Lindsey Halligan, holds ceremonial proclamations to be signed by US President Donald Trump, not pictured, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, March 6, 2025. Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge wants to know why Lindsey Halligan is still using the title of U.S. attorney despite a judge ruling in November that she is legally not in the position.
Halligan, who was appointed by President Donald Trump to be the acting U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, was found by a judge to not be legally allowed to serve in the role because the law doesn’t allow the position to be filled by two interim nominees in a row.
The ruling came two months after Halligan secured indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, only to have them thrown out due to her unlawful appointment.
The issue stems from a recent case in which Halligan, on the indictment, represents that she is the U.S. attorney and “did so despite a binding Court Order entered by Senior United States District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie on November 24, 2025, in which Judge Currie found that the ‘appointment Ms. Halligan as Interim U.S. Attorney violated 28 U.S.C. § 546 and the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution,'” U.S. District Judge David Novak wrote in a filing Tuesday.
Judge Novak said that while the government is appealing the ruling, it is not subject to being ignored. He ordered the government to explain why Halligan has identified herself as the U.S. attorney within seven days.
“Ms. Halligan shall further explain why her identification does not constitute a false or misleading statement,” the judge wrote.
A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
Halligan, one of Trump’s former personal attorneys, was named U.S. attorney by Trump in September after Trump ousted her predecessor, Erik Siebert, who sources say had expressed doubts internally about bringing cases against James and Comey.
Because Siebert himself had been named interim U.S. attorney by Trump last January, Judge Currie ruled that Halligan’s appointment as interim U.S. attorney violated the Constitution’s Appointments Clause that limits how long prosecutors can serve without Senate confirmation.
Nick Reiner attends AOL Build Speaker Series at AOL Studios In New York on May 4, 2016 in New York City. (Laura Cavanaugh/FilmMagic)
(LOS ANGELES) — Nick Reiner is expected to appear at an arraignment on Wednesday to enter a plea in the murders of his parents, renowned director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Reiner.
The 32-year-old faces two counts of first-degree murder with the special circumstance of multiple murders.
Nick Reiner made a brief first court appearance on Dec. 17 and waived the right to a speedy arraignment.
Since his last appearance, sources told ABC News that law enforcement and defense attorneys have been working to piece together Nick Reiner’s psychiatric and substance abuse history. Legal experts say California law allows defense attorneys to signal as early as Wednesday’s hearing whether they will seek to use mental health in their defense.
Nick Reiner has a documented history of addiction and substance abuse treatment, and friends have told investigators that his mental health had been deteriorating prior to the murders.
He could enter a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity Wednesday, though that could also come later.
Under California law, a jury can find a defendant not guilty by reason of insanity, which would result in confinement to a state psychiatric hospital rather than prison. That process can begin at arraignment but is not required to.
To pursue this defense, attorneys must demonstrate that the accused suffered from a mental illness prior to developing an addiction. A mental illness caused solely by addiction does not meet the legal standard.
Nick Reiner’s defense attorney Alan Jackson issued a statement last month, reading: “We ask that during this process, you allow the system to move forward in the way that it was designed … not with jumping to conclusions, but with restraint and with dignity and with the respect that this system and this process deserves and that the family deserves.”
Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner were found stabbed to death in their Brentwood home on Dec. 14.
The night before the murders, Nick Reiner — who had been open about battling drug addiction since he was a teenager, and had been living on his parents’ property — got into an argument with Rob Reiner at a holiday party, and was seen acting strangely, sources told ABC News.
Nick Reiner was taken into custody in downtown Los Angeles hours after the bodies were discovered.
Rob and Michele Reiners’ other children, Jake and Romy Reiner, said in a statement last month, “Words cannot even begin to describe the unimaginable pain we are experiencing.”
“The horrific and devastating loss of our parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, is something that no one should ever experience. They weren’t just our parents; they were our best friends,” they said.
“We are grateful for the outpouring of condolences, kindness, and support we have received not only from family and friends but people from all walks of life,” Jake and Romy Reiner said. “We now ask for respect and privacy, for speculation to be tempered with compassion and humanity, and for our parents to be remembered for the incredible lives they lived and the love they gave.”
(WASHINGTON) — The White House said Tuesday President Donald Trump and his advisers are discussing a range of options to acquire Greenland — adding “utilizing the U.S. military is always an option.”
“President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “The President and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the U.S. Military is always an option at the Commander in Chief’s disposal.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — The White House said Tuesday President Donald Trump and his advisers are discussing a range of options to acquire Greenland — adding “utilizing the U.S. military is always an option.”
“President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “The President and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the U.S. Military is always an option at the Commander in Chief’s disposal.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
A photo illustration of a physical gold Bitcoin collectible on December 3,2025, in London, England. (Photo by Peter Dazeley/Getty Images)
(MAINE) — One of the country’s top cryptocurrency kiosk vendors has agreed to pay the state of Maine nearly $2 million as part of a settlement to compensate victims of fraud, the state announced on Monday.
Bitcoin Depot, which operates more than 25,000 bitcoin ATMs across the country, will pay the state $1.9 million, which represents money “taken by third-party scammers who defrauded Maine consumers through their kiosks.”
Victims of fraud perpetrated using Bitcoin Depot kiosks may apply for compensation from the state. As part of the settlement, Bitcoin Depot admits to no wrongdoing or violation of state or federal laws.
Bitcoin ATMs, which allow users to insert cash and send it to a digital wallet anywhere in the world in only a few minutes, have emerged as scammers’ top go-to method for separating Americans from their cash, according to experts.
In a typical scam, fraudsters will convince their victims that they must make a payment or safeguard their cash by inserting it in a bitcoin ATM. Once the transaction is executed, experts say, the money can be nearly impossible to recover — making it an attractive method for prospective scammers.
In 2025, Americans lost more than $333 million to bitcoin ATM scams, the FBI recently told ABC News, representing a dramatic uptick from prior years.
Maine has taken some of the nation’s most aggressive steps in limiting the proliferation of scams using bitcoin ATMs, including establishing daily deposit limits and capping transaction fees.
A spokesperson for Bitcoin Depot, which currently faces a separate lawsuit in Iowa, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
Flowers and photographs are seen at a memorial dedicated to the victims of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School on June 3, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas. Alex Wong/Getty Images
(CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas) — Former Uvalde, Texas, school police officer Adrian Gonzales was alerted to gunman Salvador Ramos’ location before Ramos entered Robb Elementary School, but Gonzales failed to act, prosecutors argued in opening statements on Tuesday.
Gonzales — who is charged with 29 counts of child endangerment — is alleged to have neglected his duty and training during the chaotic response to the 2022 shooting, which left 19 children and two teachers dead.
This case marks the second time in U.S. history that prosecutors have sought to hold a member of law enforcement criminally accountable for their response to a mass shooting. Gonzales’ legal team maintains he’s being scapegoated.
Prosecutor Bill Turner spoke softly and on the verge of tears at the start of his opening argument. His statement marked the first time prosecutors have provided their rationale for charging Gonzales, disclosing that a teacher came face-to-face with Ramos before the shooter entered the school, and the teacher tried to warn Gonzales.
“She’s face-to-face with the gunman, and he fires on her, and she turns to run, and when she turns to run, she trips and she falls. And when she gets up, Adrian Gonzales, the police officer, is there,” Turner said. “She says, ‘He’s over there.’ She urges him to go get him.”
“He gets on the radio and says, ‘Shots are fired, he’s wearing black, he’s in the parking lot,'” Turner said. “He knows where he is, but Adrian Gonzales remains at the south side of the school.”
As Turner walked the jury through the tragic minutes that followed that encounter — describing the number of gunshots fired by Ramos as Gonzales allegedly waited outside — Turner hammered at the point that Gonzales allegedly stayed where he was, rather than try to stop the shooting.
Defense attorney Nico LaHood told the jury that “pure evil” visited Uvalde on May 24, 2022, but said convicting Gonzales will not deliver justice.
LaHood argued that Gonzales did everything he could in that moment — including gathering critical information, evacuating children and entering the school — and said Gonzales acted on the information he had.
LaHood and his partner Jason Goss delivered a lengthy opening argument that used a map and time codes to provide the jury with a minute-by-minute view of Gonzales’ actions.
“The government wants to make it seem like he just sat there, you know. He didn’t just sit there — he did what he could with what he knew at the time,” LaHood said.
LaHood also called out the prosecution for planning to show the jury autopsy photos. The judge has preliminarily allowed prosecutors to show the images, but reserves the right to hold photos from entering evidence.
“They’re going to really want you to focus on these photos, and I wish they wouldn’t — not because it hurts us — because .. it hurts those precious people over there,” LaHood said, pointing to some of the families and Uvalde community members in the gallery.
Despite nearly 400 officers responding to the shooting, law enforcement took 77 minutes to mount a counterassault to kill Ramos. Gonzales is one of only two officers charged in the case, along with former Uvalde schools Police Chief Pete Arredondo.
Judge Sid Harle seated a full jury after an emotionally fraught selection process on Monday. Dozens of potential jurors voiced frustration with the police response, and more than 100 excused themselves from the process, saying they did not believe they could be fair and impartial.
“They were only protecting themselves more than they were protecting the children,” one dismissed juror told the court, as others cheered and clapped in agreement. “I would have sacrificed myself to save them, but they didn’t. They just sat there.”
Gonzales has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers argue he is being blamed for a broader law enforcement failure. During the jury selection process, some voiced frustration that more officers have not been charged in the years following the tragedy.
“Are you saying this man is the whole problem? You are sticking it on his shoulders alone?” one dismissed juror remarked. “How many of them were out there? They should all be sitting there with him.”
Gonzales was charged last year, along with Arredondo, the on-site commander on the day of the shooting. Arredondo’s trial has been indefinitely postponed due to a pending civil lawsuit after the members of an elite tactical unit with the U.S. Border Patrol refused to speak with prosecutors about their involvement that day.
Gonzales’ case is a rarity in U.S. law.
In 2023, a Florida jury acquitted Scot Peterson, a former Broward County sheriff’s deputy, who was charged with child neglect and culpable negligence for his alleged inaction during the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Peterson’s lawyers argued his role as an armed school resource officer did not amount to a caregiving post needed to prove child neglect in Florida, and that the response to the shooting was muddled by poor communication.
According to Bob Jarvis, a professor of law at Nova Southeastern University, prosecutors in the Gonzales case are likely to face the same legal hurdles that doomed the Peterson case.
“What you’re really trying to do,” he said, “is argue … that being a coward is a crime, and that is very, very difficult.”
The Milwaukee County Courthouse in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US, on Friday, April 25, 2025. Jamie Kelter Davis/Bloomberg via Getty Images
(MILWAUKEE) — Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan, who was convicted last month of obstructing federal immigration agents at her courthouse, has resigned, according to a letter to Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Sen. Mark Kelly, a Democrat of Arizona, and his wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords, appear on ABC News’ “Good Morning America,” Jan. 6, 2026. ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Sen. Mark Kelly said he would “absolutely not” have changed his message to U.S. troops about not following illegal orders, despite now knowing that it would result in a censure.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth censured Kelly, a Democrat of Arizona, on Monday for “conduct [that] was seditious in nature,” referring to a video Kelly participated in in November that told United States service members they have a right to refuse unlawful orders.
Hegseth alleged that Kelly “counseled members of the Armed Forces to refuse lawful orders” in the video. Kelly and others who participated in the video have disputed that claim.
“Let me make this perfectly clear, though, Gabby and I are not people that back down,” Kelly said on Tuesday during an appearance with his wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords, on “Good Morning America.” “From anything, from any kind of fight.”
The administrative action, which is a less consequential action than a court-martial, will result in a reduction in rank and Kelly’s retirement pay, a process Hegseth says will take 45 days.
The video prompted fierce criticism from President Donald Trump, who called it “seditious behavior” and said the Democrats involved — who previously served in the military or in the intelligence community — should be “in jail.”
Kelly, who sits on the Senate’s Armed Services and Intelligence committees, said in the interview that aired on “GMA” on Tuesday that his original message was intended to be “nonpartisan.”
He said he would have expected the president to agree with his statements, describing a potential presidential response, saying, “Of course, you don’t follow illegal orders.”
“But not this guy,” Kelly said, referencing Trump, “because he looks at this as maybe somehow as a threat to his authority.”
Kelly and the other five Democrats involved in the November video directed at military members have defended their message as being in line with the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the Constitution.
At one point after the original message was posted, Trump said their action could be “punishable by death.” He also shared a social media post calling for participants in the video to be hanged. But he later said, “I’m not threatening death, but I think they’re in serious trouble.”
“I said something the president and Pete Hegseth did not like and, because of that, the president said I should be hanged, I should be prosecuted,” Kelly said on “GMA” on Tuesday. “This is un-American and this sends a chilling message.”
On Monday, Kelly said he will fight any punishment.
“Pete Hegseth wants to send the message to every single retired servicemember that if they say something he or Donald Trump doesn’t like, they will come after them the same way,” Kelly said in a statement.
Kelly in an interview on “The Daily Show” that aired on Monday evening said he might be able to file an appeal with the military over the changes to his retirement. He also raised the prospect of filing a federal lawsuit, saying he would do “everything appropriate in this circumstance to make sure that they know this is unacceptable.”
ABC News’ David Brennan, Chris Boccia and Isabella Murray contributed to this report.
Columbus police released video footage of a person of interest walking in an alley near the the Tepes’ house in the early hours of Dec. 30, 2025. (Columbus Police Department)
Spencer and Monique Tepe were found shot to death in their Columbus home on Dec. 30, Columbus police said. Two small children were found safe inside, police said.
Authorities said they believe the couple was killed between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. on their home’s second floor.
Detectives on Monday shared what they called “recovered video footage” of a person walking in an alley near the victims’ house during that 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. timeframe. The grainy video shows the person of interest in jeans and a black hooded jacket, apparently with their hands in their pockets.
“We know there are questions and concerns,” police said. The department said tips are coming in, and they are “working diligently to solve this case.”
Meanwhile, the relatives of Spencer and Monique Tepe are mourning and waiting for answers.
“Makes no sense as to how somebody could do this,” Monique Tepe’s brother, Rob Misleh, told ABC News’ “Good Morning America.” “What kind of person can take two parents away from such young children, and just two beautiful people away from this earth?”
The police ask that anyone who could help identify the person of interest call 614-645-2228. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477.
Jeffrey Epstein is seen on the images released on December 19, 2025 by the US Department of State. (US Justice Department/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(CHICAGO) — The Department of Justice said in a new court filing Monday night that there are more than 2 million documents “potentially responsive” to the Epstein Files Transparency Act that are presently in various phases of review.
Federal prosecutors said that “in the next few weeks ahead” about 400 department attorneys in Washington, D.C., New York and Florida “will dedicate all or a substantial portion of their workday to the Department’s efforts to comply with the Act.”
The effort will tap DOJ lawyers from the Criminal and National Security Divisions and will also include assistance from more than 100 FBI analysts experienced with handling sensitive victim materials, according to the letter from Jay Clayton, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, to U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer.
“Many of the attorneys dedicated to this review from the Department have experience in victim-privacy related matters, which is necessary given the nature of the materials and the types of documents that require careful redaction,” Clayton wrote. “While the commitment of Department personnel to this effort has been substantial in breadth and impressive in effort, substantial work remains to be done.”
The letter does not indicate a total page count for the millions of records under review and provides no specific time frame for when the DOJ expects to complete the work or when to expect its next public disclosure. The deadline set by Congress for the release of all the Epstein-related investigative files was Dec. 19.
Thus far, the DOJ says it has posted to its “DOJ Epstein Library” 12,285 documents totaling about 125,000 pages.
The filing from the DOJ follows ABC News’ reporting last week that the DOJ had recently identified over 5 million records that may be subject to disclosure under the law.
In a footnote to the court filing Monday, the DOJ indicates that it expects that a “meaningful portion” of about 1 million newly identified FBI records may be duplicative of others already collected by the DOJ for review, but those documents “nonetheless still need to undergo a process of processing and deduplication.”
Clayton’s Monday letter also notes that the DOJ has received “dozens” of inquiries from alleged victims and their representatives requesting that materials already posted to the DOJ’s website be further redacted to protect the privacy interests of the victims.
The DOJ will be modifying its procedures going forward “to better ensure the protection of victim identifying information,” according to the court filing.
“The Department remains committed to providing as much protection to the privacy interests of victims and their relatives as is practicable,” the letter states.
