National

(ATLANTA) — A comprehensive audit of Georgia’s voter rolls found that just 20 noncitizens were registered to vote on a registration list of over 8 million, according to an announcement Wednesday from Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

All 20 of those registrations have been canceled and referred to the authorities for investigation and potential prosecution, Raffensperger said.

An additional 156 registrations were flagged for a “human investigation” that is now underway.

“Georgia has the cleanest voter list in the entire country,” Raffensperger, a Republican, said of the audit. “Georgia can trust in their elections.”

The result of the audit stands in stark contrast to claims being pushed by some Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, that large numbers of noncitizens are going to vote in the 2024 election.

“Our elections are bad,” Trump said at last month’s ABC News presidential debate as part of his criticism of Democrats. “And a lot of these illegal immigrants coming in, they’re trying to get them to vote. They can’t even speak English, they don’t know even know what country they’re in practically, and these people are trying to get them to vote, and that’s why they’re allowing them to come into our country.”

Gabriel Sterling, the COO for the Georgia secretary of state’s office, pushed back on people promoting those claims.

“One of the reasons the secretary ordered this noncitizenship audit is to prove to people that — while there are ways that some can potentially get on — it is increasingly rare,” Sterling said Wednesday. “There is no proof that there is this overwhelming number of noncitizens on the rolls.”

The 20 noncitizens found on the voter rolls were located across seven different counties, Sterling said. They were found in part because they had signed affidavits attesting that they were not citizens in order to get out of jury duty.

Sterling said the 20 have been referred to local prosecutors, and that there are some instances “where they probably should be prosecuted, but that’s not our call.”

Sterling also forcefully pushed back on anyone claiming that voting machines are generating fraud in the election, saying there is “zero evidence of a machine flipping an individual’s vote.”

Sterling said they have seen situations where there are “elderly people whose hands shake and they probably hit the wrong button slightly, and they didn’t review their ballot properly before they printed it.”

He directly called out anyone suggesting otherwise, saying, “There is literally zero — and I’m saying this to certain congresspeople in the state — zero evidence of machines flipping votes. And that claim was a lie to 2020 election and it’s a lie now.”

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — A Manhattan judge on Wednesday granted a motion by prosecutors to combine Harvey Weinstein’s retrial on sex crimes charges with his trial on a new charge of forcing oral sex on a woman in 2006.

Prosecutors convinced Judge Curtis Farber to consolidate the cases into a single trial in part by arguing separate trials would be “extraordinarily inefficient.”

Farber did not set a new trial date but suggested it would likely occur in the spring, displeasing the defense, which had hoped for a quicker resolution.

Weinstein is next due in court Jan. 29.

He appeared in court in a wheelchair Wednesday following his recent bone marrow cancer diagnosis.

Weinstein is currently being held in prison on Rikers Island in New York, where he has experienced a slew of health issues amid his ongoing sexual assault trials.

He has denied all claims of sexual misconduct, saying his encounters were consensual.

He pleaded not guilty to the new charge, based on the 2006 incident, last month.

“Mr. Weinstein has been very consistent from the time of his investigation. He never forced himself on anybody,” his attorney, Arthur Aidala, told reporters outside the courthouse following the arraignment on Sept. 19.

He is also charged in a previous New York State Supreme Court indictment with criminal sexual act in the first degree and rape in the third degree, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(EAST LANSING, Mich.) Researchers from Michigan State University and Rutgers University say they will lead the first nationally funded study on the effects of structural racism on housing, aging and health.

The research – funded by an expected $3.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health and National Institute on Aging – will examine the impact that “racist and discriminatory” policies over the last 100 years have had on a cohort of 800 Black and white Baltimore-based adults.

Most past research has had an “almost singular focus” on either residential segregation or historic redlining. This report will look at how factors such as redlining, gentrification, predatory lending, urban renewal, freeway construction, segregation and more have shaped the neighborhoods, homes, schools and stores Black residents engage with and how it has contributed to racial inequities, according to researcher Dick Sadler, an associate professor at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine.

The lead researchers say that lifelong exposure to structural racism — the policies and processes causing race-based inequities — are key drivers behind disparities in health and accelerated aging for Black people.

Past research has found that Black residents are more likely to experience earlier onset and greater rates of aging-related cognitive, physical function decline, and frailty compared to other racial and ethnic groups in the U.S.

Researchers say they will also look at how systemic racism impacts other racial and ethnic groups who live in these disinvested environments.

Understanding how divestment and discrimination happens “is critical to the development of strategies to disrupt racial inequities in communities,” according to the study announcement.

“We need to comprehensively document what the full constellation of tools, tactics and strategies look like in our urban landscapes to better contextualize why racial inequities emerge and persist across numerous health endpoints, for which all Americans ultimately suffer but for which Black Americans consistently take the largest hits,” said Sadler and Danielle Beatty Moody, associate professor at the Rutgers University School of Social Work, in the announcement.

Researchers hope the study can support advocacy and policy efforts to address such inequities.

The study comes as the majority of Americans — 65% — say that racism perpetrated by individual people is a bigger problem than racism in laws when it comes to discrimination against Black people in the U.S. today, according to a 2022 Pew Research Center survey. About a quarter — 23% — say that racism in U.S. laws is the larger problem.

However, Pew found that more than half of Black adults — 52% — say racism in U.S. laws is the bigger problem, with 43% arguing that racism by individuals is the larger problem.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NASSAU, Bahamas) Search efforts are underway for a 66-year-old woman who fell overboard on a Taylor Swift-themed cruise Tuesday night, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The missing passenger fell off the Royal Caribbean ship Allure of the Season about 17 miles north of Nassau, Bahamas, the Coast Guard said.

The Coast Guard is assisting with the search, which is being led by the Royal Bahamas Defense Force.

The four-night Swift-themed voyage, known as “In My Cruise Era,” set sail from Miami for the Bahamas on Monday. It was not officially affiliated with Swift.

About 400 people registered for the cruise, which was scheduled to include karaoke, a dance party and friendship bracelet trading.

In a statement from the cruise company, Royal Caribbean said it initiated search efforts as soon as the woman fell overboard.

“Our crew immediately launched a search and rescue effort and is working with local authorities We are also providing support and assistance to the guest’s family during this difficult time. To respect the privacy of our guest’s family, we have no additional details to share,” a Royal Caribbean spokesperson said.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(DELPHI, Ind.) — A pair of teenage girls who were on the Delphi, Indiana, hiking trail the same day two younger girls were murdered are speaking out about their recollections of the “bridge guy.”

Railly Voorhies testified Tuesday at Richard Allen’s murder trial that she was on the small-town trail on Feb. 13, 2017, with a friend and two sisters.

Voorhies, who was 16 at the time, said she passed a man near Freedom Bridge on her walk home.

When asked to describe the man, Voorhies said he was a Caucasian man with his face covered. She said he was overdressed for the weather, had on dark clothes, was wearing a hat and had his hands in his pockets.

The prosecution pulled up a photo of the “bridge guy” — the grainy image of the suspect walking on the bridge near where the girls were last seen — and Voorhies said, “That was the man I had waved at on the trail.”

During cross-examination, defense attorney Jennifer Auger noted that Voorhies gave a different description of the man when interviewed earlier. Voorhies first described the man as in his early 20s or 30s with a bigger build, brown eyes, dirty blonde curly hair, a square jaw and a wrinkly face. She also said he was wearing black jeans, a black hoodie, black boots and a black mask.

During redirect, prosecuting attorney Stacey Diener asked Voorhies if she had ever given a statement to police or asked to give a statement about estimating someone’s height or weight.

Voorhies said, “No. I was certain that was the man that I saw. I can say with confidence the person in the picture is the person I saw.”

Auger then asked Voorhies if the photo of the “bridge guy” influenced her memory, and Voorhies responded, “Possibly, yes.”

Breann Wilber, who was on the trail that day with Voorhies, testified that she also noticed the man who was overdressed for the warm weather.

She said the man was walking with a “purpose,” didn’t respond when Voorhies said hello and gave off “weird vibes.”

Wilber said that, when she saw the picture of the “bridge guy,” the “first thing I thought is — that is the person I saw on the trail.”

During cross-examination, Wilber was also pressed on how her description of the man she saw on the trail changed over the years.

Best friends Libby German, 14, and Abby Williams, 13, were walking along the trail when they were killed on the afternoon of Feb. 13, 2017.

Libby posted a photo of Abby on Snapchat as they walked over the Monon High Bridge. After crossing the bridge, they saw a man behind them, and Libby started a recording on her phone at 2:13 p.m., prosecutors said.

The man pulled out a gun and ordered the girls to go “down the hill,” prosecutors said. The girls complied, and then the video on Libby’s phone stopped recording, according to prosecutors.

The eighth graders’ bodies were discovered the next day.

Allen, a Delphi resident, was arrested in 2022 and has pleaded not guilty to murder.

Voorhies noted in court that she was friends with Libby and Abby on Snapchat, while Wilber said she knew Libby’s older sister and was friends with Libby on Snapchat.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(DELPHI, Ind.) — A 30-second video filmed by 14-year-old victim Libby German just before she was murdered in Delphi, Indiana, was played for the jury on Tuesday during Richard Allen’s trial.

Allen is accused of killing Libby and 13-year-old Abby Williams while the best friends walked on a trail in their small town on the afternoon of Feb. 13, 2017.

The video — played during testimony from Indiana State Police digital forensic examiner Brian Bunner — showed Libby filming herself and Abby walking on the Monon High Bridge. At one point, the camera panned up, and no one was behind Abby. In a later shot, the video shows a man walking behind her.

According to Indianapolis ABC affiliate WRTV, a girl’s voice is heard on the video saying, “There’s no path — the trail ends here, so we have to go down here?”

Libby’s mother cried in court when she heard the voice.

The video, which was not enhanced, was played just once for the jury.

Libby posted a photo of Abby on Snapchat as they walked over the Monon High Bridge, prosecutor Nick McLeland told the jury last week in his opening statement. After the girls crossed the bridge, they saw a man behind them, and Libby started a recording on her phone at 2:13 p.m., he said.

The man pulled out a gun and ordered the girls to go “down the hill,” McLeland said. The girls complied, he said, and then the video on Libby’s phone stopped recording.

The eighth graders’ bodies were discovered near the trail one day later.

Indiana State Police crime scene investigator Brian Olehy testified Monday that both girls’ necks were cut, noting that Libby’s was “viciously slashed.” A large pool of blood was visible between their bodies, he said.

Olehy said some of the girls’ clothing was found inside-out in the nearby creek.

Sticks were partially laid over the bodies, Olehy said. When he and another deputy lifted Libby’s body off the ground to place it in a body bag, he said leaves and dirt stuck to her back.

Libby’s phone — in its Harry Potter-themed case — was found underneath Abby’s body, Olehy said.

On Tuesday, Olehy returned to the stand and walked the jury through evidence collected during the autopsies, including: sex assault evidence kits for Abby and Libby; Libby’s Delphi swimming sweatshirt with red stains; jeans with red stains; a gray bra with red stains and a black bra with red stains.

Libby’s mom wiped away tears as Olehy explained the sex assault evidence collection kit.

During cross-examination, defense attorney Brad Rozzi asked if any of the recovered DNA evidence was linked to Allen, and Olehy responded, “No.”

Rozzi asked Olehy if it seemed like the sticks in between the girls’ bodies were placed there intentionally. Olehy replied, “They appeared to be placed there by an individual,” and he went on to say the sticks seemed to be an “attempt at concealment.”

Allen, a Delphi resident, was arrested in 2022 and has pleaded not guilty to murder. Allen has admitted to police that he was on the trail that day, but he denied any involvement in the murders, according to court documents.

ABC News’ Janel Klein contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — Federal and local law enforcement and officials in Washington, D.C., are ramping up preparations to ensure a safe and peaceful transfer of power on Jan. 6, 2025, and on Inauguration Day.

In September, the Department of Homeland Security designated Jan. 6 a National Special Security Event (NSSE) and approved D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s request for additional federal resources.

The District is anticipating that there will be no declared winner on election night and, “We could enter a period where we have pervasive misinformation and disinformation about the outcome of the election,” D.C. Assistant City Administrator Chris Rodrigez warned on Tuesday.

“For a period, perhaps days or weeks, where the country, and in many respects the world, will be sitting and waiting for the declared winner,” he added.

Although there are no specific threats to the city, officials are planning ahead for any and all threats, including continued pervasive misinformation and disinformation about everything ranging from COVID to political polarization and violence. They noted that social media will be the “epicenter” of false information.

Preparation for Inauguration Day began in the aftermath of the deadly Jan. 6. insurrection. Five people died during or after the attack, including four protesters and one police officer. Approximately 140 police officers were injured during the attack, according to the Department of Justice.

Bowser told ABC News that one of the biggest lessons D.C. learned was to have “better coordination among the federal branches, and that is what the National Special Security Event status provides.”

D.C. Police Chief Pam Smith told reporters on Tuesday that close to 4,000 additional law enforcement officers will be deployed to D.C. between Jan. 6 and Inauguration Day.

In addition to law enforcement, the mayor is considering an advance request to the Department of Defense for National Guard support. Normally, a state’s governor would call out the Guard, but because D.C. is not a state, it must go through DOD. However, the Capitol Police can now call up the National Guard for support without needing the Capitol Police Board’s pre-approval.

“We have also implemented changes that will hopefully ensure that we will not need to call the National Guard unless it is a last-case scenario,” Capitol Police told ABC News.

Like D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department, U.S. Capitol Police have focused on expansion in the four years since Jan. 6. Capitol Police told ABC News that it has strengthened partnerships and coordination with local and state officials.

Capitol Police had a wave of resignations and retirements after Jan. 6, but over the past four years has hired several hundred people and now has 2,100 officers on staff. The agency also added 140 civilians to serve in various roles such as intelligence specialists, operational planners, and emergency management specialists, as well as a new Rapid Response Team.

A source familiar with security planning told ABC News to expect a security footprint similar to that of the State of the Union or the recent NATO Summit in Washington in July.

However, officials are prepared for any and all threats, noting it is a “fluid, unpredictable security environment,” which includes extremist groups and the potential for civil unrest.

“If you see something, say something” noting that the pipe bombs found at the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee headquarters were placed the night before the insurrection “most likely to distract law enforcement,” Rodrigez urged residents.

Bowser told the council to anticipate robust fencing around the Capitol from Jan. 6 until Jan. 21.

She also noted that if Vice President Kamala Harris wins the presidential election, the city’s challenges will differ from a win by former President Donald Trump.

The mayor said in the event of a Harris win, “The issue is probably a million people will be here who are celebrating and who are in good spirits, and that also presents its challenges to make sure everybody can do it safely.”

“I think that the United States Capitol Police are prepared to ensure a peaceful transfer of power at the Capitol, regardless of the victor,” she added, noting that her team has experience handling large-scale historic inaugurations, including former President Barack Obama’s election.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LOS ANGELES) — After it was announced last week that Erik and Lyle Menendez might have their case reevaluated, based on the emergence of new evidence, the Los Angeles district attorney on Tuesday clarified that the decision would likely come by the end of the week.

In an unrelated news conference on Tuesday evening, LA District Attorney George Gascon answered a prompt for an update on the brothers’ potential resentencing by saying, “As I said 10 days ago, I would make a decision within 10 days or so. I plan to make the decision by the end of this week.”

He concluded by saying, with some finality: “Yes, the end of this week.”

The Menendez brothers have served more than 30 years in prison for gunning down their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989.

The brothers were sentenced to life in prison at their second trial after the first was declared a mistrial.

They have never denied committing the crime; it is the motivation for the crime that has divided opinions over the decades.

Erik was 18 and Lyle was 21 at the time of the murders. At their first trial, their attorney argued that they killed their parents in self-defense.

She argued that the brothers feared their parents would kill them if they disclosed the years of alleged molestation they had suffered at their father’s hands.

The newest legal filing expands upon the abuse that the brothers allegedly endured from José Menedez.

New evidence includes a letter that Erik wrote to his cousin prior to the murders, detailing what his father was doing to him, according to the brothers’ attorneys.

Another potential victim has also come forward: Roy Rosselló, a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, who has alleged that he was abused by José Menendez when he was 14.

Additionally, the passage of time has helped to cast their motive in a new light. A growing base of supporters argue that the Menendez brothers are victims themselves, and the crimes they committed out of a traumatic response should be reconsidered with a 21st-century lens on the psychology of male sexual assault.

Currently, the next court date for the Menendez brothers is scheduled for Nov. 26, 2024.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(HOUSTON, TX) — A couple has been arrested and charged for attempting to kidnap and kill a man the wife was having an affair with in Texas.

The victim, who told an ABC News’ Houston affiliate he would not like to be named due to fears over his safety, was shot twice and is now recovering.

Hana Ahmad Alolaimi, 35, and Omar Mahmoud Bishtawi, 48, were charged with aggravated assault and aggravated attempted kidnapping on Sunday, according to court records.

Alolaimi and the victim, who were both married to other people, were in a relationship. When the victim’s wife found out about the relationship he broke it off, according to court documents.

Alolaimi and Bishtawi then conspired to kidnap and kill the victim, according to court documents.

When the victim went into a Chick-fil-A, Alolaimi allegedly parked her vehicle next to his. When the victim came out, she gestured for him to come over, according to court documents.

Once he was in the car, Alolaimi tried to drive off with the victim, although he had told her he could not leave with her. Bishtawi then jumped out from under a curtain in the back seat of the car and put the victim in a chokehold, pressing a firearm against his head, according to court documents.

When the victim tried to get away Bishtawi shot him twice, including once in the thigh, according to court documents. The victim could have died from the thigh wound if he was not transported to the hospital in time, according to court documents.

Alolaimi and Bishtawi provided investigators with conflicting statements and investigators believe there are concerns for the future safety of the victim, according to court documents.

The victim said he ended the relationship three months ago because it turned toxic. But, Alolaimi wouldn’t leave him alone, even showing up at his new apartment, he told KHOU in an interview.

The victim said after he was kidnapped, Bishtawi told him he had to die because he’d dishonored his wife.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA) — Police in Canada said Tuesday they are investigating after a 19-year-old Walmart employee was found dead inside a store’s walk-in bakery oven.

Officers responded to the Walmart — located in Halifax, Nova Scotia — on Saturday night after the employee was found dead, police said.

“The woman, who was an employee of the store, was located in a large walk-in oven belonging to the store’s bakery department,” Halifax Regional Police said in an update on Tuesday.

Investigators are working with Occupational Health and Safety and the Nova Scotia Medical Examiner Service, police said.

The cause and manner of death have not yet been determined as of Tuesday, police said, calling the investigation “complex.”

“An investigation of this nature may take a significant amount of time,” police said.

The Walmart store is temporarily closed amid the investigation, according to ABC News partner CTV News.

“We are heartbroken and our deepest thoughts are with our associate and their family,” Walmart spokesperson Amanda Moss said in a statement to CTV News. “We extend our sincerest condolences to those who were closest to them.”

Walmart is offering employees on-site support, including grief counseling, as well as access to virtual care, Moss said.

The Nova Scotia Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration said a stop work order was issued Tuesday for the bakery and a piece of equipment at the Walmart store.

“As this is an active investigation, we cannot release further details at this time,” the department said in a statement, adding workplace investigations “are complex and can take time.”
 

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.