(NEW YORK) — The judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s criminal prosecution in New York has denied Trump’s attempts to exclude the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape and testimony from key witnesses from his upcoming criminal trial.
The defense argued Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, should not be allowed to testify because he has a history of lying, arguing that calling him to the witness stand would amount to suborning perjury.
Judge Juan Merchan rejected the argument.
“This Court has been unable to locate any treatise, statute or holding from courts in this jurisdiction or others that support defendant’s rational that a particular witness should be kept off the witness stand because his credibility has been previously called into question,” Merchan said.
He also will allow Stormy Daniels to testify since she is the recipient of the $130,000 hush payment at the center of the case, writing, “The probative value of the evidence is evident.“
Merchan declined to omit the “Access Hollywood” tape in which Trump is overheard bragging about how he approaches women.
Trump’s criminal trial in New York has been delayed until at least mid-April.
(WASHINGTON) — The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced a United States ban on the ongoing use of chrysotile asbestos — a carcinogen that the agency estimates is linked to more than 40,000 U.S. deaths each year.
The announcement comes as part of President Joe Biden’s Cancer Moonshot initiative, which is using federal resources to make progress on cancer research and treatment.
“While the use of asbestos in the United States has been declining for decades, the use of chrysotile asbestos has continued to this day. Because of its resistance to heat, fire and electrical conduction, it has remained in use for a variety of construction and industrial products,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a Monday press call.
“But the science is clear and settled,” Regan added. “There is simply no safe level of exposure to asbestos.”
Chrysotile asbestos is the only known form of asbestos currently used in or imported to the U.S. Exposure to asbestos can cause lung cancer, mesothelioma, ovarian cancer and other health issues, Regan said. It is also linked to more than 40,000 deaths in the U.S. each year, according to the EPA.
“Asbestos has harmed people across the country for decades, and under President Biden’s leadership, we are taking decisive action to ban its use and advance this administration’s historic environmental justice agenda,” White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory said in a news release. “This action marks a major step to improve chemical safety after decades of inadequate protections, helping advance President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot goal to end cancer as we know it.”
The EPA previously tried to ban asbestos in most products under the Toxic Substances Control Act in 1989, but the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the ban could apply only to products that would use asbestos for the first time. Continued use of asbestos in existing products was permitted.
Asbestos is currently used in the U.S. in products such as brake linings and gaskets in cars and in the production of chlorine.
Monday’s ban is the first the EPA has issued for existing chemical use since Congress updated the Toxic Substances Control Act in 2016, which changed the process for evaluating and addressing safety concerns.
“The failed asbestos ban from over 30 years ago was the reason why we needed to rewrite TSCA. And why Congress did so with almost unanimous support in 2016,” said Michal Freedhoff, assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. “Today’s rule is important for public health, but it’s also a symbol of how the new law can and must be used to protect people.”
Regan called the ban a “sign of what’s to come.”
“The Biden administration is transforming the way EPA is using the new chemical safety law to do what it was meant to do — protect people from toxic chemicals,” he said.
The EPA has set compliance deadlines for the ban to transition away from different uses of chrysotile asbestos, attempting to provide a reasonable transition period while discontinuing the use of asbestos in each product as soon as possible, the agency said.
“At EPA, protecting public health and the environment is our privilege and our greatest responsibility,” Regan said. “And today’s rule is a major step forward in helping us to achieve our goals.”
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Capitol Police on Monday started wearing body-worn cameras as part of its pilot program to protect its officers and members of Congress as well as enhance public trust, its chief said.
Seventy Capitol Police officers will wear the body cameras during the 180-day program. Eleven Capitol Police cruisers will be outfitted with dashboard cameras that will automatically record if a cruiser’s emergency lights are triggered.
“I was confident that the cameras would do two things. First, they would remind the public just how challenging the law enforcement profession can be,” Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said in a news release. “Second, the cameras would also showcase the great work our cops do day in and day out. This is a great accountability tool for everyone.”
Body cameras will not be used inside buildings on the Capitol or during interactions with members of Congress, Capitol Police said, as a measure to “protect the constitutional duties of members of Congress.”
“The cameras will record public interactions requiring a police response,” Capitol Police said in the release.
Officers will inform people if they are being recorded at the beginning of an interaction, and the cameras will record video and audio when officers use firearms or tasers, Capitol Police said.
The program comes after a review of Capitol security released following the Jan. 6 attack recommended Capitol Police use body-worn cameras to improve police accountability and protect officers from false accusations.
Once the pilot program is completed, a task force including sworn and civilian supervisors in the department will use feedback to analyze the program, and Manger will send a recommendation regarding a permanent body worn camera program to congressional stakeholders.
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump and some of his co-defendants in the Fulton County election interference case on Monday kicked off the process to appeal the judge’s disqualification ruling that ultimately kept District Attorney Fani Willis on the case, asking the court in a new motion to grant a certificate of immediate review.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NASHVILLE, Tn.)– Newly released video shows missing college student Riley Strain briefly speak with a police officer on the night he vanished in Nashville, Tennessee.
Officer Reginald Young came across Strain, 22, while responding to a car burglary on Gay Street, south of the Woodland Street Bridge, on the night of March 8, according to Nashville police.
Around 9:50 p.m., Strain walked by alone. The officer asked how he was doing, and Strain responded, “I’m good, how are you?”
Shown was Riley’s brief exchange of greetings w/ Officer Reginald Young on Gay St., south of the Woodland St. Bridge, on the night of 3/8. Riley did not appear distressed. Officer Young was there on a vehicle burglary call & remained on that portion of Gay St. for 45 min. pic.twitter.com/z0xeEzeieK
“No video has been discovered that shows Riley away from Gay St after the 9:52 p.m. timeframe,” police said Monday.
Strain disappeared on the night of March 8 after drinking in Nashville’s Broadway area, according to police. The University of Missouri senior was visiting Nashville with his Delta Chi fraternity brothers for their formal, his family said.
Police earlier released video showing Strain at 9:47 p.m., crossing the street with a group and checking his phone. He then stopped and changed directions for a moment before proceeding down the street behind the group.
Detectives today continue to pursue tips & investigative leads concerning missing person Riley Strain, 22. Strain, wearing a 2-tone shirt, is seen in this video crossing 1st Ave N to Gay St (right to left), at 9:47 p.m. Fri. Have info about him? Plz 📞 615-742-7463. pic.twitter.com/fE86dlqeOC
Surveillance video from 9:46 p.m. showed Strain walking alone as he stumbled down a street. An additional angle showed Strain running and falling down.
Strain’s friends last saw him that night when he was kicked out of country star Luke Bryan’s bar, called Luke’s 32 Bridge, one of the friends told police.
On Sunday, police said Strain’s bank card was found on the embankment between Gay Street and the Cumberland River, near Riverfront Park.
There’s no evidence of foul play, according to authorities.
The search is ongoing. Police said they’ve been searching the area by foot, by drone and by boat, including using boats with sonar equipment.
Our Urban Search & Rescue team has assembled today to search further along the brush line of the riverbank for 22-year-old Riley Strain. Anyone with info is still asked to 📞 615-742-7463. pic.twitter.com/4MfxufhrDk
Three separate, unrelated shootings erupted within an hour in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, on Sunday night, leaving one person dead and several hurt, according to authorities.
The first shooting was reported at 7:50 p.m. when two people started firing guns near the Best Western Hotel, Jacksonville Beach police said on Monday.
One bystander was injured and both suspects were injured, police said.
At 8:13 p.m., a man fired shots while running in front of businesses, police said. No one was hurt, police said.
The gun was recovered but police said they are still looking for the suspect.
One person was killed in the third shooting, which unfolded around 8:31 p.m. near Sneakers Bar, police said.
Authorities said they are looking for three suspects who displayed guns.
The downtown district and bar area and the Jacksonville Beach beachfront have been “locked down,” and will remain shut down until further notice, Sgt. Tonya Tator told reporters Sunday night.
“We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us to figure out everything, put all the pieces together,” she said.
ABC News’ Jessica Gorman, Darren Reynolds and Okelo Pena contributed to this report.
A suspect accused of killing three family members, including his 13-year-old sister, in a Philadelphia suburb and then fleeing to New Jersey is now in custody, officials said.
The suspect — identified as 26-year-old Andre Gordon Jr. — was initially reported to be barricaded with hostages inside a residence in Trenton midday Saturday, hours after the shootings unfolded at two residences in Falls Township, Pennsylvania, police said.
Following an hourslong standoff, police received information that Gordon was possibly on the street, according to Trenton Police Director Steve Wilson. The suspect, who was found walking several blocks from the home, was apprehended without incident Saturday evening, Wilson said.
Gordon may have “slipped out” of the residence before police were able to establish a perimeter around the home, Wilson said.
Residents in the home and neighboring residences had been safely evacuated while authorities presumed Gordon to be barricaded inside, police said.
Gordon had been sought in connection with shootings that occurred Saturday morning at two homes in Levittown, a community within Falls Township, officials said.
Gordon allegedly carjacked a vehicle in Trenton before traveling to the area and “forcibly” breaking into both homes, according to Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn. He was armed with an AR-15-style assault rifle, according to Falls Township Chief of Police Nelson Whitney.
Gordon was charged in Pennsylvania with three counts of first and second-degree murder, aggravated assault, robbery and other charges, according to court documents. In New Jersey, Gordon was charged with first-degree carjacking and weapons offenses, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said in a statement Sunday.
“The string of violent acts … is the latest in a horrific litany of illustrations of how illegal guns and assault rifles can empower one aggrieved and disturbed actor,” Platkin said. “We will pursue justice for the victims and hold the defendant accountable for his reprehensible actions.”
Falls Township officers were first dispatched to a residence on Viewpoint Lane at approximately 8:52 a.m. ET on Saturday where two people had been fatally shot, police said. The victims were the suspect’s 52-year-old stepmother, Karen Gordon, and his 13-year-old sister, Kera Gordon, according to Schorn.
Three other family members in the house, including a minor, managed to hide and “avoid being shot by Gordon as he went through the house searching for them,” Schorn told reporters during a press briefing on Saturday.
A 25-year-old woman was then shot and killed at a residence on Edgewood Lane at approximately 9:01 a.m., police said. The victim, Taylor Daniel, shared two children with the suspect, Schorn said.
Four other people were present in the home at the time, including the two children and Daniel’s mother, Schorn said. She suffered non-life-threatening injuries after Gordon allegedly bludgeoned her with the assault rifle, Schorn said.
Gordon is accused of then stealing a 2016 dark gray Honda CRV at gunpoint to flee back to Trenton. The carjacking occurred at approximately 9:13 a.m. in the parking lot of a Dollar General in Morrisville, police said. The operator of the vehicle was unharmed.
The Honda CRV was recovered unoccupied in Trenton at approximately 11:38 a.m. on Saturday, according to Falls Township police.
Authorities in Trenton have not recovered a rifle, Wilson said. P
The suspect was expected to be brought to the Trenton Police Department for processing and eventually extradited to Pennsylvania, according to Wilson.
Schorn said she could not speak to a motive at this time or the suspect’s past criminal history.
Chief Whitney said police have had “minor” contacts with Gordon in the past but “nothing that would indicate anything like this would happen.”
The suspect is believed to be unhoused and has ties to the Trenton area, police said.
Schorn said they will investigate “every aspect” of how he came into possession of the firearm.
Police in Falls Township had issued a shelter-in-place warning amid the search for the suspect that has since been lifted.
A shelter-in-place advisement in nearby Middletown Township was similarly lifted.
The Bucks County St. Patrick’s Day parade scheduled for Saturday morning was canceled due to police activity, according to Pennsylvania State Sen. Steve Santarsiero.
Authorities discovered a clue in the case of missing University of Missouri college student Riley Strain, Sunday, who vanished while visiting Nashville earlier this month.
Nashville Police announced Strain’s bank card was found Sunday on the embankment between Gay Street and the Cumberland River, near Riverfront Park, in a post on X (formally known as Twitter). “The search for him continues,” Nashville PD added.
Strain was visiting Nashville on Friday, March 8, when he went missing after being kicked out of a bar on Gay Street in the city’s Broadway area, Nashville police said.
The 22-year-old was last seen by friends at 9:52 p.m. after he was kicked out of Luke Bryan’s bar, Luke’s 32 Bridge, police said.
Strain and his Delta Chi fraternity brothers were in Nashville for a formal, according to Strain’s parents.
“He was excited ’cause he was out, and he was sending me pictures at the different bars they were going to. And he was having fun with his fraternity brothers,” his mom, Michelle Whiteid, told ABC News.
Surveillance video from a nearby business showed the 22-year-old walking alone as he stumbled down a street at 9:46 p.m. An additional angle showed Strain running and falling down.
There’s no indication of foul play and no indication Strain was in a fight or argument with anyone that night, Nashville Police Sgt. Robert Nielsen said at a March 14 news conference.
The last known surveillance video footage of Strain showed him walking north between James Robertson Bridge and Woodland Street Bridge, Nielsen said, adding that no one else was around him.
Authorities are searching by foot, by drone and by boat, including using boats with sonar equipment, Nielsen said.
“He’s a good kid. He was down here looking forward to a fun weekend,” Strain’s dad, Ryan Gilbert, told ABC News. “We want to bring him back home safe.”
Strain’s parents and stepparents have been in Nashville for days helping with the search.
The Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission said it is investigating whether Strain was overserved before his disappearance.
“There are no specific rules or statutes that governs escorting out intoxicated patrons from their businesses or providing assistance in getting someone home,” the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission said in a statement. “However, state law prohibits serving alcoholic beverages to someone who is visibly intoxicated. A violation is a class A misdemeanor. The TABC has opened an investigation into this matter to see if any violations have occurred.”
TC Restaurant Group, operator and owner of Luke’s 32 Bridge, said earlier this week that it’s working with police “to provide security camera footage and any other potentially helpful information to aid in the search for Riley Strain. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones for his safe return.”
Strain is a senior majoring in business and interdisciplinary studies, according to the University of Missouri.
“Our thoughts are with Riley’s family as the search continues,” Angela King Taylor, interim vice chancellor for Student Affairs at the University of Missouri, said in a March 11 statement.
“The Delta Chi Fraternity is deeply concerned for the safety of Riley Strain, a valued member of our Missouri Chapter,” the fraternity said in a March 11 statement. “Our thoughts and hopes are with Riley’s family and our Missouri Chapter during this challenging time.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Nashville Crime Stoppers at 615-742-7463.
The suspect wanted in the killings of a New Mexico state trooper and a South Carolina paramedic was captured Sunday following a shooting involving law enforcement, authorities said.
The suspect, Jaremy Smith, was taken into custody in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, after leading police on a chase that resulted in a shooting involving at least one deputy from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, according to the New Mexico State Police.
Smith is suspected in the fatal shooting of New Mexico State Police officer Justin Hare early Friday and the slaying of Phonesia Machado-Fore, a South Carolina paramedic who was reported missing on Thursday, authorities said.
The 33-year-old suspect, who was identified on Saturday by police, was the subject of a massive manhunt. New Mexico State Police Chief Troy Weisler had said during a news conference, “Jaremy Smith, we are coming for you.”
Bernalillo County Sheriff’s deputies spotted Smith driving a car in Albuquerque at about 8 a.m. local time, officials said. Smith allegedly led deputies on a chase that ended in his arrest, according to authorities.
“The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office is currently in the area of Unser and Anderson Hill for a deputy-involved shooting,” the agency said in a social media post, referring to a neighborhood in southwest Albuquerque. “The Multi-Agency Task Force has initiated an investigation.”
No deputies were injured in the incident, officials said.
Hare was gunned down around 5 a.m. Friday after answering a call to help a disabled motorist on Interstate 40 near Tucumcari, about 235 miles east of Albuquerque near the Texas border, officials said.
When Hare pulled up behind the disabled BMW, the suspect exited the vehicle and approached the officer’s passenger side window, Weisler said.
“A short conversation ensued about repairing his tire and possibly getting a ride back to town when, without warning, the suspect pulled out a firearm and shot Officer Hare,” Weisler said during Saturday’s news conference.
The suspect then walked to the driver’s side of the patrol car and allegedly shot Hare again, Weisler said. He alleged that Smith pushed Hare into the passenger seat and drove off in the patrol car with the mortally wounded officer.
When Hare did not return several attempts to contact him, an officer was sent to the scene and saw Hare’s patrol car driving at a high speed on a frontage road along the Interstate 40 road, Weisler said. Hare managed to set off a distress signal, sending an emergency signal to dispatch, police said.
Police eventually located the patrol car, crashed and empty, Weisler said. Hare was later found critically injured by the side of a road and taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
During the investigation, police learned the car Smith was driving at the time of the encounter with Hare was registered to Machado-Fore, a paramedic for Florence County, South Carolina, Emergency Medical Services, authorities said.
Machado-Fore was found dead outside of Lake View in Dillon County, South Carolina, on Friday after she had been reported missing by her family, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. An autopsy has been scheduled for Monday.
Smith has an “extensive” criminal history dating back decades in South Carolina and has ties to the Albuquerque area, Weisler said.
Before Smith’s arrest, warrants were issued charging him with Hare’s murder.
A suspect in a shooting that left two people dead and five injured early Sunday in a historic neighborhood of Washington, D.C., remained on the loose and unidentified, according to police.
The shooting erupted around 3 a.m. at the intersection of 7th Street NW and P Street NW, about seven blocks east of Logan Circle and four blocks north of Mt. Vernon Square, police said. The shooting occurred near the Kennedy Recreation Center.
Law enforcement in Washington, D.C., were searching Sunday for a suspect who they said fled on foot following a deadly shooting.
“We’re asking anyone who may have any information related to this incident or may have witnessed it, to contact the Metropolitan Police Department,” Executive Assistant Chief Jeffrey Carrol said during a news conference Sunday morning.
Investigators were searching for a Black man with “average build, wearing light pants, blue shirt,” according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
“Last seen on foot southbound on 7th Street NW,” the department said. “DO NOT TAKE ACTION CALL 911.”
Carroll said officers called to the scene found seven adults, who had all been shot.
“The initial information that we have at this time is that a total of seven people were shot at this location, two of which have since been pronounced deceased,” Carroll said.
The names of the two people killed were being withheld by police pending notification of their relatives.
Carrol said the other shooting victims were hospitalized, but did not release information on their conditions.
A motive for the shooting remains under investigation, police said.
Sunday’s shooting came amid a 35% increase in homicides in Washington, D.C., this year compared to the same period in 2023, according to police department crime statistics. There were 274 homicides in all of 2023 in Washington, D.C., a 35% jump from 2022, according to the statistics.
