Azia Rodriguez and Brandon Laboy speak out after police officers saved their choking baby, 10-month-old Makai Laboy, who had stopped breathing. (NYPD)
(NEW YORK) — In a matter of seconds, a New York City mom said she worried her 10-month-old boy might not live to see his first birthday after he started to choke and suddenly could not breathe. But thanks to two police officers who saved the child, the “endless bundle of joy” is alive.
“Knowing that my son’s alive, he’s OK, he’s happy, he’s growing, I get to see his first birthday in a month, that’s the biggest blessing I could ever ask for,” the child’s mom, Azia Rodriguez, told ABC News on Wednesday.
On Oct. 10 at approximately 4:40 p.m., officers responded to a 911 call for a choking baby, and once on the scene, observed a “10-month-old male child in an unresponsive state due to an obstruction in his breathing passage,” the New York City Police Department said in a statement to ABC News.
Prior to alerting first responders, Rodriguez said her son, Makai Laboy, had just been put down for a nap. As she was watching him via the baby monitor camera, she noticed he was “tossing and turning back and forth.”
She then went into the room where he was sleeping in their Queens home and saw he was throwing up, she said.
Rodriguez said she immediately picked her son up and placed his chest on her palm to start patting his back, which caused more vomit to come out. Makai was then breathing normally and laughing, but proceeded to throw up again, Rodriguez said.
Then, “two seconds later,” she said phlegm began to come out of his mouth and he was “swallowing it back in,” which appeared to obstruct his airways.
Rodriguez called 911, and officers performed “lifesaving measures which caused the obstruction to be dislodged,” the NYPD said.
Rodriguez said the moment when officers saved Makai “happened so quickly” that she “didn’t acknowledge or grasp what had happened” until after she watched it unfold via the police’s body-worn camera on Tuesday.
In the video, officers are seen repeatedly patting the baby’s back until Makai — who was wearing pajamas adorned with police cars — was able to breathe on his own.
While reliving the harrowing moments was “a lot to process” for Rodriguez, she said she is “more confident in first responders than I’ve even been.”
“Words can’t thank the cops enough for what they did,” Makai’s father, 28-year-old Brandon Laboy, told ABC News
“It showed in a matter of seconds, that situation could have been a thousand times worse than it was. But with their instincts, their quick thinking, they were able to save his life,” Laboy said.
Rodriguez said she is planning on personally thanking the two officers who saved her son, saying she will be “hugging them and never letting them go.”
“When you become a mom, you hear stories like this, but you never think that you’d go through it,” Rodriguez said while holding back tears.
The family, who is getting ready to celebrate Makai’s first birthday on Nov. 12, encouraged parents to “always have a baby camera” and emphasized that in these situations, “every second counts.”
“All that matters is making sure there’s a smile on their face,” Rodriguez told ABC News.
Sean Grayson fatally shot Sonya Massey while responding to her 911 call for help. (Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office)
(PEORIA, Ill.) — The trial began on Wednesday of Sean Grayson, the former sheriff’s deputy, who was charged with first-degree murder in connection with the July 2024 fatal shooting of Sonya Massey, a Black woman who called 911 to report a possible intruder at her home in Springfield, Illinois.
Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Dawson Farley, who responded to Massey’s home along with Grayson, took to the witness stand on Wednesday afternoon and testified that Massey did not appear to be a “threat.”
“She never did anything that made me think she was a threat,” Dawson said. “It was essentially the defendants’ actions that raised my sense of awareness,” Farley said of Grayson.
During his testimony, Farley said that he wanted to “do right” by Massey by testifying for the prosecution in this case.
Grayson, a former Sangamon County deputy, was charged with a total of three counts in connection with Massey’s death — first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct.
Grayson’s attorney, Daniel Fultz, declined to provide comment to ABC News ahead of the trial, but confirmed on Friday that his client has “pleaded not guilty to all charges.”
Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser, who delivered opening arguments on Wednesday for the prosecution, walked the jury through key moments during the night that Massey died.
“Make no mistake, we are here in this courthouse today because of the actions of Sean Grayson,” Milhiser said. “On July 6, 2024, in her kitchen, without lawful justification, he shot and killed [Sonya Massey]. That’s why we are here.”
“You will see captured on video what happens when the defendant gets mad at a woman who is standing in her own kitchen calling for help,” he added.
Milhiser said that prosecutors will show the jury the body camera footage, which shows the incident from the point of view of Grayson’s partner, who also responded to the scene. The footage released by Illinois State Police shows the incident from the partner’s point of view because Grayson did not turn on his own body camera until after the shooting, according to court documents reviewed by ABC News.
“The defendant does not turn on his bodycam — Which is a pattern you’ll see throughout this trial,” Milhiser said.
Meanwhile, Grayson’s attorney Daniel Fultz, who delivered opening arguments for the defense on Wednesday, urged jurors not to make up their minds early about this case.
“Making your mind up early closes the possibility you will miss facts that will affect your decision,” Fultz said, arguing that Grayson “believed that he would suffer great bodily harm or death” during his encounter with Massey.
“Ms. Massey made the decision to lift the pot of boiling water above her head to attempt to throw that at Dept. Grayson. It was at that moment and only at that moment that Dept. Grayson discharged his weapon,” Fultz said.
“What happened [to] Ms. Massey was a tragedy. But it was not a crime,” he added.
Witness testimony also began on Wednesday in the trial, which is being held in Peoria, Illinois.
The trial began with jury selection on Monday, where a panel of 12 jurors was seated, according to ABC News’ affiliate in Springfield, WICS. The process took more than five hours and ended with a jury made up of nine white women, one Black man and two white men, as well as two white men and one white woman selected as alternate jurors.
The trial was moved from Sangamon County to Peoria County due to extensive media publicity.
What the video shows
Body camera footage of the incident released by Illinois State Police on July 22, 2024 shows Massey telling the two responding deputies, “Please, don’t hurt me,” once she answered their knocks on her door.
“I don’t want to hurt you; you called us,” Grayson responded.
Later in the video, while inside Massey’s home as she searches for her ID, Grayson points out a pot of boiling water on her stove and says, “We don’t need a fire while we’re in here.”
Massey then appears to pour some of the water into the sink and tells the deputy, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” video shows.
Grayson threatens to shoot her, the video shows, and Massey apologizes and ducks down behind a counter, covering her face with what appears to be a red oven mitt. She briefly rises, and Grayson shoots her three times, the footage shows.
Massey died from a gunshot wound to her head, according to an autopsy report released in July 2024, Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon confirmed to ABC News.
Prosecutors alleged that Grayson discouraged his partner from retrieving the medical kit to render aid to Massey after the shooting because he allegedly thought the injuries were too severe to revive her.
“No, headshot, dude. She’s done. You can go get it, but that’s a headshot,” Grayson tells his partner after he says he is going to retrieve the medical kit, body camera video shows. “What else do we do? I’m not taking pot boiling water to the [expletive] face and it already reached us,” Grayson adds.
The judge in the case ruled during a pre-trial hearing last month against the defense’s request to exclude body camera footage that shows what happened after Massey was shot, according to WICS.
Grayson said he feared for his life during his encounter with Massey, according to documents released by the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office in August 2024.
“While on scene, I was in fear Dep. (redacted) and I were going to receive great bodily harm or death. Due to being in fear of our safety and life, I fired my duty weapon,” Grayson wrote in his field case report.
Attorney Ben Crump, who represents Massey’s family, said during a statement at the time that the autopsy confirmed that this was an “unnecessary, excessive use of force, completely unnecessary, certainly not justified.”
Crump said that Massey struggled with her mental health and body camera footage released in Sept. 2024 shows her interacting with officers on July 5 — 16 hours before she was fatally shot — after her mother called 911 to report that her daughter was having a mental health episode.
A review of the case by the Illinois State Police found Grayson was not justified in his use of deadly force. Garyson was fired in July 2024 by the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office after he was indicted in this case.
ABC News’ Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.
The bus was destroyed after the fire. Madera County Public Information Team
(MADERA COUNTY, Calif.) — Two farmworkers were honored Tuesday for rescuing 20 children from a burning school bus last month in California.
Carlos Perea Romero and Angel Zarco were honored by the Madera County Board of Supervisors in a ceremony after they courageously evacuated the flaming bus filled with students on the way to school on Sept. 4.
“All the students made it out safely without any injuries due to the immediate action taken by the farmworkers and the bus driver. The Board of Supervisors recognize the two men for their selfless courage and bravery, demonstrating the highest ideals of public service, compassion and community spirit,” a press release from the ceremony reads.
The duo saw smoke rising from the vehicle near Avenue 8 and Road 23.5 in Madera when they jumped into action and began evacuating the students inside — fighting thick plumes of smoke to get to the back row.
“We were just making sure the kids were far away enough so that they wouldn’t get hurt,” Zarco told ABC News affiliate ABC 30.
“One more moment that would have lasted, I don’t now what would have happened,” Romero said in a post from Madera County.
Zarco added, “I’m just happy to help out the community. This is where I grew up, and I’m just glad to be able to keep somebody safe.”
Madera County sheriff Tyson Pogue told ABC that Romero and Zarco’s actions helped protect the local community.
“We are profoundly grateful to the two farmworkers whose heroic actions saved the lives of more than 20 children. Their quick thinking, bravery, and compassion in the face of danger exemplify the very best of Madera County. Without hesitation, they acted selflessly to protect others. Our community is stronger because of individuals like them, and we are proud of their extraordinary heroism,” he said.
CAL FIRE Division Chief Larry Pendarvis also sang the praises of the heroes at the ceremony.
“I would like to recognize and thank both of you on behalf of Madera County Fire and CAL FIRE for your service above self. The situational awareness and fortitude you showed to help these young children in a time of need was extraordinary,” Pendarvis said.
Larry Hoover, in prison since 1973, faces the parole board with his wife, Winndye Jenkins, at the Dixon Correctional Center on on Feb. 7, 1995, in Dixon, Illinois. John Dziekan/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
(CHICAGO) — For 23 hours a day, Larry Hoover, the founder of notorious street gang Gangster Disciples, had been sitting in a 7-by-12-foot concrete cell at the ADX Florence federal supermax facility in Colorado, where he spent 27 years in almost complete isolation, according to his attorneys.
Hoover, 74, remains imprisoned under a separate Illinois state sentence, an up-to-200-year term stemming from a 1973 murder conviction.
Since that transfer to the Colorado State Penitentiary earlier this year, his attorneys say, Hoover has suffered three heart attacks while performing prison labor, the most recent in September. They describe, in a newly filed legal petition with the prison board, his condition as fragile and his treatment as “a slow, state-sanctioned death sentence.”
Hoover’s lawyers are asking Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker to do what the federal government has already done, recognize his transformation and grant Hoover a chance to live out his remaining years in freedom.
Hoover founded the Gangster Disciples on Chicago’s South Side in the late 1960s. In 1973, he was convicted on state charges of ordering the murder of William “Pooky” Young, a 19-year-old drug dealer accused of stealing from the gang. Hoover was sentenced to 200 years in prison under Illinois’ former indeterminate sentencing system.
In 1997, following a 17-year federal investigation, Hoover was convicted on 40 counts including drug conspiracy and racketeering for allegedly directing gang activity from prison. He was sentenced to six life terms, sentences that President Donald Trump commuted earlier this year.
On Wednesday, Hoover’s attorney, Justin Moore of the Stafford Moore Law Firm, filed a 39-page petition for clemency, obtained exclusively by ABC News. His plea now rests with the Illinois Prisoner Review Board and Pritzker.
Ron Safer, who served as the former lead federal prosecutor in Hoover’s 1997 conviction, told ABC News’ Chicago station WLS that he was disappointed Hoover was granted federal clemency.
“I believe in redemption. I believe in rehabilitation. I believe in mercy. There are some crimes that are so heinous, so notorious, that they’re not deserving of mercy,” Safer said. “If Larry Hoover said there was going to be a killing, there was a killing.”
Wednesday’s filing argues that Hoover’s continued imprisonment, given his age, health and decades of rehabilitation, no longer serves justice or public safety.
At the heart of the filing are Hoover’s words, breaking his silence for the first time in 25 years in two deeply personal letters to an as-yet-assigned judge and to the public, offering a window into his remorse, aging and reckoning.
“People, when writing about me in the papers, always use photos of me depicting the way I appeared 40 years ago, as if I’m still a young, strong and rebellious gang leader. That man no longer exists,” Hoover wrote in a typed letter to the judge. The letter is undated.
“I am no longer the Larry Hoover people sometimes talk about, or he who is written about in the papers, or the crime figure described by the government,” he wrote. “That man has over these many years transformed into the man I am today. It is true that some men never learn, or that prison makes some into monsters; I’ve seen it, but for me, over time, prison — this prison in particular — became a place of reflection.”
In a separate and also undated letter addressed to the public, Hoover wrote, “I have come to realize that with my silence over these years I have done myself a grave disservice.”
“I have been involved, and in fact, had initiated, I cannot avoid taking responsibility. With this responsibility, now being able to honestly assess and appreciate the magnitude and scope of the harms my actions had wrought, I cannot help but to have immense remorse,” Hoover wrote.
In his letter, Hoover expressed deep remorse for the harm his past actions caused, saying he had wasted his talents on choices that hurt his Chicago, his community and society. He emphasized that he has long renounced all ties to the Gangster Disciples and any form of criminal activity, declaring that he wants nothing to do with that life “now and forever.”
After more than five decades in prison, including over 25 years in isolation, Hoover said, there is no chance he would reoffend, noting that most men his age devote their final years to steering others away from crime. He said he hopes to spend his remaining time honoring a promise he made to his late mother not to waste his final years.
His letters center on a petition written by his lawyers and filed on his behalf that portrays a man shaped by decades of confinement, failing health and personal reckoning. His attorneys argue that half a century behind bars has already fulfilled the purpose of punishment and that his rehabilitation stands as proof of transformation.
Hoover’s lawyers note that he has not committed a serious infraction during his decades in prison and has completed more than 100 educational and rehabilitation programs.
“My father has suffered multiple heart attacks from being forced to perform hard labor despite his age and medical condition,” said his son, Larry Hoover Jr., in a statement to ABC News “All he wants now is to come home, spend what time he has left with his family, and use his experience to help bring peace to the same communities he once came from.”
The filing also details what Hoover’s attorneys said were the stark conditions of his confinement and his deteriorating health. ABC News has contacted prison officials for comment.
Hoover is one of just 35 people still incarcerated under Illinois’ pre-1978 indeterminate sentencing system, which left prisoners with open-ended “C-numbers” and no release date except at the discretion of the review board, according to the filing. His lawyers note that Hoover’s co-defendant in the 1973 case, Andrew Howard, was paroled more than 30 years ago, a disparity his lawyers cite as evidence of continued punishment without purpose. Both were accused of murder and Howard was convicted of carrying out the killing.
The Illinois Parole Board, in it’s decision to deny Hoover’s release in 2022, stated, “The Board feels that parole release at this time would not be in the interest of public safety, as there is a substantial risk that Mr. Hoover would not conform to reasonable conditions of parole release, and that parole release at this time would deprecate the serious nature of the offenses and promote a lack of respect for the law.”
The new petition for his release revisits Hoover’s early life in Chicago’s South Side, describing a boy shaped by poverty, segregation, and systemic neglect.
“From his bedroom window as a child,” the filing states, “he saw drug deals, prostitution, fights, stabbings, and shootings. His daily reality was the theater of urban abandonment.”
One of his attorneys, Justin Moore, wrote in the petition, “Hoover did not create the fire. He grew up in it.”
Hoover’s story has drawn attention far beyond Chicago. In 2021, rappers Kanye West and Drake set aside their long-running feud to headline the “Free Larry Hoover” benefit concert in Los Angeles, calling attention to criminal justice reform and urging compassion for aging inmates like Hoover. West, a Chicago native, had previously advocated for Hoover’s release during a 2018 meeting with Trump in the Oval Office.
That public support has continued to grow. Among those backing Hoover’s clemency bid are civil rights leaders Jesse Jackson Sr. and the Rev. Al Sharpton, Rep. Jonathan Jackson, Chance the Rapper, Judge Greg Mathis, and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Yohance Lacour and former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
Also lending support is Alice Marie Johnson, Trump’s current White House pardon czar, who also serves as CEO of Taking Action for Good. Johnson wrote in a letter in the filing to the Illinois review board that Hoover is repentant and has the potential and the desire to live the rest of his life as a force for good in his community. She added that if he were released, she would personally help support his reintegration into society.
Rep. Jonathan Jackson expanded on that theme in a statement released by his office supporting clemency, questioning “whether continued imprisonment serves the public interest — or whether compassion is now the more just response.”
Hoover’s petition now rests with Pritzker and the Illinois board, which reviews clemency cases and can make recommendations to the governor.
Pritzker did not offer a comment following Trump’s commutation order, but has met with family and supporters of Hoover. A spokesperson for Pritzker’s office did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
The filing lands at a time of renewed friction between Trump and Pritzker, whose relationship has long been strained over the COVID-19 pandemic, immigration and public safety policy in Illinois. In recent months, the two have clashed over ICE enforcement in Chicago, with Trump accusing Pritzker of “failing to protect” federal officers, while Pritzker has described Trump’s tactics as “acts of aggression against our people.”
Detractors, including some former prosecutors, law enforcement officials and community anti-violence advocates, argue that Hoover’s release could reopen wounds in Chicago neighborhoods still scarred by gang violence.
They maintain that, despite his renunciations, Hoover’s name still holds symbolic power among some Gangster Disciples factions.
Chicago FBI Special Agent in Charge Doug DePodesta said in a statement to WLS in Chicago in May that “Larry Hoover caused a lot of damage in Chicago. He was also convicted on state charges and is likely to continue serving time in state prison where he belongs.”
His supporters counter that his transformation and the decades he has already served show a man committed to peace, not power.
In his own words, Hoover wrote, “I want my legacy to be peace. I want my name to mean growth, not destruction. I want to be remembered not as who I was, but as who I fought to become.”
Federal agents are seen in New York City’s Chinatown neighborhood, Oct. 21, 2025. WABC
(NEW YORK) — After federal agents carried out a joint Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdown in New York City’s Chinatown neighborhood on Tuesday, a federal official said the city will see an “increase in ICE arrests” because there are “so many criminal illegal” immigrants.
“You will see us making those criminal arrests to make New York safe again. It’s definitely intelligence driven, it’s not random. We aren’t pulling people off the street. There was a specific reason based on criminal intelligence and criminal activity that we showed up on Canal Street,” acting ICE Director Todd Lyons told Fox News on Wednesday morning.
On Tuesday, a large law enforcement presence was seen on Canal Street, a prominent hub for shopping in Lower Manhattan, with ICE and federal partners from multiple agencies conducting a “targeted, intelligence-driven enforcement operation” that was “focused on criminal activity relating to selling counterfeit goods,” Assistant Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement on Tuesday.
Vendors were seen packing up their tables and attempting to flee the area, which is known for merchants selling designer knockoffs, New York ABC station WABC reported.
“The nine arrested, their rap sheets are long,” Lyons told Fox News. “Forgery, possession of drugs, drug trafficking, robbery, assault. These are criminal aliens that were being targeted. We do these based on criminal intelligence and that’s what we had.”
The targeted enforcement is in contrast to U.S. Border Patrol, which has been deployed in Chicago and Los Angeles and does conduct random enforcement actions.
Lyons said store owners had been complaining about the retail for some time.
“If you look at the video, everything was fine with the officers talking to those individuals and making arrests until violent protesters showed up,” Lyons said.
Earlier on Tuesday, the New York City Police Department said on X it had “no involvement in the federal operation that took place on Canal Street.”
A spokesperson for City Hall said in a statement it also had “no involvement in this matter.”
“Mayor Adams has been clear that undocumented New Yorkers trying to pursue the American Dream should not be the target of law enforcement, and resources should instead be focused on violent criminals,” the statement said.
If the circumstances escalate and an individual assaults or interferes with a legal law enforcement action, Mayor Eric Adams has instructed the NYPD to intervene, a source familiar with the situation told ABC News.
Crime rates are at record lows in New York City, according to the latest police data.
Over the first nine months of 2025, the NYPD reported citywide shooting incidents were down more than 20% (553 vs. 693) year-to-date, their lowest level ever.
Murders are also down citywide by more than 17.7% year-to-date and burglaries dropped 3.8% (9,410 vs. 9,783) for the year, the second-lowest level in recorded history.
ABC News’ Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.
Police body camera footage of an arrest at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is shown during a press briefing, Oct. 20, 2025. Atlanta Police Department
(ATLANTA) — A man accused of going to the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after making a threat to shoot it up now faces multiple federal charges, the Department of Justice said Tuesday.
Billy Joe Cagle, 49, was taken into custody in a terminal at the airport on Monday after a family member reported the alleged threat to police, authorities said. An AR-15-style firearm was located in his pickup truck, which was parked in a crosswalk in front of the terminal, according to the DOJ.
Cagle has now been charged via criminal complaint with attempted violence at an international airport, interstate communications containing threats to injure the person of another and being a felon in possession of a firearm, the DOJ said Tuesday.
Cagle allegedly threatened to “shoot up the airport” in a FaceTime call, prosecutors said.
He allegedly told the individual on the FaceTime call, “I’m at the airport, and I’m gonna go rat-a-tat-tat,” then abruptly ended the call, the DOJ said in a press release.
In a prior call that morning with the same individual, Cagle allegedly said he had a gun and that he was “driving on Interstate 75 and was going to ‘shoot some cars,'” the federal complaint stated.
Following that call, the individual was en route to the Cartersville Police Department with Cagle’s wife to “report their concern that Cagle was unstable and was on his way to shoot up some cars,” when Cagle made the FaceTime call from the airport, according to the complaint.
The individual reported the alleged shooting threat on the airport, and officers alerted the Atlanta Police Department while providing images of Cagle and a description of his vehicle, the DOJ said.
After arriving at the airport at 9:29 a.m. on Monday, officers encountered him in the terminal at 9:54 a.m. and he was taken into custody unarmed, Atlanta police said.
“As alleged in this complaint, Cagle senselessly threatened to do heinous violence to innocent travelers, at the world’s busiest airport, with a high-powered weapon that he had no legal right to possess,” U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg said in a statement. “Thanks to the vigilance of other citizens and the quick action of law enforcement, a horrible tragedy was averted.”
Cagle additionally faces state charges, including terroristic threats and firearm counts, Atlanta police said.
He remains in custody and was scheduled to make his first appearance on the state charges on Wednesday in Clayton County. Online court records did not list any attorney information for him.
In addition to the gun, 27 rounds of ammunition were found in his vehicle, police said.
Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said he believes Cagle was “scouting” the TSA screening area and was walking back to his truck with the intent to retrieve the weapon when officers, who had been canvassing the area for the suspect encountered him in the terminal.
“The tragedies that we’ve seen play out across our nation didn’t happen here yesterday,” Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said during a press briefing on Tuesday.
Schierbaum said the incident serves as an example of the system working, where “we ask Americans, if you see something, say something, and we ask your police officers to stand in danger for each of us every day.”
He added, “Yesterday is what played out exactly as we would like it to be.”
Atlanta police said federal authorities are investigating how Cagle obtained a firearm, which was manufactured outside the state of Georgia, according to the federal complaint.
Cartersville Police Capt. Greg Sparacio told reporters on Monday that the department is “familiar” with Cagle and he has a criminal history, including a prior drug possession arrest.
According to the federal complaint, Cagle was convicted in 2000 of felony possession of marijuana and was sentenced to two years in prison.
Officials said Cagle also has a history of mental health challenges.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR). Ali Moustafa/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Senate Democrats are again making a run at a Senate floor marathon, this time led by Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon.
Merkley has been speaking on the Senate floor about the President Donald Trump’s “growing authoritarianism” since 6:24 p.m. Tuesday with no indication that he’ll end any time soon. He’s been standing in front of a lectern at his desk for the entirety of the time.
He began the night standing next to a poster board that said, “Ring the alarm bells: Authoritarianism is here now.”
Merkley is still short of eclipsing the 25 hour, 5 minute record set earlier this year by Sen. Cory Booker. In similar fashion to Booker’s record-breaking speech, Merkley is occasionally yielding for questions from his fellow Democratic colleagues, allowing them to give small mini speeches while Merkley still technically holds the floor.
The shutdown entered its 22nd day on Wednesday with no movement toward a deal that would fund the government.
The Senate could vote for the 12th time on the short-term, clean funding bill that was passed by the House, but no votes can be called as long as Merkley holds the floor.
All 11 previous votes on the continuing resolution have failed.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says Trump shouldn’t leave on his Asia trip on Friday without first negotiating with Democrats on funding, but Trump said he won’t meet with Democratic leadership until the government is reopened.
ABC News’ Justin Gomez contributed to this report.
Police in Middlebury, Vermont, released this photo of Lia Smith. Middlebury Police Department
(MIDDLEBURY, Vt.) — Police in Vermont said they are searching for a missing college student who hasn’t been seen for nearly a week.
Lia Smith, 21, a senior at Middlebury College, was reported missing on Sunday, according to police.
The California native was last seen in a building on campus on Friday at approximately 9 p.m., according to the Middlebury Police Department.
The search has involved the use of a drone, with investigators “working to identify additional potential search areas,” the police department said on Monday.
Middlebury College said its Department of Public Safety is also assisting the Middlebury Police Department in the search.
“We will do everything we can to find Lia,” Middlebury officials said in a statement to the school community on Monday. “She is a beloved member of our Middlebury family and there is nothing more important than the health, safety, and wellbeing of our students and of our entire community.”
The school said it has been in touch with the student’s family and friends “to offer support and learn all we can about the student’s recent activities and whereabouts.” Counseling services are also being offered, it said.
When contacted on Wednesday for the latest on the missing student, a school spokesperson referred ABC News to its Monday update.
ABC News reached out to the Middlebury Police Department on Wednesday for updates on the search but has not yet received a response.
Smith is described by police as being 5 feet, 11 inches tall and approximately 160 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. Anyone with information on her or her whereabouts is asked to contact the Middlebury Police Department at 802-388-3191.
Sean Grayson fatally shot Sonya Massey while responding to her 911 call for help. (Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office)
(PEORIA, Ill.) — The trial began on Wednesday of Sean Grayson, the former sheriff’s deputy, who was charged with first-degree murder in connection with the July 2024 fatal shooting of Sonya Massey, a Black woman who called 911 to report a possible intruder at her home in Springfield, Illinois.
The Sangamon County deputy was charged with a total of three counts in connection with Massey’s death — first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct.
Grayson’s attorney, Daniel Fultz, declined to provide comment to ABC News ahead of the trial, but confirmed on Friday that his client has “pleaded not guilty to all charges.”
Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser, who delivered opening arguments on Wednesday for the prosecution, walked the jury through key moments during the night that Massey died.
“Make no mistake, we are here in this courthouse today because of the actions of Sean Grayson,” Milhiser said. “On July 6, 2024, in her kitchen, without lawful justification, he shot and killed [Sonya Massey]. That’s why we are here.”
“You will see captured on video what happens when the defendant gets mad at a woman who is standing in her own kitchen calling for help,” he added.
Milhiser said that prosecutors will show the jury the body camera footage, which shows the incident from the point of view of Grayson’s partner, who also responded to the scene. The footage released by Illinois State Police shows the incident from the partner’s point of view because Grayson did not turn on his own body camera until after the shooting, according to court documents reviewed by ABC News.
“The defendant does not turn on his bodycam — Which is a pattern you’ll see throughout this trial,” Milhiser said.
Meanwhile, Grayson’s attorney Daniel Fultz, who delivered opening arguments for the defense on Wednesday, urged jurors not to make up their minds early about this case.
“Making your mind up early closes the possibility you will miss facts that will affect your decision,” Fultz said, arguing that Grayson “believed that he would suffer great bodily harm or death” during his encounter with Massey.
“Ms. Massey made the decision to lift the pot of boiling water above her head to attempt to throw that at Dept. Grayson. It was at that moment and only at that moment that Dept. Grayson discharged his weapon,” Fultz said.
“What happened [to] Ms. Massey was a tragedy. But it was not a crime,” he added.
Witness testimony also began on Wednesday in the trial, which is being held in Peoria, Illinois.
The trial began with jury selection on Monday, where a panel of 12 jurors was seated, according to ABC News’ affiliate in Springfield, WICS. The process took more than five hours and ended with a jury made up of nine white women, one Black man and two white men, as well as two white men and one white woman selected as alternate jurors.
The trial was moved from Sangamon County to Peoria County due to extensive media publicity.
What the video shows
Body camera footage of the incident released by Illinois State Police on July 22, 2024 shows Massey telling the two responding deputies, “Please, don’t hurt me,” once she answered their knocks on her door.
“I don’t want to hurt you; you called us,” Grayson responded.
Later in the video, while inside Massey’s home as she searches for her ID, Grayson points out a pot of boiling water on her stove and says, “We don’t need a fire while we’re in here.”
Massey then appears to pour some of the water into the sink and tells the deputy, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” video shows.
Grayson threatens to shoot her, the video shows, and Massey apologizes and ducks down behind a counter, covering her face with what appears to be a red oven mitt. She briefly rises, and Grayson shoots her three times, the footage shows.
Massey died from a gunshot wound to her head, according to an autopsy report released in July 2024, Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon confirmed to ABC News.
Prosecutors alleged that Grayson discouraged his partner from retrieving the medical kit to render aid to Massey after the shooting because he allegedly thought the injuries were too severe to revive her.
“No, headshot, dude. She’s done. You can go get it, but that’s a headshot,” Grayson tells his partner after he says he is going to retrieve the medical kit, body camera video shows. “What else do we do? I’m not taking pot boiling water to the [expletive] face and it already reached us,” Grayson adds.
The judge in the case ruled during a pre-trial hearing last month against the defense’s request to exclude body camera footage that shows what happened after Massey was shot, according to WICS.
Grayson said he feared for his life during his encounter with Massey, according to documents released by the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office in August 2024.
“While on scene, I was in fear Dep. (redacted) and I were going to receive great bodily harm or death. Due to being in fear of our safety and life, I fired my duty weapon,” Grayson wrote in his field case report.
Attorney Ben Crump, who represents Massey’s family, said during a statement at the time that the autopsy confirmed that this was an “unnecessary, excessive use of force, completely unnecessary, certainly not justified.”
Crump said that Massey struggled with her mental health and body camera footage released in Sept. 2024 shows her interacting with officers on July 5 — 16 hours before she was fatally shot — after her mother called 911 to report that her daughter was having a mental health episode.
A review of the case by the Illinois State Police found Grayson was not justified in his use of deadly force. Garyson was fired in July 2024 by the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office after he was indicted in this case.
ABC News’ Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.
North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger looks on as Rep. Destin Hall speaks during a press conference at the North Carolina Republican Party headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (Ethan Hyman/The News & Observer/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
(RALEIGH, N.C.) — The North Carolina House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to pass a new congressional map into law, two days after the state Senate approved it, giving the Republican Party the chance to net a new seat in the 2026 midterms.
Republican legislators said they want to adopt the new map to bolster President Donald Trump and the effort comes as the White House continues encouraging Republicans to redraw their state maps ahead of the midterm elections in order to help Republicans flip more seats.
In a striking moment just ahead of a committee vote on Tuesday, protesters in the hearing room chanted “Berger’s maps are racist maps!” — referring to state Sen. Phil Berger, who introduced the redistricting proposal, and “Fascists!” as they were led out by law enforcement.
Democrats argue the new map could impact Black voters and could cause U.S. Rep. Don Davis, a Democrat and one of three Black members of the state’s congressional delegation, to lose his seat in the midterms.
At a rally outside the Capitol ahead of Tuesday’s vote, U.S. Rep. Alma Adams, another member of the state’s Democratic delegation, said, “We know they’re lying when they say, ‘Well, it’s not racial.’ It is racial. They’re going to take out, trying to take out, the only Black male that we have.”
Republicans argue the map was not drawn with racial considerations and is meant to combat Democratic-aligned congressional map-drawing in other states, such as California.
Berger, who announced the mid-decade redistricting push last week, wrote on X on Tuesday morning ahead of the vote, “Across the country, Democrat-run states have spent decades ensuring that Republicans would be drawn out of Congress. North Carolina Republicans will not sit quietly and watch Democrats continue to ignore the will of the people in an attempt to force their liberal agenda on our citizens.”
North Carolina’s Democratic governor, Josh Stein, has slammed the redistricting effort but has no power to veto any district maps, according to an analysis of state law by the Rutgers University Eagleton Institute of Politics
Currently, North Carolina’s congressional delegation is made up of 10 Republicans and four Democrats.
Trump himself has been openly supportive of the effort. In a post on his social media platform on Friday, he called on legislators to adopt the map: “this new Map would give the fantastic people of North Carolina the opportunity to elect an additional MAGA Republican in the 2026 Midterm Elections, which would be A HUGE VICTORY for our America First Agenda, not just in North Carolina, but across our Nation.”
Davis, the Democratic member whose seat is put at risk by the new map, told ABC News in a statement on Tuesday that he has never heard any requests from constituents for a new map.
“In the 2024 election with record voter turnout, NC’s First Congressional District elected both President Trump and me,” Davis wrote. “Since the start of this new term, my office has received 46,616 messages from constituents of different political parties, including those unaffiliated, expressing a range of opinions, views, and requests.
“Not a single one of them included a request for a new congressional map redrawing eastern North Carolina. Clearly, this new congressional map is beyond the pale.”
One of the speakers who joined a rally with North Carolina Democrats on Tuesday, Texas state Rep. Nicole Collier, has her own experience with fighting mid-decade redistricting — as one of the Texas House Democrats who left the state to deny a quorum when Republican legislators tried to push through a new congressional map. Collier also was temporarily confined to the Texas House after she refused a law enforcement escort for having previously broken quorum.
She told ABC station WTVD’s Michael Perchick that she has been telling legislators to continue to fight, and to “Never quit. Keep fighting. That means take it to the streets and into the courts. We’ve got to fight this in the court system.”
ABC News’ Brittany Shepherd contributed to this report.
