(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.
(NEW YORK) — Across the country, a generation of young readers is standing up against efforts to ban or restrict certain books in schools and libraries.
Student-led banned book clubs and anti-censorship groups have been popping up in states where a conservative-led movement to remove certain books or lessons has led to boisterous board meetings, protests, and more.
The students behind these groups say they have long been left out of the conversation, despite being the most impacted by such restrictions.
“I thought it would be perfect to do a banned book club — one: as just a way to read beautiful literature that’s important and should be read and then two: kind of as an act of resistance,” said 16-year-old Iris Mogul who recently started a banned book club in Miami, Florida.
Between January 1 and August 31 of this year, 695 attempts to censor library materials and services and documented challenges to 1,915 unique titles were tracked by the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.
But these students have a long fight ahead, as book bans surge “at a record pace with numbers we never seen,” according to Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom.
The students behind the movement
Iris held the first meeting of her banned book club on a rainy day in late August. She said a small, intimate group of students showed up and voted to start off their reading list with “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” by Zora Neale Hurston, a book that touches on slavery, race, gender, and more.
In Florida, there were 22 attempts targeting 194 titles in the first eight months of the year, according to the ALA.
Books that touch on subjects like race and the LGBTQ community have made up the majority of book banning attempts. In many cases, these books also touch on discrimination and oppression.
These issues have also been at the center of legislation restricting classroom curriculum about race or LGBTQ identities in some states.
“Trying to hide the kind of unpleasant truth from us, that doesn’t do any good,” said Iris. “In fact, that’s harmful.”
In Austin, Texas, high school senior Ella Scott began leading a banned book club as a freshman when she first learned about attempts to challenge and censor certain stories.
Since then, book ban attempts have risen in the state — and so has participation in her club, which grew from three people in its initial meeting to 30 current participants.
In Texas alone, there were 30 attempts targeting 1,120 titles in the first eight months of the year, according to the ALA.
“It’s happening in our classroom, but students don’t have a voice,” said Scott.
Ella, 17, says students want an inclusive world, and books help students learn about different perspectives.
Ella believes the adults behind the book bans need “to understand that times are changing,” arguing that the backlash to her club has come mostly from online strangers and a minority of parents at school board meetings.
As she prepares for graduation, she’ll hand the responsibility on to her successors — but she said doesn’t plan on leaving her activism behind when she goes to college.
Euless, Texas, high school student Da’Taeveyon Daniels said his school did not have many materials to begin with, arguing that lacking reading resources is a form of censorship.
It spurred the 16-year-old to join the National Coalition Against Censorship as a student leader, calling for increased access to a wide array of titles.
“If we don’t have access to those materials, and those opinions and perspectives … we won’t be able to understand where another person comes from, in order to feel for them and empathize with them and understand their own life stories and opinions,” said Da’Taeveyon.
Another Texas student Cameron Samuels, who is nonbinary, got their start in the fight against censorship in high school. At a school board meeting in the 2021-2022 school year at the Katy Independent School District, Cameron spoke out against restrictions to certain websites via the school internet. The school restricted access to sites geared toward the LGBTQ community, including the website of the Trevor Project, which is an LGBTQ suicide prevention group.
Samuels, who graduated later that year, said they were the only student in the room at the time “and therefore the only one whose future was directly affected by the district’s policy.”
“There was no one there supporting me,” they said. “I felt isolated and alone.”
After rallying students, and getting the backing of the ACLU to file a complaint on their behalf, Samuels got the internet filter for LGBTQ websites unblocked. The district told local news station KHOU that the content was filtered through a third-party vendor.
“The District routinely assesses filtering practices, as well as responds to requests from individuals and organizations to review sites. At times, sites that may have been previously inaccessible due to Children’s Internet Protection Act concerns,” the district told KHOU.
Now, Da’Taeveyon and Samuels are part of Students Engaged in Advancing Texas, a local anti-censorship group led by students. They’ve distributed hundreds of banned books and continue advocating for more books on shelves.
“Banning is most definitely targeting books that challenge the status quo, which leave queer students and students of color out of the picture,” said Samuels. “We are such a diverse generation and policies made by adults do not reflect our needs.”
Supporters of book bans say some of the material is inappropriate or contains references to sex. Some argue that it’s their right as a parent to restrict access to such books.
Those against book bans argue book bans restrict the ability of other students and their families to choose what they are able to read.
In the past, most challenges to library resources only sought to remove or restrict a single book.
So far this year, 92% of attempts sought to censor multiple titles, according to the ALA. At least 11 states saw some cases that involved challenges of 100 or more books.
Caldwell-Stone says this highlights the impact of pro-book banning activist groups that aim to restrict certain topics in schools.
“We’re no longer seeing numbers that would indicate that a parent is raising a concern about a book they see their student reading, and taking that concern to a librarian or an educator,” said Caldwell-Stone. “Now what we’re seeing is the demand to remove 25, 50, 100 books all at once from one person bringing the challenge to the school or the library.”
(LOS ANGELES) — Hollywood writers began voting on Monday to ratify a tentative contract with the major TV and movie studios.
The agreement last week ended a nearly 150-day strike after top union brass gave writers the go-ahead to return to work before finalizing the contract.
Late-night talk shows, such as ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” are set to return to air on Monday.
Meanwhile, roughly 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America have until Oct. 9 to cast their vote either for or against the deal.
The contract will only take effect if it gains majority support from the union members. If the members vote to reject the contract, the two sides will have to return to the bargaining table.
The deal is set to shape employment in the industry on issues ranging from increases in pay to the use of artificial intelligence to the sharing of viewership data.
The negotiating committee for the writers’ unionlauded the tentative contract as “exceptional,” promising “meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership.”
The tentative agreement was confirmed by The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, or AMPTP, the group negotiating on behalf of the studios. Disney, one of the studios represented by AMPTP, is the parent company of ABC News.
The contract dispute followed a decade-long shift to streaming that has dramatically changed the way audiences watch TV and movies.
In turn, writers sought not only pay increases for their immediate work but also alterations to residual payments, which is the compensation writers receive when their shows or movies are re-aired or gain popularity.
Under the tentative contract, minimum weekly pay for writers will increase more than 12% over the three-year duration of the deal, according to a summary of the tentative agreement made public by the WGA.
Moreover, various projects will see a major boost in residual payments. A feature-length project made for streaming with a significant budget will receive a 26% increase in the residual base made available to writers.
Alongside these pay increases comes a first-of-its-kind agreement forcing the studios to share the audience data for original streaming programs, which will allow the writers to understand how much their shows are being watched.
Because a non-disclosure agreement governs this stipulation, however, the data may not be made available to the public.
Another key focus for writers throughout negotiations centered on the potential use of artificial intelligence as a substitute for their work.
Under the terms of the tentative deal, AI cannot write or rewrite scripts, the WGA summary said. Meanwhile, a writer can choose to use AI if a studio approves of its use, but a writer cannot be required to do so.
The agreement does not prohibit studios from training AI on writers’ work.
Even if the writers ratify the contract, Hollywood would largely remain at a standstill.
The majority of output from Hollywood is made up of TV shows and movies that require actors. Since July, a union representing roughly 160,000 actors has been out on strike as they seek a new contract of their own, bringing Tinsel town to a halt.
The end of the writers’ strike could hasten a resolution for the actors, since both sets of workers share similar issues of concern over artificial intelligence and residual payments.
But the two professions also hold different demands in some key areas. The actors, for instance, have faced strong opposition from the studios over a demand that they receive 2% of the total revenue generated by streaming shows.
In the meantime, a prolonged work stoppage among the actors could delay the return to work for some writers.
(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump goes on trial in New York Monday in a $250 million lawsuit that could alter the personal fortune and real estate empire that helped propel Trump to the White House.
Trump has signaled his intention to attend the first days 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:
-Opening statements underway
-Trump calls trial ‘political witch hunt’
-Judge has already found that Trump overvalued his assets
-Trump says he will attend trial’s opening
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
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) — Former President Donald Trump goes on trial in New York Monday in a $250 million lawsuit that could alter the personal fortune and real estate empire that helped propel Trump to the White House.
Trump has signaled his intention to attend the first days 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, 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, 9:25 AM EDT
Trump on way to courthouse
Former President Trump is in a motorcade on his way to the courthouse in lower Manhattan where his fraud trial will get underway this morning.
Opening statements in the case are scheduled to get underway at 10 a.m. ET.
-John Santucci
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) — Former President Donald Trump goes on trial in New York Monday in a $250 million lawsuit that could alter the personal fortune and real estate empire that helped propel Trump to the White House.
Trump has signaled his intention to attend the first days 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, 6:43 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 large portion of the Northeast will experience poor air quality in the coming days due to wildfires burning in Canada, forecasts show.
Plumes of smoke from wildfires burning south of James Bay in Canada will push into the Northeast beginning Sunday night and will linger into Tuesday, hazing the sky and decreasing air quality.
Late Sunday evening, heavy smoke is expected to cross the border and filter into Burlington, Vermont, and surrounding areas.
Heavy will smoke will have reached Albany, New York, by 7 a.m. Monday.
New York City will begin to see medium to heavy smoke by 6 p.m. on Monday.
Some of the smoke may linger into Tuesday.
The smoke event is not expected to be as severe as the event in June that darkened the New York City skyline with an ominous orange haze and caused the number of emergency room visits to skyrocket.
Canada has experienced a record-breaking wildfire season, causing several instances in which the smoke decreased air quality in the U.S.
