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(WASHINGTON) — Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are demanding that Committee Chairman James Comer bring in acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel to answer questions “immediately” as part of the panel’s probe into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Ranking Member Robert Garcia on Tuesday sent Comer a letter, which was first obtained by ABC News, requesting that Blanche and Patel appear for separate videotaped transcribed interviews before the committee as questions mount over their handling of the Epstein files.

The GOP-controlled committee to date has not video recorded any of its transcribed interviews, only depositions.

“Given the deep involvement of Director Patel and Mr. Blanche, the Committee cannot credibly continue its investigation without their videotaped, transcribed testimony,” Garcia wrote in the letter to Comer.

In a statement to ABC News, Garcia said the panel’s closed-door interview last week of former Attorney General Pam Bondi “made one thing clear: we need to talk to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel.”

“These agency leaders were directly involved in the cover up of the Epstein files and botched roll-out of the documents, which re-victimized survivors and made a mockery of our Justice Department. Oversight Democrats are demanding answers straight from the source,” Garcia said.

Bondi, during her appearance on Friday, told lawmakers that Blanche was delegated responsibility for overseeing the release of the millions of Epstein files.

Garcia wrote in the letter that Bondi referenced Blanche’s name 30 times during Friday’s interview and pointed to him “as the person responsible for DOJ’s actions involving the review, withholding, and botched release of Epstein-related records.”

Democrats also want to question Blanche over his involvement in convicted co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell’s prison transfer. Bondi testified, according to a source familiar with her testimony, that she opposed a pardon for Maxwell and was unaware of the transfer until after it happened.

“Rather than provide answers in her testimony, Ms. Bondi repeatedly shifted responsibility to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche,” he said.

The letter comes the same day that Blanche is slated to testify on Capitol Hill before a House appropriations subcommittee.

Blanche’s testimony could spark fireworks after Bondi’s transcribed interview on Friday, where she testified that she delegated compliance with the Epstein Transparency Act to her then-deputy.

Garcia said Democrats want to hear from Patel, who Bondi frequently named during her interview as also overseeing the release of the Epstein files. Democrats said they were alarmed by Bondi referring to Patel repeatedly during the interview.

“By Ms. Bondi’s own account, Director Patel was involved in locating, reviewing, and possibly redacting FBI records relating to Jeffrey Epstein. Ms. Bondi even raised concerns that the FBI had previously withheld material from the DOJ,” Garica wrote.

Comer, in comments made last Friday, said that both parties bear responsibility for the failures surrounding Epstein, the wealthy financier who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sexually exploiting and abusing dozens of minor girls at his homes in New York and Palm Beach, Florida.

“The government has failed the survivors. There’s no question about that,” Comer said. “And that dates back five presidential administrations. We’re taking this investigation seriously.”

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(NEWARK, N.J.) — Newark Mayor Ras Baraka announced Tuesday morning that the city is filing a lawsuit that seeks to close of Delaney Hall, the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility that he and activists allege is housing detainees in poor living conditions and without adequate medical care.

The Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly denied the allegations and decried the protests that have taken place outside the facility.

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

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(WASHINGTON) — A federal appeals court on Monday concluded that the Trump administration’s transgender military ban is likely unconstitutional and “appears to be driven by the bare desire to harm a politically unpopular group.”

In a 2-1 decision, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s decision blocking the Department of Defense from removing current servicemembers because of their gender dysphoria.

“At this preliminary stage, I conclude that the Hegseth Policy is both arbitrary and based upon animus, and for those reasons the Policy violates Plaintiff-Appellees’ constitutional right to equal protection of the law,” wrote Judge Robert Wilkins, referring to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The decision only applies to the service members who sued the administration and does not bar the Pentagon from blocking transgender people from joining the military.

According to the court, prospective military members can seek relief after the case has completely moved through the courts, while active service members face a more serious hardship by being expelled from the military.

“For those servicemembers facing expulsion, it is not clear how easily they can be reinstated and made whole. But even if they can be reinstated after being separated, it appears to us to be a much greater hardship to end a military career than to delay the start of one,” Judge Wilkins wrote.

Judge Justin Walker — the sole judge on the panel appointed to the bench by a Republican president — dissented and said members of the military could be deprived of certain rights guaranteed to the civilians.

“Like today’s majority, I cherish those rights, and so I understand the impulse behind the majority’s unprecedented intervention into military affairs. But because the plaintiffs are service members not civilians, and because we are judges not generals, I respectfully dissent,” he wrote.

“We have neither the expertise nor the authority to decide whether the military can exclude the plaintiffs from its ranks. The Constitution assigns that authority to Congress and the Commander in Chief,” he added.

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(LAS VEGAS) — A teenage girl has been arrested for allegedly injuring three horses at an equestrian competition, officials said.

Officers responded to a barn in Las Vegas early Saturday and found three horses “intentionally injured with a sharp object,” Las Vegas police said.

A teenage girl was identified as a possible suspect, police said. She allegedly had access to the barn and authorities believe she may have used a knife to wound the horses, police said.

The horses’ injuries were not life-threatening, but they were expected to keep the animals from competing at this weekend’s event, police said in a statement.

The teen, who was at a nearby hotel, was taken into custody and booked for 12 counts of willful/malicious kill/maim/torture animal – horse and three counts of felony malicious destruction of private property over $5,000, police said.

The suspect was a competitor in the National Barrel Horse Association’s Professional’s Choice Vegas Super Show this weekend, according to the NBHA.

“The situation was addressed immediately in coordination with the National Barrel Horse Association, the South Point Hotel & Casino Security, Metro Police, and all appropriate parties,” the NBHA said in a statement.

“All appropriate steps have been taken to ensure the well-being of all horses,” the organization added.

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(SHELBY, N.C.) — A former North Carolina police officer who was seen in a viral doorbell camera video repeatedly punching a woman during an arrest has been charged with assault, authorities said.

Former Shelby Police Officer Karson Hyder, 22, turned himself in on Monday, according to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, which said it has charged him with one count of assault inflicting serious injury in connection with Friday’s incident.

He was processed at the Cleveland County Detention Center and released on a $10,000 secured bond, the bureau said. It is unclear if he has an attorney at this time.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation said it initiated an investigation that “examined an allegation of excessive use of force” at the request of the Shelby police chief and the Cleveland County District Attorney.

Hyder was fired Saturday after the Shelby Police Department completed an administrative investigation into the incident, according to Shelby Police Chief Brad Fraser.

“While this incident does not reflect the values of the Shelby Police Department, it does reinforce the importance of holding ourselves to the highest standards of conduct,” Fraser said during a press briefing on Saturday, calling the former officer’s actions “disturbing and inappropriate.”

Officers were conducting a criminal investigation in Shelby on Friday when they encountered a “suspicious female,” Fraser said.

The doorbell video appears to show an officer repeatedly punching a woman, identified as 34-year-old Cherrie Moore, during an arrest before another officer appears to intervene. It is unclear what happened before the video.

Hyder did not respond to ABC News’ requests for comment.

Moore’s family, who had called for the officer to be charged, told ABC News on Monday that they “feel great” about the charging decision. Her uncle said she suffered a broken nose in the incident but the extent of her injuries was not clear.

“We just want the right thing done, and I think the first right thing is that he be charged,” Moore’s uncle, Michael Moore, previously told ABC News. “Once he’s charged, then we can move forward.”

Moore has mental health issues and is homeless, her uncle said.

She was initially charged with misdemeanor breaking and entering, resisting arrest and assault on a government official, which were ultimately dropped, according to her family.

Moore was charged with resisting a public officer in August 2025 in an incident that also involved Hyder, court documents obtained by ABC News show. She pleaded guilty the following month and was sentenced to time served, according to the filings.

ABC News’ Nadine El-Bawab, Matt Foster and Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — The Federal Reserve is weathering a political “stress test” that threatens to undermine public trust in the central bank and damage the United States economy, former Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in recent remarks.

“Like many other institutions, the Fed has been undergoing a stress test,” Powell told an audience at the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation in Boston on Sunday, adding that “Congress wisely chose to insulate monetary policy decisions from political pressure. All other advanced-economy nations have done the same.”

The remarks amounted to a spirited defense of Fed independence, coming just weeks after Powell stepped down from his role as head of the central bank. Powell remains on the Federal Reserve’s 12-person board of governors.

At the outset of this year, the Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation into Powell centered on his testimony to Congress about the cost overruns in a building renovation. It was the first criminal probe of a Fed chair in the central bank’s 113-year history.

Powell denied any wrongdoing and condemned the investigation as an effort to influence Fed policy. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly criticized Powell’s approach to interest-rate policy, denied any involvement in the criminal investigation.

The Supreme Court, meanwhile, is set to issue a decision in the coming weeks in a high-stakes legal fight focused on Trump’s attempted ouster of Fed Governor Lisa Cook over alleged mortgage fraud.

Federal law allows the president to remove a member of the Fed board “for cause,” but little precedent exists for such a removal. Cook rejected the charges as baseless, calling them politically motivated.

In his recent remarks, Powell defended legal protections for Fed officials as critical safeguards for the nation’s economy.

“If any administration finds a way to remove Fed officials over policy differences, then future administrations will do so as well. The public would lose faith that the central bank will make decisions based on only what’s best for all Americans. The Fed’s credibility would be lost,” Powell said.

“That credibility enables the Fed to support a strong and stable economy for the benefit of American families and businesses,” Powell added.

The warning comes as the Fed weathers a renewed bout of inflation set off by a historic oil shock amid the Iran war. The conditions offer an initial test for Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, who took the helm of the central bank last month.

If the Fed were to lose its independence, central bankers beholden to political leaders may favor lower interest rates as a means of boosting short-term economic activity and galvanizing public support, some analysts previously told ABC News. But, they added, that posture poses a major risk in the possibility of years-long inflation fueled by a rise in consumer demand, untethered by interest rates.

A burst of high inflation in the 1970s and 1980s offers a cautionary tale.

Before inflation took hold, President Richard Nixon had urged then-Fed Chair Arthur Burns to cut rates in the run-up to the 1972 presidential election. Nixon’s advocacy is widely viewed as contributing to lower-than-necessary interest rates that allowed inflation to get out of control.

Nearly a decade later, in 1981, the Fed raised interest rates as high as 20% in order to bring inflation under control. While the move succeeded in cooling off price hikes, it plunged the U.S. into a recession and sent the unemployment rate to 10%.

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(NEW YORK) — An American cruise ship passenger who has been quarantining at a Nebraska facility after being exposed to hantavirus said he plans to remain there for the full 42 days.

Jake Rosmarin, who is from Boston, has been at Nebraska’s National Quarantine Unit since May 11. He said staying the full six weeks is the best way to keep his loved ones safe.

“I have been traumatized by this whole experience. I’m afraid to leave this room until I know that the chance of me getting sick is 0%,” he told ABC News. “I want to know when I leave that the chances of me risking other people, my family, friends, the general public, I want know that my risk isn’t minimal. I want that also to be 0%.”

Not all of the 18 Americans who were sent to the facility are staying the full 42 days, which was recommended by health officials.

The incubation period — or the time that passes between exposure and when the first symptoms appear — for the Andes strain of hantavirus, which is believed to be behind the cruise ship cluster, is 42 days.

After the mandatory 21-day quarantine period, many have returned home to self-quarantine for the next 21 days, Rosmarin said. It’s unclear how many left and how many are staying.

On Friday, the New York State Department of Health said two New Yorkers who were quarantining in Nebraska are returning to the state this week.

The two people will be transported via non-commercial flights and complete the remainder of their 42-day monitoring period in residences located out of New York City.

The health department said the individuals have agreed to remain at home and avoid contact with other people. Plans are in place in the event the two people develop symptoms, health officials said.

Rosmarin — who had been traveling by himself — said he wanted to stay in Nebraska because those quarantining at the facility have quick access to medical care and testing, the latter of which is twice a week.

“Once you go home, you’re not gonna be able to be tested,” he said. “So, if you start getting sick, like you may not find out right away and you might not be able to get that care as quickly as possible.”

Rosmarin said he has tried to establish a routine during his time in quarantine, which includes getting up between 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. and exercising on a stationary bike.

He said he passes the time by completing puzzles, putting together Lego sets and crocheting.

“I have a calendar where I cross off the days going down,” Rosmarin said. “I watch new TV shows, new movies. I started a book and, honestly, the days have been flying by. The fact that it’s already been 21 days is kind of crazy to me.”

As of May 27, the World Health Organization said the total number of hantavirus cases remains at 13 and all linked back to the MV Hondius cruise ship.

Additionally, the number of deaths remains at three, including a married Dutch couple and a female German national.

“Given the long incubation period of up to six weeks, it is not unexpected that cases continue to be reported until the end of the six weeks since last exposure,” the WHO wrote in a bulletin last week.

ABC News’ Greg Romero contributed to this report.

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(MOUNT AIRY, N.C.) — A manhunt for the suspect who allegedly shot two Virginia sheriff’s deputies, one fatally, ended Sunday night when law enforcement officers used a drone to zero in and capture him in North Carolina, authorities said.

Michael Puckett, 55, was allegedly armed with a handgun and ringing the doorbell of a home in Mount Airy, N.C., when officers moved in at about 8:32 p.m. ET and made the arrest, ending an intense three-day search for the fugitive, according to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI).

Puckett’s capture came after the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service offered a combined $60,000 reward for information on his whereabouts.

The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office identified Deputy Logan Utt, a military veteran and a member of the agency since 2023, as the deputy who was killed in the exchange of gunfire with Puckett on Friday night at a home near Richmond, Virginia.

A second Carroll County sheriff’s deputy was injured in the shooting when a bullet struck him in his bulletproof vest, Carroll County Sheriff Kevin A. Kemp said in a statement over the weekend.

Utt and the other sheriff’s deputy were sent to the home around 9:26 p.m. local time to conduct a welfare check when they came in contact with Puckett, who allegedly opened fire on them, Kemp said.

The deputies returned fire as Puckett allegedly fled the scene, Kemp said, who added that a motive for the shooting remains under investigation.

The search for Puckett expanded to North Carolina after the fugitive was spotted on Sunday around 6:56 a.m. ET on a wildlife game camera in Surry County, north of Mount Airy, the Wytheville, N.C., police department said in a statement on Facebook.

North Carolina law enforcement officers swarmed the Mount Airy neighborhood where Puckett was seen, establishing a perimeter and deploying a drone, according to the SBI.

“SBI Agents, utilizing a drone, located the suspect moving from one location to another and made the arrest as he was ringing the doorbell of the residence. The suspect was still armed at the time of arrest,” the SBI said in its statement.

Kemp called Utt a “hero,” whose “lifelong dream” was to become a sheriff’s deputy.

“Deputy Utt was a devoted husband, loving father, cherished family member, friend, and respected member of our law enforcement family,” Kemp said. “His service, courage, and dedication will not be forgotten.”

ABC News’ Benjamin Stein, Matt Foster and Michael Pappano contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — Usha Vance, the second lady of the United States, is rolling out her annual summer reading challenge for its second year in an effort to enhance childhood literacy and curb some of the summer reading loss that comes during the summer months, she told ABC’s Linsey Davis in an exclusive interview.

“It is the second one. Last year it was an idea that we had really at the last minute as we were thinking about ways to enhance childhood literacy and get kids reading over the summer and sort of stave off some of the summer learning loss that traditionally happens every year,” Mrs. Vance said. “So we did a little pilot program and it was a success beyond what we had hoped.”

“This year we’re having a big rollout all over the country,” she added, highlighting partnerships with schools, libraries and other institutions across the country.

The program’s aim is for children from kindergarten to eighth grade to read 12 books of their choice this summer.

“Our summer reading challenge is really simple. All kids have to do is pick up 12 books, anything that they like,” Mrs. Vance said. “If a kid likes reading about squirrels, as one did last year, read 12 books about squirrels. If a kid loves history, read books about history.”

“So you read those books, write them down on a log and send them to whitehouse.gov/read and we’ll receive them, send a certificate,” Mrs. Vance said.

Participants will receive a special prize, as well as a chance to visit the White House, according to Mrs. Vance, which she said she hoped would motivate kids to participate.

“We’ll also enter all of the kids into a raffle to come visit the White House, come spend some time in D.C., and sort of enjoy all that D.C. has to offer,” Mrs. Vance said.

Linsey Davis’ full exclusive interview with second lady Usha Vance will stream Monday at 7 p.m. ET on ABC News Live Prime.

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(SANDY, Ore) — Multiple people were killed and an officer was shot and wounded in a domestic violence situation in Oregon, officials said.

When officers responded to a shooting and domestic disturbance shortly before 4 p.m. Sunday, the officers came under gunfire and returned fire, Sandy Police Chief Patrick Huskey said at a news conference.

One officer was shot multiple times, Huskey said. The officer has been hospitalized in stable condition and expected to survive, he said.

Multiple victims are dead, the chief said, but he did not say how many victims or their identities.

While the suspect was barricaded in the home, police urged residents to lock their doors and stay inside.

The suspect surrendered around 8 p.m., police said, and the shelter in place order has been lifted.

The chief called the shooting a “traumatic event for our community.”

Sandy Mayor Kathleen Walker said in a statement, “Our Sandy community grieves the unimaginable loss of lives from a domestic violence incident. … Please keep our officer, the victims and their loved ones, and everyone in our community in your thoughts.”

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