stripping away key protections for miners in its bid to reinvigorate the coal industry, ABC News has previously reported.

“This moment belongs to every single person who refused to stay silent,” Dr. Micah Niemeier-Walsh, an industrial hygienist at NIOSH and the vice president of the American Federation of Government Employees outpost in Washington, D.C., said Wednesday following news of the reinstatements.

In April 2025, hundreds of NIOSH officials were terminated as part of a so-called Reduction in Force, or RIF. Under pressure from lawmakers and labor organizers, the administration brought back some officials months later, and on Tuesday, hundreds more received an email saying the prior “notice is hereby revoked.”

“You are not affected by the RIF and remain employed in your position of record,” according to an email obtained by ABC News.

The reinstatement “ensures the continuation of critical programs that protect all working people, including mine safety research, chemical hazard assessment, and research on emerging occupational risks,” read a statement from AFGE, the federal workers union.

Andrew Nixon, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement that “the Trump Administration is committed to protecting essential services — whether it’s supporting coal miners and firefighters through NIOSH, safeguarding public health through lead prevention, or researching and tracking the most prevalent communicable diseases.”

Nixon confirmed that the reinstatement applies to all NIOSH officials except those who voluntarily left government.

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(New Mexico) — Actor Timothy Busfield, who was arrested on charges of alleged criminal sexual contact of a minor and child abuse, is facing a new assault claim from another alleged victim, according to a motion for pretrial detention.

In a document filed on Wednesday, prosecutors said the father of a 16-year-old went to law enforcement on Tuesday to report alleged abuse from “several years ago.”

The teenage girl said that during an audition, Busfield “kissed her and put his hands down her pants and touched her privates,” the document said.

Busfield “begged the family to not report to law enforcement if he received therapy,” the document said, adding that the teenager’s father was a therapist and agreed at the time.

Busfield’s attorney said in a statement on Wednesday, “Tim Busfield denies the allegations in the criminal complaint and maintains they are completely false. As a voluntary step, he submitted to an independent polygraph examination regarding those allegations and passed.”

Busfield, best known for his role as Danny Concannon on “The West Wing,” turned himself in to authorities in New Mexico on Tuesday on charges of alleged criminal sexual contact of a minor and child abuse, according to police and U.S. Marshals sources.

The charges stem from accusations that Busfield inappropriately touched a child actor on the set of his show “The Cleaning Lady,” according to a criminal complaint obtained by ABC News. According to court documents, the child’s parents reported that the alleged abuse began in 2022, when the child was 7 years old, and lasted until 2024.

Busfield denied the allegations when interviewed by investigators, according to the criminal complaint. 

A publicist for Busfield’s wife, actress Melissa Gilbert, said in a statement on Tuesday that Gilbert “is honoring the request of Tim’s lawyers not to speak publicly while the legal process unfolds. … Melissa stands with and supports her husband and will address the public at an appropriate time.”

The new court document argues Busfield should remain detained. The prosecutors also accuse Busfield of speaking to the media before turning himself in to allegedly “prioritize personal narrative control.”

At a brief court appearance on Wednesday, a judge said Busfield will remain in custody in New Mexico with no bond. 

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(WASHINGTON) — The State Department is freezing immigrant visa processing for 75 countries in an effort to clamp down on applicants it deems likely to become a public charge.

The directive instructs embassies and consulates to halt decisions beginning Jan. 21 while the department reassesses its vetting procedures under existing immigration law, according to an internal memo first reported by Fox News Digital.

The effort comes months before the United States is set to co-host the 2026 World Cup with nearly 2 million tickets sold to fans around the world. The Trump administration previously said “any athlete or member of an athletic team, including coaches, persons performing a necessary support role, and immediate relatives, traveling to the World Cup” would be exempt from travel bans.

The suspension of immigrant visas will not apply to applicants seeking non-immigrant visas, or temporary tourist or business visas, who make up the vast majority of visa seekers, the State Department said. As such, the suspensions announced would not apply for those seeking to travel to the World Cup in the U.S. this summer.

A State Department spokesperson confirmed the agency is pausing immigrant visa processing for the 75 countries.

“The Trump administration is bringing an end to the abuse of America’s immigration system by those who would extract wealth from the American people,” State Department principal deputy spokesman Tommy Pigott said in statement Wednesday. “The State Department will use its long-standing authority to deem ineligible potential immigrants who would become a public charge on the United States and exploit the generosity of the American people.”

Countries affected by the pause include Somalia, Russia, Afghanistan, Brazil, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Nigeria, Thailand and Yemen, according to the internal memo. The full list of countries was not immediately available, but ABC News has reached out to the State Department for more information.

“Immigrant visa processing from these 75 countries will be paused while the State Department reassess immigration processing procedures to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits,” Pigott added Wednesday in the statement.

Notably, Somalia has drawn scrutiny from the Trump administration in recent days following reports of fraud in Minnesota’s social services system. A self-proclaimed independent journalist posted a video last month alleging child care fraud in Minneapolis’ Somali communities. Several state and local officials have disputed the accuracy of the video, and authorities said at the time none of the centers featured in the video were accused of fraud.

Federal authorities are investigating the allegations in the state’s social services system, while Minnesota officials have disputed the claims of fraud.

President Donald Trump recently criticized Somali immigrants, describing them as “garbage” and saying he doesn’t want them in the United States during a Cabinet meeting last month.

The Trump administration announced Tuesday it would end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalis in March, effectively forcing as many as 2,400 people out of the U.S., despite the president’s remarks last month that Somalia was “barely a country.”

In November, the State Department circulated a cable to consular offices worldwide directing staff to apply stricter screening measures under the “public charge” provision.

Under the guidance, officers are required to deny visas to applicants considered likely to depend on public assistance.

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(WASHINGTON) — In an 11-page court filing, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and Acting U.S. attorney Lindsay Halligan blasted a federal judge Tuesday for what they called an “inquisition” against Halligan for continuing to represent herself as U.S. attorney for Eastern District of Virginia, after another judge found she was not legally allowed to serve in the role.

Halligan, a former White House aide who was appointed interim U.S. attorney by President Donald Trump, secured indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, only to have them thrown out when U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie determined in November that she had been unlawfully appointed without being either Senate confirmed or appointed by the federal judiciary.  

Last week, U.S. District Judge David Novak ordered the Justice Department to explain why Halligan was still using the title after her office issued an indictment in which she was identified as U.S. attorney in the document’s signature block.

In their court filing on Tuesday, Bondi, Blanche and Halligan slammed Judge Novak’s order.

“The Court’s thinly veiled threat to use attorney discipline to cudgel the Executive Branch into conforming its legal position in all criminal prosecutions to the views of a single district judge is a gross abuse of power and an affront to the separation of powers,” the filing said. “The bottom line is that Ms. Halligan has not ‘misrepresented’ anything and the Court is flat wrong to suggest that any change to the Government’s signature block is warranted in this or any other case.”

“Contrary to this Court’s suggestion, nothing in the Comey and James dismissal orders prohibits Ms. Halligan from performing the functions of or holding herself out as the United States Attorney,” said the filing. “Although Judge Currie concluded that Ms. Halligan was unlawfully appointed under Section 546, she did not purport to enjoin Ms. Halligan from continuing to oversee the office or from identifying herself as the United States Attorney in the Government’s signature blocks.”

The DOJ officials said Judge Novak had a “fixation” on Halligan’s signature block, which was “untethered from how federal courts actually operate.”

They argued that the court has no authority to strike her signature from the block. 

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