(WASHINGTON) — Senate Republicans on Wednesday took a hard look at Tuesday night’s punishing election results in some key battleground states, and they’re not pleased with what they’re seeing.
“Yesterday to me was a complete failure,” said Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
Republicans were handed a string of rebukes, from red-state Kentucky’s projected move to reelect Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear to Virginia projected to elect Democratic majorities in both chambers of its state Legislature, likely thwarting GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s election promise to enact a 15-week abortion ban.
But most telling for Senate Republicans was the message red-state Ohio sent on abortion, where voters were projected to have overwhelmingly chosen to enshrine abortion rights in the state’s constitution.
“I don’t think it’s a big secret, but in many states, abortion is not a winning issue for Republicans,” Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said Wednesday. “The winning issues are related to the economy and the cost of living.”
“Focusing on abortion didn’t turn out to be the big winner,” he added.
Ohio’s election results continued a string of successful ballot initiatives that have secured abortion access in multiple states since the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade.
“Last night was a pretty clear case that most Ohioans by almost 15 points said they believe that women and their doctors should make their health care choices not a bunch of Columbus politicians, it’s about as simple as that,” Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown said.
To some Senate Republicans, the results indicate that restrictive abortion policy isn’t resonating with their voters.
“That’s an indication in my view that maybe more women voted maybe more young women voted,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said “When people vote their voice is heard and I think that’s what happened. They don’t agree with some of the more stringent abortion restrictions across the country.”
Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, said it will be up to each individual candidate to navigate how to handle abortion in their respective campaigns as the nation turns its attention to 2024.
“Abortion is a matter of conscience and so it’s not just something you change based on political gain. But this is something each individual candidate has to try to figure out for themselves and every part of the country is a little bit different,” Cornyn said. “I wouldn’t state a general rule that would apply nationwide.”
Senate Republicans have recently been forced to stare down the implications of abortion policy in their own chamber, where a monthslong blockade by Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville over a Pentagon abortion policy — that compensates service members to travel to receive abortion — has stalled the confirmation of hundreds of military promotions.
The Ohio results are not changing Tuberville’s mind, he said Wednesday.
“No, I represent Alabama, I know how we stand,” Tuberville said. “So, as a national party, I don’t think there’ll be any movement on that. I don’t think the country changes I think just sometimes you have momentum shifts in different directions.”
Many Republicans suggested that, after Tuesday night’s results, it’s past time to shift the narrative from abortion to more “kitchen table” issues, which they believe will gain more traction with voters.
Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., who heads the Senate Republican campaign arm, said he believes the 2024 election will focus more on the border, the economy, and what he called the “disaster geopolitically.”
“There’s a big difference in running on state issues, and these were all state elections, and running on federal policies defending Joe Biden,” Daines said. “It will be a very different set of issues in 2024 with the United States Senate.”
The Senate’s #2 Republican, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., also said it’s time to shift focus to issues he believes will work for the GOP.
“We have to have a compelling message that appeals to the suburban voters no question about that,” Thune said. “So, I think that’s economy, jobs, cost of living, public safety the border. I think those are the issues that really resonate with people across the country and our candidates this year are going to be on offense on that issue.”
(HOUSTON) — A massive fire at a chemical plant near Houston Wednesday prompted a school evacuation and a warning for residents to shelter in place, according to authorities.
There was an explosion at the plant in the town of Shepherd just after 8 a.m. local time Wednesday, according to San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers.
The fire is now contained, and a large majority is out, Emmitt Eldridge, the emergency management coordinator with the San Jacinto County Office of Emergency Management, told reporters during a press briefing Wednesday afternoon.
Fire crews will remain on-site in case of any flareups, he said.
Ongoing monitoring has not found any chemicals in the air at this time, Eldridge said.
All employees at the plant are accounted for, with only one worker suffering a minor burn injury, according to Sound Resource Solutions, which owns the plant. There were 19 employees in the building at the time, Capers said.
A private school with 31 children was evacuated near the plant, according to the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office.
The shelter-in-place for the surrounding area has since been lifted, according to Polk County Emergency Management. However, the agency did ask people to “limit all unnecessary outdoor activity” in the wake of it being lifted.
Dark black smoke could be seen billowing from the plant earlier Wednesday. Capers said flammable liquids and diesel were burning.
(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 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:
Nov 08, 4:16 PM EST
Trump attorney accuses judge of ‘double standard’
After a relatively calm day, tensions flared between Judge Engonon and Trump lawyer Chris Kise, after Kise accused the judge of applying a “double standard” to the defense team.
Defense attorney Jesus Suarez attempted to question Ivanka Trump about a document from the General Services Administration, prompting an objection from state attorney Louis Solomon, who argued that Suarez lacked the foundation to ask about the document.
“I’ve objected hundreds of times now,” an exasperated Kise said, arguing that the state attorneys used documents with less foundation provided.
“I continually object to your constant insinuation that I have some sort of double standard. It’s just not true,” Engoron replied forcefully.
Ivanka Trump, sitting feet away from Engoron, appeared to watch the exchange in disbelief.
“I wish it were different. I respect your honor’s position. I just see these ruling … frequently going in a different direction,” Kise said.
“Their objections have been of greater validity than yours,” Engoron shot back.
Nov 08, 3:40 PM EST
Ivanka Trump says father had ‘deep and nostalgic love’ of golf course
Following a sometimes-tense direct examination by state attorney Louis Solomon, Ivanka Trump is speaking more comfortably, showing more emotion, and offering more lengthy answers to questions during cross examination.
Asked about why the Trump Organization worked with Deutsche Bank to secure financing for its purchase of the Doral golf club in Miami, she spoke wistfully about the property.
“My father had a deep and nostalgic love for that particular property,” she testified.
“He told me he took my mother there,” she said with a smile, recalling her father bringing her there when she was a child.
“They were really impressed by what we had done over the course of several years in terms of upgrading and refurbishing the property,” Ivanka Trump said.
Nov 08, 3:27 PM EST
Banks sought to promote ties to Trump Organization, says defense
Deutsche Bank sought to promote its ties to the Trump Organization in marketing materials a decade ago, according to emails shown in court during Ivanka Trump’s ongoing cross-examination.
Trump attorney Jesus Suarez showed the emails to demonstrate a key pillar of their defense: that the state’s allegations were victimless, and in fact, rather than getting bilked in loan agreements, bankers appreciated — and even competed for — the Trump Organization’s business.
“I was constantly told by Rosemary and her team how much they appreciated our relationship and … seeking to grow it,” Ivanka Trump testified regarding Deutsche Bank executive Rosemary Vrablic.
Deutsche Bank asked Ivanka Trump to appear in promotional videos for their firm, the emails suggested.
Nov 08, 3:20 PM EST
Ivanka Trump says she received $4 million from sale of building
Ivanka Trump acknowledged that she personally received more than $4 million from the Trump Organization’s sale of the Old Post Office building in Washington, D.C., last year.
In total, she received $4,013,204 in profit after the building was sold in 2022, according to a document shown in court.
“That is consistent with my recollection, yes,” Ivanka Trump said.
New York Attorney General Letitia James had pledged to show that Ivanka Trump personally profited from the fraud the AG says is at the center of the case.
Ivanka Trump has now completed her direct examination and is being cross-examined by defense attorney Jesus Suarez.
Under cross-examination, she repeated that she was not involved with reviewing, approving, or providing values for her father’s financial statements, which state attorneys say contained fraudulent valuations.
Nov 08, 2:57 PM EST
Jared Kushner would lend ‘perspective’ on deals, says Ivanka Trump
Ivanka Trump’s husband Jared Kushner, who like Ivanka Trump served as a senior adviser in the Trump White House, would frequently weigh in on her family’s real estate negotiations in the years before Donald Trump became president, Ivanka Trump testified.
State attorneys shared emails Ivanka Trump had sent her husband during negotiations with bankers over loan interest rates. Asked by state attorney Louis Solomon why she would share those records with Kushner, Trump responded, “It is not uncommon that I would ask my husband’s perspective on something I was working on.”
“My husband also was in real estate, and would have perspective for me,” she said of Kushner, who, like Ivanka Trump, is not a defendant in the case. “So periodically we would discuss what we were working on.”
Attorneys for Trump challenged the admissibility of emails belonging to Kushner, citing spousal privilege.
Justice Engoron overruled those objections because they communicated over work emails.
“If you use a work email that is subject to being seen by other people, you waive confidentiality,” Engoron said.
Nov 08, 2:08 PM EST
New York AG moves to stop testimony from defense experts
Donald Trump’s lawyers are scheduled to begin presenting the defense’s case on Monday following the conclusion of the presentation of the New York attorney general’s case — but New York AG Letitia James is arguing that four of the defense’s expert witnesses are no longer relevant.
In a filing made today, James argues that Judge Engoron’s partial summary judgment decision and subsequent changes to the state’s case have made make the testimony from the four experts irrelevant.
State lawyers plan to make an oral motion to preclude the expert testimony tomorrow, according to their filing.
Nov 08, 1:41 PM EST
‘I don’t recall’ discussion of financial statements, Ivanka Trump says
State attorney Louis Solomon grew visibly frustrated with Ivanka Trump’s limited recollections during an exchange about Donald Trump’s Old Post Office building in Washington, D.C.
Solomon attempted to confront Ivanka Trump with a document that showed that the General Services Administration — which ran the selection process for the renovation of the building — raised concerns about Donald Trump’s financial statements in 2011. New York Attorney General Letitia James, who says the statements contained fraudulent valuations, alleges that both Donald Trump and Ivanka Trump addressed those concerns during an in-person meeting with GSA officials.
“It was a general presentation. I don’t recall with specificity any discussion of financial statements,” Ivanka Trump said, prompting Solomon to throw his hands in the air.
“When I ask a question, she doesn’t remember,” an exasperated Solomon said. “The witness does have a recollection, your honor!”
“Would you like to clarify the situation?” Judge Engoron directly asked Ivanka Trump, who repeated the same description of the meeting.
“I recall one in-person meeting” about the “big picture” of the project, Ivanka Trump testified. She said recalled no discussion of “financial statements or anything granular like that.”
Donald Trump’s lawyers, meanwhile, have continued to object to Solomon asking questions about conduct from over a decade ago, which they say is akin to ancient history for a fast-moving real estate company.
“The GSA decision was made years before the statute of limitations,” Donald Trump’s lawyer Chris Kise argued, though Engoron overruled the objection.
Nov 08, 12:50 PM EST
‘You are starting to sound like your client,’ judge teases lawyer
Donald Trump is not in court today, but his lawyer is beginning to sound like the former president, according to a quip from Judge Arthur Engoron.
Describing the Trump Organization’s renovation of the Old Post Office building in Washington, D.C., Trump’s lawyer Chris Kise argued that the building was transformed from a “hulking relic” into a “world-class facility.”
“You are starting to sound like your client,” Engoron said, prompting some laughs from the gallery.
Nov 08, 12:34 PM EST
Ivanka Trump excused as lawyers debate statue of limitations
Ivanka Trump was removed from the courtroom for ten minutes while attorneys argued over whether the statute of limitations applied to the deals discussed during her testimony.
“These deals … had requirements for updated financials year, after year, after year,” Judge Arthur Engoron said. “To me, they are very much part of this case.”
Donald Trump’s lawyer argued that Ivanka Trump’s conduct between 2011 and 2013 could not impact someone else recertifying the loans years later.
“It’s theoretically impossible — it’s beyond implausible that some event that took place in 2016 would have changed the course of events in 2011, 2012, and 2013,” Trump attorney Chris Kise said.
Judge Engoron appeared unconvinced by the arguments and allowed the testimony to continue.
“The ship has sailed,” Engoron said.
Nov 08, 12:07 PM EST
Ivanka Trump says she wasn’t ‘privy to’ father’s financial statements
Asked about her involvement in her father’s statements of financial condition that the judge has already determined fraudulently overvalued his real estate and inflated his net worth, Ivaka Trump said she had no knowledge of them.
“I would assume he had a personal financial statement,” Ivanka Trump said. “Those weren’t things that I was privy to.”
Regarding a lease she had for a penthouse apartment in Trump Park Avenue that included an option to buy for $8.5 million, the New York attorney general’s office said Trump’s statement financial condition claimed that units in the building were selling for $20.8 million — two and a half times as much.
Asked by state lawyer Louis Solomon whether she knew about that discrepancy, Ivanka Trump responded, “I wasn’t involved in his statement of financial condition so I can’t say what it took into account or didn’t take into account.”
Solomon pressed her about the documents, asking, “Did you know whether he had personal financial statements, Donald J. Trump?” Solomon asked.
“I’m not involved in his personal financial statements. I didn’t know about his personal statements, per se, other than what you’ve showed me,” Ivanka Trump responded.
“Did you have any role in preparing Donald J. Trump’s statements of financial condition?”
“Not that I’m aware of,” she replied.
Nov 08, 11:29 AM EST
Ivanka Trump sought lower net worth requirement for loan
In 2011, as the Trump Organization sought financing for its purchase and renovation of the Doral golf club in Miami, Deutsche Bank agreed to loan Trump the necessary funds, with one critical catch — the deal would be secured by Donald Trump’s net worth.
“Is DJT willing to do that? Also, the net worth covenants and DJT indebtedness limitations would seem to me to be a problem?” Trump Organization executive Jason Greenblatt wrote in an email to Ivanka Trump and CFO Allen Weisselberg that was entered into evidence. The arrangement required Trump to maintain a net worth of $3 billion.
Trump’s 2011 statement of financial condition, one of the documents the New York attorney general alleges contained fraudulent valuations, listed his net worth as more than $4 billion. However Ivanka Trump asked Deutsche Bank to lower the amount of wealth her father would have to maintain, according to an email exchange entered into evidence.
“As I said before, I don’t recall the net worth covenant,” Ivanka Trump testified.
She proposed $2 billion, emails show. Deutsche Bank ultimately settled for $2.5 billion.
Nov 08, 11:19 AM EST
Courtroom reflects Ivanka Trump’s calm demeanor
Ivanka Trump flashed a smile at Judge Engoron when he recommended to her that, when reviewing evidence, it would be easier for her to look at the big screen set up in the courtroom instead of the papers in her lap.
“Thank you,” she said with a laugh.
Unlike her father, who roiled the judge and tangled with state attorneys during his testimony Monday, Ivanka Trump is reserved and soft spoken on the stand, at times speaking so quietly in answering questions that it’s hard to hear her.
The entire courtroom appears to be following her tone, with Judge Engoron and attorneys from both side conducting themselves calmly even when objections are raised.
Nov 08, 11:04 AM EST
Asked about 2011 emails, Ivanka Trump says they’re hard to recall
Asked about business negotiations from 2011, Ivanka Trump has been struggling to recall the details of her interactions from 12 years ago.
“I don’t recall, sitting here today, seeing these terms from 2011,” she responded after being shown a 2011 email to an Inbursa Bank representative. “I don’t remember having these conversations other than on a very high level.”
She has been punctuating her testimony with subtle indicators of how far removed she is from deals and documents discussed in court.
“I believe it was the ninth month of pregnancy of my oldest daughter,” she remarked after she was shown another document from 2011.
When asked about other documents, she added it was hard to remember “after all these years removed” or that she can only “recall you reminding me of that discussion.”
Nov 08, 10:48 AM EST
‘My father will send you’ his statement, Ivanka Trump said in email
Poised and patient on the witness stand, Ivanka Trump described how her husband, Jared Kushner, introduced her to Deutsche Bank’s private wealth management division, for which she later became the Trump Organization’s liaison and worked to arrange financing for the firm’s purchase of the Doral golf club in Miami.
She was shown an email in which she told a different potential lender that “my father will send you his most recent financial statement,” a potential indication of the document’s importance despite former President Trump’s prior testimony that the banks didn’t care about his financial statements when deciding whether to loan him money.
“They were just something that you would have,” Trump said during his testimony Monday about the statements at the center of the case.
Nov 08, 10:33 AM EST
Ivanka Trump avoids courtroom photos
Unlike her father and brothers, who, when they testified, were photographed by news photographers at the defense counsel table alongside their lawyers before taking the stand, Ivanka Trump appears to have avoided her courtroom photo opportunity.
While her father and brothers are defendants in the case, Ivanka Trump is a third-party witness. No photographers were allowed in the courtroom this morning.
Nov 08, 10:07 AM EST
Ivanka Trump takes the stand
“The people call Ivanka Trump,” state attorney Louis Solomon said.
“Who’s she?” Judge Arthur Engoron responded jokingly.
After a few awkward minutes of waiting, Ivanka Trump entered the courtroom, walked toward the judge, and took her place in the courtroom’s witness box. She did not address or make eye contact with Letitia James as she passed the New York attorney general.
“Do you solemnly swear or affirm that any testimony you give will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?” a court officer asked her.
“I do,” she responded with her right hand raised.
Nov 08, 9:51 AM EST
Ivanka Trump benefited from fraud, NY AG says
Speaking to reporters outside court this morning, New York Attorney General Letitia James said that today’s testimony will demonstrate that Ivanka Trump personally benefited from the fraud that a judge has ruled her family committed.
“We uncovered the scheme and she benefited from it personally,” James told reporters. “And Ms. Trump will do all that she can to try to separate herself from his corporation, but she is inextricably tied to the Trump Organization and to these properties that she helped secure financing for.”
James has taken a seat in the front row of the courtroom’s gallery, feet from her team of lawyers at the state’s counsel table.
Nov 08, 9:19 AM EST
NY AG’s chief real estate lawyer to question Ivanka Trump
Louis Solomon, the chief of the New York attorney general’s real estate finance division, is expected to lead the questioning of Ivanka Trump.
Solomon led Ivanka’s Trump deposition in August 2022, where she denied being involved in her father’s financial statements that are at the center of the case.
Earlier in the trial, Solomon led a contentious direct examination of former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg, who frequently struggled to answer questions about who was responsible for various financial decisions at the company.
Solomon has frequently sparred with Donald Trump’s lawyers during the trial, including a heated exchange after multiple members of the state team tested positive for COVID-19 during the proceedings.
“Everything in this courtroom concerns me and my client, including your health,” defense lawyer Chris Kise said.
“Thanks for your concern,” Solomon responded offhandedly.
Nov 08, 9:03 AM EST
Ivanka Trump arrives at courthouse
Ivanka Trump has arrived at the New York State Supreme Courthouse, where she was greeted by a crowd of photographers ahead of her testimony this morning.
She did not make a statement outside court.
The eldest daughter of former President Trump is scheduled to take the stand at around 10 a.m. ET.
Nov 08, 8:47 AM EST
Crowd of reporters awaits Ivanka Trump outside court
A sizeable group of reporters is huddling outside the New York State Supreme Courthouse in lower Manhattan awaiting the arrival of Ivanka Trump on a chilly 42-degree morning.
Moderately smaller than the crowd that waited her father on Monday, photographers and court reporters are crammed in a narrow maze of metal barriers that police have assembled outside the building for the trial. The security arrangement, which has been utilized any time a Trump family member has appeared in court, has become a regular part of life for reporters covering the trial and a curiosity for tourists exploring downtown New York.
“Is this the line to see Donald Trump?” a passerby asked this morning.
“Yes, but he’s not here today,” a reporter responded to the visibly disappointed tourist.
Nov 08, 8:04 AM EST
Trump lauds ‘beautiful daughter’ ahead of Ivanka’s testimony
Former President Donald Trump has renewed his attacks on New York Attorney General Letitia James and Judge Arthur Engoron ahead of testimony this morning from his daughter Ivanka Trump, who is expected to be the last witness in the state’s case before the defense begins presenting its case.
“My wonderful and beautiful daughter, Ivanka, is going to the Lower Manhattan Courthouse, at the direction of Letitia Peekaboo James … and a Trump Hating, out of control Clubhouse appointed Judge, Arthur Engoron, who viciously ruled against me before the trial even started,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, referring to the judge’s partial summary judgment against the defendants.
Donald Trump’s lawyers also plan to question Ivanka Trump — a notable departure after they declined to cross-examine Donald Trump and his adult sons when they testified.
“We are certainly going to ask her questions, to the extent we have questions,” Trump’s attorney Chris Kise said on Monday. “We are trying to get that done now so as to minimize the interference in her life to not have to come back again.”
(MIAMI) — With the GOP candidates descending on Miami for the third Republican primary debate Wednesday, the Democratic National Committee will deploy a bilingual mobile billboard to circle the venue and jab the frontrunner not in the room: former President Donald Trump.
The billboard message, which the DNC shared exclusively with ABC News, focuses largely on Trump and his alleged shortcomings — and teasingly adds, “We almost forgot about the debate…” — a pointed reference about how the former president is sucking oxygen from the Republican race.
“As Donald Trump and 2024 Republicans head to Florida for their next MAGA-off, we’re reminding voters that beyond the chaos and squabbling you’ll see tonight, the entire 2024 field is united around ripping away as many of our freedoms as they can,” DNC spokesperson Marco Frieri said in a statement to ABC News.
Trump isn’t the only target — the billboard will also troll the five candidates appearing on stage: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott. The billboard briefly displays headshots of the five debate-night contenders, labeling their faces as “MAGA” to tie them all, in the end, back to Trump.
This, while Trump holds a rally roughly 10 miles away in Cuban-heavy Hialeah, marking his third RNC debate snub.
On the billboard, in both English and Spanish, the DNC will focus on branding what it calls Trump’s “extreme MAGA agenda.”
It quotes Trump telling MSNBC in 2016 that women who have abortions should see “some form of punishment,” as well as more recent controversial comments such as his calling Hezbollah, designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organization, “very smart.” More messaging calls out how he has denied the results of the 2020 election, the first modern president to refuse a peaceful transfer of power.
The billboard also accuses Trump of trying to cut Medicare and Social Security every year he was in office, creating incentives to send jobs overseas and failing to deliver on infrastructure and lower prescription drug prices. While the messaging does not mention President Joe Biden, it highlights issues where he could directly contrast his agenda with the GOP.
The RNC “welcomes Democrats’ efforts to waste time and money in the red state of Florida,” said the organization’s press secretary Anna Kelly.
“Voters know that any of our candidates would be better than Joe Biden, which is why he continues to flail in poll after poll,” she said in a statement to ABC News.
The Biden-Harris campaign put up lawn signs of the “Dark Brandon” meme around the debate venue Wednesday. The meme depicts the president with laser eyes and is often used by the campaign to push back on Republican messaging. The name “Dark Brandon” comes from the “Let’s go, Brandon” Republican rallying cry against Biden.
In a statement, Biden campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz confirmed the lawn signs were the work of the campaign and said, “To Republicans running to strip away abortion rights, gut social security and Medicare, and undermine our democracy: You better watch out, Jack.”
Biden team shrugs off polling showing Trump ahead
The signs and mobile billboard comes as some Democrats may be riding high after a promising election night for the party with electoral wins in Ohio, Virginia and Kentucky — still polling indicates with one year until the election, Trump could beat Biden in key battleground states.
A New York Times/Siena College poll published over the weekend showed Trump beating Biden in hypothetical matchups in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania, with Biden taking Wisconsin by a slim margin. A new CNN poll released Tuesday night also showed Trump narrowly leading Biden among registered voters.
“From our vantage point, right now, this is just a snapshot in time,” said Biden-Harris Campaign Manager Julie Chavez-Rodriguez.
In a press conference Tuesday, Chavez-Rodriguez and a slate of campaign surrogates defended the president from polling, homing in, instead, on condemning “MAGA Republicans.”
“We’re a year out from the election and so polling at this stage is not predictive,” Chavez-Rodriguez said. “I think we can look at some of the historical data around this, whether it’s President [Barack] Obama this time in 2011, headline’s ‘Obama toast’ and other things. Past presidents have faced similar sort of experiences, but they’ve gone off to win reelection.”
Hours later, when Democrats saw resounding election night wins across the country, Chavez-Rodriguez released a statement indicating it was a promising sign for the reelection campaign.
“Tonight, Democrats across the country won because they ran on standing up for personal freedoms, defending democracy and fighting for working families,” she said. “Voters across the political spectrum once again showed up and voted for our agenda and rejected the dangerous MAGA extremism that has come to define today’s Republican Party at every level.”
ABC News’ Fritz Farrow and Gabriella Abdul-Hakim contributed to this report.
(LANSING, Mich.) — Michigan lawmakers have passed a series of 9 bills repealing certain abortion restrictions, which are now headed to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s desk.
The package, called the Reproductive Health Act, aims to help increase access to abortion that may have remained unavailable or inaccessible in some parts of the state.
It comes a year after Michiganders voted overwhelmingly in favor of Proposal 3 (Prop 3), which enshrined abortion rights in the state’s constitution.
The new bills, which passed the state House last week and the state Senate Tuesday, repealed a law requiring the patient to receive information on abortion provided by the state, such as depiction of a fetus, and allowing residents to sue if their right to an abortion is infringed under Prop 3.
The legislation also requires private insurance companies to provide coverage for all pregnancy-related health care, including abortion, through an optional rider and removed some regulations for clinics that provide abortion that could cause them to close if they are not met.
However, due to pushback from some lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, two provisions of the RHA did not pass. The first was overturning the requirement that patients wait 24 hours between seeking an abortion and receiving the procedure and the second was removing a ban on Medicaid coverage for abortion care.
The ACLU of Michigan said in a press release that not eliminating these barriers would make it difficult for marginalized groups including Black and brown people, working class residents and rural residents to access abortion.
In a statement to WPBN-TV, Whitmer praised the passage of the RHA as progress and in line with what residents voted for last November.
“Michiganders spoke loud and clear in the last election when they voted overwhelmingly to protect the constitutional freedom for people to make their own decisions about their bodies,” Whitmer said in a statement. “For years, Michigan has had politically motivated and medically unnecessary restrictions on abortion on the books.”
“These laws criminalized doctors for providing medical care, jacked up out of pocket health care costs, and imposed needless regulations on health centers. This legislation makes important steps toward expanding access and protecting our personal freedoms. We will continue to take action to ensure that Michiganders can access the reproductive health care they deserve,” the statement continued.
Last year, Michigan voters said yes to an amendment, Prop 3, that would add protections for reproductive rights and enshrine them in the state’s constitution.
The amendment defines reproductive freedom as “the right to make and carry out pregnancy-related decisions uch as those concerning prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, abortion, miscarriage management, and infertility care.”
On Wednesday, Right to Life Michigan and 15 other plaintiffs announced they filed a lawsuit in federal court to overturn several elements of Prop 3. They are asking for a permanent injunction, claiming the proposal is unconstitutional.
“Earlier this morning, a federal civil rights lawsuit was filed challenging the constitutionality of central elements of Proposal 3,” the group said in a statement. “The provisions asserted to be unconstitutional under federal law threaten legal protections for pregnant women seeking healthcare, the rights of physicians to care for patients, and the rights of parents already under attack on many fronts.”
(DETROIT) — A suspect is in custody in connection with the murder of Detroit synagogue president Samantha Woll, police said.
Woll was found stabbed to death outside her home on Oct. 21.
Detroit police said last month that there was no evidence to point to the crime being motivated by antisemitism.
Police did not release the suspect’s name.
“The details of the investigation will remain confidential at this time to ensure the integrity of the important steps that remain,” Detroit Police Chief James White said in a statement.
Though the arrest “is an encouraging development in our desire to bring closure for Ms. Woll’s family, it does not represent the conclusion of our work in this case,” he said.
Woll had a long career in local politics and worked with several elected officials over the years, according to her LinkedIn page.
She recently served as the political director for Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s re-election campaign.
“Sam was as kind a person as I’ve ever known,” Nessel said. “She was driven by her sincere love of her community, state and country. Sam truly used her faith and activism to create a better place for everyone.”
Woll also worked as a deputy district director for Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich.
“She did for our team as Deputy District Director what came so naturally to her: helping others & serving constituents,” Slotkin said. “Separately, in politics & in the Jewish community, she dedicated her short life to building understanding across faiths, bringing light in the face of darkness.”
(WASHINGTON) — Chairman James Comer of the House Oversight Committee announced a slew of subpoenas on Wednesday targeting members of President Joe Biden’s family, including his son Hunter Biden, brother James Biden, and former Hunter Biden business associate Rob Walker, demanding they appear for depositions.
The subpoenas, which Comer has threatened for months, marks an escalation in his panel’s ongoing impeachment inquiry into President Biden. The committee had previously subpoenaed banks for records belonging to Hunter and James Biden.
In addition to the subpoenas, the committee is requesting transcribed interviews with other Biden family members and associates, including both Hunter Biden’s wife, Melissa Cohen, and the widow of Beau Biden, Hallie Biden. Also asked for transcribed interviews were James Biden’s wife, Sara; Elizabeth Secundy, the older sister of Hallie Biden; and Tony Bobulinski a former business associate of Hunter Biden.
The investigation, which also includes the Judiciary and Ways and Means Committees, had been briefly stalled amid the prolonged speaker fight last month.
In a statement to ABC News, Comer said, “The House Oversight Committee has followed the money and built a record of evidence revealing how Joe Biden knew, was involved, and benefited from his family’s influence peddling schemes. Now, the House Oversight Committee is going to bring in members of the Biden family and their associates to question them on this record of evidence.”
Abbe Lowell, an attorney for Hunter Biden, said in a statement, “This is a yet another political stunt aimed at distracting from the glaring failure of Rep. Comer and his MAGA allies to prove a single one of their wild and now discredited conspiracies about the Biden family. Nevertheless, Hunter is eager to have the opportunity, in a public forum and at the right time, to discuss these matters with the Committee.”
Besides Biden family members, one subpoena targets a former business associate of Hunter Biden, Walker, who in a December 2020 interview with the FBI, Walker, stated he “certainly never was thinking at any time that the V.P. [Biden] was a part of anything we were doing” and explained that the idea that President Biden would ever get involved was “wishful thinking” on the part of another business partner, James Gilliar, akin to “unicorns and rainbows.”
Comer’s impeachment inquiry has been marked by criticism — even from some Republicans — claiming the nearly yearlong investigation into Biden has still not produced sufficient evidence for impeachment.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the committee, slammed the subpoenas and “their buffoonish impeachment hearing.”
“The Committee has already obtained the personal financial records of the three private citizens Chairman Comer has subpoenaed: the President’s brother, his son, and one of their business partners, Rob Walker,” Raskin wrote in part in a lengthy statement. “The Committee also has Mr. Walker’s interview with the FBI and the summary of his interview with the IRS, which Republicans have already released. These subpoenas and interview requests are yet further proof that this sham impeachment inquiry is driven only by the demands of the vengeful and prevaricating Donald Trump.”
Attorneys for Hunter Biden submitted a lengthy letter on Wednesday morning to newly minted House Speaker Mike Johnson — prior to the subpoenas — seeking his intervention in Republicans’ probe of Joe Biden and his family and to “[stop] them from continuing their partisan political games.”
The 12-page letter, which was obtained by ABC News, lays out seven alleged lies told by Comer, and Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Jason Smith, R-Mo., about the Biden family and their various business endeavors.
Lowell, the author of the letter, said the Republicans’ conduct “is ripe for your intervention” and asked him to follow up on his pledge to “restore the integrity and reputation of your chamber.”
“Even in the era of ‘alternative facts,’ your colleagues’ manipulation and disregard for the truth is breathtaking,” Lowell wrote. “Please remind [them] what you recently said: that House Republicans have a ‘constitutional responsibility to follow th[e] truth,’ wherever it leads, and you promised to ‘only follow facts’ and not ‘use this for political partisan games.'”
“These chairmen are about to ignore your admonition by continuing to pursue baseless allegations,” Lowell added.
(NEW YORK) — A Florida mom is suing American Airlines after she claims the airline “misplaced” her two unaccompanied children and put them in a “cold room akin to a jail cell” for a night after the kids’ connecting flight during a July 2022 trip was canceled.
“It’s a feeling no parent ever wants to feel,” mom Amber Vencill told “Good Morning America.”
Vencill had paid American Airlines for unaccompanied minor service, about $150 each way, for her two sons – a 10-year-old and a 12-year-old – so they could travel from Missouri to New York to visit her partner’s family. The trip had a layover in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The unaccompanied minor service is available for children between the ages of 5 and 17 and required for children between 5 and 14, according to American Airlines’ website.
However, the connecting flight in Charlotte was canceled after multiple delays and Vencill said she received an email informing her the boys would be able to fly out the following day.
An airline employee also told Vencill’s partner in a phone call that the boys would be placed in a “nice room for unaccompanied minors where there were beds and their own bathroom,” according to the complaint.
“I have faith that during the transitions at the airports, they would be with a flight attendant since they had that service,” Vencill said.
Vencill’s sons didn’t have their own cellphones and the mom claims she was not able to contact the boys at a phone number American Airlines had provided to her where they said the children could be reached. Vencill said it took several hours until she could contact her sons through an employee at the Charlotte Airport.
According to American Airlines’ website, in the case of missed connections due to a delay or cancellation, the airline will make arrangements for another flight and “overnight accommodations, meals and supervision.”
In Vencill’s lawsuit, which was filed in New York on Oct. 31, she claims her sons were placed overnight in a “cold room akin to a jail cell” instead. The children had been placed in a room for lost children, the complaint says.
“I asked them if they had anything to eat or drink. And they were like, ‘No, mom,'” Vencill said her sons told her.
The airport employee, who was not employed by American Airlines, eventually brought the children food and drinks before they boarded a flight to Syracuse, New York, where they were picked up by Vencill’s partner, the complaint says.
In a statement to ABC News, American Airlines said “the safety and comfort of our customers, including unaccompanied minors in our care are our highest priorities … We have been in touch with Ms. Vencill directly and we are reviewing the details of the lawsuit.”
Vencill said American Airlines did refund the unaccompanied minor fees but she has not heard anything else from the company. She said she wanted to file the lawsuit to prevent a situation like this from happening to another family.
“I knew that this was a chance that I had to make sure that it didn’t happen to anyone else,” Vencill said.
(NEW YORK) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the diabetes drug Zepbound to also treat obesity on Wednesday.
The drug’s active ingredient is called tirzepatide. As a diabetes drug, it is sold under the brand name Mounjaro, which is manufactured by pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Co.
It has now been approved under the brand name Zepbound as a weight loss management treatment for people with obesity, or those who are overweight with at least one related underlying condition, such as high blood pressure.
The drug is similar to semaglutide, the active ingredient in the medications Ozempic and Wegovy — both made by Novo Nordisk — but works slightly differently because it targets two hormones involved in blood sugar control rather than just one.
Studies suggest it could lead to more dramatic weight loss than semaglutide.
Last month, a study found that tirzepatide helped some people with obesity or overweight lose about a quarter of their body weight — when paired with an extensive diet and exercise program.
Earlier this year, Eli Lilly released clinical trial results showing participants who were overweight or obese and had type 2 diabetes — who took Zepbound compared to a placebo — lost up to 15.7% of their body weight over 72 weeks of treatment.
In general, medications like Mounjaro, Ozempic, Wegovy and Saxenda, the latter of which is also made by Novo Nordisk, and several others were originally approved to treat diabetes.
However, researchers have learned over the past several years that the drugs can also lead to weight loss.
Wegovy was approved by the FDA for long-term weight management in people who are overweight or obese in 2021 while Saxenda was approved for adults in 2014 and in those aged 12 and older in 2020.
Ozempic is still only approved for diabetes, although some physicians have prescribed it as a weight loss drug.
Increasingly, obesity specialists have recognized that obesity is a metabolic condition that cannot be adequately managed with diet and exercise alone for most people.
For some people, surgery or lifelong medication management may be an appropriate way to help manage obesity.
Currently, 41.9% of the U.S. adult population is living with obesity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Obesity raises the risk of heart disease, stroke and certain types of cancer — all of which are leading causes of preventable, premature death, the CDC said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the diabetes drug Zepbound to also treat obesity on Wednesday.
The drug’s active ingredient is called tirzepatide. As a diabetes drug, it is sold under the brand name Mounjaro, which is manufactured by pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Co.
It has now been approved under the brand name Zepbound as a weight loss management treatment for people with obesity, or those who are overweight with at least one related underlying condition, such as high blood pressure.
The drug is similar to semaglutide, the active ingredient in the medications Ozempic and Wegovy — both made by Novo Nordisk — but works slightly differently because it targets two hormones involved in blood sugar control rather than just one.
Studies suggest it could lead to more dramatic weight loss than semaglutide.
Last month, a study found that tirzepatide helped some people with obesity or overweight lose about a quarter of their body weight — when paired with an extensive diet and exercise program.
Earlier this year, Eli Lilly released clinical trial results showing participants who were overweight or obese and had type 2 diabetes — who took Zepbound compared to a placebo — lost up to 15.7% of their body weight over 72 weeks of treatment.
In general, medications like Mounjaro, Ozempic, Wegovy and Saxenda, the latter of which is also made by Novo Nordisk, and several others were originally approved to treat diabetes.
However, researchers have learned over the past several years that the drugs can also lead to weight loss.
Wegovy was approved by the FDA for long-term weight management in people who are overweight or obese in 2021 while Saxenda was approved for adults in 2014 and in those aged 12 and older in 2020.
Ozempic is still only approved for diabetes, although some physicians have prescribed it as a weight loss drug.
Increasingly, obesity specialists have recognized that obesity is a metabolic condition that cannot be adequately managed with diet and exercise alone for most people.
For some people, surgery or lifelong medication management may be an appropriate way to help manage obesity.
Currently, 41.9% of the U.S. adult population is living with obesity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Obesity raises the risk of heart disease, stroke and certain types of cancer — all of which are leading causes of preventable, premature death, the CDC said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
