Additional details on the arrest were not immediately released.
Beam, featured in Netflix’s “Last Chance U,” is a football legend in the Bay Area and had coached the sport for over 40 years before becoming solely the school’s athletic director last year. He remains in the hospital and his condition is not clear.
Beam was at the Laney Fieldhouse when he was shot shortly before noon on Thursday, authorities said. The alleged shooter fled the scene.
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee said in a statement on Thursday, “Coach Beam is a giant in Oakland — a mentor, an educator, and a lifeline for thousands of young people.”
“We are praying for him,” Lee said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
US President Donald Trump during an executive order signing in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A new prosecutor has been selected to take over the Fulton County, Georgia, election interference case against President Donald Trump and others after District Attorney Fani Willis’ disqualification.
In a statement on Friday, the director of the agency tasked with finding the replacement said he had chosen someone new: himself.
Pete Skandalakis, the executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, said he chose himself to take over the case after he was “unable” to find someone else to accept the job.
“Several prosecutors were contacted and, while all were respectful and professional, each declined the appointment,” he said in a statement. “The decision to assume responsibility for this matter was reached only after careful and deliberate consideration.”
Trump and 18 others pleaded not guilty in August 2023 to all charges in a sweeping racketeering indictment for alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia.
The charges, which were brought following Trump’s Jan. 2, 2021, phone call in which he asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” the votes needed to win the state, allege that the defendants solicited state leaders throughout the country, harassed and misled a Georgia election worker, and pushed phony claims that the election was stolen, all in an effort for Trump to remain in power despite his election loss.
The selection of a new prosecutor fell to the attorneys’ council after the Georgia Supreme Court in September declined to take up Willis’ appeal of her removal from the case over her relationship with one of the prosecutors on the case.
Skandalakis was facing a Nov. 14 deadline to appoint someone new or the case would face dismissal, according to an order from Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee. Skandalakis said he did not believe McAfee dismissing the case because of the missed deadline would be “the right course of action.”
Skandalakis wrote in his statement that he had “not had sufficient time” to complete a review the case file, saying he received 101 boxes of documents from the DA’s office in late October, and an 8-terabyte hard drive of the case file just last week. He said that by appointing himself to the case he can “complete a comprehensive review and make an informed decision regarding how best to proceed” with the case, whose future is still up the air.
“My only objective is to ensure that this case is handled properly, fairly, and with full transparency discharging my duties without fear, favor, or affection,” Skandalakis said.
Trump this week issued a sweeping pardon to all defendants in the Georgia election case and all other cases involving alleged 2020 “fake elector” plots, although the act was largely symbolic as Trump does not have the ability to pardon state charges.
Stock photo of a Lone Star Tick, Amblyomma Americanum. (Joesboy/STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A New Jersey man is believed to be the first documented death from alpha-gal syndrome, a meat allergy triggered by tick bites.
The man, a 47-year-old airline pilot, was otherwise healthy, according to a case study from researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and Hackensack Meridian Health in New Jersey.
In summer 2024, he went camping with his wife and children. A few hours after eating beef steak for dinner, the man awoke with abdominal discomfort, which later led to diarrhea and vomiting.
His condition eventually improved and, although he spoke with his wife about consulting a doctor, they ultimately decided against it.
Two weeks later, in September, the man and his wife attended a barbecue in New Jersey during which he ate a hamburger.
Four hours later, the man was found unconscious on the floor of his bathroom. Paramedics attempted to resuscitate the man and transferred him to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
The cause of death was initially ruled as “sudden unexplained death” after inconclusive results. The man’s wife provided the autopsy report to a doctor, who forwarded it to an allergy specialist.
The specialist used blood samples to identify that the man had an extreme reaction to alpha-gal, in line with fatal anaphylaxis, or allergic reaction, according to the case study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology in Practice.
When asked if he had been bitten by ticks, his wife said he had in the past and that, earlier in the summer, he has at least 12 or 13 “chigger” bites around his ankles. Researchers said that in the eastern U.S., what are sometimes referred to as “chiggers” are often larvae of lone star ticks.
Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) is a serious, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction that arises after people eat red meat or consume products with alpha-gal, a type of sugar found in most mammals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The syndrome is typically caused tick bites, most often from lone star ticks, which transfer alpha-gal into a patient’s body and, in turn, triggers an immune system response.
Although tracking is limited, it is estimated that more than 110,000 cases of AGS were identified between 2010 and 2022, the CDC said.
The actual number of cases is not known, but up to 450,000 people may be affected, according to the agency. In 2023, two studies from the CDC referred to AGS as an “emerging public health concern.”
AGS symptoms can include hives or itchy rash, nausea or vomiting, heartburn or indigestion, diarrhea, shortness of breath and severe stomach pain. Symptoms can range from mild to severe and typically occur two to six hours after consuming products with alpha-gal.
The CDC says the best way to protect against AGS is to prevent tick bites. This includes knowing where to expect ticks, such as in wooded areas; treating clothes and gear with products containing the insecticide permethrin; and walking outside in the center of a trail as opposed to a brushy area.
Mega Millions lottery tickets sit inside a convenience store in Lower Manhattan, (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The Mega Millions jackpot is now the eighth largest in history ahead of Friday night’s drawing where one lucky person could win an estimated $965 million.
The jackpot grew from $900 million to where it currently stands after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn Tuesday night.
The jackpot was last won on June 27.
The prize has a cash value of $445.3 million which can be offered as a one-time lump sum payment or an immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments.
After four jackpot wins in the first half of this year, Friday’s drawing will be the 40th drawing in this run, a game record, since it was last won in Virginia on June 27.
Even though nobody won the jackpot on Tuesday night, there were 809,030 winning tickets across all prize tiers for total nationwide winnings of more than $27.9 million, according to Mega Millions.
The odds of winning the jackpot at 1 in 290,472,336, according to Mega Millions.Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tickets are $5 for one play.
The largest Mega Millions jackpot prize ever won was $1.6 billion prize won on Aug. 8, 2023.
A general view of the aftermath following an overnight wave of Russian strikes on November 14, 2025 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Kyiv was attacked by a wave of Russian drones and missiles on the night of November 14, with the Ukrainian president alleging that Russia had launched 430 drones and 18 missiles, damaging dozens of high-rise buildings. Search and rescue operations are ongoing as damage is reported across nine districts of the capital. (Photo by Maksym Kishka/Frontliner/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — At least 5 people have been killed with over two dozen injured, including a pregnant woman, from ongoing Russian attacks in the Kyiv region early Friday morning, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a post on Telegram.
Sections of certain heating networks in the region were damaged from the attack, and some buildings were without heat supply, the mayor added.
At least 15 buildings have been damaged in Kyiv so far from the attacks, the Kyiv City State Administration said in a post on Telegram.
Ukrainian officials said that 430 drones and 18 missiles were launched as debris from the strike rained down on Kyiv.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, Ukrainian forces were forced to withdraw from several positions in the Zaporizhzhia region, the southeastern front, due to intense Russian assaults, according to a spokesperson for the army.
Russian forces have launched more than 400 artillery strikes per day and Ukrainian troops faced the destruction of defensive fortifications, Southern Defense Forces spokesman Vladyslav Voloshyn told ABC News.
The withdrawal affected the areas around Novouspenivske, Nove, Okhotnyche, Uspenivka and Novomykolaivka, according to Voloshyn.
“The situation there remains difficult, in part because of weather conditions that favor the attacks. But we continue to destroy the occupier, and I thank every one of our units, every warrior involved in defending Ukraine’s positions,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday.
Ukraine is also facing the potential fall of Pokrovsk — a city home to around 60,000 people at the time of Russia’s 2022 full scale invasion of Ukraine — to Russia after 18-month battle of attrition. This could be one of the most serious defeats of the war for Ukraine.
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell attend de Grisogono Sponsors The 2005 Wall Street Concert Series Benefitting Wall Street Rising, with a Performance by Rod Stewart at Cipriani Wall Street on March 15, 2005 in New York City. (Patrick Mcmullan/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Already a convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein was still actively shopping his political and financial acumen with major power players on the international stage in 2018, according to messages in the trove of records released by the House Oversight Committee this week.
Epstein appeared to welcome that role of influence-wielder, including by pitching himself as a guru on how world leaders should handle then newly-elected President Donald Trump. Epstein even boasted that he had already counseled a top Russian diplomat on Trump’s psyche.
Months later, Epstein would be arrested on sex trafficking charges.
“I think you might suggest to putin, that lavrov, can get insight on talking to me,” Epstein said in a typo-strewn email to then-Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thørbjorn Jagland, on June 24, 2018. “Vitaly churkin used to but he died. ? !” he added, referring to Russia’s former Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
“I’ll meet Lavrovs assistant on Monday and will suggest,” Jagland replied. “Thank you fo [sic] a lovely evening. I’ll com to un high level week.”
“Churkin was great,” Epstein told Jagland. “He understood trump after our conversations. it is not complex. he must be seen to get something. its that simple.”
In January of 2013, then-President of the Maldives Mohamed Waheed Hassan already in correspondence with Epstein, asked for his financial guidance.
“Jeffrey, need your advice,” Hassan said. “My finance minister is telling me that he has an anonymous funds manager who is willing to deposit 4 billion dollars in Maldives and that they are willing to lend a percentage of that in exchange for government promissory notes,” he said — going on to describe what he worried was a sketchy deal.
“What do you think I should do. I am very uncomfortable. In addition to the finance minister, a leading politician and leader of the coalition parliamentary group is behind it. He could be my leading contender for presidency. Does this all sound ridiculous to you. I have a strange feeling about this whole thing,” Hassan continued. The note signs off with “Sent from President’s iPad.”
“It is a scam,” Epstein replied and then detailed the reasons Hassan should walk away from the proposal.
In a January 2017 exchange — seven days after Trump was inaugurated — Epstein communicates with someone who is set to rub elbows with influential politicos and businesspeople in Washington, D.C., the next day — and wants his advice.
“I’m seeing BG tmr. He will be in DC for the Alfalfa dinner but he’s got mtgs most of the day including w Jared Kushner. Should I ask him to discuss surgeon general or mention it or wait? Not sure kushner cares about that stuff,” the person, whose identity is redacted, asked.
“Kushner does not care,” Epstein responded. The person replied, “K will wait.”
“Ask him if he will see tom barrack, thats the most important,” Epstein said. “He is free to call me for inside baseball.”
Tom Barrack, a billionaire real estate investor, was Trump’s longtime ally and a visible part of the campaign, chairing the inaugural committee that raised more than $100 million.
In 2021, Barrack was charged with acting as a foreign agent for allegedly seeking to use his influence with the new president on behalf of the United Arab Emirates. He was ultimately found not guilty.
Later on in their conversation, Epstein said that “Bill met my friend Kathy ruemmler, Obama counsel for 5 yrs. She would love to sit with Melinda and give her the other side of jeffrey.”
“Can try, couldn’t hurt,” the person responded.
“Hillary loves Kathy as does Obama. She is an arch feminist who is my great defender,” Epstein said.
“Not sure individuals can influence once impressions are made. But I will try,” the person said. “I do not know for sure but I do think he would be unwilling to Bring it up with her.”
Epstein was also in fairly regular contact with Steve Bannon, Trump’s longtime adviser and former White House chief strategist, and referred to him in emails as a friend.
In one December 2018 conversation, Epstein weighed in on President Trump’s cabinet choices.
“Mnuchin is ok,” Epstein said, referring to then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. “Its simple, 15 yrs ago. the geriatrics understood that the internet was like telephones. connections only, then my nerds taught them thaat [sic] cyber is a weapon., same with the fed.. its a weapon to be used with sophistication.”
“Can u get rid of Powell or really get rid of mnuchin,” Bannon said, referring to Jerome Powell, whom Trump had tapped to serve as chairman of the Federal Reserve.
“Getting rid of powell much more important than syria /mattis,” Epstein replied, referring to then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. “I guess pompeo, only one left,” he said, referring to then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “Unless ambassador heather has a brilliant idea. – a first.. jared and ivanka, need to go. !!!” Epstein added, referring to Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka Trump.
In a March 2018 exchange, Bannon forwarded to Epstein a headline reading, “German Media Confess to Underestimating Steve Bannon; He is ‘As Dangerous as Ever.'”
Bannon sent it with the message, “Germans get it.”
“Luv it,” Epstein replied, to which Bannon said, “Pretty powerful.”
“Unfortunately I just spoke to one of the country leaders that we discussed, , I will fly there tomorw [sic] night now and then to new york wednesday night. sorry. will be in new york thurs and friday,” Epstein told Bannon. “we should lay down a strategy plan. . how much fun… travel safe.”
ABC News Correspondent Jim Avila. Randy Sager/ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Jim Avila, a former longtime ABC News senior correspondent, whose investigative journalism earned him several of the most prestigious awards in broadcast news, has died. He was 70.
His death after a long illness was announced internally by ABC News President Almin Karamehmedovic.
“Jim was a gifted journalist and a generous colleague,” Karamehmedovic said in an email to staff.
Avila had also a been 20/20 correspondent based in Los Angeles before departing from the network in 2021. He specialized in politics, justice, law and consumer investigations.
“As the Senior Law and Justice Correspondent, he has covered every major trial from Jerry Sandusky and Penn State to Michael Jackson, OJ Simpson and countless others,” according to his ABC News official biography. “He led reports on immigration, making several trips to the southern border to document stories of immigrants, and also covered the death of Freddie Gray and civil unrest in Baltimore.”
He covered the White House from 2012 to 2016, during President Barack Obama’s second term.
“He won the prestigious Merriman Award from the White House Correspondents Association for breaking the news that the United States and Cuba had reopened diplomatic relations,” the biography said.
He earned numerous awards, including two National Emmy Awards and five Edward R. Murrow Awards, the biography said. His work also won him the prestigious Cine Golden Eagle Award, the Mongerson Prize for Investigative Reporting and five Chicago-area Emmy Awards in the category of Spot News.
“In 1999, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists honored him with reporter of the year,” the biography said. “In addition, he garnered three Peter Lisagor Awards from the Headline Club of Chicago, winning for his coverage of the Peru drug wars and the death of Mayor Harold Washington, and was named Best Reporter of 1989.”
He was a named a 2019 honoree by National Association of Hispanic Journalists’ Hall of Fame.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect Avila’s correct age.
Avila was most recently a senior investigative reporter at KGTV, the ABC affiliate in San Diego, where he continued “covering a wide range of stories with depth and fairness,” Karamehmedovic said.
Even after his health challenges began, Avila “continued to contribute to journalism through opinion writing and local reporting, sharing his experience and deep curiosity to tell the stories that mattered most to his community and viewers,” the email said.
“We send our heartfelt condolences to his family, including his three children, Jamie, Jenny, and Evan, and we thank him for his many contributions and unwavering commitment to seeking out the truth,” Karamehmedovic said.
In this handout provided by the U.S. Navy, The USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), operates in the North Sea on September 24, 2025. (Photo by Alice Husted/U.S. Navy via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump has been briefed on updated options for potential military operations in Venezuela, including a strike on land, ABC News has confirmed.
The briefing on Wednesday followed the arrival of the USS Gerald Ford — the world’s largest aircraft carrier — in the U.S. Southern Command area of operations north of the Caribbean Sea. The carrier is accompanied by some 60 aircraft, including F-18 fighter jets, that dramatically increases the military’s firepower in the region and boost the number of troops in Latin American to 15,000.
Sources cautioned that the briefing itself was not an indication that an attack was imminent.
Trump has been weighing his options for weeks, which experts say could range from no action to air strikes on seaports, airports and military facilities. Another option, considered less likely, could be sending in a team of special operations forces to apprehend or kill Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and his senior advisers.
The latest briefing at the White House was conducted by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was in Canada at a G7 summit of foreign ministers, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe were not present.
The White House and Pentagon declined to comment on the briefing, which was first reported by CBS News.
Any strike against Venezuela is seen as particularly risky. Trump has called for Maduro to step down, accusing him of encouraging drug trafficking and illegal migration to the United States. But the sudden departure of Maduro could also create a power vacuum that risks further instability.
It’s also not clear whether the administration would be legally justified to force out Maduro. Late last month, senators were briefed on a secret list of targets inside Venezuela developed by the Pentagon. But lawmakers said they were told the administration’s current legal analysis only applied to the ongoing boat strikes and did not make the case for a direct strike against Venezuela.
New York Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani serves meals during a Veteran’s Day event at Volunteers of America – Commonwealth Veterans’ Residence on Nov. 11, 2025, in the Soundview neighborhood of the Bronx borough in New York. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s mayor-elect, has spoken with several Democratic governors — seeking their insight for how to navigate certain aspects of governing and best deal with President Donald Trump, several sources familiar with the conversations confirmed to ABC News.
Mamdani has spoken to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro recently, the sources said — with conversations happening as recently as this week. All of the governors has clashed with the president.
Mamdani and Pritzker discussed how to approach Trump, Pritzker’s experience with the president’s effort to send troops into Chicago and how to prepare should a similar incursion happen in New York City.
Trump has claimed Democratic-run cities, such as New York and Chicago, are in “bad shape,” and has threatened to “straighten them out, one by one.” On his social media platform Tuesday evening, Trump said his administration will “ramp up” efforts to crack down on crime in Chicago.
Trump has said that Pritzker, who has pushed back against Trump’s efforts, “should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers!” as he and Chicago Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson oppose Trump’s push to deploy the National Guard.
“Come and get me,” Pritzker fired back on ABC’s This Week last month, responding to Trump.
Pritzker also played a major role in assisting Texas state Democrats in their attempt to blunt Republicans’ first crack at redrawing congressional maps mid-decade.
Mamdani and Pritzker also discussed their commitments to centering affordability, according to the sources familiar with the conversation.
In his conversation with Moore on election night, Mamdani applauded Moore’s work cutting red tape and discussed innovations in government. The two also discussed how to stand up to Trump, sources familiar with the discussion said.
Moore has previously praised Mamdani’s campaign narrative around affordability, saying it mirrors parts of his own agenda in Maryland. Prior to the government re-opening, Moore announced the release of $62 million to ensure full November SNAP benefits for Marylanders and singled Trump and his administration out for leaving his residents in the cold.
“But no state can fill the enormous gap created by Donald Trump and his administration,” Moore said in a statement.
Axios was first to report the calls with Pritzker and Moore.
Mamdani’s call with Shapiro occurred before last week’s election.
Shapiro told Semafor that he had a “healthy dialogue” with Mamdani and cleared the air regarding their differences after Shapiro in July criticized Mamdani’s campaign, saying it left “far too much space for extremists.”
Campaign sources familiar with the discussion said Shapiro and Mamdani also talked about the importance of permitting reform and reconstructing Interstate 87, a major national thoroughfare that runs through New York.
Mamdani has said he plans to keep working the phones.
In an interview with NBC 4 New York, Mamdani said he’ll reach out the White House ahead of taking office “because this is a relationship that will be critical to the success of this city.”
A day after the election, Trump, after calling Mamdani a “communist” — a label Mamdani, who identifies as a Democratic socialist, has rejected — said he is willing to help Mamdani “a little bit, maybe.”
Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — An individual attempted to “confront” Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“Last night, an individual attempted to confront one of our U.S. Attorneys — my dear friend @USAttyHabba -destroyed property in her office, and then fled the scene,” Bondi posted on X Thursday. “Thankfully, Alina is ok.”
“Any violence or threats of violence against any federal officer will not be tolerated. Period,” Bondi’s post continued. “This is unfortunately becoming a trend as radicals continue to attack law enforcement agents around the country.”
Details regarding the alleged incident were not immediately provided.
“Our federal prosecutors, agents, and law-enforcement partners put their lives on the line every day to protect the American people, and this Department will use every legal tool available to ensure their safety and hold violent offenders fully accountable,” Bondi said in her post.
Habba is a close ally of President Trump and served as one of his lawyers and a White House counselor before being appointed acting U.S. attorney.
