(NEW YORK) — ABC News legal contributor Brian Buckmire talks about the music mogul’s return to court on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking.
Sean “Diddy” Combs accused federal agents and prosecutors of unlawful leaks in a court filing on Wednesday.
Combs has been held without bail after he was arrested and charged last month with sex trafficking by force, transportation to engage in prostitution and racketeering conspiracy.
On the eve of his court appearance, the music mogul’s attorneys alleged leaks “have led to damaging, highly prejudicial pretrial publicity that can only taint the jury pool and deprive Mr. Combs of his right to a fair trial,” the defense filing said.
Combs’ attorneys took specific aim at Homeland Security investigations over the searches of his homes and at prosecutors over a 2016 video depicting Combs attacking his then-girlfriend Casandra Ventura.
The video was obtained by CNN in May and Combs acknowledged the video and apologized for his actions in the video.
Prosecutors cited the video in their indictment contending that when a hotel security worker intervened, Combs tried to bribe the worker with a “stack of cash” to keep the incident quiet.
The defense asked for a hearing and an exploration of the evidence. Prosecutors have not immediately responded to the request.
In a letter to the judge in a separate filing on Wednesday, Combs said he wants to stand trial this spring on charges of racketeering conspiracy, forced sex trafficking and prostitution.
“Mr. Combs continues to assert his right to a speedy trial and intends to request a trial date in April or May 2025, and as consistent with the Court’s trial schedule,” defense attorneys Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos wrote in a joint letter to the judge ahead of Comb’s court appearance Thursday.
Prosecutors took no position.
“The Government will be available for trial on a date set by the Court, although it remains within the Court’s discretion to set a trial date at the outset of the case or at a later time,” prosecutors wrote.
Combs, who has pleaded not guilty, is being held without bail and his attorneys have said they want the case to move quickly.
“The government arrested him, the government wants him detained, and we’re going to have to do everything possible to move this along,” Agnifilo said during a prior court appearance.
Combs, who is also facing several civil lawsuits from alleged victims, has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges.
(NEW YORK) — Hurricane Milton is forecast to bring a slew of devastation to Florida’s west coast as the Category 3 storm makes landfall in the Tampa area Wednesday evening.
In addition to physical damage to the region, power blackouts and cell service outages could last for days after the storm hits, as was seen in the wake of Hurricane Helene late last month.
As residents prepare for impact, there are several satellite connection options available for the latest iPhone and Android models to facilitate contact with loved ones and emergency personnel in the face of outages.
iPhone
With iPhone 14 or more recent models, users can connect devices to a satellite to text emergency services, request roadside assistance, message friends and family and share locations, even without cellular and Wi-Fi coverage, according to Apple.
However, because satellites are located hundreds of miles away from Earth and move rapidly the user experience may be impacted by the low bandwidth, according to the company.
“In ideal conditions with a direct view of the sky and the horizon, a message might take 30 seconds to send. It might take over a minute to send under trees with light or medium foliage,” the company notes on its website.
Apple recommends being outside with a clear view of the horizon, moving away from obstructions such as trees, sending shorter messages and updating to the latest IOS for best results.
To connect to a satellite, swipe down from the top right corner of your iPhone to open Control Center, then tap the Cellular button on the right. Tap Satellite, then choose a satellite feature.
Ahead of the storm and for emergencies at large, Apple recommends having emergency contacts and important medical information added to your Medical ID within the Health app.
Android
For Android users hoping to connect to Google’s satellite services, the models with the capability include the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
Called Satellite SOS, “This feature will be activated once all the necessary software and APIs are updated and the service is registered with the satellite network,” according to Google.
The company says users will be notified once the feature is active but the status can be checked in the settings app.
On the Pixel models listed above, if you need to contact emergency services without a mobile or Wi-Fi network, dial 911 and you’ll find an option to use Satellite SOS in the dialer.
Tap Satellite SOS and then press start, from there you’ll fill out the emergency questionnaire.
To set up emergency contacts to receive updates on your location and status when using Satellite SOS, Android users should go to the phone’s Personal Safety app.
Starlink
In a collaboration with T-Mobile, Elon Musk’s Starlink is offering direct-to-cell service for areas expected to be impacted by Hurricane Milton.
“We have accelerated the rollout of Starlink direct to cell phone connectivity for areas affected by the hurricanes,” Musk wrote on X early Wednesday morning. “This is being provided free of charge by SpaceX and TMobile to help those in need,” he added.
New users can activate Starlink for free and the service will work for carriers outside of T-Mobile, according to Musk.
If a phone connects to a Starlink satellite, it will have one to two bars of signal and show “T-Mobile SpaceX” in the network name, according to SpaceX.
“Users may have to manually retry text messages if they don’t go through at first, as this is being delivered on a best-effort basis,” the company wrote on X.
“The service works best outdoors, and occasionally works indoors near a window,” SpaceX added.
(TEMPE, Ariz.) — The campaign office shared by Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign and the Democratic Party in Tempe, Arizona, was damaged by gunfire for the third time in less than a month on Sunday, police told ABC News on Wednesday.
The Tempe Police Department provided new details in its investigation, including a picture of the suspect’s vehicle it says is possibly a 2008-2013 silver Toyota Highlander, and announced that Silent Witness was offering up to a $1,000 reward “for any information that leads to the arrest or indictment of the suspect(s) involved in this crime.”
The shooting occurred between midnight and 1 a.m., around the same time the previous two incidents occurred, police said. No one was injured in any of the three shootings.
Harris is scheduled to travel to Arizona on Thursday for a rally and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, was in the state on Wednesday.
After the second shooting on Sept. 23, police said they were taking “additional measures… to ensure the safety of staff and others in the area.” A motive for the shooting has not been determined as the investigation continues, according to police.
The office was shot at on Sept. 16 in an incident police said appeared to involve a BB or pellet gun. Police said that shooting caused “criminal damage.”
Law enforcement around the country is under heightened alert over an increase in political violence threats.
(TAMPA, Fla.) — Tampa General Hospital put its flood barrier to the test during Hurricane Helene late last month, helping protect the facility from record storm surge.
As Hurricane Milton is expected to bring record-breaking storm surge yet again to the region, the hospital — located on the bay near downtown Tampa — is surrounded by the water-impermeable barrier once more.
Milton is expected to make landfall Wednesday night near Sarasota, south of Tampa, as a Category 3 hurricane. The National Weather Service in Tampa Bay warned on Monday that Milton could be the “worst storm to impact the Tampa area in over 100 years.”
While several health care facilities are suspending service due to Milton, Tampa General Hospital, the region’s only Level I Trauma Center, is preparing to continue normal operations.
The hospital said it has several mitigation measures in place for the storm, including its barrier, made by the company AquaFence. The fence is built to withstand storm surge up to 15 feet above sea level, the hospital said.
Peak storm surge in the Tampa Bay area topped six feet during Helene, which set a new record. The flood barrier “worked effectively to prevent the storm surge from flooding” the main campus, the hospital said in the wake of Helene.
Milton could bring a record-breaking storm surge to the Tampa Bay area. Six to nine feet of storm surge is forecast for the Tampa Bay area.
The hospital said Tuesday it had completed assembly of its flood barrier ahead of Milton “to protect vulnerable areas of the campus against storm surge and flooding.”
“While AquaFence has proven effective in the past, it is just the first line of defense and one of many mitigation efforts we’ve implemented this week to safely continue care for our patients,” Jennifer Crabtree, chief of staff at Tampa General, said in a statement to ABC Orlando affiliate WFTV.
Other measures to help sustain hospital operations during the storm include an on-site water source, in the event that water service is disrupted, and an on-site energy plant located 33 feet above sea level that is built to withstand the impact and flooding of a Category 5 hurricane, the hospital said. The hospital said it has also stocked up on more than five days of supplies, including food and linens, and more than 5,000 gallons of water.
Tampa Bay, and many areas across the surrounding peninsula, are particularly vulnerable to hurricanes since these regions have not been hit with a major hurricane in decades.
Hospital systems in the region have invested in flood mitigation, hardening their facilities and moving electrical equipment to levels to protect against flooding, according to Mary Mayhew, president and CEO of the Florida Hospital Association.
“Flooding is such a huge concern,” Mayhew told ABC News. “And now, on the heels of Helene, where we have debris that is, strewn up and down the Gulf Coast, drains are plugged, they’re filled with sand.”
(REDINGTON BEACH, Fla.) — As Hurricane Milton churns closer, Floridians are still picking up the pieces from Hurricane Helene’s devastation late last month.
Debris left from Helene, still in the process of being removed, is likely to pose significant dangers as the next one prepares to make landfall, officials say.
On Tuesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said 1,200 truckloads of debris had already been removed, but flood-ruined furniture and downed trees remain littered throughout Florida’s west coast.
In addition, officials with the Florida Department of Transportation said Wednesday morning that over 55,000 cubic yards of debris were cleared from barrier islands.
“Debris + high winds = dangerous combination,” the state’s Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles said Monday in a post on X.
One man who evacuated his home Tuesday in Redington Beach — a barrier island west of Tampa — told ABC News the idyllic coastal neighborhood is nearly unrecognizable amid the detritus leftover from Helene.
“I’m looking out my window right now — I see five mattresses, bed frames, cabinets, refrigerators, anything you think of,” Brian Nguyen said as he and his family packed up their home of 30 years.
Nguyen said he was “very concerned” about the damage the strewn-about objects, including his now-totaled car, might cause to his and his neighbors’ homes.
“Our car has actually been totaled and it’s currently in our driveway. We weren’t able to get that towed out before we evacuate, so we’re concerned if it gets carried by the floodwater, it could run into our garage and damage the house — just additional damage,” he said.
Despite the threat, Nguyen said he’s grateful for the removal efforts so far.
“The county has honestly been doing as much as they can to expedite the debris removal, and they’re going to be working around the clock,” he said. “But, you know, it’s not just my neighborhood, but literally the entire coastline.”
Stephen Sommer, who lives in St. Petersburg, told Tampa ABC affiliate WFTS his family had lost many of their possessions in Helene, and are now preparing for more damage from Milton.
“About $30,000 in appliances, we lost all of our beds, we had to rip about four feet of drywall off in our house. We lost all of our family pictures,” Sommer said.
With high winds and storm surge expected, the lost and destroyed belongings that litter the streets are likely to cause even more destruction.
“With all of this around, it’s going to become projectiles,” said Sommer.
(MOSCOW, Idaho) — The long-anticipated trial against the man accused of killing four University of Idaho college students nearly two years ago was delayed on Wednesday, court officials said.
Idaho District Judge Steven Hippler originally scheduled Bryan Kohberger’s capital murder trial to begin in June 2025, but will now commence on Aug. 7, 2025, and is expected to last until Nov. 7, 2025.
It wasn’t immediately clear why the delay was set.
Kohberger, a former criminology Ph.D. student at nearby Washington State University, has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary, in connection with the fatal stabbing of four University of Idaho students — Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20 — in an off-campus house in the early hours of Nov. 13, 2022.
Attorneys for Kohberger entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf. He faces the death penalty if convicted.
Kohberger was arrested following a six-week manhunt in December 2022. He waived his right to a speedy trial.
Last month, Idaho’s Supreme Court ruled that the trial would be moved from Latah County to Boise following a request for a change of venue from the defense.
A hearing is scheduled for Nov. 7, for an argument on motions challenging the death penalty, according to court documents.
(CHICAGO) — Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is on the defensive after all seven members of the Chicago Board of Education announced their resignations Friday, an unprecedented moment in the city’s history, in protest of a $300 million loan Johnson proposed to fund teachers’ contracts and pensions.
The Chicago City Council called a special meeting for Wednesday afternoon to address the crisis, and to hear testimony from the former school board members who resigned, all of whom were hand-picked by Mayor Johnson just last year.
For months, board members for Chicago Public Schools (CPS) – the country’s fourth-largest public school system – had been under pressure by Johnson to fire CPS CEO Pedro Martinez, who was appointed in 2021 by Johnson’s predecessor, former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, for his objection to Johnson’s proposed $300 million short-term, high-interest loan to pay for the first year of the Chicago Teaches Union’s (CTU) contract. Martinez and the school board pushed back against Johnson, saying the extra borrowing would worsen the city’s already significant debt burden.
In an op-ed in the Chicago Tribune last month, Martinez said Johnson subsequently demanded his resignation, which he also refused, saying it would cause disruption during current union negotiations. Martinez added that the extra borrowing was fiscally irresponsible.
“I remain against exorbitant, short-term borrowing, a past practice that generated negative bond ratings for CPS,” Martinez wrote, in part, adding that repaying the bond and its debt service would “take away dollars from the classroom – all of which means that future generations of Chicago’s children and taxpayers will ultimately pay the price.”
The CPS board ended up passing a school budget without Johnson’s desired pension payment. The school system faces a nearly $1 billion shortfall in 2025, Martinez announced in August .
A former Cook County commissioner, Johnson worked as an organizer for the CTU beginning in 2011 and helped organize the 2012 teachers strike. Illinois State Board of Elections records show that the CTU contributed more than $2.3 million to his 2023 mayoral campaign. Johnson also received nearly $2.2 million from the American Federation of Teachers and nearly $1 million from the Illinois Federation of Teachers.
Alderman Gilbert Villegas accused Johnson of “wanting to take care of his former employer” by forcing the resignations of the board amid contract negotiations with the union. “The mayor was elected to serve the whole city, not serve the CTU,” he said.
“We agree we want to make sure CPS teachers have a fair contract, but we also want to make sure taxpayers have fair contract. Right now, the mayor has the thumb on the scale and it’s not right,” Villegas told ABC News.
Spokespersons for Johnson, the Chicago Teachers Union, and Chicago Public Schools did not respond to ABC News requests for comment.
At a press conference Monday, Johnson attacked his critics, whom he compared to supporters of slavery.
“The so-called fiscally responsible stewards are making the same argument [as] when our people wanted to be liberated and emancipated in this country,” Johnson said. “The argument was you can’t free Black people because it would be too expensive. They said that it would be fiscally irresponsible for this country to liberate Black people.”
Johnson also announced six new appointees to the board Monday, saying he would name a seventh at a later date. Under state law, the appointees aren’t required to be vetted by the city council, although Villegas said that “in the spirit of transparency and collaboration,” councilmembers ought to have the opportunity to ask them questions.
Villegas is a member of the city’s progressive caucus, which initially supported Johnson’s agenda. In an unprecedented show of unity, most of that caucus joined 41 other council members from across the political divide in signing a public letter dated Oct. 5 that said the mass resignations of the Board of Education’s former members bring “further instability to our school district” and are deserving of a public hearing.
Johnson indicated Tuesday that he would not send his new appointees to Wednesday’s meeting, saying in part that “every single mayor in the history of Chicago has had the authority to appoint board members to multiple boards. Guess who still has that authority? This mayor does.”
The CPS funding crisis is also alarming Chicago’s business community. This week, the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago released a joint statement saying their concerns over Johnson’s push for extra borrowing and the Board of Education resignations have “escalated” their concerns about Johnson’s actions, and further said that the quality and stability of Chicago Public Schools is directly tied to “the success of Chicago businesses of every size and the long-term economic future of our city.”
The statement also called for the school board to “keep CEO Martinez in his place,” and to “reject the misguided proposal to borrow more money, and work with all parties to bring transparency and long-term fiscal stability and quality education to the school system.”
(NEW YORK) — An escalation of conflicts in the Middle East in recent weeks has triggered a sharp increase in oil prices, raising uncertainty about where costs will head in the final weeks before Election Day.
Oil prices surged about 13% over an 11-day stretch ending on Monday. Prices fell markedly on Tuesday, however, as nearly a week passed without the onset of a widely anticipated Israeli counterattack on Iran.
The rise of oil prices carries potential implications for the presidential election next month. A hike in the cost of crude oil typically raises the price of gasoline, which holds substantial sway over general consumer attitudes, experts told ABC News.
For now, the recent increase in oil prices is not large enough to impact the election, experts said. However, they added, a further spike over the coming weeks could sour consumer sentiment and weaken approval of Vice President Kamala Harris, since her party occupies the White House.
“People use gasoline as a gauge of the economy and how they’re feeling about it,” Denton Cinquegrana, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service, told ABC News.
“A small change in prices probably won’t move the needle. If the price of a gallon goes up 50 cents, then that gets people’s attention,” Cinquegrana added, noting that such an increase is possible, but unlikely.
At least one expert cast doubt over the impact of even a sharp hike in oil and gas prices, saying it is unclear whether voters would fault Harris for the price spike and, even if they did, whether the few weeks remaining in the campaign affords enough time for higher prices to register with voters.
“People look at the economy over the long term, not the last month,” Jon Krosnick, a professor of political science at Stanford University who studies the relationship between gas prices and political perceptions, told ABC News.
In the aftermath of the Iranian attack on Israel last week, petroleum analysts told ABC News that the resulting spike in oil prices could push up gasoline prices between 10 and 15 cents per gallon. An increase of that magnitude would not affect the election, experts said, since the moderate uptick would do little to irk consumers and diminish their opinion about the nation’s economy.
“I do suspect that prices are going to continue to move higher, but I don’t think it will be significantly higher,” Cinquegrana said. “Unless something really goes haywire, I don’t expect prices to spike ahead of the election.”
A slight increase in gas prices may not matter much to consumers because costs at the pump have eased significantly over the past year, experts said.
Fuel prices have plummeted in recent months due to sluggish demand for gas as the busy summer traveling season has given way to an autumn slowdown. The average price of a gallon of gas is about 15% lower than where it stood a year ago, AAA data shows.
Despite its recent uptick, the price of oil has also fallen from a 2022 peak reached when the blazing-hot economic rebound from the pandemic collided with a supply shortage imposed by the Russia-Ukraine war.
A major escalation of the conflict between Israel and Iran, however, could send oil and gas prices much higher, analysts said, pointing to potentially dire consequences of an anticipated retaliatory strike by Israel against Iran.
While sanctions have constrained Iranian oil output in recent years, the nation asserts control over the passage of tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, a trading route that facilitates the transport of about 15% of global oil supply.
Intensification of the war could limit Iranian oil production or transport through the Strait of Hormuz, cutting global supply and sending prices upward, some experts said.
“The risk of a wider war in the Middle East has gone up,” Jim Burkhard, vice president and head of research for oil markets, energy and mobility at S&P Global, told ABC News. “There’s the risk of something happening that could lead to higher prices.”
A further surge in oil prices would send gas prices skyrocketing, which could damage Harris’ political fortunes if voters fault the Biden administration for the sudden increase in costs right before they cast their ballots, Carola Binder, an economics professor at the University of Texas at Austin who studies the relationship between gas prices and consumer attitudes, told ABC News.
“If there was a huge increase in gas prices, I could imagine that hurting Harris’ chances,” Binder said. “Consumer sentiment does affect elections.”
Such a forecast drew sharp disagreement from Krosnick, even though his research helped establish an understanding of the political implications of rising gas prices.
Krosnick co-authored a 2016 study in the academic journal Political Psychology that examined the relationship between gas prices and presidential approval rating between the mid-1970s and mid-2000s. The study found that elevated gas prices drove a president’s approval downward. To be exact, each 10-cent increase in the gas price was associated with more than half a percentage point decline in presidential approval, the research showed.
The findings do not shed light on a scenario in which gas prices spike ahead of next month’s election, Krosnick said, noting that his research examined shifts in public opinion over a much longer period of time. Plus, he added, voters may not fault Harris for the Middle East conflict that would drive the potential price increase.
“There isn’t enough time for there to be a sustained change in prices,” Krosnick said. “It takes a while to ripple out to consumers.”
(MARCO ISLAND, Fla.) — Marco Island, a barrier island off southwest Florida, is under a mandatory evacuation ahead of Hurricane Milton’s anticipated landfall late Wednesday.
Though not everyone has evacuated.
Michael Sean Comerford, 65, told ABC News he decided to stay and watch his parents’ condo on the 23rd floor of a building while they evacuated to Naples, where his sister lives.
“I’m prepared,” he said Wednesday. “The island is closed. I have food and water for the next two days.”
Comerford said he’s not the only one who stayed behind in the building, which he said is expected to suffer a power outage in the storm.
“I feel like I’m going to survive it,” he said. “We’re not going to get the worst of it, but it’s going to be uncomfortable, given that there’s going to be power outages and it’ll be hot and dark.”
Comerford said he wanted to document what he sees for a book he’s writing about climate change, in which he talks to people on the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts.
Milton is expected to make landfall on Florida’s west coast Wednesday night, likely as a Category 3 hurricane.
The storm is forecast to make landfall farther north of Marco Island, though Comerford said there is still the “fear of the unknown.”
“If it takes a turn here this way, I don’t know what could happen,” he said. “I just don’t know. We’re getting all sorts of alarming warnings, but I think they’re directed at the people north of us.”
Comerford said he is preparing himself for “dramatic” storm surge. Marco Island could see 5 to 8 feet, according to forecasts.
“It’s going to be not insubstantial here,” he said. “The whole island could go underwater.”
ABC News’ Mark Guarino contributed to this report.
(SARASOTA, Fla.) — While it’s still hours away from making landfall and has yet to cause any damage, Hurricane Milton is already rewriting the record books, officials said.
“I think for the west-central coast of Florida, this has the potential to be the most impactful hurricane we’ve seen in living memory, given the scope of the impacts from the storm surge,” Mike Brennan, director of the National Hurricane Center, told ABC News.
Milton is forecast to make landfall between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET Wednesday near Sarasota as a Category 3 hurricane with wind gusts of over 100 mph. On Wednesday afternoon, Milton was a Category 4 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico about 150 miles southwest of Tampa, and moving toward Florida’s west coast at 16 mph.
Once it makes landfall, the hurricane is expected to create a 10-to-15-foot storm surge in Sarasota and a storm surge of 8-to-12 feet from Tampa down to Fort Myers.
But the storm, the ninth hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, has already made an impact on the record books.
Milton is the strongest hurricane in the Atlantic Basin in terms of pressure since Hurricane Wilma, which hit Florida in 2005. The storm is also the strongest hurricane in the Atlantic Basin in terms of windspeed since Hurricane Dorian in 2019.
On Monday, Milton was producing maximum winds of 180 mph, making it the third strongest hurricane in the Atlantic Basin on record in terms of wind.
According to the National Hurricane Center records, Milton is one of the top rapidly intensifying hurricanes after increasing 95 mph in 24 hours this week. Only hurricanes Wilma and 2007’s Felix had a greater intensification, according to the records.
Milton is also the fifth strongest hurricane in the Atlantic Basin on record by pressure.
Brennan said Milton is a different beast from other hurricanes due to its “unusual” track.
“Often we see hurricanes approach Florida from the east or the southeast,” Brennan said. “But this track is somewhat unusual and is really a worst-case scenario for these very storm-sensitive areas along the west coast of Florida because the circulation of Milton is going to be pushing that Gulf of Mexico water right up onto dry land here in these vulnerable places.”
