(BALTIMORE) — Marilyn Mosby, state’s attorney for Baltimore City, who made the decision to drop the murder case against Adnan Syed, said on Wednesday that her office’s re-investigation of the case had raised “major red flags.”
“Our review of the case quickly turned from making a mere recommendation for release to a re-investigation to claim actual innocence,” Mosby said on ABC News’ Good Morning America on Wednesday, “because there were major red flags.”
Prosecutors in Maryland dropped charges against Syed, the man who was convicted of killing his former girlfriend in 2000, a case made popular by the 2014 “Serial” podcast that investigated issues with the prosecution.
Mosby said her office was approached by the public defender’s office about the case.
“As we started to dig into the case, one of the things that we saw was not all the evidence was tested,” Mosby said. “The first round of DNA testing we did didn’t produce results, but following the second round of DNA, we found that there was a DNA mixture of multiple contributors. And they excluded Adnan Syed.”
Coupled with the “integrity” of the investigation, there were “so many red flags,” she said.
“This was really the nail in the coffin that assured me, which is why I instructed my prosecutors to dismiss the case yesterday,” Mosby said.
The murder case of Hae Min Lee, Syed’s ex-girlfriend, is open and pending, Mosby said.
Mosby said she never listened to the “Serial” podcast.
On Tuesday, it was officially announced that the Grammy-winning artist has become the first female rapper with two Recording Industry Association of America-certified 11-times Platinum hits. The record beats her previous one of becoming the first female rapper to have a song reach RIAA Diamond status.
The new accolade comes thanks to Cardi’s breakthrough hit “Bodak Yellow” and the Bad Bunny and J Balvin-assisted “I Like It.” Each track boasts billions of global streams and over a billion music video videos.
To top it off, the certifications come on Cardi’s 30th birthday, giving her an extra reason to celebrate.
Previously, Cardi made history when “Bodak Yellow” was 10-times-certified Platinum and again when every song on her debut album, Invasion of Privacy, was certified at least Platinum by the RIAA.
(A previous version of this story published on 10/12/22 incorrectly stated the RIAA Platinum certification level of Cardi B’s two hits. The headline above has been updated accordingly.)
Idina Menzel, the voice of Disney’s beloved Princess Elsa, will be the subject of an upcoming Disney+ biopic, Idina Menzel: Which Way to the Stage? The project will focus on the life and career of the Tony winner and culminate in her headlining a concert at Madison Square Garden in her hometown of New York City after a nationwide tour. “We made this documentary to show firsthand how important it is to pursue your passions and lean on those around you in times of hardship,” said Menzel in a statement, adding, “I hope it resonates with my fans and new audiences alike who find themselves balancing motherhood, work and marriage while chasing their own dreams and inspires others to keep pushing forward.” Which Way to the Stage? premieres December 9…
Some of your favorite Outlander cast members will be returning to the popular time-traveling series for its upcoming seventh season, along with five new cast members, Starz announced on Tuesday. They include Graham McTavish reprising his role as Dougal MacKenzie, Nell Hudson as Laoghaire Fraser, Andrew Whipp as Brian Fraser, Layla Burns as Joan MacKimmie and Lotte Verbeek as Geillis Duncan. They’ll be joined by newcomers Gloria Obianyo, Rod Hallett, Chris Fulton, Diarmaid Murtagh and Kristin Atherton. Season seven of Outlander is currently filming in Scotland…
Some good news for Dune fans: the premiere date for the sequel to Denis Villeneuve‘s Oscar-winning 2021 film has been moved up a couple of weeks — from November 17 2023 to November 3, 2023, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Dune: Part Two will star Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Josh Brolin, Florence Pugh, Austin Butler, Christopher Walken and Javier Bardem. The sequel will cover the second half of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel, with Chalamet’s Paul Atreides teaming with the Fremen to free the desert planet of Arrakis from House Harkonnen. The first Dune, released during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, grossed upward of $400 million worldwide…
Sydney Sweeney seemed to confirm reports that she’s set to star in a new Barbarella movie. The Euphoria star shared an image of original artwork from the original 1968 film on her Instagram, with the caption, “time to save the universe.” The original 1968 Barbarella, starring Jane Fonda as the titular space-traveling heroine, stiffed at the box office, though it earned cult film status in the decades since…
Saturday Night Live alum Pete Davidson and Crazy Rich Asians‘ Michelle Yeoh have been cast in voice roles for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. Director Steven Caple Jr. shared the news via an Instagram post featuring separate videos of Davidson and Yeoh recording their parts. Yeoh voices a character named Airazor, while Davidson voices Mirage. They join Anthony Ramos and Dominque Fishback, who will star in the film in live-action roles. Rise of the Beasts will be set in 1994. While Optimus Prime will remain the hero, the alien robot war will be focused on “prehistoric [robotic] animals that travel through time and space.” It’s set to hit theaters on June 24, 2022…
(LONDON) — After President Vladimir Putin’s decree to mobilize Russia on Sept. 21, a secretive Russian protest group called Feminist Anti-War Resistance (FAR) instructed women to wear black and hold white flowers as they march the nation’s streets, a striking demonstration of grief.
“Your son, your father, your brother can be in a warzone,” said FAR coordinator Lolja Nordic. “We want the Russian army weaker. We don’t need more ordinary civilians turned into dead soldiers.”
Russia has a history of women’s activism, both in Soviet and post-Soviet times, in spite of women’s chronic political underrepresentation, including FAR’s action on March 8 — International Women’s Day — organized in remembrance of Ukrainians killed in the war, which compelled peace campaigners to protest in 112 cities.
FAR originated on Feb. 25, the day after Russia invaded Ukraine, and even though the number of members is not exact, the group has over 42,000 Telegram subscribers.
“We are the opposition to war, patriarchy, authoritarianism and militarism,” the organization’s manifesto, which has been translated into 13 languages, reads. “We are the future, and we will win.”
Due to her participation with FAR, Nordic notes that she has been surveilled, cyberattacked and arrested four times, her home has been raided twice and her devices were confiscated. After she was exiled to Tallinn, Estonia, she decided to forego her anonymity.
“All our participants are aware: none of what we do is 100% safe,” Nordic said.
FAR, though not exclusive to women, organizes online and street protests, posts strategies for avoiding conscription, disseminates anti-war messaging and volunteers with aiding Ukrainian refugees. The group also pays legal costs via crowdsourcing for residents who face illegal termination from their jobs for opposing the war.
Nearly eight months since the invasion, FAR is now active in over 40 Russian cities, says another FAR coordinator Julia, whose last name has been redacted for her security.
“Before the war, for most Russians, there was an illusion that politics won’t affect their lives,” Julia said. “Now, political decisions severely affect their lives.”
A former biochemistry student, activism now monopolizes Julia’s time and, in March, the 24-year-old fled her home in Russia to another European country.
“When Western journalists think of Russia, they think people here are super supportive of their, like, führer,” said Julia. “But that’s not the case.”
Putin has been threatening to use nuclear weapons since the beginning of his war in Ukraine. But in his Sept. 30 speech in which he formally and illegally proclaimed the annexation of four Ukrainian regions, the Russian president intensified his rhetoric.
Julia described the notion of introducing nuclear weaponry to this war as, “horrible, horrible, absolutely horrible.”
“Putin and his political allies have lost any connection with the real world,” she added while noting she can’t predict what could possibly come next in the conflict.
At the latest count, more than 14,900 Russian people have been detained by security forces and police for protesting, according to OVD-Info, a Russian human rights organization.
FAR exists among a coalition of anti-war groups and dissenters in Russia. Founded in 2013, Vesna is a Russian youth organization working towards liberal democracy. Vesna has a core group of about a hundred members who have been thoroughly checked, said Vesna leader Maria Lakhina who handles finances and works in Vesna’s international cooperation team.
To eventually reach its goal of a liberal democratic state, Lakhina added, Vesna wants to topple the current Russian regime, promote the values of human rights and the rule of law.
“It may sound unrealistic, but we believe it is the only way our country may positively change,” Lakhina said.
Growing up in Siberia, 26-year-old Lakhina, lived in St. Petersburg for the past six years before emigrating to Yerevan, Armenia, in March. She participated in two rallies in St. Petersburg but was arrested during the last one.
After she left the country, Lakhina coordinated four more rallies, two of which were anti-war rallies in March and two anti-mobilization rallies in September. Lakhina now receives treatment for trauma symptoms, insomnia and panic attacks.
“I shut down emotions and bury them in work as much as possible,” said Lakhina. “That does not sound healthy, and it will probably have consequences in the future, but that is the only way to stay productive in our field in times like this.”
(NEW YORK) — A man arrested in Georgia has confessed to murdering five people in South Carolina, authorities announced Tuesday.
James Douglas Drayton, 24, was taken into custody in Georgia’s Burke County on Monday morning, after he allegedly committed an armed robbery and fled the scene in a stolen vehicle that authorities said was registered to a family member of one of the victims in South Carolina’s Spartanburg County, about 145 miles away.
“He confessed to the crime,” Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright said during a press conference on Tuesday. “He basically said he’d been hearing voices. Not sure what that means for him, but he knew he’d been using meth and had been up for like four days. Hadn’t slept in four days, probably not thinking.”
The murders took place over the weekend in the town of Inman at a home that Wright described as a “safe haven” for drug use. Deputies from the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office responded to a death call at the residence on Bobo Drive on Sunday evening. Upon arrival, deputies discovered four people who had been shot to death — identified as Thomas Ellis Anderson, 37, Adam Daniel Morley, 32, Mark Allen Hewitt, 59, and Roman Christean Megael Rocha, 19.
A fifth victim was found still showing signs of life and was transported to Spartanburg Medical Center, where they died. Their identity was not released because their family has not yet been notified, according to the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office.
“This is the largest single murder we’ve had in Spartanburg County,” Wright told reporters.
Wright said all five victims were drug users and were known to Drayton, who investigators believe had been staying at the home for about two weeks. The victims were also living there at the time of the incident and investigators located belongings with Drayton’s name, according to the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office.
“Wouldn’t have mattered to me if they were church members and never did any of that stuff, or they were heroin addicts. They were still somebody’s son, brother, friend, dad,” Wright said. “They are all a child of God — they didn’t deserve what they got.”
After the shootings, Drayton allegedly stole a car from the home, which he crashed during a brief, high-speed chase in Georgia, where he was apprehended and is now awaiting extradition to South Carolina. He will be charged with five counts of murder, Wright said.
Drayton gave investigators a “full confession” about the murders, providing “specific information” about the crime scene, including the location of the five victims, according to the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office.
“I don’t have answers as to why. He said some things in his interviews that I’m going to hold on to because his attorney probably needs to process some of this stuff,” Wright said. “It’s awful.”
Burke County’s online jail records did not list an attorney for Drayton.
Although the suspect was arrested, Wright said the victims “did not get justice at all.”
“Just because we have someone in custody doesn’t make things better for these families,” he added. “It just means that they don’t have to wonder.”
The Big Bang Theory and The Flight Attendant star announced the news Tuesday in an Instagram post featuring photos of herself and boyfriend, Ozark and Iron Fist veteran Tom Pelphrey.
“Baby girl Pelphrey coming 2023,” Cuoco wrote in the caption. “Beyond blessed and over the moon… I [heart emoji] you @tommypelphrey !!!”
The series of photos included images of Cuoco and Pelphrey holding a slice of cake with pink frosting inside, posing with mugs that say “mama bear” and “papa bear,” and an image of Cuoco holding up pregnancy tests.
Pelphrey also shared similar photos of himself and Cuoco on Instagram.
”And then it was even MORE BETTER.” he wrote in the caption. “Love you more than ever @kaleycuoco.”
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden said he does not believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin would use a tactical nuclear weapon on Ukraine.
“I think it’s irresponsible for him to talk about it, the idea that a world leader of one of the largest nuclear powers in the world says he may use a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine,” Biden told CNN’s Jake Tapper in an exclusive interview with the network.
“The whole point I was making was it could lead to just a horrible outcome. And not because anybody intends to turn it into a world war or anything, but just once you use a nuclear weapon, the mistakes that can be made, the miscalculations, who knows what would happen,” Biden continued.
When asked if the United States had considered what would happen if Putin did use a nuclear weapon and what the “red line” for his administration would be, Biden said it would be irresponsible of him to discuss specifics but made it clear that the Pentagon did not have to be asked to game out potential outcomes.
“He, in fact, cannot continue with impunity to talk about the use of a tactical nuclear weapon as if that’s a rational thing to do. The mistakes get made. And the miscalculation could occur, no one can be sure what would happen and could end in Armageddon,” Biden added later on in CNN’s interview.
Biden was questioned on whether he thought Putin was a rational actor and made it clear that he thought Putin was “a rational actor who miscalculated significantly.”
“I think he thought he was going to be welcomed with open arms, that this was the home of Mother Russia in Kyiv, and that where he was going to be welcomed, and I think he just totally miscalculated,” Biden said.
Following a large explosion on the Kirch Strait Bridge last Saturday, Russia, who has blamed Ukraine for the attack, has retaliated with a wave of powerful attacks across Ukraine with missile strikes on Kyiv and around the nation, killing at least 19 and injuring hundreds more.
Biden said he has “no intention” of meeting with Putin at the G20 taking place next month in Indonesia.
“He’s acted brutally, he’s acted brutally. I think he’s committed war crimes. And so I don’t, I don’t see any rationale to meet with him now,” said Biden.
But he did include a caveat with that statement.
“If he came to me at the G20 and wanted to talk about the release of Griner, I’d meet with him,” said Biden. “We’ve taken a position. I just did a G-7 meeting this morning … I’m not about to, nor is anyone else prepared to, negotiate with Russia about them staying in Ukraine, keeping any part of Ukraine.”
“But look, he’s acted brutally, he’s acted brutally. I think he’s committed war crimes,” Biden continued. “I don’t see any rationale to meet with him now.”
On Tuesday, it was officially announced that the Grammy-winning artist has become the first female rapper with two Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified 11-times platinum hits. The record beats out her previous one of becoming the first female rapper to have a song reach Diamond status.
The new accolade comes thanks to her breakthrough hit “Bodak Yellow” and the Bad Bunny and J Balvin-assisted “I Like It.” Each track boasts billions of global streams and over a billion music video videos.
To top it off, the certifications come on Cardi’s 30th birthday, giving her an extra reason to celebrate.
Previously, Cardi made history when “Bodak Yellow” was 10-times certified Platinum and again when every song on her debut album Invasion of Privacy was certified at least Platinum by the RIAA.
(PHILADELPHIA) — Three members of a SWAT team were shot in North Philadelphia while serving a warrant early on Wednesday morning, ABC News’ WPVI-TV reported.
The officers were taken to Jefferson University Hospital, where they were listed in stable condition.
(WASHINGTON) — Officially four weeks out from Election Day, the 2022 midterm cycle is entering a final sprint as both parties wrestle for control of Congress.
Midterm elections have long been considered a referendum on the president’s party and voters now have their first nationwide chance to react to the first two years of President Joe Biden’s leadership.
The most recent ABC News polling, from September, shows Biden’s approval rating is underwater, with just 39% of Americans approving of his job performance while 53% disapprove.
But Democrats are looking to capitalize on a string of legislative victories this summer and a controversial Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade’s abortion rights, while Republicans look to blame the administration for high inflation and what they say is a problem dealing with crime.
Early voting is already underway in more than a dozen states, with several more to start early voting sometime this week.
What’s at stake
Biden’s legislative agenda and ability to confirm judges and other nominees hang in the balance as campaigns near the finish line.
The midterms could very well change the power balance of Congress, where Democrats enjoy a narrow majority in the House and a one-vote advantage in the evenly split Senate thanks to Vice President Kamala Harris’ role as tie-breaker.
All 435 seats in the House are up for grabs this November, and while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has expressed optimism about retaining control of the chamber, the latest forecast from FiveThirtyEight shows Republicans are slightly favored to win the House.
In the Senate, there are 35 seats on the ballot this November. Republicans need to flip just one seat to take back the chamber, but FiveThirtyEight’s model shows Democrats currently slightly favored to hold onto their majority.
If Republicans take back either chamber, they can thwart much of Biden’s agenda for the last two years of his term — something Republican leaders on Capitol Hill have already vowed to do. Biden himself has warned of a “difficult two years” if the GOP regains congressional control.
Latest forecasts
According to FiveThirtyEight, Republicans have an 80% chance of holding between 209 and 242 seats in the House — where a dozen or so toss-up races could make the difference between a GOP and Democratic majority.
As for the Senate, FiveThirtyEight shows Democrats having about a two-in-three chance of holding onto control. The party’s odds for retaining power have increased since late July, when the model showed both Democrats and Republicans with about a 50-50 chance of winning majority control.
The four likeliest tipping-point states in this year’s midterms are Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, according to the FiveThirtyEight Senate forecast.
Georgia, which flipped blue for Biden in 2020, has been the center of the political universe this past week as controversy has plagued Republican nominee Herschel Walker in his race against Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock.
Senate debates highlight key issues for both parties
Meanwhile, debate season is in full-swing as candidates in battleground states take the stage to hammer out their differences.
Republicans are focusing their messaging on southern border security, the economy and crime while Democrats point to abortion rights and election denialism as major inflection points for voters this election cycle.
In Ohio’s Senate race, Democrat Tim Ryan and Republican J.D. Vance clashed at a debate on Monday night over abortion access — with Ryan saying he wants to codify Roe v. Wade while alleging Vance once called rape an “inconvenience.” Vance denied saying that and falsely claimed a 10-year-old girl from Indiana who sought an abortion would’ve “never been raped in the first place” if Ryan had done his job on crime and immigration.
Also looming large over some debates have been Biden and former President Donald Trump.
A handful of Democrats in tight races have distanced themselves from the Biden administration on certain issues, including Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, who in a debate last week against Republican Blake Masters called the situation at the southern border a “mess,” and Ryan, who during Ohio’s Senate debate on Monday also distanced himself from Biden when it came to inflation and the border.
Meanwhile, North Carolina GOP Senate nominee Ted Budd embraced his relationship with the former president, touting himself as an “America-first candidate” in his Friday debate against Democrat Cheri Beasley. Vance, during Monday’s debate in Ohio, also declined to separate himself from Trump, who previously joked that Vance badly wanted his support.
More debates are scheduled this week in Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin.
