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(NEW YORK) — Five months after a New York judge held Donald Trump liable for committing business fraud, the former president on Monday appealed his $454 million civil fraud case.

Trump and his co-defendants asked New York’s Appellate Division to overturn February’s ruling from Judge Arthur Engoron that found that the former president fraudulently inflated his net worth to secure better business deals.

“It violates centuries of New York case law holding that NYAG cannot sue to vindicate alleged violations that are purely private in nature — and, in this case, do not exist at all,” defense lawyers wrote in a 95-page filing.

Defense lawyers argued that New York Attorney General Letitia James’ case focused on transactions outside the court’s statute of limitations, misapplied the relevant law, and resulted in an excessive financial penalty. Repeating a frequent defense argument from the lengthy trial, defense lawyers argued that the case focuses on profitable transactions without any victims.

“There were no victims and no losses,” defense lawyers wrote. “If Appellants’ conduct constituted ‘fraud’ under § 63(12), then that word has no meaning, and NYAG’s power to seize and destroy private businesses is boundless — and standardless.”

A spokesperson for James said her office is confident the ruling will be upheld on appeal.

“Once again, the defendants are raising arguments that they were already sanctioned and fined for. We won this case based on the facts and the law, and we are confident we will prevail on appeal,” the spokesperson said.

In a statement following the filing, Trump attorney Christopher Kise said, “Such an outrageous miscarriage of justice is profoundly un-American, and a complete reversal is the only means available to restore public confidence in the integrity of the New York judicial system.”

Following an 11-week trial last year, Judge Engoron determined that Trump and his co-defendants — including his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump and two top Trump Organization executives — lied about Trump’s net worth on his financial statements by exaggerating the value of properties and other assets to score better business deals.

“The frauds found here leap off the page and shock the conscience,” Engoron wrote in his 92-page decision.

The judge ordered the defendants to pay $464 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest, and temporarily banned Trump and his sons from running any New York business.

The massive financial penalty put Trump’s prized properties at risk after defense lawyers warned that securing a $464 million bond was a “practical impossibility” — but New York’s Appellate Division granted a last-minute request to reduce the bond to $175 million, which Trump secured with the help of a California-based insurance company.

In addition to that decision, New York’s Appellate Division has granted Trump’s legal team some favorable rulings, including dismissing claims against his daughter Ivanka Trump last June and delaying some of the penalties imposed in Engoron’s summary judgment decision last fall. However, the Appellate Division also upheld Engoron’s limited gag order against Trump and ultimately denied Trump’s last-minute attempt to further delay the trial last year.

New York Attorney General Letitia James’ response to Trump’s appeal is due on Aug. 21, followed by Trump’s reply on Aug. 30.

The court is scheduled to consider arguments in the appeal during the last week of September.

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(NEW YORK) — Police body camera footage of the fatal shooting of Sonya Massey, an unarmed Black woman who was shot in her own home by a deputy after calling 911 to report a possible intruder, was released by the Illinois State Police Monday afternoon.

The video, reviewed by ABC News, shows Massey, 36, being shot in the face by former Illinois Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson. Grayson, 30, who is white, has since been charged with three counts of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct, to which he pleaded not guilty. He has been fired from the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office.

According to charging documents filed in Sangamon County Court, Grayson allegedly shot Massey in the face after the deputy “aggressively yelled” at her to put down a pot of boiling water and she threw it on a couch.

The video shows Massey pouring a pot of boiling water into the sink after Grayson points out the pot on her stove. Massey asked where he was going, and Grayson replied “away from your hot steaming water.”

“Aw, away from my hot steaming water? Aw, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” Massey said.

Grayson replied “You better [expletive] not, I swear to [expletive] God I’ll shoot you right in your [expletive] face,” and immediately proceeded to draw his gun.

Massey covered her face with the pot as she ducked down and apologized. Grayson told her to “drop the [expletive] pot” three times before he shot her.

Grayson and a second deputy who has not yet been named were dispatched to Massey’s Springfield, Illinois, residence at about 12:50 a.m. on July 6 to investigate a possible prowler, according to the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office.

Grayson only activated his body-worn camera after the shooting. The other deputy had activated his camera when he arrived at the scene, according to charging documents filed against Grayson in Sangamon County Court.

Court documents describe Massey as “calm, perhaps unwell, not aggressive” at the time that the deputies responded to her call for help. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the family, told ABC News that Massey struggled with her mental health.

Crump described the body-worn camera footage of Massey’s death as “extremely graphic.” He will join the family to address the media Monday afternoon in a news conference, where mental health professionals will be present to counsel attendees due to the graphic nature of the video.

Grayson allegedly discouraged his partner from retrieving a medical kit to render aid to Massey after the shooting because he allegedly thought the injuries were too severe to revive her, according to prosecutors.

In the video, Grayson tells the second deputy that “she’s done” when he says he’s going to get his med kit immediately after Massey is shot.

“No, head shot, dude. She’s done. You can go get it, but that’s a headshot,” Grayson said. “What else do we do? I’m not taking pot boiling water to the [expletive] face and it already reached us.”

The second responding deputy still proceeded to render aid to Massey. According to a statement from the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office, “Deputies immediately administered first aid until EMS arrived. The woman was transported to St. John’s Hospital, where she was later pronounced deceased. No deputies were injured during the incident.”

Massey was pronounced dead at 1:47 a.m. on July 6. An autopsy found that she died of a gunshot wound, according to Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon.

Illinois State Police investigated the shooting for use of deadly force at the request of the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office. According to Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser, a review of the investigation and the body-worn camera footage found that Grayson was not justified in his use of deadly force.

Massey was honored at a funeral on Friday, July 19. During the funeral, her younger sister, Breeanna Toles, asked the public to keep her family’s feelings in mind when watching the body-worn camera footage of her sister’s shooting.

“I know people wanna see the video, I know people wanna talk about the video; I just ask if you do it, just do it out of respect for us,” Toles said.

President Joe Biden released a statement on Massey’s death.

“Sonya’s death at the hands of a responding officer reminds us that all too often Black Americans face fears for their safety in ways many of the rest of us do not,” Biden’s statement says. “Sonya’s family deserves justice. I am heartbroken for her children and her entire family as they face this unthinkable and senseless loss. Jill and I mourn with the rest of the country and our prayers are with Sonya’s family, loved ones, and community during this devastating time.

Grayson’s attorney, Dan Fultz, declined to comment.

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(NEW YORK) — A 70-year-old man has been missing since Friday after taking his Jeep on an off-road trail in California, authorities said.

Warren Elliott was last seen on the Rubicon Trail in Placer County Friday afternoon, according to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office.

Searchers from multiple agencies and organizations are involved in the search, according to the sheriff’s office.

The search for Elliott continued on Monday, focusing on the Rubicon Springs area, the sheriff’s office said.

Search teams were being transported to the area by California and Nevada National Guard Blackhawk helicopters.

More than 100 searchers were involved in the search and rescue operation on Sunday, the sheriff’s office said.

Elliott was last seen wearing a blue denim short-sleeve shirt and blue denim shorts, the sheriff’s office said.

The Rubicon Trail is an approximately 22-mile-long route near Lake Tahoe that features a popular off-highway vehicle trail.

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(BOSTON) — A Massachusetts judge has scheduled the retrial in Karen Read’s murder case for early next year, three weeks after declaring a mistrial in the high-profile case.

Read was accused of killing her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, in January 2022. Prosecutors allege she hit O’Keefe with her car and left him to die in the middle of a snowstorm after the two got into an argument earlier in the day.

Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial in the case on July 1 after the jury said it was unable to reach a unanimous consensus on the fifth day of deliberations. The Norfolk District Attorney’s Office said following the mistrial that it planned to retry the case.

During a status hearing on Monday, Cannone proposed Jan. 14, 2025, for a pretrial conference and Jan. 27, 2025, as the new trial date.

Both parties agreed to the date, although one of the defense attorneys raised a potential concern due to that date’s proximity to another case he has scheduled for trial in January.

Cannone also scheduled a hearing on Aug. 9 for oral arguments on the defense’s motion to dismiss some of the charges.

“I assume whatever I ended up doing on the motion to dismiss will be appealed,” Cannone said, adding that she scheduled the trial date in January 2025 “in an effort to make sure we have plenty of time.”

Read had pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence and leaving the scene of a fatal accident. Read’s attorneys have asked the judge to dismiss the charges of second-degree murder and leaving the scene of a fatal accident when the case goes to trial again.

In court documents filed in the wake of the mistrial, her attorneys wrote that four jurors have come forward to report the jury found Read not guilty of those two charges.

“There was no manifest necessity for a mistrial as to those counts, and therefore the Double Jeopardy protections of the federal and state Constitutions require that those counts not be retried,” Read’s defense attorney Alan Jackson wrote in court documents.

The case has garnered national attention. Large crowds, both in support and against Read, had gathered outside the courthouse ahead of Monday’s hearing.

Read has strenuously denied the allegations, and her lawyers alleged that a fellow police officer was involved in O’Keefe’s death and colluded with others in a cover-up.

Following the initial trial, a Massachusetts State Police officer who was communicating with a Canton police officer during the death investigation was suspended. The Canton police officer — who is the brother of the man who hosted the party at the house where O’Keefe’s body was found outside — was also placed on paid administrative leave, according to Boston ABC affiliate WCVB.

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(MIAMI) —  17-year-old transgender teen was stabbed inside a terminal at Miami International Airport at about 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, sending her to the hospital in critical condition and prompting a disruption of service, police and airport officials said.

The victim hasn’t been able to speak due to their injuries, police told ABC News Monday, and therefore has not been able to offer detectives further details on the incident. Police said they are looking into the incident as a potential hate crime.

Alexander Paul Love, 29, was charged with attempted murder with a deadly weapon in the first degree and premeditated attempted murder in the stabbing. He appeared in Miami-Dade Bond Court Monday and is not eligible for bond.

The preliminary investigation revealed that Love and the victim were on the fourth floor of the terminal in the pre-security area, according to officials. The teen was eating while seated on the floor when Love allegedly stabbed the teen without provocation 18 times in the arms, shoulders, neck, face, head and legs with a butcher knife.

The arrest affidavit states that when the victim tried to free herself from the attack, Love allegedly grabbed her and tried to pull and push her over the fourth floor railing where the victim would have landed on the first floor of the airport. The victim escaped and ran downstairs where she received medical assistance.

Love claimed, according to the affidavit, that he was “possibly drugged and someone inserted an unknown object in his rectum.”

“The defendant is not certain the victim is responsible for this,” the affidavit continued. The affidavit notes there was no indication of alcohol or drug use.

Police officers took the subject into custody in the area where the stabbing occurred and recovered the knife. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded and transported the victim to JMH Ryder Trauma Center in critical condition.

The “situation was swiftly contained,” airport officials said.

“We want to assure the public that the situation is under control and the safety of our passengers, staff, and visitors remains our top priority,” the Miami-Dade Aviation Department said.

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(NEW YORK) — Attorneys for Hunter Biden dropped a lawsuit accusing Fox News and its parent company of targeting him with “revenge porn,” according to court documents filed late Sunday.

A person familiar with Hunter Biden’s legal strategy told ABC News that they dropped the suit with the intention of refiling it against new defendants.

The suit was filed three weeks ago over Fox News’ production of a fictional miniseries that attorneys for Hunter Biden called “an effort to harass, annoy, alarm, and humiliate him, and tarnish his reputation.”

The miniseries, called The Trial of Hunter Biden, is described by Fox as a mock trial that seeks to show “how a possible Hunter Biden trial might look,” and includes several sexually graphic images of Hunter Biden.

When the litigation was filed, Fox News called it an “entirely politically motivated lawsuit is devoid of merit.”

The suit was voluntarily withdrawn Sunday within hours of President Biden’s announcement that he was withdrawing from the 2024 presidential election.

Hunter Biden’s legal team did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

The president’s son was found guilty last month on three counts related to his 2018 purchase of a firearm while allegedly addicted to drugs. He faces a separate trial on tax charges in September.

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(PHILADELPHIA) — Nine people were shot, three fatally, when gunfire involving multiple gunmen erupted early Sunday at a party in Philadelphia, authorities said.

The mass shooting unfolded around 2 a.m. on the 1200 block of North Alden Street in the Carroll Park neighborhood of West Philadelphia, where a party attended by more than 100 people was taking place, according to the Philadelphia Police Department.

When officers arrived, they found victims suffering from gunshot wounds and multiple spent shell casings scattered in the area, Philadelphia police Inspector D.F. Pace said during a news conference at the scene.

“It appears that there were multiple shooters. It’s unclear at this time how many. But we have counted at least 25 to 30 spent shell casings at this time,” Pace said. “We’re not sure if it was a block party or just simply a group of individuals who were invited from other parts of the city. It’s just not clear at this time.”

Pace initially said a total of 10 people were shot, including the three who were killed. But in the latest statement released Sunday, police said nine victims were shot.

One gun was recovered at the scene, officials said.

“Preliminary information indicates an exchange of gunfire between multiple parties resulting in a nonuple shooting and triple homicide,” police said in a statement.

The shell casings recovered from the scene indicate different caliber weapons were used in the shooting, which is “consistent with an exchange of gunfire between individuals on location,” according to the latest police statement.

Investigators were working to identify those involved in the shooting. No arrests have been announced and the names of the victims killed were not immediately released.

A motive for the shooting was also under investigation, police said.

Three men ages 23, 29 and 33 were killed in the shooting, police said. One died at the scene and two were taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead, police said.

The other shooting victims were a 26-year-old woman and five men ranging in age from 26 to 30, according to police. All were listed in stable condition, police said.

Two of the victims who survived the shooting were taken to hospitals in private vehicles, police said.

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(NEW YORK) — Over 30 million remain under heat alerts from Arizona up through Washington State, where widespread highs in the triple digits are expected. Excessive Heat Warnings and Heat Advisories will still in effect through Sunday — and into next week for parts of the Pacific Northwest.

Hot, dry and windy conditions will also keep fire danger high, especially for crews working tirelessly to contain and control current wildfires across parts of California and the Pacific Northwest.

The potential for dry thunderstorms producing abundant lightning will increase over across portions of Oregon and Washington. This could spark new fires, increasing the risk even more. Red Flag Warnings remain in effect through Sunday evening.

The combination of the heat and smoke from wildfires will also bring poor air quality across portions of the Pacific Northwest as well. As a result, Air Quality Alerts remain in effect for parts of the region.

Intensifying heat out West

The heat dome over the West Coast will intensify and expand northward over the weekend, bringing temperatures back into record-setting territory for much of the region Saturday and Sunday.

Temperatures could reach record highs this weekend with Las Vegas, Nevada, potentially reaching 113 degrees; Needles, California, potentially reaching 118 degrees; and Mount Shasta, California, potentially reaching 100 degrees on Saturday.

On Sunday, places that could break record highs include Boise, Idaho, which could reach 107 degrees; Spokane, Washington, which could reach 108 degrees; Yakima, Washington, which could reach 105 degrees; Baker, Oregon, which could reach 102 degrees; and Las Vegas, Nevada, which could reach 113 degrees.

High heat and humidity will also impact parts of Central and South Florida Saturday and Sunday. Near Orlando, Sanford, Florida could see temperatures peak near record levels Saturday, with highs forecast to climb into the mid-90s.

Heat Advisories remain in effect through Sunday evening across South Florida, where heat index values up to 108 degrees are possible.

Heavy rainfall and flash flooding in the South

Weather conditions in the South will stay soggy and unsettled over the next stretch of days. A few severe storms could generate damaging winds, but heavy rainfall and the threat for flash flooding remain a bigger concern.

The stalled front responsible for rain and storms in the South will continue to bring locally heavy downpours to parts of the region in the days ahead.

Another 2 to 3 inches of rain is forecast through next week, from Texas to Virginia and the Carolinas, with higher amounts possible locally.

Flooding remains a bigger threat across portions of southeastern Virginia, where flood alerts remain in effect. After receiving as much as 4 to 6 inches across parts of the state, additional rainfall in the days ahead will only increase the potential for flooding, if not exacerbate any flooding that is already ongoing.

Meanwhile, shower and storm activity affecting the Central U.S. continues to keep temperatures near or below normal over the next few days and into next week.

Strong storms producing damaging winds, hail and locally heavy downpours could fire up across parts of the High Plains on Saturday afternoon and evening, too.

Flood alerts also remain in effect across portions of the southern Rockies in New Mexico, where additional rainfall from storms could lead to flooding through Saturday night.

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(LOS ANGELES) — Two infants needed medical attention due to smoke inhalation as a fast-moving brush fire in Southern California spread 330 acres with 0% containment, officials said as of Saturday morning.

The brush fire began in the San Gabriel Mountains in northern Los Angeles County near East Fork and Glendora Mountain roads after 3:00 p.m. local time, according to Angeles National Forest officials, who named the spreading blaze the Fork Fire.

Highway 39 remains closed on Saturday, officials said. Firefighters applied hoses on two flanks of the wildfire late Friday night.

Multiple families had to evacuate the area, which has several hiking trails, officials said.

Two infants required medical attention due to being exposed to smoke during their escape, according to officials.

The condition of the children and others evacuated is not known at this time.

“Spreading is rapid, winds are light and growth potential is high,” Angeles National Forest officials said.

There is no immediate threat to buildings in the area, officials added.

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(DALLAS) — Overhaul companies remain on the scene of a historic Baptist church in Dallas after a major fire broke out Friday, leaving the structure largely collapsed. As of Saturday morning, the fire was knocked down and contained.

First Baptist Dallas is a Baptist church located in Dallas, Texas, that dates back to 1890.

No injuries or deaths were reported in connection with the fire.

“The structure has largely collapsed, which has caused many void spaces with ‘hot spots’. While there is no indication that the fire will escalate, [Dallas Fire Rescue] is expected to maintain an extended presence on the scene to extinguish all lingering areas of fire and to maintain a safe perimeter around the unstable building,” the city of Dallas told ABC News in a statement Saturday.

The fire had been contained to the secondary chapel on Saturday. The fire department is maintaining a safe perimeter around the building, but said there have been no large-scale evacuations.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

“We are grateful that no one was injured today and are thankful for the first responders who helped contain the fire to our Historic Sanctuary. They continue working but the primary fire has been extinguished. One way or another, we intend to meet for church this Sunday,” Dr. Robert Jeffress, a pastor at the church, said in a Tweet late Friday.

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