National

(AURORA, Colo.) — A Colorado dentist accused of killing his wife by putting poison in her protein shakes is set to return to court on Thursday morning.

James Toliver Craig, 45, of Aurora, Colorado, was arrested early Sunday and charged with first-degree murder. He was ordered to be held without bond, according to a press release from the Aurora Police Department and an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by ABC News. It was unclear whether he has an attorney.

The charge stems from the poisoning death of his 43-year-old wife, Angela Craig, who was hospitalized three times in the span of 10 days due to severe headaches and dizziness. She was admitted to UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora on the morning of March 15. Soon after, she had a seizure and was placed on a ventilator in the intensive care unit as her condition swiftly deteriorated. She was declared medically brain dead on Saturday afternoon and subsequently taken off life support, leaving doctors at a loss as to what would have caused her rapid decline, according to the affidavit.

The Aurora Police Department’s Major Crimes Homicide Unit was called in to investigate and ultimately discovered that Angela Craig was fatally poisoned.

“When the suspicious details of this case came to light, our team of officers and homicide detectives tirelessly worked to uncover the truth behind the victim’s sudden illness and death,” Mark Hildebrand, chief of the Aurora Police Department’s Investigations Divisions, said in a statement Sunday. “It was quickly discovered this was in fact a heinous, complex and calculated murder. I am very proud of our Major Crimes Homicide Unit’s hard work in solving this case and pursuing justice for the victim.”

In the weeks before his wife’s death, James Craig used a computer at his Aurora dental practice to create a new email address and conduct online searches related to poison, including “how many grams of pure arsenic will kill a human” and “is arsenic detectable in autopsy,” the affidavit said. He also purchased arsenic online on Feb. 23 and the shipment was delivered to his home on March 4, according to the affidavit.

Two days later, Angela Craig sent a text message to her husband complaining of dizziness and that she felt “drugged,” the affidavit said. James Craig responded: “Given our history I know that must be triggering. Just for the record, I didn’t drug you. I am super worried though. You really looked pale before I left. Like in your lips even.”

When he asked if she had “eaten anything,” Angela Craig said she “had my protein shake,” according to the affidavit. She was admitted to Centura Parker Adventist Hospital in Parker, Colorado, where she was treated and released. That same day, James Craig ordered the toxic plant extract oleandrin, but the package was “intercepted by FedEx” and never delivered, the affidavit said.

While his wife was hospitalized again from March 9 to March 14, James Craig ordered the highly lethal chemical compound potassium cyanide, which was delivered to his dental practice on March 13, according to the affidavit. When Angela Craig was hospitalized for the final time on March 15, one of her husband’s business partners told an attending nurse about the potassium cyanide delivery and how there was no need for it at their dental practice, prompting the nurse to contact police, according to the affidavit.

James Craig was known to make his wife protein shakes regularly and investigators believe he had administered the poison through these drinks, the affidavit said. The couple shared six children, according to Denver ABC affiliate KMGH-TV.

Investigators spoke to Angela Craig’s sister, who described the couple’s marriage as tumultuous and said James Craig had multiple affairs with other women, according to the affidavit. Angela Craig had also told her sister that she was drugged by her husband several years ago because he was planning to commit suicide and didn’t want her to be able to stop him. After Angela Craig’s death, her sister told investigators that James Craig “said he would not allow hospital staff to conduct an autopsy,” according to the affidavit.

Investigators learned that James Craig had told some of his employees that “his marriage was failing” and “he was in financial turmoil,” the affidavit said. After Angela’s Craig’s death, James Craig also told the Colorado Department of Human Services that his wife had been suicidal and “he had saved her many times but never reported it,” according to the affidavit. However, the affidavit noted that none of the people interviewed by investigators suggested Angela Craig had suicidal ideations.

The investigation determined that James Craig “has shown the planning and intent to end his wife’s life by searching for ways to kill someone undetected, providing her poisons that align with her hospitalized symptoms, and working on starting a new life” with another woman, according to the affidavit.

James Craig had his initial appearance at Arapahoe County District Court in Centennial, Colorado, on Monday. He was scheduled to return on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. MT for the formal filing of charges, according to online court records.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — A grand jury is continuing to weigh charges against former President Donald Trump in connection with the Manhattan district attorney’s probe into the 2016 hush payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

No current or former president has ever been indicted for criminal conduct.

Here is how the news is developing. All times Eastern. Check back for updates:

Mar 23, 7:37 AM EDT
Manhattan grand jury expected to reconvene Thursday

The Manhattan grand jury weighing charges against former President Donald Trump is expected to reconvene on Thursday, sources tell ABC News.

Mar 23, 5:28 AM EDT
Trump could still be elected president if indicted or convicted, experts say

According to law, former President Donald Trump can be elected president if indicted — or even convicted — in any of the state and federal investigations he is currently facing, experts tell ABC News. But there are practical reasons that could make it a challenge, experts say.

Trump said earlier this month at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference that he would “absolutely” run for president even if he were to be criminally indicted.

“I wouldn’t even think about leaving,” Trump told reporters ahead of a speech. “Probably it will enhance my numbers.”

Mar 22, 12:51 PM EDT
Manhattan grand jury to reconvene as early as Thursday

The Manhattan grand jury weighing charges against former President Donald Trump in connection to the Stormy Daniels hush payment investigation is not meeting on Wednesday, sources told ABC News. The earliest the grand jury would reconvene is Thursday, sources said.

The grand jurors were called Wednesday morning and told they were not needed during the day as scheduled, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. The grand jurors were told to be prepared to reconvene on Thursday when it’s possible they will hear from at least one additional witness, the sources said.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office declined to comment, citing a policy of not discussing grand jury matters.

-ABC News’ John Santucci and Luke Barr

Mar 22, 8:25 AM EDT
With Trump case looming, what is an indictment?

Criminal prosecution proceedings typically start with an arrest and a court appearance, but legal experts say that on many occasions, especially in white collar crimes, suspects aren’t hit with charges or a visit from an officer until long after an official investigation is underway.

Typically, if a crime is being investigated, law enforcement agents will make an arrest, file initial charges and bring a suspect to be arraigned in court, Vincent Southerland, an assistant professor of clinical law and the director of the criminal defense and reentry clinic at NYU School of Law, told ABC News.

After this arraignment, prosecutors would impanel a grand jury for a formal criminal indictment. Southerland, who has been practicing law in New York state for 19 years, said this process includes giving the jury evidence, possible testimony and other exhibits before they can officially charge a person with felonies.

A Manhattan grand jury is currently investigating Trump’s possible role in the hush payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. The former president has denied any wrongdoing and having an affair with Daniels. His attorneys have framed the funds as a response to an extortion plot.

-ABC News’ Ivan Pereira

Mar 21, 6:11 PM EDT
Pence discourages protests if Trump indicted

Former Vice President Mike Pence discouraged any protests should a grand jury indict Donald Trump.

“Every American has the right to let their voice be heard. The Constitution provides the right to peaceably assemble. But I think in this instance, I would discourage Americans from engaging in protests if in fact the former president is indicted,” Pence said Tuesday when asked by ABC News if Americans should protest a possible indictment.

Pence said he understood the “frustration” while calling the case “politically motivated.”

“But I think letting our voices be heard in other ways, and in not engaging in protests, I think is most prudent at this time,” he said.

-ABC News’ Libby Cathey

Mar 21, 11:00 AM EDT
McCarthy grows frustrated as Trump questions persist at House GOP retreat

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy again ripped into Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg when asked about the potential charges against former President Donald Trump at a Tuesday press conference at the House GOP retreat in Orlando.

When McCarthy was asked directly if had concerns about Trump’s alleged conduct regarding the alleged hush money payment to Stormy Daniels, he didn’t answer the question and instead pivoted to talking about Hillary Clinton and Bragg.

“What we see before us is a political game being played by a local. Look, this isn’t New York City, this is just a Manhattan,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy said he hasn’t spoken to Trump in three weeks.

When asked if Trump is still the leader of the Republican Party, McCarthy took a jab at the press: “In the press room, for all of you, he is.”

-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders and Will Steakin

Mar 21, 10:14 AM EDT
Grand jury to reconvene on Wednesday

A grand jury will reconvene on Wednesday to continue to weigh charges against former President Donald Trump in connection with the Manhattan district attorney’s probe into the 2016 hush payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney, paid $130,000 to Daniels in the closing days of the 2016 presidential campaign to allegedly keep her from talking about an affair she claimed to have had with Trump.

Trump has denied the affair and his attorneys have framed the funds as an extortion payment.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is mulling whether to charge Trump with falsifying business records, after the Trump Organization allegedly reimbursed Cohen for the payment then logged the reimbursement as a legal expense, sources have told ABC News. Trump has called the payment “a private contract between two parties” and has denied all wrongdoing.

Trump this weekend wrote on his Truth Social platform that he expected to be arrested on Tuesday.

The U.S. Secret Service is coordinating security plans with the NYPD in the event of an indictment and arraignment in an open courtroom in Manhattan, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. The two agencies had a call Monday to discuss logistics, including court security and how Trump would potentially surrender for booking and processing, according to sources briefed on the discussions. White collar criminal defendants in New York are typically allowed to negotiate a surrender.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — The residents of a Louisiana parish, located in an area that has become known as “Cancer Alley,” filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the local government alleging the petrochemical plants built in the area are tantamount to “environmental racism.”

The lawsuit, which names St. James Parish, St. James Parish Council and St. James Parish Planning Commission as defendants, seeks a moratorium on petrochemical plants in the Black districts of St. James Parish, as well as other relief. The lawsuit was filed by the environmental organizations Inclusive Louisiana and Rise St. James, as well as the Mount Triumph Baptist Church.

“It is one of the most severe and obvious forms of discrimination that people have been living with, and it needs to stop. It’s illegal,” said attorney Pamela Spees, of the Center for Constitutional Rights, at Tuesday’s press conference announcing the lawsuit.

The Center for Constitutional Rights and Tulane University Law School collaborated with the community to file the lawsuit, which states that it seeks to “remediate the ongoing effects of the Parish’s environmental racism.”

The predominantly-Black neighborhoods, nicknamed “Cancer Alley” for their high concentration of petrochemical plants and long-term air pollution, lie along the stretch of land along the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

The environmental organizations and residents of St. James Parish submitted their first challenge to the production of petrochemicals in September 2019, according to a press release from St. James Parish residents Tuesday morning.

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency declined to comment regarding the lawsuit.

In 2022, after a preliminary investigation, the EPA released a letter with their initial recommendations in response to civil rights complaints accusing Louisiana regulators of neglecting Black community members’ concerns about toxic air pollution, and wrote the state “must examine how polluters imperil the health of Black residents.”

According to the letter, which referred to the agency’s early research, Black residents in southeastern Louisiana have a disproportionate increased cancer risk from industrial air pollution and urged environmental and health agencies to analyze the impact on the residential plants, including a proposed Formosa Plastics facility in St. James Parish.

Studies have demonstrated that air pollution from petrochemical plants has the ability to change human DNA, which can lead to the development of cancer.

Gail LeBoeuf, the co-founder and co-director of Inclusive Louisiana and a community member, shared during the press conference that she has liver cancer that she believes the area’s plastics plants contributed to.

“For years now we have gone to the Parish Council with our concerns, but every time we are ignored,” she said.

According to the lawsuit, Black residents are heavily concentrated in the 5th District and 4th District of St. James Parish, which are 88.6% Black and 53% Black, respectively. The lawsuit emphasized that more than a dozen industrial facilities are located in these districts.

Community members are descendants of African slaves, according to citizens in the Parish, whose families have remained in the area.

“As a result of the vestiges of the slavery in Louisiana and in St. James in particular, plaintiffs’ members reside in some of the most polluted, toxic – and lethal – census tracts in the country, situated within a stretch of land along the Mississippi now widely known as ‘Cancer Alley,'” the lawsuit states.

According to the lawsuit, 11 facilities in St. James Parish report to the EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory and four of them are located in the 5th District. Five facilities are located in the 4th District.

Last September, Judge Trudy White, of Louisiana’s 19th Judicial District in Baton Rouge, vacated air permits for the proposed $9.4 billion Formosa Plastics petrochemical facility in St. James Parish. Formosa Plastics affiliate FG LA- LLC, in addition to The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, appealed that decision and defended its proposed plant.

A spokesperson for FG LA LLC, Janile Parks, said in a written statement to ABC News the company still plans to continue to build the complex, coined as the “Sunshine Project,” by exploring “all legal options in light of Judge White’s ruling as the project continues to pursue successful permitting.”

“The serious health claims levied against FG’s project are false and unjustified. This project has been thoroughly vetted and approved by parish and state bodies because it relied on sound science in design and met all regulatory criteria, including locating the project in an area designated by parish government for industrial use,” Parks said. “As part of the St. James Parish Land Use Approval Process, FG assessed various reasonable potential failure scenarios to demonstrate that, even under an unlikely failure event, materials being handled or stored onsite are not expected to cause or create a health or safety issue for even the nearest community.”

This plant was destined to be one of the world’s largest production facilities for plastics and plastic feedstocks, which serve as the building blocks to develop plastics.

“The owners of these plants come to St. James Parish promising job and economic opportunities in our neighborhood; we don’t see any of that,” said Barbara Washington, a director of Inclusive Louisiana. “We’ve seen smoke and smog, and smell pollution.”

St. James Parish Councilmembers did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment, and Councilman Clyde Cooper of District 5 declined to immediately comment on the lawsuit.

“There is no better example of the afterlife of enslavement than what is happening right now in St. James Parish,” said Vincent Warren, the executive director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, during the press conference.

“Our plaintiffs, and the Black communities they are a part of, have essentially called on St. James Parish to end the building and the siting of the plants that are killing this community,” he said.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — A grand jury is continuing to weigh charges against former President Donald Trump in connection with the Manhattan district attorney’s probe into the 2016 hush payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

No current or former president has ever been indicted for criminal conduct.

Here is how the news is developing. All times Eastern. Check back for updates:

Mar 23, 5:28 AM EDT
Trump could still be elected president if indicted or convicted, experts say

According to law, former President Donald Trump can be elected president if indicted — or even convicted — in any of the state and federal investigations he is currently facing, experts tell ABC News. But there are practical reasons that could make it a challenge, experts say.

Trump said earlier this month at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference that he would “absolutely” run for president even if he were to be criminally indicted.

“I wouldn’t even think about leaving,” Trump told reporters ahead of a speech. “Probably it will enhance my numbers.”

Mar 22, 12:51 PM EDT
Manhattan grand jury to reconvene as early as Thursday

The Manhattan grand jury weighing charges against former President Donald Trump in connection to the Stormy Daniels hush payment investigation is not meeting on Wednesday, sources told ABC News. The earliest the grand jury would reconvene is Thursday, sources said.

The grand jurors were called Wednesday morning and told they were not needed during the day as scheduled, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. The grand jurors were told to be prepared to reconvene on Thursday when it’s possible they will hear from at least one additional witness, the sources said.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office declined to comment, citing a policy of not discussing grand jury matters.

-ABC News’ John Santucci and Luke Barr

Mar 22, 8:25 AM EDT
With Trump case looming, what is an indictment?

Criminal prosecution proceedings typically start with an arrest and a court appearance, but legal experts say that on many occasions, especially in white collar crimes, suspects aren’t hit with charges or a visit from an officer until long after an official investigation is underway.

Typically, if a crime is being investigated, law enforcement agents will make an arrest, file initial charges and bring a suspect to be arraigned in court, Vincent Southerland, an assistant professor of clinical law and the director of the criminal defense and reentry clinic at NYU School of Law, told ABC News.

After this arraignment, prosecutors would impanel a grand jury for a formal criminal indictment. Southerland, who has been practicing law in New York state for 19 years, said this process includes giving the jury evidence, possible testimony and other exhibits before they can officially charge a person with felonies.

A Manhattan grand jury is currently investigating Trump’s possible role in the hush payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. The former president has denied any wrongdoing and having an affair with Daniels. His attorneys have framed the funds as a response to an extortion plot.

-ABC News’ Ivan Pereira

Mar 21, 6:11 PM EDT
Pence discourages protests if Trump indicted

Former Vice President Mike Pence discouraged any protests should a grand jury indict Donald Trump.

“Every American has the right to let their voice be heard. The Constitution provides the right to peaceably assemble. But I think in this instance, I would discourage Americans from engaging in protests if in fact the former president is indicted,” Pence said Tuesday when asked by ABC News if Americans should protest a possible indictment.

Pence said he understood the “frustration” while calling the case “politically motivated.”

“But I think letting our voices be heard in other ways, and in not engaging in protests, I think is most prudent at this time,” he said.

-ABC News’ Libby Cathey

Mar 21, 11:00 AM EDT
McCarthy grows frustrated as Trump questions persist at House GOP retreat

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy again ripped into Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg when asked about the potential charges against former President Donald Trump at a Tuesday press conference at the House GOP retreat in Orlando.

When McCarthy was asked directly if had concerns about Trump’s alleged conduct regarding the alleged hush money payment to Stormy Daniels, he didn’t answer the question and instead pivoted to talking about Hillary Clinton and Bragg.

“What we see before us is a political game being played by a local. Look, this isn’t New York City, this is just a Manhattan,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy said he hasn’t spoken to Trump in three weeks.

When asked if Trump is still the leader of the Republican Party, McCarthy took a jab at the press: “In the press room, for all of you, he is.”

-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders and Will Steakin

Mar 21, 10:14 AM EDT
Grand jury to reconvene on Wednesday

A grand jury will reconvene on Wednesday to continue to weigh charges against former President Donald Trump in connection with the Manhattan district attorney’s probe into the 2016 hush payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney, paid $130,000 to Daniels in the closing days of the 2016 presidential campaign to allegedly keep her from talking about an affair she claimed to have had with Trump.

Trump has denied the affair and his attorneys have framed the funds as an extortion payment.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is mulling whether to charge Trump with falsifying business records, after the Trump Organization allegedly reimbursed Cohen for the payment then logged the reimbursement as a legal expense, sources have told ABC News. Trump has called the payment “a private contract between two parties” and has denied all wrongdoing.

Trump this weekend wrote on his Truth Social platform that he expected to be arrested on Tuesday.

The U.S. Secret Service is coordinating security plans with the NYPD in the event of an indictment and arraignment in an open courtroom in Manhattan, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. The two agencies had a call Monday to discuss logistics, including court security and how Trump would potentially surrender for booking and processing, according to sources briefed on the discussions. White collar criminal defendants in New York are typically allowed to negotiate a surrender.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(DENVER) — A student who was under a “certain agreement to be patted down each day” at school allegedly shot and wounded two school administrators at East High School in Denver, authorities said.

The suspect, Austin Lyle, 17, fled the school on Wednesday morning after the shooting, Denver police said. His body was later discovered, officials said.

Police searching for the suspect had located his car in Park County, which is located southwest of Denver, officials said Wednesday evening. A male body was found near the vehicle, Park County Sheriff Tom McGraw later said during a press conference. The scene was being processed and the coroner was en route to the scene, McGraw said.

The Park County Coroner’s Office later confirmed that the body was Lyle’s.

The handgun used in the shooting has not been recovered as of Wednesday. Police had warned the public to not approach Lyle, calling him armed and dangerous. They said that Lyle, who had been wanted for attempted homicide, may have been be driving a 2005 red Volvo XC90 with Colorado license plate BSCW10.

The faculty members were both hospitalized following the shooting. They have been identified by the school district as Eric Sinclair, who remains in serious condition, and Jerald Mason, who was upgraded from serious to good condition. Mason has since been released from the hospital, Denver Health said.

The suspected shooter was required to be searched at the beginning of each school day, officials said. He allegedly shot the school administrators as they patted him down Wednesday morning in the school’s office area, which officials said is away from other students and staff.

The suspect’s daily searches were part of a “safety plan” that was a result of “previous behavior,” officials said, though they did not elaborate on the previous behavior.

East High School was placed on lockdown in the wake of the shooting. Denver Public Schools later said it received clearance to start releasing students.

Last month, East High School students went to a city council meeting to call for action on school safety and gun violence after a 16-year-old student was fatally shot near the school, according to ABC Denver affiliate KMGH-TV.

The superintendent said Wednesday that the school will be closed for the rest of this week, and that the building will now have two armed officers present through the end of the school year.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock in a statement said removing school resource officers was a “mistake” and said they should be quickly returned.

“We all have to step up as a community and be a part of the solution,” he said.

Hancock also called on Congress to pass “common sense” gun legislation.

“Parents are angry and frustrated, and they have a right to be,” he said. “Easy access to guns must be addressed in our country — Denver cannot do this alone.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Wednesday that the administration’s “hearts go out to the families of the two school administrators and in Denver today and to the entire school community.”

Jean-Pierre noted that President Joe Biden unveiled another executive action aimed at tackling gun violence last week but that “as the president said in the State of the Union, Congress needs to do something.”

This shooting comes two years to the day after a mass shooting at a King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, that claimed 10 lives.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J.) — Monmouth University lifted a shelter-in-place order after an investigation into a “possible armed subject” found that a curling iron “was mistaken for a weapon,” a university official said.

Police at Monmouth, in West Long Branch, New Jersey, had received a report at 9:15 p.m. Wednesday of a “possible armed subject” on campus, the school said in an alert posted to its website.

Multiple local and county law enforcement agencies searched and secured the campus, the university said.

“Detectives were able to utilize video footage and other technology based on the description provided and identified a person of interest, a currently enrolled student,” Patrick F. Leahy, the president, said in a letter posted early Thursday.

He added, “Based on interviews with that person, law enforcement personnel were able to determine that the person was in possession of a curling iron that was mistaken for a weapon.”

The university issued an all-clear notification a short time later.

“All clear-the shelter in place on campus has been lifted, the campus is safe, an elevated police presence remains,” school officials said on Twitter early Thursday. “Additional information will be sent via email.”

All classes before noon on Thursday have been canceled, the school said.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(CHARLESTON, W.Va.) — The Department of Justice announced Wednesday it made the largest methamphetamine bust in West Virginia history.

The DOJ charged 30 people with allegedly distributing more than 200 pounds of meth, alongside guns and other drugs, over a period of seven months, dubbing the operation “Operation Smoke and Mirrors.”

“The takedown of this drug trafficking organization stopped a record amount of methamphetamine, as well as other dangerous drugs, from reaching our communities and causing harm,” United States Attorney Will Thompson said in a statement.

According to the DOJ, the individuals were also charged with distributing large amounts of cocaine and fentanyl in Charleston.

Officials seized 28 pounds of cocaine, 20 pounds of fentanyl, 18 guns and $747,000 in cash during the operation, the Justice Department said.

“This investigation demonstrates that we will use all of our resources, including new and innovative investigative techniques, against those who target our communities with this poison,” Thompson said.

The announcement comes on the same day that the Department of Homeland Security disclosed it seized 900 pounds of fentanyl in its first week as part of its fentanyl-targeting operation called “Operation Blue Lotus.”

According to DHS, the operation has led to 18 seizures, 16 federal arrests, and two state arrests. Those seizures prevented over 900 pounds of fentanyl, 700 pounds of methamphetamine and 100 pounds of cocaine from entering the United States.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, meth killed over 32,000 Americans in 2021.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — An appeals court on Wednesday rejected an effort by former President Donald Trump’s attorneys to block Trump lawyer Evan Corcoran from having to testify and hand over records to special counsel Jack Smith’s team investigating Trump’s handling of classified records after leaving the White House, according to court records.

The three-judge panel on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled extraordinarily swiftly against the request for a stay by Trump’s attorneys, who sought to block an order last Friday by the chief judge for the D.C. District Court, who determined the government had made a prima facie case that Corcoran’s legal services were likely used by Trump in the furtherance of a crime.

Corcoran was expected to testify as soon as Friday, sources said.

D.C. district judge Beryl Howell ruled that prosecutors in special counsel Jack Smith’s office had made a “prima facie showing that the former president had committed criminal violations,” according to sources who described her Friday order, and that attorney-client privileges invoked by two of his lawyers, Corcoran and Jennifer Little, could therefore be pierced.

Sources familiar with the matter further described to ABC New the six topics that Corcoran was ordered by Judge Howell to testify about, over which he had previously sought to assert attorney-client privilege.

The topics indicate that Smith has zeroed in on Trump’s actions surrounding his response to a May 11 DOJ subpoena that sought all remaining classified documents in his possession — which investigators have described as key to Trump’s alleged “scheme” to obstruct the investigation, sources said.

ABC News reported exclusively Tuesday that Smith believes Trump intentionally and deliberately misled his own attorneys about Trump’s retention of classified materials after leaving office, according to sources who described the judge’s sealed ruling piercing Corcoran’s claims of privilege.

According to sources familiar with the filing, Smith wants information from Corcoran on whether Trump or anyone else in his employ was aware of the signed certification that was drafted by Corcoran and signed by Trump attorney Christina Bobb then submitted in response to the May 11 subpoena from the DOJ seeking all remaining documents with classified markings in Trump’s possession. That certification was later discovered to be false, prompting the eventual court-authorized search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in which FBI investigators recovered more than 100 classified documents — including some located in Trump’s personal office, according to previously released court documents.

Smith’s investigators specifically want to ask Corcoran whether Trump was aware of the statements in the certification, which claimed a “diligent search” of Mar-a-Lago had been conducted, and if Trump approved of it being provided to the government, sources familiar with the filing said.

Corcoran was ordered to detail the steps he took to determine where documents responsive to DOJ’s May subpoena may have been located, sources said. He also was ordered to provide testimony on why he believed all documents with classification markings were held in Mar-a-Lago’s storage room, as he had allegedly confirmed to a top DOJ official when investigators visited the estate in June of last year.

Investigators have sought to question Corcoran on the people involved in choosing Bobb as the designated custodian of records for documents that Trump took with him after leaving the White House, and any communications he exchanged with Bobb in connection with her selection, per sources familiar with the filing.

Investigators also want Corcoran to tell them what he discussed with Trump in a June 24 phone call on the same day that the Trump Organization received a second grand jury subpoena demanding surveillance footage from Mar-a-Lago that would show whether anyone moved boxes in and out of the storage room, which Trump’s team had previously barred investigators from searching during their visit to the estate earlier that month, the sources said.

According to sources, Howell’s order piercing attorney-client privilege on that topic said that the government had characterized the conversation as furthering “a different stage” of Trump’s “ongoing scheme” to prevent the government from retrieving all classified documents from Mar-a-Lago.

“There is no factual or legal basis or substance to any case against President Trump,” a Trump spokesperson told ABC News. “The deranged Democrats and their comrades in the mainstream media are corrupting the legal process and weaponizing the justice system in order to manipulate public opinion, because they are clearly losing the political battle. The real story here is that prosecutors only attack lawyers when they have no case whatsoever.”

A spokesperson for the special counsel’s office declined to comment.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — A “bomb cyclone” is wreaking havoc across an already soaked California, killing at least five people in the San Francisco Bay Area, including four hit by falling trees or limbs, officials said.

A dramatic drop in atmospheric pressure triggered the so-called bomb cyclone that swept in from the Pacific Ocean and clobbered the San Francisco area. The storm packed heavy rain and wind gusts of up to 90 mph that knocked down trees, blocking major roadways and highways, officials said.

Tens of thousands of utility customers lost power, according to officials.

One person was killed and another was injured in the gated community of Rossmoor, about 25 miles east of San Francisco, when a tree fell on a moving car, according to the California Highway Patrol. Another motorist was killed around 1:30 p.m. local time Tuesday when a toppled tree crushed a work van in San Mateo County, about 30 miles south of San Francisco, according to CHP.

A man was killed at Oakland’s Lake Merritt when a tree fell on him, officials said. Two people in San Francisco were killed in storm-related incidents, including a person who was struck by a tree limb, according to San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s office.

The gale-force winds knocked down at least 700 trees and limbs across San Francisco on Tuesday alone, city officials said.

On Wednesday morning, the town of Woodside, about 32 miles south of San Francisco, was under a “highly recommended evacuation” after a mudslide shut down a road, impacting about 30 homes, officials said.

“If you live in this area, please pack your ‘Go Bag,’ with all necessary essentials: insurance policy, pets, medications, a change of clothes, and LEAVE NOW,” San Mateo County officials said in a Twitter post Wednesday. “Once the road gives out completely, residents in that area will not have access to emergency services for the foreseeable future.”

The mudslide unfolded as the National Weather Service issued a flood advisory for Woodside and nearby San Mateo County communities Wednesday morning after about 3 inches of rain fell in the area over a 24-hour period.

The powerful springtime storm is also being blamed for the derailment of an Amtrak train near Martinez, about 35 miles east of San Francisco. The train was carrying 55 passengers when it struck a downed tree on the tracks, according to Amtrak officials. No injuries were reported.

High wind gusts also caused a tractor-trailer rig to overturn on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, blocking the eastbound lanes and snarling traffic during the evening commute, according to CHP.

The winds were so strong in downtown San Francisco Tuesday that it knocked out windows in high-rise buildings, sending shattered glass to the ground, according to the San Francisco Fire Department.

San Francisco International Airport recorded wind gusts of 64 mph, while gusty winds reached 74 mph in Oakland. Gusts hit nearly 90 mph between San Francisco and Sacramento.

The “bomb cyclone” developed off the coast of San Francisco Tuesday when the atmospheric pressure dropped 24 millibars in 17 hours, producing the strongest March storm ever recorded in the Bay Area.

The same storm system walloped Southern California Tuesday with wind gusts of up to 100 mph in the San Gabriel Mountains north of Los Angeles. The town of Lytle Creek in the San Gabriel Mountains recorded more than 6 inches of rain, while nearly an inch-and-a-half of rain fell in downtown Los Angeles.

The weather system is expected to weaken Wednesday, but most of California will remain under a flood watch and high-wind alerts are expected to persist into the afternoon.

The storm, the latest in a series of atmospheric river systems that has nearly eliminated the state’s multi-year drought, is expected to move southeast, bringing severe weather to parts of Texas, Alabama and Oklahoma. Severe weather on Thursday and Friday could produce large hail and damaging winds from the Dallas-Fort Worth area to San Angelo, more than 250 miles southwest of Dallas.

As the storm moves east on Friday, a possible tornado outbreak could form in parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas, according to the National Weather Service.

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(EL PASO, Texas) — The Department of Homeland Security says its new fentanyl targeting operation has already seized 900 pounds of the drug in its first week.

“Operation Blue Lotus,” a targeted operation that involves more stops and the use of advanced technology along the border, started on March 13. The operation has led to 18 seizures, 16 federal arrests and two state arrests, according to DHS. Those seizures prevented over 900 pounds of fentanyl, 700 pounds of methamphetamines and 100 pounds of cocaine from entering the United States through last Sunday.

“Operation Blue Lotus is a DHS-led, coordinated surge effort to curtail the flow of illicit fentanyl smuggled into the United States from Mexico and bring to justice the dangerous criminal organizations profiting from the illegal production, distribution, and sale of this dangerous substance,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said after meeting with CBP agents along the border on Tuesday.

As part of the operation, additional Homeland Security Investigations agents were deployed and CBP’s Forward Operating Labs at Points of Entry conduct “real-time analysis of unknown substances.”

Fentanyl has killed on average 100,000 Americans each year, according to the Center for Disease Control.

Mayorkas has been in the hot seat from congressional Republicans about how the administration has handled the border, with several lawmakers repeatedly saying they want to impeach him over the issue.

He is set to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee next week.

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