(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department announced Wednesday it has opened a civil investigation into the City of Lexington, Mississippi, and its police department to determine whether law enforcement engages in unconstitutional policing.
The investigation is just the latest in a series of similar “pattern or practice” probes launched by the department into police departments around the U.S. However, in contrast, Lexington has a much smaller population — only about 1,600 people.
But DOJ officials in a Wednesday news conference stressed that it was just as important for the federal government to provide this method of oversight to small-town communities, given an estimate by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, which found that half of the police departments around the U.S. have 10 officers or less.
The investigation will specifically look at whether police in Lexington violated citizens’ rights through use-of-force incidents, stops, searches and arrests.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said Wednesday that no single incident brought to DOJ’s attention prompted them to open this investigation — but added there was a “significant” enough amount that made it justified.
The city and its police department were informed of the investigation this week, according to DOJ, and promised to cooperate with investigators. ABC News has reached out to the police department for comment.
(NEW YORK) — Seven people were killed after a car suspected of smuggling migrants crashed head-on into another vehicle while allegedly evading local authorities, officials said.
The collision occurred on U.S. Highway 57 near Batesville in Zavala County on Wednesday, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The driver of a Honda passenger car from Houston “suspected of human smuggling” was attempting to evade the Zavala County Sheriff’s Office at the time, Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson Lt. Chris Olivarez said in a social media post.
The Honda driver passed an 18-wheeler in a no-passing zone then drove “head-on” into a Chevy SUV, causing that vehicle to “burst into flames,” Olivarez said.
The driver and passenger of the Chevy SUV, from Georgia, were both killed, Olivarez said.
Five passengers in the Honda, including the suspected smuggler, were also killed, Olivarez said. Several of the deceased were from Honduras, he said.
The highway was closed for several hours following the crash before reopening midday Wednesday, according to the Zavala County Sheriff’s Office.
(NEW YORK) — A search is underway in central New Jersey for a man wanted in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, authorities said.
The FBI said Wednesday its Newark SWAT team is searching for the suspect, identified as Gregory Yetman, in Helmetta, a borough in Middlesex County.
The Jamesburg Police Department, New Jersey State Police, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office and others are also involved in the search, the FBI said.
The FBI did not say why the suspect is being sought in connection with the Capitol attack but released a photo allegedly showing Yetman at the Capitol Building on Jan. 6.
At the time of the Capitol attack, Yetman was a military police sergeant in the New Jersey Army National Guard, a spokesperson for the New Jersey National Guard confirmed to ABC News. He served in the New Jersey Army National Guard for approximately 12 years and was honorably discharged in March 2022, according to the spokesperson.
The FBI said the public should expect to see an “increased law enforcement presence” around Helmatta amid the active search.
Helmetta Mayor Christopher Slavicek urged residents to “remain cautious.”
“Law enforcement agencies remain diligent in keeping all residents safe. This includes road closures limiting access to the Borough and shelter in place recommendations,” he said in a statement on social media. “Please abide by Police orders for the safety of all.”
More than 1,202 people have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack, according to the Department of Justice.
(PHILADELPHIA) — Cherelle Parker is literally one in a hundred after being elected Philadelphia’s first female mayor.
In a historic vote, Parker became the City of Brotherly Love’s 100th mayor and the first woman elected to the office.
“Who is Cherelle Parker going to be? A get-it-done Philadelphian. A get-it-done mayor who won’t ever forget her deep roots,” Parker said in her acceptance speech Tuesday night. “I’m Philly-born, I’m Philly-bred, and I’ll be Philadelphian ’til I’m dead.”
The 51-year-old Parker, a former Philadelphia City Council member who faced a crowded field in May when she won the Democratic primary, trounced Republican David Oh, also a former city council member, garnering more than 74% of the vote.
Parker will succeed fellow Democrat Jim Kenney, who was barred from running for reelection after serving a legally mandated maximum of two terms.
“Congratulations to mayor-elect Cherelle Parker on this historic milestone in her extraordinary career of public service,” Kenney said in a statement. “I am proud to call Cherelle a friend and a colleague, and I look forward to working with her to ensure a smooth and successful transition that keeps our city’s progress on track.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, also congratulated Parker on her win, saying he’s already had informal conversations with the mayor-elect about what she wants to accomplish.
“In general, she ran a campaign on similar platforms to me, how we educate our children, to bring safety to our communities, and grow our economy,” Shapiro said in a statement. “And those are issues that I think we’re going to find a lot of common ground on.”
Parker, who was endorsed by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, also becomes the fourth African American to be elected mayor of Philadelphia, following Wilson Goode, John Street and Michael Nutter.
Considered a moderate Democrat, Parker campaigned for mayor on a promise of making the nation’s sixth-largest city the “safest, cleanest, greenest big city in the nation.”
Parker’s rise to the mayor’s office comes after she served on the Philadelphia City Council from 2015 to September 2022, when she resigned to launch her mayoral campaign, two years after she was elected the majority leader for Democrats on the city council.
During her Tuesday-night victory speech at the Sheet Metal Workers Hall in Philadelphia, Parker told supporters why she thought her campaign message resonated with a diverse group of voters.
“I would put to great use everything inside of me – my lived life experience, my professional experience, my academic preparation – that I would put all of it to great use and I would make Philadelphia the safest, the greenest big city in the nation with economic opportunity for all,” Parker said.
Born and raised in the Northwest Philadelphia neighborhood of Mount Airy, Parker is the child of a teenaged single mother who died when Parker was 11 years old. Parker was subsequently raised by her grandparents, James and Dorothy Parker.
Parker’s grandmother stood at her side during her victory speech, beaming with pride as Parker spoke of her modest upbringing.
“My grandmother collected welfare and subsidized food to take care of me,” said Parker, herself the mother of an 11-year-old son.
Parker said she wanted to speak out about her humble upbringing because “I needed people to know that my real-life lived experienced was closest to the people who are feeling the most pain right now in our city.”
Parker’s introduction to Philadelphia city politics came when she was a teenager. As a senior at Parkway High School in 1990, Parker won a citywide oratorical contest that came with a $1,000 cash prize and trip to Senegal and Morocco. As the contest winner, she was introduced to then-city council member Marian Tasco, who hired Parker as an intern.
Parker attended Lincoln University, a small private college in Philadelphia, where she graduated in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in English education. She later earned a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Pennsylvania.
She briefly worked as a high school English teacher in Pleasantville, New Jersey, before returning to Philadelphia to work as a full-time staffer for Tasco. When Tasco decided in 2015 not to seek reelection to the Philadelphia City Council, Parker launched a successful campaign to succeed her old boss.
During her stint on the city council, Parker helped establish the “Philly First Home” program in 2019, which provided financial assistance to help first-time homeowners.
Parker first ran for public office, however, ten years earlier, in 2005 when she was 32 years old, becoming the youngest African American woman to win a seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. During her decade as a state representative for Northwest Philadelphia’s 200th District, Parker initiated the Philadelphia Tax Fairness Act, a measure to collect delinquent property taxes that subsequently generated millions of dollars in funding for public schools. Additionally, Parker worked to pass a $2-per-pack cigarette tax that also generated more funding for Philadelphia public schools.
(HOUSTON) — A massive fire at a chemical plant near Houston Wednesday prompted a school evacuation and a warning for residents to shelter in place, according to authorities.
There was an explosion at the plant in the town of Shepherd just after 8 a.m. local time Wednesday, according to San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers.
The fire is now contained, and a large majority is out, Emmitt Eldridge, the emergency management coordinator with the San Jacinto County Office of Emergency Management, told reporters during a press briefing Wednesday afternoon.
Fire crews will remain on-site in case of any flareups, he said.
Ongoing monitoring has not found any chemicals in the air at this time, Eldridge said.
All employees at the plant are accounted for, with only one worker suffering a minor burn injury, according to Sound Resource Solutions, which owns the plant. There were 19 employees in the building at the time, Capers said.
A private school with 31 children was evacuated near the plant, according to the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office.
The shelter-in-place for the surrounding area has since been lifted, according to Polk County Emergency Management. However, the agency did ask people to “limit all unnecessary outdoor activity” in the wake of it being lifted.
Dark black smoke could be seen billowing from the plant earlier Wednesday. Capers said flammable liquids and diesel were burning.
(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump is on trial in New York in a $250 million civil lawsuit that could alter the personal fortune and real estate empire that helped propel Trump to the White House.
Trump, his sons Eric Trump and and Donald Trump Jr., and Trump Organization executives are accused by New York Attorney General Letitia James of engaging in a decade-long scheme in which they used “numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation” to inflate Trump’s net worth in order get more favorable loan terms. The trial comes after the judge in the case ruled in a partial summary judgment that Trump had submitted “fraudulent valuations” for his assets, leaving the trial to determine additional actions and what penalty, if any, the defendants should receive.
The former president has denied all wrongdoing and his attorneys have argued that Trump’s alleged inflated valuations were a product of his business skill.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Nov 08, 4:16 PM EST
Trump attorney accuses judge of ‘double standard’
After a relatively calm day, tensions flared between Judge Engonon and Trump lawyer Chris Kise, after Kise accused the judge of applying a “double standard” to the defense team.
Defense attorney Jesus Suarez attempted to question Ivanka Trump about a document from the General Services Administration, prompting an objection from state attorney Louis Solomon, who argued that Suarez lacked the foundation to ask about the document.
“I’ve objected hundreds of times now,” an exasperated Kise said, arguing that the state attorneys used documents with less foundation provided.
“I continually object to your constant insinuation that I have some sort of double standard. It’s just not true,” Engoron replied forcefully.
Ivanka Trump, sitting feet away from Engoron, appeared to watch the exchange in disbelief.
“I wish it were different. I respect your honor’s position. I just see these ruling … frequently going in a different direction,” Kise said.
“Their objections have been of greater validity than yours,” Engoron shot back.
Nov 08, 3:40 PM EST
Ivanka Trump says father had ‘deep and nostalgic love’ of golf course
Following a sometimes-tense direct examination by state attorney Louis Solomon, Ivanka Trump is speaking more comfortably, showing more emotion, and offering more lengthy answers to questions during cross examination.
Asked about why the Trump Organization worked with Deutsche Bank to secure financing for its purchase of the Doral golf club in Miami, she spoke wistfully about the property.
“My father had a deep and nostalgic love for that particular property,” she testified.
“He told me he took my mother there,” she said with a smile, recalling her father bringing her there when she was a child.
“They were really impressed by what we had done over the course of several years in terms of upgrading and refurbishing the property,” Ivanka Trump said.
Nov 08, 3:27 PM EST
Banks sought to promote ties to Trump Organization, says defense
Deutsche Bank sought to promote its ties to the Trump Organization in marketing materials a decade ago, according to emails shown in court during Ivanka Trump’s ongoing cross-examination.
Trump attorney Jesus Suarez showed the emails to demonstrate a key pillar of their defense: that the state’s allegations were victimless, and in fact, rather than getting bilked in loan agreements, bankers appreciated — and even competed for — the Trump Organization’s business.
“I was constantly told by Rosemary and her team how much they appreciated our relationship and … seeking to grow it,” Ivanka Trump testified regarding Deutsche Bank executive Rosemary Vrablic.
Deutsche Bank asked Ivanka Trump to appear in promotional videos for their firm, the emails suggested.
Nov 08, 3:20 PM EST
Ivanka Trump says she received $4 million from sale of building
Ivanka Trump acknowledged that she personally received more than $4 million from the Trump Organization’s sale of the Old Post Office building in Washington, D.C., last year.
In total, she received $4,013,204 in profit after the building was sold in 2022, according to a document shown in court.
“That is consistent with my recollection, yes,” Ivanka Trump said.
New York Attorney General Letitia James had pledged to show that Ivanka Trump personally profited from the fraud the AG says is at the center of the case.
Ivanka Trump has now completed her direct examination and is being cross-examined by defense attorney Jesus Suarez.
Under cross-examination, she repeated that she was not involved with reviewing, approving, or providing values for her father’s financial statements, which state attorneys say contained fraudulent valuations.
Nov 08, 2:57 PM EST
Jared Kushner would lend ‘perspective’ on deals, says Ivanka Trump
Ivanka Trump’s husband Jared Kushner, who like Ivanka Trump served as a senior adviser in the Trump White House, would frequently weigh in on her family’s real estate negotiations in the years before Donald Trump became president, Ivanka Trump testified.
State attorneys shared emails Ivanka Trump had sent her husband during negotiations with bankers over loan interest rates. Asked by state attorney Louis Solomon why she would share those records with Kushner, Trump responded, “It is not uncommon that I would ask my husband’s perspective on something I was working on.”
“My husband also was in real estate, and would have perspective for me,” she said of Kushner, who, like Ivanka Trump, is not a defendant in the case. “So periodically we would discuss what we were working on.”
Attorneys for Trump challenged the admissibility of emails belonging to Kushner, citing spousal privilege.
Justice Engoron overruled those objections because they communicated over work emails.
“If you use a work email that is subject to being seen by other people, you waive confidentiality,” Engoron said.
Nov 08, 2:08 PM EST
New York AG moves to stop testimony from defense experts
Donald Trump’s lawyers are scheduled to begin presenting the defense’s case on Monday following the conclusion of the presentation of the New York attorney general’s case — but New York AG Letitia James is arguing that four of the defense’s expert witnesses are no longer relevant.
In a filing made today, James argues that Judge Engoron’s partial summary judgment decision and subsequent changes to the state’s case have made make the testimony from the four experts irrelevant.
State lawyers plan to make an oral motion to preclude the expert testimony tomorrow, according to their filing.
Nov 08, 1:41 PM EST
‘I don’t recall’ discussion of financial statements, Ivanka Trump says
State attorney Louis Solomon grew visibly frustrated with Ivanka Trump’s limited recollections during an exchange about Donald Trump’s Old Post Office building in Washington, D.C.
Solomon attempted to confront Ivanka Trump with a document that showed that the General Services Administration — which ran the selection process for the renovation of the building — raised concerns about Donald Trump’s financial statements in 2011. New York Attorney General Letitia James, who says the statements contained fraudulent valuations, alleges that both Donald Trump and Ivanka Trump addressed those concerns during an in-person meeting with GSA officials.
“It was a general presentation. I don’t recall with specificity any discussion of financial statements,” Ivanka Trump said, prompting Solomon to throw his hands in the air.
“When I ask a question, she doesn’t remember,” an exasperated Solomon said. “The witness does have a recollection, your honor!”
“Would you like to clarify the situation?” Judge Engoron directly asked Ivanka Trump, who repeated the same description of the meeting.
“I recall one in-person meeting” about the “big picture” of the project, Ivanka Trump testified. She said recalled no discussion of “financial statements or anything granular like that.”
Donald Trump’s lawyers, meanwhile, have continued to object to Solomon asking questions about conduct from over a decade ago, which they say is akin to ancient history for a fast-moving real estate company.
“The GSA decision was made years before the statute of limitations,” Donald Trump’s lawyer Chris Kise argued, though Engoron overruled the objection.
Nov 08, 12:50 PM EST
‘You are starting to sound like your client,’ judge teases lawyer
Donald Trump is not in court today, but his lawyer is beginning to sound like the former president, according to a quip from Judge Arthur Engoron.
Describing the Trump Organization’s renovation of the Old Post Office building in Washington, D.C., Trump’s lawyer Chris Kise argued that the building was transformed from a “hulking relic” into a “world-class facility.”
“You are starting to sound like your client,” Engoron said, prompting some laughs from the gallery.
Nov 08, 12:34 PM EST
Ivanka Trump excused as lawyers debate statue of limitations
Ivanka Trump was removed from the courtroom for ten minutes while attorneys argued over whether the statute of limitations applied to the deals discussed during her testimony.
“These deals … had requirements for updated financials year, after year, after year,” Judge Arthur Engoron said. “To me, they are very much part of this case.”
Donald Trump’s lawyer argued that Ivanka Trump’s conduct between 2011 and 2013 could not impact someone else recertifying the loans years later.
“It’s theoretically impossible — it’s beyond implausible that some event that took place in 2016 would have changed the course of events in 2011, 2012, and 2013,” Trump attorney Chris Kise said.
Judge Engoron appeared unconvinced by the arguments and allowed the testimony to continue.
“The ship has sailed,” Engoron said.
Nov 08, 12:07 PM EST
Ivanka Trump says she wasn’t ‘privy to’ father’s financial statements
Asked about her involvement in her father’s statements of financial condition that the judge has already determined fraudulently overvalued his real estate and inflated his net worth, Ivaka Trump said she had no knowledge of them.
“I would assume he had a personal financial statement,” Ivanka Trump said. “Those weren’t things that I was privy to.”
Regarding a lease she had for a penthouse apartment in Trump Park Avenue that included an option to buy for $8.5 million, the New York attorney general’s office said Trump’s statement financial condition claimed that units in the building were selling for $20.8 million — two and a half times as much.
Asked by state lawyer Louis Solomon whether she knew about that discrepancy, Ivanka Trump responded, “I wasn’t involved in his statement of financial condition so I can’t say what it took into account or didn’t take into account.”
Solomon pressed her about the documents, asking, “Did you know whether he had personal financial statements, Donald J. Trump?” Solomon asked.
“I’m not involved in his personal financial statements. I didn’t know about his personal statements, per se, other than what you’ve showed me,” Ivanka Trump responded.
“Did you have any role in preparing Donald J. Trump’s statements of financial condition?”
“Not that I’m aware of,” she replied.
Nov 08, 11:29 AM EST
Ivanka Trump sought lower net worth requirement for loan
In 2011, as the Trump Organization sought financing for its purchase and renovation of the Doral golf club in Miami, Deutsche Bank agreed to loan Trump the necessary funds, with one critical catch — the deal would be secured by Donald Trump’s net worth.
“Is DJT willing to do that? Also, the net worth covenants and DJT indebtedness limitations would seem to me to be a problem?” Trump Organization executive Jason Greenblatt wrote in an email to Ivanka Trump and CFO Allen Weisselberg that was entered into evidence. The arrangement required Trump to maintain a net worth of $3 billion.
Trump’s 2011 statement of financial condition, one of the documents the New York attorney general alleges contained fraudulent valuations, listed his net worth as more than $4 billion. However Ivanka Trump asked Deutsche Bank to lower the amount of wealth her father would have to maintain, according to an email exchange entered into evidence.
“As I said before, I don’t recall the net worth covenant,” Ivanka Trump testified.
She proposed $2 billion, emails show. Deutsche Bank ultimately settled for $2.5 billion.
Nov 08, 11:19 AM EST
Courtroom reflects Ivanka Trump’s calm demeanor
Ivanka Trump flashed a smile at Judge Engoron when he recommended to her that, when reviewing evidence, it would be easier for her to look at the big screen set up in the courtroom instead of the papers in her lap.
“Thank you,” she said with a laugh.
Unlike her father, who roiled the judge and tangled with state attorneys during his testimony Monday, Ivanka Trump is reserved and soft spoken on the stand, at times speaking so quietly in answering questions that it’s hard to hear her.
The entire courtroom appears to be following her tone, with Judge Engoron and attorneys from both side conducting themselves calmly even when objections are raised.
Nov 08, 11:04 AM EST
Asked about 2011 emails, Ivanka Trump says they’re hard to recall
Asked about business negotiations from 2011, Ivanka Trump has been struggling to recall the details of her interactions from 12 years ago.
“I don’t recall, sitting here today, seeing these terms from 2011,” she responded after being shown a 2011 email to an Inbursa Bank representative. “I don’t remember having these conversations other than on a very high level.”
She has been punctuating her testimony with subtle indicators of how far removed she is from deals and documents discussed in court.
“I believe it was the ninth month of pregnancy of my oldest daughter,” she remarked after she was shown another document from 2011.
When asked about other documents, she added it was hard to remember “after all these years removed” or that she can only “recall you reminding me of that discussion.”
Nov 08, 10:48 AM EST
‘My father will send you’ his statement, Ivanka Trump said in email
Poised and patient on the witness stand, Ivanka Trump described how her husband, Jared Kushner, introduced her to Deutsche Bank’s private wealth management division, for which she later became the Trump Organization’s liaison and worked to arrange financing for the firm’s purchase of the Doral golf club in Miami.
She was shown an email in which she told a different potential lender that “my father will send you his most recent financial statement,” a potential indication of the document’s importance despite former President Trump’s prior testimony that the banks didn’t care about his financial statements when deciding whether to loan him money.
“They were just something that you would have,” Trump said during his testimony Monday about the statements at the center of the case.
Nov 08, 10:33 AM EST
Ivanka Trump avoids courtroom photos
Unlike her father and brothers, who, when they testified, were photographed by news photographers at the defense counsel table alongside their lawyers before taking the stand, Ivanka Trump appears to have avoided her courtroom photo opportunity.
While her father and brothers are defendants in the case, Ivanka Trump is a third-party witness. No photographers were allowed in the courtroom this morning.
Nov 08, 10:07 AM EST
Ivanka Trump takes the stand
“The people call Ivanka Trump,” state attorney Louis Solomon said.
“Who’s she?” Judge Arthur Engoron responded jokingly.
After a few awkward minutes of waiting, Ivanka Trump entered the courtroom, walked toward the judge, and took her place in the courtroom’s witness box. She did not address or make eye contact with Letitia James as she passed the New York attorney general.
“Do you solemnly swear or affirm that any testimony you give will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?” a court officer asked her.
“I do,” she responded with her right hand raised.
Nov 08, 9:51 AM EST
Ivanka Trump benefited from fraud, NY AG says
Speaking to reporters outside court this morning, New York Attorney General Letitia James said that today’s testimony will demonstrate that Ivanka Trump personally benefited from the fraud that a judge has ruled her family committed.
“We uncovered the scheme and she benefited from it personally,” James told reporters. “And Ms. Trump will do all that she can to try to separate herself from his corporation, but she is inextricably tied to the Trump Organization and to these properties that she helped secure financing for.”
James has taken a seat in the front row of the courtroom’s gallery, feet from her team of lawyers at the state’s counsel table.
Nov 08, 9:19 AM EST
NY AG’s chief real estate lawyer to question Ivanka Trump
Louis Solomon, the chief of the New York attorney general’s real estate finance division, is expected to lead the questioning of Ivanka Trump.
Solomon led Ivanka’s Trump deposition in August 2022, where she denied being involved in her father’s financial statements that are at the center of the case.
Earlier in the trial, Solomon led a contentious direct examination of former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg, who frequently struggled to answer questions about who was responsible for various financial decisions at the company.
Solomon has frequently sparred with Donald Trump’s lawyers during the trial, including a heated exchange after multiple members of the state team tested positive for COVID-19 during the proceedings.
“Everything in this courtroom concerns me and my client, including your health,” defense lawyer Chris Kise said.
“Thanks for your concern,” Solomon responded offhandedly.
Nov 08, 9:03 AM EST
Ivanka Trump arrives at courthouse
Ivanka Trump has arrived at the New York State Supreme Courthouse, where she was greeted by a crowd of photographers ahead of her testimony this morning.
She did not make a statement outside court.
The eldest daughter of former President Trump is scheduled to take the stand at around 10 a.m. ET.
Nov 08, 8:47 AM EST
Crowd of reporters awaits Ivanka Trump outside court
A sizeable group of reporters is huddling outside the New York State Supreme Courthouse in lower Manhattan awaiting the arrival of Ivanka Trump on a chilly 42-degree morning.
Moderately smaller than the crowd that waited her father on Monday, photographers and court reporters are crammed in a narrow maze of metal barriers that police have assembled outside the building for the trial. The security arrangement, which has been utilized any time a Trump family member has appeared in court, has become a regular part of life for reporters covering the trial and a curiosity for tourists exploring downtown New York.
“Is this the line to see Donald Trump?” a passerby asked this morning.
“Yes, but he’s not here today,” a reporter responded to the visibly disappointed tourist.
Nov 08, 8:04 AM EST
Trump lauds ‘beautiful daughter’ ahead of Ivanka’s testimony
Former President Donald Trump has renewed his attacks on New York Attorney General Letitia James and Judge Arthur Engoron ahead of testimony this morning from his daughter Ivanka Trump, who is expected to be the last witness in the state’s case before the defense begins presenting its case.
“My wonderful and beautiful daughter, Ivanka, is going to the Lower Manhattan Courthouse, at the direction of Letitia Peekaboo James … and a Trump Hating, out of control Clubhouse appointed Judge, Arthur Engoron, who viciously ruled against me before the trial even started,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, referring to the judge’s partial summary judgment against the defendants.
Donald Trump’s lawyers also plan to question Ivanka Trump — a notable departure after they declined to cross-examine Donald Trump and his adult sons when they testified.
“We are certainly going to ask her questions, to the extent we have questions,” Trump’s attorney Chris Kise said on Monday. “We are trying to get that done now so as to minimize the interference in her life to not have to come back again.”
(DETROIT) — A suspect is in custody in connection with the murder of Detroit synagogue president Samantha Woll, police said.
Woll was found stabbed to death outside her home on Oct. 21.
Detroit police said last month that there was no evidence to point to the crime being motivated by antisemitism.
Police did not release the suspect’s name.
“The details of the investigation will remain confidential at this time to ensure the integrity of the important steps that remain,” Detroit Police Chief James White said in a statement.
Though the arrest “is an encouraging development in our desire to bring closure for Ms. Woll’s family, it does not represent the conclusion of our work in this case,” he said.
Woll had a long career in local politics and worked with several elected officials over the years, according to her LinkedIn page.
She recently served as the political director for Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s re-election campaign.
“Sam was as kind a person as I’ve ever known,” Nessel said. “She was driven by her sincere love of her community, state and country. Sam truly used her faith and activism to create a better place for everyone.”
Woll also worked as a deputy district director for Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich.
“She did for our team as Deputy District Director what came so naturally to her: helping others & serving constituents,” Slotkin said. “Separately, in politics & in the Jewish community, she dedicated her short life to building understanding across faiths, bringing light in the face of darkness.”
(NEW YORK) — A Florida mom is suing American Airlines after she claims the airline “misplaced” her two unaccompanied children and put them in a “cold room akin to a jail cell” for a night after the kids’ connecting flight during a July 2022 trip was canceled.
“It’s a feeling no parent ever wants to feel,” mom Amber Vencill told “Good Morning America.”
Vencill had paid American Airlines for unaccompanied minor service, about $150 each way, for her two sons – a 10-year-old and a 12-year-old – so they could travel from Missouri to New York to visit her partner’s family. The trip had a layover in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The unaccompanied minor service is available for children between the ages of 5 and 17 and required for children between 5 and 14, according to American Airlines’ website.
However, the connecting flight in Charlotte was canceled after multiple delays and Vencill said she received an email informing her the boys would be able to fly out the following day.
An airline employee also told Vencill’s partner in a phone call that the boys would be placed in a “nice room for unaccompanied minors where there were beds and their own bathroom,” according to the complaint.
“I have faith that during the transitions at the airports, they would be with a flight attendant since they had that service,” Vencill said.
Vencill’s sons didn’t have their own cellphones and the mom claims she was not able to contact the boys at a phone number American Airlines had provided to her where they said the children could be reached. Vencill said it took several hours until she could contact her sons through an employee at the Charlotte Airport.
According to American Airlines’ website, in the case of missed connections due to a delay or cancellation, the airline will make arrangements for another flight and “overnight accommodations, meals and supervision.”
In Vencill’s lawsuit, which was filed in New York on Oct. 31, she claims her sons were placed overnight in a “cold room akin to a jail cell” instead. The children had been placed in a room for lost children, the complaint says.
“I asked them if they had anything to eat or drink. And they were like, ‘No, mom,'” Vencill said her sons told her.
The airport employee, who was not employed by American Airlines, eventually brought the children food and drinks before they boarded a flight to Syracuse, New York, where they were picked up by Vencill’s partner, the complaint says.
In a statement to ABC News, American Airlines said “the safety and comfort of our customers, including unaccompanied minors in our care are our highest priorities … We have been in touch with Ms. Vencill directly and we are reviewing the details of the lawsuit.”
Vencill said American Airlines did refund the unaccompanied minor fees but she has not heard anything else from the company. She said she wanted to file the lawsuit to prevent a situation like this from happening to another family.
“I knew that this was a chance that I had to make sure that it didn’t happen to anyone else,” Vencill said.
(DENVER) — The owners of a Colorado funeral home where 189 decomposing bodies were found have now been arrested, according to authorities.
The improperly stored bodies sparked the governor to declare a local disaster emergency and call for assistance from the FBI.
On Wednesday, the owners of the funeral home, Jon and Carie Hallford, were arrested in Wagoner, Oklahoma, according to District Attorney Michael J. Allen, of Colorado’s 4th Judicial District. The husband and wife were arrested on suspicion of abuse of a corpse, theft, money laundering and forgery, according to Allen’s office.
Authorities responded to The Return to Nature Funeral Home in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in October after nearby residents reported smelling a foul odor coming from the shuttered building. The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office got a warrant to enter the property and found the decomposing bodies. Initially, the sheriff’s office reported 115 bodies being found. That number was later increased to 189 bodies.
The bodies were in such bad condition that they are being identified through DNA, officials said.
“We are conducting extensive coordination efforts as we focus on the identification of the decedents and provide notifications to ensure the families are given accurate information to prevent further victimization as they continue to grieve their loved ones,” said Fremont County Coroner Randy Keller said last month.
“Without providing too much detail to avoid further victimizing these families, the area of the funeral home where the bodies were improperly stored was horrific,” Fremont County Sheriff Allen Cooper said at a press conference last month.
The scene was so bad when authorities first arrived that a paramedic who responded developed a rash and had to be medically evaluated, Cooper said.
(MENTONE, Texas) — A rare earthquake stronger than magnitude 5.0 on the Richter Scale struck a remote area of West Texas early Wednesday, rattling homes and jolting residents awake, officials said.
The 5.3 magnitude quake occurred at 3:27 a.m. local time and its epicenter was about 24 miles southwest of Mentone, Texas, near the New Mexico border, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The earthquake occurred at a depth of roughly four miles, the USGA said.
The quake was followed by a series of aftershocks, including one measuring 3.4 on the Richter Scale.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
“You probably were just rudely awakened by an earthquake,” the National Weather Service in El Paso said in a social media post, adding that its staff members felt the quake in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, more than 200 miles from the quake’s epicenter.
Alexandros Savvaidis, a senior research scientist at the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas at Austin, told ABC News that people reported feeling the earthquake as far away as Irving, located about 420 miles east of Mentone.
Savvaidis, who is also a monitor for the Texas Seismological Network, said the shaker occurred about 1.2 miles from where a 5.4 magnitude earthquake struck on Nov. 16, 2022. Another 5.4 earthquake occurred on Dec. 16, 2022, near Midland, Texas, about 100 miles northeast of Mentone, he said.
“This area is completely isolated,” Savvaidis said of the Mentone area, describing it as mostly used for oil and gas drilling country.
Savvaidis said Wednesday’s earthquake occurred in the Coalson Rupture Zone, where several faults are located.
He said despite the recent seismological activity in West Texas, earthquakes measuring 5.0 or higher are rare in the state. Only five earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.0 or stronger have occurred in Texas since 1900.
The most powerful earthquake to hit Texas was a 5.8 magnitude quake on Aug. 16, 1931, near Valentine, Texas, near the Mexico border. It damaged numerous homes and businesses.
Wednesday’s rattler ranked as the fifth most powerful earthquake to occur in Texas.
