(NEW YORK) — Recent mass shootings have put a spotlight on the gun laws of the states in which these tragedies happened and the actions that local legislators take to address the growing impact of gun violence on the U.S.
Maine has come under scrutiny for its lack of gun restrictions following the Oct. 25 shooting in Lewiston, Maine, that left 18 people dead and injured 13 more.
The state, despite having Democratic control of the legislature and the governor’s seat, has failed to push stronger gun laws. Some Maine legislators have since begun promising stronger measures to curb gun violence following the tragedy.
ABC News took a look at several states that experienced some of the deadliest shootings in the U.S. and what laws were implemented following the respective shootings.
Florida
Florida has experienced several major mass shootings in recent years. In June 2016, a gunman opened fire in an LGBTQ nightclub in Orlando. Forty-nine people were killed and dozens more were injured.
In 2018, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland became the site of a mass shooting in which 17 people were killed and 17 others were injured.
Following the 2018 shooting, Florida enacted an Extreme Risk Protection Order law to enable law enforcement to petition a court “to temporarily prevent individuals who are at high risk of harming themselves or others from accessing firearms or ammunition.”
“Every student in Florida has a right to learn in a safe environment and every parent has the right to send their kids to school knowing that they will return safely at the end of the day,” said then-Gov. Rick Scott before signing the bill.
Lawmakers also raised the minimum age to purchase a gun to 21 and turned the ownership of bump stocks, which could make a semiautomatic rifle fire more rapidly, into a felony.
However, in more recent years, some legislators have worked to weaken gun laws in the state, including eliminating the requirement of a permit for concealed carry.
Nevada
In 2017, 58 people were killed and hundreds injured after a gunman opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Two victims would later succumb to injuries in the years following the massacre.
Since then, the state has enacted gun safety policies including universal background checks, an Extreme Risk law similar to Florida’s, and requiring that guns be stored safely away from children.
“This past session, Nevadans stood together and took bold action to try and prevent these tragedies in the future,” then-Gov. Steve Sisolak said in a 2019 press conference at the time after signing the bill.
Legislators also banned bump stocks, which had been used in the 2017 shooting. However, the law is being challenged in court.
Several recent gun restriction efforts in Nevada have faltered.
Gov. Joe Lombardo has vetoed three bills — one would have restricted the purchase, possession or ownership of a firearm by a person who committed or attempted to commit a crime motivated by bias.
The other two would have prohibited the possession of firearms under certain circumstances, like near polling places, and would have barred people under the age of 21 from possessing certain firearms, including semiautomatic shotguns and assault weapons.
“I will not support legislation that infringes on the constitutional rights of Nevadans,” Lombardo said in a May online statement at the time. “Much of the legislation I vetoed today is in direct conflict with legal precedent and established constitutional protections. Therefore, I cannot support them.”
Texas
In May 2022, 19 children and two teachers were killed when a gunman opened fire with an AR-15-style rifle at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
Anti-gun violence activists and those affected by the shooting have had little success in changing gun laws in the state following the tragedy.
Families of the victims fought to pass a raise-the-age law that would have raised the age to buy assault rifle-style weapons from 18 to 21. However, legislative leaders in the state were against the measure, including Gov. Greg Abbott who called it “unconstitutional.”
However, lawmakers have passed a law to require counties to send information on juvenile mental health cases for review for the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. The Uvalde shooter was 18.
New York
After 10 people, all African American, were killed in a racially motivated mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, in May 2022, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a ten-bill package of laws to address gun violence in the state.
“Gun violence is an epidemic that is tearing our country apart,” said Hochul in a statement on the signing. “Thoughts and prayers won’t fix this, but taking strong action will.”
The legislation included limiting the purchase of body armor to only specific professions and restrictions on the purchase of semiautomatic rifles to people over 21, strengthening red flag laws, enhancing reporting by law enforcement to the state and federal gun databases and closing “loopholes” in gun law.
Because of the racial nature of the crime, legislators also included new requirements on social media networks to provide policies to respond to hateful conduct on their platform. The legislation also created a task force to investigate the role of social media in facilitating extremism and terrorism online.
Colorado
A mass shooting at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ bar called Club Q killed five people and left over a dozen injured in November 2022, reopening wounds from the Columbine High School shooting in 1999.
Following the shooting, Gov. Jared Polis signed several gun restriction measures.
“Today we are taking some important steps to help make Colorado one of the ten safest states, and building upon the ongoing work to make Colorado communities safer,” said Polis in a statement on the signing.
This includes raising the purchasing age for all guns to 21, establishing a three-day waiting period between when people purchase a gun and when they receive it, and strengthening the state’s red flag laws that allow guns to be temporarily removed from a person who poses a risk to themselves or others.
Another law enhances gun violence victims’ ability to sue the firearms industry.
(WASHINGTON) — Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters came together Saturday to call for a cease-fire and an end to the siege on the Gaza Strip at a march in Washington, D.C.’s Freedom Plaza. The protest was organized by nine groups and has participation from over 500 groups from around the country, according to organizers.
Photos of the peaceful march, which called for a cease-fire and the end to the Israeli government’s siege on Gaza, that started in retaliation of Hamas’ surprise terror attack on Israel on Oct. 7, show thousands gathered in the streets of D.C. Following a rally, the protesters marched to the White House.
“Israel, with the full backing of the U.S. government, is carrying out an unprecedented massacre in Gaza. Thousands of Palestinians are being killed with bombs, bullets and missiles paid for by U.S. tax dollars,” A.N.S.W.E.R., a group called Act Now to Stop War and End Racism which is one of the groups organizing the protest, wrote on its website.
According to A.N.S.W.E.R., 300,000 people showed up to the protest.
U.S. officials have resisted calling for a general cease-fire, but have urged humanitarian “pauses” to allow civilians to exit Gaza and for aid to flow in.
Other groups leading the organization of the protest were Palestinian Youth Movement, American Muslim Alliance, The People’s Forum, National Students for Justice in Palestine, Al-Awda: The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR), Maryland2Palestine.
The groups arranged transportation from 22 states, including Texas, Florida and Kentucky, and Puerto Rico.
Nearly 9,500 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, since Israel began a bombing and ground campaign in the Gaza Strip after the Hamas attack killed more than 1,400 Israelis, according to Israeli officials.
Doctors Without Borders, which has physicians providing care on the ground in Gaza, called on Saturday for a cease-fire.
“This is a new low in an endless stream of unconscionable violence. The repeated strikes on hospitals, ambulances, densely populated areas and refugee camps are disgraceful. How many people have to die before world leaders wake up and call for a cease-fire?” the group said in a Tweet.
“Gaza is being bombed by the hour. Its people are denied food, water and electricity by Israel. Tens of thousands more people are likely to die. We must ACT!” the group organizing the protest wrote on its website.
Numerous speakers took the stage speaking to a massive crowd, chanting, “Free, free Palestine.”
“We formed this coalition, a small group of organizations, 15 days ago and if you walk around here now we can see that in two weeks time there has come together the largest demonstration in U.S. history to support the Palestinian people,” said Brian Becker, the national coordinator of the A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition, a group of anti-war and civil rights organizations.
“We send a strong message to Joe Biden. If you stand with genocide, then we charge you with genocide,” Becker said.
President Biden is facing vocal opposition from a small group in the progressive wing of his own party on what they suggest is his bias toward Israel and against Palestinians following the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel. Biden said on Oct. 25 that the lives on both sides are precious.
“Israelis and Palestinians equally deserve to live side by side in safety, dignity, and peace,” the president said during a joint news conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Nehad Awad, the executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations, took the stage at Saturday’s protest to encourage people to speak out in support of Palestinians and called on President Biden to call for a cease-fire.
“The children of Gaza, the people of Gaza, rely on your voices, on your activism and do not be scared, do not be intimidated by the university officials or the governors of your states when they declare that your activism is illegal,” Awad said.
“We appeal to [President Biden] to take a moral position to recognize 2.3 million civilian residents trapped in Gaza and under the attack of the Israeli war,” Awad said.
“Mr. President, enough is enough. Call for an immediate and unconditional cease-fire right now,” Awad said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday he used his most recent face-to-face meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make the U.S. case for temporary pauses in the fighting, which he argued were critical to protecting civilian lives, allowing humanitarian aid to move into Gaza and boosting efforts to free the scores of hostages held in the enclave for nearly a month — laying out the administration’s updated strategy for managing fallout from the conflict.
Israeli officials have claimed that their goal is to eradicate Hamas and said they are against a ceasefire.
Dr. Omar Suleiman, the founder of the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research and a professor at Southern Methodist University in Texas, also took the stage before protesters.
“We are sick and tired of the rhetoric. We are sick and tired of the occupation. We do not just demand an end to the current bombardment of Gaza. We demand an end to the occupation. We demand an end to apartheid. We demand freedom in every sense of the word,” Suleiman said.
American Rapper Benjamin Hammond Haggerty, better known by his stage name “Macklemore,” told the crowd he has been discouraged from speaking on this conflict, but he felt compelled to attend the protest and called for a cease-fire.
“They told me to be quiet. They told me to do my research, to go back, that it is too complex to say something, to be silent in this moment. In the last three weeks, I’ve gone back and I’ve done some research. And I am teachable, I don’t know enough but I know enough that this is a genocide,” Macklemore said.
“I’m not afraid to speak the truth,” Macklemore said.
Mohammed El-Kurd, a Palestinian who grew up in Jerusalem and became known for his protest of the expulsion of Palestinians from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem, also took the stage imploring people to consider the fear Palestinians living in Gaza “must have felt” while under attack, minutes before they were killed.
“I want us to take a few minutes to consider the magnitude of loss of life currently happening in the Gaza Strip. I want us to consider what it means to lose 10,000 people; for 10,000 people to be killed by Israeli war planes. Consider their families and their grief. Consider their lovers. Consider the people missing them. Consider our martyrs’ lives,” El-Kurd said.
“We cannot sit in the corner quietly as they kill our people,” El-Kurd, said. “We need to speak out.”
(CINCINNATI) — An 11-year-old boy was killed and five others injured Friday night in a shooting in Cincinnati, police said.
The incident occurred around 9:20 p.m. ET, according to the Cincinnati Police Department.
Police responded to the scene after receiving ShotSpotter alerts in the city’s West End neighborhood, according to Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge.
The 11-year-old victim was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Three victims were transported to Children’s Hospital Medical Center, including one who is being treated for life-threatening injuries, police said Saturday.
Two other victims were transported to University Hospital, police said.
The ages of the victims were not released.
It’s unclear what led up to the shooting, Theetge told reporters late Friday.
“Homicide is here working the scene … so that we can gather every bit of evidence that we can gather to bring whoever’s responsible for this to justice,” Theetge said. “This is absolutely unacceptable in our city — unacceptable that on a Friday night, six people were shot in one incident.”
The Cincinnati Police Department plans to hold a press briefing on the “senseless tragedy” on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET.
(OCONEE COUNTY, S.C.) — A person of interest has been charged a day after a man drove a vehicle through security fences at a nuclear power station in South Carolina, authorities said.
The incident occurred at the Oconee Nuclear Station Thursday night, according to the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office. A man operating a silver 2002 Toyota Camry approached the restricted area twice, though never accessed the plant, officials said.
The driver also attempted to hit a security truck with a guard in it while exiting the plant, police said.
Oconee County Sheriff Mike Crenshaw identified the person of interest as Doyle Wayne Whisenhunt, 66, of Lockesburg, Arkansas. He is wanted on drugs and weapons charges out of Arkansas, the sheriff said.
Whisenhunt was charged Friday evening with attempted murder, malicious injury to personal property, and unlawful entry into an enclosed place when he allegedly accelerated his vehicle towards a security officer at the nuclear plant.
Whisenhunt caused damage to the gates and fencing, outside of the secured area of the facility, by striking them with his vehicle, according to the Sheriff’s office. Whisenhunt allegedly also trespassed onto the property of the Nuclear Station without authorization, according to the charges filed.
Whisenhunt was also charged in a separate incident with one count of hit and run as Whisenhunt, while driving his vehicle, was allegedly involved in a motor vehicle accident and failed to remain on the scene. The accident occurred Thursday on Rochester Highway.
Whisenhunt was taken into custody at an abandoned home in neighboring Pickens County, South Carolina, according to the Sheriff’s office.
“The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office is continuing its investigation,” the Sheriff’s office said. “The Sheriff’s Office would like to thank our law enforcement partners with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division for their assistance and help in our investigation.”
Amid the active search for Whisenhunt, Crenshaw said investigators were working to determine if he was the driver of the Toyota Camry.
It’s unclear why the driver went to the nuclear plant, the sheriff said.
“At this point in our investigation, we don’t have any evidence that this is any type of domestic terroristic event,” Crenshaw told reporters during a press briefing Friday afternoon.
The driver of the Toyota Camry first approached the nuclear station Thursday evening, then drove away when security asked him to leave, authorities said. About an hour later, he returned and drove through an administrative gate, the sheriff’s office said.
“After the vehicle struck the pop-up barricades that security at the plant activated, the driver backed the vehicle up and proceeded down a dirt road, where Duke Energy security blocked the vehicle in, according to Deputies,” a press release from the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office read. “The driver then drove through a fence after attempting to hit the security officers.”
The driver then reportedly drove out of the exit of the plant where he attempted to hit a security truck with a guard in it, police said.
The man drove into Pickens County and pulled onto residential property on Jones Mill Road where shots were subsequently fired, authorities said.
The homeowner told authorities he had fired warning shots, and the suspect drove away, Crenshaw said.
The Toyota Camry was located Friday afternoon in Pickens County, Crenshaw said. It was unoccupied, he said.
The nuclear station reported the security incident to authorities around 8:05 p.m. Thursday, the sheriff’s office said. No one was injured, Duke Energy said.
The nuclear station is “operating safely,” Duke Energy said.
“Duke Energy has comprehensive security plans and a well-trained security workforce in place,” the company said in a statement. “A vehicle entered an administrative gate, but was not able to access the plant due to our multiple layers of security.”
The FBI said it was aware of the incident, but deferred to the local sheriff’s office for any information related to the case.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the body that oversees nuclear plants in the United States, told ABC News the incident was “monitored closely throughout the night,” and said Duke Energy proactively informed the commission.
“The plant continues to operate safely, the public remains safe, and all U.S. nuclear power plants are operating at their normal security levels,” a spokesperson said.
(NEW YORK) — A worker who became trapped after an 11-story building collapsed at a shuttered coal plant in eastern Kentucky has died following a multi-day rescue effort to find the missing man, officials said.
His death comes two days after another worker who was also trapped in the rubble died, officials said.
The coal preparation plant in Martin County collapsed at approximately 6:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, according to Kentucky Emergency Management.
Two workers became trapped “underneath multiple floors of concrete and steel,” the agency said in a statement.
Rescue efforts had been underway since Tuesday night.
Emergency workers quickly located one of the workers — identified by officials as Billy Daniels — and spoke with him, though he died on Wednesday, Martin County Sheriff John Kirk said.
Rescuers attempted to free Daniels but were unable to before he died, Martin County Judge/Executive Dr. Lon Lafferty told reporters during a press briefing on Thursday.
The second worker — identified as Alvin Nees — could not immediately be located. Following a days-long rescue operation, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear updated on Friday that he died.
“This is a heartbreaking situation,” Beshear said.
Beshear declared a state of emergency in Martin County to mobilize state resources.
Multiple agencies responded to the scene to assist in the rescue efforts, including the National Guard’s Special Tactics Squadron K-9 search dog unit.
Upward of 50 rescuers are on the scene, officials said Thursday.
“It’s horrific,” Lafferty said of the scene. “Very large structure that was collapsed in on itself.”
“Tremendous amount of weight, tremendous amount of force, tremendous pile of rubble there now,” he continued.
The two workers were helping demolish the building at the abandoned mine site on Wolf Creek, according to Lafferty. A crew was working on the ground at the time of the collapse, he said.
Lafferty was unable to confirm who employed the two workers.
Lafferty said in a social media post early Wednesday that he declared a local state of emergency in Martin County to help access additional rescue resources.
State Sen. Phillip Wheeler, whose district includes Martin County, said he is “deeply saddened” by news of the deadly collapse.
“This incident is a stark reminder of the inherent risks in any job and the unexpected nature of tragedy,” he said in a statement. “We are prepared to assist those affected by loss or injury and their families and the local government in any way we can.”
(JACKSONVILLE) — The woman accused of plotting the killing of her ex-husband, Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan, pleaded not guilty on Friday to capital murder.
Shanna Gardner, 36, was indicted by a grand jury on first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony and child abuse in connection with the fatal shooting of Bridegan in Florida in 2022.
Bridegan, 33, was shot and killed in the middle of a Jacksonville Beach street in what authorities described as a targeted ambush. Gardner, along with her current partner, Mario Fernandez Saldana, and his former tenant, have all been charged in connection with the deadly shooting.
Gardner was arrested in August in Washington state and extradited to Duval County last month after she lost a legal battle to remain in Washington.
During her first court appearance on Friday, Gardner smiled as she entered the Jacksonville courtroom, wearing an orange jumpsuit. She did not speak during the brief hearing.
Her new attorney, Jose Baez — who has represented high-profile clients such as Casey Anthony and former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez — entered a not guilty plea on her behalf.
A judge said that Gardner’s future hearings will be held with Fernandez Saldana, 35, who was indicted by a grand jury on the same charges as Gardner. He has pleaded not guilty.
A pretrial hearing for Gardner and Fernandez Saldana has been set for Dec. 1. The trial is expected to begin on April 13, 2024.
Prosecutors have said they plan to seek the death penalty against both defendants.
Fernandez Saldana’s former tenant, Henry Tenon, was arrested in January and is accused of fatally shooting Bridegan. He has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and is now cooperating with authorities.
Prosecutors have said the tenant-landlord relationship was the “single link” tying Tenon to Bridegan.
Bridegan was driving his then-2-year-old daughter in Jacksonville Beach in February 2022 when he came upon a tire blocking his path, police said. When he stepped out of the car, authorities said, he was ambushed and murdered.
The night he was killed, Bridegan was driving home after dropping off the twins he shared with Gardner, police said.
Bridegan also had two children with his wife, Kirsten Bridegan — the then-2-year-old and a younger daughter who was home with his wife at the time of the shooting.
Gardner denied any involvement in her ex-husband’s murder last year during her only television interview.
“Any time divorce comes into any situation it’s messy,” she told Jacksonville station WJAX in July 2022.
“Even though we didn’t always get along, he was still the father of my kids,” she said.
(NEW YORK) — Cassidy Perrone said that the day she learned that her unborn daughter would be stillborn was one of the most heart-wrenching moments in her life, and even more difficult was delivering Olivia after 37 weeks of pregnancy.
“I had to come home to my house with a fully prepared nursery, with everything that you could need for a baby and suffering the postpartum effects that every female suffers and had to relive every morning the fact that my nightmare was my reality,” Perrone told ABC News Live.
She said the day after Olivia’s funeral she found out that her employer and New York State’s Labor Department revoked her paid maternity leave and was only offered $170 a week for disability.
“I need to physically recover and heal from the postpartum effects. And they said, don’t worry, we’ll give you temporary disability,” Perrone said.
Perrone’s story is common among many mothers and birthing persons across the country who suffered stillbirth pregnancies, according to legal and medical experts, but a new push by activists and political leaders is aiming to change that policy and allow those women the paid time off after their tragedies.
About 21,000 babies are born stillborn annually, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Dr. Joanne Stone, the chair of Mount Sinai Hospital’s OBGYN department and the head of the hospital’s clinic for women with a history of stillbirth, told ABC News Live that many of the common causes of stillbirth often don’t appear until late in pregnancy such as placental abruptions.
“They have the same kind of recovery issues that patients who have had a live birth have,” Stone said of patients who have to deliver a stillborn baby. “On top of the physical recovery, they also have to recover mentally.”
Activists said that federal and state laws have created extra burdens for those mothers.
Paid leave policies vary from company to company, but most exclude women who experience stillbirth deliveries, according to experts.
Women and birthing persons in New York are offered up to 12 weeks of paid time off after they deliver a baby. However, it has a loophole that makes women who deliver stillborn children ineligible.
New York State Sen. Tim Kennedy, whose daughter died four minutes after she was born, introduced a bill in 2021 that would close the loophole.
It was passed in the state Senate in 2022 and again during this year’s session but is still awaiting a vote in the New York State Assembly.
“I can talk with full and complete confidence that the children who were lost to stillbirth have that same impact on these mothers’ and families’ lives that my daughter, who was with us for four minutes, had on our life. And our state needs to recognize that. Our nation needs to recognize that,” Kennedy told ABC News Live.
Kennedy wasn’t the only parent spurred into action by a stillbirth tragedy.
Activist Jaye Wilson said she changed careers from nursing to maternal health education after she was forced to go back to work two weeks after a stillbirth delivery.
Wilson said the issue is harder for Black mothers as they are two to three times more likely to experience a stillbirth than other women.
“So understanding how that is really impacting women who look like me and who are still seeking care in the same spaces that you are, like, we have to really pay attention to that,” she said.
Wilson, Perrone, and other mothers have been ramping up their calls for change and lobbying across the country and hope that elected officials will hear them out.
“Women and birthing persons deserve better. We give life and we should not be punished when we don’t have the opportunity to care for our child because they have died,” Perrone said.
(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump is on trial in New York in a $250 million lawsuit that could alter the personal fortune and real estate empire that helped propel Trump to the White House.
Trump, his sons Eric and Don 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 03, 8:55 AM EDT
NY AG claims Trump Jr., Eric Trump lied to enrich father
After a day of testimony in which tempers at times flared on all sides, Eric Trump will return to court this morning for what is expected to be his final day on the witness stand.
In a video statement posted to social media last night, New York Attorney General Letitia James suggested that Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump’s testimony yesterday highlighted how they lied to help inflate their father’s net worth.
Eric Trump was “intimately involved in lying about the values of properties … to make his father appear richer,” while Donald Trump Jr. “continued to lie” by certifying his father’s financial statements despite being confronted with misstatements, James alleged.
“They pretend that they were not involved in their family’s fraudulent business. But the facts tell a very different story,” James said in the video.
Nov 02, 9:07 PM EDT
Appeals courts rules that Ivanka Trump must testify
A New York appeals court has denied an emergency request from Ivanka Trump to stop her testimony at her father’s civil fraud trial.
Trump’s daughter, who is not a defendant in the case, was subpoenaed by the attorney general to testify.
She is currently scheduled to testify next week on Wednesday.
Nov 02, 6:01 PM EDT
Trump attorney decries trial as ‘waste of NY taxpayer dollars’
Outside court after court was adjourned for the day, Trump attorney Alina Habba defended the actions of Donald Trump’s adult children on the heels of their testimony.
“These children are being brought in, away from their families, for doing nothing wrong,” Habba said.
Echoing Trump, Habba attacked New York Attorney General Letitia James and called the trial “the biggest waste of New York taxpayer dollars I have ever seen.”
“She piggybacked on Trump to get into office. She didn’t do it well enough to become governor,” Habba said, referencing James’ failed attempt to run for New York governor in 2021.
“This is a waste of time,” Habba said.
Exiting court separately with his attorney, Eric Trump shot a thumbs-up to an onlooker ahead of his return to the stand Friday morning.
Nov 02, 5:20 PM EDT
Judge suggests Trump attorney is misogynist, threatens gag order
Court concluded for the day with a threat from Judge Engoron to expand the trial’s limited gag order to include attorneys, after a clash between the judge and defense counsel.
The judge had previously issued the partial gag order prohibiting defendants from making public comments about his staff, after former President Trump posted online about Engoron’s law clerk.
After defense attorney Chris Kise suggested potential bias from the bench, Engoron told him, “Do not refer to my law clerk again.”
“Sometimes I think there might be a bit of misogyny,” Engoron told Kise.
“I have the right to make points on the record,” Kise responded. “If there is bias in the proceedings, I have the right to raise that.”
Engoron, pounding on the bench, shouted into his microphone that Kise had no right to hear conversations between the judge and his clerk.
“I have an absolute, unfettered right to get advice from my principal law clerk,” Engoron said.
Court is scheduled to resume tomorrow morning when Eric Trump returns to the stand.
Nov 02, 4:41 PM EDT
‘I stick by that 100%’ Eric Trump says of appraisal testimony
Eric Trump confidently stood by his past testimony regarding his limited involvement in an appraisal during a heated exchange with state attorney Andrew Amer.
Amer had spent the better part of the afternoon highlighting emails between Eric Trump and a Cushman & Wakefield appraiser, suggesting that Eric Trump was deeply involved in the appraisal of an estate and golf course in New York’s Westchester County. Attempting to paint the testimony as inconsistent, Amer played another portion the deposition Eric Trump had given to investigators.
“I pour concrete. I operate properties. I don’t focus on appraisals between a law firm and Cushman. It’s just not what I do in my day-to-day responsibilities,” Eric Trump said in the deposition.
“Will you concede that your testimony … that you really haven’t been involved in appraisal work on this property was incorrect?” Amer then asked Eric Trump on the stand.
“No. I really hadn’t been involved with appraisal work on that property,” Eric Trump responded. “I was clearly involved to a very small point. I see your emails. One hundred percent. I made phone calls.”
When Amer continued to press the issue, Donald Trump’s attorney Chris Kise loudly objected.
“Are you running the courtroom, or is the judge?” Kise shouted to Amer. “It’s asked and answered, asked and answered, asked and answered, and it’s continued all afternoon. At some point it needs to end.”
“There are a handful of emails well over ten years ago … I stick by that 100%” Eric Trump said.
Nov 02, 4:12 PM EDT
Eric Trump denies ignoring appraisal of luxury NY property
Eric Trump denied that he ignored a professional appraisal that would have significantly lowered the value of his family’s Seven Springs estate in New York’s Westchester County.
State attorney Andrew Amer attempted to show Eric Trump multiple emails and calendar invites from 2014 and 2015 to demonstrate that he was personally involved in an appraisal by Cushman & Wakefield executive David McArdle that placed the total value of the property’s undeveloped lots between $30 and $50 million.
Trump’s 2014 financial statement, in contrast, valued the property at $291 million, including $161 for just seven of the undeveloped lots.
“Can we agree that Mr. McArdle’s valuation in relation to the easement donation he was doing was disregarded?” Amer asked.
“No, the exercises are apples and oranges. Nothing to do with each other,” Eric Trump responded.
Nov 02, 3:53 PM EDT
Attorney continues to press Eric Trump on financial statement
Eric Trump grew visibly irritated as he appeared to struggle with his testimony regarding his father’s statement of financial condition.
Resisting state attorney Andrew Amer’s efforts to show he was familiar with the document at the center of the case, he at times raised his voice and punctuated his short answers with phrases like “obviously,” “clearly,” and “as I previously testified.” Other times he responded with lengthy equivocations, prompting Amer to exhort him to keep his answers to “yes or no.”
“You don’t have to give a speech about that,” Judge Engoron implored Eric Trump at one point.
Amer repeatedly asked variations of the same question: Was Eric Trump aware of his father’s statement of financial condition?
“This is not something I ever recall seeing or working on,” Eric Trump said in one clip from his deposition that was played in court. “This is accounting, and that is not what I do on a daily basis.”
Nov 02, 2:49 PM EDT
Eric Trump appears to contradict deposition
After acknowledging in his testimony that he provided Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney with information for his father’s statement of financial condition, Eric Trump was shown video from his own deposition where he appeared to contradict his testimony in court.
“I have no recollection of ever providing Jeff material to be used in a statement that I’ve ever seen,” Eric Trump said in the deposition he gave state attorneys during their probe.
“I don’t think it would have ever registered” what the material was for, Eric Trump said in court today, responding to his own statement during his deposition.
Nov 02, 2:32 PM EDT
Eric Trump clarifies testimony about email
Eric Trump clarified his earlier answer regarding his involvement in his father’s statement of financial condition, in which he was asked if he recalled a 2013 email from then-Trump Organization controller Jeff McConney asking him for notes for the statement.
“I clearly understood I sent notes to Jeffrey McConney,” Eric Trump testified.
“I don’t think that it ever registered [that] it was for a personal statement of financial condition,” he said.
Nov 02, 8:38 AM EDT
Trump Jr. has helped run family’s business for a ‘long time,’ AG says
As Donald Trump Jr. prepares to return to the witness stand this morning, New York Attorney General Letitia James says the Trump Organization executive VP has been with the Trump Organization for a long time for someone who appears to have so little understanding of the business.
In a video posted to social media last night following Trump Jr.’s first day of testimony, James said the eldest son of former President Trump “claimed to have very little understanding of the accounting and legal mechanics of the family business — but we know he has been involved in running the Trump Organization for a long time.”
Trump Jr. testified yesterday that he relied on the expertise of others when he signed the company’s statements of financial condition, distancing himself from the documents at the heart of the attorney general’s case.
While he acknowledged that he had some of the “the most intimate knowledge” about some of the deals described in the statements, Trump Jr. reiterated that he did not have a role in putting the documents together.
“The accountants worked on it. That’s what we pay them to do,” Trump Jr. said.
Trump Jr. will return to the witness stand this morning, with his bother Eric Trump on deck to testify later today.
Nov 01, 5:36 PM EDT
‘I wasn’t involved’ with financial statements, Trump Jr. says
Before stepping down from the witness stand at the end of the afternoon, Donald Trump Jr. was asked repeatedly about his involvement in the Trump Organization’s statements of financial condition — the allegedly fraudulent documents that underpin the attorney general’s case.
Trump Jr., who signed and certified the accuracy of the statements while his father was president between 2016 and 2021, said that he was not involved in preparing the filings.
“I wasn’t involved in the compilation of this statement of financial condition,” Trump Jr. said, placing the responsibility on his accountants.
“Did you work on the statement of financial condition for June 30, 2017?” state attorney Colleen Faherty asked.
“I did not. The accountants worked on it. That’s what we paid them to do,” Trump Jr. said.
Throughout the afternoon, the tone of the proceedings alternated rapidly between lighthearted and heated, varying from playful interactions between Trump Jr. and Judge Engoron, to bitter spats between some of the lawyers.
“I know you don’t like it when good evidence comes in,” Faherty told the defense lawyers during one particularly heated exchange.
“There’s no reason to raise your voice,” Donald Trump Jr.’s lawyer, Clifford Robert, responded.
Trump Jr. is scheduled to return to the stand tomorrow morning.
Nov 01, 4:40 PM EDT
Trump Jr. to resume testimony tomorrow
Donald Trump Jr. has stepped down from the witness stand.
He is due to return to the courtroom tomorrow morning to resume his direct examination.
Court is now adjourned for the day.
Nov 01, 4:25 PM EDT
“Move it along,” judge tells lawyer questioning Trump Jr.
Donald Trump Jr. and state attorney Colleen Faherty got into a rhythm of quick questions and answers during the first hour of direct examination.
“I moved to Florida, but kept the New York pace,” Trump Jr. joked at one point when asked by the judge to speak slower.
So far the state attorney has focused most of her questions on Trump Jr.’s broader roles and responsibilities at his family’s firm, rather than any specific allegations in the attorney general’s complaint.
“I don’t see where we are going at all with this,” Trump attorney Chris Kise said at one point regarding the questioning.
“Move it along as fast as you can,” Judge Engoron told Faherty.
Nov 01, 3:47 PM EDT
Trump Jr. pressed about departure of ex-CFO
Donald Trump Jr. struggled to answer questions when pressed about why former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg departed the family’s firm.
“Because some legal issues he got himself into,” Trump Jr. said, declining to offer specifics about Weisselberg’s guilty plea on tax evasion charges last year.
Previously giving lengthy answers to questions about his background and even smiling with the judge, Trump Jr. appeared tense on the witness stand as he answered questions about Weisselberg.
“The specific event was he was indicted,” Trump Jr. said.
He added that when began working for the Trump Organization as an executive vice president in the 2010s, Weisselberg outranked him. Trump Jr. would seek Weisselberg’s approval for certain business decisions such as refinancing loans.
“Who is above you in your role as an executive vice president in the Trump Organization?” state attorney Colleen Faherty asked.
“Obviously I would have reported to my father in that period of time … people like Allen Weisselberg would have still been senior to me,” Trump Jr. said of that time period.
Trump Jr. said he gained more responsibility in 2016 when his father became president and he was named a trustee of his father’s revocable trust. He said that he, Weisselberg and his brother Eric Trump became a kind of triumvirate running the Trump Organization.
“We stopped reporting to my father on decisions involving the business,” Trump Jr. said.
That relationship broke down once Weisselberg got himself into “legal issues,” Trump Jr. said. He testified that he could not recall the circumstances of Weisselberg’s exit, including the multimillion-dollar severance deal that Weisselberg received, which Weisselberg faced questions about during his own testimony earlier this month.
“I have no knowledge of the specifics of how it happened. He is no longer working at the Trump Organization,” Trump Jr. said of the former CFO.
Nov 01, 3:22 PM EDT
‘I leave it to my CPAs,’ Trump Jr. says of accounting standards
“Sounds very exciting, but no,” Donald Trump Jr. answered to a state attorney’s question about whether he knows about accounting certifications, professional organizations, or accounting standards other than GAAP, which stands for “Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.”
“I know nothing about GAAP,” Trump Jr. said, adding, “I leave it to my CPAs.”
“I’m a real estate broker,” Trump Jr. said as he introduced himself on the witness stand. He testified that he began working in the family real estate business “right after 9/11,” working on Trump Park Avenue and the former Sun Times building in Chicago.
State attorney Colleen Faherty tried to pressed him on his lack of accounting knowledge, prompting several objections from the defense.
Judge Engoron sustained the objections and admonished Faherty against asking negative questions.
-ABC News’ Olivia Rubin contributed to this report.
Nov 01, 3:10 PM EDT
Trump Jr. to be questioned by assistant AG
Assistant New York Attorney General Colleen Faherty will start off the direct examination of Donald Trump Jr.
Faherty is familiar with questioning high-stakes witnesses, having led the direct examination of former Trump attorney Michael Cohen last week.
Her quick objections during Cohen’s cross-examination led Trump attorney Alina Habba to accuse Faherty of trying to “throw off” her game.
A seven-year veteran of the New York attorney general’s office and a former criminal defense attorney, Faherty has been a vocal presence in the courtroom since the start of the trial.
Her willingness to spar with Trump lawyer Chris Kise previously led to some heated exchanges in court, such as a sidebar when Faherty demanded Kise “be more respectful.”
“No,” Kise responded.
“That was rude,” Faherty replied.
Nov 01, 3:01 PM EDT
Donald Trump Jr. takes the stand
Donald Trump Jr. has taken the stand, where he will be the first of the former president’s children to testify.
Before taking the stand, Trump Jr. sat while news photographers snapped pictures.
“I should’ve worn makeup,” he quipped.
Nov 01, 2:30 PM EDT
Ivanka Trump appeals ruling requiring her to testify
One week ahead of her planned testimony, Ivanka Trump has appealed Judge Engoron’s decision to require her to testify in person at the Trump Organization’s fraud trial.
Ivanka Trump’s lawyer Bennet Moskowitz asked an appellate court to decide whether Engoron has jurisdiction to compel her testimony and whether the trial subpoenas issued by the New York attorney general were properly served.
Ivanka Trump, who is not a defendant in the case, is currently scheduled to testify next Wednesday as the final witness in the attorney general’s case before the defense presents its case.
Nov 01, 2:08 PM EDT
Donald Trump Jr. arrives at courthouse
Donald Trump Jr. has arrived at the New York State Supreme Courthouse with his attorney.
Unlike his father and his brother Eric Trump — who have visited the courtroom to watch the proceedings – Donald Trump Jr. has not stepped foot inside the courthouse for the trial until today.
A Trump Organization executive vice president, Trump Jr. is scheduled to testify in the case this afternoon.
Nov 01, 1:44 PM EDT
Defense presses state’s expert on his analysis
Defense lawyer Jesus Suarez spent the first hour of his cross-examination working to cast doubt on expert Michiel McCarty’s analysis, which found that Trump defrauded lenders out of $168 million in interest.
“Who created the universe of documents for you to review? It was the New York attorney general, right?” Suarez said before launching into a rapid-fire succession of questions regarding which lenders McCarty had spoken to in the course of his analysis.
“Did you ever interview anyone from Deutsche Bank?” Suarez asked.
“No,” McCarty said.
“Did you ever interview anyone from Ladder Capital?” Suarez asked.
“No,” McCarty repeated.
“Did you ever interview anyone from Mazars,” Suarez asked.
“No,” McCarty responded.
“Did you ever interview anyone from the Trump Organization?” Suarez asked.
“No,” McCarty said again.
Nov 01, 12:34 PM EDT
Defense assails judge after he tells them to speed up questioning
Only 15 minutes into what is expected to be a three-hour cross-examination, Judge Arthur Engoron snapped at defense lawyer Jesus Suarez for asking redundant questions.
“I see why this is going to take two or three hours. Some questions become three or four more questions,” Engoron said, interrupting the cross-examination to request that Suarez shorten his questions.
That prompted Trump lawyer Chris Kise to criticize Engoron for placing an unfair standard on the defense team.
“You never give them speeches. You never limit their questions,” Kise said about Engoron’s approach to the attorney general’s legal team. “I think it’s unfair.”
Kise stressed that the cross-examination of the state’s sole expert witness is particularly important since his testimony is likely to play into the judge’s calculation of Trump’s potential fine.
“This witness is the only witness they have that even hints … about ill-gotten gains,” Kise said.
Engoron, however, refused to back down.
“I stand by my rulings and statements,” the judge said.
Nov 01, 12:17 PM EDT
Expert agrees that high-net-worth borrowers get low rates
Defense attorney Jesus Suarez began what is expected to be a marathon cross examination of the state’s expert witness, Michiel McCarty, by attempting to use his words against him.
“Historically banks have been willing to lend to high-net-worth individuals at low rates because they get repaid?” Suarez said, citing McCarty’s direct examination.
“That is correct,” McCarty said.
Suarez then reminded McCarty that Trump’s loans were paid on time — a point that the former president has reiterated during his appearance in court and on social media.
Suarez then asked if McCarty had charged the attorney general’s office $950 per hour for his expert analysis.
“That’s my standard rate, yes,” said McCarty, who estimated that his total bill for his analysis was $350,000.
The state’s expert witness, Michiel McCarty, calculated that Donald Trump’s lenders lost $168 million in potential interest between 2014 and 2023, according to a report he presented in court.
McCarty’s testimony appeared to reinforce a central tenet of New York Attorney General Letitia James’ case: that Trump’s misrepresentations in his financial statements cost banks potential earnings from interest, even if the banks made money on the loans.
State attorney Kevin Wallace directed McCarty to a footnote in Judge Engoron’s earlier summary judgment order about the concept of lost interest, in which Engoron said, “The subject loans made the banks lots of money; but the fraudulent SFCs [Statements of Financial Condition] cost the banks lots of money. The less collateral for a loan, the riskier it is, and a first principle of loan accounting is that as risk rises, so do interest rates. Thus, accurate SFCs would have allowed the lenders to make even more money than they did.”
McCarty, who said he agreed with this assessment, ultimately found that banks lost a total of $168,040,168 in potential interest from loans related to four of Trump’s properties in Miami, New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.
Trump attorney Chris Kise fiercely objected, arguing that McCarty was testifying about facts not established during the trial. During questioning, state attorneys declined to ask a Deutsche Bank executive if the bank would have still done business with Trump had they known his financial statements were inflated.
“They are not ill-gotten gains if the bank does not testify it would have done it differently,” Kise said.
“I decided these were ill-gotten,” the Judge Engoron replied.
Following Wallace’s direct examination of McCarty, defense attorney Jesus Suarez began his cross-examination.
Nov 01, 11:03 AM EDT
State’s expert witness takes the stand
Listing companies like Marriott, Fannie Mae and AT&T, the New York attorney general’s lone expert witness, Michiel McCarty, began his testimony by outlining some of the deals he worked on during his nearly 50-year career.
McCarty said that he has worked as an expert witness on “dozens of cases” and testified at 15 trials. But he acknowledged that he had limited experience with the compilation of statements of financial condition, prompting an objection from Trump’s lawyer Chris Kise.
“It appears that he does not have the specific experience relevant to the purpose he is here,” Kise argued.
Deemed an expert by Judge Engoron, McCarty went on to explain the report he wrote after reviewing Trump’s finances.
Nov 01, 10:49 AM EDT
Former Trump Organization VP testifies about Ivanka Trump
Former Trump Organization VP David Orowitz testified about Ivanka Trump’s involvement with Trump’s Old Post Office property in Washington, D.C.
“Ivanka wanted me to change the language in the GAAP section. She asked that I review with you,” Orowitz wrote in a 2011 email to then-Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg, referring to the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles used in the preparation of financial documents.
Defense attorneys have previously tried to downplay the extent to which Ivanka Trump was involved in the representation of Trump’s finances.
Orowitz subsequently stepped down from the witness stand to make way for Michiel McCarty, the state’s sole expert witness, to begin his testimony.
Nov 01, 10:14 AM EDT
‘We have a busy day,’ judge says as court gets underway
“We have a busy day and a busy week, so let’s try to move things along,” Judge Engoron remarked as he brought the courtroom to order to begin the day’s proceedings.
“Would you like to continue your witness?” Engoron asked state attorney Eric Haren.
“We would,” said Haren, before calling back to the stand former Trump Organization vice president David Orowitz, who began his testimony yesterday afternoon.
Defense attorneys Chris Kise, Alina Habba, and Jesus Suarez are sitting at the counsel table, leaving one seat available for Donald Trump Jr., who has not yet appeared ahead of his scheduled testimony this afternoon.
Nov 01, 10:01 AM EDT
Trump rails against judge, gag order
Former President Trump continued to attack Judge Engoron this morning, calling him “crazy, totally unhinged, and dangerous” on his Truth Social platform.
“He then put a RIDICULOUS GAG ORDER ON ME, which we will appeal. He fines me at levels never seen before,” Trump wrote this morning.
Trump recently paid $15,000 in fines related to two violations of the limited gag order Engoron established that prohibits public statements about the judge’s staff.
Trump also complained about the potential fine that Engoron could impose in the case. During court yesterday, the judge remarked that disgorgement — fining Trump for profits made through fraudulent means — is a “clearly available remedy” in the case.
“Now they come up with something called ‘disgorgement.’ I never even heard of the term,” Trump said.
Engoron already 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.
Nov 01, 8:45 AM EDT
‘Leave my children alone,’ Trump says ahead of sons’ testimony
Former President Trump attacked Judge Arthur Engoron and New York Attorney General Letitia James on social media ahead of today’s expected testimony from his son Donald Trump Jr.
“Leave my children alone, Engoron. You are a disgrace to the legal profession!” Trump wrote overnight on his Truth Social platform.
Donald Trump Jr. is expected to begin his testimony in the afternoon today.
If that testimony concludes today, his brother Eric Trump could also begin his testimony.
Both of them are executive vice presidents in the Trump Organization.
(NEW YORK) — A former Pennsylvania nurse who, in May, had been accused of killing two patients with doses of insulin now faces more murder charges and has confessed to trying to kill 19 additional people at several locations, authorities said Thursday.
Heather Pressdee, 41, is accused of administering excessive amounts of insulin to patients in her care, some of whom were diabetic and required insulin, and some of whom were not, according to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office.
In total, 17 patients died who had been cared for by Pressdee.
Pressdee has admitted to trying to kill 19 other patients with insulin at five different rehabilitation centers across the state as far back as 2020, and as recently as this year, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office said.
“The allegations against Ms. Pressdee are disturbing. It is hard to comprehend how a nurse, trusted to care for her patients, could choose to deliberately and systematically harm them,” said Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry. “The damage done to the victims and their loved ones cannot be overstated. Every person in a medical or care facility should feel safe and cared for, and my office will work tirelessly to hold the defendant accountable for her crimes and protect care-dependent Pennsylvanians from future harm.”
Pressdee was now been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, 17 counts of attempted murder and 19 counts of neglect of a care-dependent person.
“The alleged crimes happened while Pressdee was employed as a registered nurse at the following facilities: Concordia at Rebecca Residence; Belair Healthcare and Rehabilitation (Guardian); Quality Life Services Chicora; Premier Armstrong Rehabilitation and Nursing Center; and Sunnyview Rehabilitation and Nursing Center,” officials said. “Pressdee typically administered the insulin during overnight shifts when staffing was low and the emergencies would not prompt immediate hospitalization.”
The victims ranged in age from 43 to 104.
Pressdee was arraigned on Thursday and waived her preliminary hearing on these charges. She currently remains in custody at Butler County Prison without bail.
Anyone with information about these incidents or Heather Pressdee is asked to contact the Office of Attorney General’s tipline at 888-538-8541.
(BOSTON) — A missing woman who was found dead Wednesday in a parking garage at Boston Logan International Airport was murdered, and authorities say her killer has since boarded a plane to Kenya.
Margaret Mbitu, 31, was found dead inside a vehicle within the airport’s parking garage after her family had reported her missing on Monday, according to a statement from the Massachusetts State Police.
Authorities have identified 40-year-old Kevin Kangethe as the suspect in the homicide. The pair reportedly knew each other and police believe that the homicide was not a random act.
“At approximately 6:30 PM Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023, Massachusetts State Troopers assigned to the Logan Airport Barracks located a vehicle occupied by a deceased adult female in the Central Parking garage at Logan Airport,” authorities said in their statement to the press. “A subsequent investigation by the State Police Detective Unit for Suffolk County and State Police Troop F Detectives confirmed that the victim was the missing Whitman woman, Margaret Mbitu, 31. Evidence indicates that she was the victim of a homicide.”
Officials believe Kangeth is now in Kenya and Massachusetts State Police Detectives have obtained an arrest warrant and say that they are working with Kenyan authorities to locate him.
There is no threat to the public or to Logan Airport travelers and no further information is being released at this time to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation, police said.
