(CHICAGO) — As many as 14 people, including a 3-year-old, were injured in a drive-by shooting in Chicago on Halloween, Chicago police said.
At least one person opened fire from a vehicle into a crowd in Garfield Park, a west Chicago neighborhood, officials said.
“We have reported at least up to 14 people shot,” Superintendent David Brown told reporters. “They’re all in various conditions, between critical and non-life-threatening. We also have a person struck by a vehicle at the scene as well.”
The injured included a 3-year-old and an 11-year-old, Brown said. He said there may also be a 13-year-old who was injured.
Police said they’re reviewing a video that captured the shooting, which lasted only a few seconds.
“We know it’s a drive-by,” Brown said. “We know it happens in just a few seconds. It begins and then it’s over. In about three seconds, the car’s pulling out after driving by and shooting randomly into the crowd.”
Police said they haven’t yet identified a suspect or motive for the shooting. There were “no known conflicts” at the corner where the shooting happened, Brown said.
(NEW YORK) — The Powerball jackpot just keeps getting bigger.
There was no winner that matched all six numbers after Monday’s drawing, and now the estimated jackpot for Wednesday is $1.2 billion, with a cash value of $596.7 million, Powerball said.
The winning numbers in Monday night’s estimated $1 billion jackpot were 19, 13, 39, 59 and 36, and the Powerball was 13. The powerplay number was 3.
While there was no jackpot winner, there was more than 5.4 million tickets totaling $59.5 million in cash prizes won on Halloween, Powerball said in a press release, including 10 tickets that matched all five white balls for a $1 million prize.
Wednesday’s jackpot marks the third time in the game’s 30-year history that the main prize has hit the $1 billion milestone.
If there’s a winner Wednesday night, the jackpot would be the second-largest jackpot in Powerball history and fourth-largest in U.S. lottery history, Powerball said.
The largest prize in Powerball history, sold in January 2016, was $1.586 billion and was shared by three winners in California, Florida and Tennessee.
What are your odds of winning the lottery
The overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 24.9. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million, according to a statement from Powerball.
How late can you buy Powerball tickets
According to Powerball, “sales cut-off times vary by selling jurisdiction. Please check with your local lottery for more information.”
What time is the Powerball drawing
The Powerball drawings happen Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET.
(WASHINGTON) — U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn, testifying Monday in the Oath Keepers’ seditious conspiracy trial, disputed claims by defense attorneys that members of the militia group were seen assisting and protecting him during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Five members of the group, including founder Stewart Rhodes, are currently standing trial on charges of conspiring to oppose by force the transfer of presidential power following the 2020 election. All have pleaded not guilty.
Dunn, who has been one of the most outspoken members of the Capitol Police to condemn the attack and those who incited the mob, was asked repeatedly about a photograph showing him in the Capitol with his back to a staircase that leads to the Rotunda.
Defense attorneys have repeatedly sought to claim the photo shows members of the Oath Keepers serving as a barrier to protect Dunn from members of the pro-Trump mob that were storming through the halls of the building.
Defense attorneys claim that such a posture would directly dispute the narrative put forward by prosecutors that the militia members who breached the Capitol were engaged in a violent plot to overthrow the U.S. government.
But Dunn testified that at no point did any individual in the photo offer him assistance or give him any impression they were protecting him.
“We have dozens of officers down, they’re taking them out on stretchers. Y’all are f—ing us up,” Dunn could be heard saying in video played by prosecutors.
“I’m not letting you come this way,” Dunn is heard saying later. In another video, he can be heard saying, “You all want an all-out war. You want to kill everybody.”
Dunn testified that immediately after he left the top of the stairwell, he saw two fellow officers being “accosted” by rioters. He said he sought to intervene by “making my presence known,” yelling at the rioters to get out.
He said he tried to keep his distance from the mob because he was holding a rifle and was concerned that a rioter could try and grab it.
Asked if he was intimidated, Dunn answered, “Yes, but I didn’t let that affect how I did my job.”
Asked what any of the rioters could have done to help him at that point, Dunn bluntly answered, “Leaving the building.”
Under cross-examination, defense attorneys for the Oath Keepers sought to poke holes in Dunn’s statements that he didn’t believe the group was protecting him.
He was asked by attorney Juli Haller about his posture in the photo, in which she said he looked “relaxed.”
“No, I was not relaxed at any point that day,” Dunn replied. “I was distressed, I was angry and I was scared.”
Prosecutors also played out a cellphone video shot by Dunn the day before the riot on Jan. 5, when he and several other officers were tasked with keeping people out of the street at a “Stop the Steal” protest in front of the Supreme Court.
At one point in the video, a man approaches Dunn and asks him if he knows the location of the “Oath Keepers command post.”
Dunn responds in the video that he doesn’t. After the man turns and leaves, Dunn asks a fellow officer, “Oath Keepers? What the f— are the Oath Keepers?”
Prosecutors said the exchange shows that Dunn did not know anything about the group prior to Jan. 6.
(NEW YORK) — Five people, including a 1-year-old girl, were killed in a near-head-on collision on a Florida highway Sunday night, authorities said.
A 2015 Ford Explorer traveling north crossed the center line of the highway and collided nearly head-on with a 2021 Nissan Frontier, the Florida Highway Patrol said in a press release.
The 20-year-old female driver of the SUV and three of the vehicle’s six passengers, including 1-year-old and 12-year-old girls, suffered fatal injuries, the FHP said. A 56-year-old woman was also killed. The other three passengers, girls and women ages 5, 22 and 31, were in serious condition, according to the FHP.
It’s unclear why the SUV crossed over the highway, the FHP said. The incident happened at 9:22 p.m. on SR-39 in Hillsborough County, north of Plant City and about 25 miles northeast of Tampa. The driver and all passengers were wearing seatbelts or in child restraints, according to the FHP.
After the initial accident took place, a tractor-trailer collided with the pickup truck, which was in the southbound lane with no lights illuminating it following the crash, according to the press release.
The pickup truck driver, a 53-year-old man, suffered fatal injuries at the scene, the FHP said. The 1-year-old died at an area hospital, the highway patrol said.
The driver of the tractor-trailer, a 60-year-old man, suffered no injuries, according to the FHP.
(RALEIGH, N.C.) — Two South Carolina sheriffs are pushing back against claims that officers targeted a bus full of students from a historically Black university earlier this month.
Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright and Cherokee County Sheriff Steve Mueller said at a joint press conference Monday that Shaw University President Paulette Dillard’s version of events of a traffic stop were wrong.
Eighteen students and two staff advisers from Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, were on their way to the Center for Financial Advancement Conference in Atlanta on Oct. 5 when their bus was stopped by police over a minor traffic violation in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, Dillard told ABC News Raleigh-Durham station WTVD-TV.
Dillard claimed Spartanburg County Sheriff police dogs searched through the students’ bags.
“President Dillard said they were searched by blood-thirsty dogs. There was one dog; he was on a leash. Students were never even close to that dog,” Wright said at the news conference. “None of the students were even asked off the bus.”
Dillard said the traffic stop was reminiscent of the 1950s and 1960s when segregation was still practiced widely in the South.
“This behavior of targeting Black students is unacceptable and will not be ignored nor tolerated,” Dillard told WTVD. “Had the students been white, I doubt this detention and search would have occurred.”
She went on, “I wish racism would die the ugly, cruel death it deserves. And if anything we are ever doing is racist, I want to know it, I want to fix it and I want to never let it happen again, but this case right here has nothing to do with racism.”
In body camera footage from the South Carolina Sheriff’s Office, which was obtained by ABC News, officers can be seen approaching the bus, checking out the bus driver’s license and speaking to the driver while a police dog sniffed luggage located underneath the vehicle.
The video also shows an officer searching the driver for weapons after he placed his hand in his pockets. The driver pulls out candy from his pockets while engaging in conversation with the officer, according to the video.
Law enforcement officials issued the bus driver a written warning, the video shows.
Wright said he’s reached out to Dillard but hasn’t been able to speak to her.
Neither Shaw University nor Cherokee County Sheriff offices immediately responded to ABC News’ request for comment. The Spartanburg County Sheriff’s office referred ABC News to its Facebook page, where it posted the press conference and bodycam footage.
Shortly after the alleged incident, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper expressed “deep concern” over what school officials say transpired during the traffic stop.
“The Governor shares the deep concern of Shaw University leaders about the treatment and safety of their students and has asked North Carolina Public Safety officials to discuss this matter with South Carolina law enforcement officials and express that concern,” according to a statement from Cooper’s office.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden, little more than a week away from Election Day, presented something of an ultimatum to gas and oil companies: ramp up production or pay a higher tax rate.
“It’s time for these companies to stop war profiteering, meet their responsibilities to this country, give the American people a break and still do very well,” Biden said as he spoke from the White House on Monday afternoon alongside Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.
Biden threatened imposing a higher tax on excess profits and other restrictions if companies don’t increase production and refining capacity to drive down prices at the pump.
“My team will work with Congress to look at these options that are available to us and others,” he said.
Congress is currently in recess as lawmakers return home to campaign and stump for their preferred candidates ahead of the Nov. 8 elections.
Oil companies have made staggering profits while Americans are paying higher energy prices.
ExxonMobil said last week it had its highest earnings ever for the third quarter, with a net income of $19.7 billion. Chevron reported making $11 billion in profits, while Shell made $9.5 billion in profits.
“What I mean is profits so high it’s hard to believe,” Biden said, accusing companies of passing the profits back to shareholders and buying back their stock.
“Give me a break, enough is enough,” Biden added.
As of Monday, the national average for a gallon of gas was $3.76, according to the American Automobile Association. That’s 30 cents higher than the price of gas a year ago.
If oil companies passed on their excess profits to consumers, Biden said the price of gas would go down by 50 cents.
Higher energy prices also impact manufacturers, and those costs are often passed down to consumers by raising prices on food, clothing, furniture and more. Inflation is at a level not seen in decades, with the consumer price index rising 0.4% in September and consumer prices overall rising 8.2% in the last 12 months.
Nearly half of Americans say either the economy (26%) or inflation (23%) is the most important issue this midterm cycle, according to a new poll conducted by ABC News and Ipsos.
Republicans have seized on high prices in their midterm messaging, blaming inflation on Democratic policies and spending packages. The ABC News/Ipsos poll found nearly three out of four Republicans point to the two economic concerns as a priority.
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to block the House Ways and Means Committee from accessing his tax returns.
The committee has requested six years’ worth of Trump’s returns as part of an investigation into IRS audit practices of presidents and vice presidents.
In his petition to the Supreme Court, Trump accused the committee of seeking his taxes under false pretenses.
“The Committee’s purpose in requesting President Trump’s tax returns has nothing to do with funding or staffing issues at the IRS and everything to do with releasing the President’s tax information to the public,” the petition said.
A federal appeals court ruled in August that tax returns should be handed over to the House committee. The committee first sought the returns in 2019.
Trump most recently failed to block the request on Thursday when the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals shot down his request to reconsider a unanimous opinion from one of its three-judge panels approving the committee’s access to the documents.
While Trump’s team claims the panel’s bid to obtain the tax returns is purely political, the committee insists the documents are valuable to assess how the Internal Revenue Service performs presidential audits.
“The law has always been on our side,” House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., said in a statement after Thursday’s ruling. “Former President Trump has tried to delay the inevitable, but once again, the Court has affirmed the strength of our position. We’ve waited long enough—we must begin our oversight of the IRS’s mandatory presidential audit program as soon as possible.”
At the heart of the dispute is a federal tax law mandating that the Treasury Department “shall furnish” tax information requested by the Ways and Means Committee, a law Trump’s lawyers suggest is unconstitutional.
Democrats have been clamoring to get a glimpse of Trump’s tax returns since 2015 when he launched his bid for president and broke decades of precedent by not releasing the documents.
Besides having his personal tax returns sought after, Trump is also facing pressure by criminal probes into his personal business, possession of government documents after leaving office and efforts to block the certification of the 2020 election results.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Monday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
Houston at Philadelphia (Postponed)
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Philadelphia 118, Washington 111
Sacramento 115, Charlotte 108
Toronto 139, Atlanta 109
Brooklyn 116, Indiana 109
Milwaukee 110, Detroit 108
Utah 121, Memphis 105
LA Clippers 95, Houston 93
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Buffalo 8, Detroit 3
Carolina 3, Washington 2 (SO)
Los Angeles 5, St. Louis 1
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Cleveland 32, Cincinnati 13
Thomas Rhett and his wife, Lauren, are back from their Italian getaway, and they’re sharing photos of the experience.
To celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary, the couple jetted off to Italy. Among the photos Thomas shared is Lauren on sun-soaked terrace, looking puzzled as a group of cats dine on the leftovers off her husband’s plate.
“Sat my plate on the ground and a boat load of cats came out of the ivy on the balcony…,” Thomas explains in the caption.
He also posted a photo of the couple beaming at the camera as they glide across the water on a boat with a gorgeous sunset in the background.
“Till next time Italy. Love you so much @laur_akins,” he writes.
The couple wed on October 12, 2012, in Nashville. They share four daughters — 6-year-old Willa, 5-year-old Ada, 2-year-old Lennon and Lillie, who celebrates her first birthday on November 15.
Saweetie has changed the title of her upcoming debut solo album from Pretty B***h Music to The Single Life, and she says it is her “testimony as a single woman and what I’ve been through, the good and the bad.”
“I feel like a lot of my private love life has been publicized on the media and the internet, so it’s time for me to speak up,” the two-time Grammy nominee tells People. Saweetie was in a high-profile relationship with Quavo from Migos from 2018 to 2021, when they announced their breakup. They continue to be hot on social media as fans speculate that his new track “Messy” refers to the rumor that Saweetie was involved with Lil Baby.
Saweetie says that instead of commenting on social media, she will set the record straight on her album.
“I think the best way to respond to my perception is through the music, ’cause honestly, if you don’t know me personally, I’m not gonna have a personal conversation online,” the 29-year-old rapper says. “I’m gonna address a lot of things that haven’t publicized me right or wrong, but it’s all gonna be publicized in the message, in the music.”
Saweetie, born Diamonte Harper, won the 2022 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding New Artist following the success of her double-Platinum hit “Best Friend” featuring Doja Cat. Her album was originally scheduled to be released in 2021, but was pushed back. Now Saweetie says the project will drop before the end of the year.
In describing the album, she says it represents “me standing on being single. We need to be comfortable in just being single.” Saweetie adds that the songs are “all based off experience …. expect honesty, truth.”
