(NEW YORK) — Joshua James, 34, of Arab, Alabama, pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy charges on Wednesday as part of deal with prosecutors contingent on his cooperation with the U.S. government in their ongoing prosecution of defendants who were involved in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The plea deal is the first of its kind for a Jan. 6 defendant and comes nearly a year after James was charged with impeding and obstructing Congress’ affirmation of the Electoral College vote in the 2020 presidential election.
James pleaded guilty before the court to one count of seditious conspiracy and one count of obstructing an official proceeding in exchange for a reduced offense level, which the judge will consider at sentencing. James agreed to pay $2,000 under the agreement for the damages to the Capitol.
The agreement requires James to cooperate with federal authorities, testify before a grand jury, sit for interviews, and turn over an accounting of his financial assets.
The maximum penalty for seditious conspiracy is 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 and 3-year supervised release, along with other fees and penalties. James’ cooperation can be used in determining his sentencing, presiding Judge Amit P. Mehta explained to the court.
Without James’ full cooperation, as determined by the government, he will stand in violation of the agreement.
James acknowledged he was instructed by Oath Keepers leader Stuart Rhodes to be prepared to use lethal force if then-President Donald Trump was removed from the White House. Separately, he acknowledged that he, Rhodes and others planned to use “any means necessary” to stop the lawful transfer of power.
James admitted to assaulting an officer on the scene, grabbing him and yelling, “Get out of my Capitol.”
The 10 other alleged Oath Keepers charged in the seditious conspiracy plot, including Rhodes, have pleaded not guilty to all charges against them.
Lawyers for James did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
According to the indictment, James was a leader of a second “stack” of Oath Keepers who breached the building through the east side.
He is accused of forcing his way past law enforcement who were trying to guard the Capitol Rotunda, and of pushing his way past officers who were forced to deploy chemical spray against him.
After nearly eight years of marriage to Ye, formally known as Kanye West, Kim Kardashian is finally a single woman.
The news comes a year after the 41-year-old reality-TV star filed for divorce. According to Billboard, Judge Steve Cochran of the Los Angeles Superior Court granted Kardashian’s motion seeking the legal status. The judge also finalized “West” being dropped from Kardashian’s name.
At Wednesday’s hearing, Kardashian appeared via videoconference and was put under oath to answer a series of required legal questions.
“Did problems, disputes and differences cause a breakdown of your marriage?” was among the questioning to which Kardashian answered, “yes.”
Ye fired his attorney Christopher Melcher the day before the hearing, replacing him with Samantha Spector, who appeared for and represented Ye in court on Wednesday.
According to Billboard, the Judge granted one of Ye’s requests regarding what would happen if either star dies before the divorce case is finalized, but denied two other requests, including restrictions on what would happen if Kardashian quickly remarried.
This news comes after a tumultuous year of back and forth from both parties. Ye would often take to social media to express disdain with his now-former wife’s decision to end the marriage and his desire to see the four children he has with Kardashian.
“I’ve asked my team to expedite the dissolution of my marriage to Kim so I can put my entire attention to our beautiful children,” Ye said in a statement.
Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson‘s new band Envy of None has released a second advance track from its forthcoming self-titled debut album, an ominous, atmospheric tune called “Look Inside.”
The song, which is available now as a digital download and via streaming services, showcases singer Maiah Wynne‘s ethereal, dreamy vocals, which are accompanied by swirling layers of electronic and reverb-laden instrumentation.
Envy of None has posted a snippet of “Look Inside” on its and socialmediapages and on the Kscope label’s official YouTube channel.
As previously reported, the Envy of None album is an 11-track collection that will be released on April 8. In addition to Lifeson and Wynne, a Portland, Oregon-based singer/songwriter, the band also features bassist Andy Curran of the veteran Canadian rock group Coney Hatch and guitarist/keyboardist Alfio Annibalini.
Prior to releasing “Look Inside,” Envy of None debuted another track from the album, titled “Liar.” Check out a lyric video for the latter song on YouTube.
Fox’s reality show So You Think You Can Dance is coming back, after a two-year pandemic delay.
The network announced that the 17th season of the dance program would finally air this summer — after the plug was pulled as casting was getting underway at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s not yet known if Cat Deely will return as host; the network promises more announcements will be forthcoming.
Casting will soon open for the new season of the Emmy-winning show, and tryouts will be held in New York, Los Angeles and New Orleans. Interested applicants are invited to go to DanceShow2022.CastingCrane.com or Fox.com/dance for audition deadlines and details.
So You Think You Can Dance will air on Fox, and will stream on the network’s free streaming platform Tubi, as well as Fox Now, Hulu and On Demand.
(NEW YORK) — When 25-year-old Yulia Yemelianenko crossed the border from Lviv, Ukraine into Poland earlier this week, she broke down in tears.
“I cried a lot,” she told ABC News at a train station in Przemysl, Poland. “…I was forced to quit my country, and I didn’t want it.”
“I want to live in my city with my mother and my friends,” she added.
Yemelianenko spoke with ABC News about the difficult journey as she waited at the train station for a friend. She is one of the hundreds of thousands of people who were forced to flee from Ukraine into neighboring European countries like Poland, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary amid ongoing attacks from Russia.
Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said on Wednesday the number of Ukrainians who’ve fled their country has so far climbed to 874,000, which is believed to be the biggest number of people displaced in the shortest amount of time since World War II.
“I don’t know what will happen in Ukraine,” she said. “I don’t know when I will come back.”
The emotional toll that the journey took on Yemelianenko was magnified because she had to leave her mother, who is recovering from COVID-19, behind.
Asked if she feels that she has been displaced, she said, “I’m trying not to think about this at all, because I don’t know when I can see my mother next time.”
“Every time I start, like, crying and tears, won’t help in this situation.”
She said she hopes to return to Ukraine as soon as possible and reunite with her friends, some of whom stayed back to fight in the war.
‘There’s panic, there’s chaos’
At the train station in Lviv, Ukraine, volunteers have been working to organize thousands of people seeking to board trains to Poland. According to UNHCR, more than 453,000 of those who fled Ukraine have gone to Poland.
“There’s panic, there’s chaos,” Yuliana Shchurko, a volunteer, told ABC News. “Those people are waiting for the train to call and they don’t want to go to any other country,” she said, adding that it could be days before the next train would be scheduled to depart for Poland.
Amid the congestion, some immigrants and students living in Ukraine expressed fear they are being discriminated against as they wait at the border, hoping to cross into Poland.
“The Ukrainians are given priority, which is to children and women,” Adeyemo Abimbole, a student from Nigeria, told ABC News on Sunday, adding that he and a group of African students have been waiting for a train to cross into Poland for nearly three days.
“Our lives also matter,” he added. It is unclear if Abimbole and his friends entered Poland.
UNHCR’s Grandi confirmed during a press conference on Tuesday that “there are instances” of differentiation of treatment at the borders based on race, but said he was assured that “these are not state policies.”
“We will continue to intervene, as we have done several times, to try to ensure that everybody is received in the same manner,” he said, urging all nations to welcome those fleeing Ukraine without discrimination.
Marcus Lawani, who is also waiting with the group, told ABC News that he believed some of his African friends were “turned back based on their color” because “they want more Ukrainians to leave.”
“Mostly they give power to women, children, and their men follow,” he said.
Women and children have been given priority at congested border crossings and many Ukrainian men of fighting age have stayed behind after Ukraine began drafting reservists aged 18-60 to fight for their country.
A ‘heartbreaking’ decision
Alyona Tec said that her family’s decision to leave Ukraine was difficult and leaving her country has torn her apart.
“I felt really bad that I had to leave,” Tec told ABC News on Friday as her family arrived in Korczowa, Poland, explaining that she had wanted to stay behind and help her people in any way she could but left with her husband and son because they worried about the baby’s safety.
“I couldn’t [stay] because I knew [my son] is here and I need to take care of him and I’m responsible,” she said. “It was like heartbreaking for me because I saw people gonna go fight, like regular civilians gonna take up guns and fight, and I’m just gonna leave.”
While Tec grapples with guilt as she thinks of those she left behind, her husband Juan Tec said that they initially considered staying in Ukraine.
“Things that are happening now in Kyiv are just really bad,” he said. “Shelling, gunfights, tanks, rolling over cars, people getting hurt civilians. And now that I look back, I’m really glad we made that decision.”
According to UNICEF, the 7.5 million children in Ukraine are at heightened risk. Many have been traumatized, wounded and at least 13 children have been killed by Tuesday — a number that is expected to rise as the war rages on, UNICEF said.
Alyona Tec said that her family’s decision to leave Ukraine was difficult and leaving her country has torn her apart.
An uncertain future
For families who separated at the border, it is unclear when they can see their loves ones again.
In an emotional embrace, husband and wife Sasha and Svetlana Olekciirak said goodbye on Saturday at the Polish border in Korczowa.
The couple spoke with ABC News as Sasha dropped off his wife and two children after what they said was a 30-hour trip from Ternopil, not knowing when he will see them again.
“I don’t want to go,” Sasha said, explaining that he wanted to stay in Ukraine to fight for his country.
Asked how she felt not knowing when she can see her husband again, a tearful Svetlana said, “it’s fear … you don’t know what is your future.”
Their story is one of many playing out on the borders of Ukraine, like that of Sergei and Marina, a couple that was also separated at a border.
Sergei spoke with ABC News as he waited with his wife Marina and their two children – a 5-month-old and a 3-year-old – at a train station in Lviv.
Sergei said that that amid the bombings in Kyiv, he was worried for his family’s safety and decided to send them to Poland while he stayed behind to fight.
“I have to ensure that my family [is safe], so that’s why we’re here,” he said.
Asked how she feels about leaving her husband behind, Marina said, “I have no other choice.”
“We will start from zero there,” she said. “I will be better for my kids and I don’t care about stuff.”
ABC News’ Jessica DiMartino contributed to this report.
While Pamela Anderson had nothing to do with Pam & Tommy, the Hulu series about her life’s biggest scandal — and reportedly found it painful it was even made at all — the actress is ready to speak her truth in her own project for a streaming service.
In a note handwritten on Netflix letterhead that’s literally signed with a kiss, Anderson announced that an authorized documentary about her life is being made by the streamer.
“My life,” the message begins. “A thousand imperfections/ A million misperceptions/ Wicked, wild and lost/ Nothing to live up to/ I can only surprise you/ Not a victim, but a survivor/ And alive to tell the real story.”
Netflix described the project as “the definitive documentary about pop culture icon Pamela Anderson,” revealing that it’s been in the making for several years, and “will feature exclusive access to Pamela Anderson as well as never before seen archive footage and personal journals.”
Directed by The Keepers and Ask Dr. Ruth filmmaker Ryan White, the film is being produced by actor Brandon Thomas Lee, Anderson’s eldest son with ex Tommy Lee.
Netflix teases that the film is “[a]n intimate portrait embedded in the life of Pamela Anderson as she looks back at her professional and personal path and prepares for the next steps on her journey.”
(NEW YORK) — Hours after President Joe Biden’s inaugural State of the Union speech Tuesday night, restaurant and bar industry leaders called on the administration for action.
Chefs, restaurant owners and leaders of the Independent Restaurant Coalition spoke to media Wednesday in tandem with a new letter signed by over 100,000 restaurant employees urging the president and congress to add much-needed money to the bipartisan-backed Restaurant Revitalization Fund.
“I felt a little disappointed that it wasn’t addressed that our need is as dire as it is. The opportunity has not been lost, but that window is closing very quickly,” IRC board member, San Francisco-based chef, and co-owner of Che Fico, David Nayfeld said. “The president could have had an opportunity to recognize us in that moment, but it’s not too late. He can recognize it through action. I don’t care if we were in a speech, I care that the program gets refilled and that his actions speak to his values.”
The urgency of the IRC’s message comes nine days out from the March 11 expiration date for the Continuing Resolution, commonly referred to as the spending bill to add money to the RRF.
“The state of the union is not strong when neighborhood restaurants and bars are ready to close permanently,” Erika Polmar, executive director of the Independent Restaurant Coalition, said.
After nearly a year since the RRF became law, it has failed to support roughly two-thirds of eligible businesses that applied for the program, leaving out nearly 200,000 independent bars and restaurants with four out of five of those businesses in danger of closing permanently, threatening the nearly 11 million employees it supports.
— Independent Restaurant Coalition (@IndpRestaurants) March 2, 2022
IRC co-founder Tom Colicchio reiterated thanks for early support from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer along with others who came together in Washington, D.C., to include $28.6 billion for the industry as part of the American Rescue Plan, but said it’s not even close to enough.
“As great as that was that really only took care of about a third of the restaurant applicants — and he knew at the time that that money wasn’t enough — he actually called it a downpayment for our industry,” Colicchio, the Crafted Hospitality owner and restaurateur said. “It’s almost a year later since he made that declaration and there are almost 20,000 restaurants in New York City alone that have applied for grants and still have not received a dime.”
Like many, Colicchio’s own restaurants in New York City have been at the epicenter of multiple COVID-19 surges that prompt tighter restrictions, closures and smaller crowds, which has directly impacted business.
“I owe at least a million dollars in back rent. So all the business coming back is not going to do that. At a certain point I’m gonna have to make a decision if I can’t pay my landlord, I’ll have to declare bankruptcy and close cause there’s no way we can find that in the current business we have now. Eventually landlords are going to run out of patience and restaurant owners will be closing their doors in droves,” he said.
Nayfeld said as the third year of the pandemic nears, it has become “impossible for most restaurants to withstand the compounding debt, rising costs, revenue-decimating local restrictions, and COVID-19 surges without dedicated help from Congress.”
“Replenishing RRF is the only way independent restaurants and bars can recover from the past two years of economic trauma that we’ve endured and the aftershock we’ll continue to experience,” he said. “To take that little bit of money to reopen a business, buy back inventory, get a little momentum for six to seven weeks, then shutdown again, that loss of momentum is so detrimental to the business — Omicron was something for a lot of restaurants was the arrow through our bodies that’s gonna make us limp along and die from later.”
He continued: “If I could make a plea to Speaker Pelosi, my elected official, I would ask that she drive down the streets of downtown San Francisco and see the boarded up cafes, restaurants and bars that won’t come back without assistance — Even the owners of the ones that look busy, I promise you they would say that they’re stressed, their bank accounts are dwindling, in debt to their eyeballs and they don’t see a solution.”
President Biden addressed the economy and inflation on Tuesday night, but Colicchio said while problematic for the restaurant ecosystem, it’s not the primary pain point for the tens of thousands of independent owners and operators seeking relief from the last two years.
“Prices of food are going to go up — that’s why the restaurants that didn’t receive grant money are at a competitive disadvantage,” he said. “The roughly $40 billion we’re asking for will cover the grants for all the restaurants that have applied and I don’t believe that that’s going to be inflationary. A lot of that money is not gonna go out and be spent, it’s going to pay bills that are already there.”
Inflation paired with increasing fuel prices will inevitably impact the local, independent restaurant supply chains and Colicchio said that “upscale restaurants have pricing elasticity” to stay nimble. But without support from government grants, he said, “all the small neighborhood restaurants that don’t have that — are going to get really hurt and those are the restaurants that we’re really fighting for. Those mom and pops and neighborhood restaurants cant raise prices by 15%, the clientele won’t absorb that. Another reason why we need to complete this funding. We’re not asking for anything additional from our original position, we’re just asking for government to finish their job.”
At least 90,000 restaurants and bars have closed since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the IRC. Unemployment rate for leisure and hospitality is still 8.2%, about double the economy-wide rate, as restaurant and bar employment is still down 984,700 below its pre-pandemic levels.
Polmar explained, as detailed in a January IRC report, that “neighborhood restaurants and bars are deeper in debt and exhausted every possible option. Our industry is organizing for the second time in five weeks because the only hope we have is for our elected officials to hear our pleas and ensure every single restaurant and bar has the relief they need to survive the pandemic.
(WASHINGTON) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday joined Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, in a visit to a Ukrainian church in Washington, expressing vocal admiration for the Ukrainian people.
Blinken called Markarova “our new star,” in the wake of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech Tuesday night where he called attention to the ambassador who was seated next to first lady Jill Biden.
“It’s in the most difficult moments that our faith is tested,” Blinken said to the audience, including Ukrainian faith leaders and activists, at the Ukrainian Catholic National Shrine of the Holy Family.
He also said this is a moment for faith in democracy, peace, and “in the conviction that good will prevail over evil.”
Blinken said Russian President Vladimir Putin made a “horrific, terrible mistake,” in his aggression against Ukraine.
“We stand with them, we stand with you, and we will prevail in this struggle,” Blinken said of the Ukrainian people. He praised the Ukrainians who he said have been inspiring the world with resilience, strength and faith.
The Ukrainian people are “insisting on their freedom, insisting on their independence, insisting on their right to go forward as a sovereign, independent country,” he said.
Inside the church, Blinken lit a candle and spoke with a group of Ukrainian leaders, including Archbishop Borys Gudziak and Ukrainian American activist Ulana Mazurkevich.
The meeting united leaders of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian Catholic Church, which separated in 2018.
“We’re like one family,” said the pastor, Fr. Robert Hitchens, “In family, there are disagreements over things. But, when it comes down to matters of life and death, we pull together, we work together, we pray together and we set aside any differences.”
He said Blinken’s visit honored Ukrainians in the U.S. and overseas.
“They’re not forgotten,” Hitchens said about those in Ukraine. “The government of the United States and their sisters and brothers, fellow Ukrainians, and all peoples of goodwill, and this nation are standing with them.”
Like many other members of the church, Hitchens said his great-grandparents immigrated to the U.S., but kept their Catholic faith strong.
Hitchens said his biggest fear is the threat of extinction for Ukraine, and that the church will be forced underground under Russia’s rule.
“In my heart of hearts, I know somehow Ukraine will survive and its people will still survive,” said Hitchens. “But not before there’s a whole lot of senseless hurt.”
Tuesday, March 1, was Justin Bieber‘s 28th birthday and on Wednesday, he used his Instagram Stories to share some of the nice shout-outs he received from his celebrity pals.
Justin’s “Intentions” duet partner Quavo of rap trio Migoswrote, “Love this guy, always keep it 100, never switched up! Real Day 1 [Partner] HBD my boy!”
The Kid LAROI, who teamed with Justin for the smash number-one hit “STAY,” wrote, “Happy Birthday to a living legend. Thank u for changing my life. Words can’t describe how grateful I am for you. Love you dawg.”
Diddywrote, “Happy birthday, King!” while Big Seanwrote, “Happy birthday, JB.” Actor Evan Mock of HBO Max’s Gossip Girlwrote, “HBD J Fever,” and DJ Khaled, who teamed with Justin for two big hit songs, wrote, “Happy b day, love brother.”
Kanye “Ye” West simply posted a picture of himself smiling at a photo of Justin in a ball pit.
One of Justin’s friends posted a photo of Justin posing with Martha Stewart, of all people, who was one of the celebs who took part in his 2015 Comedy Central Roast. The friend got the picture from Stewart’s own Instagram: She posted a photo of herself with Justin after running into him at the restaurant where he was celebrating his birthday.
“Looking skinny yet fit and happy with a very attractive bunch of friends @justinbieber was at sushi park restaurant celebrating his 28th birthday!” the lifestyle guru wrote. “Happy birthday !!”
And of course, Justin’s mother, Pattie Mallette, and his wife, Hailey Bieber, also posted heartfelt wishes to Justin. Pattie wrote, “You are a delight and a true joy in my life. So grateful you were born! This world would NOT be the same without you.” Aww.
(WASHINGTON) — Opening statements got underway Wednesday in the case of a Texas man charged with participating in the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol and later threatening his family members if they reported him to law enforcement.
Guy Reffitt, 49, a self-proclaimed member of the far-right anti-government “Three Percenter” militia group, is the first alleged participant in the Jan. 6 insurrection to bring his case to trial. He faces five felony charges that carry maximum sentences of between five and 20 years each.
“The evidence in this case will show that the defendant attacked the Capitol on the afternoon of January 6 precisely because Congress was meeting in a joint session,” assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nestler told the court. “At that time, he planned to light a match that would start the fire. He wanted to stop Congress from doing its job.”
“The defendant was the tip of this mob’s spear,” Nestler said.
Reffitt’s case presents a major test for the Justice Department, as the result could impact hundreds of other alleged rioters who are weighing whether to similarly take their cases to trial or enter into plea deals with the government.
Nestler said in his opening statement that the government plans to play audio recorded prior to the attack of Reffitt talking about what he planned to do to lawmakers upon storming the Capitol.
“We’re taking the Capitol before the day is over, ripping them out by their f***ing hair, every f***ing one of them,” Reffitt says in one of the audio clips. “I just want to see Pelosi’s head hitting every f****ing stair on the way out, and Mitch McConnell too … I’m packing heat and I’m going to get more heat and I am going to that building and I am dragging them out.”
In his brief opening statement, Reffitt’s attorney, William Welch III, said there was no evidence showing Reffitt assaulted anyone and that Reffitt’s statements to his family and others amounted to little more than hyperbole.
“Guy does brag, he exaggerates, and he rants — he uses a lot of hyperbole and that upsets people,” Welch said. “The evidence will show that this case was a rush to judgment.”
“Guy Reffitt did not enter the Capitol,” Welch said. “He did not break anything, he did not take anything.”
Following two days of jury selection and one-on-one question-and-answer sessions with more than four dozen Washington, D.C., residents, 12 jurors and four alternates were selected for the trial, including nine men and seven women. Their backgrounds range from a NASA employee and a natural-gas industry lobbyist to an analyst with the Pentagon and a wood crafter who works with the federal agency that maintains the Capitol complex.
Judge Dabney Friedrich acknowledged that “virtually every juror” would have some view of the assault on the Capitol, but said the goal of the jury selection was to find residents who could legitimately separate their personal feelings about the attack from the question of Reffitt’s guilt or innocence.
In a recent filing, prosecutors said they expect to call 13 witnesses in Reffitt’s trial, including representatives from Capitol Police, the FBI and the Secret Service, as well as a counsel to the Secretary of the Senate, Reffitt’s son and daughter, and a fellow member of the Three-Percenter militia who traveled with Reffitt to D.C. and has been granted immunity for his testimony.
Reffitt spoke to ABC News from jail in December, saying, “This has been disastrous for me and my family, especially for my girls, my son — actually, all of my family.”
He also said he believes he’ll be exonerated at trial.
“It’s not that hard to prove that I didn’t do anything,” Reffitt said. “It should be pretty easy.”
After nearly 14 months of evidence-gathering, more than 750 people have been arrested on federal charges connected to the riot, and investigators say they are continuing to seek hundreds more who are suspected of participating in the violence that occurred that day.
![Kim Kardashian declared legally single; Kanye “focusing his entire attention [on their] children”](https://s3.amazonaws.com/syndication.abcaudio.com/files/2022-03-02/Getty_KimKanye_030222.jpg "Kim Kardashian declared legally single; Kanye “focusing his entire attention [on their] children”")
