(WASHINGTON) — The trial of Hunter Biden ended nearly two weeks ago with a swift conviction on all counts — but he continued to wage a long-shot bid to fight that outcome on Monday.
Attorneys for Biden requested a new trial in court papers filed Monday, arguing that his “convictions should be vacated” because trial commenced before a circuit court formally issued a mandate denying his appeal — a technical argument disputing not the merits of the case, but a procedural claim.
“Here, no mandate was issued during the trial or even now,” attorneys for Biden wrote. “Consequently, the conviction must be vacated.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(SAN DIEGO, Calif.) — A search continued Monday for a 50-year-old woman a day after she went missing while hiking in a wilderness area in San Diego, according to police.
The hiker, identified by police as Diem Le Nguyen, vanished Sunday morning after she became separated from her hiking group of about 100 people while on the Nighthawk Trail in Black Mountain Open Space Park in the Rancho Peñasquitos area of north San Diego, according to the San Diego Police Department.
“Due to the weather and difficulty of the trail, she is missing at risk,” the police department said in a post on the social media site X.
“SDPD along with countywide resources is still looking for Diem Nguyen. Multiple search dogs are being utilized, we ask volunteers to avoid the area so that it doesn’t impact the dog’s ability to detect,” police said on X Monday.
Nguyen set out on the hike with a group, police said. Around 8 a.m. PT, Nguyen decided to go ahead of her group and finish hiking the Nighthawk Trail alone, police said.
About 90 minutes later, Nguyen made contact with her hiking group and “shared she was at the end of the trail.”
“She has not made contact or been seen since,” according to police.
By 3 p.m. Sunday, search-and-rescue teams, along with a San Diego County Sheriff’s Department helicopter crew, were combing the area for the missing hiker.
A photo taken on the trail Sunday of Nguyen flashing a peace sign and standing next to a trailhead sign was released by police on X.
Police officials asked for the public’s help in finding Nguyen, requesting that anyone with information about her whereabouts call 911 immediately.
Nguyen and her group were hiking in high temperatures that enveloped the San Diego area over the weekend. The National Weather Service had issued a heat advisory for the area, where temperatures soared into the low 90s on Sunday.
Police said some members of the hiking group turned back because of the heat, but Nguyen was determined to reach the summit of the 4,048-foot-tall Black Mountain.
When she disappeared, Nguyen was dressed in a black shirt with a pink heart on the front, black pants, a brown hat, sunglasses and a backpack, according to police.
As the search for Nguyen continued Monday, another California hiker said he was thankful to be alive after getting lost on a hike in the Santa Cruz Mountains of Northern California and spending 10 days in the wilderness before search and rescue crews found him last week.
Luke McClish, 34, of Boulder Creek, California, said he set out on June 11 for what he thought would be a short hike without informing anyone of his plans. Five days later, his family reported him missing when he failed to show up at a Father’s Day dinner. When he was found at the bottom of a ravine on Thursday, McClish told rescuers he lost 30 pounds over the 10 days he was missing and survived by drinking a gallon of creek water every day.
(NEW YORK) — The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s federal classified documents case will hear arguments Monday afternoon to consider imposing a limited gag order that would prohibit the former president from making statements that pose a “significant, imminent, and foreseeable danger” to law enforcement agents.
The request for a gag order by special counsel Jack Smith follows a month of escalating rhetoric from Trump about federal agents’ use-of-force policy during their August 2022 search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate for classified documents, including a Trump campaign message that President Joe Biden was “locked & loaded ready to take me out & put my family in danger.”
In a filing last month, Smith argued that Trump’s statements that law enforcement officers were “complicit in a plot to assassinate him” were intentionally false and misleading, and “put a target on the backs of the FBI agents.”
Trump’s defense attorneys responded to the request by claiming that prosecutors have failed to demonstrate that Trump’s statements resulted in any material threats or harassment against law enforcement.
Echoing the former president’s defense against the limited gag order in his New York criminal hush money case, Trump’s lawyers wrote that the proposed gag order — which they describe as a “shocking display of overreach and disregard for the Constitution” — amounts to political interference by limiting Trump’s statements ahead of this week’s presidential debate and the Republican National Convention in July.
“[T]he motion is a naked effort to impose totalitarian censorship of core political speech, under threat of incarceration, in a clear attempt to silence President Trump’s arguments to the American people about the outrageous nature of this investigation and prosecution,” defense lawyers said in a June filing.
Trump pleaded not guilty last year to 40 criminal counts related to his handling of classified materials after leaving the White House, after prosecutors said he repeatedly refused to return hundreds of documents containing classified information and took steps to thwart the government’s efforts to get the documents back. Trump has denied all charges and denounced the probe as a political witch hunt.
The gag order hearing, being conducted by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, will follow a related hearing Monday morning in which Trump attorneys are challenging the funding of the special counsel’s office.
‘False and extremely dangerous’
Trump’s public statements related to the Mar-a-Lago raid have recently emphasized the use-of-force policy in place during the raid, which Trump has repeatedly associated with “Biden’s DOJ.”
Prosecutors argue that law enforcement employed the Department of Justice’s standard use of force policy, which allows the use of force “when the officer has a reasonable belief that the subject of such force poses an imminent danger of death or serious physical injury to the officer or to another person.”
In filings, Smith also emphasized that the search was scheduled in the off-season when Trump and his family were not present at Mar-a-Lago, was conducted with coordination with Secret Service and Mar-a-Lago staff, and that Trump’s lawyer was notified before the search was executed.
In a rare public rebuke, the FBI issued a statement last month to confirm that law enforcement used standard protocols related to use of deadly force during the raid, adding that, “No one ordered additional steps to be taken and there was no departure from the norm in this matter.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland also described accusations that the DOJ authorized Trump’s assassination as “false and extremely dangerous” and added that the same policy was in place during the search of Presidents Biden’s home during the investigation into his retention of classified documents.
Threats against law enforcement
Prosecutors have emphasized that the proposed gag order against Trump would be narrowly limited — solely prohibiting Trump from falsely speaking lying “about FBI agents intending to murder him and his family” — in order to protect the safety of law enforcement officials.
To justify the threat against law enforcement officials, prosecutors claimed that Trump’s rhetoric encouraged a supporter to make threats to an FBI agent associated with the Hunter Biden case, including threatening that agents would be “hunt[ed] down” and “slaughter[ed]” if Trump does not win the 2024 election.
Prosecutors also argued that a Trump supporter attacked an FBI field office in Cincinnati with an AR-15 and a nail gun in August 2022 after the raid on Mar-a-Lago — an attack which prosecutors say was partially inflamed by Trump’s comments on social media after the raid.
Defense lawyers wrote that Trump has engaged in his “constitutionally protected campaign speech” and that prosecutors have failed to prove that Trump’s statements have directly resulted in threats or harassment. In addition to highlighting two examples of threats or violence, prosecutors broadly argued that Trump’s inflammatory language about the raid has created a “combustible atmosphere” that poses an immediate risk to law enforcement.
“No court would tolerate another defendant deliberately creating such immediate risks to the safety of law enforcement, and this Court should not wait for a tragic event before taking action in this case,” prosecutors said in a filing last week.
Trump’s other gag orders
Trump has generally been unsuccessful in challenging the gag orders imposed in his other criminal and civil cases, occasionally securing stays of the orders but failing to overturn the orders as unconstitutional.
New York’s highest court declined to take up Trump’s challenge to the gag order in Trump’s civil fraud case, which prohibited Trump from making comments about judicial staff.
Last week, the same court declined to immediately consider Trump’s challenge to the gag order in his New York hush money case — which prohibits Trump from making statements about jurors, witnesses, and others involved in the case — after determining that “no substantial constitutional question is directly involved” in Trump’s challenge. A mid-level appeals court last month found that the gag order “properly weighed petitioner’s First Amendment Rights against the court’s historical commitment to ensuring the fair administration of justice.”
Trump also unsuccessfully challenged the gag order in his federal election interference case that prohibited from making statements about prosecutors other than Smith, witnesses, and courthouse staff.
“Given the record in this case, the court had a duty to act proactively to prevent the creation of an atmosphere of fear or intimidation aimed at preventing trial participants and staff from performing their functions within the trial process,” a panel of Court of Appeals judges in Washington, D.C. wrote in an order last year upholding the gag order.
(NEW YORK) — As Ryan Watson, an American tourist who had been charged with bringing ammunition to Turks and Caicos in April, boarded a plane after his release, he had only one thought on his mind.
“To know that I was on a plane headed home, that’s a prayer answered,” Watson said in an interview that aired Monday on ABC News’ Good Morning America.
A judge last week fined Watson $2,000 for four bullets discovered in his luggage as he landed in the country in April, with the judge citing “exceptional circumstances” to avoid a potential minimum sentence of 12 years in prison. Watson would face 13 weeks imprisonment if he commits a crime in Turks and Caicos in the next nine months, the court said.
Watson, a father of two from Oklahoma, was arrested on April 12 while returning with his wife from a trip to Turks and Caicos to celebrate several friends’ 40th birthdays.
There is no constitutional right to carry firearms in Turks and Caicos. The country prohibits anyone from keeping, carrying, discharging or using an unlicensed firearm or ammunition.
Watson speaking on GMA recounted his experience in Turks and Caicos, saying he would like awake at night, worrying about what might happen if he were put in prison.
“Like if things did go sideways, what my kids would look like when I did come out,” he said. “As a parent, that’s just not an easy thing to think about.”
He said his kids had been the first thing he thought of as he learned that he was facing more than a decade in prison if found guilty.
“Our kids first I mean, first and foremost, I initially and instantly think our kids aren’t going to have parents,” he said on GMA. “That was really hard to imagine.”
(NEW YORK) — Active shooter incidents in the U.S. declined by 4% from 2022 to 2023, according to new statistics released by the FBI on Monday.
In 2023, the FBI designated 48 shootings as “active shooter incidents,” compared to 50 in 2022, according to the FBI’s 2023 Active Shooter Report.
Last year also saw the number of those killed decrease from 313 in 2022 to 244 in 2023, according to the report. The shooters were largely male.
The FBI says from 2019 to 2023, there were 229 active incidents, which is an 89% increase from the previous five-year period.
The deadliest active shooting incident in 2023 was the Lewiston, Maine shooting, which left 18 dead in October 2023 after a gunman opened fire in two locations in the small Maine town.
California had the largest number of active shooting incidents with eight. The locations of the shootings were open spaces, places of businesses and education centers.
Law enforcement engaged in 12 incidents that resulted in the deaths of 13 law enforcement officials, the report said. In 58% of the incidents, the shooter had no connection to the location of the shooting, per the FBI.
(NEW YORK) — Cities across the heartland are expected on Monday to see temperatures close to 100 degrees, with the heat index in some locations reaching to 110.
More than 60 million Americans across 21 states are under heat alerts coast to coast.
The heat index is expected to soar between 100 and 110 in locations from South Dakota to Florida.
Temperatures this week will remain very hot over the middle and southern parts of the US, but not necessarily record-breaking.
The greatest heat risk this week will be in Oklahoma, where each day Oklahoma City is under extreme heat risk — a four out of four on the heat risk scale — due to their combined hot afternoons and very warm nights which won’t provide relief.
In South Dakota and Iowa, where there has been historic and catastrophic flooding, temperatures on Monday are expected to reach the 90s. Heat indices could reach up to 110 and a heat advisory has been issued.
Omaha, Nebraska; Kansas City, Missouri; Oklahoma City and Little Rock, Arkansas, are all forecast to reach around 100 degrees on Monday with heat indices up to between 105 and 110.
(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — The driver of a vehicle authorities say was involved in an overnight shooting in Columbus, Ohio, that left 10 people injured has turned himself in, police said late Sunday night.
“Shortly before 6:30pm this evening, an adult male turned himself in at Columbus Police headquarters and identified himself as the driver of the pictured Honda Civic,” Columbus police said.
The male was arrested and charged with obstructing official business, according to the authorities.
The driver’s identity is being “withheld at this time due to investigative purposes,” police said.
The Honda Civic authorities were searching for following the shooting was recovered outside of Columbus PD headquarters.
Police said detectives are still working to identify all parties involved in the shooting.
The 10 people who were injured in the shooting ranged in age from 16 to 27, police said. Nine were in stable condition, and one was in critical condition, police said earlier Sunday.
Photography by Keith Getter (all rights reserved)/Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Flooding in northwest Iowa, caused by heavy rainfall, has impacted 1,900 properties, leaving hundreds destroyed, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds told reporters Sunday.
During a media briefing, Reynolds said there had been 250 water rescues on Saturday, and over 1,000 residents had to be sheltered overnight.
Beginning on Friday, some areas were hit with up to 15 inches of rain, resulting in severe flooding.
Rivers crested several feet above record levels from the floods of 1993, and 16 flood gauges recorded historic levels, Reynolds said.
As of Saturday night, the Department of Natural Resources reported that 10 water systems and 21 wastewater systems had been affected by the flooding.
Reynolds, who took an aerial tour of the region, said Sunday the devastation is severe and widespread.
An initial disaster emergency proclamation for Sioux County was declared earlier in the weekend, according to Reynolds. Additionally, the Iowa National Guard was directed to set up a helicopter for rescue missions. Homeland’s Urban Search and Rescue teams were deployed for water rescues, she said.
On Sunday, Reynolds submitted a request for an expedited Presidential Major Disaster Declaration. In that request, they’re asking for additional federal assistance for nine counties and public assistance for 22 counties.
The governor’s director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, John Benson, said they are still working tirelessly because the situation is far from over. The forecast calls for more rain in the coming week, and the river gauges in the Missouri River are quickly rising, Benson said.
With the additional rain, flooding could continue to be an issue and may impact other parts of the state as well, Reynolds said Sunday night.
In addition to northwest Iowa, west central Iowa, southwest Minnesota, northeast Nebraska, central South Dakota, east central South Dakota, south-central South Dakota, and southeast South Dakota all have a hazardous weather outlook, according to the National Weather Service.
Streams, creeks and rivers are “in moderate to major flood stage leading to continued road closures,” per the NWS.
(FORDYCE, A.R.) — The shooting at an Arkansas grocery store on Friday was “a completely random, senseless act,” Arkansas State Police Col. Mike Hagar said in a press conference Sunday.
Police have not determined a motive for the attack at the Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce that killed four people and wounded 10 others, Hagar said, noting that they have found no connection between the suspect and any of the victims or the store.
The four people killed were identified as 23-year-old Callie Weems, 50-year-old Roy Sturgis, 62-year-old Shirley Taylor and 81-year-old Ellen Shrum.
The suspect, identified as 44-year-old Travis Eugene Posey, was shot by officers at the scene and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Posey is believed to have opened fire in the parking lot “immediately” upon exiting his vehicle, then entered the store where he continued his rampage.
“He simply started engaging victims indiscriminately, just as targets of opportunity,” Hagar said.
Hagar said the suspect had “very limited” previous criminal history, or possibly none at all.
Posey faces three capital murder charges and is currently being held at Ouachita County Detention Center, according to Hagar.
He could face the death penalty, Hagar said.
One of the victims, Weems, a nurse, died while attempting to treat another victim, Hagar said.
“During the incident, we observed the very best and the very worst of humanity,” he said. “As an example, instead of fleeing from the obvious danger, Callie Weems began using her training as a nurse to render aid to a gunshot victim and, unfortunately, became a victim herself as a result of her selfless actions.”
Hagar thanked the police officers who responded to the incident, who he said neutralized the suspect within five minutes of the shooting beginning.
“These officers literally and intentionally put themselves between the suspect and defenseless citizens,” he said. “Their actions were nothing short of heroic.”
(NEW YORK) — An expanding heat dome Sunday had 100 million people across 27 states on alert for extremely high temperatures coast to coast, including America’s two largest cities.
While Los Angeles is under a heat advisory with temperatures forecast to reach 90 to 100 degrees on Sunday, an extreme heat risk warning has been issued for New York City, where a daily high-temperature record that has stood for 136 years could be broken.
On June 23, 1888, the record high for New York City was 96 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C.; Norfolk, Virginia, and parts of Oklahoma, including Tulsa, are also under extreme heat warnings.
The temperature in Washington, D.C., climbed to 100 degrees on Saturday, making it the first time the nation’s capital has hit the century mark in June since 2012.
Baltimore also marked its first 100-degree June day in 12 years when temperatures on Saturday rose to 101 degrees, setting a new daily record. With the temperature forecast to reach the high 90s, Baltimore could see another daily record fall on Sunday.
Daily high-temperature records could also be threatened in Philadelphia, Salt Lake City and Greenville, Mississippi.
Out west, scorching triple-digit weather is expected for California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah.
Palm Springs, California, is forecast to reach 111 degrees on Sunday and 112 degrees by Tuesday. Fresno, California, is forecast to reach 106 degrees on Sunday, while temperatures in Las Vegas were expected to soar to 109 on Sunday and 110 on Monday.
Phoenix is forecast to reach 111 degrees on Tuesday.
A cold front headed to the Northeast is forecast to cool things down, but could also bring severe thunderstorms and possible tornadoes.
A tornado watch has been issued for parts of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine until 8 p.m. ET. It’s the highest tornado risk in this area in more than six years. Meanwhile, there have already been numerous severe thunderstorm warnings as of Sunday afternoon.
Damaging wind and tornadoes are possible with severe thunderstorms in the Northeast through Sunday evening. New England states — including Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire — are forecast to be in the bullseye for the greatest threat of severe weather.
Stormy weather is also expected Sunday afternoon in the areas of Lake Ontario, Lake Erie and through the Ohio Valley.
On Monday, Minnesota and Wisconsin could see strong winds and the possibility of tornadoes.
On Tuesday, the threat of severe storms is expected to move into Chicago, Detroit and Omaha, Nebraska.
