(NEW YORK) — Among the new evidence against alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann is “cutting edge” DNA evidence, the district attorney told ABC News.
Heuermann was charged Tuesday with the murder of a fourth woman, 25-year-old escort Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who disappeared in 2007.
Heuermann had already been charged in July with murdering three other escorts: Megan Waterman, Amber Costello and Melissa Barthelemy.
The remains of all four women were found in desolate spots along the ocean near Gilgo Beach in December 2010, prosecutors said. Heuermann pleaded not guilty to all four murders.
The indictment in Brainard-Barnes’ death took longer because prosecutors were waiting for evidence, including “cutting edge” DNA evidence, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney told “Good Morning America” on Wednesday.
Investigators found DNA belonging to Heuermann’s now estranged wife, Asa Ellerup, in hair recovered from a belt used to restrain Brainard-Barnes, according to the indictment. Heuermann’s family was out of state when Brainard-Barnes was killed, prosecutors said, and Ellerup is not suspected to be involved.
“The DNA itself was extracted from the hair back in 2010,” Tierney said. “At that time, there was no method to obtain nuclear DNA profile from hair — that has since changed. So we’re on the cutting edge with regard to using this DNA analysis.”
This DNA evidence was among a slew of new evidence released Tuesday. The filing said prosecutors seized two phones from Heuermann during his arrest that were “in fictitious names,” and prosecutors said Heuermann used the phones in “hundreds of contacts with sex-workers between 2020 and 2023.”
Heuermann allegedly used the devices for searches, including the victims and their family members; the status of the investigation; and software that would help erase data from computers and other devices, prosecutors said.
“Defendant’s devices also contained the following: A collection of violent, bondage, and torture pornography preceding, during, and subsequent to the disappearances and murders of the aforementioned victims between 2007 and 2010; and prostitution-related searches preceding, during, and subsequent to the disappearances and murders of the aforementioned victims between 2007 and 2010,” the filing said.
The “Gilgo 4 investigation” is now over, authorities announced Tuesday.
Tierney said the case has “been very tough” for the four victims’ families.
The Gilgo Beach murders has “been this, sort of, pop culture thing, and I think sometimes they feel as though the lives of their loved ones get sort of lost in the mix,” Tierney said.
Brainard-Barnes’ daughter, Nicolette, who was 7 years old when her mother was killed, told reporters Tuesday, “While the loss of my mom has been extremely painful for me, the indictment by the grand jury has brought hope for justice for my mom and my family.”
The deaths of six other victims found near Gilgo Beach between 1996 and 2011 remain unsolved. The grand jury is continuing for the open cases, Tierney said.
(NEW YORK) — More than 105 million Americans remain on alert for dangerously low temperatures after an arctic blast swept across the U.S.
At least nine weather-related fatalities were confirmed nationwide this week: six in Tennessee, two in New Jersey and one in Mississippi, according to authorities.
On Wednesday, the wind chill — what the temperature feels like — is forecast to fall to minus 25 degrees in North Dakota, minus 16 in Chicago and minus 12 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Austin, Texas, and San Antonio could break daily records for low temperatures on Wednesday at or around 10 degrees.
By the weekend, wind chills will remain below zero in Chicago. Wind chills could fall below zero in Memphis, Tennessee, and may drop to minus 22 degrees in Kansas City, Missouri.
Although conditions will be dry in the Northeast on Wednesday, areas around the Great Lakes are expected to get more snow. Lake-effect snow warnings were issued in Buffalo and Watertown, New York, where snowfall totals could reach 4 feet by Thursday night — on top of the more than 40 inches of snow that fell last weekend.
Another storm is also heading toward the Pacific Northwest. Ice storm warnings are in effect for more than 3 million people in Oregon, including Portland, where residents could wake up to as much as 3/4 inches of ice on Wednesday.
In the Cascade mountain range, there’s a chance for up to 7 inches of snow and 1 inch of ice.
The snow from this storm will move over the Rocky Mountains on Wednesday and Thursday, including in Colorado, where avalanche warnings are in effect through Thursday. The avalanche danger is high — at a level 4 out of 5 — because heavy snow and strong winds have created very treacherous conditions that could easily trigger large and dangerous avalanches.
High wind warnings are also in effect for parts of Colorado’s mountains, with winds up to 75 mph possible on Wednesday.
Colorado’s Rockies could get as much as 2 feet of snow from Wednesday to Friday.
The snowfall will move into Nebraska and Missouri on Thursday.
A separate weather system will bring snow to Kentucky on Thursday before combining with the moisture from the Plains to bring another round of snow to the Northeast on Friday, with an additional 1 to 3 inches in the forecast for the Interstate 95 corridor.
Former President Donald Trump speaks at his caucus night event at the Iowa Events Center, Jan. 15, 2024 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump is on trial this week in New York City to determine whether he will have to pay former Elle magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll additional damages for defaming her in 2019 when he denied her allegations of sexual assault.
Last year, in a separate trial, a jury determined that Trump was liable for sexually assaulting Carroll in the dressing room of a Manhattan department store in the 1990s, and that he defamed her in a 2022 social media post by calling her allegations “a Hoax and a lie” and saying “This woman is not my type!”
Trump has denied all wrongdoing and has said he doesn’t know who Carroll is.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jan 17, 7:37 AM
Carroll set to testify as first witness
Donald Trump is expected to be in the courtroom this morning when E. Jean Carroll takes the stand to testify about how the then-president’s defamatory denial of her sexual assault allegations in 2019 upended her life.
Trump “unleashed his followers to go after her online” after Carroll went public with her allegations, damaging her reputation as a writer and making her feel unsafe in her own home, Carroll’s attorney Shawn Crowley told the jury in her opening statement yesterday.
“Ms. Carroll bought bullets for the gun that she inherited from her father, and she now sleeps with it right beside her bed. She checks her surroundings every time she leaves her house or gets out of her car,” Crowley said. “She’s afraid — afraid that someday, somebody is going to make good on their threats and come after her in person.”
Despite sitting feet from each other in the courtroom yesterday, Carroll and Trump avoided eye contact and never interacted during the first day of the trial. However, when Carroll takes the stand to testify this morning, she will speak directly in front of the counsel table where Trump is seated.
Jan 16, 8:30 PM
Trump expected to attend trial Wednesday, sources say
Former President Trump, who was campaigning in New Hampshire Tuesday evening, is expected to return to New York to attend the second day of his defamation trial on Wednesday, sources tell ABC News.
Trump is then scheduled to return to New Hampshire later Wednesday.
Jan 16, 6:02 PM
Trial is ‘straight out of banana republic,’ says Trump attorney
Donald Trump’s legal counsel Boris Epshteyn briefly spoke to reporters outside court at the conclusion of Tuesday’s proceedings, calling the trial “straight out of [a] banana republic.”
“Manhattan is 90-95% Democrat,” Epshteyn said, despite voter registration records showing the borough is about 70% Democratic. “Does anybody think the President will get a fair trial here? Absolutely not,” he said.
Despite a jury last year finding Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll, Epshteyn alleged that Carroll is making “false accusations.”
“President Trump has consistently stated that he did not commit the allegation and did not commit the acts that the plaintiff alleges. He has been steadfast in that. And it is right to defend himself from false accusations,” Epshteyn said.
Epshteyn declined to comment on whether Trump plans to attend court tomorrow.
Carroll did not speak to reporters when she left court.
Jan 16, 4:52 PM
Carroll seeking a ‘windfall’ over ‘mean Tweets,’ Trump attorney says
E. Jean Carroll is looking for a “windfall” over a series of “mean Tweets from Twitter trolls,” Trump attorney Alina Habba said during the defense’s opening statement, in which Habba sought to cast doubt on the severity of the alleged harm Carroll said she endured.
Habba told the jury they do not have to believe Carroll’s account of how she has suffered as a result of Trump’s defamatory statements.
“Her career has prospered and she has been thrust back into the limelight like she has always wanted,” Habba said, accusing Carroll of using her story “to obtain as much fame and notoriety as possible.”
The defense framed Carroll’s lawsuit as nothing more than an attempt to shake down Trump for money over scores of critical Tweets that have nothing to do with the defamatory statements by Trump that are at issue in the trial.
“She expects you as the jury to give her an award for every negative comment that was thrown her way,” Habba said. “She is looking for you to give her a windfall because some people on social media said mean things about her.”
Habba showed a photo of Carroll in the company of Trump critic Kathy Griffin and said Carroll is close with another critic of the former president, his niece Mary Trump.
“This is someone who craves fame and seeks fame wherever she can get it,” Habba said. “She got what she wanted.”
The proceedings were dismissed for the day after both sides concluded their opening statements. The trial will resume Wednesday with the first witness in the case.
Jan 16, 4:00 PM
Trump ‘unleashed his followers,’ Carroll’s attorney says
Donald Trump’s lies about E. Jean Carroll “unleashed his followers to go after her,” and as Trump campaigns for president he “continues to lie about Ms. Carroll,” Carroll’s attorney said in her opening statement.
“How much money will it take to make him stop?” Carroll’s attorney, Shawn Crowley, said. “He kept up those very same lies even after a federal jury sat in this courtroom and unanimously found that he sexually assaulted her and defamed her.”
Crowley reminded the jury that Trump “was president when he made those statements and he used the world’s biggest microphone to humiliate her” — the result of which was that he “wrecked” Carroll’s reputation in a matter of days, Crowley said.
“Donald Trump’s response was swift and brutal,” Crowley said. “Donald Trump did not just deny the assault. He went much, much further.”
She quoted Trump’s statements from June 22, 2019: “‘People should pay dearly for making up accusations” about him.
Crowley also quoted Trump saying “she’s not my type” on that day in 2019. “In other words, she was too ugly to assault. She must have been lying because she was too unattractive for Mr. Trump to sexually assault,” Crowley said.
Carroll, who is now 80, sat at the plaintiff’s table as her attorney showed the jury messages Trump’s followers posted calling her ugly and urging her to kill herself.
“When Donald Trump called Ms. Carroll a fraud and a liar, they listened and they believed and they decided to go after her,” Crowley said. “Donald Trump knew exactly what he was unleashing.”
Jan 16, 3:40 PM
‘This is not a do-over,’ judge instructs jury
Judge Lewis Kaplan told the nine jurors that they must accept as true that Trump forcibly sexually assaulted E. Jean Carroll and defamed her when he denied it.
“Ms. Carroll did not make up her claim of forcible sexual abuse,” Judge Kaplan told the panel. “His false statements tended to disparage Ms. Carroll or tended to expose her to hatred or to induce an unsavory opinion of her.”
The judge made it clear the jury was only determining damages related to two defamatory statements Trump made in June 2019 when he denied Carroll’s rape allegation. He said the trial was not an opportunity to re-litigate the prior trial, in which a jury found Trump liable for defamation and sexual assault.
“This trial is not a do-over of the previous trial which determined those facts,” Kaplan said.
Jan 16, 3:18 PM
Trump departs before opening statements
Former President Trump has departed Manhattan federal court prior to the delivery of opening statements in his defamation damages trial.
Trump voluntarily showed up to court for jury selection this morning, and did not return after the lunch break. He has a campaign event scheduled later today in New Hampshire.
His attorney suggested Trump would return to court for at least part of tomorrow’s proceedings, when E. Jean Carroll is expected to be the first witness.
The jury has been sworn in, with opening statements to begin following instructions from the judge.
Jan 16, 2:08 PM
2 election deniers don’t make cut as jury is seated
A jury of nine has been selected to hear the evidence in the case.
One juror is a married father of two grown children who works in the subway system. and said he is an avid local news viewer. Another juror is a German native who emigrated to the United States and said she does not watch the news.
The jury also includes a newlywed who works in property management and gets his news from social media, a woman with a master’s degree who works as a publicist for a tech firm, and a single man who works in television.
Two people who said they believed that the election was stolen from Donald Trump by President Joe Biden did not make the jury. Nor did a man who said he believed Trump was being treated unfairly by the United States court system.
Opening arguments will begin follow the lunch break. As they exited the courtroom, Trump and Carroll came within feet of each other but appeared to ignore one another.
Jan 16, 12:11 PM
Prospective jurors questioned about political leanings
Former President Trump has been twisting and turning in his seat at the defense table as prospective jurors answer the judge’s questions about their political affiliations, voting habits, campaign donations, and any experience with sexual assault — and whether they ever watched The Apprentice or read E. Jean Carroll’s advice column in Elle magazine.
As another columnist was known to say, “Only in New York, kids.”
One prospective juror, number 68, affirmed that he donated to Trump’s campaign, followed him on social media, and believed that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump by President Joe Biden.
Prospective juror 63 was excused after he said that his knowledge of Trump’s criminal indictments — of which there are four that the former president is currently facing — would impact his ability to be fair and impartial.
The majority of prospective jurors signaled they were registered to vote, prompting the judge to ask if they had voted in 2016 and 2020. Trump turned to look at those who answered in the affirmative.
Three prospective jurors said they had donated to Trump’s campaign. Eleven said they donated to either the Obama, Clinton or Biden campaigns. At least ten watched The Apprentice.
Jan 16, 11:32 AM
Judge explains case to prospective jurors
Judge Kaplan explained the case to prospective jurors, saying, “Ms. Carroll sued Mr. Trump for defamation for certain statements he made” shortly after she publicly accused him of raping her.
“This trial is limited to the issue of the money damages, if any, that Ms. Carroll should receive for those publications. The reason that’s so is that the court determined in a previous decision that Mr. Trump is liable,” Kaplan said. “It has been determined already that Mr. Trump did sexually assault Ms. Carroll.”
To whittle down the jury pool, Kaplan began with this question: “Having heard what you have heard about this case so far, would you be unable to give both sides a fair trial and to decide this case solely on the basis of the evidence you hear during this trial and the instructions I give you?”
Three prospective jurors were immediately excused for signaling they could not be fair.
One woman said she worked for Ivanka Trump’s company from 2017 to 2018. “Would that experience have any effect on your ability to be fair and impartial to both sides in this case?” Judge Kaplan asked regarding her connection to Trump’s eldest daughter. “No,” the woman replied.
After the judge asked if anyone else had worked for Trump or his family, a man indicated he was an officer in the U.S. Navy while Trump was commander in chief. The man said it would have no impact on his ability to be fair.
Jan 16, 11:23 AM
Prospective jurors enter courtroom to begin selection process
As prospective jurors filed into the courtroom for jury selection, Donald Trump surveyed the group. One woman appeared to smile upon recognizing Trump. A man leaned forward and appeared to stare for several seconds.
“You’ve been summoned for possible service in a civil case,” Judge Kaplan said before introducing the plaintiff and defendant. “This case is between a writer, advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, and former President Donald Trump,” he said.
Jurors were told the case is expected to last three to five days and that they would sit through Thursday and, if necessary, return on Monday. They were also told they will be anonymous.
“That means neither your names nor the names of the jurors who are ultimately selected will be made public,” Judge Kaplan said. He had earlier cited Trump’s rhetoric as among the reasons for the anonymous jury.
Jurors will assemble daily at an off-site location and be driven to court under guard, the judge said.
“This is for your own protection. As you may understand, this case has attracted media attention and that’s likely to continue,” Kaplan said.
Jan 16, 10:40 AM
Layout of courtroom has Trump sitting 2 tables behind Carroll
Unlike courtrooms where the counsel tables are arranged side by side, the counsel tables in the courtroom this morning are arranged behind one another, with Trump and his attorneys seated two tables behind Carroll and her counsel.
Trump appeared to take note of that arrangement when he entered the courtroom.
He appeared to point at Carroll, then he and his team asked a man seated at the table between them to slide over — possibly to block Trump’s view of Carroll, or to provide a better view of the proceedings.
Jan 16, 10:27 AM
Judge again declines to delay trial
On Friday, Judge Kaplan denied a request from Trump’s attorneys to postpone the trial for a week so Trump could attend Thursday’s funeral of Amalija Knavs, the mother of former first lady Melania Trump, who died last Tuesday after a long health battle.
In court this morning, Trump attorney Alina Habba repeated her request for an adjournment so Trump can attend Knavs’ funeral.
“You asked me for a week’s adjournment and I denied it,” Judge Kaplan said. “The repetition is not accomplishing anything.”
The judge said Friday that he would grant a continuance so the trial, which was initially scheduled to conclude this week, would be extended so Trump could testify on Monday, Jan. 22.
Jan 16, 10:12 AM
Defense lodges several objections as court gets underway
“The court has made a number of rulings precluding evidence and argument,” said Judge Lewis Kaplan as court got underway, asking each side’s lead attorney to affirm that the parties understood the rules.
The defense objected, arguing that the court lacked jurisdiction. Kaplan quickly dispensed with the objection, saying, “Overruled.” Kaplan, who has a reputation as a no-nonsense judge, also overruled several other defense objections.
“I do think these are issues that will become an issue on appeal. We still don’t know what witnesses are coming in and which aren’t,” Trump attorney Alina Habba said, before Kaplan interrupted, saying, “Ms. Habba you have had a witness list for months.”
Habba pressed on, with Kaplan noting her objections.
“I have heard you, I have considered what you have to say and I have ruled,” Judge Kaplan said.
Jan 16, 9:56 AM
Trump seated in courtroom
Donald Trump has taken a seat in court, where jury selection in his defamation trial is scheduled to get underway this morning.
His decision to attend this trial is a clear shift for the former president, whose lawyers portrayed his absence from last year’s defamation and battery trial as a service to New York City, saying the city would not have to suffer the “logistical and financial burdens” of Trump’s attendance.
Carroll’s attorneys, however, pounced on Trump’s absence.
“He didn’t even bother to show up here in person,” attorney Roberta Kaplan told the jury.
Writing on social media last month, Trump blamed his absence at the trial on “not good advice” from his then-lawyer Joe Tacopina.
“I was asked by my lawyer not to attend–‘It was beneath me, and they have no case.’ That was not good advice,” Trump wrote.
Trump attorney Alina Habba is serving as Trump’s lead defense attorney for this week’s trial.
Jan 16, 9:21 AM
Carroll arrives for trial
E. Jean Carroll has arrived at the courthouse for the first day of the trial.
She smiled to reporters as she entered court.
Jan 16, 9:03 AM
Trump arrives at courthouse
Following his victory in Iowa, former President Trump landed at 3:30 a.m. in New York and just arrived at his civil defamation trial in lower Manhattan.
Trump is not required to attend the trial, though his decision not to attend last year’s defamation and battery trial by the same plaintiff, writer E. Jean Carroll, was mocked by Carroll’s attorney.
Trump’s motorcade pulled up to the courthouse this morning at at 8:50 a.m. ET.
Jan 16, 8:51 AM
On heels of Iowa victory, Trump is back on trial
When Donald Trump’s federal defamation trial gets underway in lower Manhattan this morning, it will be only about 11 hours since the former president claimed victory in the Iowa caucuses.
The trial is expected to take about a week, which could take Trump right to the doorstep of the New Hampshire Primary, scheduled for next Tuesday.
Trump has said that he plans to attend the trial at some point during the week, but has not indicted when.
The former president did not attend last year’s trial, held at the same courthouse, where a New York jury found him liable for sexually assaulting E. Jean Carroll and defaming her when he denied her accusation in a 2022 social media post.
(NEW YORK) — More than 105 million Americans remain on alert for dangerously low wind chills after an artic blast swept across the United States.
There were at least nine weather-related fatalities nationwide this week — six in Tennessee, two in New Jersey and one in Mississippi, according to authorities.
As of early Wednesday, the National Weather Service had wind chill advisories or warnings in effect for 26 states, from North Dakota to Florida.
The wind chill — what temperature it feels like — was forecast to be -25 degrees Fahrenheit in parts of North Dakota on Wednesday morning, -16 in Chicago, Illinois, and -12 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Some of the coldest temperatures of the season were headed to the Northeast, with Wednesday morning’s wind chills expected to be in the single digits along the Interstate 95 travel corridor, though no alerts have been issued.
Typically warm Tampa, Florida, was also under a wind chill advisory on Wednesday morning as feels-like temperatures may reach near 20 degrees.
Meanwhile, Austin and San Antonio, Texas, could break daily records for low temperatures on Wednesday at or around 10 degrees.
In the coming days, wind chills on Saturday morning will reach -22 degrees in Kansas City and go below zero in Memphis, Tennessee. Morning wind chills in Chicago will remain below zero through the weekend.
Although conditions will be dry in the Northeast on Wednesday, areas around the Great Lakes were expected to get more snow. Lake-effect snow warnings were in effect for places like Buffalo and Watertown, New York, where the snowfall could amass to 4 feet by Thursday evening. That’s on top of the more than 40 inches of snow that fell over last weekend.
Another storm was already coming ashore in the Pacific Northwest on Wednesday morning. Ice storm warnings were in effect for more than three million people in Oregon, including Portland where residents could wake up to as much as 3/4 inches of ice. More than 65,000 customers in Oregon were without power as of 4:30 a.m. ET.
In the Cascade mountain range, there was a chance for up to 7 inches of snow and 1 inch of ice.
The snow from this storm will move over the Rocky Mountains on Wednesday and Thursday, including in Colorado where avalanche warnings were in effect through Thursday. The avalanche danger is high — at a level 4 out of 5 — because heavy snow and strong winds have created very treacherous conditions that could easily trigger large and dangerous avalanches.
High wind warnings were also in effect for parts of Colorado’s mountains, with winds up to 75 miles per hour possible on Wednesday morning.
Colorado’s Rockies could get as much as 2 feet of snow from Wednesday morning to Friday morning. The snowfall will then move in to Nebraska and Missouri on Thursday.
A separate weather system will bring snow to Kentucky on Thursday before combining with the moisture from the Plains to bring another round of snow to the Northeast on Friday, with an additional 1 to 3 inches in the forecast for the I-95 corridor.
NTSB investigators have recovered the door plug from the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-9 MAX, flight 1282 that was found in the backyard of a home in Portland, Oregon. (NTSB)
(NEW YORK) — Four passengers are suing Alaska Airlines and Boeing for the “terror” they say they experienced after a door plug “blew off” during their flight, according to a complaint filed Tuesday.
The door plug for the fuselage of a Boeing 737 Max 9 fell off a few minutes after Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 took off from Portland International Airport on Jan. 5, depressurizing the cabin and exposing passengers to open air thousands of feet above the ground, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. No one was seriously injured and the plane made an emergency landing safely.
Two California residents and two Washington state residents who were on the flight are suing the two companies for alleged injuries including “intense fear, distress, anxiety, trauma [and] physical pain,” according to the complaint.
“Plaintiffs feared the gaping hole in the fuselage, rapid depressurization, and general havoc was a prelude to the plane’s destruction and their own likely death,” the complaint stated.
“This is the end,” one plaintiff thought, according to the complaint.
Some passengers also sent “what they thought would be their final text messages in this world,” according to Seattle attorney Mark Lindquist, who filed the complaint on behalf of the four passengers.
One plaintiff texted, “Mom our plane depressed. We’re in masks. I love you,” according to the complaint.
The lawsuit alleges that Boeing delivered a plane with a faulty door plug and that Alaska management had deemed the aircraft unsafe to fly over the ocean but continued to fly it over land, according to the complaint.
In an interview with ABC News on Jan. 7, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said Alaska pilots had reported a pressurization alert on that plane three times between Dec. 7 and Jan. 4, but it was determined to be benign. According to Homendy, Alaska ran maintenance tests and put the plane back in service, but issued a restriction for the plane to not fly over water to Hawaii. The plane had been in operation since Oct. 31, federal records show.
The lawsuit, which was filed in King County Superior Court in Washington state, is seeking unspecified damages for alleged negligence against Boeing and Alaska Airlines. It also alleges product liability against Boeing under the Washington Product Liability Act, alleging that the plane was “unreasonably dangerous and defective,” according to the complaint.
The incident remains under investigation by the NTSB.
“Though it’s too soon to know for sure what exactly went wrong,” Lindquist said in a statement. “We do know Boeing is ultimately responsible for the safety of their planes and Alaska Airlines is ultimately responsible for the safety of their passengers.”
Alaska Airlines grounded its Max 9 fleet shortly after the incident occurred. In response to the lawsuit, Alaska Airlines said it cannot comment on pending litigation.
Boeing had no comment on the lawsuit.
The Federal Aviation Administration grounded approximately 171 Boeing 737 Max 9 planes worldwide in the wake of the incident.
The FAA also is increasing its oversight over Boeing and began an audit of the company’s production and manufacturing last week.
Spirit AeroSystems — which produces the fuselage of the Boeing 737 Max 9 and was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit — said it is “committed” to supporting the FAA’s audit of Boeing’s production line and suppliers.
“Spirit AeroSystems is committed to supporting the FAA’s audit of production and manufacturing processes to ensure compliance with the FAA Quality Management System. As a trusted partner to our customers, Spirit’s top priorities are quality, product integrity and compliance,” Spirit AeroSystems said in a statement.
During a meeting with employees at the 737 production facility in Renton, Washington, last week, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said the company is “going to approach” the incident by starting with an acknowledgment of “our mistake.”
“We’re going to approach it with 100% and complete transparency every step of the way,” Calhoun said during the meeting. “We are going to work with the NTSB who is investigating the accident itself to find out what the cause is.”
The incident could have been potentially more “catastrophic” under different conditions, according to Homendy. The two seats next to the missing door plug were empty, and the incident occurred about 10 minutes after takeoff — when passengers would have still had their seatbelts on — at about 16,000 feet.
“At 30,000, at 35,000 feet, the pressure differential is much greater, which means it would have been a much greater, explosive event — every violent — and it could have had catastrophic consequences,” Homendy told ABC News.
Alaska Airlines has offered full refunds to all passengers of Flight 1282, as well as a $1,500 cash payment “to cover any incidental expenses to ensure their immediate needs were taken care of,” the company said.
“My clients want accountability for Boeing and Alaska Airlines,” Lindquist said in a statement. “They also want assurances that this isn’t going to happen again to anyone.”
Other passengers on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 have sued Boeing over the incident in a proposed class-action suit.
Daniel Penny leaves the courtroom after an arraignment hearing at NYS Supreme Court on June 28, 2023 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A judge is expected to decide Wednesday if he will dismiss involuntary manslaughter charges against Daniel Penny, a former Marine who choked a man to death on a New York City subway car.
Penny’s attorneys argue that the victim, Jordan Neely, was “insanely threatening” at the time of the incident.
Prosecutors argue that Penny maintained his chokehold on Neely’s neck for six minutes, well past the point when Neely stopped “purposeful movement.”
Penny has pleaded not guilty to the charges of second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in connection with the death of Neely on the F train on May 1, 2023, which captured Penny in video footage putting Neely in a chokehold.
Both sides are also expected to hear from the judge on evidentiary matters. No trial date has been set.
Penny held Neely for several minutes, and at some point, Neely stopped moving, but Penny continued to hold him for an extended period of time, according to assistant district attorney Joshua Steinglass, who told the judge during Penny’s initial appearance in court on May 12.
Penny remained on the scene to talk with police following the incident, Steinglass said.
Some witnesses told police that Neely was yelling and harassing passengers on the train, authorities said.
Police sources had previously told ABC News that Penny was not specifically being threatened by Neely when he intervened and that Neely had not become violent and had not been threatening anyone in particular.
Penny’s attorneys have said that he was defending himself and others when he put Neely into the chokehold that caused his death.
The medical examiner determined Neely was killed by a chokehold and his death was ruled a homicide.
Bryan Kohberger, accused of murder, arrives for a hearing on cameras in the courtroom in Latah County District Court on Sept. 13, 2023 in Moscow, Idaho. (Ted S. Warren-Pool/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — In a capital murder case that has been marked by secrecy and media restrictions, a lawyer for accused Idaho college killer Bryan Kohberger is now asking the judge to make public their arguments that he should rethink his decision to deny their ask to toss out the charges.
“Mr. Kohberger acknowledges the right of the public to be fully informed of the issues,” his lawyer wrote in a new filing posted to the docket Tuesday and filed on Friday.
Kohberger’s defense had previously made two different attempts to get the indictment against him dismissed. In one, they argued that the grand jury was given inaccurate instructions — that they used the wrong standard of proof. In the other, they argued that prosecutors withheld evidence that might aid Kohberger in defending himself, and biased the grand jury.
The judge denied both in mid-December. Just before Christmas, Kohberger’s team asked the judge to reconsider that decision — filing a request under seal.
Kohberger’s high-profile case has largely been veiled in secrecy due to a strict non-dissemination or so-called “gag” order in place. The defense has repeatedly criticized some media portrayals of their client, and the judge himself has chastised the media for what he called “disappointing” behavior filming proceedings by some members of the press. Both Kohberger’s defense and prosecutors leading the case against him have supported limiting cameras in the courtroom — or even banning them entirely.
Now, Kohberger’s lawyer wants the public to know where they stand, at least on this particular matter of asking the judge to rethink his decision to dismiss the charges.
“Capital case litigation is largely a matter of creating or avoiding as many appellate issues as possible. The prosecution wants to avoid them, the defense wants to create them,” said Matt Murphy, a former prosecutor in Orange County, California and ABC News legal contributor.
“The defense has already made their position clear on the trial record. That properly preserved the issue for appeal review,” Murphy added. “‘Unsealing’ it now just opens it up for the public. This has the twin dangers of poisoning prospective jurors, or running afoul of the Court’s desire not to try the case in the media.”
In their new filing, Kohberger’s lawyer says they only asked for those particular filings to be sealed in the first place “solely” because prosecutors wanted it — and they were on deadline to file the motion, so they acquiesced.
They say their client “has a right” for the relevant criminal rule “to apply as it is written rather than disadvantage him with items remaining sealed that are not within the scope” of that rule.
Arguments on Kohberger’s requests for the judge to reconsider his decision not to toss out the charges are set to be heard in pretrial hearings on Jan. 26.
Prosecutors allege that in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022, Kohberger, a criminology Ph.D. student at nearby Washington State University, broke into an off-campus home and stabbed four University of Idaho students to death: Ethan Chapin, 20; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21.
After a six-week hunt, police zeroed in on Kohberger as the suspect, arresting him in December 2022 at his family’s home in Pennsylvania. He was indicted in May and charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary. At his arraignment, he declined to offer a plea, so the judge entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf.
Kohberger could face the death penalty, if convicted.
His lawyers have said their client wasn’t in the home where the homicides occurred and was driving around alone that night.
In August, Kohberger waived his right to a speedy trial, indefinitely delaying what was supposed to be an Oct. 2 start date.
(NEW YORK) — Four college students camping in Red River Gorge in Kentucky were rescued by helicopter Tuesday morning after getting stranded on Courthouse Rock, Powell County Search and Rescue said.
The four students from Asbury University were camping overnight and “underestimated the weather conditions,” Powell County officials said. After waking up to snow on Tuesday, the four realized it was unsafe to climb down from the Rock and called for help.
Members of Powell County Fire and Rescue were dispatched to assess the trail conditions for the rescue. After starting to trek to the top of Courthouse Rock, the rescue team realized the safest way to rescue the group was by helicopter.
The helicopter, flown by Kentucky State Police, was able to rescue the four students at 2:05 p.m. Tuesday.
Fortunately, none of the students were injured.
“Other than being cold, all four students seemed to be in good spirits,” Powell County officials said.
“This call was one of the most dangerous rescues ever attempted in the Gorge,” Powell County Fire and Rescue said. “Climbing Courthouse Rock is extremely treacherous even when conditions are favorable.”
Kentucky State Police, REDSTAR Wilderness EMS, MiddleFork Fire and Rescue, Powell County Search and Rescue and Wolfe County Search and Rescue assisted in the rescue efforts.
Hunter Biden attends the House Oversight and Accountability Committee markup titled “Resolution Recommending That The House Of Representatives Find Robert Hunter Biden In Contempt Of Congress,” Jan. 10, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department is moving to dismiss a civil lawsuit filed by President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, against the Internal Revenue Service over its alleged failure to protect his tax information from disclosure by two whistleblowers.
Hunter Biden sued the IRS in September over claims made by a pair of veteran tax investigators, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, whom the younger Biden accused of waging a campaign to “to embarrass and inflict harm” on him by improperly sharing his private taxpayer information in media interviews.
Justice Department argued in a 22-page filing on Tuesday that the alleged wrongdoing described by Hunter Biden pertains to disclosures made by the whistleblowers’ personal attorneys — neither of whom are government employees — and should therefore be dismissed.
Hunter Biden also failed to show that the IRS demonstrated any “intentionality or willfulness” in its alleged failure to protect his taxpayer information, government lawyers argued, quoting the standard for bringing this cause of action.
“Even accepting Plaintiff’s factual allegations as true, they do not support a plausible inference that the agency intentionally or willfully failed to establish adequate technical or procedural safeguards to prevent disclosures from taking place,” DOJ attorneys wrote.
The two whistleblowers accused government prosecutors of mishandling their investigation into the president’s son — a claim that the Justice Department has denied.
(WASHINGTON) — The full D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday rejected an effort by Twitter to appeal a ruling that allowed special counsel Jack Smith to access records from former President Donald Trump’s Twitter account as part of his federal election interference probe.
As ABC News previously reported, the social media company secretly tried to fight an effort by Smith to obtain metadata and a handful of direct messages allegedly sent by Trump from his Twitter account before the account was suspended shortly after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
On Tuesday, the full court did not issue an opinion accompanying its rejection of the appeal, though a minority of judges consisting of the court’s conservative jurists issued an accompanying statement that argued that the ruling ignored potentially relevant executive privilege issues.
The ruling from the court means that none of the Twitter records and data that Smith has obtained will be clawed back — though it’s unclear whether the social media company will seek to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.
A district judge previously raised concerns about whether Twitter was taking action at the behest of its CEO Elon Musk, who has made statements favorable to Trump.
