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(MILWAUKEE) — Jury selection is set to begin on Thursday in the federal trial of Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan, who is accused of concealing an undocumented man to prevent his arrest by immigration authorities.

The court has scheduled jury selection over two days, with the trial set to begin on Monday in Milwaukee.

Prosecutors have told the court they expect to have 25 to 28 witnesses.

Dugan was arrested in April and charged in a two-count federal indictment alleging obstruction of official Department of Homeland Security removal proceedings and knowingly concealing the man, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, from immigration authorities.

According to federal prosecutors, Dugan encountered federal agents who were at the Milwaukee County Circuit Court on April 18 to arrest Flores-Ruiz, who was appearing in her courtroom on a battery charge.

Prosecutors say that after speaking to the agents, Dugan directed them to the chief judge’s office down the hall and then sent Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a non-public door in an alleged attempt, authorities claim, to help him evade arrest on immigration violations.

Dugan has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Her lawyers have called her arrest “virtually unprecedented” and sought to dismiss the case, arguing she has judicial immunity for official acts and her prosecution is unconstitutional. Judge Lynn Adelman denied the motion, finding that there was “no basis for granting immunity simply because some of the allegations in the indictment describe conduct that could be considered ‘part of a judge’s job.'”

The Wisconsin Supreme Court suspended Dugan in the wake of her arrest, stating in an order that it found it was “in the public interest that she be temporarily relieved of her official duties.”

Flores-Ruiz, a native of Mexico, was later arrested and charged with unlawful reentry into the U.S.

He was sentenced to time served earlier this month after pleading guilty to the charge, federal court records show. DHS said last month he had been deported.

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(NEW YORK) — Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk, is set to make his first in-person court appearance on Thursday.

Kirk was shot and killed in the middle of his outdoor event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10. The 31-year-old was the founder of the conservative youth activist organization Turning Point USA, and the Utah Valley event marked the first stop of his “The American Comeback Tour,” which invited students on college campuses to debate hot-button issues.

Robinson, 22, allegedly fled the scene of the shooting, prompting a massive manhunt. Robinson surrendered to authorities on the night of Sept. 11.

Robinson has been charged with aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, obstruction of justice, two counts of witness tampering and commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child.

He made two previous court appearances, but the first was virtual and the second was audio-only.

He has not entered a plea. He could face the death penalty if convicted of aggravated murder.

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(NEW YORK) — The Powerball jackpot has climbed to an estimated $1 billion, after no one won the grand prize in Wednesday night’s drawing.

It’s the second billion-dollar Powerball jackpot this year — and the seventh largest prize in the game’s history, according to Powerball.

The next drawing is set for Saturday.

The jackpot has an estimated cash value of $461.3 million, according to Powerball.

The numbers selected in Wednesday’s drawing were: 10, 16, 29, 33 and 69 with Powerball 22.

The Powerball jackpot was last hit on Sept. 6 by two tickets in Missouri and Texas that split a $1.787 billion prize. There have been 40 consecutive drawings with no wins.

The largest Powerball prize ever was $2.04 billion, won on Nov. 7, 2022.

Winning players have the choice between annual payments worth an estimated $1 billion or an immediate $461.3 million lump sum payment.

According to Powerball, the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.

Powerball tickets are $2 per play.

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(MOUNT POCONO, Pa.) — The West Virginia National Guard member who survived being shot in the head during an attack last month in Washington, D.C., is making “amazing” progress and is even able to stand up, according to President Donald Trump.

While giving a speech Tuesday night in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, Trump shared an update on the condition of 24-year-old U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, who was critically wounded during the broad daylight Thanksgiving Eve shooting just blocks from the White Hous

“Today, I got a call that he is up from bed. Do you believe that? He got up from bed. He got up,” Trump said to loud applause.

Trump said he has been in close contact with Wolfe’s parents, Melody and Jason Wolfe, since the shooting, and has met with them in the Oval Office.

“He got up and, boy, they’re happy. It’s amazing,” Trump said.

During the speech, Trump called Wolfe’s mother, “The most positive person I’ve ever seen.”

“The night that he was so badly hit, and the doctors gave him almost no chance, I called their hospital room and spoke to her, and she said, ‘Sir, he’ll be fine,'” Trump said.

Trump’s update on Wolfe came just days after the West Virginia National Guard posted a Facebook video of Melody Wolfe, West Virginia National Guard Maj. Gen. Jim Seward and Andrew Wolfe’s wife, Leslie, reporting on the wounded Guardsman’s “remarkable improvement.”

In the video posted Dec. 6, Melody Wolfe said her son is coming off sedation and that he has been “very active” as doctors have scaled back on his pain medication.

“He’s coming along well, surpassing expectations,” Melody Wolfe said. “Just all the prayers that you’ve given, they’re working and we’re seeing that miracle happen in that hospital bed right now.”

On Nov. 26, Wolfe and 20-year-old Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom were “ambushed” while conducting “high visibility patrols” in the nation’s capital, authorities said.

Becktrom, who was shot in the head from behind, was killed.

The suspected gunman, 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal of Bellingham, Washington, was taken into custody after he was shot by a fellow National Guard member, authorities said.

Lakanwal was charged with one count of murder, two counts of assault with the intent to kill, and one count of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. He pleaded not guilty to the charges through a court-appointed attorney last week during an arraignment from his hospital bed.

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(WASHINGTON) —  A former TV producer whose company made true crime programs was added to the FBI’s most wanted list last week for allegedly defrauding banks for nearly $30 million by posing as an heiress.

Mary Carole McDonnell, the former CEO of Bellum Entertainment Group, which produced syndicated shows such as “Corrupt Crimes” and “Murderous Affairs,”
has been on the lam for nearly seven years after the FBI charged her with bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Between July 2017 and May 2018, McDonnell, 73, allegedly went to the Banc of California and additional financial institutions and claimed to be an heir to the McDonnell Aircraft Family, with an $80 million secret trust to which she will have access, the FBI alleged.

She allegedly obtained $29.7 million dollars in cash that she was not entitled to and did not return the money, according to the FBI.

When the bureau issued its arrest warrant on Dec. 12, 2018, McDonnell could not be found.

She is believed to be currently in Dubai, according to the FBI.

Anyone with information related to her whereabouts is urged to contact the FBI at tips.fbi.gov.

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(NEW YORK) — An atmospheric river event that’s been slamming the Pacific Northwest with rain is now focused on western Washington, where dangerous flooding is forcing people to evacuate.

Four to 8 inches of rain is possible Wednesday and Thursday in the higher elevations of western Washington state.

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson issued a state of emergency on Wednesday and he pleaded with residents to follow evacuation orders.

“The situation is extremely serious,” he said at a news conference.

Most rivers in the region are forecast to reach moderate and major flood stages. Record flooding is forecast for some rivers, especially the Skagit River at Mount Vernon and Concrete, Washington, which could swell 3 to 5 feet above record levels beginning Thursday afternoon and continuing through Friday.

The Snoqualmie River, between Snoqualmie and Carnation, will continue to rise through Thursday morning, reaching major flood stage and bringing flooding to farmlands, roads and residential areas from Snoqualmie to Fall City to Carnation. 

Amtrak said trains are suspended between Seattle and Vancouver on Thursday and Friday due to the level of the Skagit River.

While the heavy rain will be over by Thursday afternoon, some rivers will take several days to fully recede. 

The heavy rain will also impact northern Idaho and Montana over the next 24 hours, with localized flash flooding possible.

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(WASHINGTON) — The federal judge who presided over the 2019 criminal case against convicted sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein has become the third judge to grant a Justice Department motion to unseal grand jury materials and other undisclosed evidence from the government’s investigative files.

U.S. District Judge Richard Berman of the Southern District of New York issued a four-page order Wednesday that determined that Congress — in passing the Epstein Files Transparency Act last month — clearly indicated that the materials from his criminal case should be publicly disclosed and that traditional rules of grand jury secrecy were overridden by the act.

“The ‘plain language’ of the Epstein Files Transparency Act unequivocally intends to make public Epstein grand jury materials and discovery materials covered by the Epstein Protective Order,” Berman wrote.

This is the third — and final — ruling on the Justice Department’s motions to lift restrictions on materials related to criminal investigations and prosecutions of Epstein and his convicted co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell.

It comes one day after Judge Paul Engelmayer granted the DOJ’s motion to release grand jury materials and other nonpublic evidence from Maxwell’s criminal case.

Judge Rodney Smith granted a similar request from the Justice Department for records associated with the first federal investigation of Epstein in Florida in the mid-2000s.

Berman, who presided over Epstein’s 2019 arraignment in New York and ordered him detained pending trial, stressed the need to protect the privacy and safety of alleged victims if and when the records from the case are publicly disclosed by the DOJ.

“The Court hereby grants the Government’s motion in accordance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act and with the unequivocal right of Epstein victims to have their identify and privacy protected,” Berman wrote.

Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail in August 2019 while awaiting trial.

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who sponsored the Epstein Files Transparency Act, said in a statement that the trio of court rulings is “promising,” but said he would “be watching closely for any attempts to delay or prevent the release of the files by the Department of Justice.”

“This bill was a bipartisan effort signed by President Trump. I hope Attorney General Pam Bondi will put the survivors above politics and the interests of the Epstein class. The public deserves full transparency, and the survivors deserve justice,” Khanna said.

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(MINNEAPOLIS) — A 47-year-old man was struck and killed by a snowplow at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, according to local officials.

The incident was reported shortly after 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at a parking lot near Terminal 2, according to Jeff Lea, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Airports Commission, which operates the airport.

That parking lot serves the in-flight catering services company LSG Sky Chefs.

Temperatures were in the upper 20s with light snow falling in the area at the time of the incident. Over 200 flights out of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul airport were delayed on Tuesday.

The victim’s identity was not immediately released.

The Minnesota State Patrol is helping with the investigation, Lea said.

The city of Minneapolis on Wednesday declared a snow emergency starting at 9 p.m., which bans certain street parking.

“These rules help plows in clearing the streets so emergency vehicles and other traffic can get around,” city officials said.

ABC News’ Dan Peck contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — An atmospheric river event has been slamming the Pacific Northwest with rain, and the flood threat is far from over.

In the last two days, 2 to 4 inches of rain fell at lower elevations and 4 to 10 inches was recorded at higher elevations across western Washington and Oregon.

On Wednesday, the rain will focus on hard-hit Washington, inundating the state with nearly constant rainfall. Four to 8 inches is forecast in higher elevations and 2 to 4 inches is expected in lower elevations.

Record flooding is forecast for some rivers, especially the Skagit River at Mount Vernon and Concrete, Washington, which could swell 3 to 5 feet above record levels.

The rain will continue in Washington on Thursday, but it will be much lighter. However, levees will be challenged starting Thursday afternoon.

Central and northern Idaho will also get heavy rain Wednesday and Thursday, which may lead to flooding.

Meanwhile, more winter storms are ahead for the Midwest and Northeast.

A storm that dumped snow in Minneapolis and Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Tuesday will move through the Great Lakes and the Northeast on Wednesday, bringing snow to higher elevations and rain to lower elevations. Three to 6 inches of snow is forecast for some areas in upstate New York and northwestern Pennsylvania.

The next winter storm will move into the Midwest on Wednesday night, bringing 3 to 6 inches of snow from Iowa to Kentucky on Thursday.

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(FRANKFORT, Ky.) —One student is dead and another critically injured in a shooting Tuesday at Kentucky State University in Frankfort, according to police.

A suspect in the shooting, who is not a student at the university, is in custody, police said in a press release, identifying him as Jacob Lee Bard, 48, of Evansville, Indiana.

He has been booked into jail on charges of murder and first-degree assault.

Preliminary information indicates the shooting was caused by a personal dispute and was not a random active shooter situation, an official briefed on the situation told ABC News.

“This was not a mass shooting or a random incident based on what I’ve been told, and the suspected shooter is already in custody,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said in a video message. “That means that while this was scary, there is no ongoing threat and I believe our families are safe.”

The Frankfort Police Department said it responded to an incident on the school’s campus Tuesday afternoon “regarding an active aggressor.”

The shooting occurred near Whitney M. Young Jr. Hall, a residence hall on the south side of the campus, according to the school.

Two Kentucky State University students were shot in the incident, authorities said. One has since died while the other was transported to a hospital in stable but critical condition, Frankfort police said.

“At this time, there is no ongoing threat to the campus community,” the school said in a statement to students.

The investigation is ongoing. The university said it is working closely with local and state law enforcement.

All classes and activities at the campus, which is located approximately 25 miles northwest of Lexington, have been canceled for the rest of the week, school officials said.

“Today, indeed, was a senseless tragedy,” Kentucky State University President Koffi Akakpo said at a press briefing on Tuesday. “We’re mourning the loss of one of our students.”

Beshear urged people to pray for those affected and “for a world where these things don’t happen.”

“I’ll keep trying to build a Kentucky that we don’t see arguments ended in violence,” he said.

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