(ALLEGANY COUNTY, MD) — A flash flood emergency has been issued for parts of northwestern Maryland on Tuesday, where severe flooding led to the evacuation of two elementary schools.
A flash flood emergency was issued for Westernport, Luke and Barton in Allegany County, where up to 5 inches of rain had fallen as of Tuesday afternoon. Rainfall rates were up to 1 to 2 inches an hour.
Numerous water rescues have occurred, including at two elementary schools in Allegany County, officials said.
About 200 students and teachers were evacuated from Westernport Elementary School in Westernport by motorized boats to a nearby church, Allegany County officials confirmed to ABC News.
All students and staff were safely evacuated, according to the Allegany County Department of Emergency Services. The Allegany County Sheriff’s Office led the evacuation efforts and the Maryland State Police were assisting with the reunification of students.
Students at Georges Creek Elementary in Lonaconing were also being evacuated to a nearby high school, the Allegany County Department of Emergency Services said Tuesday afternoon.
Students at Westmar Middle School in Lonaconing were sheltering in place, the department said. Family reunifications have been delayed due to ongoing road closures caused by flooding, a government source told ABC News. No injuries at been reported at this time.
State police were helping with additional road closures due to high water.
County officials urged drivers to avoid all flooded roadways and not attempt to drive through standing water.
“Severe flooding is currently impacting Georges Creek and surrounding areas in Allegany County due to rising water levels,” the Allegany County Department of Emergency Services said in a social media post Tuesday afternoon. “Multiple areas have already been evacuated.”
More than 15 million Americans across the Mid-Atlantic remain on alert for flooding and heavy rain on Tuesday into Wednesday.
A flood watch remains in effect for portions of east-central North Carolina, east-central Virginia, eastern West Virginia, west-central Maryland and central Pennsylvania until Wednesday morning. That includes the cities of Raleigh, North Carolina; Richmond, Virginia; and Hagerstown, Maryland.
Pockets of heavy rain and showers are expected to continue from North Carolina up to Pennsylvania on Tuesday into Wednesday. Some of these heavier pockets could feature strong to severe storms capable of producing some hail, isolated damaging wind gusts, and an isolated tornado, especially for east-central North Carolina and east-central Virginia.
The heavier pockets of rain will be focused more over Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania, with lighter rain in the surrounding areas.
(COOPERSTOWN, NY) — Pete Rose, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and 15 other deceased baseball players have been removed from MLB’s permanent list of banned players, according to a memo from the league’s commissioner.
The decision allows Rose, who accepted a ban for life from MLB in 1989 for gambling on games, to be eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame posthumously.
The decision only applies to dead players who have been placed on the ineligible list.
“The National Baseball Hall of Fame has always maintained that anyone removed from Baseball’s permanently ineligible list will become eligible for Hall of Fame consideration,” Hall of Fame Chairman Jane Forbes Clark said in a statement. “Major League Baseball’s decision to remove deceased individuals from the permanently ineligible list will allow for the Hall of Fame candidacy of such individuals to now be considered.”
However, a vote by the Historical Overview Committee, often known as the veterans committee, which considers players who made their greatest impact prior to 1980, will not vote on candidates to be included in the hall again until December 2027.
Rose died last October at 83 years old. Rose petitioned the league to be removed from the list in 1992, 1998, 2003, 2015 and 2022 — but either was rejected or received no response each time, including from Manfred.
Rose and Jackson are likely the only two players on the list of players whose body of work would make them likely to be voted to the Hall of Fame.
Rose’s workmanlike attitude and hustle on the field won him innumerable fans. By the end of his 24-year career, 19 of which were with the Cincinnati Reds, he held the record for most career hits, as well as games played, plate appearances and at-bats. He was also a 17-time All-Star, the 1973 NL MVP and 1963 Rookie of the Year.
He also won three World Series — two with Cincinnati’s “Big Red Machine” clubs in 1975 and 1976, and a third with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980.
But Rose will always be remembered for being banned for life over gambling on games while he was managing the Reds.
With Rose under suspicion, new MLB Commissioner Bart Giamatti commissioned an investigation led by John Dowd, a lawyer with the Department of Justice, in April 1989. By June, the damning report was released, documenting at least 52 bets on Reds games in 1987, his first season as solely a manager after serving as player/manager for three seasons. The bets totaled thousands of dollars per day, according to the Dowd Report.
“While it is my preference not to disturb decisions made by prior Commissioners, Mr. Rose was not placed on the permanently ineligible list by Commissioner action but rather as the result of a 1989 settlement of potential litigation with the Commissioner’s Office,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday. “My decision today is consistent with Commissioner Giamatti’s expectations of that agreement.”
Jackson, meanwhile, was banned from baseball for life in 1920 by then-Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis in connection to the so-called “Black Sox Scandal.”
Jackson and seven other members of the Chicago White Sox were given money by an organized gambling ring to fix the 1919 World Series for the Reds. The players made a paltry sum of money compared to today’s mega-millionaire contracts and were angry about the team owner, Charles Comiskey, paying them a pittance. There was no baseball players union at the time.
All eight of the players — featured in the 1988 movie “Eight Men Out” — have been reinstated: Jackson, Eddie Cicotte, Happy Felsch, Chick Gandil, Fred McMullin, Swede Risberg, Buck Weaver and Lefty Williams. Gandil was known as the ringleader of the group and allegedly set up the payment, while it’s always been disputed how much Jackson even knew about the plan. He did, however, allegedly admit to accepting $5,000 as part of the scheme, according to testimony from a criminal trial over the case, something he later recanted.
If he did accept money, he didn’t show any signs of throwing games on the field. Jackson hit 12-for-35 (.375) with three doubles, five runs scored and six runs batted in over the eight games in the series. The World Series was a best-of-9 format at the time.
Jackson was one of the best hitters of the early 20th century. Over 13 seasons with Philadelphia, Cleveland and Chicago, the outfielder had a lifetime batting average of .356 with a .423 on-base percentage. He finished in the top 10 in MVP voting four times and led the majors in hits twice, triples twice and total bases twice.
The other former players banned from the league and now reinstated — who are not as widely known — were Joe Gedeon, Gene Paulette, Benny Kauff, Lee Magee, Phil Douglas, Cozy Dolan, Jimmy O’Connell and William Cox.
Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images
(MORGANTOWN, WV) — The Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday reversed the firings of more than 100 federal employees with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the federal institute that helps protect coal miners from black lung, according to Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito.
Roughly 200 employees of the NIOSH office in Morgantown, West Virginia, were put on administrative leave in April and informed they would be formally fired in June. Some were temporarily brought back roughly two weeks ago, but until Tuesday they were told they would still be terminated next month.
In a letter sent Tuesday, a copy of which was obtained by ABC News, HHS said, “You previously received a notice regarding the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) upcoming reduction in force (RIF). That notice is hereby revoked. You will not be affected by the upcoming RIF.”
The move comes after public pressure from Capito, and follows a series of ABC News reports detailing the impact the firings would have on black lung health care programs for coal miners.
Capito, announcing the reversals on X, said, “The heath and safety of our WV workers, including our miners, is of the utmost important and I will always advocate for their wellbeing.”
Critics said the initial firings, part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to slash the size of the federal government, belied his vow to reinvigorate America’s coal industry.
NIOSH has offices in several other states covering a range of issues from vehicle safety to firefighter health care. It’s unclear if any employees in those offices were also rehired.
ABC News reached out to HHS for comment.
The announcement came just hours before a federal judge ordered HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to temporarily halt its dismissal of NIOSH officials who oversee the black lung surveillance program.
“Losing the services of these experienced and dedicated employees is an aspect of the irreparable harm to the miners and the public that cannot and should not be ignored,” U.S. District Judge Irene Berger wrote in her order Tuesday.
It was not immediately clear whether the ruling had anything to do with the Trump administration’s decision to reinstate the workers earlier Tuesday.
Judge Berger’s ruling came after a veteran coal miner named Henry Wiley, in April, challenged the Trump administration’s removal of the NIOSH employees, arguing that terminations endangered him and other miners.
The judge wrote Tuesday that Wiley and a handful of NIOSH officials who testified in a hearing last week persuaded her of the importance of NIOSH’s health screening program and a waiver called Part 90, which allows miners with early-stage black lung disease to transfer to roles out of the mines.
If the NIOSH dismissals were allowed to go forward, Berger wrote, “thousands of miners will go without screening for black lung, and those with black lung will be deprived of access to the Part 90 transfer option.”
Berger referenced Kennedy directly, writing, “Does the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services genuinely believe that a miner diagnosed with black lung is not being injured when the program designed to confirm his condition and provide him with workplace protections to prevent its progression is rendered inaccessible? This court does not share such a belief.”
Berger ordered the Trump administration to grant “full restoration of the NIOSH Respiratory Health Division, rescission of the [reduction in force letters], and compelling continued health surveillance” through the health surveillance program and Part 90.
She gave Kennedy three weeks to report in writing when the court’s orders have been satisfied.
In a statement to ABC News, plaintiffs attorney Sam Petsonk said, “This opinion gives life to our foundational principles of judicial review, empowering ordinary citizens like these coal miners to defend their rights.”
“We’re glad to see the Administration already taking some initial steps in the direction of complying with the order. America’s coal miners deserve nothing less, and in fact they deserve a heck of a lot more,” Petsonk said.
An HHS spokesperson told ABC News that Kennedy has been working hard to maintain NIOSH’s critical functions as HHS streamlines its operations, and that the Trump administration is committed to supporting coal miners and firefighters.
(FRY, GREECE) — A 6.1 magnitude earthquake was reported near Greece early Wednesday local time, according to the United States Geological Survey.
Greek Emergency Management warned of a possible tsunami risk following the quake, which the agency reported as occurring nearly 30 miles southeast of Kasos as a 5.9 magnitude earthquake.
“Move away from the coast immediately,” Greek Emergency Management said.
The USGS said the epicenter is located over 9 miles south of Fry, Greece.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(MILWAUKEE) — A federal grand jury has indicted a Wisconsin judge who was arrested and charged last month with allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant evade arrest.
Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan has been indicted on charges alleging she concealed a person from arrest and obstructed a proceeding before a department or agency of the United States — the same charges she was initially charged with by complaint.
She is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges on Thursday.
Following the indictment on Tuesday, her legal team said in a statement, “As she said after her unnecessary arrest, Judge Dugan asserts her innocence and looks forward to being vindicated in court.”
The judge was arrested on April 25. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement at the time that two FBI agents arrested Dugan “for allegedly helping an illegal alien avoid arrest” by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Dugan appeared in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin following her arrest and was released on her own recognizance. If convicted, she could face up to six years in prison.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court suspended Dugan in the wake of her arrest, stating in an order that it found it was “in the public interest that she be temporarily relieved of her official duties.”
Her case stems from the arrest of an undocumented immigrant — Eduardo Flores-Ruiz — on April 18, county court records show. Flores-Ruiz was set to appear in court that day before Dugan for a pretrial conference in an ongoing case where he has been charged with three misdemeanor counts of battery/domestic abuse.
Upon learning ICE officers were present in court to arrest Flores-Ruiz, Dugan allegedly became “visibly angry” and confronted one of the officers, according to the federal complaint that was unsealed following her arrest.
Multiple witnesses cited in the complaint later allegedly said Dugan returned to her courtroom after directing members of the arrest team to the office of the court’s chief judge, according to the complaint.
A DEA agent saw Flores-Ruiz and his attorney in the public hallway of the courthouse and he appeared to be making efforts to evade arrest, the complaint stated. After he was encountered by FBI and DEA agents outside the building, Flores-Ruiz “turned around and sprinted down the street” before he was ultimately apprehended, according to the complaint.
In a post on social media, FBI Director Kash Patel claimed Dugan “intentionally misdirected federal agents away from the subject to be arrested in her courthouse.”
(NEW YORK) — For six hours on Tuesday in a packed Manhattan courtroom, Cassie Ventura testified about how her decade-long relationship turned violent as her then-boyfriend, Sean “Diddy” Combs, seized control of her personal and professional lives and demanded she orchestrate his drug-fueled sex parties known as “freak offs.”
Ventura is the star witness in the federal racketeering and sex-trafficking case against Combs, who faces the possibility of life in prison if he is convicted. Ventura’s 2023 civil lawsuit — which Combs settled with no admission of guilt — prompted federal authorities to begin investigating Combs’ conduct, and he was indicted last September.
Combs has pleaded not guilty and denied the federal charges. His lawyers insist that any sexual conduct was consensual and, though Combs’ lifestyle may not be appropriate for everyone, law enforcement has no right to invade his bedroom and private life. They also insist that any acts of assault show domestic violence, but not coercion or evidence of trafficking.
Ventura testifies about her relationship with Combs turning violent
Ventura testified that her relationship gradually became violent, as Combs allegedly took control of her personal and professional lives.
Combs signed Ventura to his Bad Boy record label in 2006, when she was 19 years old. Though 17 years younger than Combs, Ventura said she wanted to be around the man who helped catapult rap music and urban fashion into the mainstream.
“I wanted to be around Sean for the same reasons as everyone else at the time. He’s just this exciting and entertaining fun guy that just also happened to have my career in his hands.”
As she continued her relationship with Combs, Ventura told jurors, she began to experience “a different side” of the mogul – one that featured fits of rage, violent outbursts and unpredictable mood swings.
“He would bash my head, knock me over, drag me, kick me, stomp me in the head when I was down,” she said, recounting violent arguments with Combs.
“How frequently was Sean physical with you during your relationship?” prosecutor Emily Johnson asked.
“Too frequently,” Ventura responded, saying she feared triggering his anger.
Ventura added that members of Combs’ security team would “keep an eye” on her and that Combs would incessantly call her if she ignored him. With Combs paying for her apartment, she experienced her “stomach in knots” moments when he would drop by unannounced, not knowing if he was angry.
Ventura recounts ‘Freak Offs’ in detail
Ventura broke down in tears on the witness stand as she testified how she participated in drug-fueled sex parties called “freak offs” or “wild king nights.”
She said she had just turned 22 when Sean Combs first proposed these marathon, drug-addled sex performances with male prostitutes.
She said she originally agreed to participate in order to indulge Combs’ voyeuristic fantasies. Eventually, she told the jury, the orgies “became almost weekly,” oftentimes lasting two or three days, and once going on for four straight days. She testified she was awake the whole time, fueled by ecstasy, molly and cocaine supplied by Combs.
According to Ventura, she participated in the sex parties in every one of Combs’ homes and, most frequently, in hotels in New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Ibiza, and Turks and Caicos. She described that Combs carefully directed the freak offs, ordering specific lighting and candles, and insisting that only Johnson & Johnson Baby Oil be used to ensure participants “glistened.”
Combs shook his head as Ventura testified about the use of baby oil, describing at least one party where a baby pool was filled with oil that Combs ordered she immerse herself in while fully clothed.
“It was a mess,” she said.
She testified about another instance when she thought she would choke because Combs and a male sex worker both urinated on her; multiple jurors shook their heads and looked down as she recounted the story.
It did not take long, Ventura said, before she realized she did not want to participate in future parties.
“Did you want to participate in every freak off?” prosecutor Emily Johnson asked.
“No,” Ventura answered. “I felt like it was all I was good for. It was disgusting. I felt humiliated. I didn’t have the words for how horrible I really felt.”
She said that Combs “would be violent” with her if she refused to participate, adding that her professional career stalled as she was forced to devote nearly all her time to planning the freak-offs that Combs demanded. As she testified, Ventura flipped through a binder containing the photographs of the male escorts she says were hired for the freak-offs and recounted needing to self-medicate with illegal drugs to make it through the prolonged sessions that were demeaning and emotionally and physically draining.
When Johnson asked if there was any part of the freak offs she enjoyed, Ventura began to sob. She grabbed a tissue and, through tears, said, “I thought it was the only time I could get.”
“The version of him I was in love with was no longer there,” she said.
Early witnesses lay foundation for Ventura’s testimony
Ventura was long billed as the key witness against Combs after CNN last year obtained a 2016 videotape showing Combs kicking and dragging her in a hotel elevator lobby.
Prior to Ventura taking the stand, the jury heard from two other witnesses who appeared to corroborate and bolster part of Ventura’s testimony.
Male escort Daniel Phillip testified he was paid as much as $6,000 for having sex with Ventura while Combs watched and masturbated. He also testified that he witnessed Combs throw a bottle at Ventura after she did not immediately obey his instructions and then “grabbed her by her hair and dragged her by her hair into the bedroom.” Defense attorney Xavier Donaldson tried to raise doubts about Phillip’s testimony, pointing to a discrepancy about dialogue in a previous statement to authorities, Philip stood by his account of the physical abuse.
On the first day of the trial, prosecutors showed the 2016 video to the jury and prepared jurors for Ventura’s testimony to come. Israel Florez, an LAPD officer who was working security at the now-shuttered InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles, testified that Combs offered him money to cover up the assault and that he noticed Ventura had a “purple eye.” Florez said he refused the money.
“These are foundational witnesses. They create the context and the backdrop in which Cassie then testifies and gives more color and more examples, building upon earlier testimony to be the star witness that the government expects her to be,” ABC News legal contributor Brian Buckmire said.
Ventura concluded her testimony on Tuesday by explaining the moment depicted in the video watched by jurors was the result of her effort to try to escape one of the freak-offs.
“There’s an instance in Los Angeles where it got violent, and I chose to leave,” she said. “When I chose to leave, I grabbed what I could and got out and Sean followed me into the hallway by the elevators, grabbed me, tried to drag me back to the room.”
While jurors have already seen the video, it was played again in court on Tuesday afternoon. “That’s me,” Ventura said.
Ventura is expected to return to the stand when the trial resumes Wednesday morning.
(ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MN) — Three major wildfires raging out of control in the same Minnesota county have burned more than 20,000 acres combined, destroying dozens of structures, triggering evacuations and prompting the governor to call in the state National Guard to help battle the flames.
The largest fire in St. Louis County — the Camp House Fire — exploded overnight to nearly 12,000 acres and was 0% contained on Tuesday afternoon, officials said.
“The responders are doing everything they can, working long hours under extremely tough conditions,” Cmdr. Ryan Williams of the Minnesota Incident Command System (MNICS) said at a news conference.
The Camp House Fire, which started on Sunday in the Superior National Forest near Brimson, about 35 miles north of county seat Duluth, grew overnight from roughly 1,200 acres to 11,788 acres by Tuesday afternoon, according to Williams.
He said that up to 150 structures, including seasonal cabins, remain under mandatory evacuation orders.
St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay said in a video statement that more than 40 structures, including homes and cabins, have been destroyed by the Camp House Fire.
Fueled by wind gusts, relative low humidity, warm temperatures, dry underbrush and a build-up of dead trees killed by an insect infestation, the Camp House Fire has quickly spread through the area, according to officials.
“When the fire torches through tree canopies, it throws embers into the air like confetti,” Williams said.
Two other wild fires burning in St. Louis County were the Jenkins Creek Fire — which started on Monday afternoon and had spread to 6,800 acres as of Tuesday afternoon — and the Munger Saw Fire, which also started Monday afternoon and had grown to 1,400 acres as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the MNICS. Both fires were also 0% contained, officials said.
No injuries have been reported from any of the fires, officials noted.
As of Tuesday morning, wildfires had scorched over 37,000 acres — far above the state’s typical yearly total of about 12,000 acres.
“We are seeing the effects of climate change,” Sarah Strommen, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, said at Tuesday’s news conference. “It’s harder to compare current fire seasons to what used to be normal. We are trending toward hotter, drier weather — and that’s changing everything.”
On Monday night, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called in state National Guard troops to help firefighters gain control of the three fires.
“Last night, many of our firefighters were out there with no sleep in extremely dangerous conditions,” Walz said in a statement. “We’ve already seen 970 wildfires this year — 40 on Sunday and another 40 on Monday. These are record-setting numbers, and the fires are burning fast.”
The blazes ignited amid red flag fire danger warnings issued by the National Weather Service for nearly the entire state of Minnesota.
Making matters worse for firefighters were high temperatures forecast for most of Minnesota this week. On Monday and Tuesday, temperatures in the Duluth area reached the 80s.
(LONDON) — Moscow on Wednesday said it would send a delegation to Istanbul to meet with Ukrainian officials, potentially bringing diplomats from the two at-war countries together for the first known in-person direct talks in more than three years.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Wednesday that Russian diplomats would travel to Turkey, but didn’t detail which officials would be present.
The confirmation followed an act of one-upmanship from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, who on Wednesday said he would be willing to meet personally with Russian President Vladimir Putin, should the latter decide to travel to Turkey.
“We are ready for such direct diplomacy to put an end to killings and advance real peace,” Zelenskyy said on social media “And this must certainly be discussed with the person who makes decisions in Russia.”
Peskov, who spoke in Moscow on Wednesday, wouldn’t confirm which Russian officials would be present. Putin had on Sunday proposed the direct talks.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(LOS ANGELES) — Erik and Lyle Menendez were resentenced on Tuesday to 50 years to life in prison, which makes them eligible for parole — the latest step in a years-long battle for the brothers trying to get released after 35 years behind bars.
The parole process will be long and could take years.
Erik and Lyle Menendez were initially sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for the 1989 murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. They have the support of over 20 family members in their efforts to be freed.
After the resentencing, Erik Menendez released a statement on Tuesday night, saying, “I am touched and humbled by the outpouring of support.”
“This has to be the first step in giving people who have no hope in prison some hope,” he said. “My goal is to ensure there are no more people spending 35 years in prison without hope. That possibility of having hope that rehabilitation works is more important than anything that happened to me today.”
The brothers watched Tuesday’s much-anticipated resentencing hearing via video from prison and gave their own statements to Judge Michael Jesic.
“I killed my mom and dad,” Lyle Menendez told the judge. “I give no excuses.”
He also admitted to committing perjury by lying in court in the 90s. He apologized to his family for years of lies and the shock and grief of the crimes.
“I committed an atrocious act,” Erik Menendez told the judge. “My actions were criminal, selfish and cowardly. … No excuse. No justification for what I did.”
He admitted to lying for years and apologized.
“I have come a long way on this path” of redemption, Erik Menendez said, adding, “I will not stop trying to make a difference.”
“This was absolutely a horrific crime,” the judge said. He noted that he was moved by letters from prison guards and is amazed by what the brothers have accomplished.
The brothers’ attorney Mark Geragos said after court, “I’m hopeful and glad that we’re one huge step closer to bringing the boys home.”
“This encourages people who are incarcerated to make the right decisions, to take the right path,” Geragos said, adding, “It’s just a win-win on so many levels.”
Menendez cousin Anamaria Baralt commended her cousins’ rehabilitation, telling reporters, “Ultimately, we are here today with this result because of Erik and Lyle. Because they chose to live their lives with clarity and a purpose of service that the judge was impressed by.”
Geragos called several Menendez relatives to the stand at Tuesday’s hearing, including Baralt.
Through tears, Baralt pleaded with Jesic to release her cousins, noting time is running out for them to be reunited with aging family members.
“They are very different men” than when they committed the murders, Baralt said, adding that “their transformation is remarkable.”
During cross-examination, Baralt told prosecutors that the brothers have taken full responsibility for the crimes and Lyle Menendez has admitted to asking a witness to lie at trial. But Baralt conceded they haven’t acknowledged some aspects of the case to her, as prosecutors argue the brothers haven’t admitted to the full extent of their crimes and cover-ups.
A retired judge who worked with therapy dogs said on the stand that the brothers are looked at as leaders and that they changed his views on inmate rehabilitation. He said he used to want to punish defendants, but because of the brothers and their work to help the elderly and other inmates, he now believes in rehabilitation.
The prosecution did not call any witnesses.
Jesic’s resentencing decision follows the recommendation made in October by then-Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón.
Gascón recommended the brothers’ sentences of life without parole be removed, and said they should instead be sentenced for murder, which is a sentence of 50 years to life. Because both brothers were under 26 at the time of the crimes, they’re eligible for parole immediately under California law.
Gascón’s office said its resentencing recommendations take into account many factors, including rehabilitation in prison and abuse or trauma that contributed to the crime. Gascón praised the brothers’ conduct in prison, saying they rehabilitated themselves and started programs to help other inmates.
In November, Gascón lost his reelection bid to Nathan Hochman, who in March filed a motion to withdraw the resentencing petition, calling the brothers’ claims of self-defense part of a litany of “lies.” The judge denied Hochman’s request.
Tuesday’s resentencing hearing was a face-off between Geragos and Hochman, who wants to keep the brothers behind bars.
Geragos told reporters outside court on Tuesday, “There are no two better candidates in the state of California right now for resentencing than Erik and Lyle Menendez.”
“It’s a unicorn-style situation where you have horrific crimes — that nobody is walking away from — but also remarkable, remarkable, almost unparalleled rehabilitation and redemption,” he said.
At the time, Hochman told reporters, “The Menendez brothers have failed to come clean with the full extent of their criminal conduct, their cover-up, their lies and their deceit.”
Following the sentencing Tuesday, he released a new statement saying, “The decision to resentence Erik and Lyle Menendez was a monumental one that has significant implications for the families involved, the community, and the principles of justice.”
“Our office’s motions to withdraw the resentencing motion filed by the previous administration ensured that the Court was presented with all the facts before making such a consequential decision,” the statement continued, with Hochman calling the case “a window for the public to better understand the judicial system.”
“This case, like all cases — especially those that captivate the public — must be viewed with a critical eye,” he continued. “Our opposition and analysis ensured that the Court received a complete and accurate record of the facts.”
A hearing was held May 9 to determine whether the resentencing case should include information from the California Board of Parole’s newly completed risk assessment, which was conducted as a part of a separate clemency path. The risk assessment came at the request of Gov. Gavin Newsom as a part of the brothers’ clemency bid; the brothers are pursuing multiple avenues to freedom, and the clemency path is separate from the resentencing path. Newsom can grant clemency at any time.
The risk assessment said Erik and Lyle Menendez pose a moderate risk to the community if they’re released.
The assessment revealed the brothers possessed illegal cellphones in prison, among numerous other violations, though many are not recent. However, Erik Menendez had a phone as recently as January of this year, which Hochman stressed was during the resentencing effort when he should have been on his best behavior.
The defense noted Erik Menendez had one write-up for violence 25 years ago and Lyle Menendez has had none.
Their next court appearance for the clemency case is June 13.
(WASHINGTON) — Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., is requesting that the Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General launch an inquiry on the department’s role in “facilitating and serving as a pass-through” for the Trump administration to accept a luxury jet donated by the Qatari government to use as Air Force One, ABC News has exclusively learned.
President Donald Trump confirmed on social media this week an ABC News report that his administration was preparing to accept the aircraft, calling it a “very public and transparent transaction” with the Defense Department.
In a letter sent on Tuesday, also signed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Jack Reed, D-R.I., along with six other Senate Democrats, Schiff raised to acting Inspector General Steven Stebbins a number of constitutional, legal and national security concerns related to the possible gift from Qatar.
“Public reports raise the troubling prospect that the Administration involved DOD to (1) launder this impermissible gift, so that the Department could provide cover to give the transfer of the plane the appearance of an official gift; (2) place the onus on DOD to retrofit the plane at considerable cost to U.S. taxpayers; and (3) ultimately transfer it to President Trump’s library prior to the end of his term for his continued use in a personal capacity,” the senators wrote in the letter.
The Democrats asked Stebbins to launch an inquiry into the DOD’s involvement with facilitating the potential foreign gift transfer and requested a “comprehensive audit and investigation” into any “fraud, waste, and abuse” when a potential transfer is completed, given that a mandatory retrofit of the plane would need to occur if it were to be used as Air Force One. They also asserted that the Trump administration is sidestepping constitutionally provided congressional guardrails by accepting the foreign gift.
“DOD risks becoming embroiled in a brazen attempt to evade constitutional limitations on the acceptance of personal gifts from foreign governments without congressional approval,” they continued in his letter.
The letter also requested, “in classified form if needed,” the cost estimate and probable timeline for retrofitting and installing communications and other equipment necessary to meet security and counterintelligence requirements for the Air Force One fleet and any timeline the White House has dictated for this plane to be ready for use by Trump.
They also asked whether necessary modifications can be made within such a time frame to meet Air Force One standards and what possible risks could be associated with that timeline. Additionally, they asked for answers on whether the existing contract for other Air Force One aircraft will continue or be terminated and what the cost of any termination would be.
The final request is whether there would be any counterintelligence and security risks with incorporating this aircraft, provided by a foreign government, into the Air Force One fleet.
“The DoD OIG received the letter this afternoon and we are reviewing it,” Pentagon Office of Inspector General spokeswoman Mollie Halpern said in a statement.
The primary aircraft used in the current Air Force One fleet include two aging Boeing 747-200 jumbo jets that have been operational since the early 1990s. The Air Force contract with Boeing to replace those aircraft has been riddled with delays and cost overruns, with Boeing’s most recent estimated delivery date now slated for 2027.
Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense ranking member Chris Coons, D-Del., and Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., are the other Democrats who signed Schiff’s letter.
Earlier on Tuesday, Schumer sent a separate letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi expressing concern about the “appearance of naked corruption” posed by Trump’s reported plans to accept a jet from the Qatari government. Schumer also said he believes the jet poses a “grave security risk” and cited reporting that Bondi personally signed off on the transaction. In light of what Schumer called Bondi’s “central role in approving the proposal,” he asked Bondi to respond to a number of questions related to the proposed gifted plane.
ABC News’ Allison Pecorin contributed to this report.
