(WACO, Texas) — A woman accused of helping Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen’s suspected killer dismember and dispose of her body pleaded guilty to multiple federal charges on Tuesday, weeks before her trial was scheduled to start.
Cecily Aguilar, 24, was indicted last year on 11 federal charges. She pleaded guilty to four of them in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in Waco — one count of accessory to murder after the fact and three counts of false statement or representation.
Aguilar faces a maximum possible penalty of 30 years in prison, plus three years of supervised release and a $1 million fine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas.
A sentencing date has not yet been set.
Several of Guillen’s family members traveled to Waco to attend the hearing in person.
“Please God. Let justice prevail. Give my self & my parents the strength we need as we face her in court …” her sister, Mayra Guillen, tweeted beforehand, calling Aguilar a “monster” in another tweet.
Mayra Guillen said she was surprised by the guilty plea and had expected Aguilar to “keep fighting back.”
“Still a lot of mixed emotions — it’s both anger and frustration,” she told reporters following the hearing. “Now we have to wait for the actual sentencing.”
When asked what she was hoping for as far as the sentencing, Mayra Guillen said, “I comfort myself in knowing that she will be locked up for most of the rest of her life.”
“I hope she has time to sit down and think about what it is that she did and how she impacted our life,” she said. “Not only our life, but a lot of people that know Vanessa’s name.”
ABC News did not immediately receive a response to an email seeking comment from Aguilar’s attorneys.
Aguilar was indicted by a grand jury on the charges a month after a Texas judge denied her attorneys’ motion asking that her confession in the crime be thrown out. She previously entered a plea of not guilty during an arraignment in August 2021. A jury trial in the case had been scheduled to start in January 2023.
Vanessa Guillen, 20, was a Fort Hood Army specialist who disappeared in April 2020. Her remains were found two months later near the Leon River in Belton, Texas.
Fellow soldier Aaron David Robinson — Aguilar’s boyfriend at the time — was one of the last people in touch with Vanessa Guillen based on cellphone records, according to court documents.
The indictment accused Aguilar and Robinson of dismembering, destroying and concealing Vanessa Guillen’s body, then making false statements to prevent themselves from being charged with any crime.
Prosecutors said Vanessa Guillen was bludgeoned to death with a hammer by Robinson in the armory of the Killeen, Texas, military base, on April 22, 2020, according to the criminal complaint.
An attorney for Vanessa Guillen’s family has said investigators told her that Vanessa Guillen and Robinson had an argument after she discovered his relationship with Aguilar, the estranged wife of a former Fort Hood soldier.
Robinson told Aguilar that he killed Vanessa Guillen with a hammer, transferred her body off the Army base, and then the two of them dismembered, attempted to burn and buried her remains near the Leon River, according to the complaint.
While searching Robinson’s phone records, investigators found that Robinson had called Aguilar multiple times on the night Vanessa Guillen vanished. The calls raised suspicion, as Robinson initially told investigators he had been with Aguilar all night. Aguilar later changed her story, claiming that she and Robinson went on a drive to look at the stars that night, according to court documents.
During the investigation into Vanessa Guillen’s disappearance, Aguilar ultimately made “four materially false statements to federal investigators,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas said.
When investigators found Vanessa Guillen’s remains near the Leon River on June 30, 2020, they confronted Aguilar, after which they say she confessed.
Robinson died by suicide in July 2020 when confronted by police.
Months before Vanessa Guillen was killed, her family said she told them she was being sexually harassed by a superior.
A U.S. Army investigation determined that Vanessa Guillen was sexually harassed by a supervisor, and that the leaders in her unit did not take appropriate action after she stepped forward.
The family has been seeking to reform the way the military handles sexual assault and harassment cases since her death.
Natalie Khawam, the attorney for the Guillen family, called Aguilar’s guilty plea “another step on the long path toward justice for Vanessa, my client and her courageous family.”
(CHESAPEAKE, Va.) — A Virginia community is reeling after a man armed with a handgun shot and killed six people and injured several others in a mass shooting at a Walmart in Chesapeake.
Survivors said the gunman walked into a break room and opened fire on Nov. 22.
The suspect, a current employee, died at the scene from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
Two victims remain in the hospital and two have been released, Walmart said Tuesday.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Nov 29, 7:29 PM EST
Employee complained about suspect’s behavior months before shooting: Lawsuit
In a lawsuit filed on Tuesday, a Walmart employee accused the company of being negligent by continuing to employ suspected shooter Andre Bing despite a written complaint the employee submitted about Bing’s alleged disturbing behavior more than two months before the shooting.
Donya Prioleau, an employee who had worked at Walmart for more than a year and was in the room during the shooting, alleged Walmart knew or should have known about Bing’s “violent propensities” and accused the company of failing to “enact any preventative measures to keep Walmart customers and employees safe,” according to the suit.
Prioleau is seeking $50 million in damages.
Walmart said that it’s reviewing the complaint and “will be responding as appropriate with the court.”
-ABC News’ Nadine El-Bawab and Luke Barr
Nov 29, 6:47 PM EST
Walmart to close store for the ‘foreseeable future’
Walmart has announced plans to close the Chesapeake store for the “foreseeable future.”
“All associates will continue being paid regardless of planned schedules,” CEO John Furner wrote in an email to staff on Tuesday.
The company is supporting the victims’ families with funeral, travel and other expenses, and the Walmart Foundation intends to contribute $1 million to the United Way of South Hampton Roads’ Hope & Healing Fund, “which will support those impacted by the shooting and the broader Chesapeake community,” Furner added.
-ABC News’ Beatrice Peterson
Nov 25, 12:18 PM EST
Identity of 16-year-old killed in shooting revealed
The 16-year-old victim killed in the Walmart shooting is Fernando Chavez-Barron, according to the City of Chesapeake. His identity had been previously withheld due to his age.
“We are saddened to announce the names of those we lost on Tuesday evening at the shooting at Walmart on Sam’s Circle but hope that with this information we can honor their lives in our community,” city officials said in a statement Friday.
“The City of Chesapeake has always been known as the ‘City That Cares’ and now, more than ever, we know our City will show up and care for those who need it most. Please join us in praying for the family and friends of these community members who we have lost,” the statement continued.
Nov 25, 10:32 AM EST
Gunman purchased gun day of shooting, left note on his phone
The city of Chesapeake, Virginia, released messages found on the gunman’s phone and the 9 mm handgun that Andre Bing legally purchased on Tuesday, just hours before the shooting.
In the note, Bing complained about his colleagues, referred to murder and asked for forgiveness. Bing claimed his coworkers made fun of him and compared him to Jeffrey Dahmer, even naming some he said would mock and laugh at him.
-ABC News’ Jay O’Brien, Beatrice Peterson and Arthur Jones II
Nov 24, 3:35 PM EST
Walmart employee spends Thanksgiving traumatized at home
There are those in Chesapeake, Virginia, who haven’t celebrated a moment of Thanksgiving. Jessie Wilczewski, who’d only been on the job at Walmart for five days, told ABC News she is still haunted by images of the shooting.
“When I sleep like it still plays, bits and pieces, so I can’t run away from it, like I had to sit there on the floor and in front of me watch my coworker have her last moments,” she said, with tears in her eyes.
The shooter spared Wilczewski’s life, she said. Wilczewski believes the attack was targeted and she was let go because she had not worked with the shooter long.
“I looked at him after I got up from under the table and he saw it was me. And he had the gun pointed at me [gesturing] and he went like this and put the gun up. And then he just looked at me and said, ‘Jessie go home,'” Wilczewski said.
A mom of a 15-month-old boy, Wilczewski spent her Thanksgiving traumatized at home. The shades are drawn. Too many cars on the street can terrify her. Her biggest goal since the shooting was going to 7/11, which she accomplished on Thursday.
There are countless families in Chesapeake now facing this reality, reeling from tragedy on this holiday and preparing for a holiday season that won’t feel the same.
-ABC News’ Jay O’Brien, Beatrice Peterson and Arthur Jones II
Nov 24, 3:29 PM EST
Walmart hosts Thanksgiving for store employees, families at Delta Hotel
Walmart hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for shaken store employees and their families at a Delta Hotel in Chesapeake, Virginia. Counselors and faith leaders were on hand to talk people through the shooting’s immediate aftermath.
Whole families were seen going into counseling sessions together.
Six families in Chesapeake are without loved ones this Thanksgiving. Seven others have relatives in the hospital. And, countless people in the Chesapeake community are celebrating a holiday that will never be the same, after a store manager at a local Walmart opened fire on staff during a meeting Tuesday night.
-ABC News’ Jay O’Brien, Beatrice Peterson and Arthur Jones II
Nov 24, 12:09 PM EST
2 victims remain hospitalized in critical condition
Two of the injured victims from Tuesday night’s mass shooting at a Chesapeake Walmart remain hospitalized in critical condition, officials said.
Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, just north of Chesapeake, is continuing “to treat two patients who remain in critical condition,” a spokesperson told ABC News on Thursday.
-ABC News’ Beatrice Peterson
Nov 24, 6:48 AM EST
Governor orders flags to fly at half-staff through Sunday
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff over the state Capitol and all local, state and federal buildings and grounds across the commonwealth “in respect and memory of the victims of the Chesapeake shooting, their families, and the entire Chesapeake community.”
“I hereby order that the flags shall be lowered immediately on Wednesday, November 23, 2022 and remain at half-staff until Sunday, November 27, 2022 at sunset,” Youngkin said in a statement.
Nov 23, 7:25 PM EST
Victims of shooting identified
Five of the victims of the shooting have been publicly identified by Chesapeake officials as Lorenzo Gamble, Brian Pendleton, Kellie Pyle, Randall Blevins and Tyneka Johnson.
The name of the sixth victim — a 16-year-old boy — has not been released due to his age.
Nov 23, 7:14 PM EST
‘He had a real big heart’: Mother of victim Brian Pendleton
Brian Pendleton, one of the six people killed in the shooting, would have turned 39 next week, his mother said in an emotional phone interview Wednesday.
“He had a real big heart,” his mother, Michelle Johnson, said. “Anybody that wanted to laugh, or just want company, he’d buy you lunch. He’d buy you anything in a minute.”
Pendleton worked at the Walmart for nearly 11 years as a custodian and “loved his job,” she said.
“He was just a hard worker and a good kid,” she said.
When a family friend called and told her there had been a shooting at his Walmart, Johnson’s husband went to where families had been told to convene for reunification. He was told Brian had been transferred to Norfolk General Hospital, so Johnson and her husband drove there, she said.
“We waited, and then the police came out with a nurse and they took us to a side room and that’s when they told us that he didn’t make it,” Johnson said, choking up.
“That’s when they said that he didn’t make it,” Johnson said, sobbing. “I just wondered, was he afraid at that time? I know my son. I didn’t want him to be afraid, and I didn’t want him to hurt.”
Pendleton had a condition called congenital hydrocephalus. Johnson has it too, she said, but they had both been “blessed” not to have a severe case.
“We’re fighters, and we trust the Lord,” she said.
This was Pendleton’s favorite time of year, with Thanksgiving and his birthday on Dec. 2, said Johnson.
“I don’t understand why, what happened, happened,” she said.
“I will never go near that Walmart again,” she added.
-ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik
Nov 23, 6:21 PM EST
‘We will get through this together’: Chesapeake mayor
Chesapeake Mayor Rick West offered words of support in a brief video statement Wednesday evening.
“I know this community, and I know it well, and I know that we will come together and lend a helping hand to the victims’ families,” West said. “We’ll share this burden together and we’ll be stronger for it.”
The mayor promised to share more information on the incident.
“Until then, please know that we will get through this, and we will get through this together, and we will never forget those that we have lost,” he said.
Nov 23, 9:28 AM EST
Employee recounts hiding during shooting
Walmart employee Kevin Harper told ABC News he arrived to work early Tuesday night. He was sitting in the break room when he said something didn’t feel right — so he left.
Moments later, Harper said he heard around three or four muffled gunshots and he ran into a clothes hanger to hide.
“I couldn’t tell you how long I hid in there. Time just stopped at that moment,” he said.
He said he then ran as fast as he could out of the employee entrance. On his way out, he said he saw two people on the floor, including one woman covered in blood.
“I’m just praying for my Walmart family,” Harper said.
Nov 23, 9:15 AM EST
‘Very, very proud of the response,’ city manager says
Chesapeake City Manager Chris Price said Wednesday that he was “very, very proud of the response of our public safety team” after the mass shooting at a Walmart.
“You hope a day like this never comes, but you train for it,” Price said during a press conference. “We practice, we talk about it, we discuss, we learn lessons from other places, we try to put those lessons to good use, hoping those lessons will never have to be put to good use.”
Price described Chesapeake as a “wonderful place” where the community comes together “when times are good” and “when times are difficult.”
“I know it pains all of us to be together today on this day of incredible tragedy and unimaginable sadness,” he added.
Price then read a statement from Chesapeake Mayor Rick West, who tested positive for COVID-19 and could not attend the press conference.
“I am devastated by the senseless act of violence that took place late last night in our city,” Price said, quoting West’s statement. “My prayers are with all those affected — the victims, their family, their friends and their coworkers. I am grateful for the quick actions taken by our first responders who rushed to the scene. Chespeake is a tighknit community and we are all shaken by this news. Together, we will support each other throughout this time. Please keep us in your prayers.”
The mayor as well as the city council have all been fully briefed on the shooting and the response, according to Price.
Nov 23, 8:52 AM EST
Seven people dead, four others injured, police say
In addition to the seven fatalities, four people were wounded in Tuesday night’s shooting at a Chesapeake Walmart, according to police.
“While our investigation continues we can tell you the following: six victims have died, four victims are in area hospitals with conditions unknown at this time and the suspect is dead from what we believe is a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” Chesapeake Police Chief Mark Solesky said during a press conference on Wednesday morning.
While police believe the suspect was a current employee of the store, Solesky would not confirm whether the victims were all employees as well. He told reporters that it’s unclear whether the shooting was a targeted or random attack.
Nov 23, 8:42 AM EST
Gunman may have been a store manager, sources say
Preliminary information indicates a gunman walked into the break room of a Chesapeake Walmart and opened fire at people before shooting himself, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
The suspect was an employee of that store and, possibly, a manager, according to the sources.
Law enforcement sources also told ABC News that authorities are investigating whether the shooting was a case of workplace violence.
Nov 23, 8:24 AM EST
Police confirm deceased suspect was an employee
The suspect in Tuesday night’s mass shooting at the Walmart on Sam’s Circle in Chesapeake is believed to be a current employee and appears to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to Chesapeake Police Chief Mark Solesky.
“We have reason to believe that there’s no risk to the public at this time,” Soleksy said during a press conference on Wednesday morning. “We cannot tell you the identity of the shooter because his next of kin has not been notified.”
Police received the initial 911 call at 10:12 p.m. local time. Officers responded to the scene within two minutes and entered the store at 10:16 p.m. local time, where they found the deceased suspect and multiple victims. The scene was declared safe by 11:20 p.m. local time, according to Soleksy, who described the shooting as “senseless violence.”
“This investigation is still ongoing, so there’s no clear motive at this time,” he told reporters. “We’ll be processing that scene for days.”
(WASHINGTON) — The Senate on Tuesday approved legislation to codify protections for same-sex and interracial marriages, marking a historic win for Democrats anxious to secure the rights amid growing concern that a conservative Supreme Court majority could take them away.
The final vote was 61 to 36.
“What a great day,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said soon after passage. The bill sparked rare applause on the floor.
The Respect for Marriage Act would not require any state to issue a marriage license contrary to its laws but would mandate that states recognize lawfully granted marriages performed in other states, including same-sex and interracial unions.
The bill had been largely expected to pass after it earned essential support from 12 Republicans during a key test vote just before Thanksgiving, putting it on a glide path to President Joe Biden’s desk later this month. The bill next heads to the House, which is expected to vote on it next week — as early as Tuesday — before Biden signs it. In a statement Tuesday night, he said he would “promptly and proudly” do so.
“The United States is on the brink of reaffirming a fundamental truth: love is love, and Americans should have the right to marry the person they love,” he said.
Codifying same-sex marriage into federal law became a top priority for Democrats in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in June to overrule its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision guaranteeing a constitutional right to abortion nationwide.
In floor remarks Tuesday afternoon, Schumer celebrated the bill, which he said ensures rights of LGBTQ people won’t be “trampled.”
“In many ways, the story of America has been a difficult, but inexorable march toward greater equality. Sometimes we’ve taken steps forward, other times, unfortunately, we’ve taken disturbing steps backward, but today, after months of hard work, after many rounds of bipartisan talks, and after many doubts that we could even reach this point, wea re taking the momentous step forward for greater justice for LGBTQ Americans,” Schumer said.
Schumer and other Democrats have argued that a concurring opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas in the June decision, in which he said the court “should reconsider” granting a nationwide right to gay marriage, put the rights of LGBTQ Americans in question.
For Schumer, and other senators with loved ones who are a part of the LGBTQ community, the matter is personal. Schumer’s daughter is married to her wife. On Tuesday, he appeared on the Senate floor wearing a tie that he said he wore at his daughter’s wedding.
Schumer said that after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died two years ago, his daughter was concerned her marriage could be in jeopardy. Now, two years later, and with the Congress poised to act, his daughter is expecting a child.
“I want them to raise their child with all the love and security that every child deserves,” Schumer said. “And the bill we are passing today will ensure their rights won’t be trample upon simply because they’re in a same-sex marriage.”
The original 12 Republicans from the first procedural vote stuck with their decision on Tuesday, despite pressure to reverse course from conservative groups and other lawmakers.
Those 12 were: Susan Collins of Maine, Rob Portman of Ohio, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Mitt Romney of Utah, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Roy Blunt of Missouri, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Joni Ernst of Iowa, Todd Young of Indiana and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
“I know that it’s not been easy but they’ve done the right thing,” Collins, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, said Tuesday of her GOP colleagues ahead of the final vote.
Lummis, largely seen as one of the bill’s most surprising supporters, described the days since her initial yes vote as a “painful exercise in accepting admonishment and fairly brutal self soul searching.” She took pains to explain that while her personal religious beliefs preclude same-sex marriage, but said she still intends to support the bill.
“For the sake of our nation’s today and its survival, we do well by taking this step, not embracing or validating each other’s devoutly held views but by the simple act of tolerating them,” Lummis said.
GLAAD celebrated the passage, with its president and CEO, Sarah Kate Ellis, saying in a statement that it “sends a message of equal protection, dignity, and respect for all same-sex and interracial couples who want to share in the love and commitment of marriage.”
The Respect for Marriage Act would “require the federal government to recognize a marriage between two individuals if the marriage was valid in the state where it was performed,” according to a summary from the bill’s sponsors, including Congress’ first openly bisexual woman in the Senate, Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., along with Collins, Portman and Tillis.
The legislation comes after months of behind the scenes coalition-building between Democrats and a group of Republican negotiators. Despite the crucial GOP support, the legislation was opposed by a large contingent of Republicans, some who have deemed it unnecessary.
“I think it’s pretty telling that Sen. Schumer puts a bill on the floor to reaffirm what is already a constitutional right of same-sex marriage, which is not under any imminent threat, and continues to ignore national security and not take up the defense authorization bill,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said earlier this month.
During the pre-Thanksgiving test vote, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell voted with the majority of his party to oppose the bill — and vote no again on Tuesday.
The House passed a similar version of this legislation earlier this year, with 47 Republicans supporting it. The Senate version includes new language to ease some GOP concerns about religious freedom.
ABC News’ Ben Gittleson and Robert Zepeda contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — A woman in Florida has sued Kraft Heinz Foods Company, claiming the time it takes to make its microwaveable cup of Velveeta macaroni and cheese is longer than what the claims on the label indicate.
Amanda Ramirez filed a $5 million class action lawsuit against the company earlier in November over the “ready in 3 1/2 minutes” claim on the packaging of Velveeta Shells & Cheese cups.
“Consumers are misled to expect the Product will be ready for consumption in a shorter amount of time than it really takes to prepare,” the lawsuit reads. “Defendant sold more of the Product and at higher prices than it would have in the absence of this misconduct, resulting in additional profits at the expense of consumers.”
In the suit, Ramirez claims that the “3 1/2 minutes” phrase on the packaging refers to the cooking time only.
“According to the directions on the back of the packaging, there are four steps in preparing the product,” the suit reads. “First, consumers must ‘REMOVE lid and Cheese Sauce Pouch.’ Next, they must ‘ADD water to fill line in cup. STIR.’ Third, ‘MICROWAVE, uncovered, on HIGH 3-1/2 min. DO NOT DRAIN.’ Finally, they should ‘STIR IN contents of cheese sauce pouch.’ Defendant then notes that ‘CHEESE SAUCE WILL THICKEN UPON STANDING.’ “
“Consumers seeing ‘ready in 3½ minutes’ will believe it represents the total amount of time it takes to prepare the Product, meaning from the moment it is unopened to the moment it is ready for consumption,” the suit continues. “However, the directions outlined above show that 3-and-a-half minutes is just the length of time to complete one of several steps. The label does not state the Product takes ‘3½ minutes to cook in the microwave,’ which would have been true.”
Ramirez claims in the suit that the mac and cheese products are “sold at a premium price, approximately no less than $10.99 for eight 2.39 oz cups, excluding tax and sales,” which she said are priced “higher than similar products represented in a non-misleading way and higher than it would be sold for absent the misleading representations and omissions.”
“Good Morning America” has reached out to Kraft Heinz for comment on the lawsuit. In previous comments to other publications, the company has stated: “We are aware of this frivolous lawsuit and will strongly defend against the allegations in the complaint.”
Ramirez sued “individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated,” which indicates this could lead to a class action settlement for consumers.
“The members of the class Plaintiff seeks to represent are more than 100, because the Product has been sold with the representations described here from thousands of stores in the States covered by Plaintiff’s proposed classes,” the suit states.
The suit is seeking at least $5 million in damages, “including statutory and punitive exclusive of interest and costs.”
A West Palm Beach-based law firm filed the suit with Ramirez, according to the documents, along with Sheehan and Associates, a New York law firm led by Spencer Sheehan, who has brought hundreds of lawsuits against other popular grocery products such as Pop-Tarts, NPR first reported.
The Pop-Tarts lawsuit claimed that the product’s packaging was “misleading because the label gives consumers the impression the fruit filling only contains strawberries as its fruit ingredient.” A federal judge in New York dismissed the suit in April, stating that “no reasonable consumer would see the entire product label, reading the words ‘Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tarts’ next to a picture of a toaster pastry coated in frosting, and reasonably expect that fresh strawberries would be the sole ingredient in the Product.”
(WASHINGTON) — House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, the likely next House speaker, defended former President Donald Trump on Tuesday, a week after Trump dined at his Mar-a-Lago resort with white nationalist Nick Fuentes and rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, who has made antisemitic remarks.
“I don’t think anybody should be spending any time with Nick Fuentes,” McCarthy told ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce after meeting with President Joe Biden and other congressional leaders.
“He has no place in this Republican Party. I think President Trump came out four times and condemned him and didn’t know who he was,” McCarthy said, although there is no evidence Trump condemned Fuentes.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday went further than McCarthy, condemning Trump’s meeting with Fuentes, opening his weekly press conference by rejecting not only “antisemitism” and “white supremacy” but saying Trump’s association with the ideologies could keep him from winning a second term in the White House.
“There is no room in the Republican Party for antisemitism or white supremacy,” McConnell said, flanked by Republican Senate leadership. “And anyone meeting with people advocating that point of view, in my judgment, are highly unlikely to ever be elected president of the United States.”
McCarthy is a legislative ally of Trump’s while McConnell has broken with the former president a number of times, including criticizing him over the Jan. 6 insurrection. The GOP leaders’ comments came after a number of other high-profile Republicans condemned what Trump has insisted was an impromptu meal.
Beyond Washington, Trump faced criticism from his former vice president and potential 2024 primary opponent, Mike Pence.
“President Trump was wrong to give a white nationalist, an antisemite and a Holocaust denier a seat at the table, and I think he should apologize,” Pence told NewsNation in an interview.
Still, Pence said, “I don’t believe Donald Trump is an antisemite. I don’t believe he’s a racist or a bigot.”
Fuentes, a white nationalist who has made racist, sexist and antisemitic comments, has been banned on all major social media platforms. Ye recently lost major business deals over his own antisemitic comments.
Trump has said he did not know who Fuentes was when Fuentes came to Mar-a-Lago, initially posting about the meeting on his social media platform on Friday, claiming he didn’t know Ye would be bringing other guests, but not mentioning Fuentes.
In later statements, he said that he only sought to meet with Ye and that the rapper brought Fuentes to the two-hour dinner without his knowledge.
“Well, I condemn this ideology. It has no place in society,” McCarthy said, when pressed by ABC’s Bruce about Trump’s lack of comment on the white nationalist Fuentes.
“The president didn’t know who he was,” McCarthy repeated. “So, he knew who Kanye West is. He didn’t know who Fuentes is.”
Asked later if it was appropriate for or Trump to meet with West, McCarthy said “the president has meetings with who he wants. I don’t think anybody, though, should have a meeting with Nick Fuentes … I think Kanye West…I don’t think we should associate with them, as well. I’m very clear in my position.”
McCarthy last week clinched the Republican nomination for speaker in the next Congress, fending off a challenge from Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs as the GOP will regain the House majority next session.
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday wrestled for more than two hours with a perennial Washington pickle: how to square immigration enforcement mandates in federal law with Congress’ failure to provide sufficient funding to do the job.
The justices also took on whether states like Texas and Louisiana, suffering alleged harm from illegal immigration, can sue the government to force it to crack down.
There appeared to be no clear answers to the politically charged questions.
“‘Shall’ means ‘shall,'” Chief Justice John Roberts suggested of federal law instructing the Department of Homeland Security to “take into custody” unlawful immigrants convicted of certain crimes.
But Roberts went on to observe “it’s impossible” for the executive branch to detain and deport all 11 million immigrants eligible for removal from the U.S. “Certainly, there are cases where we’ve said ‘shall’ means ‘may,'” he added. (The government has only 6,000 interior immigration enforcement officers, according to DHS.)
At the heart of the case are Department of Homeland Security guidelines established by the Biden administration in 2021 to prioritize arrest and deportation of unlawful immigrants deemed a danger to national security or public safety over those who are otherwise non-criminals.
The administration argues it has broad discretion in how it detains and deports immigrants — consistent with an approach long taken by governments of both parties.
“It’s about prioritizing limited resources to say go after person A instead of person B,” argued Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar. “There is no reason to conclude that that’s actually going to lead to less enforcement against individuals overall.”
Texas and Louisiana, which are challenging the guidelines, allege the White House approach to deportations is an abuse of discretion that has imposed costs on state taxpayers.
“States bear many of the consequences of federal immigration decisions,” said Texas Solicitor General Judd Stone. He claims up to 80,000 “criminal aliens” are living in Texas.
“We either pay the costs through detention or through recidivism,” Stone said.
A federal district court vacated the guidelines nationwide last year, and they are not currently in effect. The Biden administration is asking the Supreme Court to reinstate them.
Several conservative justices were highly skeptical that the guidelines were compliant with federal law.
“We have one set of priorities established by Congress and another set by the executive branch. Isn’t that correct?” Justice Samuel Alito asked of Prelogar.
“No, that’s wrong,” she replied, “because the guidelines govern only decisions about apprehension and removal, whether to charge a non-citizen in the first place.”
Justice Brett Kavanaugh suggested the government’s abuse of immigration enforcement discretion has forced some in Congress to consider “dramatic steps” to compensate.
“What are the tools Congress has to make sure its laws are enforced in the U.S.?” Kavanaugh asked Prelogar. “I think your position is, instead of judicial review, Congress has to resort to shutting down the government or impeachment or dramatic steps if it — if some administration comes in and says we’re not going to enforce laws.”
The court’s three liberal justices were more deferential to the administration.
“Immigration policy is supposed to be the zenith of executive power,” Justice Elena Kagan told Stone. “We’re just going to be in a situation where every administration is confronted by suits, by states that can bring a policy to a dead halt by just showing a dollar’s worth of costs?”
“It’s just not enough [to do that] with a set of speculative possibilities about your costs,” she said.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said she was “troubled” by the practical impact of forcing DHS to detain unlawful immigrants before a decision has been made on deportation. “You can’t just indefinitely hold people,” she said, noting the months-to-years-long backlog in cases.
The justices spent significant time grappling with two potential resolutions to the case that would not involve weighing in on the merits of the guidelines themselves.
One approach could be to decide that a lower court erred in vacating the guidelines since federal immigration law explicitly limits courts’ ability to intervene. Another option could be to find that Texas and Louisiana don’t have standing to bring the case or have not shown sufficient proof of being harmed.
“What will happen here if you prevail?” Kavanaugh asked the Texas Solicitor General Stone.
“Individual officers in ICE will go back to not believing that their enforcement discretion has been restrained,” Stone replied.
The Biden administration had a starkly different answer: “It would be incredibly destabilizing on the ground,” Prelogar insisted. “Bad for the executive branch, bad for the American public, and bad for Article 3 courts.”
Maksim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(LONDON) — A top jailed Belarus opposition leader, who became the face of its pro-democracy movement, is reportedly in intensive care after being hospitalized for an unknown reason, according to her supporters.
Maria Kalesnikava was one of three women who found themselves at the head of mass street protests in 2020 that came close to toppling Belarus’ long-ruling dictator Alexander Lukashenko.
Kalesnikava, 39, was imprisoned after she tore up her passport to prevent Lukashenko’s security forces from forcibly deporting her in 2020. She became one of Belarus’ most prominent political prisoners, sentenced to 11 years in prison in September 2021 on charges of extremism and seeking to illegally seize power that were widely condemned by western countries as politically motivated.
On Tuesday, an official Twitter account linked to another jailed opposition figure Viktor Babariko, tweeted that Kalesnikava was now in intensive care.
“Masha Kalesnikava is in intensive care. The reason is unknown,” the account tweeted, saying the information was confirmed by her lawyer.
The account said Kalesnikava is in a hospital in the city of Gomel, saying she was brought there on Monday and hospitalized in a surgical department before being transferred to intensive care.
The account added that Kalesnikava’s lawyers had been complaining to authorities about the state of her health but that they had been ignored.
A former professional musician, Kalesnikava was initially a spokeswoman for Babariko, but teamed up with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya to challenge Lukashenko in a 2020 presidential election after Babariko and Tsikhanouskaya’s husband were barred from running and jailed. She became one of the faces of the protests that erupted after Lukashenko declared victory in the vote that was widely criticized as rigged, becoming known for the heart shape sign she often flashed with her hands.
Lukashenko’s regime was shaken by the protests– that saw hundreds of thousands demonstrate peacefully for weeks— but he eventually succeeded in smothering the uprising with a relentless crackdown, during which security forces have arrested thousands of people. Kalesnikava became one of the only top leaders of the protests who remained in the country, after most were driven into exile.
After Kalesnikava was sentenced last year, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned it, calling it “further evidence of the regime’s total disregard for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the people of Belarus.”
(WASHINGTON) — Hundreds of thousands of rail workers stand on the brink of a nationwide strike that would paralyze the U.S. supply chain and passenger rail service ahead of the busy holiday season.
“Let me be clear: a rail shutdown would devastate our economy,” President Joe Biden said on Monday. “Without freight rail, many U.S. industries would shut down.”
Biden asked Congress to pass a law that imposes the terms of a tentative agreement reached in September but was rejected by several unions.
Still, the fate of a potential deal between rail workers and companies remains uncertain, especially if Congress fails to impose the tentative agreement. Four of 12 unions have already voted down the agreement and those four unions represent the majority of unionized rail workers.
A nationwide strike is expected unless the contract is ratified by each of the 12 rail unions, since all of the unions have vowed not to cross the picket line in the event of a work stoppage.
Unions have said rail employees are seeking improvements to working conditions, since workers do not receive paid sick days. The unions have accused rail companies of penalizing workers for taking time off for medical reasons and holding the nation’s economy hostage to ensure a favorable deal.
The National Carriers’ Conference Committee, or NCCC, which represents the nation’s freight railroads in national collective bargaining, has said rail employees are provided “significant” time off and the companies have offered a fair contract that includes a considerable wage increase.
Here’s a timeline of how the U.S. arrived at the precipice of a rail shutdown and what to expect as a deadline nears in the coming weeks:
July 15 – As rail unions and companies struggle to reach an agreement on the terms of a new contract, Biden signs an executive order that creates a presidential emergency board.
The board’s goal is to issue guideline recommendations for an agreement between the two sides in order to avert a potentially devastating rail strike.
Aug. 16 – The presidential emergency board issues recommendations for a compromise agreement between the unions and rail companies.
The recommendations include a 24% raise from 2020 to 2024 and bonus increases. The union’s demand for a new time-off policy, however, is omitted.
Sept. 14 – Rail workers and companies prepare for a potential strike that could cost $2 billion a day in lost economic output, according to the Association of American Railroads, which lobbies on behalf of rail companies.
Freight railroads are responsible for carrying 40% of the nation’s long-haul freight and a work stoppage could jeopardize these shipments.
Sept. 15 – Rail companies and unions reach a tentative labor agreement after 20 consecutive hours of negotiations brokered by U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh.
The tentative agreement “balances the needs of workers, businesses, and our nation’s economy,” Walsh said.
The agreement improves the time-off policies at the rail companies, which are a key sticking point in the negotiations, according to a statement from the two largest unions, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers Trainmen, or BLET, and the SMART Transportation Division, or SMART-TD.
Oct. 11 – A union representing about 12,000 rail workers votes down the tentative contract that was brokered by the White House, raising the possibility of an eventual strike.
The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division of the Teamsters, or BMWED, rejects the tentative contract due to frustration with compensation and working conditions, particularly a lack of paid sick days, BMWED President Tony Cardell says in a statement.
“Railroaders do not feel valued,” Cardell says. “They resent the fact that management holds no regard for their quality of life.”
The National Carriers’ Conference Committee, or NCCC, the group representing the freight railroad companies, expresses “disappointment” in the decision to reject the contract.
Oct. 27 – A second union rejects the White House-brokered deal, elevating the likelihood of a nationwide strike.
The vote by the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, a union representing 6,000 workers, centers on the lack of paid sick days, according to a statement from Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen President Michael Baldwin.
The NCCC expresses disappointment over the union vote.
The tentative contract “included the largest wage package in nearly five decades, maintained rail employees’ platinum-level health benefits, and added an additional day of paid time off,” the NCCC says in a statement.
Nov. 21 – The nation’s largest rail union votes down the tentative contract brokered by the White House, dramatically escalating the likelihood of a strike.
SMART-TD, which represents about 28,000 conductors, narrowly rejects the contract in a vote that garnered record turnout, the union says.
The second-largest rail union, made up of engineers, votes in favor of the contract, splitting the top rail unions.
Nov. 28 – Biden asks Congress to intervene and avert a potential strike by forcing the workers’ unions to accept a White House-brokered deal as a December deadline approaches.
In a statement, Biden touts himself as a “pro-labor” president but says the larger economic implications outweigh those concerns.
“I am reluctant to override the ratification procedures and the views of those who voted against the agreement. But in this case — where the economic impact of a shutdown would hurt millions of other working people and families — I believe Congress must use its powers to adopt this deal,” he says.
He calls on Congress to quickly pass legislation to adopt the White House-brokered deal reached in September.
Outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi later says in a statement that the House will soon take up such legislation and will not modify the agreed-upon terms.
Nov. 29 – Biden tells ABC News he’s “confident” the U.S. will avert a rail strike.
“Congress, I think, has to act to prevent it,” he says. “It’s not an easy call, but I think we have to do it.”
Dec. 4 – By the end of the week that concludes on Dec. 4, House lawmakers are expected to take up a bill that adopts the tentative agreement brokered by the White House.
If passed, the bill will be sent to the Senate, where it faces uncertain prospects as the chamber is split 50-50 between the parties. Most legislation requires 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.
Dec. 9 – A strike deadline looms on Dec. 9, when unions could move forward with a coordinated work stoppage.
Additional reporting contributed by Morgan Winsor, Sam Sweeney, Sarah Kolinovsky, Amanda Maile, Zunaira Zaki, Trish Turner, Ahmad Hemingway and William Kim
(ATLANTA) — Two-third of states across the country are reporting either “very high” or “high” levels of influenza-like activity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s weekly report.
As of the week ending Nov. 19, the latest date for which data is available, 16 states as well as New York City and Washington, D.C. are reporting “very high” levels while 17 states are reporting “high” levels.
By comparison, during this time last year, all states were reporting “low” or “moderate” levels of activity with only New Mexico and Rhode Island reporting “high” levels.
The data comes as experts have warned that the flu season has begun earlier than usual, with cases on par with those seen typically seen in winter and causing hospital beds to fill up quickly.
So far, this flu season, there have been at least 6.2 million illnesses, 53,000 hospitalizations, and 2,900 deaths from flu, according to CDC estimates.
Just a week earlier, as of the week ending Nov. 12, there were an estimated 4.4 million illnesses, 38,000 hospitalizations, and 2,100 deaths from flu reported.
The hospitalization rate, which sits at 11.3 per 100,000, continues to be the highest for this time in the season since the 2010-2011 season, as far back as statistics are available.
Although influenza-like illness is at the highest level at this point in the season in recent memory — the rate of increase has slowed down over the last two weeks.
In addition, five influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported this week, for a total of 12 deaths among children reported so far this season.
What’s more, CDC is reporting most influenza viruses tested match well to this season’s influenza vaccine.
Among adults aged 18 and older, as of mid-October — the latest date for which data is available — 26.3% were vaccinated against the flu compared with 23% last year, according to the CDC dashboard.
Vaccination coverage among children aged 6 months and older is roughly the same with 35.4% vaccinated as of the week ending Nov. 5 compared to 35.3% at the same time one year earlier.
However, among pregnant people, as of the end of October 2022, just 36.8% have received their flu shots compared to 48.6% of pregnant people who had received the flu shot at the end of October 2021.
The early flu season is additionally concerning with the pediatric surge of respiratory illness already filling up 78% of pediatric beds, according to data from the Department of Health & Human Services.
(NEW YORK) — The tornadoes are expected to hit from Tuesday afternoon into Tuesday night. People who live in weaker homes are encouraged to go to storm shelters.
The severe storms could also bring damaging winds and large hail.
Cities in the bullseye are: Jackson, Mississippi; Alexandria, Louisiana; and Memphis, Tennessee. Impacts could also reach New Orleans, Mobile and Birmingham, Alabama; Nashville, Tennessee and eastern Kentucky.
Flash flooding is possible in southern Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
On Wednesday, the storm system is forecast to move east.
Strong thunderstorms are possible from the Florida Panhandle to the Carolinas. In addition, heavy rain and gusty winds are expected from Washington, D.C., to Boston.
