Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) meets with Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz (2nd-R) in Tel Aviv, on Jan. 9, 2024, during his week-long trip aimed at calming tensions across the Middle East. (Evelyn Hockstein/POOL via AFP via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken emerged from a series of meetings with high-level Israeli officials on Tuesday with an agreement to launch a United Nations-led assessment mission that will pave the way for civilians displaced by warfare in northern Gaza to eventually return home — a significant step toward restoring a sense of normalcy in the besieged enclave.
“As Israel’s campaign moves to a lower intensity phase in northern Gaza, and as the IDF scales down its forces there, we agreed today on a plan for the U.N. to carry out an assessment mission,” Blinken said during a press conference in Tel Aviv, referring to the Israel Defense Forces. “It will determine what needs to be done to allow displaced Palestinians to return safely to homes in the north.”
“Now, this is not going to happen overnight. There are serious security, infrastructure, and humanitarian challenges,” Blinken cautioned. “But the mission will start a process that evaluates these obstacles and how they can be overcome.”
Blinken also forcefully defended Israel from allegations of genocide brought by South Africa before the U.N.’s highest legal body, the International Court of Justice, claiming the case “distracts the world” from vital efforts tied to the conflict.
“Moreover, the charge of genocide is meritless,” Blinken asserted. “It’s particularly galling given that those who are attacking Israel — Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, as well as their supporter, Iran — continue to openly call for the annihilation of Israel and the mass murder of Jews.”
But while in Israel during one of several visits he has made to the country since Hamas’ Oct. 7 surprise terrorist attacks, Blinken did publicly express some criticism of its government, particularly right-wing officials’ opposition to the creation of an independent Palestinian state — urging them from the podium to “stop taking steps that undercut Palestinians’ ability to govern themselves effectively.”
The secretary was also asked about calls by two Israeli ministers for the transfer of Palestinians out of Gaza, a stance the State Department slammed as “inflammatory and irresponsible” last week.
Blinken said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had assured him that forced resettlement of Palestinians outside of the enclave’s border was not the position of his government.
But even convincing the Israeli government to allow the U.N. to explore pathways for those displaced within Gaza’s perimeter was far from guaranteed.
Since the outbreak of the war, U.S. officials say the Israeli government has been reluctant to allow various types of outside assistance to enter into Gaza out of concern that it will inadvertently benefit Hamas fighters, and that changing the country’s stance often requires face-to-face diplomacy with high-level cabinet members.
Nearly two million people across the Gaza Strip — the overwhelming majority of its population — have been displaced at some point during the conflict, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
The agency also says it has had extremely limited ability to distribute humanitarian assistance in northern Gaza and share information about conditions in the area since shortly after the fighting began.
Blinken said he had also discussed Israel’s plans to scale down its campaign during closed door meetings, and reaffirmed the Biden administration’s enduring commitment to supporting its fight against Hamas until the threat posed by the designated terrorist group was eliminated.
“We believe Israel has achieved significant progress toward this fundamental objective,” he said.
Some 1,200 people were killed in Israel in the Oct. 7 terror attack, according to the Israeli prime minister’s office. More than 23,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
(LONDON) — An internet seller who tricked eBay users into bidding for a walking stick that he falsely said belonged to Queen Elizabeth II has been sentenced.
Dru Marshall, a 26-year-old man from Romsey, England, claimed to be a Senior Footman at Windsor Castle — one of the queen’s many homes and where she was buried following her funeral in 2022 — when he listed an “antler walking stick” for sale via online auction just one week after she passed away, according to the Crown Prosecution Service.
“In his eBay listing, Marshall said the Queen used the stick in her final years ‘as she struggled with her mobility’ and dishonestly claimed the money raised would go to Cancer Research UK,” CPS said in their statement. “Bids reached £540 when Marshall hastily closed the listing after discovering Thames Valley Police were investigating the scam.”
Marshall was subsequently arrested and would plead not guilty to fraud by false representation, “at different times claiming the venture was not a scam but a joke made in bad taste and later a social experiment to see how much attention his post would receive,” authorities said.
However, prosecutors secured a conviction against Marshall “by unravelling his ever-changing defence with extensive computer evidence,” CPS said. “Debunking the claim his account had been hacked by a friend in Spain, prosecutors used Marshall’s online search history to show his intent to defraud potential victims by finding the terms ‘the Queen’ and ‘how to delete an eBay listing.’”
Marshall was sentenced to a 12-month Community Order on Monday at Southampton Magistrates’ Court and was also ordered to complete 40 hours of unpaid work.
“Dru Marshall used the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to try and hoodwink the public with a fake charity auction – fuelled by greed and a desire for attention,” said Julie Macey, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS Wessex. “Marshall’s scheme was ultimately foiled before he could successfully con any unsuspecting victims – and the CPS will continue to work hand-in-glove with law enforcement to bring fraudsters to justice.”
(Sioux City, Iowa) — Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is working feverishly to close the gap between her and former President Donald Trump in the 2024 Republican primary, with new polling showing Haley’s support growing in what could be a determinative contest in New Hampshire.
Just two weeks out from the state’s first-in-the-nation primary, a new CNN poll out Tuesday, conducted by the University of New Hampshire, shows Haley cutting into Trump’s lead, garnering 32% of the vote to his 39% and trailing him now by just seven points in the state, slicing her deficit from the last University of New Hampshire poll by 12 points.
The latest numbers are a positive signal for Haley, who has received several key endorsements over the last month from New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and the powerful Americans for Prosperity Action, backed by billionaire GOP megadonor Charles Koch.
“It’s another indication that there may be some real movement toward Haley and that she’s emerging as the main alternative to Trump,” Christopher Galderi, a professor at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire, who studies the state’s primary, said of the recent University of New Hampshire poll.
Haley’s biggest gains appear to have come from undeclared voters, a key constituency in the fiercely independent Live Free or Die state, where she garnered support from 43% of those surveyed — up 18 points since the last poll in November and the largest share of any other candidate.
According to Dave Carney, a veteran New Hampshire-based GOP strategist who’s worked on several presidential campaigns, Sununu’s endorsement likely went a long way with the state’s undeclared voters, with whom he is particularly popular.
“I think if she gets a hunk of the independent or undeclared voters in her camp on election day, he [Sununu] gets a massive amount of credit because Nikki was campaigning for two years in New Hampshire, and they weren’t convinced,” he told ABC News.
Nearly 40% of New Hampshire’s electorate is composed of undeclared voters, who can choose whether to vote on a Democratic or Republican primary ballot. According to the University of New Hampshire poll, 45% of undeclared voters plan to vote in the GOP primary, which Carney said would be “historic” in a New Hampshire GOP primary if it rings true on Jan. 23.
Still, he warned not to oversimplify the impact of undeclared voters — who are often interchangeably referred to as “independents” — can have.
“Undeclared voters in Hampshire are not moderate or liberal. There are a lot of conservatives, and Trump will get a lot of those voters, too,” he said.
To ultimately beat Trump to the nomination, Haley will need to make up significant ground in more than just the granite state. Trump remains far and away the leader in Iowa, where caucusgoers will make their decision next Tuesday, and Haley’s home state of South Carolina — garnering support from 51% and 53% of voters in those states, respectively, according to FiveThirtyEight.
In Iowa, where Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are jockeying for a distant second place, it remains to be seen if any candidate will mount a feasible challenge against Trump.
In two campaign stops in New Hampshire last week, Sununu and Haley both appeared to downplay expectations of what lies ahead in the midwest state.
“I think she’s going to shock everyone in Iowa with a strong second. We know Trump’s gonna win the caucus in Iowa. That’s just a given. Right?,” Sununu said during a Haley town hall in Londonderry, New Hampshire, last Wednesday. Later that evening, Haley appeared to poke fun at the Iowa caucuses at a town hall in Milford, where she said that the state would later “correct” what Iowa starts in its caucus.
“I think Nikki Haley coming in second in Iowa would be a huge shock, right? But that’s what her campaign has been about. She’s been overachieving at every event. I mean, it’s gonna be tough,” Sununu told ABC News after the event, denying that she needed a second-place finish in Iowa to perform well in New Hampshire.
“Iowa and New Hampshire are completely separate. What you do in Iowa has nothing to do with New Hampshire. I mean, that’s just how it is historically,” he said.
But an underperformance in Iowa could have an adverse impact on Haley’s broader campaign, said Carney.
“If she came in a distant third in Iowa, it will hurt her tremendously,” he told ABC News. “When you’re building your campaign on perception and expectations, you need to hit those marks.”
Still, there are signs that Haley’s message — which has partially focused on expanding the Republican Party’s tent to a more diverse electorate — is resonating with moderate voters in Iowa, as well.
At a Haley town hall in Indianola, Iowa, on Saturday, Heather Wilcoxsin, a Democrat who voted for Joe Biden in 2020, said that she would be caucusing for the former U.N. ambassador.
“I’m a lifelong Democrat, and I’m so proud to be supporting you. And I sure hope our state does not elect Donald Trump it will make me sick,” Wilcoxsin told Haley during the question and answer portion.
Speaking to ABC News after, she added that while she aligns “pretty much entirely” with Biden on his policies, she feels that the president is “really old.”
“I compare him to the people in my life who are his age, and I’m like, should they be president? Probably not,” she said.
“I’m not hesitant necessarily to vote for him [Biden], but I am caucusing for Nikki Haley because I am very passionate about her,” she added, noting that if Haley is the GOP nominee, then she would likely flip for the Republican ticket in 2024.
“I was like, ‘maybe I’m 99% gonna support Joe Biden,'” Wilcoxsin said. “I actually think I totally flipped, and I probably will support her.”
(DES MOINES, Iowa) — CNN is set to host the next debate in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, just days ahead of the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses on Monday.
The debate, the first of two that will be hosted by CNN, is set for Wednesday night in Des Moines, Iowa.
With more stringent qualifications, even fewer candidates are expected to appear on the stage. Front-runner Donald Trump, again, isn’t set to attend.
Here’s what to know.
How to watch the debate
The debate, which will take place at 9 p.m. ET at Drake University, will be streamed live on CNN, CNN International, CNN en Español and CNN Max and for pay TV subscribers on CNN.com as well as CNN-connected TV and mobile devices.
The debate will be moderated by CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.
ABC News will provide key takeaways while 538 has a preview of why it matters.
Who will participate?
On Tuesday, CNN announced the GOP primary candidates who qualified for the debate: former President Trump, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Trump, who has not participated in any of the previous GOP presidential primary debates in light of his enduring polling lead, is not expected to join this one either. Instead, he is countering the debate with a Fox News live town hall in Des Moines at the same time as the CNN debate — so the stage will be occupied by only Haley and DeSantis.
The qualifying window for CNN’s Iowa debate closed on Tuesday. Tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson did not meet the qualification requirements.
How did candidates qualify?
To make the stage, candidates needed to receive at least 10% (without rounding) in three separate national and/or Iowa polls of Republican caucusgoers or primary voters that met CNN’s standards for reporting. One of the three qualifying polls must have been an approved poll of likely Iowa Republican caucusgoers.
The CNN qualification criteria for candidates to participate in the debate are higher than those used in previous Republican National Committee debates.
That previous threshold allowed Ramaswamy and Christie to join in on the fourth GOP debate.
CNN is hosting? What about the RNC debates?
The RNC previously required candidates to sign a pledge that they would not participate in any debates not sanctioned by the RNC. However, in December, the RNC changed course, saying that candidates would be free to participate in other debates going forward.
“We have held four successful debates across the country with the most conservative partners in the history of a Republican primary. We have no RNC debates scheduled in January and any debates currently scheduled are not affiliated with the RNC,” the RNC’s Committee on Presidential Debates said in a statement to Politico. “It is now time for Republican primary voters to decide who will be our next President and candidates are free to use any forum or format to communicate to voters as they see fit.”
When are other debates?
ABC News, partnering with WMUR, will host a Republican primary debate in New Hampshire ahead of the state’s primary contest.
The ABC News and WMUR debate will take place Jan. 18 at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire.
To earn a spot on that stage, candidates will either have to finish in the top three in the Iowa caucuses or receive at least 10% in two separate national polls of Republican primary voters or at least 10% in two separate New Hampshire polls of Republican primary voters that that meet ABC’s standards for reporting.
CNN will host another debate on Jan. 21 at the New England College in New Hampshire.
To qualify for CNN’s New Hampshire debate, candidates must receive at least 10% in three separate national and/or New Hampshire polls of Republican primary voters that meet CNN’s standards for reporting. One of the three polls must be an approved CNN poll of likely New Hampshire Republican primary voters.
(NEW YORK) — Another batch of documents pertaining to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was unsealed Tuesday.
The seven documents unsealed Tuesday total 1,482 pages. Over 215 documents have been released since last week.
The unsealed documents include several depositions from Ghislaine Maxwell, one from Epstein, one from alleged Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre and another from Sarah Ransome, an alleged adult victim of Epstein, who was referenced throughout Monday’s unsealing.
The records are part of a defamation lawsuit brought by Giuffre against Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime companion, that the two settled in 2017. Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
The Giuffre deposition included in the new batch comes from her testimony in a related case filed against her lawyers by former Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz in a Florida state court. In that deposition, she names billionaire retail magnate Les Wexner as “one of the powerful business executives” that she was trafficked to.
Wexner, who in 1991 granted Epstein power-of-attorney over his personal finances, has never been charged with a crime. After Epstein’s arrest in 2019, ABC News obtained a message Wexner issued to employees at L Brands that said, “When Mr. Epstein was my personal money manager, he was involved in many aspects of my financial life. But let me assure you that I was NEVER aware of the illegal activity charged in the indictment.”
Following Epstein’s death in August 2019, Wexner accused Epstein of misappropriating “vast sums” of his personal fortune more than a decade earlier.
Wexner stepped down from his executive role at L Brands – the conglomerate behind retail staples Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works and Pink – in February 2020.
Wexner’s charitable foundation did not immediately respond to ABC News’ messages seeking comment on the filings released Tuesday.
The deposition also contains the names of men Giuffre has previously claimed she had been trafficked to, including Britain’s Prince Andrew, Hyatt Hotel chief Thomas Pritzker, the late artificial intelligence pioneer Marvin Minsky and the late New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.
Pritzker and Richardson previously issued statements denying the allegations.
Minsky died in 2016, before Giuffre’s allegations naming him were released in 2019 by the 2nd Circuit.
Many of these documents have been unsealed and publicly available in various forms. The court is republishing them now with new portions unredacted.
The 134-page Epstein deposition had not been previously released but he was known to have invoked his Fifth Amendment right hundreds of times.
The records unsealed Monday included photos from Ransome and an exhibit that mentions discredited allegations Ransome made about former President Bill Clinton, former President Donald Trump, Prince Andrew and Virgin Group founder Richard Branson. She later admitted the claims were false.
Neither Clinton, nor Trump, nor Branson was accused by Giuffre, or anyone else besides Ransome, of any wrongdoing in the course of Giuffre’s defamation lawsuit against Maxwell. Clinton has denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes. Trump has said he cut-off contact with Epstein many years ago.
In a statement to ABC News on Tuesday, the Virgin Group, on behalf of Branson, said Ransome’s allegations against him are “false, baseless, and unfounded.”
Prince Andrew has long denied allegations that he had sex with Giuffre on three occasions, as she has claimed in court records and interviews. In 2022, Andrew settled a case Giuffre brought against him.
Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence after she was convicted in 2021 of aiding Epstein’s sex trafficking of young women and girls. Her appeal will be heard in March.
(WASHINGTON) — Despite outside “distractions” the Department of Homeland Security is focused on keeping the American people safe, the acting deputy secretary told ABC News.
Acting Deputy Secretary Kristie Canegallo said the department, including Mayorkas, is working “day in and day out” to keep Americans safe and highlighted some of what the department accomplished in 2023.
Those “distractions” are presumably House Republicans, who are holding an impeachment hearing against Mayorkas on Wednesday due to their belief that he has failed to do enough to secure the border — a critique the secretary has rejected.
“We are focused on building on the work that we’ve done over the past year to prevent and prepare for and respond to so many threats,” Canegallo told ABC News. “When you think about what we’re managing, whether it’s the 25 natural disasters that had more than $1 billion in damages, strategic competition and aggression from nation states, that historic growth in global migration [or] transnational crime, there’s just so much that this department is managing, and Secretary Mayorkas has really been able to drive us to make historic investments in our workforce in innovation and partnerships, and notwithstanding some significant challenges, there’s a lot that we have to be proud of,” she said.
House Republicans, who are holding an impeachment hearing against Mayorkas on Wednesday, have said he hasn’t done enough to secure the border — a critique the secretary has rejected.
During the past year, the department seized over 48,500 pounds of fentanyl, enough to kill every American 33 times over, according to statistics provided by the department.
DHS stopped more fentanyl and arrested more drug traffickers in the last two years than the previous five years combined, according to the department.
The acting deputy secretary said the strategy in combatting fentanyl coming into the United States uses the intelligence gathered, the “smarts” of agents along the southwest border and “new technology” on the southwest border.
“More than 90% of fentanyl is coming in through ports of entry primarily in vehicles that are driven by US citizens,” Canegallo said. “We’ve really been intensifying our efforts along the border to disrupt those that federal smuggling, working very closely with our Mexican counterparts.”
Mayorkas said communities are safer because of DHS’ efforts.
“Our communities are safer and more resilient, our economy is more secure, and our government is more prepared thanks to the unprecedented work of the DHS workforce,” Mayorkas said in a statement.
“From managing a historic level of global migration, to helping secure travel for a record number of Americans, rescuing children from online sexual exploitation, and leading operations that kept fentanyl off our streets, DHS took dramatic steps this past year to enhance the security and readiness of our nation,” he added.
The southwest border has seen a historic increase in migrants apprehended, capped off by an all-time in December, when there were 302,000 migrants encountered along the southwest border.
The acting deputy secretary maintained that there is still positive news about border security despite the staggering figures.
“There is a lot to be proud of, our work to combat fentanyl, our work to improve security, and that’s what we’re focused on as opposed to distractions or whatever is happening on the hill,” she said. “If members were serious about wanting to address some of our immigration challenges, there are opportunities for them to do so and that’s what we’re very focused on in our conversations with the Senate.”
Beyond the border, Canegallo said DHS is focusing on the “challenges” to faith-based communities in the U.S. and other threats in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 surprise terrorist attacks in Israel.
At airports around the U.S., the department says that the Transportation Security Administration has seized 6,500 guns at airports, setting an all-time record. TSA also screened 850 million travel passengers in 2023, a record-setting year for travel, DHS said.
In 2023, the Federal Emergency Management (FEMA) responded to 25 natural disasters, the most ever in the agency’s history, the department said.
DHS also touted its authority to investigate crimes against children. Homeland Security Investigations, the largest law enforcement arm of the department, was responsible for helping identify and rescue 1,110 children in 2023, the acting deputy secretary said.
(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump is on trial in New York in a $250 million civil lawsuit that could alter the personal fortune and real estate empire that helped propel Trump to the White House.
Trump, his sons Eric Trump and and Donald Trump Jr., and other top 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 in order get more favorable loan terms. The trial comes after the judge in the case ruled in a partial summary judgment that Trump had submitted “fraudulent valuations” for his assets, leaving the trial to determine additional actions and what penalty, if any, the defendants should receive.
The former president has denied all wrongdoing and his attorneys have argued that Trump’s alleged inflated valuations were a product of his business skill.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jan 09, 4:22 PM
Trump intends to deliver part of closing himself, say sources
Former President Trump intends to personally deliver part of the defense’s closing argument at the conclusion of his civil fraud trial in New York on Thursday, sources familiar with the former president’s strategy tell ABC News.
The defendants in the case — Trump, his two eldest sons and two former Trump Organization executives — are represented by three primary attorneys, Christopher Kise, Clifford Robert and Alina Habba. But sources say Trump himself is determined to deliver a portion of the closing statement.
The sources cautioned that plans for the defense’s closing argument remain fluid.
The Manhattan courtroom where the his trial has been held is currently in use for another high-profile trial involving the New York attorney general’s case against the National Rifle Association and Wayne LaPierre, and the judge in that case told jurors the trial would temporarily move to a different courtroom this week to accommodate Trump’s civil trial.
-Aaron Katersky and John Santucci
Jan 05, 1:23 PM
NY AG seeks $370M fine, NY real estate ban against Trump
New York Attorney General Letitia James, in a written brief filed a week before the trial’s closing arguments, asked the judge in the case to fine Trump over $370 million to disgorge profits from what James says is a decade of fraudulent business conduct, and to bar Trump for life from participating in the New York real estate industry.
The request for a $370 million fine, plus 9% annual interest, is a sharp increase from James’ initial request for disgorgement totaling roughly $250 million.
The largest portion of the requested fine stems from the business loans the Trump Organization obtained using allegedly fraudulent financial statements. Based on expert testimony, James argued that Trump cost his lenders $168,040,168, which the banks would have made if Trump was given the appropriate interest rate corresponding to the actual value of his assets.
In their defense filing, Trump’s lawyers called the attorney general’s theory for disgorgement “fundamentally flawed, saying that “No lenders testified that they would have done anything differently had they known about Trump’s misstatements, and James attempted to fill that evidentiary void with expert testimony, according to Trump’s lawyers.
Trump’s lawyers added that even if the attorney general proved that some of Trump’s profits were ill-gotten, they lack the authority under New York Executive Law 63(12) to request the disgorgement.
Closing arguments in the trial are scheduled for Jan. 11.
Dec 18, 5:17 PM
In blistering ruling, judge denies Trump’s motion for directed verdict
Judge Arthur Engoron has denied Donald Trump’s most recent motion for a directed verdict to end his civil fraud trial.
In a blistering ruling, the judge not only denied the motion but also opted to explain the flaws he sees in many of Trump’s arguments at trial.
Addressing the testimony of defense accounting expert Eli Bartov, who Trump proudly and repeatedly declared found “no accounting fraud of any kind,” Engoron flatly dismissed Bartov’s findings by saying he lost credibility by “doggedly attempting to justify every misstatement.”
“Bartov is a tenured professor, but all that his testimony proves is that for a million or so dollars, some experts will say whatever you want them to say,” Engoron wrote.
The judge also rejected assertions from Trump’s lawyers that any financial misstatements are beyond the case’s statute of limitations.
“Closing is not a get-out-of-jail-free card for future misstatements. All that §63(12) requires is a false statement used in business; the subject financial statements fit that definition ‘to a T,'” Engoron wrote.
Engoron also suggested he didn’t buy Trump’s argument that fining the former president for ill-gotten gains was not merited in the case because his lenders were happy with the transactions.
“That the instant lenders made millions of dollars and were happy with the transactions does not mean that they were not damaged by lending at lower interest rates than they otherwise would have,” he wrote.
Calling Trump’s claims “misstatements at best and fraud at worst,” Engoron wrote that “Valuations, as elucidated ad nauseum in this trial, can be based on different criteria analyzed in different ways. But a lie is still a lie.”
The judge ended his ruling by reminding the parties about the date for closing arguments in the case, currently set for Jan. 11.
Dec 18, 4:56 PM
Trump’s case does not age like fine wine, NY AG lawyer says
In a letter the Judge Arthur Engoron, a lawyer for the New York attorney general said Donald Trump’s most recent request for a directed verdict in the case is nothing more than a “political stunt designed to provide Mr. Trump, his co-defendants, and their counsel with sound bites for press conferences, Truth Social posts, and cable news appearances.”
Trump’s lawyers on Friday made their fifth motion for a directed verdict to end the case for lack of evidence, which Engoron earlier said he was all but certain to deny. The judge has rejected all four of Trump’s previous motions for a directed verdict.
“Unlike a fine Bordeaux, Defendants’ case for a directed verdict does not improve with age,” state attorney Andrew Amer wrote in Monday’s letter to the judge.
Amer also argued that Trump’s request was not merited given the evidence presented at trial, saying that “Nor does any of the testimony from the most ineffective team of experts that Defendants’ money can buy change the analysis.”
“Defendants are once again ‘whistling past the graveyard’ by relying on arguments the Court has already rejected,” Amer said, referring in part to Engoron’s pretrial partial summary judgment ruling, in which he found that Trump used fraudulent statements to conduct business.
Dec 15, 6:27 PM
Trump files 5th motion for directed verdict
Donald Trump’s lawyers made their fifth motion for a directed verdict in the former president’s fraud trial in a filing late Friday that appears destined to be rejected.
Judge Arthur Engoron all but guaranteed he would deny the request to end the trial when Trump’s lawyer Chris Kise announced his plans to file the motion earlier this week.
“There is no way I am going to grant that,” Engoron said on Tuesday. “You’d be wasting your time.”
Trump’s lawyers nevertheless filed their motion late Friday.
“In sum, there was no fraud, there were no victims, there has simply been no harm or actionable misconduct, and the Court must and should follow the law of the case regarding the scope of the claims at issue,” Trump’s lawyers wrote.
In the filing, Trump’s attorneys targeted New York Attorney General Letitia James’ request to fine Trump nearly $400 million for ill-gotten gains by arguing that the state failed to demonstrate that Trump and his sons intended to defraud his lenders or that they engaged in a conspiracy to commit fraud.
“Not a single defense witness supported the notion of any alleged conspiracy, and in fact such testimony refuted fully the existence of the same,” the lawyers wrote, calling Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, who testified about the alleged conspiracy, a “demonstrable, perpetual, and serial liar.”
They also argued that James failed to prove that any of Trump’s alleged misrepresentations would have materially changed the loans he received from his lenders, writing that the alleged misstatements had “no actual significance” to Trump’s lenders.
All four of Trump’s previous motions for a directed verdict to end the case for lack of evidence have been rejected by Judge Engoron.
Dec 15, 5:32 PM
Trump files notice he intends to appeal gag order decision
Donald Trump wants New York’s highest court to weigh in on the limited gag order in his civil fraud trial, according to a new filing Friday afternoon.
New York’s Appellate Division shot down Trump’s earlier challenge Thursday, determining that Trump used the incorrect legal avenue to challenge the limited gag order, which bars him from commenting on Judge Arthur Engoron’s staff.
In a notice of appeal filed Friday, Trump’s lawyers said they plan to appeal the decision to the Albany-based Court of Appeals — New York’s highest court.
It’s unclear if the Court of Appeals will consider the request because Trump also lost a motion for leave to appeal the gag order.
Dec 14, 1:42 PM
Trump’s gag order appeal stuck in ‘procedural purgatory’
Donald Trump appears to be out of options to appeal the limited gag orders in his civil fraud trial, with his own lawyer describing his options as “procedural purgatory.”
In addition to Thursday morning’s appellate decision denying Trump’s appeal, a panel of appellate judges issued an additional order Thursday denying his request to elevate his appeal to New York’s highest court.
The decision forces Trump back to Step 1: asking Judge Arthur Engoron to vacate the gag orders, then appealing the judge’s likely denial.
But the timeline for that process is unlikely to work in Trump’s favor, with the evidentiary portion of the trial having concluded Wednesday and closing arguments scheduled for Jan. 11.
“We filed the petition because the ordinary appellate process is essentially pointless in this context as it cannot possibly be completed in time to reverse the ongoing harm,” Trump attorney Chris Kise told ABC News in a statement regarding the gag orders, which prohibit Trump and attorneys from commenting on the judge’s staff.
“Unfortunately, the decision denies President Trump the only path available to expedited relief and places his fundamental Constitutional rights in a procedural purgatory,” Kise said.
Dec 14, 11:22 AM
Trump loses bid to throw out limited gag orders, fines
Donald Trump has lost his appeal to throw out the limited gag orders and associated fines in his civil fraud trial.
In a decision Thursday, New York’s Appellate Division, First Department rejected Trump’s request to annul and vacate the limited gag orders imposed by Judge Arthur Engoron that prohibit Trump and attorneys from commenting on the judge’s staff.
In November, Trump’s lawyers asked the Appellate Division to vacate the gag orders, citing a provision of New York state law to personally sue Judge Engoron. But the court said in today’s ruling that the method used to appeal the gag orders was an improper application of the law.
“To the extent there may have been appealable issues with respect to any of the procedures the court implemented in imposing the financial sanctions, the proper method of review would be to move to vacate the Contempt Orders, and then to take an appeal from the denial of those motions,” the ruling said, indicating that Trump should use the normal appellate process to pursue the vacating of the gag orders.
The court also determined that the “extraordinary remedy” requested by Trump’s lawyers did not match the minimal potential harm from barring statements about Engoron’s staff.
“Here, the gravity of potential harm is small, given that the Gag Order is narrow, limited to prohibiting solely statements regarding the court’s staff,” the decision said.
Dec 13, 1:34 PM EST
Trump’s lawyers denounce trial as NY AG praises it
Donald Trump’s defense attorneys ended where they started, denouncing the former president’s civil fraud trial following the conclusion of court today.
“I feel exactly like I did before, three years ago. This case was a joke. We wasted three months,” Trump’s legal spokesperson Alina Habba told reporters.
Habba, however, acknowledged Trump’s unlikely chance of success in the trial while thanking Trump’s team of lawyers.
“I think they did an amazing job in a court where we had, frankly, lost before we even got to give any bit of evidence,” Habba said, referring in part to Judge Engoron’s pretrial partial summary judgment against Trump.
Trump attorney Chris Kise said he is optimistic that Trump will be successful in an eventual appeal.
In a statement, New York Attorney General Letitia James said that the trial “revealed the full extent” of Trump’s fraud and that she looks forward to closing arguments.
“While the judge already ruled in our favor and found that Donald Trump engaged in years of significant fraud and unjustly enriched himself and his family, this trial revealed the full extent of that fraud — and the defendants’ inability to disprove it. We look forward to presenting our closing argument on January 11,” James said.
Dec 13, 1:06 PM EST
State rests its case; closing arguments set for Jan. 11
The evidentiary portion of former President Trump’s civil fraud trial concluded with a combative cross-examination of the state’s rebuttal expert.
“The People rest,” state attorney Kevin Wallace said after testimony had wrapped up.
During the cross-examination of Cornell accounting professor Eric Lewis, defense attorney Jesus Suarez questioning whether he had “any other real world experience” in accounting other than in the classroom or reviewing documents for court cases. Lewis conceded he did not.
Court will adjourn until Jan. 11, when both sides will present closing arguments after submitting written summations.
Defense attorney Christopher Kise also promised to submit a written argument for a directed verdict that will ask Judge Engoron, for a fifth time, to end the case for lack of evidence. Engoron has not promised to even read such a filing, but said that he “probably” would.
After 11 weeks of heated exchanges, Trump attorney Chris Kise ended on a conciliatory note, thanking the court, the court reporters, and others for their work.
Wallace said it may be their first point of agreement.
Judge Engoron wished everyone happy holidays as he ended the day’s proceedings.
Dec 13, 11:48 AM EST
Rebuttal witness assails Trump’s disclosures
State attorney Kevin Wallace concluded his direct examination of the New York attorney general’s second and final rebuttal witness amid frequent objections by defense lawyers.
Lewis attempted to explain how Donald Trump’s statements of financial condition failed to disclose that he did not conduct a discounted cash flow analysis, contributing to the over-valuation of some of his assets.
“There is no mention of discounting or future value in the disclosure,” Lewis said, disagreeing with testimony from defense expert Jason Flemmons — as well as former Mazars USA accountant Donald Bender, who testified as a state witness.
“Are you impeaching your own witness?” Engoron asked state attorneys regarding whether Bender’s testimony should no longer be considered credible.
“We didn’t feel the need to,” Wallace responded.
Lewis also suggested that Trump’s external accountants at Mazars had less of an obligation to highlight issues that Flemmons suggested, since they were only conducting a compilation report rather than a more intensive audit. While Mazars had an obligation to flag obvious issues, they were not responsible for ensuring Trump’s statements were compliant with generally accepted accounting principles, he testified.
“If while doing the compilation … something comes to the attention of the accounts that could be a GAAP departure, they have a responsibility to bring that issue to the client,” Lewis said regarding generally accepted accounting principles.
During the hour-long direct examination, defense lawyers objected at least 14 times, successfully interrupting the line of questions.
“I am lost,” Engoron asked at one point. “Can you put this together?”
The parade of objections visibly irritating Wallace, who voiced his displeasure.
“Petulant outbursts don’t really play well in the courtroom,” quipped Trump lawyer Chris Kise in response.
Dec 13, 10:23 AM EST
Trump dismisses possibility of settlement
In a post on social media, Donald Trump dismissed the idea that his civil fraud trial might result in a settlement.
“HE RULED THAT I WAS A FRAUD BEFORE HE EVEN SAW THE CASE, THEN TRIED TO GET ME TO SETTLE. A TOTAL HIT JOB,” Trump wrote about Judge Arthur Engoron.
Engoron has not addressed the possibility in court, but sounded sentimental this morning as he began what is likely to be the final day of the trial.
“In a strange way, I am going to miss this trial,” Engoron said. “It has been an experience.”
Dec 13, 9:14 AM EST
Accounting expert to testify in state’s rebuttal case
A day after Donald Trump’s lawyers rested their defense case that featured numerous expert witnesses, New York Attorney General Letitia James is set to call her own accounting expert as part of the state’s rebuttal case.
Cornell professor Eric Lewis was qualified as an accounting expert over the objections of Trump’s attorneys yesterday, and his direct examination is scheduled to begin this morning.
Lewis will likely address some of the findings reached by the defense’s accounting experts, Jason Flemmons and Eli Bartov, whose testimony that Trump had adequate disclaimers on his financial statements is at the center of the defense’s case.
Trump’s lawyer Chris Kise aggressively criticized Lewis’ qualifications during a lengthy voir dire session yesterday, but Judge Arthur Engoron remained convinced about Lewis’ ability to testify as an accounting expert.
Dec 12, 6:10 PM EST
Defense attorney blasts expert witness in rebuttal case
Donald Trump’s attorney Chris Kise unloaded on the second rebuttal witness called by New York Attorney General Letitia James after the defense had rested its case.
“The reason they brought this witness in here is, there is no one in the actual profession who would sustain the opinions they are asking of the witness,” Kise argued about Cornell professor of practice Eric Lewis, who Judge Engoron qualified as an expert in accounting.
Kise exasperatedly questioned Lewis during a prolonged voir dire about his qualifications, criticizing his experience while knocking Engoron in the process.
“You are a professor of practice with no practice in the field of accounting,” Kise told Lewis. “I probably have more experience in the practice of accounting than this witness.”
Engoron nevertheless deemed Lewis an expert in accounting over Kise’s objections that his expertise was “too broad” for the circumstances.
“I am not sure if anything will change a decision in this courtroom,” Kise argued.
Engoron appeared worn out by Kise’s lengthy attacks.
“Stop making speeches every time we have to discuss something,” Engoron said for the umpteenth time.
Court was subsequently adjourned for the day, with the state’s rebuttal case set to resume on Wednesday.
Dec 12, 4:36 PM EST
Ex-CFO inflated size of Trump’s penthouse, rebuttal witness says
With the defense having rested its case, state attorneys began what they expect to be a brief rebuttal case by calling to the stand Kevin Sneddon, a managing director at Trump International Realty between 2011 and 2012.
State attorneys asked Sneddon about one of the centerpieces of the attorney general’s complaint: Trump’s penthouse apartment in Trump Tower, which Trump claimed on his statements of financial condition was 30,000 square feet in size when the actual dimensions are a third of that. The overstated size allowed Trump to inflate the value of the apartment by over $200 million, Judge Arthur Engoron decided in his partial summary judgment.
During the defense’s case, a former Trump Organization executive blamed Sneddon for the error.
“The person running Trump International Realty at the time, Kevin Sneddon, sent me an email that the triplex was 30,000 square feet,” former Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney testified.
Sneddon, however, testified that he received the 30,000 square foot figure directly from Trump’s main deputy: co-defendant and former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg.
Sneddon said that he received a phone call directly Weisselberg, who requested that he value Trump’s penthouse.
“I just knew it was the penthouse. I didn’t know much about the apartment itself,” Sneddon testified.
“I asked if I could see it. He said that was not possible. I asked if there was a floor plan or any specs. He said he did not have any of that information,” Sneddon said. “He said, ‘It’s quite large. I think it’s around 30,000 square feet.'”
When McConney emailed him in September 2012 to ask for help valuing Trump’s penthouse, Sneddon said he relied on the figure Weisselberg provided him — unknowingly providing inaccurate information to McConney.
“I already valued DJT’s triplex for Allen,” Sneddon wrote in an email shown at trial. “At 30,000 sq. ft., DJT’s triplex is worth between 4K and 6K per ft – or 120MM to 180MM.”
Trump’s attorney Chris Kise fiercely objected to most of Sneddon’s brief testimony, describing the questioning as a “free for all.”
During a short cross-examination, defense attorney Clifford Robert attempted to discredit the testimony of Sneddon — who did not testify in the state’s case — by suggesting Sneddon was primed by state attorneys so his testimony would align with the state’s theory of the case.
Dec 12, 3:30 PM EST
Defense rests its case, makes 5th motion to end trial
Donald Trump’s lawyers rested their case in the former president’s civil fraud trial, as New York Attorney General Letitia James watched from the gallery.
Defense attorneys undertook several “housekeeping items” before concluding their case, including adding expert reports to the trial record “for appellate purposes.”
“You’re going to appeal,” Judge Engoron deadpanned before breaking into laughter.
Both parties were argumentative until the end, squabbling over minor issues that threatened to draw out the defense’s case.
“We don’t want additional time, we want the case to end,” said state attorney Kevin Wallace.
With all housekeeping finished, Trump attorney Chris Kise announced, “We do rest.” He then made the defense’s fifth motion for a directed verdict to end the case, saying he planned to submit a written motion on Friday.
“There is no way I am going to grant that,” Judge Engoron responded. “You’d be wasting your time.”
Wallace criticized Kise’s plan to submit a written motion as “silly” and a “colossal waste of resources.”
“We have already won on summary judgment,” Wallace said in reference to Engoron’s pretrial ruling. “I don’t know what we are pretending is happening here.”
Dec 12, 2:33 PM EST
NY AG in attendance for conclusion of defense’s case
New York Attorney General Letitia James is attending the afternoon session of Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial.
Sitting in the gallery with her staff, James briefly walked into Judge Engoron’s chambers before the trial resumed following the midday break.
Trump’s legal spokesperson, Alina Habba, was also spotted entering the judge’s chambers for a separate meeting.
Court then resumed with defense attorneys conducting their redirect examination of accounting expert Eli Bartov.
Bartov is expected to be the defense’s last witness before they rest their case, which will likely be followed by a brief rebuttal case by the state.
Dec 12, 12:37 PM EST
State highlights ‘unpersuasive’ past testimony of defense expert
In an effort to discredit the defense’s accounting expert, state attorney Louis Solomon highlighted that Eli Bartov’s testimony was rejected by a judge when he testified as an expert for the New York attorney general in her trial against Exxon Mobil in 2019.
The judge in that case wrote in his ruling that Bartov’s testimony during that trial was “unpersuasive” and was “flatly contradicted by the weight of the evidence,” according to Solomon’s reading of the ruling in court.
Bartov said he was unaware of the ruling, and defense attorney Chris Kise objected to the line of questioning as irrelevant.
Bartov largely stuck to his initial testimony during two hours of cross-examination this morning, defending his overall finding while acknowledging his analysis found that Trump’s statements included some marginal overstatements that “did not impact significantly Deutsche Bank’s decision to extend loans.”
While Bartov agreed that, in the real estate business, “price gets set first, then valuation follows” he said he saw no evidence to support the attorney general’s allegation that Trump’s statements were reverse engineered to provide support for the values determined by Trump and his executives.
“Do you know if they were reverse engineered?” Solomon asked.
“I have no knowledge of that,” Bartov responded.
Present in the courtroom for Bartov’s testimony was Eric Trump, who made a surprise appearance in the gallery. Like his father, Eric Trump initially planned to take the stand during the defense’s case, but canceled his testimony.
Dec 12, 11:13 AM EST
Trump cites limited gag order for decision to not testify
In a social media post this morning, Donald Trump claimed he “wanted to testify on Monday” but blamed his decision not to testify on the trial’s limited gag order, which prohibits Trump from commenting on Judge Engoron’s staff.
When Trump on Sunday pulled out of his testimony, he touted the strength of his evidence and previous testimony as the reasons he decided not to take the stand.
“Anyway, the Judge, Arthur Engoron, put a GAG ORDER on me, even when I testify, totally taking away my constitutional right to defend myself. We are appealing, but how would you like to be a witness and not be allowed free snd [sic] honest speech,” Trump wrote today.
In a statement to ABC News on Monday, Trump attorney Chris Kise also partially blamed the limited gag order for his client’s decision not to testify.
“There is really nothing more to say to a Judge who has imposed an unconstitutional gag order and thus far appears to have ignored President Trump’s testimony and that of everyone else involved in the complex financial transactions at issue in the case,” Kise said.
In a court filing last week, Engoron’s attorney wrote that the limited gag order “does not prevent statements about Justice Engoron himself, not the Attorney General or her staff, not the substance of the claims and allegations against petitioners, not the facts or evidence or witness testimony, not the judicial process, nor any other topic concerning the underlying action.”
Dec 12, 10:41 AM EST
Trump attorney accuses state of withholding witnesses
Judge Arthur Engoron will allow the New York attorney general to call two witnesses during the state’s rebuttal case once the defense rests its case — over the objection of Trump attorney Chris Kise.
“The government has held these witnesses back,” Kise said, arguing against the decision.
While state attorney Kevin Wallace maintained that their two rebuttal witnesses — Cornell professor Eric Lewis and former Trump Organization executive Kevin Sneddon — would only address arguments already made in court, Kise argued that the witnesses would be used to backfill evidence that the defense team would not be able to address fully.
“It’s not rebuttal. It’s filling a hole,” Kise said, accusing the state of “gamesmanship” by withholding evidence.
Unconvinced by Kise’s argument, Engoron ruled that the witnesses would still be permitted to testify.
“I see no reason not to allow these two purported experts to testify,” Engoron said.
In response, Trump’s defense attorneys suggested they might attempt to present an additional witness after the state’s rebuttal case.
Dec 12, 9:36 AM EST
Trump’s defense expected to rest its case today
After presenting four weeks of testimony, Donald Trump’s lawyers are scheduled to rest their case in the former president’s civil fraud trial today.
With Trump no longer testifying as a defense witness, New York University accounting professor Eli Bartov will be Trump’s final witness.
Resuming his cross-examination this morning, Bartov is likely to face questions about inconsistencies and potential bias in his analysis of Trump’s financial statements. Paid an hourly rate of $1,350 for 650 hours of work, Bartov said last week that he received payments from both the Trump Organization and Trump’s Save America PAC.
Bartov strongly defended Trump’s statements of financial condition, the documents at the center of the New York attorney general’s case, during his testimony last week, saying that he could find “no evidence whatsoever for any accounting fraud.” Bartov also argued the documents were insignificant to the banks that loaned Trump money, which he said used their own analysis to make their loan decisions.
“It is impossible to argue — it is really absurd to argue — that Deutsche Bank or any bank or any lender would make lending decisions based on the statements of financial condition,” Bartov said. “This should close the book on this case.”
(LAS VEGAS) — A judge set bail at $750,000 for the one-time gang member charged in connection with the murder of Tupac Shakur.
Judge Carli Kierny also ruled that the suspect — Duane “Keffe D” Davis — can await trial under house arrest with electronic monitoring if able to post bail.
Davis, 60, has been held without bail in the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas since his arrest on Sept. 29, 2023. He was charged with open murder with use of a deadly weapon with a gang enhancement in connection with the 1996 drive-by killing of Tupac.
During a hearing Tuesday addressing the defense’s request for release or reasonable bail, attorney Robert Arroyo argued that Davis was not a danger to the community, has been earning an honest living and “if he was going to run he would have did it” years ago.
“If Duane is so dangerous, if this case is so overwhelming, his guilt is so overwhelming … why did [authorities] wait 15 years to make the arrest?” Arroyo said.
Davis’ lawyers had asked that bail not exceed $100,000.
Prosecutors meanwhile claimed that Davis “presents a very, very high danger to the community,” in particular to witnesses who might testify against him at trial, and asked for no bail or a high bail. They had cited an October conversation between Davis and his son in which the pair used the term “green light,” which they allege is “authorization to kill.”
Davis’ lawyers claim prosecutors misconstrued what was said on those calls — that Davis was never planning to put a hit out on those cooperating in the case against him — rather, he was concerned there was word on the street that his own family was in danger.
Kierny said there were several factors to consider, including his length of residence in Henderson, Nevada, and a close relationship with his family, before issuing her decision on bail and house arrest.
Pending posting bail, Davis remains in the Clark County Detention Center.
Clark County District Attorney Steven Wolfson, whose office is prosecuting the case, told reporters he respected the judge’s decision and that she was “conscientious and thorough” in reaching it.
“We believe he is still a danger to the community, he is a danger to some of the witnesses and others,” Wolfson said. “My prosecutors argued just that, and I believe the judge agreed with our arguments today.”
Davis has pleaded not guilty. His next court appearance, a status conference, has been scheduled for Feb. 20.
His trial date is set for June 3.
The Clark County District Attorney’s Office alleges that the suspect was a feared gang member back in the 1990s and was the “shot caller” on the night of Sept. 7, 1996, when Shakur was gunned down while in the passenger seat of a stopped car by the Vegas Strip.
Until Davis’ arrest, no charges had ever been filed, and the case remained cold for nearly 30 years. Prosecutors allege though Davis did not pull the trigger, he was in the shooter’s car on that night and orchestrated Shakur’s death.
Davis claims to be one of two living witnesses, along with former Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight, to the Vegas shooting that killed the rapper, according to a search warrant released by police.
Hauke-Christian Dittrich/picture alliance via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — NASA announced Tuesday it is delaying its first-crewed missions to the moon in decades, delaying a moon flyby until September 2025 and an attempted landing on the moon until September 2026.
“To safely carry out these missions, agency leaders are adjusting the schedules for Artemis II and Artemis III to allow teams to work through challenges associated with first-time developments, operations, and integration,” NASA sad in a release.
Artemis II was scheduled to send four astronauts into space in 2024 for a lunar flyby before returning to Earth while Artemis III was planning to send four astronauts to the moon in 2025.
In its release, NASA said that during an Artemis flight test, teams discovered battery issues and challenges with a component that controls air ventilation and temperature control.
Additionally, NASA has been investigating why char layer pieces from its spacecraft’s heat shield were lost during the Artemis I mission.
Artemis I, which launched in November 2022 and was completed in December, marked the first step in an ambitious plan to establish a long-term presence on the moon for scientific discovery and economic development, and potentially even send a crewed mission to Mars.
“We are letting the hardware talk to us so that crew safety drives our decision-making. We will use the Artemis II flight test, and each flight that follows, to reduce risk for future Moon missions,” Catherine Koerner, associate administrator, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, said in a statement.
“We are resolving challenges associated with first-time capabilities and operations, and we are closer than ever to establishing sustained exploration of Earth’s nearest neighbor under Artemis,” Koerner added.
The Artemis team will be made up of three Americans — Victor Glover, Christina Hammock Koch and Reid Wiseman — and one Canadian, Jeremy Hansen. Glover and Koch will be the first person of color and woman, respectively, to set foot on the lunar surface.
They are set to be first series of missions that NASA has used to send a crew to the moon since the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972, more than 50 years ago.
NASA said in is release that Artemis IV, the first mission to the Gateway lunar space station, remains on track for 2028.
“Artemis is a long-term exploration campaign to conduct science at the Moon with astronauts and prepare for future human missions to Mars,” Amit Kshatriya, deputy associate administrator of Exploration Systems Development, and manager of NASA’s Moon to Mars Program Office at headquarters, said in a statement.
“That means we must get it right as we develop and fly our foundational systems so that we can safely carry out these missions,” Kshatriya said. “Crew safety is and will remain our number one priority.”
(NEW YORK) — At least three people were killed and multiple others injured across four states amid severe weather on Tuesday as a major storm system threatens parts of the East Coast.
More than a dozen tornadoes have been reported from Texas to Georgia since Monday, many occurring overnight and Tuesday morning in Florida’s Panhandle, as the major storm crossed the country.
A tornado hit the Panama City area in Bay County early Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.
At least five people in the county were transported to hospitals with injuries, Bay County spokesperson Valerie Sale told ABC News. There are also reports of significant damage throughout the county due to the storm, Sale said.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has issued a state of emergency for northern Florida due to the severe weather threat. The order covers 49 counties in north and central Florida.
In Georgia, one person is dead after a tree fell on a vehicle while the driver was traveling on Highway 54 in Jonesboro Tuesday morning, police said.
In North Carolina, one person was killed and two critically injured at a mobile home park in Claremont following severe weather, Catawba County officials said. The National Weather Service is on the scene to evaluate if it was a tornado.
An 81-year-old woman in Cottonwood, Alabama, was killed Tuesday morning after a possible tornado blew her mobile home over several times while she was inside, according to the Houston County Coroner’s Office.
Tornado watches remain in effect along a large swath of the East Coast, from Florida into southern Virginia. The threat of strong, damaging wind gusts and tornadoes from severe thunderstorms will persist through the afternoon and into the early evening hours.
As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 500,000 customers in the South, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest were without power, including more than 82,000 in Florida and more than 155,000 in the Carolinas.
The storm system is expected to swing north and bring flooding and damaging winds to the Northeast later Tuesday.
Flood watches are in effect along a large swath of the East Coast, including Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City and Boston.
Heavy rain is expected to gradually move up the Interstate 95 corridor through the afternoon and evening to Philadelphia and New York City, with a chance of flooding possible.
The worst impacts from this powerful storm are forecast to begin to unfold in parts of the Northeast by early Tuesday evening, first hitting the D.C./Baltimore area around 6 p.m. ET. with heavy rain and strong wind gusts sweeping in.
In the greater New York City metro area, the worst impacts are expected roughly between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. ET, with extremely heavy rain and very strong wind gusts.
Additionally, New England is predicting heavy rain on Tuesday night into Wednesday with possible flooding. An estimated 2 to 4 inches of rain is forecast in the Northeast on top of all the melting snow.
Strong damaging winds are expected to accompany the heavy rain as, locally, 50 to 65 mph gusts are possible from the Virginia coast all the way up to Maine. Power outages are possible in swathes of the Northeast.
On the back side of this storm, heavy snow is forecast from Missouri to Iowa and into Wisconsin and Michigan where, locally, up to 10 inches of snow could be possible.
Chicago will be right on the line of rain and snow with only a few inches of sloppy snow possible in the city and up to 5 to 10 inches west and north of the city.
2nd storm moving into West
A second storm is also moving into the Pacific Northwest and the northern Rockies with more heavy snow, strong winds and heavy rain for the coast.
A rare blizzard warning is in place for Oregon and Washington, just outside of Seattle and Portland, where some areas have not seen a blizzard warning issued in more than 10 years.
The storm will follow in the current storm’s footsteps and will bring more severe weather to the South with tornado and flood threats Friday and more heavy snow for the Midwest and the Great Lakes.
By Friday night into Saturday, the storm will move into the Northeast with more heavy rain, strong winds and flooding.
ABC News’ Alexandra Faul contributed to this report.
