(CHARLESTON, S.C.) — The man accused of driving into three people in a hit-and-run outside a preschool at a South Carolina church has been charged with three counts of attempted murder and first-degree assault and battery, according to online records.
Justin Collin Adams, who was taken into custody on Thursday following an hourslong manhunt, is expected to appear in bond court on Friday morning.
Adams allegedly struck two children and one adult on Thursday afternoon at the Sunrise Presbyterian Church on Sullivan’s Island, a beach town just outside of Charleston, police said.
No one was critically hurt. One child was treated at the scene and released, while the second child and adult were taken to hospital, police said. The child at the hospital was later discharged, according to a hospital spokesperson, and Sullivan’s Island Police Chief Glenn Meadows said Thursday evening that he believed the adult was also due to be released.
Adams allegedly ditched his sedan after the crash and fled on foot, possibly armed with a knife, according to Isle of Palms police Sgt. Matt Storen.
Authorities launched a massive manhunt, which included grid searches of houses, drones scanning the sky and checkpoints at the entryway to Sullivan’s Island, police said.
A sergeant in a Charleston County aviation unit helicopter ended up spotting the suspect, who was found in a boat at a dock across the street from the church, officials said.
The crash is being investigated as possibly being intentional, Storen said. There was no altercation before the incident, according to Storen.
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(NEW YORK) — The World Trade Center Health Program is once again certifying illnesses linked to the 9/11 terrorist attacks after a chaotic few weeks that left some cancer patients, including first responders, without access to treatment.
Certification is the process by which the federal program confirms that a 9/11-related illnesses qualify for treatment or compensation.
Dr. John Howard, the program’s administrator, is the only official authorized to approve these certifications, and his status was in question for weeks.
Howard was laid off in February and allegedly reinstated following public backlash; however, there were signs that he was not fully and formally reinstated, including a freeze on certifications requiring his signature as late as Thursday morning.
In an internal memo obtained by ABC News, a federal branch chief with the Health and Human Services Department wrote, “We are able to resume processing enrollments, certifications, and letters at this time.”
Dr. David Prezant, the New York City Fire Department’s chief medical officer and director of its World Trade Center Health Program, confirmed to ABC News that he received the memo, and he was once again able to treat new patients.
The notice signals a turning point after what Prezant had said were weeks of silence, confusion and life-threatening delays.
It also followed a federal order laying off 20% of its staff in April — just months after it fired, then reinstated, a spate of staff members, including Howard.
Rep. Andrew Garbarino, a Republican who represents New York and is a longtime congressional watchdog for the program, welcomed the news and vowed to ensure that Howard remains fully reinstated.
“Any questions about Dr. Howard’s authorities as Administrator have been resolved — as confirmed directly with Dr. Howard himself,” Garbarino wrote to ABC News in a statement. “Now, enrollments and certifications that were left in limbo must be addressed immediately.”
“Let me be clear: anything that jeopardizes care for 9/11 responders and survivors is indefensible,” the statement added.
Ben Chevat, executive director of Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act, credited media coverage and bipartisan pressure for forcing the reversal.
“I’m glad that the 9/11 responders who need cancer care are going to get their cancer care — but they should never have been delayed,” he said.
The restoration of certification means the program can now review and approve claims from responders and survivors who have developed new conditions linked to the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
Certification is a key step that allows patients to begin treatment or file for compensation. Without it, clinics were forced to postpone care for some of the sickest patients.
“The World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program’s Clinical Centers of Excellence and Nationwide Provider Network are continuing to provide services to Program members at this time,” a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News. “The Program is accepting, reviewing, and processing new enrollment applications and certification requests.”
“It’s good that certifications have resumed, but we’ve seen how quickly things can unravel,” Chevat said. “We still need full transparency and accountability to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
For now, clinics have been told they will see newly processed certifications by May 5 at the latest. The program’s staff and its supporters say they’re relieved — but remain wary about the future.
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Thursday announced he’s nominating Michael Waltz to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as interim national security adviser while keeping his current role as well.
“I am pleased to announce that I will be nominating Mike Waltz to be the next United States Ambassador to the United Nations,” Trump wrote on his conservative social media platform. “From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our Nation’s Interests first. I know he will do the same in his new role.”
“In the interim, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as National Security Advisor, while continuing his strong leadership at the State Department,” Trump continued. “Together, we will continue to fight tirelessly to Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Sources had told ABC News earlier Thursday that Waltz was expected to leave his post as national security adviser.
The move came as President Trump has been increasingly frustrated by Waltz after he came under intense scrutiny for inadvertently adding a reporter to a Signal chat with top Trump officials discussing a U.S. military strike on Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Waltz responded to Trump’s announcement on X, writing: “I’m deeply honored to continue my service to President Trump and our great nation.”
Rubio was a National Prayer Event at the White House earlier Thursday before the news broke. He was seen standing in the colonnade on his phone, and at times speaking with White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce learned about Rubio replacing Waltz in the middle of Thursday’s press briefing. She was being asked by reporters on whether Rubio would consider the position when Trump’s social media post came out.
“It is clear that I just heard this from you,” Bruce said as she reacted to the news in real time. She praised Rubio as “a man who, as I think you all know, has worn several hats from day one” and is “someone who is well known by the president.”
Bruce said the move was not “not entirely surprising,” but acknowledged “these last 100 days, it’s like hanging onto a freaking bullet train.”
Waltz was spotted doing a Fox News interview at the White House on Thursday morning, but was not present later on at the prayer event.
He was in attendance at Trump’s Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, where he offered praise for the president’s leadership and strength on the world stage during his first 100 days in office.
Trump publicly defended Waltz in the aftermath of the March Signal mishap, telling NBC News the day after details came to light in an article by The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg that Waltz “has learned a lesson and is a good man.”
Trump was asked further about Waltz’s future by The Atlantic in an April 24 interview. He said Waltz was “fine” despite being “beat up” after accidentally adding Goldberg to the group chat.
Trump also said in that interview that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who also came under fire for the Signal fiasco, was “safe.”
“I think we learned: Maybe don’t use Signal, okay?” Trump said about the controversy. “If you want to know the truth. I would frankly tell these people not to use Signal, although it’s been used by a lot of people. But, whatever it is, whoever has it, whoever owns it, I wouldn’t want to use it.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(SULLIVAN’S ISLAND, S.C.) — Two children and one adult were struck by a driver outside a preschool at a South Carolina church in what may have been an intentional act, authorities said.
Police are searching for the suspect following the crash at the Sunrise Presbyterian Church on Sullivan’s Island, a beach town just outside of Charleston, according to Isle of Palms police Sgt. Matt Storen.
One child and one adult were taken to hospitals in unknown conditions and the third victim was treated at the scene and released, police said.
The suspect ditched his sedan after the crash and is believed to be on foot and armed with a knife, Storen said.
An active manhunt is ongoing, with drones in the sky and checkpoints at the entryway to Sullivan’s Island, Storen said.
There was no altercation ahead of the incident, according to Storen.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Thursday announced he’s nominating Michael Waltz to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as interim national security adviser.
“I am pleased to announce that I will be nominating Mike Waltz to be the next United States Ambassador to the United Nations,” Trump wrote on his conservative social media platform. “From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our Nation’s Interests first. I know he will do the same in his new role.”
“In the interim, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as National Security Advisor, while continuing his strong leadership at the State Department,” Trump continued. “Together, we will continue to fight tirelessly to Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Sources had told ABC News earlier Thursday that Waltz was expected to leave his post.
The move came as President Trump has been increasingly frustrated by Waltz after he came under intense scrutiny for inadvertently adding a reporter to a Signal chat with top Trump officials discussing a U.S. military strike on Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Waltz was present at Trump’s Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, where he offered praise for the president’s leadership and strength on the world stage during his first 100 days in office.
Trump publicly defended Waltz in the aftermath of the March Signal mishap, telling NBC News the day after details came to light in an article by The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg that Waltz “has learned a lesson and is a good man.”
Trump was asked further about Waltz’s future by The Atlantic in an April 24 interview. He said Waltz was “fine” despite being “beat up” after accidentally adding Goldberg to the group chat.
Trump also said in that interview that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who also came under fire for the Signal fiasco, was “safe.”
“I think we learned: Maybe don’t use Signal, okay?” Trump said about the controversy. “If you want to know the truth. I would frankly tell these people not to use Signal, although it’s been used by a lot of people. But, whatever it is, whoever has it, whoever owns it, I wouldn’t want to use it.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — A Trump-appointed federal judge has permanently blocked the Trump administration from detaining, transferring or removing Venezuelans targeted for deportation under the Alien Enemies Act in the Southern District of Texas — ruling that the administration’s invocation of the AEA “exceeds the scope” of the law.
The ruling marks the first time a federal judge has declared President Donald Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act unlawful, with the judge rebuking the president’s claim that Tren de Aragua is invading the United States.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Fernandez Rodriguez only applies to AEA-based deportations and does not prevent the government from detaining or seeking the deportation of the individuals under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
In a 36-page opinion, Judge Rodriguez concluded that Trump’s March 15 invocation of the Alien Enemies Act is “unlawful” and “exceeds the scope” of the centuries-old wartime law that allows the president to deport noncitizens with little-to-no due process during an invasion or predatory incursion.
“The President cannot summarily declare that a foreign nation or government has threatened or perpetrated an invasion or predatory incursion of the United States, followed by the identification of the alien enemies subject to detention or removal,” Judge Rodriguez wrote.
While the judge declined to weigh in on whether Tren de Aragua represents a foreign nation or government, he concluded that the Trump administration fell short of proving the violent gang was engaging in an “invasion” or “predatory incursion” as required by the Alien Enemies Act.
Trump’s proclamation had alleged that Tren de Aragua was a “hybrid criminal state” invading the United States. Though Trump’s proclamation claimed that Tren de Aragua members “harmed lives” in the U.S., it did not provide any evidence to suggest the gang did so in an “organized armed attack,” according to Judge Rodriguez.
“The Proclamation makes no reference to and in no manner suggests that a threat exists of an organized, armed group of individuals entering the United States at the direction of Venezuela to conquer the country or assume control over a portion of the nation. Thus, the Proclamation’s language cannot be read as describing conduct that falls within the meaning of ‘invasion’ for purposes of the AEA,” he wrote.
Judge Rodriguez also pushed back against the Trump administration’s claim that the president’s use of the Alien Enemies Act should not be reviewed by courts — a claim the DOJ lawyers have asserted in courthouses across the country as they fight a series of challenges to Trump’s use AEA.
“Allowing the President to unilaterally define the conditions when he may invoke the AEA, and then summarily declare that those conditions exist, would remove all limitations to the Executive Branch’s authority under the AEA, and would strip the courts of their traditional role of interpreting Congressional statutes to determine whether a government official has exceeded the statute’s scope. The law does not support such a position,” he wrote.
While other judges have temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act, most have done so on an emergency basis without weighing in on the “merits” or lawfulness of the proclamation. Judge Rodriguez’s lengthy order marks the first time a federal judge has plainly declared the proclamation unlawful and blocked him from using it to deport noncitizens.
The Trump administration touched off a legal battle in March when it invoked the Alien Enemies Act to deport two planeloads of alleged migrant gang members to the CECOT mega-prison in El Salvador by arguing that the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is a “hybrid criminal state” that is invading the United States.
An official with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement acknowledged that “many” of the men deported on March 15 lack criminal records in the United States — but said that “the lack of specific information about each individual actually highlights the risk they pose” and “demonstrates that they are terrorists with regard to whom we lack a complete profile.”
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a subsequent 5-4 decision, lifted an injunction issued by a federal judge in Washington, D.C., that had halted deportations under the AEA — but said detainees must be given due process to challenge their removal in the district where they were detained.
(DENVER) — A U.S. Army soldier stationed in Colorado was arrested on federal drug charges, authorities said Thursday.
Staff Sgt. Juan Gabriel Orona-Rodriguez, a soldier at Fort Carson, was arrested Wednesday evening, the FBI in Denver said.
He faces federal charges related to the distribution of cocaine, the FBI said.
The soldier was taken into custody with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Rocky Mountain Field Division, the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division and Fort Carson officials, the FBI said.
“We will continue to cooperate with all agencies involved,” a Fort Carson official said in a statement on Thursday.
The DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division said it is conducting a joint investigation with the FBI and Army Criminal Investigation Division.
No additional information on the case has been released.
Fort Carson is located south of Colorado Springs.
It is unclear if the arrest is related to a federal raid of an underground nightclub in Colorado Springs over the weekend.
The DEA said it detained more than 200 people — including members of the military — at an unlicensed nightclub in Colorado Springs early Sunday.
Among them, 114 illegal migrants were taken into custody, with most from Central and South America, officials said.
A Fort Carson spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday that 17 service members, including 16 assigned to Fort Carson, were identified at the scene during the nightclub raid and were allowed to leave on their own.
ABC News’ Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. military’s standards for investigating sexual assault claims will remain unchanged, a senior official told reporters on Thursday, as it launches a separate department-wide review into how discrimination claims are handled in general.
The promise also comes as the Defense Department faces a potential loss of personnel available to process sexual assault cases due to efforts by the Trump administration to trim staff across government.
“At the end of the day, the standard of proof remains the same with regard to any sexual harassment complaint,” said Dr. Nathan Galbreath, director of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office.
“To that end, all complaints are reviewed, the evidence is analyzed, and a legal officer often opines on whether or not action can be taken,” Galbreath told reporters in a briefing call on tracking sexual assault cases in the military.
Last week, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth called on service secretaries to review equal opportunity programs to ensure discrimination complaints weren’t being “weaponized” by disgruntled employees. The military tracks sexual harassment complaints through its equal opportunity personnel.
In his April 23 directive, Hegseth specifically called on secretaries to ensure “complaints that are unsubstantiated by actionable, credible evidence are timely dismissed.” He called it the “no more walking on eggshells policy.”
“Too often, at the Defense Department, there are complaints made that for certain reasons that can’t be verified that end people’s careers,” Hegseth said in a video posted on X.
“Some individuals use these programs in bad faith to retaliate against superiors or peers. I hear that all the time,” he said of general discrimination complaints.
When it comes to sexual assault, unfounded claims are extraordinarily rare. According to the military, 1% of cases involve evidence that either exonerates the person accused or shows the crime did not occur.
When asked if Hegseth’s latest mandate will raise the standard of proof for sexual assault victims, Galbreath said “no.”
President Donald Trump also asked the Pentagon to review regulations that are potentially burdensome and streamline operations, an effort that resulted in offers to employees for early retirement as well as hiring freezes across the department.
Galbreath and other officials told reporters Thursday that they aren’t sure exactly how the military’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response program will be affected just yet.
When a recent hiring freeze went into effect, there were about 300 sexual assault prevention jobs put on hold, said Dr. Andra Tharp, director of the Defense Department’s office of command climate and well-being integration.
“We’re really trying to get our arms around total impacts of that,” she said.
Tharp said she is encouraging the services to seek hiring exemptions for sexual assault response coordinators and victim advocates.
Galbreath said that 100% of victim services remain available now and that sexual assault response coordinators and victim advocates are stationed at every military installation around the world.
The number of sexual assaults reported across the military fell by nearly 4% last year, according to data released by the department.
The report is the first full-year account since the Pentagon put in place new prosecution procedures that empower independent lawyers, rather than military commanders. The changes were called for by lawmakers who said not enough was being done to encourage personnel to report assault.
“Even though we’d like to see the number of reports increase, I’m still very satisfied that our military members know that they can come forward,” and “get the help that they need to recover,” said Galbreath.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon/Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration will not renew Biden-era grants worth $1 billion that were aimed at boosting mental health services in schools, a Department of Education spokesperson confirmed to ABC News.
“These grants are intended to improve American students’ mental health by funding additional mental health professionals in schools and on campuses,” Deputy Assistant Secretary for Communications Madison Biedermann wrote in a statement to ABC News. “Instead, under the deeply flawed priorities of the Biden Administration, grant recipients used the funding to implement race-based actions like recruiting quotas in ways that have nothing to do with mental health and could hurt the very students the grants are supposed to help.”
The decision comes as the Trump administration takes sweeping action to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs and alleged racial discrimination practices in schools. However, multiple courts have blocked efforts to ensure schools certify compliance with the administration’s demands.
The department said the grant programs were not advancing administration priorities. Conservative activist Christopher Rufo lauded the administration’s decision to discontinue the programs, alleging they intend to advance “left-wing racialism and discrimination.”
“No more slush fund for activists under the guise of mental health,” Rufo wrote in a post on X.
But American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten called it a “direct attack” on the safety and well-being of children.
“They may not have agreed on everything, but Congress secured $1 billion in bipartisan mental health grants to help kids better understand themselves and the world around them,” Weingarten wrote in a statement. “The benefits were obvious. Now, with the stroke of a pen, that halting progress has been wiped away, even as the president and his allies insist that improving mental health is the only way to fix the gun violence epidemic.”
The grants were allocated under President Joe Biden’s signature Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. The BSCA, an anti-gun violence law signed after the mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in 2022, used “historic funding” to add more mental health services to schools over five years, according to former White House officials.
ABC News previously reported on the Biden administration prioritizing mental health services in schools during a youth crisis prompted by interrupted learning time and social isolation from the coronavirus pandemic.
The former president had indicated his goal was to double the number of school-based practitioners, including social workers, psychologists and counselors.
Dr. Tish Brookins, a certified social worker in Jefferson County, Kentucky, told ABC News that the Trump administration’s decision could result in “missed opportunities, deepened trauma, and diminished futures” for students across the country.
“This cut undermines every effort we’ve made to build safe, responsive, and equitable schools,” Brookins wrote in a statement.
“Mental health support in schools is not a luxury. It is a necessity,” she added.
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump’s national security adviser Michael Waltz is expected to leave his post, sources familiar with the decision told ABC News Thursday.
This move comes as President Trump has been increasingly frustrated by Waltz after he came under intense scrutiny for inadvertently adding a reporter to a Signal chat with top Trump officials discussing a U.S. military strike on Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The White House and Waltz have not commented on the moves. Sources cautioned the move is not final until Trump announces it.
The president is expected to announce the changes soon, according to sources.
Waltz was present at Trump’s Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, where he offered praise for the president’s leadership and strength on the world stage during his first 100 days in office.
Trump publicly defended Waltz in the aftermath of the March Signal mishap, telling NBC News the day after details came to light in an article by The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg that Waltz “has learned a lesson and is a good man.”
Trump was asked further about Waltz’s future by The Atlantic in an April 24 interview. He said Waltz was “fine” despite being “beat up” after accidentally adding Goldberg to the group chat.
Trump also said in that interview that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who also came under fire for the Signal fiasco, was “safe.”
“I think we learned: Maybe don’t use Signal, okay?” Trump said about the controversy. “If you want to know the truth. I would frankly tell these people not to use Signal, although it’s been used by a lot of people. But, whatever it is, whoever has it, whoever owns it, I wouldn’t want to use it.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
