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(NEW YORK) — Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Monday asked a judge to impose a limited gag order on former President Donald Trump, who is charged in New York with falsifying business records related to hush money he paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

In their request, prosecutors cited what they called Trump’s “longstanding and perhaps singular history” of attacking people he considers to be adversaries, including those associated with his other criminal and civil cases.

The trial in Trump’s hush money case is scheduled to get underway on March 25.

Trump is already under a limited gag order in his federal election interference case in Washington, D.C., and prosecutors in Manhattan are seeking a similar “narrowly tailored order restricting certain prejudicial extrajudicial statements by defendant.”

The motion for a limited gag order on Trump’s public statements includes an affidavit from NYPD Sgt. Nicholas Pistilli, Bragg’s head of security, who noticed “an extraordinary surge” in threats against the DA after Trump began targeting him on social media.

The NYPD Threat Assessment and Protection Unit logged 89 threats against the district attorney, his family or employees of his office in 2023, the first of which occurred the same day Trump posted on social media to “protest, take our nation back!” according to the filing. In all of 2022, the same unit logged just one threat against Bragg, the filing said.

According to the filing, there were some 600 phone calls and emails that were forwarded to police for review in March 2023 alone.

The filing also included photos and screenshots of harassing messages, firearms and handwritten threats that prosecutors said demonstrate the impact of Trump’s social media posts and behavior.

The Manhattan DA’s office also asked the judge to allow the now-infamous “Access Hollywood” tape to be played for the jury. Prosecutors argued the tape is “highly relevant” to Trump’s motive for making the hush payment to Daniels to silence her accusations of a long-denied affair.

“The release of the tape — and the accompanying concerns about its possible impact on the election — are thus directly related to the Stormy Daniels payoff, which was executed just a few weeks later,” Assistant District Attorney Matthew Colangelo wrote.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts in the hush money case and has criticized Bragg and Judge Juan Merchan, as well as witnesses that include Trump’s former personal attorney and fixer Michael Cohen.

“[Trump] has a long history of making public and inflammatory remarks about the participants in various judicial proceedings against him, including jurors, witnesses, lawyers and court staff,” prosecutors said in their filing, adding that Trump’s remarks “pose a significant and imminent threat to the orderly administration of this criminal proceeding.”

In a series of motions filed Monday, prosecutors also asked the judge to bar the defense from introducing evidence or argument about Cohen’s credibility. Cohen was accused of committing perjury when he testified in October in Trump’s civil fraud trial.

The judge in that trial also imposed a limited gag order on Trump that prohibited the former president from making comments about court staff.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office wants the judge to bar Trump from making public statements about witnesses, jurors, court staff and prosecutors other than Bragg.

“As other courts have found, these reasonable prophylactic measures are amply warranted by defendant’s past conduct and by the risk of prejudice to the pending proceeding if appropriate protective steps are not taken,” prosecutors wrote. “The relief requested here is narrowly tailored to protect the integrity of the upcoming trial while still affording defendant ample opportunity to engage in speech, including speech about this case.”

Prosecutors are also seeking a protective order that would prohibit disclosure of juror names to anyone other than Trump and his attorneys.

In a statement to ABC News, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung pushed back on the order, saying that, if granted, it would “impose an unconstitutional infringement on President Trump’s First Amendment rights, including his ability to defend himself, and the rights of all Americans to hear from President Trump.”

Trump last April pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment made to Daniels just days before the 2016 presidential election.

The former president has denied all wrongdoing.

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(LOS ANGELES) — Alexander Smirnov, the former FBI informant charged with lying to the bureau about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden, was remanded to custody Monday, pending trial.

Appearing in court Monday, Smirnov said very little except answering “yes” when asked if he understood the case against him. He entered a plea of not guilty to the counts against him.

Smirnov was arrested earlier this month on charges that he concocted “fabrications” about the president and his son accepting $5 million in bribes from the Ukrainian energy giant Burisma — which Republicans have repeatedly cited as a driving force in their efforts to impeach the president.

After being released by the court following his arrest, he was then rearrested last week and held in custody.

U.S. District Judge Otis Wright had ordered Smirnov to appear in court Monday as the judge considered keeping Smirnov detained. Special counsel David Weiss had asked the judge for Smirnov to be held until his trial date.

His attorneys made a plea Monday for his release, arguing that he has never committed a crime, that he worked for the U.S. government, and that he has never been accused of lying before.

Justice Department officials argued that he is a major flight risk.

The judge agreed with the DOJ.

“There is nothing garden variety about this case,” he said, ordering Smirnov held until trial.

In a filing last week, Weiss’ office alleged Smirnov had high-level contacts with Russian intelligence officials who they said were “involved in passing a story” to him about Hunter Biden.

“Smirnov’s efforts to spread misinformation about a candidate of one of the two major parties in the United States continues,” the filing stated. “What this shows is that the misinformation he is spreading is not confined to 2020. He is actively peddling new lies that could impact U.S. elections after meeting with Russian intelligence officials in November.”

Last July, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, took the unusual step of releasing the confidential FBI informant’s unverified claim that, years ago, the Biden family “pushed” a Ukrainian oligarch to pay them $10 million.

The claim — which Democrats and the White House immediately denied — has since been cited by congressional Republicans in part to justify their impeachment inquiry into the president.

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(SANTA FE, N.M.) — The involuntary manslaughter trial for Alec Baldwin over the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust” in October 2021 has been set for July, according to New Mexico’s First Judicial District Court.

Jury selection is set to begin on July 9 with the trial expected to last from July 10 to 19.

Baldwin was indicted by a grand jury on Jan. 19 on an involuntary manslaughter charge after prosecutors dropped the original manslaughter charges last April.

Baldwin, 65, is accused of fatally shooting Hutchins, 42, on the New Mexico set of the Western in October 2021. The actor was practicing a cross-draw when the gun fired, striking the cinematographer and director Joel Souza, who suffered a non-life-threatening injury.

Baldwin pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter on Jan. 31.

Two others were charged in the on-set shooting, including armorer Hannah Gutierrez and first assistant director David Halls.

Halls pleaded no contest to a charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon and was sentenced to six months unsupervised probation as part of a plea deal. Halls handed the Colt .45 revolver to Baldwin prior to the shooting.

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

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(NEW YORK) — Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Monday asked a judge to impose a gag order on former President Donald Trump, who is charged in New York with falsifying business records related to hush money he paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

Trump is already under a limited gag order in his federal election interference case in Washington, D.C., and prosecutors in Manhattan sought a similarly “narrowly tailored order restricting certain prejudicial extrajudicial statements by defendant.”

Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts in the hush money case and has criticized Bragg and Judge Juan Merchan, as well as witnesses that include Trump’s former personal attorney and fixer Michael Cohen.

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

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(NEW YORK) — A historic, billion-dollar donation to a medical school in New York City has provided students with free tuition moving forward.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx received a $1 billion donation from Dr. Ruth Gottesman, former professor and chair of the school’s board of trustees, the institution announced in a press release Monday.

The massive donation — a “transformational gift,” the school said — is among the largest ever made to a university in the United States and seemingly the largest made to an American medical school, according to the institution.

The $1 billion donation will ensure that no student at Einstein will have to pay tuition again, Dr. Philip Ozuah, president and CEO of Montefiore Einstein, the umbrella organization for Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System, said in the announcement.

All current, fourth-year students will be reimbursed their spring 2024 semester tuition and, beginning at the start of the next term, all students moving forward will receive free tuition at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the school said.

Tuition and fees for one year at the medical school total over $63,000, and more than half the medical students owe upward of $200,000 in student debt after graduating, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine says on its website.

Almost half of students are New Yorkers and nearly 60% of students at the university are women, according to the institution.

“This donation radically revolutionizes our ability to continue attracting students who are committed to our mission, not just those who can afford it,” Dr. Yaron Tomer, the Marilyn and Stanley Katz dean at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, said in the release.

“Additionally, it will free up and lift our students, enabling them to pursue projects and ideas that might otherwise be prohibitive. We will be reminded of the legacy this historic gift represents each spring as we send another diverse class of physicians out across the Bronx and around the world to provide compassionate care and transform their communities,” Tomer said.

The donation comes from Gottesman and her late husband, David “Sandy” Gottesman, who was the founder of First Manhattan Co. and an early investor in Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, before he died in 2022 at 96 years old.

Ruth Gottesman, 93, began her work at Einstein’s Children’s Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center more than 55 years ago.

“I am very thankful to my late husband, Sandy, for leaving these funds in my care, and l feel blessed to be given the great privilege of making this gift to such a worthy cause,” Ruth Gottesman said in the press release.

“Each year, well over 100 students enter Albert Einstein College of Medicine in their quest for degrees in medicine and science. They leave as superbly trained scientists and compassionate and knowledgeable physicians, with the expertise to find new ways to prevent diseases and provide the finest health care to communities here in the Bronx and all over the world,” she said.

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(EAGLE PASS, TEXAS) — President Joe Biden will make his second visit to the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursday to make another push for Congress to pass a bipartisan border deal, the White House announced Monday.

Former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, will also deliver remarks at the border on Thursday, sources familiar with his trip told ABC News. Trump will visit Eagle Pass, Texas — a flashpoint for immigration confrontation.

Biden will visit Brownsville, Texas. He last visited the border in January 2023 when he stopped in El Paso. He faced immense criticism from Republicans for not going to the border as migrant encounters reached a record high in December.

In Brownsville, Biden will meet with Border Patrol agents, law enforcement and local leaders, according to a White House official.

“He will discuss the urgent need to pass the Senate bipartisan border security agreement, the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border in decades,” the official said. “He will reiterate his calls for congressional Republicans to stop playing politics and to provide the funding needed for additional U.S. Border Patrol agents, more asylum officers, fentanyl detection technology and more.”

Biden has been urging Congress to pass the bipartisan immigration deal, which includes changes to asylum protocols, funding to bolster immigration review and hire additional Border Patrol agents as well as new emergency powers for officials.

The deal was the result of months of negotiations after House Republicans demanded foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel be tied to immigration reform. However, Speaker Mike Johnson called the proposal “dead on arrival” and contends it doesn’t do enough to enhance border security.

Republicans remain under pressure from Trump to reject it as he looks to make immigration a key campaign issue.

Biden on Friday pressed Republicans to “show a little spine” and pass the bill even if they “reap the wrath” their colleagues to get this bill to his desk.

“Folks, doing nothing is not an option. Compromise is part of the process,” Biden said about the deal when speaking to governors at the White House. “I didn’t get everything I wanted in that deal. We didn’t deal with DREAMers. We didn’t do a number of things I think we should do. But you know it’s a positive step, a significant step.”

Amid the impasse on Capitol Hill, Biden is considering executive action to tighten asylum restrictions, an administration official told ABC News. Speaker Johnson criticized the potential action as “election year gimmicks.”

Biden is not expected to announce any new executive actions on Thursday, according to a source familiar with the plans.

Biden faces headwinds on immigration, which has emerged as a top 2024 election concern for voters. An ABC News poll conducted earlier this year found Biden’s approval rating on his handling of the border stood at just 18%.

In a post on his social media platform on Monday, Trump — who has ramped up his anti-immigrant rhetoric this cycle — continued his claim that foreign countries are sending criminals to the U.S. and attacked the Biden administration as being unable to handle migrants.

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(NEW YORK) — Lawyers for former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants are appealing their $464 million civil fraud case.

In a filing Monday, the defendants signaled their plans to appeal the ruling to New York’s Appellate Division, First Department.

“This appeal is taken from each and every part of the Order insofar as Defendants are aggrieved,” defense lawyers Alina Habba and Clifford Robert wrote in the notice.

In an informational statement filed with the Appellate Division, the defense lawyers asked the court to determine whether the judge in the case “committed errors of law and/or fact, abused its discretion, and/or acted in excess of its jurisdiction.”

“We trust that the Appellate Division will overturn this egregious fine and take the necessary steps to restore the public faith in New York’s legal system,” Habba said in a statement.

Judge Arthur Engoron earlier this month found Trump, his adults, and two former Trump Organization executives liable for a decade of fraudulent business activity, ordering the defendants to pay a total of $464 million in disgorgement and pre-judgment interest. Of that amount, Trump owes $355 million in fines plus approximately $100 million in interest.

Trump has denied all wrongdoing.

On Friday, the clerk for New York County’s Supreme Court signed and entered the judgment order in the case, giving Trump 30 days to file his appeal. In order to pause the execution of the fine in the case, the former president needs to post a bond or put cash into an escrow account to cover the fines plus interest.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought the case against Trump and his co-defendants, told ABC News last week that she is prepared to seize the former president’s assets if he is unable to find the cash to cover the fine.

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(WASHINGTON) — New home sales ticked up in January, despite a twin burden imposed by elevated mortgage rates and expensive housing prices, according to U.S. Census data released on Monday.

Sales of new single-family homes rose 1.8% in January compared to the previous year, data showed. The survey found an estimated 661,000 homes were sold in January.

On a monthly basis, sales climbed 1.5% from December.

The fresh data offers a glimmer of optimism for an otherwise sluggish housing market.

By contrast, existing-home sales declined in January compared to the previous year, the National Association of Realtors said last week.

Mortgage-purchase applications fell 10% from a week earlier, data from the Mortgage Bankers Association on Wednesday showed.

The divergent trends for new and existing home sales trace back to elevated mortgage rates. The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage has soared to 6.9%, rebounding after a steady decline at the end of last year, according to a report from Freddie Mac on Thursday.

Homeowners are largely opting to stay in their current residences because they would rather stick with comparatively low-rate mortgages than shift to high-rate ones.

Mortgage rates track yields on 10-year Treasury bonds, which are highly sensitive to the benchmark interest rate set by the Federal Reserve.

The Fed says it expects to cut interest rates this year but so far has kept the rates at high levels, since inflation has resisted downward pressure in recent months.

The supply of new homes, on the other hand, is garnering interest from prospective buyers unable to find homeowners willing to sell.

The median sales price of new houses sold in January was $420,700.

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(WASHINGTON) — An active-duty airman has died after authorities say he set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C.

The man was identified by the Metropolitan Police Department as 25-year-old Aaron Bushnell of San Antonio.

The incident unfolded just before 1 p.m. ET outside the gates of the Israeli Embassy in northwest Washington, according to statements from the city’s Metropolitan Police Department and Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department.

“We arrived to find an apparent adult male who had been on fire,” the Fire and EMS Department said in its statement.

Members of the U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division extinguished the flames before fire crews arrived, officials said. Later Sunday, the U.S. Air Force confirmed the man involved was an active duty airman.

Bushnell was unconscious when he was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries, according to police.

Police officials did not comment on why the man set himself ablaze.

Police detectives, the Secret Service Uniformed Division and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are investigating the incident.

The police department’s Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit was also called to the scene as police investigated a suspicious vehicle in the area that authorities believe is linked to Bushnell. The vehicle was searched, but no hazardous material was found, police said.

The Israeli Embassy released a statement saying the man was “unknown” to embassy staff.

No embassy workers were injured in the incident, and all were reported safe, embassy officials said.

A similar incident occurred on Dec. 1 outside an Israeli Consulate office in Atlanta, where a woman wrapped in a Palestinian flag intentionally set herself on fire in an apparent political protest, according to police. The woman, who was critically injured, ignited herself after dousing herself with gasoline, police said. A security guard suffered burns when he attempted to put the fire out, according to police.

If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one, call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

ABC News’ Luke Barr, Sinead Hawkins and Luis Martinez contributed to this report.

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(HARVEY, La.) — A convicted felon who had been in custody on a second-degree murder charge escaped on Sunday after pepper spraying his transporting deputy and stealing her car, authorities said.

The inmate, Leon Ruffin, should be considered “armed and dangerous,” Sheriff Joseph Lopinto of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana, told the media Sunday night at a press briefing.

Lopinto said he doesn’t believe the man “has anything to lose” as he could be facing life in prison if convicted on the second-degree murder charge.

Ruffin had been transferred from the medical facility in the corrections center to a local hospital around noon on Sunday on the advice of the medical team after suffering from a possible seizure. After being treated at the hospital, Ruffin created some type of disturbance as he was being driven out of the hospital parking lot, Lopinto said. The female deputy got out of the car and he pepper sprayed her, the official said. The suspect then took the deputy’s vehicle, he added.

The deputy fired shots at the car but does not know if Ruffin was hit.

At present, authorities do not know where the suspect got the pepper spray. The deputy still had her pepper spray, taser and weapon following his escape.

Authorities have contacted the family of the victim in Ruffin’s alleged second-degree murder case.

Prior to his trip to the hospital, Ruffin had been in the medical unit at the corrections facility, but Lopinto said they believed he was faking his injuries.

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