(LOS ANGELES) — Vanessa Bryant settled her remaining claims with Los Angeles County on Tuesday for $28,850,000 over photos that members of the sheriff’s department shared after the helicopter crash that killed her husband Kobe and daughter Gianna in January 2020, according to county attorneys.
Co-plaintiff Chris Chester, whose wife and daughter were also killed in the crash, settled for $19,950,000.
“Today marks the successful culmination of Mrs. Bryant’s courageous battle to hold accountable those who engaged in this grotesque conduct. She fought for her husband, her daughter, and all those in the community whose deceased family were treated with similar disrespect. We hope her victory at trial and this settlement will put an end to this practice,” Luis Li, Vanessa Bryant’s attorney, said in a statement.
LA County attorneys said they hoped the Bryant and Chester families would be able to heal from their loss.
“We believe the settlement approved by the Board in the Bryant case is fair and reasonable. The $28,850,000 settlement includes the verdict awarded by the federal jury in August 2022, and further resolves all outstanding issues related to pending legal claims in state court, future claims by the Bryant children, and other costs, with each party responsible for its respective attorneys’ fees,” Mira Hashmall, partner at the Miller Barondess law firm and lead trial counsel for LA County in the Bryant-Chester case, said in a statement.
Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, were headed to a basketball game at his Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks along with others connected to the basketball program on Jan. 26, 2020, when the helicopter they were traveling in crashed in Calabasas. All nine people on board were killed.
Vanessa Bryant filed a lawsuit several months after the crash against Los Angeles County, alleging that first responders took graphic photos of human remains at the scene as “souvenirs” and shared them with others. She claimed she suffered emotional distress and sued for negligence and invasion of privacy.
In August 2022, a jury awarded Vanessa Bryant $16 million in her invasion of privacy trial against Los Angeles County.
(CHICAGO) — The race for Chicago’s next mayor was shaved to just two candidates Tuesday while voters overwhelmingly stopped incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s attempt at a second term, making her the first incumbent mayor in 40 years to not win reelection.
Former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson both advanced to the runoff election, to be held on April 4.
None of the candidates in the crowded field of nine managed to lock 50% of the vote for a win, so the top two vote-getters will head to the runoff. According to the Chicago Board of Elections, 507,852 total ballots were cast, representing a total citywide turnout of 32%.
“Our fight isn’t over yet and we will be spending the next five weeks talking to the people of our city about the need to elect a leader who is transparent, accountable, collaborative and who puts public safety at the top of our priorities,” Vallas said in a statement. “I’m ready to take on that challenge and be a mayor for all Chicagoans.”
“They said this would never happen. I am so freaking proud. Because we did this,” Johnson told supporters Tuesday. “A few months ago, they said they didn’t know who I was. Well, if you didn’t know, now you know. We have shifted the political dynamics in this city.”
Lightfoot’s loss is a reversal from four years earlier when, as a relative unknown who had never held public office, the former prosecutor won every ward in Chicago by campaigning as an outsider who was motivated to reform the city’s tribal political culture. She became the city’s first Black woman and openly gay person to serve as mayor.
Like all big city mayors across the U.S., she faced significant challenges following the social unrest in 2020 and COVID-19 lockdowns early in her term, but she later could not convince voters she had a solution to the mounting issues of crime and public safety.
At the end of 2022, Chicago had nearly 700 murders, down from 804 in 2021 but still high compared to earlier years, according to the Chicago Police Department’s end-of-year report. In addition, the city saw more than 20,000 incidents of theft in 2022, up from 10,590 incidents in 2021. Viral images of lootings, car jacking and weekend street races throughout the summer months contributed to the perception that Lightfoot had lost control of trying to crack down on crime.
“Obviously, we didn’t win the election today, but I’m being here with my head held high and a heart full of gratitude. I am grateful to the millions of Chicagoans who came together as we made tough decisions, saw the struggles of our frontline workers and beat back a deadly pandemic” she said Tuesday. “I’ll be rooting and praying for our next mayor to deliver for the people of this city for years to come.”
Both Vallas, 69, and Johnson, 46, are Democrats who have the backing of the city’s most powerful labor unions, respectively — the Fraternal Order of Police for Vallas and the Chicago Teachers Union for Johnson. The alliances reflect the opportunities and vulnerabilities of both candidates. Vallas is running as a moderate Democrat who wants to invest more in public safety while Johnson is on record saying he advocates for redirecting funds more to social services and intervention programs. He has avoided answering questions on whether he would divest in or reduce the Chicago Police Department budget.
Both mayoral candidates say they would fire Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown.
Lightfoot has said she is working to make Chicago “the safest big city in the country” by working on getting illegal guns off the streets, hiring more officers and investing in communities to address violence. Others, though, have said she needs to do more.
But there still have been improvements overall regarding crime in Chicago. ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas spent a day with Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown in October for an inside look at the department’s efforts to curb gun violence — incidents affecting many Chicagoans — throughout the city. At the time, shootings in Chicago were down 20% through the end of summer and homicides had fallen 16%.
Vallas has made combatting crime the central issue for his campaign — echoing how public safety came to define high-profile races for New York governor, where incumbent Kathy Hochul faced a major rival in Lee Zeldin, and the 2022 recall of San Francisco’s top prosecutor.
(KANSAS CITY, Mo.) — Three police officers have been shot in Kansas City, Missouri, according to the city’s mayor, Quinton Lucas.
The incident occurred at approximately 9:30 p.m. when Kansas City Police department tactical officers were executing a warrant in the 2300 block of Blueridge Boulevard in the eastern part of the city.
The three officers who were shot were immediately taken to a local area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. They are currently listed in stable condition.
Authorities say that this is an active and ongoing investigation and any further inquiries will have to be directed to the Missouri Highway Patrol due to this being their investigation.
Mayor Quinton Lucas tweeted: “We’ve been reminded too much lately in Kansas City how dangerous police work can be. I am praying for a full recovery for our three officers injured this evening and that everyone on duty gets home to their families safely.”
(WASHINGTON) — A Pentagon advisory committee is recommending waiting periods and other gun restrictions for service members to help reduce suicides in the armed forces.
Among the nearly 130 recommendations in a report last week from the Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee are: a seven-day waiting period for gun purchases on bases and other Department of Defense property as well as a four-day waiting period for ammunition purchases there, a raise in the minimum age for buying firearms there, from 18 to 25, and the repeal of a 2013 law that bars the military from tracking gun purchases.
Though there was a drop in 2021, suicides in the military have been gradually increasing since 2011, according to the Department of Defense, mirroring a nationwide trend.
In 2021, 519 service members died from suicide, a decrease from 582 in 2020, the Pentagon has said.
The Defense Department noted last year that the suicide risk is greatest for young enlisted men.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced the creation of the Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee in March 2022.
According to the new advisory report, 66% of active-duty suicides, 72% of reserve suicides and 78% of National Guard suicides involve firearms.
Experts like Margaret Kelley, a professor at the University of Kansas who has researched gun ownership trends and more, said that some in the military community, specifically veterans, support more restrictive gun measures across the board.
“In our research, we found that veterans supported a ban on the military-style weapons and high-capacity clips and also waiting periods,” said Kelley, who co-authored How do veterans view gun policies? Evidence from the Guns in American Life Survey.
“Our research shows that it’s combat veterans in particular who are more likely to be in favor of some of these restrictions,” Kelley said. “There’s something about the particular military experience that changes these attitudes.”
Of all gun violence deaths in the U.S. in 2023, suicide is the prevailing cause at more than 3,800 as of Tuesday, according to the Gun Violence Archives, which compiles and validates data from thousands of sources, according to its website.
For additional resources relating to veteran suicide prevention, visit the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs website, or call 988 and select 1 to talk to speak with a crisis responder.
(NEW YORK) — At least 36 people were killed and more than 80 others injured in a head-on collision between a freight train and a passenger train in northern Greece late Tuesday, officials said.
The crash occurred shortly before midnight on the Athens-Thessaloniki route, at the entrance to the Tempe Valley gorge in Thessaly, according to Fire Brigade officials.
About 350 people were on board the passenger train at the time of the collision, according to the Hellenic Train Company.
“At Evangelismos, there was a head-on collision between two trains: a freight train and train IC 62, which had departed from Athens to Thessaloniki,” the company told ABC News in a statement. “Firefighters and Hellenic Train personnel rushed to the scene, participating in rescue operations and providing assistance to travelers.”
Emergency services were sent to the scene from several nearby towns to help transport injured passengers and free others trapped in the wreckage, officials said.
“Due to the severity of the collision between the two trains, crane-carrying vehicles are assisting in the extrication work,” the Fire Brigade said in a statement.
Forty ambulances with the National Emergency Center and 150 Fire Brigade firefighters responded to the scene, officials said, along with 32 police officers with 15 patrol cars.
“The remaining passengers who are in good health have already been transported by buses to Thessaloniki,” the Fire Bridage said. “The bodies are being transferred to the hospitals of Larissa in order to begin the process of recognition and identification.”
The military hospitals of Athens and Thessaloniki are on alert, in case they need to receive the wounded, according to fire officials.
(NEW YORK) — Ghislaine Maxwell on Tuesday asked a federal appeals court to overturn her conviction and 20-year prison sentence for helping Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse underage girls for more than a decade, staking her argument on claims of juror misconduct, a violation of the statute of limitations, her treatment behind bars and a “Kabuki theater” atmosphere in the courtroom.
Maxwell, 60, was found guilty in December 2021 of conspiring with Epstein to recruit, groom and abuse minors. She is serving her sentence at FCI Tallahassee in Florida.
Her lawyers argued that Maxwell was denied a fair trial, in part, because one of the jurors failed to disclose his own history of sexual abuse during jury selection.
“Irrespective of whether the juror’s false statements were intentional, which they clearly were, the similarities between the traumatic experiences described by the juror and the victims in the case, together with the juror’s public statements, established the juror’s bias,” Maxwell’s appellate brief said.
The defense also argued that federal prosecutors waited too long to indict Maxwell, instead charging her with “time-barred offenses” and resurrecting “decades-old allegations” previously blamed on Epstein, who died by suicide in prison.
“In its zeal to pin the blame for its own incompetence and for Epstein’s crimes on Maxwell, the government breached its promise not to prosecute Maxwell, charged her with time-barred offenses, resurrected and recast decades-old allegations for conduct previously ascribed to Epstein and other named assistants, and joined forces with complainants’ civil attorneys, whose interests were financial, to develop new allegations that would support charges against Maxwell,” the brief said.
“This is not a technical error. Statutes of Limitations are rooted in universally accepted notions that prompt investigation and prosecution ensure that conviction or acquittal is a reliable result, and not the product of faded memory or unavailable evidence, as was the case here,” defense attorney Arthur Aidala said in a statement.
Maxwell’s conviction was based on the testimony of four women, three of whom were permitted to testify under pseudonyms, a decision Maxwell’s attorneys derided.
“The result transformed the trial into a form of Kabuki theater designed to remind the jury at every turn that these adult women were being protected because their privacy interests, and not Maxwell’s constitutional right to a public trial, were paramount,” the defense said.
Prior to and during the trial, Maxwell’s attorneys had frequently complained about the conditions of her confinement at MDC (Metropolitan Detention Center) Brooklyn, and those arguments reappeared in her appellate argument.
“By the time of trial, Maxwell was so disoriented and diminished that she was unable meaningfully to assist in her own defense, much less to testify,” Maxwell’s attorneys said.
Her appeal also argued Maxwell’s prosecution was improper because of a 2007 non-prosecution agreement between federal prosecutors in Miami and Epstein. The trial judge said that agreement did not apply in New York, but the defense said it should have immunized Maxwell as a defendant.
“The government prosecuted Ms. Maxwell as a proxy for Jeffrey Epstein. It did so to satisfy public outrage over an unpopular non-prosecution agreement and the death of the person responsible for the crimes,” Aidala said.
(MAIDUGURI, Nigeria) — Ruling party candidate Bola Tinubu was declared the winner of Nigeria’s presidential election early Wednesday, amid calls from the opposition for a rerun in Africa’s largest democracy.
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman Mahmood Yakubu announced the results on live television just after 4 a.m. local time. Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party garnered a total of 8,794,726 votes, or about 35%, defeating his three main rivals: Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who secured 6,984,520 votes, or about 29%; and Peter Obi of the lesser known Labour Party, who received 6,101,533 votes, or about 25%. A total of 24,966,218 votes were cast, of which 24,025,940 were valid and 939,278 were rejected, according to Yakubu.
“I take this opportunity to appeal to my fellow contestants to let us team up together,” Tinubu, 70, told a crowd of supporters at the APC’s campaign headquarters in the capital, Abuja. “It is the only nation we have. It is one country and we must build together.”
On Tuesday, as votes were still being counted and provisional results showed Tinubu in the lead, Abubakar’s PDP and Obi’s Labour Party demanded a do-over and called on the INEC chairman to resign. Both opposition parties alleged that the results had been manipulated, citing disparities between votes that were tallied at local polling stations and the data that was uploaded to the INEC’s website. Dozens of protesters took to the streets in Abuja and southern Delta state. As the demonstrations grew, the United Nations issued a statement calling “on all stakeholders to remain calm through the conclusion of the electoral process” in Nigeria.
The parties have three weeks to appeal the results. While challenges are common, the Supreme Court of Nigeria has never overturned a presidential election.
Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election — described as the West African nation’s most hotly contested since the end of military rule in 1999 — took place on Saturday against a backdrop of widespread insecurity and economic troubles. The vote was closely watched around the world as it was considered a potential turning point for Africa’s most populous country and biggest economy. The United States, a close ally, had called Saturday’s poll “consequential” not just for Nigerians but also for the wider continent and the entire globe.
While observers said the election was largely peaceful, logistical and security challenges forced some of the country’s 93 million registered voters to wait until the next day to cast their ballots. Moreover, a cash shortage sparked by a currency redesign made it difficult for people to get to polling stations, likely resulting in low voter turnout, according to observers.
Popularly known as “Jagaban” by his supporters, Tinubu ran on campaign promises to enhance security, tackle mounting debt and improve state infrastructure. He previously served as governor of southwestern Nigeria’s affluent Lagos state, where he was born. However, he lost the state in Saturday’s presidential election to Obi, a relative political newcomer who amassed immense support among the youth.
As the president-elect, Tinubu will replace outgoing Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, whose electoral victory in 2015 made history. Buhari is stepping down after serving the maximum two terms allowed by the constitution.
(NEW YORK) — Six train cars, including two carrying propane, derailed in Manatee County, Florida, on Tuesday, according to the train’s operator, Seminole Gulf Railroad.
There is no immediate danger or leaks and no one was injured, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
Robert Fay, vice president with Seminole Gulf Railroad, told ABC News that six rail cars derailed. Five cars went completely on their sides; four were carrying sheetrock and one was a propane tanker. A sixth car, also a propane tanker, derailed but that car stayed upright, Fay said.
None of the LPG, or liquified petroleum gas, on either car leaked out, Fay said.
The Southern Manatee Fire Rescue said that hazmat and fire crews are working to turn the cars upright.
According to Seminole Gulf Railroad, four train cars were hauling sheetrock and one tank car flipped over. One car was described as “half-derailed” and upright.
The derailment comes as East Palestine, Ohio, continues to grapple with cleanup after a Northfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials derailed earlier this month, causing ongoing concerns and anxiety for residents, as well as increased scrutiny of railway protocols and demands for reform.
The salvage operation in Florida will take multiple days, with a spokesperson for Seminole Gulf Railroad saying that restoration efforts will be completed by March 6, according to Southern Manatee Fire Rescue Chief Robert Bounds.
One of the tipped-over train cars was carrying 30,000 gallons of liquid propane, Bounds told ABC News.
Since the tanker is undamaged, crews will not try to offload the propane, instead lifting the car with the contents within the tanker.
According to Bounds, a 100-foot section of the railroad is “snapped in half” and uprooted.
“It’s kind of a domino effect,” he said. “The one car jumped the track and flipped, and that’ll pull the next car, and so on and so on until the inertia stops enough that the last car just unbuckled.”
Bounds said that an effort to upright the propane tanker would occur in the coming days.
According to Bounds, crews monitoring the site are equipped with gas-monitoring equipment and local businesses have been notified about the derailment.
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office is providing security near the site.
“The scene is as safe as it can be right now. Short of that tank being on its side, there is no problem,” Bounds said.
The Florida Department of Transportation will investigate the incident.
(WASHINGTON) — A top Pentagon official said Tuesday that Iran could make the nuclear material for a device in about 12 days if it wanted to do so.
Last week, the International Atomic Energy Agency said its monitors had detected that Iran now had the capability of enriching uranium to close to 84%.
On Tuesday, the IAEA said the capability had actually reached 83.7 percent, which is on the verge of making weapons-grade uranium.
In response to a question from Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., at a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Ukraine, Colin Kahl, the Pentagon’s top policy official, was asked to describe Iran’s nuclear progress since then-President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA.
“Iran’s nuclear progress since we left the JCPOA has been remarkable,” Kahl said.
“Back in 2018, when the previous administration decided to leave the JCPOA, it would have taken Iran about 12 months to produce one bomb’s worth of fissile material,” said Kahl about Iran’s so called “breakout time. “Now it would take about 12 days.”
Kahl said he still thinks going back to the deal is better than not having any deal because he said it could “put constraints” on Iran. At the same, he acknowledged that isn’t likely, given that efforts to go back to the deal are “on ice” since Iran turned down a U.S. offer last summer.
“Of course, Iran’s behavior has changed since then, not the least of which there’s support for Russia and Ukraine, which is the subject of the conversation here today,” he told lawmakers. “So, I don’t think we’re on the precipice of reentering the JCPOA.”
(NEW YORK) — The jury in the double murder trial of disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh — who is accused of killing his wife and younger son at the family’s property in 2021 — will travel to the site of the brutal killings on Wednesday ahead of closing arguments.
The bodies of Margaret Murdaugh, 52, and Paul Murdaugh, 22, were found dead from multiple gunshot wounds near the dog kennels at the family’s estate Moselle in June 2021, authorities said.
Alex Murdaugh, 54, who called 911 to report the discovery, was charged with their murders 13 months later.
The defense argued that it would be useful for the jury to visit the 1,772-acre hunting estate in Islandton to get a sense of the space in which the killings took place.
“You just can’t really appreciate the spatial issues without actually seeing them,” defense attorney Richard Harpootlian told the court on Monday.
Prosecutors had argued against the visit to Moselle, given that the property has changed in the 20 months since the killings, but Judge Clifton Newman ruled in favor of the defense on Monday.
The jurors are slated to travel to the property, which is under contract for $3.9 million, Wednesday morning amid tight security. No questions can be asked and no talking will be allowed on the trip. The judge has warned them that some things have changed on the property since the crime occurred.
Following the trip, court is expected to resume around 11 a.m., at which point the attorneys will argue charges for how the jury will be instructed to deliberate.
Once those rules are established, closing arguments will take place, then the judge will charge the jury before deliberations into the high-profile case begin.
Over the past nearly six weeks, the jury has heard from over 60 witnesses called by state prosecutors, who have argued that Alex Murdaugh killed his wife and son to gain sympathy and distract from his financial problems.
Prosecutors have focused on footage taken from Paul Murdaugh’s cellphone the night of the murders, including a video taken at the kennels several minutes before the victims were believed to be killed that investigators said has Alex Murdaugh talking in the background. Alex Murdaugh told investigators early in the case that he was not down by the kennels that night and had last seen his wife and son at dinner before finding bodies upon returning home from visiting his mother.
The defense has called 14 witnesses, including Alex Murdaugh himself, who during hours of at-times emotional testimony admitted to stealing from his clients and lying to investigators about his whereabouts the night of the murders but repeatedly denied fatally shooting his wife and son.
The defense has argued that police ignored the possibility that anyone else could have killed them and called experts who said investigators did not adequately examine the crime scene. On Monday, in one of their last witnesses before resting, the defense brought a crime scene expert to the stand who said he believed the killings were likely committed by two people.
Before resting on Tuesday, prosecutors brought forward experts to dispute some of the defense witnesses’ theories on how the shootings occurred and called former Murdaugh law partner Ronnie Crosby to the stand to discuss Alex Murdaugh’s tactics as a trial attorney.
“You asked me what kind of lawyer Alex was, and I told you he was a good lawyer,” Crosby said. “One of the things that I think I explained to you was that he was of a theatrical type presence in the courtroom and he could get very emotional doing closing arguments in front of a jury.”
Alex Murdaugh faces 30 years to life in prison without parole if convicted of the killings, for which he has pleaded not guilty.
