(FULTON COUNTY, Ga.) — A federal appeals court on Thursday denied Sen. Lindsey Graham’s request to block a subpoena from the Fulton County, Georgia, grand jury investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
The ruling means Graham must testify before the panel.
Graham has been fighting the subpoena since he was served over the summer.
In his appeal to the 11th Circuit Court, Graham had argued that his actions surrounding the 2020 election were protected by the Constitution’s Speech and Debate Clause, which grants members of Congress legal protection while performing their duties.
However in its ruling Thursday, the court found that the specific activity that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis seeks to question Graham about would not violate that clause.
That includes questions regarding “communications and coordination with the Trump campaign regarding its post-election efforts in Georgia, public statements regarding the 2020 election, and efforts to ‘cajole’ or ‘exhort’ Georgia election officials,” the ruling said
“Sen. Graham has failed to demonstrate that this approach will violate his rights under the Speech and Debate Clause,” the ruling said.
A lower court had already slightly limited the scope of the questions prosecutors can ask Graham during his appearance.
A representative for Graham did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
Willis has been investigating whether former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies broke the law when they pressured Georgia officials to try to alter the results of the election in Trump’s favor. The probe was sparked in part by a phone call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which he pleaded with him to “find 11,780 votes,” the exact number Trump needed to win Georgia.
Trump, who has denounced the probe, has repeatedly defended his phone call to Raffensperger, calling it “perfect.”
The special grand jury does not have the ability to return an indictment, and can only make recommendations concerning criminal prosecution.
(JACKSON, Miss.) — The Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday that it will open a federal civil rights investigation looking at Mississippi’s use of federal funds in Jackson and if the majority Black residents were discriminated against by not funding improvements to the water supply.
The EPA investigation will look into if Mississippi’s Department of Health and Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality “discriminated against the majority Black population of the City of Jackson on the basis of race in the funding of water infrastructure and treatment programs and activities in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”
In August, historic flooding in Mississippi severely damaged a major pump at the main water treatment facility in Jackson, leaving about 150,000 of the city’s mostly Black residents without drinkable water. Jackson is 82.5% Black and white Jackson residents only account for 16.2 % of residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Thursday’s announcement comes nearly a month after the NAACP filed a Title VI Complaint for Investigation with EPA Administrator Michael Regan, requesting “an immediate investigation into the use of federal funds related to drinking water in Jackson and to seek the rapid adoption of comprehensive enforcement remedies.”
The NAACP in its complaint claim that state officials held a “decades-long pattern and practice of discriminating against the city of Jackson when it comes to providing federal funds to improve local water systems,” according to a statement on Thursday.
NAACP President Derrick Johnson, a Jackson resident who was one of several residents named in the initial EPA complaint, applauded Regan and the Biden administration for opening an investigation.
“This action is only the first step. NAACP and its partners will continue to press the Biden Administration and Congress to hold state officials accountable and ensure that Jackson officials and residents are active participants in the decision-making that will be required to fix the unacceptable problems with Jackson’s water,” Johnson said in a statement.
Liz Sharlot, Director of Communications for the Mississippi State Department of Health and the Agency spokesperson, told ABC news in a statement that compliance had been adhered to for all residents.
“The Mississippi State Department of Health is a regulatory agency that ensures compliance, offers education and guidance, and protects the public health safety of all Mississippians,” Sharlot said.
“The Agency also works with all eligible public water systems needing funds to improve their plants through the State Revolving Loan Fund,” she added.
(CLARK COUNTY, Nev.) — A Nevada child died after being infected by a brain-eating amoeba in an “extremely rare” occurrence, the Southern Nevada Health District announced on Wednesday.
The district said that the Clark County, Nevada, resident might have been exposed to the amoeba, which it identified as Naegleria fowleri, on the Arizona side of Lake Mead in October.
“My condolences go out to the family of this young man,” Dr. Fermin Leguen, the district health officer for SNHD, said in a press release. “While I want to reassure the public that this type of infection is an extremely rare occurrence, I know this brings no comfort to his family and friends at this time.”
People can become infected by the amoeba when contaminated water enters the body through the nose, usually from swimming, diving or putting their heads underneath the water, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
An infection from Naegleria fowleri can cause headaches, fever, nausea, vomiting, stiff neck, seizures and coma that can lead to death, according to SNHD.
According to SNHD, the patient began to develop symptoms a week after exposure.
“Once symptoms start, the disease progresses rapidly and usually causes death within about five days,” the district said.
Once diagnosed, Naegleria fowleri is very difficult to treat, Darien Sutton, a Los Angeles emergency medicine physician and ABC News medical contributor, said last year. Once it enters the brain, it causes a form of meningitis, and once the patient is exhibiting symptoms it’s often too late to save them.
According to the CDC, Naegleria fowleri is found in warm fresh water and soil around the world. In the U.S., it thrives during the warmer months.
Experts said that climate change might contribute to life-threatening risks for swimmers as waterborne pathogens flourish and multiply faster in increasingly warming waters.
Scientists are becoming increasingly concerned about the possibility of dangerous pathogens, such as Naegleria fowleri, and Vibrio vulnificus, a flesh-eating bacteria, Dr. Sandra Gompf, an infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine at the University of South Florida, told ABC News last year.
The National Park Service will still allow recreational swimming at Lake Mead since the amoeba is natural to the environment and rarely causes disease, NPS said in a news release.
“However, recreational water users should always assume there is a risk anytime they enter warm fresh water,” Dr. Maria Said, a U.S public health service officer with the NPS, added.
ABC News’ Julia Jacobo contributed to this report.
Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images, FILE
(LAS VEGAS) — A former Nevada county official accused of fatally stabbing a Las Vegas journalist who was investigating his office has been indicted by a grand jury on murder.
Robert Telles, 45, was arrested and charged last month in connection with the death of Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German, who police said was found stabbed to death outside his home on Sept. 3.
He has now been formally indicted by the Clark County grand jury on the charge of murder with use of a deadly weapon.
The indictment, filed Thursday, alleges that Telles, “with malice aforethought,” killed German by stabbing him multiple times.
The murder was “willful, deliberate and premeditated,” and “perpetrated by lying in wait” for the 69-year-old German, the indictment alleged.
Telles, who served as the Clark County public administrator, blamed German for ruining his career in politics and his marriage, according to prosecutors.
Telles lost his bid for re-election following an investigation by German in the Review-Journal that exposed turmoil in his office and accusations of bullying, retaliation and an “inappropriate relationship” between Telles and a staffer.
Police said the day before German’s murder, Telles was seen approaching the journalist’s home, where he allegedly had an altercation with him.
On the day of the murder, Telles allegedly wore a disguise — described by police as a straw hat and reflective vest — before stabbing German outside his home, police said.
Telles was arrested on Sept. 7 after DNA evidence found by a SWAT team at his home linked him to the crime scene, police said.
Telles has been held without bail in Clark County Detention Center. He was denied bail again during a court appearance this week, despite his attorney’s argument that he is not a threat to the community or a flight risk, ABC Las Vegas affiliate KTNV reported.
Judge Karen Bennett-Haron said she will “reconsider” bail during the preliminary hearing, scheduled for Oct. 26, according to KTNV.
Telles’ term as public administrator didn’t expire until Jan. 1, 2023, though he was officially removed from office on Oct. 5, KTNV reported.
(PITTSBURGH, Penn.) — With the clock ticking toward next month’s midterm elections, President Joe Biden on Thursday traveled to battleground Pennsylvania to tout his infrastructure law and stump for Democratic Senate nominee John Fetterman.
Biden’s first stop was in Pittsburgh to visit Fern Hollow Bridge — which collapsed earlier this year when Biden was visiting the state. Fetterman, the state’s lieutenant governor, joined him there.
“You all told me about the emergency workers and pull the survivors to safety,” Biden said at the bridge site. “There were heroes that day, and a complete catastrophe was avoided. But it never should have come to this.”
Biden gave remarks on the progress in the rebuilding of the bridge, which he said will now be done in a single year thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law — one of the major legislative victories his administration’s been highlighting ahead of the Nov. 8 midterms.
Later Thursday, Biden is going to Philadelphia for a fundraiser in support of Fetterman, who’s running against Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz in one of the most competitive Senate races in the country.
Stepping off Air Force One in Pittsburgh on Thursday, Biden shook hands with Fetterman on the tarmac, telling him: “You’re gonna win.”
The event is a somewhat rare appearance for Biden with a Democratic candidate this cycle. Some other hopefuls in the party have kept their distance from the president as he faces low approval ratings, and a handful have gone so far as to say Biden shouldn’t run for office again in 2024.
An ABC News/Washington Post poll released last month found Biden’s approval rating underwater: 39% of Americans approved of his job performance while 53% disapproved.
Fetterman, when asked earlier this month if Biden should run again, said that should be a “decision made by Joe Biden.”
“It’s not a matter of anyone’s choice other than his, and I respect any choice he decides,” Fetterman said on the podcast “On with Kara Swisher.” Fetterman added that he believes Biden would beat Donald Trump in a rematch, if both were to seek office again.
ABC News White House Correspondent MaryAlice Parks questioned Biden about his appearances on the campaign trail as he departed the White House on Thursday morning.
“Mr. President, John Fetterman is gonna appear with you today in Pennsylvania … but there haven’t been that many candidates campaigning with you,” Parks said.
“That’s not true. There have been 15, count, kid, count.” Biden interrupted.
“OK, and are there gonna be even more?” Parks pressed further.
“Yeah,” Biden replied.
The Pennsylvania Senate race between Fetterman and Oz is one that could determine which party controls the chamber next year, and Democrats see the contest as one of their best chances to pick up a seat and preserve or expand their bare majority. (Incumbent Republican Pat Toomey is retiring.)
The latest FiveThirtyEight forecast shows Democrats slightly favored to keep control of the Senate, while Republicans are favored to win back control of the House.
FiveThirtyEight’s polling average for the Pennsylvania Senate race shows Fetterman leading by 5%, though his lead has tightened over the past several weeks.
ABC News’ Mary Bruce and Molly Nagle contributed to this report.
(RALEIGH, N.C.) — The motive remains unknown for the mass shooting along a Raleigh, North Carolina, nature trail that killed five people and injured two others even as police released a five-day report on the incident Thursday.
The suspect, 15-year-old Austin Thompson, was critically injured in the Oct. 13 shooting. Raleigh police have not said if the suspect was shot by officers or himself.
The suspect’s 16-year-old brother, James Thompson, was among those killed, according to the Thompson family.
James Thompson was shot before the other victims, Raleigh police said in a new statement Thursday. The teen was found in a house with a gunshot wound and stab wounds, police said.
Raleigh police said there’s no apparent connection between the slain victims “other than they lived in the same neighborhood.” The other victims were identified as Susan Karnatz, 49, who was on a run; Gabriel Torres, 29, an off-duty police officer headed to work; Mary Marshall, 34, who was walking her dog; and Nicole Connors, 52, who was on a front porch with her dog.
Connors’ dog was also shot and killed, according to police.
Marcille Gardner, who was shot in a driveway, remains in the hospital in critical but stable condition, police said Thursday.
The police department said that it’s “limited in how much information” it can release “due to both the suspect’s age and the ongoing criminal investigation.”
Police did say that at one point the suspect fired at police, injuring officer Casey Clark, and the authorities returned fire. When the teen was taken into custody, he was wearing camouflage clothing and had a shotgun, handgun, ammunition and knives, according to police.
The Thompson family said in a statement Tuesday, “We are overcome with grief for the innocent lives lost … and we pray for everyone who was traumatized by these senseless acts of violence.”
“We have so many unanswered questions,” the family said. “There were never any indications or warning signs that Austin was capable of doing anything like this.”
Halestorm has premiered a new live video for “Wicked Ways,” a track off the band’s new album, Back from the Dead.
Frontwoman Lzzy Hale introduces the fiery performance, which was recorded on Halestorm’s U.S. tour earlier this month, with the song’s opening line: “Don’t call me an angel.” You can watch the live video streaming now on YouTube.
“Wicked Ways” is the current single off Back from the Dead, which was released in May. Previous singles “Back from the Dead” and “The Steeple” both hit #1 on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart.
Halestorm will return to the road in November for a European tour with Alter Bridge.
Sammy Hagar reflects on his life and music career in “Father Time,” and the Red Rocker has just released a music video for the poignant tune. The song is from his latest studio album with his band The Circle, Crazy Times.
Hagar, who celebrated his 75th birthday last week, says he wrote “Father Time” just after he turned 70 while at his former home in Maui, Hawaii, that overlooked the ocean.
“When I first wrote ‘Father Time,’ I kept it from everyone because it was so personal that I’d get too choked up to actually sing it,” he admits. “The words ‘Father Time’s over there looking over my shoulder’ just kept going through my head, so I picked up my guitar and the rest of the song just came spilling out.”
Hagar adds, “I cried my eyes out after I wrote and played it back. It’s probably the most personal song that I’ve ever written and now, after just turning 75, I’m finally ready to release it.”
The video, which you can watch on Hagar’s official YouTube channel, features footage of Sammy and The Circle performing the song, along with a montage of photos and film clips of Hagar throughout his life.
The “Father Time” clip will be the final video released from Crazy Times. The album was released on CD and via digital formats on September 30, while standard black-vinyl and limited-edition red-vinyl LP versions will follow on October 28.
(HAZELWOOD, Mo.) — A Missouri elementary school located near a contaminated creek in St. Louis County has closed after a private study found high levels of radioactive waste inside the building and its playground area.
The Hazelwood School District announced this week that Jana Elementary School in Florissant will pivot to virtual learning while school officials work on transferring students to different schools in the district in the coming weeks.
“The Hazelwood School District Board of Education will be working with our legal counsel to communicate to the appropriate agencies responsible, the necessity to immediately clean up and remediate any and all hazardous waste at Jana Elementary and any other District sites,” the school district said in a statement Wednesday.
The closure follows years of requests for testing. The school is located near Coldwater Creek, which was contaminated with uranium and other radioactive waste from a World War II nuclear weapons program, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
The school district warned parents in August, weeks before the start of the school year, about potential risks and possible disruptions after U.S. Army Corps of Engineer testing found radioactive contamination on the banks of the creek, at the edge of the school’s property.
The latest findings, from Boston Chemical Data Corp., have sparked calls for cleanup from parents and officials and concerns about potential exposure, while families also figure out next steps.
Creek’s history of contamination
Coldwater Creek, a 19-mile tributary of the Missouri River, passes near sites that were used in the development of nuclear weapons for the Manhattan Project, including radioactive waste storage piles.
The creek is contaminated with “uranium processing residues” that were improperly stored near it, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, which in 2019 released a public health assessment report that found an increased risk of certain cancers for residents who “regularly played or lived along the creek for many years in the past.”
Jana Elementary sits on the flood plain of Coldwater Creek. The Corps, which is charged with the creek’s remediation, first detected radioactive contaminants near the school in 2018 and again in 2019, 2020 and 2021, according to the Boston Chemical Data Corp. report.
Following the latest testing, the Corps notified school officials in January that soil sampling conducted on the school’s property “showed the presence of low-level radioactive contamination” on the banks of Coldwater Creek, the Hazelwood School District said in an Aug. 5 letter to the school community.
“They further informed the district that the contamination did not pose an immediate risk to human health or the environment because the contamination was below ground surface,” the letter stated.
The school district gave parents the option for virtual learning while it awaited the results of further testing.
Latest testing sparks closure
The decision to close the school comes a week after the release of the Boston Chemical Data Corp. report, which found radioactive waste in the school and its playground. The report was funded by law firms involved in a class action lawsuit alleging illnesses and deaths caused by the creek contamination.
The school district granted the request for the testing, which was conducted in August, according to the Jana Elementary PTA, which alerted families to the report’s findings on Oct. 14.
Testing of dust and soil samples indicated high levels of radioactive lead in the school, including the library, and playground, according to the report. The levels in the kindergarten play area were “22 times the expected background,” according to the report.
“The most outstanding result of August 2022 testing at the Jana School was that levels of the radioactive isotope lead-210 found on school grounds were entirely unacceptable,” the report stated.
The Corps has not corroborated the findings of the private report.
In a statement Tuesday, the Corps’ Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program for the St. Louis District said the school property has contamination that is “isolated” to the creek bank, and that sample locations in the floodplain between the bank and playground area “aren’t contaminated.”
“The team will evaluate the report that Boston Chemical Data Corp. compiled on Jana Elementary School and the methods used to create these results,” it said in a news release. “That report isn’t consistent with FUSRAP’s accepted evaluation techniques and must be thoroughly vetted to ensure accuracy.”
Calls for cleanup, answers
Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley has called on the Corps to review the findings of the independent report, conduct further testing on the school grounds and publicly report their findings.
“It should go without saying that hazardous, radioactive contamination has no place in schools, or anywhere near schools, or anywhere near any place where children are. And it should also go without saying the federal government must be honest and transparent about the facts,” Hawley wrote in a letter to Corps Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon on Tuesday.
The senator has also urged President Joe Biden to declare a federal emergency and authorize “immediate relief” for all impacted families and to expedite the cleanup.
Missouri Rep. Cori Bush has also demanded an “urgent response” to the emergency.
“The federal government is responsible for this waste, and we need answers from them on their plan to immediately begin cleanup of Jana Elementary and the surrounding areas so our kids’ health and education is not further disrupted by the presence of toxic chemicals,” she said in a statement earlier this week. “Inaction is not an option. The safety of our children and our communities must come first.”
The Missouri Coalition for the Environment has called on the school district to “act swiftly to secure a comprehensive cleanup of all radioactive bomb waste at the school.”
“In the interim, they must provide parents with options to continue students’ education with minimal disruption,” the group said. “We are approaching 80 years since this nuclear bomb waste has been allowed to plague our neighborhoods.”
What’s next for frustrated, worried families
Some 400 students attend Jana Elementary. Amid the remediation, the school will transition to virtual learning starting on Monday, with plans to redistrict students into other schools by Nov. 28 “if feasible,” the school district said.
Two pre-K classrooms will be transferred to another elementary school to continue in-person learning.
“We recognize that you are being faced with a situation not created by anyone in this District, over which you have no control, and that this is causing a disruption to our students’ education and school climate. For that we sincerely apologize,” the school district said in a statement to families. “Please know that Hazelwood School District will work hand-in-hand with you to provide the support that is needed as we transition through these very difficult times.”
Families are now scrambling to figure out next steps. During a packed meeting with the Hazelwood School Board on Tuesday, parents expressed frustration with the district.
“Just communicate with us,” said Patrice Strickland, who said she has two children who have been attending school virtually since August after learning about the contamination. “We don’t blame you all, but we want to hear what’s going on because these are our babies.
“Help us to make the right decisions for us, and we can’t make the right decisions if we don’t know what is going on,” she continued.
Former students and families of students who now attend the school also expressed concerns for their health during the meeting.
Kimberly Anderson told the board she had bloodwork done for her three grandchildren who attend the school to test their lead levels.
“This can cause long-term effects with children,” she said.
Others want to find a way to keep the community intact amid redistricting plans.
“Our kids should not be strung out through the district unless there was absolutely nothing suitable,” Jana Elementary PTA president Ashley Bernaugh said. “You cannot tear our community apart to punish us for something that our kids have no burden for.”
(NEW YORK) — Longtime Trump confidant charged with acting as agent of foreign government
Former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin testified Thursday in the trial of former Trump inaugural chair Tom Barrack, who is accused of illegally lobbying the Trump administration on behalf of the United Arab Emirates.
Mnuchin, called as a defense witness by Barrack, testified that in 2017 Barrack had expressed support for Qatar in the 2017 blockade of the tiny nation — a position that would have put him at odds with the UAE.
“He came in with the idea of telling me that he thought the president had made a mistake supporting the blockade … his position was clearly in support of Qatar,” Mnuchin said of a meeting he had with Barrack shortly after then-President Trump publicly announced his support for the blockade of Qatar by the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
“He asked me to pass those views on to the president,” Mnuchin said.
Prosecutors have accused Barrack, a Los Angeles-based businessman and longtime Trump associate, of acting as a foreign agent for the UAE from 2016 to 2018 yet failing to register with the Department of Justice, which they say constitutes a crime. Barrack has pleaded not guilty.
Mnuchin, whose testimony on Thursday lasted under 30 minutes, served as United States treasury secretary from 2017 to 2021. He re-entered the private sector upon leaving government.
On cross examination, Mnuchin sought to avoid specific questions about his own investment firm’s financial ties to the UAE.
“Your honor, we’re subject to various confidentiality agreements and nondisclosure agreements with our investors — am I required to answer that question?” Mnuchin asked the judge after being questioned by prosecutors about whether his firm has specifically taken investments from UAE sovereign wealth funds.
The judge said he should answer generally.
“Your fund includes investments from sovereign wealth funds from the UAE?” the prosecutor asked again.
“Yes,” Mnuchin replied.
Mnuchin, who served on the National Security Council as part of his role leading the Treasury Department, also testified that he never asked Barrack to conduct any work for him on behalf of the government.
“You never directed Mr. Barrack to do anything on your behalf as treasury secretary, is that true?” the prosecutor asked.
“Of course not,” Mnuchin replied.
But Mnuchin repeatedly declined to answer questions about internal administration conversations regarding the Qatar blockade, citing executive privilege.
On redirect, defense attorney Michael Schachter seized on that line of questioning to emphasize that Barrack was not subject to the same restrictions — because unlike Mnuchin, he was not a member of the United States government.
“Those confidentiality restrictions that applied to you — are you aware of whether there were any confidentiality restrictions that apply to Mr. Barrack that prevent him from speaking to whoever he wanted to?” Schachter asked Mnuchin.
