(WASHINGTON) — My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell says the FBI seized his cellphone on Tuesday as he waited for his food order in a Hardee’s parking lot in Minnesota.
In a phone interview with ABC News Tuesday night, Lindell, a fierce supporter of former President Donald Trump who has continued to try and overturn the 2020 election while pushing baseless conspiracy theories, said three cars with FBI agents pulled in front of his vehicle in the fast-food parking lot and issued the pillow maven a search warrant for his cellphone.
Lindell, who received a subpoena from a Colorado grand jury, according to photos of the document provided to ABC News, said he has not been contacted by any other grand jury investigating Trump’s alleged efforts to obstruct the 2020 election.
The My Pillow founder also claimed that the grand jury subpoena he received requested information about Dominion Voting Systems machines and a Colorado clerk, Tina Peters.
The FBI did not comment when asked. The Denver FBI provided the following statement: “Without commenting on this specific matter, I can confirm that the FBI was at that location executing a search warrant authorized by a federal judge.”
When asked if he’s worried about law enforcement seizing his phone and any potential criminal charges, Lindell told ABC News, “I’ve been to many jails. I’m not scared to go to jail. I’m trying to save my country.”
(WASHINGTON) — ABC News reports that Karoline Leavitt is projected to win Tuesday’s GOP primary to take on Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., setting up a general election matchup in one of the nation’s most competitive House races.
Leavitt, a former White House press staffer under President Donald Trump, defeated Matt Mowers, another Trump administration aide, and Gail Huff Brown, the wife of former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown. With about 57% of the expected vote in, Leavitt led the field with 34% of the vote, compared with 25% for Mowers in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District.
The results conclude what morphed into a bitter battle between two ideologically aligned foes who found a sliver of difference within the GOP’s right flank.
Both Leavitt and Mowers cast themselves as staunch Trump allies and had big name Republican backers to boot: New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, the No. 3 House Republican, and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz backed Leavitt while House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana were among those supporting Mowers.
Yet where Mowers called for audits the 2020 presidential race, Leavitt adamantly — and baselessly — denied the results. And while Mowers has said he would examine a push to impeach President Joe Biden, Leavitt has said she would support impeachment.
The result marks a setback for McCarthy, who is setting himself up to serve as speaker if Republicans flip the House in November. The affiliated Congressional Leadership Fund super PAC spent more than $1.3 million supporting Mowers, who said he would back a McCarthy speakership bid. Leavitt, meanwhile, initially said she would support Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, as speaker before changing to say she’d support McCarthy.
Leavitt will now face Pappas in one of Republicans’ top flip opportunities. Pappas defeated Mowers in the 2020 election by 5 points, though the district has flipped between the two parties five times since the start of the century.
(WASHINGTON) — Rhode Island’s Democratic Gov. Dan McKee is projected to win his primary, ABC News reports, fending off a slate of challengers that kept the primary close until Tuesday.
With 98% of the expected vote in, McKee had 33% of the ballots as of late Tuesday, followed by former CVS Health executive Helena Foulkes with 30%. Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea trailed in third with 26% of the vote.
McKee was appointed to his seat last year after his predecessor, Gina Raimondo, was tapped to be commerce secretary in President Joe Biden’s Cabinet. McKee will now face the GOP candidate, health care executive Ashley Kalus, in the general election, though he will be the favorite in the deep blue state.
Polls had shown McKee, Foulkes and Gorbea in a tight race heading into the primary. However, with his victory, all 28 incumbent governors seeking reelection this year won their primaries — the first time there’s been a clean sweep since 2010.
During his short tenure, McKee had suffered from low approval ratings and a federal investigation into his administration’s awarding of a multimillion-dollar contract to a firm connected to an ally. He denied wrongdoing.
(NEW YORK) — As the Chinese government increased its crackdown on political speech and dissenters in Hong Kong in recent years, tens of thousands of longtime residents have fled to nearby Taiwan to escape the oppression.
For many ex-pats, like Annie Zhang, a former editor of a Hong Kong-based media company, their new surroundings have allowed them to express themselves without any fear of jail time or other forms of severe repercussions.
“Many of my friends are cultural producers, or maybe they are booksellers. They are writers. They are artists, but they cannot create things freely in Hong Kong now. So that’s why they chose to leave,” Zhang told ABC News.
Even as tension has risen between Taiwan and its allies and China, some of those in exile say they are determined to speak out and push back against the aggression.
More than 121,000 Hong Kong residents have left the territory in the last year, according to data from Hong Kong’s Census and Statistics Department.
Since 2019, Taiwan has welcomed more than 37,000 Hong Kong residents, according to data from the Taiwanese government.
Two years ago, the Chinese government imposed new national security law on Hong Kong that outlawed “secession, subversion of state power, terrorism and foreign collusion” in intervening in Hong Kong’s affairs. The law was enacted following protests in 2019 and 2020 against the government over its attempt to change its extradition policy.
Hundreds of Hong Kong residents were arrested and targeted in violations of the law for speaking out against the government.
Kacey Wong was a visual artist based in Hong Kong and put out videos that protested the Chinese government’s policies. In one video, he dressed up as Moses and delivered demands to the government.
Wong said he fled to Taiwan after an article in a state-owned newspaper in Hong Kong highlighted his work and protests.
“I think they don’t like to be laughed at. And I think my gripe is I kind of make fun of them. That’s my crime,” Wong told ABC News.
Many Hong Kong ex-pats have continued to publicly express defiance of the Chinese laws since they relocated to Taiwan.
And now many of those ex-pats are witnessing their former country’s government flex its military muscle against their new haven.
Soon after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan and met with its leaders on Aug. 2, the Chinese government stepped up its military presence around the waters between the two nations. Pelosi was the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Taiwan in 25 years.
In addition to military drills involving jets and ships, the Chinese military also launched missiles that flew over the island.
In reaction to the growing military moves, many Taiwanese residents are training to fight back in case of an attack by the Chinese government.
Robert Tsao, a retired businessman who founded the United Microelectronics Corporation, told ABC News he donated $100 million U.S. to support training Taiwan’s military and civilians.
Tsao said he was spurred to make the donations following Pelosi’s visit and the Chinese government’s military drills.
“I will fight to die. I won’t live to see Taiwan become another Hong Kong,” he told ABC News. “I will not [be] going to allow that happen. They have to over my dead body to do that.”
But as the hostility between the Chinese government and Taiwan wages on, some of the Hong Kong residents who have settled on the island said they have deeper fears.
Wong told ABC News that he is preparing for the possibility that he may have to relocate again.
“From my perspective, I think Hong Kong is the first step. So it’s fallen as a city and Taiwan is next,” he said.
(NEW YORK) — Eight people were arrested Tuesday in connection with what federal authorities believe is a sprawling human smuggling operation that may have victimized thousands of migrants.
Erminia Serrano Piedra, also known as “Boss Lady,” allegedly ran the operation along with seven others, federal prosecutors told reporters. The eight were arrested in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas on charges related to transporting a non-citizen for monetary benefit while endangering human life.
The Department of Justice is also seeking $2.3 million in property assets allegedly connected with the operation.
“This organization was motivated by personal greed and Piedra and her co-conspirators prioritized that greed over the safety of those that they illegally smuggled,” Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite told reporters Tuesday.
Court documents did not list attorneys who could speak on the suspects’ behalf. They have not yet appeared in court.
Department of Justice officials say the migrant victims, believed to be citizens of Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico, were brought to so-called “stash houses” where smugglers conduct and conceal their illicit activity. Authorities say that some of the victims were forced into suitcases while others were crammed into the back of tractor trailers, pick-up trucks and even water tankers as part of their journeys into and across the U.S.
Those who drove the vehicles used to transport migrants were possibly paid as much as $2,500 per person, according to the Department of Justice.
“We have alleged that this particular organization was responsible for the smuggling of at least hundreds if not thousands of potential migrants,” Polite said.
Agents from Homeland Security Investigations, the division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement that handles smuggling enforcement, led the probe which resulted in the arrest of Katie Ann Garcia, one of the eight suspects, on Tuesday in Laredo, Texas, where authorities say 12 migrants were found, including two minors.
“If you commit the crime of human smuggling and if you manipulate and imperil and take advantage of struggling and fearful migrants — we are coming for you,” Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security John K. Tien said Tuesday. “We will investigate you. We will prosecute you to the fullest extent of our laws. We will leave no stone unturned until we end your nefarious practices.”
The Department of Homeland Security says it has ramped up its crackdown on transnational organizations that facilitate human smuggling — in recent months arresting nearly 5,000 people whom the department suspects of being associated with criminal trafficking.
The Biden administration also launched a “Joint Task Force Alpha” with DHS and DOJ as part of the government’s work to, as Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said Tuesday, “dismantle the most dangerous human smuggling and trafficking networks.”
“The charges announced today are just the latest example of these efforts’ success,” Garland said in a statement. “The Justice Department will continue to bring our full resources to bear to combat the human smuggling and trafficking groups that endanger our communities, abuse and exploit migrants, and threaten our national security.”
(NEW YORK) — Federal prosecutors requested on Thursday a stay, attempting to block Judge Aileen Cannon’s prior ruling preventing the FBI and Department of Justice from continuing its review of classified documents in connection with its criminal investigation into Trump’s handling of documents seized at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
Prosecutors said there was risk of “irreparable harm” to national security and the ongoing investigation if the stay was not granted.
Trump’s legal team responded on Monday, saying that appointing a special master to review the documents is a “sensible preliminary step toward restoring order from chaos,” and urged Cannon to reject the request for a stay.
In order to break down recent developments, ABC News Live Prime spoke with Florida state attorney Dave Aronberg.
PRIME: Dave Aronberg, a state attorney in Palm Beach County, thank you so much for joining us. The Justice Department was fairly aggressive in taking on the arguments in Judge Cannon’s prior ruling. How effective of a case do you think that the DOJ made in calling for a stay that would let them keep reviewing the classified records at the heart of this case?
ARONBERG:I think it was their only choice because if they don’t get this partial stay, then it jeopardizes our national security because what Judge Cannon did was really inconsistent. She said, ‘Hey, FBI and DOJ, you cannot use and review those documents you seize from Mar-a-Lago while the special master review is pending. But at the same time, intelligence community, you can continue with your review to make sure these documents didn’t damage national security by the fact that they’re being kept in a Palm Beach social club.’
It doesn’t make sense because the FBI is part of the intelligence community review of those documents. I mean, the CIA is not a domestic law enforcement agency. The intelligence community depends on the FBI. So I think what the DOJ is doing on this motion is to give the judge a way out, a chance to redeem herself before she gets overturned on appeal.
PRIME:Do you think she will redeem herself?
ARONBERG: I think she will. If you saw her comment recently, it was, ‘hey, Trump’s attorneys, what do you make of this motion?’ It seemed like she was sort of hedging her bets by saying, ‘can you speak to the fact that the DOJ is asking for a partial stay?’
And remember, this is just to allow DOJ to review the 100-plus classified documents, not all the documents, just the 100-plus documents that are classified so, of course, they’re not subject to attorney-client privilege because they’re the government’s documents. They involve national security. It’s not communications between Trump and his own personal lawyer and executive privilege doesn’t apply here.
So I think that the judge is starting to get some buyer’s remorse of her original decision, and I think she’s going to step away from it just a little bit and grant this motion.
PRIME:And just to kind of follow that a little further, they cited the risk of potential, irreparable harm to national security and the ongoing investigation if they can’t continue reviewing the documents and say that Trump has no claim to them. Is the judge likely to be swayed by that argument, given her prior ruling allowing for a special master?
ARONBERG: I hope so, because it’s a really powerful argument. I mean, you’ve got to be able to review these documents, especially now that we’ve heard they involve nuclear secrets. I mean, how do you tell the government ‘put it on hold, don’t review them, don’t use them in any way, and we’ll have the special master that can go on and on and on?’
I mean, there are lives at risk. You have human intelligence sources that have their lives at risk because this information could be floating out there. And so, yeah, I think the argument is definitely on DOJ’s side. The problem is you’ve got a judge in Judge Cannon who has shown that she’s willing to go Donald Trump’s way, the person who appointed her to the bench, the person who sought her out at a courthouse 68 miles from here in West Palm Beach, over in Fort Pierce, where she’s the only judge assigned to that courthouse.
They wanted her on this case because they knew she was a Trump appointee and they thought she would do their bidding. And so far, hey, their faith in her has been rewarded.
PRIME:Palm Beach County state attorney Dave Aronberg. We thank you so much.
(LONDON) — Queen Elizabeth II’s lying-in-state won’t begin until Wednesday evening, but people have already started lining up in London more than 24 hours before the first mourners will be allowed in for their chance to pay their respects to the history-making monarch.
The queen’s coffin traveled from Scotland to England on Tuesday ahead of the traditional lying-in-state at the Palace of Westminster.
The public will be able to walk past the queen’s coffin to pay their respects starting at 5 p.m. local time on Wednesday. People will be able to view the coffin 24 hours a day through 6:30 a.m. on Sept. 19 — the day of the queen’s funeral.
The government warned the public to expect to wait in line for “many hours, possibly overnight,” and advised people to bring food and drinks to consume while waiting as well as any essential medication.
“Large crowds are expected and people are encouraged to check ahead, plan accordingly and be prepared for long wait times,” the government said.
On Tuesday afternoon, about half a mile from the Palace of Westminster, a half dozen people had already started gathering at what will be the start of the line alongside the River Thames. Most had camping chairs and some had a tarpaulin to sit under. The crowd sang hymns to the queen as they got set up to wait all night in the rain — worried that they might risk missing their chance to pay their respects to the late monarch.
Some 350,000 people are estimated to be able to get in to view the queen’s coffin, the Times reported, and authorities have warned of at least 24-hour waits outside in a miles-long line.
Glyn Norris, 63, was among those getting ready to wait Tuesday. He told ABC News it was a “no-brainer” to be in line already.
“I wanted to be here to get relatively quick (laughs) into there because I hear there’s around 350,000 people,” he said.
Norris described Queen Elizabeth, who died on Thursday at the age of 96 after a historic 70-year reign, like a “grandmother that I’ve never met.”
“I thought, she’s reigned for 70 years — 24 hours in the rain isn’t going to hurt me,” he said. “I think she’s done a fantastic job, and I’m very proud to be British.”
People in the line are not allowed to camp in tents, so he and others will just be in coats or sleeping bags sitting up overnight.
Norris has come prepared with a bag full of supplies for the next day and a half, including an umbrella, phone chargers, batteries, food, drinks, warm clothing and an, ahem, pee bag.
“I’ve got about everything in this bag that Bear Grylls would be proud of,” he said.
ABC News Royal Contributor Victoria Murphy believes the ceremonies for the queen’s death could be even bigger than her Platinum Jubilee in June celebrating her 70-year reign.
Some 300,000 people came in 1952 to see Queen Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, lying in state, Murphy said. “That record, I think, is going to be absolutely smashed,” he said.
Once mourners make it inside Westminster Hall, the coffin will rest on a raised platform and “be draped in the Royal Standard with the Orb and Sceptre placed on top,” the U.K. government said.
There will be “airport-style security” at the viewing and only small bags are permitted. Among the restricted items are flowers or other tribute items.
A dedicated floral tribute area has already been established in Green Park, one of the Royal Parks of London. Park officials politely request that mourners do not bring non-floral objects, “such as teddy bears or balloons.” So that means no Paddington Bears in the queen’s honor.
A ceremonial procession will be held from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster ahead of the lying-in-state. Members of the public can watch the procession in viewing areas along the route or at a screening in Hyde Park.
For those not up for the long lines or otherwise unable to travel, key moments of the ceremonial procession and the lying-in-state will be broadcast on the BBC, Sky News and ITV.
(NEW YORK) — Three young children who police found unresponsive early Monday on the beach at New York’s Coney Island all died by drowning, the city’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner said Tuesday.
The manner of each of their deaths was ruled a homicide, the office determined.
Police detained the children’s mother, who is suspected of drowning them, authorities said.
The medical examiner’s findings will advance the investigation and help determine whether the mother, who remains hospitalized for evaluation, should be charged, officials said.
The grim discovery came at 4:42 a.m., about 90 minutes after police launched a frantic search for the children, whose 30-year-old mother was found soaking wet, barefoot and uncommunicative on the Coney Island Boardwalk, police officials said during a news conference. One official briefed on the probe told ABC News that the mother was “nearly catatonic” when police attempted to speak with her Monday morning.
Detectives are looking into whether postpartum depression played a role in the triple slaying, the official said.
Kenneth Corey, chief of department for the New York Police Department, said officers immediately performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the children, who were taken to Coney Island Hospital, where they were all pronounced dead. While autopsies will be conducted to determine the cause of death, police suspect the children died from drowning, officials said.
Corey described the children as a 7-year-old boy, a 4-year-old girl and a 3-month-old boy. Their names were not immediately released.
Corey said the incident unfolded around 1:40 a.m., when a relative called 911 and said she was concerned that the mother was going to harm the children.
“I believe she (the mother) had called them and made statements to that effect,” Corey said.
Officers went to the mother’s apartment in Coney Island, knocked on the door but got no answer, Corey said. While at the address, a man showed up and identified himself as the father of one of the children, who also expressed concern for the well-being of the children and told officers he believed the mother had taken them to the boardwalk.
Corey said police immediately launched a search of the mother’s apartment, which was unlocked, the boardwalk, the surrounding neighborhood and the beach. They found the mother on the boardwalk with other relatives, but her children were nowhere in sight.
“She was soaking wet, she was barefoot and she was not communicative to the officers,” Corey said.
He said the search for the children intensified with NYPD helicopters and boats being deployed.
Corey said the children were found unresponsive at the water’s edge near the boardwalk at W. 35th Street.
He said the mother was found about two miles from where police discovered her children.
Police said the deaths of the children appear to be premeditated and not something that occurred at the spur of a moment. Detectives are looking into the mother’s past and interviewing neighbors and relatives, officials said.
The mother has no prior arrests or history of being emotionally disturbed, according to NYPD records. She has prior domestic incidents of harassment and aggravated harassment that did not result in charges, according to the records.
“Best we can tell at this point, and again it’s preliminary, there is no indication of a prior history of abuse and neglect of these children,” Corey said.
Corey said the mother, whose name was not released, was detained for questioning, but has not been charged.
While police said they are investigating whether postpartum depression played a role in the episode, Dr. Anna Yegiants, a resident physician and member of the ABC News Medical Unit, explained there is a difference between postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis.
Yegiants said that while it is possible for someone with postpartum depression to harm their children, it is not common. She said postpartum psychosis, however, presents essentially a break with reality and causes delusional thinking that could lead to such violence.
Up to 1 in 7 women experience postpartum depression, according to the American Psychological Association, and symptoms can occur during pregnancy and last for days or even months after delivering a baby.
“Postpartum depression is not your fault — it is a real, but treatable, psychological disorder,” the APA says on its website. “If you are having thoughts of hurting yourself or your baby, take action now: Put the baby in a safe place, like a crib. Call a friend or family member for help if you need to.”
(NEW YORK) — Homeschooling, once a relatively niche form of education that has been growing steadily in the past decades, has seen a big uptick due to the COVID-19 pandemic with Black families adopting the practice at a notably high rate.
During the pandemic, the rates of families that home-schooled their children doubled, according to the most recent report released by the U.S. Census. In Black or African American households, the change was especially dramatic, going from 3% in the spring of 2020 to 16% by the fall.
Joyce Burges, co-founder of the National Black Home Educators association, based near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, told ABC News the group had been seeing a “gradual increase in the number of Black families” homeschooling, but “with the pandemic it rose so incredibly.”
The reasons are multiple, she said, ranging from parents wanting to teach a more diverse curriculum to being able to better address the special needs of their children.
The numbers are just going to continue to increase, she said, adding that “education is not just brick and mortar, it will never go back to that again.”
Jania Otey told ABC News that there are myriad reasons why she home-schools her children, but ultimately she wants the children to “excel and progress.”
“We wanted them to be able to grasp a concept quickly or a subject matter,” she said. “We wanted to be able to move them on and build upon those things and not stay into one subject.”
For Otey, another rationale behind the decision to home-school Caleb and another son was “to provide a safe, engaging, healthy environment for our children.”
Although reports from the National Center for Education Statistics show the practice of home-schooling has been historically very white, the demographic shift is unsurprising for experts such as Cheryl Fields-Smith, professor of elementary education at the University of Georgia.
“Teachers are told what to teach, when to teach it, how to teach it, and that doesn’t always align with the students in the classroom,” Fields-Smith told ABC News.
The trends had already been set in place, but “the pandemic made it rise much more quickly.”
When she was first beginning her research, Fields-Smith said she was surprised to see Black families homeschooling, because she thought it was a predominantly white phenomenon.
“I was just blown away,” she said, learning about how Black families were adapting to make home-schooling work for them.
Similarly, Joyce Burges felt herself in the minority as a Black mother making the decision to home-school her children. She remembers vividly the joy at seeing another Black family at a home-schooling conference for the first time, more than 20 years ago.
Now, she can point to examples such as the parents of Venus and Serena Williams, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith as Black celebrities who have home-schooled their children.
Families can find resources and teaching lessons on “every subject,” she said, and she hopes to restart their conference series soon, through which Black families can hear about other parents’ experiences homeschooling.
Burges, who homeschooled her five children, said that it was ultimately “one of the hardest decisions we’ve ever had to make. But it was one of the best.”
(PARIS) — The Eiffel Tower will go dark earlier than usual each night in response to the energy crisis in Europe, officials announced Tuesday.
The illumination of the Eiffel Tour will end at 11:45 p.m., which is when the tower closes to visitors, starting Sept. 21, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said. The iconic landmark is usually lit until 1 a.m.
Additionally, the lighting on the exterior facades of all municipal buildings and monuments, including borough town halls, will be turned off at 10 p.m. starting on the same date, she said.
Public lighting will be maintained to ensure the safety of Parisians, the mayor said.
The lighting changes are among “sobriety” measures the French capital is enacting in the colder months to address the energy crisis spurred by Russia’s war in Ukraine and to prevent energy shortages.
Other actions include postponing when the city turns on the heat in public buildings by a month and lowering the temperature in those buildings by 1 degree to 18 degrees Celsius (about 64 degrees Fahrenheit) during office hours and even lower after office hours and on weekends.
The city aims to reduce its energy use by 10% this winter — a target set in July by French President Emmanuel Macron to conserve energy nationwide. The actions come after Europe saw its hottest summer in recorded history, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, and energy prices at the end of August were 12 times higher than they were at that time last year, Hidalgo’s office said.
It is unclear how long the changes will be in effect.
A Russian squeeze on natural gas supplies in response to Western sanctions imposed over its actions in Ukraine has sent gas and electricity prices soaring in Europe. The crisis is expected to only get worse during the winter.
The European Commission last week put forth new measures to continue to address the crisis, including proposing a mandatory target for reducing electricity use at peak hours and a price cap on Russian gas.
