(MOAB, Utah) — The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating a small plane crash that killed all four occupants — North Dakota state Sen. Doug Larsen, his wife and their two children — in Moab, Utah, according to officials.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum confirmed the deaths in a statement Monday afternoon.
“First Lady Kathryn, Lt. Gov. [Tammy] Miller and I are deeply saddened by the heartbreaking loss of Sen. Doug Larsen, his wife, Amy, and their two young sons,” Burgum wrote.
“Sen. Larsen was a father, husband, coach, entrepreneur, businessman, state senator and lieutenant colonel in the North Dakota National Guard who committed himself fully to each of those roles with an unwavering sense of honor and duty,” he continued. “As a legislator, he was a tenacious advocate for individual rights and the freedoms he defended through his military service. We extend our deepest sympathies and prayers to his family and friends and join his legislative colleagues, National Guard brothers and sisters and the Mandan community in mourning the tragic passing of Sen. Larsen and his family.”
The single-engine Piper PA-23 crashed around 8:20 p.m. PT on Sunday shortly after taking off from Canyonlands Regional Airport, according to the FAA. The plane’s registered owner was listed as Douglas Larsen of Mandan, North Dakota, according to the FAA aircraft registry.
Grand County Sheriff’s deputies and Moab Fire Department personnel responded to the crash, according to a statement from the Grand County Sheriff’s Office.
Just after midnight, the sheriff’s office confirmed in a Facebook post that rescue efforts were completed and the four occupants on board did not survive the crash.
“Further information will be provided as soon as family members have been notified,” the sheriff’s office wrote.
Larsen was a 29-year member of the North Dakota Army National Guard and had served in the state Senate since 2021, representing District 34, Burgum said.
“I am saddened by the loss of Doug Larsen, his wife Amy, and their two sons. I cannot think of a more tragic loss for one family, and the North Dakota National Guard sends our condolences to all of their friends and family,” Maj. Gen. Alan Dohrmann, adjutant general of the North Dakota National Guard, said in a statement. “Doug was a true patriot who dedicated his life, both in and out of uniform, to serving others. I had the distinct pleasure to call him a Brother in Arms.”
Calls to Hogue and a Senate spokesperson were not immediately returned.
(PHILADELPHIA) — Josh Kruger, a freelance journalist and former city employee, was shot and killed in his Philadelphia home early Monday, according to local officials.
Police responded to his home at about 1:30 a.m. and found Kruger shot seven times in the chest and abdomen. He was taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
Kruger, who lived in the city’s Grays Ferry neighborhood, was currently working as a freelance reporter, but was previously employed by the Philadelphia City Paper and Philadelphia Weekly. He had recent freelance bylines in the Philadelphia Inquirer and The Philadelphia Citizen.
There have been no arrests in the shooting, police said. No weapon has been recovered.
“Josh deserved to write the ending of his personal story,” District Attorney Larry Krasner said in a statement. “As with all homicides, we will be in close contact with the Philadelphia Police as they work to identify the person or persons responsible so that they can be held to account in a court of law. I extend my deepest condolences to Josh’s loved ones and to all those mourning this loss.”
Kruger was openly queer, according to the district attorney, and often wrote about LGBTQ+ topics, as well as drug abuse and homelessness.
“Many of us knew Josh Kruger as a comrade who never stopped advocating for queer Philadelphians living on the margins of society,” the district attorney’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee added in a statement. “His struggles mirrored so many of ours — from community rejection, to homelessness, to addiction, to living with HIV, to poverty — and his recovery, survival, and successes showed what’s possible when politicians and elected leaders reject bigotry and work affirmatively to uplift all people.”
Kruger also previously worked in communications for the city, first in the mayor’s office and then for the Office of Homeless Services and Department of Health.
“Shocked and saddened by Josh Kruger’s death,” Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “He cared deeply about our city and its residents, which was evident in his public service and writing.”
He added, “Our administration was fortunate to call him a colleague, and our prayers are with everyone who knew him.”
On his website, Kruger wrote he was an avid cyclist and lived “with his best friend, his senior cat with one tooth named Mason.”
(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 appeared in the courtroom Monday for the first day of the trial, in which he, 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 while lowering his tax burden.
Trump has denied all wrongdoing and his attorneys have described him as a “master of finding value where others do not,” arguing that Trump’s alleged inflated valuations were a product of his business skill.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Oct 02, 6:15 PM EDT
First witness eyes Trump’s decade-old financial statements
Testifying about the preparation of the Trump Organization’s statements of financial condition in 2011, former Mazars USA accountant Donald Bender said Trump executives largely provided the input data for statements, in addition to dictating the standards by which the work was completed.
“We would cut and paste that information into a new worksheet,” Bender said about the approach taken by Mazar after receiving new data from co-defendant Jeffrey McConney of the Trump Organization.
When asked about the compliance with the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles — which Bender testified are the standards for accounting in the United States — Bender repeatedly placed responsibility in the lap of the Trump organization.
“That was the Trump Organization’s responsibility,” Bender testified about GAAP compliance.
Bender acknowledged that he rarely questioned the inputs from the Trump Organization, and when he did, he largely dealt with McConney and executives other than Trump and his adult sons.
Repeatedly asked by the state attorney if Mazars would have issued the statements if they had known the Trump Organization included material misrepresentations in their data, Bender reiterated that Mazars would not have issued the statements.
When Judge Engoron remarked at the end of the trial day that the state would still need to present further evidence to prove that the 2011 statement was within the statute of limitations, Trump seized the statement as a partial victory.
“The last five minutes was outstanding, because the judge actually conceded that the statute of limitations … is in effect,” Trump told reporters as he was leaving court.
Engoron, however, did not completely rule out the 2011 evidence during trial, instead appearing to remind counsel that they need to show the 2011 statement represents an ongoing concern that falls within the statute of limitations.
Testimony is scheduled to resume on Tuesday at 10 a.m. ET.
Oct 02, 3:50 PM EDT
Ex-accountant says statements were ‘Trump Org’s responsibility’
Prosecutors have called their first witness to the stand: Donald Bender, a former accountant at Mazars USA, the firm that for years handled Trump’s taxes.
Bender testified at length about his involvement in compiling Trump’s statements of financial condition between 2011 and 2020, which he described as “balance [sheets] of Mr. Trump’s assets and liabilities.”
Bender said the standards and inputs for the statements were largely decided by Trump Organization executives.
“That was the Trump Organization’s responsibility,” Bender said about the accounting standard used in the statements.
As Bender answered the state’s questions, Trump was seen taking notes at the defense table.
Bender described spending roughly half his time on Trump’s business and personal financial matters toward the end of his career at Mazars.
The firm severed its business relationship with Trump last year after learning of the attorney general’s findings during the AG’s probe.
Oct 02, 1:19 PM EDT
Trump attorney says sons made no misrepresentations
An attorney for Donald Trump’s adult sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., added a brief opening statement of his own, defending his clients from accusations of wrongdoing.
“There was never a material misrepresentation made by Eric Trump or Donald Trump Jr.,” said Clifford Robert, the attorney for Trump’s adult sons, who help run the Trump Organization.
Robert said he disagrees “with just about everything” the state’s prosecutor said in his opening remarks, and took aim at the state’s star witness.
“Their major linchpin is Michael Cohen, a guy who lies to everyone,” Robert said of the former Trump attorney.
Lucien Bruggeman
Oct 02, 1:10 PM EDT
AG’s case sets ‘dangerous precedent,’ defense says
Attorney General Letitia James “is setting a very dangerous precedent for any business in the state of New York,” warned Trump attorney Alina Habba in her opening statement.
Habba told the court she hadn’t planned to make opening remarks, but that she felt moved to speak after hearing the state present its own opening statement. Habba accused the attorney general of targeting Trump before taking office, claiming the investigation and lawsuit were personal in nature.
“We are attacking a sitting president and two of his children and his employees for a statement of financial condition which is frankly worth less than what they are worth,” Habba said.
Habba reiterated many of the points made earlier by co-counsel Christopher Kise, highlighting the fact that “these lenders made money,” and arguing that “real estate is malleable — the values change.”
After Habba concluded her remarks, Judge Engeron engaged her in a series of follow-up questions, asking about her claim that the property appraisals at issue were “undervalued” by prosecutors.
Habba replied that “the Trump brand is worth something.”
Oct 02, 12:03 PM EDT
‘The attorney general has no case,’ defense counsel says
Former President Trump’s defense counsel will present a “very different picture of the evidence” than the prosecution alleges, and will demonstrate that “there are many ways to value assets,” according to opening remarks from Christopher Kise, Trump’s lead attorney.
“We think the evidence is going to establish … President Trump has made billions of dollars building one of the most successful real estate empires in the world,” Kise said, reiterating sentiments he conveyed in pretrial motions.
Kise offered a glimpse into the former president’s defense, including plans to present testimony from a New York University professor who will explain that “there is no one generally accepted procedure to determine the estimated current value” of a property.
Other defense witnesses, including four Deutsche Bank officers who were involved in approving Trump’s loans, will explain how they were able to craft their own independent risk analyses meant to mitigate the claims of fraud that are core to the state’s case.
“Anyone committing fraud does not tell the other side, ‘Please do your own analysis,'” Kise said regarding Trump’s instructions to lenders.
Kise also previewed plans to undermine the state’s key witness, former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, who Kise said has “lied to everyone and anyone he has come in contact with.”
Kise reiterated the defense’s claim that Trump did not commit fraud and that there were no victims of his alleged conduct.
“The attorney general has no case,” Kise said.
Oct 02, 11:28 AM EDT
Defendants were ‘lying year after year,’ prosecutors say
Prosecutors intend to prove in the coming months that “each defendant engaged in repeated, persistent, illegal acts in conduct of business,” according to the opening statement from Kevin Wallace of the attorney general’s office.
Referring to Judge Engoron’s partial summary judgment last week, Wallace said that “the people have already proven” that former President Trump used “false, misleading” statements that were “repeatedly [and] persistently used in the conduct of business.”
But prosecutors will further demonstrate that Trump and his co-defendants knew those statements were false and continued to peddle them anyway in furtherance of their alleged scheme, Wallace told the judge.
“The defendants were lying year after year,” he said.
Wallace played clips of video depositions to punctuate his remarks, including testimony from Trump himself, as well as Eric Trump and former Trump attorney Michael Cohen — whose congressional testimony years ago precipitated the state’s investigation and some of the key allegations underpinning their case.
“The goal was to use each of [Trump’s] assets and increase its value in order to get to the end result number,” Cohen said during his taped deposition. “It was essentially backing in numbers to each of the asset classes in order to attain the number that President Trump wanted.”
Trump and his co-defendants “knew that a high net worth was necessary to get and maintain certain financial benefits,” Wallace said, pointing to basic principles of accounting and finance.
Throughout Wallace’s remarks, the attorney general’s office flashed graphics on television screens inside the courtroom showing some of the alleged inflated values of Trump’s properties alongside the amounts the properties were appraised at.
Seated in his chair with his arms crossed, Trump visibly shook his head at times during the prosecutor’s opening statement. At one point he seemed to mutter something under his breath.
The former president whispered with his attorneys throughout.
Oct 02, 10:45 AM EDT
Opening statements underway
Opening statements are underway in former President Trump’s $250 million fraud trial.
Trump is seated between his attorneys Clifford Robert, Alina Habba and Christopher Kise.
Trump and his co-defendants face a bench trial, meaning that the sole arbiter of the case is Judge Arthur Engoron instead of a jury.
Oct 02, 10:19 AM EDT
Trump seated in courtroom
Former President Trump has taken a seat in the courtroom for the start of the trial.
“The crime is against me,” he told reporters outside the courtroom before he made his way inside.
He denounced the case in now-familiar terms, criticizing state Attorney General Letitia James as she sat inside the courtroom.
Trump also accused Judge Arthur Engoron of failing to account for the full value of his real estate portfolio, asserting his Mar-a-Lago estate is worth “50 to 100 times more” than the judge’s decision for partial summary judgment said last week.
“We have other properties, the same thing. So he devalued everything,” Trump said. “We have among the greatest properties in the world. and I have to go through this for political reasons.”
Engoron decided Trump’s statements of financial condition were fraudulent, but Trump said, “We have a clause in the contract that says, essentially, buyer beware.”
Oct 02, 10:09 AM EDT
Trump calls trial ‘political witch hunt’
Former President Trump, speaking to reporters on his arrival at the lower Manhattan courthouse, said the trial is a witch hunt resulting from his standing in the presidential polls.
“This is a continuation of the greatest political witch hunt of all time,” he told reporters outside the courtroom.
Trump said he is innocent of the accusations and that his portfolio has a much higher value than what the attorney general alleges.
Oct 02, 9:59 AM EDT
Trump attorneys call trial ‘election interference’
Members of Donald Trump’s legal team, speaking to reporters outside the courthouse prior to the start of the trial, called the fraud allegations against the former president “election interference.”
Trump’s attorneys said that Democrats were using the case to fight Trump’s efforts to retake the White House in 2024.
Oct 02, 9:43 AM EDT
Attorney general arrives at courthouse
New York Attorney General Letitia James has arrived at the courthouse in lower Manhattan.
“No matter how powerful you are, no matter how much money you think you may have, no one is above the law,” James said to the cameras before entering the courthouse.
“Today we will prove our case in court,” she said. “Justice will prevail.”
Demonstrators across the street from the courthouse cheered and applauded as the AG arrived.
Oct 02, 8:19 AM EDT
NY attorney general releases statement on 1st day of trial
New York Attorney General Letitia James released a statement on Monday just hours before the first day of trial in her fraud case against former President Donald Trump.
“For years, Donald Trump falsely inflated his net worth to enrich himself and cheat the system,” James said. “We won the foundation of our case last week and proved that his purported net worth has long been rooted in incredible fraud. In this country, there are consequences for this type of persistent fraud, and we look forward to demonstrating the full extent of his fraud and illegality during trial.”
“No matter how rich or powerful you are, there are not two sets of laws for people in this country,” she added. “The rule of law must apply equally to everyone, and it is my responsibility to make sure that it does.”
Oct 02, 8:14 AM EDT
Trial scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET
The People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump, et al, is scheduled to get underway in lower Manhattan at 10 a.m. with opening statements.
If opening statements are completed before the end of the day, the New York attorney general plans to begin her case by calling Trump’s former Mazars USA accountant Donald Bender to the stand.
Mazars severed its business relationship with the former president last year after learning of the attorney general’s findings during the AG’s probe.
Oct 02, 7:10 AM EDT
Judge has already found that Trump overvalued his assets
Though Trump has denied all wrongdoing alleged by the attorney general, Judge Arthur Engoron has already decided the central allegation against Trump and his co-defendants, ruling in a pretrial hearing last week that the AG had provided “conclusive evidence” that Trump overvalued his assets between $812 million and $2.2 billion.
The judge then canceled the Trump Organization’s business certificates in New York, severely restricting Trump’s ability to conduct business in the state moving forward — a move that Trump attorney Alina Habba called “nonsensical” and “outrageously overreaching.”
“In defendants’ world: rent regulated apartments are worth the same as unregulated apartments; restricted land is worth the same as unrestricted land; restrictions can evaporate into thin air,” Engoron wrote, citing multiple arguments made by defense to justify the allegedly inflated valuations of Trump’s assets. “That is a fantasy world, not the real world.”
Among the issues still to be determined at trial: What additional penalties Trump might face, and what might happen with the multiple causes of action included in the attorney general’s suit.
Oct 02, 6:43 AM EDT
Trump blasts judge ahead of trial
Former President Donald Trump stepped up his attacks on the judge overseeing and deciding his case, writing on Truth Social overnight that Justice Arthur Engoron should resign and be sanctioned for “abuse of power.”
Similar to his earlier post, Trump focused on the alleged inflated value of Mar-a-Lago, in addition to an appellate decision that his lawyers unsuccessfully tried to use to limit the timeframe of the case.
Oct 02, 6:39 AM EDT
Trump says he will attend trial’s opening
Former President Trump posted on his Truth Social platform Sunday night that he intends to attend the opening of the trial.
“See you in court — Monday morning,” he wrote in a post.
Earlier Sunday, multiple sources familiar with the decision told ABC News that Trump was expecting to attend.
Trump will have no speaking role in court on Monday, but it is anticipated that he’ll return to the courthouse toward the end of the state’s case when court records show he will be called as a witness.
(NEW YORK) — A 73-year-old woman has been attacked by a bear while she was walking with her husband and her dog near the U.S.-Canada border.
The incident occurred at approximately 3 p.m. on Sunday when officials from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks were notified that a woman had been “attacked along the bank of Trail Creek a few miles west of the North Fork Road,” officials said.
“The victim was on national forestland with her husband and dog when the bear emerged from thick brush and attacked her,” authorities from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks said. “Her husband deployed bear spray and the bear moved away from the victim. They returned to their vehicle and drove to a location where they could call emergency services.”
An air ambulance was immediately dispatched to the site of the attack, some 20 miles south of the U.S.-Canada border, and the woman who was attacked was flown by helicopter to Logan Health Medical Center in Kalispell, Montana — about 50 miles south from where the bear attack occurred.
“FWP wardens and bear specialists are actively investigating the incident and monitoring the site along Trail Creek known as the ‘Bubble ups’ where the creek flows underground before rising to the surface,” officials said.
The site is currently closed while the investigation continues and authorities have not disclosed what kind of bear was involved in the attack.
“Montana is bear country. In fall, bears are active for longer periods as they consume more food in preparation for hibernation. This period overlaps with hunting season and other fall recreation activities,” FWP said in a statement warning about similar attacks. “Avoiding conflicts with bears is easier than dealing with conflicts.”
(SAN JOSE, Calif.) — Two children died and a third was hospitalized after they fell into a pool while at a day care in San Jose Monday, investigators said.
Police and fire department officials responded to the day care on Fleetwood Drive for a welfare check around 9:05 a.m., according to the San Jose Police Department (SJPD).
The police were told that “several juveniles had fallen into a pool,” the SJPD said.
Three children were rushed to hospitals in critical condition, the police said. Two of the victims were pronounced dead at the hospital while the condition of the third child was upgraded to “non-life threatening,” according to police.
Police remained at the scene of the day care for the remainder of the day.
“Per county protocol for all child deaths, the SJPD Homicide Unit in conjunction with Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office will be conducting a joint investigation into the circumstances of the incident,” the police said in a statement.
No arrests were made as of 2 p.m. local time, police said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — Edward Caban made history in July when he was named the first Latino police commissioner for the NYPD.
The 32-year police veteran and Bronx native has talked about his heritage throughout his career and has been open about his plans to keep New York City safe.
He spoke with “GMA 3” on Monday about the honor he feels with his new position and agenda.
GMA 3: Your father was a detective. So this must mean a lot to you to be the first Latino police commissioner.
NYPD POLICE COMMISSIONER EDWARD CABAN: Yes, it is. I remember my swearing-in ceremony. You’re out there and looking and in your mind, you’re thinking — you go from being a regular beat cop to the top cop. And I was very cognizant of the fact that I was walking down the stairs to look at him, break down. He was a trailblazer in my life. He was one of the officers who fought for Hispanics to get better assignments, [and] to get more promotions. So, for me, it was the honor –the highest.
GMA 3: Definitely filling some big shoes there. And we know that you’ve got a lot of work to do. There’s a migrant crisis facing the city. [About] 118,000 migrants have come to New York City since the spring of 2022. The mayor has said that this could affect every facet of life. How is the police department going to tackle this issue?
CABAN: So I tell you, from a police perspective, the New York City Police Department is going to enforce the laws. It doesn’t matter if you came into our city three hours ago or you came into our city three generations ago. We’re going to make sure we enforce the laws in every community.
GMA 3: Mayor [Eric] Adams has signaled, though, that this may slash overtime for police officers. Are you worried that this could affect policing in some way?
CABAN: It’s not going to affect policing. In the last couple of years, we have had diminished officers coming in on our job. But look at the work they’re doing. Since the administration began, officers on our job have taken over 12,000 illegal firearms off our streets. They’ve taken over 23,000 ATVs off our streets. Our cops are going to continue to work and make sure that New Yorkers are safe each and every day.
GMA 3: Commissioner, you call New York the safest big city in the nation. In fact, according to the NYPD, murders are down over 11%, shooting incidents are down over 26% and robberies are down over 5% compared to this same time last year. What do you say to those who disagree with you and say this is not the safest big city in the country?
CABAN: So first and foremost, I want to thank the men and women of the New York City Police Department for the work they do. They’re not called New York’s Finest for no reason. So, when the administration, came into focus in January 2022, crime was up historic levels both on our streets and our subways. So, that was part of our mandate to make sure we’re safe, both from violence and from subway crime. We want to make sure people are safe, not only that they are safe, but that they feel safe too. So, we deployed over 1,000 officers in our subway systems, and today we’re down over 5% in subway crimes.
Look at our streets from when we began. Crime in New York City was up over 40%. Now we’re down in every kind of crime category that we track, at least five out of our seven. As you mentioned, shootings are down, murders are down. That’s the great work the men and women New York City Police Department are doing and they’re going to continue to do.
GMA 3: Certainly a good trend. Not to pre-pandemic levels quite yet, but we know that in 2020 there was a racial reckoning and a lot of police departments across the country had to recalibrate their strategies. A recent report showed that the NYPD is still using controversial practices like stop and frisk. What do you say to those who may feel like police reforms haven’t gone far enough?
CABAN: I look back at my time growing up as a kid in the Bronx where myself and my brothers were stopped, questioned and frisked, and I didn’t like how that felt. So, I’m going to make sure that we have a police department that polices constitutionally.
(SARATOGA COUNTY, N.Y.) — The FBI has joined the search for a 9-year-old girl who may have been kidnapped over the weekend while on a bike ride at an upstate New York park, authorities said.
As the search for Charlotte E. Sena stretched into its third day Monday, the girl’s family made a desperate plea for any clues about her whereabouts.
“We just want her returned safely like any parent would,” the girl’s family said in a statement. “No tip is too small, please call if you know anything at all.”
Charlotte was last seen at the Moreau Lake State Park in Saratoga County, New York, at 6:15 p.m. on Saturday, according to New York State Police. An Amber Alert was issued for her and remains in effect.
The child may have been abducted from the park, according to a post by state police.
“The day turned into every parent’s nightmare,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said during a news conference on Sunday.
An FBI spokesperson confirmed to ABC News on Monday that its agents are “assisting our partners at the NYS Police with any technological and investigative needs.”
About 400 certified search-and-rescue personnel from multiple local, state and federal law enforcement agencies as of Monday afternoon and 34 volunteer fire departments as well as private search-and-rescue groups were combing the 6,250-acre Moreau Lake State Park for any signs of the missing child, officials said. Drones, bloodhounds and an airboat are being deployed in the search
The investigation remains classified as a missing child case, according to the New York State Police.
Moreau Lake State Park remains closed indefinitely to the public. People are being asked to avoid the area as the search continues.
The search being led by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers has expanded over 46 linear miles, officials said Monday.
A temporary flight restriction has been issued by the Federal Aviation Administration over the park “to ensure the safety of our aircraft operations,” according to the New York State Police.
Charlotte, of Greenfield, New York, disappeared while on a bike ride at the campground where she was staying with family and friends, Hochul said at the news conference.
Hochul said Charlotte was out around dinnertime on Sunday riding her bike in the campground with friends she considers cousins. She said the fourth-grade girl was doing one last lap around the park alone when she went missing.
The girl’s family and other campers went looking for her and her mother found her bike around 6:45 p.m. Saturday and called 911, police said.
Charlotte was on Loop A at the park when she disappeared, according to police.
Authorities believe it is “quite possible” an abduction took place because investigators have already completed an “exhausted search” of the state park, New York State Police Lt. Col. Richard Mazzone told reporters.
A New York State Police command post has been established at the state park, Hochul said.
Patrick Kane, a friend of Charlotte’s father, joined the search at the park on Monday.
“Hug your children first of all. Say a prayer that this resolves itself in a safe manner,” Kane told ABC News Albany affiliate station WTEN. “I think we just want to be on guard, ready to do whatever needs to be done. Every little bit helps whether you saw something or you think of something. This little girl needs you.”
(TAYLORSVILLE, Miss.) — The mother of Rasheem Carter, a Black man from Mississippi who went missing a year ago and whose partial remains were later found, is still seeking answers about what happened to her son.
Rasheem Carter, 25, went missing on Oct. 2, 2022, just days after telling his mother and the police that white men in his community were targeting him. Around a month later, Rasheem Carter’s remains were found in a wooded area south of Taylorsville, Mississippi. His head was severed from his body, according to an independent autopsy.
The medical examiner has ruled that the cause and manner of death were undetermined. Officials investigating the case haven’t updated Rasheem Carter’s family on new developments for several months, according to Tiffany Carter, Rasheem Carter’s mother.
“If you [official investigators] have done everything you can,” Tiffany Carter told ABC News. “Why I still don’t have an answer to what happened to my son?”
The Mississippi Crime Lab notified the family that additional remains found on Feb. 23 matched Rasheem Carter’s DNA, according to a statement released by his family and their attorney, Ben Crump, in April.
“He told me on the phone that it was three trucks of white men trying to kill him,” Tiffany Carter said. “As any citizen of this world, you’re going to try to get to a place of safety. And I thought telling him to go to a place of safety was the right thing to do as a mother because I wasn’t close enough to get him, myself.”
Rasheem Carter notified police that he was concerned for his safety and visited the Taylorsville Police Department on two separate occasions leading up to his disappearance, according to Tommy Cox, chief of the Laurel Police Department, which filed the initial missing persons’ case after the family came to them for help.
Taylorsville police did not immediately return ABC News’ request for a statement.
In addition to Rasheem Carter’s head being severed, his spinal cord was recovered in a separate area from his head, according to Crump.
“I know this, something horrific was done to my son,” Tiffany Carter said. “God knows and God will deal with everyone accordingly to what they have done.”
Tiffany Carter told ABC News that she and her family reached out to the Mississippi Medical Examiner’s Office, which has taken over the autopsy of the remains, multiple times and has not received a response. The medical examiner’s office did not immediately return ABC News’ request for a statement.
Tiffany Carter said the family has not received Rasheem Carter’s remains to this day. The Smith County Police Department originally ruled out foul play in the case. According to Crump, officials recanted their statement.
Smith County Sheriff Joel Houston told ABC News in March that earlier evidence of the case “didn’t suggest” any foul play, stressing that “nothing is being swept under the rug.”
Rasheem Carter’s family and attorneys have called for a federal probe from the U.S. Department of Justice into his death.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is also investigating the incident. The MBI did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
Tiffany Carter told ABC News that she is especially worried for Rasheem Carter’s 7-year-old daughter, who has become more withdrawn since the death of her father. She still reaches out to his old cell phone, Tiffany Carter said.
“She texts that number, ‘Daddy, I love you. I love you,’ all the time,” Tiffany Carter said. “She listens to the videos and stuff that he sent her all the time. When I get her, my heart crushes every time cause she look just like him.”
(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 is in the courtroom for the first day of the trial, in which he, 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 while lowering his tax burden.
Trump has denied all wrongdoing and his attorneys have described him as a “master of finding value where others do not,” arguing that Trump’s alleged inflated valuations were a product of his business skill.
Top headlines:
-AG’s case sets ‘dangerous precedent,’ defense says
-Defendants were ‘lying year after year,’ prosecutors say
-Trump calls trial ‘political witch hunt’
-Judge has already found that Trump overvalued his assets
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Oct 02, 1:19 PM EDT
Trump attorney says sons made no misrepresentations
An attorney for Donald Trump’s adult sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., added a brief opening statement of his own, defending his clients from accusations of wrongdoing.
“There was never a material misrepresentation made by Eric Trump or Donald Trump Jr.,” said Clifford Robert, the attorney for Trump’s adult sons, who help run the Trump Organization.
Robert said he disagrees “with just about everything” the state’s prosecutor said in his opening remarks, and took aim at the state’s star witness.
“Their major linchpin is Michael Cohen, a guy who lies to everyone,” Robert said of the former Trump attorney.
Lucien Bruggeman
Oct 02, 1:10 PM EDT
AG’s case sets ‘dangerous precedent,’ defense says
Attorney General Letitia James “is setting a very dangerous precedent for any business in the state of New York,” warned Trump attorney Alina Habba in her opening statement.
Habba told the court she hadn’t planned to make opening remarks, but that she felt moved to speak after hearing the state present its own opening statement. Habba accused the attorney general of targeting Trump before taking office, claiming the investigation and lawsuit were personal in nature.
“We are attacking a sitting president and two of his children and his employees for a statement of financial condition which is frankly worth less than what they are worth,” Habba said.
Habba reiterated many of the points made earlier by co-counsel Christopher Kise, highlighting the fact that “these lenders made money,” and arguing that “real estate is malleable — the values change.”
After Habba concluded her remarks, Judge Engeron engaged her in a series of follow-up questions, asking about her claim that the property appraisals at issue were “undervalued” by prosecutors.
Habba replied that “the Trump brand is worth something.”
Oct 02, 12:03 PM EDT
‘The attorney general has no case,’ defense counsel says
Former President Trump’s defense counsel will present a “very different picture of the evidence” than the prosecution alleges, and will demonstrate that “there are many ways to value assets,” according to opening remarks from Christopher Kise, Trump’s lead attorney.
“We think the evidence is going to establish … President Trump has made billions of dollars building one of the most successful real estate empires in the world,” Kise said, reiterating sentiments he conveyed in pretrial motions.
Kise offered a glimpse into the former president’s defense, including plans to present testimony from a New York University professor who will explain that “there is no one generally accepted procedure to determine the estimated current value” of a property.
Other defense witnesses, including four Deutsche Bank officers who were involved in approving Trump’s loans, will explain how they were able to craft their own independent risk analyses meant to mitigate the claims of fraud that are core to the state’s case.
“Anyone committing fraud does not tell the other side, ‘Please do your own analysis,'” Kise said regarding Trump’s instructions to lenders.
Kise also previewed plans to undermine the state’s key witness, former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, who Kise said has “lied to everyone and anyone he has come in contact with.”
Kise reiterated the defense’s claim that Trump did not commit fraud and that there were no victims of his alleged conduct.
“The attorney general has no case,” Kise said.
Oct 02, 11:28 AM EDT
Defendants were ‘lying year after year,’ prosecutors say
Prosecutors intend to prove in the coming months that “each defendant engaged in repeated, persistent, illegal acts in conduct of business,” according to the opening statement from Kevin Wallace of the attorney general’s office.
Referring to Judge Engoron’s partial summary judgment last week, Wallace said that “the people have already proven” that former President Trump used “false, misleading” statements that were “repeatedly [and] persistently used in the conduct of business.”
But prosecutors will further demonstrate that Trump and his co-defendants knew those statements were false and continued to peddle them anyway in furtherance of their alleged scheme, Wallace told the judge.
“The defendants were lying year after year,” he said.
Wallace played clips of video depositions to punctuate his remarks, including testimony from Trump himself, as well as Eric Trump and former Trump attorney Michael Cohen — whose congressional testimony years ago precipitated the state’s investigation and some of the key allegations underpinning their case.
“The goal was to use each of [Trump’s] assets and increase its value in order to get to the end result number,” Cohen said during his taped deposition. “It was essentially backing in numbers to each of the asset classes in order to attain the number that President Trump wanted.”
Trump and his co-defendants “knew that a high net worth was necessary to get and maintain certain financial benefits,” Wallace said, pointing to basic principles of accounting and finance.
Throughout Wallace’s remarks, the attorney general’s office flashed graphics on television screens inside the courtroom showing some of the alleged inflated values of Trump’s properties alongside the amounts the properties were appraised at.
Seated in his chair with his arms crossed, Trump visibly shook his head at times during the prosecutor’s opening statement. At one point he seemed to mutter something under his breath.
The former president whispered with his attorneys throughout.
Oct 02, 10:45 AM EDT
Opening statements underway
Opening statements are underway in former President Trump’s $250 million fraud trial.
Trump is seated between his attorneys Clifford Robert, Alina Habba and Christopher Kise.
Trump and his co-defendants face a bench trial, meaning that the sole arbiter of the case is Judge Arthur Engoron instead of a jury.
Oct 02, 10:19 AM EDT
Trump seated in courtroom
Former President Trump has taken a seat in the courtroom for the start of the trial.
“The crime is against me,” he told reporters outside the courtroom before he made his way inside.
He denounced the case in now-familiar terms, criticizing state Attorney General Letitia James as she sat inside the courtroom.
Trump also accused Judge Arthur Engoron of failing to account for the full value of his real estate portfolio, asserting his Mar-a-Lago estate is worth “50 to 100 times more” than the judge’s decision for partial summary judgment said last week.
“We have other properties, the same thing. So he devalued everything,” Trump said. “We have among the greatest properties in the world. and I have to go through this for political reasons.”
Engoron decided Trump’s statements of financial condition were fraudulent, but Trump said, “We have a clause in the contract that says, essentially, buyer beware.”
Oct 02, 10:09 AM EDT
Trump calls trial ‘political witch hunt’
Former President Trump, speaking to reporters on his arrival at the lower Manhattan courthouse, said the trial is a witch hunt resulting from his standing in the presidential polls.
“This is a continuation of the greatest political witch hunt of all time,” he told reporters outside the courtroom.
Trump said he is innocent of the accusations and that his portfolio has a much higher value than what the attorney general alleges.
Oct 02, 9:59 AM EDT
Trump attorneys call trial ‘election interference’
Members of Donald Trump’s legal team, speaking to reporters outside the courthouse prior to the start of the trial, called the fraud allegations against the former president “election interference.”
Trump’s attorneys said that Democrats were using the case to fight Trump’s efforts to retake the White House in 2024.
Oct 02, 9:43 AM EDT
Attorney general arrives at courthouse
New York Attorney General Letitia James has arrived at the courthouse in lower Manhattan.
“No matter how powerful you are, no matter how much money you think you may have, no one is above the law,” James said to the cameras before entering the courthouse.
“Today we will prove our case in court,” she said. “Justice will prevail.”
Demonstrators across the street from the courthouse cheered and applauded as the AG arrived.
Oct 02, 8:19 AM EDT
NY attorney general releases statement on 1st day of trial
New York Attorney General Letitia James released a statement on Monday just hours before the first day of trial in her fraud case against former President Donald Trump.
“For years, Donald Trump falsely inflated his net worth to enrich himself and cheat the system,” James said. “We won the foundation of our case last week and proved that his purported net worth has long been rooted in incredible fraud. In this country, there are consequences for this type of persistent fraud, and we look forward to demonstrating the full extent of his fraud and illegality during trial.”
“No matter how rich or powerful you are, there are not two sets of laws for people in this country,” she added. “The rule of law must apply equally to everyone, and it is my responsibility to make sure that it does.”
Oct 02, 8:14 AM EDT
Trial scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET
The People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump, et al, is scheduled to get underway in lower Manhattan at 10 a.m. with opening statements.
If opening statements are completed before the end of the day, the New York attorney general plans to begin her case by calling Trump’s former Mazars USA accountant Donald Bender to the stand.
Mazars severed its business relationship with the former president last year after learning of the attorney general’s findings during the AG’s probe.
Oct 02, 7:10 AM EDT
Judge has already found that Trump overvalued his assets
Though Trump has denied all wrongdoing alleged by the attorney general, Judge Arthur Engoron has already decided the central allegation against Trump and his co-defendants, ruling in a pretrial hearing last week that the AG had provided “conclusive evidence” that Trump overvalued his assets between $812 million and $2.2 billion.
The judge then canceled the Trump Organization’s business certificates in New York, severely restricting Trump’s ability to conduct business in the state moving forward — a move that Trump attorney Alina Habba called “nonsensical” and “outrageously overreaching.”
“In defendants’ world: rent regulated apartments are worth the same as unregulated apartments; restricted land is worth the same as unrestricted land; restrictions can evaporate into thin air,” Engoron wrote, citing multiple arguments made by defense to justify the allegedly inflated valuations of Trump’s assets. “That is a fantasy world, not the real world.”
Among the issues still to be determined at trial: What additional penalties Trump might face, and what might happen with the multiple causes of action included in the attorney general’s suit.
Oct 02, 6:43 AM EDT
Trump blasts judge ahead of trial
Former President Donald Trump stepped up his attacks on the judge overseeing and deciding his case, writing on Truth Social overnight that Justice Arthur Engoron should resign and be sanctioned for “abuse of power.”
Similar to his earlier post, Trump focused on the alleged inflated value of Mar-a-Lago, in addition to an appellate decision that his lawyers unsuccessfully tried to use to limit the timeframe of the case.
Oct 02, 6:39 AM EDT
Trump says he will attend trial’s opening
Former President Trump posted on his Truth Social platform Sunday night that he intends to attend the opening of the trial.
“See you in court — Monday morning,” he wrote in a post.
Earlier Sunday, multiple sources familiar with the decision told ABC News that Trump was expecting to attend.
Trump will have no speaking role in court on Monday, but it is anticipated that he’ll return to the courthouse toward the end of the state’s case when court records show he will be called as a witness.
(NEW YORK) — Exposure to anhydrous ammonia apparently caused the deaths of five people, including two children, when a tanker truck loaded with the hazardous material overturned on a highway Friday night in a rural Illinois community, according to preliminary findings from the local coroner’s office.
At least seven other people from six different states were also treated at hospitals after being overcome by what authorities described as a “large plume cloud” that was released when the tanker truck spilled its load on a highway east of Teutopolis, Illinois, Effingham County Coroner Kim Rhodes said in a statement Sunday evening.
Autopsies are scheduled to be performed Monday morning on the victims to confirm the preliminary findings, Rhodes said.
“Preliminary investigation indicates five individuals died from exposure to anhydrous ammonia at the crash site,” according to Rhodes’ statement.
Three of the people killed were from the same family.
Those killed were identified by the coroner’s office as 34-year-old Kenneth Bryan of Teutopolis and his two children, 7-year-old Rosie Bryan and 10-year-old Walker Bryan, both of Beecher City, Illinois.
Danny J. Smith, 67, of New Haven, Missouri, and Vasile Crivovan, 31, of Twinsburg, Ohio, also apparently succumbed to exposure to the anhydrous ammonia, according to the coroner’s preliminary investigation.
The deadly highway wreck unfolded around 8:40 p.m. local time Friday when the semi-truck rolled over on U.S. Route 40 and spilled about 4,000 gallons of anhydrous ammonia on the roadway, causing “terribly dangerous air conditions,” Effingham County Sheriff Paul Kuhns told reporters on Saturday.
Anhydrous ammonia is a clear, colorless gas that is toxic. Effects of inhalation range from nausea to respiratory tract irritation, depending on the length of exposure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The chemical is primarily used in farming as a nitrogen fertilizer.
Rhodes said the victims were exposed to the ammonia “due to traveling through the scene of the crash site.”
Seven people, including four teenagers, were treated at area hospitals for exposure to the anhydrous ammonia, including two who were admitted to hospitals, according to the coroner’s statement.
About 500 residents living within roughly 2 square miles of the crash site were initially evacuated, authorities said. They were allowed to return to their homes on Saturday after the danger from the ammonia spill dissipated, Teutopolis Assistant Fire Chief Joe Holomy said in a statement.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
The National Transportation Safety Board, in coordination with the Illinois State Police and the Effingham County Sheriff’s Department, sent a 15-person team to conduct a safety investigation into the rollover crash, the agency said Saturday.
Representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also responded to the scene.
Teutopolis is a small village in Effingham County, located about 92 miles southeast of Springfield, the capital of Illinois.
