(LOS ANGELES) — Jury selection in the trial of former UCLA Health physician James Heaps, who is accused of sexual abuse, began on Monday and is expected to take place the rest of the week.
Heaps faces 21 charges in an ongoing criminal case brought against him in a Los Angeles County Superior Court, according to court records. He has pleaded not guilty.
The trial is expected to last throughout September, the Los Angeles Superior Court told ABC News.
In February, the University of California announced it had reached an agreement to pay $243.6 million to 203 women, settling lawsuits alleging sexual misconduct by Heaps.
Last year, the university agreed to pay $73 million in the settlement of a class-action lawsuit filed by seven women, on behalf of 5,500 women who were patients of the former UCLA gynecologist, court records show.
In a statement from 2019 following Heaps’ arrest, the school said it fired Heaps after sexual misconduct allegations emerged and removed him from clinical practice.
“Sexual abuse in any form is unacceptable and represents an inexcusable breach of the physician-patient relationship. We are deeply sorry that a former UCLA physician violated our policies and standards, our trust and the trust of his patients,” the school said at the time.
Heaps was an OB-GYN with ties to the school for more than three decades, the school said in its press release.
In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court last year, two women accused Heaps of fondling and groping their breasts without gloves during what were supposed to be breast examinations.
The women also accused him of touching both of their genitals in a sexual manner during a purported vaginal examination, according to the lawsuit.
“The conduct alleged to have been committed by Heaps is reprehensible and contrary to the university’s values. We express our gratitude to the brave individuals who came forward, and hope this settlement is one step toward providing healing and closure for the plaintiffs involved,” UCLA told ABC News in a statement in February.
More than 500 lawsuits were filed against Heaps and the school, accusing UCLA of not protecting patients after it found out about the alleged abuse, according to ABC News Los Angeles station KABC-TV.
An attorney for Heaps, Leonard B. Levine, told The Washington Post in May that Heaps is “adamant” about his innocence.
“He’s looking forward to a jury trial where he believes he’ll be totally exonerated,” Levine told the newspaper.
(WASHINGTON) — A federal grand jury has subpoenaed former Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone in its investigation into the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol and efforts to overturn the 2020 election, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told ABC News.
The sources told ABC News that attorneys for Cipollone — like they did with the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol — are expected to engage in negotiations around any appearance, while weighing concerns regarding potential claims of executive privilege.
The move to subpoena Cipollone signals an even more dramatic escalation in the Justice Department’s investigation of the Jan. 6 attack than previously known, following appearances by senior members of former Vice President Mike Pence’s staff before the grand jury two weeks ago.
Officials with the Justice Department declined to comment when contacted by ABC News.
A representative for Cipollone could not be reached for comment.
Last month, Cipollone spoke to the House Jan. 6 select committee for a lengthy closed-door interview, portions of which have been shown during two of the committee’s most recent public hearings.
Cipollone spoke to the committee on a number of topics, including how he wanted then-President Donald Trump to do more to quell the riot on the day of the attack, and how Cabinet secretaries contemplated convening a meeting to discuss Trump’s decision-making in the wake of the insurrection.
In videotaped testimony before the Jan. 6 committee, Cipollone made it clear that he wanted Trump to intervene sooner while the attack was underway.
“I was pretty clear there needed to be an immediate and forceful response, statement, public statement, that people need to leave the Capitol now,” Cipollone said.
Committee members also questioned Cipollone regarding discussions among members of Trump’s Cabinet about invoking the 25th Amendment to possibly remove Trump from office in advance of President Joe Biden’s inauguration.
(WASHINGTON) — A government watchdog group said Tuesday that the Pentagon “wiped” text messages from the cell phones of key Trump administration Defense Department officials after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, and is now urging Attorney General Merrick Garland to launch a “cross-agency investigation into the possible destruction of federal records.”
American Oversight, which describes itself as a nonprofit watchdog that uses public records requests to fight corruption, filed several Freedom of Information Act requests within days of Jan. 6, 2021, seeking text messages and other communications among senior Pentagon officials including acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller, his chief of staff, Kash Patel, and Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy.
In March, the Pentagon filed court documents acknowledging that text messages belonging to those individuals had been deleted — but framed that action as standard operating procedure whenever an employee leaves the department.
“When an employee separates from DOD or Army he or she turns in the government-issued phone, and the phone is wiped,” the Pentagon wrote in response to American Oversight’s FOIA lawsuit. “For custodians no longer with the agency, the text messages were not preserved and therefore could not be searched.”
But in their letter to Garland on Tuesday, American Oversight accused the Pentagon of knowingly erasing records under active FOIA — and framed this deletion as another effort by these agencies to obscure the actions of administration officials.
“In short, DOD has apparently deleted messages from top DOD and Army officials responsive to pending FOIA requests that could have shed light on the actions of top Trump administration officials on the day of the failed insurrection,” American Oversight Executive Director Heather Sawyer wrote.
Sawyer urged Garland to probe not only the Pentagon’s conduct, but also the U.S. Secret Service’s apparent deletion of their agents’ text messages.
“American Oversight accordingly urges you to investigate DOD’s actions in allowing the destruction of records potentially relevant to this significant matter of national attention and historical importance,” the letter said.
Reached for comment, Army spokesperson Col. Cathy Wilkinson told ABC News, “It is our policy not to comment on ongoing litigation.”
Kenny Chesney is using fashion to give back to a cause close to his heart.
The superstar is teaming up with shoe ware company REEF to present two sets of limited edition No Shoes Reef sandals in benefit of a cause focused on marine life education.
The his and hers sandals come in hues of dark brown, tan and cream, with the straps on the men’s shoe bearing the phrase “No Shoes Reef” and an emblem of a skull and crossbones, while the women’s shoe features a rose-gold colored stud and the No Shoes Reef logo on the sole.
Proceeds from the sales will go toward Pigeon Key Marine Science Camps in Florida that educates young people about marine life, including coral reefs.
“They share so many of the same core values I do when it comes to ocean conservation. I’ve worn their sandals for years, as have a lot of my friends down in the islands,” Kenny shares in a statement. “When they wanted to work with us through No Shoes Reefs, I was delighted to have them become part of this work that’s been so focused on local projects.”
Kenny launched No Shoes Reef in 2015 to create artificial reefs to help sustain the wildlife that inhabit them.
Backstreet Boys are in the middle of their DNA World Tour, which they resumed this year after it was cut short in 2020 due to the pandemic. The show is packed with more than 30 songs — hits and fan favorites — as well as huge production values and choreography. And Backstreet’s Nick Carter says it became clear to him during the pandemic how valuable their shows are to fans.
“I pretty much realized that, y’know, entertainment and performing is a blessing, because people are longing to be entertained and to have something to kind of just get their minds off of the craziness in the world right now,” Nick tells ABC Audio.
“They just want two hours of just escapism,” he adds. “And I think that, you know, Backstreet Boys represents a specific place in time where — [with] nostalgia and the songs and stuff — when people look back and they’re searching for that, it makes them smile.”
Even if you’re not looking for escapism, Nick says you can’t help but admire the work that goes into their performances. After so many years together, he boasts they’re the pinnacle of live entertainment.
“I mean, we exert so much energy when we’re onstage and … we’re putting that energy out or we’re seeing the smiles on the faces and that energy is coming back to us, it’s just … it’s [indescribable],” Nick says.
“I like to say, from a sport perspective — because I like to use sport analogies — I guess you could say we’re like Tom Brady, basically,” he adds. “Y’know, up there on stage playing at a very high level.”
The DNA World Tour is currently scheduled to run through March 2023. In October, they’ll release A Very Backstreet Christmas, their first holiday album.
Journey‘s first new studio album in 11 years, Freedom, was released last month.
The 15-track collection was recorded mostly remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, with guitarist Neal Schon overseeing the music with veteran drummer/producer Narada Michael Walden, and keyboardist Jonathan Cain penning just about all of the lyrics.
Cain is a devout Christian who’s released a series of faith-based solo albums in recent years, and he tells ABC Audio that his inspiration for Journey’s new tunes was the same as his spiritual compositions.
“People asked me the other day…’Where do you get your lyric inspiration from?’ I said, ‘God, Holy Spirit,'” Cain reveals. “[H]e’s like [Elton John lyricist] Bernie Taupin for me, you know? He’s right there whenever I need him…And we’ve got a relationship, so a lot of these lyrics on this Journey record, I think, are heaven sent. So, [I’m] happy to be able to crank ’em out.”
Explaining how he collaborated on the Freedom material with Schon and Walden, Jonathan says, “Narada and Neal had some titles they threw out at me…and they had the beginnings of some choruses. And…I just tried to weave them into a lyric and complete it.”
Cain notes that Schon and Walden were the driving creative forces on Freedom, which was fine with him.
“[T]his is pretty much their baby, I would say,” he tells ABC Audio. “[T]hey were pretty relentless with the music and the direction. And I thought, ‘If you’re on a roll, go for it.'”
Describing the sound of the album, Cain says it has moods reminiscent of three of Journey’s biggest albums — 1981’s Escape, 1983’s Frontiers and 1986’s Raised on the Radio — plus “a little bit of [1978’s] Infinity in places.”
Hayden Markowitz is taking accountability for his actions.
The Bachelorette contestant was eliminated during Monday night’s episode after it was found out that he made some vulgar comments about Bachelorettes Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia, including referring to them as “b******.”
Taking to Instagram, the 29-year-old penned a lengthy apology, that began, “For those who watched tonight’s episode, you saw me at my absolute worst and lowest moment.”
“I have always tried to carry myself with humility and respect for others. However, my complete lapse of judgement was not only disappointing but it was absolutely unacceptable,” he continued. “I genuinely want to express my deepest apologies to both Gabby and Rachel for my actions.”
Hayden went on to say that he takes “full responsibility for not being the man I was raised to be in those moments” and said that he does respect both Gabby and Rachel.
“I really hate how this season ended, but this experience was not one that I was mentally or emotionally prepared for with the current things going on in my life,” he admitted. “Despite how everything transpired, it was an amazing experience that I will never forget and will learn from.”
“I wish Gabby and Rachel all the best and hope they can accept my apology!” Hayden concluded.
Hayden, who was Team Rachel, was eliminated during Monday night’s episode.
(NEW YORK) — The ability to access abortions in Kansas is not changing.
ABC News projects that voters on Tuesday rejected an amendment to the state constitution that would have specified “Kansas does not require government funding of abortion and does not create or secure a right to abortion.”
It was the first popular vote on abortion rights in nearly 50 years — and the first since the demise of Roe v. Wade. In reversing Roe in June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that abortion should be left to individual states.
A “yes” vote to approve the Kansas amendment would have effectively overridden a 2019 state Supreme Court ruling and would have cleared the way for GOP super-majorities in the Kansas legislature to enact more stringent abortion restrictions.
A “no” vote keeps the status quo, preserving Kansas as what advocates describe as an abortion rights refuge in a region where bans on the procedure have proliferated.
Kansans on Tuesday also voted in primaries for governor, secretary of state, the House and Senate, state attorney general, state treasurer and the state legislature. Polls closed at 9 p.m. ET.
On Friday, Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab predicted that roughly 36% of Kansas voters would participate in the primary election — a higher number than past cycles.
Schwab’s office said the constitutional amendment about whether or not to bar abortion access had increased voter interest in the election.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Arizona 6, Cleveland 3
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Toronto 3, Tampa Bay 1
Seattle 8, NY Yankees 6
Detroit 5, Minnesota 3
Chi White Sox 9, Kansas City 2
Boston 2, Houston 1
Baltimore 8, Texas 2
LA Angels 3, Oakland 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
San Diego 13, Colorado 5
San Diego 3, Colorado 2
Cincinnati 2, Miami 1
Washington 5, NY Mets 1
Pittsburgh 5, Milwaukee 3
St. Louis 6, Chi Cubs 0
Atlanta 13, Philadelphia 1
LA Dodgers 9, San Francisco 5
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Connecticut 87, Phoenix 63
Washington 83, Las Vegas 73
New York 102, Los Angeles 73
Dallas 84, Chicago 78
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Colorado 5, New York 4
Seattle 1, FC Dallas 0
(NEW YORK) — As monkeypox continues to spread across the U.S., the number of children infected with the virus is growing as well.
Two children in Indiana recently tested positive for monkeypox, state officials announced late last week.
Last month, federal officials confirmed that two other children in the U.S had tested positive for monkeypox, a cousin of the smallpox virus. One of the confirmed cases was a toddler, who is a resident of California. The other was reported in an infant, a non-U.S. resident, who was tested while traveling through Washington, D.C.
Children under the age of 8 are among those whom the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers at “increased risk” for severe illness from monkeypox, along with pregnant people, people who are immunocompromised and those who have a history of atopic dermatitis or eczema.
Below, experts answer seven questions parents might have about monkeypox and how it may impact kids, as overall cases across the U.S. continue to climb.
1. As a parent, how concerned do I need to be about monkeypox?
At this time in the outbreak, parents “do not need to panic” about the virus, according to ABC News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton, who is also a board-certified OB-GYN.
“They should be aware of what’s going on with this, as they are with any medical headline,” Ashton added. “They should know what’s going on in their community and they should take the appropriate steps after discussing any concerns they have with their pediatrician.”
2. How is monkeypox spread?
Monkeypox, also known as MPX, is spread primarily through direct, skin-to-skin contact between someone who has the virus and someone who does not, according to Dr. Richard Malley, senior physician in pediatrics, division of infectious diseases, at Boston Children’s Hospital and a professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.
“That could be through intimate contact,” said Malley. “It could also be through just contact with somebody in the family who has an unsuspecting lesion and lesion unfortunately touches another individual.”
Shared items like towels, clothes or bed sheets could also possibly spread the virus if used by someone with a monkeypox lesion, according to Malley.
“If somebody is infected with MPX, they really need to be very careful with who they interact with and how they interact with those with other people to try to avoid spread as much as possible,” he said.
According to the CDC, monkeypox can also spread through contact with an infected person’s respiratory secretions and prolonged face-to-face contact.
“So far it does not seem to be the major mode of transmission for this virus in the current epidemic,” said Malley. “But that is of course one of the things that we need to monitor very closely.”
3. Does my family need to wipe down surfaces or avoid shared spaces like playgrounds?
Because monkeypox is spread primarily through skin-to-skin contact, parents at this point do not need to overly concerned with their child becoming infected by touching things like doorknobs in public spaces or shared toys, according to both Malley and Ashton.
“While that possibility remains, I think it does not mean that parents or anyone should be concerned about touching doorknobs or going to the grocery story or touching objects that are out on the street, for example,” said Malley. “That is not thought to be a very likely way for MPX to be spread, or for most viruses to be spread.”
Ashton said that people who live in high-transmission areas for monkeypox may want to wipe down surfaces as an extra precaution, noting, “It is possible that this virus can be left on gym equipment, just like it can be left on clothes.”
However, she added that hand washing is more important than wiping surfaces to prevent the spread of disease.
“Hand hygiene is the most important thing, not just for monkeypox but for any infectious disease,” Ashton said.
4. How can I tell if my child has monkeypox?
Unfortunately, the symptoms of monkeypox can look like other viruses — including flu and other rashes — so experts recommend seeking medical care as soon as symptoms show, especially if your child has been in contact with someone who has monkeypox.
Typically, the disease begins with a fever, headache, fatigue, chills and muscle aches. Unlike smallpox, however, monkeypox also causes swollen lymph nodes.
Within one to three days of initial symptoms, those infected will typically develop a rash either on their face or other parts of the body, according to the CDC.
Examples of rashes and lesions caused by the monkeypox virus are seen in this handout image obtained from official Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website on July 1, 2022.
Per the World Health Organization, the lesions — or rash — start out as dark spots on the skin before progressing to bumps that fill with fluid.
Malley said parents should seek medical care for any type of rash on their child’s body that does not look like something they have had previously.
“The rash of MPX, as we are now learning, can look very different in different individuals for reasons that we don’t quite understand,” said Malley. “You really need to be cautious with anything that might look like a MPX rash.”
Monkeypox is diagnosed by testing the lesions to identify whether genetic material of the virus is present, according to Malley.
5. Why are children at increased risk with monkeypox?
Experts are not sure, Malley said.
It may be due to their immune systems and the fact that “younger children are sometimes more susceptible to some viral infections,” he explained.
In Africa, where monkeypox originated, the most severe but rare cases of the virus have typically involved inflammation of the brain, according to Malley.
Ashton said that while there have so far been no deaths associated with monkeypox in the U.S., it’s important to stay vigilant as the disease spreads.
“As the numbers grow, based on sheer math, it is not impossible that we will see a death here in the U.S.,” said Ashton, adding that monkeypox has a “spectrum of severity” when it comes to complications. “There have been deaths in Africa associated with monkeypox.”
6. Is there a monkeypox vaccine for kids?
The current vaccine for monkeypox is available to people ages 18 and older. However, the JYNNEOS vaccine can be offered on a case-by-case basis via a special permission process through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to those with known monkeypox exposure.
Antiviral medications such as Tecovirimat are currently being used for treatment of monkeypox, which is available for children.
More common treatments may also be used to help treat patients who are experiencing pain due to monkeypox lesions, according to Malley.
7. How should I best protect my child from monkeypox?
The best thing parents can do for both themselves and their child, according to Malley, is to pay attention to the virus — but try not to panic.
“I think it would be very unlikely that daycare or a camp or school would be a major focus of transmission of this virus as we understand it currently,” he said. “But of course, it’s important for all of us to be vigilant.”
Malley said the key for parents concerned about monkeypox is to be aware of their child’s surroundings and not interact with people they know have been infected with monkeypox.
“The importance for parents is that if they know anybody in their surrounding, in their environment, in their family who has a suspicion of being infected with MPX, then of course that individual needs needs to isolate themself,” he said. “In general, people who have been diagnosed with MPX have been told and are being very careful because they do not want to be responsible for transmission.”
The CDC has released safety guidelines for people with monkeypox, urging those infected with the virus to “remain isolated at home or at another location for the duration of illness.”
According to Malley, monkeypox lesions are considered to be infectious until they are fully crusted over.
ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos and Cheyenne Haslett contributed to this report.
