(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department is asking a federal judge to sentence Steve Bannon, adviser to former President Donald Trump, to six months in prison and make him pay a $200,000 fine for his conviction on two counts of criminal contempt of Congress, according to a new court filing.
“From the moment that the Defendant, Stephen K. Bannon, accepted service of a subpoena from the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, he has pursued a bad-faith strategy of defiance and contempt,” prosecutors said Monday. “The Committee sought documents and testimony from the Defendant relevant to a matter of national importance: the circumstances that led to a violent attack on the Capitol and disruption of the peaceful transfer of power. In response, the Defendant flouted the Committee’s authority and ignored the subpoena’s demands.”
The statement continued, “For his sustained, bad-faith contempt of Congress, the Defendant should be sentenced to six months’ imprisonment—the top end of the Sentencing Guidelines’ range—and fined $200,000—based on his insistence on paying the maximum fine rather than cooperate with the Probation Office’s routine pre-sentencing financial investigation.”
Bannon was found guilty in July of defying a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
He had been subpoenaed by the Jan. 6 panel for records and testimony in September 2021.
The Davidson County, Tennessee medical examiner’s office has determined that America’s Got Talent season 15 and The Voice season 11 contestant Nolan Neal, found dead in his apartment back in July, died from “acute combined drug toxicity,” according to Deadline. The death was ruled an accident. He was 41. Neal had a history of substance abuse and addiction, about which he often spoke candidly…
Bravo has renewed Below Deck Sailing Yacht and Below Deck Mediterranean for seasons four and eight, respectively, while Peacock has renewed Below Deck Down Under for a second season, the cable channel and streaming service announced on Saturday. All shows are set to air in 2023. Meanwhile, season 10 of Below Deck premieres November 21 and Below Deck Adventure debuts November 1. Both air on Bravo…
Bravo confirmed at its BravoCon convention in New York City that The Real Housewives of New York City will return for its 14th season with seven new stars, according to Deadline. Sai De Silva, Ubah Hassan, Erin Dana Lichy, Jenna Lyons, Lizzy Savetsky, Jessel Taank and Brynn Whitfield are the new housewives from the Big Apple that will be part of the upcoming season set to begin filming this fall. The cast was announced during a taping of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. RHONY had been placed on pause following the show’s 13th season. Season 14 is set to debut in 2023…
Former Disney Channel star Josh Peck took to Instagram on Friday to announce that he and his wife, Paige O’Brien, have welcomed their second child. the The 35-year-old Drake & Josh alum posted a pic of the newborn sleeping next to 3-year-old big brother Max, captioned, “Shai Miller Peck.” O’Brien shared a similar photo, along with a black-and-white shot of Max kissing Shai and a solo shot of the infant. Josh and Paige tied the knot in 2017…
(NEW YORK) — As the holiday shopping season begins to ramp up, online shoppers should keep an eye out for changes to return policies at some of their favorite stores.
Some major retailers, like Zara, Abercrombie & Fitch and J.Crew, are adjusting their shipping return policies, making free returns a thing of the past.
But, experts say, there are still ways to avoid those fees.
ABC News’ Chief Business Correspondent Rebecca Jarvis appeared on Good Morning America Monday to discuss some of the changes shoppers may soon see:
There was good and bad news at the box office for Halloween Ends — the 13th and supposedly final film in the over four-decade-long franchise. The latest installment — with Jamie Lee Curtis returning as Laurie Strode — had one of the biggest openings of the season, debuting with an estimated $41.2 million. Unfortunately, that figure was nearly $14 million below expectations, possibly due to the movie’s simultaneous release on Peacock.
Halloween Ends also faced stiff competition from the horror film Smile, which logged a third strong week, slipping to second place with an estimated $12.4 million. That brings its total domestic gross to $71.1 million.
Pulling up in third place was the live-action/CGI animated Lyle, Lyle Crocodile, delivering an estimated $7.4 million and raising its two-week North American tally to $22.8 million.
The Woman King placed fourth, earning another $3.7 million in its fifth week of release, bringing its domestic total to $59.7 million. Worldwide, the film has grossed $76.5 million.
Rounding out the top five was Amsterdam, bringing in an estimated $2.9 million. That brings the $80 million budgeted film’s domestic tally to just $12 million, to go along with $6.5 million overseas. That puts it on track to become one of the year’s biggest flops.
(NEW YORK) — More than six months after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion into neighboring Ukraine, the two countries are engaged in a struggle for control of areas throughout eastern and southern Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose forces began an offensive in August, has vowed to take back all Russian-occupied territory. But Putin in September announced a mobilization of reservists, which is expected to call up as many as 300,000 additional troops.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Oct 17, 5:55 AM EDT
Zaporizhzhia plant disconnected from power grid
Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant was disconnected from the power grid after Russian shelling on Monday, Energoatom said.
The plant’s diesel generators were started after a “short-term voltage drop,” the energy company said.
“We once again appeal to the international community to urgently take measures for the demilitarization of the ZNPP as soon as possible,” Energoatom said in a statement.
Oct 17, 3:50 AM EDT
Two trapped under rubble after drone strikes, Kyiv mayor says
Eighteen people were rescued and two were trapped under rubble after a Russian drone struck central Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Air raid sirens started blaring in the capital at about 6:30 a.m. on Monday, accompanied by at least three explosions from drone strikes.
A non-residential building in the Shevchenkinskyi district of the city was on fire, Klitschko said. At least one residential building had also been struck, Kira Rudik, a member of Ukrainian Parliament, said on Twitter.
“Critical infrastructure severely damaged. Ruined buildings,” Rudik said. “We have no time for statements about support. We need air defense asap.”
Oct 17, 3:38 AM EDT
Ukraine shoots down 37 drones, military says
Ukrainian forces shot down 37 Russian drones and three cruise missiles overnight, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said.
Oct 17, 1:39 AM EDT
Drones strike Kyiv, mayor says
Multiple blasts struck Kyiv on Monday morning, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Air raid sirens were sounding in the capital, he said. He asked people to shelter in place.
Klitschko shared a photo on Twitter of what he said was the wreckage of a Kamikaze drone.
(HARRISONBURG, Va.) — A 20-year-old man was arrested Sunday on suspicion of shooting eight people at an outdoor gathering near the campus of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, police said.
The suspect was identified as Tyreaf Isaiah Fleming of Harrisonburg, according to a statement the Harrisonburg Police Department posted on Twitter Sunday afternoon, about 15 hours after the gunfire erupted at a gathering outside an off-campus apartment complex.
Fleming is facing charges of attempted murder, aggravated malicious wounding, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and the use of a firearm during the commission of a felony, according to police. Additional charges are expected as the investigation continues.
The gunfire broke out at about 2:20 a.m. Sunday in a neighborhood southwest of the James Madison University campus, police said. Police initially said at least one gunman “fired multiple times into a crowd at an outdoor gathering.”
Police are also investigating if more suspects were involved in the shooting, authorities said.
All of the victims suffered non-life-threatening gunshot wounds, according to police. Five of the victims were taken to nearby Sentara RMH Medical Center and three others were treated at the University of Virginia Medical Center, authorities said.
The victims ranged in age from 18 to 27. It was not immediately clear if any students from James Madison University were among those injured.
“The incident occurred at 2:20 a.m., when an unknown individual or individuals fired multiple times into a crowd at an outdoor gathering,” Harrisonburg police said in a statement.
No suspects were at the scene when officers arrived and began administering aid to those injured, police said.
While the circumstances of the shooting remain under investigation, police officials said it appeared to be an isolated incident and said, “there is not believed to be any threat to the greater community at this time.”
Police said anyone with information about the shooting can call the agency’s tip line at (540) 574-5050.
(NEW YORK) — For the first time, hearing aids are available for purchase over the counter at retailers across the United States.
Starting Monday, under a historic ruling issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, adults with mild-to-moderate hearing loss can buy hearing aids at a store or online without a prescription, medical exam or audiologist fitting — and for thousands of dollars less than they previously cost, according to the White House.
The FDA estimates the new rule could lower average costs for hearing aids by as much as $3,000 per pair, the White House said. Consumers are expected to save about $1,400 per individual hearing aid, or over $2,800 per pair.
“A person’s ‘whole health’ is a combination of many factors, including hearing, that influence physical and mental well-being,” Walmart’s chief medical officer, Dr. John Wigneswaran, said in a statement Monday. “Offering easy access to OTC hearing aids — something that seems quite small — is a solution that can improve our customer’s health outcomes and their ability to live better and healthier.”
Walgreens is now selling hearing aids at stores nationwide and online for $799 per pair. Walmart is also offering an assortment of over-the-counter hearing aids — ranging in price from $199 to $999 per pair — on Walmart.com, SamsClub.com and in over 1,000 Vision Centers in Walmart stores across Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas, as well as 474 Sam’s Club Hearing Aid Center locations. CVS is now selling over-the-counter hearing aids online, with varying options on model and price point. The company will also offer hearing aids in select CVS Pharmacy locations beginning in November, according to the White House.
Best Buy will offer nearly 20 different hearing devices online starting this week. By the end of the month, the company will offer hearing aids in nearly 300 stores across the country. Devices will range in price between $200 and $3,000.
Hy-Vee will sell over-the-counter hearing aids online and in 34 locations across Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Wisconsin starting this week. The company plans to offer hearing aids in 100 locations by the end of the year. There will be four different models ranging in price from $499.99 to $999.99, according to the White House.
The FDA announced the move back in August, issuing a final ruling that established a new category of over-the-counter hearing aids to improve access and, in turn, lower costs for millions of Americans. The ruling followed an executive order from President Joe Biden in 2021 that called for the FDA to take steps to allow hearing aids to be sold over the counter.
“The new over-the-counter category applies to certain air conduction hearing aids, intended for adults aged 18 and older who have perceived mild-to-moderate hearing loss,” Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said at a briefing on Aug. 16. “Hearing aids for severe hearing loss or for users younger than age 18 will be prescription devices, to assure patient safety as well as effectiveness.”
Air conduction hearing aids are worn inside the ear or on the ear, with an inside-the-ear component and amplified sound into the ear canal. In an effort to prevent further hearing loss, these devices will have sound limits, the FDA said.
Nearly 30 million Americans suffer from some degree of hearing loss, including nearly 10 million adults under the age of 60, according to the White House.
(WASHINGTON) — A former executive has claimed to the government that Donald Trump’s eponymous media company — which sources say is under federal investigation — committed “fraudulent misrepresentations” regarding possible mergers with two other firms as it sought to raise money.
The complaint from Will Wilkerson, a former executive at Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), alleges federal securities law violations were committed by TMTG and several company officials, as well as Benessere Capital Acquisition Corporation (BENE) and Digital World Acquisition Corporation (DWAC).
BENE and DWAC had been considered or are being used as investor vehicles to potentially take TMTG public, a move which would also ensure a reported $1 billion in further financing from other investors, should the deal close.
Wilkerson’s complaint, filed in August and obtained this weekend by ABC News, alleges “fraudulent misrepresentations concerning the attempted mergers between these companies [Trump’s firm, BENE and DWAC] in violation of federal securities laws.”
More specifically, Wilkerson claims in his complaint that DWAC and Trump’s media company “had substantive communications” about merging before DWAC was a public company itself, violating regulations by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The SEC and federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York are investigating Trump’s company, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Both agencies declined to comment to ABC News.
Neither of the SPACs named in the complaint immediately responded to requests for comment.
In a statement, TMTG’s legal team touted the company’s work so far — such as its launch on multiple platforms and its millions of users — while pushing back on what it described as “knowingly false and defamatory statements” in a Washington Post article on Saturday in which Wilkerson spoke about his whistleblower complaint and his time as a TMTG executive.
Wilkerson was fired last week as senior vice president of operations after the Post sent questions to Trump based on his account, the paper reported.
DWAC first acknowledged in December that the SEC was probing its merger with TMTG and was seeking related documents.
DWAC also indicated in June that it was aware of a federal grand jury investigation in the Southern District of New York.
The whistleblower complaint states that DWAC was substituted as the SPAC to merge with Trump’s company, TMTG, because a deal with BENE “could not sufficiently capitalize TMTG at a valuation that was acceptable to President Trump” and others involved.
BENE’s CEO would have also made “less money” than if the CEO used his other, newer SPAC, according to the complaint.
“For these reasons, the parties agreed to substitute BENE for DWAC” in a merger, the whistleblower complaint reads.
Wilkerson’s complaint was first reported last week by The Miami Herald. TMTG launched last year and is the umbrella company for Truth Social, the platform Trump uses since being banned by most major social media websites in the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Wilkerson also claimed to The Post in its Saturday report that TMTG co-founder Andy Litinsky was booted from the board because he would not hand over shares of the company to the former president’s wife, former first lady Melania Trump, when Donald Trump asked him to do so.
The Post published a copy of an email that Wilkerson shared with them, apparently sent by Litinsky in March, in which Litinsky refers to Donald Trump’s alleged demand that he transfer his shares and his belief that being removed from the board was retaliation against him.
The Post reported that it was not known whether Litinsky ultimately relinquished his shares.
Speaking with the Post, Wilkerson attacked the leadership of TMTG CEO Devin Nunes, a former California lawmaker.
In its statement, TMTG defended Nunes, saying he was hired by Donald Trump “to create a culture of compliance and build a world-class team to lead Truth Social.”
The Post’s story was “rife with knowingly false and defamatory statements and other concocted psychodramas,” the company said. “We will consider republication of such statements to be legally-actionable evidence of reckless disregard for the truth.”
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Barack Obama, still one of the most popular figures in the Democratic Party, is set to hit the campaign trail in the final stretch to the midterm elections.
Democrats hope to sway enough voters to avoid losing control of Congress — despite major political headwinds like high inflation.
Here is where Obama is scheduled to appear in the next few weeks:
Atlanta with Abrams, Warnock
Obama will appear in Atlanta on Oct. 28, visiting a state that could decide which party controls the Senate and is also hosting a competitive gubernatorial election.
He will rally for freshman Sen. Raphael Warnock, who is running for a full term of his own after winning a special election last year, and Stacey Abrams, the prominent voting rights activist and former lawmaker again trying to unseat Republican Gov. Brain Kemp after he narrowly beat her in 2018.
Warnock is running neck-and-neck with former football star Herschel Walker, though he has a narrow edge in the most recent surveys, according to FiveThirtyEight, including in those taken since Walker, a staunch abortion opponent, denied a report that he paid for an ex-girlfriend’s abortion in 2009.
Abrams, for her part, is widely viewed as the underdog to Kemp though she is seeking to mobilize voters.
Democrats are hoping to keep their momentum going in the Peach State after a banner year in 2020, when President Joe Biden narrowly won the state and Warnock and Jon Ossoff ended up eking out a pair of Senate wins — the first such victories for Democrats there in decades.
Detroit with Whitmer
Obama will rally in Detroit on Oct. 29, appearing with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other Democrats.
Whitmer is running for reelection against conservative commentator Tudor Dixon.
The governor, who has focused her campaign messaging around a blend of pocketbook and social issues, is widely viewed as the favorite and leads Dixon in FiveThirtyEight’s polling average. A win there would offer a promising sign for Democrats in a tight presidential swing state.
“The event will focus on the stakes of the race as access to abortion, voting rights and public education are at risk in Michigan,” Obama’s office said in a statement.
Milwaukee with Evers, Barnes
Obama will also rally in Milwaukee on Oct. 29 with Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, who is up for reelection, and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who is running to oust Republican Sen. Ron Johnson,
State Attorney General Josh Kaul, Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Rep. Gwen Moore will also attend.
Wisconsin is a crucial state for Democrats this year, with Johnson as one of the most vulnerable Republican senators up for reelection.
Barnes has begun narrowly trailing Johnson in voter surveys after facing an avalanche of attack ads painting him as soft on crime, while Evers is locked in a close race with businessman Tim Michels.
Flipping Johnson’s seat would ease Democrats’ path to keeping Senate control, where they hold a bare majority, while the victor in the gubernatorial race could help decide key policies on issues like abortion access and voting rights in a state where Republicans control both chambers of the state legislature.
(NEW YORK) — Some state officials as well as abortion providers are trying to find workarounds to help patients who want to end their pregnancies after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Since the late June ruling, at least 12 states have ended nearly all abortion services, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights.
Some states had trigger laws banning abortion immediately after Roe v. Wade’s reversal. Others had laws written before the court’s decision that could then be enacted.
Penalties for performing abortions in states with bans vary and can include paying a significant fine, loss of a medical license or even a prison sentence.
Meanwhile, organizations and providers have come up with ways they say can help patients access reproductive care without breaking any of the new laws in place.
“What will you do if the work and the health care you provide suddenly becomes illegal?” Elisabeth Smith, director of state policy and advocacy at the Center for Reproductive Rights, told ABC News. “Do we try to muster resources and move a clinic to another state, uprooting our lives, the lives of our colleagues and employees? And how would patients get to that new clinic? So where would it be located?”
“All of those questions are incredibly difficult to answer and require a huge amount both of resources and personal determination,” Smith added.
Accessing pills in California
Legal abortions are still occurring in Arizona after a court blocked a century-old law from going into effect.
The 1901 law, which includes language dating back to 1864, provides no exceptions for rape, incest or fetal abnormalities and makes performing abortions punishable by two to five years in prison. The only exception is if the mother’s life is in danger.
Abortions can resume for at least five weeks while the case is considered by an appeals court, but one abortion clinic reportedly has a workaround — involving telemedicine appointments with doctors in California and picking up pills near the California-Arizona border — if abortions are nearly or totally banned in the state.
According to Farah Diaz-Tello, senior counsel and legal director at If/When/How, a reproductive rights organization, the arrangement is completely legal.
“If somebody receives a telehealth consultation from a provider who is legally authorized to practice in the state where [the provider] is and [the patient] actually goes into that state to receive the medications, essentially they received an abortion in that state where the telemedicine appointment happened,” she told ABC News.
She said legal questions only arise if somebody living in a state with abortion restrictions has medication abortion pills mailed to them.
“If people are in an abortion-hostile state and they’re receiving medications sent to them from other states or from outside of the country, it’s not technically legal for them to do — to obtain that medication,” Diaz-Tello said.
Anti-abortion groups have slammed the arrangement and claimed it is dangerous.
“The abortion industry’s lack of concern for women is on full display in these schemes to circumvent safety regulations in order to make a buck,” Cathi Herrod, president of the Center for Arizona Policy, a conservative lobbying group, said in a statement to ABC News.
Mobile abortion clinic
A local chapter of Planned Parenthood announced this month it is opening the organization’s first mobile abortion clinic to accommodate the number of patients who now must travel to access abortion services.
The clinic will operate in southern Illinois, where abortion remains legal, and will travel close to the borders of neighboring states, where abortion access remains restricted or gone altogether, specifically Missouri.
Dr. Colleen McNichols, chief medical officer at Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region & Southwest Missouri, said they’ve seen a rapid increase in the number of people seeking care outside of the bi-state area, which encompasses Illinois and Missouri.
“So before the decision, outside of our bi-state area represented just about 4% of the patients that we saw, regularly,” she told ABC News. “And now, in the three months since the decision, the proportion of folks we see from outside of that bi-state area is more than 40%. So we’ve seen a significant increase in the number of folks we’re seeing traveling really long distances to access to basic reproductive health care.”
Because of the growing demand, the mobile clinic was born. Inside the 37-foot revamped RV is two fully-functioning exam rooms, a small waiting area and a laboratory.
Diaz-Tello said it is legal for a woman to cross into Missouri to receive an abortion at the mobile clinic in Illinois.
“Essentially what those mobile abortion clinics are doing is making it easier for people to go to another state, that they don’t have to go all the way into the state, they can go to the border of their state and be able to return quickly,” said Diaz-Tello. “This is still lawful for people to leave the state to seek abortion care.”
However, some Missouri lawmakers want to close this loophole. A measure that would make it illegal to “aid or abet” an abortion, even if was performed in another state, was presented — and ultimately blocked — in the Missouri House.
Moving services across state lines
Some clinics have moved their services across state lines to areas where abortion access is largely unimpeded.
One example is the Red River Women’s Clinic, which used to be the sole abortion clinic in North Dakota and was in Fargo.
Although a judge blocked the state’s trigger law banning abortions from going into effect in August while a lawsuit plays out, Red River Women’s Clinic said it would now be performing abortions just over the border in neighboring Moorhead, Minnesota.
The right to an abortion is recognized in Minnesota’s state constitution and, in July 2022, several restrictions were permanently blocked, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights.
Tammi Kromenaker, director of the clinic, told ABC News that she’s glad the clinic can still operate but it’s “bittersweet.”
“We fought long and hard in North Dakota and, in fact, are still engaged in legal battles and so we don’t take leaving there lightly,” she said. “And it’s still very raw and it’s bittersweet. So, even though we’re very fortunate that we found a place so close and so convenient to maintain access for our patients, it’s hard to leave a place that you fought so long and so hard for..”
