(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — Three women were found dead inside a Columbus, Ohio, home on Saturday, according to police.
Shortly before 4 p.m., officers received a report from a person who found their friends in medical distress inside a home, officials said.
“We are working through the manner of death to determine what actually happened before we release any of that information,” said Sgt. James Fuqua, public information officer for Columbus Police.
Once at the home, responders found three female victims inside and all were pronounced dead at the scene, Fuqua said.
“It’s unfortunate when someone loses their life, but particularly this time of year during the holidays,” Fuqua said. “It’s going to be very difficult for all of these victim’s families to come to the grips that, unfortunately, these family members will no longer be in their lives.”
No drugs were found at the scene and officials are considering it an active homicide investigation and are working to confirm the manner of death, officials said.
No one is in custody at this time, and the person who called in the incident is not a suspect.
Fuqua called it a “very complex scene.”
“It’s going to take a little bit longer to make sure that we’re very careful and going through the scene meticulously, so we do not miss any key piece of evidence because unfortunately, it’s very unusual to have so many victims in one incident,” he added.
(LANDOVER, Md.) — Daniel Penny, the former Marine who was charged but acquitted in killing Jordan Neely, a Black homeless man, in a New York City subway, shared the spotlight with President-elect Donald Trump and his entourage on Saturday at the Army-Navy game in Landover, Maryland.
Penny, who has received praise in conservative circles and jeers from others for his actions in May 2023, was seen chatting with Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, who invited the 25-year-old to the game.
He did not speak to the press.
Trump, who attended the same game in 2016 after winning the election, did not make any speeches but saluted during the national anthem and gave a fist pump and wave to a crowd.
In addition to the president and vice-president elect, Penny joined Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Defense; former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s selection to be director of national intelligence; House Speaker Mike Johnson; incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Pennsylvania Sen.-elect David McCormick at the game.
Penny’s invitation came days after a Manhattan jury acquitted him of criminal charges for the incident on the F train on May 1, 2023. Neely, who was homeless at the time, boarded a subway car at the Second Avenue stop and was described by witnesses as yelling and moving erratically when Penny put Neely in a chokehold, which prosecutors alleged lasted for six minutes, according to officials.
Some of the incident was captured on video.
The city’s medical examiner concluded Penny’s chokehold killed Neely and ruled he died due to compression of the neck.
Neely, a 30-year-old former street performer who would impersonate Michael Jackson, had a history of homelessness and schizophrenia.
He had been convicted of assaulting people at subway stations, according to police. However, passengers on the train the day Neely died said he did not touch anyone during the incident.
However, Neely had expressed a willingness to die or even kill while on the train, according to investigators.
Penny was charged with manslaughter and negligent homicide but received praise from some conservative leaders, right-wing media pundits and others for what they claimed was an act of self-defense.
“Daniel’s a good guy, and New York’s mob district attorney tried to ruin his life for having a backbone,” Vance posted on X this week.
Others, however, criticized the former Marine for taking the life of a homeless Black man in need of mental health services.
The Manhattan jury deliberated for 24 hours over five days and was deadlocked on the manslaughter charge, which carried a 15-year prison sentence, forcing the judge to dismiss it. The jury delivered a verdict of not guilty on the negligent homicide charge on Monday.
In an interview with Fox Nation, Penny described himself as being in a “vulnerable” position.
“He was just threatening to kill people,” Penny told host Jeanine Pirro about Neely. “He was threatening to go to jail forever, to go to jail for the rest of his life.”
Penny has been named in a lawsuit by Neely’s father, Andre Zachery, for negligent contact, assault and battery that led to Neely’s death.
“I promised this family justice — we are still going to do that,” Donte Mills, the attorney representing Zachery, said following Penny’s conviction. “The district attorney did a good job, but the jury in this case let us down.”
(AUGUSTA, Ga.) — One person was shot and killed in an “isolated” shooting in on-post housing at Fort Eisenhower on Saturday, according to the base. The shooter has been apprehended and the base reopened after it had gone into lockdown.
“Fort Eisenhower is actively supporting the victim’s family and assistance will be available to anyone impacted by this tragedy. The safety of our residents and personnel remains our primary concern,” Fort Eisenhower said in a statement Saturday.
No information regarding the victim will be released until next-of-kin has been notified.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — A frustrated Gov. Kathy Hochul has called for federal assistance after the latest drone sighting temporarily shut down an airport Friday night, the latest in a series of mysterious occurrences taking part across the country.
Officials at Stewart International Airport, located roughly 60 miles north of New York City, said they shut down their runways for an hour after the Federal Aviation Administration alerted them that a drone was spotted in the area around 9:30 p.m.
“There were no impacts to flight operations during the closure,” the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in a statement.
Hochul said in a statement Saturday that the incident is the latest drone sighting in the state since mid-November and expressed her frustration.
“This has gone too far,” she said.
Hochul said she has called on the New York State Intelligence Center to probe the drone sighting incidents but called on the federal government to do more.
Specifically, she called on Congress to pass the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act, which would strengthen the FAA’s oversight of drones and give more authority to state and local law enforcement agencies to investigate the activity.
“Extending these powers to New York State and our peers is essential. Until those powers are granted to state and local officials, the Biden Administration must step in by directing additional federal law enforcement to New York and the surrounding region to ensure the safety of our critical infrastructure and our people.”
Residents and officials have been looking for answers after drones have been seen hovering in the sky in several locations, especially in central New Jersey, since mid-November. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and several members of Congress have also called for the federal government to investigate the sightings.
The White House downplayed some of the concerns of residents in a press briefing Thursday with national security communications adviser John Kirby saying “many” of the reported drone sightings appear to be lawfully operated manned aircraft.
He said they have been unable to “corroborate some of the reported sightings” using their detection techniques, but are still investigating.
In the meantime, the FAA and federal officials are taking precautions because of the drones.
The agency issued a temporary no-drone zone during Saturday afternoon’s Army-Navy Game taking place at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland. President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance are scheduled to attend the game.
The FAA has also imposed temporary drone flight restrictions in New Jersey over the Picatinny Arsenal military base in Morris County and Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in Somerset County in response to the reported drone activity.
ABC News’ Pierre Thomas contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Luigi Mangione has hired veteran former New York City prosecutor Karen Friedman Agnifilo to defend him against murder charges on Friday, according to a statement Friday night from her law firm Agnifilo Intrater LLP.
Friedman Agnifilo served as the second-in-command in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office from 2014 to 2021 under former DA Cyrus Vance. A biography on her law firm website says she played a lead role in prosecuting “high-profile violent crime cases,” including those involving mental health and cold case homicides.
“Karen Friedman Agnifilo has a three-decade background in criminal justice, litigation, and trials. Her practice focuses on criminal defense in state and federal courts, leveraging her extensive experience prosecuting serious violent crimes, including complex homicide cases, from accusation to investigation to arrest and trial,” her biography says.
“While serving in the Manhattan DA’s office, Ms. Friedman Agnifilo was also integral to creating the office’s Human Trafficking Unit, Hate Crimes Unit, Antiquities Trafficking Unit, Terrorism Unit, its Cybercrimes and Identity Theft Bureau, as well as working on the creation of Manhattan’s first Mental Health Court,” the biography continued.
Friedman Agnifilo is also a frequent television news guest and commentator and is a former legal analyst for CNN.
She is also the co-host of a weekly podcast on the Meidas Touch Network where she discusses emerging legal issues and litigation strategy that routinely has half a million listeners per episode, according to her biography. She is also the legal advisor for the television show Law and Order.
Meanwhile, law enforcement sources have told ABC News that writings seized from Luigi Mangione indicate he had been developing a fixation and increasing malice toward UnitedHealthcare and allegedly talking about harming its leader for months.
Some of the entries in the notebook seized from Mangione upon his arrest in Pennsylvania earlier this week had dates on them going back to mid-2024, the sources said.
That fixation would eventually evolve into an alleged plan to shoot that CEO, the sources said.
Some of the writings were diary-style, documenting how he felt, what he did that day, and also documented a desire to focus on his health and himself, and find his purpose, the sources said.
Then, as time went on — as Mangione allegedly fell out of contact with friends and family and grew increasingly isolated — some of his writings indicated a deterioration in his thinking and state of mind, illustrating a gradual build towards the alleged plan to kill UnitedHealthCare’s CEO at their “annual parasitic bean-counter convention,” sources said.
Mangione’s writings, obtained by ABC News, claimed that the U.S. has the most expensive health care system in the world, but ranks about No. 42 in life expectancy. He said UnitedHealthcare “has grown and grown, but as our life expectancy? No the reality is, these [indecipherable] have simply gotten too powerful, and they continue to abuse our country for immense profit.”
“I do apologize for any strife of traumas but it had to be done,” he allegedly wrote. “Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming.”
Neither Mangione nor his parents received insurance through UnitedHealthcare, according to UnitedHealth Group.
Mangione, 26, is currently in custody at a Pennsylvania state prison after a judge denied bail on Tuesday.
(OCHOPEE, Fla.) — At least 16 people were hospitalized Friday afternoon after two airboats collided in Florida, investigators said.
Officers responded to the 911 call around 3:15 p.m. and found several people injured at the site of the collision near Ochopee, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said in a statement.
One boat was carrying 13 passengers while the other was carrying 20, the commission said.
The conditions of the injured passengers were not immediately released.
Investigators were working to determine the cause of the collision and the probe was ongoing.
(WASHINGTON) — New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is throwing his support behind proposed federal legislation that would address unmanned aircraft systems as the state deals with an ever-growing spate of drone sightings. The bill would grant the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice more authority over the unmanned aircraft.
Murphy wrote to President Joe Biden and congressional leaders Thursday calling for more federal resources and the passing of the legislation in light of the unexplained drones sightings within the state’s airspace in recent weeks.
“As New Jersey works alongside our federal partners to identify the source of these UAS, the clock is ticking on the authorization language that enables us to do so,” Murphy wrote. “On December 20th, the U.S Department of Homeland Security and the FBI’s counter-UAS authority will lapse alongside the continuing resolution currently funding the federal government. State and local law enforcement entities lack the authority and capability to counter and mitigate UAS, which would significantly hamper our ability to understand what is happening, so it is of utmost importance that this language is reauthorized in a timely manner.”
“It is also clear that this is not a job the federal government can do on its own and I would encourage you to empower state and local law enforcement entities with the ability to use advanced detection and mitigation technology,” he continued. “Senators [Gary] Peters (D-MI) and [Ron] Johnson (R-WI) have pending legislation, the ‘Safeguarding the Homeland from the Threats Posed by Unmanned Aircraft Systems Act of 2023’ (S.1631) that would accomplish these goals.”
The legislation would allow Homeland Security and the DOJ personnel who are tasked with the safety, security or protection of people, facilities or assets “to detect, identify, monitor, track, and mitigate a credible threat … that an unmanned aircraft system or unmanned aircraft poses to the safety or security of a covered facility or asset,” according to the legislation.
Some of the specific actions also include: warning the operator of the unmanned aircraft system; disrupting control of the unmanned aircraft system; seizing or exercising control of the unmanned aircraft system; seizing or otherwise confiscating the unmanned aircraft system; and even using reasonable force, if necessary, to disable, damage, or destroy the unmanned aircraft system, according to the legislation.
The final section, on disabling, damaging or destroying the drones echoes the sentiment expressed by several politicians, including Democratic Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal and other local officials, that local officials should be able to shoot down any unknown drones to study where they are coming from.
The Department of Homeland Security has warned against that, saying, “Shooting down a drone can pose safety risks to people and property on the ground. Debris from a downed drone can cause injury or damage, especially in populated areas.” Anyone who unlawfully shoots down a drone can also be fined up to $250,000 and face up to 20 years in prison, according to the DHS.
The legislation suggests launching a pilot program for state, local, tribal or territorial agencies to enroll in, allowing them authority over drones for a period of up to six years. Government agencies that are a part of the pilot program will need to report to Congress their usage of the authority, including any privacy or civil liberties complaints.
The secretary of transportation and the attorney general may also provide regulations and shall issue guidance in relation to action stemming from the proposed legislation. They are also to coordinate with the Federal Aviation Administration and the secretary of transportation before carrying out any action.
“I wrote to [Biden] to express my concerns about reports of unmanned aircraft systems in and around NJ airspace. Since existing laws limit the ability of state and local law enforcement to counter UAS, more federal resources are needed to understand what is behind this activity,” Murphy said in a statement.
In his letter to Biden, Murphy wrote that unmanned aircraft systems have introduced additional risks to pubic safety, privacy and homeland security while state and local law enforcement “remain hamstrung by existing laws and policies to successfully counteract them, leaving action around UAS squarely on the shoulders of the federal government.”
“New Jersey residents deserve more concrete information about these UAS sightings and what is causing them. The continued reporting of UAS activity has raised more questions than answers and prompted an outcropping of conspiracy theories across social media and other platforms,” Murphy said.
(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump this week voiced support for tens of thousands of unionized dockworkers in a dispute with major shipping companies.
Negotiations between workers and management are deadlocked over the companies’ plan for further automation of ports, which the union said would eliminate jobs.
“I’ve studied automation, and know just about everything there is to know about it,” Trump said Thursday in a post on Truth Social. “The amount of money saved is nowhere near the distress, hurt, and harm it causes for American Workers, in this case, our Longshoremen.”
The vow of support for dockworkers aligns with Trump’s campaign promise to safeguard blue-collar workers threatened by global capitalism, depicting automation as an unwelcome change foisted on workers by foreign-owned shipping firms, some experts said.
Trump’s rejection of automation highlights a tension found in his economic policy, however, some experts added.
Like tariffs, the policy aims to protect a narrow set of workers at the possible expense of importers and consumers, who could suffer higher costs as a result of a missed opportunity to improve the supply chain, some experts said. While others defended Trump’s attempt to protect dockworkers from technological change.
The Trump transition team did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
Here’s what to know about the labor dispute over automation at East and Gulf Coast docks, and what it says about how Trump may approach the economy in his second term.
Dockworkers and freight companies feud over automation
A strike in October at docks across the East and Gulf coasts threatened to upend the economy and drive up prices, but workers and management ended the stoppage with a tentative agreement after three days.
The deal includes a 62% wage increase over the life of the six-year contract, but the two sides have yet to finalize it due to a disagreement over plans for further automation.
The standoff centers on the potential installation of cranes that would facilitate the retrieval and storage of freight containers, said John McCown, a non-resident senior fellow at the Center for Maritime Strategy who closely tracks the shipping industry.
Cranes already help remove containers from a ship and place it in a nearby port terminal, but shipping companies have sought the use of additional automated cranes once goods have reached land, McCown said.
The cranes work like an old-fashioned juke box, he added. “You hit a number and it goes to pick a record and play a record,” McCown said, noting the cranes would similarly mechanize sorting and transport of containers.
The U.S. Maritime Alliance, or USMX, the organization representing shipping firms in negotiations, said on Thursday that such automation would improve efficiency and increase capacity. Those enhancements would benefit U.S. companies and consumers that depend on goods from abroad, the group added.
“We need modern technology that is proven to improve worker safety, boost port efficiency, increase port capacity, and strengthen our supply chains,” USMX said in a statement.
The USMX did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
The plans have drawn rebuke from the International Longshoremen’s Association, or ILA, the union representing dockworkers. The union has pointed to massive profits enjoyed by the shipping firms during the pandemic, saying further automation would invest those gains in job-cutting machinery rather than increased compensation. Workers have also disputed the supposed productivity benefits of the technology.
“This isn’t about safety or productivity — it’s about job elimination,” ILA President Dennis Daggett, said in a statement earlier this month. The union has proven that the automated cranes at issue “are not more productive than traditional equipment operated by human workers,” Daggett added.
In response to ABC News’ request for comment, the ILA shared a statement from Daggett praising Trump.
“Throughout my career, I’ve never seen a politician — let alone the President of the United States — truly understand the importance of the work our members do every single day,” Daggett said.
What could Trump’s approach to the standoff mean for his 2nd term?
In his social media post backing the workers and opposing port automation, Trump criticized foreign-owned shipping firms for what he described as penny pinching.
“For the great privilege of accessing our markets, these foreign companies should hire our incredible American Workers, instead of laying them off, and sending those profits back to foreign countries,” Trump said. “It is time to put AMERICA FIRST!”
The framework presents U.S. workers as victims of foreign companies, which he says aim to make use of America’s economic resources at the expense of its citizens. As such, Trump’s intervention in this case favors the ILA in its longstanding fight against automation, Peter Cole, a professor at Western Illinois University who studies the history of dockworkers, told ABC News.
“The ILA will really benefit if in fact Trump pushes employers to back off automation,” Cole said, noting that the explanation offered up by Trump reflects a larger political shift in the U.S. against unrestricted global trade.
“Presidents in both main parties have supported more manufacturing domestically,” Cole said.
However, Trump’s opposition to automation risks imposing higher costs on consumers and even some domestic manufacturers, since advances in productivity would help lower supply costs otherwise passed along to buyers at the end of the chain, some experts said.
Trump mistakenly claims that foreign shipping companies would bear the cost of forgone automation, just as he inaccurately says that foreign countries would pay the cost of tariffs, David Autor, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who specializes in technological change and the labor force, told ABC News.
“The assertion that raising tariffs at our ports will force foreigners to cover these costs is beyond naive,” Autor said. “It’s simply false.
Autor said the hardship that dockworkers would face if automation were to advance and put many of them out of work. “It will not be good for the livelihoods of longshoremen and we should not pretend otherwise,” Autor said, adding that the workers should receive compensation or other protections under such circumstances.
(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance will make their way to Landover, Maryland, on Saturday to attend the Army-Navy football game and will be joined by Daniel Penny, the Marine veteran recently acquitted in the subway chokehold case in New York City.
Vance posted on X that he invited Penny, who was just acquitted in the death of Jordan Neely, to join him in Trump’s suite.
“Daniel’s a good guy, and New York’s mob district attorney tried to ruin his life for having a backbone,” Vance posted. “I’m grateful he accepted my invitation and hope he’s able to have fun and appreciate how much his fellow citizens admire his courage.”
In the wake of his acquittal, Vance posted that “justice was done in this case. It was a scandal Penny was ever prosecuted in the first place.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Luigi Mangione is seen inside the police station in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Dec. 9, 2024/Obtained by ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Luigi Mangione, the suspect accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, may waive extradition to New York City as early as Tuesday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said on Friday.
“Indications are that the defendant may waive, but that waiver is not complete until a court proceeding,” Bragg said.
The earliest a court proceeding could be scheduled in Pennsylvania is Tuesday, Bragg said.
“So until that time, we are going to continue to press forward on parallel paths,” he said. “We will be ready, whether he is going to waive extradition or whether he is going to contest extradition.”
Prosecutors at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office have begun presenting evidence to a grand jury as they work to secure an indictment against Mangione, sources told ABC News.
The DA’s office declined to comment due to the secrecy surrounding grand jury matters.
Mangione, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate, remains in custody at a Pennsylvania state prison after a judge denied bail on Tuesday.
“He has constitutional rights and that’s what he’s doing” in challenging the interstate transfer, defense attorney Thomas Dickey told reporters on Tuesday.
Mangione was apprehended in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday after nearly one week on the run following the Dec. 4 slaying for the UnitedHealthcare CEO.
UnitedHealthcare told ABC News that Mangione was not a member of the insurer.
Authorities are still looking to access a phone recovered by police in an alley following the shooting that is believed to be linked to the suspect, sources said Thursday. Police have obtained a search warrant for the phone, sources said.
At least two other search warrants have been issued so far in the New York case. They include to search the hostel where the suspect stayed in New York City, as well as the backpack containing Monopoly money and a jacket that was found in Central Park and is believed to belong to him, sources said.
Three shell casings recovered outside the Midtown Manhattan hotel where Thompson was fatally shot match the gun allegedly found on Mangione when he was arrested, police announced Wednesday.
Fingerprints recovered from a water bottle and a Kind bar near the crime scene have also been matched to Mangione, police said.
In Pennsylvania, Mangione faces charges including allegedly possessing an untraceable ghost gun.
In New York, he faces charges including second-degree murder.
