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(NEW YORK) — Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has seven days to turn over luxury items and shares of his New York City co-op apartment to cover much of what he owes to two Georgia poll workers he defamed in 2020, a federal judge in New York ruled Tuesday.

Giuliani must transfer all personal property “including cash accounts, jewelry and valuables, a legal claim for unpaid attorneys’ fees, and his interest in his Madison Avenue co-op apartment” to former election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss.

The one exception may be World Series rings that Giuliani’s son, Andrew, claims he rightfully owns after his father gave them to him as a gift.

Freeman and Moss last year won a $148 million judgment after a judge found Giuliani guilty of defaming them when he falsely accused the mother and daughter of committing election fraud while they were counting ballots in Georgia’s Fulton County on Election Day in 2020.

In his ruling Tuesday, Judge Lewis Liman wrote, “The Court finds no good cause to impose additional limits on the time or manner of the liquidation or prosecution of any other item or interest on the list. The only asset that Defendant seeks to protect from sale that comes close to being exempt under Article 52 is Defendant’s grandfather’s watch. The watch may be distinctive to Defendant as an item of sentimental value, but it is not distinctive to the law.”

An attorney for Freeman and Moss said the judge’s ruling will allow their clients to “finally begin to receive some of the compensation to which they are entitled for Giuliani’s actions.”

“This outcome should send a powerful message that there is a price to pay for those who choose to intentionally spread disinformation,” said Aaron Nathan, an attorney for the two women.

Giuliani must turn over watches marketed or manufactured by Bulova, Shinola, Tiffany & Co, Seiko, Frank Muller, Graham, Corium, Rolex, IWC, Invicta, Breitling, Raymond Weil, and Baume & Mercer; a Reggie Jackson picture; a signed Yankee Stadium picture; a signed Joe DiMaggio shirt and other sports memorabilia; a diamond ring and costume jewelry; and a television and other items of furniture.

He must also turn over all rights and interests in fees owed for services rendered in 2020 and 2021 to former President Trump’s presidential campaign.

Everything is to go into a receivership controlled by Freeman and Moss to satisfy the $148 million defamation judgment.

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(NEW YORK) — Federal prosecutors on Tuesday announced criminal charges against an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps official in connection with an alleged failed attempt to assassinate a New York-based Iranian journalist.

Ruhollah Bazghandi, who is based in Iran and beyond the reach of law enforcement, allegedly orchestrated the alleged 2022 plot to kill the journalist, prosecutors said.

The charges name Bazghandi and six other Iranian operatives who federal prosecutors said plotted to kill Masih Alinejad, a prolific journalist and human rights activist who has been critical of the Iranian government.

Since at least July 2022, the Bazghandi network sought to assassinate Alinejad, as directed by individuals in Iran, according to the indictment.

The indictment details how the network of operatives surveilled Alinejad and quotes them talking about her in July 2022.

“I’m close to the place now brother I’m getting even closer,” the indictment quotes one operative as saying.

In response, another said, according to the indictment, “OK my brother dear don’t let her out of your sight. Let’s not delay it my brother dear.”

The operative — Khalid Mehdiyev — was disrupted when he was arrested near the victim’s home on July 28, 2022, while in possession of the assault rifle, along with 66 rounds of ammunition, approximately $1,100 in cash, and a black ski mask, according to the indictment.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(ORLANDO, Fla.) — The parents of a newborn who died months after birth are suing a Florida hospital, alleging a worker broke the baby’s neck, ultimately killing her, according to the lawsuit.

The infant, Jahxy Peets, was born prematurely at 24 weeks in June 2022 at the Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies, according to the family’s lawsuit. Immediately following her birth, she was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit and intubated.

About two weeks later, the baby was found to have a broken neck, according to the lawsuit. The spinal cord injury led to her being paralyzed and unable to breathe on her own, the lawsuit alleges. She died of her injuries in November 2022.

The lawsuit alleges a hospital worker broke Jahxy’s neck, injuring her spinal cord, “and then put her back in the incubator without notifying anyone.”

“This type of spinal cord injury could not occur without the use of excessive force when handling a newborn,” the lawsuit states. “There is no note in the medical record documenting the excessive-force event which caused this traumatic injury, and no indication in the medical record that an investigation was performed to identify and bring to justice the individual who caused this devastating injury.”

The injury “was either not recognized or was not reported,” making it appear “that an attempt to cover up the cause of Jahxy’s injury was made,” the lawsuit alleges. Her parents, Gianna Lopera and Jamiah Peets, said they were not informed of the event.

Lopera said at a press conference Monday they “deserve answers” about what happened to Jahxy.

“Every parent whose baby is born at Winnie Palmer deserves to know what happened to Jahxy,” Lopera said. “By covering it up, they are leaving room for it to happen again.”

Lopera spoke through tears about what the loss of her daughter has meant to her and her family.

“I never got a chance to hear my daughter cry. She never got a chance to meet her siblings or her family. We never celebrated a single milestone. We only held her four times in her entire life,” she said.

In a statement to ABC News, a spokesperson for the hospital said they “will not address specific medical cases publicly but will share that the delivery of care to extremely premature babies is complex and emotional work for parents, doctors, and nurses.”

“We offer our deepest sympathies to this family, and to any family who suffers the loss of a child, but also believe those who provide care in this environment should be judged on facts, not speculation. We look forward to discussing the facts of this case in the appropriate forum,” the spokesperson said.

The parents are asking for a jury trial.

ABC News’ Alex Faul contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries and two others were arrested Tuesday as part of a criminal sex trafficking investigation by the FBI and federal prosecutors in Brooklyn.

Jeffries, his partner Matt Smith and a third man, Jim Jacobson, are accused of operating an international sex trafficking and prostitution business that recruited young men for parties in the U.S. and abroad, according to an indictment.

The former retail executive and Smith relied on their vast financial resources, Jeffries’ power as the CEO of Abercrombie, and numerous people, including Jacobson and a network of employees, contractors and security professionals, to run a business “that was dedicated to fulfilling their sexual desires and ensuring that their international sex trafficking and prostitution business was kept secret,” the indictment alleges.

Federal prosecutors said the trio paid dozens of men to travel around the world to engage in sex acts. The indictment mentions 15 alleged victims, identified as John Does #1-15. Jeffries allegedly recruited, hired and paid a slate of household staff to “facilitate and supervise the Sex Events.”

Jacobson traveled throughout the United States and internationally to recruit and interview men for the so-called sex events. During “tryouts” of potential candidates, Jacobson required that the candidates first engage in sex acts with him, according to prosecutors.

The indictment said many of the men were coerced, led to believe that attending the events would yield modeling opportunities with Abercrombie or otherwise benefit their careers, or, in the alternative, that not complying with requests for certain acts during the sex events could harm their careers.

The defendants are charged with sex trafficking and interstate prostitution. They are expected to make appearances in the jurisdictions where the men were arrested in Florida and Wisconsin before they’re brought to Central Islip in Long Island, New York, at a later date for arraignment.

“We will respond in detail to the allegations after the Indictment is unsealed, and when appropriate, but plan to do so in the courthouse – not the media,” Brian Bieber, an attorney for Jeffries, and Joe Nascimento, an attorney for Smith, told ABC News in identical statements.

Abercrombie & Fitch and an attorney for Jacobson declined ABC News’ requests for comment.

Federal prosecutors had acknowledged the investigation in January after alleged victims filed a civil lawsuit a year ago.

Jeffries, who transformed Abercrombie from a traditional Ohio outfitter into a powerhouse teen fashion brand, has been accused in civil lawsuits of exploiting young men for sex at parties he hosted at his Hamptons estate in New York, London, Venice and elsewhere with his partner, Smith.

One of the plaintiffs, David Bradberry, a former crewman on the reality series “Below Deck,” said Jeffries made Abercrombie successful by the “oversexualization of young men.”

His lawsuit accused Jeffries, Smith, Jacobson and Abercrombie itself of luring attractive young men under the guise of making them an Abercrombie model and then forcing them to take drugs and perform sex acts.

The plaintiff’s attorney, Brad Edwards of Edwards Henderson, told ABC News in a statement: “As we laid out in our lawsuit, this was an Abercrombie run, sex trafficking organization that permeated throughout the company and allowed the three individuals arrested today to victimize dozens and dozens of young, aspiring male models.”

ABC News’ Laryssa Demkiw contributed to this report.

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(FALL CITY, Wash.) — Three children and two adults are dead, and a teenager is in custody, following a domestic violence situation at a home in a quiet Washington state neighborhood, authorities said.

Deputies responded to multiple 911 calls Monday morning that reported gunshots in Fall City, about 25 miles east of Seattle, the King County Sheriff’s Office said.

Five people were found dead: three children and two adults, the sheriff’s office said. One victim, a girl, survived and was admitted to a hospital with undisclosed injuries, authorities said.

A 15-year-old boy has been taken into custody in connection with the incident, the sheriff’s office said.

All of the victims appeared to be members of the same family, according to the sheriff’s office.

King County sheriff’s deputy Mike Mellis described the case as a “tragic, domestic violence situation” and a firearms-related homicide investigation.

The victims’ neighborhood is small, quiet and doesn’t normally see police activity, Mellis said, adding that the family had no significant history with the sheriff’s office.

“It’s just unfathomable,” neighbor Cameron Doerrer told ABC Seattle affiliate KOMO. “The younger kids, especially, [were] the sweetest children. So polite.”

 

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(NEW YORK) — Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries, his partner Matt Smith and a third man, Jim Jacobson, were arrested Tuesday as part of a criminal sex trafficking investigation by the FBI and federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, sources familiar with the investigation told ABC News.

The investigation involved whether the men sexually exploited and abused young men at parties they hosted in the United States and around the world, the sources said.

Federal prosecutors acknowledged the investigation in January after alleged victims filed a civil lawsuit a year ago.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York has launched a criminal investigation of the alleged events and occurrences discussed in Plaintiff’s Complaint,” prosecutors said in a court filing.

The attorney for the plaintiff, Brad Edwards of Edwards Henderson, told ABC News in a statement: “As we laid out in our lawsuit, this was an Abercrombie run, sex trafficking organization that permeated throughout the company and allowed the three individuals arrested today to victimize dozens and dozens of young, aspiring male models.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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(HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS) — Robert Roberson — whose murder conviction in the death of his 2-year-old daughter has come under scrutiny — did not testify Monday before the Texas House committee as previously planned.

Committee members decided against having Roberson address the hearing via video call. However, they did not state whether Roberson would or would not testify before the committee.

“Robert is a person with autism who has significant communication challenges, which was a core issue that impacted him at every stage of our judicial of our justice system,” said state Rep. Joe Moodie. “He’s also spent most of the last two decades alone, locked away from the modern technology we now take for granted. Video conference is poorly suited for Robert specifically to provide his testimony and would only further the harm he’s already suffered.”

Still, the committee continued its hearing on a law that Roberson himself attempted to use to challenge his conviction based on a clinical diagnosis that could be related to different causes.

“I was one of the 12 jurors on the case of Robert the trial, and I took that position very seriously,” a juror on the case told to the House committee on Monday:

“Everything that was presented to us was all about ‘shaken baby syndrome,’ That is what our decision was based on,” she continued. “Nothing else was ever mentioned or presented to us to consider. If it had been told to us, we would have now, I would have had a different opinion. And I would have found him not guilty.”

Among the witnesses speaking before the committee was Dr. Phil McGraw, the talk show host and forensic psychologist. He argued that if legislators execute Roberson, “the death penalty could come under real attack.”

“When we talk about due process and fair trial, that means that all the evidence, everything that is relevant and pertinent to that trial, gets before the trier of fact, whether it be a judge or a jury, and that there’s fair representation and I certainly don’t think that standard has been met here that that high standard by which we would deprive someone of their life has been met,” McGraw said.

Roberson was set to become the first person to be executed in the U.S. based on a death attributed to “shaken baby syndrome,” although several lawmakers, scientists and public figures have cast doubt over the cause of death.

He was set to be executed on Oct. 17. The U.S. Supreme Court had previously decided not to intervene in the case, the Texas Supreme Court issued a temporary stay in the case in what were supposed to be his final hours.

Roberson was found guilty of the 2002 murder of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki, in part, based on the testimony from a pediatrician who described swelling and hemorrhages in her brain to support a “shaken baby syndrome” diagnosis.

However, evidence not shown to the jury at the time states that Nikki had chronic interstitial viral pneumonia and acute bacterial pneumonia at the time of her death and had been prescribed respiratory-suppressing drugs by doctors in the days leading up to her death, and had fallen from her bed the night before her death.

Additionally, Roberson’s autism affects how he expresses emotion — a concern that was also presented against him in his arrest, according to his legal team.

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(NEW YORK) — Harvey Weinstein has been diagnosed with a form of bone marrow cancer, sources told ABC News.

Weinstein has been diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia, sources said, adding that the former Hollywood producer is receiving treatment while jailed.

Weinstein’s authorized legal healthcare representative in New York, Craig Rothfeld, declined to comment, saying, “Out of respect for Mr. Weinstein’s privacy, we will offer no further comment.”

According to the American Cancer Society, chronic myeloid leukemia is a type of cancer that starts in the blood-forming cells of the bone marrow and invades the blood. The organization says approximately 15% of leukemias in adults are CML.

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

In September, Weinstein was rushed to Bellevue Hospital for emergency heart surgery after experiencing chest pains, his representatives told ABC News, at the time.

In July, Weinstein’s representatives said he was hospitalized for a “myriad of health conditions,” including COVID-19 and double pneumonia.

Weinstein was also suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure, spinal stenosis, fluid on his heart and lungs, and various other conditions, he representatives said at the time.

The former movie mogul is being prosecuted again for sex crimes after his New York conviction was overturned on appeal.

On Sept. 19, while he was recovering from his procedure, Weinstein pleaded not guilty to criminal sex act in the first degree, based on the allegations of a woman who said he sexually assaulted her on one occasion in 2006 at a Manhattan hotel.

The latest indictment came months after the New York Court of Appeals overturned his 2020 sex crimes conviction. He had been found guilty of criminal sexual assault and third-degree rape and sentenced to 23 years in prison.

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

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(WASHINGTON) — The Navy identified on Monday two “trailblazing” women aviators who were killed when their jet crashed in northeast Washington during an Oct. 15 training mission.

A day after Navy officials declared them dead, they were identified as Lt. Cmdr. Lyndsay P. “Miley” Evans, a Naval flight officer, and Lt. Serena N. “Dug” Wileman, a Naval aviator. Both women were 31 years old and from California, according to the Navy.

Evans and Wileman were described by Navy officials as “two highly skilled, combat decorated aviators.”

“More than just names and ranks, they were role models, trailblazers, and women whose influence touched countless people on the flight deck and well beyond,” the Navy’s Carrier Strike Group Two and Carrier Air Wing 3 said in a statement.

The aviators were identified a day after Cmdr. Timothy Warburton of the Navy’s Electronic Attack Squadron 130 — which goes by the nickname “Zappers” — announced they had been declared dead.

“It is with a heavy heart that we share the loss of two beloved Zappers,” Warburton said in a statement. “Our priority right now is taking care of the families of our fallen aviators and ensuring the well-being of our Sailors and the Growler community. We are grateful for the ongoing teamwork to safely recover the deceased.”

Wreckage of the EA-18G Growler jet was located Wednesday on a mountainside east of Mount Rainier, military officials said.

Search-and-rescue crews faced mountainous terrain, cloudy weather and low visibility during the search for the crew, Navy officials said in a statement last week.

The jet, from Electronic Attack Squadron 130, crashed at about 3:23 p.m. on Oct. 15, about 30 miles west of Yakima, according to the Navy.

The jet crashed after launching a training flight from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, officials said.

Evans and Wileman had recently returned from a nine-month deployment to the Red Sea in the Middle East, where they were part of the Carrier Air Wing 3 and stationed aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, according to the Navy. During their deployment, the aviators were involved in what the Navy described as “the most dynamic combat action.”

“During their deployment, both Evans and Wileman distinguished themselves in combat operations,” Capt. Marvin Scott, a Navy flight commander, said in a statement.

Scott added, “These role models cemented legacies by making history that will inspire future generations of Naval officers and aviators.”

Evans completed multiple combat strikes into Houthi-controlled territories in Yemen, making her one of the few women to fly combat missions over land, according to the Navy.

In 2023, Evans was part of an all-female Super Bowl flyover of State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, which the Navy said was “a historic moment marking 50 years of women flying in the Navy.”

In 2024, Evans was also named the Growler Tactics Instructor of the Year, according to the Navy.

In 2023 and 2024, Wileman also flew on multiple combat missions into the Houthi-controlled territories of Yemen.

“I have personally flown with both of these great Americans in both training and dynamic combat operations, and they always performed professionally and precisely. I could not be more proud to have served with each of them,” Capt. Marvin Scott, a Navy flight commander, said in a statement.

The cause of the crash that killed Evans and Wileman is under investigation, according to the Navy.

The Growler aircraft, which according to the Navy is worth about $67 million, is “the most advanced technology in airborne Electronic Attack and stands as the Navy’s first line of defense in hostile environments.”

The 130 squadron adopted the nickname “Zappers” when it was commissioned as the Carrier Early Warning Squadron 13 in 1959, the military said.

The squadron was most recently deployed to the Southern Red Sea, where it carried out seven pre-planned strikes against Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, according to a statement.

The Zappers also carried out some 700 combat missions “to degrade the Houthi capability to threaten innocent shipping,” according to a press release announcing the squadron’s return to Washington in July.

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(NEW YORK) — Gruesome crime scene photographs were revealed in court on Monday during the trial of Richard Allen, who is accused of killing two teenage girls in 2017 on a hiking trail in the small town of Delphi, Indiana.

Carroll County sheriff’s deputy Darren Giancola, who was the first law enforcement officer on the scene after the bodies of Libby German, 14, and Abby Williams, 13, were discovered, was emotional as he took the stand for the prosecution on the third day of testimony.

Giancola said one of the girls was nude and the other was clothed when their bodies were located on Feb. 14, 2017.

“Both had large lacerations on their throat,” Giancola said. “They both had a substantial amount of blood on their person and underneath.”

Giancola was asked if lifesaving measures were performed, and he responded, “No. It was apparent they were deceased.”

The second witness called Monday was Jason Page of the Indiana State Police crime scene investigation unit, who photographed the crime scene.

The jury was shown graphic photos, including a close-up of Libby’s slashed throat and bloody face.

The families of Libby and Abby cried in the gallery and there were audible gasps in the courtroom when the images were shown.

Investigators had been tight-lipped about how the girls were killed for the last seven years, until prosecutor Nick McLeland revealed in his opening statement in court that both girls’ throats were cut.

Allen is accused of killing the two eighth graders while they walked on a hiking trail in their rural town on Feb. 13, 2017. Their bodies were discovered the next day.

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

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