Bon Jovi fans are used to seeing David Bryan behind the keyboards, but usually it’s in front of thousands of screaming fans. Well, some lucky folks in New York got to experience him tickling the ivories in a very different setting.
The New York Post reports that Bryan gave a spontaneous performance Friday at the Manhattan hot spot Silver Lining inside the Moxy Lower East Side hotel, treating the crowd to his take on the classic “Great Balls of Fire.”
A source described the performance as an “unforgettable evening,” noting the 61-year-old keyboardist “left the crowd cheering.”
As for when we’ll see Bryan back onstage with Bon Jovi, that’s anybody’s guess. So far the band has no tour dates planned for this year.
(NEW YORK) — A crippled banking system, stubbornly high inflation, recession fears — the growing set of threats has tipped the U.S. into precarious economic territory but the leader of the nation’s largest bank is nonetheless optimistic about the financial outlook.
Resilient consumer spending and a strong job market have buoyed the economy, padding the savings of many households and buttressing them against a possible downturn, Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, said in an annual shareholder letter on Tuesday.
“When one talks about risk for too long, it begins to cloud your judgment,” Dimon said. “Looking ahead, the positives are huge.”
Consumer balance sheets are in “great shape,” Dimon added, noting that “unemployment is extremely low, and wages are going up, particularly at the low end.”
The unemployment rate stands at 3.6%, hovering near a 50-year low.
Meanwhile, Americans retain $1.2 trillion more “excess cash” in their checking accounts than they held before the pandemic, Dimon said, citing JPMorgan Chase data. Those savings have kept consumer spending relatively robust even as pandemic-era fiscal support fades further into the past.
Consumer spending accounts for roughly two-thirds of the U.S. economy.
Still, the bank’s measure of excess savings held by U.S. households has fallen nearly by half since November 2021, suggesting that Americans have drawn down their accounts to contend with high inflation.
Inflation has fallen significantly from a summer peak, though it remains more than triple the Fed’s target of 2%.
To fight high prices, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates last month for the ninth time in a year, making its policy the most aggressive since the 1980s.
The Fed’s borrowing cost increases aim to slash prices by slowing the economy and choking off demand, but the approach risks tipping the U.S. economy into a recession and putting millions out of work.
On top of these headwinds, the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank last month, the second-biggest bank failure in U.S. history, thrust the financial system into distress.
Acknowledging economic uncertainty and persistently high inflation, Dimon described last year as one marked by “significant challenges.”
Addressing the recent banking distress, he added, “The current crisis is not yet over, and even when it is behind us, there will be repercussions from it for years to come.”
In the aftermath of Silicon Valley Bank’s failure, some Democrats called for strengthening banking regulations that they say could have prevented the collapse. Such officials, like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., have focused their ire on a 2018 measure that weakened banking oversight imposed by the previous Dodd-Frank Act.
Rejecting calls for stronger regulation, Dimon said additional protections would not have prevented the recent banking crisis.
“Regarding the current disruption in the U.S. banking system, most of the risks were hiding in plain sight,” he said, referring to long-term treasury and mortgage bonds that were known to risk a loss of value if the Fed rapidly raised interest rates.
“It is unlikely that any recent change in regulatory requirements would have made a difference in what followed,” he added.
Returning to a sunny tone taken up elsewhere in the letter, Dimon downplayed the threat posed by the current financial distress.
“Recent events are nothing like what occurred during the 2008 global financial crisis,” he said.
A group of big banks, including JPMorgan Chase, made money from the recent banking distress, since a flood of depositors opened new accounts at large lenders amid the uncertainty.
JPMorgan Chase received a huge wave of customers and deposits, amounting to hundreds of accounts and billions of dollars, a source familiar with the matter previously told ABC News.
In his letter, Dimon rebuked the notion that JPMorgan Chase, or any bank, emerged from the turmoil unscathed.
“Any crisis that damages Americans’ trust in their banks damages all banks – a fact that was known even before this crisis,” Dimon said.
“While it is true that this bank crisis ‘benefited’ larger banks due to the inflow of deposits they received from smaller institutions, the notion that this meltdown was good for them in any way is absurd,” he added.
Jennifer Lopez‘s brand includes perfume, beauty products, footwear and more … and now she’s branching out into booze.
She’s launching a brand of ready-to-drink cocktails called The House of Delola, after one of her nicknames, Lola. The brand offers gluten-free, lower calorie drinks that come in embossed glass bottles. The first product line, Delola Spritz, includes Bella Berry Spritz, Paloma Rosa Spritz and L’Orange Spritz, which are based around vodka, tequila and amaro, respectively. They all have 110 calories or less per serving.
Starting this month, the drinks will be available in grocery and liquor stores, as well as in restaurants and bars throughout the U.S. Visit DelolaLife.com for more details.
In a statement, JLo says she created the brand because she couldn’t find a cocktail that was right for her, so she decided to make one.
“My goals were better ingredients, better taste, fewer calories than traditional cocktails, and one simple pour. Something easy, fun, fresh and delicious,” she says. “I started this journey two years ago and I’m so excited to finally share Delola with the world.”
JLo tells People the design that’s embossed on the bottle includes two lions to represent her and husband Ben Affleck, because they’re both Leos. She shot the campaign for the product in Italy and says, “It evokes this aspirational kind of glamorous lifestyle, but also something very peaceful and relaxing and earthy to it as well.”
“It has this combination, which I think is very me, where it’s kind of down to earth … but also super glam,” she adds. “Jenny from the block meets the Italian coast.”
(NEW YORK) — Heavy tornado activity is forecast in regions in the U.S. still reeling from a line of devastating tornadoes that killed dozens of people.
A major storm moving east on Tuesday is expected to produce another severe weather outbreak in America’s Heartland, bringing strong, long-track tornadoes, damaging winds and large hail. More than 41 million Americans are on alert for these severe weather conditions. Cities in the bull’s-eye include Little Rock, Arkansas, Springfield, Missouri and Davenport and Des Moines, Iowa, forecasts show.
As the storm moved through the Rocky Mountains and Southwest overnight, places like Utah saw wind gusts up to 135 mph and up to 17 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service.
Severe storms could even reach as far south as Austin, Texas, and Dallas and as far north as Chicago, Milwaukee and Green Bay, Wisconsin. The inclement weather is expected to begin Tuesday afternoon and last overnight into Wednesday, with nocturnal tornadoes possible from Arkansas to Illinois and Iowa.
The threats of damaging winds and tornadoes will continue east on Wednesday into the Great Lakes, Ohio and Tennessee River Valley. The storm system is expected to affect cities like Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee, Louisville, Kentucky, Cincinnati, Detroit, Cleveland and Chicago.
The forecast comes just days after a powerful storm system unleashed a line of violent tornadoes and severe thunderstorms across 14 states. At least nine EF3 tornadoes — wind speeds ranging from 136 to 165 mph — were confirmed to have touched down in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee and Delaware on Friday and Saturday.
The damage was especially extensive near Little Rock, Arkansas, where an apartment complex was left in ruins following the strong twisters. At least five people were killed in Arkansas as a result of the storms.
At least one EF4 tornado — with winds ranging from 166 to 200 mph — was confirmed in Iowa on Friday.
At least 32 people in nine states were killed in the storms.
Talking Heads are the latest artists to pay tribute to Sire Records founder Seymour Stein, who passed away Sunday at the age of 80.
“Talking Heads are deeply saddened to learn that Seymour Stein has died. He was our champion. He fought bravely for us and he remained loyal to us until the end,” read a post on the band’s official Instagram page. “Some people can spot a diamond in the rough and Seymour was one of them.”
“Seymour’s life was one of great success and also great tragedy, but through it all he remained crazy about music,” they add. “He was a mensch that we and the music business will never forget.”
Talking Heads’ Chris Frantz also wrote a tribute to Stein for Variety, in which he recalled the story of the first time Stein heard their band, and how he waited a year and a half for them to be ready to record their first record.
“Seymour was a good match for us,” he shares. “He understood us and accepted our eccentricities. He liked that we were smart and knew about art. Not very many record company guys understood or even cared about Talking Heads at that time, but Seymour believed in us from the beginning and his support never wavered.”
He adds, “He was our champion from the beginning to the end and for that, Seymour, we thank you.”
(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump is expected to appear in a New York City court for an arraignment on Tuesday, after being indicted by a Manhattan grand jury last week.
He is the first former U.S. president to be indicted. Although the document remains sealed, sources familiar told ABC News that Trump has been charged with around two dozen counts, including felonies.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Apr 04, 12:49 PM EDT
George Santos, Marjorie Taylor Greene outside courthouse
Protesters from both sides are gathering outside at Collect Pond Park, some with flags reading “Trump or Death.” Hundreds of people are inside the barricaded park, with pro-Trump supporters outnumbering the anti-Trump protesters and competing voices trading barbs and shouts.
Republican Reps. George Santos and Marjorie Taylor Greene are among the 50 to 60 Trump supporters at the scene.
Greene spoke outside the courthouse calling Trump’s indictment “election interference.”
She accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of being a “tool for Democrats” to “hijack the 2024 presidential election.”
“Every single American should be concerned. They’re coming after President Trump today, they will come after you tomorrow. President Trump did nothing wrong,” she said.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., who was also outside the courthouse, pushed back, shouting at Greene, “She should not be here.”
The streets surrounding the New York Criminal Court are largely blocked off. A robust police presence is busily shepherding onlookers past a row of television cameras.
Greene and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., plan to attend Trump’s Tuesday night speech at Mar-a-Lago, aides told ABC News.
-ABC News’ Lucien Bruggeman, Lauren Peller, Will Steakin and Jay O’Brien
Apr 04, 12:13 PM EDT
Trump spends morning working phones, speaking to aides and allies: Sources
Former President Donald Trump spent Monday night and Tuesday morning huddled with his legal team at Trump Tower preparing for his arraignment, sources told ABC News.
Trump was up early Tuesday morning working the phones and speaking to aides and allies ahead of his Tuesday afternoon arraignment, sources said.
Trump is expected to enter his not guilty plea himself, not through his lawyers, sources said. Trump’s legal team has still not seen the indictment or been informed of the charges, according to sources, who told ABC News the legal team expects to see it just minutes before the arraignment begins.
One person described Trump as “upbeat” and “relatively excited.” Another person said Trump is “not angry” and is resigned to the fact that this day has finally come.
-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders and John Santucci
Apr 04, 11:21 AM EDT
Trump slams judge ahead of arraignment
Former President Donald Trump lashed out at the judge expected to preside over his arraignment in a Tuesday morning post on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Trump attacked the judge and his family, without naming them, claiming they are known Trump haters, and claiming a potential trial would not be fair.
The former president has repeatedly gone after the judge and the Manhattan district attorney on social media in the days leading up to Tuesday’s arraignment.
-ABC News’ Will Steakin
Apr 04, 11:02 AM EDT
George Santos, Marjorie Taylor Greene outside courthouse
Former President Donald Trump isn’t expected in lower Manhattan for another few hours, but the circus outside the courthouse is well underway.
Protesters from both sides are gathering outside at Collect Pond Park, some with flags reading “Trump or Death.”
Republican Reps. George Santos and Marjorie Taylor Greene are among the 50 to 60 Trump supporters at the scene.
The streets surrounding the New York Criminal Court are largely blocked off. A robust police presence is busily shepherding onlookers past a row of television cameras.
Greene and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., plan to attend Trump’s Tuesday night speech at Mar-a-Lago, aides told ABC News.
-ABC News’ Lucien Bruggeman, Will Steakin and Jay O’Brien
Apr 04, 7:36 AM EDT
‘There will be no guilty plea,’ Trump’s lawyer says
Just hours before Donald Trump was expected to turn himself in to New York City authorities to face criminal charges, his lawyer Joe Tacopina insisted Friday that the former president will not be pleading guilty.
“Really, there’s a lot of mystery here because we’re doing something that’s never been done before,” Tacopina told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos in an interview on Good Morning America.
“One thing I can assure you as I sit here today is there will be no guilty plea in this case,” he added. “That is one thing I can guarantee you.”
Tacopina said Trump won’t be put in handcuffs but “he’ll be processed the way anyone else would be, to a degree — again, with Secret Service involvement.”
“I think there will be a typical processing, which does not take long — 20, 30 minutes,” he said. “And then we’ll appear before a judge, you know, deal with a couple issues right off the bat and it won’t be a long day in court.”
That’s when authorities will unseal Trump’s indictment, revealing the exact charges against him.
“They have not shared it with us, won’t share it with us until it’s unsealed,” Tacopina said. “But we know the basis of the indictment and the factual allegations in the indictment.”
Trump’s defense team plans to make “a lot of motions” once they see the indictment, according to Tacopina.
“I don’t think this case is going to see a jury. I think it’s going to go away on papers,” he said. “I think there’s a legal challenge that will be made and should be made successfully.”
When asked about speculation that the judge might impose a gag order, Tacopina said there was “no indication” of that.
“It can’t happen in this case,” he added. “The defendant is the leading Republican candidate for the office of the president of the United States and will be campaigning. Hard to put a gag order when he’s going to be fielding questions about his current legal situation.”
After court, Trump plans to travel back to Palm Beach, Florida, where he will make a statement at his Mar-a-Lago estate, according to Tacopina.
Trump’s attorney talks how he will fight criminal charges
Following Donald Trump’s unprecedented indictment by a Manhattan grand jury last Thursday, the former president begins the first steps in the criminal justice process.
Trump surrenders to authorities
The Manhattan district attorney’s office said it has been in contact with Trump’s lawyers to arrange his surrender to authorities in order to begin criminal proceedings.
Trump, a Florida resident, traveled to New York City on Monday and spent the night at Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan before his arraignment in lower Manhattan on Tuesday. The former president must adhere to the court’s deadline and be processed by authorities before heading to court for the unsealing of the indictment.
Trump is processed by authorities
Processing typically involves being fingerprinted and photographed for a mug shot, but experts say those may not occur in Trump’s case because the former president is not a flight risk. Similarly, Trump’s attorney Joe Tacopina told ABC News last Friday that the former “president will not be put in handcuffs.”
It is also unlikely that Trump will be publicly transported to the courtroom by police, according to Cheryl Bader, an associate clinical professor of law at Fordham University in New York City.
“With white-collar crime, we see that a lot of [suspects] have the privilege of being able to turn themselves in instead of being arrested and put in handcuffs,” Bader told ABC News during a recent interview.
Trump appears in court, makes plea
During the court appearance, which typically takes place in a courtroom without cameras in New York state, the former president will be read his charges and ordered to make a plea. Trump and his lawyers have indicated they intend to fight the indictment in court.
Following his plea, the judge will have the right to remand Trump on bail or release him on his own recognizance before adjourning for a future date. Bader said that judges rarely order suspects in white-collar crimes to be held in jail before their trial, and she expected that the judge will release Trump after the hearing.
In some cases, especially if the suspect is a flight risk, a judge may place restrictions on the suspect such as holding onto their passport, but Bader said it is unclear if the judge will go that far.
Judge hears motions, sets next court date
Following the judge’s order, Trump’s lawyers will have the opportunity to review the indictment charges and make motions regarding the case, including seeking to have the charges dismissed or evidence suppressed, or requesting a change of venue.
Several pre-trial hearings and motions are expected in the case, as Trump’s lawyers have repeatedly made claims that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation is a political attack, according to Bader.
“I’m sure the case is going to be very litigated and take a lot of time to wind its way through the system,” Bader told ABC News.
-ABC News’ Aaron Katersky, Ivan Pereira and Will Steakin
Apr 03, 10:16 PM EDT
Judge issues decision on cameras in court Tuesday
Judge Juan Merchan will allow five pool still photographers to snap for several minutes before the arraignment formally starts, according to a decision issued Monday night.
No video cameras will be allowed, though Judge Merchan conceded, “That this indictment involves a matter of monumental significance cannot possibly be disputed. Never in the history of the United States has a sitting or past President been indicted on criminal charges.”
The judge said he needed to balance other interests.
No electronic devices will be allowed in either the main or overflow courtrooms, the judge ruled.
-ABC News’ Aaron Katersky
Apr 03, 4:25 PM EDT
Trump arrives at Trump Tower
Former President Donald Trump has arrived at Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan where he’ll spend the night Monday before his arraignment in lower Manhattan on Tuesday.
Trump briefly waved as he departed his motorcade and walked into the side entrance of the building on 56th Street Monday afternoon.
-ABC News’ Olivia Rubin
Apr 03, 3:41 PM EDT
Biden says he has faith in legal system, not worried about unrest
President Joe Biden said Monday he has faith in the legal system as he made his most extensive comments yet on former President Donald Trump’s indictment.
While touring a manufacturing facility in Minnesota, a reporter asked Biden if he was worried about unrest, and the president replied, “No. I have faith in the New York Police Department.”
Asked if he has faith in the legal system at this point, the president responded, “Yes.”
On Friday, in an exchange with reporters outside the White House, Biden repeatedly declined to comment on the indictment.
-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson
Apr 03, 3:37 PM EDT
Trump lands in New York City
Former President Donald Trump has just touched down in New York, ahead of his arraignment Tuesday.
Trump’s plane landed at LaGuardia Airport, and is now expected to head to Trump Tower.
-ABC News’ Olivia Rubin
Apr 03, 1:50 PM EDT
Trump opposes cameras in court
Former President Donald Trump on Monday opposed the presence of cameras in the courtroom for his Tuesday arraignment.
“It will create a circus-like atmosphere at the arraignment, raise unique security concerns, and is inconsistent with President Trump’s presumption of innocence,” Trump’s attorney Susan Necheles said.
A coalition of news organizations, including ABC News, has filed motions with the court, seeking access to cover and record the hearing Tuesday.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office declined to take a position on the matter.
Judge Juan Merchan has not yet ruled.
-ABC News’ Josh Margolin
Apr 03, 1:18 PM EDT
Trump expands legal team with top white-collar defense attorney
Former President Donald Trump is expanding his legal team, hiring a former federal prosecutor and white-collar defense attorney to lead his defense ahead of Tuesday’s arraignment, sources said.
Todd Blanche, a former assistant U.S. attorney in the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, recently resigned from his law firm to take on this new role, according to sources. Blanche has represented high-profile clients like Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman, and Igor Fruman, an ex-associate to Rudy Giuliani.
Blanche is expected to travel with Trump from Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan to the courthouse in lower Manhattan on Tuesday, the sources said. Blanche didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
-ABC News’ John Santucci and Katherine Faulders
Apr 03, 1:00 PM EDT
Trump en route to New York
Former President Donald Trump has departed Florida’s Palm Beach International Airport bound for New York City.
Dozens of Trump supporters lined the streets to cheer the former president on as his motorcade headed to the airport.
Some wore shirts saying, “Trump did nothing wrong.”
“People want to support [Trump] because, basically, they see him as an underdog at this point, and which he is,” Whit Taylor told ABC News as he watched the motorcade. “He’s being harassed and pushed around by people who are just haters. I mean that’s the bottom line — they just hate people.”
Trump is expected to stay in Manhattan Monday night before appearing in court for an arraignment on Tuesday.
Apr 03, 12:38 PM EDT
No specific credible threat in NYC, mayor says
As New York City gears up for former President Donald Trump’s arraignment on Tuesday, Mayor Eric Adams said “there has been no specific credible threat.”
“All New Yorkers should go on with their regular activities” on Tuesday, Adams said at a news conference Monday, adding that New Yorkers should expect “some disruptions,” including traffic and street closures.
New Yorkers may also see an additional police presence, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said. She encouraged people to use mass transit when possible.
Sewell said any protests should be peaceful and orderly.
The mayor warned that violence and vandalism won’t be tolerated, and said anyone caught participating in violence will be arrested.
Adams called out Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who said she’s planning to come to New York to support Trump, urging her and others to “be on your best behavior.”
Apr 03, 6:32 AM EDT
Poll shows plurality of the public supports Trump indictment
A plurality of Americans think former President Donald Trump should have been charged by a Manhattan grand jury with a history-making indictment.
According to the poll, 45% think Trump should have been charged with a crime in this case, whereas 32% don’t think so and 23% say they don’t know.
Democrats are, unsurprisingly, rallying behind the grand jury’s decision.
Almost nine in 10 Democrats (88%) think Trump should have been charged in the investigation by the Manhattan D.A., which has been probing a $130,000 hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels who alleges the two had an affair. Trump has long denied these claims.
-ABC News’ Brittany Shepherd
Apr 03, 6:01 AM EDT
‘I just don’t know what to expect to see,’ Trump’s lawyer says
Donald Trump’s lawyer doesn’t know what to expect when the former president is arraigned on Tuesday in New York City given the historic nature of Trump’s indictment, he said on Sunday.
“This is unprecedented. I don’t know. I’ve done a million arraignments in that courthouse with celebrities and whatnot. But this is a whole different thing. We have Secret Service involved. I understand they’re closing the courthouse for the afternoon. I just don’t know what to expect to see,” Joe Tacopina told ABC This Week anchor George Stephanopoulos.
“What I hope is that we get in and out of there as quickly as possible, that it’s, at the end of the day, a typical arraignment where we stand before the judge, we say ‘not guilty,’ we set schedules to file motions and whatnot or discovery, and we move forward and get out of there,” Tacopina said.
-ABC News’ Tal Axelrod
Apr 03, 5:26 AM EDT
Trump expected to travel to New York on Monday
Former President Donald Trump is expected to travel to New York on Monday, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
He is expected to appear in court on Tuesday at the earliest, the sources said, on what is expected to be around two dozen counts – including felonies.
The exact charges are unknown since the indictment will not be unsealed until Trump appears in court.
-ABC News’ Aaron Katersky, Katherine Faulders, John Santucci
Apr 02, 11:09 AM EDT
Trump to speak at Mar-a-Lago Tuesday night
Following his expected arraignment on Tuesday in New York City, former President Donald Trump announced he would speak that evening from Mar-a-Lago.
The former president is slated to give remarks at 8:15 p.m., according to a press release.
-ABC News’ Olivia Rubin
Apr 02, 10:33 AM EDT
America split on Trump indictment: Poll
While 45% of Americans believe former President Donald Trump should face charges in an investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, 32% say he shouldn’t have been indicted, according to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll.
Another 23% of American say they don’t know whether the nation’s 45th president should face charges.
While the charges have not been announced, a Manhattan grand jury that indicted Trump had been hearing evidence in a $130,000 hush money payment Trump allegedly made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, who claims they had an affair. Trump has denied the allegations.
The poll showed a split in opinions along party lines. While 88% of Democrats said Trump should face charges, 62%, of Republicans said the former president should not have been charged while 16% said he should be charged, and the remainder was uncertain.
About 47% of Americans polled say the charges are politically motivated, echoing the sentiment from top GOP figures. About 79% of Republicans hold that view.
-ABC News’ Brittany Shepherd
Mar 31, 6:08 PM EDT
Why Trump indictment might hinge on a ‘novel legal theory’
As legal experts speculate on what charges lay inside the sealed indictment ahead of former President Donald Trump’s expected surrender on Tuesday afternoon, many predict that prosecutors could try out a new legal theory to justify bringing the charges.
“This could be a novel legal theory,” said Kate Shaw, a law professor at Cardozo and ABC News contributor, speculating on what charges the public could see against Trump while stressing it’s unknown until the indictment is unsealed.
-ABC News’ Libby Cathey
Mar 31, 5:31 PM EDT
Trump faces around 2 dozen counts, including felonies, sources say
Former President Donald Trump has been charged with around two dozen counts, including felonies, sources familiar with the sealed indictment told ABC News.
The exact charges remain unknown since the indictment will not be unsealed until Trump appears in court on Tuesday.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office declined to comment.
Mar 31, 4:51 PM EDT
Senate sergeant at arms warns of potential demonstration activity
The Senate sergeant at arms is warning of potential demonstration activity related to the indictment of former President Donald Trump.
“While law enforcement is not tracking any specific, credible threats against the Capitol or state offices, there is potential for demonstration activity,” an email obtained by ABC News said.
Capitol Police “is working with law enforcement partners, so you may observe a greater law enforcement presence on Capitol Hill,” the email said, adding that there could be “nationwide impacts to Senate state offices.”
The Capitol Police declined to comment and the sergeant at arms didn’t immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
-ABC News’ Luke Barr
Mar 31, 12:56 PM EDT
Ivanka Trump speaks out
Former President Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, reacted to the indictment on Instagram Friday, writing, “I love my father, and I love my country. Today, I am pained for both.”
She added, “I appreciate the voices across the political spectrum expressing support and concern.”
Mar 31, 12:30 PM EDT
How DA could use hush money payment to Playboy model Karen McDougal to bolster Trump case
Sources familiar with the matter told ABC News the Manhattan district attorney’s office is also investigating a $150,000 payment to Playboy model Karen McDougal, who, like Stormy Daniels, claimed to have had an affair with Donald Trump.
The former president has denied having an affair with either woman and has called the investigation a witch hunt.
McDougal was paid for the rights to her story in August 2016 by American Media, publisher of the National Enquirer, which did not publish it, a practice known as catch and kill.
Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, has said he recorded Trump discussing reimbursement to American Media for the payment to McDougal, but the payment was never made.
Trump has not responded to ABC News’ request for comment but in a 2018 interview with Fox News, he claimed he wasn’t aware of any payment made to AMI to facilitate the alleged hush agreement.
Mar 31, 12:27 PM EDT
Judge signs order allowing DA to publicly acknowledge indictment
Judge Juan Merchan has signed this order allowing the Manhattan district attorney’s office to publicly acknowledge the indictment.
The People v Donald J Trump. This is the order allowing the DA to publicly acknowledge the indictment pic.twitter.com/leg9vDascr
Dr. Uma Valeti, founder and CEO of UPSIDE Foods, gives a tour of his Emeryville, Calif., facility to ABC News. — ABC News
(EMERYVILLE, Calif.) — A scientific quest to feed the world, protect animals and simultaneously cut down on greenhouse gas emissions is on the cusp of a major milestone in the U.S., advocates say.
In the last five months, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared two American producers of lab-grown meat to bring their products to market, finding “no questions” about the companies’ claims the protein is safe for human consumption — though critics still have concerns about the industry’s financial viability relative to long-term output.
“That is a watershed moment because it’s never happened before in the history of humanity,” said Dr. Uma Valeti, founder and CEO of UPSIDE Foods, one of the approved producers.
Regulators from the U.S. Department of Agriculture are now deciding how to label cultivated meat for public sale and inspect facilities that produce it. The guidelines are expected sometime this year — a final hurdle before the products can hit store shelves.
Americans were estimated to consume roughly 75 billion pounds of red meat and chicken last year, according to USDA data. That’s nearly 225 pounds per American.
“I think of our cultivated meat as the one that can fill the delta between how much meat we eat now and how much we’re going to have to produce for the next 30 years,” Valeti said.
Cultivated, or cultured-cell, meat is grown in steel bioreactors from animal stem cells that are fed a mixture of vitamins, fats, sugars and oxygen. The process results in real meat tissue without having to raise or slaughter an animal.
Meat cultivating companies like UPSIDE and some environmentalists say the technique has the potential to dramatically curb greenhouse gas emissions from traditional animal farming, which also requires vast swaths of land and water as well as antibiotics for disease control.
ABC News was granted an inside look at the nation’s first and largest cultivated chicken facility, run by UPSIDE Foods in an office park outside San Francisco.
“It takes two weeks to grow the equal to one chicken, a thousand chickens or 100,000 chickens,” said Valeti, who is a cardiologist by training. What limits production is infrastructure.
UPSIDE says it can produce 50,000 pounds of cultivated chicken a year using current technology in its $50-million facility. Valeti said UPSIDE will need significant additional investment to scale up to 400,000 pounds a year — but that’s the goal.
“When we have the full force of humanity wanting to do something that is impossible, or perceived to be impossible, magical things can happen,” Valeti said.
As demand for meat products continues to soar globally, advocates and investors say cultivating meat has the potential to dramatically supplement and expand the world’s existing food supply.
Animal rights advocates say “no kill” meat is also a way to reduce suffering and alleviate concerns about unethical treatment of animal populations on large commercial farms.
The concept has drawn billions of dollars in investment. UPSIDE has attracted high-profile financing from Bill Gates, Richard Branson and Whole Foods founder John Mackey.
President Joe Biden has also thrown support behind the effort, signing an executive order in September directing the Department of Agriculture to support “cultivating alternative food sources.”
“Although the power of these technologies is most vivid at the moment in the context of human health, biotechnology and biomanufacturing can also be used to achieve our climate and energy goals,” the order states.
Animal agriculture is responsible for at least 14.5% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, nearly equivalent — by some estimates — to the share of emissions produced by cars, trucks, trains, airplanes and ships combined.
Most of those earth-warming gasses come from cows, which produce methane, scientists say.
While UPSIDE Foods and GOOD Meat, the second FDA-approved cultivated meat company, produce chicken, dozens of other start-up companies are preparing to produce and sell cultivated beef, lamb, pork and seafood from animal cells.
Critics contend that cultivating meat is an enticing prospect but remains little more than a novelty.
“The data’s not there yet and the investment is known to be very expensive. How are you going to make an impact in the environment if you cannot scale this at a reasonable cost?” said Ricardo San Martin, director of the Alternative Meat Lab at the University of California at Berkeley.
“The narrative is very attractive. ‘I don’t need to kill chickens, and I can kind of just grow them in a vat and that’s it’ — right? But those vats are very expensive and [have] very sophisticated people running them,” said San Martin, who told ABC News research shows plant-based foods are most affordable and sustainable.
A study published in 2020 by the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future concluded that cultivated meat produces roughly one-fifth of the greenhouse gas emissions of traditional beef but is still five to 21 times higher than plant proteins such as tofu or peas.
Bioreactors, like those used at UPSIDE Foods, are energy intensive, said researcher Raychel Santos.
There is also a debate over what to call a new competitor in the meat department. Trade groups representing American farmers and ranchers have been lobbying the USDA to clearly brand cultured-cell products as distinct from their own pasture-raised cuts.
“All I’m asking is that it be clearly identified because there’s going to be a difference when that consumer eats that product,” said Todd Wilkinson, president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. “And my product doesn’t have to be genetically engineered.”
Wilkinson wants the USDA to require products from UPSIDE and GOOD to bear the markers “cultured meat” or “lab grown.”
“Something that just stands out and lets the consumer know what they’re eating,” he said.
UPSIDE’s Valeti concedes customer education will be a big hurdle to clear.
“People are buying meat right now despite how it’s made,” Valeti said of what he calls the paradox of meat. “What if we can make the process more kinder, caring, healthier, nutritious? I believe everybody will get behind it.”
He said he anticipates price-per-pound of UPSIDE chicken would start “slightly above organic,” with a goal of competing on par with conventional chicken in five to 15 years.
Once USDA labeling is approved, UPSIDE chicken is expected to land first on fine-dining menus in a handful of California restaurants.
“Our goal is to be able to be available at Michelin star restaurants or at the backyard barbecue,” Valeti said. “It’s going to take some time to get to a point where we can be everywhere.”
Joe Walsh and Willie Nelson have been added to Stephen Stills’ upcoming autism benefit, Autism Speaks Light Up The Blues 6. The event, hosted by Stills and his wife, Kristen, takes place April 22 at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.
Sharon Van Etten also joins the lineup, which already includes Stills with his sons Chris and Oliver; Neil Young in his first concert appearance since September 2019; and Lukas Nelson + Promise of the Real. Comedian Jeff Garlin is on board as host, and Amanda Kloots and Camryn Manheim will be appearing as presenters.
Proceeds from the Light Up The Blues 6 benefit will support Autism Speaks, which is “dedicated to promoting solutions, across the spectrum and throughout the life span, for the needs of individuals with autism and their families.”
(CHICAGO) — Election day in Chicago will not only decide the next mayor of the city, but it also promises to end a campaign season that has polarized Chicagoans about which segment of the Democratic Party will ultimately lead the city.
Tuesday is a run-off election between Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson and former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas. Neither man secured 50 percent of the vote in February, an initial election that ousted incumbent Lori Lightfoot from securing a second term.
In the six-week run-up to Tuesday, Vallas and Johnson have sparred in numerous televised debates about issues like crime and education. However, underscoring the conversations is the obvious contrast between the progressive left of the Democratic Party, represented by Johnson, and the moderate wing of the party, represented by Vallas.
“You have Vallas being called a Republican and Johnson being called a Socialist. Those issues are designed of course to get a more reptilian brain response from voters, but they don’t tell us exactly where both campaigns are on the major issues rather than a broad brush,” said Arthur Lurigio, a criminologist at Loyola University Chicago. “Being extreme is in their interest.”
Johnson has capitalized on comments Vallas made years ago about critical race theory and he has blasted both endorsements and campaign donations Vallas received from prominent Republicans like Darren Bailey, the Illinois senator who lost the state’s recent gubernatorial election, and a PAC founded by Betsy DeVos, the former education secretary under former President Donald Trump.
The insinuation that Vallas is a closet Republican — a smear in this reliably blue city — has appeared on yard signs, stickers, and in a television ad that claims Vallas is “endorsed by the Chicago Republican Party.
This weekend, Republican Party Chairman Steve Boulton released a statement denouncing Johnson and said his “campaign is lying yet again” about the endorsement. “The ad is false, and under federal law, the broadcasters are under an obligation to pull the ads,” he said.
Vallas, who earned the endorsement of the local chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, has blasted Johnson for comments he made years ago about defunding the police. Both men say they want to hire more detectives although Vallas says he wants to fill more than 1,700 vacancies in the department, while Johnson said he wants resources directed to schools and mental health services. Vallas also says Johnson’s plan to raise $800 million in additional taxes would cripple the city’s economy.
Vallas has earned the backing of prominent leaders within the state Democratic Party, including U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, and former Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn. Johnson, a former schoolteacher whose campaign is funded by the Chicago Teachers Union, is endorsed by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and civil rights leader Jesse Jackson.
While Vallas and Johnson received nearly 33% and 22% of the vote in February, respectively, polling shows the race is tightening. A Northwestern University poll last week showed each candidate earning 44% of the overall vote, with 12% undecided. On Monday, however, a poll conducted by Victory Research showed Vallas leading with 49.6%, followed by Johnson with 45.4%. Only 5% of voters remain undecided.
