Los Angeles County health officials reported the first human case of bird flu in the area less than a week after a statewide emergency declaration was announced.
In a statement released on Monday, the L.A. County Department of Public Health said the human case of H5 bird flu was detected in an adult who was exposed to livestock infected with the virus at a worksite.
The unnamed adult had mild symptoms, has been treated with antivirals and is recovering at home, according to the agency.
“The overall risk of H5 bird flu to the public remains low,” health officials said.
There are at least 65 confirmed human cases of bird flu nationally — with at least 36 in California, according to the CDC.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Dec. 18 as bird flu cases were detected in dairy cows on Southern California farms. The virus had also been previously detected in the state’s Central Valley.
“This proclamation is a targeted action to ensure government agencies have the resources and flexibility they need to respond quickly to this outbreak,” Newsom said in a statement last week.
Symptoms of bird flu in humans include eye redness or discharge, fever, cough or difficulty breathing, sore throat, muscle or body aches, diarrhea and vomiting, according to health officials.
Individuals working with infected animals, including cows, poultry or wildlife, continue to be at higher risk of exposure to the virus.
“People rarely get bird flu, but those who interact with infected livestock or wildlife have a greater risk of infection. This case reminds us to take basic precautions to prevent being exposed,” Los Angeles County health officer Muntu Davis, MD, MPH, said in the statement Monday.
“People should avoid unprotected contact with sick or dead animals including cows, poultry, and wild birds; avoid consuming raw or undercooked animal products, such as raw milk; and protect pets and backyard poultry from exposure to wild animals,” Davis added.
The health official also recommended getting the seasonal flu vaccine “which can help prevent severe seasonal flu illness and lower the risk of getting both seasonal and bird flu infections at the same time if exposed.”
Amazon delivery drivers and third-party workers for the nation’s predominant shopping platform have walked off the job in the past week, seeking what they consider a fair labor agreement — and triggering widespread concern among consumers about a potential disruption of deliveries amid a surge of last-minute shopping just before Christmas.
But experts who spoke to ABC News — all of whom study the e-commerce giant’s vast distribution network — said there is little indication that the nationwide demonstrations have imposed significant delays of package delivery, let alone cancellations.
“I haven’t seen evidence that the strike has been effective because of the high level of complexity of the Amazon network,” Jean-Paul Rodrigue, a professor of maritime business administration at Texas A&M University-Galveston who studies Amazon’s freight distribution, told ABC News.
“You’re dealing with a hydra. You can try to chop off one of its heads, but there are other heads,” Rodrigue added.
However, the protests could delay deliveries by one or two days near major cities where efforts are focused.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters said in a statement that thousands of its Amazon-affiliated members are striking in areas including New York City, New York; Atlanta, Georgia; San Bernardino, California; San Francisco, California; and Skokie, Illinois.
The union has focused its efforts on delivery centers that carry packages over the “last mile” to a customer’s home, Barry Eidlin, a professor of labor sociology at McGill University, told ABC News.
Demonstrations in recent days appear to have occasionally slowed trucks passing in and out of the delivery centers, which could delay local package deliveries in those areas by a few days, Eidlin added.
Speaking to “Good Morning America” on Friday, the second day of the protests, Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said the union had heard some “success stories” in its effort to disrupt deliveries.
“We are slowing the packages down,” O’Brien said, later adding: “We’ve got to use our leverage. Unfortunately, it may come at the inconvenience of the consumer.”
In that case, he urged consumers to have patience — and to fault Amazon for any delivery delays.
“Amazon is the one that caused this issue, not the drivers, not the Teamsters union,” O’Brien said.
Teamsters began participating in what they are calling a strike at seven Amazon delivery centers across the country last week.
They were joined by unionized Amazon workers at a 5,500-person warehouse in Staten Island, New York, on Saturday, the Teamsters said. Some company workers at an air hub facility in San Bernardino also joined over the weekend, the Teamsters added.
However, Amazon doesn’t consider the situation a “strike,” since there hasn’t been a work stoppage, according to Kelly Nantel, a spokesperson for the e-commerce titan.
In response to ABC News’ request for comment, Nantel said the striking workers are not Amazon employees and that the demonstrations have had no impact on Amazon’s operations.
“What you’re seeing at these sites are almost entirely outsiders — not Amazon employees or partners — and the suggestion otherwise is just another lie from the Teamsters,” Nantel said. “The truth is that they were unable to get enough support from our employees and partners and have brought in outsiders to harass and intimidate our team, which is inappropriate and dangerous.”
Amazon also said in a statement to ABC News that the federal government has not ordered the company to bargain with Teamsters-affiliated workers — and it said that none of its workers have paid dues to the Teamsters.
Overall, nearly 9,000 Amazon workers, across 20 bargaining units, have affiliated with the Teamsters, according to the union.
This means that the protesting workers represent less than 1% of the company’s 800,000 operations employees in the U.S.
And the picket lines involve a small fraction of the company’s roughly 585 delivery centers, making it unlikely that such demonstrations will meaningfully impact package delivery, even for nearby customers, said Marc Wulfraat, president and founder of logistics consulting firm MWPVL.
“For the Teamsters to have a meaningful impact, they would have to penetrate a significant number of those delivery stations in order to really cause Amazon heartburn,” Wulfraat said.
The headline-grabbing protests could also inspire some workers to organize unions at new facilities, posing a future threat to the company’s distribution network — but the protesters appear far from attaining the scale necessary for such impact, the experts said.
“We appreciate all our team’s great work to serve their customers and communities, and thanks to them, we’re not seeing any impact to customers’ orders,” Nantel said in her statement to ABC News.
Regardless of whether the protests meaningfully impact Amazon’s operations, the public attention could dissuade some customers from ordering out of fear of a possible delay, experts said.
“It’s possible a small percentage of customers might choose to buy elsewhere,” Rob Handfield, a professor of operations and supply-chain management at North Carolina State University, told ABC News.
Public awareness of the labor effort could also draw more employees to the Teamsters, building union momentum and posing a threat to the company’s distribution network in the coming months or years, experts observed.
“There certainly could be some kind of snowball effect. If I was an Amazon leader, that’s what I’d be most afraid about,” Rodrigue said.
But he also noted that the workers appear fairly far from threatening a major disruption, adding: “They still have a ways to go.”
(NEBRASKA) — Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen is recovering from serious but non-life-threatening injuries after being bucked off a horse, his office said Monday.
The incident happened when the Republican leader was riding on horseback with family members near Columbus on Sunday.
The governor was thrown from a new horse, his office said. His injuries included “minor lacerations to his spleen and kidney, seven broken ribs, a partially collapsed lung resulting from the rib damage, and a minor fracture in one of his vertebrae,” his office said in an update on Monday.
“In summary, the Governor’s injuries were serious but not life-threatening and could have been much worse,” the statement added.
Pillen, 68, was initially transported to Columbus Community Hospital before being sent to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha “out of an abundance of caution,” his office previously said.
The governor is expected to remain in the hospital for a few days for observation and plans to work from his hospital room, his office said Monday.
“The Governor looks forward to returning to his office soon after Christmas and wishes a blessed and safe holiday to all Nebraskans,” his office said in the statement.
Pillen, who played football at the University of Nebraska under legendary coach and former Rep. Tom Osborne, took office in January 2023.
ABC News’ Darren Reynolds and Sasha Pezenik contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Starbucks baristas walked off the job in major cities in Massachusetts, Texas and Oregon on Monday, expanding the dayslong holiday strike to 12 cities nationwide, according to the union Starbucks Workers United.
Workers went out on strike in Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, and Portland, Oregon, joining baristas in cities spanning from Los Angeles to Philadelphia.
Striking baristas brought business to a halt in almost 50 stores nationwide on Sunday across multiple cities, Workers United said.
“The holiday season should be magical at Starbucks, but for too many of us, there’s a darker side to the peppermint mochas and gingerbread lattes,”Arloa Fluhr, a longtime Starbucks employee in Illinois, said in a statement to ABC News.
Fluhr, a mother of three, struggles to support her family with the wages received from Starbucks, she said. “That’s why we’re steadfast in our demands for Starbucks to invest in baristas like me,” she added.
Workers United, a union representing 525 Starbucks stores in the U.S., said baristas nationwide launched a strike on Friday. The escalation on Monday is the latest expansion of a strike that has grown each day since it began, the union said.
The holiday season is one of the busiest periods of the year for the coffeehouse giant, the union added.
In February, Starbucks Workers United and Starbucks announced they would work on a “foundational framework” to reach a collective bargaining agreement for stores, something the union says has not come to fruition.
“We were ready to bring the foundational framework home this year, but Starbucks wasn’t,” Lynne Fox, president of Workers United, told ABC News in a statement. “Union baristas know their value, and they’re not going to accept a proposal that doesn’t treat them as true partners.”
Starbucks did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
In response to ABC News’ previous request for comment, Starbucks spokesperson Phil Gee said the company has not experienced a significant impact from the strike.
“We are aware of disruption at a small handful of stores, but the overwhelming majority of our U.S. stores remain open and serving customers as normal,” Gee said on Dec. 20.
Starbucks said it remains willing to resume negotiations with the union. “Workers United delegates prematurely ended our bargaining session this week. It is disappointing they didn’t return to the table given the progress we’ve made to date,” the company said. “We are ready to continue negotiations to reach agreements.”
The union and the company remain far apart on the key issue of potential wage increases, according to statements from both sides about the other’s proposal.
Workers United told ABC News in a statement that Starbucks had proposed no immediate wage increases for most baristas and a guarantee of only 1.5% wage increases in future years.
Meanwhile, Starbucks said in a statement that the union had proposed an immediate increase in the minimum wage of hourly partners by 64%, as well as an overall 77% raise over the duration of a three-year contract. “This is not sustainable,” a Starbucks spokesperson told ABC News.
Starbucks United contests those figures as a disingenuous characterization of its proposal, the union told ABC News.
Some local elected officials joined workers on the picket lines on Sunday, including Democratic Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and Democratic New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, the union said.
Baristas have unionized more than 100 Starbucks stores this year, expanding a union campaign that has spread to hundreds of stores across 45 states since an initial victory three years ago at a location in Buffalo, New York, the union said.
The union has filed hundreds of charges with the National Labor Relations Board alleging illegal anti-union activities carried out by Starbucks, including alleged bad-faith negotiations over a potential union contract setting terms at the unionized locations.
Starbucks has denied wrongdoing and faulted the union for breaking off negotiations. The company offers better pay and benefits than its competitors, Starbucks said.
“We are focused on enhancing the partner (employee) experience, with over $3 billion invested in the last three years. Starbucks offers a competitive average pay of over $18 per hour, and best-in-class benefits,” Starbucks said in a statement to ABC News. “No other retailer offers this kind of comprehensive pay and benefits package.”
ABC News’ Leah Sarnoff contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The bipartisan House Ethics Committee on Monday released a scathing report concluding its yearslong investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, finding “substantial evidence” that he had sex with a 17-year-old in 2017 in violation of Florida’s statutory rape law, and engaged in a broader pattern of paying women for sex.
The report also detailed evidence of illegal drug use, acceptance of improper gifts, granting special favors to personal associates, and obstruction, after Gaetz refused to comply with subpoenas and withheld evidence from the committee.
A woman testified to the committee that Gaetz had sex with her in 2017, when she was 17 and had just completed her junior year of high school, and Gaetz was in his first year in Congress. Identified only as “Victim A” in the report, the woman told investigators she received $400 in cash from the then-congressman that evening, “which she understood to be payment for sex,” according to the report.
“The Committee received credible testimony from Victim A herself, as well as multiple individuals corroborating the allegation,” the report says. “Victim A said that she did not inform Representative Gaetz that she was under 18 at the time, nor did he ask her age.”
While many of the allegations in the committee’s report have been previously reported, this is the first time the woman’s direct testimony about Gaetz having sex with her when she was a minor has been made public, along with corroborating testimony from others.
Investigators noted that while the former Florida congressman has “suggested that the allegations against him have been manufactured” and had called into question Victim A’s credibility, “the Committee found no reason to doubt the credibility of Victim A.”
The report details that between 2017-2020, records obtained by the committee show Gaetz paid nearly $100,000 dollars to 12 different women and to Joel Greenberg, his one-time close friend who pleaded guilty to numerous crimes, including sex trafficking Victim A.
While all the women who testified to the committee described their sexual encounters with Gaetz as consensual, according to the report, one woman raised concerns that drug use at the parties and events may have “impair[ed their] ability to really know what was going on or fully consent.” Another woman told the committee, “When I look back on certain moments, I feel violated.”
The report alleges that Gaetz “took advantage of the economic vulnerability of young women to lure them into sexual activity for which they received an average of a few hundred dollars after each encounter.”
“Such behavior is not ‘generosity to ex-girlfriends,’ and it does not reflect creditably upon the House,” the report reads, referencing the former congressman’s previous statement dismissing the allegations as someone “trying to recategorize my generosity to ex-girlfriends as something more untoward.”
“Based on the above, the Committee determined there is substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House Rules and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress,” the report says.
Gaetz has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. The Justice Department declined to charge him last year after a yearslong investigation into similar allegations.
Earlier Monday Gaetz filed a lawsuit against the Ethics Committee in an effort to stop the committee from releasing its report.
“This action challenges the Committee’s unconstitutional and ultra vires attempt to exercise jurisdiction over a private citizen through the threatened release of an investigative report containing potentially defamatory allegations,” the filing from Gaetz said.
Gaetz in the filing asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to block the release of the report or any findings, which he says would cause “damage to his reputation and professional standing” that would be “immediate and severe.”
“The threatened release of information believed to be defamatory by a Congressional committee concerning matters of sexual propriety and other acts of alleged moral turpitude constitutes irreparable harm that cannot be adequately remedied through monetary damages,” the filing stated.
Gaetz’s lawsuit highlights that he is now a public citizen and claims he did not receive “proper notice” of the report’s impending release.
“After Plaintiff’s resignation from Congress, Defendants improperly continued to act on its investigation, and apparently voted to publicly release reports and/or investigative materials related to Plaintiff without proper notice or disclosure to Plaintiff,” the complaint states.
President-elect Donald Trump last month tapped Gaetz to serve as attorney general in the incoming administration, and Gaetz resigned his congressional seat shortly after. Gaetz subsequently withdrew his name from consideration for AG, saying his confirmation process was “unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition.”
The Ethics Committee was in the final stages of its probe into Gaetz when Trump tapped him for attorney general. The committee generally drops investigations of members if they leave office, but Gaetz’s resignation prompted a fiery debate on Capitol Hill over whether the panel should release its report to allow the Senate to perform its role of vetting presidential nominations.
Following indications last week that the committee would release its report, Gaetz took to X in a lengthy post, writing in part that when he was single he “often sent funds to women” he dated and that he “never had sexual contact with someone under 18.”
“It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life. I live a different life now,” he posted. “I’ve never been charged. I’ve never been sued. Instead, House Ethics will reportedly post a report online that I have no opportunity to debate or rebut as a former member of the body.”
In its report, the committee concluded that it did not find substantial evidence that Gaetz violated federal sex trafficking laws, finding that while Gaetz “did cause the transportation of women across state lines for purposes of commercial sex,” investigators did not find evidence “that any of those women were under 18 at the time of travel, nor did the Committee find sufficient evidence to conclude that the commercial sex acts were induced by force, fraud, or coercion.”
According to the report, the committee conducted over two dozen interviews, issued 29 subpoenas, reviewed nearly 14,000 documents, and requested information from multiple government agencies as part of its extensive investigation into the allegations.
The committee also received written testimony from Greenberg but, due to credibility concerns, investigators said they would “not rely exclusively on information provided by Mr. Greenberg,” according to the report.
The committee also accused Gaetz of obstructing its investigation by ignoring subpoenas, withholding documents, and declining to answer questions about the allegations.
“Representative Gaetz continuously sought to deflect, deter, or mislead the Committee in order to prevent his actions from being exposed,” the report reads. “His actions undermine not only his claims that he had exculpatory information to provide, but also his claims that he intended to cooperate with the Committee in good faith. It is apparent that Representative Gaetz’s assertions were nothing more than attempts to delay the Committee’s investigation.”
The committee had been investigating allegations that Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift, according to sources.
Earlier this year, the committee released a statement that it would continue its probe but would no longer pursue allegations that Gaetz “may have shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe or improper gratuity.”
According to the report, while several committee members did not support its release, a majority of its members voted in favor of its release on Dec. 10. In a statement at the conclusion of the report, House Ethics Chairman Michael Guest reiterated his stance against the release of the report on behalf of the dissenting members while acknowledging that he and other members do not dispute the report’s findings.
“We believe and remain steadfast in the position that the House Committee on Ethics lost jurisdiction to release to the public any substantive work product regarding Mr. Gaetz after his resignation from the House on November 14, 2024,” Guest wrote.
(LONDON) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday that more 3,000 North Korean soldiers are believed to have been killed or wounded fighting for Moscow in Russia’s western Kursk region.
Zelenskyy posted to Telegram on Monday following a briefing by Kyiv’s top commander — Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi — on the ongoing battle in Kursk, underway since Ukrainian troops launched a surprise cross-border incursion there in August.
“There are risks of sending additional soldiers and military equipment to the Russian army from North Korea,” Zelenskyy said, vowing “tangible responses” to any such move. “According to preliminary data, the number of killed and wounded North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region already exceeds 3,000 people.”
Ukrainian special forces claimed on Monday to have inflicted more than 100 casualties among North Korean forces over three days of operations.
Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces branch claimed in a post to its official Telegram channel that 77 North Koreans were killed and 40 wounded in recent fighting.
On Sunday, the SSO posted photos of what it said were North Korean troops killed in Russia’s western Kursk region. The SSO also uploaded photos of purportedly fabricated Russian military identity cards. ABC News was not immediately able to independently verify the images.
“Russia is trying to hide the presence of military personnel from North Korea by issuing them with fake documents,” the SSO wrote.
It added that the documents “do not have all the seals, photographs, the patronymics are given in the Russian manner and the place of birth is signed as the Republic of Tuva,” the home region of Sergei Shoigu — formerly Russia’s defense minister and now the secretary of the Security Council.
The SSO said the signatures of the document owners were written in Korean, which it said “indicates the real origin of these soldiers.”
U.S., South Korean and Ukrainian officials have said there are currently up to 12,000 North Korean soldiers inside Russia, deployed there primarily to help push Kyiv’s forces out of positions taken in Kursk.
Ukrainian military sources told ABC News in November that North Koreans were expected to be among the 50,000 troops arrayed for a major counter-offensive in Kursk.
The deployment of troops marks a new milestone in North Korean support for Russia’s war, Pyongyang already having supplied Moscow with ammunition and weapons — including ballistic missiles — since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier this month that Kyiv has “preliminary data that the Russians have begun to use North Korean soldiers in their assaults — a significant number of them.”
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Main Directorate of Intelligence, meanwhile, has reported “significant casualties” among North Korean troops deployed on the front lines alongside Russian units.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported on Monday that Seoul expects Pyongyang to send more troops and equipment to Russia.
“North Korea is preparing to rotate or increase the deployment of troops [in Russia], while currently supplying 240mm rocket launchers and 170mm self-propelled artillery,” said South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, as quoted by Yonhap.
“There are also some signs of [the North] moving to manufacture and supply suicide drones,” the JCS said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited a drone production and test facility in November. Then, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said Kim “underscored the need to build a serial production system as early as possible and go into full-scale mass production.”
(WASHINGTON) — The bipartisan House Ethics Committee is expected to detail scathing allegations into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, writing in a draft report obtained by ABC News that the committee found “substantial evidence” that he had sex with a 17-year-old in 2017 in violation of Florida’s statutory rape law, and engaged in a broader pattern of paying women for sex.
The draft committee report also detailed evidence of illegal drug use, acceptance of improper gifts, granting special favors to personal associates, and obstruction, after Gaetz refused to comply with subpoenas and withheld evidence from the committee.
A woman testified to the committee that Gaetz had sex with her in 2017, when she was 17 and had just completed her junior year of high school. Identified only as “Victim A” in the draft report, the woman told investigators she received $400 in cash from the then-congressman that evening, “which she understood to be payment for sex,” according to the report.
Gaetz on Monday filed a lawsuit against the Ethics Committee in an effort to stop the committee from releasing its report.
“This action challenges the Committee’s unconstitutional and ultra vires attempt to exercise jurisdiction over a private citizen through the threatened release of an investigative report containing potentially defamatory allegations,” the filing from Gaetz says.
Gaetz in the filing asks the court to issue a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to block the release of the report or any findings, which he says would cause “damage to his reputation and professional standing” that would be “immediate and severe.”
“The threatened release of information believed to be defamatory by a Congressional committee concerning matters of sexual propriety and other acts of alleged moral turpitude constitutes irreparable harm that cannot be adequately remedied through monetary damages,” the filing states.
Gaetz’s lawsuit highlights that he is now a public citizen and claims he did not receive “proper notice” of the report’s impending release.
“After Plaintiff’s resignation from Congress, Defendants improperly continued to act on its investigation, and apparently voted to publicly release reports and/or investigative materials related to Plaintiff without proper notice or disclosure to Plaintiff,” the complaint states.
Gaetz has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. The Justice Department declined to charge him last year after a yearslong investigation into similar allegations.
Following indications last week that the committee would release its report, Gaetz took to X in a lengthy post, writing in part that when he was single he “often sent funds to women” he dated and that he “never had sexual contact with someone under 18.”
“It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life. I live a different life now,” he posted. “I’ve never been charged. I’ve never been sued. Instead, House Ethics will reportedly post a report online that I have no opportunity to debate or rebut as a former member of the body.”
President-elect Donald Trump last month tapped Gaetz to serve as attorney general in the incoming administration, and Gaetz resigned his congressional seat shortly after. But Gaetz subsequently withdrew his name from consideration, saying his confirmation process was “unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition.”
The Ethics Committee was in the final stages of its probe into Gaetz when Trump tapped him for attorney general. The committee generally drops investigations of members if they leave office, but Gaetz’s resignation prompted a fiery debate on Capitol Hill over whether the panel should release its report to allow the Senate to perform its role of vetting presidential nominations.
The committee initially voted against releasing the report before reversing course, sources said.
(NEW YORK) — Luigi Mangione on Monday pleaded not guilty to state murder and terror charges in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The 26-year-old Mangione entered the Manhattan courtroom in shackles and under heavy guard. He was dressed in civilian clothes, wearing a maroon sweater over a light-colored shirt.
He pleaded not guilty to 11 charges, including first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism. Judge Gregory Carro presided over the arraignment.
A Manhattan grand jury upgraded charges against Mangione last week to include first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism.
He is also charged in New York with two counts of second-degree murder, one of which is charged as killing as an act of terrorism; two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree; four counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree; one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree; and one count of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree.
He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole if convicted of the state charges.
There is also a federal case against Mangione. One of the charges, murder through use of a firearm, would make Mangione eligible for the death penalty if he’s convicted.
Both cases are in addition to the charges brought against Mangione in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested and where he faces charges including forgery and possession of an unlicensed firearm.
Mangione was transported to New York on Dec. 19 after waiving his right to an extradition hearing that morning in court in Blair County, Pennsylvania.
Upon his arrival in New York, Mangione was placed under arrest by federal authorities.
Defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo said Mangione would not initially contest pretrial detention, and he was taken into police custody.
Mangione then made his initial appearance in Manhattan federal court the same day, hours after the unsealing of a criminal complaint charging him with stalking and murdering Brian Thompson. He did not enter a plea.
Agnifilo said her client was prepared to appear in state court and said the federal charges were sprung on them.
“This is a highly unusual situation we find ourselves in,” Agnifilo said. “I have never seen anything like that.”
She said the theories of the two cases appear to be in conflict, noting the state case accused Mangione of terrorizing a group of people while the federal case accused him of stalking an individual.
The judge told the parties to confer.
Danielle Filson, a spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, said this week that “the state case will proceed in parallel with any federal case.”
Mangione’s next scheduled court date for his federal case is Jan. 18.
(WASHINGTON) — Former Rep. Matt Gaetz on Monday filed a lawsuit against the House Ethics Committee that investigated him for years, in an effort to stop the committee from releasing its report on their probe into allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use.
“This action challenges the Committee’s unconstitutional and ultra vires attempt to exercise jurisdiction over a private citizen through the threatened release of an investigative report containing potentially defamatory allegations,” the filing from Gaetz says.
Gaetz in the filing asks the court to issue a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to block the release of the report or any findings, which he says would cause “damage to [his reputation and professional standing” that would be “immediate and severe.”
“The threatened release of information believed to be defamatory by a Congressional committee concerning matters of sexual propriety and other acts of alleged moral turpitude constitutes irreparable harm that cannot be adequately remedied through monetary damages,” the filing states.
Gaetz’s lawsuit highlights that he is now a public citizen and claims he did not receive “proper notice” of the report’s impending release.
“After Plaintiff’s resignation from Congress, Defendants improperly continued to act on its investigation, and apparently voted to publicly release reports and/or investigative materials related to Plaintiff without proper notice or disclosure to Plaintiff,” the complaint states.
Gaetz has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. Following indications last week that the committee would release its report, Gaetz took to X in a lengthy post, writing in part that when he was single he “often sent funds to women” he dated and that he “never had sexual contact with someone under 18.”
“It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life. I live a different life now,” he posted. “I’ve never been charged. I’ve never been sued. Instead, House Ethics will reportedly post a report online that I have no opportunity to debate or rebut as a former member of the body.”
The Justice Department declined to charge him last year after a yearslong investigation into similar allegations.
President-elect Donald Trump last month tapped Gaetz to serve as attorney general in the incoming administration, and Gaetz resigned his congressional seat shortly after. But Gaetz subsequently withdrew his name from consideration, saying his confirmation process was “unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition.”
The Ethics Committee was in the final stages of its probe into Gaetz when Trump tapped him for attorney general. The committee generally drops investigations of members if they leave office, but Gaetz’s resignation prompted a fiery debate on Capitol Hill over whether the panel should release its report to allow the Senate to perform its role of vetting presidential nominations.
The committee initially voted against releasing the report before reversing course, sources said.
(LONDON)– Rebel forces in Syria are building a transitional government after toppling the regime of President Bashar Assad in a lightning-quick advance across the country.
Meanwhile, the ceasefire in Lebanon is holding despite ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah targets, which Israeli officials say are responses to ceasefire violations by the Iranian-backed militant group. The Israel Defense Forces continues its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza.
Tensions remain high between Israel and Iran after tit-for-tat long-range strikes in recent months and threats of further military action from both sides. The IDF and the Yemeni Houthis also continue to exchange attacks.
Hamas reports Israeli attack on Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp
Hamas on Monday said the Israel Defense Forces killed or wounded at least 50 people in an air and ground assault on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
An IDF airstrike was followed by an incursion into the camp supported by 17 heavy vehicles, among them tanks and bulldozers, Hamas said.
Israeli forces also attacked Nuseirat camp two weeks ago, killing at least 33 people according to the Gaza Government Media Office.
The IDF is yet to comment on Monday’s operation.
-ABC News’ Diaa Ostaz and Tomek Rolski
Netanyahu says Israel will act against Houthis after missile strike
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that his nation would “act forcefully” against the Houthis in Yemen after a weekend missile attack on Tel Aviv injured 16 people, according to Israeli emergency authorities.
“Just as we acted forcefully against the terrorist arms of Iran’s evil axis, so we will act against the Houthis — the result will be the same,” Netanyahu said in a statement posted to X.
Since October 2023, the Houthis have been launching attacks on commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea, as well as long-range drone and missile attacks towards Israel.
On Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces said it intercepted a Houthi missile but that debris destroyed a school building in Tel Aviv.
The Houthis — which have close ties with Iran and are part of the Tehran-led “Axis of Resistance” — are demanding an end to Israel’s war in Gaza, launched in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, infiltration attack into southern Israel.
The U.S. and U.K. — supported by other allies — have launched a series of strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen since January. Israel has also launched significant strikes in Yemen in recent months, most recently on Thursday.
At least 7 dead after IDF strikes humanitarian area in Gaza
At least seven people were killed after an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, which is located in the southern Gaza Strip.
The strike hit a collection of tents within what had been designated a humanitarian area, where displaced people were sheltering.
The Israel Defense Forces acknowledged the strike on Sunday, saying in a statement it was “an intelligence-based strike on a Hamas terrorist.”
“Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence,” the IDF said.
– ABC News’ William Gretsky
21 killed in Gaza, IDF northern offensive continues
The Gaza Ministry of Health said Saturday that 21 people were killed and 61 injured in three separate Israeli attacks over the last 24 hours in the Hamas-run territory.
A total of 45,227 people have been killed since the start of the war, health officials said.
Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces continued intense operations in northern Gaza, particularly around the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia.
The director of the hospital said there is shooting “around the clock” nearby, adding that on Friday the third floor and the hospital entrance were shelled.
The director said the IDF is blocking the entry of all requested medical supplies. Nine people need urgent evacuation for surgery in Gaza City and the hospital is currently treating over 70 people, he said.
